Expert Horse Health & Wellbeing Advice

Body Condition Score in Horses: How to Use It and Why Most Owners Get It Wrong

by Dr. Valerie De Clerck on Aug 04 2026

How to score your horse's body condition, why most owners get the number wrong, and what to do when it starts dropping in late summer.

Faecal Water Syndrome in Horses: Causes, Symptoms and Solutions

by Valerie De Clerck on Aug 03 2026

Faecal water syndrome leaves horses stained and sore, and most of the standard advice about it is out of date. Here is what the newest equine research says about the cause, and which feeding changes make a difference.

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Pregnant and Prone to Laminitis: How to Feed a Sugar-Sensitive Mare

by Valerie De Clerck on Jul 16 2026

A pregnant mare who is sugar sensitive or prone to laminitis needs a different feeding plan than a standard mare mix. Here's what the research says, and how the numbers work out.

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Horse Liver Health: Why Detox Matters More Than You Think

by Dr. Valerie De Clerck on Jul 13 2026

A slightly high liver enzyme on routine bloodwork is common and rarely an emergency, but tracking the full pattern over time with your vet, not just one number, is what actually catches hepatic stress early. Supportive herbs like milk thistle and dandelion, alongside good hay and pasture management, can help horses carrying extra liver load.

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Sweet Itch in Horses: The Science Behind the Itch (and What Actually Helps)

by Valerie De Clerck on Jul 06 2026

Sweet itch in horses is a systemic allergic condition driven by eosinophils and IL-5, not just a local skin reaction, which is why antihistamines rarely help. Midge avoidance remains the single most effective management tool, supported by diet and emerging treatments like allergen immunotherapy and an IL-5 vaccine.

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Osteoarthritis in horses: definition, causes and risk factors

by Valerie De Clerck on Jul 01 2026

Osteoarthritis means permanent cartilage damage, not just joint inflammation, and it can't be reversed once it starts. This article explains the two mechanisms behind it, which horses are at greatest risk, and the early signs worth a vet visit.

Horse walking over poles — exercise and movement support joint health in horses with osteoarthritis

Expert Horse Health & Wellbeing Advice

6 Signs of Osteoarthritis in Horses (And What to Do About Them)

by Valerie De Clerck on Jul 01 2026

Osteoarthritis in horses rarely starts with obvious lameness, so it's often missed early. This article covers six signs to watch for, from a stiff gait and reluctance to roll to resistance under saddle and difficulty chewing.

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What to Feed Your Mare Before, During and After Pregnancy 

by Valerie De Clerck on Jan 23 2026

A mare's nutritional needs change by stage: body condition before breeding, steady feeding through early pregnancy, then more protein, minerals and calories in the last trimester and during lactation, when demand peaks. Getting this timing right supports fertility, foetal growth and milk production.

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How to Assess Your Horse’s Body Condition Score (BCS): A step-by-step Guide

by Valerie De Clerck on Dec 18 2025

Body Condition Score is a hands-on way to judge a horse's fat and muscle cover at six key points, and owners and vets often score the same horse differently. Here's how to assess it yourself, step by step.

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How do I create a good feeding plan for my skinny horse? Step-by-step guide toward a suitable ration

by Valerie De Clerck on Dec 18 2025

A horse loses weight for a reason, and finding it comes before changing what is in the bucket. This article builds a feeding plan from the ground up, covering how much forage a horse needs, when concentrates make sense, and how to adjust the ration for common causes of weight loss.

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Why is my horse losing weight? The 5 veterinary steps to determine the cause.

by Valerie De Clerck on Dec 18 2025

If your horse is too thin, there is always a reason, even when it isn't visible from the outside. Here is the step-by-step process your vet follows, from a clinical exam and manure check through dental work, blood tests and gastroscopy, to find the cause.

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What Do My Horse’s Blood Values Mean? How a veterinarian interprets them

by Valerie De Clerck on Dec 18 2025

A veterinarian walks through the blood values that matter most in a weight-loss workup, from red and white cell counts to liver enzymes, insulin, and ACTH, and explains what each one can reveal about a horse that isn't holding condition.

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What is PPID (Cushing’s Disease) and how do I recognise and support my horse who has it?

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 27 2025

PPID (equine Cushing's disease) develops when damaged dopamine cells let the pituitary gland overproduce ACTH, driving chronic high cortisol. Here's how to recognise the early signs and how vets confirm it with an ACTH blood test.

A vet recommended nutritional approach to manage your horse or pony with PPID

Expert Horse Health & Wellbeing Advice

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 27 2025

Around one in five horses over 15 has PPID, a hormonal condition that changes how the body stores fat, builds muscle and handles sugar. This article explains how to adapt feeding based on body condition, insulin status and age to support a horse alongside medication.

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Equimove Balance Pads for horses: What are they and how do you use them

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 13 2025

Equimove Balance Pads use an unstable surface to activate a horse's deep core muscles and improve balance. Here is what they are, how to introduce them safely, and an eight-week training schedule backed by peer-reviewed equine research.

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What are the benefits of balance pads for my horse and pony?

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 13 2025

Standing on an unstable pad does more than test balance: it wakes up deep spinal muscles, sharpens proprioception, and can settle a tense horse within minutes. Here's the science behind five concrete benefits of balance pad training.

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What is proprioception in horses and how to improve it

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 13 2025

Proprioception is your horse's built-in sense of where its body is in space, and when it's weak, tripping, poor coordination, and injury risk go up. Here's how to spot the signs and train it with simple daily exercises.

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Sue Dyson pain scale: What is it and how does it work.

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 13 2025

Dr. Sue Dyson's Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram gives riders and vets 24 specific behaviors to watch for under saddle, and a score of 8 or more strongly suggests musculoskeletal pain rather than a training issue. Here's how the scale works and what the research behind it actually shows.

Expert Horse Health & Wellbeing Advice

How to recognize weak core muscles in your horse and strengthen them

by Valerie De Clerck on Oct 13 2025

A weak core shows up in a horse's posture, movement, and behavior long before it becomes a real problem. Here's how to spot it early, plus the exercises that build it back up.

Expert Horse Health & Wellbeing Advice

Why Is Dental Care Essential for the Wellbeing and Performance of My Horse?

by Valerie De Clerck on Sep 12 2025

Equine dental disease is common and closely tied to weight loss, colic risk, and performance under saddle. Here is what the latest research says about spotting it early and how often your horse actually needs a check-up.