Latest News – The Horse
Hoofin’ It in Boots
Hoof boots aren’t just for emergencies or soaking injured feet; these boots are made for walking, running, climbing, and more. Today an increasing variety of boots adorn the other-wise bare feet of trail horses, working horses, dressage horses, and even highly competitive endurance horses. Are boots right for you and your horse? If so, how do you pick out the right boot? Read on to find out.
Feeding the Immune System: Nutrient Support for Horses
The immune system is one of the most complex systems in the horse, consisting of an elaborate set of cells and cell mediators that respond to external factors such as stress, exercise, stage of life, and challenges from pathogens. Both humans and horses must consume nutrients to support all body systems, including the immune system. But how do we know which nutrients support the immune system?
Horse Wounds 101 (Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention)
With increased activity all horses are at a higher risk of sustaining traumatic lacerations or other wound types. Some might appear more serious than others, and the wound might be hours, days, or even weeks old before it is discovered.
Pain Management
In veterinary medicine, particularly equine practice, the recognition, classification, management, and overall importance of pain and pain management have only recently been described.
Deworming
Deworming is an essential part of managing your horse’s overall health. This free fact sheet is a general guide to deworming your horse, including common parasites, dewormer options, parasite control via manure management, proper scheduling and more.
Cloning Horses and Other Equids
Cloning is defined as the process of creating a genetically identical copy of another cell or organism (i.e., bacteria, plant or animal) through non-sexual means.
Composting
Efficiently managing manure is an important aspect of caring for horses. Composting is an economical and efficient method for managing manure for virtually any equine operation, regardless of size.
Ultrasonography for Horses
Equine practitioners use ultrasound machines to help diagnose a number of physical abnormalities.
Equine Lameness
Equine lameness, defined as a deviation from a normal gait, is an indicator of a structural or functional disorder of the musculoskeletal system (the limbs or spinal column) that is noted while the horse is either moving or stationary.
Equine Joint Injections
Equine joint injections can help veterinarians diagnose lameness or medicate a horse’s painful joint.
Equine Arthritis
Equine arthritis refers to an inflammation of the joint. There are different kinds of arthritis, such as septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the most important arthritis affecting horses is osteoarthritis.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are two of the six essential nutrients required by horses (the other four are water, carbohydrates, protein, and fat).
Hoof Supplements
Oral supplements might be indicated for horses with dry, cracked, or brittle hooves.
Feeding Easy Keepers
The term “easy keepers” refers to horses and ponies that maintain or gain weight on a minimum amount of food.
Feeding Geriatric Horses
Just because a horse is older does not mean he needs a special diet. However, many older horses with special physical or nutritional needs (geriatric horses) require specific diets and feed modifications to maintain good health and body condition.
General Equine Supplements
Supplements, or nutraceuticals, are thought to have some beneficial effects for horses, but more studies are necessary.
