When showing competitively, horse owners want their horses to feel and work at their very best for every practice and show. For horses that may battle equine pain and inflammation, many horse owners turn to their veterinarians for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, each NSAID carries with it safety risks, making them extremely dangerous when used simultaneously.

Are you worried about resistance to your current dewormer? Are you concerned that your parasite control program isn’t working as well as it used to? With questions like these, it can pay to incorporate fecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) into your deworming program this fall.

Horse shows can be a stressful endeavor. However, exhibitors aren’t the only ones who deal with the pressure of competition. Whether horses travel the country attending shows week after week or are out once a year to win a ribbon at the county show, they can feel the stress of competition, too.

Before you hit the show circuit this season, be sure to do your part to keep horses, other animals and competitors safe by including a rabies vaccination at your pre-event health exam. Vaccinations can do more than just help horses — they can help protect horse owners from disease, too.

With summer just around the corner, now is the time to vaccinate horses against Potomac horse fever (PHF).

“Horse owners need to be aware of the disease and its seasonality,” says Dr. Julia Wilson, DVM, associate professor, large animal medicine, University of Minnesota.

The AQHA Executive Committee met Wednesday, April 22 at its Amarillo, Texas headquarters. A hearing was called to determine whether or not the Executive Committee would pursue further action after upholding the recommendation made by the Professional Horsemen's Council to remove Cleve Wells from the Professional Horsemen Association. After a six hour hearing and deliberation, the Executive Committee’s decision was to suspend Wells for one year plus pay a $10,000 fine. At the end of the one year suspension, Wells must show cause for reinstatement. If cause is shown and he is reinstated, Wells will be placed on indefinite probation.

For the first time ever, horse owners are able to access their Coggins certificates online. MyVetLink.com is a website geared toward the horse owner, allowing them to print off their own digital Coggins certificates. The launch of GlobalVetLink’s secure, electronic signatures, made it possible to allow owners to create an account for retrieving their Coggins certificates and soon, their health certificates online. The system is win-win for both the owners and veterinarians. The horse owners now have their Coggins certificates at their fingertips, while it saves the veterinarians time, paper, ink and postage.

Cleve Wells appeared in front of the Professional Horsemen's Council on February 17 in Amarillo, Texas with regard to the recent allegations against Wells involving the abuse of Slow Lopin Scotch.

According to Kelly Proffitt, the Senior Manager of Professional Horsemen, AQHA's official statement regarding the matter is as follows...

In light of recent allegations brought against Cleve Wells for horse abuse, many questions have come up regarding the process in which AQHA handles such situations. Wells has been requested to appear in Amarillo, Texas, before the AQHA Professional Horsemen's Council on February 17th concerning the allegations related to Slow Lopin Scotch.

But what exactly does that mean? How does the AQHA investigate these types of situations? And what processes are involved when this or any other type of alleged rule violation occurs? AQHA’s Public Policy department took some time to address these questions and more in this GoHorseShow.com exclusive.