Empowering Equine Education

13/05/2026

Your horse can't use words. But they are communicating.

Every single day, your horse is giving you information about how they're feeling.

Through the rhythm of their heart. The sounds moving through their gut. The colour and feel of their gums. The strength of their digital pulse. The way they're standing, breathing, being.

These aren't just clinical data points. They're a language.

Heart rate. Respiratory rate. Temperature. Gut sounds. Digital pulses. Mucous membranes. Capillary refill. Demeanour.

Eight vital signs. Eight ways your horse is already talking to you.

Most of us are taught to watch and feel for the obvious signs that something's wrong.

But horses are prey animals, wired to hide discomfort and illness until they can't anymore.

By the time it's obvious, you've often missed the early conversation.

Learning to take and interpret your horse's vital signs helps you become fluent in your horse's language.

Understanding what's normal for them, so that when something shifts, you hear it.
Your horse is already talking. The question is, do you know how to listen?

09/05/2026

💸 Money-Saving Hack from Equine Vet 🐴

Fuel is up. Hay is more expensive. And fingers crossed you don’t have to think about vet bills.

From my experience as an equine vet, here's one of the best things you can do for your horse and your wallet:

Learn how to take their vital signs and know their normal baseline.

Imagine it's 4pm on a Friday. Your horse is not quite right. Not dramatically unwell, just... off.

Do you call the vet now, before the after-hours costs kicks in? Or wait and see how they go overnight?

I get the hesitation. An emergency callout can be $300 or more. And that’s before you factor in the cost of diagnostic tests and medications.

But here's what vital signs give you in that exact moment: information.

If all 8 vitals are sitting within their normal baseline ranges, and the horse is still eating, drinking and passing manure - you could decide to monitor closely over the next 24 hours.

But if their temperature comes back at 38.5°C/101.3°F or above? (just one example of a vital signs red flag)

That's your prompt to pick up the phone and get someone out ASAP. Because leaving a febrile horse overnight could make the situation much worse.

And if you’re still not sure, you can call your vet, have a calm, informed conversation, and decide together.

This skill doesn't replace your vet. It helps you work with them more effectively.

It helps you catch problems early, when they're simpler and cheaper to treat.

And it helps you make confident, informed decisions instead of expensive guesses.

Because when owners are empowered with the right knowledge and skills, horses get better care.

That's what drives everything I do at Empowering Equine Education.

08/05/2026

🔍 Step 1 of mastering the digital pulse? Knowing the anatomy.

Before you can feel the pulse, you need to find the right spot.

Run your hand down the outside of your horse's leg, following the groove between the flexor tendons and suspensory ligament - the red dotted line in the image.

Keep following it down until you reach the fetlock.

Then, move your finger/thumb horizontally, side to side to feel for a structure that's like a taut guitar string sitting beneath the skin.

That's the neurovascular bundle, and within it sits the digital artery carrying blood to the hoof.

That's your target. Once you've found it, you're in exactly the right place.

Save this post and have a feel next time you're with your horse. Then come back and tell me in the comments: could you find it?

06/05/2026

Ever found your horse looking "not quite right"?

Maybe they're eating a little slower than usual. Standing differently. Something in their eye just seems... off.

You can't put your finger on it, but you know your horse, and something isn't right.

That gut feeling is a horse owner’s superpower.

"My horse is not quite right" is one of the most common calls we get at the vet clinic.

I love getting those calls, because it tells me the owner knows their horse really well.

But there's almost always something missing from that conversation: their horse's vital signs.

Those 8 vital signs are what tell you if, and how urgently, you need your vet. They're the difference between a confident "I'll monitor and reassess" and knowing it's time to call for that 7pm Friday visit.

I want every horse owner to have this skill. The ability to take that gut feeling and turn it into clear, calm, informed action.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to dive deeper into exactly how to do that.

To kick us off, I'd love to know: have you ever found your horse looking not quite right? Drop your story in the comments.

03/05/2026

Could having Banamine/Flunixin on hand save a horse from colic?

A horse owner asked me this after her friend lost a horse while the vet was hours away.

The answer deserves more than a simple yes or no.

Vets use banamine/flunixin routinely. It's a powerful anti-inflammatory pain reliever.

But it does not fix the colic itself.

It won't move an impaction.

It won't untwist a gut.

It won't remove a strangulating lipoma.

It manages pain while we work out what's actually happening. It is not a simple cure.

And here’s where it gets critical...

When I arrive to assess a colic, my decisions are based on the horse's clinical picture:

Heart rate. Gut sounds. Pain levels. Mucous membranes. Overall demeanour.

A horse that has already been given pain relief can look far more stable than they actually are.

And if that horse needs surgery, a masked picture can delay life-saving decisions.

The horse looks okay enough to manage at home. So we wait. And we lose the window.

There's also a safety risk that doesn't get talked about enough.

Injectable banamine/flunixin must go into the vein. If given into the muscle by mistake, it can cause clostridial myositis, a severe, rapidly progressing infection that can be fatal.

And if the needle enters the carotid artery instead of the jugular vein, it can trigger a potentially fatal neurological reaction.

The oral paste is safer to administer, but it can take up to 60 minutes to reach therapeutic levels. Time better spent waiting patiently for the vet.

That said, for horse owners hours from the nearest vet clinic, having banamine/flunixin prescribed and on hand can be an invaluable lifeline.

Not because it fixes the problem, but because keeping a horse comfortable while buying time can sometimes be enough to allow a mild colic to pass.

But even then, please collect your horse's vitals first.

Not every colic is the same. What looks manageable on the surface can be something far more serious underneath.

Having banamine/flunixin on hand isn't inherently good or bad.

It depends on the horse, the situation, and whether the owner understands colic well enough to use it responsibly.

What I believe is missing isn't easier access to medications. It's education.

Real colic awareness.

And honest, open conversations between vets and owners before an emergency happens, not during one.

That's what actually saves horses.

01/05/2026

My latest article is live in the newest edition of Hoofbeats Magazine!

I wrote about something that doesn't get nearly enough airtime in the horse first aid world: communication.

Specifically, what to say when you call your vet in an emergency, and why it matters so much more than most people realise.

I've also shared my NQR SOS Script in the article, the same template I use my Equine Emergency Training course, so you have something practical you can put to work straight away.

Hoofbeats is available from newsagents, selected saddlery and stockfeed stores, or online. I've added a link to their website in the comments 🐴

29/04/2026

Protecting your horse from colic is a two-part job.

What you do every day directly affects your horse's gut health and risk. And what you know before a colic crisis hits determines how confidently you can act when it does.

That’s why I partnered with equine nutritionist, Samantha Potter from FeedXL to bring you a Colic + Nutrition Masterclass:

"Think Like a Vet, Feed Like a Pro: Colic Strategies That Work"

Sam brings nutrition science - the feeding practices that protect the gut and the ones that quietly put a horse at risk. I bring the veterinary side - how to read early signs, gauge severity, and manage your horse’s symptoms before help arrives.

You don't have to choose between prevention and preparedness. This class gives you both.

Watch Here Now: https://www.empoweringequineeducation.com/colic-feedxl

Colic is the #1 horse emergency. You deserve to understand it properly, from both a vet and a nutritionist.

Share this post with your horsey friends to help spread the word!

25/03/2026

🎙️🐴 JUST RELEASED! Listen on the Whole Horse Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify or at via in link the in comments.

"Celebrating our 150th episode with this awesome chat with Dr. Lizzie of Empowering Equine Education! I happened upon her work recently and was so grateful to find someone laying out emergency preparedness for horses in the online space. Ever since moving further out of town I have felt the need to upgrade my “tool-kit” and make sure I am up to date with my knowledge and skills and I think many horse owners are feeling the same way.

In this episode we get into how the vet shortage is affecting horse communities worldwide and how to be prepared despite it, some of the important skills and equipment to have to track your horses baseline and detect issues before they become a big deal, what to look for with reading a digital pulse (this one was for Reykur!) and much much more. This conversation with Lizzie is full of nuggets of wisdom and skill-building gems and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."

~ The Whole Horse Podcast with Alexa Linton

24/03/2026

Do you know the difference between a wound that's healing well and one that's sending you a warning sign? 🐴

Wounds are one of the most common emergencies horse owners face, and one of the most misunderstood. Knowing what's normal versus what's not can directly impact how well and quickly your horse heals.

Something I wish every horse owner knew:

Horses are prey animals. In the wild, showing pain or weakness makes them a target. So they're hardwired to hide it and they're incredibly good at it.

That's why knowing how to read your horse's cues, body language and vital signs is so important. Plus, knowing how to identify subtle signs that something's not quite right.

I've put together this Wound Healing Red Flags infographic to help you know exactly what to look for 👇share it around!

06/03/2026

10/02/2026

My new episode with The Equestrian Experience is officially out, and we’re diving deep into one of the most important topics for every horse owner: colic.

We talk prevention, real‑world emergency challenges, what to do when help is far away, and how education can change outcomes in critical moments.

So grateful to Hayley and Bex for having me back, I can’t wait for you to tune in!