Osteoarthritis (sometimes called degenerative joint disease) is the most common cause of lameness in horses and currently there is no cure.1 However, researchers continue to improve available treatment methods. At the 2010 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Dec. 4-8 in Baltimore, Md., Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, DSc, FRCVS, Dipl. ACVS, director of the Orthopaedic

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has released its second annual “Humane State Ranking,” a comprehensive report rating all 50 states on a wide range of animal protection laws dealing with horses, pets, animal cruelty and fighting, farm animals, wildlife, and animals in research.

The Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) has made strategic moves to strengthen the organization and its leadership team through the addition of two individuals to the board of directors, Ken Haddad of Florida and Susan Harding of Maryland, and one addition to the advisory council, Kentucky’s first lady Jane K. Beshear.

According to Kentucky Equine Research nutritionist Kathleen Crandell, PhD, hay cubes are an option to consider as an alternative forage source for horses. “The most popular types of forage cubes are made from coarsely chopped alfalfa hay, timothy hay, alfalfa/grass hay, whole corn plants, and alfalfa hay/whole corn plants,” said Crandell.

A possible equine herpesvirus (EHV) outbreak has prompted quarantine measures to be implemented at Beulah Park in Ohio.

A Pennsylvania-based equine rescue organization hopes a billboard advertising campaign will raise awareness of horse slaughter issues, particularly among non-horse owners.

The horse racing industry is continuously working to make the sport safer for all parties involved, and in 2008, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) mandated the use of synthetic track in an attempt to reduce the number of catastrophic injuries that took place on California racing surfaces. To see if the switch was a success, Rick Arthur, DVM, the equine medical director of the CHRB,

With many horse owners still struggling to make ends meet in the current economic downturn, the horse industry continues to look for a ways to help with the ongoing unwanted horse problem. With the support of the Unwanted Horse Coalition’s Operation Gelding, the Tacoma Equine Hospital in Tacoma, Wash., is providing a low-cost castration clinic to struggling horse owners in the Puget Sound area.

A new fund has been established at the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) to help support research related to diagnosing equine dermatology problems. The fund was created in memory of a horse who was euthanized as the result of a minor scrape on his fetlock.

As of Jan. 1, 2011, clenbuterol (Ventipulmin) will no longer be a permitted medication in Equine Canada sanctioned competitions. As a result, horses competing in Equine Canada sanctioned competitions with a positive test result for clenbuterol will be sanctioned as per the Equine Canada penalty tables and drug classification system as a Class III offence. A withdrawal time of at least 72 hours is

Keeneland buyers and consigners should note that the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has waived the requirement for equine piroplasmosis testing for horses entered in Keeneland’s 2011 January horses of all ages sale.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is proud to announce that two 2010-11 Congressional Fellows–Terry Ryan Kane, DVM, MS, and Kathryn Simmons, DVM–have taken prestigious posts on Capitol Hill. Kane is working in the office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Simmons took a position in the office of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

The University of Maine’s (UM) equine program received a donation from the Maine Farriers Association on Dec. 10.

Bone spavin in horses, or osteoarthritis of the distal tarsal (lower hock) joints, is a “common cause of equine lameness, resulting in lost training days and limiting affected horses’ careers,” says James Carmalt, MA, VetMB, MVetSc, FRCVS, Dipl. ABVP, ACVS, associate professor of Large Animal Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan, in Canada. He discussed the results of a recent small study on

Veterinarians and breeders can now detect pregnancy in mares using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test that detects estrogen molecules in a mare’s blood sample and is cheaper and easier to perform than an ultrasound.

More than 1,000 readers of TheHorse.com responded to a poll asking, “Do you continue to ride your horse(s) during the winter?”