Latest News – The Horse
Advocates Donkey BBQ
Field and Stream columnist Thomas McIntyre is free in this country to say what he pleases, but methinks he’s gone too far. While he rambles around quite a bit in his column, taking pokes and jabs at all equids and their owners along the
Groups That Oppose Slaughter Ban Target of Letter
Blue Horse Charities has stepped up the campaign for passage of legislation to ban horse slaughter with a strongly worded letter and a full-page advertisement on the back page of the Nov. 8 edition of Daily Racing Form.
In a three-page letter mailed to industry organizations, constituents, and the media, Blue Horse Charities alleges the American Quarter Horse Association
Delaware Testing for Blood-Doping Antibodies
The racing commissions that govern Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing in Delaware have been testing for erythropoietin (EPO) antibodies since June 1, and in the future may implement rules to penalize horses that test positive.
In a
Arkansas Horses Recovering from Brutal Beatings
Nearly three months after they were selected from among several other horses and viciously beaten, two Arkansas Quarter Horses, three-year-old buckskin filly Quarter Horse Puddin’ and five-year-old sorrel mare Fat Girl, are alive but remain seriously injured. The horses were attacked Aug. 6 in the town of Guy, while owner Patrice Swan was gone for 90 minutes helping a neighbor with a
West Nile Virus Treatment: Plasma Product Licensed
Since December 2001, the donors have been vaccinated multiple times with the WNV vaccine. The company had to prove purity, safety, and reasonable expectation of efficacy to have the plasma conditionally licensed for treating WNV.
Public and Animal Health Consequences of Disasters
Even as the California fires were beginning to rage out of control, Sebastian Heath, VetMB, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVPM, senior staff veterinarian for USDA-APHIS, Emergency Programs, was discussing the consequences of animals in disaster situations to an audience at the University of Kentucky.
Rural hazards range from natural disasters to epidemics (such as the foot and mouth diseas
More MRLS Research
Mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) has been a primary research project for many veterinarians and scientists since it began causing early and late term abortions, sickness in foals, pericarditis (heart problems), and uveitis (eye problems) in horses in the spring of 2001. Manu Sebastian, DVM, MS, a resident in Veterinary Pathology, and a PhD student at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck
Fires Cause Equine Evacuations
The raging California wildfires that have killed 20 people, destroyed about 3,400 homes, and blackened approximately 552,713 acres, also had a profound effect on the equine population. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of horses were evacuated from the fire’s path, by owners with their own trailers, volunteers who rushed in from as far away as Los Angeles (to the San Diego area), and commercial
Aftermath of the California Fires–Deaths and Injuries
Yankee, a 30-year-old bay gelding, is one fortunate survivor of the rampant California wildfires that have plagued the San Diego and San Bernardino areas, and other parts of the state, since late October. Owner Carol Prida’s home in Wildcat Canyon burned and fell on his stall Oct. 26, before he could be evacuated. Everything plastic in Yankee’s stall (including his buckets) melted from the
Veterinary Advisory Board Established at Equine Medical Center
A Veterinary Advisory Board made up of equine practitioners in Virginia and Maryland has been created for the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va. Like members of the Equine Medical Center’s Council, Veterinary Advisory Board Members will provide advice and counsel to the Center’s director and staff in order to meet the needs of the equine industry and of the
Thoroughbred Charities of America Awards Grant to Equine Medical Center
The Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va., recently was awarded a $25,000 grant from Thoroughbred Charities of America. Grant funds are designated for building research facilities to enable collaborative research efforts to benefit equine health. The Equine Medical Center, located in Leesburg, Virginia, is one of three campuses comprising the Virginia-Maryland Regional
Colic Emergency!
Large colon torsion is one of the most severe and life-threatening forms of colic. Although survival of horses with large colon torsion can be as high as 80-90%, the overall survival rate is 30-50% due to delays in transport or performing surgery.
Strangles: Horses at Risk
Strangles is a malady that has afflicted horses for hundreds of years. In fact, it was first described in a veterinary publication back in 1614. During the ensuing years, many horses have suffered from strangles. Most have recovered, but some have not. Along the way, the troublesome disease has cost the horse industry millions of dollars.
Surviving Colic
In decades past, colic treatment was actually a misnomer. “Treatment” consisted of waiting out the colic while offering sedative-like drugs to dampen a horse’s misery. Either his body healed of its own accord, or he succumbed to death from overwhelming pain and shock. Veterinarians were reluctant to euthanize a horse with colic because one could never tell if he was going to make it or not. A
Serving the Industry
YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2003 AAEP CONVENTION
NEW PRODUCTS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) is the leading provider of continuing education for veterinarians. Their education not only comes from the lectures given in the vast, darkened halls, but from the brightly lit exhibit hall. Each year at the AAEP Convention,
Barn Fire Kills 19 Horses
A proactive passerby helped save the lives of eight horses in a burning barn early Sept. 10 at Equestrian Park in College Station, Texas. Sixteen died in the fire due to burns and/or smoke inhalation and three more were euthanized shortly thereafter due to their injuries, said property owner Brazos Joe Varisco. Ten of the barn’s inhabitants were racing Quarter Horses (all of which died in the
