Features

Features

Equine Joint Nutraceuticals, Part 2
When the horse has a chronic situation, pain relief simply won’t be as dramatic or rapid, although the heat and increased swelling of an acute flare-up will come under good control. We feel hyaluronic acid is best used for new joint problems or acute flare-ups of old ones. For daily lower-grade chronic management, you can probably save money by using a product without HA. In part 1 of our two-article series on joint nutraceuticals (see October 2007), we presented our field-trial results for products that cost $1.25/day or less. Our favorite product in that trial, NuPro Mutliflex, was chosen both on the basis of price and for delivery of good levels of key joint nutraceuticals, in that case glucosamine, chondroitin and Perna. Now, we’re going to look at pricier products and tougher cases to see what they have to offer.

Chronic Hoof Pain
You’ve heard it before: "No foot, no horse." Although it sounds trite, and it’s a no-brainer, the fact remains that you can’t overestimate how important the feet are to soundness, movement and attitude. Chronic foot pain leads to alterations in gait as the horse struggles to find a way to be more comfortable, and few things are more likely to dampen enthusiasm for work than having constant pain that you can’t escape.

Barn Fire!
Unfortunately, residential and commercial type smoke detectors do not work well in barns, because dust soon clogs the mechanism, rendering it inoperable unless it is cleaned frequently. Do not despair, however, if you really feel smoke detectors in your barn will provide you with peace of mind. Optical smoke detectors are available that are designed to operate in dusty areas. These detectors must be professionally installed since the location of detectors within the building is specifically designed for the structure. Heat detectors can be used in conjunction with smoke detectors, and their placement in your barn should also be determined by a certified installer. Heat detectors are effective only in closed spaces such as your tack room, feed room, or other utility rooms. If a heat detector is triggered in open areas, such as the stalls, it is usually too late.

Nervous Horses
Whatever your particular issue, equine anxiety is the No. 1 training and management issue for every rider and trainer. No matter what the cause or expression of your horse’s anxiety, all riders need to accept that all horses will be afraid of something periodically. It’s the nature of a prey animal to always be “on the lookout,” and it’s a behavior we must accept when we share our lives with them. The first step—and this often harder than you would think it should be—is to determine what’s causing your horse to be anxious and thus unruly or disobedient. The very thing that makes horses such fabulous animals to train—their incredible memories and ability to extrapolate from previous experiences—also causes them to hold on to negative memories and makes them difficult to convince that future situations won’t be negative.

Ginseng And Equine Vaccinations
Research conducted at the Equine Research Center, University of Guelph, published in the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, looked at the effects of supplementation with the ginseng Panax quinquefolium on response to vaccination in horses. The study supplemented five horses for 28 days with 35 mg/kg (17.5 grams for an 1,100-pound horse) daily, while another five horses were kept under identical conditions but not supplemented. On day 14 of the study, all horses were vaccinated against EHV-1 (equine Herpes virus) and antibody responses were followed. The supplemented horses showed significant rises in their antibody titers by day 2 after vaccination while the unsupplemented horses did not begin to show a rise until day 6.

Winter May Mean Choke to Your Horse
If you’ve ever seen a horse choke, you’re not likely to forget it. Choke occurs when food gets caught in the esophagus, not in his airway, as occurs with people. The horse will cough and retch. Heavy salivation is likely, and he’ll be anxious and upset. He likely won’t eat or drink. Choke can be mild, but it’s always a veterinary emergency, especially since its symptoms can mimic those of rabies. When choke occurs, dehydration can occur rapidly, and the pressure on the esophagus can cause an ulcer or rupture. Unfortunately, choke is likely to happen again, because scarring in the esophagus usually occurs after a choke or the choke may have been caused by a motility problem in the esophagus.