Fall is here! The leaves are changing and the temperatures are cooling off. It’s hard to imagine that such a pretty time of year could possibly be harmful to our horses. However, fall leaves can pose a potentially deadly threat. The following are trees that are highly toxic to horses.

There are few things we humans are more sensitive about than our body weight. Where the rest of the world sees our gentle curves and happy smiles, we see lumps and wobbles and wrinkles. We generally have a far worse opinion of our own body condition than do any of the people around us. I would hazard that this is because our friends and family care about us and see the best in us, and recognize that while we may have a few extra curves we are healthy and happy, and that’s what counts. And if anyone ever said things about our friends that resemble what we have said about ourselves, most of us would likely get pretty vocal about defending our friends.

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.

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.