Category Archives: Health

Anemia (a decreased number of red blood cells) seems to be something that a lot of horse owners are told they should be concerned about. In fact, I am quite...

Although small in stature, the 10-year-old miniature horse named Itty Bitty is anything but shy in personality. When owner Julie Russell of West Palm Beach, FL, and her good friend...

One of the more common phone calls that I get is from a concerned horse owner who also happens to own a thermometer. I’m here to tell you that I...

There's a growing problem among the equine population, and we do mean growing. An increase in horses with metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and Equine Metabolic Syndrome has veterinarians and...

So… your horse is flooding the stall. He takes a drink every time you take a look at him. You are single-handedly keeping the bedding company in business. There are...

Every owner dreads having to decide whether or not to send their horse onto the surgical table for colic surgery. For a fully-informed decision, it is important that the horse’s...

Assuming that you haven’t been living in a cave, or haven’t been enjoying some wonderful vacation in a remote location without internet access (they exist), by now, you’ve probably heard...

I cannot imagine that I am the only person who wishes that I could predict the future. Try as I might, I just can’t. Not even if I have an...

I am constantly amazed at people’s taste for “natural.” I mean, really, humans have spent most of their civilized life trying to get away from natural. Now, it’s constantly being...

When I first got out of veterinary school and started looking at horses prior to purchase (usually referred to as a “vet check” or a prepurchase exam), the horses usually...

Utrecht University’s Equine Clinic is performing cutting-edge biomechanics research that is reshaping how we think about the equine body and applying new technologies to enhance health. Last month while I...

When horses are not performing up to their usual standards, regardless of discipline, the signs can be subtle. Usually, it is the rider who first picks up on a slight...

For decades, horse owners have been regularly deworming horses—with an almost messianic zeal—under the general rationale that all parasites are terrible and horse owners must do everything that they can...

In my experience, people spend a lot of time worrying about things that they can do to keep their horse(s) in the best health possible.  Of course, that’s completely understandable;...

You’ve subscribed to seven horse-related magazines. You have a regular subscription to a supplement delivery service. When your horse takes an off step you automatically think that he might have...

When Debbie Cruz imported her 2012 Friesian from Europe, she was excited to welcome the gelding into her life. However, the mount she purchased as a gelding from The Netherlands...

You have a performance horse.  He’s not performing as you had hoped or expected. His form is flawed. His piaffe lacks panache. His elan has elapsed. He slides have slid. And half...

Key points: Pre-cooling is the process of reducing the body’s temperature before beginning exerciseIn this study, pre-cooling was found to reduce heart rate as well as surface and rectal temperatures...

If you’ve been around horses for any length of time (usually measured in minutes), you’ve probably heard that a horse needs X-rays (hopefully, it wasn’t yours).   And while you...

Key points: Cervical (neck) osteoarthritis is a potential source of pain and poor performance in sport horsesResearchers examined cervical x-rays for 104 jumping horses during the 2018 winter circuit in...