Feeding a mixture of barley straw and hay is a safe and cost-effective way of promoting weight loss in grazing ponies over winter, according to recent research. Obesity is a widespread problem in pleasure horses and ponies. In the past, it was accepted that horses and ponies would lose weight over the winter and then gain weight in the spring when grazing quality improved. Nowadays, however, horses are fed to maintain condition over the winter, and, at the same time, they may be doing less work.

It would be better to base heart rate recovery tests in endurance competitions on each individual horse’s resting heart rate, according to the authors of a recent study. Veterinary check points (vet gates) are set up at various points along the route of an endurance race, to ensure that each horse is fit to continue the competition.

Equine lameness is an indication of a structural or functional disorder, in one or more limbs or the spine, evident while the horse is standing or in movement. It can range from very mild discomfort, which may only be perceived by the owner or trainer as a decrease in level of performance, to severe pain in which the horse is unwilling to bear weight on the limb. As one of the most common and most expensive medical problems in horses, lameness represents a large concern to the equine industry as well as to individual horse owners.