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Horses + Others

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

  • 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'.

  • Horses are kept for many different reasons including athletic competition, breeding, pleasure riding and companionship.

  • Horses and ponies often receive cuts and other wounds particularly on their face and legs. Many require just simple first aid measures, while others require the attention of your veterinarian.

  • The expected birth of a foal from a favorite mare is an exciting but worrying time for many horse owners. Ideally, help and advice should be sought from your veterinarian or someone with experience in foaling mares, in good time before the event.

  • Unfortunately, it is occasionally necessary to try to foster a foal onto a mare that is not its natural mother. This may be for any one of a number of reasons.

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

  • The suspensory ligament supports the fetlock and protects it from hyperextension (i.e., dropping too low) at exercise. The ligament begins at its attachment to the back of the upper cannon bone in both the fore and hindlimbs.

  • Therapy pets can help people with many facets of their health including physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. These pets live with their owners and make visits to hospitals and other facilities to spend time with these human patients. Therapy pets are not the same as service animals.

  • A vaccine is a specially-made medicine that stimulates the body to produce an immune response to a particular infection. Most vaccines are given by injection of a small volume of liquid into the muscle, although there are a few given intranasally (i.e., via the nostril) (strangles vaccine), or by mouth (e.g., polio vaccine in humans).