Latest News – The Horse

Animal health officials today explained that the announcement about the equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) cases at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., was not made sooner was because the virus wasn’t considered to be actively circulating in the environment until a third horse exhibited clinical signs and tested positive for the virus.

A gelding and a filly with neurologic signs were

Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has been confirmed as the cause of illness in three Thoroughbreds that were stabled in a training barn at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. Tuesday’s announcement follows treatment of several EHV-1 outbreaks in Ohio and Pennsylvania since January.

The EHV-1 organism can cause three different forms of disease, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory

Three horses stabled at Turfway Park have been diagnosed with neurologic equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). Verification of the virus was completed over the weekend at the northern Kentucky track by researchers at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

All three horses have responded favorably to treatment. Two of the horses were

With no additional positive tests for Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) since Feb. 26, Penn National Race Course was prepared to lift the quarantine of horses stabled in Barn U on March 19, according to track general manager Richard Schnaars.

Of the original 36 horses stabled in Barn U, five tested positive for EHV-1. Two of the horses had to be euthanized, while three are

“Identifying and Solving Semen Quality Problems in Stallions” is just one of the many talks to be given at Alltech’s 19th International Feed Industry Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky, May 11-14. This issue will be addressed in the Equine Symposium hosted for equine veterinarians, feed company nutritionists, horse farm managers and horse owners.

The ability of stallions to cover a ful

For the third consecutive year, ReRun, Inc. and New Vocations Racehorse Adoption programs will co-host the All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show to be held on Sat., May 31 at Turfway Park. The Keeneland Association and Turfway Park have signed on as headline sponsors, with Churchill Downs again participating and GEAR for Sports coming aboard as a sponsor of this charity event.

In

More than 1,000 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) members attended the 63rd annual convention, where the organization’s board voted to retain Rule 227(c), which limits the amount of white on horses eligible for registration in the organization.

The vote on the white rule leaves Rule 227(c) unchanged and will continue to be read and upheld as it is written in the 2003 Official

Officials said the classification of erythropoeitin — the blood-doping agent commonly known as EPO — as a prohibited practice has curbed its use in some jurisdictions but a definitive test for the substance is a must if any regulation is to have teeth.

Medication was just one of the topics discussed during the initial sessions of the joint meeting of the Thoroughbred Racing Association,

In a 416-9 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would authorize $100 million in grants for communities to develop mosquito-control programs, according to an Associated Press news release. 

Lawmakers hope the bill, which also passed the House last year, will slow the spread of the West Nile virus, which ran rampant across the

“This is the largest arboviral (disease) epidemic ever documented in the Western Hemisphere,” said Sue Billings, DVM, MSPH, Kentucky Department for Public Health Medical Epidemiologist. Billings has been working with the public health side of West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance since the virus first appeared in mosquitoes, birds, and horses in Kentucky in 2001. Billings attended a recent WNV

Kentucky has kept extensive statistics on West Nile virus (WNV) cases in the state. At the March 7 West Nile Virus Workshop at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, Rusty Ford, Kentucky Equine Programs Manager, reviewed equine WNV statistics from past years. He also described how the state planned to make reporting cases easier in 2003.

West Nile virus was first

There is no significant difference between rates of wound healing with povidone iodine ointment and two formulations of silver sulfadiazine versus untreated controls, according to a recent study completed at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM). Additionally, all bandaged wounds regardless of treatment, produced exuberant granulation tissue, or proud

Rob Keene, DVM, field veterinarian for Fort Dodge Animal Health, talked about the West Nile virus vaccine at the West Nile Virus (WNV) Workshop held March 7 at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center. Keene explained plans for packaging and marketing the vaccine–which received a full license from the USDA on Feb. 6–and described the efforts already underway to combine the

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently re-stated a policy that surgical correction of “genetic defects” for the purposes of concealing the defect is unethical. If surgical correction is undertaken for the purpose of improving the health of the individual, then it should be accompanied by sterilization to prevent the perpetuation of the genetic flaw.

The American

Eight veterinary students have been selected to receive $2,500 scholarships from the American Live Stock Insurance Company (ALSIC) and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The scholarships are presented annually to fourth-year veterinary students who plan to pursue a career in equine veterinary practice.

The scholarship recipients are:

• Lisa Baller –

The number of reported equine abortions in Kentucky declined for the fourth week in a row, based on figures released by the University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) on Monday. The latest decrease caused the total for the year to fall below 2002’s pace, reversing an upward trend seen earlier in 2003.