Guardia Equine Sports Medicine

03/17/2025

Unlike humans, horses don’t have collarbones. Their shoulders are held to the rest of their skeleton via a sling of muscles and ligaments instead, often referred to as the “thoracic sling.”

Why is this important? We often ask our equine athletes to perform complex movements that require tremendous strength and coordination, and horses carry the majority of their weight in their front end. Therefore, it is imperative that the bulk of the muscles that support the front end are kept healthy and conditioned, and the horse is trained to use their “motor” — that is, engaging the large hind end muscles as much as possible to avoid excessive weight bearing on the front end.

If the front end of the horse is consistently overweighted or not at an appropriate level of fitness, repetitive biomechanical stresses get transferred down the leg to the smaller ligaments and tendons that were not designed to bear this weight, which can then lead to injury.

Brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

03/09/2025

Dr. Guardia married the right guy. quarter zip, dressage Olympics hat, breakfast tacos at . The trifecta 👌

03/05/2025

Think twice before administering medications to your show horses. There’s a time and place for every medication, but as Dr. Bidwell so poignantly stated in this article, “Competing horses should not show clinical signs of pain.”

Thank you, Dr. Lori A. Bidwell for sharing this article.

Two veterinarians navigate the ethical and medical intricacies of keeping sport horses sound and pain-free.

03/01/2025

Spring is almost here! Which means…it's time to schedule your equine companion to receive their spring vaccinations!

If you are wondering what vaccinations your equine friend should receive, the answer is — There are no “one size fits all” vaccine recommendations. A veterinarian who knows your animal and your management system is your best resource to recommend what vaccines your equine should receive and with what frequency!

While vaccination does not prevent disease in all circumstances, a good immunization protocol minimizes the risk of infection and remains an essential component of responsible ownership. A vaccination appointment is also the perfect opportunity for a yearly check-up of your equine friend and a great way to catch any health concerns early.

If you have yet to contact your veterinarian about scheduling vaccinations, we encourage you to do it soon!

02/27/2025

☀️Springtime☀️is the best time to get your horse 🐴 ready for their show season! 🏅

Having unexplained performance issues? Have your horse examined! Issues only showing up when ridden? We LOVE doing ridden exams in combination with unmounted evaluations to see what changes when the horse is being ridden.

02/24/2025

🚙Convenience meets productivity: Welcome to Dr. Guardia’s office! 👩🏻‍⚕️💻🛻

As a team, Dr. Guardia and her team bring you the highest quality of equine athletic veterinary care in the ease of your barn! Dr. G and her technician, Amber, are always on the road between barns finalizing medical records, communicating with our office manager, Janelle, and answering your questions.

If you’re looking for high-quality diagnostics and therapies for your equine athlete without the hassle of loading them up to haul to a referral hospital, give us a call. 📞 713-249-1648
[email protected]

02/15/2025

These blog posts share a bit more about our giving trips to Guatemala. Enjoy! 🇬🇹❤️🐴🌋

Stay up to date with the latest equine, cat and dog care & health articles from the FullBucket Health blog.

02/14/2025

💕Happy Valentine’s Day to all of our horse-crazy clients! We love you because we ARE you! ❤️🥹🐴😍🥰
Thanks to TVMDL for their adorable image we couldn’t help but repost!

02/10/2025

🌋I couldn’t be more proud of this team. 🥹❤️

Hundreds of working horses, donkeys, and mules treated with life-saving vaccinations, deworming, hoof care, dental work, wound care, and nutritional supplementation in the villages of Guatemala over the past week.

It’s a privilege to lead a team of incredible volunteer veterinarians, technicians, family, and friends to partner with the Guatemalan team to provide this vital care.

See you next year, 🇬🇹🌋❤️

02/04/2025

🤓One of our favorite patients 🐴keeps a close eye on Dr. Guardia’s technique while processing a serum amyloid A test.

🔬This test helps differentiate between infection versus inflammation. Luckily, Huckleberry is all clear, but he needed to make sure Dr. G knew what she was doing. 🧐

When would a test like this be helpful? Let us know your guesses in the comments!

01/31/2025

Equine Infectious Anemia is the disease a Coggins test screens for. Make sure your horses are tested every 12 months and you don’t travel with them anywhere that doesn’t require this test.

For more information, check out the American Association of Equine Practitioners’s resources page on this disease.

https://aaep.org/resource/equine-infectious-anemia/

Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a potentially fatal blood-borne infectious viral disease that produces a persistent infection among equids nearly worldwide.

01/30/2025

01/29/2025

✨Personalized Care✨

💙 We understand how deeply you care for your horse.

💙 We care for them as if they were our own.

💙 You can trust that we will always help you make the best decisions for your equine athlete’s veterinary needs.

💙Just ask this distinguished gentleman 😎He has been our patient for almost a decade and he’s loved very dearly by his medical team 🐴❤️

01/28/2025

‼️All FEI riders‼️and owners! Don’t forget as of February 3rd, the FEI is enforcing a rule that you must record your horse’s vaccinations in the FEI Horse App in addition to the physical passport. Follow this link to watch the FEI’s video and learn any additional new rules you might not be familiar with.

https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/veterinarians/biosecurity-movements/fei-horseapp-vaccination-module?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0A1Z3P5iyW-5o9Zpl4woNwyzDeP1IhKBwPXFBsMM7ojryj3WlNyEQq6Cw_aem_tKZ3Vavmk5Ayh13s3_KOng

01/24/2025

🏆Ready to take on the course with confidence? 🏇🏾

Scheduling a veterinary examination can screen your horse for so many things:

✅Cardiovascular health 🫀
✅ Muscle Stamina💪
✅ Orthopedic Health 🐎and much more!
✅ Discuss updated show rules and regulations

Contact us to schedule your equine athlete’s evaluation so you can start crushing those 2025 goals!
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01/22/2025

🛻We’re back, baby!🐴👩🏻‍⚕️☀️

We will be back on the (no-longer icy🧊❄️) roads in the morning (1/23)! Contact our office to get your performance horse’s exam done before show season kicks into high gear! 🥇

01/21/2025

❄️Happy Snow❄️Day, Houston! ⛄️We hope you and your horses are safe and warm in this weather. As expected, there are numerous road closures due to ice. Our office will be closed until those closures are lifted. The convenience of mobile practice is great… until record-breaking snow hits Houston, TX and any road we need to use to get to your barn is closed. 🐎Fingers crossed for a quick recovery and back to business soon. We will keep you updated!
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01/20/2025

Today and every day, we honor and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. As we strive to create an inclusive and welcoming equestrian community, we reflect on Dr. King's powerful message of hope and perseverance.