Favorite Art: A Perfect Horse for the Fourth of July and a Preview of One of This Summer's Leading Events

Don't you agree? This red-white-and-blue gesture depends a lot on negative space to create the unmistakable image of a horse's head, and it's one of my favorite logos in a long time.

Just when you think you have seen a horse's head interpreted every possible way, some creative mind takes it to a new dimension!

Surprise, surprise, though--this horse is not an American creation at all.

This image will represent the Alltech FEI European Dressage and Showjumping Championships, which will take place at England's famed Windsor Castle outside London in late August. Yes, the Queen Herself has invited everyone over to her suburban home for a very special competition.

With the announcement of title sponsorship by the American-based international animal nutrition giant Alltech, the Europeans have more of a tie to the USA than previously thought. Alltech, of course, is also the title sponsor of the FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next year.

This beautiful artwork was created by Brand Electioneering, a British marketing firm.

To learn more about the plans for the Alltech FEI European Championships, watch this little video of the announcement of Alltech's sponsorship, hosted by the event's managing director Simon Brooks-Ward with Dr Pearce Lyons of Alltech...and some surprise guests at the end.



A press release about the event deems it "the most important equestrian event to be held in the United Kingdom this decade". Some US riders may qualify to compete in the non-championship events.

Thanks to Showjumping Unplugged for releasing this tape.

Get Ready for JOCKEYS: Santa Anita Doc-Soap Reality Series Begins February 6 on Animal Planet

by Fran Jurga | 15 January 2009 | The Jurga Report on equisearch.com



What: "Jockeys" documentary/reality tv series
When: Friday nights in February, beginning February 6, at 9 PM ET/PT
Where: Animal Planet, found on most cable providers
Who: This cross-section of California Thoroughbred racing's colorful iron men and women is a docu-soap producer's dream, including this lineup, as described by the network:

•THE ICON – Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is a living legend and a fan favorite. His fierce riding style and stringent pre-race ritual has earned him a shaman-like reputation among fellow jockeys.

•THE HOTSHOT – Joe Talamo may be young, but he already has taken the racing world by storm earning nearly $4 million in purse money in one racing season.

•THE BREAKOUT FEMALE STAR – Canadian jockey star Chantal Sutherland is a woman who’s dominating the tracks. And, because she’s dating fellow jockey Mike Smith, it puts her in competition with the man she loves. Can they make this work?

•THE WORKING MAN – Aaron Gryder is credited with more than 3,000 career wins and is motivated by supporting his family.

•THE ELDER STATESMAN – After racing more than 30 years, Jon Court is the consummate veteran, and he has no plans to quit.

•THE NEW GIRL – Fresh-faced Kayla Stra is racing gold in her native land of Australia, but only time will tell if she has what it takes to be a success in the US.

•THE COMEBACK KID – Alex Solis bounced back after a broken back injury nearly took his life. He’s been to the winner’s circle 4,000 times, but he’s yet to be inducted into the Jockey Hall of Fame.

For these jockeys, everything they have is riding on the 30 days of last fall's Oak Tree fall racing series at California's Santa Anita racetrack, which lead up to the two most important days of the entire racing year: The Breeders’ Cup.

But the real stars of the show are sure to be the horses, the danger, and the adrenalin that drive all toward the elusive finish line.

Whether you love racing or hate it, you must agree that the amazing atheletic ability of jockeys and the pressure they live under is the stuff of great drama, and it's doubtful the cameras will sugarcoat the grisly side of life at the track. It won't be all limousines and champagne.

The new synthetic racing surface just installed at Santa Anita was untested when the filming began. It was surely another challenge to the jockeys. The timing for the series to have been filmed is amazing.

Watch for more news about the series here on The Jurga Report. Bookmark this blog now, or click on the links on the right to subscribe to the RSS feed.

Jockey Alex Solis studies the facts and figures on his competition in the next race. (Animal Planet Photo)

Five Million More Quarter Horses? AQHA Will Host Open Forum on Cloning Option

by Fran Jurga | 13 January 2009 | The Jurga Report on equisearch.com

Did you receive that nice triangle-shaped green brochure in the mail recently? I did, and I expect most or all AQHA members did. It was from a company called ViaGen and I wondered how I had gotten on their mailing list. Today, I found out.

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is planning to host an open forum on the subject of cloning at the group's annual convention next month in San Antonio, Texas. The forum is scheduled for Friday, March 6, 2009 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

According to the AQHA's announcement, this forum's panel will include representatives from equine industry and educational research institutions.

Whether they are watching from the audience, or participate directly in the forum, representatives of ViaGen have a lot riding on that forum. Since the closing of slaughterhouses, ViaGen had to move its lab to Canada to be close to slaughterable mares to harvest uterus parts, but they know that a nod from the AQHA to allow clones of the world's Quarter horses to be registered would be the answer to the company's prayers. It would be the first breed association to take that giant step. Add that the AQHA is the largest and most influential breed association in the world, and you see all that could be at stake here for ViaGen and the next generation of the ready-to-blossom equine reproduction technology field.

Within the past couple of years, commercial cloning of a number of horses, including American Quarter Horses, has been well publicized. Racing mules have been cloned, but most of the clones you hear about are high-end international-level show jumpers, like Gem Twist. The western horses have been primarily cutting horses or rodeo event horses, so the fact that the horses were not AQHA-registered was not a significant factor; cutting and barrel racing organizations allow any horse to compete.

Under Rule 227(a) of the AQHA Official Handbook, a rule that became effective in 2004, American Quarter Horses produced by any cloning process are not eligible for registration.

At the AQHA’s 2008 Convention, the Stud Book and Registration Committee (SBRC) received the first-ever proposed change to Rule 227(a); it was tabled then and has been brought back for 2009; the change would allow a live foal produced via a particular type of cloning to be registered if its DNA matches that of a registered American Quarter Horse.

Currently, the AQHA is not naming which particular procedure would be approved, but after seeing all the ViaGen ads cropping up on internet sites lately, it's not a tough guess.

In 2008, the SBRC recommended that any decision regarding the proposed change be postponed pending further study to be undertaken at the direction of the SBRC. As a result, on October 15, 2008, representatives from Colorado State University, Texas A&M University and ViaGen met with the SBRC in Amarillo to discuss the topic of cloning.

The proposed change to Rule 227(a) will be on the SBRC agenda in March in San Antonio. In an effort to make the most recent information on equine cloning available to AQHA members, AQHA has scheduled the open forum. The AQHA anticipates the forum will include presentations by panel of speakers from the equine industry and educational research institutions.

This forum will be open to all interested AQHA members. Save me a seat.

The SBRC meets on Monday.

The Superman Foal © 2009 Fran Jurga, created with Puppet Tool Software

Congratulations to Horse Groups Riding in the Obama Inaugural Parade

by Fran Jurga | 12 January 2009 | The Jurga Report at equisearch.com


Colorado's Freedom Riders are saddling up for the trip to Washington DC next week.

Lots of horse groups are checking in and announcing that they have been invited to be part of the Obama inaugural parade in Washington DC next week. This is very exciting and here's a list of some of the horses you'll be able to see:

• Four Lipizzan horses from Tempel Farms in Wadsworth, Illinois;
• Southern Ohio Ladies Aside, a women's sidesaddle riding club, will be turned out in capes, caps and skirts modeled after what a Civil War era officer's wife might have worn. At least one will be sidesaddle on Bud the Clydesdale!
• Colorado's Freedom Riders is a group of women who formed a color guard to honor US servicemen and -women.
• Governor Barry Schweitzer of Montana will ride in the parade, as will the entire congressional delegation from Montana (I want to see this!) and 20 Crow mounted horsemen.
• Fourteen troopers from the Mounted Color Guard from Fort Riley in Kansas, dressed in Civil War military clothes, will be riding horses on the parade route.
• Culver Academies in Indiana is sending 100 student riders and their horses.
• Ten Border Patrol agents from Washington State will ride their American Mustangs, obtained from BLM stock.

Let me know if I have left out a group so I can add them and their link to the list!

You can keep up with details on the parade and the inauguration ceremony at the official web site, which features a great blog.

And, PS: don't even think about trying to go to the parade. It's sold out!

Video: Footage Released to Press, Public as Massive Horse Cruelty Trial Continues in England

This is the complete, straight footage from the RSPCA, without narration.
Warning: this may be too graphic for some people to view or comprehend.

This is the television network version, with narration.

I was saving this story for the end of the year. I would have labeled this the worst news story of the year.

The story comes from England, the country on the planet with some of the strictest provisions for horse welfare and some of the most enabled law enforcement agencies dedicated to horse advocacy.

But it wasn't enough. Last January, a horrific news story broke, with tales of unimaginable, disgusting conditions. Agencies worked together to rescue close to 100 horses and house them all over England, but for many, it was too late. By the time they hacked through the red tape to get onto the farm, many horses lay dead and decaying on the ground.

The case, the horses, the entire saga has been encapsulated into a single word in British horse minds: "Amersham". Say no more. Amersham is the town in Buckinghamshire where horse dealer James Gray warehoused horses.

The farm's owners are now on trial, and this week a London newspaper, The Sun, went to court to release video taken by the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) when the premises were entered. Yesterday a link was released to a video download site, which is normal for the press. I didn't dally, but by the time I got to the link, the maximum downloads (usually 500 or 1000) had been reached.

That gives you some idea of the intensity of this trial. It will be the horse cruelty event by which all others will be measured. The news report shown here is from the ITN network and shows the less sordid footage; the narrator also provides some background.

I don't know how long it will take to reach a verdict, but it's not always a foregone conclusion that the owners will be convicted.

Click here to go to a dedicated site with a press file documenting the unfolding of this case.

There are many things I don't understand about this case and, until now, I had not seen the video, which is deeply disturbing. The fact that so many of the horses have stable blankets on seems so incongruous with neglected, abandoned, starving horses. There are also many, many questions about previous investigations of the property.

CEM in a Kentucky Stallion; Quarantine Begins

The following press release is from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Anyone working with horses in the state should be aware of this situation as it may affect how the horse business is conducted and might stop horses from being shipped inot and out of the state of Kentucky. With breeding season upon us, this is NEWS....and not good news.

An important point in this article that is not clearly stated in the press release is that stallions generally show no signs of being infected with CEM. The danger is the effect that the disease has on the mares bred to an infected stallion, and the ongoing transmission of the disease.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — State and federal agriculture officials are investigating a case of contagious equine metritis (CEM) in a quarter horse in central Kentucky.

The 16-year-old stallion tested positive for CEM during routine testing on Dec. 10. The test was performed by the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center as a preliminary step to shipping frozen semen to the European Union. Samples were sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, which confirmed the diagnosis on Monday.

The index horse and all exposed horses are under quarantine and undergoing testing protocols. The index horse is being treated, and exposed horses have been tested to see if they are infected.

The index horse was moved to Kentucky in February from Texas, where he had been located for his entire breeding career. All breeding was done artificially with no history of natural service.

During the 2008 breeding season, 22 stallions from various states were bred on the farm. Thirteen of the stallions were relocated to other states, and one was relocated to another facility in Kentucky. The index stallion was bred to 44 mares both on the farm and by shipped semen.

Contagious equine metritis is a transmissible, exotic venereal disease in horses. It usually results in infertility in mares and, on rare occasions, can cause mares to spontaneously abort. Infected stallions exhibit no clinical signs but can carry the CEM bacteria for years. CEM is commonly transmitted during sexual intercourse but also may be transmitted indirectly through artificial insemination or contact with contaminated hands or objects.

There is no evidence that CEM affects people.

CEM can be treated with disinfectants and antibiotics. CEM-positive mares and mares from CEM-positive counties in Kentucky are required by state regulations to go through a treatment protocol and remain in quarantine for no less than 21 days. Stallions in Kentucky that have CEM or come from a CEM-positive country also are required to remain quarantined until a treatment protocol is completed and they test negative for the disease.

The first cases of CEM in the United States were diagnosed in central Kentucky in 1978. Another outbreak occurred in Missouri in 1979. The disease was eradicated rapidly in both outbreaks.

TO LEARN MORE: This blog covered CEM in detail in 2007 when stallions at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria tested positive for CEM. What is missing from the Kentucky press release is where the other horses are who came into contact with this stallion. Finding them will not be easy, but it is certainly important.

The United States has very strict restrictions against the import of horses from CEM-positive countries, and a very complex testing regimen is required to ascertain that a stallion is negative before it can be imported.

Identifying CEM in the USA, a country believed to be free of the disease, could have far-reaching effects, including stopping the export of horses from the US to some other countries, or even the interstate transport of horses into and out of Kentucky on the cusp of the Thoroughbred breeding season.

In the bigger picture, consider this: in the past six weeks, two very serious equine diseases believed to have been eradicated from US soil--piroplasmosis and CEM--have shown up in our horses, bringing us back to square one in prevention and endangering the livelihood of horse owners, trainers, breeders, and competitors. If Americans don't know much about CEM, it is because they weren't around back in 1978 when it stopped the Thoroughbred industry in its tracks. Thirty years later, reading the history of that year--ironically the last year a horse won the Triple Crown--will send a chill down your spine.

Here are some links to past stories:

CEM: Equine Reproductive Nightmare (2007) This blog post describes the disease and why it is taken so seriously.

When Bad Things Happen to Nice Horses: Equine Venereal Disease at Austria's Spanish Riding School (2007)

Good News from Vienna: Spanish Riding School Stables Are Open Again (2007)

USDA Ease of Import Restrictions Against CEM-Infected Countries (June 2008)

Congratulations to Dr. Eleanor Green: AAEP President Will Be Dean at Texas A&M Vet School in 2009

It's nice to have some good news to report once in a while. No diseases, no crashes, no fractures today: let's celebrate!

Texas A&M University announced today that an exhaustive search for a new dean of the vet school there has been completed and the new dean will be the University of Florida's Dr. Eleanor Green, who is currently professor and chair of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida.

The timing of the announcement is interesting, since this week is the close of Dr. Green's term as president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. I hope she has time to catch her breath!

Video Insight: Strangles Signs, Treatment and Prevention

by Fran Jurga | 4 December 2008 | The Jurga Report on Equisearch.com



An enterprising group of veterinarians has launched vetstoria.com, an online community for horse owners seeking access to video-based education on horse diseases and health concerns.

As a sample, I am posting for you an important description of the disease we call "Strangles". This time of year many horses are changing barns (or owners) and coming in from long summer turnout. Barns, blankets and buckets combine with new stalls, new trailers, new handlers to increase the risk of highly contagious diseases like strangles.

I have witnessed strangles firsthand, and more than once, and I can testify that this is a disease that you do not want your horse to experience. My horse was at a boarding barn on the farm of a horse dealer, and lots of horses came and went. We always assumed that the strangles outbreaks were related to some horse that had shipped in, but we never really knew. It could have been spread in so many ways, but it is also possible that a resident horse was a carrier and only occasionally shed the bacteria.

It seemed like the innocent boarder horses went through a ritual of falling victim to the disease. The owners were devastated. It was heartbreaking to watch the horses endure the disease, particularly when it advanced into bastard strangles.

Take the time to watch this video and learn the signs of strangles. Talk to your veterinarian about how to prevent the disease, and if vaccination is something you should consider.

Thanks to Vetstoria.com's vets for making this video available.

Meet Madeleine: Equine Rescue on the Grandest Scale Makes Her ABC's Person of the Week

I wanted to turn the television off this week. Enough, enough with the bad news about the economy. But one story kept me hanging in there, through the disgust over Detroit CEOs in their private jets, through the forgiveness shown to Joe Lieberman, through the news (you call this news?) of Madonna's divorce and another Rosie spat.

Madeleine Pickens wanted to save all the wild horses in the BLM's holding pens, I reported earlier this week.

In just a few days, that headline morphed into a real possibility. The BLM is now seeking funds from Congress to cancel the mass execution of the unwanted mustangs and instead keep them housed until Madeleine's million-acre sanctuary can be ready.

The New York Times congratulated Madeleine this week in a rare editorial. Today, ABC News made her "person of the week". I suggest the media drops her sub-title ("wife of....") and show this long-time Thoroughbred breeder and animal advocate the respect she deserves.

Thank you, Madeleine!

The DeWorming Coach: Pfizer's Email Reminders Help Owners Stay on Track

Make sure your horse doesn't read your email...

Worm medications are way down the list of things that most horseowners want to think about. You'd rather be daydreaming about what color blanket you'd buy if you could afford it, or which of the new browbands would look best on your horse.

Before you know it, a couple of months have gone by and you can't remember which wormer you used on which horse the last time. Or maybe you don't even remember when the last time was!

We all make jokes about how forgetful we are (just ask me where my keys and glasses are) and often speculate how nice it would be to have a Jeeves who would follow us around, picking up the things we put down, and reminding us about that saddle-fitting clinic this weekend or that the farrier is coming this afternoon.

I have it all on my cell phone, of course, but I left it at home this morning. Or at least I think I did.

Now you can cross worming off your list of Things Not To Forget. Pfizer Animal Health has just launched a clever email service that will send you reminders not only of WHEN to worm but WHAT to use.

The site is configured into two parts: one for people who prefer "regular" paste wormers and another for those who prefer "continuous" (daily feed-through) treatments.

The new website www.rotationiskey.com is a funny name for a valuable service. You just fill in the form and Pfizer will automatically send you the reminders. And then it's up to you.

The word "rotation" refers to the different types of wormers you need to use to cover all the different parasites that threaten your horse. Different types of wormers are appropriate at different times of years or in different frequencies or for different ages or uses of horses, so you can have help figuring out which one to use, and when.

I liked the fact that the web site had an option for a single horse or multiple horses.

Pfizer also launched a new informational web site, www.equimaxhorse.com, which is a go-to resource for information about parasite prevention in horses, and the risks of tapeworms in particular. Pfizer's Equimax paste wormer is a broad spectrum Ivermectin-type wormer that covers a broad spectrum of parasite risks, including tapeworms and bots. It can be used safely on breeding farms, and the web site has specific details about the de-worming needs of foals, mares, and stallions.

Now, if they could just send me a reminder every morning to put my cell phone in the car...

Indoor Eventing: The Next Big Thing? Twenty of the World's Top Riders Think So!

by Fran Jurga, Special to The Jurga Report, EquiSearch.com;
Posted 1 November 2008

Stash the Wellies. Forget the umbrella. Don't even bother checking the weather. The world's next big eventing showdown has been guaranteed perfect footing and a shadowless course...because it will be held indoors on November 30 at Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales.

The highly condensed format is designed to broaden the appeal of the sport, while providing a showcase competition for eventing's top riders. The sport will be rolled out as a series of international competitions in major sporting locations around the world.

Spectators will be able to watch all three phases of an event in one day, from one seat. Expert commentaries will explain what's going on and exactly how many points ahead or behind each competitor is.

Many of the world's top international riders have entered The Express--just check the entries:

Great Britain: Tina Cook, Mary King, William Fox-Pitt, Lucy Wiegersma, Oliver Townend
Australia: Clayton Fredericks, Lucinda Fredericks
New Zealand: Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Caroline Powell
China: Alex Hua Tian
Belgium: Karin Donckers
Germany: Dirk Schrade, Bettina Hoy
France: Nicolas Touzaint, Rodolphe Scherer
Italy: Vittoria Panizzon
Sweden: Linda Algotsso
USA: Philip Dutton, Buck Davidson

It sounds like a repeat of the Olympics! (My money's on Touzaint.)

Part of the lure is, no doubt, the (approx) US$200,000 in prize money to the winner, plus the sheer challenge of being part of an experimental re-configuring of a traditional sport.

The dressage will be to music, the first I've known of in eventing, and the judges will include Broadway impresario Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who will judge the artistic aspects of the ride. The riders then go on to a traditional indoor show jumping test, and then the arena will be transformed by some sort of landscaping miracle into a cross-country course. After the last show jump is completed, a ‘pit-stop’ tack change enables horse and rider to prepare for the final phase.

Popular British riding clothes company Musto is designing outfits for the riders especially for this single event, right down to (gulp) an adaptation of a show jumping jacket, made of Gore-Tex.

But what will the horses think? and will the riders bring their top horses? Will the top horses in traditional eventing excel in the arena form of the sport or will we see a new type emerge as the ideal indoor horse? The pressures of the Olympics and the eventing World Cup have made for a long, long season for the top horses.

The huge stadium offers great opportunities for lighting, sound, and special effects. Here's a quote from one of the organizers: "When the lights go up, the hairs on the back on your neck will stand on end. People will know from the outset that this is not traditional eventing." They noted that healthy and safety inspections are part of the planning process.

British Eventing, the organizing body of the sport in Great Britain, is behind this event along with entrepreneurial producers. The event will be broadcast internationally (a term that rarely includes North America).

Examples of competitors' jackets designed for indoor eventing by Musto.

Here's what Australian Olympians Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks have to say about Express Eventing; note that Lucinda says she will rider the super-mare, Headley Britannia, at the indoor.

Stay tuned for more news about Express Eventing!