Equestrian Bowen

30/08/2026

Cushings tests should be done in summer or mid winter. ACTH levels will be higher in spring and autumn due to normal metabolic adaptations taking place

28/08/2026

Hi, I’ve had quite a few enquiries recently about having horses for rehabilitation, training, retraining. Unfortunately I have National Grid currently working on my property causing substantial disruption and risk to livestock so I’m not able to have any clients horses at present. The work is scheduled for completion in November so I hope to get back to normal soon after that. However if we get a wet autumn the damage to my land/facilities will be greater and reinstatement will take longer. The only good news is that once the project is complete there shouldn’t be another big project for about 30 years. 🙏

25/08/2026

This is exactly why I preach getting feed containing ingredients grown with glyphosate out of your horses diet.

06/08/2026

This is an interesting video. Much of the muscle tension they talk about can be released with treatment. These patterns are typical of what I see with horses who come to me for rehabilitation

Equitopia www.EquitopiaCenter.com talks with veterinarians and body...

31/07/2026

Feeding oil to horses is a potentially controversial topic but I think the facts are fairly clear.
The oil content of grass typically ranges from about 2.5% to 5% of its dry matter, though this can vary depending on the type of grass and environmental factors. This "oil" refers to lipids, which include beneficial fatty acids like omega-3s, that contribute to the grass's nutritional value and can influence animal health

A horse should eat about 1.5% to 2.5% of its body weight in dry matter forage per day, which includes grass. For a 500kg horse, this is roughly 7.5kg to 12.5kg of dry matter daily. The actual wet weight of grass, including its high water content, will be significantly higher, potentially more than 40kg for a 500kg horse in good conditions.

So when you do your sums, a 500kg horse eating green grass is consuming between
190g-625g of oil. When the grass is turned into hay the oil content drops to less than half (and most likely much lower) of that of the green grass. So if your horse is eating hay (eg. In winter when there is no green grass) then you need to supplement oil. The oil content of Haylage will be higher than hay but lower than grass depending on how long it was dried for. Currently the “grass” my horses are eating is substantially more sun baked than the hay I made in June. So the oil content is very low. About 4 weeks ago I made a decision to start supplementing oil again as per my normal winter regime.

So which oil should you feed ?

KM Elite Ultimate Oil has a good source of Omega 3:6:7:9 in appropriate quantities! It also contains sea buckthorn oil which is helpful for his gut health. The other oil which is beneficial is TRM omega 3 as it contains EPA/DHA. These are the key anti inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acids. They are important for neurological health, respiratory health and skin health. They reduce systemic inflammation and improve joint health. DHA can improve plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in horses with metabolic syndromes

Which Oils should you not feed ?
Corn oil is inexpensive and historically was recommended by vets for treating horses with gastric ulcers (based on a small study conducted 20 years ago !!). It is extremely high in omega-6 fatty acids, which are generally considered pro-inflammatory. Canola and soybean oil are also inexpensive but have a poor omega-3 to omega-6 (O3:O6) ratio. Omega ratios for common oils include: corn oil (1:87), soybean oil (1:7), canola oil (1:3), flax/linseed oil (4:1), and fish oil (6:1). It gets more complicated when you consider the different types of omega 3 fatty acids.

31/07/2026

Have you come across the Five Domains Model for Equine Welfare ?
It is a framework for assessing equine welfare which has evolved over a number of years. It was updated in 2023 and is endorsed by World Horse Welfare. It focuses on both physical needs and mental well-being. It evaluates four functional domains—Nutrition, Environment, Health, and Behavioral Interactions—to understand their cumulative impact on the fifth domain: the horse's overall Mental State.
1. Nutrition
* What it means: Access to sufficient, high-quality, and balanced food and water tailored to the horse's workload, age, and health.
* Key focus: Preventing prolonged thirst, hunger, or nutrient deficiencies, while promoting the pleasure of eating and foraging.
2. Physical Environment
* What it means: The horse's physical surroundings, including pasture quality and design, shelter, weather protection and where appropriate stable design.
* Key focus: providing adequate space for movement and rest, safe footing and protection from extreme weather
3. Health
* What it means: The physical well-being of the horse, assessed through clinical signs, absence of disease, injury management, and functional soundness.
* Key focus: Preventing and treating injuries, pain, and disease through proactive care, proper dental/hoof maintenance, and parasite management.
4. Behavioral Interactions
* What it means: The horse's ability to engage with their environment, including interactions with other horses and handlers, as well as opportunities for exploration and play.
* Key focus: Promoting natural equine behaviors, social contact (the "Friends, Forage, and Freedom" principle), and providing agency so the horse has choices and control within their environment.
5. Mental State
* What it means: The subjective emotional and affective experience of the horse resulting from the other four domains.
* Key focus: Minimizing negative mental states like fear, anxiety, distress, and pain while actively promoting positive states such as comfort, security, curiosity, and contentment.

I have included a couple of useful links in the comments below. I’m not sure why this information is not being shared more widely.

28/07/2026

At least in New Zealand and America life is changing and use of Intra Articular steroid injections is reducing. I wonder how long it will be for this trend to follow in the UK

🔗: https://equimanagement.com/research-medical/treatments-medications/survey-reveals-changing-sentiments-toward-ia-corticosteroids-among-equine-veterinarians/

At the 2025 AAEP Convention, Dr. Erin Contino reviewed changing sentiments about the use of intra-articular corticosteroids in horses.

Comparative survey results from AAEP membership indicate different outlooks on joint treatment over the course of a decade. Of 407 respondents, the majority:

- View frequent joint treatments as an industry problem (66%).
- Believe joints are harmed by overly frequent treatments (76%).
- Consider 6 months to be the shortest acceptable interval between injections (50%).
- Wouldn’t use a compounded product if their preferred IA medication wasn’t available (80%).

16/07/2026

Some of my favourite pictures of wonderful Woody taken at Barbury Horse Trials 8 years ago. This was 6 years after he was given to me having been diagnosed with Kissing Spines and hind leg suspensory desmitis.
Yes he needed a lot of rehab work, but he loved his job (in the beginning - at intro level-he was very nappy). He was still loving life and jumping big fences age 22 😊😊❤️

21/04/2026

This post contains some very candid information on the side effects of metformin which regularly gets prescribed for horses diagnosed with Cushings. Do you want your horse to endure these side effects?
There a lot of natural remedies and nutrition changes which provide better blood sugar control. Without metformin.

Summary: If you wake up every morning, check your meter, and still see a number above 100 despite eating clean and doing everything right, you're not alone. And you're not imagining it. Most common fixes only treat the surface, not the root cause. In this article, we break down the 5 hidden reasons....

15/04/2026

This is really interesting (and not that surprising). Our animals enjoy a better standard of health care then we humans 🫣