The Horse First: A Veterinary Sport Horse Podcast

Kissing Spine in Sport Horses, Part 2: Do you ride the Horse or the Radiograph?

In part 2 of this series, Dr. DeClue continues her deep dive into kissing spine, including some eye-opening data regarding its prevalence across the world. Some highlights in this episode include: The prevalence of back diseases in...

Episode 55: Kissing Spine in Sport Horses

Countless hours of research have culminated in today's episode on kissing spine in sport horses. Dr. Audrey DeClue pulls knowledge from decades, centuries, and millennia of data on kissing spine to learn more about this affliction that has impacted dogs,...

Episode 54: Lead Change Problems in Sport Horses

If your horse seems stiff, uneven, and doesn't track straight, you're probably also having issues with lead changes. It's another long-thought mystery issue impacting performance and sometimes leading to anxiety in horses during drills. As always, Dr. Audrey DeClue brings...

Episode 53: Expectations in Injured Sport Horses with Dr Kate Workman

Following a very popular episode previously (Episode 46), Dr. Audrey DeClue talks again with Dr. Kate Workman (Denali Equine in Southern Pines, NC) about cases cases they have treated. They discuss shivers, treatements, lameness, and more with the goal of...

Episode 52: Cantering Issues and Problems in Sport Horses

Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses a common complaint among riders and veterenarians - cantering issues. Though, historically, much attention has been paid to the limbs, Dr. DeClue brings it back to to the body of the horse, where many of the...

Episode 51: Shivers Horses and Its Association to the Cerebellum

In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue focuses specifically on the association of the cerebellum to shivers horses. She shines a light on the existing, published research on shivers and the trouble with conclusions based on a small sample size. She...

Episode 50: Shoulder Girdle Injuries in Sport Horses - Part 3

Dr. Audrey DeClue continues her series on the treatment and solutions she has discovered while helping horses with shoulder and girdle injuries. 

Episode 49: Shoulder Girdle Injuries In Sport Horses - Part 2 Cause and Effect

Dr. DeClue discusses the Cause and the Effect of Shoulder Girdle Injuries in Sport Horse creating Kissing Spine, Back and Pelvic Pain, Chronic Undiagnosed Front Limb Lameness, Suspensory Strains/Injury and Sleep Deprivation and Collapsing Horses.

Episode 48: Shoulder Girdle Injuries in Sport Horses - Another "Mystery" Lameness

Despite having little to no peer-reviewed published papers about the issue, Dr. Audrey DeClue takes this episode to discuss what she has personally learned while dealing with shoulder girdle injuries in sport horses.  

Episode 47: Guest Appearance on The Humble Hoof Podcast (Shivers-Stringhalt)

This episode is a guest appearance by Dr. Audrey DeClue on The Humble Hoof podcast with host Alicia Harlov.  They discuss the research and developments that Dr. DeClue has discovered in her journey of putting the horse first when tackling...

Episode 46: Solutions to Problems in Sport Horses with Dr. Kate Workman of Denali Equine

After some time on the road with show horses, Dr. Kate Workman (Denali Equine in Southern Pines, NC) realized her true desire was to put the wellbeing of horses first. While dealing with a particular case, one of her colleagues...

Episode 45: The Number One Cause of Lameness in Sport Horses

In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue addresses the top causes of lameness in sport horses. These include injury during competition, injury during training or overtraining, injury during turnout, and lower limb abscess farrier work. But the number one cause of...

Episode 44: Positional Lameness in Sport Horses

When body lameness in your horse only occurs when they’re moving, it is positional lameness. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue breaks positional lameness into two parts and urges more critical, rational thinking within the veterinary profession in order to...

Episode 43: Body Lameness in Sport Horses

In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue focuses on the impact that the axial skeleton has on the performance of your horse. This often overlooked connection can provide significant insight on body lameness. 

Episode 42: Sacroiliac Injuries in Sport Horses

Poor performing sport horses with a difficulty in diagnosis often receive SI injections. And while this can offer some relief, there is hope beyond injections for horses with sacroiliac injuries. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue addresses these injuries with...

Episode 41: Suspensory Ligament Injuries in Sport Horses

It can be scary to hear the words 'suspensory ligament injury.' But in today's episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue brings some hope to the discussion. She talks specifically about these injuries often being secondary to something else, which can provide for...

Episode 40: Horse Communication

In today's episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue is focused on the importance of communicating well with others based on the strong communication you've built with your horse.  She also discusses the prevalence of suicide within the veterinary community and how we...

Episode 39: Absolutely Everything is Important

In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue aims to help riders, owners, and trainers take notice of things going on with your horse and point them out to your veterinarian. Taking special note of the subtle things you see in the...

Episode 38: Causes and Solutions to Contact Issues with Your Horse

In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue provides an 8-step process of elimination to address causes and solutions to contact issues with your horse. This is an important episode if you struggle with bridal or contact issues.

Episode 37: Straightness Issues Bulged vs Hollow Horses

Straightness is one of the most common issues owners and trainers have with their horses. It's also a very common topic in publications, no matter what discipline of the horse.  In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue explains that if you...

Episode 36: Tension is the Enemy and the Cause of Many Lamenesses in Sport Horses

Whether it's from a known or unknown injury, tension is the enemy of every lameness. The perfect horse can become lame due to tension and a lame horse come back to life when tension is addressed. In today's episode, Dr....

Episode 35: Iliopsoas Injuries in Sport Horses

It's among the most common muscular skeletal injuries seen in sport dogs and human athletes. Iliopsoas is also the number one reason people have back pain. Yet there's very little research about it in sport horses. In this episode, Dr....

Episode 34: So Your Horse is Injured?

After recently suffering an injury of her own, Dr. Audrey DeClue takes this episode to discuss what you need to look for - and possibly act on - if your horse is injured. 

Episode 33: Sleep Deprivation and Collapsing in Performance Horses Part 2

Dr. Audrey DeClue returns to continue her series on the issues surrounding sleep deprivation and collapsing in performance horses. In this episode, she dives into the anatomy, what the clinical signs look like, and what you can do. 

Episode 32: Sleep Deprivation and Collapsing in Performance Horses (Part 1)

If you don't know what normal is, you probably don't know what abnormal is. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue goes through the history and research of rest and sleep patterns in horses to help determine what is normal when...

Episode 31: Shivers and Stringhalt Part 2

Dr. DeClue continues her discussion on what is causing Shivers and Stringhalt in horses. 

Episode 30: History of Shivers-Stringhalt Syndrome

Today, Dr. Audrey DeClue begins sharing all the information she has gathered on Shivers-Stringhalt Syndrome. 

Episode 29: My Horse Does Not Lay Down to Sleep

Episode 28: New Years Resolution: Advocate For Your Horse!

Dr. Audrey DeClue asks listeners to consider their horse when making new commitments in the New Year. Watching, listening, and learning from your horse helps you understand what they need and how to advocate for them.

Episode 27: Why Are Horses Girthy or Cinchy

Dr Audrey DeClue discusses the dangers of having a girthy horse and how to address it.

Episode 26: How to Help Your Veterinarian Diagnose the Lameness in Your Horse

A common theme in the Horse First podcast is the importance of advocating for the health and needs of your horse. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses how to talk with your veterinarian about lameness, emphasizing the importance owners...

Episode 25: Headshaking Syndrome

In today's episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses a number of cases she's seen of horses dealing with Head Shaking Syndrome (sometimes referred to as Trigeminal-mediated headshaking).

Episode 24: Diagnosing Lameness at a Canter

Dr. Audrey DeClue continues her series on diagnosing lameness in your horse. Today's focus is on diagnosing at a canter. She details the different aspects of the horse she pays attention to when examining a horse from this vantage point. 

Episode 23: Recognizing Lameness at a Trot (featuring Mikala Vig)

In previous episodes, Dr. Audrey DeClue has discussed recognizing lameness at a walk and at a standstill. In this episode of The Horse First, she brings back veterinary student Mikala Vig to discuss recognizing lameness at a trot and what...

Episode 22: Equine Shivers Treatment and Information

It's the episode many of you have been waiting for. Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses how she discovered the treatment for Equine Shivers and offers hope to riders, owners, and equine veterinarians. We owe it to our horses to take a...

Episode 21: Recognizing Lameness at a Walk

"If you see it...feel it...or hear it, it's there." Dr. Audrey DeClue is back on the topic of lameness as she follows up on her last episode (Recognizing Lameness at a Standstill). In this episode, she gives advice for recognizing...

Episode 20: Recognizing Lameness at a Standstill

Todays episode is about recognizing lameness at a standstill. Dr. DeClue explains how to recognize a lame horse by identifying and diagnosing lameness without modern technology.

Episode 19: Dorsal Scapular Movement Disorder (DSMD)

In this episode of The Horse First, Dr. Audrey DeClue goes back to her trusty Anatomy of a Horse book to discuss DSMD. She stresses the need to understand that all horses can improve with the correct measures. 

Episode 18: The Mystery of Unresolved Front Limb Lameness and Hopping Horses

Armed with her trusty "Anatomy of a Horse" book, Dr. Audrey DeClue goes takes you down the rabbit hole of what front limb lameness is, what's causing it, and how to address it.

Episode 17: The Pain-Behavioral Pyramid of the Horse

Dr. Audrey DeClue describes a diagnostic process she has developed over a decade to understand why horses start to develop pain.

Episode 16: How to Lunge for Back and Pelvis Rehabilitation

Dr. Audrey DeClue takes this episode to emphasize the need and value of lunging your horse when going through rehabilitation of the back and pelvis. She also discusses the nuance of that process and how to be consistent in rehabilitation...

Episode 15 - Back and Pelvis Rehabilitation (Part 2)

in part two of this series on rehabilitation, Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses lunging for the purposes of back and pelvis rehabilitation. You'll learn how critical lunging truly is to the process.

Episode 14 - Back and Pelvic Rehabilitation in Horses (Part 1)

Dr. Audrey DeClue is back and starting a very important series on the rehabilitation of horses as it relates to their back and pelvis. If you're ready to start down this journey, Dr. DeClue is ready to help.

Episode 13 - Back Injuries and Treatment in Sport Horses

Back injuries are a significant concern in the sport horse world. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue talks about injuries she's seen, some common causes, and the variety of treatments involved. 

Episode 12 - Recognition and Diagnosis of Back Pain in Sport Horses

There are several reasons your horse could be experiencing back pain. But making a priority of recognizing and diagnosing those issues can stave off a number of issues down the road. 

Episode 11 - Saddle Fitting and Girths

You might not have thought much about it, but the type of saddle and saddle pad you use on your horse can have a profound impact on their comfort and how they ride. Dr. Audrey DeClue explains why it is...

Episode 10 - Cervical Issues in Sport Horses

Neck issues will always affect the performance of your sport horse. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue shows how cervical issues can show, the cascade of effects that can follow, and how to rehabilitate.

Episode 9 - Rehabilitation

Dr. Audrey DeClue presents a candid approach to the process of rehabilitating sport horses and the dedication required to ensure the treatment is most effective.

Episode 8 - Treatment Solutions and Expectations

With everybody looking for a quick fix these days, Dr. Audrey DeClue explains why it's important to have realistic expectations in terms of outcomes and timing when treating your horse.

Episode 7 - Injuries

Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses common injuries and the common misconceptions often associated with them.