Total Horse Care in Snake Valley, Victoria, Australia | Sport & recreation

Total Horse Care

Locality: Snake Valley, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 419 534 645

Address: POBox 322 3351 Snake Valley, VIC, Australia

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25.01.2022 We are proud of our hoofcare practitioners who are out there working through this concerning time, doing their absolute best to not contribute to the spread of ...the corona virus while completing their work. We've compiled some of the precautions our practitioners are taking - please add anything else that you are doing in the comments section and share this post with your colleagues and clients. The health and safety of our national community and our hoofcare practitioners are our main concerns, and we advise all our practitioners to follow all guidelines as they are released from the federal and relevant state governments. We're all in this together See more

25.01.2022 Great opportunity to learn about equine nutrition from an expert

23.01.2022 WHAT IS LAMINITIS? Part 1 of the Spring Laminitis series Around the inside of the hoof wall and the outer surface of the coffin bone are laminae. These are int...erlocking folds of tissue, and each fold (primary lamina) has further folds (secondary laminae) branching off it. In a healthy hoof the laminae of the hoof wall and the coffin bone fit perfectly together like a zip, or Velcro, transferring weight from the bone to the hoof. The total surface area of the laminae can be over 1 square metre in a single hoof! It provides a tensile connection so strong that it carries the majority of the weight of the horse without breaking down, even when galloping and jumping. Laminitis is when this connection fails. The laminae stretch, tear and break down - the folds unzip. In mild cases this causes pain, sensitivity and weakness of a key structure of the hoof. In more severe cases the pain is excruciating and the bone may rotate or sink within the hoof capsule. Laminitis can be triggered by a number of things including; carbohydrate overload (grain or grass binge) diet too high sugar and starch obesity Cushing's disease and equine metabolic syndrome toxaemia and septicaemia mechanical forces While any horse could get laminitis at any time of year, Spring is a particularly high risk time. Rehabilitation is a long, arduous, expensive process. Even after the acute phase is over there will be lasting damage that can only be grown out. Depending on severity the horse will need a combination of pain medication, x-rays, hoof protection, more frequent trimming/shoeing, bodywork, time off work followed by a slow, careful reintroduction of exercise, and extremely careful diet monitoring. Fortunately a little knowledge goes a long way toward preventing laminitis and most cases can be avoided with just a few small changes to the horse's routine. Part 2 will look more closely at the steps you can take to reduce your horse's risk factors The photo below shows the inside of the front half of a hoof capsule with the bone removed. We can see the leaves/folds of the epidermal laminae lining the inside of the wall (Plus an abscess track!)

22.01.2022 Yep, that’s about right

19.01.2022 Some good hints in this article what to avoid in supplements for laminitic horses. Check out Dr.Kellons site www.ecirhorse.org for all you need to know about feeding your cushings (PPID) or insulin resistant (IR) horse. Spring is here! https://drkhorsesense.wordpress.com//safe-supplements-for/

19.01.2022 Best hay to feed your horse? Short answer may be the hay you can actually can get hold of and the hay your horse will eat! In some parts of Australia, especiall...y with the drought, there may be little to no choice. However, putting that aside, since this question comes up a LOT including during my equine nutrition seminars, I'll try and answer this in more detail looking at the most common hays. Lucerne hay - in small amounts can be brilliant for boosting calcium and protein as lucerne is renowned for being high in these nutrients. Protein is quality, high in essential amino acids. The rest of the nutrient profile isn't as predictable so difficult to estimate. The reason why lucerne shouldn't be fed in bulk is due to the high calcium to phosphorus ratio. A high calcium intake isn't directly toxic but when not balanced with phosphorus, the excreted excess in urine can precipitate out as calcium carbonate. The sludge (calcium carbonate and mucus) can build up in the bladder, cause irritation by forming stones and could block urine flow. https://www.msdvetmanual.com//urolithiasis-in-large-animals Known to be common in geldings, probably because the urethra is more narrow. Dr Kellon VMD recommends the ratio of 1.2 to 2:1 for calcium to phosphorus for the whole intake. The high calcium in lucerne makes it ideal for horses on high oxalate pasture like Kikuyu, Setaria and so forth to provide much needed calcium. Lucerne does contain phytoestrogens or isoflavones but at low concentrations in the growth stages typically harvested. Another advantage is that lucerne is considered to help buffer gastric ulcers. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10895901 Note: -The high pectin level in lucerne coupled with high protein that produces a lot of gas is why many horses will show bloating and diarrhoea if lucerne is introduced too rapidly. The same thing can happen to varying degrees with any hay change. -High lucerne intake and especially if combined with alkaline drinking water has been linked to the potential for enteroliths. For example https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15188822 -For a number of insulin resistant/elevated insulin horses, lucerne is a risk factor for laminitis. It's generally low in sugar + starch but some horses react possibly to the amino acid profile, we don't know why. Or a horse can be intolerant of lucerne, which can happen with any feed ingredient. More information: https://balancedequine.com.au/nutrit/8-is-lucerne-evil.html Teff hay Generally I have found from the numerous Australian Teff hay tests that it's fairly reliable for safe levels of sugar + starch (if we are concerned with preventing insulin spiking in IR/elevated insulin horses, it's sugar (ESC) + starch we look at, not NSC), though I do have one test with over 15%, clearly not safe. Guideline is sugar + starch to be under 10%. For the rest of the nutrient profile, the calcium to phosphorus ratio is all over the place, sometimes calcium is higher, other times phosphorus is higher than calcium (what we call an inverted ratio). Nutrient levels have a wide range so one test can't be considered 'typical'. There are reports of Teff containing oxalate levels at levels to be concerned about yet I haven't found anyone with actual evidence. If you know of any, would love to see it. There is only one study and it was on Teff straw. Minerals and oxalate content of feed and water in relation with ruminant urolithiasis in Adea district, central Ethiopia https://www.revmedvet.com/2004/RMV155_272_277.pdf Teff hay has been fed for many years to horses around the world, especially in America and there have been no reports of oxalate issues. Oxalate metabolism is complex, incompletely understood and varies not only by type of plant but also different strains of the same plant: Oxalate accumulation in forage plants: some agronomic, climatic and genetic aspects https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org//d8c7a6bb8b7ed25e5dbdecf5 Worthwhile being aware that many plants contain oxalate but in a number of plants it's so low, we don't consider it to be an issue, for example, oaten hay and Rhodes grass hay. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au///109982/pastures-for-horses.pdf Unfortunately the banned stimulant synethrine has been found in some Teff hay. "Although this does not imply that all Teff Grass Hay is affected as this is likely a seasonal and regional issue, EA recommends that members do not feed this hay to competition horses." https://www.equestrian.org.au//warning-regarding-detection Oaten hay (and wheaten, very similar) Renowned for being the 'candy' of hays, oaten often tests high in sugar + starch and is NOT recommended as a safe feed for IR/laminitis prone horses. I have found over the years that oaten hay tests can be highly variable and can be over 20% for sugar + starch. Sometimes sugar + starch can be low which is great but often the nutrient levels for the rest of the profile to be low/poor as well. This is not surprising when hay growers leave it as long as possible before harvesting, the more mature the hay, the lower the expected sugar + starch levels but then the same will apply for protein and other nutrients. Possible to have a great nutrient profile but only way to know is to test a sample in a lab, can't tell by looking at it as is the case for all hays. These hays especially can't be said to have a profile that is 'typical', broad variability in all the nutrient levels. For example calcium can be higher than phosphorus or the other way round. A disadvantage with high sugar oaten hay is that a horse will spend hours grazing on it which can lead to dental issues. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28707363 Rhodes grass hay Over the years this hay has been the most reliable with low sugar + starch levels. Of course not guaranteed but it would be my expectation. Calcium and phosphorus levels are variable, ratio can be inverted but usually calcium is higher. Wide variability with the rest of the nutrient profile, impossible to have 'typical' values. One potential issue with Rhodes is when growers leave it too late before harvesting. Fermentability of Rhodes grass declines rapidly as it matures - as do all grasses, but Rhodes grass is considered inadequate even for beef cattle if it contains more than 10 to 15% seed heads. Ryegrass hay Poor ole ryegrass has a poor reputation due to issues with annual ryegrass toxicosis and perennial ryegrass staggers. Annual ryegrass toxicosis is caused by a group of highly toxic compounds called corynetoxins. They are produced only when annual ryegrass is infected with a specific nematode (Anguina funesta), and when that nematode is infected by a bacteria (Rathayibacter toxicus), and when the bacteria is infected by a bacteriophage. Infection can be recognised as a yellow slime on annual ryegrass seed heads. Perennial rye grass staggers is caused by a fungus (endophyte) called Neotyphodium lolii. It is found in perennial, long rotation and a few hybrid ryegrasses. Understandably if you have ever had to deal with either ryegrass toxicosis or staggers, you are going to hate ryegrass and vow never to feed it but these issues do not apply to all varieties of ryegrass grown for hay. The more recent varieties are claimed to be safe for horses. Now I know there are certain people/websites saying that no ryegrass is safe but there are thousands of horses in Australia on ryegrass pastures and hay that show no issues at all. To be safe, if you can avoid it, perhaps do so. Another potential issue that has been identified is that ryegrass being a C3 grass is known to accumulate the storage carbohydrate fructan more than C4 plants (eg Rhodes). Is this a problem? A number of studies have shown that fructan does NOT cause insulin to rise but that sugar and starch (glucose units) do, which is why we look at sugar + starch, not NSC. For example: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22966077 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16677122 I've found that many ryegrass hays test low in sugar + starch and equally many are high, not safe for IR horses. For a horse owner desperate for low sugar + starch hay, it's possible that the much maligned ryegrass hay they have access to will be fine. I know of severe IR horses that are thriving on low sugar + starch ryegrass hay. In terms of the rest of the nutrient profile, very broad range of levels, calcium can be higher or lower than phosphorus. Again, there is no such thing as a 'typical' profile. Lab testing is the only and best way to find out. Grass hay/meadow hay Since grass or meadow hay can be any combination of these hays and any other species of grass harvested for hay, it's impossible to generalise. Anything is possible with the nutrient levels and mineral ratios. One thing we can rely on to an extent is that the older or more mature the grass was before harvesting, the lower the protein as protein is always highest in actively growing young shoots. The growth stage matters with protein. Same applies to potassium, fortunately high levels of potassium are rarely an issue in horses as they excrete the excess in electrolytes via the kidneys and urine, can be as fast as within an hour. Exception is the genetic condition Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis HYPP. So the best hay is often the one you can get hold of but if you have a choice, my pick would be a combination of Rhodes grass hay or a quality grass/meadow hay combined with a small amount of lucerne, mineral balanced by testing a representative sample in a lab. Only with data can it be mineral balanced. My horses though (and my budget) are very fortunate, they have plenty of green nutritious grass. Phew. B.Sc M.Ed

18.01.2022 The colder months are upon us but please think carefully who and when you rug. I see too many horses overheating on mild days.....

09.01.2022 To all my lovely clients: I’m currently waiting to hear if I’m considered an essential service and will be allowed to continue to work. I can trim most of your horses without you present, disinfect between properties and do payment via bank transfer to keep everybody safe. I shall endeavour to let everybody know ASAP what is happening, especially those with bookings later this week. ... Stay safe everybody and have some mental health time with your horses! Silke

08.01.2022 These gaiters will be available for your scoot boots soon! Hopefully just in time for us all to go back out with our horses after Covid19 The gaiters are thin neoprene material with is attached to a pad. I’ll be testing them as soon as I can get my little hands on them and let you know.

07.01.2022 Long but very informative post about worming. Well Worth a read as worming protocols have changed widely. I have fecal egg counts done on my herd at least twice a year now

05.01.2022 A very well written article by a vet - very timely as it unfortunately has been a topic for quite a few of my clients lately. Never easy...

03.01.2022 Oh yes, the dreaded summer is here

02.01.2022 Open for business! At this stage it looks like I’m allowed to continue looking after your lovely Equine’s feet! I am offering wherever possible to trim without you present should you wish to stay in isolation. If we do meet face-to-face the appropriate safe social distance will have to be observed and I will be taking all hygiene measures as recommended. So don’t be offended if I won’t hang around for a chat, a hug or a coffee but we all have to work together to stay safe! Take care in these crazy times

02.01.2022 DEAD-Line - this Sunday 17th NPSW in NSW are continuing the trapping of Brumbies. Today I was informed there are 10 Brumbies currently at the depot and sadly, m...ore on the way. Over the past few weeks many people from all over Australia have helped rescue as many Brumbies as possible. A group of us in SA saved 9 Kosciusko Stallions a few weeks ago and they were transported 1100 kms to safety in Gawler SA. They settled in and were all gelded this week. They are very lucky boys and all have great homes to go to when recovered. Our group has a Facebook page called South Australian Brumby Association- S.A.B.A where there are lots of photos of the first mob. We’re now on a frantic mission to rescue the remaining Brumbies... NPWS have given us a Dead-Line for collection - this Sunday the 17th Nov. Any Brumbies still in the depot on Mon 18th will go to a knackery. I have that in writing. We have 2 transport companies who can help. One truck can fit 9. The other can fit 20 + Our goal is to urgently raise money to pay for the transport. Once in SA the Brumbies will be cared for until suitable long term homes can be found. It’s a race against time and a long-shot, but if you (or anyone you know) are in a position to help, please donate whatever you can and we’d be grateful if you could share this post. Any questions, please let me know. Thanks for reading this far PS: The picture above is of some of the rescued Stallions safe and sound in Gawler SA