Tom Schell

Respiratory Disease in the Horse

Anyone that has owned a horse has probably experienced respiratory disease in some shape or fashion.  Much the same as humans, horses are prone to developing upper respiratory infections due to viral and bacterial invasion, but the two most common and troubling conditions affecting horses in today’s industry is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (reactive airway disease) and exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH).  Being a veterinarian working on horses, I have certainly encountered my fair share of COPD patients as well as EIPH athletes and feel a times that these conditions are becoming more prevalent.

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Colic in the Horse

Colic. . . one of the most dreaded conditions by the average horse owner.  It equates to pain for your companion, potentially long nights of monitoring and even costly veterinary care in the worst scenarios.  The good news is that in the majority of colic cases, the problem often resolves on its own over a short period of time with some TLC and dietary changes. There are many different types of colic, which essentially means abdominal pain, but that belly pain can be coming from anywhere. 

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Managing Equine Metabolic Syndrome & Insulin Resistance

Equine metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance have been a common problem but seem to be potentialy increasing in frequency or incidence over the past decade.  As the number of cases of EMS or insulin resistance increases, we are ultimately left with determining the best means of controlling these horses for the long term.  There have been proposed many theories of management, but not every approach works in every patient, often leaving us much to be desired.

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Equine Lameness and Connection with GI Health

As horse owners, we are likely to be familar with lameness associated with tendon or ligament problems, but did you know that there may be a connection with digestion?  In many cases, we have tried everything to get that tendon or ligament to heal, but all efforts are futile it seems, with the problem likely recurring.  Now, I certainly don’t have all of the answers for every problem, but over the past years, I have made some observations and a connection with GI health.

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Behavioral Problems In The Horse

An uncontrolled horse comes in many different sizes and degrees of severity.  No matter the level of the problem, a horse with behaviorial issues not only creates potential problems with competition and training, but they can also be very dangerous to be around due to unpredicatability.  There are many different causes to behavioral problems, some we can manage and others create more of a challenge. One of the first things we need to do is get a better feel for the problem at hand.

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Managing Gastric Ulcers

Are you or your horse an antacid junkie? Stomach or gastric ulcers are a common condition impacting horses, people and even pets sometimes.  We see commercials regarding antacids and ‘acid blockers’ all of the time and horse owners are exposed to these medication way too often, being an unfortunate part of many horse’s daily routines.  For some people, it is no different and many of the commercials seen make it seem like it is the ‘in’ thing to do to take or give these medications.  If it is as prevalent in today’s horse world and for people as we are made to believe, then we have a problem.  If we have a problem, then we need to understand the problem in order to remedy it or at least improve it.

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