Louisiana State University’s (LSU) College of Veterinary Medicine is an exciting place to be right now. The reinvigoration of the personnel and campus are obvious even to the casual observer. But to those who have horses treated there, or who are working at LSU to advance their educations or delve deeper into various equine research projects, there is a palpable air of anticipation that while

The world of insurance as it pertains to equines can be a bit complicated for the average horse owner. Nowhere is this more true than with “loss of use” insurance. At the outset, it doesn’t seem all that complicated. If your horse can no longer perform in the discipline stated in the policy, you receive a sum of money that has been established in advance. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite that

The International Collating Centre in Newmarket, England, and other sources reported the following disease outbreaks in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Any horse owner who tours the medieval gallery at a museum must stop at the displays of suits of armor and marvel. Imagine the sheer weight of such an outfit–then imagine trying to maneuver oneself into the saddle wearing it! Visions of metal-sheathed knights being lowered by crude cranes and slings onto their groaning draft horses might in fact be hyperbole since historians say knights

Lloyd’s of London underwriters, brokers, and their Kentucky agents recently presented a check for $40,000 to the University of Kentucky’s Department of Veterinary Science in continued support for Equine Disease Quarterly. Now in its 12th year, this award-winning newsletter has been sponsored by Lloyd’s since its inception.

Equine Disease Quarterly has a direct mail

Flanders and Swann, a singing comedy team from the United Kingdom, once penned a song that went like this:

“Mud, mud, glorious mud,
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So follow me, follow,
Down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow
In glorious mud!”

Of course the song was written from the perspective of a hippo.

For that animal’s distant

The African horse sickness (AHS) death toll in the Western Cape of South Africa has risen to 15 confirmed cases since the first death on the Elsenburg Agricultural Research Farm was confirmed on Feb. 25. The last case (unconfirmed) was reported on March 28. Pieter Koen, BSc, BVSc, veterinarian and Deputy Director Animal Health in the Western Cape, said, “I think there is a strong indication

Perhaps you've never thought about why your horse's grain looks the way it does, whether it's a molasses-bathed mix of cracked corn and crimped oats, alfalfa-enriched pellets, or chunky nuggets. If you're like most modern humans, you're accustomed to buying prepared and processed foods for yourself–from fast food meals on the fly to the pre-made soups and sauces on you

The forsythia were blooming at the end of March, and in Kentucky, that means that Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) were hatching. In 2001 and 2002, those caterpillars crawled across many farms in Central Kentucky and left in their path what was later termed mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS), which caused abortions in thousands of Thoroughbred broodmares.

The anticipated 2004 ETC

In our horse paddock there are four mango trees. Our horses often eat the mangoes that fall off the tree. We were wondering if it is possible for our horses to get sick from eating too many mangoes.

Equine Cushing’s syndrome (ECS), or hyperadrenocorticism, is caused by an excess of cortisol. This syndrome produces signs including excessive hair growth (hirsutism), lethargy, fat redistribution under the skin, chronic/relapsing laminitis, and increased drinking and urination (polydypsia/polyuria). The drug pergolide is commonly recommended as treatment for ECS. However, data on its

Over two dozen bidders came out April 25 for a chance to own one of 12 Belgian-cross fillies and five Belgian and Belgian-cross mares available this year at the 5th Annual North American Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) auction of incentive registered yearlings at the Rutgers University’s Cook College Campus in Brunswick, N.J., on April 25. The campus Round House was filled to capacity

Many equine illnesses and injuries require rapid determination of blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity. Hemoglobin (Hg) can be measured, and packed cell volume (PCV) can be estimated, providing a good indication of how much oxygen can circulate. However, Hg measurement requires transport of a blood sample to a laboratory. It would be useful if practitioners had the means to accurately measure Hg

Veterinarians representing the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) are delivering educational lectures on a variety of equine health topics during the Western States Horse Expo, June 11-13, at the Cal Expo in Sacramento, Calif. The sessions are designed for horse owners and other individuals interested in equine health.

Topics include the stumbling horse, common foot

The ban on Texas livestock coming into Kentucky from Texas because of vesicular stomatitis (VS) has been amended by Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher today (May 27) by an emergency regulation, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The emergency regulation will allow livestock from most of Texas to enter the Commonwealth under certain conditions. Livestock would still be