What do we bed our horses on?
What do we bed our horses on? People often ask about stable bedding. What to use? What is best to use and why?
We have elected to use cardboard as a bedding. In this short article we discuss why we use it and what are the benefits for it.
Body Condition Scoring
Body Weight assessment is so important in the management of your horse. Ensuring that you maintain a proper body condition score around 6-7 is ideal for all horse.
Lumps and bumps
Lumps and bumps can appear at any time on a horse. Ultrasound is one of the best ways to assess what is happening under the skin.
Foot balance - Sole Depth
Sole depth is so important when assessing what is happening within a horse’s foot. Thin soles can lead to a lot of problems.
Foot balance - Palmar or plantar angle
Palmar or plantar angle is an important measurement to consider when assessing how your horse is shod.
Foot balance
Caudal support ratio
The Caudal Support % is a measure of how much of the foot is behind the centre of rotation through the coffin joint. In an ideal world we aim for 40% behind (heel structure region) behind this line. A smaller number means that the heels are often crushed and a larger force is being placed on small area.
The Coughing Horse
Treating a coughing horse, can be challenging. Often it is not as simple as some antibiotics and they will be fine. We may need to work out the cause, whether that be infectious, allergy based or a combination. It is very important to know what is the cause and then tailor treatment for the cause. Taking samples of the cells in the lungs and the trachea can help us know the cause and then treat accordingly.
What joint medications do we use?
Choosing which joint medication to use and when is an important decision to be made. It can not often be a simple answer and we often need to consider multiple aspects before choosing the right medication. Age and intended use of the horse can have an affect along with any health issues.
Return to exercise in rehab?
Rehab is such an important part of a horse’s return to riding. It is a balance act between doing too little and doing too much. We have to push the injured area to continual to heal and accomodate the increase in exercise levels. Doing that is an art and takes time to develop that skill to push to the edge but not over the edge of the cliff.
Return to Competition
Returning to competition after a break for many horses, is an important chance to catch up on your veterinary management. Whether it be vaccinations, foot balance issues, dental check ups and even joint treatments. Without the stress of competition time line we can use this times to set your horse up for the season.
Why Gastroscope your horse versus just treating?
Getting a gastroscope done before any treatment is so important. It allows you a chance to know what you are dealing with and also be able to quantify how treatment is going. Glandular ulcers in horses are very common. Also not responding universally to treatment so knowing what you have with before treatment is vitally important.
Insulin Dysregulation or Equine Metabolic Syndrome
Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is most likely seen in horses and ponies where there is a dysregulation between the production of insulin and the sensitivity of the cells to the insulin. Read on for top 5 things you need to know about Insulin Dysregulation and EMS as a horse owner.