Saying goodbye to summer means we’re leaving the hot, dry weather behind and saying hello to the wetter conditions of autumn. While this will bring some relief for our horses, the change in weather provides an ideal environment for gastrointestinal parasites. Just think, when the grass is growing so will the worms (well, they will…
Daily aches and pains are something every horse (and their owner) experience at some point in their lifetime. However, even low-grade lameness could be indicative of a bigger problem such as Osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a complex, progressive disease that affects a large proportion of the horse population. In fact, studies have shown that more…
When talented 17-year-old eventer Tayah Andrew discovered she’d made the Australian Young Rider Team for the 2017 Oceania Championships in Melbourne, her elation came with an extra sense of achievement that only those who’d been a part of her journey could understand. Securing one of only four places in the team to compete against New…
Did you know that Gastric Ulcers are one of the most common issues that equine vets deal with every day? They are caused by an unnatural build-up of stomach acid which damages the stomach lining and they don’t always show up upon scoping. It’s not just racehorses who are prone to ulcers, between 50 and…
Travelling long distances with performance horses can be stressful, expensive and can impact heavily on their health and wellbeing. Imagine arriving at your destination and discovering that your horse is unfit to compete! Thankfully there are ways to minimise the negative effects of lengthy journeys, you just need to know how. Carsten and Fiona Graetz…
Dermatophilus congolensis, more commonly known as Rain Scald, is a bacterial infection found in cows and horses. The bacteria latch onto a carrier horse and activate when the carrier’s skin is exposed to wet weather. Biting and non-biting flies, together with humidity and high moisture, cause infective zoospores to spread from one horse to another….
When exercising, the horse’s working muscles generate heat… The body heats up… The horse sweats… Excess heat is then dissipated through evaporative cooling. As simple as that! Right? Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for all horses. Picture this – it’s a typical Summer’s day in Australia. Hot. Humid. Plagues of flies and other bugs. Cicadas…
What is EIPH? EIPH is defined as bleeding from the lungs of horses during exercise (Hinchcliff et al. 2015). The condition is most frequently identified in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses performing high-speed exercise, but cases can also occur in horses used for other disciplines such as western performance, eventing, show jumping and polo (Rendle 2016;…
Watch below as Dr. Leanne Begg talks about the causes and symptoms of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome….
The painful scabs that form when Greasy Heel strikes do not look or feel great on your horse, but should you pick them off? The answer is yes! The bacteria, fungi and mites that cause the greasy heel most often live underneath these scabs, so until they are removed, the infection is extremely likely to…
The muscle fibres of a horse are a huge asset to the racing or performance horse. Without them, there’s not much to work with – so as well as building muscle mass, the muscles also need to be protected! Low intensity exercise at an easy pace, allows for oxygen to replenish the muscles as he moves. In…
What you feed can have a huge impact on how well your horse performs. Nutrition, supplies the protein to build muscle and the energy to fuel muscle, but there is much more to feeding the performance horse than just providing energy and protein. Let’s be clear though, nutrition is never going to improve a horse…
Did you know? Electrolyte supplements are designed to replace the minerals lost in sweat – sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium. It’s a particularity hot summer so far and good quality electrolyte supplements are important to replace lost minerals for your #sweatybetty so #shopsmart. Some commercial electrolyte products contain a lot of filler (e.g. glucose) to improve palatability. This…
Managing the Equine Gut for Optimal Health and Performance! When it comes to the gut health of your horse, getting the right advice and help is so important especially when we suspect the digestive health of our horses is suffering. We turn to people we trust for education and help. We team up with our…
“When you’re after a beautiful topline and a coat that will set you apart from the rest in the show ring, Romsey Park highly recommends using ZanoBOLIC Concentrate.” Greg Mickan of Romsey Park. Total Fashionista (pictured) owned by Georgie Kellock stepped out in style at the 2020 BARASTOC HORSE OF THE YEAR bagging Champion…
