You might have seen it on television—those daring rescues where a horse is lifted from a ravine by helicopter, pulled out of a raging river, or returned to safe ground after being bogged down in mud. These rescues might awe television audiences, but how do emergency personnel know what to do?

In three separate seminars sponsored by Hagyard-Davidson-McGee veterinary clinic on Oct. 22,

Abby L. Fowden, University of Cambridge, UK, discussed nutritive and endocrine functions of the equine placenta at the first Equine Placenta Workshop held at the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky on Dec. 5-6. She said the functions of the placenta are as a barrier, for transport of nutrients and waste, nutrient production, and hormone production.

Placental

Six horseshoers who have helped shape the modern farrier industry have been elected to the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame. They were chosen from a field of 66 nominees in voting by current members of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame and the International Equine Veterinarians Hall Of Fame. The inductees are:

Charles Brown, Scottsdale, Ariz. – A

A two-day exclusive gathering of leading reproductive researchers and practitioners from around the world convened at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 5-6, to discuss the equine placenta. From the evolutionary development of the placental layers to mare reproductive loss syndrome, no topic was left untouched if it dealt with the fine, and sometimes little

In 2004, your veterinarian’s truck might be stocked with a new combination vaccine–protection against West Nile virus (WNV) has been folded into routinely used three-way and four-way vaccines. The new combinations, manufactured by Fort Dodge Animal Health (FDAH) in Overland Park, Kan., will be available for shipment to veterinarians the week of Jan. 12, 2004.

The vaccines will combin

During a preliminary meeting Dec. 2 at Philadelphia Park, industry officials discussed testing for erythropoietin (EPO) antibodies that could be implemented in Pennsylvania and perhaps a few other Mid-Atlantic states in 2004.

The meeting was attended by Sal Sinatra, director of racing at Philly Park; Ben Nolt, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania State Racing Commission; and Mike

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), which has hundreds of thousands of members, has reiterated its position on euthanasia and horse slaughter in the wake of an accusatory Blue Horse Charities letter that was disseminated to the racing industry in early November (see article #4801).

The letter, signed by Ward

Editor’s note: A letter to the editor from Fort Dodge Animal Health cited inaccuracies in this article and has been included below.

A new West Nile virus (WNV) equine recombinant canarypox vaccine awaits USDA approval; once available, it could pave the way for a new generation of equine vaccines in the United States.

The American Farrier’s Association (AFA) has hired a new executive director, Bryan Quinsey, who comes to the AFA with an extensive background in marketing, economic development, operations, and visioning. Quinsey’s experience and skills are a direct fit with the AFA executive director role requirements; he has worked with Chambers of Commerce, Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, and

So what do veterinarians talk about when they get together? Pretty much what other horse people talk about–successes, problems, the high cost of doing business, and the latest “hot” topics of the industry. At the 2003 gathering of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), one of the hottest topics is the problem of illegal compounding of medications. Other topics included the

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) meeting is an interesting gathering of practicing veterinarians, researchers, industry businesses, and horse owners. That convention has delayed some of my entries, but I’ll try and keep up better now. Chief Eric Bush of the Prineville, Ore., mounted police, sent a note to us. He’s currently training a 5-year-old Percheron cross to

During the recent fires in California, horse owner and full-time wildlife photographer Frank Hendriks ventured into the hills to chronicle the fears and victories of the area’s horses and horse owners. Below you will see a collection of his San Diego Firestorm images.
 
Hendriks, who has been a professional nature and wildlife photographer for 16 years, is selling copies of these

The 2003 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) held its annual convention in New Orleans, La., just before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21-25). This was a record-breaking meeting in the number of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary students in attendance (3,107) as well as total attendees (6,175).

Next year the AAEP annual convention will be held in Denver,