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I came across this information while reading my US Rider online magazine this month. Check out this new video, Preventing Infection in Horses Attending Shows and Traveling. Colorado State University equine experts outline low-cost precautions for travelers with horses. Some great tips and information! Linda P

Thought you all would find this of interest… An important reminder to carry your brand papers with you whenever you haul your horse(s), or have the papers with you in a friends trailer. Just last week I was stopped on the Red Feather Lakes Road by a brand inspector. I was just a half mile from my house. His name was Lyle Horn and very nice and informative. I had the permanent brand paper for my horse, but my neighbor who had just finished a ride with me and whose horse was in my trailer,  did not have them with her—her brand papers were at her house in a file. Lyle said he is flexible and followed us to her house so she could produce her papers. I asked questions about consequences: So if you do not have the papers, you get a ticket which means a mandatory court appearance, plus a fine between $200 and $1,000. I asked who decides the amount of the fine, he said the judge, and if a person brings the correct papers to court the judge will probably just charge you the court costs plus $130. Yikes. He said the regular brand costs $18 and is good for hauling 75 miles from your horse’s home. A permanent brand costs $39 and is good anywhere in Colorado. Lyle said the costs are going up in January— probably doubling. So if you are considering getting a permanent brand—do it before then. He also said they are going to be more active in

I found this information published by Horse & Rider interesting, I hope you do too! Keep in mind that the more vigorously you perform these exercises, the more you’ll maximize the calorie burning* benefits. Vigorously curry your horse, using a circular arm motion Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 68 Vigorously brush your horse (Tip: alternate arms) Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned:46 Walk a 10-foot circle, as you lunge your horse Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned:79 Briskly hand-walk your horse (Tip: add wrist or ankle weights for increased calorie-burning and aerobic benefits) Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned:91 Muck/rebed stall Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 159 Push 50-pound load in wheelbarrow Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 63 Ride at the walk Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 57 Ride at the trot (Tip: Posting at a medium trot will burn more calories than sitting at a jog) Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 74 Ride at the lope Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 93 Sweep/rake (Tip: For a great waist trimmer, twist your upper body with each stroke, rather than using only your arms. When sweeping with a push broom, slightly bend your knees, to push off with your legs into each stroke.) Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 91 Unload/stack 100-pound hay bales (Tip: Protect your back by bending at the knees, and using your legs to lift the load. Consider a back support brace when lifting heavy loads) Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 249 Unload/stack 50-pound straw bales

Edited press release published on Horse.com A Boulder County premises is under quarantine after equine Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) was confirmed there, and a number of other premises in the surrounding area are being investigated. Last week, four horses on two Weld County premises were placed under quarantine after testing positive for VS. Colorado is the second state in the country to have VS; previous positive cases in 2014 have been diagnosed in Texas. “Strict fly control is an important factor to inhibit the transmission of VS,” said Colorado State Veterinarian Keith Roehr, DVM. “One of the most important disease prevention practices … is insect control for both the premises and the individual animals.” Equids, mules, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, pigs, and camelids are all susceptible to VS. The clinical signs of the disease include vesicles, erosions, and sloughing of the skin on the muzzle, tongue, teats, and above the hooves of affected livestock. Vesicles are usually only seen early in the course of the disease. The transmission of VS is not completely understood but components include insect vectors, mechanical transmission, and livestock movement. While rare, human cases of VS can occur, usually among those who handle infected animals. In humans the disease can cause flu-like symptoms and only rarely includes lesions or blisters. Veterinarians and livestock owners who suspect an animal could have VS or any other vesicular disease should immediately contact state or federal animal health authorities. Livestock with clinical signs of VS are isolated until they are healed and determined to be of no

By MEAD GRUVER, Associated Press June 30, 2014 CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A horse in Johnson County has been euthanized after testing positive for an incurable and potentially deadly virus that appears only rarely in Wyoming, officials said Monday. Five other horses were being quarantined for 60 days. So far, those horses have tested negative for equine infectious anemia but will be retested, Wyoming Livestock Board officials said. The virus can infect horses, mules and donkeys, causing them to become weak and lethargic. Such infections happen worldwide but only isolated cases have occurred in Wyoming every two or three years, Wyoming State Veterinarian Jim Logan said. The virus typically is transmitted by biting horse flies or deer flies. No vaccine exists. “In the South — in other areas where it’s humid and more conducive to the vectors — it’s much more common to see it,” Logan said. Livestock officials declined to identify the owners of the euthanized or quarantined horses. Veterinarians initially diagnosed the disease on June 18. They conducted follow-up testing to confirm the virus before they euthanized the horse Wednesday, Logan said. State laws require horses to be tested for diseases including equine infectious anemia before being shipped across state lines. The euthanized horse had lived in Wyoming for several years and likely was tested in anticipation of a move, Logan said. The horse wasn’t showing signs of the disease. However, a horse can carry the virus for years without symptoms or it can become acutely or chronically infected. Three of the quarantined horses belonged

I  like to feed beet pulp, and recently some friends have been asking me about it. Here is a recently published article I would like to share. – Linda P Beet Pulp FAQ’s By Alexandra Beckstett, The Horse Managing Editor You hear about owners feeding it to their underweight or aging horses. You see fellow boarders at the barn scooping it into buckets for soaking. But what is this stuff, and does your horse need it? Beet pulp, a byproduct of the sugar beet industry, has long been a part of equine feed regimens, but that doesn’t mean owners don’t have questions about it. So we’ve compiled your most common inquiries and called on Kelly Vineyard, MS, PhD, research equine nutritionist at Purina Animal Nutrition, and Kristen M. Janicki, MS, PAS, an equine nutritionist based in Versailles, Ky., to provide some answers. 1. What does beet pulp do for a horse? Beet pulp is a low-cost, highly digestible form of fiber (greater than or equal to that of most hays) that offers many nutritional benefits for horses. The microbes in the horse’s hindgut can easily ferment and use it for energy production, Vineyard says. “(Beet pulp’s) energy value is higher than that of alfalfa pellets and is close to rivaling oats’ value,” Janicki says. “Therefore, it is a great source of fiber for hindgut health and calories for added body condition or fuel for performance.” Vineyard says the fiber in beet pulp also absorbs and holds water well, making soaked beet pulp an efficient way to

Information sourced from an article published by Steve Fransen and Ned Zaugg, Washington State University The recent flooding in Boulder County requires close monitoring of stored hay for signs of spontaneous combustion. Dry hay (stored at 15 percent moisture or less) is safe for long-term storage. However, if the hay has become wet the quality has been permanently changed and there is an increased potential of a fire hazard from spontaneous combustion. As microbial  organisms grow in wet hay they produce heat while drying out the surrounding surfaces of the hay for energy. More drying surfaces produces more microbial growth and different types of microbes live and die as the internal bale temperature climbs. When the bale temperature reaches about 150 Fº the hay is on a one-way street and going the wrong direction! The larger the haystack and the more densely packed the hay is the longer it may take to show signs of internal bale burning. Internal bale temperature may take several weeks before reaching 150 Fº, but from this point on more heat resistant bacteria start a process of chemical change that rapidly increases temperatures to the point of spontaneous combustion.Chemical reactions and microbial growth in hay occur because of the change in availability of moisture, oxygen, and pressure to create heat to the point of ignition and fire. Early warning signs are: Steam rising from bale surfaces and condensing on the roof and eves of the barn. Often molds will start to grow on all these surfaces too. An acrid, hot, tobacco

By Kay Coyte Published July 22, 2013 Washington Post This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, the day an agreement was signed to end the fighting in the peninsula now divided into North and South Korea. On Saturday, men and women who fought in Korea will be honored in Washington. But the day before, another kind of leatherneck (a nickname for a Marine) will be honored: a little red horse. Her name was Sergeant Reckless, and the Marines “drafted” her to pack ammunition to the battlefield and carry the wounded back to safety. But here’s the thing: She did it on her own. She kept climbing those jagged hills even after she was wounded. The soldiers came to love her so much that they brought her home from Korea after the war to live at Camp Pendleton in California. On Friday, “Operation Reckless” at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico will feature the unveiling of a life-size statue of Sergeant Reckless, a real war horse. “She was one of them, and that’s why they’re honoring her,” said Robin Hutton, of Ventura, California, who has written a book on the mare to be published this year. “She wasn’t a horse; she was a Marine.” You might think that Sergeant Reckless was the inspiration for last year’s movie “War Horse.” But that was based on a children’s fiction book about an English farm horse on the front lines of World War I. The story of Sergeant Reckless is just as epic, and all true. Lieutenant Colonel

Be sure to get a Brand Inspection From the Colorado Horse Council Contact Newsletter This time of year sends many Coloradans outside to enjoy our warm days and cool evenings; horseback riding is often a favorite summer activity and the Colorado Department of Agriculture reminds horse owners that state statutes require a “brand” inspection if they plan on buying, selling or transporting horses. Horse owners may purchase permanent horse travel permits for horses that are shipped frequently more than 75 miles within Colorado or across state lines. This can be a great financial savings since the permit is good for travel purposes for as long as the applicant owns the horse. “The Department typically sees an increase in the number of horses being bought and sold this time of year,” said CDA’s Brand Commissioner, Chris Whitney. “There has also been an increase in the number of horses in urban communities and folks need to remember to contact us for a transfer of ownership inspection.” In 2012, approximately 4,400 permanent horse travel cards were issued and 36,300 brand inspections were performed for horse sales statewide. Inspections include identifying the animal and certifying that the shipper or seller is the legal owner prior to issuing a certificate. The Division of Brand Inspection’s primary responsibility is to protect the livestock industry from loss by theft, illegal butchering, or straying of livestock. The division is assigned five principal regulatory responsibilities: Record and administer livestock brands Inspect livestock and verify ownership before sale, transportation beyond 75 miles, transportation out of state, or slaughter.