Equine Sports Medicine Practice

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België
Waterloo
Equine Sports Medicine Practice

Equine Sports Medicine Practice is a specialized veterinary service dedicated to sport and race hors

The ESMP offers ambulatory consultations as well as medical and athletic follow-ups in working horses. It also proposes special diagnostic exams to evaluate poor performance, whatever the horses’ discipline. Each athlete requires a specific physical preparation and needs to be closely monitored to reach peak performance and stay healthy throughout his career. With cutting edge equipment, the ESMP provides special exams that may be done both at rest and during exercise, in real working conditions. Among the specialized exams that ESMP provides :
- Exercise tests
- Airway video-endoscopy during exercise
- Lower airway endoscopy
- Doppler Echocardiography
- Telemetric ECG
- Gastroscopy

31/01/2026

To the Year of the Horse in Thailand!
Dr Emmanuelle van Erck was invited to lecture at the WEVA Congress in Bangkok. This conference was a powerful reminder of what makes our profession move forward 🌍

Across lectures and workshops in equine sports medicine, the focus stayed where it belongs: on sharing knowledge, challenging ideas, and translating research into better care for the sport horse.

What stood out was the truly global exchange. Equine veterinarians from all continents, bringing different perspectives, experiences, and questions, yet united by the same purpose: improving performance without losing sight of welfare, ethics, and long-term soundness.

Surrounded by exceptional research and open discussion, it became clear that progress in equine medicine is rarely driven by individuals, but by collective curiosity and collaboration.

Add to that the legendary Thai hospitality 🇹🇭—warm, generous, and deeply human—and the congress became more than a scientific meeting. It was a reminder that science grows best when people connect.

After this shared journey, shaped by many voices, Dr Emmanuelle van Erck will be bringing back fresh ideas to continue to improve our service to the horse!

24/01/2026

🎉 Congratulations, Dr. Adeline Tischmacher! 🎉

We’re proud to celebrate our ESMP team member, Dr. Adeline Tischmacher, on successfully passing her ISLEP exam. This achievement reflects a high level of expertise and commitment to excellence in equine locomotor pathology and sports medicine.

For our clients and horses, it means evidence-based, internationally recognized standards of care—and for our team, it reinforces ESMP’s dedication to continual learning and clinical excellence.

Well done, Adeline 👏🐎

18/01/2026

🐎 Long-haul transport & competition horses

What really matters for your horse’s health

🥣 Feed before transport
Transport combined with fasting significantly increases the risk of gastric ulcers.
Providing long-stem forage right up to loading helps buffer gastric acid and supports gut health during travel.

🔧 Perform a pre-trip safety inspection
Before every journey, check the hitch, safety chains, breakaway cable, brakes and lights.
Inside the trailer, ensure partitions, pins, flooring and rubber mats are secure, with adequate ventilation and no direct drafts.

⏸️ Take regular breaks
On long journeys, stop every 4 hours for 20–30 minutes.
Offer water 💧 (electrolytes if indicated), allow access to forage 🌾, and park in quiet, shaded areas 🌳 to reduce stress and dehydration.

🏁 Arrive competition-ready
Unload calmly and assess hydration status, demeanor, respiratory effort and soundness.
Have water 💧, forage 🌾, cooling equipment ❄️ and a first-aid kit 🧰 ready, and allow adequate recovery time before work.

📚 Based on veterinary research & safety recommendations (TheHorse.com)

11/01/2026

✨ A day full of sharing & inspiration ✨

To kick off the new year, Altano Benelux veterinarians came together for a day dedicated to connection and collaboration 🤝
Case presentations, open discussions, knowledge exchange and great energy all around.

Growing together, learning from each other, moving forward as one team.

Sharing is caring 💙🐎

03/01/2026

☝🏻You might be on holiday, but your horses are not.

Every day, they wait for us—for turnout, for their meals, for familiar hands, and for the quiet reassurance of routine🤗When they are under treatment, that consistency of care becomes even more important.

❄️⛄️In cold weather, they ask for a little more attention: adequate protection and warm-up: a well-spent extra time to gently loosen and warm their bodies, muscles, joints and tendons included.

Better than treats, continuity of care is how we show respect for the horse and gratitude for all they give us.

They trust us with their wellbeing—every single day of the year🥰

28/12/2025

Why Box Rest Can Be Harmful for Horses with Lower Airway Issues 🐴💨

When it comes to horses with asthma, lung bleeding (EIPH), or respiratory infections, keeping them in strict box rest can actually slow recovery ❤️‍🩹.

Here’s why:
• Movement aids expectoration: Light exercise helps horses clear mucus and debris from their airways.
• Airway warming & circulation: Activity increases airway temperature and blood flow, helping immune cells reach the lungs to fight infection.
• Better ventilation: Being confined in a stall exposes horses to dust, molds, and poor airflow—factors that can worsen inflammation.
• Prevention of secondary problems: Confinement can lead to stiffness, poor circulation, and even stress, which can further compromise recovery.

✅ Takeaway: Controlled exercise, tailored to the horse’s condition, often supports lung health far better than strict box rest. Always balance activity with careful monitoring.

©️ 📸

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas & Happy New year 🥰🤩

20/12/2025

We feel deeply honoured and grateful to have been invited to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Equine Welfare Conference — a truly special and internationally respected meeting that left a lasting impression on us.

What made this conference so powerful was not only the calibre of global racing officials, veterinarians and researchers in the room, but the courage to challenge established thinking. By inviting experts from other high-performance sports — from motorsports to rugby — the HKJC created space to rethink how we approach prevention, risk communication and athlete safety, and to ask difficult but necessary questions about how we protect those who perform at the highest level.

Being invited to share the work we have developed in close partnership with The Hong Kong Jockey Club was particularly meaningful. Our collaborative research exploring how cardiac monitoring during training can help forecast performance, identify risk earlier and guide better decision-making reflects a shared belief: that welfare must come first. Using science to reduce injury, support longevity and sustain accountability is not just good practice — it is essential for the future of horse racing.

We left inspired by the openness, the humility and the collective commitment to transform scientific knowledge into real-world improvements. When disciplines learn from one another and welfare leads the conversation, meaningful change becomes possible.

Thank you to the HKJC Equine Welfare Research Foundation and its international partners for setting such a high standard — and for reminding us why this work matters so much. 🐎✨

#香港賽馬會

14/12/2025

✨ International teamwork at its finest!✨
Today we successfully completed a quinidine cardioversion for atrial fibrillation in a horse - with a truly global twist.

This procedure was performed through real-time remote collaboration between two veterinary teams separated by almost half the world:
🇧🇪 Belgium— providing remote guidance and expertise
🇳🇿 New Zealand— hands-on with the horse, managing treatment and monitoring

Our practice frequently supports colleagues through remote consultations and second opinions, and today’s case is an other fantastic example of how this approach can make advanced equine care accessible anywhere.

Thanks to seamless communication, shared experience, and dedicated professionals on both sides, the horse returned safely to normal rhythm🫀🐴

A huge congratulations to everyone involved! 🌍
Modern technology + passionate teams = better outcomes for horses everywhere 💙

11/12/2025

AAEP this year was absolutely incredible! 🔬✨ From cutting-edge tech and AI tools to next-gen wearables transforming performance monitoring and welfare, the innovation in equine sports medicine is unreal.
One of the true highlights was Temple Grandin’s inspiring talk on animal sentience and neurodiversity — a powerful reminder of how extraordinary animals are and why we do what we do to understand them better.
And of course, nothing beats catching up with friends and colleagues who make this profession so special. 🐴💙

07/12/2025

🎉Happy 15 years ESMP🎉
Fifteen years ago, this practice was born from a clear and powerful intention:
to develop equine sports medicine in a way nobody had before, combining deep knowledge in physiology, internal medicine and sports and applying it where it matters: in the field.
It was a leap of faith — setting out on my own to build something that reflected my values into what seemed to be a dizzying void🌟
I was also clueless about how to lead a business. But I had a vision, a drive (an obsession?) and unwavering support from my loved ones ❤️💪
What emerged (sweat and tears included) became far more than a practice.
It became a shared journey 🚀
Along the way, an incredible team took shape.
Every person who has been part of this story — those who stayed and those who moved on — shared one essential thing: a genuine love and passion for the horse🐴💖
Each of them left their mark, helping define who we are today✨
Together, we earned our place🏅
Trusted with the care of elite athletes at the top of their sport, setting new standards in assessing how they respond to conditioning and competition, being invited to the most respected international conferences to share our experience 🌍🎤 publishing cutting edge science 📄🧪
Yet always guided by the same commitment — to care with the same dedication for every animal, regardless of level or discipline 🤝🐎
Our identity at ESMP has been built on excellence, science, empathy, and integrity🌱
On the belief that performance and welfare are inseparable⚖️
That true sports medicine serves not only results, but the horse–rider partnership and the long-term well-being of both🐴🤝🏇
Fifteen years in, I feel deeply grateful — and incredibly fortunate — to do this work with such a remarkable team 🙏
Proud of how far we’ve come 🌄
And excited for what lies ahead🔮
New projects, new challenges, new adventures await — always at the service of the horse🐎✨

30/11/2025

At ESMP, we implement new technology as a means to support our clinical exams. Our observational skills are irreplaceable, however when supported by objective metrics, they can be recorded and followed over time.
Read the full interview of Dr Adeline Tischmacher:

https://sleip.com/blogs-tutorials/blog/why-belgian-vets-are-saying-yes-to-objective-gait-analysis?utm_campaign=247127241-3%20Belgian%20vets&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_content=blog&fbclid=PARlRTSAOY7dRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAae8pwT9K1WB0adm_PqXLMorWHmy0KgVFe4Z61yedQgQCqFKL9pRCQfx8-E4uQ_aem_VQ0Qs63w0gg2YXpbm7fVjw

Adres

Waterloo

Telefoon

+32497248684

Website

http://www.esmp.be/

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