When a performance horse slowly goes off form, any number of things can be the cause. Could he have ulcers? Is he being overtrained? Is something subtle and mysterious going on with his metabolism? The problem could be much simpler than that–his feet might just hurt.

Forewarned is forearmed. That is why Lloyd’s of London Underwriters, Brokers, and their Kentucky Agents have made a gift of $40,000 to the University of Kentucky’s Department of Veterinary Science for continued support of the Equine Disease Quarterly newsletter.

“Horses are our business, and that means the health of horses is also our business,” said Tony Cecil, president of

Reprinted from the FDA Newsletter, March/April 2003

Since 1994, when Congress passed the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994 (AMDUCA), veterinarians in the U.S. have enjoyed legitimate extra-label use (ELU) privileges. Veterinarians can safeguard ELU privileges by following AMDUCA, and by educating clients (particularly food animal producers) on AMDUC

Thanks to the generosity of Maker’s Mark, charitable donations from some of the most respected names in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and the vision of Penny Chenery, the owner of the great Secretariat, dozens of retired race horses will have a home among the splendor of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Instead of a future that may have included neglect or abuse, the horses will be

A disease that kills mosquitoes could be one way to slow the spread of West Nile virus (WNV), the USDA said in an Associated Press story.

Jim Becnel, a scientist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, said Wednesday he and a team of researchers have come up with a new method to kill mosquitoes by infecting them with an illness called baculovirus that works only on mosquitoes.

Equine influenza has spread to nearly 20 premises—mostly Thoroughbred training stables–in the United Kingdom, and it has been detected in the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country. “The reason(it’s unusual) is because despite the fact that horses have been very well vaccinated and have very high antibody levels, they are still becoming infected with this strain of virus,”

Uterine lavage can be performed immediately prior to artificial insemination in mares without adversely affecting fertility, according to a recent study completed at the University of Idaho (UI) in Moscow, Idaho. The uterine lavage process is used to clear the uterus of inflammatory fluids that could decrease the viability of semen in mares.

Researchers already knew that uterine lavag

The number of confirmed Eastern equine encephalitis cases (EEE) in horses has risen to 23 in north central Florida, according to Bill Jeter, DVM, Diagnostic Veterinary Manager for Florida’s Division of Animal Industry. This confirmed earlier speculations that 2003 will have higher-than-normal numbers of EEE cases this year. The virus has been confirmed in 12 counties, and 14 of the 23 cases

At least 20 thoroughbred horses on two farms in Pennsylvania have died in the past month and the remaining group of about 30 horses has been impounded, according to animal control officials quoted in an Associated Press story on bloodhorse.com.
 
The horses were being kept on farms run by Terry L. Painter, a former North Huntington Township commissioner, officials said.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking comments on a proposed change to Animal Welfare Act regulations that would require registered research facilities that use equids in research, other than for agricultural research purposes, to maintain medical records as part of their program of adequate veterinary care.

Currently, the maintenance of veterinary

“It’s very unusual to get EHV-1 outbreaks all at the same time on different premises,” said James Wood, BSc, BvetMed, MSc, PhD, MRCVS, DLSHTM, Dipl. ECVPH, Head of Epidemiology at the Animal Health Trust in the United Kingdom, about the recent flare of neurologic equine herpesvirus-1 cases in his country. At least 12 horses have been euthanized after infection with the debilitating virus.

Following the first day of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event on Thursday afternoon, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital will be sponsoring an educational event at the Kentucky Horse Park South Theater in Lexington, Ky. The sessions will run from 4:00-6:00pm, and a light suppe

A man in Bullitt County, Ky., has been charged with shooting two horses on his neighbor’s farm under unusual circumstances, according to WLEX 18 (www.lex18.com).

“Steven Smith told police the horses were chasing him and his dog,” said the article.

Owner Pat Conway heard gunshots and went to check on the horses which were in the barn. One of

Last year’s drought continues to affect horse owners in Franklin, North Carolina, according to WRAL.com, the web site of News Channel 5 in Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC. Many of the horses have ended up on horse rescue farms like The North Carolina Equine Rescue League, which currently has 47 horses in its care; 24 of those have arrived since January.

The article quoted rescue

Pennsylvania health official announced April 14 that Pennsylvania has launched this year’s effort to detect and control mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus (WNV).

“It’s that time of the year againtime to get your yard back in shape or just get out and enjoy Pennsylvania’s natural wonders,” Acting Secretary Dr. Robert Muscalus said. “But don’t forget about the mosquitoes. In 2002,

A massive out-of-competition drug-testing raid was conducted at Randwick racecourse Monday morning in Australia as 30 trainers had blood samples taken from horses in their stable.

The Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory (ARFL) Racing tested the samples for performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO and peptide hormone. New South Wales chairman of stewards Ray Murrihy said the ARFL