Equine Veterinary Articles
Free veterinary guidance articles

These articles are supplied free of charge to help you understand the cause, concerns and treatment for many equine diseases and veterinary issues.

Veterinary Article List

Arthritis

Arthritis is an inflammation of a joint or joints which causes pain and stiffness but the word 'arthritis' is often used to cover a range of conditions, many of which are not true arthritis.
Arthritis

Behavioural Problems

Owners will recognise that horses and ponies all have different ‘personalities’, with varying temperaments, willingness to please and responses to environment and handling.
Behavioural Problems

Bruised Sole

The sole is the insensitive protective undersurface of the horse’s foot in which are the highly vascular (rich in blood supply) and sensitive (rich in nerve supply) tissues (laminae) which connect the hoof to the pedal bone.
Bruised Sole

Canker

Canker is now rarely seen but is a serious infection of the horn of the foot, which results in the formation of a soft, moist, disintegrating growth of horn. It most commonly affects the hind feet and is most often seen in horses kept in wet tropical climates, or in large draught type horses.
Canker

Choke

Equine veterinary surgeons, Cheshire based equine vets - Thomason Walters
Choke

Colic

The term “colic”simply means abdominal pain.
Colic

Contracted Tendons

The term ‘contracted tendons’ describes a condition where the leg is excessively straight, usually at the fetlock or coronary band, i.e. corono-pedal joint, but it occasionally also affects the knees.
Contracted Tendons

Corns

Corns are specific types of bruises of the sole, specifically occurring at the angle of the sole between the hoof wall and the bars, i.e. at the 'seat of corn', most commonly affecting the medial (inside) aspect of the front feet.
Corns

Disease Control

Good management practices aim to keep horses in good condition and in a healthy environment, in order to reduce the risk of introduction and spread of disease, to identify individuals especially at risk and to promote rapid recovery if disease does occur
Disease Control

Elder Horses

The average horse lives to be approximately 20 years of age, although many ponies and a few horses live for 30 years.
Elder Horses

Endoscopy

Potential purchasers of yearlings and even foals at public sales increasingly ask for endoscopic examinations (‘scoping’) of the larynx and pharynx to be performed in an attempt to assess ‘soundness of wind’.
Endoscopy

Equine Herpesvirus Infections

There are four Herpesviruses that are widespread in the horse environment and which are associated with a variety of disease syndromes in horses
Equine Herpesvirus Infections

Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA)

EVA is a highly contagious disease that can cause a ‘flu-like’ illness of varying severity and occasionally abortion or even death in horses.
Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA)

Eye Emergencies

Injuries to the eye and surrounding areas of the head and face are relatively common in horses and ponies due to their inquisitive nature and as a result of ‘arguments’ with each other and with structures such as stable doors, fence posts, trees etc.
Eye Emergencies

Failure of Passive Transfer

Failure to receive sufficient antibodies result in a condition known as ‘failure of passive transfer of immunity’ (FPT) and significantly increases the risk of the foal developing life threatening infections such as septicaemia (blood infection) or septic arthritis (joint ill).
Failure of Passive Transfer

Farriery

It is a well recognised saying no foot no horse. Caring for your horse’s feet and hooves and ensuring that he is attended to regularly by your farrier will safeguard his long term soundness.
Farriery

First Aid for Wounds

Simple first aid measures can help reduce the risk of infection or further damage.
First Aid for Wounds

Foaling

It is most important to know what is ‘normal’ both in terms of the foaling process and how to expect the foal to behave once born.
Foaling

Foot Punctures

Punctures to the hoof rarely occur through the hoof wall itself, but punctures to all areas of the sole and frog are relatively common.
Foot Punctures

Fostering Foals

Unfortunately, it is occasionally necessary to try to foster a foal onto a mare that is not its natural mother.
Fostering Foals

Fractures

Just about every bone in the body can be fractured but fractures of the bones of the limbs are of major importance in horses and ponies.
Fractures

Grass Sickness

Grass sickness is a usually fatal condition of grazing horses which causes varying degrees of paralysis of the horse’s intestines.
Grass Sickness

Heart Murmurs

A heart murmur is an abnormal sound which originates from the heart valves and which can be heard with a stethoscope.
Heart Murmurs

Hoof Wall Cracks

Cracks may form in the horse’s hoof wall, usually in a vertical direction, and either originate from the ground surface (sometimes called grass cracks) or, less commonly, from the coronary band (sometimes called sand cracks).
Hoof Wall Cracks

Keratoma

A keratoma is a rare benign tumour of the inner layer of keratin-producing epidermal hoof wall cells which forms inside a horse’s foot.
Keratoma

Laminitis

Laminitis is a common but still incompletely understood condition which causes varying degrees of foot pain, from the slightly pottery pony to severe life-threatening lameness.
Laminitis

Nail Bind And Nail Prick

When a farrier shoes a horse, accurate placement of each nail through the insensitive epidermal laminae of the hoof is essential.
Nail Bind And Nail Prick

Navicular Disease

Navicular ‘disease’ is really a group of related conditions affecting the navicular bone and associated structures in the foot.
Navicular Disease

Newborn Foals

You can relax in the knowledge that mother nature looks after most mares and their new born foals extremely well, although problems can arise and disasters may happen.
Newborn Foals

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD)

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) or osteochondrosis is a failure of the bone underlying the smooth articular cartilage inside the joints, i.e. the subchondral bone, to form properly from the skeleton’s cartilage template.
Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD)

Pus In The Foot (Gravel)

This condition should be excluded first, in all horses who become suddenly lame on one leg, before other diagnoses are considered.
Pus In The Foot (Gravel)

Quittor

Quittor is an old term for a condition which involves death and destruction (necrosis) of the collateral cartilages of the foot (see our information sheet on sidebones), following an infection in the foot (see our information sheet on pus in the foot).
Quittor

Ragwort Poisoning

Ragwort poisoning is one of the most common causes of liver disease in horses and ponies in the UK.
Ragwort Poisoning

Rain Scald

Rain scald is a bacterial infection of the skin which results in the formation of matted scabs usually affecting the back and rump but occasionally the lower limbs.
Rain Scald

Ringworm

Ringworm is a skin infection caused by a dermatophyte (skin loving) fungus.
Ringworm

Ruptured Bladder

This is one of the conditions that affect young foals during their first few days of life and is potentially life threatening.
Ruptured Bladder

Sarcoids

Equine sarcoids are the most common tumours seen and account for approximately nine out of every ten skin tumours seen in horses.
Sarcoids

Seedy Toe

Seedy toe is a separation of the horse’s hoof wall from the underlying sensitive laminae at the white line, resulting in a cavity which fills with crumbling dirt, horn and debris and is prone to associated infection.
Seedy Toe

Setfast

In its mild form, this is a relatively common condition which affects the muscles of the horse’s hindquarters and back.
Setfast

Sheath Washing

Some horse owners feel that it is necessary to ‘wash’ a colt or gelding’s prepuce (sheath) and penis on a fairly regular basis.
Sheath Washing

Sidebones

Sidebones are a name for a condition which results in ossification of the collateral cartilages of the foot, i.e. the cartilages transform into much harder and less flexible bone.
Sidebones

Spavin

There are two forms of spavin - bone spavin and bog spavin, both affect the hock.
Spavin

Strangles

Strangles is an infection caused by bacteria called Streptococcus equi, which can be spread by horse-to-horse contact or by humans, tack, drinking troughs and other environmental factors.
Strangles

Suspensory Ligament Damage

The suspensory ligament is attached to the back of the upper cannon and knee (in the front legs) or hock (in the hind legs), runs downwards close to the back of the cannon and divides into two branches each of which attaches to a sesamoid bone, at the back of the fetlock, before ending attached to the upper pastern.
Suspensory Ligament Damage

Sweet Itch

Sweet Itch is a skin disease (sometimes called summer itch or seasonal allergic dermatitis) and is caused by an allergy to the saliva of certain biting flies or midges (e.g. Culicoides spp.).
Sweet Itch

Tendon Injuries

Tendons are the strap-like structures that attach muscles to the bones on which they act.
Tendon Injuries

Tetanus

Tetanus is a bacterial disease that can affect most animals.
Tetanus

Thrush

Thrush is an unpleasant infection of the horse’s frog which is predisposed by moist, damp, dirty ground or stable conditions.
Thrush

Vaccinations

A vaccine is a specially-made medicine which stimulates the body to produce an immune response to a particular infection.
Vaccinations

West Nile Fever

West Nile Fever is a disease caused by a virus (WNV) carried by mosquitoes.
West Nile Fever

Whisteling And Roaring

The terms whistler and roarer are used to describe horses which make an abnormal respiratory noise during exercise.
Whisteling And Roaring

Worming

Small numbers of worms can be tolerated, causing no effect on well being, whereas larger worm burdens can cause a range of problems including ill thrift, diarrhoea, colic and death.
Worming