Three EIA-Positives Found in Indiana; Horse Owners Advised to Test Animals Regularly

Horse owners should watch horses, mules, donkeys and other equids closely for any unusual disease symptoms, in light of a cluster of recent positive cases of equine infectious anemia (EIA).

According to Dr. Tim Bartlett, a veterinarian and director of Equine for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, three horses on a south-central Indiana farm have tested positive for the disease in the last few weeks.

State and federal veterinarians have been working with the owner to identify the source of infection and determine if any other animals are at risk. All three positives have been euthanized; two herd mates have tested negative and remain under quarantine until further testing is complete.

EIA, also known as swamp fever, mountain fever or malarial fever, is an untreatable and incurable viral disease that infects horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and other equine. An estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of infected equine die within two weeks to four weeks of the onset of EIA.

Depending on an individual horse's immune system and the severity of its reaction, EIA symptoms can range from virtually none at all (except a positive blood test) to weakness, weight loss and swelling to fever, rejection of feed and sudden death. A blood test (often called Coggins' test), conducted by a veterinarian, can detect the infection. However, equine owners should remember that test results can produce a false negative up to 42 days after exposure to the disease, before a detectable level of antibodies develops.

What can horse owners do to prevent EIA? Dr. Bartlett explains the disease is spread via blood-to-blood transmission, not close proximity or casual contact. "Blood transfusions, unsterilized or contaminated needles and medical instruments can transmit the virus," he says. "But horse owners should be most concerned about biting insects--especially horseflies-which can spread the disease.

"Research shows that as few as three horseflies can carry enough virus from one animal to another to cause an infection. That's why pest control is critical to the control of this disease," adds Dr. Bartlett.

He also advises equine owners to minimize the chances of EIA entering their herds through newly purchased animals. "All equine should be tested for EIA before being brought onto a farm," Dr. Bartlett says. "Then, the animal should be isolated and observed for 45 days to 60 days, then retested before it is introduced to the herd."

State law requires all equine entering Indiana have a health certificate indicating a negative EIA test within the previous 12 months. Suckling foals, accompanied by an EIA-negative dam, are exempt from testing.

Once a horse (or other equine) tests positive for the disease, the animal must be permanently identified with "32A" freeze-branded on the left side of the neck to comply with state law. Permanent identification is designed to protect Indiana's healthy equine population, by eliminating confusion about health status.

The owner then has two options for handling the horse:

1. Permanently quarantine the animal to the owner's premises, at least 200 yards from the nearest equine; or

2. Euthanasia (at the owner's expense) after notifying the State Veterinarian. All other animals in the herd
must also be tested for EIA.

Anyone wanting more information about EIA may contact his/her local veterinarian. Information about EIA is available online at the Indiana State Board of Animal Health .

(Press release provided by US Eventing Association)

Colorado State Equine Vet Experiences Tornado’s Effect on His Own Horses

Last week, a tornado ripped through Windsor, Colorado, not far from the campus of Colorado State University and the vet school’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. As you mght expect, the hospital staff was busy with trauma cases for the next few days.

But one of the vets there would have stories to tell of his own horses and how a tornado can threaten your equine friends.

Dr. Bruce Connally, a veterinarian on the hospital's Equine Field Service, hit the road and treated five horses in the Windsor area who were injured in the tornado -- three client horses and, yes, two of his own.

Most of the horses injured in the tornado suffered from multiple lacerations caused by flying debris. These are intensive injuries with considerable trauma for the patients and grave concern for the owner. But Connally’s worries would be magnified by the danger to his own animals.

While treating a client's horse in Windsor with the help of senior veterinary students, Connally received word that his own property in Wellington, Colorado was damaged and three of his seven horses could not be found. The tornado had lifted one of his foals right out of the corral, and deposited him unharmed on a nearby county road. By the time the vet arrived arrived at his home, his neighbors had found all of his horses and returned them safely to him. Other than minor lacerations and bruising, all were fine.

"The most amazing thing about the experience has been how the community has pulled together," Connally, also a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said. "I've seen neighbors reaching out to neighbors and that's one of the only ways to survive this kind of event. I certainly appreciated my neighbors helping out with my animals while I was treating others."

Say It Isn't So: "Teddy", America's Favorite Sport Horse and Top Olympic Prospect, Has Died

There's a hush this afternoon. A hush throughout the horse world. It's an emptier, less interesting horse world from this moment.

I have just received word from Joanie Morris at the US Equestrian Federation that Karen O'Connor's darling of a sport pony, Theodore O'Connor, died today as a result of an accident at home in The Plains, Virginia.

"Teddy" was the USA's top hopeful for a gold medal in Hong Kong at this summer's Olympics. But more than that, he was a crowd favorite and brought interest to the sport of eventing at a time when most stories about the sport are dark and depressing.

The 13-year-old eventing super pony defied odds and gravity throughout his career. Standing only 14.1 hands, the Shetland/Arabian/Thoroughbred cross gelding was the reigning Team and Individual Gold Medalist from the 2007 Pan American Games and had top six finishes at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2007 and 2008. He was the 2007 USEF/Farnam Horse of the Year and recently had been named to the USEF Short List for Eventing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Ridden by three-time Olympic veteran Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif O’Connor, ‘Teddy’ made friends and picked up fans everywhere he went. Seeing was believing with Teddy as it seemed impossible to imagine that a pony of his size could do his job with such tremendous ease.

Thoughts and prayers are with Karen and David, Teddy’s groom Max Corcoran, all of his owners in the Theodore O’Connor Syndicate and everyone associated with this remarkable pony. And that's most of us.

To send thoughts to Teddy’s connections please email: Teddy@usef.org. The USEF will make sure your email gets to the intended recipients.

Just two weeks ago, Team O'Connor lost Tigger Too, another top international horse, when he fell on cross-country at an event in New Jersey.

Links to previous stories on THE JURGA REPORT about Teddy:

Teddy Wins Horse of the Year

Teddy Excels to Gold Medal Stature at 2007 Pan Am Games

Teddy's Precious Performance at 2007 Rolex

Teddy's Star-Status Popularity at 2007 Rolex

The Pony From Ipanema: Teddy Bound for Rio de Janeiro!

Are You My Mother? Surrogatehood Surges in Sport Horse Scene

Lucinda Fredericks (human on right) hopes to ride her mare Headley Britannica (center) in the Olympics this summer. The other two mares, Bear and Pippa, will be carrying the star event horse's foals, sired by French show jumper Jaguar Mail.

It was a wry chuckle heard round the horse world: On April 1, the venerable British horse sports weekly Horse and Hound stuck its tongue in its veddy Briddish cheek and announced that an exclusive new four-star three-day event would be held in England. What's the hitch? All entrants must prove that record-setting Badminton and Burghley winner Headley Britannica is their mother. April Fool!

Or was it?

In reality, both Headley Britannica and her semen-provider-by-courier, the top French show-jumping stallion Jaguar Mail, could both be competing in Hong Kong at the Olympics this summer, while their offspring are in utero back home in England, thanks to receiver mares. Their first foal was born to the surrogate dam this spring and is already being syndicated by Headley Brittanica's owner, Australian team rider Lucinda Fredericks.

One can joke about the popularity of embryo transfer in performance horses, but the reality is that more and more owners of valuable mares--regardless of age--are opting to use their horses as cash cows while the market is strong for sport or performance horses of fashionable bloodlines.

Embryo transfer calls for the breeding of the mare, usually by artificial insemination, when she comes into her normal cycle. The developing embryo is then flushed from her uterus and implanted in a receiver or "surrogate" mare whose cycle coincides with the genetic mother's. The surrogate is often a less valuable horse who might not normally be reproducing. The genetic mother mare is back in training within a few weeks of the breeding and never suffers any of the risks or hardships of pregnancy or motherhood.

Embryo transfer can be done any number of times and there seems to be no limit to the embryos a mare can produce (hence the jokes about Headley Britannica), other than that only one embryo per cycle can be harvested.

The new technology means that mare owners can potentially receive some financial rewards from the mare, just as performance stallion owners harvest semen during a break from showing.

Embryo transfer in the USA took off in Texas and Oklahoma about ten years ago with the reining and cutting horse mares and now owners of show jumpers and dressage mares are lining up for the breeding stocks. Palm Beach Equine Clinic in Wellington, Florida recently acquired a reproduction-specialty facility in Aiken, South Carolina where 90 receiver mares are stabled and undergo the inbound transfer. The embryos travel by Federal Express from Wellington.

Mare owners can breed a young mare a couple of times a year, with potential for more than 15 years of multiple offspring without losing performance time. Mares as young as two may be bred.

There are ethical concerns, of course. In this age of unwanted horses and uncertain finances, do we really need to mushroom the foal crop of warmbloods? Should the ethical decision of "to breed or not to breed" be based on the perceived monetary value of a horse? Is it ok to keep flushing embryos out of an unsound mare if the owner happens to be able to acquire some semen from a fashionable European sire? Are mare owners shrinking the gene pool?

Many mares in training have been on hormones or Regumate-type steroid compounds to control their cycles, and now the trend is to revert to encouraging cycling again, when and if it is convenient, of course.

Many people opted out of breeding this year because they have believed the information fed to them that there is an over-population of horses in this country. Many people are opting for expensive surgery and special shoes and rehab programs for injured horses rather than engaging in the "throw away" economy of horse ownership in which trainers pressure owners to always have a number of horses in training for different divisions or of different ages.

There are no regulations on embryo transfer. If you think your mare is wonderful, and you can afford it, you can keep breeding her and keep flushing her, regardless of whether there is a potential market for her offspring.

The potential benefits of embryo transfer are huge for mares with good breeding value who should not or cannot task the risks of pregnancy or motherhood, particularly mares with laminitis, for whom full-term pregnancy can be painful or life-threatening.

Perhaps mare owners should go through ethical counseling before they make the decision to cash out their mares. Are they simply maximizing a cash investment or are they consciously breeding for the future of the American horse industry?

A demand has been created on the producer side and the veterinary profession is happy to oblige. Whether the demand exists on the buyer end of things remains to be seen. It's a matter of dollars and sense.

To learn more: Read an article in today's Palm Beach Post about the new embryo transfer services offered at Palm Beach Equine Clinic. The article includes a very good explanation of the process and how Palm Beach Equine is managing this new service.

Sport horse mares are better investments than ever, thanks to breeding technology. Palm Beach Post photo.

AVMA Sets Policy Against Double-Decker Trailers for Horses

One of the most disturbing aspects of horses hauled to slaughter (or anywhere) is the idea of cramming dozens of them into double-decker "trailers". Last summer's wreck of a tractor trailer hauling more than 60 draft horses bought at an auction is still fresh in many memories. That's right: 60 big horses in one trailer.

Many slaughter opponents have felt that an easier route to end slaughter would simply be to have a national law governing horse transport conditions. And give that law the funding needed to enforce it. Currently, some states have laws against double-decker trailers for horses, but in many states, haulers simply use secondary roads and avoid interstate highway weigh stations.

As you all know, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), is against banning slaughter, and that has been a serious issue for many in the animal world, including member veterinarians.

Last week, the AVMA reinforced its opposition to the use of double-deck trailers to transport horses and other equines by approving a new policy on the Humane Transport of Equines.

The policy, proposed by the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee and approved by the Executive Board on April 12, 2008, states that due to animal welfare and safety concerns, the AVMA opposes the use of double-deck trailers to transport equines. The AVMA previously has supported U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations prohibiting the use of such trailers for transport of horses and other equines to slaughter, and submitted written comments to the USDA on this issue earlier this year.

However, here's the good news: the new AVMA policy is more far reaching, extending opposition to the transport of equines for other purposes.

"Creating this policy simply formalizes recommendations made by the AVMA during the past 10 to 15 years as the Association has engaged in discussions and responded to regulatory proposals regarding transport of horses and other equines," explained Dr. Gail Golab, director of the AVMA Animal Welfare Division. "The scope was broadened because the AVMA believes that humane methods of transport should apply regardless of the destination of the animals."

Earlier this year, the AVMA submitted written comments to the USDA in support of an amendment to existing regulations that would extend protections afforded to equines bound for slaughter to those delivered first to an assembly point, feedlot, or stockyard. In its response, the AVMA cited data within the scientific literature suggesting that equines suffer 3.5 times more lacerations and abrasions in double-deck trailers compared to straight-deck trailers.

The new Humane Transport of Equines policy also provides some guidelines on assessing the appropriateness of trailers for equine transport. Pertinent considerations include: affording sufficient headroom so that horses and other equines can stand with their heads extended to their fullest normal postural height, providing appropriate ventilation, ensuring there are no protrusions in the trailer that might cause injury, confirming that doors and ramps are of sufficient size to allow safe loading and unloading, ensuring that horses and other equines have appropriate footing and enough space to redistribute their weight as needed should the trailer shift during transport, and allowing for the segregation of stallions and other aggressive equines.

The complete policy may be accessed at www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/equine_transport.asp.

The Bad News Keeps Coming: Top Australian Event Horse Dies on X-C in France

Australian eventer Clayton Fredericks competed this weekend at the Saumur*** three day event in France and will return to his training center in Britain without one of his top horses.

The stunning Nullabor went down on cross-country yesterday and, according to the few reports available, broke his neck. The fall and the death of the horse were apparently shown on the streaming live video of event on the web site.

Fredericks and his wife Lucinda are two shoo-ins to make the Australian eventing team to compete in Hong Kong at the 2008 Olympics. He won the Rolex**** event in Kentucky last year, while Lucinda won Badminton.

Bred in Ireland, Nullabor is listed as an 11-year-old TB x Irish Sport Horse. Fredericks and Nullabor were in the lead after dressage.

Lucinda retired her horse, Mr. Alligator, on cross-country at Saumur. Sam Griffiths of Australia was the winner. Mark Todd of New Zealand, who is trying to qualify for the Kiwi team for Hong Kong, also competed, and presumably is alive and well, along with his horse Gandalf.

The official message from the organizing committee: "During the cross-country test at the Saumur CCI***, the horse Nullabor, ridden by Clayton Fredericks, unfortunately died due to a fall on the flat at 3 pm. The organizing committee has extended all its sympathies to the rider and the owner."

Lawyers on Course: Dead Event Rider's Parents Sue the Sport

Mia Eriksson was 17 when she died in a fall while competing at the Galway Downs Three Day Event in Temecula, California in 2006. On May 6, her parents filed a lawsuit in California charging negligence on the part of USEF, her trainer, and others involved in the sport, according to an article in this morning's New York Times.

The lawsuit charges, according to the Times, that the event made the cross-country course more difficult in order to thrill spectators.

I think that the Eriksson case is compelling because Mia's sister was also killed in an equestrian-related accident.

To view a web site devoted to the issues of eventing safety; click here to read about some of the comments and collected stories that have been compiled to date.

Meanwhile, a quick check of YouTube brought up 29 videos of eventing "falls" set to rock / rap music.

Image from the Mia Eriksson memorial page on the Galway Downs web site.

No One Ever Expects a Forest Fire: What's Your Plan?

I noticed today as I was driving that the undergrowth is filling in the landscape around here. The trees are leaved out, and the “brush” understory is now making it more difficult to see as far as I could a few weeks ago. Spring is making progress…or is it?

Along with the joy of spring weather after winter comes the heat of summer. And heat means danger of fire.

We hear a lot about grass management in pastures, but not much about managing trees and bushes. We all believe that a pasture for horses should have shade from the sun, but what if that big lone tree is also a lightning magnet? And what if that brushy scrubby line that gives your pasture privacy from the road also becomes a tinder line for a forest fire?

Every year, it’s a good idea to re-evaluate your property and run through some “what if” scenarios. One of the most important is where and how you park your truck and trailer, and what you have in it. Whether you need to evacuate from a fire or get a colic-stricken horse to the vet in the middle of the night, your trailer is your most important tool. But if you can’t see to hook it up after dark, or it is blocked in by farm equipment or cavaletti, you need to think of a new plan.

All horse owners would benefit from learning more about forest fires and how they work. Today the University of California at Davis published a guide to forest fire information from key members of the University’s faculty, and it has great information and also links to other documents about fires.

Among the experts consulted was Dr. John Madigan, a UC Davis authority on equine and emergency veterinary medicine. He urges horse owners to first clear brush at least 30 feet from barns and corrals. (That's Dr. Madigan in the photo.)

Among other tips from Dr. Madigan:
Trucks and trailers should be kept nearby and operational in case animals need to be evacuated, and an alternate exit by foot should be mapped out in case roads are blocked by fire.

Stalls and doors should be closed after evacuation to prevent fire-panicked horses from running back inside.

A community-based emergency evacuation plan for horses is essential. Horse owner groups should work with local animal control and fire departments to develop a plan and a list of horse hauling resources and sites to take horses to safety rapidly. A practice drill should be conducted early in the fire season.

A veterinarian should examine any horse burned or exposed to heavy smoke, and owners should not apply any topical treatments to burns.

Photographs and written descriptions of all horses should be kept in a bank safe-deposit box to help identify animals that become lost or separated during a fire.

Dr. Madigan didn’t mention it, but I’m sure that barn aisle clutter is something that those of us in the real world are acutely aware of, while people who dwell in clinics and breeding farms are not. All those tack trunks, blanket hangers and “stuff” like wheelbarrows in the aisles makes evacuating horses in the dark (the power is sure to be out if you need to evacuate) a challenge and a danger.

Sure, you’ve heard it all before..but maybe this is the year you’ll get organized.

Now, where did I put those flashlights…

Eight Belles Necropsy Report Published

Eight Belles, originally uploaded by Banamine.

(received via press release from NTRA and KHRA on May 15, 2008)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 15, 2008) - Eight Belles, the filly who broke down after the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3, suffered compound fractures of both front legs at the fetlock joints, a necropsy report released today concluded.

The necropsy, ordered by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority (KHRA), found no pre-existing bone abnormalities, said Dr. Lafe Nichols, chief state veterinarian. The necropsy also found no disease or condition affecting the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems or other major organs.

Eight Belles was euthanized at the track shortly after suffering the catastrophic leg injuries.

The necropsy was performed at the Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center at the University of Kentucky. The results of routine post-race drug testing have not yet been received. That testing is being performed at the authority's official laboratory at Iowa State University.

At its May 19 meeting, the authority will be asked by its chairman, Robert Beck Jr., to form a work group to study health and safety issues relating to thoroughbred racing.

"Nothing is more important to the racing industry than the safety of the competitors," said Lisa Underwood, executive director of KHRA.

HBO's "Real Sports" Investigates Racehorses Sold for Slaughter Issues Tonight

"Real Sports" host Bryant Gumbel headlines HBO's sports newsmagazine format show at 10 p.m. EDT. On the schedule: an investigative segment on the fate of US racehorses in the hands of the slaughter-for-meat industry.

HBO has not disclosed many details about tonight's segment but the press release tells us that the segment is called "Hidden Horses" and describes it this way: "Few casual horse racing fans are aware that many former racing horses are slaughtered for profit. When a thoroughbred race horse reaches the end of its career or is simply no longer profitable on the track, it is often taken directly to auction and sold for meat. Because horse slaughter is no longer practiced in this country, these thoroughbreds are now being shipped by 'killer buyers' to slaughterhouses abroad, which are frequently less regulated and less humane than former U.S. slaughterhouses."

I'll be watching, how about you?

Surgery Survivor Horse Dies Competing on Cross-Country Course at New Jersey Event

In Memory of Tigger Too: 1991-2008, originally uploaded by Rock and Racehorses.

Tigger Too, owned by US Equestrian Federation President David O'Connor, died after a fall at the water jump on the cross-country course at the Jersey Fresh CCI*** at the New Jersey Horse Park yesterday. Tigger Too was ridden by Lauren Kieffer, according to the US Eventing Association. Kieffer was not injured.

USEA also reports that preliminary necropsy findings on Tigger Too, a seventeen-year-old gelding, showed that he passed away from an acute abdominal aortic rupture. Final necropsy results are pending.

From the archives: “Tigger Too was an interesting case,” Karen O'Connor said in a testimonial for the horse's successful use of the nutraceutical "Succeed". “This horse has had three colic surgeries and had much of its colon removed in the last one. All of this pressure of competition, training, shipping…it really takes its toll. Since his colic surgeries, Tigger Too has always been a poor doer. But with SUCCEED, the horse is really blossoming. He’s as big and beautiful as ever. And you can see the difference in his performance.”

David O'Connor has jumped Tigger Too without a bridle in his clinics.

The FEI investigative panel has been convened to review the facts surrounding the incident, and more information will be released once the investigation is through.

The three-day event was won by Amy Tryon.

Photo: Lauren and Tigger Too galloping off into cross-country yesterday, before the fall. Photo kindly loaned by Sarah K. Andrew, a.k.a. "Rock and Racehorses", who happened to be there and has some nice photos of Tigger Too in the last minutes of his life. Click on the link under the photo to see more photos.

Derby Debacle: Dr. McIlwraith Offers Insight on Eight Belles Catastrophy

We were all cheering for the filly coming down the stretch. We knew she couldn't--wouldn't--catch Big Brown Saturday afternoon. But this was something special. The two of them out front...the others trailing down the track.

And then came the announcement. Eight Belles was down on the track. Eight Belles fractured both front legs. Eight Belles was...dead.

I wonder how many people switched off their televisions when Big Brown crossed the line, and never saw the disaster. Lots, I hope.

I can still hear everyone in the room moaning "Nooooooooooo" in unison. What else could you say?

Well, lots of people have lots to say. From PETA to CNN to even our local newscasters here in Boston.

Whichever side of the debate you want to join in, do. But do your research first.

For starters, read this article in today's Rocky Mountain News from Colorado. It is an interview with Colorado State University's Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, director of the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University. Dr. McIlwraither offers examples of cases he has worked on with multiple-limb fractures and why there was no option to save Eight Belles.

I will list some other horse health references as I find them. For now, I think the interview with Dr. McIlwraith is one of the best resources available.

Stay tuned. Stay hopeful.

Purina Recalls Horse Feed Products in Most Eastern USA States

Welcome to our nightmare: the possibility of contamination in horse feed. That's the bad news. The good news is that so far there are no reports of any adverse effects on horses.

People have been asking about an alleged recall of Purina products for horses, and I am posting their notice, in its entirety, for all to read (please see note at end). This has been going on for some time but emails circulating through the horse community have picked up steam in the past week, so people have questions:


Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC has implemented a voluntary product retrieval of certain feeds manufactured between November 3, 2007 and February 8, 2008 at our Statesville, N.C., feed plant; between January 1, 2008 and February 8, 2008 at our Harrisburg, Penn., feed plant; and between January 1, 2008 and March 10, 2008 at our Guilderland, N.Y. plant.

This voluntary retrieval was initiated due to the possible presence of aflatoxin contamination above acceptable levels.

To date, we have received no confirmed aflatoxin-related animal health complaints involving any of the retrieved products. Nevertheless, we have taken such precautionary action as our utmost priority continues to be our customers and the well-being of their animals.

All dealers who purchased any of the retrieved products directly from Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC have been notified. These dealers are located in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

Our investigation and product testing identified one ingredient of concern, which originated from a single supplier. We have discontinued purchasing from this supplier. Other feed companies that purchased from this supplier are facing a similar situation.

For more information about specific products included in the retrieval, contact the Statesville, N.C., Feed Plant at 704-924-5100 or the Harrisburg, Penn., Feed Plant at 717-737-4581.

I think the most important piece of information in this, besides the fact that no animal health reports have been issued, is that other manufacturers bought the ingredient thought to be contaminated. That means that owners should be alert no matter what brand of feed they have purchased since the winter.

Check with your local feed dealer about any possible problem with feed you may have purchased, but it sounds like there was a quick action that prompted the possibly contaminated feed being removed from the retail supply side before it could be sold. Let's hope!

To learn more about aflatoxins, which are byproducts of mold contamination, check this page from Cornell University's Animal Science Department.

Colorful Badminton Dressage: A Real Gypsy Horse Goes for Glory

The sun shone on the Badminton Horse Trial in Gloucestershire, England on Thursday, the first of two days of dressage. Australian Clayton Fredericks is in the lead after the first day, but this horse caught my eye.

Here you see Olivia Haddow riding Patris Filius. If I remember my Latin, that means "Son of the Father". Olivia calls him "her naughty little coloured cob". The 15.1hh horse was sold by gypsies as a three-year-old at Abergavenny Market in South Wales. Now 14, he is said to be by a gypsy stallion and out of a "flapper" mare, which is a derogatory Brit dismissal for a low-end racehorse. Horse and Hound describes him as "clever coloured with the brain of a pony and the stride of a horse".

But look at the marking on that horse's hind end; it looks like an artist stroked him with a pen.

The front end looks like it enhances his movement, at least at the trot. I'd like to see this horse gallop!

Some gypsy horse breeder knew what he (or she) was doing!

Photo courtesy of Kit Houghton and Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials.

Royalty Rides On: Badminton Horse Trials Begin Today

How do you like my horse? Zara Phillips, grand-daughter of Queen Elizabeth, presented her horse Wednesday to the veterinary inspection committee for clearance to ride in the 2008 Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire, England. The first phase of the three-day, three-phase competition, the dressage test, begins today and will be televised (although not quite "live" except for cross-country on Saturday) on the Internet, thanks to HorseTV. Zara hopes to qualify for the British team for the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Games in Hong Kong this August. The horse is Ardfield Magic Star. He looks Irish. Photo by Kit Houghton, courtesy of Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials.