Despite the fact that horses evolved on a forage-based diet that is high in fiber and low in calories, some horse owners and trainers just can’t resist feeding a low-fiber, calorie-dense diet. “Horses are grazing animals,” explains Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVB, a professor emeritus of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “When they are denied access to pasture …

What do overweight, insulin-resistant horses at risk for lifelong, recurring bouts of laminitis need? These horses might need a special dietary supplement called short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS), which are short chains of sugar molecules linked together. These scFOS are metabolized not by the hor

Armistice Day, more commonly known as Veterans Day, marks the day when millions of people worldwide stop to remember those who have served and died for their countries in military conflicts throughout history. This Veterans Day, spare a few extra seconds to remember the countless number of horses that lost their lives in combat alongside the brave men and women who served their nations.

In the face of potentially disastrous global warming events, pathogenic microscopic organisms appear to be on a mission to impact the surviving species. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are rapidly adapting to Earth’s changing environment. Pathogenic microorganisms pose an important health threat to our horses as new diseases invade North America and previously eradicated diseases reappear.

In a Sept. 20 press release from American Veterinary Medical Frontiers Inc. (AVMF), details regarding “Nora,” a “healthy, well-cared-for, friendly horse,” according to the press release that was bred by Robert J. Tashjian, VMD, associated with the AVMF for her natural immunity to equine infectious anemia (EIA) were relayed and the devastating news of her government-mandat

As of Oct. 8 more than 2,300 horses associated with the Kleberg County, Texas, piroplasmosis outbreak have been tested for the disease, and 409 have turned up positive–only one more since the previous report from the USDA to the World Organization for Animal Health on Aug. 25, 2010. The first case associated with the Kleberg Country outbreak was diagnosed in

Appropriate preventive and therapeutic measures to avoid and/or treat gastric ulcers in endurance horses might improve performance. Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is extremely common in competitive horses involved in show jumping, dressage, and Western disciplines. One recent study reported that more than 90% of racehorses had EGUS. “Unlike these other types

“Laminitis is a very frustrating disease from a number of standpoints, including management,” explained James Orsini, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, director of the Laminitis Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. “The pain and debility are often so severe that euthanasia is often considered

Bone fragments are seen in lame and non-lame horses, it is difficult to determine if they’re clinically significant.

There currently is much hype and hope pertaining to stem cell therapy in equine medicine, but not all methods of collecting stem cells are created equal, warn researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal, Canada.

Sinonasal disease is challenging to treat, which is why some surgeons voluntarily choose to take a “second look” a few days after surgery to ensure nothing was initially overlooked.

Stem cell therapy for tendon injuries is used increasingly in clinical practice, yet a number of important hurdles persist that made one group of researchers look at using embryonic stem cells rather than bone marrow-derived stem cells in horses. “Obtaining mesenchymal stem cells obtained from a horse’s own bone marrow is invasive, and it then takes two to four weeks to

his year has been an exciting one for Arabian horse owners. Not only has the genetic mutation for lavender foal syndrome (LFS) been determined, a test that can identify affected foals and horses that carry the gene for the disease has been developed.