Sunday, March 24, 2019

Trailer Insulation

Trailmeister.com - Full Article

by Robert Eversole
February 7 2019

Trailer Insulation is one of the first steps in any DIY build, and it’s also one of the most misunderstood. There’s a lot of misconceptions about trailer insulation, and people end up wasting money and time on unnecessary steps and products.

When we were building our trailer we had all kinds of questions about insulation: What’s the best material to use? How do we install it? Do I need a vapor barrier? What questions do I not know enough to ask?

So what is the best way to insulate a DIY horse trailer? Below, we’ll go over how heat is transferred and how to stop it; discuss what you need to know about insulation, look at some of the different products available, and how best to use them.

There are three types of heat transfer: radiation, conduction, and convection...

Read more here:
https://www.trailmeister.com/trailer-insulation/

Friday, March 22, 2019

Endurance.net Adds New Blog: Books for Endurance Riders

March 22 2019

https://booksbyenduranceriders.blogspot.com/

Looking for books to read about endurance riding? Long distance riding? Conditioning? Endurance history? Adventure rides? We've got you covered.

You can build your own endurance library by browsing our list. "Books for Endurance Riders" can be found with our other blogs, by clicking on the "News, Stories" tab on www.endurance.net:

www.endurance.net/newsblogs/

Should My Horse Exercise on an Empty Stomach?

Riding before your horse gets fed could put him at risk for gastric ulcers. Find out why.

Posted by Clair Thunes, PhD | Mar 18, 2019

Q.I board my horse and ride in the morning and sometimes late afternoon, often before he gets fed. I am worried about the potential gastric ulcer risk of riding him on an empty stomach. Is there anything I can do to combat this?

—Via e-mail

A.You’re right to be concerned. Although historically it wasn’t the case, veterinarians now generally understand that horses should have some amount of food in their stomach, ideally, at all times...

Read more here:
https://thehorse.com/168300/should-my-horse-exercise-on-an-empty-stomach/

All IR/EMS Horses Have Laminitis

March 19, 2019

Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD

The Equine Cushing's and Insulin Resistance Group outreach forum (https://ecir.groups.io/g/main) has been in existence for almost 20 years and currently has over 11,000 international members. As you might expect, many members seek out the group when their horse/pony/mini/donkey/mule becomes obviously laminitic. Others report issues confirmed by blood work, but state they have never had problems with laminitis.

Unfortunately, they're wrong.

Back in 2004, Johnson, et al., published an article entitled Endocrinopathic Laminitis in the Horse. They described a "remodeling" of the laminae that occurs in horses with EMS or PPID (Cushing’s disease). Specifically, there is lengthening and thinning of the dermal lamellae that leads to weakening and predisposes to separation, with resultant white line widening, rotation, and sinking. This occurs without the basement membrane damage and white blood cell infiltration characteristic of other types of laminitis.

Of particular interest was the report that these changes are clearly visible microscopically, and on radiographs, in horses not showing any obvious signs of pain, inflammation or lameness.

Johnson focused on a possible role for cortisol in these changes, but more recent research has clearly shown that it is insulin elevation that is to blame. Exactly how this happens is still unclear. There is growing evidence that insulin may be acting through the IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) receptors to cause increased cellular proliferation.

There is some discrepancy in published studies regarding whether or not dermal and epidermal tissues in the lamellae express insulin receptors. If they do, high insulin may stimulate the changes seen via those receptors. In humans, epidermal keratinocytes stimulated with insulin show the same proliferation and elongation seen in the lamellae.

It has also been shown that endocrinopathic laminitis, like human metabolic syndrome, is characterized by increased levels of the potent vasoconstrictor endothelin-1, which may be causing cellular proliferation via endothelin receptors with reduction in perfusion and delivery of oxygen/glucose to the laminae. Positive responses to herbal and amino acid support for nitric oxide generation suggest this is part of the mechanism. Hypoxia (low oxygen tension) itself also causes migration and proliferation of keratinocytes via release of HIF-1 (hypoxia inducible factor). The imbalance between vasodilating nitric oxide and vasoconstricting endothelin-1 is directly caused by high insulin levels within the blood vessels.

Regardless of the exact mechanism, the important thing to realize is that these changes are occurring in every horse with elevated insulin, whether they are recognized to be in pain or not. Low-level lameness is easy to miss because the pain is symmetrical (no head bob). More subtle signs include less spontaneous activity, reluctance to make sharp turns, muscle tension in the forearms, back and hindquarters, more rigid head carriage (high or low), and a subdued attitude. These horses can easily be pushed over the edge into more severe pain by dietary indiscretions or even cold weather.

The good news is that meticulous attention to dietary simple carbohydrates, calories/weight, mineral balancing and additional nutritional support as needed is very successful in controlling insulin and restoring your horse's love of life.

If you suspect your horse has high insulin, get a diagnosis and take correct action. Don’t allow hoof damage to progress to the point of being crippling.


About ECIR Group Inc.

Started in 1999, the ECIR Group is the largest field-trial database for PPID and EMS in the world and provides the latest research, diagnosis, and treatment information, in addition to dietary recommendations for horses with these conditions. Even universities do not and cannot compile and follow long term as many in-depth case histories of PPID/EMS horses as the ECIR Group.

In 2013 the Equine Cushing's and Insulin Resistance Group Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation, was approved as a 501(c)3 public charity. Tax deductible contributions and grants support ongoing research, education, and awareness of Equine Cushing's Disease/PPID and EMS.

THE MISSION of the ECIR Group Inc. is to improve the welfare of equines with metabolic disorders via a unique interface between basic research and real-life clinical experience. Prevention of laminitis is the ultimate goal. The ECIR Group serves the scientific community, practicing clinicians, and owners by focusing on investigations most likely to quickly, immediately, and significantly benefit the welfare of the horse.

https://www.ecirhorse.org/video.php

Contact: Nancy Collins
603-323-7469
ecirgroup1@gmail.com

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Leg-bone density increases in response to Endurance training, study shows

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

March 21, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

The thickness and density of the leg bones in endurance horses increase in response to training for the discipline, research shows.

Researchers in the Brazilian study investigated the cortical bone – the dense outer surface of bone that forms a protective layer around the internal cavity.

The aim of the study by Mariana Damazio Rajão and her colleagues was to understand the bone response to exercise adaptations in the hopes it might provide clues to reducing the occurrence of orthopedic injuries in Endurance horses...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/03/21/leg-bone-density-endurance-training/

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Arizona’s wild horse paradox

HCN.org - Full Article

Activists and agencies try to balance the West’s horse mythology against herd impacts.

December 13 2018
Debbie Weingarten

he horses stood chest-deep in the river, pulling up long strands of eelgrass with their teeth. There must have been 20 of them, in colors ranging from nearly white to ruddy brown. The babies stood wobbly in the current. My partner and I floated quietly past in our kayak, trying not to spook them. But it was a sweltering Friday in July, and we were followed by hollering college students in rented innertubes. Beer coolers floated along behind them, and music reverberated off the canyon walls. Uninterested and used to the party, the horses barely looked up.

A stone’s throw from metropolitan Phoenix, the Salt River runs through the Tonto National Forest, where deer, bighorn sheep and bald eagles live amid cactus and mesquite bosques. But the most famous and controversial inhabitants are the area’s “wild” horses. Once slated for removal by the U.S. Forest Service for reasons of public safety, today these horses are protected by state law. Now, in the first arrangement of its kind, a state government is working with a nonprofit to manage horses on federal land. Now long-feuding entities must work together to find a way to balance the horses — and the mythology of the American West they represent — with river and land conservation and public safety...

Read more here:
https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.5/wild-horses-arizonas-wild-horse-paradox

Delivering aid on horseback – a feel-good adventure through India

Telegraph.co.uk - Full Article

by Kat Brown
19 MARCH 2019

I’m riding through the tufted fields of Rajasthan’s Thar desert, marvelling at how it really does look more like I’m in West Wittering than halfway across the world, when the inquiry comes from our ride leader, Alexander Souri. “How do you all feel about a gallop?”

We eight Relief Riders – four Americans, four Britons – sit up a bit straighter. Oooh. A gallop would be lovely, thank you. The grin that has been plastered on my face since I landed in India five days earlier becomes even wider.

Our journey, book-ended by days in Delhi and Jaipur, is heading towards the celebrated horse and camel fair that is held in Pushkar each November, but for now I can’t imagine being anywhere else, because this is absolute heaven.

My horse, sensing her rider has stopped contributing to the ride, slams on the brakes to avoid us catapulting into a wall. As we slide into trot, I turn to see the group’s two beginners with their jolly, mustachioed ride leader, Ranveer Singh, cantering up behind us. A nice feature of Relief Riders is you can learn en route – and what a way to do it.

For 15 years, Alexander’s company Relief Riders has run humanitarian adventures in India, as well as in Turkey and Ecuador, combining a riding holiday with targeted aid that, to date, has helped more than 25,000 people, most of them children...

Read more here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/rajasthan/articles/horse-riding-holiday-india/

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Wild Horses Could Drag You Away – To The Bank. The Government Will Pay You $1,000 To Adopt One

NWPB.org - listen

By Amanda Peacher March 14, 2019

BY AMANDA PEACHER / BSPR
The Bureau of Land Management is offering people $1,000 if they’ll adopt a wild horse.

The agency says more than 80,000 wild horses and burros are on rangelands across the West right now. The animals can damage rangeland and when their populations are high some of them starve.

The BLM captures the animals and keeps them in corrals, but some of the less feral ones get adopted out.

Debbie Collins is a wild horse and burro national outreach specialist with BLM. She says the animals’ numbers are up, but adoptions are down. Most corrals are at capacity of about 6,000.

“So what’s happened is our numbers on the range have increased even more, so we’re at nearly 82,000 animals on our public lands,” says Collins...

Read more and listen:
https://www.nwpb.org/2019/03/14/wild-horses-could-drag-you-away-to-the-bank-the-government-will-pay-you-1000-to-adopt-one/?fbclid=IwAR3jbAcHe17thoqoKWIPJ1Y0To9Hkl01-rLPNEd6-DCyXBPNGWhES7Pi9fM

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Book Shows How Love And Trust Between Horse And Human Can Overcome Almost Impossible Obstacles

PRWeb.com

Barbara Jagoda announces the release of ‘Magna Terra Smoky’

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (PRWEB) MARCH 13, 2019

As long as she can remember, Barbara Jagoda has always had a tremendous love and passion for animals. Her admiration of and love for a two-year-old colt who captured her heart by beating all odds and becoming a record-breaking champion in the Arabian Racing World inspired Jagoda to write “Magna Terra Smoky” (published by Trafford Publishing).For more details about the book, please visit https://www.amazon.com/Magna-Terra-Smoky-Barbara-Jagoda/dp/1490791841

The book tells the incredible adventure of an unwanted, insecure two-year-old colt who, sadly is heading for the auction barn. Due to the impeccable timing of events, a human would enter his life and together, they would overcome his fears and injuries to become the “One Eyed Wonder” and a legend in the Arabian Racing World.

“This is truly a ‘Cinderella’ kind of a horse story to be enjoyed by everyone who loves animals. It shows readers how the love and trust that develop between a horse and a human can overcome almost impossible obstacles. There are heartbreak and sadness in the storyline as well as extreme highs and happy, exciting moments,” Jagoda says.

“Magna Terra Smoky” shows readers how it was very close for a talented and exceptional horse came to have his life ended at an auction barn. Smoky is a living proof of what a little luck, love, patience and determination can produce. “Horse racing has had some bad raps, but there is still a lot of good people in the sport who genuinely care for their horses,” Jagoda adds.

“Magna Terra Smoky”
By Barbara Jagoda
Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 332 pages | ISBN 9781490791852
Softcover | 6 x 9in | 332 pages | ISBN 9781490791845
E-Book | 332 pages | ISBN 9781490791869
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author
Barbara Jagoda is a retired science schoolteacher and racehorse trainer who now works part time as a test administrator for a global company. During her university years, she enjoyed working as a wrangler at Cheley Camps, located near Estes Park, Colorado where she developed a fond rapport with her assigned horse, Pearl. Upon graduation and receiving her first paycheck as a new teacher, she immediately purchased Pearl as the first of her long string of equine companions. During the 1970s and 1980s, she went on to enjoy many years as a competitor in North American Trail Ride Conference (competitive trail riding) and later served as a judge for these events. Brandy (registered name of Sheiks Scimitar) was a favorite mount during these years and the two made a formidable team. In later years, she also competed in American Endurance Ride Conference (endurance riding) on another favorite horse, Roc-et Arapaho. Over the years, she has rescued and rehabilitated over a dozen horses either from auction houses or from homes where she discovered starving horses. She currently resides and enjoys living on a small ranch outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado where Magna Terra Smoky and a number of his friends enjoyed their lives after retirement from racing. Sadly, Smoky passed away in 2016, one day short of his 30th birthday. His best friend, Aurzel, and her latest rescue horse named Red currently enjoy the acreage and freedom this land provides.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Infrared thermography could be of value in Endurance contests, say researchers

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

March 10, 2019 Horsetalk.co.nz

Infrared thermography (IRT) may be a useful non-invasive tool to assess physiological stress in endurance horses, according to researchers, who suggest it could prove useful in helping vets decide whether horses are fit to continue.

Veronica Redaelli and her colleagues carried out a pilot study in Italy to see whether IRT could be used as a stress indicator in horses trained for the long-distance discipline.

Their findings were encouraging, prompting the study team to suggest that further studies should be conducted at vet checks during endurance competitions to learn whether eye temperature and the temperature at the crown of the head could help vets decide which animals were OK to continue.

Over the last 30 years, IRT has been widely used in veterinary medicine to detect injury, inflammatory responses, and causes of lameness, such as laminitis, in horses...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/03/10/infrared-thermography-endurance-contests/

Saturday, March 09, 2019

Things You Should and Should Not Put on a Horse’s Wound

Thehorse.com - Full Article

Is the ointment you’re using on that cut helping or hurting? Remember these tips when treating horse wounds.

Posted by Alexandra Beckstett, The Horse Managing Editor | Feb 18, 2016

Horse owners and veterinarians have been treating equine wounds for centuries. After all, horses are unabashedly practiced at the art of sustaining wounds. Over the years we’ve tried many different wound ointments and salves, cleansers and dressings, but not all of them are backed by evidence of safety and/or efficacy.

So Dean Hendrickson, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, professor of equine surgery at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, went back to basics, describing effective and ineffective wound-cleaning agents to an audience of veterinarians at the 2015 Annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 5-9, in Las Vegas.

Although our intentions are good, “most wound-cleaning agents and techniques will cause chemical or mechanical trauma to the wound bed,” he said. “Weigh the benefits of cleaning the wound against the trauma that agent will cause...”

Read more here:
https://thehorse.com/17070/things-you-should-and-should-not-put-on-a-horses-wound/?fbclid=IwAR1e-0Zehi349oQ9HsHM_LFKR4KDQQm4Xp3xuI7uszI7_DHYQPA4X7RGeSM

Thursday, March 07, 2019

War horses: Syria's Arabian beauties plod way to recovery

YahooNews.com - Full Article

Maher al-Mounes
AFP • March 3, 2019

Damascus (AFP) - A shadow of her former self after years of war, 11-year-old Arabian mare Karen stands quietly as a Syrian vet gently pushes a syringe into her pale grey neck.

"Karen used to be the beauty queen of all horses," says the vet, Ahmad Sharida.

But inside her stable near Damascus today, her hips jut out viciously from her overgrown speckled coat.

Weak and withdrawn, Karen is unable to even whinny.

After almost eight years of war, she is one of dozens of Arabian horses from all over Syria recovering from the physical and psychological trauma of the fighting.

Prized for their beauty, endurance and speed, Arabian purebreds are one of the oldest horse breeds in the world.

In Syria, Bedouins have bred them in the north of the country for centuries, seeking to maintain the purity of the local bloodlines.

Before the conflict, Sharida had proudly watched Karen grow from a long-legged foal into a graceful equine beauty.

"I know her very well. I was the one who brought her out of her mother's belly," says the vet, a stethoscope hanging around his neck.

But he lost sight of Karen after she was stolen from her stable in Eastern Ghouta in 2012, the same year rebels overran the region northeast of Damascus.

The area suffered five years of regime bombardment, as well as food and medicine shortages under a crippling siege, before Russia-backed government forces took it back last year.

Sharida had long fled his home region but returned to search for missing Arabian horses and immediately recognised Karen when he found her in October...

Read more here:
https://news.yahoo.com/war-horses-syrias-arabian-beauties-plod-way-recovery-035714738.html?soc_src=hl-viewer&soc_trk=fb&fbclid=IwAR3GLIVFr5miawLERNC8IkvHAdr6gRkRYbUntWHp6QC9GKIJ1c0OzFahUYY