A PUBLISHED ARTICLE.....CHECK IT OUT.. HORSEBACKMAGAZINE.COM

My blog was created for the most part to give good, solid, professional information to promote better horse management.  I talk alot about OTTB and successful retraining and try to address the most important horse issues that are commonly overlooked.   I am all about horses no matter what the subject is.  I recently wrote another article that was published in horsebackmagazine.com and invite you to read, enjoy and give me your thoughts.  This is a great magazine and has alot of horse articles that are interesting and informative and I am honored that I am part of it this month..Look for my article by Mari Crabtree and while you are at it..check out the others and at the end of each article in this magazine you can leave a comment, I encourage you to do just that, we can learn from one another and throw around some thoughts...Thank you for your continued support.

HYDRATION IS ESSENTIAL, DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR HORSE IS WELL HYDRATED?

Do you know how to test for dehydration in your horse??  During the summer if your horse is sweating and not drinking enough water, dehydration may become a factor that you need to address for the health of your horse in hot/humid weather.  I have heard that some people believe that giving their horse Gatorade in the water will help with hydration.  This is not so.  Consider how much Gatorade you will have to supply your horse to be effective?  One bottle in the water will not even come close to hydrating your horse.  Keep in mind that this animal weighs over 1000 pounds, and it will need much more than a bottle of Gatorade to combat the issue of dehydration.  To test for dehydration, pinch and pull out the skin on your horse's neck, then quickly release and take note that if the skin "tents" or takes some time to go back into place, you have a dehydrated animal.  If the skin snaps back into place, dehydration is not an issue.  To help reverse this condition, you must supply an electrolyte supplement.  This is a supplement that looks like salt, and may be orange flavored.  It is for supplementation in the water, but, some horses will refuse to drink the water and therefore, you are not helping the situation...water consumption is the only way to reverse dehydration.  I have successfully added the electrolyte supplement directly to my horse's feed and because this supplement is being ingested, it promotes water consumption because a large content of the supplement is made up of salts that need to be replaced from being lost during the sweating a horse will do to keep itself cool.. Remember  the horse is the only other animal besides humans that cools down by sweating.  It is an excellent idea to make electrolytes available during the summer months, and even in the cold months when a horse does not drink as much, it may be necessary to give electrolytes to make sure that impaction will not become a factor due to not enough water being consumed to move the food through the digestive tract.  When supplementing in the colder months, it is necessary to administer in the feed to encourage the drinking of more water.

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IF YOU HAVE ALLERGIES, YOUR HORSE MAY HAVE AS WELL....DONT OVERLOOK THE POSSIBILITY

I have heard over and over again about he "super pollen" that will be the downfall for us allergy sufferers this year.  I have had several bouts of symptoms already, which confirms this as fact for me.  Do not ever think that your horse is not capable of having these symptoms as well,..maybe more so this year or possible even for the first time ever.  Runny eyes, clear runny nose, and possibly trouble breathing can all be an allergic response that your horse may be having.  The weather is hot and Mother Nature has reared an ugly head the past few months making the conditions perfect for misery in the allergy department.  If your horse looks well in all other areas, he/she is not off feed, and is drinking as they should and still acts like they normally do but has the symptoms mentioned above, consider the fact that they may be suffering from allergies.  Hives can also be a good indicator as well.  Instead of calling upon the vet or just overlooking the situation thinking it will pass and take care of itself, which in most cases it will, but that could take some long periods of suffering before some relief is evident.  Try an antihistamine supplement in the feed.   When you start giving this additive  and then start to notice the cease of all symptoms or at least see less of them, then you are on the right track to helping your horse to some comfort.  There is nothing more annoying to me runny eyes and nose left to take care of itself.    This will usually lead to a contagious form of conjunctivitis formed by the collaboration of flies.  Provide the comfort for your horse that you would provide yourself or someone that you love by treating with an antihistamine supplement.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ANHYDROSIS???? YOU NEED THIS INFO

Summer time is not always the best time of the year for our horse counterparts, especially if they are afflicted with ANHYDROSIS!  Do you have any idea what this is?  It is very important to know that this is a condition where a horse has the inability to sweat, therefore it is unable to properly cool down in hot/humid temperatures.  There are many factors that are believed to be the cause of this condition, one being, the over stimulation of the sweat glands making them cease to work completely.  When the horse cannot sweat it will then try to cool itself down by locating to a shady area, panting and flaring nostrils, and lying down in a damp cool area perhaps.  Studies have shown that pain, environment and dehydration in combination play a big part in the development of this condition that can in fact, happen over night.  One day a horse may appear to sweat just as it should, then the next  day the sweat glands produce nothing.  Keeping the horse's temperature down will reduce the chances of brain damage that will become a risk factor once the temperature reaches 106 degrees.  Hair loss around the face and neck area, very dry, brittle hair and scaly skin are all symptoms that indicate you may have a "non-sweating" horse on your hands.  A test can be administered by your veterinarian using the injection if epinephrine that is known to cause sweating.  If your horse does not produce sweat after this injection, the horse may be diagnosed with ANHYDROSIS.  Another good practice to keep in mind is to keep your horse healthy and well hydrated in the hot and humid months of summer.  A good idea is to give oral electrolytes that will help with the balance of salt and chloride in the blood.  When these levels are low, it has been determined to be a contributing factor too.  Keep a look out for strange behaviors in the hot and humid months of summer.  Giving a bath followed by a mild brace will also keep smegma from building up in the sweat glands sometimes producing blockages resulting in an impaired sweating ability.  Horses are the only animals besides humans that sweat to cool off.  So keep your horse sweating.

LAMENITIS OR FOUNDER ARE THEY THE SAME????

Lamenitis and founder are often explained as being the same condition, although, one can lead to the other, they are in fact two different conditions.  Lamenitis is the "inflammation" of the laminae, which is the connective tissue between the hoof wall and the coffin bone inside the hoof capsule.  When a horse has lamenitis, it does not necessarily mean that it has founder.  When inflammation is present in the laminae, it is when there is separation within the tissues and the tissues actually die, resulting in what we know as "founder"'  When a horse is afflicted with founder the affected tissues in normal function act as supportive mechanisms and keep the coffin bone in place.  Without the supportive connective tissue, the coffin bone "sinks" or also known as "rotates" creating the ailment of founder.  The rotation is downward and toward the sole of the hoof, and how much and how severe the condition is can only be detected through radiography.  Many of the same factors contribute to the possibility of both conditions.  It is easier to prevent these conditions than it is to treat.  Some very important facts to always keep in mind, over weight horses are more prone, riding in hard surfaces for long periods of time, over consumption of grain or lush grass, retention of placenta in mares, colic, and improperly cooling out a hot horse. Do not allow a horse that is hot to consume more than 8 swallows of water at a time, walk for some time then return to the water for another 8 swallows, and continue until horse is cooled out.  Prevention is key, it is your responsibility to educate yourself to maintain your horse's best health.