Hi lovely, This week I thought I’d do one of my favourite kinds of emails… one where I get an excuse to re-watch webinars and call it work . And today’s theme is: My Five Top Veterinary Webinars Which sounds very sensible and grown-up, doesn’t it? Although, a short disclaimer, these webinars may include: itchy bottoms, huge horse hearts, possible colic-related paranoia, graphic surgery gore, and lumps in… well, let’s just say… places nobody particularly wants to find one. So… just a standard day for most horse owners then 😉 But honestly, these are some of the most useful webinars we’ve ever hosted. Not because they replace your vet, obviously, they don’t. But because they help us become better owners, better observers and, perhaps most importantly, slightly less likely to either panic unnecessarily or miss something important. These World-Class Vets and Speakers really are top of their field, so make sure you don’t overlook these webinars. | | 1) Why Is My Horse Itchy? Skin Secrets for Your Horse I never thought I’d describe a webinar on equine dermatology as entertaining… but here we are. Professor Derek Knottenbelt somehow manages to make itchy horses fascinating, funny and slightly alarming all at once. The biggest takeaway for me was this: An itch is not a diagnosis… It’s a sign. And Derek makes it very clear that “itchy” can mean a huge range of things, from allergies and insect bite hypersensitivity to lice, mites, immune problems, endocrine disease, infection and far more. One of the concepts that really stayed with me was the idea of asking: What? Why? When? How? Where? Who? In other words, don’t just reach for the nearest lotion and hope for the best. First, look at the pattern. - Where is the horse itching?
- When did it start?
- Is one horse affected or the whole yard?
- Is it seasonal?
- Is it skin first, itch second… or itch first, skin damage later?
If you’ve not seen this or perhaps it’s now a distant memory, give it a watch. | 2) The Truth About Colic: Myths, Misconceptions & Must-Know Facts This one is a must-watch for every horse owner. Not because we want to spend our evenings thinking about colic… but because if it happens, knowledge really does help. Professor Debra Archer explains beautifully that colic isn’t one disease. It’s a sign that something painful is happening in the abdomen, and there are many different possible causes. That alone is helpful because it explains why one horse can have a mild episode and be fine, while another needs urgent hospital treatment. One myth I was very glad to hear tackled was the idea that rolling causes colic. Debra explains that rolling doesn’t cause colic; rolling can be a sign that the horse is already in pain. Which is a really important distinction. And the other big message? Know your horse. Some signs are obvious, but some are much more subtle. A horse who is just “not quite right”, unusually quiet, uncomfortable, off their food, or unsettled may still be telling you something important. And donkeys, apparently, like to make life even harder by often showing very little until they’re seriously unwell… That’s helpful of them! Brush up on your colic knowledge here. | 3) Understand Your Horse’s Heart: Equine Heart Health This webinar genuinely amazed me. Partly because the equine heart is just extraordinary. Professor Gunther van Loon explains that a horse’s heart is a huge, powerful organ, capable of pumping astonishing volumes of blood during exercise. At rest, a horse may pump around 30 to 35 litres of blood per minute. During intense exercise, that can rise dramatically. Which makes you look at your horse standing in the field slightly differently, doesn’t it? A lot of this webinar focuses on murmurs and arrhythmias, and I think that’s what makes it so valuable for owners. Because hearing “your horse has a murmur” or “your horse has an irregular heartbeat” can sound immediately terrifying. But Gunther explains that not all findings mean the same thing. Some are minor. Some need monitoring. Some need proper investigation. The useful owner takeaway for me was this: don’t ignore the heart, but don’t panic without information either. And, as always with horses, they may not show obvious signs until something is quite advanced, because they are annoyingly good at masking problems. Find the webinar here. | 4) Inside the Operating Room: The Latest Research on Equine Back Conditions Dr Jessica Kidd talks about back pain, diagnosis, surgery, treatment, rehabilitation and, importantly, the mistakes we can make when we jump to conclusions. One of the biggest takeaways is that a sore back isn’t always a primary back problem. In fact, Jessica explains that secondary back pain is very common, often because the horse is painful somewhere else, such as a hindlimb, and is overloading the back as a result. That really matters. Because if we only treat the sore back and miss the original problem, we haven’t actually solved anything. The quote that sums this webinar up for me is Jessica’s warning that starting treatment without a firm diagnosis is like: “driving at night with your sunglasses on.” For owners, this webinar is a great reminder to keep an open mind. Bucking, poor performance, resentment, stiffness, reluctance or a change in behaviour may all deserve proper investigation. Not because every horse has a terrible back problem, but because horses rarely change for no reason. Find out more. | 5) Melanoma Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction This one might be the most myth-busting of the lot. For years, many horse owners, myself included, were given the impression that melanomas in grey horses were just one of those things to “keep an eye on” and not worry too much about. Dr Jessica Kidd challenges that idea very clearly. Her point is not that every melanoma needs dramatic intervention, or that we should all immediately panic and start inspecting our horse’s with a torch and a clipboard. But it is that melanomas deserve proper thought, especially when they are growing, spreading, becoming awkwardly placed, or starting to affect the horse’s comfort. They can become ulcerated, infected, painful, difficult to manage and, in some cases, can spread internally. Jessica also makes the really important point that earlier intervention, when appropriate, can sometimes mean a far smaller, simpler procedure than waiting until things become much more complicated. What I found especially useful was the way Jessica frames the whole decision-making process: - What is in it for the horse?
- Short term, can we improve comfort?
- Medium term, can we prevent problems with droppings, urination, tack, movement or infection?
- Long term, can we reduce the risk of more serious disease?
If your horse has a melanoma, or if you don’t know much about them, this is a must watch. |
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