In fact, diarrhea in horses is not considered a horse disease, because this "leaking" is really a symptom of a situation that the animal cannot cope with psychologically or physically.

It flows when excess water isn't sufficiently bound in the animal's intestines. Normally, the large intestine reabsorbs the free water, but if this process isn't fully functional, the unpleasant result is a lot of watery stool.

You can find out more about diarrhea in our magazine .

Whether it's a daily-trained sport horse, an older horse, a broodmare, or a loving leisure horse – all of them need constant access to sufficient roughage in the form of hay. This basic foundation is crucial for a well-functioning digestive tract and a longer-lasting feeling of satiety. As you probably know, horses need to nibble almost constantly to stay healthy.

You can cover the so-called maintenance needs (survival without performance) with high-quality roughage alone. As a general rule, approximately 1.5 kg of hay is used for every 100 kg of live weight. However, if the horse is performing a significant amount of work, attention must be paid to performance-oriented feeding.

Hay is much more than just dried grass. Hay is a roughage and forms the basis of a horse's diet. It is rich in crude fiber, has a coarse texture, and promotes saliva production and thus healthy digestion. Hay contains many important nutrients! In addition to energy, protein, and sugar, it also contains crude fiber, which is essential for digestion. It also contains fats, minerals, trace elements, and vitamins.

Straw can serve as a partial replacement for hay, especially for horses that need to lose weight or are prone to slight obesity. Due to its low nutrient content and low digestibility, straw is primarily used for entertainment, but also to achieve a feeling of satiety.

Single feeds such as oats, barley, corn, wheat bran, and muesli belong to the group of concentrated feeds. As the name suggests, these feeds provide the horse with additional energy, among other things.

Differences in nutrition aren't unique to humans. Different factors also play a role in the feeding of horses, which determine what feed the animal receives. While the amount of feed depends on the type of husbandry and the horse's type, the "what" is even more complicated.

The fact is: Whether it's a daily-trained sport horse, an older horse, a broodmare, or a loving leisure horse, all of them must have constant access to sufficient roughage in the form of hay. This basic foundation is crucial for a well-functioning digestive tract and a longer-lasting feeling of satiety. As you probably know, horses need to nibble almost constantly to stay healthy.

Other feeds can be:
• Concentrated feed
• Supplementary feed
• Juicy food
• Hay or alfalfa cobs
• Mineral feed
• Oils

The foundation, therefore, is always good hay. The difference essentially depends on the workload, the physical condition (age, illness, pregnancy, etc.), and the additional workload of the individual organism. If these are taken into account in addition to the horse's natural needs, nothing stands in the way of a happy life.

Crude fiber is a poorly soluble carbohydrate that is broken down by microbes in the large intestine. It consists of plant components such as cellulose.

Crude proteins are found both inside plant cells and in the structural substance. The proteins found inside the cells are processed by enzymes in the small intestine, whereas the more difficult-to-digest proteins from the cell wall are only digested in the large intestine.

Crude fat is also broken down enzymatically in the small intestine and converted into unsaturated fatty acids.

During the production process, the mown grass is dried to a dry matter content of 25 to 50%, highly compacted, and stored in an airtight (anaerobic) environment. This process results in the desired lactic acid fermentation. At a pH value of around 4, fermentation stops, and a stable equilibrium is established.

It is recommended to gradually accustom horses to grass feeding over a period of approximately 3-4 weeks. This can be achieved by increasing the grazing interval daily or gradually increasing the amount of grass fed in the stable.

Colic in horses does not refer to a specific equine disease. Rather, it is an umbrella term for cramp-like pain in the animal's abdominal cavity, which can have a variety of causes. In fact, this disease can be traced back to the Roman Empire, as the horse is the animal species most commonly affected by it.

Osteoarthritis is also the most common joint disease in horses. Osteoarthritis in horses is defined as a non-inflammatory change in one or more joints. It involves degeneration of the articular cartilage, which initially becomes porous and soft and then gradually disappears over time. Osteoarthritis in horses is incurable, but there are various treatment options, and the symptoms can be alleviated in many ways, thus improving the quality of life of the affected horse.

(Inflammatory airway disease) = inflammatory airway disease. The causes of IAD are described as allergic processes, immune deficiency, and viral infections. Even young horses are often affected. Horse coughing occurs primarily during exercise and can result in a significant decline in performance. In horses with IAD, breathing is usually normal at rest. However, there is hope, as the animals can fully recover with appropriate treatment.

Our horse is also prepared for the changing seasons and sheds its hair twice a year. This is naturally stressful for you, as you have to rid your horse of an enormous pile of hair, but especially for your horse, as the entire immune system has to work together to transition from summer to winter and vice versa. In this case, it's important that you support your horse and ensure that it survives the change of coat safely and healthily.

The horse's largest organ is the skin! Yes, you read that right – the skin is a true all-rounder. It protects the body from external influences, transmits stimuli, and is also responsible for thermoregulation and the immune system. It is therefore very important for the horse's organism that the skin and coat remain intact.

Healthy lung function is very important for our horse partners. Unfortunately, there are actually many riding horses that are affected by respiratory diseases such as ROA or IAD. Therefore, a cough in a horse should immediately raise alarm bells for horse owners. Prompt action is required to prevent chronic bronchitis.

RAO is more extensive than IAD. The mucous membranes of affected horses swell significantly, and coughing fits attempt to clear the thick mucus that constantly builds up. Breathing is significantly labored. Even at rest, an increased respiratory rate is measurable.

This allows the condition of the mucous membrane and the secretions produced to be determined more precisely. The veterinarian can also take samples and send them to the laboratory for testing to gain better insight into possible lung disease (e.g., chronic bronchitis) and determine how to continue treatment.

Inhalation has already proven very helpful in human medicine, providing rapid relief from respiratory diseases. Chronic bronchitis can be effectively controlled with this method. But horses with COPD aren't the only ones who benefit from inhalation. Any stable horse can benefit from this treatment. The device can often be borrowed from the manufacturer or your veterinarian for a limited period of time. Smaller, manual devices are already available for purchase from specialist retailers.

This is also offered as a mobile treatment. A specially converted horse trailer acts like a giant inhaler, expelling salty sea air toward the horse. This eliminates the need for a laborious drive to the clinic. It can be done practically on-site. This is inhalation on a grand scale!