Blog

What is Scoping?
Scoping (aka gastroscopy) is an important tool for detection of gastric (stomach) ulcers and their location within the stomach. Scoping allows us as horse owners to rule out or identify gastric ulcers as a cause of behavioural or physical signs we are seeing in our horses. It is also used for monitoring the effectiveness of gastric ulcer treatment and/or management changes implemented to reduce the role risk factors play in gastric ulcers.      

Why do we fast our horses before Scoping?
Prior to scoping, most veterinarians will request that horses need to be fasted for no less than 12 hours. Read on to learn more about why this occurs and what we can do to help. 

For Poseidon Equine founder Linda Goldspink-Lord, the lessons learned over the last decade are helping to shape the future of true health for Australian horses.

What is anxiety in dogs? Fear is a normal reaction - a natural part of your dog's fight or flight response. A Phobia is an over-the-top, recurring fearful reaction to a specific person, animal, object or situation. But anxiety is the anticipation of things that have not happened yet. A Common form of anxiety in dogs is

A fairly new concept for many dog owners, but one of the best kept secrets amongst show dogs, dog trainers and canine nutritionists — canine gut health and the importance of having a healthy digestive system is one of the easiest ways to support your dog’s overall health and happiness. You see, just like us humans, poo

From experiencing some of life’s biggest challenges, Poseidon Equine's Founder, Linda Goldspink-Lord has seen her fair share of tragedy and triumph. 

Apart from being a word that strikes fear into the heart of every horse owner, colic is the term used to describe any abdominal pain seen in horses. It is non-specific, meaning that it can be related to the stomach, small intestine, hindgut or be unrelated to the gut altogether – as in the case of bladder stones (uroliths).

It’s important to work with your vet to try and identify the cause of a colic episode. If necessary, you can then make changes to your horse’s management or diet, to reduce the risk of future episodes.

Most colic cases are gut-related and many diet-related risk factors have been identified.

So what are the common diet-related risk factors for colic in horses?

Does gut health affect your performance horse?
The short answer is, yes. We ask a lot of performance horses. As a result of regular, high-intensity exercise, travel, how they’re housed, and what they’re often fed, performance horses can be at much greater risk of poor gut health and its associated problems. These include: gastric ulcers, colic, diarrhoea, poor performance, and behavioural problems. (And though they’re not strictly performance problems, poor gut health can also cause weak hooves and a dull coat).

Realistically, if you compete with or race your horse, you probably can’t avoid all the factors which negatively impact their gut health – such as travel or high-intensity exercise. But in this article, we’ll focus on what you can control – such as diet, turnout time and providing gut support. By working on what you can control, we can help minimise the impact of performance on your horse’s gut health, so they can look, perform, and behave at their very best.

There are so many different types of hay and it can get confusing when you start to try figuring out which hay to use and why. Or which hay to avoid and why. Here is my hay by hay take on… hay!

You’ve probably heard it before. Support local. Buy Australian. But have you ever wondered, why?

For us, as a business operating out of the Illawarra in NSW, and manufacturing in the NSW Southern Highlands, it means you’re helping us drive local economies and create jobs for local people. 

We launched our business at a small scale here in the Illawarra, initially just wanting to make a difference to the health of horses in our own network. 

Now, we help thousands of horses across Australia and beyond, to enjoy the gift of true health that comes from good gut health. But we’re still locally owned and made. And still conscious of our local community and our potential for making a positive impact. 

Think small.

We’re a small, family-run business with big ideas and big ambitions. 

To us, it’s the dream. Running a business which is close to our heart, with the people who mean most to us. 

Thank you for being here and supporting our small business.

Because when you buy from a small business, you make a big impact.

The days of locking horses up in the ‘Jenny Craig’ paddock – with minimal feed to achieve weight loss – are gone. We now know that this puts horses at serious risk of other health issues such as gastric ulcers and colic.

Nowadays, there’s a better way – and it’s by reducing energy (calorie) intake rather than reducing feed intake altogether. The principle behind feeding for weight loss is based on replacing higher energy pasture or hay in the diet with lower energy hay or straw (in sufficient quantities) and at the same time ensuring protein, vitamin and mineral requirements are met. This approach results in a much healthier horse, which is more likely to lose weight.

Stomach ulcers (also called gastric ulcers) are one of the biggest challenges you can face as a horse owner. Treatment is expensive and some horses can’t seem to escape the vicious circle of ulcers returning once treatment finishes. With that in mind, we wanted to cut through the confusion and give you a guide based on the latest science, on what you need to know about gastric ulcers and what you can do to help reduce the risk of them coming back.

We’ll cover:

What are gastric ulcers and why do they occur?
Is scoping important?
Should I treat for gastric ulcers?
Are there downsides to treating gastric ulcers with medication?
What are the foundations of a good diet for a horse with gastric ulcers?
What are some examples of ulcer-friendly diets?
My horse has glandular ulcers, what management changes should I make?
Where do Digestive EQ and VM fit?
When might I use Stress Paste?
What else can I do to help prevent gastric ulcers?