So, you think you want to own a horse. You’ve read all my blogs, listened to Dr. Lacher’s podcast, Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, and you’ve been attending all of my monthly seminars. You feel like you have all the information you need to make an informed decision, and you have decided to buy a horse. Let me tell you, you still do not have all the information you need. There is always something else you must consider before buying a horse and even once you own a horse.  You may currently have a horse of your own, but there are still things that you horse owners need to think of. I have learned so many dos and don’ts of horse ownership throughout my years here as the Clinic Cat that I felt I should talk about how you can be best prepared for horse ownership.

Money

Probably the biggest thing I have learned about horses is that they cost A LOT of money. Like a ton, like more catnip than I could ever imagine wanting amount of money. Most times it’s not even the purchase price of the horse that is the most expensive part of horse ownership. Instead, it is the ongoing feed, hay, bedding, and care that horses seem to require every day. Not to mention tack, training, the farrier and veterinary bills, and that kind of stuff. Did you know horses need vaccinations twice a year? I’m lucky I’m a cat and have a super immune system and only need vaccines every 3 years.

So, besides routine care, you have to think about the what ifs. Because if I have learned one thing in all my kitty years, it is that horses like to get hurt, or sick, or basically try to kill themselves all the time. To be more direct about it, if you own a horse, your horse will also likely get hurt, or sick, or try to kill itself at some point while you own it. Be prepared for this, be prepared for the unexpected.

Have a savings account dedicated to horse care, have a credit card designated for horse expenses, apply for Care Credit and save that for a rainy day, or have your horse insured. Horse insurance is a whole other topic that was discussed in this seminar video that you should watch, but what I can tell you about that is that you will still have to pay your full veterinary bill and then the insurance company reimburses you. Basically, whichever way you decide to pay for the care of your horse, be prepared. I was never a boy scout, I was too mischievous for them but, I still have learned to always be prepared.

Transportation

At least once a week my docs get a call from someone with a sick horse who lives too far away for my docs to get to. The question they always end up asking owners is, do you have a horse trailer, or do you know someone who does? More often than not, the answer is no. I am completely dumbfounded by this. You own a horse, but you have no way to transport it somewhere? How is that even a thing? Forgive my cattiness but, please, please, please, think about this.

Most veterinarians are ambulatory and travel up to an hour or more away from their home clinic. That means if you call with an emergency, my docs could be two or more hours away from getting to your horse. But if you had a way to transport your horse, you could bring it to the clinic and likely get it seen much sooner. Some veterinarians may not have a clinic for you to haul into. What if your horse cannot wait a few hours to see the vet? What if you need to get it to a referral hospital NOW? Or what if maybe the situation is not quite that urgent but still requires 24-hour veterinary monitoring and care, how will you get your horse the care he needs?

Horses don’t just need to be transported for veterinary care. We live in Florida, hurricane central. Evacuations can happen at any time and you may need to leave. You’ve bought this horse, you and your family have fallen in love with him, and now you have to leave. Do you leave your horse? If you don’t have a trailer, you might be faced with this decision. No one wants to make that kind of decision. Your horse is your family. Yes, trailers are an investment and no, they are not cheap, but they are worth their weight in gold when it means you have a way to transport your horse to get the care he needs or get him to a safer location. Before you go and buy a horse, be prepared and either have a plan with someone who can transport your horse for you 24/7 for an emergency, or invest in an inexpensive but safe horse trailer. You will be happy you did.

Stabling/Care

According to my docs, horses require a lot of care including grooming, feeding, friends, and more. Cats are more independent, we groom ourselves, don’t really need friends, and basically only need humans to provide the foods. Horses are so high maintenance! Alas, I digress.

When you are thinking about buying a horse, don’t forget to think about where you will keep your new family member.  Will he live in your backyard? Who will be responsible for his care 24/7/365? Will you have to board him at someone else’s facility? Will that facility provide him with the life you want for him, and what all is included with board? So many questions that you must think of before you buy a horse.

Maybe you have land and want to keep your horse at your house, because who wouldn’t want to wake up to a warm nicker every morning? It may seem glamorous and convenient to have your horse in your backyard, but remember that means you are the one responsible for all of your horses care, including feeding twice a day, cleaning his stall, washing his water buckets and water trough, fence maintenance, etc.

Horses are herd animals and really value companionship of other horses. If you bring your horse home, you may want to consider getting him a friend. This means 2 mouths to feed, 2 stalls to clean, more buckets, and more farm maintenance.  Not to mention vacation. If everyone in your family wants to go on vacation, who is going to take care of your horse(s)? Finding trustworthy, reliable help is more difficult than you may realize. And from experience, you cannot leave your horse unattended for days. Horses, like cats, require a schedule and will enforce that schedule every day. You have to be prepared and have a plan in place if you decide to keep your horse at home.

Maybe you think that keeping your horse at home is just too much responsibility. The choice to board your horse is never the wrong choice. With boarding your horse comes a certain amount of responsibility as well. When picking a farm for your horse to live at, be sure to find out what they feed, where and who your horse will live with, and if having a stall for your horse is important to you, make sure this is a part of the boarding agreement. Find out exactly what is included in the board price. Will they blanket your horse? Will they brush and pick his feet? Will they hold him for the veterinarian or farrier if you can’t be there for the appointment? Can you use the veterinarian and farrier of your choosing?

There are so many factors that go into boarding your horse and in no way, shape or form does it relieve you of your responsibility to care for your horse. It does, however, allow you the convenience of not having to be there every single day, multiple times a day to care for your horse.  Wherever you decide to keep your horse, remember the theme of today’s blog: be prepared.

Owning a horse can be the biggest joy you may ever experience, but it can also lead to serious heartbreak. Before you buy a horse, consult the professionals: a trainer and your veterinarian are a great place to start and they are a wealth of information.  If you are considering purchasing a new family member, please call me at the clinic and I will have my docs call you to discuss it further.

Until next week,

-Tony

P.S. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, check out the recent episode of Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth called Expecting the Unexpected. They cover a lot of important things that horse owners need to be on top of.

The weather is changing, the days are shorter, there is snow up north, and the snowbirds are flocking to the south. This means it’s time for horse show season, my favorite time of year! I get to see all my old buddies from up north and hear about their summer adventures.  With the start of show season also starts cold/flu season for people and for your horse. I have a very healthy immune system so I don’t worry about getting the flu, but I have been around long enough to know that horses are giant babies and get sick at the drop of a hat.

Maybe you’re not the horse-showing type, but do you take your horse on outings? Trail rides, camping, rodeos or anywhere else where your horse might be exposed to other horses you don’t know? Even if you don’t take your horse anywhere, do you board your horse? Have you recently bought a new horse and are integrating him to your herd? Or are there horses on your property that come and go that may be exposed to horses you don’t know? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your horse is at risk. 

So, what do you do to protect your horse from getting sick while also getting to enjoy taking him places? As you all know, the first line of defense is vaccination. If you don’t remember which vaccines your horse needs, be sure to check out my past blogs on that topic. This week I’m going to talk to you about the preventative measures you can take while traveling with your horse to ward off the cooties. 

Stalls

More often than not, when taking your horse on outings, you may rent a stall. Stalls are super convenient, they give you a place to stash your horse so you can go off with your riding buddies, they are a safe place for your horse to stay overnight during a camping trip, and they provide a comfortable spot for your horse to rest during your trip. However, they are also cesspools where bacteria, viruses and all kinds of cooties like to live, leaving your horse susceptible to coming down with the ick. 

When you get to your final destination, prior to unloading your horse, may I suggest you inspect the stall. Make sure it is clean and has been completely mucked out before you place your horse in the stall. This is also an ideal time to check the stall for random nails, broken boards and other hazards your horse will be sure to find and injure himself on.  If you are a major germaphobe, I recommend bringing dilute bleach in a spray bottle with you that you can spray on the walls of the stalls prior to placing bedding and your horse in his stall. Of course this does not prevent your horse from contracting an illness but it can certainly lessen the chances. 

Buckets

Most facilities, whether horse shows, campgrounds, or rodeo facilities do not provide individual buckets for feeding and watering your horse. This is very good news. Community water and feed buckets are the ideal vehicles for transmitting bacteria, viruses, and other cooties that can make your horse sick. However, if the facility you are traveling to does have community buckets, I suggest that you do not allow your horse to share.  Heck, I don’t even share my food bowl with Teenie Cat, and she’s my friend. I certainly would not share with a stranger. Why would you allow your horse to? 

I recommend bringing all of your own buckets with you when you travel. This eliminates the transmission of illness via community buckets. If you forget a bucket and must share, be sure to scrub any community buckets with soap and water, and it won’t hurt to throw in a little bleach while you’re scrubbing, either. Be sure to rinse the buckets thoroughly prior to use.  

Water Troughs

Community water troughs: just don’t. Talk about a cesspool! These are the most disgusting, dirty, horrible places to allow your horse to drink. Besides the fact that they never get properly cleaned, water troughs breed bacteria and proliferate viruses. Sun + heat + water = the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses. Add in a horse with a cold or the flu drinking from the already nasty water trough and you can basically watch the ick spread like wildfire. So do me and my docs a favor and don’t ever let your horses drink from community troughs.

What you can do instead is bring your own buckets. Offer your horses clean water at all times and avoid water troughs. If there isn’t a water spigot where you’re going except for the community trough, bring your own water. If you’re filling your buckets with a community hose, never let the hose touch the water in the bucket.

Water troughs in pastures at boarding facilities are common and often unavoidable. How can you help prevent your horse from contracting illness from the water trough where you board? Well for one, you can call my docs and get your horse properly vaccinated. I recommend the 2020 Wellness Plans as they provide your horse with all the appropriate vaccines, coggins, dental, and deworming they need for the year. It’s a no brainer, really. 

You can also question the farm director/manager/owner on the vaccination requirements to be allowed to board your horse there. They should be very strict. This not only protects your horse, but also protects other boarder’s horses. If you have ever brought in your horse to my clinic you know I perform “catscans” on any trailer that comes in. I suggest you do the same when checking out boarding facilities.  Do any of the horses there appear to be ill? Are the feed and water buckets and stalls cleaned? Are the pasture water troughs clean?  

Bits/Equipment

Sharing bits and other equipment between horses is another big no-no. This is a very common practice at lesson/boarding barns. However, it is also very avoidable. Have your own bridle and equipment designated to your horses, and do not allow others to use it without your permission. After every ride, wash your bit with soap and water to prevent bacteria from spreading. Wash your saddle pads often, as they can be a nidus for skin infections to spread from horse to horse. And don’t use equipment if you do not know which horse it has been on or whose it is. 

Biosecurity is essential in maintaining your horses’ health. If you notice any signs of illness, first and foremost, call my docs so they can help guide you through ways to prevent spreading illness to other horses and take extra care not to share.  Always, always, always have my docs vaccinate your horse on a proper schedule! They can guide you to what is best for your horse and their lifestyle. Remember when traveling with your horse, sharing is not always caring and it is best to be extra cautious and you will avoid having to end your travels early because your horse got someone else’s cooties. 

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. Tony’s Pro Tip: If you haven’t been listening to Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, the podcast my humans do, you’re missing out! The latest episode is on genetic testing, and they interviewed Dr. Samantha Brooks, an equine geneticist at UF. It’s well worth an hour of your time!

Last week I wrote about poisonous plants. It was brought to my attention that I forgot a plant. I informed my people they were wrong. I’m a cat, I didn’t forget. I wanted to give Creeping Indigo its own special blog. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! So, without further ado, Creeping Indigo.

It’s a Creeper For Sure

This tiny, unassuming little spawn of Satan grows very close to the ground in areas of short grass. It gets a cute pink, sort of peachy-colored flower. Watch for this, since it’s the easiest way to spot it. When it doesn’t have flowers, you’re going to have to look very close to identify it. The super-scientific description is prostrate with alternate compound leaves, with alternate leaflets. What that means, is it grows really close to the ground, and its leaves are really a bunch of tiny leaves that come off opposite sides of the stalk, but not in the same place. I put a picture of it below so you can see the pretty flowers, and the leaves. 

There’s more fun in store from this demon. While most of the roots are close to the surface, the taproot can be two feet long, and it puts out an ungodly amount of seed pods. Both of these are capable of spawning more spawns of Satan. I promise I’m going to talk about the poisonous part, but that taproot and those seed pods are what will really have you swearing at this plant. They combine to make it nearly impossible to get rid of without a lot of effort. More on that later.

What Makes it Poisonous?

To be honest, that’s a great question. I have found that to be human code for “I have no idea.” However, I’m a cat. I know the answer. Creeping Indigo has two toxins: 3-nitropropionate (3-NPA) and indospicine. 3-NPA is a toxin aimed, ironically, at defending the plant against destruction by plant eaters. Seems to me if horses still eat the plant, it’s not a very good defense mechanism, but cats are carnivores so I’m probably not the best judge on that topic. For even more fun, 3-NPA is metabolized very quickly, making it nearly impossible to find. Indospicine is easier to find in blood tests, making it the choice for an attempt at a diagnosis if ingestion is suspected. 

What Do The Toxins Do?

3-NPA is a very, very not nice toxin. Like, Teannie-Cat-in-a-really-bad-mood bad toxin. Like me when it’s raining and cold out, and my humans won’t make it stop. Seriously, it’s bad. This toxin works by stopping mitochondria, the power plant of cells, from making energy. Nerve cells are often the hardest hit in this scenario, which works as a nice lead in for most common symptoms. 

Symptoms for Creeping Indigo can be tough! Early signs are often really subtle, and only noticeable to people who know their horses well. It starts with quieter than normal behavior, maybe some low head carriage. Nothing very specific or obvious. Over the next few days, these horses will lay down more and more, and may even lose the ability to stand. Sometimes they head-press into the corner of a stall, or fall asleep while standing. They may do the opposite, and develop what appear to be neurotic walking behaviors. It all depends on which nerve cells are most affected by the havoc 3-NPA is wreaking. 

Indospicine is the nicer of the two toxins, but nicer like cod liver oil is better than castor oil. Indospicine acts by inhibiting a potent natural anti-oxidant called nitric oxide synthase. It causes the mucous membranes to ulcerate, the eyes to run, and the cornea to lose its ability to remain clear. This toxin makes horses feel bad, but these symptoms can all be recovered from. 

But Can You Fix It, Doc?

The answer is No, and this is why: Creeping Indigo is such a bad, bad dude. In fact, it can be nearly impossible to identify it as the cause of all the symptoms we just talked about, because nothing it does can be identified on bloodwork or even necropsy (the fancy name for an animal autopsy). Tell me that isn’t crazy! Horses found with mild symptoms and Creeping Indigo available for them to graze on should be removed immediately. However, what they have for symptoms almost always remain. This stuff is for real scary.

How Much Is Too Much?

There isn’t a hard and fast answer for that. We do know that one bite isn’t going to make them sick. They probably need to eat upwards of ten pounds to start showing symptoms, which is similar to a flake of hay, but like all things, it’s going to be different for everyone. Abstinence is the only truly safe way to go. 

I Am Appropriately Scared. Now What?

Oh how I wish I had an easy answer for you, my humans, but I don’t. Start with a soil test to make sure you have happy grass soil. Creeping Indigo doesn’t like to grow in areas of tall-ish grass. Making your pastures happy and lush will let Mother Nature help you wage this war. Next, check areas of high traffic, edges of driveways, anywhere grass is naturally short to evaluate your level of Creeping Indigo problem. These plants can be sprayed with GrazonNext HL to kill the plants. BUT, and it’s a huge but, dead plants are still poisonous so you still need to remove them, and the seed pods are resistant to all manner of death as near as I can tell. This means you should plan on evaluating your Creeping Indigo status on a regular basis. For this plant, you never get to call it quits. 

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. Wondering if you have Creeping Indigo? Still not sure after looking at my pictures, and using the heck out of The Google? Call your nearest County Extension Office. They are a wealth of information of all kinds of things, weeds and pasture care being two of them.

With the cooler temperatures comes a decrease in the available forage in the pastures for your horses.  As we all know, horses will eat and eat and eat until there is nothing else to eat. But then again, so will I.  When their regular forage is gone, horses tend to find anything else that might be good (or bad, for that matter) to eat which includes trees and plants that can be toxic and harmful to them. This week, I’m going to talk to you all about common trees and plants that we have in Florida and possibly in your pasture that could be toxic to your horses.

Toxic plants can cause a myriad of signs and symptoms, including, but not limited to, gastrointestinal upset, neurological changes, heart, lung, kidney and liver changes, skin problems, and even death. Luckily for you, I am well-versed in Florida plants and what problems they can cause your horse, and what we can do about it if you find these plants in your pastures.

Trees

There are so many beautiful trees in Florida that produce lovely flowers and fruits. Waste of space, if you ask me, who needs flowers or fruit? Now, fish, fish is something I can get behind, and fish isn’t toxic to your horse.  They may not want to eat fish, but they definitely won’t die from not eating fish. The problem with these fruity and flowery trees is they are often toxic to your horse.  Cherry trees of all kinds, Loquat trees, Sago Palm trees and Red Maple trees all produce toxins that may have negative effects on your horse’s health.

Cherry trees and Loquat trees produce cyanide, which, when ingested in large quantities, can affect horses within just hours after eating them. This includes the fruit, leaves, and bark of the trees.  Cyanide prevents oxygen from being transported to the cells of the body, which leads to respiratory failure, seizures, and very rapidly, death. Sago Palm trees affect the digestive system and nervous systems of horses. As few as one or two seeds from the Sago Palm can cause bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract and liver failure and can lead to death within a few hours of ingestion. When wilted leaves of Red Maple trees are ingested, red blood cells are destroyed, and when red blood cells are destroyed, they can’t get oxygen to your horse’s vital organs. If left untreated it can result in death.

I hear horses love to sleep in the shade of trees. I prefer to sleep in the warm sun, but when choosing shade trees for your pasture, make sure to avoid trees that may produce toxins if ingested. They may be pretty, but pretty may be deadly, so do your homework before planting or letting your horse out in a new pasture. 

Landscaping

I have yet to understand why you people love horses. They are always trying to hurt themselves, they are always sick, not to mention they are huge! I mean, they can’t even sit on your lap! What baffles me even more is that you love having horses in your backyard, but you also love having perfectly manicured and landscaped yards for your horses to live in.

Often times plants such as milkweed, lantana, oleander, rhododendron and azaleas are used in landscapes. Milkweed, lantana and oleander are known to attract butterflies. Don’t get me wrong, butterflies are great fun to chase, and I’ve gotten pretty good at catching them too, but they can be toxic to your horse if ingested (the plants, not the butterflies). These plants can cause photosensitivity, leading to skin and mouth sores, particularly if your horse is in direct sunlight for a long portion of the day. They can also cause more severe symptoms including gastrointestinal upset which can lead to diarrhea, anorexia, and death.

Horses do not typically find rhododendron to be overly palatable unless there is nothing else to consume in their pasture. If they do choose to ingest the plant, they are at risk of developing irregular heart rhythms or arrhythmias. Without treatment, death will occur. Of all landscaping plants you people like to use, azaleas are the least harmful.  This doesn’t mean go out and plant an entire pasture of azaleas, it just means you don’t have to go out in your pasture tonight and pull out all your azaleas.  If your horse ingests some of your azaleas, they may become nauseous or weak and may go off feed. The good news is, if you remove the azaleas, your horse will likely go right back to eating and do just fine. Of course, if he doesn’t, you know it’s time to call my docs to get your horse looked at as soon as possible.

Undergrowth/Shrubs

It seems like weeds, shrubs and undergrowth just seem to pop up and take over at any time, leaving your horse susceptible to accidentally or purposefully ingesting possibly harmful plants. Nightshade, yellow jessamine, crotalaria, stinging nettle, and bracken fern are all common Florida shrubs and undergrowth that can take over your pasture.

Nightshade and yellow jessamine can affect the nervous system and cause depression, ataxia, weakness, and respiratory distress. Nightshade also can have negative effects on the gastrointestinal tracts including nausea, anorexia, diarrhea and colic symptoms.

Crotalaria produces a very lovely yellow flower, but when your horse ingests this flower, they suffer from liver poisoning and damage to the cells in the lungs. Unfortunately, clinical signs of crotalaria toxicity typically do not show up until late stages of the disease, which makes treatment difficult and often unsuccessful, leading to death.

Ugh!!! There is nothing that I hate more than stinging nettle! If you’ve ever touched stinging nettle, you know what I’m talking about. That stupid little plant not only stings, but the sting lasts forever. I know this from experience, and no, I don’t want to talk about it. If your horse gets into stinging nettle, they may start to act erratic including rolling, stomping, and biting, which could easily be mistaken for colic. Your efforts to relieve your horse’s pain will be for not, and the only thing that will help your horse is time. The biggest danger to your horse after getting into stinging nettle is your horse. The best you can do is keep him safe until the sting subsides.

I find bracken fern makes great little hiding spots for me during the day. That being said, if your horse ingests bracken fern, it can cause them to become deficient in Thiamine, a vital B vitamin for your horse. Thiamine deficiency causes weight loss, lethargy, and ataxia, eventually leading to death after several weeks of clinical signs.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of all the possible toxic plants that may be present in your horse’s pasture. However, as you can tell, toxic plants are very dangerous and possibly deadly to your horse. So, listen to this wise old cat and check you pastures for toxic plants prior to turning your horse out. If you are unsure of a plant, give my docs a call and they will help you figure out if your horse is at risk. You may also consult with the local UF/IFAS Extension agent who will come out to your property and walk your pastures with you to determine how safe they are for your horse.

That’s all for now. It’s nap time.

Until next week,

~Tony

My humans have this very weird holiday this week. It’s called Thanksgiving. I hate it. It means fewer minions around for four whole days to open and close the door at my command. I understand it is a time when the humans eat a lot of food (I can get behind that), watch a lot of TV (I’m good with that, but only if I can sit on a lap), attempt to get along with family (I feel you there, Teannie and I struggle with this one), and give thanks for who, and what they’ve got (I should probably thank my humans, but I won’t). Thanksgiving did get me thinking about that last part, giving thanks. I’d like to give a shout out to a few folks (human and animal) that I think don’t get enough thanks during the year. I’m a cool cat like that.

The Horse Show Parent

From my supervisory position here at the Clinic, I’ve determined that being a parent is one tough job. Being a horse show parent has to be the hardest version of this job that exists. Shout out to the awesome horse show parents! You help your kids learn about taking care of this incredibly large, fragile beast. You send them out into the world to compete, knowing it’s tough, and knowing that you can’t always fix the problems, and knowing there will be some really, really important life lessons along the way. So thank you for getting up before the sun, thank you for working hard to help pay for it all, and thank you for being so darn supportive! It’s hard to watch kids grow up and become independent, but it also has to be great to watch them achieve hard fought goals. 

The Lesson Horse

Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover this one. These horses should be candidates for Sainthood. Their kind and forgiving souls take many of you humans down a one-way path to a lifelong love of horses. From teaching you what a trot feels like, and not dumping you in the dirt as you try to figure out how to ride this new, bouncy gait, to putting up with pulling and pushing at all the wrong times, lesson horses carry around an invisible halo. Without these guys, I doubt many of you would have stayed in this horse gig for long. 

Barn Staff

This is for all you humans with horses at boarding and training barns. These are the people who make sure your horse’s near constant needs are met. Rain, sleet, snow, cold, hot. They make sure poop is picked, food is served, and hay is delivered in a timely fashion. Sure, for lots of you, this person is you, but for those who rely on others to help with the horsekeeping, these are the people who make your horse’s life pretty great. For many in the horse show world, these are the people up hours before you arrive lunging, riding, bathing, and generally making sure everything is ready to go. Tell them thank you. Even better, bring them something to eat, and/or drink since they probably haven’t done either on anything resembling an appropriate schedule. If this person is you, get yourself some chocolate. You deserve it. 

The Barn Cat

Two words: rats and mice. You’re welcome. That’s all for this one. 

Horses take a lot of work. Take a moment to think about who deserves thanks for your horse life this Thanksgiving. 

Until next week,

~Tony

To blanket, or not to blanket. That is the question. With the drastic change in weather, it’s difficult to know exactly when and with what you should blanket your horse. I, for one, am all for blanketing. My staff recently went as far as purchasing myself and Teeny some very nice flannel to keep us warm on these chilly days. I pretend to hate it, I can’t let them know that I actually appreciate their gesture, but I just love my new flannel, I look so fancy and chic, plus it keeps me warm while I’m out patrolling the clinic. Enough about me. Well, not really, it’s always all about me, but I know you all are here to learn about blanketing horses, not cats, so let me tell you all about it.

When I grow up, I want to be a weatherman. It’s literally the only job where you can be wrong 99% of the time and you don’t get fired, what gives? You all know what I’m talking about. This past weekend in Florida, for example, it was supposed to rain part of the day Friday but then turn out partly sunny on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the 60s. Well, guess who was wrong again? Not me, of course, but you guessed it, the weathermen! Not only did it rain all day Friday, it rained and was overcast all day Saturday. Certain parts of our area saw the sun for a brief moment on Sunday, but other areas saw only clouds. The bigger disappointment was the temperature.  I spent the whole weekend inside, but I don’t think it got over 60 all weekend, with feels like temperatures in the 50s! So, this leads us to this week’s blog topic, blanketing.

Has your horse ever been blanketed?

So many factors go into when we should blanket our horses. First and foremost is, has your horse ever been blanketed? If your horse has never had a blanket on him for his entire life, now may not be the time to start. If you do decide that you want to start blanketing your horse, remember to always monitor how your horse tolerates having a blanket on. As you all know, some horses think that ripping blankets to shreds is the best game and will find any way to rip their blanket off or may try to take their friends’ blankets off.  This can get very expensive unless you know someone who is handy with a sewing machine, and don’t look at me. I have many talents but sewing is not one of them. Apparently opposable thumbs are necessary for sewing. The other thing horses like to do is get caught on objects, fencing, trees, etc. So, for horses who aren’t used to wearing a blanket, please keep an eye on them for the first few days while they are getting used to it.

Let’s say your horse tolerates blanketing well and kind of actually enjoys his new clothes. Now we have to decide at what temperature we blanket and what type of blanket he needs.

Is Your Horse Body Clipped?

Has your horse recently gotten a snazzy new ‘do? I bet he looks great, but when you clip your horse, they lose a layer of insulation they use to keep warm. I am all for keeping your horse clipped and looking his best, so when the weather gets cold, be sure to have blankets on hand. My rule of paw is, if your horse is clipped and the temperature drops into the mid 50s, your horse should have a light sheet on. If it drops into the mid 40s, I recommend a blanket. Anything in the mid 30s or below, you may want to consider a sheet and blanket or a very heavy blanket.

If your horse has not been body clipped recently, he probably doesn’t need a blanket at all. The exceptions to this are horses who can’t regulate their temperature or put on an appropriate winter coat, such as older Cushing’s/PPID horses, or horses who are subjected to a lot of rain followed by freezing temps. If you have a horse you aren’t sure about, call my docs.

Where does your horse live?

Does your horse live in a barn, is he in a pasture, or a combination of both? I am a fan of the combo living myself, I like to spend my days laying in the sun outside and my nights inside sleeping in the office chairs. Whatever lifestyle you have picked for your horse will also dictate what kind of blanket you may want for your horse.

If your horse spends most of his time in a stall and is only turned out in fair weather, you can probably get away with having a stable sheet and stable blanket on hand for your horse. However, if your horse is ever going to be out in inclement weather, I highly recommend having a waterproof sheet and blanket on hand. Even if your horse lives in a pasture with access to a stall or shelter, I still recommend waterproof clothes for him. Horses make bad decisions sometimes and will stand in the rain despite having a stall right in front of them, so waterproof is necessary in these situations. Who wants to wear a wet blanket when it’s freezing?

What if your horse is wet/sweaty?

If for some reason your horse is out in a blanket that is not waterproof and it gets wet, it is always better to take the wet blanket off and let it dry. Do not leave a wet blanket on your horse in cold weather, this is just asking for your horse to get sick.

Is your horse already wet or sweaty? Wait for them to dry before you put their blanket on them. This is where wool coolers come in handy. You can put the cooler on your horse while he dries. It helps to pull the moisture away from your horse while keeping the heat in. While coolers make excellent beds for me to sleep on, I do not suggest leaving your horse in his cooler unattended as they tend to slip and can get caught around feet, legs and necks, and well, we know what happens after that. You got it, a call to my docs. So, once your horse is dry, switch out the cooler for a sheet or blanket with secure straps to prevent injury to your horse.

As always, your horse’s safety is most important and what is best for your horse may not be best for your neighbor’s horse and vice versa.  If you have questions about blanketing your horse and what is best for your individual situation, do not hesitate to ask my docs. Remember, they are horse owners too, and make the same decisions about their horses that you make about your horses every day and they love talking about what is best for your horse to keep him happy and healthy.

Want to learn more about this? Check out the upcoming episode of the podcast my humans produce. The December 1^st episode is all about blanketing. While you’re at it, you should check out the hottest horse book on the market. It’s called Adventures of the Horse Doctor’s Husband. You can read all about it by clicking on the banner below, or on the Books link up in the menu bar. But before you do any of that, scroll down a bit more and subscribe to my blog. It’s what all the cool cats do.

Until next week,

~Tony

There is a widespread misconception that a stallion is going to “fix” what you don’t like about your mare. Just…no. That’s not how genetics work. As a matter of fact, genetic traits are passed on in a one-or-the-other fashion. This means that if you breed a mare with bad feet to a stallion with good feet, you have a 50% chance of getting a baby with bad feet, and a 50% chance of getting a baby with good feet. Keep in mind, this is my very oversimplified feline explanation of a very complex topic.

A lot of money

Let me just tell you upfront, from one frugal guy to another, the more you try to cut corners in this breeding thing, the more it will end up costing you. For example, if you have 2 mares, you may think you can flush an embryo out of one, and the other will be the surrogate…thus eliminating the need to ‘rent’ a recipient mare. False… or at least extremely unlikely and ill-advised. Embryo transfer is an advanced, complicated, delicate, and expensive process. The greatest expense in maintaining an embryo transfer program lies in maintaining a herd of at least ~50-100 recipient mares. Do you know why they have 50-100 recip mares? It’s so they can pick the one mare whose cycle matches up perfectly with your donor mare, so that the delicate embryo transfer process is successful. You may read that there are ways to synchronize the cycles of 2 mares. However, these protocols are not an exact science, and they require hormonal manipulation which never works as well as allowing things to happen naturally. There is a higher risk of the embryo transfer failing, and the next thing you know, you are out $2000 and you don’t have a baby on the way.  

Having just read that bit about embryo transfer, you may be thinking that sounds expensive, but you are going to find a way to do it cheaper. I can assure you, you will not. If you want to breed your own mare and raise your own foal, you need to be prepared to invest thousands of dollars in the process. Which begs the question: would it be cheaper to just buy a horse? And the answer is usually ‘yes.’

Consider the fact that you will have the costs of breeding on the mare end (pre-breeding screening tests, ultrasounds, artificial insemination, etc.), the costs of the stud fee (factor in 1-3 collection fees, too), the costs of pregnant mare care (ultrasounds, vaccines, foal watch). Then, once the foal is born, you still have to get it to survive it’s first 3-4 years of life or so before you sell it. That means 3-4 years of feeding, housing, preventive care, emergencies (baby horses LOVE to hurt themselves), training, etc. Add all that up. Go ahead, I’ll wait. I have hours until my Friskies is served.

A lot of time and patience

A horse’s gestation is around 11 months on average, but it is not unusual for them to carry over a year. So by the time the foal is born, you have already invested almost a year and a half in creating this perfect little once-in-a-lifetime horse.

What’s the deal with Supplements?

What’s the deal with all the supplements you people feed your horses? There must be thousands of different things you can add to your horse’s food on a daily basis. Who would even want to eat all that stuff in their food, it has to mask the deliciousness that is food, right? As a diabetic kitty the only “supplement” I take is my insulin twice daily, thank goodness. My staff just pokes me with a tiny needle to give that and doesn’t mess with my food, because I might go on a hunger strike if they messed with my food! Since I didn’t know much about horse supplements, I wanted to learn a bit more, so I talked to my docs about what they think about all the different types of supplements out there. Let’s chat about some of the most popular types that you’ll see daily at your local feed store.

Electrolytes

It has been so refreshing and cool this past weekend, it’s almost easy to forget how much horses sweat (if we are lucky). Hopefully your horse is a good sweater and you don’t have to deal with anhydrosis, but that is a topic for another week. As you know, horses lose sweat during exercise and in hot and humid conditions aka FLORIDA. When they sweat, they lose more than just salt, they lose sodium, calcium, chloride, and magnesium. This means they need all of these elements replenished through their diet. You might think that hanging a salt or mineral block for your horse will be enough to get them all they lose when they sweat but unfortunately that’s not always the case.

Often times my docs will recommend adding an electrolyte to your horse’s food or water. The problem with salt and mineral blocks is the intake per horse is highly variable and it can be hard to tell how much your horse is consuming. The best way to replenish what is lost in sweat is to add an electrolyte to their feed or water. When you walk in your local feed store you may be overwhelmed with all the different types of electrolytes. So how do you pick the right one for your horse? My docs recommend you evaluate the sugar content and pick one that is low in sugar.

You may have noticed that this past weekend with the cooler weather your horse has not been drinking as much as he should. This is often the case when the weather turns colder, horses forget to drink. And we all know what happens when horses forget to drink, yup, the dreaded C-word, colic.  I never forget to drink or eat. Cats are too smart for that!  So, how do you get your horse to keep drinking when the weather changes? Add in some electrolytes to their feed, even just some plain table salt can encourage them to drink more. However, there is some concern with adding in plain salt to your horse’s diet. Some horses will not eat plain salt. They may lick a salt block, but if you add salt to their grain, they won’t eat it. Explain that logic to me!

The other potential problem with feeding table salt is in feeding it to horses with active gastric ulcers. Think about it: if you feed your horse salt and he has an ulcer in his stomach, you will literally be pouring salt on a wound, OUCH! That being said, you may find that electrolytes are the easiest and most palatable to feed your horse.

Joint Supplements

If I know anything, I know that you people all want the best for your horses and will do whatever you can to keep your horse feeling 100%, including feeding the most expensive joint supplement on the market. Well, luckily for you, I am here to save you all the money. Joint supplements may seem like the answer to all your problems. However, I am here to tell you that is not always the case. Unfortunately, the science behind feed-through joint supplements is lacking and the studies out there only show how the supplements work before they hit the horse’s digestive tract.

If you have ever had a horse colic you know they have the most wonky GI tract and who knows if joint supplements can even withstand the digestive process and do what they are supposed to do in the joint. If you ask my docs about feed-through joint supplements, they will tell you all you’re doing is making some very expensive manure. However, if you have the desire to add a joint supplement to your horse’s feed, by all means, go for it, it might help and can’t hurt. But if you want the next level treatment for your horse’s joints, I recommend you talk to my docs to get their recommendations on exercise programs along with a possible injectable joint supplement such as Adequan that may benefit your horse more than feed-through joint supplements.

Hoof Supplements

You all know the saying, no hoof no horse, and your farrier has probably recommended a hoof supplement for your horse, especially if they have any history of feet problems. Your farrier is definitely not wrong to recommend a hoof supplement, but let’s look at them a little further to see if they are something your horse really needs.

Most hoof supplements are made up of mostly biotin. You know, maybe I should take a hoof supplement, biotin would surely make my coat gleam and my nails sharper to better catch those rats with, but I digress.

As we have discussed, horses have wonky gastrointestinal tracts and weird-o digestive systems. However, their odd GI has set them up to make their own biotin in their hindgut which suggests they don’t really need any supplemented in their diet.  That being said, there have been reports that with the addition of a hoof supplement, owners, farriers, and veterinarians have noticed an increase in hoof growth, improvement in the quality and elasticity of the horn, and strengthening of weakened hoof walls, particularly in horses with “shelly” feet.

Similar to joint supplements, hoof supplements certainly might help and won’t hurt. If you are going to feed a hoof supplement, make sure you’re feeding the appropriate amount of 15-20 mg per 1000lb horse per day, but remember, you cannot rely fully on hoof supplements for the health of your horse’s feet. A good working relationship between my docs and your farrier is essential as well as good nutrition.

We have only just begun to scratch the surface of supplements that are available to feed your horse. If you have any questions about what supplement you should or should not feed and how they work, be sure to call the clinic and talk to my docs about your horse’s needs.  Remember, there is no supplement that can replace a balanced diet, and feeding your horse a balanced diet of appropriate grain and forage is essential to their wellbeing. My docs are always available for appointments to discuss nutrition including what grain, hay and supplements to feed your horse, so call the clinic and schedule your appointment to see me, and talk to the docs about feeding your horse.

Want more right now? Check out the podcast my docs did on Supplements. It’s Season 2, Episode 16. You can listen to it right on my website by clicking here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Until next week,

~Tony