When veterinarians evaluate horses for lameness, they usually provide the owners with written descriptions of what they observe. For example, “Lame at trot, left fore, +3 ... ,” is what you might find scrawled in a vet’s notes. While...
You’ve decided to let your horse go barefoot but are receiving conflicting advice on how to best manage him. You thought you could just have the shoes pulled and let your horse go, save for the occasional trimming.
But some...
Like a bike with a flat tire or a tennis racket with a broken string, a horse with poor hooves has limited usefulness. But how to keep a horse’s hooves in their best condition is an often discussed and...
Springtime brings warmer weather, greener grass and longer hours of daylight. It also brings one of the biggest challenges horse owners face: mud. It’s a dirty word, and it makes horsekeeping an ugly task.Mud presents a range of issues,...
Does your horse behave as if his feet are a little "ouchy" after a long trail ride over rough terrain? Are his tootsies tired by the end of a long day of showing? Of course, establish that this is...
Veterinarians and researchers often debate the semantics and definitions of navicular disease, navicular syndrome and navicular-type pain. Susan Dyson, MA, VetMB, Ph.D., FRCVS, head of Clinical Orthopaedics at the Centre for Equine Studies at the Animal Health Trust in...
If your horse cannot avoid living in damp footing during the wintertime, he may be prone to thrush and abscesses in his feet. The thrush is due to the constant moisture combined with frequent contact with manure. Abscesses result...
Nothing can be more satisfying to us vets than a really good hoof abscess. Right from start to finish, they can make our day. It starts with the call, pretty much always the same, "Horse was fine yesterday; very...
If you have horses, chances are you'll see thrush firsthand sooner or later. Thrush is a bacterial infection, though it's thought that yeast and fungal infections might also contribute to it.
With its black, tar-like, oderiferous discharge, it's easy to...
Devoted equestrians spend hard-earned money to maintain their horses’ good physical condition. Regular veterinarian visits and a call from the farrier every six to eight weeks just scratch the surface of annual expenses.
A farrier's skill and level of...
