How to care for the basic health needs of horses
(edited press release)
An e-mail warning the public about Formosan termite-infested mulch from southern Louisiana has been circulating online this week. Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF) officials are
Commissioners for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency, met on Feb. 16 and postponed taking action on proposed regulations that would require identification of physical locations
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation announced on Feb. 22 a donation of more than $26,000 to two relief efforts for horses affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Both efforts are providing hay and other supplies t
Four horses outside of Hebbronville, Texas, died after they showed clinical signs of an unknown illness in February; one horse is recovering. The horses’ owner suspects the animals’ problems might have been caused by a dewormer, and she is
I have a client with a foal that was weaned a few days ago, and it has started cribbing. Within only a few hours after it was separated from the mare, it was seen doing something funny that the owners now appreciate was cribbing. Once they
It’s spring, yet your aging equine has failed to shed his long, shaggy, winter coat. Furthermore, he’s developed a saggy belly coupled with loss of muscle over his croup and rump. He’s gulping down far more water than he used to, and his stall i
Colorado State University (CSU) researchers have found significant patterns of six different signals of damage or “biomarkers” in the serum of racehorses with certain musculoskeletal diseases.
Biomarkers are indicators of abnormal
An Australian survey found that euthanasia for catastrophic forelimb injury was the most common Thoroughbred racehorse fatality. Also, sudden death (not as the result of euthanasia) contributed more to racing fatalities than previously thought.
University of Wisconsin researchers found certain forelimb characteristics in growing Thoroughbreds are associated with higher birth weights, and their carpal (knee) conformation is associated with the parents’. Both genetics and environment
Therapeutic riding is for people of all ages with various disabilities, and it has become very popular. For horses, however, the invitation is much more re-stricted. There are specialized expectations of a horse used in therapeutic riding. If
Throughout their existence, horses have been prey animals. Predators have been pursuing and feasting on them for eons, and they continue doing so today, despite the fact that domestication of the horse and the spread of civilization in general
Salty water drowned pastures in Louisiana and Mississippi months ago, but the needs of horses in areas left incapacitated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita remain critical, say area veterinarians and residents. Most Gulf Coast horse owners need
An Australian researcher says he’s found a reliable way for trainers to monitor Thoroughbred racehorse fitness using global positioning system (GPS) technology measurements of velocity and heart rate during fast gallop training routines. He
Well before an ocular emergency occurs, you should familiarize yourself with the easily visible outer structures of a horse’s eye. Observe the eye with the aid of a penlight or other light source. Evidence of pain is a clear symptom of most ocular
Practitioners need to quickly assess an acutely recumbent (unable to stand) horse’s prognosis, and that can be difficult. Putting a horse in the Andersen Sling Support Device (ASSD), the gold standard for equine slings, requires at least six
The foreleg of the horse is, for the most part, a model of good engineering. It is structured in such a fashion that the horse can move slowly or at speed with the concussion of each footfall minimized by a sophisticated shock absorbing system.
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