Horse Journal - April 2008

April 2008

Riding Helmets
Like riding, helmets are all about feel. It’s about how a helmet feels on your head, how you feel when you look at yourself in the mirror when wearing it, and how you feel when you shell out the dollars for your purchase. And, like feel, it’s a very personal thing. Not every helmet is suited to every rider. When you go looking for a helmet, the first thing to do is be sure it’s certified by the SEI as meeting the ASTM standard for safety. There will be a tag in the helmet stating that. All other helmets are simply apparel and not at all protective. Next, decide how much money you want to spend and the style you need. Then go try a bunch on. Caution: If you don’t want to spend $150 for a helmet, don’t waste your time trying one on. The pricier helmets definitely give you a cushier feel. When you try on a helmet, be sure it fits snugly and sits level on your head (you should be able to see your eyebrows move up and down if you wiggle the helmet while it’s on your head). It shouldn’t tilt up or down. Secure the chinstrap correctly, not hanging loosely. Wear your hair the way you normally do when you ride, and keep the helmet on your head for more than just a few minutes. It should become less noticeable, if it’s fitting comfortably.

Fly Sheets For Horses
Fit is a huge issue with fly sheets, as with any blanket. Proper fit is your best defense against rubs. In our trial, we found every blanket eventually rubbed, despite our efforts to match test horses to blanket size and design. That’s why we especially liked the Adjusta-Fit closure on the Schneiders sheets, as they made for easy fitting on a wide variety of horse body types. Fly sheets tend to come in two varieties—"soft" and "hard." The soft sheets are usually made of cotton or a polyester fabric weaved to form a soft mesh. They are lightweight and airy, tending to fit closer to the body. We find the softer fabrics are kinder to a horse’s coat and skin, but they also can get snagged and tear more easily. The hard sheets are made of stiff PVC-coated fabric, such as Textilene. It’s reminiscent of lawn furniture covers, but a bit more flexible. This fabric is tougher and more long-wearing than the soft weaves. Some of the Textilene-type sheets fit closer to the body, like a softer material, while others seem to sit farther away from the horse, creating a stiff-shaped barrier.

Safe Pond Water
Obviously feral horses drink from ponds, lakes and streams, but that doesn’t mean they never have illness related to poor-quality water. In addition, their water sources are more likely to be rapidly flowing rivers and streams. Even lakes differ from ponds, especially manmade ones. That doesn’t mean that ponds can’t be used as a water source for horses. You simply need to know what the risk can be and how ponds should be managed. A pond will be the watering site for more than just your horses. Wildlife will be attracted to them, too, and will leave behind droppings and urine to contaminate the water and vegetation around the pond. Many wild animals, both land-dwelling and aquatic such as muskrats or beaver, may be carrying Leptospira, a common contaminant in ponds. Leptospira infection can cause an acute febrile illness, abortion in pregnant mares or periodic ophthalmia (moonblindness). Other widespread organisms that may contaminate the water or surrounding grass are Listeria, Salmonella and E.coli. Opossums carrying Sarcocystis, the organism that causes EPM, may also be drawn to your pond, as will deer whose ticks may be harboring Lyme disease. The organism responsible for Potomac horse fever requires aquatic insects in its life cycle.

Rails Are The Building Blocks for Equine Exercise
The most basic (and useful) piece of gymnastic jumping equipment is, simply, rails, either natural-colored or painted. You can use them to do anything. And you can set as few as three and as many as 10 of them at a certain distance to trot or canter through them, or you can place them randomly around your riding arena. Trot rails, set 4 to 4 ½ feet apart, are the best way to introduce horses to jumping and are excellent exercises for building strength and balance, whether your horse jumps for a living or not. (See last month’s article "Using Gymnastic Exercises Can Improve Horses In All Disciplines.") You can set up a long line of them (up to nine or 10 poles) down one side of the ring, in the center or even across a diagonal. Or you set a group of three or four rails, then have a break of several strides to another group of three or four rails. Or you could set up groups of rails in two to four areas of the ring. You can do the same thing with single rails and canter over them as if they were jumps. This is a very good exercise to practice keeping your rhythm and balance—the key elements to finding the proper distance—as you approach and leave a jump without subjecting your horse to the stress of a jumping school.

How Much Should Your Horse Eat?
Many people are confused about how to figure out how much they should feed. Horses are designed to eat grass. Period. Their digestive tract is designed to handle this type of diet. The rule of thumb is to feed hay at a rate of 1.5% to 2% of the bodyweight per day, adding grain only if needed to hold weight. This 1.5 to 2% is "dry matter," the solid portion of the food after all water is removed. Properly cured hay is less than 10% water anyway so the percentage as a rule of thumb works fine. This simple rule explains why the vast majority of horses with weight problems are too thin or too fat.

Groundbreaking Test For EPSM
Geneticist Dr. Molly McCue at the University of Minnesota, in conjunction with Dr. James Mickelson and Dr. Stephanie Valberg of the Comparative Neuromuscular Diagnostic Laboratory, have announced the availability of a genetic test for equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM/EPSM). They have uncovered a genetic mutation that accounts for over 90% of cases of PPSM/EPSM across all breeds. The mutation involves an enzyme involved in the manufacturing of glycogen, the storage form of glucose in muscle cells. A second mutation that they are calling the modifying gene has been identified in Quarter Horses and Quarter-Horse-related breeds. A Quarter Horse positive for both mutations will have more severe signs of the disease.