My horse isn't performing

Performance & Sport

No performance, poor recovery, quick fatigue, no muscle development — performance is more than training.

Hooves & Musculoskeletal

Lameness, poor hooves, a stiff gait, back problems — movement is the interplay of many factors.

Respiratory

Coughing, poor air, dust sensitivity — respiratory topics are closely tied to management and the immune system.

Digestion & Gut

Free faecal water, diarrhoea, recurring colic, a sensitive digestion — the gut is a central system.

An acute cough is a symptom of suddenly arising airway irritation, often as part of a viral or bacterial infection of the upper and lower airways. It can be harmless and brief, but with fever, breathing difficulty or impaired general condition it may indicate a more serious infection and is often contagious in the stable.

Partial or complete loss of the ability to sweat, removing the horse's most important means of cooling. It occurs mainly in warm-humid climates and increases the risk of overheating under exertion.

Bone spavin is a progressive, degenerative osteoarthritis of the small, tight hock joints (lower tarsal joints). Over time the affected joint surfaces can fuse, which often reduces the lameness again in the long run. It usually develops insidiously and frequently affects older horses or those heavily used over years.

In choke, a feed bolus or foreign body blocks the esophagus so that feed and saliva cannot be swallowed. Unlike in humans, breathing is usually unaffected — nevertheless choke is an acute veterinary EMERGENCY.

Colic is an emergency with many causes — a substantial part of the risk factors lies in feeding and husbandry management and is controllable.

Diarrhea is a symptom, not a disease in itself, and ranges from harmless and transient to life-threatening. Acute, watery diarrhea with fever or apathy can indicate a serious infection and lead to dangerous fluid loss.

In DDSP, the rear edge of the soft palate displaces over the epiglottis and temporarily obstructs the airways, especially at fast work. Typical is a gurgling breathing sound on exhalation with a sudden drop in performance; many horses start normally and only break down at high speed.

Chronically progressive connective tissue disorder in which proteoglycans are pathologically deposited in tendons, ligaments and further tissues (hence also Equine Systemic Proteoglycan Accumulation, ESPA). Unlike a single tendon injury, DSLD is systemic and typically affects the suspensory ligament of several limbs. The disease occurs in familial clusters (among others Peruvian Paso), but the exact mode of inheritance is not conclusively clarified; DSLD is not curable.

Hereditary skeletal/connective tissue disorder of the Friesian through a mutation in the B4GALT7 gene (disturbed build-up of proteoglycans of the cartilage/connective tissue matrix), inherited autosomal-recessive. Affected foals show shortened limbs with relatively normal trunk/head size as well as overextensible joints. Only homozygous animals are affected; carriers are unremarkable.

Dysbiosis describes a gut microbiome that has lost balance, e.g. after starch-rich feeding, antibiotics or abrupt ration changes. A stable microbiome is considered important for fibre digestion, nutrient supply and immune status; research on this is still young.

With long/intense exertion — especially in endurance sport — large amounts of electrolytes (including sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium) are lost through sweat. A visible sign of a severe shift is thumps: a diaphragm fluttering in synchrony with the heartbeat (synchronous diaphragmatic flutter, SDF).

Chronic inflammatory airway disease caused by dust/mould allergens, with bronchospasm and increased mucus.

In EIPH, bleeding from small lung vessels into the airways occurs under high exertion, triggered by very high pressures in the pulmonary capillaries during intense work. It mainly affects racehorses and high-performance horses and often goes unnoticed, as only some horses show visible nosebleeds.

Acute exercise-related breakdown of muscle fibres with painful stiffness, usually shortly after the start of work. Released myoglobin can darken the urine and burden the kidneys. The recurrent form (RER) is a disorder of muscle-contraction excitability and must be distinguished from the hereditary glycogen storage disorder PSSM.

In free fecal water syndrome, free, often brown liquid is passed in addition to formed manure, soiling the tail and hindquarters. Causes are considered multifactorial and not yet scientifically settled; general condition is usually unaffected.

Damage to the stomach lining from acid load, feeding gaps, stress and starch-rich rations. Very common in sport horses.

A life-threatening heat build-up when heat dissipation can no longer withstand the load and/or ambient heat — often combined with dehydration. Body temperature rises sharply and circulatory collapse is possible. This is an emergency.

In a hoof abscess, pus accumulates within the non-expandable structures of the hoof capsule and creates painful pressure — typically a sudden, often severe lameness. Dramatic as it looks: after professional opening and drainage, the condition usually improves quickly.

Hereditary disorder of hoof wall formation in which the wall separates from the pedal bone along the white line and breaks away. The cause is a recessive variant in the SERPINB11 gene; only homozygous animals are affected, carriers are healthy. Changes usually appear in the first year of life. Described above all in the Connemara pony.

Hereditary dysfunction of a sodium channel of the skeletal musculature (SCN4A) that leads to episodic muscle weakness up to paralysis. The trait originates from the Quarter Horse stallion line Impressive and is inherited autosomal-dominant, so even heterozygous (N/H) horses can show symptoms. A high potassium content in the feed is a central trigger of episodes.

In kissing spines, the dorsal spinous processes of neighbouring thoracic/lumbar vertebrae lie too close together or touch, which can cause irritation and back pain. Important: a radiographic finding alone does not necessarily mean discomfort — the overall picture of imaging and clinical signs is decisive.

Acute overstretching or a tear of muscle fibres, usually from sudden peak load, a misstep or insufficient warm-up. Unlike tying-up, the damage is locally confined; a correct diagnosis and controlled healing are decisive.

Podotrochlosis is a chronic complex of changes to the navicular bone, bursa and deep flexor tendon in the navicular region, often leading to a shifting forelimb lameness. The causes are considered multifactorial (e.g. load, hoof shape, biomechanics); the syndrome is usually not curable but can often be managed for a long time.

Heightened spookiness/inner restlessness — often multifactorial (housing, management, deficiency, pain). Rule out behavioural causes first.

Degenerative, progressive wear of the joint cartilage with an inflammatory and painful component. Common in older or heavily worked horses.

A persistent mismatch of load and recovery that leads to declining performance, poor regeneration and altered behaviour. It is a diagnosis of exclusion — other diseases (pain, stomach, airways, metabolism) must be ruled out first.

Pleuropneumonia is a severe bacterial infection of the lung and pleura, in which inflammation and fluid/pus accumulate in the chest cavity. It often occurs after long transports with a fixed, raised head (shipping fever) and is a potentially life-threatening disease that must be treated quickly by a vet.

Hereditary muscle metabolism disorder with abnormal glycogen storage; manifests as exercise-related muscle problems (tying-up).

In roaring, the nerve supply to the laryngeal muscles — usually on the left side — is impaired, so that a vocal-fold cartilage does not open sufficiently on inhalation. This narrows the airways under exertion and produces the typical whistling breathing sound; large horses are especially affected.

In sand colic, ingested sand accumulates in the large intestine and can cause irritation, diarrhea, impaction or painful colic. Acute colic is always a veterinary EMERGENCY — sand accumulation can become life-threatening.

In sinusitis, one or more of the air-filled paranasal sinuses become inflamed, often with an accumulation of secretion or pus. It arises primarily after airway infections or secondarily through diseased cheek-tooth roots whose tips reach into the maxillary sinus.

Damage to tendons (e.g. superficial/deep flexor tendon) or ligaments (e.g. suspensory) through overload or acute trauma. Tendon tissue heals slowly and scars with inferior, less elastic replacement tissue — relapses are common, so consistent, controlled rehabilitation is decisive.

Thrush is a bacterial (often anaerobic) decomposition of the frog horn, arising mainly in wet, dirty conditions and with poor hoof hygiene. It is recognised by black, greasy deposits and a putrid smell in the frog clefts; with superficial involvement it is usually well controlled through management.

Poor horn quality with brittle, splitting horn and shoeing problems. Grows only slowly (~6–9 mm/month) — patience needed.

Horses practically always carry some worm burden; only a high or damaging infestation (e.g. small strongyles, ascarids, tapeworms) becomes problematic. High burden can cause digestive disorders, weight loss and an increased colic risk — growing dewormer resistance makes a controlled approach important.