Feeding Management of Athletic Horses in Stressful Conditions

Equinews.com - Full Article

By Dr. Joe Pagan · March 1, 2012

Most performance horses train and compete under a variety of stressful conditions that adversely affect health and performance. Feeding management is of critical importance to reduce many of these problems. Additionally, pre-competition feeding can significantly affect performance. Feeding management affects a number of different aspects of equine health and performance including gastrointestinal function, hydration, electrolyte status, and substrate selection during exercise. This article will review these key areas of performance horse nutrition and give practical recommendations about how to feed horses under stressful conditions.

Horses have evolved over millions of years as grazers, with specialized digestive tracts adapted to digest and utilize diets containing high levels of plant fiber. They are capable of processing large quantities of forage to meet their nutrient demands. In an attempt to maximize growth or productivity, horses are often fed diets which also contain high levels of grains and supplements. Unfortunately, this type of grain supplementation often overshadows the significant contribution that forages make in satisfying the horse’s nutrient demands.

Horses are classified anatomically as nonruminant herbivores or hindgut fermenters. The large intestine of the horse holds about 80 to 90 liters (21 to 24 gallons) of liquid and houses billions of bacteria and protozoa that produce enzymes which ferment plant fiber...

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/feeding-management-athletic-horses-stressful-conditions

Lush Grass: Good or Bad?

Equinews.com - Full Article

By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · March 6, 2012

Horse owners and farm managers frequently use the word “lush” to describe the state of pasture forage as it begins to grow rapidly in the spring. Just exactly what does “lush” mean? Is this new grass good for horses, or dangerous for them to graze?

In defining “lush,” the dictionary uses words like “growing vigorously; lavishly productive; thriving; plentiful; delicious; savory.” Lush pasture, then, is a grazing area with plenty of abundant green forage that tempts horses to graze enthusiastically for hours on end.

Lush new spring grass, mature summer grass, and dried autumn grass contain the same basic ingredients--water, vitamins, minerals, protein, starch, and structural fiber among other things—but the proportions of these ingredients are far different depending on season. Spring grass grows very rapidly, containing a large proportion (up to 80% or more) of water. This grass is generally soft and easy to chew because the amount of indigestible fiber is less than in mature grass.

Because there is so much liquid in new spring grass, all the other components are found in lower proportions compared to mature grass, so the horse gets less starch per mouthful of grass than when grazing in the summer. However, because this soft grass is so palatable, horses tend to ingest a larger overall volume of forage, so their intake of all nutrients may actually be fairly similar in spring, summer, and early fall.

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/lush-grass-good-or-bad

Equine Ulcers ... For Life?

by: Janice L. Holland, PhD, PAS
February 01 2011, Article # 17751

Thehorse.com - Full Article

There's no cure-all for equine gastric ulcer syndrome, but proper management and prevention methods can help your horse remain ulcer-free .

What could the following three situations all have in common?

You return home from a horse show after a disappointing weekend. Your elite performance horse, usually high in the ribbons, did not place well. He occasionally looks at his sides and appears uncomfortable. You have a young, excitable filly that was recently weaned. A normally robust and outgoing foal, she is now standing in her stall, uninterested in either interacting with humans or eating her grain. Your mature gelding that lives on lush pasture recently went through a mild bout of laminitis. He's always been a stoic fellow and rarely shows when he's in pain. Now, his hair coat is dull, and he seems to be "depressed." What might be surprising to some is that while these clinical signs could point to a number of problems, all three of these horses could be diagnosed with the same condition: equine gastric ulcer syndrome.

History and Signs

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome includes not only ulcers found within the stomach (usually in the esophageal region, or upper portion), but also ulcers found at the duodenal part of the small intestine, which is the portion closest to the stomach. Ulcers occur when the pH of these gastrointestinal tract areas becomes too acidic, and cells of the lining are damaged. The primary acid of digestion in the stomach, hydrochloric acid, is produced and released continuously into the stomach of the horse, unlike in humans, where it is produced only when food is present. Horses produce almost 1.5 liters/hour of this acid because they have evolved as continuous eaters, or grazers...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=17751

Soaking Hay: How Effective Is it at Lowering Carbohydrates?

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By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · February 3, 2012

If your horse needs a low-carbohydrate diet, you can reduce the sugar concentration in hay by soaking it in water prior to feeding. While this has nearly become common knowledge, there is a lot of confusion about the best procedure to follow. How long do you soak the hay? In hot water or cold? By the half-bale or the fluffed-up flake? How much sugar is actually lost? And do all types of hay respond the same way to soaking? A study in England revealed some answers.

Nine types of hay were used in the study, and widely varying results were found between the types. Water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) including fructans, glucose, fructose, and sucrose can be dissolved by soaking in either hot or cold water, though they dissolve more quickly in hot water. This study used cold water for periods of 20 minutes, 40 minutes, three hours, or 16 hours...

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/soaking-hay-how-effective-it-lowering-carbohydrates

Starting the Endurance Horse Prospect - Part 1

Hought.com - Full Article

by Eric Hought

The commonly accepted practice of starting the purebred or part Arab endurance horse prospect at ages 4-6 years is one for debate. The main concern: are the legs properly developed to support a rider’s weight.

Much can be done with the young horse at 2-3 years of age as long as the rider uses common sense and safe practices. Groundwork is very important. There are many methods available from today’s clinicians, so select an approach from one whose methods best fit your preferred style of preparing the horse.

No harm will be done through groundwork, saddling, ponying and standing tied to “soak” for a couple of hours. It goes without saying the facility must be safe for a horse standing tied before and after a ride. The use of leg protection is the rider’s option. The girth should be pulled only as snug as needed so the saddle will not turn while the horse is tied and moving around.

Why stand tied? The horse learns patience and to wait for the leader. I saddle and stand my young horses for up to 2 hours per day for at least 4-5 days per week. Look for the horse to demonstrate that this practice has become “just what we do.” This is a valuable routine he will experience for the remainder of his life. He may not be tied as long at home, but there will be times in the future in unfamiliar settings where having learned this patience will help him manage the situations and time factors.

This is how I start 2 year olds. I give each horse my total focus and commitment. Typically, I saddle and stand him a couple of hours before I ride. I will usually do this before each ride for about 3-4 months. By the 3rd month of riding, standing saddled for an hour is fine.

I ride at the walk with some trotting for 60-90 days. During this time, I focus on foot, face and body control. When I am riding in an arena, I time each ride for exactly 15 minutes. The short time factor keeps the horse’s mind working and avoids boredom for both horse and rider. I am fortunate to have access to riding areas outside the arena on dirt roads, single track trails, hills, uneven ground, walkovers and water crossings. These rides are about 1-1 1/2 hours. I am careful not to do any sustained trotting on any unprepared surface because it takes time and miles to begin to develop leg fitness. This is by far the best setting for starting young horses. Of course I do not just sit like a sack of potatoes. I work on foot, face and body control. Leg and body development are occurring simultaneously while keeping the rider’s and horse’s minds working...

Read more here:
http://www.hought.com/hp.start-end-horse-part1.html

Researcher Evaluates Bit, Rein Interaction with Equine Mouth

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Christa Lesté-Lasserre
April 13 2012, Article # 19877

Having a better understanding about the mechanics of riders' hands' interactions with the horse's head can improve your horse's performance, comfort, and well-being, noted one researcher at a recent equitation science conference. Hilary M. Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Dipl. ACVSMR, MRCVS, Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University, explained that bits, nosebands, and headpieces all exert pressure on horses when we place pressure on the reins, which can vary considerably.

But new biomechanical findings in equitation science can help riders make more informed decisions about equipment use and also dispel certain myths about bridles, bits, and reins.

According to Clayton, soft tissues such as the tongue, for example, are better suited to handling pressure than hard tissues like the nose bone and the palate (the roof of the horse's mouth). "The horse's tongue can be very sensitive but it can also withstand a lot of different kinds of pressure," she said during her plenary lecture at the 2011 International Society for Equitation Science Conference, held Oct. 26-29 in Hooge Mierde, The Netherlands.

"From my point of view, I would be a lot more concerned about pressure directly on the hard tissues (and) the bones, rather than the soft tissues which have a lot more ability to absorb the forces," she said.

Using radiographs (X rays) and fluoroscopy (real-time radiography) of a horse's head while wearing a bridle and bit, Clayton evaluated the position of the bit in a horse's mouth with and without tension applied to the reins...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19877

Round Bale Feeder Design Affects Hay Waste and Economics

Equinews.com - Full Article

By Dr. Kathleen Crandell · February 13, 2012


Using round-baled hay is attractive to horse owners because this forage form is less labor-intensive, more convenient, and less expensive than feeding hay in square bales. Some of the drawbacks are excessive hay waste, overconsumption, and weight gain among horses. Several round-bale feeders have been designed to address some of the drawbacks, especially wastage of hay, but to date there have not been any published comparisons.

Researchers in Minnesota conducted an experiment that would measure hay wastage from nine round-bale feeders of differing designs as well as the economics of how long it would take before the feeder would pay for itself in savings related to less wasted hay.

Twenty-five mature Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred mares and geldings with free-choice access to water and a trace-mineralized salt block were fed orchardgrass round bales in nine different commercial round-bale feeders. To test the feeders, the horses were divided into groups of five and then exposed to one of nine different round-bale feeders, or the control of no feeder, for four days. When the horses were switched to a different feeder, they received a new round bale. During the time each group was housed with the hay in the feeder, all the hay on the ground was collected daily, and at the end of four days all the hay left in the feeder was dried and weighed...

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/round-bale-feeder-design-affects-hay-waste-and-economics

More Debate on Beet Pulp: Is it Toxic?

Equineink.com - Full Article

December 13 2009
Posted by Liz Goldsmith

I like it when people comment on my posts. Sometimes they agree; others have challenged what I’ve found and caused me to do more research. A question from a reader prompted me to look into whether feeding whole flax seed was indeed a good idea and resulted in, Update on Feeding Flax Seed.

So, when I received this comment on Beet Pulp: Fact & Fiction, I thought it deserved to be answered.

I felt I had to add a post because I do not agree with it. First of all I and my family have been breeding, racing and competing horses for generations. I would never recommend or use beet pulp one of the reasons why is because of the process it goes through. When seperating (sic) the sugar from the pulp chemicals and bleaches are used ie. it is the whitening process, and the left over scrap is the pulp. I love my horses and I would never feed them this. I give my horses natural products that are not GM and no chemicals thank you. Alfalfa pellets/bales, Carob, Hay, and fruit treats are a great way to feed your horses naturally! There is also very little nutritional value in Beet and it is only a filler. If you cannot afford to buy the right natural products for your horse then you should not have a horse. I have never had a problem with any of my horses, and they also keep their teeth to a good old age.

I’ve seen some of this before . . . especially the “just a filler” argument. To be honest, I’d never thought about whether processing the beet pulp left a chemical residue. So, I started to do some research. I think I found where this person got their information.

In my search I came across another condemnation of beet pulp from Lorrie Bracaloni. Readers might remember that I recently reviewed her DVD and Workbook “How to Identify and Release your Horse’s Pain Points.” Her article is entitled, Is Beet Pulp Toxic to Horses? The Real Story. In it, she re-iterates the issue about pesticides but adds some additional claims that make beet pulp look like the absolute worst feed possible...

Read more here:
http://equineink.com/2009/12/13/more-debate-on-beet-pulp/

Equine Ulcers...For Life?

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Janice L. Holland, PhD, PAS
February 01 2011, Article # 17751

There's no cure-all for equine gastric ulcer syndrome, but proper management and prevention methods can help your horse remain ulcer-free .
What could the following three situations all have in common?

You return home from a horse show after a disappointing weekend. Your elite performance horse, usually high in the ribbons, did not place well. He occasionally looks at his sides and appears uncomfortable.
You have a young, excitable filly that was recently weaned. A normally robust and outgoing foal, she is now standing in her stall, uninterested in either interacting with humans or eating her grain.
Your mature gelding that lives on lush pasture recently went through a mild bout of laminitis. He's always been a stoic fellow and rarely shows when he's in pain. Now, his hair coat is dull, and he seems to be "depressed."
What might be surprising to some is that while these clinical signs could point to a number of problems, all three of these horses could be diagnosed with the same condition: equine gastric ulcer syndrome.

History and Signs

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome includes not only ulcers found within the stomach (usually in the esophageal region, or upper portion), but also ulcers found at the duodenal part of the small intestine, which is the portion closest to the stomach. Ulcers occur when the pH of these gastrointestinal tract areas becomes too acidic, and cells of the lining are damaged. The primary acid of digestion in the stomach, hydrochloric acid, is produced and released continuously into the stomach of the horse, unlike in humans, where it is produced only when food is present. Horses produce almost 1.5 liters/hour of this acid because they have evolved as continuous eaters, or grazers...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=17751

Feeding Beet Pulp

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Karen Briggs
May 01 1999, Article # 314

Q: I've been told I should feed beet pulp to help put weight on my skinny Thoroughbred. But I'm worried about the stories I've heard about beet pulp expanding in the horse's stomach and causing colic -- or worse! Is beet pulp a good addition to my horse's diet, and if so, how can I feed it safely?

A: Beet pulp is the fibrous material left over after the sugar is extracted from sugar beets. It's an excellent source of digestible fiber, with a relatively low crude protein content (averaging 8 to 10%), comparable to good-quality grass hay. Its digestible energy is somewhere between that of hay and grain. In terms of other nutrients, it's not a stand-out--it has a relatively high calcium content and very little phosphorus, is low in B vitamins, and has virtually no beta-carotene (the precursor of vitamin A) or vitamin D. Its chief value is as a soft, easily digestible supplement to your horse's roughage (fiber) intake, and as such it's a useful addition to the diet of many types of horses.

Consider feeding beet pulp if your horse is a "hard keeper" (it's very good for encouraging weight gain), if he has dental problems that make chewing hay difficult, if the quality of your hay is poor, or if you have a geriatric horse who has trouble chewing or digesting other types of forage. It can be fed in addition to, or instead of, hay. Beet pulp's excellent digestibility also makes it a great choice for a convalescing horse--one recovering from illness or surgery, for example. It even can be fed warm in the winter months, just like a bran mash (and nutritionally, it's a better choice than bran)...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=314

Equine Electrolyte Use and Gastric Emptying (AAEP 2011)

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Nancy S. Loving, DVM
March 15 2012, Article # 19740

A horse’s prolonged sweating during athletic activity or travel means a need for fluid and electrolyte replacement, and horse owners commonly turn to electrolyte products for this purpose. A team of equine researchers examined one electrolyte supplement’s (ES) effect on fluid replacement and performance, and Michael Lindinger, PhD, associate professor at the University of Guelph, presented the results at the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas,

Dehydration significantly impacts the cardiovascular system, exercise performance, and recovery, as well as affecting thermoregulation (the horse’s ability to cool its body during exercise). Dehydration also affects mental acuity. Thus, effectively replacing fluids lost through sweating is of utmost importance in maintaining peak levels of health and performance. Lindinger pointed out that horse sweat contains significant concentrations of ions, such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium and these are sustained during exercise...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19740

Does Your Horse Really Need A Low-Starch Diet?

Equinews.com - Full Article

By Dr. Kathleen Crandell · May 4, 2011

Horses derive dietary energy from a multitude of sources. A combination of fiber, starch, and fat is generally the best way to fuel performance, whether it is in the breeding shed, on the trail, or in the show ring. Over the last several years, the market has become flooded with low-starch feeds, and horse owners are responding by purchasing more and more.


Yet, low-starch feeds are not appropriate for every horse. Certain groups of horses require starch for optimal performance—growing youngsters and many equine athletes, for example. What lies behind the current low-starch craze?

What is starch?

Starch is a long, complex chain of sugar molecules. Within the plant, it represents the energy storehouse and is found in particularly high levels in grains. Starches are considered nonstructural carbohydrates because they are found within the cell wall. Fiber, on the other hand, is considered a structural carbohydrate because it lends support to the plant.

During digestion starch is broken down by enzymes into minute sugar molecules so that it can be readily absorbed. At this point, starch and sugar in the diet are handled similarly. Sugar in the diet can come from the cell contents in grass, molasses from feeds, and certain treats. These sugar molecules cross into the bloodstream and end up as glucose, which gets distributed to cells for use as energy throughout the body. The hormone that helps clear glucose from the blood and into the cells is insulin. This distribution method of getting glucose to the cells for energy, glycogen-building, or adipose storage is part of the energy-generation system of the working horse. The harder the horse is working, the more important the system is...

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/does-your-horse-really-need-a-low-starch-diet

New Insulin Resistance Test Method for Horses (AAEP 2011)

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Nancy S. Loving, DVM
March 20 2012, Article # 19759


An obese horse is often—though not always—an insulin-resistant one, and detection methods for insulin resistance can be tricky to time, not to mention labor-intensive. François R. Bertin, DVM, a resident at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital described a new testing technique that he has found useful for identifying insulin-resistant horses at the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas.

The pancreas' beta-cells are responsible for secreting insulin to stimulate glucose uptake by glucose receptors. The glucose is moved into muscle cells where it is either used immediately or stored as glycogen for later access. An insulin-resistant (IR) horse has a decreased sensitivity to insulin (as a result, higher amounts of insulin are released than normal in response to ingestion of starch and/or sugar) along with a decreased maximal response to this hormone. High levels of circulating insulin in the bloodstream could put such a horse at risk for development of laminitis.

The recommended insulin-response test requires a veterinarian to take several blood samples over four hours. Bertin described an alternative testing procedure able to produce information on suspect IR cases, especially those horses with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). While a cresty neck and fat pads at the base of the tail can be signs of EMS and indicative of a probably IR case, he emphasized that a definitive test is necessary for an accurate IR diagnosis...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19759

A New Navicular Vantage

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Nancy S. Loving, DVM
January 01 2012, Article # 19415

Technological advances such as MRI have given veterinarians a closer look at navicular syndrome.
The great thing about technological advances is that they provide new perpectives on old problems. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for instance, has given equine veterinarians an improved vantage point for examining the underlying disease process in navicular syndrome cases. Historically, the term navicular syndrome referred to lameness resulting from pain in the podotrochlear apparatus in the back of the foot that includes the navicular bone, bursa (sac cushioning the navicular bone from the deep digital flexor tendon), supportive ligaments, and deep digital flexor tendon.

"Everybody used to think that navicular disease meant the problem related to degeneration in the bone and surrounding structures. That's because on radiographs all we could see was the bone," explains Robert Schneider, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, professor and equine orthopedic surgeon at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Veterinarians began recognizing, however, that this process involves more than just the navicular bone. The lameness that started out being called "navicular disease" was renamed "navicular syndrome" and later called "caudal heel syndrome."

"Even still, there were a variety of treatment failures and opinions about what and why things happen and how and why to treat this 'syndrome,' including various shoeing strategies," says Stuart Shoemaker, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, owner of Idaho Equine Hospital, in Nampa...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19415

Feeding Protein to Performance Horses

Equinews.com - Full Article

By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · January 9, 2012

Hard-working horses need dietary protein to increase muscle mass, maintain muscle fibers, and repair tissue damage caused by the demands of strenuous exercise.

A research project conducted in Bristol, Virginia, investigated the impact of time of feeding protein prior to exercise. Researchers concluded that when protein-rich feeds are offered an hour before exercise, the amino acid levels in the blood will be adequate to support muscle protein synthesis in the important time span of two to three hours post-exercise.

It’s tempting to think that if a little protein is good, more must be better, but this is not the case for horse feeds...

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/feeding-protein-performance-horses

Why You Should Consider a Gaited Horse for Trail Riding

Myhorse.com - Full Article

So you’re looking for a new horse for trail riding…but you’re only considering your tried-and-true walk, trot and canter candidates?

Maybe you should broaden your horizons!

If you don’t know anything about naturally gaited horses, well, have we got the primer for you.
It’s a series of questions based on myths and misunderstandings about gaited horses, posed by real horse people.

Sort of like myth busters–the horse version. Who knows, maybe after reading it, you’ll start looking for something gaited as your next trail-riding partner.

10 Gaited-Horse Myths: Busted!
By Jessica Jahiel PhD

Myths and misunderstandings about smooth-gaited horses abound. Here, we’ll bust 10 common myths, taken from real questions posed by horse owners from around the country. We’ll explain why each assumption is wrong – and why you should consider a gaited horse for trail riding.

Myth #1: Smooth gaits are artificial.

“The walk, the trot, and the canter are normal gaits for normal horses. Gaited horses bother me, because their smooth gaits are manmade and artificial. I’m into natural horsemanship, and I want my horse to enjoy our trail rides. I could never ride a horse that was forced to perform an artificial gait!”

Busted! Relax. You can safely enjoy gaited horses, natural horsemanship, and trail riding – these three things go together very well. The show ring and the trail are two very different places. Good trail gaits aren’t created by special tack or riding techniques; they’re bred into the horses and brought out by sensible, sympathetic training.

Myth #2: Gaited horses are high-headed nutcases...

Read more here:
http://myhorse.com/blogs/horse-breeds-information/horse-breeds/why-you-should-consider-a-gaited-horse-for-trail-riding/

Want to Get Your Horse in Shape? Try Parelli Fluidity-Hill Therapy

Myhorse.com blogs - Full Article

Does your horse have a scrawny neck? A hollowed-out back? Does he move with short, choppy strides?

Pat Parelli and his wife, Linda Parelli, offer what they call a Fluidity Program for horses. It involves you, your horse, a long line and a small hill. In six weeks, they say, your horse will be transformed into a more muscular creature with better posture. Here’s how to do it.

Parelli Fluidity—Hill Therapy
by Linda Parelli

Studying the posture, musculature and movement of horses is an important component of our Fluidity Program. Horses that have been ridden often look very different from horses that have never been ridden, and unfortunately they usually don’t look better!

In ridden horses, here are some of the common issues:

Posture:
• “Down-hill” (hips are higher than the withers)
• Small or flat withers (mutton-withered)
• Sway, hollow or dipped back
• Strung-out hind legs
• Rotated scapula
• Rotated sacrum (“jumper’s bump”)
• Short neck / long back
• Ewe neck
• High tail set (instead of low and sloping)

Musculature:
• Poor top line, muscle wastage on crest, back and rump
• Irregular muscling, some are under-developed and some are overdeveloped
• Thin withers
• Overdeveloped underline (under neck, lower chest, forearms, gaskins, and top of hip)
• Dropped belly
• Thin neck

Movement:
• Short, choppy strides
• Heavy on forehand
• Hind legs weak, “disengaged”, can’t come under the body, are strung out behind
• Inability to ‘collect’ or engage
• Stiff in the body or neck
• Stiff in the legs, doesn’t bend joints well
• Doesn’t use whole body
• Pulls itself along with the forelegs vs pushing with hind legs

As you can imagine, on-going issues like this can lead to a horse breaking down in the long term, usually in the areas they over use to compensate for not sharing the load through the entire body such as the stifle, lower back, suspensories, hocks, and not to mention the knee joints from landing heavily on the forehand...

Read more here:
http://myhorse.com/blogs/horse-trainers/pat-parelli/want-to-get-your-horse-in-shape-try-parelli-fluidity-hill-therapy/?utm_source=Week35&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Week-Review

Balancing the Microbes in the Horse's Digestive Tract

Equinews.com - Full Article

By Dr. Kathleen Crandell · January 3, 2012

The importance of maintaining a balanced microbial population in the equine digestive tract is often underscored in popular-press articles and primers on horse nutrition, but what does “balanced” mean? What types of microbes are living in the digestive tract? How many are there, and what is their purpose? What can be done to keep them balanced?


delicate balance exists among the different types of microbes that reside in the gastrointestinal tract. Humans cannot live on forage because we lack these microbes that break down forage into usable bits. The products of forage digestion are volatile fatty acids, which horses use for energy. Humans have some microbes that should stay in balance as well, although they pale in number and function compared to those of herbivores. We are being inundated with products that address that function in humans, and nutritionists emphasize the importance of that balance in the human digestive tract in overall health and well-being. Like humans, horses cannot perform their best if digestive microbes are out of balance...

Read more here:
http://www.equinews.com/article/balancing-microbes-horses-digestive-tract

Bute and Banamine: Avoid Using Together (AAEP 2011)

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Nancy S. Loving, DVM
March 13 2012, Article # 19726


A common approach to lameness in the equine athlete is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) treatments, such as phenylbutazone (PBZ, Bute) or flunixin meglumine (FM, Banamine) alone or sometimes in combination. At the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Jonathan Foreman, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of Illinois, discussed the effect of these medications on lameness when used at a normal recommended dose with these strategies and whether combining the drugs confers any special effects.

Reversible lameness was induced in eight Thoroughbred horses by using an adjustable heart bar shoe that could be tightened with a screw to elicit severe non-weight-bearing lameness. After an hour of the shoe application, Foreman and his colleagues treated the horses with one or both drugs: PBZ at 4.4 mg/kg, FM at 1.1 mg/kg, or PBZ + FM at these same dosages. In line with findings from previous studies, the team found that peak effect of these drugs occurred four hours following administration.

The team measured heart rates as an indicator of pain since, as explained by Foreman, heart rate is a primary variable that is elevated in lame horses following exercise workouts...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19726

Nursing a horse through AHS | African Horse Sickness

Perseveranceendurancehorses Blog

POSTED BY PERSEVERANCE ⋅ 13 MARCH 2012

African Horse Sickness is a disease endemic to certain parts of Africa. It is thought to be a Zebra virus carried by midges. It can be a a serious disease with high mortality, but many horses do recover. There is a vaccine but its effectiveness is hotly debated. Standard veterinary treatment, which is aimed at lowering fever with anti-inflammatories such as bute and treating potential secondary infection with antibiotics, does not produce good results generally. Consequently, horse owners have been looking at other ways of dealing with it.

Supportive nursing is vital as the horses get extremely ill. This is one horse that we dealt with successfully in the Autumn of 2011, here at Perseverance in the Karoo. In the interest of sharing information, this is what we did...

Fire’s treatment for AHS, May 2011

Fire is a purebred Arabian broodmare, a former endurance horse, vaccinated for AHS by vets and the vaccinations recorded in her passport over many years. She had a foal at foot and was two months in foal again.

During this outbreak, the Perseverance broodmares in the veld were checked daily. Fire presented with fever in early May. She was treated with an oral dose of MMS. Often this is sufficient to stop a mild case from progressing. There were a few other mares with fever for whom this was sufficient. In her case it was not.

The next day she was given IV 6 ml MMS (mixed with 30 ml 10% strength citric acid solution, allowed to activate and further diluted with Ringer’s lactate) and left in veld with her herd. Next day she was no better, she would become fatigued after walking a short distance. We brought the horse box to her and transported her and her foal back to the farmyard. The swelling over her eyes was hard to the touch.

We restrained her and the foal in a small pen to prevent further fatigue. We blanketed her when the weather cooled. Her lungs continued to fill and she became very short of breath. She started lying down. I feared she would suffocate if it became any worse. I obtained a single dose of Salix from the vet and gave that. She found some relief and urinated. Body swelling and body pain worsened (as we would expect from the Salix), but I felt this was worth the extra time gained in this particular case, the lesser of two evils. We then moved her to a stable under an infrared lamp, and this is what she was given during the first, intensive, nursing period...

Read more here:
http://perseveranceendurancehorses.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/nursing-a-horse-through-ahs-african-horse-sickness/

Horse Owners Assess Tornado Damage, Losses

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Pat Raia
March 05 2012, Article # 19691


Horse owners in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee are assessing damage and calculating losses after a series of early spring tornadoes swept though several counties in those states last week.

According to the National Weather Service, 42 confirmed tornadoes tore through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio on March 2. The storms packed winds as high as 180 mph, knocking out utilities and flattening homes and barns. All told, the confirmed human death toll reached 39, according to the agency. The number of horses lost or injured as a result of the storms is still uncertain.

"We know there are horses missing and roaming the area, but we just don't know much else," said Jim Noel, president of the Indiana Horse Council.

Kentucky was among the hardest hit by the twisters. Farm operators William and Rhonda McCardle lost 15 of the Quarter Horses residing in a barn on their Crittendon, Ky., property when the tornado struck, demolishing the structure. Two horses remain missing. Two surviving horses, a yearling and a 2-week-old foal, were later discovered alive in the barn rubble. Those animals were placed under care at a veterinary hospital in Lexington, Ky., said Sue Haynes, friend of the McCardle family. On March 5 the yearling died as a result of his injuries, Haynes said.

Meanwhile, Kelly Carr, owner of the Saddle Up Arena equine facility in Madison, Ind., said one member of her family lost three of five horses to the storm. Other animals were injured, she said.

"Some had large wounds from flying debris and cuts from hail," she said. "We could see homes and barns just flattened..."

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19691

Take Steps Now to Prevent West Nile Virus in Horses

by: Edited Press Release
March 06 2012, Article # 19695

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary George Greig has urged horse owners to consult their veterinarians about options for West Nile virus (WNV) prevention before mosquito season begins.

"From recreational trail riders and trained competitors to top-notch breeding and racing, Pennsylvania's equine industry represents an important segment of our state's leading economic driver - agriculture," said Greig. "Animal health is a top industry priority, and I encourage horse owners to speak to their veterinarians about protecting their animals against encephalitic diseases like West Nile Virus."

Equine encephalitic diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes and cause inflammation of the brain. Mosquitoes become more active with warm weather in early spring.

First confirmed in the United States' horse population in 1999, WNV infection is responsible for equine clinical signs including flulike signs, where the horse seems mildly anorexic and depressed; fine and coarse muscle and skin fasciculations (twitching); hyperesthesia, or hypersensitivity to touch and sound; changes in mentation (mentality), when horses look like they are daydreaming or "just not with it"; occasional somnolence (drowsiness); propulsive walking (driving or pushing forward, often without control); and "spinal" signs, including asymmetrical weakness. Some horses show asymmetrical or symmetrical ataxia (incoordination on one or both sides, respectively). Equine mortality rate can be as high as 30-40%. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported 83 cases of WNV in U.S. horses in 2011.

Vaccines are available to help prevent WNV and other equine encephalitic diseases such as Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis. Vaccines are usually administered in February or March prior to mosquito season. Horse owners should talk with their veterinarians to determine the best time to start the vaccination process.

Greig cautioned that vaccination of horses is not a guarantee of protection against infection. The best way to prevent infection of WNV is to reduce the risk of exposure to mosquitoes by eliminating mosquito breeding sites.

Understanding Equine Medications is your A-Z guide to learning more about generic and brand-name pharmaceuticals, possible side effects and precautions, and proper dosage.

He suggested several steps horse owners can take to reduce horses' mosquito exposure:

Reduce the number of birds in and around the stable area. Eliminate roosting areas in the rafters of the stable. Certain species of wild birds are the main reservoir for the virus.
Check the property for dead birds, especially crows. Any suspicious birds should be reported online to www.westnile.state.pa.us or by calling the Department of Environmental Protection at 717-346-8238 (residents of other states should report suspicious dead birds to animal health authorities in their area) . Use gloves to handle dead birds and place the birds in plastic bags. If not submitting the bird for testing, the bagged bird can be placed in the trash. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after discarding the dead bird.

Topical preparations containing mosquito repellents are available for horses. Read the product label before using and follow label instructions. Fly sheets, masks, and leg wraps are also available.
Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, buckets, ceramic pots or other unwanted water-holding containers on the property. Pay special attention to discarded tires, which can collect water and become mosquito breeding sites.
Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers left outdoors. Containers with drainage holes located only on the sides collect enough water to act as mosquito breeding sites.
Clean clogged roof gutters every year. Millions of mosquitoes can breed in roof gutters each season.
Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
Empty and refill outdoor water troughs, buckets, and birdbaths every few days so water does not stagnate.
Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens can become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate.
Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property, especially near manure storage areas. Mosquitoes can breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four days.

For more information contact the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Health at 717-783-6897 or visit www.westnile.state.pa.us.

Nonstructural Carb Tolerance in Healthy Horses (AAEP 2011)

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Nancy S. Loving, DVM
March 05 2012, Article # 19690

The words "nonstructural carbohydrates" have become almost synonymous with "bad news" in the horse industry, mainly because many owners' goals have been to reduce these sugars and starches (while increasing fat levels) to provide "safer" calories for certain horses. Such strategies are desirable for horses with conditions such as recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis, polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM), equine metabolic syndrome, or Cushing's disease, but until recently it was unclear what an NSC diet means for a "normal," nonobese horse.

At the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas, Joe Pagan, PhD, president of Kentucky Equine Research (KER), described his and colleagues' research on the effects of carbohydrate and fat intake on glucose tolerance in the healthy horse.

Pagan pointed out that there is a perception among horse owners that feeding any nonstructural carbohydrate to healthy horses will lead to insulin resistance (the inability of the hormone insulin released from the pancreas to manage glucose levels in the bloodstream) and metabolic disorders, even when horses aren't obese.

Previous studies conducted at KER found that healthy horses fed high-fat diets have a marked delay in clearing glucose, whereas when consuming carbohydrates from sweet feed, glucose returned to normal clearance rates. To test this theory further, his team evaluated four healthy, nonobese Thoroughbred geldings with body condition scores of 5-6 (out of 9), aged around 21.5 years old. The horses were stalled except for six hours of daily turnout with a grazing muzzle...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19690

Rabies Confirmed in Two Middle Tennessee Horses

Thehorse.com

by: Edited Press Release
February 29 2012, Article # 19665


The Tennessee Departments of Health and Agriculture have confirmed rabies in two horses recently deceased horses. One horse, submitted for testing in January 2012, died in rural Rutherford County, and the other was submitted this month from Marshall County. Both horses had a type of rabies virus found in skunks in Tennessee, although it is not known how they were infected.

“The deaths of these animals serve as a somber reminder of the importance of rabies vaccination," said Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. "Our pets--often including horses--are more likely to come into contact with wild animals than people are. Protecting pets with rabies vaccination can provide a barrier against rabies from wild animals."

Rabies is caused by a lyssavirus affecting the neurological system and salivary glands. Exposure to horses most commonly occurs through the bite of another infected (rabid) animal, typically a raccoon, skunk, bat, or fox. Clinical signs of rabies in horses are variable and can take up to 12 weeks to appear after the initial infection. Although affected horses are sometimes asymptomatic, an infected horse can show behavioral changes, such as drowsiness, depression, fear, or aggressiveness. Once clinical signs appear, there are no treatment options.

Rabies can only be diagnosed post-mortem by submitting the horse's head to a local public health laboratory to identify the rabies virus using a test called fluorescence antibody. Therefore, ensuring that all other potential diseases have been ruled out is very important in these cases.

Commercially-available rabies vaccines are safe and extremely effective. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners' (AAEP) vaccination guidelines, adult horses should be vaccinated annually and mares in foal should be vaccinated four to six weeks pre-partum or before breeding. Foals and weanlings less than 12 months of age are administered an initial series of three vaccines. The timing is dependent on the vaccination status of the mare. Thereafter, horses are vaccinated annually.

While rabies is relatively rare in horses--usually fewer than 100 horses are infected in the United States every year--it is an important disease because it is zoonotic. That is, it can be spread to humans. Further, rabies is a reportable disease and the proper authorities should be notified in the event a horse--or any other animal--tests positive.

For questions about animal health, contact the Tennessee Department of Agriculture at 615/837-5120 or animal.health@tn.gov.

A Black Cowboy's Ride Across America

Book Review at http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-on-the-trail-of/

Little did Miles Dean realize as he muscled his wrestling opponents to the floor in WeeQuahic High School in Newark, New Jersey that his courage and strength
would one day lead him to do what most people would think is unimaginable.

When I think of driving an automobile across the United States, I think of several drivers and a comfortable car with a protective roof and air conditioning for crossing hot states. How about crossing America riding a horse?

In A Black Cowboy’s Ride across America, Miles Dean completes that epic journey in 2007. Why, because it had never been done by a black man. Why, because it was a challenge to Miles' physical and mental endurance to draw a line in history from the African Burial Ground Memorial in Manhattan to the grounds of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Through his veins ran the mingled blood of countless black forefathers. Miles had charted a route that would pass through towns and cities to honor as many black heroes as possible.

Throughout the story, he speaks of the freedom that Black Americans now have compared to days when they arrived in chains aboard slave ships. Sold in “Congo Square” to the highest bidders with no regard for family. Fathers, mothers, and their children were torn from one another and then forced to perform white man’s labor under appalling conditions.

Miles determined to honor all of these desecrated people along with those who fought so bravely and tirelessly to eliminate the slave trade. In A Black Cowboy’s Ride across America, he visited memorials raised to honor all the Black Americans who fought during the horrific Civil War where, even in deadly battle, prejudice ran rampant. Fearless now, Miles rode his main horse Sankofa, through the very town where John Brown attempted to muster a slave revolt but in turn was captured by Robert E. Lee and hung.

Miles visited places where small black jockeys had ridden prized horses in prestigious races, only to be returned to their Jim Crow rank after winning a championship title for their white owners. Yet, throughout his ride, “He tried not to dwell on the tragedies black people had faced ... preferring to celebrate ... achievements.” He passed the Lorraine Motel and its balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King was slain—the prophetic leader who led this nation’s Black Americans to insist that Civil Rights finally be strongly enforced for all peoples once and for all.

Miles’s journey at times was fraught with danger. Crossing the Mississippi River Bridge with its six lanes of cars and monstrous 18-wheelers racing by forced him and Sankofa to ride perilously close to the three-foot high bridge railing. If the horse had turned quickly, stumbled, or reared at all, Miles could have been tossed over the railing and into the river — and Miles claimed to be a poor swimmer.

At times, Miles and his steed became separated from their support crew traveling along the highway. At one point while attempting to climb a steep hillside, Sankofa stopped and refused to go any farther. Climbing down to examine the horse, Miles noticed how difficult it was to stand upright, let alone go forward, so steep was the slope. The horse had sensed the danger and humbled its rider.

If you are searching for a story where man and beast, working together, overcame a host of obstacles, A Black Cowboy’s Ride Across America is the book for you. Its language is simple yet interesting and descriptive. It is a great read for young readers because its story is one of courage and the will to complete a task that most youth and adults would think foolhardy. Determined Miles completed his 5000 mile trek in 180 days. This is the fascinating story of a real man, one who rode on — rain or shine, even when saddle weary — to pay tribute to his forefathers and prove the strength of Black Cowboys.

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-on-the-trail-of/page-2/#ixzz1nyLkJdxR

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-on-the-trail-of/#ixzz1nyLfHoPY