Illness & Injury

Canadian Innovation Helps Horses with Asthma

Updated:

April 26, 2023

aerohippus, equine inhalers, how to treat a horse with asthma, equine asthma medications, my horse has asthma, drugs for horse asthma

A diagnosis of asthma used to mean retirement for performance horses, or in some cases, euthanasia. But with advancements in research, good management, and the development of products that help heavey, coughing horses perform, now many riders can keep their wheezing horses comfortable and extend their lives.

Biosecurity on the Horse Farm

Updated:

April 11, 2023

Biosecurity horse farm, how to protect horse from virus, pathogens horse farm, designing a horse barn for health, safely transporting horses

Protecting Horses and Humans - The COVID-19 pandemic showed how alarmingly quickly a virus can spread across countries and continents and created an understandable reaction to protect against infection from any and all viruses and pathogens. By extension, it is also essential that there is a level of biosecurity on your farm or acreage to protect horses against agents of disease.

Study Looks at Long-Term Treatment of PPID

Updated:

April 3, 2023

long-term response of equids with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction to treatment with pergolide, treatment of ppid equine cushings disease

Long-term use of pergolide to treat horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID or Equine Cushing’s disease) produces clinical improvement in most cases, and improved endocrine test results in some, according to recent work.

Understanding Stringhalt (Equine Reflex Hypertonia)

Updated:

February 9, 2023

Hypochaeris radicata, stringhalt equine reflex hypertonia, diseases horses, horse walking strange, equine hindlimbs stringhalt, uc davis center for equine health

Stringhalt, or equine reflex hypertonia, is a neuromuscular condition that causes a gait abnormality characterized by involuntary, exaggerated upward movement of one or both of the hindlimbs. It looks like a jerk or hop, with the affected hindlimb(s) snapped up towards the abdomen. This generally occurs with every stride at the walk but can lessen at the trot and is usually absent at the canter. The degree of hyperflexion varies from mild to severe and is most obvious when the horse is turning sharply, backing, going down a slope, in the first few walking steps after standing still, or during gait transitions. A hopping gait may be exhibited in severe cases.

How to Check Your Horse’s Vital Signs

Updated:

January 26, 2023

horse vital signs, equine vital signs, horse vitals, equine vitals, horse heart rate, horse pulse, equine heart rate, horse gut sounds, equine gut sounds, equine pulse, horse respiration, equine respiration, horse breathing, equine breathing, horse capillary, equine capillary, horse temperature, equine temperature, canadian horse journal, horsemanship, horse first aid, equine first aid

Every horse owner should be familiar with his or her horse’s “normal” vital signs. Knowing your horse’s healthy, resting temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, capillary refill time, and gut sounds will help you realize when he is unwell. Additionally, in the event of illness or injury to your horse, being able to check and report his vital signs can help indicate to your veterinarian the horse’s present condition.

Caring for the Equine Elder

Updated:

January 9, 2023

senior horses care, older horses weight loss, senior horse feed and nutrition, dental care senior horse

With today’s medical advances, research, and improved management, horses are living longer and longer lives. In the past, most horses were considered old when they reached their late teens. These days, it’s not uncommon for horses to live into their late 20s or even into their 30s, allowing us to spend plenty of quality time with our elder equine friends. Proper management is key to ensuring that the older horse is happy and comfortable throughout his golden years.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Equine Joint Disease

Updated:

December 7, 2022

equine joint disease, arthritis in horses, treating sore joints horses, x rays horse joints, ultrasound horses, diane gibbard

It is estimated that a staggering 60 percent of all equine lameness is due to arthritis and joint disease. One of the biggest challenges is that some arthritic horses might not show signs of lameness when there is damage and inflammation in the joint; therefore, proper prevention and early diagnosis is key to managing the progression of joint disease. There are many potential causes of equine arthritis.

Drug Increases Risk of Sudden Death in Racehorses

Updated:

December 1, 2022

racehorse death, sudden death racehorses, drugs and racehorses, thoroughbred horses, journal of the american veterinary medicine, equine injury database, equine science update, mark andrews

A drug that has been widely used in Thoroughbred racehorses in North America could increase the risk of sudden death, according to a new study. The research also identified other risk factors associated with sudden death, relating to the circumstances of the race and individual histories of the horses.

Developmental Orthopedic Disease in Foals

Updated:

November 18, 2022

nutrition for the foal, calcium for mare and foal, creep feed system, shelagh niblock, deveopmental orthopedic disease equines

Managing Nutrition for Safe Growth in Young Horses - For any horse owner, the birth of a foal is always an eagerly awaited event. That baby, the product of the carefully planned mating of two superior parents, can elicit a range of emotions for the owner, including excitement and awe, but often anxiety and worry as well. One of the concerns the owner of a newborn foal may have involves the risk of the foal developing developmental orthopedic disease (DOD), which is a name applied to a group of conditions that can affect the growing foal, including physitis, acquired angular limb deformities, flexural deformities, cervical vertebral malformations, acquired vertebral deformities, and finally, osteochondrosis (OC).

Iron in the Equine Diet

Updated:

November 9, 2022

how much iron horse, shelagh niblock, iron overload equine, iron supplements horses

Should you worry about iron overload? Horse owners who are interested in equine nutrition, and actively involved in planning the composition of their horse’s diet, will know that iron intake has become a subject of much discussion. Terms such as “iron overload” are easy to find using a Google search, and the risks associated with “free radicals” and “oxidative stress” are often coupled to the amount of iron in the equine diet. Iron levels in typical equine diets have been targeted as the reason for many equine health issues, including metabolic conditions, reduced immune function, poor hair coat and hoof wall, and developmental disease in growing horses. The internet has several popular websites available for the average horse owner to “educate” themselves about iron in the equine diet. Frequently, these sites also have products offered for sale or have links to sites that sell products that are supposed to help the horse with “iron overload.” So just what is iron overload in the equine diet, and do horse owners really need to worry about it?