Current events — they’re important, y’all. But this is a horse website, so we’re going to talk about horse things and as luck would have it we have some current events in horse health news to share with you this week. Here’s the latest:
US Equestrian is reassessing the use of Medroxyprogesterone (MPA), commonly known as Depo-Provera, in competition horses. MPA is the compounded form of Depo-Provera, a human birth control drug, which is reformulated for use in horses to keep mares from going into heat. MPA is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in animals. The Chronicle of the Horse previously reported a number of equine fatalities linked to use of the drug. [US Equestrian]
The USEA provided an update on research being sponsored by the Equine Medical Research Fund. One dollar from every event you enter goes into this fund, and a grand total of $39,581 was collected in 2018. In August the USEA Board of Governors voted to use that money to support these studies and projects:
- Development of a non-invasive platform to serve as a diagnostic test for gastrointestinal inflammation prior to severe disease (such as colic and colitis) and to reveal how bacteria in the gut influence horse health.
- Investigation of a new laboratory test to improve diagnosis of equine metabolic syndrome, a metabolic and hormonal disorder in horses.
- Manipulation of the expression of immune markers on stem cells to develop safer and more effective therapies for horses with musculoskeletal injuries.
- Determine the effects of front shoe surface modifications in the sport horse on the duration of hoof breakover.
Give yourselves a pat on the back for contributing to SCIENCE! [USEA]
As horse owners and competitors, we want to give our equine athletes every opportunity to feel and perform their best. Keeping up to date with the latest news in horse health and medicine is an important part of that, and it’s why Medivet Equine is bringing you the latest in horse health news each week.
Following the medical model of “do no harm”, MediVet Equine develops scientifically based therapeutics enabling the horse to call on its own healing ability, thus achieving its full performance potential. MediVet Equine provides effective, all natural, drug free products and lab services designed to optimize the overall health of performance horses. They specialize in regenerative treatments that help the body heal itself to get stronger naturally. Boyd Martin has several of his top competitive mounts on MediVet ACS, and has had terrific results!
