Kruger Equine

29/02/2024

Bella is enjoying a bit of EMS training at EFM Center today. We use it a lot to keep injured sport horses fit and strong while they recover, but it is also a great addition to any healthy sport horses training program to improve fitness, strength and performance.

24/11/2022

Somewhat obsessed with these magnificently massive feet on one of my patients today.

A horse’s feet are the basis for soundness. Winter is a wonderful time to focus on getting the balance just right and safeguard their soundness for the future.

23/10/2022

It’s that time of year again. Please keep your horses safe from this devastating toxin.

ATTENTION PLEASE! This post has been generated due to an unprecedented number of horses/donkeys seen by vets across the UK and at Rainbow Equine Hospital and through Rainbow Equine Lab for Atypical Myopathy (Sycamore toxicity).

Prevention strategies, as advised by the RVC Neuromuscular Lab (which leads UK research in this area), include:

Provide supplementary forage in Autumn (not from the ground).
Clear fallen sycamore leaves and seeds from grazing areas or fence away from heavily contaminated areas.
Check neighbouring areas for high risk plants/ seeds as the seeds ‘helicopters’ can travel far in windy conditions.
Limiting grazing time, especially on windy autumnal days, is also helpful.
Check water troughs for contamination with seeds and clean regularly.

16/10/2022

Great video to show some of the important structures in the foot!

22/09/2022

Interesting new research proving a genetic link in horses that develop kissing spines.

Back pain is a common contributor to poor performance in ridden horses and kissing spines are but one underlying factor. The good news is that for the vast majority of horses, we can find a comfortable and functional solution.

The basic principles for treating and preventing back pain is to ensure soundness, good biomechanics (particularly foot balance), saddle fit and adequate strength and fitness for what is being asked of the horse. If we get these basics right, then we can overcome most back problems.

Researchers discovered a connection between Chromosome 25 and the presence of kissing spines in horses.

06/09/2022

There is a shortage of flu vaccines and as such, you temporarily may not need the 6-month booster. Check with your local bodies and show centers.

Further to the update we issued jointly with BEVA - The British Equine Veterinary Association and the British Horseracing Authority on 17 August, it has been confirmed there are distribution problems with doses of equine influenza vaccination.

Our latest update provides further information on what this means for the UK's equine population, including how vaccination recommendations have been temporarily adjusted for leisure and competition horses.

Full update 👉 https://bit.ly/EIupdate2Sept

03/09/2022

Having objective measurements is the key to making informed decisions about any aspect of managing our performance horses. It is great to see the FEI moving to properly assessing jumping surfaces to improve safety and performance. It is vitally important to ensure that our horses train on a variety of surfaces that have suitable biomechanical properties to maintain soundness.

Equestrian World finds out more about safety under the hoof...

17/07/2022

We Westerners have only recently started to appreciate the importance of diet in medicine. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, food has been an integral part of medicine for thousands of years.

In Chinese Medicine, summer heat is seen as an external toxin that can have a multitude of negative effects on the body. Watermelon rind is a cooling food with many medicinal properties. I often use it in horses that are prone to excess internal heat, but it also helps to counteract the negative effects of very hot weather.

My Bella has a fire constitution, so runs a bit hot at the best of times. I am treating her with watermelon rind to help her stay cool over the coming days.

12/07/2022

Look at the relief on this big girl’s face when she feels the cool water on her skin. How are you keeping your horses comfortable?

I am loving the heat! But I know a lot of you are suffering so I will share my top tips to help keep you and your horses cool.

1. Cover up: wear a hat and long sleeve clothing to keep the sun off your skin, or try to stay in the shade. White, UV blocking cotton sheets tend to be cooler for the horses than fly rugs if they have to he out in the sun.

2. Don’t stagnate: light exercise that gets the blood flowing (e.g. a short walk) followed by a nice cool shower will make you feel much cooler than just staying still in one place.

3. Use evaporative cooling: hosing your horse and yourself is an excellent way to cool down. In really hot weather (it really isn’t that hot in the UK) I would wet my hair and then put it under a cap. Having a cool head creates a lot of heat loss for the body. I would also hose a horse down both before and after exercise, so that they don’t have to do extra work to create sweat to try to cool down (they are already wet).

It is also extremely important to stay hydrated, so make sure you and your horse have plenty of clean, cool water at hand.