Get Savvy for your Senior Horse If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail the adage says.  It is certainly true when it comes to keeping your horse comfortable in its golden years.  Picking up on subtle cues and knowing when to make management changes can make all the difference in the world…

Whether you are brushing up on Emergency Preparedness with a course in equine first aid or other stable management priorities like learning what’s in your forage; TheHorsePortal.ca has been helping equestrians advance their knowledge with one and two-week online courses that are easy to fit into busy schedules. Thirteen short courses on hot topics give…

Just one horse with an infectious disease diagnosis can close a stable or event facility.  Vaccination is the best way to lower risk of loss of use, high treatment costs and unnecessary suffering for the horse.  Tailoring your annual immunization plan to each equid in your care is the best way to practise prevention from…

Equine Guelph has announced that the month of February, Canada’s coldest month, will be Colic Prevention Education Month. The next four weeks will be dedicated to increasing awareness of ways for caregivers to decrease the risk of colic in their horses. Although horses can be afflicted with gut pain in any season, the cold weather…

Dr. Sarah Shaw and Dr. Amy Lack have been announced as course co-instructors for the Racehorse Respiratory Health online course. Funded by Ontario Racing and offered by Equine Guelph, the two-week short course runs from Jan. 24 – Feb. 4, 2022 and will be FREE (value of $95) to the first 100 AGCO licence holders who enroll…

Collaborating on three recent research papers on a nutraceutical called ‘Gs Formula’, Dr. Wendy Pearson, PhD Associate Professor, at the University of Guelph has been very busy.  Approached by GS Organic solutions out in BC, Pearson has been investigating the potential for Gs Formula to improve gastric health, particularly for horses with a history of…

During the summer there are often waves of horses presenting with respiratory disease.  Ontario Veterinary College researcher, Janet Beeler-Marfisi never really ascribed that to being part of air pollution, until her recent research revealed horses, with their far greater lung capacity and athleticism, can also suffer when air pollution levels rise. Checking the Air Quality…

Not long after the 2019 Havemeyer Workshop on Equine Asthma, Dr. Dorothee Bienzle, Ontario Veterinary College, contributed to a large collaborative research paper – The current understanding and future directions of Equine Asthma research.   The air was thick with ideas at the 2019 Havemeyer Workshop, with a broad group of approximately 50 participants made up of microbiologists, clinicians,…

Radiographs have been found to be insufficient evidence for diagnosing Cervical Facet disease according to a research study by Dr. Judith Koenig and a team of researchers at the Ontario Veterinary College.  In a video interview, Koenig explains some of the complexities of equine osteoarthritis and cervical facet disease. “Osteoarthritis is common in any athlete,” explains…

Equine Guelph has been getting questions on access to their equine veterinarian.    The new COVID-19: A Guide to Reopening Veterinary Medicine in Ontario, Stage 3 , prepared by Dr. Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM University of Guelph and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association  was released  August 24, 2020.  It is meant to be a useful guide and the following recommendations were made…

The importance of a good farrier is well understood by knowledgeable horse owners who reap the benefits of diligent, routine care.  In an interview with Certified Journeyman Farrier, Sean Elliott,  we gained some great tips for promoting hoof health and learned some pitfalls to avoid. Top tips for hoof health are nutrition, a dry environment and balance. Nutrition: “If…

Practice makes perfect and veterinarians spend countless hours honing their skills in laboratories before graduating and applying that knowledge in the field.  Anatomical models of the equine neck, created by 3-D printing, are revolutionizing how veterinary students and graduates will practice the precise placement required in ultrasound-guided injections. Dr. Alex zur Linden, radiologist and Ontario Veterinary…