Horse Health

RESPIRATORY HEALTH AT SHOWS

New findings on equine asthma and why management at competitions matters For many horses, show environments, rather than being optimal for performance, carry hidden risks to their respiratory health. Increasingly, research is pointing to inflammatory airway disease (IAD) and equine asthma as leading causes of reduced performance in sport horses, often triggered or worsened by…

BylizzieDecember 2, 20250Comments

A title square image for an article about grooming as a diagnostic and why daily grooming can spot health issues

Horse Health

GROOMING AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

Why daily hands-on grooming can spot early health and hoof issues In a world of thermography scans, digital lameness detectors, and ever-expanding supplements, it’s easy to overlook the most basic tool in equine care: your hands. But experienced horsemen have long known that grooming isn’t just about shine, it’s about surveillance. Done properly and consistently, daily…

BylizzieNovember 30, 20250Comments

Horse Health

GENETICS AND PERFORMANCE

Are we any closer to linking DNA to ability? For as long as horses have been bred for sport, breeders and riders have sought to answer the same question: what makes one horse a champion and another simply average? Conformation, training, nutrition, and management all play their roles, but could part of the answer be…

BylizzieNovember 29, 20250Comments

Horse Health

FEEDING FOR GROWTH

Nutrition mistakes we make with young horses When raising a young horse, it’s easy to obsess over the size of the foal, the straightness of the legs, the condition of the coat, and, of course, how early they start looking ‘like a horse.’ But appearances can be misleading. The real foundation of a future athlete…

BylizzieNovember 28, 20250Comments

Feeding Tumeric - An isolated image of powdered tumeric which can be used as a supplement for a horse's diet - HQ Magazine

Horse Health

FEEDING TURMERIC

Beneficial or not? Text: Hanna Botha, MSc Equine Nutrition Although turmeric is not a new ingredient to many, it has received much attention in recent years, especially within the equine industry. But is this traditional spice worthwhile feeding to horses, and most importantly, is it safe? What is turmeric, and how can it help? Turmeric is part…

BylizzieNovember 25, 20250Comments

Heart clipped onto the hindquarter of a chestnut horse, full tacked up - HQ Magazine

Horse Health

THE EQUINE HEART

Part I Text: Dr Christina Eberhardt Illustrations: Merlynn Trichardt “The horse – an extraordinary athlete with an efficient heart.” Horses are amazing athletes performing at a level that surpasses that of most other animals of similar body size. Thoroughbreds race at speeds of 64 km/h in flat races; Quarter horses reach speeds as high as 72 km/h over…

BylizzieNovember 18, 20250Comments

An illustration of the anatomy of a horses hoof, showing the bones and skeletal anatomy of the hoof - HQ Magazine

Horse Health

UNDERSTANDING EVENT LINES

The bad and the ugly Text By: Christine Pinna If there is one thing that has been a complete game-changer for me in the last fifteen years of barefoot trimming, it would have to be learning to read the horse's hoof wall in order to understand what has happened in the horse's life in the…

BylizzieNovember 16, 20250Comments

Horse Health

HOW DOES YOUR HORSE THINK?

With Dr Stephen Peters Many of us were privileged to attend the webinar hosted by Natalie Fourie from EQ Advant-edge Neurofeedback Practice with the world-renowned neuroscientist Dr Stephen Peters on cognition in the horse. Over the course of an hour, Dr Peters described the basic anatomy and functionality of the equine brain and explained the significance…

BylizzieNovember 15, 20250Comments

Horse Health

WINTER WOES

Keeping your horse healthy South African winters are not nearly as harsh as those in Europe, yet this time of year still presents some challenges for horse owners. As the temperature drops, how do we keep our equine partners in tip-top shape? Maintaining weight Take care As the days get shorter and the nights get longer,…

BylizzieNovember 11, 20250Comments

Ask HQ Horse Health

ASKHQ: COAT COLORS AND SENSITIVE SKIN

Q: Do certain coat colours predispose a horse to having more sensitive skin? A: A horse’s response to skin stimulation is theoretically the same, regardless of coat colour. Skin pigmentation (not coat colour itself) does, however, influence skin sensitivity to UV radiation. De-pigmented skin types (pink skin), as is often seen in Appaloosa, cremello and albino…

BylizzieNovember 9, 20250Comments

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