Equine Health Blog

Typically, humans are the ones caring for horses. But once in a while, you hear a great story like this, and you realize that horses help us just as much as we help them.

Mr. Bennington was alone on his farm, feeding his horses, when they suddenly appeared skittish and took off running. He turns around to find a pack of hungry coyotes snarling and preparing to attack. Mr. Bennington was alone and unarmed, and convinced he was about to die. Then 4 of Mr. Bennington's horses formed a circle around him, and pushed him tightly into the center while they protected him. The coyotes made several lunges at the horses, only to get kicked in the face multiple times. Every time the coyotes thought they found a hole in the circle, the horses would shift to protect their owner and defend themselves. Eventually the coyotes ran off whining, and Mr. Boddington was safe.

What an incredible story about horses!

Kentucky has been voted the worst state in the country when it comes to animal abuse. The state's laws and regulations are incredibly lax, which gives a lot of room for animal fighting to thrive unregulated, felony animal cruelty to continue uncharted, and worst of all, no monitoring of animal ownership of convicted abusers.

Kentucky is trying to turn its bad reputation around when it comes to horses. The state will soon be flooded with horse owners that will be riding and training for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. To have a scandal involving horse abuse arise during this time would be quite detrimental and embarrassing.

In response to these issues, the Kentucky Equine Health and Welfare Board (EHWA) will be created under the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet to monitor equine welfare. The EHWA was originally started by a group of equine veterinarians, passionate about horses and their well-being. The mission of the group is to improve equine health, maintenance, and wefare across the state. Hopefully the combined efforts of this group will create a powerful awareness of this horrific problem and eradicate the issue.

Click here to find out more about this organization.

Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy has become a popular alternative to drugs for the treatmen of pain and inflammation in horses. It works by using electrical energy to deliver a series of magnetic pulses to injured tissue which then induces an electrical signal that stimulates cell repair.

In particular, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy affects endorphin levels, acupuncture point stimulation, nerve regeneration, circulation, tissue regeneration and tissue oxygen. No one has any definitive answer as to why this works so well, but one theory is that it causes anti-inflammatory processes to occur more rapidly. Through this process, Nitric Oxide is produced, which reduces pain, increases blood flow, and reduces swelling. 

If you are a horse owner and looking for an alternative pain treatment, consider pulsed electomagnetic field therapy. Click here for more information on getting your own unit.

Rain rot is the number one skin condition that affects horses. Because it is so common, it's important to be aware of what it looks like, how it is transmitted, and how to treat it. This picture if a mild case but if caught and treated early rather than later if can be stopped in it's tracks. Rain rot sounds so benign but it can be real nasty if neglected.

What It Looks Like
Rain rot "disturbs" the natural direction hair growth, causing it to look dull, lifeless, and even matted. The hair in the infected area will pull out very easily, and the skin underneath will probably be pink.

How It's Transmitted
Horses in any climate and any region can get rain rot. However it does tend to be more prevalent in humid areas. It can be spread from sharing saddles and saddle blankets, scratching posts, and grooming tools.

How To Treat It
Bathe your horse with soap and water to loosen the scabs underneath the affected area. It's important to remove these scabs (gross, I know) so that oxygen can get underneath them and heal the infection. Follow up with antiseptic ointment and your horse should be healed in a few days. Some people use Listerine (brown original) 50/50 with water and spray the area and work in after the scabs have been removed. This seems to do the trick.

Click here for a list of products to keep your horse happy and healthy!

If your horse is a grazer, it's hard to imagine that she isn't getting all of the nutrients she requires from the earth. But selenium deficiencies are very common if you are in the Northwest and some parts of California. Because of increased farming, the land has been stripped of its natural minerals and therefore is no longer producing what the animals need to maintain healthy bodies.

Decreased levels of selenium cause problems with birth, growth, recovery, and immunity or nutritional muscular dystrophy where the muscles break down. When the heart is affected, the prognosis is very poor and if a foal is selenium deficient it may be to weak at birth to stand and nurse. In order to combat these issues, your horse needs a selenium supplement. But even then you have to be careful. In-organic selenium, known as Sodium Selenite, is found in dirt and is a by-product of copper mining. Horses are incapable of metabolizing this substance. 99% of products use this in-organic compound. When buying your supplements, make sure the selenium specifically says "organic".  The natural way for your horse to receive this mineral is if the selenium is encompassed in an amino acid. Always check your labels, and ask an expert if you still aren't sure.

Click here for more great organic horse supplements.

Top 3 reasons to adopt a horse:

• Cheaper
• Save a life
• Test drive through fostering programs

Horse rescue centers house animals that have been abused, abandoned, or simply given up for lack of time or money for care. Because you will be adopting your horse from a shelter as opposed to a breeder,  you will be paying significantly less for the animal.

Save a life! Horses sold in auctions go to the highest bidder...this could even mean the meat man! Shelters try to rescue as many as they are able to afford, and you help this cause by donating your money by buying the horse, therefore freeing up space for them to acquire more animals and save them from a less than pleasant ending.

You like a horse, but how do you know you will bond with it? Fostering programs allow you to take the horse home for a certain period of time. You will care for the horse as if it is your own, at no cost to you. This is a great opportunity to find the personality that matches yours.

Here are a few links for more information:

USA        http://www.rerun.org/

Canada   http://www.heavencanwaitequinerescue.org/

If you are attempting to breed your mare, maintaining her health is a top priority. One of your best options for this is to give your mare daily supplements of Chaste Tree Berries, which has been used for years in balancing and regulating the hormonal system. Other benefits of preparing the mare for breeding are:

• soothes irritability due to cycle
• regulates cycle
• supports milk production in nursing mares
• corrects hormonal disturbances

It's also a good idea to give this supplement to mares while in season since it will make them more comfortable and easier to handle. Visit our online store today and pick up the necessary supplements for your healthy mare!

HOOFEFEX is a supplement that aids healthy hoof growth, in addition to preventing them from becoming brittle and flaky. It is especially important to keep brittle hooves at bay since in their worst condition they can lead to fractures and splits, and eventually lameness in the most extreme cases.

But like most health issues, being preventative is the best way to ensure your horse's health. By developing proper grooming habits and monitoring your horse, you can usually avoid problems before they arise.

This is a beautiful video and a pleasure to watch. Here Marley, a 14h Welsh Cob is trained to jump using free lunging techniques. He progresses from a 2' vertical to 3'3 with a 3'3 spread over the course of this video. 

I love the gentle way this man works with the horse. You can feel the calming energy
as you see him work. Parelli is such a loving and aware training style. I can't help
but think about how the world would be if we all communicated with each other with
honest and caring communication that we see here. I love to see the connection
between horse and man. Hope you enjoy it too.

Several people have asked lately about supplementation requirements. Why do horses need supplementation and how would I know what my horse needs. First look at the quality of your hay (have it tested if you are in doubt) and then the quality of the grass or pasture that you are turning your horse out on. This of course is assuming you can turn your horse out on pasture or field. The protein content is valuable to know and generally you should be feeding about 2% of the horses body weight in forage per day.  

Just as with humans we used to think that we were getting everything we need in our food. For the most part our grand parents grow some if not all their own food and the soil was cared for because they valued it and knew how to keep it healthy. But over the last few generation our soil has been degraded with chemical fertilizers and over use. So too it is with the fields and the pastures. Over watering can leach the nutrients out of the soil and over use can give rise to weeds that most horses won't eat. So here we are trying to figure out what we can do to keep our horses strong and healthy.

Sometimes we can kill them with love. Thinking that if we give them treats and grain they will be happy and love us all the more. But too much grain can have a adverse effect as can too much green grass. You can judge by looking at a few things that will give you good information. If your horse hyper, excitable and even though you feed him/her lots of grain and hay he/she can't put on weight? This may indicate that you are giving your horse too much rich food and she/he is ready to jump out of her skin with all that energy. This would cause the horse to be stressed and drop weight because she is so hyper. Cut back on the grain or eliminate it all together until you see you horse is calm again. Grain is too hot to feed a horse that is not worked often.  Then see to it that your horse is giving a good wormer to be sure that this is not the problem. Exercise is key to keeping your horse happy and if you find you are not able to work her for some reason then find another rider to work with you to fill in the exercise routine. An overweight horse is not a healthy horse and weight puts strain on all body functions as well as legs and hooves.

Once you find out what your hay and grass is lacking or if it contains too high a percentage of protein (over 10% approx.) then you should get advice from your vet as to what is needed to supplement your horses diet or what to avoid.

Wishing you the best ride... 

What a great story about Molly. Thank goodness there are great people out there that are not just looking for the almighty buck. Kudos to Dr. Ruston Moore for his contribution to Molly's good health. This story has touched me deeply.

It is nice to see there are people who are offering natural supplements and vitamins for animals and people. I bought the calminex and glucosamine and I am very happy with it. Keep up the good work.

Well I am just getting into the nutrition of horses, and it applies to people as well, but I found out that there is a lot I don't know and when I search around looking for information, there is an abundance of information to be had. I get confused as to what is the best action for me to take with my horse. Well I am still learning and will keep searching for answers. I am glad there is Equine Nutrition site out there so I can give the best to my four legged friend.