Roundups are necessary for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to control population growth among wild horse herds, according to a report by the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG). In the report issued on Dec. 13 the auditors also called on the BLM to be more aggressive in researching and testing approved science for population control methods to minimize the need

Law enforcement authorities in St. Martin’s Parish, La., are seeking those responsible for the shooting death of a horse earlier this year. Sgt. Terrell Bergeron, animal control coordinator for the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Department, said that on Aug. 8, the horse’s owner contacted the Sheriff’s Department after finding the Appaloosa mare and a pregnant cow both wounded in their pasture.

The American Horse Council (AHC) is continuing its effort to collect information on access issues equestrians are experiencing on federal lands. The centerpiece of this effort is an online form equestrians can use to report their personal experiences regarding trails that have been closed to them or other access issues on federal land. This online form is located on the AHC website.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear joined community leaders and executives of HFL Sport Science on Dec. 14 to celebrate the grand opening of the company’s new laboratory in Lexington, Ky. The facility will provide drug surveillance, doping control, and research to equine and other sports industries. The lab, which represents a more than $4 million investment, will create 48 new jobs.

A plan to develop the country’s first state-owned wild horse sanctuary was stalled yesterday when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced that revenue set aside to develop the sanctuary would instead be used to offset cuts in state services and prevent further furloughs and layoffs among state employees.

Equine welfare and the growing population of horses needing homes are quickly becoming some of the major challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis, according to Tom Lenz, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, chairman of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, who delivered the keynote speech, entitled “Horse Welfare Wars: When Emotion and Fact Collide,” at the 2010 Annual American Association of Equine

The 56th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), held Dec. 4 – 8 in Baltimore, Md., attracted a crowd of 5,504 veterinary professionals, guests, and exhibitors, making it again the largest equine veterinary continuing education event in the world. The convention returned to the Mid-Atlantic region for the first time since 1998.

Corrective shoeing for laminitis doesn’t always work, despite veterinarians’ and farriers’ best efforts, and it’s not always clear why a particular shoeing job isn’t successful. In-shoe force measurements, however, can show the effects of shoeing on the foot, allowing for timely adjustments and improved treatments. During the Sept. 17-18 Laminitis West Conference in Monterey, Calif.,

A second horse from New York-based racehorse trainer Chris Englehart’s string has tested positive for equine herpesvirus (EHV) in the wake of a 4-year-old Thoroughbred filly contracting and subsequently being euthanized as a result of the disease.

While today’s veterinarian plays a critical role in protecting the health and welfare of both people and animals in the United States, veterinary medical education actually got its start 250 years ago when the first veterinary medical college opened in Lyon, France. In honor of this anniversary, the United States Senate passed a resolution declaring 2011 as “World Veterinary Year” to bring

The Unwanted Horse Coalition’s (UHC) National Speaker Program has been up and running since early 2009 with approximately 100 speakers in the database. This program provides equine events around the country with UHC volunteers to speak about the unwanted horse issue and what it means to “Own Responsibly.” The UHC is looking to expand its National Speaker Program by adding additional speakers and

Seeing the forest for the trees with regards to laminitis can be difficult because researchers are approaching the problem from many different angles, often at the molecular level. At the Sept. 17-18 Laminitis West Conference in Monterey, Calif., Thomas J. Divers, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, professor and Chief of Large Animal Medicine at Cornell University spoke about how veterinarians are

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), often called equine Cushing’s disease, has been treated with the drug pergolide for years. The main reason pergolide was initially the treatment of choice was largely based on the drug’s effectiveness in treating people with Parkinson’s disease, a human endocrine disorder, according to Ronette Gehring, BVSc, MMedVet (Pharm), MRCVS, Dipl. ACVCP,