WILD HORSE MANAGEMENT BILL DRAWS VARIED REACTIONS

An equine advocacy organization is criticizing new wild horse and burro management legislation, saying it fails to make efficient use of public land. HR 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs Act, amends the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 to allow the Bureau of Land Management to increase acreage available to free roaming herds, [...]

FLORIDA HORSE KILLING INVESTIGATION EXPANDS AGAIN

The investigation into a series of Florida horse poaching incidents expanded again Sunday when another horse was found dead in its pasture, apparently slaughtered for its meat. A caretaker discovered the horse’s carcass in a pasture near its stable. Flesh was missing from its chest and one of its back legs, a Miami-Dade County Police [...]

AQHA Forms Competition Department, Announces Renewed Efforts on Performance and Breed Integrity

The American Quarter Horse Journal, July 30, 2009 – The American Quarter Horse Association has formed a new department within the organization – the competition department.
The new department will encompass all aspects of American Quarter Horse competition such as racing, showing, judges, international efforts, breed integrity and animal welfare. Tom Persechino has been selected to [...]

THIRD PIROPLASMOSIS HORSE REPORTED MISSING

A third horse that tested positive for equine piroplasmosis was illegally removed from quarantine in June, stated a report issued to the World Organization for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties, or OIE) by John Clifford, DVM, deputy administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Continue reading…

EEE REPORTS PROMPT HORSE VACCINATION PUSH

Recent reports of several horses dying from Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) serve as a reminder that horse owners should make sure their horses are vaccinated. EEE is spread by mosquitoes. Veterinarians recommend that horses be vaccinated to protect against mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and Eastern and Western equine encephalitis as part of [...]

Drought Stress and Pasture Quality

Drought causes pastures to dry up, weeds to flourish, and horses to get thin without supplemental feeding. But there are other things going on in your fields that you need to know about in order to protect your horses from problems such as laminitis, colic, diarrhea, and toxic weeds. The problem isn’t…  Read more

LINK BETWEEN EQUINE DIET AND BEHAVIOR EXPLORED

Diet and stable management play a major role in horse behavior, according to researchers from the University of Bristol. “There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the more you can mimic the almost continuous natural grazing behavior of horses in the wild, the better,” said study co-author Becky Hothersall, Phd, a researcher [...]

STEREOTYPIC BEHAVIORS

Chomp! Incisors lock onto the edge of the board, and the horse arches his neck as he inhales. You’ve caught a cribber in the act. This horse is practicing what is known as a stereotypic behavior. Behaviors such as cribbing, weaving, and stall-walking might appear as nuisances, but behaviorists estimate they’re seen in 10-20% of [...]

Free Webinar: “West Nile Virus: Reality Check!”

Next Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT, three experts in the field of equine parasitology will be answering your questions on West Nile Virus: Reality Check!. This Webinar is sponsored Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and features presenter Steve Reed, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. It’s been 10 years since West Nile virus [...]

BARREL HORSE THEFT INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Charges connected to the alleged theft and abuse of a barrel horse remain pending until prosecutors can verify facts surrounding the case. The horse was competing in the Fort Pierre Rodeo when it was taken from the Stanley County Fair Grounds on July 5. Sheriff’s deputies later recovered the horse in a corral elsewhere in [...]