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POOR PERFORMANCE
The horse may show signs of disease obvious
to the owner which might point towards a
particular body system being the cause of
the poor performance, for example - a cough
and runny nose might suggest respiratory
disease. However, most cases of poor
performance presented to vets will require
a detailed examination and possibly further
investigations to identify the cause before
a management/treatment plan can
be implemented.
Veterinary Surgeon
Colin Mitchell
XLVets Equine Practice
Scott Mitchell
Associates
Whether racehorse, eventer, show-jumper or children's pony, at some
point in most horses’ careers, they are likely to be affected by poor
performance. This can be defined as the performance of the horse
not matching owner expectation or a reduction in performance
compared with previous success and/or results.
Poor performance
Colin Mitchell BVM&S CertEP MRCVS
Scott Mitchell Associates
Before embarking upon any
investigation, your vet may ask
several questions to help identify
if there is, in fact, a veterinary
problem. Occasionally, the ‘poor
performance’ may be due to:
1.
lack of ability of the horse, or,
very occasionally, the rider;
for
example the dressage horse unable
to perform when ridden by the
owner, but with a more experienced
rider, the horse performs adequately;
2.
owner/horse mismatch;
for
example, a new horse purchased for
long distance endurance riding may
not be suited to this discipline if he
has never done any endurance riding
or has a conformation unsuited to
the sport;
3.
inadequate nutrition;
if the horse
is overweight, or underweight, he
may not be performing adequately;
4.
lack of fitness;
for example, a
horse which is only walked for 30
minutes twice a week on roads,
perhaps may not be ready to
compete in a cross country/hunter
trial event.
If a veterinary problem is suspected,
your vet will examine the horse and
then may suggest one or more of
the following:
●
blood tests
●
watching the horse lunge/ridden
●
inspect the saddle and tack
●
endoscopy to examine the
respiratory tract
●
gastroscopy to examine the
oesophagus and stomach
●
scintigraphy (bone scan)
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EQUINE MATTERS