Keep up to date with all our latest news, articles and case studies from the veterinary world around Hawke’s Bay, Dannevirke, and the Wairarapa.
Horses and ponies can get a variety of problems that affect their nasolacrimal duct system, which can result in some discomfort for them. What is the nasolacrimal duct system? The system copes with the normal cycle of tear application to the eyeball, plus any excess – it’s in essence a tube that runs from the…
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Vaccination provides your horse important protection against some of the more serious and potentially life-threatening diseases that can occur. They act to stimulate the body’s natural response to a disease, allowing a rapid and effective response if that disease is encountered later in life. This can be the difference between severe clinical disease and a…
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Travelling with horses can have its complications and keeping your horses healthy before, during and after transport can be key to event success. Richard Mckenzie has been an equine vet and horse owner for over 32 years and shares his tips on ensuring your horse has a safe journey and arrives at your big event…
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Is your horse moving like its drunk, trembling, falling over, behaving abnormally, or easily spooked? If any of these symptoms sound familiar, your horse may have rye-grass staggers. Rye-grass staggers is a neurological condition caused by toxins in rye grass affecting the central nervous system. Symptoms – Horses with staggers can show a wide array…
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So, you want to breed a champion horse? Richard McKenzie outlines the factors you will need to consider when exploring artificial insemination. Finding the right stallion First of all, read the contract thoroughly! They all differ and offer a number of terms and conditions that you will need to familiarise yourself with. For example, do…
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There are a number of conditions of the hind leg in the horse that cause very specific, atypical type lameness and gait abnormalities. These include stringhalt, shivers, upward patella fixation, fibrotic myopathy and rupture of the peroneus tertius muscle. Dave Kruger outlines each of these medical conditions and what to look out for below. STRINGHALT…
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With the equestrian season kicking off in most disciplines, Spring is a good time for your horse to have its annual “warrant of fitness”. Parasites: A faecal egg count is a simple way of getting an idea of the parasite load in your horses. Many horses that are drenched at routine intervals probably do not…
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WHAT IS LAMINITIS? Laminitis is a very serious disease of the equine hoof that can lead to a disastrous loss of function. It occurs when there is failure of the attachment of the pedal bone to the inner hoof wall. The inner hoof wall is attached by sensitive laminae or folds to the pedal bone…
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Colic, a word that strikes fear into the heart of every horse owner! But what is it and what can we do? In the simplest sense, colic is a broad term used to describe abdominal pain and the behaviour that we see associated with that pain. This is most commonly associated with the gastrointestinal tract,…
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