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.

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

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.

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,

The chairman of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission said on Dec. 13 that any action stemming from the investigation into the Life At Ten case would be brought before the entire commission upon completion of a thorough review.

More than 720 readers of TheHorse.com responded to a poll asking, “Have you ever had to treat your horse(s) for gastric ulcers?”

The Tazewell County Health Department received confirmation Dec. 9, 2010 that a Miniature Horse from North Tazewell, Va., tested positive for the rabies virus. This is the eighth confirmed case of animal rabies in Tazewell County this year and the ninth within the Cumberland Plateau Health District, which includes the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, and Tazewell.

A Texas man will serve three years in prison in connection with the theft of a Miniature Horse earlier this year. According to a spokesperson for Kleberg County District Attorney John T. Hubert, Luciano Riojas stole the animal from a Kleberg County farm on May 26 by loading him into a sport utility vehicle and driving away. Later that day Kleberg County Sheriff’s Deputies discovered manure inside

Riders4Helmets, the helmet awareness campaign founded by Jeri Bryant and equine health product SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program, will host a “by invitation only” Helmet Safety Symposium Jan. 8, at the White Horse Tavern in Wellington, Fla., from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The symposium is sponsored by Troxel Helmets, Charles Owen Helmets, Tipperary Helmets, and Samshield Helmets.

Despite the fact that opioid drugs, such as morphine and methadone, have been known to cause serious side effects in some horses, a researcher from Scotland maintains that they are a good choice for treating severe pain in horses.