I'm a horse vet- ask me anything.

[stripeyronnie]

I'm a vet and exclusively deal with horses (and the odd donkey)- ask me anything!

If you see an awful accident that the vet is dealing with in a public place- please don't stand and gawp- the horse deserves dignity as much as any human- just walk on by.

Nothing to ask but this made me tear up a little - your care for your patience shine through

Some horses do very well barefoot- but they need to be managed correctly with the right surfaces- ie not standing in mud or hard ground all year round. The barefoot trimming industry is unregulated though- so I would prefer to use a farrier.
Horses are the greatest levellers- they appreciate subtlety in communication that humans are not even aware of. I can see why they would be helpful in therapy- but I am slightly biased!

Are any of the 'calming' supplements worth feeding and if so which ones/which ingredients?

No- they all contain magnesium- based on the principal that low magnesium levels can cause neurological changes- but there is no association between the types of behaviours people use them for and having low magnesium. The reason people think they work, in my opinion, is they are a bit calmer around the horse because it's had its magic potion, so the horse behaves better!

Should there be tighter restrictions on breeding? (I’m looking at you TB’s with KS)

Yes definitely but I'm not sure how it could be regulated. The passport system is a disaster because it lacks a regulator. The classic approach for a lame mare is to put her in foal- without questioning what you are passing on. We should only be breeding from the best and healthiest horses, horses with poor confomation or other issues can carry a foal- just not theirs- I would suggest they become a recipient for embryo transfer but strongly discourage the very laidback approach that is taken for many breeding decisions. In every case you should be looking at your made critically and asking what needs to be improved upon- and choosing a stallion for that- not because you want a palomino or whatever!

Is there a good guide to spotting lameness? I can only tell when the horse is obviously nodding. I’m really bad at spotting hind end lameness, so would appreciate any tips.

There are a few videos by some of the American universities on YouTube which are good and show lots of examples. But basically- if you are behind a horse, look at its hip bones, when there is a hindlimb lameness the lame leg will have more vertical movement of that hipbone than the other leg. Bilateral hindlimb lameness is much harder and there is a paper showing even equine vets who specialise in lameness cannot agree on it much of the time- there is now a device called a lameness locator which adds some objective data and helps with these scenarios.

Best thread ever!

What's the best way to rid a cob of mites in his feathers? He's turned out and we've tried everything 😥Obviously will shave if we need to!

Thanks! 😁

The reason there are so many treatments is that none work consistently. My new favourite is bravecto collars- they are anti flea cat and dog collars and you put them on the horses pastern- number depends on the size of the horse. Dectomax is my second favourite but isn't licensed either and has been associated with very occasional cases of sudden death. I have never had one thank goodness.
In addition to medication you need to treat the environment, clip the legs, get rid of all
bedding, power wash and replace with fresh bedding.

Do you think some vets are guilty of medicating injuries/illness for too long to keep the owner happy rather than letting the horse get PTS?

Sometimes, but this doesn't actually happen as much with horses as it does with cats and dogs- I think because everything is more expensive, so people tend to come to decision earlier. I very rarely have to say- 'your horses welfare is compromised, you need to let them go' and can usually elude to it and people then suggest it themselves. But I have done it before including on one occasion euthanising a horse without owner consent which was seizuring, stuck in the mud, in its 30s and the owner wouldn't let it go. I was ready to go to court for that one but it never came to anything. People sought me out afterwards to tell me that person would have never agreed to it and they were pleased someone had made a decision as the horse had been suffering for a while.

Oh the AMA we didn't know we needed!
Thanks OP
My question is, do you ever say anything to riders about their weight? I'm at 15% of my horse's approx weight when you add tack and my clothing and wouldn't want him to carry any more so I'm in the process of losing weight.

I do yes, although I usually say you could do with a bigger horse rather than the horse could do with a lighter rider!

Thank you for replying. Yes that is probably more true with cats and dogs. I know of quite a few owners who do the one last summer, then let’s see how horse copes through the winter then one more summer, when it’s obvious it’s crippled lame and has shit quality of life.

Very diplomatic! Mine is 15.3hh/550kg and I'm about 70kg/11 stone so there's not loads of leeway there once the saddle is added.

I'm still haunted by an experience on a yard where someone kept their elderly lame-all-round horse stabled for months and months and months, the best part of a year, so sedated his breathing sounded like Darth Vader. You could hear it for miles. He had multiple problems besides his age and was obviously never going to recover to be even field sound. It seemed so selfish and cruel, and I often wondered why their vet didn't refuse to prolong his suffering but maybe it's not that simple.

It is pretty difficult- we can only breach confidentiality in very specific circumstances, in this case I would probably have a quiet word with the RSPCA who would pay them a visit based on a report from a 'member of the public'

Completely agree with you. I have TBs and am on numerous Facebook pages for TB owners. They are ALL obsessed with over-tugging and asking how to put weight on their already well covered horses! Sadly we seem to have lost a lot of old fashioned horsemanship and common sense somewhere along the way. When I post photos of my 20 Yr old coming out of winter ribby (bit covered over hindquarters) I get called out for starving him.
There is a serious horse obesity epidemic that goes hand in hand with the rise in cases of laminitis, EMS etc. Feed and supplement companies are complicit in this too and instead of calling a vet for a health issue, many owners are steered towards wasting money on a pointless supplement. Yes you can even buy a supplement for laminitis 🙄.
We need to let horses live like horses ie more living out all year round, only feed those which really need it and understand that horses are yoyo dieters who need to lose weight in winter in order to cope with Spring grass.

Are there any dietary supplements you would recommend to owners at all then? And what about adding salt to their diet? Any thoughts welcome - there is so much info out there, mainly from companies with vested interests!

I was called cruel for fully clipping my podgy ID and then under rugging. He will only get a 200g in the depths of coldest winter.

Yes I actually do suggest supplements for a number of conditions. However- the supplement industry is unregulated (I know I sound like a parrot here- there is a lot of areas that are in this field!) and there was a paper a while back looking at about 20 joint supplements comparing the quantity of ingredients stated vs what was measured. Almost all had significantly less than stated and a couple had none at all! That is the reason I recommend the veterinary only supplements as they are guaranteed to contain what they say they contain and they also batch test every batch (essential for any horse competing under FEI rules in case they test positive for stimulants- you need to find the source). I recommend supplements for joint disease, foot growth, liver disease, gastric ulcers (when weaning off omeprazole) and a few others. But none from the tack shop shelf due to that study. The sad thing is there will be very reputable companies producing excellent supplements amongst the tack shop range but I could never recommend something to a client that had a question mark over the quality.

Great thread OP.

Is it normal for a horse owner to feed the horse bread I.e. sliced pan? I see this regularly where I walk & feel very sorry for the horse. Is this RSPCA territory?

My 20 yr old only gets 200g when it gets under -5. They thermo-regulate in a different way to is ie through eating forage so as long as they are eating they are generating heat. Sick of seeing healthy young horses being put in 300g+ rugs all the way through winter

It's not the worst but it is a very concentrated source of energy for a horse. I will very occasionally recommend a jam sandwich to get medication in (but not long term, and definitely not in a fat laminitic pony). No I wouldn't say RSPCA but yes I would say needs calling out as part of educating the person about what horses should and shouldn't be eating.