How to care for the basic health needs of horses
Conformation…what does it mean? If you’ve spent any time around horses or horse people, you’ve heard this word or related words used again and again. "Wow, that horse has great conformation!" or "My trainer said not t
Accepted wisdom in the horse world tells us that an average light horse weighs about 1,000 pounds, or 450 kg. A draft horse, upwards of double that. But does that rather arbitrary figure really mean anything? After all, what is an “average” horse?
A huge amount of time, effort, and money often are invested in the preparation of horses for various athletic events, including Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing, three-day eventing, steeplechasing, dressage, hunter-jumper events, reining,
Respiratory disease is second only to musculoskeletal problems as a cause of loss of performance in competition horses, according to some of the leading researchers around the world. In fact, N. Edward Robinson, BVet Med, PhD, MRCVS, of Michigan
Osselets begin with swelling on the front of the fetlock joint, with the possible addition of synovial distensions on the sides of the joint (commonly called windpuffs). It’s painful when the horse flexes the joint, and can cause lameness.
Feeding a healthy horse is one thing; most of us have a pretty good understanding of what works and what doesn’t. But feeding a horse who’s sick, injured, or recovering from surgery is another.
Your favorite horse is tacked up and ready for your daily ride. You mount up, and as soon as you begin warming up in your outdoor ring, he starts tossing his head and sneezing. The sneezing eventually stops, but every time you
My horse will not cross railroad tracks. I have tried getting off and leading him across, even bribing him with treats.
One goal of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) is to rescue, rehabilitate, and find homes for all animals in need. The group also is in the business of educating owners, and they specifically are working t
For first-time horse owners, getting a new horse can border on the overwhelming. You have to find a suitable boarding barn or create adequate stabling on your own property and buy tack, grooming equipment, cooling sheets and/or blankets. Yo
Yes, we have treatments that can assist certain types of arthritic conditions, but when it comes to the nasty stuff–chronic arthritis–cures still are elusive, with pain management offering only varying degrees of success dependant on the severity
Truck, auto, boat, plane–buying used saves money. A pre-owned horse trailer also can offer economy over a new one. To bring home the best buy, learn how to evaluate the condition of a secondhand trailer.
You might find the right
How would you like to have a dozen or so concise, easy-to-understand pages put together as a how-to of keeping your horse healthier and what to do before, during, and after you load your horse in a trailer and ship him? Include some
My veterinarian recently prescribed Bute when my gelding came up sore after an endurance ride. He advised a specific dosage, but I wonder if I could be helping my horse more by increasing the amount of Bute or giving it to him more often.”y veterinarian recently prescribed Bute when my gelding came up sore after an endurance ride. He advised a specific dosage, but I wonder if I could be helping my horse more by increasing the amount of ” veterinarian recently prescribed Bute when my gelding came up sore after an endurance ride. He advised a specific dosage, but I wonder if I could be helping my hors”veterinarian recently prescribed Bute when my gelding came up sore after an endurance ride. He advised a specific dosage, but I wo”eterinarian recently prescribed Bute when my gelding came up sore after an endurance ride. He ad”terinarian recently prescribed Bute when my gelding came up sor”erinarian recently prescribed Bu”ri
We know that all horses have a guttural pouch, and some of their distant relations have a smaller version of the same structure. But until very recently, we didn’t know why they existed.
Old age treats some horses better than others. Many continue to lead happy, healthy lives well into their 30s–a little slower, maybe, with some loss of muscle tone or a bit of a swayback, but otherwise in good flesh and good spirits until
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