Author: Dr. Martha M. Faraday (Ph.D.)

I first met this 20 year old pinto warmblood cross gelding in 2022 when he became neurological after worming and, as his owner said, “his soul left his body.” His catastrophic reaction to the wormer turned out to be the result of an EPM infection with both S. neurona and N. hughesi. He was treated…

The owner who loves him tells this story. “Major was purchased as a recently gelded stud colt in November 2019; his feet were in terrible condition with his hind legs swollen from lack of heel and leg strain and he was underweight from being pushed off his food. We fixed his feet, he put on…

“It can’t be done.” The barn manager summed up the situation. “He is 26. He has been losing weight since the spring. We are heading into winter. There is no way to turn this around.” She was pressuring the owners to euthanize. One more important detail — this gentleman has no teeth (note the present…

Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) Type 1 is a disease in which abnormally formed and/or excessive amounts of glycogen accumulate in the musculature. Glycogen is a complex sugar stored in muscles to be used as an energy source during exercise. Horses struggling with PSSM1 cannot use their stored glycogen normally; this impairment appears to be part…

When there is something wrong with your horse, ideally your vet has seen the problem many times and knows exactly how to fix it. Or, if the problem is less common, then there is a known strategy for resolution. The least desirable scenario is when your vet says she has never seen this problem before….

When a six-year old quarter horse colics five times in four months, something is terribly wrong. Colic is an emergency in all horses but chronic colic in young horses is a major indicator that one or more body systems is so impaired that the horse’s life is at risk. And with each episode of colic,…