Stallions often receive excellent physical care, but their basic psychological needs for social interaction and movement are frequently disregarded in favour of breeding priorities and financial factors, leading to conditions like confinement and isolation.

Elite stallions may have luxurious management routines, but these programs – including metred exercise routines, daily grooming and attentive care from farriers, veterinarians, nutritionists, bodywork therapists and dentists – may not necessarily align with natural horse health and behavior.

Shifting attitudes, more education and improved understanding of stallions’ holistic needs are essential for enhancing their wellbeing and benefitting the broader equine community.

Attitudes around stallions often bias them as difficult to handle or aggressive. Those perceptions may impact their care and lead to neglect of the connection between housing and behaviour issues. Cultural norms and concerns about the risk of injury to the horse or the handler contribute to cautious and restrictive management.

Unfortunately, research regarding stallion welfare and an understanding of their specific needs has been limited by their small population.

Stallions have the same basic equine needs as other horses. In their natural habitat, stallions are social animals, belonging to wider groups with mares or as part of a bachelor herd with minimal isolation. Domestic confinement and partitioning often results in frustration, aggression and other stereotypical behaviours.

Stallions possess heightened awareness, intelligence, and a strong drive for social engagement. This is pivotal for their mental and emotional wellbeing and shapes their behaviour toward human handlers and fellow equines.

When stallions exhibit intense emotions and behavioural issues escalate, the handler’s response often involves restrictive measures rather than addressing underlying causes. Handlers may incorrectly attribute blame to the horses, and thus perpetuate a slanted belief that categorizes stallions as naturally high strung and hazardous.

Proper socialization and handling practices during their formative years can go a long way in avoiding those issues. They prepare the maturing horse to behave appropriately under various circumstances.

Early socialization under the nurturing guidance of a dam (which should stretch for six to eight months) instills social etiquette in the young colt and shapes it into a strong and resilient horse with amicable character.

Proper herd interactions during formative years also tutors future breeding stallions on suitable social behaviour before the introduction of prospective mares. Teaching solid ground manners through proper handling techniques will further give the young horse a fundamental grasp of expectations in various situations.

Human interference with a young stallion’s natural mating interactions during its initial breeding experiences can also hinder learning, particularly regarding proper breeding etiquette. The young stallion must learn to interpret the mare’s cues and communicate respectfully.

One sensible strategy is to allow those young stallions to spend a season with older broodmares. These older mares can impart social rules on the younger males, as well as the advantages of herd membership.

These valuable lessons contribute to success and tractability when the stallion returns to the breeding shed; lessons that cannot be replicated by humans.

Looking past breeding season

Addressing the social needs of mature stallions beyond the breeding season requires creation of opportunities for interaction with other horses. Whether they are partnered with a single broodmare, a companion gelding and/or pony, or integrated into a bachelor herd, these arrangements provide the stallion with valuable companionship.

Handlers play a valuable role in recognizing and respecting the stallion’s affinities and preferences when setting up these social opportunities.

Regardless of age, breed or gender, all horses need companionship and space for free movement. Enriching a stallion’s overall quality of life generally also results in positive changes to behaviour.

–Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian focusing on equine practice in Millarville, Alta.

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Horses need suitable feeding to grow healthy hooves. Critical attention to the diet can dramatically improve hoof form. When the diet of a horse contains a disproportionate amount of grains, processed feeds, processed supplements and high in sugars and starches the majority of horses’ hooves will not be healthy.

When a house is built, the quality of materials and resources used in structuring and assembling the house matters greatly towards the value of the final product. This simple principle is equally applicable to the growth and development of a horse’s hooves. The majority of raw materials offered in the horse’s diet for structural growth of the hoof needs to come from long-stem forages, otherwise structural integrity and attachment of the hoof capsule suffers. Due to the physical demands imposed on the hoof by carrying a 1,000-lb. animal, vulnerabilities in its structural integrity are quickly revealed and exposed if proper care, feeding, and management are not present.

The distinctive cross-links and molecular binding between substances of the hoof matrix demand a level of exactness in the minerals provided by the diet. Silica, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, sulphur, and selenium, to name but a few. The ratio of minerals to one another also has a direct influence on the bioavailability of any one mineral. The bioavailability of a mineral is of great importance because it determines the value the mineral itself has towards the horse’s health. If the diet offered to the horse is not of proper quality, quantity and balance it derails structural integrity and resilience of the hoof matrix and creates a “weak” -footed horse.

No trim mechanics will “fix” such. Growth and development of the hoof is very dependent upon the level of sugars, mineral profile, and antioxidants derived from the diet. Quality forage is of the greatest value to the diet of the horse and when well chosen, will meet the majority of nutrient needs. Then, abundant fresh clean water, free-choice loose salt, and minerals will generally balance out the remainder.

Another important consideration for hoof health is the horse’s body weight. Hooves function to absorb the concussive forces of impact upon weight bearing, therefore if a horse is carrying body weight beyond ideal, the hooves become burdened. Furthermore, adipose and/or fatty tissue is no longer considered to be just a source for storing energy, rather it is now recognized to be an organ with the ability to produce hormones and inflammatory proteins. As such, this generalized inflammation in the body has numerous ill outcomes, one of which is laminitis and/or founder.

The concept that the body is nourished by the diet is widely accepted. It is also becoming increasingly evident that movement is equally nourishing to the animal’s body and as such, movement is coming to be recognized as a necessary and essential nutrient to health.

Recent scientific studies in the rapidly expanding area of epigenetics is revealing that physical expression of form is strongly linked to mechanical stimulation. Although not readily obvious to the naked eye, the expansion, contraction, and distortion cycle of weight bearing on the hoof is necessary for creating and maintaining a healthy foot. The hoof relies on movement and/or physical stimulation to maintain its healthy elasticity and blood flow. Movement influences the form of the hoof that is expressed and is crucial for health and healing.

The hoof is the end point of a moving lever — the leg. Therefore the kinematic nature of the horse’s stride or the way the horse moves its entire body does make a difference to how the hoof impacts the ground. Irregular leg movement can be a source of imbalanced wear to the hooves. Dental work, ill-fitting tack such as a poor-fitting saddle, and horsemanship whether via groundwork or riding, all influence the horse’s movement. The hoof must respond accordingly. Saddle fit and rider balance can have dramatic effects on the growth and development of hooves.

The source of difference between a “good” -footed horse and a “weak” -footed horse can come from surprisingly and seemingly unrelated areas of a horse’s lifestyle and environment. Embracing these possibilities creates a broader understanding, connecting the whole horse to the health of the hoof — revealing how truly inseparable the two are.

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Weight is an important factor that plays into the health of your horse. Nutritional management and meaningful exercise are key to maintaining your horse at ideal body condition. It is important to distinguish between fit and fat, because weight gain can be confused with muscle conditioning and roundness. To further complicate matters a degree of obesity is often judged to advantage in the show ring, acceptable even desirable.

Obesity is a developing problem in the equine population that contributes to a number of serious illness. Contemporary horse-keeping practices are characterized by provision of energy-rich rations to physically inactive horses. Owners expend considerable financial resources following the wooing of attractive advertising/marketing for refined, energy-dense rations which far exceed the animal s protein and energy requirements. Horses have evolved eating grasses and shrubbery that contain much more fibre and much less sugar than present-day diets.

A horse s natural habitat is free-choice browsing and grazing of native savannah environments. The lush improved grass fields of the modern pasture contain forages relatively high in sugars and starches, and designed to promote weight gain, growth and lactation in food animals. This is a very different nutritional repertoire from which horses have been genetically adapted.

Obesity forebodes illness. Many of the health risks associated with obesity pertain to chronic diseases and the connection of obesity to illness is often disregarded. Excessive weight and its accomplice, overnutrition, strains every body system in every age group of horses.

Laminitis/founder, endocrine and metabolic dysfunctions like insulin resistance and equine metabolic syndrome, and developmental bone diseases share this common offender. Excess weight taxes hooves, joints, limbs, and soft tissue, creating, accelerating and compounding arthritis. Horses carrying fat stores on the outside of their bodies must also carry fat deposits within and around internal organs like the liver and kidneys, interfering with proper functioning.

Body condition scoring

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a valuable tool equine owners and professionals use to evaluate ideal body weight. The nine-point scoring system is based on a system that uses visual appraisal and touch to assess the degree of fleshing/fat cover over six key conformation points. These key areas include the neck, withers, crease of the back, the tail-head, ribs, and behind the shoulder at the girth. Horses that score in the moderate (5) to moderately fleshy (6) are generally considered to be in healthy body condition carrying a comfortable body weight. Their ribs cannot readily be seen yet are easily felt with slight pressure and the top line of their back is level, with neither a crease or a ridge.

Recognizing your horse is overweight is key. If your horse is overweight it did not occur suddenly nor will weight reduction occur suddenly. Changes in diet, exercise and living conditions are best made gradually. Be patient, for weight reduction is a slow, steady process that will not stress you or your horse. Initially change the type and amount of feed 10 per cent a day over a 10-day period.

Quality mature grass hays will be the mainstay of all equine diets. Consider limiting pasture access and grazing your horse in the early morning when the pasture sugars are low. It can be as simple as limiting available calories. Ensure access to clean, fresh water, salt, and free-choice minerals.

Measure feeds by weight rather than volume to determine rations and adjust the horse s diet according to age and activity level. A sacrifice area where your horse has freedom to move yet does not have access to grass can be useful. Spread hay out in multiple locations or place horses in an area designed to make them move for food and water.

Simple turnout on a dry lot or depleted pasture is helpful but not enough. Exercise increases metabolism and mobilizes fat stores. Bringing more movement or exercise into your horse s life, respecting its fitness level, is vital. Consistent exercise will continue to be a key component in keeping horses healthy.

In nature, a horse s weight fluctuates with the seasons. Under human care horses are fed generously year round, negating the seasonal influence that allows them the opportunity to lose weight. Supervised pawing on well-stocked winter pastures can benefit many horses for the weather washes out the sugars of standing forages and the daily exercise accompanying foraging is of great value to the horse. The winter season presents a favorable period to reduce a horse s weight as it is in concert with nature at a time when it is most natural to shed pounds.

Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

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Excessive weight and its accomplice, overnutrition, strains every body system in every age group of horses.

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Acurrent rise in the incidence of Neurotropic equine herpesvirus-1 (nEHV-1) following a cutting event at the beginning of May in Ogden, Utah has sparked the interest and concern of the horse industry and has raised several questions.

Equine herpesvirus-1 is a common virus in horses and many horses are exposed to EHV-1 at a young age. Although many horses carry the virus latently throughout their life without showing signs of illness, the virus can be reactivated.

The expression of illness following recrudescence (reactivation) is influenced by the strain of virus, the horse affected, and environmental factors. It is exacerbated by stressors. The virus generally manifests as rhinopneumonitis, a respiratory disease found in young horses. It can also cause abortions in broodmares. The neurological form known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalothy (nEHV- 1) is the third manifestation. The virus damages blood vessels that supply the brain and spinal cord which causes loss of neurological function.

SYMPTOMS

Initially the disease is characterized by fever with temperatures greater than 38.5 C, lack of appetite, and depression. Generally signs of upper respiratory disease

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such as serous nasal discharge and coughing will be evident. Although the neurological signs that follow in a few days or weeks can be quite variable, hind limb weakness and inco-ordination, urinary incontinence, and poor tail tone are typical. Some horses may be mildly affected, merely stumbling, while others are severely affected and unable to rise or urinate.

The equine herpesvirus-1 is not that unusual nor is its spread, however the number of horses that are developing the neurologic disease is unusual which has captured media attention. Horses that contract nEHV-1 can have a mortality rate up to 40 per cent. Those that become recumbent and are unable to rise are often euthanized due to the complications with a downer horse.

NOSE TO NOSE

The natural spread of the EHV-1 virus is primarily via horse-to-horse contact, when affected animals sneeze or cough and come into contact with nasal secretions. Although EHV-1 is highly contagious among horses, it is not transmissible to humans. The virus can hitch a ride from horse to horse on inanimate surfaces, and caretakers whom may unknowingly act as transmitters. Presently no vaccine has a claim for protection against this neurological disease.

Understanding the virus and how it works is key to prevention. The Alberta Veterinary Medical Association website: www.avma. ab.ca/resources/documents/EquineBiosecurityPrinciples andBestPracticesGuide. pdf is a comprehensive resource for all horse owners outlining biosecurity strategies. Biosecurity measures are particularly relevant when horses are travelling distances, commingling, and enduring greater stress. It is advisable that any horse showing signs of respiratory and neurological disease be examined by a veterinarian. The diagnosis of nEHV-1 is confirmed through testing of nasal secretions and blood samples.

Tracking of reported cases has been ongoing in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan with currently less than 20 cases being found in these provinces and only one fatality.

Carol Shwetz is a veterinarian specializing in equine practice at Westlock, Alberta.

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Horses are designed to digest high-fibre

forages that are low in sugar.

An “easy-keeping horse” is one that can live on apparently little food. Easy keepers tend to be found most often in breeds originally developed to survive under harsh conditions. Most pony breeds are easy keepers, and hardy horse breeds such as the Arabian, Morgan, Fjords, and foundation-type quarter horse have this trait.

Many draft breeds are easy keepers, as are most mules and donkeys. The ancestral heritage of these horses has been metabolically adapted to survive in harsh, low-nutrient environments. When overfed with a rich, modern diet, the easy keeper is prone to obesity and other health problems.

Easy keepers are not always easy to distinguish from a normal horse that is too fat from simple overfeeding. However, an easy keeper will gain weight quicker and lose weight slower than an ordinary horse, and when fed a standard diet will gain, rather than maintain, weight.

Modern horse-keeping practices are a challenge to such animals leading to a number of health problems, including obesity, Cushing’s disease, insulin resistance, blood sugar imbalances, equine metabolic syndrome, and laminitis or founder. Fat deposits are held in reserve for when they will be needed – which is basically never in today’s lifestyle. These horses develop stubborn fat deposit along their tail head, overtop the orbits of their eyes and/or their necks, creating a cresty neck. Advancing clinical symptoms include failure to shed their winter coat in a timely manner, voracious appetites, abnormal sweating, long, curly hair coats, increased thirst, muscle wasting, and often founder.

Horses are designed to digest high-fibre forages that are low in sugar. Modern agricultural practices have selected for grass varieties that are the opposite – high in sugars and low in fibre. These grasses were chosen because they produced weight gains in beef cattle and increased milk production in the dairy industry. These type of feeds persistently elevate blood sugars in horses causing metabolic and hormonal imbalances. This is the root of many health problems.

Low-sugar, high-fibre feeds and time-limited grazing are nutritional keystones for the easy keeper. Fresh spring grass, late-fall grass that has been exposed to a light but not killing frost, overly grazed fields and drought-stressed pastures will tend to have high levels of frutan and non-structurals carbohydrate (NSC). These sugar groups are lowest in healthy summer and early-morning pastures. Other sources of high sugars are grains, processed feeds, and some supplements.

When choosing hay for horses, choose mature first-cut hay with large and numerous seed heads. These hays will appear browner.

Rainshowers are a convenient way to dissolve excess sugars. Sugar content in hay can be reduced up to 30 per cent with one good shower. When forage analysis is available, strive for NSC values between 10 and 15 per cent and protein values between eight and 10 per cent.

Returning the easy-keeping horse to seasonal weight flux is of immense benefit. Weight loss on summer pastures is difficult, yet weight loss during the winter season on well-stocked, snow-covered pastures is natural. Pawing integrates both movement and an ideal diet. The horse eats less and moves more. Movement is an asset to every horse, even more so for the sensitive easy-keeping horse.

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Bandaging your horse’s legs can serve a variety of functions, such as treating a wound or for use as protection during travel. Proper bandaging can also provide support for tendons and ligaments during strenuous exercise, and can reduce or even prevent swelling after an injury or a workout.

Wrapping the leg correctly takes practice, and in the case of bandaging a wound, it must be applied properly. Otherwise it may hinder the healing process. Medically indicated bandages are made up of three layers, and the first of these, the contact layer, should not stick to the horse’s skin when applied. The bandage should keep good contact and be non-irritating. Plain gauze squares should not be used as the first bandage because they stick to the wound area. Special non-stick sterile pads are available for this purpose.

The second layer of bandaging acts as padding and is helpful in protecting the soft tissue before the final outer layer goes on. This cotton padding should be a minimum of one inch thick, and the longer the bandage is to stay on, the greater the thickness of padding needed.

The third bandage protects the inner layers from environmental contamination. This layer should be a minimum of two inches wide and is typically made of self-adhering material such as Vetwrap.

When wrapping the leg you need to have the correct amount of tension, which you learn from experience. Too little tension and the bandage will be loose and will slip off. Too tight and it will slow the blood flow and cause poor circulation.

Be sure you have thoroughly cleaned and dried the wound area before you start. Keeping the bandage snug, apply it with smooth, even pressure without wrinkling it. Start by wrapping it around the front of the leg and then around the back in a spiral fashion, inside to outside. The outer wrap should go down, leaving one half to one inch of secondary bandage showing. Work back up the leg, overlapping the preceding layer by about 50 per cent.

If you are wrapping your horse’s legs for travel, you can use stable bandages wrapped tightly around thick quilts or similar padding to provide support and impact protection. They are generally used in combination with bell boots for trailering.

If you are unsure of when or how to bandage a wound, you should consult your veterinarian or have him examine it and treat it accordingly. But the bandaging tips we have discussed should allow you to provide initial first aid while you wait for the vet.

Till next time stay in the saddle and never say whoa in a bad spot!

The post Let’s Go Ridin’ – for Jun. 11, 2009 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

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It is the responsibility of the person travelling with horses to ensure proper documentation is provided to border officials.

Horses from Canada travel across the border into the Uni ted States for purposes surprisingly similar to people. They have jobs, exhibitions, competitions, and new homes on the other side. Both people and horses require papers for this type of travel. It is the responsibility of the person travelling with horses to ensure proper documentation is provided to border officials.

It is advisable to prepare for travel two weeks before the journey. An appointment with your veterinarian at this time allows bloodwork results to return from the laboratory, and all documentation to receive proper certification. Private veterinarians are accredited to perform the necessary testing and paperwork. These papers are then endorsed by a federal veterinarian.

Horses entering the U. S. from Canada, temporarily or permanently, must be accompanied by an official veterinary health certificate and evidence of a negative test for equine infectious anemia (EIA) within 180 days of export. This is a Coggins test and requires a blood sample to be sent to an accredited laboratory. Laboratory results are easily attainable within five working days, including courier time. It is best to allow sufficient time for return of bloodwork results as endorsement of the health certificate by the federal veterinarian is pending a negative Coggins result.

The health certificate itself gives a detailed description of the horse and states that it has been in Canada for 60 days preceding importation, has been inspected and found free of contagious and reportable diseases, has not been vaccinated within 14 days of exportation, and has been found to be negative to EIA within 180 days prior to export. The final step involves the federal veterinarian checking the test results, verifying documentation, signing and stamping the official form. There is a check with two signatures ensuring proper detailed identification of the horse, its final destination, and health results.

The health certificate is valid for unlimited number of entries to the U. S. for 30 days from the date of farm inspection. Original papers remain with the horse and are presented to customs each time the horse crosses the border. Horses on a temporary entry may return to Canada 30 days beyond the date of inspection on a provisional extension, provided custom officials are notified of intention. Proof of the date of entry to the U. S. in the form of a customs stamp is necessary for this extension. Beyond 60 days horses are considered “U. S.” horses and need a USDA health certificate signed within 30 days, and a valid Coggins test.

Canadian horses for permanent export may require an import permit number. This requirement varies with the state of destination.

Foals travelling alongside their dam are exempt from the EIA requirement if they are born after the mare has been tested and found to be negative. The foal will have its own health certificate.

At the time of writing an investigation for contagious equine metritis (CEM),a reportable disease is ongoing and Canadian horses returning from the United States require a supplementary declaration or certification. This additional paperwork declares that the horse(s) has not knowingly been subject to or exposed to this reproductive disease.

Co-operate with your veter inar ian, photocopy both your and the horse’s travelling papers more than once, and happy trails.

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