Latest News – The Horse
Purchase Exams: Safe and Sound
Buying that first horse can be exciting and scary. Getting that dreamed-about horse is the exciting part, and being concerned that you don’t make mistakes in choosing the right one is the disconcerting and worrisome part. In this article, we’ll first look at the situation through the eyes of horse owners, then we’ll turn to a panel of veterinary experts who will discuss what to watch for
Sleep-Crashing
In any of the equine behavior literature that I have read, I am unable to find any description of the sleeping behavior we see in our retired broodmare (17 years old). She has functioned as the watch horse in the small herd she was from, and she now is retired at our two-horse farm and continues to maintain that role. She is rarely seen lying down, nor shows evidence of that–no surface dirt
Can Horses React to Poison Ivy and Poison Oak?
Can poison oak and poison ivy cause allergic reactions in horses? There is quite a bit of poison oak and poison ivy on the acreage where I keep my horses.
Protecting the Elbow From the Shoe
I’m desperate to find some way to prevent my 20-year-old Thoroughbred mare from cutting her elbow on her egg-bar shoe when lying down.
TRF Secretariat Center
Since its founding more than 20 years ago, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) has been proud of its many accomplishments, from each horse that it has saved to each new farm or facility it has opened, to every time it has helped spread the message that there is a far better way of dealing with unwanted former racehorses than sending them off to a slaughterhouse. The TRF, it has been
Deserving of Dentistry
There may be no branch of equine veterinary medicine that is advancing as quickly as equine dentistry. As recently as a decade ago, it was still considered adequate to feel along the sides of a horse’s first upper cheek teeth and decide, based on sharpness alone, whether that horse needed a “float.” If treatment was deemed necessary, it consisted of a speedy rasping along the outsides of the
Hidden Treasure: Retraining Racehorses
“A prize in every box.” While that phrase refers to the little toy one finds in a box of Cracker Jacks, adopting a former racehorse is not so different: You’re not quite sure what you’ll get, but often the experience is fun and the horse can be a treasure for years to come. For the most part, ex-racehorses are well-trained, intelligent horses which, in the right hands, successfully move on to
Horses Seeking Jobs
Wanted: Caring owner for a willing horse. Former training in running fast and turning left. Recent training in whoa, relax, turn, yield to leg, going slower, and trusting humans. Willing to do most any kind of work, from trail riding to jumping.
It’s Not Greek to Them
When the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad begin with characteristic fanfare Aug. 13 in Athens–the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games–approximately 10,500 of the world’s greatest athletes will convene to match skills and wits in 28 sports.
It’s Bad, It’s Very Bad…
Midnight has come and gone by the time the Central Kentucky horseman pulls into the stableyard and unloads the young black mare. Both are bone-weary after a 15-hour trip home from the trainer’s stable. The man leans on the fence, watching the
Vesicular Stomatitis Hits Texas
Vesicular stomatitis (VS), a disease with international implications for animal movement because symptoms mimic those of foot and mouth disease (FMD), was confirmed May 19 in western Texas. Kentucky was the first state to respond–officials
Stallion or Gelding?
A cryptorchid, also called a ridgling, is a male horse in which one or both testicles do not descend into the scrotum. In the developing fetus, the testicles are formed within the abdomen. As the fetus nears term, the inguinal rings and inguinal
Good/Bad Effects of Antioxidants
In a society that is trying to slow the aging process, free radicals and antioxidants are terms that are regularly tossed around.
Encephalitis: Many Causes, Deadly Outcome
Equine encephalitis has been around for a long time. Old-time horsemen simply referred to it as sleeping sickness. They knew that if a horse contracted it, the animal’s prognosis was not great, and that if he did recover, his ability to perform
After Goodbye
As horse owners, we care deeply about our animals. When one of our beloved horses dies, we lose a trusted friend. For many of us, the experience is emotionally devastating. Yet, just when we are at our most pronounced stage of grief, we are
Parasite Primer Part 7: Parasites in the Environment
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part seven of a 12-part series on internal parasites of horses.
Back in January, in our first installment of this series, we described what makes a parasite different from other kinds of infectiou
