Flies are a familiar seasonal frustration, but for horses, they’re more than just a nuisance—they can lead to constant tail swishing, foot stomping, head tossing, and skin twitching. Beyond being irritating, flying insects such as gnats, midges, mosquitoes, horse flies, deer flies, black flies, face flies, and stable flies pose real threats to equine health by causing skin conditions and transmitting serious diseases.

And Can These Diets Be Acceptable for Active Horses? Grains are not a required feed ingredient for horses, and reducing the amount of grain-based products fed to horses has been a popular trend in recent years.

Everyone wants to see their horses glowing from the inside out with a sleek coat – the quality of a horse’s hair coat is directly related to his overall health. Providing the horse with plenty of roughage and a balanced diet along with an effective parasite control regime, sufficient exercise, and grooming is imperative when striving for a healthy coat.

Tuning In To Your Internal State - All riders are familiar with the joy and challenge associated with mastering the dance of connection and communication between horse and rider. However, fewer riders are familiar with the role which regulating our nervous system plays in this intricate ballet.

There’s nothing like hearing a horse cough to set people scurrying around the barn to identify the culprit. After all, that cough could mean choke, or suggest that a respiratory virus has found its way into the barn. It could also indicate equine asthma. Yes, even those “everyday coughs” that we sometimes dismiss as “summer cough” or “hay cough” are a wake-up call to the potential for severe equine asthma.

Are you able to recognise the early signs that your horse’s digestive system may be under threat? Loose droppings, gastrointestinal discomfort, or in the most serious cases—colic—can often result from a sudden change in forage. Whether you're relocating to a different yard, receiving a fresh delivery of hay, or shifting from rich, dewy pasture to a dry sacrifice paddock and hay, gradual forage transition is critical to safeguarding gut health.

Most horses are maintained on a forage-based diet, meaning that the primary component of their daily ration is hay or pasture. In the equine nutrition world, the term “forage-first” has gained popularity.

Skipped Beats, Sudden Death… and Why We Shouldn’t Worry Too Much. When you first start examining patients as a veterinary student, you’re very keen to (gently) poke and prod every animal you come across. Realizing you can assess cardiovascular function by palpating peripheral pulses is very empowering!

A Scratch for Every Itch - Horses scratch for many reasons. They scratch themselves on fences, rub up against posts (and sometimes people), roll on the ground, and groom each other. A natural behaviour usually linked to social bonding, comfort, and relaxation, it can be heightened seasonally by shedding, sweating, or the presence of insects. However, when scratching becomes frequent enough to result in hair loss, broken skin, scabs, or if it disrupts eating or sleeping, it is time to talk to a veterinarian to determine if a skin allergy is to blame so appropriate treatments can be pursued.