Horse Diseases & Conditions

A deeper dive into thrush: learn the current scientific consensus on this common hoof ailment

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 barns in the United States. The modern approach is risk based and test driven. We use fecal egg counts to decide if treatment is needed, we choose the narrowest effective class, and we time action windows to season and regional pressure. This guide gives you clear steps plus practical tools so you can build a program that protects your horse

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...