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Optim Equine

Horse health challenges? Optim Equine provides unique, holistic solutions to all your equine health concerns.

Using Western Herbal Medicine, nutritional supplementation and dietary and management strategies. Optim Equine is a unique provider of equine naturopathic services, delivered by fully qualified naturopath Camilla Whishaw. Camilla aims to facilitate optimal health, wellbeing and performance of all equine patients through the use of human therapeutic grade medicinal herbs and nutritional supplements

, combined with nutritional and management advice. Optim Equine's services are fully independent (not aligned with any feed, supplement or pharmaceutical companies), with treatment plans customised to each individual horse. Camilla provides naturopathic strategies for a wide range of cases, working in conjunction with vets and other equine practitioners where appropriate, or as a stand alone therapy.

02/08/2026

‘𝙒𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮’…

It’s a phrase that is common in breeding programs around the world…

Experience matters. The knowledge gained from years of breeding, raising and managing horses is invaluable. Many successful programs have been built on practices that have been refined over decades.

But it is also worth asking:

𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮?

Because while the foundations of good breeding management may remain consistent, every breeding season is different.

The same management program, applied year after year, may not always produce the same outcome. This is particularly relevant when we consider nutrition and development.

The most widely used equine nutrient recommendations were last updated in 2007. Almost 20 years ago.

Since then, our understanding of the gut microbiome, inflammation, metabolic health, developmental programming and the complex interactions between nutrients has advanced significantly.

Veterinary medicine has progressed.
Medication practices have changed.
Our understanding of how early-life factors influence lifelong health has evolved.

And all these factors influence nutrient requirements and/or metabolism in horses. Many nutritional programs are still based on dated recommendations.

The knowledge gained from years of breeding and managing horses is invaluable. But the horses we are breeding today are not exactly the same as those we were breeding 20 years ago, and our understanding of their health and development continues to evolve.

It means we need to keep asking whether the decisions we make are still the best decisions for the horses in front of us.

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗔𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀.

29/07/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐭: 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭…

When we think about healthy bone development, we often focus on minerals. But without a healthy gut, those nutrients can’t be properly absorbed or utilised.

The gut microbiome influences nutrient absorption and production, metabolism, immune function and inflammation—all of which play an important role in normal bone and cartilage development.

When the gut microbiome becomes disrupted (known as dysbiosis), the consequences extend far beyond digestion.

Dysbiosis can reduce the production, absorption and utilisation of key nutrients, alter metabolic and growth signals, and promote chronic inflammation.

In broodmares, these changes may also affect placental development and function, impair placental blood flow, and reduce the transfer of nutrients essential for normal foetal development.

Dysbiosis doesn’t just occur in sick horses. Even apparently healthy, well-managed mares can experience shifts in the gut microbiome in response to everyday management practices, including:

•sudden dietary changes
•low fibre intake
•high starch, grain or concentrate feeds
•medication (e.g. antibiotics, NSAIDs such as bute & flunixin, corticosteroids, and PPIs e.g. omeprazole)
•periods of stress
•sales preparation and environment
•travel
•changes in mob dynamics
•restricted grazing

Supporting the gut microbiome before conception, throughout pregnancy and during early growth is one of the most overlooked opportunities to influence lifelong musculoskeletal health.

Healthy skeletal development isn’t determined by one nutrient or one management practice. The gut microbiome influences many of the biological processes that underpin it.

26/07/2026

𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞…𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞?

It’s a commonly held belief that a fat or well conditioned mare is a fertile mare, but how much condition is too much?

While adequate body condition is essential for reproductive health and fertility, we’ve also become accustomed to viewing overweight mares as healthy. Increasing evidence is clearly demonstrating that this isn’t the case…

The problem is that excess body condition doesn’t just affect the mare: it can influence the developing foal long before it is even born.

Foals born to overweight mares have an increased risk of developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD).

Excess body fat alters a mare’s metabolism, hormone regulation, gut microbes and inflammatory signalling—even when the mare appears outwardly healthy.

These changes influence how the foal develops metabolically and skeletally before it’s even born, increasing the risk of developmental orthopaedic disease and shaping its health for life.

23/07/2026

This week, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed attending Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA) Bain Fallon Memorial Lectures in Melbourne.

I had the pleasure of presenting my research poster on a topic which I’m incredibly passionate about: lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis (LPE), a rare type of inflammatory bowel disease in horses that has historically been associated with a guarded to grave prognosis. My research titled: ‘𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙙𝙨: 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙮𝙢𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙮𝙩𝙞𝙘-𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙮𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙨 (𝙇𝙋𝙀)’ reflects cases where through implementing a tailored, individualised treatment approach, incorporating diet, nutraceuticals, herbal medicine and management strategies- successful outcomes can be achieved.

One of the key motivations behind this work is to contribute to the growing understanding of what may be possible when these challenging cases are approached comprehensively and holistically. Equally important is the opportunity to offer hope to both horse owners and veterinarians managing horses diagnosed with IBD.

While LPE remains a serious condition and every case must be assessed individually, there is increasing reason to believe that diagnosis does not necessarily equate to such a grave prognosis, even when horses have failed to respond to corticosteroid treatment.

My clinical interests centre on integrating evidence-informed nutrition and phytotherapy with conventional veterinary medicine where appropriate. It is incredibly rewarding to contribute research that encourages constructive discussion around multidisciplinary approaches to complex disease and supports continued advances in equine patient care.

I'm sincerely grateful to my co-author, Marcus Head MRCVS for his collaboration, expertise and support throughout this project.

19/07/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐚𝐥, 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞…

In young horses, periods of rapid weight gain - often driven by high-energy feeding and, in some regions, abundant pasture- jeopardise the healthy development of joint tissues by directly interfering with the maturation of cartilage and bone and additionally by overloading insufficiently established tissue structures.

𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 (𝘿𝙊𝘿).

The consequences of rapid weight gain may be exacerbated by subsequent well-intentioned but misapplied restriction or correction.

Common scenarios include:

*high concentrate, grain or starch feeding
*feeding insufficient dietary fibre
*overfeeding to ‘push’ growth
*restricting intake in overweight young horses
*compensatory ‘catch-up growth’
*seasonal pasture fluctuations
*sales preparations
*extended periods of confinement, often exacerbated with sudden changes in diet

𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞.

Appropriate feeding helps to facilitate a smooth and natural growth pattern that allows a horse to reach its full genetic potential, without risking developmental issues or overloading its skeleton as it develops.

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙊𝘿 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙭𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝: 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙, 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

17/07/2026

𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 (𝗗𝗢𝗗) 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻...

Orthopaedic development doesn't begin at birth: it starts before conception and continues throughout gestation.

When it comes to DOD in horses, one of the most common myths is that the factors influencing skeletal development only occur after birth.

Yet, a foal's skeletal health is shaped not only in utero, but also before the mare has even conceived.

A mare's health before breeding can influence her foal's future skeletal development. Factors including the composition of her gut microbiome, systemic inflammation, metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance, medications, and nutritional status may all influence the developmental environment experienced by the embryo and contribute to DOD risk in the offspring.

The nutritional and physiological environment provided by the mare before and during pregnancy plays a defining role in how cartilage, bone, and joints develop. These early influences help shape the foal's long-term musculoskeletal health.

By the time a foal is born, many developmental pathways have already been established.

Even in well-managed breeding operations, this critical developmental window is often overlooked. For breeders, it represents one of the earliest opportunities to influence lifelong orthopaedic health.

16/07/2026

𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙊𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 (𝘿𝙊𝘿): 𝘿𝙊𝘿 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣…

14/07/2026

‘𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐂𝐃𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫…𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧…’

It’s an easy conclusion to reach.

Sometimes the stallion gets the blame. Other times, attention turns to the mare.

The reality, of course, is that every foal inherits genes from both the stallion and the dam. And genes from both of them matter.

Some horses are born with a greater genetic susceptibility to developing DOD than others.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

A horse’s genes provide the blueprint for skeletal development and growth. How that blueprint is expressed is influenced by the environment in which the foal develops.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗲. Her health, nutrition and gut microbiome before conception and throughout pregnancy help shape the biological environment in which the foal develops. It then continues after birth through nutrition, growth, exercise, management and the environment in which that young horse grows.

Even medications and illness can influence the biological environment in which that young skeleton develops.

Good management doesn’t change a horse’s genes.

𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

When we identify a horse with DOD and we simply conclude, ‘It’s genetic’, we risk overlooking the many other factors that influence skeletal development, and with that, many of the opportunities we have to improve outcomes.

If we’ve carefully selected a particular mare and stallion to breed, then we’ve also accepted the genetics of that mating.

What we haven’t accepted is that the outcome is already determined.

While we can’t change the genes a foal inherits, we can influence the environment in which those genes are expressed.

That gives us opportunities to improve outcomes.

Genetics are part of the story, but they are rarely, if ever, the whole story.

12/07/2026

“𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐎𝐃 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫?”

It’s a question that will be on the minds of many breeders and stud managers over the coming weeks.

At this time of year, many studs across the Southern Hemisphere are reviewing survey x-rays of their weanlings.

“Why are there more OCDs than last year’s crop?”

“Why so many stifle lesions?”

“We didn’t really change anything...so what’s different?”

“Was it the weather?”

“Is it the new stallion?”

“Have we just had a bad year?”

These are exactly the sorts of questions I’d expect people to be asking.

What I’ve found over the years, though, is that it’s very easy to look for a single reason.

The weather.

The stallion.

The pasture.

The feed.

But DOD is almost never that simple.

That’s where I begin...

How were the mares managed before conception?

How were mares fed throughout pregnancy? And before?

What was happening with pasture quality?

What type and how much forage were they being fed?

Were the foals growing differently this year?

Were there any management changes on the stud?

Were any supplements used?

Did medication practices change?

How do all of these factors interact?

And once lesions are identified, the questions continue...

Which lesions are likely to respond to conservative management?

Which lesions are more likely to benefit from surgery?

What can we do now to give these young horses the best possible outcome, both in terms of achieving the best possible sales result, as well as realising their full athletic potential?

Over the next few weeks, I thought it might be useful to explore some of these questions and discuss a few of the common myths and misconceptions surrounding DOD.

Because the better we understand why DOD develops, the better placed we are to improve outcomes.

So, if you’re looking at survey x-rays at the moment...

08/07/2026

📍 Victoria Consultation Availability

I’ll be in Victoria this month attending the Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA) Bain Fallon Memorial Lectures in Melbourne, and before returning to Tasmania I’ll be consulting in the Benalla, Albury and Wodonga regions for a limited time.

I have a couple of consultation appointments available while I’m in the area.

With the breeding season approaching, now is an excellent time to optimise the health of mares and stallions ahead of the season, or to investigate ongoing gastrointestinal, metabolic, inflammatory, immune or performance concerns.

My consultations focus on understanding the individual needs of each horse and developing practical, evidence-based strategies to support their health, wellbeing and performance.

If you’ve been considering a consultation, please get in touch to discuss availability.

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Telephone

+61499256316

Website

http://www.optimequine.com/

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