Horse Diseases & Conditions

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

Credit: vetspecialists Pigeon fever (aka “dryland distemper”) is a bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis . Most horses show firm, painful swellings that mature into abscesses—often over the chest (pectoral area), along the belly midline, or on a limb. Cases rise in warm, dry months and spread via flies and contaminated equipment or hands. Your first move is safety: isolate the horse , start a vitals log every 30–60 minutes  (temperature, heart rate,

Credit: Equestology Mud fever—also called pastern dermatitis or scratches—is a skin infection that targets the pasterns and fetlocks, often the hind limbs. Wet, muddy footing plus tiny skin nicks lets bacteria/yeast/mites take hold. Your first moves are simple and safe: bring the horse onto dry footing, part or lightly trim hair so you can see skin, do one gentle clean and full dry, then apply a thin, breathable barrier only when the skin is dry. Avoid heavy pastes on damp sk

Credit: thehorse.com EPM doesn’t always start loud. It can look like a slightly uneven hind end, a toe that scuffs, or a horse that feels drifty on small circles. Those quiet changes are your cue to pause and look closer. This guide turns the vet process into owner language: what early signs actually look like, how a neurologic exam “localizes” the problem, and what common tests mean without the jargon. We’ll also cover treatment basics (no dosing) and a calm, step-by-step re

Strangles spreads quickly because barns share water, handlers, and tack—and the first signs can look like “just a cold.” The difference is how fast fever and throatlatch lymph node swelling show up and how easily secretions move from horse to horse. This guide gives you the practical side: the early signs owners actually see, the first 24-hour isolation steps that limit spread, barn biosecurity that works in the real world, when and how testing clears quarantine, and where va

Credit: Equestrianbusiness Routine eight week rotations felt simple, but they fueled parasite resistance in small strongyles across many...

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 a

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