Latest News – The Horse

We all need protection from the elements. That goes for your horse’s hooves as well. Millennia ago, when humans first vaulted aboard equine backs and guided them over terrain they probably would not otherwise have traversed, the value of providing protection for hooves became clear–as the leather “hipposandals” and early iron shoes unearthed by archaeologists attest.

These days, of

Keegan said most equine practitioners use head movement to determine forelimb lameness and pelvis movement to clarify hind limb lameness. He added that multiple lamenesses can certainly complicate the issue.

Equine Malignant Hyperthermia

We’ve all heard of people and animals that are “sensitive” to anesthesia. Monica Aleman, MVZ, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, head of the neuromuscular disease lab at the University of California, Davis, reported on a genetic problem called equine malignant hyperthermia (EMH) that can make simple anesthesia deadly for some horses. Malignant hyperthermia-like

The Frank J. Milne Lecture was presented by Peter Rossdale, OBE, MA, PhD, Dr. (h.c.) Berne, Dr. (h.c.) Edinburgh, DESM, FACVSc, FRCVS. The title of his talk was “The Maladjusted Foal: Influences of Intrauterine Growth Retardation and Birth Trauma.”

Rossdale’s primary area of research is equine reproduction, and he has won many awards and honors for his work in this field. He is a past

Once a mare is diagnosed with placentitis, he said, it is incumbent upon the veterinarian to inform the owner about potential outcomes. The underlying message was that treatment of a premature foal in an intensive care facility can be expensive, with no guarantee of a positive outcome.

Pregnancies from Euthanized Mare Ovaries

“You think breeding mares on foal heat is tough, try dead mares!” said Elaine Carnevale, DVM, PhD, professor in equine reproduction in the department of biomedical sciences at Colorado State University (CSU), with a laugh as she began her talk following a presentation on foal heat breeding success. Her presentation covered CSU’s work with

Shock Wave Therapy

Several studies have been conducted on extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) at various institutions this past year. One presented by C. Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, DSc, FRCVS, DrMedVet (hc), Dipl. ACVS, director of Colorado State University’s Gail Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Research Center, involved ESWT’s effects on osteoarthritis. In a model of induced

Many unethical and/or unlicensed products cause frustrations for manufacturers who spend millions of dollars researching new drugs, just to have illegal products claiming equivalency and taking product sales from licensed products. To add to the problem, many of the illegal products are not efficacious, or might not even contain the active ingredient.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) made the welfare of unwanted horses in the United States a priority for the foreseeable future, according to AAEP leaders during the annual convention.

While the AAEP’s stand against the national bill that bans slaughter of horses has been seen as a negative by many horse owners, the AAEP is not pro-slaughter, but pro-horse, said

Scientists recently isolated the parasite that causes the neurological disease equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) from the blood of an immunocompetent horse–a normal, healthy horse. This research could lead to a better understanding of the way the single-celled protozoan parasite Sarcocystis neurona (which causes EPM) attacks a horse and the best ways to prevent and fight

New equine herpesvirus type-1 findings from a research collaboration between George Allen, PhD, professor in the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, and Nicholas Davis-Poynter, PhD, head of equine infectious diseases at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England, have been released. They consented to a lay press releas

I am interested in freeze branding my horses. What is involved in the process? Can I do this myself, or do I need help?

Your primary care veterinarian calls in a specialist for your sick horse; you didn’t know there were veterinary specialists. You are familiar with the specialty system in human medicine. Most of us have been to an ophthalmologist, some to an internist, a cardiologist, or a dermatologist. Since about 1972, specialty organizations have become more prominent in veterinary medicine. These

All of us believe we’re responsible horse owners. We provide adequate care and nutrition, call the veterinarian when our horses don’t seem quite right or need an annual examination, and in many cases treat them like members of our own families. Putting our horses first is a priority for everyone, right?

Unfortunately, not all horses’ owners feel this way, and some horses don’t even