Latest News – The Horse
Saddlebred Exhumation Under Way
The much anticipated court-ordered exhumation of the body of champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed and Wicked began this morning under gray skies and amidst chilling temperatures at Double D Ranch near Versailles, Ky. Wicked was one of five top American Saddlebreds that were injected with an unknown necrotizing (tissue-killing) substance the weekend of June 28-29, 2003. Wicked and one of the other
Facts About Blood
Blood is an essential component of the mechanism whereby oxygen is transferred from the lungs to all of the body’s organs and tissues. So just how much blood does a horse have anyway?
Transport and the Immune System
In a study published in the Equine Veterinary Journal investigating the effects of long-term transport on horses, Carolyn Stull, DVM, showed measurable changes in immunological status. She also found the immune systems of transported horses took about 24 hours to recover, making travel-stressed horses more prone to problems upon arrival at their destinations.
According to Stull, a
Equine Ulcers–More Than Just a Stomach Ache
The creation of the long fiberoptic flexible endoscope opened a new world to equine veterinarians and researchers who for the first time were able to view a living horse’s stomach. What they found was that horses get gastric ulcers frequently associated with exercise and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use.
It is known in humans that long-term use of NSAIDs can cause small
AQHA Set to Drug Test 300 Shows
The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) was to begin testing for performance-enhancing medications at approximately 300 approved shows in January as a result of a recommendation made by the drug and medications task force.
The task force had met to discuss the increased cost of drug testing and the decreasing number of states voluntarily testing at their shows.
AQHA will spend
FEI Appoints Task Force on Doping and Medications
At its recent meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI, the international governing body of equine sport) Bureau established a six-person task force to reassess policies necessary to eliminate abusive and illegal performance-enhancing drugs and to review the general medication control of horses.
The task force will examine the following:
Leptospirosis in Central Kentucky
High incidences of leptospirosis-induced abortions in Central Kentucky mares could be caused by a tandem effect of temperature and precipitation in certain years, said Capt. David Hall of the U.S. Air Force, who defended his master’s thesis at the University of Kentucky’s (UK) Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington on Dec. 15.
Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonoses
EHV-1 Kills Two Michigan Racehorses
At least two horses at Northville Downs Standardbred racetrack in Northville, Mich., contracted equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and were euthanatized in December. The first case was found Dec. 14, when a 6-year-old Standardbred gelding began exhibiting classic signs of the neurological form of EHV-1 myeloencephalopathy (EHM). After the horse was taken to the Diagnostic Center for Population
Additional Treatment Receives Conditional License
In the treatment of horses suffering from West Nile virus (WNV), vets have only a few choices besides supportive care. A novel WNV serum antibody product received conditional approval from the USDA in November 2004. Colorado Serum Company (CSC) announced the product’s availability on Dec. 13, 2004.
Serum antibody products help animals that have been exposed to a disease by increasing the
WNV Vaccine: Safe for Broodmares
Researchers at Texas A&M University (TAMU) have just completed a retrospective study into the safety of administering the killed West Nile virus (WNV) vaccine to pregnant broodmares, the first study on this topic in equine reproductive research. The study looked at 595 mares from four different farms in Texas and Kentucky. The authors of the study (which was published in the Journal of
Bill Rider Makes Wild Horses Eligible for Slaughter
Some wild horses and burros rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are now eligible to be sold at public auctions to the highest bidder, including slaughter buyers.
The appropriations bill for 2005 (H.R. 4818) was made public law on Dec. 7. On Nov. 20, 2004, Senator Conrad Burns of Montana attached a rider to it that concerned the wild horse and burro adoption program funding.
What Price Life?
A few dollars vs. thousands of dollars, or total loss? Do you sometimes wonder if horse owners should be made to act more like car owners? For cars, it’s mandated that you must have insurance to protect you, and the people around you. Bad things happen. You aren’t always in control. The same is true for your horses. Except in the case of horses, your insurance often comes from a bottle
Vaccination Essentials: Rabies, Tetanus, and Botulism
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a 12-part series of articles on vaccinations for horses.
Ask veterinarians anywhere in North America and they’ll likely agree: If you vaccinate for nothing else, at the very least vaccinate for tetanus and rabies. The two diseases have much in common. They’re endemic–meaning your horse could be exposed to the causative organisms at any
Bits: Pain in the Mouth
If a bit is causing pain or discomfort, communication breaks down and your horse’s performance, as well as his mouth, suffers.
Fractures in Thoroughbred Racehorses
Musculoskeletal injury is the most common cause of lost training days for Thoroughbred racehorses. This type of injury, particularly fractures, is also cited as a major reason horses leave the industry. But the incidence and characteristics of fractures in racing Thoroughbreds are not well understood.
Characterizing fractures was the aim of Kristien Verheyen, DVM, MSc, and James Wood,
EHV in Foals From Vaccinated Mares
The results suggest that certain mares have latent EHV-1, experience reactivation of the virus, and pass it on to their foals, allowing viral spread around the farm. Therefore, EHV-1 is continuing a silent cycle among foals even when the mares are vaccinated.
