Tequila is a Thoroughbred mare that I was asked to shoe a couple of months back. She stands splay-footed, is badly over at the knees, and her hind legs were quite sickle-hocked. Her feet were smashed, flared, chipped, and cracked. She was just the kind of project that I wanted to do a “hoof makeover” on – I do love a challenge.

Early diagnosis of Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is an important area of study, especially considering one of the first signs can be laminitis, a serious and sometimes life-ending condition. Catching EMS in its initial stages can facilitate early intervention with an appropriate exercise and diet plan to reduce the chances of laminitis developing.

After nearly four decades of watching the devastating impact of laminitis on horses, equine surgeon Dr. David Wilson has developed a vaccine that has the potential to save the performance careers — and lives — of horses around the world.. Laminitis (or founder) is one of the leading causes of loss in horses, right alongside colic and musculoskeletal problems.

Veterinary and engineering researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) have teamed up to harness imaging technology to fill in a blank area in animal health — what goes on in a horse’s gut? “Whenever I talk to students about the horse abdomen, I put up a picture of a horse and put a big question mark in the middle,” said veterinary researcher Dr. Julia Montgomery in the U of S Western College of Veterinary Medicine.