by Wendy Belcher

There may have been no snow for the 30th Annual Lacombe Cutter Parade on February 11, but that didn’t stop the show. The weather was a record-setting 12oC in the bright sunshine making it a very pleasant day for the drive.

This year was the first time that there was only one equine-drawn vehicle on sleighs or runners. The other 32 rigs were wheeled equine conveyances.

Spectators were also treated to the first ten-mule tandem hitch at the parade presented by Dwight Beard and Dan Dorsey with two mules borrowed from T.J. Bews.
continue reading "Lack of Snow Doesn’t Stop the Show"

A group of cowboys were in New York in February to promote tourism in Alberta.

Among those unleashed in midtown Manhattan were Miss Rodeo Canada Aleaha More, 2004 Cowboy of the Year Jim Dunn, champion saddle bronc rider Jeremy Harden, and four-time Canadian tie-down roping champion Joe Lucas, and his family (including children Katy and Kyle)

The group performed rope tricks on the streets of downtown Manhattan to draw attention from passersby.

“They talked to me first,” said Lucas, the week before he headed to the Big Apple. “But when I mentioned my kids roped too, they decided to bring out the whole crew.
continue reading "Alberta Cowboys take bite out of ‘Big Apple’"

No charges will be laid in the tragedy that befell last year’s Calgary Stampede Trail Drive when nine horses jumped to their deaths over a bridge.

Trail Drive 2005 was a celebration in honour of the province’s centennial where seasoned cowboys and guest wranglers (who paid $15,000 each to participate) trailed 200 bucking horses from Hanna to Calgary, a 206-km journey.

While the event showcased the great horses and history of the Calgary Stampede, it ended in sadness when the herd stampeded out of control near the city limits and several horses leaped from a bridge into the river.
continue reading "No charges laid in horse deaths"

Scientists in Australia say they have developed a vaccine for the virus that killed a well known horse trainer in the 1990s.

Vic Rail, who trained Vo Rogue, caught the Hendra virus in 1994 from his horses. He died from pneumonia.

Queensland Racing was paralyzed by the virus that killed 14 racehorses, as well as a close relative of a veterinarian involved in the case. The sick horses showed had a severe lung infection, a bloody froth was coming from their mouths and noses, and 13 eventually died. Vic Rail developed the same symptoms.

The Hendra virus has killed 70 per cent of the horses it has infected. The vaccine research was conducted by Australia’s Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization.

A spokesman, Dr. Bruce Mungall, says a similar virus crippled the Malaysian pork industry in 1998. It spread among piggery workers, staff in freezing works, and even made it into abbatoirs in Singapore, with a final death toll of 105 people. Its spread was only halted through the slaughter of 1.1 million pigs.

by Sonja Christopher

There’s a controversy brewing in Alberta over changes to the Veterinary Profession Act (VPA). The main impetus for these changes stems from a court case that took place back in 2002. In that case, a complaint was lodged with the AVMA against Louis Pequin, an equine dentist.

The AVMA took the stance that Pequin was illegally practicing veterinary medicine, and so took the case to court … and lost.

They lost in the Court of Queen’s Bench, they lost in the Court of Appeals, and the AVMA’s application to the Supreme Court was also denied. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled:

“The statutes creating these professional monopolies, sanctioned by law, access to which is controlled and which protect their members in good standing who meet the required conditions against any competition, must however be strictly applied. Anything which is not clearly prohibited may be done with impunity by anyone not a member of these closed associations.”
continue reading "Controversial Decision Looms"