Latest News – The Horse

Plans for rebuilding Cavel International, the horse-slaughtering plant in DeKalb, Ill., that burned down in 2002, have been finalized, according to the Northern Star of Northern Illinois University.

James Tucker, controller for Cavel, said the slaughterhouse plans to reopen in February 2004. No cause for the fire was identified by the DeKalb Fire Department or by the Bureau o

The Association of American Feed Control Officials, Inc. (AAFCO) announced to its members and to the feed industry on Aug. 4, 2003, that kava should not be used as an ingredient in animal feeds. An enforcement strategy event for kava in animal feeds, recommended to begin on Dec. 2, 2003, follows a notification period informing manufacturers and distributors of animal feed that many of the

Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC), plus some bacteria, plus a mechanism to deliver bacteria to blood, equals MRLS (mare reproductive loss syndrome). This summary of a hypothesis based on accumulating data was presented at a regular weekly meeting of the entomology group at the University of Kentucky to graduate students, researchers, and a few industry visitors.

Early in the foal loss

Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates PLLC are hosting the International Bluegrass Equine Veterinary Symposium in Panama City, Panama, Jan. 7–10, 2004. The program, held in the Intercontinental Miramar Panama Hotel, will feature hands-on wet labs and lectures that will highlight the most recent diagnostic and treatment techniques in reproduction, ophthalmology, and lameness, as well as programs o

Studies to determine the cause of mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) have led investigators to associate the syndrome with exposure to the Eastern tent caterpillar. Although the exact cause of MRLS remains unknown, some component of the outer covering of the caterpillar (its “exoskeleton” or “integument”) appears to be involved.

In the first study to implicate the integument

Another new word has been added to the equine world–setae (prounced see-tay). Why? Horses have hair, caterpillars have setae. There are some researchers who hold the belief that these hair-like projections on the skin of Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) might have something to do with all the health problems seen in horses in Kentucky and surrounding states in 2001 and 2002. What has become

While we all were irritated to some extent by the massive amounts of caterpillars in 2001 and 2002–stepping on them, having them climb our fences, houses, cars, gates, and everything else around our homes and farms–there is new evidence that the setae (hair-like projections) on the caterpillars can become embedded in the lining of the alimentary tract (GI tract) of animals and cause

Even with a conditionally approved treatment for West Nile virus (WNV) available, prevention is still key. As of Sept. 9, WNV equine cases had been reported in 37 states, and only four of the continental United States (Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) had not reported WNV detection in any species. Official reports and suggestions from veterinarians experienced with the disease give

Novartis Animal Vaccines announced Aug. 19 the conditional licensing and availability of the only antibody product approved by the USDA to help control disease caused by West Nile virus (WNV) in equids. This product helps an exposed animal by increasing the antibody level in the circulatory system, which enhances an animal’s ability to neutralize virus already in the blood.

For a

Veterinarians have been using an antibody product to treat West Nile virus (WNV) clinical signs, but its use for this purpose is currently off-label (not approved by the USDA). Currently, the hyperimmune plasma product HiGamm-Equi, by Lake Immunogenics, is being examined by the USDA for conditional approval.

HiGamm-Equi is typically used for failure of passive transfer in foals–the

A total of 379 veterinary students from 27 vet schools in the United States and four from Canada gathered Aug. 29-31 in Lexington, Ky., to learn about the ins and outs of being an equine veterinarian at the first annual Opportunities in Equine Veterinary Practice conference. (Click Read More