Ailments & Diseases
Kissing spines in horses
Back pain in horses is fairly common. It can either be primary, associated with the bones in the spine, or secondary i.e muscular pain secondary to a poor fitting saddle, low grade lameness causing mu...
Sarcoids
What are Sarcoids? Sarcoids are a relatively common tumour seen in horses of all kinds. Although they generally cause no major health problems because they are limited to spreading on the skin alone, the presence of sarcoids can cause irritation, problems with tack and a loss of value if selling ...
Tetanus
Tetanus is caused by the bacterium Clostridium Tetanii which is an anaerobic organism (does not need oxygen). It survives in the environment (soil and droppings) for long periods of time. Tetanus is not contagious, meaning it cannot be spread horse to horse. It penetrates the body via wounds. Pun...
Sweet itch
Sweet itch, also known as Culicoides Hypersensitivity, is a skin disease caused by an allergy to midge bites. It presents as pruritis or itching, usually of the mane and tail but can also occur on the underside of the abdomen. Preventing or minimising bites is the most effective way to control s...
Strangles
What is strangles? Strangles is a highly contagious, bacterial infection of the upper respiratory tract caused by Streptococcus equi equi. The disease can affect horses, ponies and donkeys of all ages. Although the disease can make affected horses quite unwell for a couple of weeks, most make a...
Equine Gastric Ulceration Syndrome
What is gastric ulceration and why does it happen? Equine Gastric Ulceration Syndrome (EGUS) is a common disease affecting the equine stomach. The horse's stomach is divided into two very distinct a...