Now in its 19^th issue, the Bluegrass Equine Digest continues to provide the latest news on equine research at the University of Kentucky (UK) for the benefit of horse owners all across the country. The UK Equine Initiative (which represents all equine programs at UK) and the Gluck Equine Research Center, together with TheHorse.com and sponsor Pfizer Animal Health, have offered stories about cutting-edge research studies and equine management topics, as well as scientist profiles, regular features, news, and events.

The past year has been an exciting one in the equine research field. The Bluegrass Equine Digest has covered many of the developments that occurred in 2010:

Topic Focus: Infectious Disease/Immunology

January–The Digest reported a rise in rabies cases in Kentucky and urged owners to get horses vaccinated. It also contained information on the environment’s effect on immune maturation in foals. David Horohov, PhD, William Robert Mills Chair in Equine Immunology at the Gluck Center, said in the article that recent findings suggest a higher rate of immunity response in foals exposed to pathogens found in a barn, indicating earlier immune maturity.

February–This issue featured a profile of equine proliferative enteropathy from the Equine Disease Quarterly. This bacterial disease causes intestinal illness and most often occurs in recently-weaned foals. Veterinarians have been puzzled by the disease’s increase in prevalence in the last 15 years