With the advent of the Internet, cheaper airline travel options, and popularity of foreign breeds, more people are importing and exporting horses between countries. But whether home or abroad, purchasing or selling a horse is seldom simple. However, if you know what you are getting into and are prepared to wade through the red tape, foreign money exchange, and long-distance phone calls, expanding

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) launched its nationwide Horse Identification Program (HIP) and web site this past January. HIP, a voluntary-enrollment service designed to help retrieve stolen horses throughout the United States, draws from the extensive animal recovery experience of the TSCRA and its rangers in Texas and Oklahoma.

Last year, TSCRA rangers

When a pregnant mare develops a problem that puts her fetus at risk, what can be done? Some of these foals can be saved if the problem can be discovered early and the mare given proper treatment to reverse the condition.

Jon Palmer, VMD, associate professor of medicine and director of the neonatal and perinatal programs at the Connelly Intensive Care Unit at New Bolton Center (part of th

Numerous horse abuse cases have been reported during the month of January throughout the United States.

• Miami, Fla., humane officials are working with the unnamed owner of five malnourished horses removed from his property on Jan. 4. One of the horses was a 7-month-old foal that died from liver failure after eating a poisonous plant because it was so hungry, said Laine Hills, DVM, th

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

What exactly are bone spurs, how do they affect a horse’s performance, how common are they, what causes them, and how can I manage them in my performance horse?

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

If you’re like most horse owners, the idea of surgery performed on your beloved animal is unpleasant at best, terrifying at worst. Those fears are not unfounded. Because of the species’ size and weight, their physiological reactions to many anesthetic drugs, and the difficulties of recovery, horses are trickier to safely anesthetize than most other species. Yet through the years, veterinarian

My husband and I run a business of shipping semen from a few stallions that we board. We have some started ourselves, and some have started elsewhere. Most of them do really well with our simple collection routine. We bring them to the breeding barn, tease a little, wash them, tease a little more, then mount a dummy. Over the years, we have had a couple of stallions that we have had difficult

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) celebrated its 50th anniversary with its 2004 convention in Denver, Colo. A record crowd of nearly 6,300 veterinary professionals, exhibitors, and guests enjoyed the educational event and festivities. The convention featured nearly 100 scientific presentations, a sold-out trade show, and successful Horseman’s Day seminars for owners.

In October 2002, I was called out to a ranch to examine wounds on a mare that had been run through a barbed wire fence by stray dogs sometime the day before. The rancher was concerned that she might not recover past being pasture sound. He was unable to bring the mare into the hospital for emergency care and because of financial considerations would have to be able to treat the mare at the