The Horse First: A Veterinary Sport Horse Podcast
Episodes
Episode 69: Deep Discussions about Unspoken Problems in Sport Horses: Dr. Audrey DeClue, Dr. Ellen Hillyer and Dr. Brandy Ashman
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue, Dr. Brandy Ashman, and Dr. Ellen Hillyer discuss the top reasons sport horse owners jump between vets. This includes a lack of agre...
Episode 68: Sciatica in Sport Horses
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses the impact of stray voltage on livestock and its parallels with sciatica in sport horses. She highlights a 2023 study on s...
Episode 67: Recognition and Awareness of Pain in Sport Horses Part 4 with Dr. Daniella Vansteenkiste
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue and Dr. Daniella Vansteenkiste discuss recognizing and managing nerve pain and neuropathy in sport horses. Dr. Vansteenkiste emphasi...
Episode 66: Recognition and Awareness of Pain in Sport Horses Part 3 - When it is NOT a Training Issue
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses the importance of recognizing pain in horses, emphasizing that many issues misdiagnosed as training problems are actually ...
Episode 65: Recognition and Awareness of Pain in Sport Horses Part 2 with Dr. Sue Dyson
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of this series, Dr. Audrey DeClue and world-renowned Veterinarian Dr. Sue Dyson discuss the importance of pain ethograms when identifying ...
Episode 64: Recognition and Awareness of Pain in Sport Horses Part 1
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses the importance of recognizing and addressing pain in sport horses. She emphasizes her unique perspective, influenced by he...
Episode 63: Sport Horse Rounds with Dr. Daniella Vansteenkiste
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue hosts Dr. Daniella Vansteenkiste, a neurologist, to discuss equine neurology. Dr. Vansteenkiste, who practices in Philadelphia, shar...
Episode 62: Sport Horse Rounds - Interview with Dr. Brandy Ashman, Burnout & Renewed Passion to Solve Lameness Issues
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue interviews Dr. Brandy Ashman, a general practitioner from Virginia, who discusses her journey from burnout to renewed passion in vet...
Episode 61: Thinking Outside the Box and Quick Fixes
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses the importance of education and research in solving problems with sport horses, rather than relying on quick fixes or thin...
Episode 60: Sport Horse Rounds - A New Mindset
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue and Dr. Kate Workman discuss the need to change mindsets within the institution of equine sports medicine. They also highlight the s...
Episode 59: Sport Horse Rounds - What Lameness Issues Are We All Missing?
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue and Dr. Kate Workman discuss common lameness issues in sport horses, emphasizing the importance of recognizing body lameness beyond ...
Episode 58: Sport Horse Rounds - Body Lameness vs Limb Lameness
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue, DVM and Dr. Kate Workman, DVM discuss the complexities of body lameness versus limb lameness in equine sports medicine. Dr. DeClue ...
Episode 57: Sport Horse Rounds - KISS Theory: Making Complex Lameness Simple
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue, DVM and Dr. Kate Workman, DVM discuss the complexities of lameness in horses and the importance of simplifying veterinary medicine....
Episode 56: Kissing Spine in Sport Horses, Part 2: Do you ride the Horse or the Radiograph?
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
Episode 55: Kissing Spine in Sport Horses
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Countless hours of research have culminated in today's episode on kissing spine in sport horses. Dr. Audrey DeClue pulls knowledge from decades, centu...
Episode 54: Lead Change Problems in Sport Horses
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 53: Expectations in Injured Sport Horses with Dr Kate Workman
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following a very popular episode previously (Episode 46), Dr. Audrey DeClue talks again with Dr. Kate Workman (Denali Equine in Southern Pines, NC) ab...
Episode 52: Cantering Issues and Problems in Sport Horses
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses a common complaint among riders and veterenarians - cantering issues. Though, historically, much attention has been paid t...
Episode 51: Shivers Horses and Its Association to the Cerebellum
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue focuses specifically on the association of the cerebellum to shivers horses. She shines a light on the existing, pu...
Episode 50: Shoulder Girdle Injuries in Sport Horses - Part 3
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. DeClue discusses the Cause and the Effect of Shoulder Girdle Injuries in Sport Horse creating Kissing Spine, Back and Pelvic Pain, Chronic Undiagn...
Episode 48: Shoulder Girdle Injuries in Sport Horses - Another "Mystery" Lameness
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Despite having little to no peer-reviewed published papers about the issue, Dr. Audrey DeClue takes this episode to discuss what she has personally le...
Episode 47: Guest Appearance on The Humble Hoof Podcast (Shivers-Stringhalt)
12 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a guest appearance by Dr. Audrey DeClue on The Humble Hoof podcast with host Alicia Harlov. They discuss the research and developmen...
Episode 46: Solutions to Problems in Sport Horses with Dr. Kate Workman of Denali Equine
11 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 45: The Number One Cause of Lameness in Sport Horses
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue addresses the top causes of lameness in sport horses. These include injury during competition, injury during traini...
Episode 44: Positional Lameness in Sport Horses
17 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When body lameness in your horse only occurs when they're moving, it is positional lameness. In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue breaks positional lame...
Episode 43: Body Lameness in Sport Horses
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue focuses on the impact that the axial skeleton has on the performance of your horse. This often overlooked connectio...
Episode 42: Sacroiliac Injuries in Sport Horses
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Poor performing sport horses with a difficulty in diagnosis often receive SI injections. And while this can offer some relief, there is hope beyond in...
Episode 41: Suspensory Ligament Injuries in Sport Horses
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 talk...
Episode 40: Horse Communication
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 wi...
Episode 39: Absolutely Everything is Important
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 38: Causes and Solutions to Contact Issues with Your Horse
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 i...
Episode 37: Straightness Issues Bulged vs Hollow Horses
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 wha...
Episode 36: Tension is the Enemy and the Cause of Many Lamenesses in Sport Horses
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 35: Iliopsoas Injuries in Sport Horses
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Episode 34: So Your Horse is Injured?
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 yo...
Episode 33: Sleep Deprivation and Collapsing in Performance Horses Part 2
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue returns to continue her series on the issues surrounding sleep deprivation and collapsing in performance horses. In this episode, sh...
Episode 32: Sleep Deprivation and Collapsing in Performance Horses (Part 1)
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
Episode 31: Shivers and Stringhalt Part 2
08 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. DeClue continues her discussion on what is causing Shivers and Stringhalt in horses.
Episode 30: History of Shivers-Stringhalt Syndrome
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 28: New Years Resolution: Advocate For Your Horse!
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue asks listeners to consider their horse when making new commitments in the New Year. Watching, listening, and learning from your hors...
Episode 27: Why Are Horses Girthy or Cinchy
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 d...
Episode 25: Headshaking Syndrome
27 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 Tr...
Episode 24: Diagnosing Lameness at a Canter
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 asp...
Episode 23: Recognizing Lameness at a Trot (featuring Mikala Vig)
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 brin...
Episode 22: Equine Shivers Treatment and Information
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 21: Recognizing Lameness at a Walk
06 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"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 (Recogniz...
Episode 20: Recognizing Lameness at a Standstill
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Todays episode is about recognizing lameness at a standstill. Dr. DeClue explains how to recognize a lame horse by identifying and diagnosing lameness...
Episode 19: Dorsal Scapular Movement Disorder (DSMD)
26 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 unders...
Episode 18: The Mystery of Unresolved Front Limb Lameness and Hopping Horses
18 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Episode 17: The Pain-Behavioral Pyramid of the Horse
06 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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
21 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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. S...
Episode 15 - Back and Pelvis Rehabilitation (Part 2)
27 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 14 - Back and Pelvic Rehabilitation in Horses (Part 1)
12 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 13 - Back Injuries and Treatment in Sport Horses
19 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 caus...
Episode 12 - Recognition and Diagnosis of Back Pain in Sport Horses
13 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 11 - Saddle Fitting and Girths
08 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Episode 10 - Cervical Issues in Sport Horses
22 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Episode 9 - Rehabilitation
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue presents a candid approach to the process of rehabilitating sport horses and the dedication required to ensure the treatment is most...
Episode 8 - Treatment Solutions and Expectations
26 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Episode 7 - Injuries
01 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses common injuries and the common misconceptions often associated with them.
Episode 6 - The Approach to Diagnosing Lameness
18 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue explains how being an advocate for the horse can help with performance issues and offers six steps to approach diagnosing lameness. ...
Episode 5 - Limb vs Body vs Positional Lameness
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
While it's common to simply discuss "limb lameness" in horses, today's episode offers listeners new insights on how to determine the true source of la...
Episode 4 - Cause and Effect
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Audrey DeClue starts today's episode with two options - the red pill or the blue pill. If you keep an open mind, you're likely to learn a lot abou...
Episode 3 - Interview with Veterinary Student Mikala Vig
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 3 of The Horse First podcast, Host Audrey DeClue interviews her Veterinary student, Mikala Vig. They discuss the things Mikala has learned ...
Episode 2 - It's Never Normal When Your Horse
07 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Host Audrey DeClue shares her experiences working with horses, trainers, owners and more who often use the term "that's just normal" when describing a...
Episode 1 - The Story of Why We Are Here
07 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Host Audrey DeClue gives an overview of her experience working with horses, and the purpose of The Horse First podcast.