A lawsuit, since settled, offers a glimpse into dressage, the chosen sport of Mitt Romney’s wife, and into the elite world of expensive horses.

Read the rest here:
In Rarefied Sport, a View of the Romneys’ World

An undercover video shows horses being struck with sticks and subjected to “soring,” an illegal process in which chemicals are placed on their legs to induce the trademark Tennessee Walking Horse high-stepping gait.

Read the original:
Horses beaten, ‘sored’ to win shows

TED HARVEY CONSERVATION AREA, Del. — The arthropod orgy was well underway when Breanne Preisen trudged over the low dune onto the narrow beach, where tens of thousands of horseshoe crabs were getting down to the age-old business of reproduction. Read full article > >

Continued here:
Spring fling: Prehistoric horseshoe crabs spawn on moonlit beach

Notinrwildestdremz, one of 177 starving and neglected horses rescued from a farm in upstate New York in 2009, is entered for her first start on Sunday at Aqueduct.

The rest is here:
Filly Makes Ride From Neglect to the Racetrack

The new economics of horse racing are making an always-dangerous game even more so, as lax oversight puts animal and rider at risk.

Read the original:
Breakdown | Death and Disarray at the Racetrack: Death and Disarray at America’s Racetracks

Ann Romney talks openly about her love of horses. Ever since her multiple sclerosis was diagnosed more than a decade ago, the presidential candidate’s wife has turned to riding for therapy and relaxation. But her simple pastoral hobby has become more complicated as it has become more competitive, and she is less open about her involvement in dressage, a rarefied, ritualized sport often referred to as “horse ballet.” Read full article > >

Link:
For Ann Romney, horses are a lifeline

“ Luck ,” HBO’s new gritty, realistic (if somewhat confusing) horse racing drama, is in hot water with PETA, after it became public that two horses died during the filming of the series’s first season. As Entertainment Weekly reported , the pilot — which fictionalized a horse being injured and euthanized in one scene — did not carry the American Humane Association’s stamp to assure viewers that “No animals were harmed” during filming. That’s because a horse suffered a severe fracture while filming a race sequence and had to be euthanized. The same fate befell a second horse during episode seven’s filming. Read full article > >

Original post:
‘Luck’ in hot water with PETA over two euthanized horses

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana finally has the horses to beat top-ranked Kentucky. Christian Watford’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left wing stood up to a replay review Saturday night, giving the Hoosiers a stunning 73-72 upset. The lead changed hands five times in the final 121 seconds before Watford’s big shot set off a wild scene, with Indiana fans storming the court and crowding around players. Hoosiers coach Tom Cream and the officials stood side-by-side, pressed up against the scorer’s table to look at the replay. Read full article > >

Read more here:
Christian Watford hits 3-pointer at buzzer to give Indiana 73-72 upset of No. 1 Kentucky

Animal rights advocates in New York are strengthening their push to ban the hansom cabs, whose owners say they are being harassed.

See the original post:
Campaign Gains to Make Central Park Carriage Rides Horseless

More than 60 horses and ponies have been rescued and nine found dead at a farm in Antrim.

The rest is here:
Horses kept in squalid conditions

I have the soul of a rider. I was born with it. I’m from the Greenspring Valley in northern Maryland. It’s where Sagamore Farms is — when I was a toddler, my mother would avoid driving by that farm because I would scream I wanted a horse. It would start as soon as we got near that farm. I didn’t really learn to ride until I was 19 or 20. I had a boyfriend, and he was like, “If you’re gonna be with me, you gotta learn to ride.” I took to it like a duck to water. I didn’t keep the boyfriend but kept the horses. Read full article > >

Read this article:
First Person Singular: Kimberly Clark, 48, Horse trainer, Leighton Farm

Barns burn down, sending horses scattering.

Continue reading here:
Twister Hits Kentucky Derby Track

Times photographers were a presence at Aqueduct, Belmont, Yonkers and Roosevelt from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Read more here:
Lens: They Had the Horse Right Here

Jaguars, bison, horses, prairie dogs, bears and other fascinating creatures. Read full article > >

View original post here:
A sea lion, pied hornbills, rescued turtles and more in this week’s animal views

Dozens of swans have been slaughtered around the UK this year, a serial cat killer is on the loose in Norfolk, and over the past three decades hundreds of horses have been mutilated. But how is serial animal violence investigated?

Read more:
Inside animal CSI