ohioequineindustry.org

EQUINE SARCOIDS

FROM: The Ohio State University

BY: Yvonne A. Elce, DVM, DACVS
Assistant Professor – Clinical, Equine Surgery
Eric M. Green, DVM, DACVR
Associate Professor – Clinical, Radiology and Radiation Oncology

To read the article, click here.

Wild Horses: Euthanasia, Changes to Adoption Policy Considered

FROM: The Horse

BY: Pat Raia

Bonnie Matton, president of the Wild Horse Preservation League, wasn’t happy when the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it might consider euthanasia as a means to manage wild horse herds, but she wasn’t surprised, either.

“They’re between a rock and a hard place,” said Matton, whose Dayton, Nev. nonprofit group advocates on behalf of wild horse issues. “These herds need management, but it’s expensive and the BLM’s budget can’t keep up.”

BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson presented the euthanasia option during the June 30 meeting of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board in Reno, Nev., as one solution to cope with increasing herds and a shrinking budget.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Ellis Park to Close; ADW Dispute Cited

FROM: Associated Press

The owner of Ellis Park in western Kentucky said he will close the facility, where the summer race meet was to begin on Friday, citing a court ruling in a dispute with horsemen.

Ellis Park owner Ron Geary said he has no plans to reopen Ellis, which was built in 1922, as a racetrack.

Geary told The Courier-Journal in Louisville that he decided to close the track after a federal judge turned down his request for an injunction against Kentucky horsemen. The injunction would have allowed Geary to offer Ellis races to national account wagering outlets that take bets by phone and online.

“I don’t have any plans on opening it again as a racetrack,” Geary said Wednesday. “That’s for sure.”

A formal announcement was expected Thursday morning.

(There were high hopes for Ellis Park when Geary bought the track in 2006. Horsemen vowed to support the racing product, and Geary planned to make the track the Del Mar or Saratoga of the Midwest.)

Earlier in June, Geary indicated the account-wagering situation was tenuous, and that the future of Ellis Park was up in the air.

The closure means Kentucky horsemen will have no place to race in the state for much of the summer as Churchill Downs’ spring-summer meet ends Sunday. The closest alternative is River Downs in Cincinnati.

Rick Hiles, president of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said the horsemen’s revenue-sharing plan would have resulted in more money for Geary as well.

Hiles said he hated to see the decision to close Ellis. He called it “rash” and said he had hoped negotiations could continue.

Account wagering is the growth area of the $15 billion-a-year pari-mutuel market. Horsemen’s groups nationwide are attempting to gain a larger share of revenues from it. Hiles said account wagering represented 5 percent of Ellis’ betting last year.

He said if Geary is closing the track because of the ruling, “he was going to close it anyway.”

About 400 horses are on the track’s grounds. It was not clear how long the stable area will remain open.

Kentucky Horse Racing Authority executive director Lisa Underwood said Geary informed her Wednesday that the track wouldn’t open for the meet.

“I’m sorry that it came to this,” she said. “It’s sad for the industry, but I am not surprised.”

Churchill Downs’ betting numbers have been down because horsemen blocked its races from being offered to national account-wagering companies, like Churchill’s TwinSpires.com. Under federal law, horsemen have the right to block races from interstate betting.

The horsemen notified Geary last week that Ellis’ races would be blocked as well, which prompted Geary to file a lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, where a hearing took place in Owensboro on Wednesday.

Geary said in the lawsuit that Ellis lost $2.7 million during the 2007 meet and would be forced to close without account wagering revenue.

Geary bought the track in 2006 from Churchill Downs Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

The track, on the north bank of the Ohio River, was formerly known as Dade Park. James C. Ellis bought it and operated it from 1925 until he died in 1956, and it was renamed in his honor. Churchill Downs owned the track from 1998 until 2006, when it was sold to Geary.

A November 2005 tornado caused heavy damage at the track, but it was rebuilt for the 2006 season.

The grade III Gardenia Stakes was the track’s centerpiece event.

Whitfield anticipates further federal action on horse racing

FROM: Thoroughbred Times

BY: Frank Angst

The Congressman who spurred a hearing on equine safety and drug issues believes further action will be required.

Representative Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky), the ranking member on the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection subcommittee that conducted the June 19 hearing, said federal legislation is a strong possibility at this point.

“It is clear that the 38 different state racing commissions, as well as the numerous other interest groups, are not in a position to protect this industry,” Whitfield said through his press secretary. “Following last month’s hearing, it has become apparent that Congress will no longer allow the status quo.”

Whitfield found some of the testimony to be “riveting,” and noted that it will take some time for Congress to determine its next move. He said in the coming weeks and months, he looks forward to meeting with more industry leaders.

Ed Martin, President of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, a trade association that includes representatives from each racing state’s regulatory body, is concerned that federal oversight could lead to more bureaucracy. Also, he is not sure how such federal regulation would be funded.

The Book For Anyone Who Wants To Be Successful In The Horse Business

FROM: Equestrian Mag

BY: Release

What are the Ten Commandments of Marketing & Promoting Your Horse Business?

According to Laurie A. Cerny, author of a Horsin’ Around The USA Guide to Marketing & Promoting Your Horse Business, the ten commandments begin with knowing your customer and end with effectively working with the media.

The book is timely for owners of horse businesses who are struggling in the current tough economic climate. “Consumers, including horses owners, are looking locally to make their purchases of both products and services,” Cerny said. “Knowing how to market and to promote what you have to offer is crucial to getting their business.”

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Michigan State Expo to Give Horse Hay Buying Guidance

FROM: Press Release

Like nearly everything else, the cost of horse hay is increasing. Buyers who want to purchase a quality product and sellers who want to provide a marketable commodity can attend an educational seminar during Michigan State University’s Ag Expo, July 15 from 2 to 3 p.m.

The seminar will be presented by MSU Extension specialist Karen Waite in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources tent.

“We’ll be talking about different types of hay that horse owners might want to consider feeding and ways to plan and make hay purchasing decisions, since it will likely be in short supply again this year,” Waite said. “We’ll also have information for people who want to make hay and sell it to horse people.”

Waite will provide information to both buyers and sellers of horse hay so that they may make informed decisions in their purchases and planting and management.

For more information about Ag Expo, call 800/366-7055 or visit AgExpo.msu.edu.

Two Horses Hit by Truck after Escape from Track

FROM: The Blood Horse

BY: Staff

Two horses that escaped from the backside of River Downs Racetrack were struck and killed by a truck in the early morning hours of June 26, according to John Englehardt, director of publicity at the Cincinnati, Ohio-area oval.

According to Englehardt, the two horses, 5-year-old Eddie McGrath and 3-year-old Arrowhead Harry, were reportedly fighting outside the barn of trainer Israel Sostre, who trained Eddie McGrath, around 2:30 a.m.

Sostre, who was at the barn and witnessed the scuffle, spooked the horses when he went outside his barn to investigate. The horses ran toward a 10-foot opening near a guard shack that led directly to Kellogg Avenue.

It is not known why the two horses were out of their stalls at that time.

Eddie McGrath was owned by El Coqui Racing Stable. The unraced Arrowhead trained by Leroy Simon.

The name of the driver of the pickup truck was unavailable, but he did reportedly receive minor injuries.

Ron Mitchell contributed to this story.

Runaway Illinois Horse Killed by Vehicle

FROM/BY: Associated Press

Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff’s police say a horse was killed when it ran into traffic in unincorporated Palos Township.

Sheriff’s police spokesman Bill Cunningham says the horse was on a riding trail near the Swallow Cliff Woods on Saturday afternoon when it bucked off a 42-year-old woman and ran away. The horse ran onto two-lane Illinois Highway 83 just west of La Grange Road, where it was struck and killed by a vehicle.

Cunningham says the woman who was bucked off wasn’t injured, and neither were the passengers in the vehicle which struck the horse.

Upcoming Webinar: How to Keep Your Horse Healthy

FROM: The Horse

Is vaccinating your horse your only means of disease prevention? While vaccination is important, you’re only scratching the surface of what you can do to keep your horse healthy and prevent disease spread on your farm.

Join TheHorse.com and Dr. Josie Traub-Dargatz on July 8 at 8 p.m. EDT for a one-hour video presentation and live question and answer session on how to prevent disease in your horse.

During this one-hour Webinar sponsored by Intervet, Traub-Dargatz will share with you steps you can take to help keep your horses healthy and suggestions on how to implement an effective infection control strategy for your farm. She’ll take you to facilities and point out disease prevention features that can safeguard your horses. Topics she’ll cover include how to limit resident horse contact with newly arriving and neighboring horses, how to detect disease in the early stages, and steps you can take on a daily basis to limit the spread of disease.

Sign up now to participate in this Webinar on July 8 at 8 p.m. EDT! It’s free, it’s easy, and your horse will be healthier because of it. You can also submit questions now that you would like Traub-Dargatz to answer during the live question and answer session.

Sign up now to attend the Keeping Your Horses Healthy Webinar and submit your questions to THWebinars@TheHorse.com for the interactive question and answer session on July 8. To make sure you don’t miss a minute of this exciting presentation, you will receive e-mail reminders about the Webinar 24 hours and one hour prior to the start of the program.

Don’t forget to check out the upcoming and archived Webinars on TheHorse.com.

About the Presenter

Josie Traub-Dargatz, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, is a professor of equine medicine at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and she is the commodity specialist for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services.

Castration Technique Could Reduce Complications

FROM: The Horse

BY: Christa Lesté-Lasserre

A new sterilization technique that leaves a stallion’s testicles in place but nonfunctioning might provide a safe, simple, and reliable alternative to traditional castration methods, according to Iranian researchers.

In the “Section-Ligation-Release” (SLR) procedure, a horse’s testicles are not extracted as in standard castration techniques. Instead, the two spermatic cords, which provide blood and nerve supply to the testicles, are clamped, severed, and sealed via a 2-inch incision on each side of the scrotum. Within two months, the intact testicles degenerate, and testosterone falls to levels similar to those of traditionally castrated geldings, according to the researchers, whose study is scheduled for publication in a forthcoming issue of Reproduction in Domestic Animals.

“It’s just two small incisions followed by a few minutes of manipulation on the spermatic cords, and then you close up the wounds and it’s done,” said study author Siamak Saifzadeh, DVM, PhD, associate professor of veterinary surgery at Urmia University in Urmia, Iran. “It’s so easy,” he said–both for the horse and the horse’s caretakers, as SLR requires less postoperative care than traditional castration.

The technique requires less postoperative care than traditional castration.
The new technique reduces the risk of postoperative bleeding and severe swelling at the incision sites or in the prepuce, which are common complications of standard castrations, Saifzadeh said. Risks of parasite and bacterial infections are also reduced in the SLR technique, he said.

The oxygen-deprived testicles gradually shrink and become a mass of benign fibrous tissue, whereas the surrounding tissues remain healthy and well-supplied with blood and nerves, Saifzadeh said. None of the five study stallions, aged 2 to 4 years, presented evidence of spermatic cord reattachment in the months following the procedure, according to the article.

The aesthetic benefits of SLR are not to be overlooked, Saifzadeh said, as the geldings have a more natural appearance with only slight scarring.

However, he noted that in order to distinguish SLR geldings from stallions, especially in the event of the sale of a horse, the castration must be noted in the horse’s health records and identification documents.

Although the procedure is faster and less invasive than a standard castration, Saifzadeh said, SLR should nonetheless always be performed under general anesthesia for the safety of both the horse and the veterinarian.