Equine

Wetherby, England -- The British Horseracing Authority is investigating Wetherby Racecourse after four horses died on the opening day of jumps season.

New survey highlights veterinarians' top concerns.

Sacramento, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill making cattle and horse tail docking illegal in California.

Dr. John Mitchell will be installed at the group's 55th annual convention Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas.

New York -- A proposed rule aimed at strengthening racehorse medication and drug standards in the state of New York is drawing protests from veterinarians, major racing and horse-owner organizations and prompted the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) to weigh in with its own objections and to suggest alternatives.

Baton Rouge -- The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine?s Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory (EMSL) will be conducting drug tests for all Louisiana racehorses for another three years.

A proposal to create new wild-horse preserves may raise public awareness and perhaps stir more interest in adoptions.

Washington -- The National Thoroughbred Racing Association's (NTRA) Safety and Integrity Alliance has accredited 12 racetracks and established several uniform safety and integrity measures during its first year of operation, and now an independent monitor will examine its work and issue a report on its effectiveness.

St. Louis -- Purina is giving free horse feed to a family in Missouri who take care of six children and six rescue horses, as well as a family in Texas who volunteer with a therapy riding program. Both families are in upcoming episodes of the ABC television show ?Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.?

No one is exactly sure why, but the number of horse deaths at the nation's racetracks declined very little in 2008, despite ongoing industrywide efforts to raise health and safety standards.

Reported cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) during the first eight months of 2009 already have surpassed last year's total in the United States, while West Nile virus (WNV) cases are sharply down from 2008, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The report was last updated Sept. 9.

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is the 11th racing facility to win accreditation by a national safety organization.

Lexington, Ky. -- Tickets to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games go on sale Friday (Sept. 25) at noon -- exactly one year before the games begin in Lexington's Kentucky Horse Park.

Las Vegas -- More than 4,000 veterinarians, veterinary students and technicians are expected for the 55th annual convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Dec. 5-9 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Fort Worth, Texas -- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has an ongoing program offering $500 to those who adopt mature horses 4 to 10 years old from public lands as part of National Wild Horse Adoption Day Sept. 26.

Anderson, Ind. -- A suspected contagious infection in two Thoroughbred racehorses resulted in the quarantine of those two and 57 other horses at Anderson's Hoosier Park racetrack north of Indianapolis.

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) cases during the first eight months of 2009 already have surpassed last year's total in the United States.

North Grafton, Mass. -- A new six-stall equine isolation ward at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University triples the capacity for patients at the infectious-disease unit.

New York -- The nation's 2010 Thoroughbred foal crop is expected to be the smallest in more than 30 years, according to the Jockey Club's annual projection.

Horse deaths at racetracks declined only slightly in 2008, despite efforts to raise standards.

An equine practitioner from Queensland, Australia, has died after contracting the Hendra virus from a horse.

The digital age is here-and it's mobile.

Be prepared to show how your education benefits your equine practice's bottom line.

If horse owners and groups allied to them were to contribute money, as many who took part in a recent online survey indicated they were willing to do, they could make a substantial impact toward solving the nation's problem of unwanted and neglected horses.

Washington, D.C. -- Ericka Caslin is the new director of the Unwanted Horse Coalition.

Dissecting a state-board investigation can go a long way to easing fear and stress.

Methuen, Mass. -- Staff and volunteers at the Massachusetts SPCA?s Nevins Farm have seen a record number of horses surrendered to the facility this year.

National Report -- Of 35 equine cases of West Nile virus (WNV) reported nationwide so far this season, 20 are in Washington state.