Author Archives: Eleanor Kellon, VMD

Hind gut acidity, sometimes used synonymously with hind gut ulcers, is blamed for a staggering array of signs ranging from poor appetite, cracked hooves, right hind lameness and any undesirable...

With all the joint supplement options out there it’s difficult to make a choice. As a general guide, upper level athletes and horses working on hard ground or over difficult...

Grass or Alfalfa? Timothy or Orchard? Grain hays? Is Bermuda safe? It might seem simple enough, but there is plenty of room for confusion in selecting a hay. Legume hays,...

Weanlings have intensive nutritional needs and you shouldn’t start feeding them like a smaller version of an adult. Nutrient dense diets are those that have high levels of protein/amino acids...

There are many possible causes of laminitis but the vast majority of cases have a hormonal/endocrine root. There is a peak in the spring, related to grazing young, high sugar...

It’s difficult enough to support the mass of a horse on a tiny column like the leg if it is a rigid structure. When it also has a moving part...

We can all think of at least one old horse care myth that has been debunked but continues to this day. One of the most persistent is that fructan causes...

Even if your horse has no skin allergies and manages to avoid wounds or infections, summer still poses threats to the skin and coat. Bleaching and fading related to sun...

From sales yearlings to seniors, pleasure trail horses to upper echelon competitors, caretakers and owners are attuned to muscle bulk. Additionally, muscle dysfunction or pain is a grossly under-appreciated cause...

While hay is just dehydrated grass there are several differences between hay and the live plant that you need to take into consideration when adding pasture to the horse’s diet....

You’ve heard the phrase “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a duck." That is an example of abductive reasoning, more accurately inference, where...

It’s difficult to go anywhere online (and probably off) where people are talking about horses without having something come up about hind gut ulcers, symptoms and treatments. There are even...

Beautiful to look at, wonderful to smell and if you’re a horse there is nothing you would rather be eating and arguably nothing more natural you should be eating. On...

Working horses in summer heat creates some significant welfare issues with consequences as severe as death. Research has provided some very valuable information but despite this there are still many...