Latest News – The Horse
Handle Stallions With Care
The horses that I have been around all my life have one thing in common–they are all different. Whether it was the pack horses in our front yard when I was a child in Colorado, or the racing Quarter Horses my Dad owned in Oklahoma later in my
Pelvic Fracture
My mare suffered a pelvic fracture five months ago. What timeframe can I expect for starting light exercise?
Shoeing Wild Horses
I’ve just adopted a wild horse and have heard that they often don’t need shoes. Do we need to shoe her?
Licking/Chewing=Learning?
I’m studying for an MSc in Equine Science and am researching equine behavior. Having studied scientific literature, including your catalog of horse behavior (The Equid Ethogram, A Practical Field Guide to Horse Behavior), I cannot find any
Make a Lasting Imprint
It’s been 14 years since the concept of foal imprinting hit the equestrian world’s collective consciousness. Since then, the notion has been marketed, written about, practiced, modified, and even studied in scientific research. In short, it’s
Live Cover Management
No one method for managing live cover breeding is foolproof. Handling of the mare and stallion should be individualized to minimize injury and optimize success.
Monitoring Pregnancy
Preparations for breeding and the act of getting a mare bred involve dedicated time and commitment by a horse owner. Then it seems as if all that needs to be done is to sit back and wait for the foaling date. But this is not quite so; it is
Equine Winter Nutrition
Come the days of long shadows, when the sun lies low in the sky, jeweled leaves crumble and fade away, and the wind’s crispness hints of the cold, gray days on the way. The pasture dies down. It’s time to start getting extra fuel into your
Vaccination Schedules for Adult Horses
As desirable as it would be to have a national (or even regional) one-size-fits-all protocol for vaccinating adult horses, vaccination recommendations are best tailored to individual circumstances. These primarily include the areas of the countr
Christmas Giving
Two months, three hurricanes, five states, hundreds dead, thousands homeless, billions of dollars in damage. How can we understand? More importantly, how can we help? In last month’s issue, we devoted many pages to covering what happened in
Skin Testing in Horses With RAO
Preventing attacks of wheezing, coughing, and labored breathing in a horse with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) involves eliminating allergens from the horse’s environment. But how do you know which allergens are most problematic for your
The Future of Equine Flu
The face of equine influenza is evolving, and so must our understanding of its behavior and the vaccines that protect against it. Updating flu vaccines, transmission of flu between horses and dogs, and flu mutation were featured topics in a
Supplements of Benefit to the Performance Horse (Book Excerpt)
A balanced vitamin supplement may best provide the additional needed vitamins. However, once again, it is important not to overestimate the intensity of exercise and competition your horse performs so that you do not oversupplement with potentially h
Joint Injury Prevention in Foals
Developmental and traumatic joint injuries are a significant problem in Thoroughbred foals. These injuries, such as osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and fetlock joint lesions, often require costly medical treatment or surgical repair.
Vesicular Stomatitis Premises Dwindling
According to the latest update from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Nov. 21, 35 premises in five states remain under vesicular stomatitis (VS) quarantine. Of those, 27 premises are on their 21-day countdowns for quarantine
Sixth Annual Purina Equine Veterinary Conference Attracts Veterinarians, Veterinary Students
With nearly 400 in attendance, this year’s Equine Veterinary Conference was the largest and one of the most successful conferences ever hosted by Purina Mills, according to Purina Mills Horse Business Group officials. The conference took place
