AUGUST 2007

I often hear this as I'm getting in my truck "Love ya doc but I hope not to see you soon."
So let's talk about the things that you can do to help prevent those unplanned and expensive veterinary visits.You can be proactive in the management of your horse and avoid unnecessary suffering for your animal.
The number one cause of colic for my client's horses is inadequate turnout and often inadequate forage in the diet. This is the downfall of living near a large metropolitan area. Land is expensive and much sought after for development and pasture space is dwindling daily. Many owners compensate by feeding more grain to maintain weight and because they feel sorry for them. Because horse's digestive system is designed for continuous walking, horses should have turnout at least 12 hours if not all day and night; however, this is frequently not possible. Daily exercise is required if turnout is inadequate. Also, stalled horses should have good quality hay available 24/7. This should not be reduced if the horse is getting fat, instead reduce the grain. Confined horses should always be fed on a rigid schedule as they do not like change. This is not as important in the horse that is always turned out. Always observe your horse before you feed as some may be colicing and will still eat all their feed and not tell you that they are colicing until they are done eating. Feeding a colicy horse can worsen the condition. If possible give hay ten minutes before you grain and this will give you time to monitor your horse's condition before giving grain. Your horse should have 2 clean water buckets during the hot summer months and you should look to see how much they drank before you fill the bucket. This may give you a clue that there is trouble ahead if they have not been drinking. If their water consumption is down, decrease their feed by half and encourage them to drink with 1 tsp of LITE salt in that feed even if they have a salt block available. Also take note if the manure in their stall is decreased in moisture or size of the fecal ball or in quantity of the piles. If this is the case, follow the same recommendations as above with the lite salt and decreased feed.
Summer here is brutal on horses that are confined as many barns are built with little concern for air flow. Frequently, two fans are needed to push enough air around the stall and cheap box fans are not good at this. I recommend spending a little more on the round wire fans. They push more air and last twice as long as a box fan anyway. Keep as many windows open as possible and put a large industrial fan at the barn opening to draw air through the barn. Make sure that your horse sweats all over its body and not just under the mane or saddle area as this is the time of year when some horses stop sweating all together and this can be especially dangerous.
Unfortunately, living in the Gulf Coast area with its associated barometric pressure shifts can cause gas colic. There is not much you can do about this other than move somewhere else but this is where having plenty of turn out will help keep things moving in the right direction. Of course, a good deworming program (see July issue) will help prevent any problems with parasitism.
Continuously inspect your horse's stall and pasture fencing for any protrusions that could snag the skin. Horses can hurt themselves in a padded stall but a little prevention goes a long way. Most people know that barbed wire and horses are not a good match but some don't know that slick wire can cause just as much damage and horses don't respect it as much as they do barbed wire. There is no perfect fencing but try to design their enclosures keeping in mind that they will most likely hit the fence at some point. If you are just a boarder or already have an unsafe existing fence that you cannot afford to replace, consider putting up an electrical tape strand atop this fence to keep them away from the fence. Shock boxes come solar if an outlet is not available. The best fence of all is the one that they won't go near.
As far as lameness issues go, 95% of my lameness exams are located in the foot. Going too many weeks between shoeings, standing in mud or overtraining the horse are common causes. I recommend that you find you a good farrier and treat him like a king, schedule the next visit before he leaves and always have the check ready. Eliminate muddy areas as fast as you can during the rainy seasons. Apply hoof conditioning or hoof hardening products as needed. Biotin, gelatin and/or cheap beer are great for poor quality hooves. Before and after you ride your horse or bring him in from the pasture, look for swellings in the joints and tendon areas. It is better to find these things before you work him or he goes out to play. Pick feet out daily to check for stones, nails or signs of thrush.
Preventing respiratory problems can be difficult unless you own your own place and never go anywhere. Good ventilation in the barn is helpful. Shavings should not be too dusty. If they are, spritz with water. Quarantine all new arrivals (easier said than done). Require all horses at the barn to be on the same flu/rhino and Strangles vaccination schedule. All new horses should be vaccinated prior to arrival if possible. When going to a horse show, carry a pump up spray bottle with dilute Clorox water and spray the stall walls before putting your horse in the stall. Bring you own water and water buckets on trail rides and keep your horses tied at least 20 feet from strange horses.
With a little attention, you can keep those veterinary visits to a minimum and keep your horse healthy, safe and performing. Then when you see me at the barn, we can have a friendly, FREE conversation about how good your horse looks.