The first competitors in the 2009 Tevis Cup endurance ride to arrive at the Auburn, Calif., fairgrounds last week were Thor Halseth, of Agoura, Calif., and his 8-year-old gray Polish Arabian gelding, Road Rage.

Halseth arrived early to participate in the race sponsored training ride where experienced former competitors guide riders over the last 70 miles of the 100-mile course. Road Rage

Steven Brinsko, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, associate professor and chief of Theriogenology in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, has been named the 2009 vice president of the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT).

Brinsko will begin his four-year term as the ACT vice president next mont

This year’s Chincoteague Pony swim and auction raised $94,100 for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. Approximately 150 ponies were rounded up yesterday for today’s annual sale, the proceeds of which are used to help maintain the wild herd and run the fire department.

This year, bidders bought 70 ponies at an average price of $1,344.29, according to Suzanne Taylor, executive

Head Tevis Cup veterinarian Greg Fellers, DVM, will implement a new post-ride vet check this year. His check will be conducted within two hours after horses complete the 100-mile ride from Lake Tahoe to Auburn, Calif.

“What I am looking for in this new check is a continually falling heart rate. This check should find heart rates in the 44, 46, 48 beats per minute range,” Fellers

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board clarified July 28 that horses are banned from being entered in races if they have received hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment within one week of post time. The therapy is permitted otherwise.

The directive, explained in a release, clarifies existing state rules and is endorsed by the New York Racing Association, the Wagering Board said.

State game lands can be beautiful places to ride horses. However, riding (along with hiking, biking, and other uses) is permitted or restricted by individual state’s policies. The purchase and maintenance of these lands is generally funded by the sale of licenses and sporting goods purchased by anglers and hunters. If equestrians wish to ride on state wildlife management areas, they must

Raptors will take flight in the new Agnes Varis Auditorium and an expected crowd of thousands will gather to learn about all the furry, galloping, and ruminating animals at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine annual Open House, Sept. 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m in Grafton, Mass. The event is free and open to the public, rain or shine.

Canines of all types wil

Developmental orthopedic disease can rob a young horse of his future as a sound athlete. Each year the consequences of diseases such as osteochondritis dissecans and physitis render hundreds, maybe thousands, of young horses structurally inadequate f

Horses at Rolling Hills Ranch stable in Bridgeville, Allegheny County, Pa., have been quarantined after at least three horses tested positive for the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus-1, or EHV-1, Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said today.

“Equine herpesvirus causes upper respiratory infection and can cause severe neurological disease in horses,” said Wolff. “The quarantine was

The investigation into a series of Florida horse poaching incidents expanded again Sunday when another horse was found dead in its pasture, apparently slaughtered for its meat.

A caretaker discovered the horse’s carcass in a pasture near its stable. Flesh was missing from its chest and one of its back legs, a Miami-Dade County Police report noted.

The incident is the latest among 17

Monmouth Park in New Jersey is the sixth racetrack to be accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Monmouth, host of the grade I Haskell Invitational Aug. 2, was reviewed by alliance officials July 9-10. Ronald Jensen, DVM, racing official Richard Lewis, and alliance executive director Mike Ziegler were on the review committee.

“The

The Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA) and the Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) have formed an alliance.

Back Country Horsemen of America is a national membership organization whose mission is to preserve horseback riding and recreational stock in America’s backcountry and public lands. BCHA work to achieve this through offering time, equipment, and stock on projects with

A program to collect obsolete pesticides is being expanded this year to also provide farmers with safe disposal for unused animal health products and sharps. Taking place this fall, the program is part of an Ontario government-supported Great Lakes Basin water quality initiative that offers farmers a way to recycle these items.

As part of this project, farmers will be able to bring their

Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra had her final workout July 27 at Saratoga as she continues to prepare for her next start in the $1.25 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Sunday, Aug. 2.

Over the training track at Saratoga, Rachel put in a four furlong breeze of :49.26, sixth fastest of 23 works this morning. She is scheduled to ship down from Saratoga to Monmouth

A horse’s risk of impaction colic might be elevated by decreased exercise, restricted water intake, administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and poor dentition, said Amy E. Plummer, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, in a recent Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice review of intestinal impactions.

A congressional committee recently held a hearing on a bill that proposes severe restrictions on the use of antibiotics in food animals. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 would ban “non-therapeutic” uses of antibiotics that are also used in humans. It is hoped that this would prevent antibiotic resistance and preserve these drugs to treat human infections.