EquiDay: Equine Conference at
Miner Institute
EquiDay 2009 at M=
iner
Institute is a daylong symposium on horse topics and a mini-expo to launch =
the
spring season in the
Whether it is your first foal or
you’re an experienced mare manager, Dr. Christina Cable’s
experience and expertise will be sure to prove helpful. As one of the partn=
ers
of Early Winter Equine practice (www.earlywinterequine.com) from Lansing, N=
Y,
Dr. Cable and her husband, Dr. Michael Ball, provide care to all levels of
performance horses as well as often traveling with the USEF’s
show jumping team.
Dr. Michael A. Ball, author of
Understanding the Equine Eye, will speak on this topic. The horse’s e=
ye
is complex; the ability to recognize a problem quickly is critical in
maintaining good health. Dr. Ball has written several books on equine health
care and published many articles in peer-refereed journals.
“Does NY have a limited liability
law? What are my risks operating a horse business?” These are just two
examples of the many questions asked by horse owners. Michelle A. Crew, Esq=
. is
a lawyer and Regional Director of the New York State Horse Council. She wil=
l speak
on these questions plus others you may not have even thought to ask yet!
Being environmentally friendly is not j=
ust
trendy, but can be healthier for your horse too. Dr. Josie Davis, Professor=
of
Equine Studies at the
Adirondack Tack of Plattsburgh, NY will=
put
on a fashion show and describe the outfits for various disciplines. A good =
time
to find out the latest in what’s hot, what’s NOT, or simply
what’s comfortable!
No matter the weather (EquiDay
is famous for snowstorms), the show will go on. EquiDa=
y
is held in the
“So, You Want to Own a
Horse?”
Feeding For Warmth This Winter
As the cold bitter weather moves in to stay, I think back to my
childhood barn and the wheelbarrows of hot, steamy, sweet smelling bran mash
that would be dished out on chilly winter nights. Now with a few nutrition =
and
equine health courses under my belt, I find myself wondering if that steamy
meal was only good for warming stomachs, or if it had any nutritional benef=
its.
What is the best way to feed your horse to keep him warm this winter?
Bran mash, made from wheat bran and
commonly mixed with tasty treats such as apples and sweet feed is a common
winter snack for horses. Surprisingly, it does have several nutrients and o=
ther
health benefits, but it may not be your best choice when trying to keep your
horse warm. Wheat bran is high in protein, and several vitamins and minerals
including thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin. It is a very good source of fiber
which is essential for digestive health and should make up a majority of yo=
ur
horses diet. It also increases your horse’s fluid intake because the =
mash
is made of a mix of bran and water. Encouraging fluid intake is especially
important in the colder months when chilly or icy water is less appealing. =
The
risk of colic can be greatly increased if you horse is not getting enough f=
luid
in relation to feed intake. There are a few down sides to bran mash as well=
. It
is relatively low-density and therefore more must be fed to obtain the same
level of nutrients as other feeds. It also contains an unusually high level=
of
phosphorus which can negatively impact absorption of calcium in the body. T=
his
can cause a variety of dangerous health problems diminishing bone density. =
Fed
as an occasional treat bran mash is not harmful, but a veterinarian should =
be consulted
before adding bran as a normal part of your horse’s diet. If you
don’t want to feed bran mash but are looking for something to serve f=
or a
hot meal, beet pulp is another option. While it is not as palatable as bran
mash to some horses, it is more balances nutritionally for the horse, highe=
r in
fiber than bran, and is easily digested.
Better than a single hot meal that may =
only
help temporarily, there are ways to alter you horse’s diet for winter
that can help with maintaining body temperature long term. By slowly increa=
sing
caloric intake before the worst winter months, you can help increase body f=
at
and help prevent loss of condition commonly associated with winter. Increas=
ing
fiber levels is actually one of the best ways to warm your horse and increa=
se
calories. The fermentation of fiber in the horse’s digestive system
produces a lot of heat which will help maintain body heat better than the b=
reak
down of grain. Simply increasing hay or other fiber source can go a long wa=
y.
For older horses, or picky eaters who w=
ill
not, or can not consume a larger amount of hay, increasing calories from fat
through grain or even oil can help maintain body fat that is important for
warmth. An alternative fiber source for all horses, but particularly good f=
or
seniors, is soaked beet pulp. Beet pulp is highly digestible fiber, but can
easily cause choke if fed dry.
More energy must be used to maintain bo=
dy
temperature when the winter weather moves in. Horses with a full winter coa=
t,
however, are capable of withstanding extreme winter weather as long as they=
are
provided adequate shelter and adequate feed to maintain body condition.
—Claire Gebben, Equine Intern,
gebben@whminer.com
Hoof Dissection Clinic and Dynamics of the Equine Limb
Under Load
A c=
linic
hosted by the VT Farriers Association featuring=
Mitch
Taylor, CJF to be held on Saturday, April 4th at the Bristol, VT Rescue Squad Building. <=
span
class=3DGramE>For professionals and interested equine enthusiasts. F=
or
more info contact Diane Saunders, 802-453-3750 or dlsqtrhs@gmavt.net.
What “fever rings” look like and how they got there. Part
II of HD Saranac’s awful summer vacation.
As I
described in the last issue, Sara’s allergies (and my mistake in miss=
ing
treatments) really hit her hard last summer. While we were waiting for the =
new
allergy treatment sets to start working, she continued to sneeze and genera=
lly
have a hard time breathing. The antihistamines in Tri-Hist granules (Pyrilamine=
Maleate and Pseudoephedrine HCl<=
/span>)
were just not doing enough for her, so our veterinarian suggested that we m=
ight
try more aggressive treatments. She was given a couple of doses of dexamethasone, which did help. Since we didn’t =
want
to have to give her shots daily, it was suggested that we try a different o=
ral
corticosteroid as a longer-term solution.&=
nbsp;
Sara began treatment on triamcinolone in mi=
d-June
and was definitely feeling better within a couple of doses. Nostrils less flared, respiration =
rate
slowed, and sneezing almost completely stopped. In the meantime, we had not
been riding or driving her, so I wasn’t too concerned when she began =
to
look like she was losing condition as I chalked that up to her being out of
shape. However, she started to not just lose a little muscle tone, she actu=
ally
started to disappear! By the middle of July, poor Sara looked like a rescue
horse. With the consult of the vet, we did several blood tests to see if sh=
e was
harboring some respiratory infection; the results came in and showed slight
increases in numbers pointing to this. We started her on antibiotics and up=
ped
her feed even more with the plan that if she was still losing weight by the=
end
of the course of treatment, we’d wean her off the steroids. As it tur=
ned
out, she continued to lose weight so we not only started to step down the
steroids, we made an appointment at the clinic in Vermont in early August t=
o do
more extensive tests to see if there were bigger problems in her lungs.
At the clinic, a comprehensive exam was done including ultrasounding
her lungs, using an endoscope to look into her airway and finally a tracheal
wash to recover some fluid from the lungs for culture. These tests all poin=
ted
to Sara having some fluid in her lungs, an irritated airway, but no bugs in=
her
lungs. Either she never had pneumonia or we cured it with the antibiotic
treatment before the clinic referral.
“Inflammatory Airway Disease” was the final diagnosis, w=
hich
essentially means really irritated lungs!&=
nbsp;
Since it had been a couple of weeks since her last dose of steroids,
she’d already started to look healthier and put back on weight, so it=
was
decided that the steroids were the most-likely cause of the weight-loss (wh=
ich
they can do in some cases), not the breathing problems. We were sent home w=
ith
a new antihistamine, hydroxizine, which helped =
for
the rest of the plant blooming season.
Early in October when the farriers were tri=
mming
her feet, they mentioned the really big fever rings on all four of her feet.
“Fever rings” are a sign that some major metabolic disturbance
happened that caused a significant disruption in blood flow to the hoof-
laminitis. While we watched her carefully for any signs of laminitis (hot f=
eet,
tender, digital pulses) I’m sure there was some sub-clinical stuff go=
ing
on in there. As well, I’m certain that as she was losing weight so
rapidly during those weeks, her feet were being deprived of nutrition as we=
ll.
Hooves will generally grow at a rate of one-eighth to one-quarter of an
inch per month, resulting in about a whole “new” foot every 9-12
months. The appearance of her rings absolutely correlated with her illness,=
but
fortunately the foot above it seems to be growing normally again. Her aller=
gy
treatments are in full swing and she’s on monthly boosters now. Sara looks good out on winter past=
ure
with her pasture mates; we’re all glad this is behind us!
—
What’s Happening in Horse Welfare?
The most recent bulletin produced by the
According to Dr. Stull, the interest in
equine welfare in North America spans back to the days of colonial
With so much emphasis placed on
legislation, Dr. Mills addressed the serious question of how to define welf=
are
and how to conduct research that allows for a scientific basis for legislat=
ive
efforts. Defining
“welfare” is difficult as there is no consensus among scientist=
s in
this field; some place the greatest emphasis on health while others place a
greater weight on the ability to engage in natural behavior. In spite of this lack of a univers=
ally
accepted definition, welfare remains an active area of research due to the
interest in establishing how horses can be managed and housed without suffe=
ring
and the benefits in health and performance that are associated with good
welfare. Often the idea of su=
ffering
is quantified with the concept of “natural” behaviors, i.e. if =
the
behavioral time budget within a certain management system is similar to tha=
t of
horses kept on pasture. The p=
itfall
with this method is behaviors, such as aggression, are natural but not
necessarily beneficial to a horse within a farm setting. Pain is another variable that is o=
ften
used to assess a horse’s response to a system. Unfortunately, this measurement re=
veals
nothing of the mental state of the horse.&=
nbsp;
These two limited examples demonstrate some of the challenges faced =
by
those working to improve the understanding of what is required for
maintaining/improving horses welfare.
Though the place of the horse is firmly
rooted in today’s society and the legislation ensuring horse welfare =
and
supporting science continues to grow, this remains a field filled with
challenges and opportunities. With
each improvement in the methods used to assess welfare, there exists the
prospect of further improvement in the management practices that are
implemented.
—Peter
Krawczel, krawczel@whminer.com
Training Mythunderstandings: Reading Horses
There is no simple way to describe to a beginner the feel old ti=
mers
have developed for what to do around horses. After years and years of paying
attention to horses, an old horse hand can “read” a horse like a
book. He can tell just by looking at a horse what his state of mind is, whi=
ch
way he’s going to turn next, how far he’s likely to run if he g=
ets
startled, and a whole volume of other things. Because he’s able to
predict what a horse is going to do next, when people watch an old timer wo=
rk
they are astonished at how he always manages to stay one step ahead of the
horse and gets the animal to do whatever he wants.
A lot of people hope by reading a few b=
ooks
or watching a few videos or going to a few clinics that they’re going=
to
be able to short circuit the process of learning to “read” hors=
es
and get the same results as the old timers. All those things can help people
understand horses a little better but they are no substitute for the hours =
and
hours of observation of horses that goes into “natural” horsema=
nship.
What seems so natural to these old timers is actually the result of hours a=
nd
days and months and years of observation on hundreds of horses. That gets
coupled with making lots and lots of mistakes because you didn’t obse=
rve
the right things or you didn’t apply what you observed the right way.
Then you have to learn from those mistakes. You have to use the feedback the
horses give you to refine your observations and your applications of those
observations until you get it right. And even when you get good, you’=
re
not going to be right all the time. You just try to be right most of the ti=
me.
And now you’ve gotten to be a “natural” horseman.
So observation, paying attention to eve=
ry
little thing, is where you start. You might be working with a particular ho=
rse
in a training pen or you might be watching a herd of them in a pasture or y=
ou
might be walking down a barn aisle. Start being very observant of every hor=
se
you come across. You will observe a lot of single things that you are going=
to
have to put together like a puzzle to figure out how the horse is really
feeling right at the moment.
The first thing you want to notice is h=
ow
the horse is breathing. Ideally, his breathing is regular and relaxed. The
horse that is breathing shallowly may be tense or he may be in pain. The ho=
rse
that is holding his breath is anxious and may be ready to blow. The horse w=
hose
nostrils are wide open and flaring in and out may have just finished a good=
run
and is feeling pretty good about himself or he m=
ay be
checking out something really exciting in his environment. To figure it all=
out
exactly, you have to observe and add in some other things.
The next thing you want to pay attentio=
n to
is his muscle tone. In general, you want to notice if his muscles are soft =
and
relaxed or hard and tight or somewhere in between. Muscle tone can be read =
in a
lot of places. Look at his back, the muscles at the base of his neck, the w=
ay
he carries his head, the way he carries his tail, the set of his ears, and =
the
look of his eyes, his nostrils and lips. For example, if a horse is relaxed,
his back will be relaxed with muscles stretched out. He’ll carry his =
head
and tail low and relaxed. His eye will be soft and so will his nostrils and
lips.
If the horse gets apprehensive or
frightened, his back tightens and shortens. His muscle tone all over gets h=
ard
all over as his flight response kicks in. He’ll lift his head and his
tail up. His nostrils and his eyes will open wide and his ears will lock on=
to
whatever it is that looks or feels scary. He’s on full alert.
The horse that’s worried or in pa=
in
may show little wrinkles above her eyes or have her nostrils pulled back so
that little wrinkles run up her muzzle. The horse that’s angry or
resistant may harden his lips and flatten his ears. Ears speak volumes but a
lot of people can read them wrong because there are so many little variatio=
ns
in the way the horse holds them.
In general, the horse points his ears in
the direction of whatever he’s paying attention to. So the horse
that’s got his ears back listening to his rider can’t be
“read” the same as the horse that’s resisting or angry ev=
en
though both of them have their ears back. The horse whose ears are pointed =
forward
may just be paying more attention to the horse ahead of him than he is to h=
is
rider or he may be noticing something scary enough to spook at. It’s a
matter of degree of muscle tone and breathing and the whole picture, not ju=
st
one piece of it. Pay attention, observe, and learn.
Some other things you want to pay atten=
tion
to are a horse’s general activity level and the directional signals he
gives you. Pay attention to how he greets you when you go to his stall, be
observant of how he leads to the arena, watch wh=
at he
does when you first turn him loose and notice how long it takes for him to
settle down. Learn the sequence of a horse’s footfalls so you can pre=
dict
which foot he’s going to move next and in what direction. For example=
, if
you’re going to ask a young horse to back up for the first time, glan=
ce
down at his front legs and see which one is a little more forward. ThatR=
17;s
the foot you want to put a little pressure on to ask for that first step ba=
ck
because, from a balance standpoint, that’s going to be the easiest one
for him to move first.
When you first start learning to be a
natural horse person, don’t worry too much about being able to read a=
ll
the horses out there. You probably don’t have hundreds of horses arou=
nd
to practice on like we do here at Meredith Manor so just start with your own
horse, the one you have right in front of you. Figuring out how even one
particular horse personality and one particular human personality can best
communicate with each other takes a lot of learning from a lot of mistakes.=
So
don’t be afraid to make them and give yourself
plenty of time.
Training horses involves using methodic=
ally
applied, horse-logical pressures that create a feel in the horse of a shape=
you
want him to take. You always want to apply those pressures in a rhythmic, r=
elaxed
way that never startles the horse or raises his excitement level. But to kn=
ow
if you’ve done something exciting or startling, you have to be able to
read the horse’s body language.
The reason you want to learn to read ho=
rses
in the first place is so you can figure out the emotional context of any
training session from the horse’s perspective. You are not going to a=
pply
the same pressures to the same degree, even under the same circumstances, t=
o a
timid green horse or an alpha mare or a goldie
oldie school horse. Unless you understand how to read the individual reacti=
on
of each of these individual horses to whatever pressure you apply, you
won’t be able to figure out how to modify and refine your pressures to
the least amount they need to be.
—Ron
Meredith, President
Meredith
Manor International Equestrian Centre
© 1997-2008 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre.=
All rights reserved. Instructor and trainer Ron Meredit=
h has
refined his “horse logical” methods for communicating with equi=
nes
over 40 years as a horse professional. He is President of Meredith Manor
International Equestrian Centre (
Speaking of choke….
Choke in horses isn’t quite the same as a person choking,
which is why, among other reasons, the Heimlich maneuver won’t work.
Heimlich works in people by forcing air out of the lungs of the victim to
dislodge the offending item from the windpipe. When a horse is suffering fr=
om
“choke”, a bolus of food is actually stuck in the esophagus.
The esophagus is the collapsible tube t=
hat
runs from the horse’s mouth to its stomach. The muscles of this tube =
can
only push food down which is why you’ll often hear people say that a
horse can’t “throw up”. The physical reality of choke is =
too
large a bolus of food and not enough moisture in the bolus to help it pass.
There are a number of reasons why this can happen and I’ve had a coup=
le
of them at Miner and at home.
Stressed or panicky eating.=
This
case was a weanling that wasn’t handling the weaning process very wel=
l.
He was circling his stall frantically calling to mom and trying to grab bit=
es
of food as he went by the manger. I heard him coughing and found him presen=
ting
the classic “look” of choke: neck straining, coughing, head
shaking, and an unbelievable amount of foamy, greenish goo coming from his
nostrils and mouth.
Bolting dry feed.=
=
This
case was a mare fed a small amount of ration balancing grain. She was being=
fed
in a group situation and was the bottom of the hierarchy, so I assume her
bolting was to hurry up before someone else higher on the food chain stole =
it. She
presented very similarly to the weanling, but a little less upset and not q=
uite
as much goo.
Bad teeth.=
Our
senior stallion LOVED his hay, but had been quidding
out even the softest of second cuts into neat li=
ttle spitty hay balls all over. He was eating a complete d=
iet
otherwise, but I felt bad denying him the hay he loved. Until
he choked on one of his hay boluses. His present=
ed
very mild symptoms as just a depressed horse, not wanting to finish his foo=
d,
yawning and stretching his neck.
Cho=
ke
will often require veterinary intervention to move the bolus and provide
after-choke treatment. While it certainly can be an emergency, your horse c=
an
still breathe if he’s choking, so he isn’t going to turn blue a=
nd
pass out! First and foremost, remove all food from the horse’s stall.=
Our weanling required sedation (lots!) =
and
a nasogastric tube passed down to the bolus to =
apply
a little warm water to lubricate and then essentially pushing it until it
passed to the stomach. He was put on some anti-inflammatory medication to
reduce the swelling and antibiotics since it was very likely that some of t=
hat
goo ended up in his lungs and would have probably caused inhalation pneumon=
ia.
We took his temperature daily for a week and fed him a complete pelleted feed that was wet down to a soupy mash for s=
everal
weeks while the swelling went down completely and his esophagus healed.
I called the vet about the mare and was
advised over the phone to attempt to treat her myself, but call back if it
wasn’t improving. So, I gave her some banamine
to reduce pain and swelling and then massaged her neck for a while to break=
up
the stuck bolus. I was able to resolve it on my own this way and her treatm=
ent
post-choke was very similar to the weanling: anti-infl=
ammatories,
antibiotics, and wet food. Th=
e old
stallion was treated essentially the same way. He still misses eating hay.
There are a few management practices you
can use to reduce the chance of choke. Keeping teeth well maintained and
feeding appropriately to those teeth. Spread feed, grain particularly, arou=
nd a
large flat pan or you can use large round stones or salt blocks as obstacle=
s to
prevent the horse from taking huge mouthfuls. As well, take care feeding a
stressed out horse, as they can snatch overly large mouthfuls and swallow
before they’re really done chewing. Horses can choke on treats,
particularly small apples. I like to either cut up the apples into small ch=
unks
or simply stomp on it to make it an apple pancake before feeding.
—K.L.
21st Annual
Equine Reproduction Workshop
and Related Topics of Interest; April 3 and 4, 2009.
The UVM Morgan Horse Farm in
Dr. Donald Hunt and Dr. Mary O’ Donovan are skilled veterinary
practitioners in equine reproduction and physiology. They will discuss mana=
ging
the uses of lights, hormones, and ultrasound in your breeding program, anat=
omy
and physiology of the mare and stallion, embryo transfer, artificial
insemination and foaling/neonatal care.&nb=
sp;
Other topics discussed may include Parasites, Equine Herpes Virus (E=
HV),
and Colic.
The topics covered by Dr. Josie Davis of the University of Vermont̵=
7;s
Equine Studies Program and
The staff of the UVM Morgan Horse Farm, Miner Institute and the
Veterinarians will guide workshop participants through hands-on participati=
on
and demonstrations of ultrasound, teasing procedures, semen collection and
processing, artificial insemination and frozen semen handling. The important step of training the
inexperienced stallion to the breeding phantom is also demonstrated.
The registration fee of $250 includes workshop materials and meals. Door prizes are awarded throughout=
the
workshop. Spaces are limited =
to 25
participants. Call the UVM Mo=
rgan
Horse Farm at (802) 388-2011, or email uvm.morgans@uvm.edu for further
information.
Mi=
ner
Institute Open House
Mi=
ner
Institute will unveil its newest addition to the Heritage Exhibit—100 Years of North Country Agriculture:
Heart’s Delight Farm to Miner Institute—during an open house on June 27, 2009 from 1=
2-4pm. The
feature attraction will be a documentary video on the evolution of agricult=
ure
over the past century. Throug=
hout the
day, demonstrations will be held on the grounds in our equine and dairy
facilities highlighting versatility of horses, dairy cattle nutrition, trai=
ning
of horses, and cow behavior.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to tour the barns and ground=
s.
The open house coincides with the Lake Champlain Quadr=
icentennial
celebration and the centennial anniversary of William Miner’s publica=
tion
of the 1909 “Heart’s Delight Farm” book. The event is free
and open to the public.