NKC Knowledge Centre

The Horse First Aid Kit for Your Lorry Or Trailer Most owners have a well stocked horse first aid kit at home, but a kit for the lorry or trailer can be overlooked, or not restocked, which isn’t a lot of help if you need something miles from home. In this article I...

Hydration article  “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink… “I’ve sure we’ve all heard this old adage before but how much does your horse need to drink, and what can you do to keep your horse hydrated? Horses can drink 30-50 litres of water a...

Most owners will be familiar with the condition Sweet Itch, characterised by extreme itching leading bald and sore areas, including the ‘toilet brush’ tail.  In the 2018 National Equine Health Survey skin conditions made up 33% of all reported problems, and Sweet Itch...

Running Horse First Aid Courses I have met so many lovely owners, and many horsey members of the public. One thing that has struck me is how many misconceptions we have around horse care. Myth busting is something that features heavily in our courses, and I love...

Horse owners often feel under pressure to rug up their horses, and sometimes this is brought on a change in weather, guilt or peer pressure from other owners on your yard (you can read more reasons that we rug our horses here) Many horses do need a rug, and it can be...

Veterinary practices often report a rise in Colic cases during sudden spells of cold weather and as a result you might have heard the term ‘Winter Colic’ used on social media, or by other horse owners. Whilst Winter Colic isn't a condition you'd find in a veterinary...

Lameness can be described as a gait abnormality or asymmetry but quite often as owners we avoid using the word ‘lameness’ describing our lame horse as ‘a bit short’, ‘not quite right’, or a ‘bit footy’. Sometimes a horse is clearly ‘limping’ (to borrow a human...

We are now well into Autumn, and for many of us our horses will be moving onto a Winter routine. So how can you keep your horse happy and healthy with these changes? Many horses will be stabled for longer periods, they will be fed more hay and supplementary feeding...

Horses are very good at injuring themselves, as an owner you will have no doubt experienced anything from a small nick to a larger cut on your horse.  If you find a cut what should you do? Ask around your yard and everyone will probably give you a different opinion,...

If your horse picks up a small cut it can feel a bit overwhelming about what you should do, do you hose it, scrub it, call the vet, put a bandage on it or just apply some sort of cream or gel? Ask around your yard and everyone will probably give you a different...

Why Do You Rug Your Horse?   So I’m afraid to say that Autumn is certainly here, and there is an unmistakable ‘nip’ in the air in the mornings.    Hop onto social media and you’ll find plenty of posts and links to articles highlighting how you shouldn’t be...

Most owners vaccinate their horse for Equine Influenza, and are aware of the implications of a Strangles outbreak, but biosecurity on many yards remains very poor. Owners tend to rely on Equine Influenza vaccinations to protect their horse, but vaccinations are only...

There is limited research on how many horse owners vaccinate their horses, and adhering to vaccination guidelines does seem to differ geographically across the country. On the Horse First Aid Courses that I run all around the UK compliance with vaccinations is...

Want a healthy horse? Horse owners spend an absolute fortune on keeping their horses well and healthy, from hoof, dental and worming care right through to magnetic rugs and boots; and let’s not forget the complex selection of costly supplements that many horses...

7 Vital Signs That Every Horse Owner Should Be Monitoring As a horse owner it is easy to think that we need to understand every possible disease and disorder that could possibly affect our horses. Whilst it is great to understand more about conditions such as colic,...

Do you have a Horse First Aid Kit? Most owners have some sort of bandaging materials, and maybe a few products to clean a wound with, and some owners will have type of first aid product available.  Type ‘Horse First Aid Kit’ into any search engine and you can buy some...

Any swelling or soreness in your horse’s eye is a key time to call the vet. Yet owners are often surprised when we tell them at our Horse First Aid Course that an eye injury should be taken as seriously as a colic case.   The healthy eye   The outer layer...

Horses are well documented as being colour blind, although research shows that the horse can perceive colours in a similar way to human dichromats. This means that they confuse reds and greens, and can’t detect dot patterns comprising of these colours. Research also...

Is your horse the correct weight?   Horses carrying excess weight are prone to a variety of health problems (just like humans), including an increased risk of laminitis, equine metabolic syndrome, joint disease and reduced performance.   Knowing how much...

Deciding whether you need to call the vet or not can be a real cause of concern for horse owners. You might worry about the cost of an unnecessary call out, you might be worried about looking silly if it was something that you could have coped with on your own. With...

8 Things Your Vet Wishes You Would Do I think that equine vets are truly amazing. They are a human version of 'Google', have so much knowledge and are doing their absolute best to help horses and owners. They work extremely long hours, and do plenty of 'unseen' work...

Colic.. As a horse owner this is probably the worse case scenario for our horses. It is estimated that 90% of horse owners can’t spot the early signs of colic, so understanding some of these is crucial to help your horse. Most owners can recognise classic signs of...

Do you have hibiscrub as part of your horse first aid kit? The vast majority of horse owners have a bottle of hibiscrub in their horse first aid kits. It has been routinely used to clean wounds for many years, however several leading vets are now suggesting that...

Equine vets are truly fantastic. They are like walking encyclopedias, are fairly cheerful when called out at 3am and aren’t averse to being covered in mud/ blood/ poo and worse. Did you know that they are some ways that you could really help your vet out, making their...