Did you realize that your horse can suffer from allergies just like a human can? Did you ever walk up on a horse that has runny eyes, clear nasal discharge and a cough or a sneeze? How about seeing your horse with a bunch of bumps on the skin and your animal appears itchy and not in a very good comfort zone.?? All of these symptoms can measure up to your horse having allergies. There is a simple, cost effective way to treat all of these symptoms and make your horse a whole lot more comfortable. If your horse has no fever, is not off the feed, drinking water but just looking miserable to you with any of the above symptoms, you may want to treat for allergies.
There is no need to call a vet unless the airway appears to obstructed from inflammation due to an allergic reaction, fever, and off feed. Allergies are treated easily with the administration of an antihistamine in the feed.
This simple procedure is just like giving Benedryl to your children for allergy symptoms, just in a larger dose that is recommended for horses. It is basically inexpensive and will do the trick if you horse is having a run-in with allergies.
Take note of the weather man and let him tell you about the air quality and pay attention to your horse on those days and see if the symptoms are worse on the "bad air" days or not.
A horse having hives is suffering from an allergic reaction and will benefit greatly from the administration of an antihistamine. In no time you will see the bumps on the skin retreat and the horse begin to feel a bit more comfortable. My advice is to stop administration of the antihistamine when you see that your horse has not had a relapse of the hives for a 24 hour period. If the symptoms appear again, retreat the animal until you have no hives for a full 24 hour period. If you are suddenly experiencing hives and they seemed to have come out of no where, you may want to investigate and see what may be causing the problem. It could be a change in feed, a change in hay or being pastured and eating a plant that caused the reaction. Paying attention will help in the long run.
Some feed stores and tack stores are unaware of this product and will not have it in stock. You can get in on- line very easily and very reasonable.
It is best to have this in your medicine cabinet. You just never know when you will need it and it is a whole lot more practical than crushing multiple Bendryl tablets which is your other alternative.
Thanks for stopping in..
This blog is a creation that I hope will give you a professional avenue to gain an educated understanding of better horse management, I have a tremendous amount of experience that I have gained throughout my life and I am a former race horse trainer, current equine advocate, equine educator and buyer of ex race horses for retraining and rehoming to have a chance at another career once racing is no longer profitable for them and are being cast out of the racing arena.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
THE WINTER BLUES FOR BOTH HORSE AND OWNER. its going to be all up to you to decide....
This post is for one of my readers..I had a request to comment on winter care and I have got a boat load of advice on that subject and I thank my reader for the request.
The winter months are more brutal on the horse owner than it is the horse..with a few...and I did say few exceptions. Reason is..well horses actually like the cold weather. I see my horses out in the rain cold and sleet without ever retreating to the barn and it bothers me like you would not believe. I usually run back and forth to the window to check to see if they are actually out there in that type of weather.
But..now there are some buts...and you have to make a decision based on your horse and what type of situation presents itself there.
I have witnessed my horses live through the toughest parts of winter with the rain, getting wet then a super cold front hits and I can actually see them shivering. Yes they are cold but it also their bodies response when they shiver to keep them warm just like humans. I tend to lend a little help when they get to that point..but there are times I would not and I shall explain.
I have dealt with thoroughbreds a good portion of my career, so..in saying that... I have an animal that is different from the rest.. The metabolism, the thickness of their skin, the amount of nerve endings in their skin versus other horses and the way that they burn energy to keep themselves warm all add up to doing more for them than I would for lets say a quarter horse.
Let us start off with this piece by piece..so what do you feed a horse in the colder winter months? Well consider this, fat makes fat and the fat storage on your horse in winter will be the very thing that keeps him/her warm during the cold and this is the case without blanketing. but we will get to the blanketing later. Horses have the greatest ability to maintain their body temperature. Now the key is to feed a feed that is high in fat or an additional fat supplement and feed ample hay so that they are not going to lose fat during the cold months which means once the fat is gone then their body goes for the muscle to maintain the body temps and then you get a horse that is going to be out of condition and that leads to other problems all in themselves. They have plenty of supplements that add quite a bit of fat to the diet if you don't want to change your feed to a higher fat content. Corn oil added to feed, Fat Cat is great, any fat supplement is going to add more fat for what you need to accomplish. Now the thing I like to do is add alfalfa to the diet as well...I do not feed alfalfa in the summer months, it is too hot of a feed and can cause many problems and they just don't need it in my opinion. But a good supplementation of alfalfa is great in the winter time. The key here is to give your horse enough nourishment to adequately supply him/her self with the warmth they need during the cold winter months.
Water is very important in the winter months and horses can go either way, they either drink a lot and then you have no worries or they back off of the water intake and that can lead to impaction, by not having enough water to work the bowels properly. In this case it is going to be up to you to observe your horse's water intake and a quick fix for this would be to add electrolytes to the feed and not in the water. Adding to the water may discourage water intake, but when you add it to the feed, it will do what it was meant to do if you put it in the suggested route of administration, the water. This is important stuff so pay attention.
Bran mash in the winter is something that people think is doing something for their horse. Just the thought of giving a warm, steamy bran mash is a warm fuzzy feeling carrying that bucket to give to your horse, I know all about that . But...giving too much of a bran mash is detrimental... it can do more harm than good..I have previous post that discuss this.
Now blanketing..this is controversial but let me give you my feelings and that may allow you to make a decision one way or the other. First off, horses have the ability to grow a fantastic coat that keeps them insulated and warm during the cold winter months. Horses also have the ability to grow a heavier coat if they are experiencing more cold as the months go on. So, horses have the ability to adapt to the conditions they live in. We can greatly reduce this ability if we choose to blanket our horses for the winter. Now, I do blanket, but in certain situations. My feeling is this...if you impeded the growth by putting on a blanket, how do you know if you are able to keep that horse as warm as it should be? I mean this when I say that.....you start blanketing early, you hinder the natural ability to accommodate cold weather by not allowing the coat to grow to meet what the horse is needing and you can get a cold snap with sub zero temps and that blanket that you put on too early is not enough to keep that animal warm adequately so now you got their furnace working on over drive. More than likely, you didn't give any extra feed for this and so you start getting an animal that is going to use internally what it needs to stay warm when it had exactly what it needed externally if it was given the chance to maintain the proper growth of coat. So it's gonna be up to you.
I do blanket my thinner skinned thoroughbreds, and if I see that they are not liking the blanket, I do not use a blanket at all. They actually help me decide. I will blanket in the winter on a day that has temps and wind chills that are hard for any animal to take. I will blanket a horse that is not thriving in weight and needs some help to maintain his temp, otherwise I will be like a hamster on a wheel trying to get that horse to gain weight. I will blanket a sick horse if necessary and I will blanket a horse that had come up from a warmer climate to a bitter cold one because they have not adapted to the climate and need assistance, but they will eventually grow the coat they need in a few seasons.
Never blanket a sweaty horse, and replace wet blankets with dry ones because you greatly reduce the insulating abilities to keep warm.
I once went to a barn where the manager lacked management skills so serious that I do not wonder why she is no longer in business. She was a lazy manager and would let the wired stabled horses out in an arena as a herd with the blankets on and the horses ran like fools and would get all worked up and sweaty. One day I walked in and there was a smoke coming from the arena, I thought the place was on fire. It was steam...all of those horses were soaked with sweat, and it being a frigid day, they all were steamed and the amount of horses involved, you couldn't see them in the arena because of the steam. Now did she do anything for those horses as that time? Just think of how miserable they must have felt carrying around a soaked blanket and then being thrown in a stall...needless to say I was nauseated.
Well folks I hope this helps you and thank you for stopping in...have questions or concerns, I am here to tell ya what I think...
The winter months are more brutal on the horse owner than it is the horse..with a few...and I did say few exceptions. Reason is..well horses actually like the cold weather. I see my horses out in the rain cold and sleet without ever retreating to the barn and it bothers me like you would not believe. I usually run back and forth to the window to check to see if they are actually out there in that type of weather.
But..now there are some buts...and you have to make a decision based on your horse and what type of situation presents itself there.
I have witnessed my horses live through the toughest parts of winter with the rain, getting wet then a super cold front hits and I can actually see them shivering. Yes they are cold but it also their bodies response when they shiver to keep them warm just like humans. I tend to lend a little help when they get to that point..but there are times I would not and I shall explain.
I have dealt with thoroughbreds a good portion of my career, so..in saying that... I have an animal that is different from the rest.. The metabolism, the thickness of their skin, the amount of nerve endings in their skin versus other horses and the way that they burn energy to keep themselves warm all add up to doing more for them than I would for lets say a quarter horse.
Let us start off with this piece by piece..so what do you feed a horse in the colder winter months? Well consider this, fat makes fat and the fat storage on your horse in winter will be the very thing that keeps him/her warm during the cold and this is the case without blanketing. but we will get to the blanketing later. Horses have the greatest ability to maintain their body temperature. Now the key is to feed a feed that is high in fat or an additional fat supplement and feed ample hay so that they are not going to lose fat during the cold months which means once the fat is gone then their body goes for the muscle to maintain the body temps and then you get a horse that is going to be out of condition and that leads to other problems all in themselves. They have plenty of supplements that add quite a bit of fat to the diet if you don't want to change your feed to a higher fat content. Corn oil added to feed, Fat Cat is great, any fat supplement is going to add more fat for what you need to accomplish. Now the thing I like to do is add alfalfa to the diet as well...I do not feed alfalfa in the summer months, it is too hot of a feed and can cause many problems and they just don't need it in my opinion. But a good supplementation of alfalfa is great in the winter time. The key here is to give your horse enough nourishment to adequately supply him/her self with the warmth they need during the cold winter months.
Water is very important in the winter months and horses can go either way, they either drink a lot and then you have no worries or they back off of the water intake and that can lead to impaction, by not having enough water to work the bowels properly. In this case it is going to be up to you to observe your horse's water intake and a quick fix for this would be to add electrolytes to the feed and not in the water. Adding to the water may discourage water intake, but when you add it to the feed, it will do what it was meant to do if you put it in the suggested route of administration, the water. This is important stuff so pay attention.
Bran mash in the winter is something that people think is doing something for their horse. Just the thought of giving a warm, steamy bran mash is a warm fuzzy feeling carrying that bucket to give to your horse, I know all about that . But...giving too much of a bran mash is detrimental... it can do more harm than good..I have previous post that discuss this.
Now blanketing..this is controversial but let me give you my feelings and that may allow you to make a decision one way or the other. First off, horses have the ability to grow a fantastic coat that keeps them insulated and warm during the cold winter months. Horses also have the ability to grow a heavier coat if they are experiencing more cold as the months go on. So, horses have the ability to adapt to the conditions they live in. We can greatly reduce this ability if we choose to blanket our horses for the winter. Now, I do blanket, but in certain situations. My feeling is this...if you impeded the growth by putting on a blanket, how do you know if you are able to keep that horse as warm as it should be? I mean this when I say that.....you start blanketing early, you hinder the natural ability to accommodate cold weather by not allowing the coat to grow to meet what the horse is needing and you can get a cold snap with sub zero temps and that blanket that you put on too early is not enough to keep that animal warm adequately so now you got their furnace working on over drive. More than likely, you didn't give any extra feed for this and so you start getting an animal that is going to use internally what it needs to stay warm when it had exactly what it needed externally if it was given the chance to maintain the proper growth of coat. So it's gonna be up to you.
I do blanket my thinner skinned thoroughbreds, and if I see that they are not liking the blanket, I do not use a blanket at all. They actually help me decide. I will blanket in the winter on a day that has temps and wind chills that are hard for any animal to take. I will blanket a horse that is not thriving in weight and needs some help to maintain his temp, otherwise I will be like a hamster on a wheel trying to get that horse to gain weight. I will blanket a sick horse if necessary and I will blanket a horse that had come up from a warmer climate to a bitter cold one because they have not adapted to the climate and need assistance, but they will eventually grow the coat they need in a few seasons.
Never blanket a sweaty horse, and replace wet blankets with dry ones because you greatly reduce the insulating abilities to keep warm.
I once went to a barn where the manager lacked management skills so serious that I do not wonder why she is no longer in business. She was a lazy manager and would let the wired stabled horses out in an arena as a herd with the blankets on and the horses ran like fools and would get all worked up and sweaty. One day I walked in and there was a smoke coming from the arena, I thought the place was on fire. It was steam...all of those horses were soaked with sweat, and it being a frigid day, they all were steamed and the amount of horses involved, you couldn't see them in the arena because of the steam. Now did she do anything for those horses as that time? Just think of how miserable they must have felt carrying around a soaked blanket and then being thrown in a stall...needless to say I was nauseated.
Well folks I hope this helps you and thank you for stopping in...have questions or concerns, I am here to tell ya what I think...
Friday, January 25, 2013
Soft hooves
Climate, bacteria and inner health all contribute to the condition of the horse's hooves. I think the horse with the best hooves are the Mustangs. They have the hardest, perfectly shaped and sized hooves of all the horses around and they rarely need a shoe. I think once they are domesticated and put in certain situations they lose that perfect hoof.
As of recent years, there is a lot of controversy as to weather to shoe or not to shoe and that has to be up to personal preference as far as I am concerned. I go both ways, some I do and some I don't. With the thoroughbreds, since the hoof is the extension of the skin and they are in fact "thin skinned animals, it usually means they have a thinner wall. If you have a horse off the track the walls are thin and full of holes since racetrack practices usually require a horse to be shod every thirty days.
The topic of today is the soft hoof. Environment has a less to do with it than the inner hydration and absorption factors. I can go into great detail as to why the hoof is in the condition that it is, but I want to focus on one circumstance at a time, without the possibility of overwhelming you.
The soft hoof can become that way due to many underlying issues but..if you are having trouble with tender foot, inability to maintain a shoe, and just a soft sole that you can actually flake off with your hoof pick as you clean, you have a soft soled, or hooved horse. Sometimes no matter what, you have a problem with a soft soled horse, it just happens to be that way so dealing with it or trying to deal with it is all you can do.. '
The key is to harden the sole, if possible with applications of one of two products..that I might add work very very well. I can recommend them for this circumstance and I will expect you would have some level of success.
Turpentine is great for toughening up the sole. and the sole is where it is applied and the frog would be better left out of the application. We need the frog pliable for blood pumping purposes. All you do is clean the hoof, make sure it is dry, brush off all dirt and debris and apply with a tooth brush or other applicator of your choice. Two or three times a week will be sufficient in a consistent manner and you will see that your horse is less tender footed and may hold a shoe longer than you thought it might. Over use is not going to make a the sole you are attempting..so two to three times per week will be all you need!
Pine tar is your next choice. A good one too. It has basically the same principals as the turpentine but there is a little added feature of pine tar, it is believed to have antiseptic purposes, which is helpful in some cases controlling thrush and or other bacteria that can be a nuisance. Back in the day, I knew a few farriers that applied this under shoe pads to impede the growth of bacteria from shoeing to shoeing and it has been proven to be somewhat effective for this purpose.
Now if you want me to pick, I would have to say that either one is great, you decide and maybe it would be the odor of each that might lead you to one or the other. They are both applied in the same manner and work just as well. There is no leader here, although I would prefer to use pine tar if I am treating a stabled horse, since they are exposed to their own excrement's throughout the day. But it is totally a personal preference and one that you can not really go wrong with no matter what you decide.
Thanks for stopping in and look forward to your comments if you have any please post.
As of recent years, there is a lot of controversy as to weather to shoe or not to shoe and that has to be up to personal preference as far as I am concerned. I go both ways, some I do and some I don't. With the thoroughbreds, since the hoof is the extension of the skin and they are in fact "thin skinned animals, it usually means they have a thinner wall. If you have a horse off the track the walls are thin and full of holes since racetrack practices usually require a horse to be shod every thirty days.
The topic of today is the soft hoof. Environment has a less to do with it than the inner hydration and absorption factors. I can go into great detail as to why the hoof is in the condition that it is, but I want to focus on one circumstance at a time, without the possibility of overwhelming you.
The soft hoof can become that way due to many underlying issues but..if you are having trouble with tender foot, inability to maintain a shoe, and just a soft sole that you can actually flake off with your hoof pick as you clean, you have a soft soled, or hooved horse. Sometimes no matter what, you have a problem with a soft soled horse, it just happens to be that way so dealing with it or trying to deal with it is all you can do.. '
The key is to harden the sole, if possible with applications of one of two products..that I might add work very very well. I can recommend them for this circumstance and I will expect you would have some level of success.
Turpentine is great for toughening up the sole. and the sole is where it is applied and the frog would be better left out of the application. We need the frog pliable for blood pumping purposes. All you do is clean the hoof, make sure it is dry, brush off all dirt and debris and apply with a tooth brush or other applicator of your choice. Two or three times a week will be sufficient in a consistent manner and you will see that your horse is less tender footed and may hold a shoe longer than you thought it might. Over use is not going to make a the sole you are attempting..so two to three times per week will be all you need!
Pine tar is your next choice. A good one too. It has basically the same principals as the turpentine but there is a little added feature of pine tar, it is believed to have antiseptic purposes, which is helpful in some cases controlling thrush and or other bacteria that can be a nuisance. Back in the day, I knew a few farriers that applied this under shoe pads to impede the growth of bacteria from shoeing to shoeing and it has been proven to be somewhat effective for this purpose.
Now if you want me to pick, I would have to say that either one is great, you decide and maybe it would be the odor of each that might lead you to one or the other. They are both applied in the same manner and work just as well. There is no leader here, although I would prefer to use pine tar if I am treating a stabled horse, since they are exposed to their own excrement's throughout the day. But it is totally a personal preference and one that you can not really go wrong with no matter what you decide.
Thanks for stopping in and look forward to your comments if you have any please post.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
EQUINE HOME REMEDIES, HARMFUL OR HELPFUL
Over the years I have taken note of some of the most bazaar practices that people truly believe in and it's made me think...where in the world did these people get this from...First off, when using any home remedy you really are taking a gamble, especially if it is anything like the ones that I have witnessed being in use. Horses are resilient but that does not mean that they will not be harmed by some old back yard remedy that someone handed down from Lord knows where and it sounded like it just may do the trick.
There are things that work..but just be careful and use judgment and proceed with caution if you plan on treating your animal with some strange and unfamiliar back yard solution.
I guess the best plan of action if you are willing to risk the outcome..if you can, educate yourself..We have a wonderful tool, the Internet that will give you all the information that you are looking for..some of it true, and some of it, not so true. You have to decide what works best for you, but in saying that if you have gone and done some research..at least you have done that no matter what the outcome.
Horses are expensive to have..feeding and the care, especially if something goes wrong and they need medical attention. If you have been around horses a long time hopefully you have gained some knowledge that helps where you can handle a simple medical situation on your own and save yourself some money by not having to call the vet. Just being able to determine if a situation is serious enough and the vet has to be called or it is something that you can deal with makes a world of difference. I have known people that are totally reliant on their veterinarian for every thing and they don't know or trust themselves to handle basic horse management and medical care. The vet loves those kinds of people, he knows he got money coming with owners like that...Education is key.
So here are a few of those down home remedies that either shocked me or ...made me happy that I tried them.
1. Used motor oil---Now I have seen two situations where this has been used, and one is totally toxic and dangerous..and I can not believe that this is the thought that this works in this capacity. Do not use used motor oil as a mange/fungus remedy and or a means to heal wounds. Yep I am serious. I witnessed a horse that was having a very serious bout with summer sores and had a contagious fungus that ran through the stable, and on top of that had a few bouts with hives. I was asked what to do for the situation, gave my opinion and treated the horse properly. The only concerning issue was the fungus that had gotten on each horse in the stable..my remedy was a mixture of Listerine and water, and an iodine soap bath, leaving the lather on for a while till it almost started to dry on the coat. This has always worked for me, if you are searching for a very practical and reasonable method of treatment this is an inexpensive remedy. Anyway, this particular owner was not wanting to wait and went a head and listened to other horse owners that tried everything but never called the vet, and doused the entire horse with used motor oil. When I visited that ranch a few days later, I thought they had gotten a new horse. The beautiful chestnut horse I was working on had turned into a beautiful horse of a different color..of which I had to find out the hard way by going over to admire the horse and he rubbed on my clothing and there I was full of motor oil and ruined clothing. Now, used motor oil is toxic to just throw back into the earth and that is why there is a specific disposal protocol for used motor oil. It is toxic for the horse more than anyone would consider. It seeps into the skin, and the toxins build up into the liver and kidneys and can cause irreparable damage. Just not a good idea. So don't do the used motor oil remedy for any skin ailments. It just does not work.
On the hoofs as an oil treatment, once in a while, not everyday, yes I have used this and I can recommend this as a product that can be used. Now once again, you do what you feel is right but used motor oil is on my establishment. Hoof moisture is maintained from within, what you put on the hooves is not your real solution.it goes deeper than what most people would think.
2. Bleach for thrush--yes this works..but..there are a few drawbacks. It hardens the sole and the frog making it less pliable and shock absorbing. It can also stop working as fast as it started working. The bacteria that causes thrush is wicked and sometimes can stand up to bleach, or any other product you choose to use. If you have a rough case of thrush and it never seems to go away.. I have a great product( a secret potion) that I sell that is my own ingredient and remedy, if interested contact me for more information and also there other steps necessary to combat thrush that has become a problem that keeps coming back, something else we can discuss if anyone is in need of some ideas.
3. Using bran mash everyday--well, this is not a good idea and I have seen horses live with their owners making a bran mash every single day because if they did not, the horse would colic. This throws off the calcium phosphorus levels in the animal and if unbalanced enough you are setting your horse up for a possible heart attack. Any horse that needs bran mash everyday, well there is something else going on there and maybe you do need to seek out your vet for some advice and if your vet gave you this advice, maybe it is time to seek for another vet.
These are just some of the remedies that I have seen being used and if you have some that are known to work, or have given bad results lets discuss this on the blog and see if we cant caution or recommend to other readers.
Thanks for stopping in!
There are things that work..but just be careful and use judgment and proceed with caution if you plan on treating your animal with some strange and unfamiliar back yard solution.
I guess the best plan of action if you are willing to risk the outcome..if you can, educate yourself..We have a wonderful tool, the Internet that will give you all the information that you are looking for..some of it true, and some of it, not so true. You have to decide what works best for you, but in saying that if you have gone and done some research..at least you have done that no matter what the outcome.
Horses are expensive to have..feeding and the care, especially if something goes wrong and they need medical attention. If you have been around horses a long time hopefully you have gained some knowledge that helps where you can handle a simple medical situation on your own and save yourself some money by not having to call the vet. Just being able to determine if a situation is serious enough and the vet has to be called or it is something that you can deal with makes a world of difference. I have known people that are totally reliant on their veterinarian for every thing and they don't know or trust themselves to handle basic horse management and medical care. The vet loves those kinds of people, he knows he got money coming with owners like that...Education is key.
So here are a few of those down home remedies that either shocked me or ...made me happy that I tried them.
1. Used motor oil---Now I have seen two situations where this has been used, and one is totally toxic and dangerous..and I can not believe that this is the thought that this works in this capacity. Do not use used motor oil as a mange/fungus remedy and or a means to heal wounds. Yep I am serious. I witnessed a horse that was having a very serious bout with summer sores and had a contagious fungus that ran through the stable, and on top of that had a few bouts with hives. I was asked what to do for the situation, gave my opinion and treated the horse properly. The only concerning issue was the fungus that had gotten on each horse in the stable..my remedy was a mixture of Listerine and water, and an iodine soap bath, leaving the lather on for a while till it almost started to dry on the coat. This has always worked for me, if you are searching for a very practical and reasonable method of treatment this is an inexpensive remedy. Anyway, this particular owner was not wanting to wait and went a head and listened to other horse owners that tried everything but never called the vet, and doused the entire horse with used motor oil. When I visited that ranch a few days later, I thought they had gotten a new horse. The beautiful chestnut horse I was working on had turned into a beautiful horse of a different color..of which I had to find out the hard way by going over to admire the horse and he rubbed on my clothing and there I was full of motor oil and ruined clothing. Now, used motor oil is toxic to just throw back into the earth and that is why there is a specific disposal protocol for used motor oil. It is toxic for the horse more than anyone would consider. It seeps into the skin, and the toxins build up into the liver and kidneys and can cause irreparable damage. Just not a good idea. So don't do the used motor oil remedy for any skin ailments. It just does not work.
On the hoofs as an oil treatment, once in a while, not everyday, yes I have used this and I can recommend this as a product that can be used. Now once again, you do what you feel is right but used motor oil is on my establishment. Hoof moisture is maintained from within, what you put on the hooves is not your real solution.it goes deeper than what most people would think.
2. Bleach for thrush--yes this works..but..there are a few drawbacks. It hardens the sole and the frog making it less pliable and shock absorbing. It can also stop working as fast as it started working. The bacteria that causes thrush is wicked and sometimes can stand up to bleach, or any other product you choose to use. If you have a rough case of thrush and it never seems to go away.. I have a great product( a secret potion) that I sell that is my own ingredient and remedy, if interested contact me for more information and also there other steps necessary to combat thrush that has become a problem that keeps coming back, something else we can discuss if anyone is in need of some ideas.
3. Using bran mash everyday--well, this is not a good idea and I have seen horses live with their owners making a bran mash every single day because if they did not, the horse would colic. This throws off the calcium phosphorus levels in the animal and if unbalanced enough you are setting your horse up for a possible heart attack. Any horse that needs bran mash everyday, well there is something else going on there and maybe you do need to seek out your vet for some advice and if your vet gave you this advice, maybe it is time to seek for another vet.
These are just some of the remedies that I have seen being used and if you have some that are known to work, or have given bad results lets discuss this on the blog and see if we cant caution or recommend to other readers.
Thanks for stopping in!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Did you have a run with pigeon fever this year?
Pigeon Fever...hmmmm..it's a very common disease in the dryer climates, hence the name also known as dry land strangles...the bacteria that is responsible for this is found in the ground and has a very long contamination window and life expectancy in the soil....This past year I had been informed of a few boarding stables that were over-run with pigeon fever and just when they thought that they eradicated it...it seemed to come back bigger and more powerful. It is mainly transmitted via flies that feed on an infected wound and go to another animal and if that animal has an open wound...it is almost a given that this will take hold and make it's way through the herd...the ones with the exceptional immune system can go unaffected.
I had pigeon fever in one of my horses and it did not transmit it to any other horses thankfully...my place is small and a quarantine is not really practical at my establishment ..I just went prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.
It has several different ways to make itself known..the name pigeon fever came from the appearance of a pigeon like chest..this is the accumulation of infection, inflammation and pus in the chest area...it can penetrate the shoulder capsule and actually dislocated the shoulder from the amount of infection and the pressure that is imposes on the joint. In this case the horse will be lame, not putting any weight on the side that is most effected...this is a very contagious horse and the abscess will either pop on it's own or a vet will have to lance and drain to promote healing.
Swelling of the genital area is a common sign, along with very obvious pitted sores that are painful and hot to the touch...at this point..you may notice a horse off it's feed, a high fever for a few days and you may be thinking the horse is near death...within a few days the horse builds up immunities and overcomes the disease and it has been said that the horse will generally not be affected once is survives the first run-in..I found this to not necessarily be true..I have seen it come back and when it does come back..it take a different look. For instance..if you have an affected groin..it may come back in the chest..if in the chest ..it may come back in the legs..but I have seen with my own eyes..this fever come back.
Summer sores should not be mistaken for this that at times can look similar. Summer sores are from flies as well but initially it is a worming issue and treatment with ivermectin is in order and will usually clear up a summer sore issue.
Now..it has been a controversial treatment protocol...either you are knowledgeable enough and comfortable enough to treat this on your own and comfortable with your decision..the kick is this..no antibiotic is recommended.. The reason for this is that the infection will not be totally treated and the horse will suffer internal abscesses that are fatal in most cases. The use of antibiotic seems to make the horse better for a minute but it drives the infection inward and before too long..you may have a more serious situation on your hands that is only evident when it may be too late . Now if you can believe that your horse will recover.. and can stand to see him suffer...a little less with some banamine or bute..let this fever run its course...it is the best course of action in my opinion. It is hard to watch your horse suffer but it is no more than you having the flu or a bad cold and in about three days..you have improvement and your horse will be on the mend....
Thanks for reading and I look forward to any comment or concern..
I had pigeon fever in one of my horses and it did not transmit it to any other horses thankfully...my place is small and a quarantine is not really practical at my establishment ..I just went prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.
It has several different ways to make itself known..the name pigeon fever came from the appearance of a pigeon like chest..this is the accumulation of infection, inflammation and pus in the chest area...it can penetrate the shoulder capsule and actually dislocated the shoulder from the amount of infection and the pressure that is imposes on the joint. In this case the horse will be lame, not putting any weight on the side that is most effected...this is a very contagious horse and the abscess will either pop on it's own or a vet will have to lance and drain to promote healing.
Swelling of the genital area is a common sign, along with very obvious pitted sores that are painful and hot to the touch...at this point..you may notice a horse off it's feed, a high fever for a few days and you may be thinking the horse is near death...within a few days the horse builds up immunities and overcomes the disease and it has been said that the horse will generally not be affected once is survives the first run-in..I found this to not necessarily be true..I have seen it come back and when it does come back..it take a different look. For instance..if you have an affected groin..it may come back in the chest..if in the chest ..it may come back in the legs..but I have seen with my own eyes..this fever come back.
Summer sores should not be mistaken for this that at times can look similar. Summer sores are from flies as well but initially it is a worming issue and treatment with ivermectin is in order and will usually clear up a summer sore issue.
Now..it has been a controversial treatment protocol...either you are knowledgeable enough and comfortable enough to treat this on your own and comfortable with your decision..the kick is this..no antibiotic is recommended.. The reason for this is that the infection will not be totally treated and the horse will suffer internal abscesses that are fatal in most cases. The use of antibiotic seems to make the horse better for a minute but it drives the infection inward and before too long..you may have a more serious situation on your hands that is only evident when it may be too late . Now if you can believe that your horse will recover.. and can stand to see him suffer...a little less with some banamine or bute..let this fever run its course...it is the best course of action in my opinion. It is hard to watch your horse suffer but it is no more than you having the flu or a bad cold and in about three days..you have improvement and your horse will be on the mend....
Thanks for reading and I look forward to any comment or concern..
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Back from a run with cancer..
Well it has been along time and I didn't mean to desert my blog as I did..I had breast cancer and had to get that under control before I could get back to the things that I love to do..and that is talk about horses and try to connect with people that are interested and willing to ask and share what experiences that have had in their horse filled lives. I will diligently get back to my blog and hope like hell it can survive after the long departure from my contributions. I hope that those that have looked at my blog will return or pass it along so that I can promote my experiences and possibly give those that are interested a different look or answer and we can share together and make the management of horses easy fun and cost effective.
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