Health and Wellness

Learn how horses see the world, from wide vision and blind spots to color, depth, and behavior, and improve safer handling and training.

Orchard grass hay can be an excellent forage choice for many horses. It is often soft, palatable, and easy to build a ration around. But it is not automatically the “best hay for horses,” and it is not automatically low sugar. The right answer depends on the horse in front of you: body condition, workload, metabolic risk, dental comfort, and what the hay test actually says. This guide is meant to help owners make practical decisions. We will look at when orchard grass hay is

Barn life is busy. When a horse feels “a bit off,” most owners do the same thing: they try to remember what changed, scroll through photos, search old texts, or piece together a timeline from scattered notes. That works until it does not. A stressful vet call is not the moment you want to guess whether the fever started this morning or last night, or whether you gave the last dose at 6 pm or 9 pm. A horse health log fixes that. It is a simple, repeatable way to record vitals

Equine influenza is one of the fastest-moving respiratory diseases in horses. It spreads easily anywhere horses share airspace, trailers, barns, arenas, or people who handle multiple horses in a day. The flu vaccine is not “for show horses only.” It is a practical risk tool for most horses that board, train, lesson, or travel. Medical disclaimer: This is general education only. Confirm vaccine choices and timing with your veterinarian based on your region and your horse’s ri

Credit: horseillustrated Rabies is rare in horses, but it is high-stakes. Once clinical signs appear, it is essentially always fatal, which is why prevention matters even when the odds feel low. Whether the rabies vaccine is “required” depends on where you live, your barn or show facility rules, and your veterinarian’s recommendations based on local wildlife and public health guidance. Medical disclaimer: This is general education only. Confirm your horse’s rabies vaccine pl

Credit: foxvalleyequine A horse vaccination schedule is really a risk plan. The right timing depends on what your horse is exposed to this year, not what your neighbour does. Boarding barns, training facilities, travel, mosquito season, and outbreak pressure can all change what matters. Use the guide and chart to build a sensible baseline, then have your veterinarian confirm the exact products and timing for your region and your horse. TLDR Start with core protection most ho

Bute for horses (phenylbutazone) is one of the most widely used pain and inflammation medications in the horse world. It can make a stiff, sore horse noticeably more comfortable, especially with arthritis, soft-tissue strains, or post-work soreness. At the same time, bute is not a harmless barn painkiller. It can mask important warning signs like fever, colic pain, and serious lameness, and it carries real risks for the stomach, colon, and kidneys when the dose, duration, or

Understand Equine Herpesvirus, including its risks, symptoms, prevention methods, and management strategies.

Credit: The Horse A raised temperature is one of the earliest and most useful clues that a horse is getting sick. The challenge for owners is knowing what number truly counts as a fever, how to take an accurate reading, and when that reading means “monitor” versus “call the vet.” This guide walks you through a clear first hour plan, red flags that change the timeline, and the most likely causes by season so you can act with confidence rather than guess. We’ll start by definin

When colic strikes, you don’t have time to hunt for tools or guess what to do next. An Emergency Colic Kit puts the right items in one place—thermometer with lube, stethoscope, watch, headlamp, gloves, notepad—and pairs them with a simple, first-hour plan: observe behavior, take time-stamped vitals, and call with a clear trend. This guide shows exactly what to pack, how to measure, and when numbers cross into “call now.” We’ll keep it owner-safe and practical: short steps, re

Choosing between orchard, timothy, and alfalfa is really about matching nutrients to the horse, not picking a plant name. This guide to Orchard vs Timothy vs Alfalfa shows how NSC, protein, and the calcium to phosphorus balance shape weight control, performance fuel, and metabolic safety. Use a hay lab on a dry matter basis, then tailor intake with your veterinarian and keep basic biosecurity in mind. If you need a refresher on energy, protein, minerals, and dry matter, skim

Yes! Horses sweat, a lot, and it’s their primary way to dump heat during work and hot weather. When sweating doesn’t keep up—or stops...

Credit: Practicalhorsemanmag Flies aren’t just annoying, they affect comfort, work quality, skin health, and disease risk. The right...

Credit: Equestrianbusiness A good horse deworming schedule is not about giving paste every few weeks or rotating products just because the calendar says so. Today, the safer approach is to build a plan around fecal egg counts, your horse’s age, your region, pasture conditions, and whether that horse is a low, moderate, or high shedder. This guide walks you through a practical worming plan for horses using regional timing, risk level, fecal testing, product safety, and barn ma

Credit: laboklin “West Nile in horses” spikes every late summer for a reason: mosquitoes. Birds carry the virus; mosquitoes spread it; horses (and humans) are dead-end hosts—we don’t pass it on to each other, but we can get seriously ill. Most exposed horses show no signs at all, some get a short fever, and a smaller group develop neurologic disease (wobbly gait, tremors, trouble swallowing). Outcomes range from full recovery to prolonged rehab; a fraction become recumbent an

A horse’s mouth is more than a place to park a bit—it is a finely tuned machine that grinds forage into fuel. Healthy horse teeth allow...

Potomac Horse Fever case studies open a window into the messy, real-world version of a disease most owners only know from textbook bullet...

Vaccination is one of the most important steps in protecting horses from life-threatening diseases. Whether you're managing a show barn, caring for backyard companions, or running a rescue, knowing what’s in a 5-way equine vaccine , and when to use it, is essential for responsible horse ownership. But not all vaccines are the same. The 5-way shot is a core combination vaccine , designed to protect horses against five major infectious diseases in a single dose. If you’re unsur

Horse Weighing Horse weight isn’t a single number—it’s a range shaped by type, frame, height, age, and body condition. For owners, the real job is getting an accurate enough estimate to feed correctly, dose safely, respect trailer limits, and track conditioning. This guide gives you fast reference ranges by type and two owner-safe, two-minute methods (scale if available; tape + formula if not) so you can measure at home with confidence. We’ll also show how Body Condition Scor

Rain rot leads to scabs that cause the hair to fall out in clumps Rain rot—also commonly known as mud fever , rain scald , or scratches...