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21.01.2022 Keeping Horses Healthy Brian S. Burks DVM, Dipl. ABVP Board-Certified in Equine Practice Keeping your horses healthy is important not only to avoid expensive bi...lls, but for the comfort of the horse. It is not possible to prevent all ills, but the following should help prevent or mitigate digestive and other diseases. Pasture turnout is important for horses. They are social creatures and like to be out with their friends. It is also best for their digestive tract, which developed to consume forage slowly, for about 18-20 hours per day. The saccules, turns, and narrowed areas of the colon keep ingesta from passing through too quickly, allowing time for the microbial population to break down cellulose into something the horse can use. Feeding twice daily dry hay is not how the horse was designed. It may not be possible to have your horse on pasture if they have certain endocrine diseases that may lead to laminitis. These horses do well with grazing muzzles or dry lot turn out. Since the horse was designed for forage, and we need to feed them through the winter, feeding good quality hay is important. Horses are not cattle and cannot consume bad hay and do well. They are more likely to experience colic and other intestinal disorders when eating less-than-ideal hay. If your horse’s teeth are in good shape, but hay is wasted, look closely at the bales. Longer and larger stems are less digestible, containing more lignin and less cellulose. Microbes in the equine GIT can break down the latter, but lignin cannot be broken down. Hay should be pleasant to see (green) smell good and have little to no dust. Again being designed for continuous grazing, the stomach needs to have hay in it at all times, unless there is a medical reason not to feed the horse. Horses are continuous acid secretors, unlike people, who are intermittent acid secretors. Having hay in the stomach to buffer that acid is important for preventing gastric ulcers. When eating hay, much saliva is created and swallowed, beginning the digestive process, but saliva contains acid buffers to help protect the gastric lining, and when hay or other forage is not consumed, salivary production decreases. Alfalfa hay has been shown to help buffer acid better than grass hay due to higher calcium and magnesium content, and can be fed in small amounts 5-6 times per day. For many horses, grain is like ice cream; they like it, but do not need it for survival, and it may do more harm than good. The higher levels of sugar and starch in grain predispose the horse to gastric ulcers, colic, and laminitis. Unlike ruminants that have four stomachs, the horse has a single gastric compartment. Food passes quickly through the stomach and small intestine and can lead to sugar overload of the colon, causing colic, colitis, laminitis, and right dorsal colitis. Ingesta is fermented in the colon, and these excess sugars and starches will alter the microbial population, leading to excessive gas production. At feeding time, offer hay before grain. This will slow down the movement of soluble carbohydrates through the small intestine to the colon, preventing digestive upsets. Feeding hay first may push carbohydrates to the colon more quickly. Grain should never be fed at more than 1% of body weight; if higher grain diets are necessary due to caloric usage for athletic endeavors, feed 4-6 times per day. Broodmares and growing colts may require increased calories beyond what hay can provide, but there are alternatives to sweet feed and oats. Instead of soluble carbohydrate laden grains, find a feed that is low in non-structural carbohydrates. Higher fat rations can replace calories, when needed, lost due to the removal of sugar and starch. Newer feeds incorporate beet pulp and soybean hulls to provide plenty of fiber instead of NSCs. Oil is another way to increase calories, yet avoid the carbs. Fat slows the gastric emptying rate, keeping hay in the stomach for buffering. Corn oil is popular, but higher in omega 6 fatty acids, which are pro-inflammatory. Fresh ground flax seed is higher in omega 3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory and are better for the horse. Horses secrete and absorb nearly 100 liters (25 gallons) of water per day. Some fluid is lost in feces and urine, but insensible losses occur, such a water vapor in breath and sweat. Horses at rest in neutral temperatures consume about 25 liters of fluid per day; at higher temperatures, this may triple. Water is essential to keeping ingesta moving through the GIT; lack of water can lead to impaction of the colon, blocking the exit of gas and leading to distention and even rupture of the colon. Thus provision of fresh, clean water at all times is paramount. A horse can live many weeks without food, if necessary, but only about 6-7 days without water. Horses tend to prefer tepid water, liking neither hot nor cold fluid. In sub-freezing temperatures, warm water can be added to the bucket; alternatively, heated buckets can be used, but be sure that they are properly grounded and that there is not electric tingle when you stick your hand in the water. Do not withhold water post exercise; drinking cold water does not lead to colic or muscle cramping. Exercise is important for digestive function. Smooth muscle of the GIT contracts better when the horse is allowed plenty of movement by turnout. Walking and grazing is often enough to prevent colon impactions and the gas trapping within the colon. It is not healthy for horses to be stalled constantly and even in cold temperatures, daily turn out is a must. Horses do not mind the cold as much as humans. Exercise also keeps blood flowing. The feet need good blood flow to grow and maintain themselves, but fortunately horses and not prone to deep vein thrombosis; however, stagnant blood is more likely to clot than moving blood, and exercise keeps blood flowing. Horses are meant to eat with their heads down, allowing the guttural pouches and upper airway to empty any respiratory secretions; however, feeding from the ground can be hazardous in some situations. If the soil is sandy, the horse may ingest small amounts over time, leading to sand impaction of the colon. Feeding in a container that sits on the ground will help mitigate the risk. It can be a simple wood box (watch for splinters) or an old water tub. You may also want to add psyllium to your horse's diet as a precaution. A proven bulk-laxative, psyllium is made from the ground seeds of the Plantago plants; when ingested, it swells and forms a gel-like substance that helps push sand through the intestine. Fed too often, it begins to be digested and loses its bulk-laxative properties. Feeding good hay will generally keep the intestinal microflora in good shape and protect the mucosal lining so that it can function to capacity, absorbing nutrients and water. In most circumstances, the use of probiotics is not warranted, and even in horses with digestive upsets may not benefit from their use. Fox Run Equine Center www.foxrunequine.com (724) 727-3481 Your horse's health is always our top priority.

21.01.2022 So true! Credits to Cheval ta race.

20.01.2022 Needs a little topline, goes barefoot, slow legged, low head set. Possible Western Pleasure prospect. Barn name is Ribby.

20.01.2022 Who needs a race horse when you've got a Super Mouse :)

16.01.2022 Hero Horse No 22 Sergeant Reckless. Introducing Sergeant Reckless, a small Mongolian-bred mare with a racing background in her native country, who became a na...tional hero and the pride of the U.S. Marine Corps. She was purchased at the age of five for 250 US dollars from a young Korean boy who needed money to buy his sister an artificial limb by US Marines during the Korean War to carry ammunition for the 75mm Recoilless Rifle Platoon. During the Battle of Outpost Vegas in March 1953, she made 51 trips up to the gun sites most of the time by herself and carried more than 9000 pounds of ammunition on her back. Wounded twice, she never stopped. She also evacuated wounded and dead from the battlefield, and quickly earned the love and respect of all the Marines who served with her. In the 1990s Sgt. Reckless was named by Life magazine among America’s top 100 heroes. She was trained to step over communication cables, get down when there was incoming fire and to ignore the sounds of battle. Sergeant Reckless was promoted to Staff Sergeant Reckless in 1959 in honour of her war efforts, and she returned to the United States to live out her days at Camp Pendleton. She died in 1968. Although Sgt. Reckless has been recognized with bronze statues at both Camp Pendleton (California) and the National Museum of the Marine Corps (Virginia), it was the vision of James E. Ted Bassett III, a Marine Corps combat veteran of World War II and former president and chairman of the Keeneland Association, that she be memorialised at the Kentucky Horse Park . She has had books written about her and even a song dedicated to her. We understand that Reckless, who received two Purple Hearts, was a colourful character in her own right, and would hang out around the mess hall and tents when not carrying ammunition or soldiers. She was a fan of beer, pickles and pancakes. She has been called by some America’s greatest war horse. See - https://bit.ly/3mjTaUW

13.01.2022 "CANADIAN WARMBLOOD: Very fun and athletic. Great hunter prospect. Big step with a ton of movement. Schooled over natural obstacles up to 3’0 with ease. Eye catching in the ring. Willing to please. Canadian bred and raised. Will mature to 16hh +. Requires turn out."

12.01.2022 It has been announced that horses competing in FEI events will no longer be able to have their whiskers shaved from July, 2021. The FEI Online General Assembly,... which took place on 23 November, voted in a range of new rules and regulations - one of which was the banning of trimming a horse’s sensory hairs. The rule, which forms part of the FEI veterinary regulations, will apply to horses across all disciplines competing in FEI events.... Read more: www.equestrianlife.com.au//Clipping-of-whiskers-outlawed-a #eqlifeaus

09.01.2022 Lest we forget

07.01.2022 Dressage riders put three times more tension on the reins than the horses themselves adopted when voluntarily allowed to set the pressure of side reins, a German study found.

06.01.2022 Big Cal loves his summer job!

03.01.2022 Serving Holiday treats in 2020?

03.01.2022 LOL students learned all about this on Friday!!! And there were a couple with this look