Category Archives: Health

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...

I wish that discussions about vaccines were easy. It would be great to have this sort of vaccine equation: Horse + vaccine + (reactions x 0) = no disease Otherwise...

Although southern California is a pretty balmy place in which to keep a horse, not everyone is so lucky.  Fortunately, while wintertime means that people are breaking out the down...

Question: “A couple friends and I were talking about all the horses we’ve trained and ridden throughout the years and comparing their characteristics and personality traits, etc. We were wondering if...

Among the more common injuries besetting equine athletes are injuries to the various tendons and ligaments of the legs. In fact, they’re so common that some have even earned the...

I have never been satisfied just going out and working on horses. I mean, I really love working on horses, but I always thought that my obligation—to horses, to my...

Fall is here! Along with pretty colors and the holidays, the season brings new airborne allergens. Did you know that allergic responses in horses are cumulative and that a response...

I ran across a thought-provoking article in the November 2014 edition of the human medical journal, Pediatrics. ASIDE: Yes, I have other things to do. The article is called, “Overdiagnosis:...

I will be the first to admit that I am really glad that I am practicing on horses in modern times, as opposed to just about any other times. For...

The horse’s foot is so important that they’ve even come up with a cliché about it. You know, “No foot, no horse.” Yada yada yada. But, as another cliché goes,...