Latest News – The Horse
What Makes a Horse Yawn?
What makes a horse yawn? Does this help the horse get lots of air in his lungs like with people? Is it a sign of anything in particular?
What’s Right for Your Horse?
Joint trauma can severely limit performance and seriously affect the quality of your horse’s daily life. Owners want and need to know how best to manage equine joint disease. The most important factor in successful treatment is early detection and diagnosis.
Any of the components of joints–the joint capsule, synovial membrane, synovial fluid, cartilage, bone, and ligaments–can b
Laser Surgery in Horses
The term “laser” conjures up images varying from action movies to removal of skin wrinkles to hands-free toilet flushing. What these things have in common is that a beam of light with a particular wavelength produces a particular desired effect. A surgical laser simply delivers coherent (meaning the beam stays together indefinitely), monochromatic (single wavelength as opposed to the visible
The World’s First Equine Clone
The landscape of equine reproduction research dramatically changed yesterday (May 29) when a University of Idaho (UI) and Utah State University team announced they were the first to clone a member of the equine family–the mule–according to an article to be published in the journal Science. The research team includes Gordon Woods, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACT, UI professor of animal and
First 2003 Kentucky Equine WNV Case Confirmed
Kentucky has its first confirmed case of West Nile virus (WNV) in an equine for 2003, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Health reported on Thursday.
The 20-year-old pleasure horse is located in Madison County, said Rusty Ford, the Department’s equine programs manager. The horse is recovering and the prognosis is good.
“West Nile is here to
University of Kentucky Pasture Monitoring Interim Report–Comparison of 2002 and 2003
The University of Kentucky mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) pasture monitoring program has been evaluating certain pasture parameters weekly since March 1, 2003. A comparison of 2002 and 2003 values for some pasture parameters and a brief interpretation follows.
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
From the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association
Before adjourning for the Memorial Day recess, the United States Congress passed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. President George Bush will sign this legislation, which includes a number of provisions that will benefit the horse industry.
The $350 billion tax cut bill
Idaho, Utah Researchers Successfully Clone Mule
A University of Idaho–Utah State University research team is the first worldwide to clone a member of the horse family, a mule, according to an article to be published in the journal Science.
The research team includes Gordon Woods, UI professor of animal and veterinary science, Kenneth L. White, Utah State University professor of animal science, and Dirk Vanderwall, UI
MRLS Workshop Proceedings Available
The Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station has published the scientific papers from the August 2002 workshop on mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS convened at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center. This information is available in book form or electronically at
Florida EEE Case Count Escalates to 68
The number of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) cases in Florida has risen to 68 for this year, further substantiating an earlier suspicion that 2003 will be a tough year for fighting the disease. Florida’s case count for all of 2002 was 25 horses.
EEE is caused by a virus found in wild birds, and it’s transmitted to horses and humans via the bite of an infected mosquito. Horses do no
Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Spraying Schedule Now Online
Local authorities and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) have begun mosquito eradication efforts to combat the spread of West Nile virus (WNV). The KDA’s mosquito spraying schedule can be found on the KDA web site at www.kyagr.com.
The Department will spray for mosquitoes at the request of local officials and local health departments. Some
Hong Kong Trainer Contends Shampoo Contained Banned Substance
According to an Associated Press story on bloodhorse.com, a top Hong Kong horse trainer ridiculed a doping charge against him after officials found the banned substance in a shampoo handed out freely by track veterinarians, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Trainer Ivan Allan attacked The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s chief veterinary surgeon,
Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation to Hold First Annual Open House
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) farm based at Blackburn Correctional Facility in Lexington, Ky., will be having its first annual open house on June 6. Events begin at 10 am and last until 2 pm.
Twenty TRF horses will be featured for adoption, and door prizes will be offered. Come out and enjoy the day!
For more information and to RSVP, contact Missy Klick by June
Frangible Pins: Making Cross Country Jumps Safer
A company in the United Kingdom has created a jump design to lessen the severity of cross-country falls. In 1999, several U.K. riders died from accidents on cross-country jumps. The resultant study committee hired the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), an expert in transportation safety, for scientific investigation, data analysis, accident investigation, and engineering.
From
Pesticide Applicators Must Be Licensed
To keep consumers safe, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture works to make sure that all persons who apply pesticides to someone else’s property are properly licensed.
All commercial pesticide applicators must be licensed through the Department’s Division of Pesticide Regulation under state law. These applicators include turf and lawn care professionals, structural pest control
Miniature Horse Killed by Pit Bulls
According to the Midland Daily News, in Midland county, Mich., the county’s Sheriff’s Office reported that a 17-year-old miniature horse was killed by two pit bulls early this morning.
The pregnant mare was in a pasture in Jerome Township when she was killed by the dogs, which belong to a neighbor. Deputies were called at 3:21 a.m. No other animals were injured.
The
