This month’s article is a continuation of last month’s discussion on equine emergencies. Topics that were not covered last month were eye injuries, acute lameness and an emergency kit.
Eye injuries and a condition called uveitis (or in chronic cases, recurrent uveitis) in a horse can result in partial or full blindness. This is why a veterinarian should take a look at the injured eye as soon as possible.  
What does an injured eye look like? When horses have a painful eye, they may squint, tear, have purulent discharge, be reluctant to have their eye examined, and their eyelids may be swollen/inflamed.  The injured cornea (the clear part of the eye that you look through) may turn from clear to gray to opaque white, or it may be dull with pinprick size defects. The horse might even act blind in one eye or both.  
If any of these symptoms occur, the safest bet is to have your veterinarian thoroughly examine the eye with an ophthalmoscope and stain the eye...

[Read More]

Colic is what most horse owners dread. Generally, colic is abdominal pain caused by constipation (impaction), diarrhea (colitis, enteritis), stone (enterolith), twist/torsion and sand. Other non-GI reasons are labor, pneumonia, viruses, liver disease, kidney disease, tying up and abdominal abscess.
Colic has a multitude of symptoms such as not eating a meal, lying down excessively, pawing, rolling, sweating, standing in a corner, shaking, decreased to no manure output and decreased water intake.   
What to do? If the horse is rolling — get him up, start walking and have someone call a veterinarian right away. Otherwise, isolate the colicky horse from other horses, remove any leftover feed, clean the corral so you can identify new manure piles and give plenty of fresh water.
Next, if you are able, take the horse’s temperature, check the gum color, listen for gut sounds, take a heart rate and then call your veterinarian.
Colic is much easier to assess ov...

[Read More]

The geriatric horse has a special place in many people’s hearts.  They are generally well-trained, calm, not likely to spook, and often have been part of the family for a long time. Along with their special qualities, the older equines have special health care needs. This article contains some recommendations to help keep a geriatric equine going strong.
Maintaining appropriate weight in a geriatric horse is the foundation of good health. Therefore, a nutritionally based feed program will provide the basis of a geriatric maintenance plan.
General guidelines include good quality grass hay such as orchard/timothy, or an up to 50 percent alfalfa mix for forage. Pure alfalfa has too much calcium and can affect the kidneys in a geriatric horse.
Alfalfa also has too much protein.   An adequate equine diet has a protein content of just 12-14 percent, whereas alfalfa can contain 20-22 percent protein. Adding a quality supplement with minerals, vitamins, as we...

[Read More]

Owning a sound horse is a blessing that many horse owners have but do not appreciate, until the horse is lame. There are many reasons why a horse may become lame, such as arthritis, wounds, disease, foot problems, sprained/strained tendons and ligaments, and even broken bones.  This month’s article looks at the especially frustrating tendon and ligament injuries.
Tendons and ligaments occur throughout the body, but the ones that are injured most commonly in the horse are the flexor tendons and the suspensory ligament on the caudal (posterior—back) aspect of the canon bone, the fetlock joint, and the pastern region on all four legs.
To help with terminology: tendons attach muscle to bone and ligaments attach bone to bone. An injury can mean anything from a minor single area of strain/sprain to a generalized inflammation involving the entire structure or a core lesion or bow (meaning a true tear of the tendon or ligament fibers).
These injuries can occur from a si...

[Read More]

Buying a horse is an exciting, but tricky endeavor. The goal is to find the ideal companion that will be a partner for many years. The horse, however, may fail to live up to the owner’s expectations. This month’s article is about making an informed choice and minimizing the chance of a mismatch.  

There are several rules when purchasing a horse.  First, decide what type of horse fits you and your purpose best before you start looking. Second, always bring a trainer or another experienced horse person with you when trying out the horse.  Third, ride several horses before your purchase. Fourth, ride the horse you like several times. Fifth, when you are ready to buy, have your veterinarian perform a pre-purchase exam.
It is important to identify the qualities you want for your next (or possibly first) horse.  By jotting these qualities down, it will narrow your search and it will keep you focused on purchasing the right horse.
Sitting down with ...

[Read More]