The American Competitive Trail Horse Association is proud to announce Season Two of America’s Favorite Trail Horse, a national TV Series in search of America’s favorite trail horse. “Season One of America’s Favorite Trail Horse was a huge success! The horses we met and the stories that we shared touched our hearts, there was no way that we couldn’t do this again” stated ACTHA co-founder Karen VanGetson. “Our mission is to give the great trail horse the recognition it deserves and this is a wonderful opportunity to do just that”.

In a similar format to Season One, horses all over the country will have a chance to compete to win over $100,000 in cash and prizes, including a new 4 Star living quarter’s trailer. The finals will be held at the beautiful Franklin Family Ranch in Blanco, TX and will be aired on RFD TV!

Do you have a great Trail Horse? Have a partnership you’d like to share with America? TELL US YOUR STORY! We’re looking for all breeds, all skill levels, and lots of personality! Season 2 of America’s Favorite Trail Horse will be completely new! The emphasis this season will be on the horse/human interest story. Every equine and their human partner have a story, a partnership, a bond…we want to hear it! We want to broadcast it to the world and show how awesome the great American Trail Horse is, and we want you to tell us your journey! Each horse and rider in the Finals will be showcased in one of thirteen 1-hour episodes. America will vote for their favorite trail horse during 10 voting episodes, and then America votes again for their favorite from the top winners to crown America’s Favorite Trail Horse 2012!

More Options for 2012!
Season 2 brings some exciting changes. We have designated two divisions to accommodate different levels of competition. The divisions are Professional and Pleasure. We will also offer Live Auditions as well as Video Auditions. See details on our website. We want you on RFD TV this Fall! Go to www.actha.us to register today!

Since the initial outbreak of EHV-1 at the National Cutting Horse Association’s Western Nationals Show in Ogden, UT from April 29- May 8, 2011, the disease has been contained to the greatest extent possible. The numbers available indicate that the spread of the virus has been contained. During the first week there were 86 suspect/confirmed new cases, the second week showed 62 suspect/confirmed new cases, the third week showed 10 suspect/confirmed new cases and the fourth week after the occurrence showed 0 new cases.

Horse owners should still be cognizant of the situation but also be aware of the facts regarding the virus. The EHV outbreak has only affected horses attending two events and horses directly exposed to that group upon returning home. The two events are the NCHA Western National Championship in Utah and the Kern County Cutting Horse Event in California. Affected and exposed horses in all states are under state quarantine or movement restrictions.

Acting State Veterinarian, Dr. Michael Herrin recommends horse owners and event managers remain at a heightened level of awareness, consider the current facts of the situation, and make an informed decision based upon actual risk. Events in Oklahoma that host horses of an unrelated type have no increased risk of disease exposure now than before this incident began. There have been no changes in import regulations and no recommended event cancellations issued by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF).

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry encourages horse owners to implement and practice proper preventative measures. ODAFF also encourages horse owners to consult their local veterinarian for review and advice on an appropriate vaccination schedules for EHV.

“Like most industries, the horse industry’s legislative concerns don’t break along partisan lines. The industry must work on a bi-partisan basis with Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle,” said Hickey. “The AHC and the horse industry have been working with Congress for four decades. This is a new Congress with more than 100 new members. The AHC has already called on its Congressional Cavalry to welcome both the new and returning Members of Congress and to explain the importance of the horse industry to the nation’s agricultural, economic, sporting and recreational life.”

“The horse industry has a $112 billion effect on the economy and supports 1.5 million jobs. Every state has a horse industry. Forty-five states have more than 20,000 horses. The equine community must continue to ensure that the 112th Congress recognizes that,” said Hickey.

Council members had a good discussion about topics relevant to all parts of the country…health regulations, animal identification, noxious weeds, trail preservation, ways to reinvigorate the racing segment, competition for time and dollars, abandoned horses, animal welfare, slaughter, etc. I mention all this as an excuse to encourage all ApHC members to consider joining, or at least getting acquainted with, their respective state horse councils. The “power of association” really works and our community can’t afford to let others make policies and laws without us.

Farrier Spring Fling
May 15-16, 2010
Farriers’ National Research Center & School

Celebrating 21 years by offering: A FREE Event for horse owners and horse shoers; donations will accepted for a raffle; a family event.

-Helpful information for owners from farriers and professional equine specialist!!
And…1 day FREE Hoof Trimming Class for Owners
From trimming, shoeing, dentistry, massage, saddle fit, training and modern thermal imaging and magnetic therapy. Learn all about your horse!

We hope you will be willing to alert your members to the importance of our online survey. It is important that we receive broad participation from all members of the equine industry for a fair representation of concerns regarding equine infectious disease issues.

We hope you and your association members can take a few minutes to fill out our online survey. It is available at the following link:

https://academictrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9sP6LHag1t5xthW&SVID=Prod

Completion of this survey is voluntary. People who decide to participate may withdraw consent and stop participation at any time without penalty. The survey will not ask for a name or email address, to ensure that all answers remain anonymous. Colorado State University will securely collect and store the data. The collected data will then be validated and analyzed and results will be published on the website for the Animal Population Health Institute at: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/APHI

While there are no direct benefits to be gained to individuals who participate in this survey, we hope the equine industry will gain more knowledge on the primary equine diseases of concern. There are no known risks to participation.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Shana Gillette at (970) 297-5117 (shana.gillette@colostate.edu). If you have any questions about your rights as a volunteer in this research, contact Janell Barker, Human Research Administrator, at 970-491-1655.

Sincerely,
Dr. Shana Gillette, Assistant Professor
Dr. Josie Traub-Dargatz, Professor

In July of 2009 the American Horse Council launched an effort to collect information regarding equestrian access issues on federal lands. This effort was prompted by a growing concern among recreational riders around the country that they were seeing a reduction in the number of trails and trail heads open to equestrians on federal land.

The center piece of this effort has been an AHC online form riders can use to report their personal experiences regarding trails on federal lands that have been closed to them or other access issues. This online form is located at https://www.horsecouncil.org/survey.php.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans use horses and pack stock to enjoy America’s great outdoors each year. However, it is an experience that cannot be enjoyed without access to public land, trail systems, and trailheads.

“The AHC will use this report to illustrate some of the challenges facing recreational riders,” said AHC President Jay Hickey.” “Our federal land mangers work hard to provide recreational opportunities and we need to make sure they have adequate resource and equestrians need to work with them at all levels. However, sometimes there are issues and conflicts that need to documented and brought to there attention. This report is just one part of our efforts to ensure equestrian continue to have recreational opportunities on federal land.

Bear is just one more really outstanding argument against some of the myths about Appaloosa horses and their performance abilities. “USTRC” certainly ranks as top-level competition, for both horses and people. Having an Appaloosa at the top of the heap is, as some folks like to say, “way cool.” Congratulations!

To help horse owners feed their horses cost effectively and with confidence, Michigan State University (MSU) Extension is offering a free, live webcast Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. EST.

Aimed at garnering horse owners the most bang for their horse-feeding buck, the webinar “Nutritional Supplements for Horses” will feature Carey Williams, Rutgers University equine Extension specialist. She’ll discuss types of supplements, when supplements might be beneficial and how to determin if your horse needs a supplement. For more information or to register, go to noncredit.msu.edu.

My Horse University is a national online horse management program for horse enthusiasts. Based at MSU and founded by the MSU Department of Animal Science, MSU Extension and MSU Global, this program offers equine education courses and resources that can be tailored to achieve horse-management goals.

An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the domestic horse Equus caballus, revealing a genome structure with remarkable similarities to humans and more than one million genetic differences across a variety of horse breeds. In addition to shedding light on a key part of the mammalian branch of the evolutionary tree, the work also provides a critical starting point for mapping disease genes in horses.

“Horses and humans suffer from similar illnesses, so identifying the genetic culprits in horses promises to deepen our knowledge of disease in both organisms,” said senior author Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, scientific director of vertebrate genome biology at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and a professor of comparative genomics at Uppsala University in Sweden. “The horse genome sequence is a key enabling resource toward this goal.”

In addition to sequencing the genome of a Thoroughbred horse, the researchers also examined DNA from a variety of other horse breeds, including the American quarter horse, Andalusian, Arabian, Belgian draft horse, Hanoverian, Hakkaido, Icelandic horse, Norwegian fjord horse, and Standardbred breeds. The team surveyed the extent of genetic variation both within and across breeds to create a catalog of more than one million single-letter genetic differences (called “single nucleotide polymorphisms” or SNPs).

In a first proof-of-principle of the power of trait mapping in horses, the researchers harnessed the SNP catalog to localize the candidate mutation in the Leopard Complex or “Appaloosa spotting,” in which horses’ coats are mottled with striking patches of white, either with or without colored spots. Horses carrying this trait often suffer from a form of night blindness, a disorder that also afflicts humans. The researchers narrowed the list of genetic suspects in horses to 42 associated SNPs, including two candidate mutations residing near a gene involved in pigmentation.

“This demonstrates the utility of the horse for disease gene mapping,” said Wade. “By making these resources freely available to the scientific community, we hope that many new results will flow from them in the coming years.”