Latest News – The Horse

Initially the 7-year-old mare was in excellent physical condition with no history of lameness, but became sore the evening of a reset with commonly used, very wide-web shoes. The farrier returned that evening to reset the shoes and lower the nail holes, and commented to the trainer that the previous holes might have been too high in the feet.

“If a horse needs an amputation or he’s not going to live, that’s not much of a choice,” began Ric Redden, DVM, founder of the International Equine Podiatry Center and host of the 2003 Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium, in a presentation on Jan. 18. “Horses with catastrophic injury or disease of the lower limb are most often euthanized as there is irreversible vascular, soft tissue, and bone

Each state has a veterinary practice act, which is a legal interpretation of what constitutes veterinary practice in that state on all species. For example, chiropractic or acupuncture might be considered veterinarian-only skills in some states, while in other states they can be performed by a skilled lay person under a licensed veterinarian’s direction.

The American Veterinary Medica

BATON ROUGE– The Companions of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine invite all horse enthusiasts to the fourth annual Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, May 3, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Country Club of Louisiana.

Proceeds from the party will benefit expansion of the Equine Intensive Care Unit in the LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Clinics. The project will expand and update the

In the spring of 2001, hundreds of mares in Central Kentucky lost their pregnancies in peculiar abortions attributed to mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). Since then, horse farm managers have gone back to square one in reviewing their pasture management practices.

One certain result is they have developed a greater awareness of what’s lurking in the grass. These farm managers hav

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it has approved additional label claims for Zimecterin (ivermectin), adding several species and stages of small strongyles to the list of parasites controlled by the equine dewormer.

The announcement means that Zimecterin is now proven to control a total of 60 species and stages of equine parasites, 32 of which are in the

Stable hygiene is the first line of defense in keeping pests out of a barn. Another place to exercise good stable hygiene is in the feed room. The storage of feed can either deter or attract rodents and other critters that don’t belong in the barn.

Steve Albin, who operates NetPets.org, had a good idea that has nearly taken over his life. Albin was told that during Desert Storm, many military personnel were forced to give up their pets because they had no place to leave them when they were shipped out for duty. So, he started a small program to help military personnel find free foster homes to care for animals. The program, NetPets

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture will release the quarantine placed on Barn 15 at Turfway Park as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday (April 5). The 80-horse barn was placed in quarantine after three horses tested positive for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) on March 18. All restrictions regarding movement and segregated training hours will be lifted as part of the quarantine

The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation issued an advisory concerning control methods for Eastern tent caterpillars, which have been linked to mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) in 2001 and 2002.

Dr. Dan Potter, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky whose research has been funded in part by Grayson-Jockey Club, said on April 3 that “the window for caterpillar management has jus

On April 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it had published a new regulation that improves the requirements for reporting adverse events associated with approved animal drugs. The reforms reduce certain reporting burdens while assuring collection of the information required to maintain high standards for protecting the health of animals as well as the public health, accordin

Now is the time for horse owners in Kentucky to consult with
their veterinarians about vaccinating their animals for West Nile virus (WNV),
Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith said.

“West Nile virus was diagnosed in 513 equine and 75 humans in Kentucky last
year,” Smith said. “Kentuckians can take steps now to reduce
the risk of West Nile later in the year

Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith reminded farmers and
farm businesses to take extra care to prevent thefts of anhydrous ammonia
during the planting season.

Anhydrous ammonia is a common nitrogen fertilizer for crops. It also is a
target for thieves who use it to produce the street drug methamphetamine or
sell it on the black market. The number of

Ten cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and one case of West Nile virus (WNV) have been confirmed by serological testing as of April 3 in eight Florida counties, according to Leroy Coffman, DVM, Florida’s state veterinarian and director of the Division of Animal Industry. This is the first reported case of WNV in Florida this year, and possibly the first in the United States this

Nathaniel White, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, has been named Interim Director of the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, Va. White, who assumed leadership responsibilities for the equine clinical and research center on April 1, succeeds G. Frederick Fregin, DVM, the center’s founding director.

White joined the center as Assistant Director in 1985 and was appointed the