Horses

PERRYVILLE — This is the year of the horse for the Battle of Perryville. With the World Equestrian Games going on simultaneously a short distance away in Lexington, organizers tapped into the equine frenzy by dubbing this year’s 148th annual Commemoration of the Battle of Perryville “The Horse Soldier.” Perryville Battlefield Preservation Coordinator Joni House said horseback re-enactors from all over the nation were brought in for the Civil War reenactment event.

LANCASTER - More than a dozen horses were rescued Wednesday from a farm in Garrard County. Earlene Harris, director of Garrard County Animal Control, said she was alerted to the situation Tuesday night. Harris' veterinarian sent her a text message informing her of horses needing help. First thing Wednesday morning, Harris and officials with animal control arrived at the farm to find extremely malnourished horses. Two of the horses had been euthanized by Buckland Equine Rescue personnel, who also were made aware of the situation.

A Danville veterinarian is delivering cutting-edge therapy to horses that may end up running at some of the most famous racetracks in the world. He said it is also helping man's best friend. Dr. Joe Yocum recently started the Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Salvisa where he provides stem cell and other therapies to horses. Yocum said the stem cell infusions also are having encouraging success on arthritic dogs. “What scientists are learning about is how to harvest the body's own way to heal itself,” said Yocum, who compares how stem cells work to the way a fire department springs into action.

A proposed ordinance in Wilmore would ban the keeping of livestock in residential areas of the city after the mayor said residents had complained about horses living on small lots. Discussions about enacting an ordinance began late last year, and the issue was on the Wilmore City Council agenda at its Monday meeting. But with no members of the public present, the council elected to postpone a decision until they could hear input from residents. “We have horses that are in residential neighborhoods that, while some may think that's very appropriate, there are others that feel (horses)

PERRYVILLE — Authorities are still trying to determine what sparked a fire that killed 19 horses and destroyed a barn in western Boyle County over the weekend. Assistant Boyle County Fire Chief Paul McCrystal said investigators still don’t know what started the fire at 1701 Mitchellsburg Road and the department’s cause and determination team will be on scene again today. “We are trying to narrow down where it possibly started at this point,” McCrystal said.

A statewide horse count, the first of its kind since 1977, begins this year, and those involved will spread the word locally Tuesday. The Clark County Extension Office will host “Pastures Please!” for the first time, led by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extensive Service agents in counties including Clark, Bourbon and Fayette, along with the UK Ag Equine Programs. It is an educational workshop for farm managers and horse owners, and organizers say it could help attract veterinarians to different counties.

Winter is almost here. Consider yourselves lucky that your horses don't have to deal with temperatures that consistently dip into the negative digits. However, do you consider your horse's nutritional needs and how they change with even mild Kentucky winters? Here are some ideas to consider when feeding your horses this winter. The first thing every horse owner should do is assess their horses' body condition scores, or the amount of fat they are carrying. This is simple numeric system, ranging from 1 to 9 that will help you adjust your horses' diets so they are carrying the perfect amount of body weight.  If you need help with this, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service published a fact sheet titled, “Condition Scoring Your Horse,” and you can contact someone here at the Boyle County office to ask for a copy of  ASC-145.

Since the founding of early America, draft horses have been the backbone of the farmer. Not forgetting that was one of the goals of the Asbury University Draft Horse Day, held last Saturday at the school's equine center. “We collaborated with the University of Kentucky, and we have teaching stations that you can learn about foraging, you can learn about breeds, you can learn about management. So we're teaching people about draft horses and we're teaching them about how farming might have been done 100 years ago,” Asbury equine director Harold Rainwater said.

PLEASANT HILL — Under protection of a court order and with law enforcement present, several horses were removed Friday from a Mercer County farm where the animals had allegedly been abused. Among those hauling off the horses was Travis Banks, son of Richard M. Banks, who was charged with 30 counts of animal cruelty on March 3.  Richard Banks, who also raises horses on a farm in Lincoln County, has pleaded not guilty. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 11 in Mercer District Court.

No question about it, 2012 is proving to be a record-breaker where heat and drought are concerned. You'll want to make some adjustments due to the weather to take care of your horses this summer. It's very important to also consider what you will need to feed them later on this year. Horse owners rely on pasture to meet a significant portion of their horses' daily nutrient needs. With dry conditions across Kentucky, you may be facing the need to feed hay sooner than you normally do and supplies are going to be tight this year.

A Jessamine County man drowned Saturday evening after the horse he was riding slipped and fell into the rain-swollen Hickman Creek near Brumfield Lane in southern Jessamine County. Firefighters from the Jessamine County Fire District found the body of Danny Reynolds, 56, around 9 a.m. Sunday, approximately a half mile from where he and his horse went into the water, fire chief Mike Rupard said. Reynolds was pronounced dead by Jessamine County Coroner Michael Hughes. Reynolds was riding with several friends around 7:30 p.m. Saturday when he guided his horse into the creek, Hughes said.

Jessamine County Animal Control officers confiscated two horses from property near Wilmore Thursday night. According to animal control director Mike Cassidy, the two horses were in dire need of care. “A neighbor called us, and one of our officers responded out and he saw that the horses were in bad condition,” Cassidy said. “They made contact with the owner, and it was a bad situation all the way around.” Animal control did not release the owners' names, “because they cooperated,” Cassidy said.

The more Centre College golf coach Bruce Brown watched Allison Hancock play, the more he liked what he saw from the then-Sayre High School player. “At that time, she was a good player. On the golf course, she was really serious. She didn't goof around,” said Brown, the former head pro at Old Bridge Golf Club. “She had the right mechanics then, but not the maturity to work her way around the course like she has now. That just comes with age. She knows when to punch out and what to do. She is so smart now on the course.

The little boy critically injured by a horse trailer Saturday is making leaps of improvement. Eric Tyree, 6, had been playing with neighborhood children near Gethsemane Baptist Church and Viaduct Marathon off Quisenberry Avenue when a horse trailer door fell on him. Witnesses had thought he wouldn't pull through, and he was flown to University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. But family friends said Eric has been moved rom the intensive care unit to a regular room. “He is making great strides,” said his school mentor, who prefers to remain anonymous.

Terry Lee Hager, 66, widower of Brenda Sue Preston Hager, died Thursday, March 14. He was born June 29, 1946, in Jessamine County to the late Bob Stivers and Mary Anna and husband Dandy Locker Hager. Terry Lee was owner/operator of Terry Hager Backhoe Service and a farmer. He was a member of Hickman Creek Coon Club and Jessamine County Saddle Club. Growing up, he was an avid coon and deer hunter. After losing his wife, Brenda, in 2004, his passion became horses, trail riding and camping with his family and friends.

This year, there's been a huge scandal over in Europe involving how horse meat found its way into many different foods. Horse meat is actually a pretty standard part of many cuisines around the world - it's only taboo in Western cultures where horses have gained pet status. But even over here in the U.S. - if this week's Time Machine item is any indication - horse meat wasn't always as taboo as it is today. Humans here may not have eaten horse meat regularly half a century ago, but pets did. This fascinating advertisement that ran exactly 50 years ago in the March 21, 1963, issue of The Interior Journal offers to buy "fresh dead horses" and, if that's not enough to make you a little queasy, it also offers a price for "old crippled and down horses.

LANCASTER - After rescuing more than a dozen horses from a farm in Garrard County, the president of Buckland Equine Rescue plans to file a criminal complaint against the director of Garrard County Animal Control. Chris Takacs claims Earlene Harris used her authority to sell four of the horses rescued from a farm on Jack Turner Way on Feb. 27. Takacs met Tuesday with a victim's advocate at the Garrard County Attorney's Office to fill out an affidavit, a sworn statement explaining his recollection of events.

Inmates from the Jessamine County Detention Center's Class D program are building a fence covering 10 acres that will be home to horses from the Camp Nelson Honor Guard. The work started last Thursday when 10 inmates began to dig post holes and drive posts into the ground near a barn located near the Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park and Camp Nelson National Cemetery. Jailer Jon Sallee said inmate labor can be used on projects on public land (owned by the fiscal court), and doing so saves a bundle of money.

LANCASTER - More than a dozen horses were rescued Wednesday from a farm in Garrard County. Earlene Harris, director of Garrard County Animal Control, said she was alerted to the situation Tuesday night. Harris' veterinarian sent her a text message informing her of horses needing help. First thing Wednesday morning, Harris and officials with animal control arrived at the farm to find extremely malnourished horses. Two of the horses had been euthanized by Buckland Equine Rescue personnel, who also were made aware of the situation.

The Kentucky 4-H Horse Program “Leg Up” Scholarshi now  is available from The Race for Education. The college scholarship is offered in partnership with the Kentucky Equine Education Project for high school seniors in the 4-H Horse Program. A $250 scholarship can be awarded annually to one eligible 4-H horse club member in each county. Criteria  include communication skills, leadership and commitment to the agriculture and equine industry.  Students also will be eligible to participate in the Race for Education's Assets for Independence Program and receive an additional $4,000 in scholarship funding.