Winter is here or just on the horizon. For the owners of horses 15 and up, this means bracing for some of the challenges which may hinder older equines. Preparing horses for the cold is important, especially as they progress in age.

Winter is on the horizon, which means it’s time to talk muddy fields.

In this episode Dr. Emma Adam of the University of Kentucky describes the research that identified a novel strain of rotavirus in foal diarrhea cases this year.

In the midst of utter destruction caused by the Dec. 11 tornado outbreak, University of Kentucky employees continue to press on, offering help where and when their fellow Kentuckians need it the most.

Four esteemed faculty members within the University of Kentucky’s Department of Veterinary Science will soon hang up their lab coats in retirement over the next few months, closing chapters in each of their professional lives that have been marked by indelible research and service impacts to the equine industry.

Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) is a non-systemic, venereal disease of equines that causes short-term infertility in mares and rare abortion. The etiological agent is Taylorella equigenitalis, a fastidious, microaerophilic, Gram-negative coccobacillus. CEM was first recognized in the US when it was found in Thoroughbred stallions and mares in Kentucky in 1978.

Horse farm managers with broodmares should carefully consider how recent weather conditions might affect tall fescue in pastures, potentially contributing to tall fescue toxicosis in early foaling mares.

The number of wild horses and burros free roaming on western rangelands in the United States continues to greatly exceed the appropriate management level established by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In a 2019 statement, the acting head of the BLM indicated that private adoptions of wild horses and burros would be a key focus in regulating the population.

The UK Ag Equine Programs’ 2022 calendar will be available from county extension agents in Kentucky around the beginning of the year. Developed by the UK Ag Equine Extension Agent Working Group, the 12-month planning calendar is full of timely tips and resources for horse owners and horse farm managers. There is no charge for the calendars, but offices have a limited supply that are distributed on a first-requested, first-provided basis.

Dec. 1 marks the start of meteorological winter, and that brings about the number one question to meteorologists everywhere: What will winter be like this year?

In a Dec. 22 bulletin, a timeframe past the mid-point of the 2021-2022 equine reproductive cycle, the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory provided an update on confirmed leptospiral abortions submitted to the UKVDL by Kentucky horse farms.

At the recent Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD), Alisa Herbst, PhD, a graduate student who recently successfully completed her doctorate in the laboratory of Amanda Adams, PhD, MARS Equestrian Fellow and associate professor at the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center, won first place in the best poster presentation competition.

Gloria Gellin, who recently completed her PhD under Craig Carter, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVPM, Director of the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, had a unique journey.

Hossam El-Sheikh Ali, BVc, DVM, MVSc, a visiting scholar in the laboratory of Barry Ball, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, Albert G Clay Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction at Gluck Equine Research Center, and a faculty member in Mansoura University, Egypt, continues to investigate equine placentitis with special focus on ascending and nocardioform placentitis.

The results of a team effort between researchers from the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center and the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine were recently published in the prestigious journal Frontiers in Immunology. The study uncovers mechanisms that drive the resolution of the inflammatory process within equine joints.