b'TRENDINGNOW @What Goes on BeneathHorse Hoof Cracks?When veterinarians and hoof care professionals studying equine anatomy dissect hoof cracks in cadaver limbs, they usually slice down the middle of the fissure and look at the cross section for clues to the biomechanical and pathological causes. Longtime hoof trimmer Paige Poss thought she might be missing something in examining hoof tissue this way, so she did it differently.I thought, This time Im going to cut a window,she said.Im going to take off the front wall and look at the anatomy inside. What the self-described amateur anatomist and photographer found by examining tissues this way changed her perspective on COURTESY PAIGE POSSpersistent hoof cracks in horses. She shared what she learned with veterinarians and farriers at the 11thannual Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners (NEAEP) symposium, held Sept. 25-28 in Saratoga Springs, New York. Read more and see Poss photos at TheHorse.com/181868.Stephanie L. ChurchMisoprostol: A Better Option for Treating Equine Thursday, Glandular Gastric Disease Jan. 9, 2020, British researchers found more success treating EGGD with misoprostol than with a8 p.m. ESTcombination of omeprazole and sucralfate, two drugs known to effectively treat equine squamous gastric disease. TheHorse.com/181913 Understanding Equine WelfareHow to Soak Beet Pulp for Horses How do we as an industry Can you oversoak beet pulp? How much water should you use? Equine nutritionist Clairdefine good welfare Thunes, PhD, answers these questions and more about soaking beet pulp and ensuring itswhen it comes to horse ISTOCK.COMsafe for your horse to eat. TheHorse.com/181856 care and training, and is that definition changing? What should we do when SPONSORED BYIA EPORT performance lighting PEC LR ALEXANDRA BECKSTETTS Special Report: How Light Affects Your Horse tradition and research collide when it comes to Light masks that deliver low-intensity HOW LIGHT AFFECTS YOUR HORSE blue light can help suppress melatonin and manipulate early all organisms, including horses, adaptmare reproductive their lifestyles to the timing of sunrise andcycles. horse care and welfare? And how can you (or N sunset. These light and dark cycles result in daily (circadian) and annual (circannual) rhythms of physiology and behavior. Under-standing how horses respond to these cycles can help you manage them accordingly. Barbara Murphy, PhD, assistant professor inNearly all organisms, including horses, adapt their lifestyles to the timing University College Dublins School of Agricul-ture and Food Science, in Ireland, has exten- should you) intervene when youre concerned sively studied circadian and circannual rhythms and how they affect horses. In this article, well describe some of herndings on how the strate-gic use of light can bene t breeding and perfor-mance horses. sta T b o l th in O e g rm n i a h e w p a or e y ve u e, te n ht til f a h feas F t d ist c hee ree tiv e oodlights a liv e rl e.m d b ery e r a As , h ua rs re loha o ryw w ab , s rsi -in ve e on n t volp t e u en o v r, i a s, n ding season runs from April tod s g s t d ity o u tes. e s c sb k e lu d s aytar e o s , l tit a igy o scia e mdt y,d- resulting in later an , stua 0nd v ne d d e h c ays y rale as r g a eb v ef sub ef ou lts ody weights than th o n re d t it th he f h f e e at e ys ct , p acfop hs u h o u ta a s wp t hi l c l fo n e io n a ak alt g n l n h s inr b ab ib e r t g df e tu i osert e o d r u a h n i l ,rw n sb in g d ia b o eights g o rn nt sr ir al n h b tes l lag ie e g aconcen t el hti c a . er s k on r a tao lyi n ter t ng g n iodth n- ays tra at -Circanual rhythms dictate mare reproductive cycles. In most of thed- d later foals overhtim ave of sunrise and sunset. From breeding to performance to haircoats, BRODMARESOctober to coincide with longer periods of daylight and lower melato-COURTESY EQUILUMEnorthern hemisphere, the natural bre ible. This neces d futurity andinto the year. Further wer a ing light masknin levels. Many breders, particularly in the stock bre itates bre in the year have lo urphy hhelp regulate their idotheThoroughbred racing industries, however, desire foals born as close tothe year.ing mares as earlysuppres melatonin anddmares at least 9 about a horses welfare? Find out from our the begining of the calendar year as pos ve 0 d ne ce January babies. ow mares bro The solution? M n also ashows that circad spermo they produ l light in the form of manipulate mare reproductive cycles. New research shows that lightm Equ ask i tions, and testostero ach this, b roduces with her company,al length to normale ligting and hese masks al ed and, thus,Changing day lengt els, wshich Murphy invented and p ht to one eye are equallum y more fertile. ulashOf th frostres he start of lightof summer. Murphy says research ion testosterone levels throughoutunderstanding how horses respond to light can help you manage them STALIONSto remain outside on pasture where they are les onger gestations,night; and gradual dimming or brightening of lights at dawn and dusk, if not m rage, says hey tend to have l ownsides to bre provides blue-enriched LED light by day; low-intensity red light at natural aresMurphy, it takes 7 respectively, can help improve stal y spend most of their time inexperts during this live Q&A.the breding season.How Does Light Affect Horses Bodies?tantstal Performance horses in training typical d hair coats, When light enters the eye, specialized cells in the retina send(which ofer very lit uorescent lights for much of the day PERFORMANCE HORSES accordingly. Sponsored by Equilume. TheHorse.com/181266a signal to the brain, which, in turn, sends a time-of-day messages. By stabling horses under d to mimic throughout the body. The hormone melatonin, which gets pro- le, if any, blue wavelength light), were failing to duced in darkness and is acutely sensitive to light, is an impor stimulate normal circadian rhythms, says Murphy. We ne ects al body transmitter of this signal. Not all types of light, however, are creatednatural daylight in stables if we want to maintain goequal. Blue light, which is present in high amounts in natural day- musculature, immunity, and more (remember, light aflight, best stimulates the photoreceptors in the eye that regulatesystems). For staled performance horses to be at their best, Murphy circadian rhythms. The \x1f uorescent and incandescent lights werecommends puting them under blue-enriched light during the day often use in our barns have minimal biological effect because they have very little blue light.E-NEWSLETTERSGet Horse Health News Delivered To You! HORSE HEALTHSPECIALTYThis award-winning e-newsletter offers news on diseases, veterinaryWEEKLY E-NEWSLETTERSMONTHLY E-NEWSLETTERS research, and health events, along with in-depth articles on common Nutrition Behavior equine health conditions. Supported by Zoetis.Soundness & Lameness BreedingHORSE WELFARE AND INDUSTRYReader Farm & BarnGet the latest news on equine welfare, industry happenings, andFavoritesOlder Horse Carehorse-related business.Sports Medicine Sign up at TheHorse.com/NewslettersTheHorse.com|The HorseJanuary 20205OnlineContents_Jan.indd 5 12/4/19 12:54 PM'