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free choice feeding, pasture for horses, equine cushin's disease, eleanor m. kellon, vmd, equine cushings, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, ppid

The advice to allow free access to food for an obese horse is doomed to failure. Too much food is how they got that way in the first place. Things like age, metabolic rate, and activity level can influence what calorie requirements are, but it still boils down to too many calories in versus calories burned. The same is true for overweight cats, dogs, and people.

first aid for horses, how to treat a horse wound, should i call a vet horse injured? tetanus booster horse, equine guelph the horse portal

When a horse is injured, it can be a very scary time for owners and handlers, especially if there is blood involved. However, it is important to remain calm when dealing with wounds. Here are five things you should not do when your horse is injured:

equine laminitis, horse laminitis, nsc, acth, horse pituitary gland, horse metabolic syndrome, equine metabolic syndrome, horse hay analysis, juliet getty

Horses are more likely to suffer from laminitis in the fall than at any other time of year. Two reasons are the high NSC (non-structural carbohydrates) from cooler nighttime temperatures and increased blood ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) secretion from the pituitary gland. Both of these lead to elevated insulin.

happy horse, horse wellbeing, alexa linton, equine sports therapist, how to respect my horse, understanding my horse

The conversation surrounding needs is interesting and complex in terms of our non-speaking horses, especially within a culture that has a historically tricky relationship with the expression of needs. For the purpose of this article, let’s define a need as either a base need required for survival, namely food, water, shelter, and movement, or a need required to thrive, such as friends, space, play, touch, connection, purpose, praise/affirmation, supplementation, and interesting activities. When it comes to our relationship with our horse, the combination of the perceived needs of the rider and the potential needs of their horse can be a space of connecting growth or disconnecting frustration, depending on our perspective and openness to collaborative solutions.

equine enteroliths, pebbles in manure, horse manure stones, colic causes horses, should i feed alfalfa to my horse?

Enteroliths are mineral accumulations of magnesium-ammonium-phosphate (struvite) around a foreign object (a piece of metal, pebble, baling twine, hair, rubber) that form round, triangular, or flat stones inside the bowel, usually over the course of multiple years. They form in the large colon of horses, where they can remain for some time until they move and cause an obstruction in the large or small colon, resulting in colic.

Hay Testing with NIRS, By Shelagh Niblock, PAS, hay forage analysis, overweight horse, equine metabolic conditions, cushing's disease horses, wet chemistry hay testing

Does It Make Sense for You This Year? Accurate laboratory analysis is the backbone of efficient ration planning for many horse owners today. Whether you have an elite competition horse or a senior who is essentially a pet, horse owners are becoming increasingly aware that informed forage buying decisions can make a significant difference in the health and performance of their horse.

Sidonia McIntyre, Equine Massage Instructor, equine hyperflexion, equine rollkur, equine flexion, Equine Soft Tissue Damage

The International Equestrian Federation (Fédération Equestre Internationale or FEI) made a formal statement regarding its viewpoint on the controversial training technique of rollkur or hyperflexion of the neck. This issue was debated at the FEI round-table conference at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Headquarters and the consensus of the group was that any head and neck position achieved through aggressive force is not acceptable

obese horses, obese pony, overweight pony, overweight horse, equine laminitis

Feeding a mixture of barley straw and hay is a safe and cost-effective way of promoting weight loss in grazing ponies over winter, according to recent research. Obesity is a widespread problem in pleasure horses and ponies. In the past, it was accepted that horses and ponies would lose weight over the winter and then gain weight in the spring when grazing quality improved. Nowadays, however, horses are fed to maintain condition over the winter, and, at the same time, they may be doing less work.

horse back, equine back, horse back pain, horse back muscles, equine back pain, equine back muscles, equine lameness, equine saddle, horse lameness, horse saddle, Lindsay Day, equine massage, Hilary Clayton

Back pain is an issue that can plague horse and human alike. Though back problems in the horse can be difficult to assess and get a handle on at times, new and ongoing research is lending itself to a better understanding of equine back pain and what we might be able to do to help prevent it.

horse Carrot Stretches, horse stretches, horse flexibility, equine stretches

Dynamic mobilization stretches, or "carrot stretches," should be performed on level, non-slip footing in an enclosed area, with the horse standing square and balanced. Encourage the horse to hold each position for several seconds, followed by a moment to allow them to relax their muscles and return to neutral before the next attempt.

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