Table of contents for Spring 2026 in Equus

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your horse will get sick and a quarantine will be necessary. That means isolating the ill horse and those that may have been exposed to pathogens, while preventing healthy horses from coming in contact with contaminated surfaces like buckets, brushes, fences, stall walls, human hands and clothing. Few of us have the space and resources to move sick or exposed horses to quarters distant from our main barn and assign to them caretakers who never have contact with the rest of the herd. Nonetheless, an effective quarantine can be implemented on a smaller scale with some vigilance and creativity. Here are the points to address: • Stall space. If a separate barn is not available, place the isolated horse in a stall at the end…

This is a story about love, loss and a relentless incurable condition. Milly, my heart horse, passed away on October 18, 2021, after a three-year battle with kidney disease. She was only 14 years old. I came to horses a little later in life. Many of the clients at my salon owned horses, and after listening to them speak about their equine partners, I decided to take riding lessons. I was in my early forties and a business owner, and this was something I could do just for me—something that would help my physical fitness, mental health and provide stress relief. I started weekly lessons in the winter of 2016, then moved to two lessons a week. By the time spring arrived, I wanted more. I needed to ride every…

Introduced in 2014, the Horse Grimace Scale was developed to help guide pain management decisions and evaluate the effectiveness of pain relief interventions. To help estimate pain levels in colicking or ill horses, and those undergoing procedures or recovering from surgery, the HGS calls for evaluation of six specific facial action units (FAUs): • Stiffly backward ears (The position and tension of the ears) • Orbital tightening (Partial or complete closure of the upper eyelid, and tension in the muscles surrounding the eye) • Tension above the eye area (Contraction of the muscles in the area above the eye) • Prominent strained chewing muscles (Tension and prominence of the muscles above the mouth) • Mouth strained and pronounced chin (Tension around the muzzle in which the upper lip is drawn…

There’s a new option for treating horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, formerly known as Cushing’s). In January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced approval of Zygolide, the first generic formulation of pergolide. A dopamine agonist, pergolide inhibits the excessive hormone production at the root of PPID. Pergolide, under the brand name Prascend, was approved for treating horses with PPID by the FDA in 2011. Zygolide, the newly approved generic form of pergolide, is chemically equivalent to the brand-name product, with a similar treatment regimen. Like Prascend, Zygolide comes in pill form and is available only by prescription. The generic version of pergolide can help make caring for horses with PPID more affordable, says Greg Schmid, DVM, equine medical affairs lead for Dechra. “Because PPID treatment is typically…

All winter we’ve been looking forward to the equestrian joys spring will bring. Horse shows, training clinics, trail rides—the world awaits! But as you work out your schedule for the season ahead, be sure to include provisions for reducing the risk that contagious disease will derail your plans. Fortunately, the United States Equestrian Federation’s Katie Flynn, BVMS, can help. As senior staff veterinarian of the USEF’s Equine Health and Bio-security Veterinary Department, Flynn has seen more than her share of infectious equine diseases. Outbreaks can occur pretty much anywhere, she says, but events such as shows “pose a higher risk because they bring together naïve and stressed horses of unknown health status.” This is especially pertinent in an era when it is increasingly common for back-toback competitions to run at…

Thwart the spread of disease by targeting pathogens lurking on buckets, brushes and other tools. Any tools that come in contact with your horse or his wastes—including muck buckets, shovels, wheelbarrows and hoof picks—ought to be sanitized with a disinfectant periodically. It’s especially important to disinfect any tools you’ve used caring for a sick horse. Here are the basic steps: 1. Scrape or knock off any hair or caked-on dirt and debris. 2. Clean with a squirt or two of dish or laundry detergent in a gallon or more of water. Scrub your grooming brushes against each other to remove all dirt; use scrub brushes on larger tools and buckets. 3. Rinse with clean water. 4. For disinfection, soak the tools in a commercial disinfectant such as phenol, quaternary ammonium,…

The German engraver Johann Elias Ridinger was famous in his lifetime for his renditions of horses. Here we see one of many “tiger horses” he depicted, ridden by the sons of nobility in airs above the ground. This animal is pure Thoroughbred, and according to Sponenberg is a KIT roan rather than an LP appaloosa. This enlarged detail from a painting by George Stubbs was made about 1766 and shows a horse belonging to Lord Torrington, whose estate was in Southill, Bedfordshire. Classic roan can be very difficult to tell from varnish roan, especially when (as here) the he tail is “skunked” (white on top) and there is a blanket with a few spots. François Robichón de la Guérinière’s famous riding manual “École de Cavalerie,” first published in 1730, is…

Here is a sampling of organisms included in many probiotic products for horses: • Lactobacillus, a genus of anaerobic, non-spore-forming bacteria that help convert sugars into lactic acids. Species commonly included in probiotic supplements include planatarum, casei, reuteri and acidophilus. • Enterococcus is a large genus of bacteria capable of living in oxygen-rich and oxygen-depleted environments. Two species of Enterococcus commonly seen in probiotic products are faecium and lactis. • Bifidobacterium is a genus of anaerobic bacteria that are ubiquitous in the digestive system of mammals. These bacteria ferment carbohydrates, producing thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin K in the process. Species often included in probiotic products include longum and niger. • Saccharomyces is a genus of fungi that contains many yeasts—including cerevisiae, commonly known as baker’s yeast. A specific…

By the time my sweet, salty half-Arabian mare, Sally, passed away in April 2025, I’d spent plenty of time thinking about what her replacement—if there would be one—might look like. I had owned Sally since 2006, and she had set a high standard for any future horse. But in the last few years of her life, multiple health problems had left Sally fully and permanently retired. As a result, I spent many hours contemplating how life might look after she was gone. The moment of her death, when it came, brought relief as well as sadness. Once I was past the worst of my grieving and ready to think about the future, I returned to the notes I had made for myself during Sally’s last years. Briefly, I considered getting…

A new study suggests that fish-oil supplementation can reduce airway inflammation in horses, which in turn may enhance their athletic performance. A team at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied 81 healthy Thoroughbred racehorses at four U.S. racetracks. For four weeks, half the horses received a daily dose of fish oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids, while the other half were given corn oil as a placebo. The horses continued to receive their regular hay and grain rations. At the start of the study and again at the end, researchers collected bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from each horse to determine the levels of neutrophils, infection-fighting white blood cells associated with inflammation. In addition, the researchers reviewed racing performance data on the horses, starting four weeks before the study period…

Once you arrive at home from an event, you’ll want to take a few precautions to keep your horse and others at your barn healthy. After unloading, disinfect your equipment so it’s ready for your next trip. Keep your horse separated from the herd for seven to 10 days after travel—the typical incubation period for many equine diseases. Monitor your horse’s temperature twice daily and watch for nasal discharge, coughing, lethargy or other signs of illness. Call your veterinarian right away if you notice signs of trouble.…