our-blog

Fighting Fly Allergies & Mosquito Borne Diseases Starts With A Proactive Understanding Of ...

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:19:58 +0100

It Takes More Than Insect Repellent To Manage Fly Allergies & Mosquito Control Issues. Learn How To Prepare Yourself For This Season's Pest Control Problems.
Amy M Gill, PhD

With trees and shrubs blooming and fly season approaching, you need to prepare your barn and horses for the upcoming warm weather and all the pollen, insects and mud that can wreak havoc on coats and hooves. Many horses develop allergies to environmental irritants and various flies. Here are a few things that can keep your horses comfortable as they transition from winter to spring:

Clean out your barn (power wash if possible), sweep out stalls and aisles and fill with fresh bedding
Remove all manure piles in or close to the barn
Put all feed in closed containers
Install a fly control system or hang fly strips
Hang fans on doors and install attic fans if possible
Wash all summer sheets and fly masks using fragrance-free detergent
Purchase a good fly spray that can be safely used on your horse and in the barn
Provide shelter to pastured horses
Treat ponds and lakes to limit algae which attracts insects
Spray trees in and around pastures for mosquitos and other bothersome insects
Release predator flies periodically throughout the warm season
Keep pastures and fields harrowed and mowed

Certain insect-related skin issues are difficult to deal with once they start. Some insect bites can even set off allergic reactions—in particular, sweet itch, an allergic reaction to the saliva of the culicoides midge. When a horse is bitten by a midge, its immune system normally recognizes a foreign protein and reacts to eliminate the substance. In a horse affected by sweet itch; however, the immune system overreacts and the horse exhibits a type one hypersensitivity reaction, resulting in the release of histamine. Histamine causes intense itching and swelling at the site of the bite, making the horse rub and scratch, leading to skin damage and possible infection.

Once a horse is affected by sweet itch, it is hard to eliminate. Be sure to stable the horse during the day until around 8 p.m., particularly on days with no breeze. Fans on the stall doors and in the barn roof can keep air moving and prevent midges from entering the barn. Lightweight summer rugs and fly sheets also help, but should fully enclose the neck and belly to be most effective.

Fly and insect repellents also help keep midges away. Permethrins and Benzyl Benzoate have been used successfully. Benzyl Benzoate should be applied daily and worked into the affected area; however, it is an irritant to skin, particularly broken skin, and therefore needs to be used as a preventative rather than a treatment once itchiness starts.

Manage symptoms with antihistamines such as hydroxyzine and with corticosteroids, although the potential side effects (e.g. laminitis, immune suppression) make steroids a less preferred treatment. If secondary infections occur, antibiotics are needed.

Other tips for keeping horses free of skin problems in spring and summer include:

Horses with sun sensitivity such as light coated horses and those with a lot of white skin should be stabled during the day and turned out in the evening with fly sheets and masks. Applying sunscreen to vulnerable areas really helps protect the skin.
Keep horses out of muddy areas as much as possible. Water causes hoof walls to dry out and crumble. Mud can cause skin irritation as well.
Feeding an Omega-3 fatty acid supplement such as OmegaTri Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement form Equi-Force Equine Products increases immune response and helps increase collagen production in the skin and hoof. This can be very useful in the warm months to strengthen a horse’s immune and alimentary systems.
Bathe horses frequently with gentle shampoo to get dirt and sweat out of their coats. Clean horses are less itchy and don’t attract flies as much as dirty ones!

Horse Safe Gardens and Landscaping

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:00:43 +0100

Spring is here and it’s time to get our gardens and landscaping started up again. Now is a good time to think about what should and should not be planted in gardens where horses also reside. Many plants and shrubs are toxic to horses. Even some fruits and veggies should be kept away from hungry horses. Here is a list of some of the vegetation to avoid in and around horse pastures and in gardens:

• Red Maples
• Cabbage, broccoli, onions, chives, kale, elderberry, pokeweed, and rhubarb
• Bouncing bet, corn cockle, and English ivy.
• Prairie groundsel, rattle box (Crotalaria), and kochia (fireweed)
• St.-John's-wort
• Milkweed, dogbane, oleander, yew, lily-of-the-valley, white snakeroot, azalea, rhododendron species and purple foxglove
• Japanese yew , oleander, and white snakeroot
• Castor Beans, hydrangea, and larkspur
• Wild black cherry, chokecherry, Black Walnut
• plum and peach
• Sorghum, hemlock
• Tomatoes and Potatoes
• Horse Chestnut

Many different parts of a plant can be poisonous, and some poisonous plants have multiple parts that can cause problems. Some plants are poisonous to horses only when they are fresh, while others are poisonous only after they have died or are dried out. Some plants are poisonous both fresh and dried.
The most common parts of the plant that are poisonous are:

•Leaves
•Roots
•Seed/nut
•Flowers/Blooms
•Stems

Lawn and garden clippings can contain several hazards. Pesticides applied to lawns and gardens to control pests and weeds may be toxic too, even if it was sprayed on the previous season. Fresh cut and semi-wilted plant material can cause colic and laminitis due to fermentation and high levels of sugars and fructans. Horses may bolt lawn grass clippings because no chewing is involved and they can swallow large amounts at once. This can lead to choke and colic. Put lawn and garden waste into your composter or manure pile, not over the fence into your horse’s pasture.

If you suspect your horse has eaten a plant that is poisonous, immediately call your veterinarian and ask what to do for your horse until they get there. If the poisonous plant is located in or near a pasture that other horses have access to, remove the horses from the pasture until the plant can be removed.

Let's Talk About....Manure!!

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:30:22 +0100

Let’s Talk About Manure!

A frank discussion about horse manure and the obsession horse owners have with it!

Dr. Amy M Gill
www.amymgillphd.com

Horse manure is one the most widely scrutinized “by-product” of horse husbandry. Owners, trainers and barn managers are all too acutely aware of the consistency of the manure the horses in their care produce. And with good reason. The texture, odor and frequency of manure production can tell a lot about the general health and well being of a horse. So let’s talk a bit about how the horse’s environment, including stabling, turn out, water intake, exercise, illness , nutrition and de-worming can affect horse manure.

Horses that are stabled on a continuous basis with little turn out face a multitude of stressors. Stress can negatively affect the entire endocrine system and lead to digestive tract upset. Gastric ulceration can also be a result of sustained stress in a horse. Many horses that live under a high level of stress have inflammatory bowel issues. When this occurs, the lining of the digestive tract becomes leaky and the horse is predisposed to many health issues. Manure produced by these horses often has a very foul odor and can look “slimy” or mucous covered. This is indicative of hind gut disturbance. To correct the problem, horses should have ample amount of free time turned out in groups or with at least one buddy. Making sure horses have continuous access to forage when in the stable or turned out can help keep the gut healthy too. Adding Omega 3 fatty acids to the ration is also suggested for horses that are stressed and produce manure that is abnormal. Omega 3’s help reduce inflammation in the gut which helps correct the disturbance and create a healthy environment for the microbial populations that reside there.

Hydration status can also have a large effect on manure quality. A dehydrated horse will produce very dry, hard manure that can lead to impaction colic. Make sure horses always have plenty of cool, fresh water. In the stall, water should be offered by automatic waterer or two-5 gallon buckets should be available at all times. Clean these buckets out and refill with fresh water daily. In the field or paddock – the same applies: make sure the water tank is clean and does not have warm or hot water in it. Check auto waterers daily to make sure they are working. Make sure there are enough water sources if large groups of horses are turned out together. Otherwise, the horses at the bottom of the pecking order in the herd may be completely deprived of water.

Exercising horses have a much increased need for water and electrolytes over horses at maintenance. Water and electrolytes help to maintain fluid balance in the horse and provide a mechanism for the horse to cool itself through sweating. If the horse is losing a lot of sweat, it must be supplemented with a salt (not dextrose or sucrose) based electrolyte and free choice water. In hot summer months, intensively exercised horses may need to drink 20-30 gallons of water per day to prevent dehydration and hard, compacted manure.

Sick horses often present with very loose manure or true diarrhea. This is a very serious situation and a vet should be called at once to attend to a horse that appears sick and has diarrhea. A vet can help look at possible causes and offer solutions. Along with veterinary treatment, administering an equine specific, live probiotic should commence at once in any animal that has diarrhea. Repopulating the digestive tract with equine origin microbes is of the utmost importance in the treatment of any sick horse, especially if antibiotics are being administered. Other nutrients, such as glutamine, an amino acid used as an energy source by the cells in the lining of the intestine, may be helpful in healing the gut of a horse that has been sick with diarrhea.

Good nutrition will play the largest role in maintaining health in the horse and hence the production of healthy manure. All horses must be fed at least 1.5% of their body weight daily as long stemmed fiber in order to maintain a healthy microbial population needed for fiber fermentation. Grain is not a required feed for horses, but long stemmed fiber is. Over feeding grain and not enough forage will lead to an unhealthy digestive tract and in most cases, loose, unhealthy looking manure. Using high quality concentrates, when needed, with more fat and fiber and less grain is advised to help keep the gut healthy and manure properly formed.

Always make feed changes gradually over time so as not to upset the gut and cause loose manure. For example, many caretakers panic when a horse goes from consuming grass hay to alfalfa hay because the manure may become loose. Alfalfa has taken a bad rap for this and it’s not just due to the nutrient composition of alfalfa. For any forage change, if the transition is made very slowly, the microbial population will change as the type of hay changes and very little difference in manure consistency should be seen. It is important to point out, however, that alfalfa is a much more soluble fiber than grass hay and therefore it naturally helps to keep the gut hydrated. This is a good thing!! Alfalfa fed horses have well hydrated manure – they are not sick!

Horses carrying a high parasitic load will often have sour smelling, loose and slimy manure. Managers should be prudent in making sure horses are de-wormed as needed, but not unless a medium to high parasitic load is detected by a fecal count. The days of routinely de-worming every 6-8 weeks are over as this has led to drug resistance. It is best to periodically do fecal exams on horses as opposed to even rotational deworming. In the long run, it is more accurate, economical and much safer for the horse. Sometimes after de-worming horses will get runny, loose manure. The best way to quickly remedy this is to again administer an equine specific, live probiotic so that the normal population that may have been disrupted by the de-worming chemical can be re-established.

Manure quality is a very good indicator of horse herd health and can tell you when a real problem is occurring. Understanding how horses should be managed so that stress in minimized and herd health is maximized will help keep the horse manure looking good!

Protein & Amino Acids in the Equine Diet

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:01:54 +0100

Proteins are sometimes called the building blocks of life, and when new tissues are made, large amounts of dietary protein are required. The stages in an animal’s life when new tissues are extensively manufactured are:

Growth
Lactation
Pregnancy

Proteins are composed of units called amino acids. Proteins are synthesized from available amino acids that are ingested or synthesized by the horse and are used to build muscle and bone, blood components, enzymes that catalyze biochemical reactions, hormones, peptides, and antibodies. Meeting a protein requirement does not mean just supplying a certain amount of crude protein; it means ensuring levels of specific amino acids as well, such as amino acids that must be provided through dietary sources. Twenty different amino acids are needed for protein synthesis, and several can be made by tissues of the body. However, ten of these amino acids, known as essential amino acids, must be supplied to the horse through dietary sources: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Lysine, followed by methionine and threonine are the essential amino acids in most demand during protein synthesis in the horse.

10 Essential Amino Acids – Their Functions

The ten essential amino acids that must be supplied by dietary means have a wide range of functions. A trick to remember the 10 essential amino acids is to recall PVT TIM HALL.

Phenylalanine

Produces adrenalin & noradrenalin; is an anti-depressant

Valine

Regulates protein turnover and energy metabolism along with isoleucine and leucine; vital for muscle coordination

Tryptophan

Produces serotonin and is a mood stabilizer; precursor to niacin and may aid in blood clotting

Threonine

Enhances growth and food efficiency; produces adrenalin and is a precursor to the thyroid hormone

Isoleucine

Helps form hemoglobin and fights nervous system degeneration

Methionine

Important for hair coat and growth; helps prevent deposits and adhesions of fat in the liver; essential for selenium bioavailability; second only in importance to lysine as a limiting amino acid

Histidine

Maintains plasma, hematocrit and serum albumin; releases histamine from the body; helps treat arthritis; stimulates stomach acid secretion and improves appetite

Arginine

Stimulates insulin and growth hormone release, helpful as nutritional aid in cancer therapy; stimulates immune system by boosting T-cell production

Leucine

Keeps muscle protein from degrading

Lysine

Enhances growth and nitrogen balance; promotes bone growth in foals; stimulates gastric juices

Effects of Amino Acid Deficiency

Lysine is the amino acid that is often in shortest supply in horse feeds and is particularly important for growing horses. Because feed ingredients used for horse rations can be deficient in some amino acids, most feed companies are now adding lysine, methionine, and threonine directly to the formulation of a supplement or concentrate in addition to the crude protein in the product. This is important because if one amino acid needed for protein synthesis is in short supply, that protein cannot be formed. This can lead to:

Poor-quality growth and developmental disease in growing horses

Poor body or muscle condition and possibly bone breakdown in working horses

If necessary, the horse also can use protein as a source of energy during starvation or intense exercise by removing the amino group (the nitrogen portion of the molecule) and using the carbohydrate skeleton that is left for energy production. Starving horses or protein-deficient horses will catabolize muscle tissue to produce amino acids for other biological processes.

Take Home Message

When thinking about meeting your horse’s protein requirement, remember that it does not mean just supplying a certain amount of crude protein, but ensuring levels of specific amino acids as well. For situations in which protein requirements will be higher, such as growth, pregnancy, and lactation, be sure to re-evaluate your horse’s ration to make sure all requirements are being met.

Alfalfa & the Equine Diet – Its Uses and Benefits

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:29:28 +0100

For horses, the sweet smell and green, leafy look of alfalfa is hard to resist. While horses love the taste of this forage, it often comes with a variety of myths and misconceptions that lead horse owners to under utilize this valuable forage in their horse’s diet. While alfalfa is usually fed as forage, it is also available in cubes and chopped form and is commonly included in pelleted concentrate rations and supplements. Adding alfalfa to your horse’s ration provides excellent-quality protein, digestible fiber, digestible energy (calories) and calcium.

Alfalfa as Forage

Also known as Lucerne in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, alfalfa is a cool-season legume that grows to a height of up to three feet and can have a deep root system as wide as 15 feet. Due to an extensive root system, alfalfa is fairly resistant to drought conditions. Commonly grown in California, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, the upper Midwestern states produce about 50% of alfalfa output.

For nutritional quality, alfalfa has higher values for percentage of protein, digestible fiber, and digestible energy than grass forages such as timothy or orchardgrass. Because alfalfa has such high nutrient density, utilizing it in feed formulations is beneficial and ensures nutrient intake is easily obtained. In other words, often a higher quality feed can be fed in a smaller amount than a lesser quality feed. This is beneficial for the racehorse or any horse that requires large amounts of feed to meet nutrient requirements, as high-intensity training tends to make horses go off feed, making nutrient density of the ration extremely important.

Utilizing Alfalfa in Your Horse’s Diet

As nutrient-dense forage, alfalfa is extremely useful in situations that require higher nutrient levels, such as:

Gestation

Gestating broodmares for example have increased requirements for all nutrients starting the eighth month of pregnancy and should be fed a diet that includes alfalfa. Feeding good-quality forage, including alfalfa hay or in the form of pellets, cubes, or with a ration that incorporates alfalfa meal, is the most natural way to help meet these requirements. Once lactation begins the mare’s requirements can nearly double and again, the best way to help supplement nutrients is through the use of this excellent-quality forage. Lactating mares will utilize the extra calories and calcium found in alfalfa to help product high-quality milk for their foals.

Growth

Growth also requires nutrient intake levels beyond maintenance levels. Using alfalfa products as forage for young horses is very beneficial because it is much more digestible compared to grass hays. It is important to note that young horses do not have the full ability to ferment fiber until they are about a year old. Feeding higher insoluble fiber forages such as timothy or orchardgrass hay or poorer quality forage sources often results in “hay belly”. Therefore, feeding only highly digestible fiber such as alfalfa, clover, and beet pulp is recommended for the young, growing horse.

The higher protein level of alfalfa compared with grass hay will also help the young, growing horse develop muscle properly. Protein is not a contributing factor to developmental disorders. Imbalances in the nutrients of the ration as a whole and feeding too much starch in the diet has been shown to cause these problems.

The high calcium content of alfalfa is also beneficial to horses in training, as it helps to buffer stomach acid and thus reduce the risk of developing stomach ulcers. Additionally, young horses entering training have a higher calcium requirement than their pastured counterparts due to demineralization of bone as a result of confinement to a stall (and lack of sprinting exercises that force the bone to adapt through remodeling the bone). Feeding alfalfa as a forage as well as a component of the concentrate is an excellent way to help meet the elevated calcium requirement of these horses.

Geriatric

Geriatric horses can be a challenge to feed. Many become thin and underweight as they age. This occurs because the ability to digest, metabolize, and absorb nutrients out of the hindgut becomes reduced with advancing age. The energy density and highly digestible fiber in alfalfa makes it a good choice for getting excellent-quality nutrition into the aged horse. The protein, calcium, and phosphorus in alfalfa are highly digestible and will help the older horse remain healthy and in good weight.

Take Home Message

Alfalfa is versatile, nutritious, safe, and palatable forage for horses. For situations that elevate nutrient requirements, such as gestation and growth, alfalfa is suitable forage to incorporate into the diet. If you are unsure about your horse’s nutrient requirements or need assistance in putting together a proper feeding program, feel free to contact equine nutritionist Dr. Amy Gill at drgill@equiforce.com or 859-967-3307.

Equi-Palm™ – Alternative Energy Source for Horses

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 18:53:12 +0100

The energy or calorie requirement of the horse is one of the most commonly analyzed factors of performance. Horses that compete in energy-oriented competitions need the proper amount of fuel to perform at their best, whether it is racing, eventing, or endurance riding. Often times when the topic of energy sources comes up, carbohydrates are considered the main source of energy. While carbohydrates play an important role in the production of energy, other sources, such as fat, should not be ignored.

Fat as an Energy Source

When compared to carbohydrates, fats produce two and a half times the energy yield and help reduce soluble carbohydrate in the horse’s diet. Horses are also better at digesting fats than sugars and starches. As discussed in the article Tips on Feeding the Finicky Thin Horse, by Heather Thomas, equine nutritionist Dr. Amy Gill explains that “fat is digested, absorbed and readily available as an energy source—and does not cause any disruption of the hindgut, like grain can do. Horses are very good at digesting fat whereas they are terrible at metabolizing sugar. Fat utilization is superior to that of starches”.

Palm Fat as an Energy Source – Equi-Palm™

Palm fat is a palatable vegetarian source of fat. Palm fat is also unique, as it supplies medium-chain fatty acid’s (MCFA) that can be used by the horse directly as an energy source. MCFA’s are transported directly to the liver where they become available as an immediate energy source and are not stored as fat in the body. MCFA’s are also used preferentially as an energy source during exercise and can help prevent fatigue in the exercising horse by sparing the use of glycogen.

Equi-Palm™ is a high calorie fat supplement formulated with palm fatty acids. Because Equi-Palm™ contains medium chain fatty acids it helps to prevent horses from burning muscle as an energy source when caloric requirements are high. The benefits of Equi-Palm™ include:

An excellent source of calories and energy for horses that are resistant to starches and sugars
A “direct” energy source for high intensity exercise
Helps spare the use of glycogen stored in muscle
Does not disturb hindgut bacteria during digestion
Helps lead to an increase in weight gain by preventing the use of muscle cells as an energy source during intense exercise and competition
Excellent for horses in training, sales prep, pregnant and lactating mares

If you are interested in incorporating a fat supplement in your horse’s diet, be sure to keep in mind the benefits of Equi-Palm™. If you are unsure if a fat supplement would be beneficial to your horse’s feeding program, please contact Dr. Amy M. Gill at 859-967-3307.

Why Do Horses Eat Dirt?

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:00:03 +0100

One of the most frequently asked question from my clients is “Why does my horse want to eat dirt? Is he missing something in his diet?” Well, the question can be answered several ways, as there is not one particular reason why horses engage in this perfectly natural activity. Horses are supposed to eat a certain amount of dirt on a daily basis. Therefore, I will give several explanations as to why horses eat dirt from time to time and hopefully put to rest any fear an owner may have when they see a horse with its mouth full of soil, rocks and other extraneous materials found on the ground.

Dirt is a natural part of the equine diet. It contains minerals in bio-available form that the horse needs for various metabolic functions. Some of the minerals, iron for example, are more utilizable from the soil than when added to feeds or stored in forages. Horses that are constantly stabled and deprived of minerals naturally found in dirt may develop deficiencies even when supplied with those minerals in processed feeds.

Dirt also contains microbes that the horse’s digestive tract can benefit from. Some microbes are located in plant roots so the horse may dig through the dirt to get at the roots of these plants.

Dirt contains water and salt which can both help a thirsty horse stay hydrated. However, it is always better to make sure horses are supplied with fresh drinking water and salt at all times.

Horses that do not have access to dirt on a daily basis may gorge on it when it is suddenly available. Again, it is perfectly natural ingredient in the equine diet so allowing the horse access to dirt everyday is recommended.

Dirt has coarse particles that will help naturally grind down the horses teeth. Horses kept in stalls do not get this added benefit of eating dirt and must have their teeth floated more often than those out on pasture.

A horse with nothing to eat will eat dirt due to hunger and boredom. This is a very common cause of dirt consumption in horses. It is imperative that horses in dry lots or paddocked on sand be given forage on a continuous basis to avoid overconsumption of dirt due to hunger or boredom. Such a situation is dangerous as it can set up the digestive tract for impaction colic very quickly. Always have forage available when horses are stabled or paddocked with no grass.

A horse with an upset stomach may seek out and eat dirt or clay. According to Dr. Christine King, “Clays in particular contain very absorbent particles which can bind up bacterial toxins, organic acids such as those produced by sugar fermentation, certain viruses, and other potentially harmful substances in the gut. The bound toxins are then harmlessly removed from the body in the manure”.

Soil contains fiber from leaves, bark and stems and can provide bulk fiber to a horse that is deficient in structural fiber. Again, horses that are stabled or paddocked on dirt or sand must be given free access to forage to adequately supply the hindgut with enough fiber. Horses deficient in fiber will eat sawdust, shavings, straw, fences, stalls planks, trees and dirt or whatever they can find to satisfy this requirement.

So for the health of the horse, please allow some daily access to dirt. It’s healthy, nutritious and natural!

Exercising and Training Horses in Hot Weather

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:19:03 +0100

As the summer temperatures rise, heat and humidity become an issue for those trying to exercise and train horses without putting both horse and rider in danger of becoming dehydrated, fatigued or suffer from heat stress. Madalyn Ward, DVM in Holistic Horsekeeping provides this advice when trying to decide to ride or not in high heat and humidity: “Luckily, there are simple ways that you can help your horse stay cool during hot humid weather. During these weather conditions, the first thing to do is to calculate the temperature-humidity index (THI): simply add the air temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) to the percentage of humidity.

For instance, if the air temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is 60 percent, the THI is 140. When the THI reaches about 150, your horse may have difficulty cooling off. At a THI of 180, you should not work your horse and you should take active steps to keep him cool.

Another method to check whether your horse is getting too hot during humid weather is to take his temperature. A horse's normal temperature range is between 99.5 and 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and can reach 103 and 104 degrees during workouts. If your horse's temperature reaches 105, he is danger of being overheated and can suffer chronic or permanent damage. Above 105 degrees, your horse will be suffering from heatstroke and will need immediate veterinary attention”.

Taking some very careful precautions can help prevent over exertion while riding:

Try to ride in the early morning or evening when the sun is not out

Make sure both horse and rider are fully hydrated before exercising

Rider should wear clothes that are light and wick away sweat. Be sure to use sunscreen to keep from burning

Hose down the horse before and after exercising with cool water

Scrape water off horses after wetting them and then reapply: leaving the water on them only acts like an insulator once it has heated up

Do not put wet towels on a hot horse: the towel retains heat and is counter productive

Keep horses up and under fans during the day so that they stay cool, dry and fresh

Feed lots of forage such as alfalfa which does not create as much heat when fermented as does grass hay. Feeding ample amounts of forage will encourage drinking so be sure to offer fresh cool water at all times

Change the water in the tub/bucket if it becomes hot

Make sure there are several water sources for pastured horses that may compete for a single water source

Provide pastured horses with some type of shade from trees, sheds or open stalls that they can come and go into as they please

Make sure both horse and rider are fit and acclimated to work in heat and humidity

Take more breaks than normal and walk for longer periods of time than usual

Instead of bathing horses that are non-sweaters (anhydrosis) try sponging these horses with air-temperature water mixed with a liniment. This practice also helps horses who are prone to heat rashes

Trailer horses at night or in early morning

Always be sure to offer free choice white salt as part of the normal feeding program. For horses that absolutely must train in the heat and are losing electrolytes through sweat at a high rate, be sure to supplement with a salt based electrolyte that is formulated to supply the horse with the correct amount and proportion of minerals that have been sweated out.

Equine Probiotics for Digestive Health – EquiOtic™

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:18:29 +0100

The horse’s digestive tract is delicate system and often the rigors of training, showing, traveling, and the stresses of injury and illness, can cause disruption of normal function. As discussed in our blog post “Supporting Equine Digestion – Intestinal Micro-organisms for Healthy Gut Function”, one of the best ways to support and maintain a healthy equine digestive tract is to provide it with healthy microbes through the use of probiotics. Equine probiotic supplements on today’s market can vary in bacterial content and count, application method, and overall viability and effectiveness. For an equine probiotic unlike any on the market, we take a look at EquiOtic™, a live, equine sourced probiotic.

EquiOtic™ is unique because it combines the benefits of the bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri with the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii:

The bacterium, L. reuteri, is of equine origin, cultured from the colon of the horse. In addition to the significance of viability and equine specificity, this L. reuteri has been shown to inhibit the growth of Salmonella and stimulate the immune system by preparing mucosal cells to respond to invasive bacteria.

The yeast, S. boulardii, stabilizes the pH/acidity of the large bowel, helping to prevent gastrointestinal upsets such as colic and diarrhea. In addition, S. boulardii attaches to clostridial bacteria, eliminating them and neutralizes toxins produced by clostridium.

Providing the horse with micro-organisms of equine origin is important because in order to have optimal colonization in the gastrointestinal tract, the bacteria must be species specific. The colonization and reproduction of live organisms is a critical part of EquiOtic’s effectiveness as an equine probiotic.

EquiOtic’s™ novel packaging and high colony forming units (CFU’s) support delivery of live organisms to the horse. The number of CFU’s given orally must be significant enough to reach the horse’s digestive tract, which is why EquiOtic™ contains 40 billion CFU (20 billion guaranteed at time of use) of both L. reuteri and S. boulardii. EquiOtic’s foil packaging in both paste and daily feed packet form ensure the viability of bacteria at time of administration.

By helping to restore the balance of beneficial bacteria to the equine digestive tract, EquiOtic™ is recommended to be used:

During periods of abnormal G.I function
Before and during treatment with antibiotics
Before and during periods of stress
Before and during periods of hospitalization
Prior to shipping
Prior to a stressful performance
Weaning
Maintaining normal G.I. function

For daily maintenance or situations in which your horse’s digestive tract needs a first line defense, be sure to keep EquiOtic™ in your feeding program.

Supporting the Equine Immune System – Beta-Stim™

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:54:34 +0100

From time to time all horses can benefit from an immune boost and Beta-Stim™, a novel and unique equine immune supplement, is effective at helping the horse fend off bacterial and viral infection when exposure occur.

Beta-Stim™ contains Beta-1,3/1,6 D-glucan (also known as Beta Glucan) from purified yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) which is clinically proven to activate the immune system by stimulating production and activation of macrophages, the natural pathogen scavenger in the horse. As an equine immune cell stimulant, Beta-Stim™ gives the horse the ability to fend off infections before they become established, without the need for pharmacological agents.

The effects of Beta-Glucan in the horse have been studied in clinical research trials, for example:

In a study done by Dr. Alison Kate Painter at Blue Spruce Farms, 17 pregnant mares were fed a diet containing Beta-1,3/1,6 D-glucan for 6 months and 23 were fed a control feed. Blood was obtained from all foals and levels of IgG were determined. The study found higher serum IgG levels in the foals whose dam was fed a Beta Glucan enriched diet than those who were not and an improvement condition as well as resistance to infections due to lower neonatal diarrhea rates.

In a study looking at the effect of Beta Glucan on antibody vaccine titers in horses, horses were vaccinated with a killed Rhinopneumonitis vaccine and fed a control diet or a diet that had supplemental Beta Glucan (350 mg/day/horse). Horses fed the diet with Beta Glucan showed an increase in antibody titers.

By stimulating the immune system to fight off foreign pathogens, Beta-Stim™ is very effective for:

Reducing the incidence of respiratory infections
Fungal infections
Skin and hoof infections
Any type of chronic infection that is unresponsive to traditional treatments

For situations in which your horse’s immune system needs a boost, be sure to keep Beta-Stim™ in mind, in conjunction with other measures that promote and maintain a healthy equine immune system.