Obesity has a significant impact on the structural changes in cardiovascular tissue in horses, a recent study has found. Obesity is known to have significant adverse effects on horse health with laminitis an obvious example, but it can also contribute to other problems such as those affecting soundness or fertility.

The immune system is the body’s defense against infection. Vaccines help the body to develop immunity by imitating an infection and are intended to create and maintain immunity against specific diseases for a period of time. Together with good management and biosecurity practices aimed at preventing and controlling infection, a vaccination program can minimize the horse’s risk of getting sick, as well as lessen the severity of sickness and reduce the risk of spread to other animals if sickness does occur.

If you’ve ever had a gastric ulcer, you’re familiar with the burning or gnawing feeling in your stomach area that is typical of peptic ulceration of the stomach lining. This pain may last for anywhere from half an hour to four hours, and can occur after eating or even during the night, disrupting sleep. Nobody wants to live with pain or discomfort, and the average person would not hesitate to seek treatment for gastric ulcers.

Equine Cushing’s Disease, more correctly called Pars Pituitary Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), is a non-cancerous but progressive enlargement of the pituitary gland in the horse. It is estimated that 20 percent of horses over the age of 15 will develop PPID. Note that Cushing’s Syndrome in humans and dogs (when not due to giving too much steroidal medication) involves an actual tumour of either the pituitary or the adrenal glands, (either benign or malignant), whereas Cushing’s Disease in horses has a different cause.