Latest News – The Horse

Registration is still open for the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners’ 5th annual Promoting Excellence Symposium, to be held Oct. 1-3 on Marco Island, Fla.

The meeting offers 34 hours of continuing education credits for veterinarians, including two hours of Florida pharmacy credit.

The scientific program includes multiple presentations on colic, racehorse health,

We’re only nine adoptions away from 200 horses finding new homes through TheHorse.com’s Adoption Service for Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. Originally launched as a Thoroughbred service in November 2008, Standardbreds were recently added into the mix.

The service is a bulletin board on which owners can list any Thoroughbred or Standardbred offered for free to a good home. It also

Trainer Rick Dutrow will serve a 30-day suspension after reaching a settlement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

Dutrow’s horse, Salute the Count, tested positive for a breathing stimulant in May 2008 at Churchill Downs. He was first suspended in July but appealed, leading to the Sept. 8 settlement.

The suspension runs from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15 as part of the settlement.

Biosecurity Queensland is managing another case of Hendra virus infection on a property outside Bowen in North Queensland after test results on a deceased horse came back positive for the virus.

Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Rick Symons, BVSc, MBA, PhD, said last week a private vet had reported a suspect case to Biosecurity Queensland after attending a sick horse on the property. The

A new large animal isolation ward designed to better manage the care of horses with infectious diseases will be dedicated today at Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The new facility represents a strong collaboration between the basic- and clinical-science divisions of New England’s only veterinary school.

The 3,300 square-foot facility triples the capacity for clinicians at

Gone West, who carved out a successful branch of the Mr. Prospector sire line all his own as the sire of 98 stakes winners, was euthanized the night of Sept. 7 because of complications following colic surgery. The 25-year-old stallion, who was pensioned after this year’s breeding season because of declining fertility, had been taken two days earlier to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute near

Rider Harry Meade of Great Britain was disqualified from last weekend’s Burghley Horse Trials in the UK after the competition’s ground jury ruled he was riding an exhausted horse. He was barred from competition on his second mount of the day.

The FEI released the following statement:

“Harry Meade (GBR) was awarded a red card and disqualified from the competition for his riding of

Standing outside his barn at Saratoga the morning of Sept. 6, trainer Steve Asmussen was still basking in the glow of Rachel Alexandra’s historic victory in the $750,000 Woodward Stakes as he reported the filly came out of the race in good shape.

“I honestly don’t know (what her next race will be),” said Asmussen. “I heard Jess (Jackson) say (she might not run again this year) at the

The rush to improve safety since Eight Belles was euthanized at last year’s Kentucky Derby did little to curb the number of horses dying at American racetracks in 2008, The Associated Press found in a national count.

Although many tracks were already implementing safety reforms when the popular filly pulled up lame with two broken legs after finishing second at the Derby in May 2008, her

Investigators say a fire that destroyed four barns at the Kentucky state fairgrounds was intentionally set.

Four barns were destroyed and several others damaged in the blaze that was reported at about 2 a.m. Sept. 2. There were no animals in the barns, and no one was hurt.

Maj. Henry Ott, chief of the Louisville Metro arson squad, said a minor fire that broke out the afternoon before

Bucking the trends in the racing industry and the economy at large, American Quarter Horse racing indicators showed the industry is holding steady in the face of the biggest economic downturn in decades.

Numbers released by AQHA show that purses in July, compared to the same month last year, held virtually steady with only a fraction of a percent drop. The number of July races was up 1.4

Beet pulp has been a popular feed for horses for years without many people really knowing why. Beet pulp is a byproduct of the sugar beet industry and is predominant in the upper Midwest, Michigan, and California.

Many equine health professionals are worried that because of the economic recession that’s lasted more than a year, many horses are either not vaccinated or are under-vaccinated to protect them agasint common diseases.

According to the USDA, as of Sept. 3, there have been 193 cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and 64 cases of West Nile virus (WNV). Last year there were 185