Latest News – The Horse
Growing Pains–Physitis
Learn about this disease in young horses that leads to enlarged, painful areas just above the knees or hocks.
Immunity Through Nutrition
If your performance horse does well on a balanced diet, can he do better with some extra, immune-boosting nutrients? What about young horses and aging horses, ill horses and healthy horses, working horses and lightly ridden horses?
For sure, studies show that extra amounts of certain nutrients benefit the immune system–but not in every case. Some horses don’t need and can’t use extra
Waterers That Work in Winter
Fresh water is important to horses all year, especially in winter. Some waterers are designed to remain functional in cold weather–with an insulated tank or bowl, a heater, or a combination of a heating unit and insulation. Following are some of the ways you can keep water flowing to your horses even when it’s below freezing.
Insulated Buckets
Buckets made of insulating
Fighting Invaders
The immune systems of humans and horses are what keep us alive. Without a properly functioning immune system, disease would run rampant, with serious illness and death being the ultimate outcome.
Men vs. Women Handlers
Your answer to the question about the fellow with the peculiar method of “dominating stallions” (December 2003, www.TheHorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=4749) led to a very long discussion where I work. We all agreed that the guy’s method sounded weird and disgusting. But then our discussion drifted into a little war of the sexes. We
Do Horses Have Heart Attacks?
I read about horses dying of “heart attacks,” but I’ve had veterinarians tell me there’s no such thing as a horse having a heart attack. What are people talking about when they say a horse died of a heart attack?
Should the Screw Stay In?
My 2-year-old filly clipped a fence post in a pasture eight months ago. The result was a slab fracture of the right hind long pastern bone. My vet attempted to repair it with a screw, which failed to hold the fragment in place
Nutrition During Stall Rest
I purchased a 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding with a fractured knee. My veterinarian put him on lay-up for an additional four months of stall rest. I am concerned about nutrition during both the period of stall rest and the subsequent turnout.
Be Prepared for the Worst
September 15th is a day I will never forget. The Dearborn County Sheriff’s office asked if I would respond to a horse trailer accident involving 50 horses, and I was on my way. I was the only vet present to help fire and rescue personnel extract 20 horses from an overturned horse trailer. Once that was done, my tech and I began triage of 30 horses suffering from traumatic injuries.
I hop
Vaccination Indications
The world is getting smaller every day. People and horses travel across the country and around the planet at rates never seen before. It has opened up huge opportunities for competition, growth, and learning. Unfortunately, it has also given us increased opportunities to be exposed to a growing number of diseases. Never before has it been so important to connect with your veterinarian to focu
Defending Against Disease
Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a 12-part series of articles on vaccinations of horses.
Of all the medical advances in the past couple of centuries, the one that might be the most remarkable is also the one we’re most likely to take for granted. The simple pinprick of an intramuscular injection taking less than 10 seconds protects our families, our pets,
What is a Cryptorchid?
Cryptorchid, ridgling, and even rig are terms used to describe a stallion with at least one undescended testis. The condition is not unique to equids, but the horse is of specific importance as the retained testis fails to produce viable sperm, so fertility rates are affected. However, the testis is still capable of producing testosterone, so the animal will show stallion-like behavior. The
Basic Horse Anatomy and Physiology
Gain an understanding of how the horse is constructed and what this means in the realm of form to function.
A New Orleans Vet’s Perspective
“It’s just so amazing to me that in one day, it can all be lost and suddenly you live in a dangerous place,” said Allison Barca, DVM, who has served many of the horses in and around New Orleans for years. Most of Barca’s clients were affected by
Breeding Your Stallion On Cue
Our stallion has a great pedigree, and we have kept him intact hoping he could eventually become a breeding stallion. We?ve put a lot of effort into getting him to show well enough to be worth breeding. He has always done really well except for
Shock Wave One Year Later
Scott McClure, DVM, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University, has been at the helm of much of the shock wave therapy research performed in horses over the past five years. At HMT’s
