The Evolution of Horse Care

Something Every Horse Owner Should Know More About

Colic is one of the many horse wonders and is something every horse owner should think about even if their horse has never had a colic episode. Colic can happen and does happen when least expected.

Colic is definitely on the top of the list for health risks to horses, and being prepared to care for a horse that is colicing is essential. There are a multitude of preventative measures to take in order to reduce the risk of colic. Though more times than not, there are underlying reasons for colic, but in times "mystery" colic may occur while horses are away from their owner (boarding/training).....

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Miracle Horse Arthritis cure for Only $7 a Dose!

Just kidding.

Although, that is how Aceytl-D Glucosamine was originally presented to me. "It's generic Adequan, works just as good, exactly the same formula, but generic!"

Not exactly.

Aceytl-D Glucosamine is NOT a generic Adequan nor is it exactly the same formula. It is a completely different compound and it cannot be compaired to Adequan or Legend.

Aceytl-D Glucosumine (100mg/ml) is an injectable form of Glucosamine. It is an IM (intra-muscular) injection, that is generally prescribed the same as both Adequan or Legend:

1-5ml injection every 4 days 7 times then once a month thereafter.

While I did research BEFORE I decided to give this particular product a try, in my research I found that, well, there isn't much research or data out there on Acetyl-D Glucosamine. There was ONE study done, and funded by Luitpold (the manufacturer of Adequan) that showed Acetyl-D Glucosamine was NOT as effective as Adequan. Depending on where you read the information from the study determines if you find out if Acetyl-D Glucosamine was effective at all. Some say there was no improvement in the horses of the study, others claim the study only went on to show if the results were comparable, which they were not.....

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Congratulations SmartPak for Selling 100 million+ Unnecessary Horse Supplements!

I couldn't help it. Last week it was reported SmartPak flew past the 150 millionth supplement mark. As I've said before, genius! SmartPak has led horse owners to a revolution of supplement feeding, convenience, and often times, throwing money into the shavings!

While there are definitely supplements that horses might need (especially regional nutrients), for the most part, supplements give horse owners a sense of purpose and accomplishment; peace of mind even their horse is receiving the best possible feed ingredients to enhance their coat, joint mobility, hooves, immune system, muscles, tendons, ligaments, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, energy, and weight. SmartPak even sells horse supplements to control flies, control moody mares, calm spastic horses, and alleviate wood chewing!

I mean come on! There is a supplement for everyone's needs. Not necessarily for every horse's needs, but the horses don't have credit cards....

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Horses, Heat, Water and the Mystery of Evaporation...Explained.

Recently, a woman with many, MANY years of horse experience told me I shouldn't turn my horse outside after a bath because "water is an insulator and will keep them hot."

I never thought I would question my own logic when it came to the cooling effects of evaporation, but the ridiculousness of the statement convinced me I was suffering from hearing dyslexia.

Me: I'm sorry, what was that?
Woman: I can't believe you do that%u2026you know water is an insulator.

For the better part of two decades, this woman has been considered a horse "professional"....

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Bizzy Ball

I hate when horses get vices from being stall bound and bored. Now, a horse that gets worked 5-7 days a week and doesn't get turned out should be fine without any extras. Though, depending on the horse, it wouldn't hurt to throw in a ball, pacifier, or some other form of entertainment in the stall.

Recently, I ran into a situation when I had a horse laid up for 6 months. 4 months of stall rest, no hand walking, nothing, just 24/7 stall bound. This horse was dealing with his situation pretty well considering he was used to getting worked often and going outside for a few hours a day. He was bored though; this was obvious while feeding, grooming, or cleaning his stall. He was all over you. His nickname: Chester the Molester....

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The Ever Torturous Horseshoe

Believe it or not, they are calling it a movement. Barefoot, natural trimming franchises are the new hot trend in horse care. It is a beautiful scam that has been developed specifically to target the inexperienced horseman or horsewoman. The fad has swept the horse world off its shoes and into new barefoot ground where lots and lots of horses are gimping around wishing the pain would stop.

How this movement came to be is a mystery, but Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, a German veterinarian, has been credited as the first to develop this new, radical, strong woman craze on "natural" holistic hoof care. Dr. Strasser has been described as "a rebel". A woman who isn't afraid to stand up to conformity. A woman who created a system, of hoof care conformity, to break conformity. A woman with a method, no, a state of mind, that asks all horse owners to think alike on the care of their horse's feet.

Of course, those in the barefoot movement believe if you aren't following this new, trendy, horse care method, you must be abusing your horse (for more on that concept, if you haven't already, stop by the pro-clicker training comments). People who are completely brainwashed by a method or system see only black or white. Of course, if you aren't clicker training, you MUST be training your horse by brutally beating them. Again, if you aren't using natural barefoot trimming, you MUST be torturing your horse with horseshoes. Oh the humanity.....

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Cribbing - A Nasty Habit

I find cribbing horses extremely saddening. I have owned two cribbers, including my first pony Rikki. Luckily for me, neither horse cribbed while wearing a traditional metal hinged cribbing strap; they didn't make fancy, miracle cribbing collars yet!

Interestingly, there seemed to be an abundance of cribbing horses when I was younger. I guess much of that had to do with limited to no turnout for stabled horses. Now, boarding and training facilities offer more turnout options, and I think more importantly, young horses have much more opportunity for turnout, thus eliminated the cribbing behavior from starting.

Cribbing is not the same as wood chewing. Many people, still, call their horse a "cribber" when they are actually wood chewers, or as I like to call them, "beavers". Cribbing is when a horse grasps an object between his incisor teeth and inhales air into the esophagus while emitting an audible grunting noise. I have actually seen horses try to crib air; that is more amply called windsucking....

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New Vets Vs. Old School Vets

In the past, I've always used seasoned horse veterinarians, not necessarily by choice, but just simply because that's how it worked out. I found long practicing horse vets an eclectic bunch; some gruff, cantankerous, or hollow, and others cool, calm, and simply amazing under fire.

Then one day I got hooked up with a new vet. My regular vet couldn't make it, so someone fresh out of school became my horse's savior. I was nervous.

And boy, was I wowed. This vet, from day one, was simply the best vet I've worked with. She was phenomenal. Boarded in internal equine medicine (a rarity), she was truly gifted with solving horse health problems.

That was in 1997.

Two years ago, I found myself in a new predicament. I moved. I needed a new vet. I had a couple weak experiences with local, been around forever vets, and after that, I decided to give some new blood a try.....

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Farriers and Blacksmiths: Find a Great One and Keep 'Em!

....No matter how many years of experience you have with horse owning, riding, training, and often times even equine medicine, your ability to evaluate your horses hoof balance, shoeing, and overall hoof health is minimal. Unless there are obvious hoof cracks, chips, thrush, or excessive shoe loss, you are not going to be able to tell if your horse is shod correctly, has healthy horn, or even has the correct hoof shape. This is where your farrier comes into play. But how do you know you have a good farrier....

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Cleaning Tack.....BORING!

...I think because cleaning tack was shoved down my throat as a child, I just cannot seem to bring myself to do it. My tack has to be filthy, I mean 6+ months of sweat and grime before I consider cleaning it. But once it's that dirty, it takes forever to clean, so I leave it for another 6 months....

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Horse Turn Out

...When I started riding (a long time ago), horses didn't go outside..EVER. Your horse lived in a stall 24/7 and in the barn they stayed; warm, dry, safe, and ready to ride. It was normal. I never questioned it. I was a little kid, and it seemed to make sense to me. I rode my pony 6 days a week, and when I rode my pony, I mean I RODE my pony for hours. You literally had to pull me off my pony. This posed a problem when he was "wild" and in such good shape you couldn't wear him out with 10 straight hours of lunging if you wanted to. He was one fit pony. But, he didn't see daylight unless I was riding outside; along with every other horse in the barn....

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Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, & Nutraceuticals

....Not only are there a million different reasons to give a horse supplement, within those different reasons, there are a million different choices. The amount of horse supplements and horse vitamins products available is amazing. What a lucrative market to be in....

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