Category Archives: Health

A Honey of a Wound Treatment

There’s something really sweet that you might want to consider putting on your horse’s wound. Literally:  sweet. You may have some in your kitchen—honey. Honey is being investigated for its...

You Need Electrolytes, Here’s Why

Electrolytes. Not just a running joke in the movie Idiocracy, electrolytes are an incredibly important part of maintaining vital functions in your body. Certified athletic trainers and pro athletes swear...

Bute, Dex, and Risk

Dogma has always been a curious phenomenon to me. In the horse world, people often get dogmatic, from the “best” way to feed a horse, to the “proper” way to...

I Tried It: Fly Predators

Most of us have probably come to accept that flies are a fact of life on the farm. Sure, there are ways to combat them for a while, but it...

The Equine Microbiome

What with all of the products out there to help “support” your horse’s gastrointestinal system, I thought it might be fun to share some thoughts and research with my friend...

Raising Piper

One writes a blog at the risk of sounding preachy. In my blog, I try to share my opinions, my experience, as well as links to scientific research. I realize...

Bacteria versus Virus

In my experience, horse owners worry about a lot of things, and especially disease caused by bacteria and viruses—but I don’t think that most horse owners really understand much about...

Is My Horse At Risk for COVID-19?

At the time of writing there have been 1,029 scientific papers published on COVID-19—two papers in 2019 and 1,027 in 2020! This illustrates how acute the emergence of this pandemic...

Retiring (and Not Shy)

When horses get older, people often talk about retiring them.  And until asked, I never really thought that much about it. I mean, I’ve seen plenty of horses that have...

Prepare Your Mare to Be in Foal

A tiny brown muzzle and dark, confused eyes are finally visible. The grey mare, flanks slick with sweat, rallies and completes the last push. It’s really happening; your foal is...

7 Rules for Feeding Your Horse

I tend to be pretty flexible. There aren’t a whole lot of things that I believe are absolutely critical. But when it comes to horses, when it comes to feeding...

Scratches (etc.)

There’s a problem that crops up pretty regularly when it’s wet outside. I hope that you horse hasn’t had it. It’s called “scratches.” Or mud fever. Or greasy heel. Or...