By Shantelle Roberts - Being able to weigh your horse from time to time not only helps you monitor his body condition for overall health, it’s also important when developing a feeding program and calculating appropriate dosages for dewormers and medications. Unfortunately, your bathroom scale doesn’t stand a chance under the 1200 or so pounds of the average horse. A livestock scale typically provides the most accurate measurement of a horse’s weight, but this equipment is not available at all large animal veterinary clinics. In this case, there are two primary alternatives – the standard equine body weight formula or a weight tape.

With Karen Brain - Impulsion is the desire to move forward with more energy than is required to just ‘go forward. It’s an eagerness of energy being offered by the horse within each step while still in easy control of the rider.

By Jess Hallas-Kilcoyne - Commonly found in soil, decaying animal carcasses, and, sometimes, decaying plant material, Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium responsible for producing the toxins that cause botulism. These powerful toxins prevent the release of neurotransmitters that control muscle contractions, resulting in weakness and, often, paralysis. Botulism in horses, as in humans, is frequently fatal.

“There’s a lot of common overlap between reining horses, cow horses, and cutting horses,” says Cheryl Mitchell. “A lot of the bloodlines overlap. Horses going back to Smart Little Lena are found in cutting, reining, and cow horses.” Dr. Black concurs, saying: “Cutting and reining horses are often closely bred down single genetic lines to capitalize upon their innate ability to ‘read a cow’ and to perform specific athletic maneuvers such as a hard, deep stop.”

The term “colic” means “pain in the abdomen” or “pain in the belly.” There are many causes for such pain, ranging from the mild and inconsequential to the life-threatening or fatal. One of the problems with equine colic is that it can be very difficult in the early stages to distinguish the mild from the potentially fatal. This is why all cases of abdominal pain should be taken seriously right from the onset.

With Jonathan Newnham - All reining horses must go forward powerfully. Good impulsion is necessary for a horse to effectively use the power in his hindquarters and back. A hollow-backed horse will not be soft on your hands and/or legs without the maximum use of his hind end, back, withers, and neck.

By Lindsay Grice - There are quite a few things that horse owners can do at home to assist the training process. Saddling and riding is one more step in the horse’s education (which largely consists of yielding to pressure and counteracting his “fright-flight” instinct).

By Jess Hallas-Kilcoyne - For all the time that we spend deliberating about what type of hay to feed, or whether to add this supplement or that, the majority of horse owners tend not to spend a great deal of time thinking about the most important nutrient of all – water. Water helps maintain the healthy functioning of all the organs and systems in your horse’s body. Among many other things, it is essential to aiding digestion, regulating body temperature, eliminating toxins from the body, and lubricating the joints.

Any injury that reduces the horse’s soundness can affect athletic performance, reduce the enjoyment derived from exercise for both horse and rider, and cause chronic pain and suffering. Unfortunately, lameness is a relatively common problem affecting horses of all types and occupational uses, and one of the more common causes of lameness is joint disease.