Day: May 19, 2010

Shot Horse Saved from Death by Licks of Other Horses

A horse shot twice with a crossbow by unknown vandals survived after four fellow mares spent three hours taking turns — to lick the wound clean, The Sun reported Tuesday. The 20-year-old horse, Zeta, was in critical condition after one of the arrows bounced off her rib, while another lodged an inch from her lung as she grazed in a field in the U.K. Owner Jo Young, 39, said the four other horses saved Zeta’s life. Read More…

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NY thoroughbred breeder gets jail time for cruelty

CATSKILL, N.Y. — Thoroughbred breeder and former Wall Street executive Ernie Paragallo, who has earned more than $20 million in purses in 20 years of racing, was led away in handcuffs Tuesday after being sentenced to up to 2 years in jail and a $33,000 fine for mistreating dozens of horses on his Hudson Valley farm. The 52-year-old Long Island resident was charged after state police and animal welfare investigators raided his farm in Coxsackie in April 2009 and seized 177 starving, parasite-infested horses. Paragallo was convicted in March of 33 misdemeanor animal cruelty counts. Greene County

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Vet school feels pain of budget cuts

The wobbly economy has taken a bite out of the people who care for our animals and pets. State budget cuts and reduced spending by animal owners have triggered layoffs and furloughs at the nationally acclaimed UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Business at the school’s hospital has flattened as fewer owners of horses and cows opt for expensive treatments. New vets, saddled with debt, face uncertain prospects if they enter the private practice market. Some are opting to continue their training instead. The UC Davis veterinary school, which relies on state funding for about a third of its

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TWO HORSES TEST POSITIVE FOR EIA IN MONTANA

Because two horses recently tested positive for equine infectious anemia (EIA) in Montana, the Montana Department of Livestock’s Animal Health Division held a May 17 meeting in Gallatin County to update local horse owners on the situation. EIA, also called swamp fever, was reported in Gallatin County April 26 after a horse tested positive on a routine Coggins test. Continue reading…

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INDIANA AUTHORITIES SUSPEND COMPOUNDING LAB’S LICENSE

Franck’s Compounding Lab Inc., the Florida-based company that produced a vitamin and mineral compound blamed for the deaths of 21 polo horses last year, has temporarily lost its license to do business in Indiana. The horses died after receiving a selenium, vitamin B, and potassium compound prepared by the pharmacy. A subsequent investigation into the deaths revealed the compound contained levels of selenium toxic to horses. Continue reading…

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