In the back of the mind of every horse, stable, or ranch owner lies the fear of a barn fire, buffered by the hope that he or she is prepared to deal with such a crisis. The San Antonio Saddle Horse Association recently offered a fire prevention and safety seminar to help educate horse owners on the best ways to keep their barns safe from fire and how to deal with a fire should one occur.

A Florida man accused of poaching two horses then butchering them for their meat pleaded guilty to the charges against him during an appearance in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Nov. 17.

When laminitis develops to the point that the hoof wall is restricting blood supply to the laminae and causing further inflammation, a hoof wall resection might be needed. Amy Rucker, DVM, of Midwest Equine in Columbia, Mo., spoke about when to do resections and methods that give veterinarians the best chance for success during the Sept. 17-18 Laminitis West Conference in Monterey, Calif.

A proposed plan to close one of two state-owned racetracks in New Jersey would end harness racing in that state and could put Standardbred racehorses at risk, according to Tom Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey.

Goldikova, who on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs won her third consecutive Breeders’ Cup Mile, was named Horse of the Year in the Cartier Awards in London, England, on Nov. 16.

The 2011 American Horse Publications (AHP) Student Award will award up to three $750 travel awards to attend the AHP “Hoofprints in the Sand” Seminar in San Diego, Calif., on June 16-18, 2011. Travel Award winners have an opportunity to meet leading equine publishing professionals and discuss career possibilities during the three days of educational sessions and related activities.

On December 4, the Kentucky Horse Park, along with the Kentucky Horse Council and the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, will offer free gelding surgeries for horse owners who cannot afford to have the surgery performed on their stallions. In addition to rendering a stallion unable to reproduce, gelding surgery often helps horses become easier to manage, train, and if the need arises, adopt or rehome.

Jerry and Ann Moss’ champion Zenyatta has been retired from racing. The 6-year-old Street Cry mare will be boarded at William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Versailles, Ky. She is expected to arrive in early December. Breeding plans are undecided.

Despite the fact that horses evolved on a forage-based diet that is high in fiber and low in calories, some horse owners and trainers just can’t resist feeding a low-fiber, calorie-dense diet. “Horses are grazing animals,” explains Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVB, a professor emeritus of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “When they are denied access to pasture …

More than 330 readers of TheHorse.com responded to a poll asking, “Have you ever experienced a foaling dystocia?”

An innovative new organization has been founded to assist horse owners who need help providing feed for their animals. Stamp Out Starvation (SOS) of Horses was founded in October by a group of Georgia equestrians who were all too familiar with assisting malnourished and mistreated horses.

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in international equestrian competition is definitively prohibited, following a unanimous vote by the members of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), the governing body for international equestrian sports, during their General Assembly meeting Nov. 1-5 in Chinese Taipei.

Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) is a national nonprofit working to advance the conservation of land for horse-related activity. In the past three years ELCR has aided in the conservation plans for 44,237 acres and 985 miles of trail throughout the United States.