(352) 472-1620 vets@springhillequine.com
Winter Prep

Winter Prep

Nov 19, 2018 | Cold weather

Tuesdays with Tony

Boy, was it chilly here last weekend! Did you pull out your winter blankets? I know I limited my regular outdoor excursions to 5 minutes or less on Thursday and Friday. I found it most entertaining to ask my humans to let me out repeatedly, only to turn around, fluff myself up, and ask to be let back in because it was cold. It was great fun! Do you know the best ways to help your horses through the cold snaps this winter? Here’s what I have learned over the years from my docs.

Hay

  Did you know that one of the primary ways horses stay warm through the winter is by eating? That’s right. The calories we talk about in food are actually a measurement of heat energy. Your horse burns calories trying to keep warm. Feed provides those extra calories needed in the winter. Hay, specifically, has the added benefit of giving off heat as it ferments. This fermentation occurs in the horse’s cecum, which is kind of like a miniature version of the cow’s rumen. When provided with plenty of nice, good-quality forage, this internal fermentation process keeps horses nice and toasty!
    When feeding hay for the winter, please don’t make the mistake of throwing out a new round bale of coastal hay and letting your horses eat their fill all at once. Most likely, they will colic. Coastal hay is relatively fine, and it loves to get stuck in the large colon. My docs see sooooo many coastal hay impaction colics in the winter, you wouldn’t believe it. Don’t be a victim of this very common scenario.
   So, what is the right way to feed hay in the winter? If you choose to feed coastal hay, introduce your horse to the round bale gradually, over a period of several days to weeks. Limit their access to only a few hours a day at first. Or, better yet, feed flakes off of a round or square bale, rather than letting your horse have free-choice access. In addition, we recommend adding in alfalfa or peanut hay in a 1:4 ratio. The laxative effects of the alfalfa or peanut hay will help keep that coastal hay moving through. This means that for every flake of coastal hay your horse eats, you should be feeding about 1/4 flake of alfalfa or peanut hay. Alfalfa cubes or pellets (which should always be soaked in water before feeding) can also meet this requirement and prevent coastal hay impactions. A flake of alfalfa is equivalent to about 2 scoops (that is 3-quart scoops) of cubes or pellets. So, for every flake of coastal hay, you should feed about 1/2 a scoop of alfalfa cubes or pellets.
   One more word of Tony Wisdom: pay attention to the quality of your coastal hay. Make sure you are buying “horse hay,” not “cow hay.” The biggest difference is in how fine-stemmed the hay is. Certain varieties of coastal hay, such as Tifton 85, are more coarse-stemmed, more digestible, and this less likely to cause impactions.

Water

   As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Notice nobody ever said this about a cat. Cats hate water, but we are at least smart enough to keep ourselves hydrated. Nonetheless, there are some things you can do to get more water into your horses this winter.
    It has been shown that horses drink more warm water than cold water. Now, I’m not suggesting everyone needs to bring a coffee pot of hot water out to the barn every night. However, IF we get below freezing here in Florida this winter, you do need to make sure your horse’s water buckets are free of ice. And if you are having issues with your horse not drinking enough in the winter, a heater for your water trough is something to consider.
     Adding salt to your horse’s grain is another easy way to encourage drinking. Following the same theory as eating a bag of potato chips, having a salty dinner will make your horse thirsty. You can buy electrolytes or Himalayan salt for horses, but I’ll tell you a secret: table salt works just as well for this purpose. 1 tablespoon morning and night should do the trick! You should also provide access to a salt block for your horse at all times, but some horses are more apt to lick a salt block than others. Adding salt directly to the feed is the best way to ensure it gets into your horse.
    Another handy trick to get more fluids into your horse in the winter time is to soak their grain. Beet pulp and alfalfa cubes or pellets are excellent vehicles for soaking up water and getting your horse to consume it. That being said, most pelleted grains puff up nicely with water and can be soaked by themselves. Tony Pro Tip: don’t soak grain any longer than 10 minutes- it gets kinda rancid smelling and horses don’t like that. Beet pulp and alfalfa can be soaked as long as you like.

Shelter

    Everybody always wants to know about blankets. Blankets, blankets, blankets! The truth is, unless your horse is old, sick, thin, or body clipped, he probably doesn’t need a blanket in Florida. No, not even in the middle of the winter. Horses have a beautiful naturally water-repellent hair coat which insulates their body heat through those cold winter nights. You certainly don’t need to blanket any horse if the temperature is at or above 50 degrees. That’s their favorite weather!
Winter prep for horses
    All that horses need around here in the winter is some form of shelter to get out of the rain. It’s when they get wet and damp that the cold really becomes an issue. This shelter can be in the form of a barn, a run-in shed, or even a tree line. As long as your horses  have somewhere to escape the worst of the winds or driving rain, they will do just fine.
    For those horses who are old and/or thin going into the winter, it is a good idea to provide them with a little extra in the form of a waterproof sheet or blanket, and some extra hay. Usually the horses that run into trouble in the winter are those who are really lacking muscle mass and fat stores. So, start working on fattening up your hard-keepers before the temperatures drop!
       Hopefully I have given you some useful ideas to keep your horses nice and cozy this season! Most importantly, remember to save that warm, toasty spot in front of the fireplace for your cat.
     Stay warm!
           -Tony
P.S. Have you subscribed to this blog yet? Or listened to an episode of the amazing podcast that the humans record for you? It’s a fantastic free resource if you’re looking for more horse knowledge, which you obviously are, since you’re reading my blog. Alright, it’s nap time.

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Colic vs COLIC, and the Cost

Colic vs COLIC, and the Cost

Nov 12, 2018 | Colic, Insurance

Tuesdays with Tony

Colic vs COLIC, and the Cost

If I’ve learned anything from my years here at the Clinic, it’s that there’s colic, and then there’s COLIC. The colic kind of colic means some Banamine, some water and electrolytes, and, gasp, a whole lot less food over the next couple days. The COLIC kind of colic means one of two things: a whole bunch of fluids through an IV catheter, or surgery, or, even worse, both. The other difference: how much they cost. Being the wise and wonderful cat I am, I’m going to share with you all I learned about horse insurance the other night so that you can be prepared for the serious amounts of money COLIC can cost.

There are three different price brackets when talking about colic treatment. For the simple colic that just needs some drugs and some fluids, you can expect it to run somewhere in the $400 – $600 range. These things usually happen after hours, so there’s an emergency fee in there (unless you are on a Springhill Equine Wellness Plan!). If it’s a medical colic that doesn’t require surgery, but needs to come stay at the clinic for a few days, you’re looking at $800 – $2,000, depending on all kinds of things. This will include oversight by Yours Truly, so there’s that. For surgical colic, there is a very wide range of cost, because there’s a very wide range of surgeries, depending on what’s wrong. You can expect it to be somewhere between $7,500 – $15,000. I know, I know. I’ve napped on cars that were cheaper than that, too. So, let’s talk about insurance.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

I can’t afford horse insurance

 

I’ll admit, I thought horse insurance was a whole lot of money. However, I learned from Rhonda Mack from Jerry Parks Insurance in Ocala, that for around $350 per year, a horse could have $11,000 of colic surgery coverage! That is a very reasonable number. But. Yep, I’m going to have a but here. This covers colic, but not much else. Keep reading for more insurance stuff, but know that there are very, very reasonable options to make sure you can help your horse.

 

How does insurance for horses work?

 

First, everyone decides on a value for your horse. No, you don’t just get to pick a number, any number. The value is based on purchase price (or stud fee if it’s a baby), training, show record, yada, yada, yada. Okay, we have a number. Now we start with a basic mortality policy. Everybody starts here. The premium on this policy is a percentage of that value number we came up with.

 

Now that you have mortality, you can add things like major medical or a medical assistance plan. Major medical will pay for just about anything your horse can do to themselves from colic to pneumonia to major lacerations to eye issues (and holy cow, can those get expensive fast!). Major medical will even help with diagnostics and treatments for lameness. More on the lameness stuff later. Or, for a more economical package, you can go with the assistance plan. It helps with colics, lacerations, etc., but not lameness. What does all this mean? You’ve got options when it comes to insurance!

 

One kicker to horse insurance is the pre-existing condition. If your horse has a problem with something, that thing gets excluded on future insurance policies. For example, your horse develops a left front lameness. My amazing Docs do their thing, and determine your horse has a lesion in the Suspensory ligament on that leg. Insurance will cover things this time around, but not after that.

 

Lameness and Insurance

 

If horses only got lame just after their insurance was renewed, we wouldn’t need to have this discussion. Horses don’t work that way, though. They like to go with “I’m going to go lame right before this insurance policy expires” plan. Great, you think. That horse I used as an example above with the Suspensory injury will be out for 6 months minimum. You won’t get to use all your insurance benefits because it happened 2 months before renewal. Never fear. In that scenario, the Suspensory will be covered for 3-4 months (depending on the insurer) of the new policy. But (I hate that word), it will be excluded after that and for all eternity going forward. Moral of the story here: have a talk with my Docs about lameness and insurance. It will help you make decisions.

 

What about ColiCare?

 

ColiCare, and a couple other similar programs, can be great ways to cover colic surgery! There’s a big but with them: they only cover surgery; not a medical colic. My Docs have the most experience with ColiCare, and they love it. SmartPak is easy to work with, and the payouts have been really quick and easy. My Docs are pretty “Meh” on the value of the supplement, but worth talking to them about it!

 

I know I can be a little bit snarky, but in all fairness to you humans, colic is tough. Heck, horse emergencies are tough. Insurance may be a way to help you handle those crazy emergencies a little better. Now I have to harass them about insuring me. There’s no way to put a value on all this amazingness, though, so that’s going to be tough.

 

Now be a good human. Scroll down a little further and subscribe to my blog. And if my blog isn’t enough to satiate your thirst for horse knowledge, check out the podcast the humans do called Straight From the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. You can get it on all the usual places, and I’ll admit, it’s pretty good, especially considering I’m not even on it. Imagine how awesome it would be if I was?

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Is It PPID?

Is It PPID?

Nov 5, 2018 | Cushings, PPID

Tuesdays with Tony

Is It PPID?

There is an interesting phenomenon that seems to strike around this same time each year amongst the horses I see: they get hairy. Despite the consistency and repeat-ability of this syndrome, owners seem to worry every time this happens. What do they worry about, you ask? PPID. Affectionately known as Cushing’s disease, Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction, or PPID, is a disease primarily seen in senior horses. One of the many signs of this disease, and undoubtedly the most familiar sign to horse owners, is a long, shaggy hair coat. So, is your horse’s winter coat normal, or does he actually have PPID?

Let’s Review

   Why should you care if your horse has PPID anyway? Well, what if I told you your horse has a brain tumor? That’s a little scarier. PPID in horses is in fact caused by a tumor pressing on the pituitary gland in the brain. As the tumor grows, it causes the pituitary gland to overproduce certain hormones. These hormones can cause a myriad of problems when their levels are elevated. Problems such as laminitis, inability to fight off infections, weight loss, lethargy, and abnormal hair coat are commonly seen.
    The most concerning, even life-threatening, consequence of PPID is laminitis. There is no treatment for laminitis, and the damage caused by laminitis is irreversible. This is why preventing laminitis by treating the underlying PPID is so important.
    If you have a senior horse with PPID, you may not even realize there is anything wrong. On numerous occasions I have overheard an owner tell one of our docs that their horse acts 10 years younger since beginning treatment for PPID. Since lethargy, chronic infection, and weight loss are common clinical signs of this disease, it is not surprising that horses feel a whole lot better once their symptoms are properly managed.
    To tell you the truth, the classic long, curly hair coat is actually an advanced sign of PPID. Early signs include a change in attitude, decreased athletic performance, loss of top line, and slightly delayed shedding. Vets are trying to get better about recognizing these subtle, early signs, so that testing and treatment can be initiated sooner, and the more severe signs and effects of PPID can be prevented.

Let’s Test

   So let’s pretend it’s fall and your horse went ‘poof’ and blew out a long, winter hair coat seemingly overnight. Does he have PPID? Before making the diagnosis, our docs are probably going to ask you a few questions.
    First, is this normal for your horse? If he has been blowing out a shaggy winter coat on September 1st every year since he was 3 years old, it may be normal for him. Is his hair coat relatively even over his entire body? The abnormal hair growth associated with PPID is often patchy at first, found initially on the back of the lower limbs. Is the hair straight, or is it long and curly? A horse with a thick, long, curly hair coat covering his entire body has about a 90% chance of having PPID. Does he shed out completely in the spring? Some horses just grow thick winter coats; as long as they shed out completely at an appropriate time each year, they may be completely normal. Have you noticed any other signs? While many of the signs of PPID are somewhat non-specific, it is very common for horses to exhibit more than one. Does your horse have recurrent hoof abscesses, and you’ve also noticed he’s been losing weight recently? Has your horse been a bit slugging under saddle recently, and he also took forever to get over that eye infection he had earlier this year?
   If any of these scenarios sound like your horse, or if your vet suspects that your horse may have PPID, I really recommend that you have him tested. Did you know that there is a simple, one-time blood test that is highly accurate for diagnosing PPID? A baseline ACTH test is all that is needed; no stimulation testing, fasting, or dexamethasone suppression testing required! Did you also know that based on recent research you can test your horse for PPID any time of year? That’s right, there are now scientifically established reference ranges based on season that account for the normal rise in ACTH seen in horses in the fall.
    We now know that many of the signs we used to associate with “normal aging” in horses are actually signs of PPID. And better yet, this means they can be treated! So, ask your vet about testing for PPID at your next wellness visit.

Let’s Treat

   We are fortunate that there is an extremely effective, safe, and easy treatment available for horses with PPID. Prascend (the brand name for pergolide) is a tiny pink tablet you can readily hide in your horse’s grain every morning. Since the medication mimics a hormone naturally found in the horse’s body, side effects are very rare and mild. The best part about treating with Prascend is the results! I have been surprised again and again with the positive difference I’ve seen in horses that come through the clinic before and after starting treatment. And by starting treatment early, you can prevent the development of those advanced signs of PPID including laminitis, tendon and suspensory ligament breakdown, and recurrent infections.
     A rare but recognized side effect we sometimes see with Prascend is horses not wanting to eat their feed with the tablet in it. Lucky for you though, I have come up with some creative tips and tricks to address this issue: First, try splitting the dose into 1/2 tablet morning and night, rather than a whole tablet at once. If that doesn’t work, we can even try going to 1/2 tablet once a day, but we would want to re-test your horse after a few months to make sure his hormone levels were controlled at this dosage. If your horse simply refuses to eat his grain with even a partial tablet in it, try feeding his tablet in a soft treat like a stud muffin. You can also try enticing your horse to eat it with molasses or applesauce on top of his grain. Yummy!
   So now that you know why it’s important to know whether your horse has PPID, how and when we can test them, and how easy it is to treat them, what do you think? Is your fuzzy horse just gearing up for the coldest winter of the century, or might there be something more going on? Call me at the clinic to schedule your horse’s ACTH test, and let’s see if it’s PPID!
     Affectionately,
            Tony
P.S. Are you craving more horse knowledge? Check out the podcast that my docs make, Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. You can learn a lot in a half hour listening to them talk about various horse things. It’s pretty amazing, even to this cat, and I’m not easily impressed.
Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Tuesdays with Tony

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Horse Boots: Fashionable Equine Leg Wear

Horse Boots: Fashionable Equine Leg Wear

Oct 29, 2018 | Boots, Leg issues

Tuesdays with Tony

Horse Boots

It’s Fall Fashion season. Before you ask, yes, I keep my paw on the pulse of the fashion world. Okay, mostly I watch the models to get new judgey, slightly disdainful, you humans are beneath me looks. Can’t beat the runways for that! A funny thing caught my eye while I was watching:

This got me thinking about boots. The kind for horses, not fashion models. And so, down the rabbit hole of horse boots investigation I went.

Support, but not too much support

Ask any woman, and they will tell you: there is such a thing as too much support. What about boots, though? Number one thing I hear around the Clinic about boots is “Which ones give the most support?” The answer is: it’s complicated. First, what structures do you want to support? In horse boot land, that normally translates to minimizing the drop of the fetlock when the horse is landing on that foot. I hit PubMed looking for scientific articles about this. I’ll save you time by letting you know there aren’t a lot of them. However, the ones that do exist have looked at products like the Professional’s Choice Sports Medicine Boot (SMB). They did find that boots like these reduced fetlock drop at the trot on horses on treadmills. Where the data is lacking is at the lope, and in big maneuvers like jumping, piaffe, sliding or spinning, and the complicated things a horse does to turn a barrel. The authors of all the papers also discuss that reduction of fetlock drop may transfer forces from the tendons and ligaments to areas higher up like the shoulder, SI, back, and neck. All the papers also agree that polo wraps don’t do much of anything. However, this cat feels polos are the go-to for fashion, and sometimes that’s pretty darn important.

Whack a leg

Like Whack-a-mole, but instead of great prizes like a giant stuffed bear, you get a vet bill instead. A much less fun game. Lots of boots work for this! From the expensive Kevlar ones, to the plastic lined with neoprene ones, to the SMB type boots, they all offer decent protection from whacks. This is a super important task for boots!!! I don’t know if you guys have ever watched a horse’s legs while they’re doing some of the crazy stuff you do, but holy cow, I don’t know how they don’t tangle up in a knot of legs and go down every time! This means that unless you’re moseying, or showing in an event where leg attire is not allowed, it’s probably a good idea to at least have boots on the front legs. This video https://youtu.be/WHlqZ6VZvKE has an excellent illustration about why at approximately the 18:30 minute mark. If you have a weak stomach, don’t watch it, but it is a great video about how truly amazing horses are!

Like a Sauna

An often overlooked problem of boot application to the lower leg is heat. It’s summer in Florida. It’s 100 degrees, and the humidity is 98%. Now, put a boot on your horse, and go exercise. Imagine the temperatures in there! Boot manufacturers know about this problem, and have updated many of the designs to help get some air in there. However, no matter what, there will be more heat under a boot than if the leg is naked. Something to think about when selecting your horse’s fashion accessories. Also something to think about when shipping. Those shipping boots that model is wearing can get mighty toasty. Standing wraps and quilts can too! I’m not saying don’t use them, I’m saying think about if they are needed before using them. Free tip from this wise cat: check out Sox for Horses. They offer all the support, and don’t heat the leg up, AND they fight skin funk! I love these things. And, no, they don’t give me catnip to say that. In fact, they don’t give me anything.

Rehab boots

There is one case where fetlock support may be a good thing, and that’s rehab of tendons or ligaments like the suspensory or deep digital flexor tendon. The scientists aren’t 100% on this, but they feel like having a horse wear SMB-type boots may help in the early stages of rehab. There’s even a brand of boot out there just for rehab that supports the fetlock even more than SMBs. It doesn’t work for everyday, but may help horses just starting walk and trot work. I can’t overemphasize this enough: talk to one of my wise Docs about this before jumping in with both feet. There’s a process!

I learned a lot in that rabbit hole. Turns out boots were made for more than walking. Now be a good human: scroll down and hit subscribe to get my weekly words of wisdom delivered straight to your Inbox.

Until next week,

Tony

P.S. Want more horse info? Check out the podcast the humans do called Straight From the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. It’s loaded with way more information than I can type (without interrupting my nap schedule, which is very important). 

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Preventing Colic

Preventing Colic

Oct 22, 2018 | Colic

Tuesdays with Tony

Preventing Colic during Colic Season

As a cat, there is nothing I love more than sunbathing. The mid 90 degree temperatures of Fall in Florida have been less than ideal for this pastime. However, I am assured cooler temps will arrive one day, and my sunbathing can return to its normal schedule. What has arrived on schedule is decreasing daylight. With shorter days comes slower-growing grass, and with less grass comes hay season. Oh goody. Around the clinic we also call this Colic Season. Being the generous cat I am, I’m going to teach you how NOT to be a part of Colic Season.

 

Step 1: Go Slow

 

This is not something you humans are very good at. You are all about the ‘go big or go home’. When you start feeding hay (or even just feeding more hay), patience is key. It’s rather like my sunbathing. You must be patient! If your horse has only been eating pasture, begin by adding 5-7 pounds of hay per feeding. Coastal hay especially should be started slowly. Throwing a bunch of hay at a GI tract that’s been used to green grass is a recipe for an unscheduled visit from my Docs. Add an additional 2-3 pounds of hay every 4-5 days until your horse is leaving some hay behind. Absolutely DO NOT put a roll of coastal hay out until your horse is walking away without finishing their hay.

 

Step 2: Add some legumes

 

That would be alfalfa and peanut hay around these parts. These hays are salty, which helps remind your horse to drink. They also have a laxative effect on the GI tract. Both hays bring water into the gut, which helps prevent impactions. Small amounts of these hays does wonders, which is good because both are pretty high in calories. Four to five pounds per day can dramatically reduce the colic risk. As a cat who struggles with his weight, I understand keeping calories down, but a little bit of legume goes a long way!

 

Step 3: Get water into horse

 

The. Hardest. Thing. Ever. That saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink,” is the truest thing ever spoken by a human. Luckily humans are (sometimes) smarter than horses. My humans have found that you can feed a horse soup, and get them to eat it, thus making them drink, and they don’t even know it!! Especially when weather changes, but also when it’s a new shipment of hay, or you put a new hay roll out, it’s so unbelievably important to get those dang horses to drink. Get your horse used to eating soaked feed now. That way when it goes from 85 to 35 and back again in 12 hours, you can feed soupy food and know your horse got lots to drink whether they wanted to or not.

 

Other stuff to avoid colic

 

We usually talk about electrolytes in the summer to help replenish all the things in sweat, but in winter, electrolytes work great to help stimulate thirst on a cold day. Florida horses are really bad at drinking on those 2 or 3 truly cold days.

Beet pulp is also great at getting water into horses. However, don’t go starting beet pulp on a cold day because it seemed like a good idea that day. Beet pulp gets fermented in the large colon and make a lot of gas. If you want to use beet pulp in the winter, refer back to Step 1: start slow. It’s also important to remember you can add water to any feed, and you can even soak hay. All sneaky ways to get horses to drink!

We all agree cooler weather is amazing. With a few simple steps, you can also keep those beautiful Fall days colic free! Here’s another simple step: scroll down a little more, and subscribe to this blog. That way it will show up in your email!

Want more knowledge about colic? Take the deep dive with Dr. Lacher on our podcast, Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. Episode 2 is loaded with everything you could want to know about colic. You can listen right from our website on your phone or computer, or you can subscribe anywhere you download podcasts.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

 

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Vaccines: It Really Is Life and Death

Vaccines: It Really Is Life and Death

Oct 15, 2018 | EEE Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Rabies, Tetanus, Vaccines

Tuesdays with Tony

Vaccines

I know this has been said before, but apparently some of you still need reminding: Vaccinate your horses. Every 6 months. By a veterinarian- not something you picked up at the feed store. Don’t skip Rabies, or West Nile, because you’ve owned a lot of horses and you’ve never had one get those diseases. Please humans, for the love! Bonus tip: if your horse has been vaccinated by a veterinarian within the appropriate time period and does contract the disease he was vaccinated against, the vaccine company will probably pay for your treatment costs. Of course, this would be an extremely unlikely scenario, because these vaccines are so incredibly effective. This whole anti-vaccine movement makes me so mad, I could pee outside my litter box!
    Many of these life-threatening diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes. Now, there are 2 ways to protect your horse from such diseases:
    1. Keep your horse indoors in a fully enclosed, air-conditioned, mosquito-free environment 24/7.
    2. Vaccinate.

Seeing as most horses live outside, horse owners usually choose the latter. That’s not to say you can’t work on mosquito control at your farm. Eliminating standing water, installing fans, and fly spray systems are all great ways to cut down on the number of mosquitoes in your barn. But you are never going to be able to prevent your horse from ever being bitten by a single mosquito; and it only takes one bite. Let’s take a closer look at these diseases, to remind us why it’s well worth a few bucks twice a year to protect horses against them.

 

West Nile Virus

    West Nile Virus is transmitted by a bite from an infected mosquito. The early signs of West Nile are subtle. Your horse may have muscle fasciculations, or twitches, of his face, ears, and neck. He may go off his feed. He may have a fever and act lethargic. You may also notice that he is hyper-reactive to sound, touch, or light. Within a few days, most horses will progress to stumbling, falling down, and being unable to stand. They may go blind. They are often distressed because they want to get up, but their legs are too uncoordinated for them to do so. The rule of thumb with West Nile virus is that once a horse is recumbent, or down, they never get back up. If the horse is not euthanized at this point, his signs will progress to seizures or coma, followed by death.
    Now, on to the treatment for West Nile: oh yeah, there isn’t one. All vets can do is supportive care in the form of IV fluids, anti-inflammatories, nutrition, and slinging the horse to keep it standing. If caught early enough and kept standing, eating, and drinking, about 30% of these horses will survive, but many of them will have lasting neurologic deficits.

Eastern Equine Encephalitis

   This is another mosquito-transmitted disease for which there is no treatment. Some fun facts about Eastern Encephalitis: far and away the most cases of this disease are seen right here in Florida. In fact, we  Floridians have already had 18 cases this year! The EEE vaccine only lasts for 6 months max, so you HAVE to be getting your horses boostered twice a year for this one. Another fun fact: Eastern Encephalitis is almost 90% fatal. This means that no matter how early the signs are noticed, nor how soon supportive care is initiated, the horse is most likely not going to survive longer than 5 days.
    Early signs of Eastern Encephalitis include fever, depression, and going off feed. The condition usually deteriorates rapidly to stumbling, circling, head-pressing, and sometimes blindness. EEE is also called “sleeping sickness,” so named because of the characteristic stance horses tend to adopt during the later stages of the disease. These horses hang their heads low between their legs, often with their tongue sticking out and their eyes nearly swollen shut. From there, many horses become recumbent (there’s our new vocabulary word for the day again), and begin to have seizures or go into a coma. At that point, a decision must be made to euthanize the horse.

Rabies

   When people think of Rabies, they often think of that dog (ugh, dogs) in Old Yeller. He had one form of Rabies, called the “furious” form. But there is another presentation of Rabies called the “stuporous” form that many owners don’t know about. It is also important to note that an aggressive, lunging, biting, foaming at the mouth horse would be in the late stages of this disease. Earlier, more subtle signs include dysphagia, or difficulty eating, and difficulty drinking or water aversion. The horse may also exhibit neurologic signs such as incoordination, stumbling, circling, and an altered mental status. In the stuporous form of Rabies, these horses will become unresponsive to their environment. With the furious form, horses can become hyper-reactive and even aggressive.
   The single most important thing for you to know about Rabies is that it is contagious to humans, and it is nearly 100% fatal. The Rabies virus is passed through the saliva of an infected animal. This means that even without sustaining a bite, you can get Rabies from an affected horse or other animal just by coming into contact with secretions from their mouth, eyes, or nose. Vaccinating your horses against Rabies is really a no-brainer. Horses live outside amongst several wildlife species that can carry Rabies, such as skunks, bats, foxes, and raccoons. Moreover, by vaccinating your horse against Rabies, you are really protecting yourself and your own family from exposure.

Tetanus

    Tetanus is a recommended core vaccine for horses because most horses have 4 feet in contact with dirt most of the time. Seeing as Tetanus is a bacteria that lives in the soil (definitely all over Florida), horses have an especially high risk for this disease. The Tetanus bacteria can infect a horse through even the tiniest wound. It is a myth that it takes a puncture from a metal object such as a nail to seed tetanus into a wound; any cut or break in the skin or hoof can create an opportunity for tetanus bacteria to enter.
    Tetanus also has a very high mortality rate when tetanus antitoxin is not administered rapidly. The first sign of tetanus is stiffening of the muscles, often first noted in the jaw, which is why this disease is also termed “lock jaw.” From there, all of the horse’s muscles will begin to contract and will be unable to relax. This results in the “sawhorse stance” typical of tetanus infection. Another common sign of tetanus is third eyelid elevation, which means the pink flap at the inner corner of the horse’s eyes becomes prominent. Over a period of only a few days, horses will go down and be unable to stand. Once the muscles of breathing are affected, the horse inevitably dies.

Western Equine Encephalitis

    If we lived on the West coast I would tell you about Western Equine Encephalitis as well, but thankfully we don’t see that disease round these parts. Suffice it to say, this disease is also spread by mosquitoes, and it causes signs very similar to Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
   You may notice a few themes with these diseases:
    1. They all have a high fatality rate. (That’s why we are so hyper about keeping your horses from getting them.)
     2. They are all easily transmitted to horses, either through the bite of a mosquito or other animal, or through the soil.
    3. They all exhibit some pretty horrible signs that you would never want to witness in your horse.
    4.  They are all easily preventable through vaccines.
   We are fortunate that we have vaccines which are extremely safe and effective against all of these core diseases in horses. Now, it is your job as a responsible horse owner to use your noggin and get your horse vaccinated!
   Ok, I’ll get off my cat-box now.
   Until next week,
        -Tony
P.S. Why don’t you check out the Podcast page while you’re here? After you scroll down a bit more and subscribe to this amazing blog, of course. It’s right below my handsome photo in the purple box.

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Inside Open House 2018

Inside Open House 2018

Sep 24, 2018 | Events

Tuesdays with Tony

Dear followers, we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming of useful horse care tips to bring you: The Top 10 reasons you should come to my 12th Annual Open House this weekend! Remember, it’s on Saturday, September 29th from 10 am-2 pm at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic, and there will be BBQ from Top Hog in Newberry. Have you tried their BBQ yet? It’s to die for! Bring the whole family for a day of horses and fun. What could be better?!

 

#10: The Movie Theme

That’s right: this year’s Open House is entirely themed after your favorite movies! While munching popcorn, follow the full-sized motion picture posters to visit each blockbuster-themed station and learn something new about caring for your horse. Just like going to the movies, all you need to do is show up. From there just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. I’m not giving away any of the movies we chose- you’ll have to come find out for yourself. The suspense is killing me!

 

#9: The Vendors

We are expecting more vendors than ever this year! Local businesses from feed stores to clothing lines will be there for your convenience. Looking for a new farrier or massage therapist? Are you new to horses and looking for somewhere to take lessons? Look no further than Springhill Equine’s Open House. Learn what is available nearby, catch a great deal, and maybe even snatch up some free swag!

#8: The Door Prizes

While we will have over 100 bags of stuff to give out, they will be distributed on a First Come First Served basis! The first bags will contain the most awesome swag, and so on down the line. In addition to grab bags for the first 100 visitors, we will be raffling off larger prize baskets throughout the day. I have seen these prizes and I’m pretty tempted to lay on them and cover them in cat hair to claim them as my own so they can’t be given away this weekend. But I will refrain, for you. Anyway, this is an opportunity to go home with some seriously cool stuff!

 

#7: The Skin Funk station

Every horse owner deals with skin funk sooner or later. Whether your horse has itchy ears or rain rot, rubs his tail, or cakes his pasterns in mud, we have a solution for you. Our wonderful vet tech Nancy will be womanning the skin funk station this year. She has seen it all when it comes to equine skin issues, and she has tried and tested practically every product out there. Let Nancy share her knowledge and help you choose the right treatment for your horse the first time. Believe me, it will save you a lot of trouble!

 

#6: The Clicker Training station

Do you know how to clicker train your horse? Well, now is your chance to learn! Our fantastic vet tech Monique will be teaching this useful trick, which can be applied to a variety of situations. Look out for a live horse demonstration at this station! Some of the most common applications of clicker training we use here at the clinic include getting your horse to tolerate shots, loading on a trailer, putting on a fly mask, standing still during an undesirable procedure, etc. Clicker training is a valuable tool to have in your equestrian toolbox. Let us show you the way!

 

#5: The Dentistry station

Did you ever wonder why horses need a dental every year? Do you want to see some of the worst teeth we’ve ever encountered? Let our awesome vet tech Rachel take you through the wonderland of equine dentistry. This is a hands-on station where touching and feeling dental instruments and equipment is strongly encouraged! Keep small children close by though…this station has some serious bite!

 

#4: The Nutrition station

Dr. Vurgason joins the helpful folks from Nutrena at this station to bring you everything you ever wanted to know about equine nutrition. Super senior horse? Easy keeper? Metabolic issue? We will make a feed plan to fit your horse’s specific needs! Come to this station armed with questions, and expect to leave with all the answers. In addition to grain, feel free to pick Dr. Vurgason’s brain regarding supplements and forages as well. She owns everything from an old hard-keeper picky-eater off-the-track Thoroughbred to a fat laminitic insulin-resistant donkey. Nutrition can be complicated; visit this station and let Dr. Vurgason simplify your life!

 

#3: The Lameness station

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Never is this more evident than in the complex world of equine lameness. Come learn from Dr. Lacher what you can start doing today to avoid ending up with a lame horse in the future. Follow the story of a lameness workup to see how our docs arrive at their diagnosis. This is also a great opportunity to pick Dr. Lacher’s brain about lameness treatment options from joint injections to shoes to supplements to alternative therapies. Hint: some work, others are a waste of your hard-earned money. This station is definitely going to be worth your while!

 

#2: The chance to win a Wellness Package!

You heard right. Each person who attends Open House and visits each station will be entered to win a 2019 Wellness Package for one horse. That is over a $400 value you guys! The package includes 2 visits a year with wellness exams, all core vaccines (Encephalitis, Tetanus, West Nile, & Rabies), a Coggins, a dental float (sedation included), 2 fecal egg counts, and NO emergency fees for the entire year. Make sure to pick up a card when you check in, fill it out with your info, then get a sticker at each station as you go, and turn your card in at the end to be entered to win. You could be this year’s lucky winner- so don’t miss your chance!

 

#1: Me

Obviously the top reason to attend Open House this year: I will be there. Duh! And I will be available to receive your affections. See you then!

 

-The Magnificent, One and Only Tony, the Official Clinic Cat of Springhill Equine

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Keeping Super Seniors Super

Keeping Super Seniors Super

Sep 17, 2018 | Cancer, Seniors

Tuesdays with Tony

Keeping Super Seniors Super

 

A very cool thing happened this week: a horse on our Senior Wellness Program was diagnosed with cancer. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Before you get mad at the cat for being insensitive about life (which I am), give a guy a moment to explain why this is cool. This horse’s cancer got found super early, because she is in the Wellness Program. This means my Docs are able to start her on medications early, giving her a significantly better quality of life. And quality of life is the most important thing you can give us critters.

 

The Bloodwork

 

On our Senior Wellness Program my Docs pull blood twice yearly. At one of those checks, they are looking for PPID (Cushings), and insulin resistance. PPID really takes a toll on horses. It makes it tough for them to cool off in the summer, and keep warm in the winter. It makes them susceptible to infections. It can cause laminitis. It’s just an awful disease. Luckily there is a treatment, and the earlier the disease is identified, the easier the symptoms are to get under control. Insulin resistance almost always leads to PPID, and is a major cause of laminitis. The good news is insulin resistance can be well-controlled with diet and exercise! At the other bloodwork check, a Complete Blood Count (CBC) and Chemistry panel are pulled. A CBC checks all the types of cells in the blood. The two big categories are red blood cells and white blood cells. Chemistry panels check the function of the major organs like liver and kidneys. I’ll drop some wisdom on you about chemistry panels in a future episode. Today we’ll stick to CBCs.

 

Oxygen is good

 

Let’s talk about the red ones first. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. It is fairly common to find low red blood cell numbers in older horses. When that happens, my Docs start with an evaluation of the diet. Older horses have a harder time getting all those key nutrients from their food, so a high quality diet is very important! If the diet is good, the Docs start looking for evidence of inflammation.

 

The Fighters

 

That brings us to the white blood cells. There are three main types of white blood cells: neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils. There are a few others added in there, but these are the biggies. In a huge oversimplification of things, they work as follows: neutrophils handle bacteria, lymphocytes handle viruses, and eosinophils are in charge of allergies. So if the red blood cell count was low, and there were a lot of neutrophils, my Docs would start looking for an infection. This hunt generally starts with an ultrasound of the abdomen and chest.

 

Back to the cancer

 

I know, I know, what about my opener? You thought this blog was going to be about cancer. Finally, I have arrived at the cancer, you inpatient human. This past week my Docs pulled a CBC and Chemistry panel as part of a routine visit for a horse on our Senior Wellness Plan. The blood work came back with a really high lymphocyte number. Since you have been paying attention to this blog, you think, “Ah, virus!” Good job, you have been listening! However, in this case the number was way, way too high to be a virus. Lymphocyte numbers this high mean lymphoma, and in older horses that’s usually in the intestinal tract.

 

What’s next?

 

Next up for this horse will be an ultrasound of her abdomen to see how thick her intestines are. The Docs will also ultrasound, and maybe even x-ray her chest to see if there has been any spread. From there, they will work to come up with a treatment plan that will help this lovely horse live the rest of her days as happy as she can possibly be. This means working to reduce inflammation, and keep her eating. How much time are we talking? Probably about 6-8 months. However, those can be some pretty good months!

 

Senior horses hold a very, very special place at Springhill Equine. My Docs own Super Seniors themselves, and know the joy that comes from keeping them happy and healthy as long as possible. My Docs also know that quality of life is way, way more important than quantity. When issues like this horse’s lymphoma come up, they work very hard to come up with the best right answer for this horse and her owner. I admire that. It makes me feel a tiny bit of remorse at the harsh looks of disapproval I give my humans from time to time. Never fear, since I’m a cat, I get over that feeling quickly.

Before you go over to the Wellness page on my website, scroll down and subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss one. It’s the big purple box below, you can’t miss it.

Looking for more info on Super Senior horses? Make sure you check out Episode 11 of our podcast, Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. It’s a half hour of amazing discussion about older horses. Even I, a sleepy cat, was awake and riveted through the whole thing.

One last thing: Our 13th Annual Open House is coming up on September 29th. I heard that there will be a LOT of free give aways, to include a ton of hay, and a Grand Prize of getting your picture taken me, the Amazing Tony. That should be the grand prize, anyway. Check out the Event Page for all the details.

Until next week,

Tony

 

Large animal veterinarian Levy, Gilchrist

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

The Ears Have It

The Ears Have It

Sep 10, 2018 | Allergies, Ears, Itchy Horses

Tuesdays with Tony

The Ears Have It 

 

First things first: please don’t forget that my biggest Meet Tony Event of the year- Open House- is coming up in just a few short weeks! Mark your calendars for Springhill Equine’s 12th Annual Open House on Saturday, September 29th from 10 am – 2 pm. This year you will visit booths themed after favorite movies, enjoy delicious BBQ, and explore what our local vendors have to offer, while getting entered to win a free Wellness Package for one of your horses! I’ll plan on seeing you all there.

Do you ever feel like your week has a theme? For example, you and two of your friends all get a flat tire, or you see a snake in your backyard then the next day you see one on your way in to work, or you hit 2 squirrels with your car within the span of a few days? Well, this week’s theme was definitely ears. We have seen itchy ears, swollen ears, abscessed ears, allergic ears, hyper-sensitive ears, and even an ear with a tick in it! So, I quizzed the docs on the common ear problems horses get, and how to recognize and treat them. Do you know what to do if your horse’s ears are driving him nuts?

 

My horse won’t let me touch his ear

So first, a few questions. Does your horse normally let you touch his ear? Because most horses generally don’t love it. Is it just one ear, or both ears? Both ears make it more likely to be an itchy, allergic, hypersensitivity condition. One ear makes us think of trauma such as a laceration or bruise, or perhaps a tick inside the ear. Side note: the docs tell me that in vet school they teach you that ear ticks are a super-common thing that you will encounter all the time…but in real life they are extremely rare. However, if your horse develops a sudden extreme hypersensitivity in one ear with no other symptoms, an ear tick is definitely on the rule-out list.

If your horse’s ears are irritated in any way, you’re probably darn right that he won’t let you touch them…they hurt! Spoiler alert: it’s going to require a good amount of sedation, a step stool, and a fancy light called an otoscope to get a good look in there. Read as: Call your vet.

 

But doc, this just happened today!

Far and away the most common ear problem our docs encounter is chronic, thickened, irritated ears secondary to a gnat allergy called “Culicoides hypersensitivity.” Often the vet doesn’t get called until the horse itches his ear so badly that he cuts it on something, and the owner finally takes note when blood and/or pus are streaming out of the ear. Without fail, they claim this “just happened” and the ears were normal a few days ago. While the wound may be new, the underlying condition that led the horse to be so uncomfortable that he self-traumatized his ear has taken months, or even years, to develop.

Springhill Equine Veterinary ClinicCulicoides (kyōō′lĭ-koi′dēz′) is a species of gnat very common here in Florida. Many horses are actually allergic to the saliva of this gnat, so every bite by one of these annoying little devils sends the poor horse into an itching frenzy. The early signs of this gnat allergy include frequent scratching and hair loss in the ears, mane, base of tail, and chest. Over time the skin in these places will become thickened, there will be multiple open bite wounds, the hair will be completely gone, and the horse will constantly be scratching on anything and everything he can find. Horses with chronic Culicoides hypersensitivity will often develop a “cauliflower ear” appearance over a period of years. Once this happens, the ears will never return to their original shape.

What can I do for my horse’s poor ears?

It is best and most successful when owners treat horses with gnat allergies early and often. Look closely at your horse’s ears. Is the hair thinning inside and around the edge of the ear? Are there tiny bug bites inside? Do you see any scabs or blood? Is the skin normal, or is it becoming thickened?

At this early stage, you should be able to get the problem under control with just some topical medication and fly gear. We always recommend a fly mask with ears for these horses; fly sheets, neck pieces, leg covers, etc. can be added at your discretion. The topical medication that works best for this condition is Equishield IBH (that stands for Insect Bite Hypersensitivity). It comes as a salve or a spray, depending on your preference. We find that the IBH salve works great for ears, but the IBH spray is awesome when you need to treat a larger area.

itchy horses Springhill EquineOnce the ear has gotten to a point where there is a secondary laceration, abscess, or hematoma, it can be difficult to treat. While we always try conservative options first, these horses sometimes have to undergo surgery under general anesthesia to drain the ear, followed by weeks with the ear taped down against the horse’s head to allow for continued drainage. No fun.

If you have tried the fly protection and IBH products, but your horse is STILL uncontrollably scratching, talk to our docs about a systemic treatment such as an antihistamine to break the chronic itch cycle. There is even a new drug on the market called Apoquel that has been used to treat itchy dogs, but is now finally getting some attention for use in horses. While the medication is pricey for a 1000 lb animal, we have seen promising results with it so far!

As a cat who suffers from itchy skin, let me tell you that constantly feeling itchy is no fun. If (God forbid) I lived outside swarmed by the very creatures that made me so itchy, I would be miserable! So thank you in advance for not ignoring your itchy horses.

Fondly yours,

-Tony

P.S. Want more itchy horse info? Check out Dr. Lacher’s podcast on itchy horses. It’s the latest episode of Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. You can listen right from our website, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! What’s a podcast, you ask? It’s just like a radio talk show, except you can listen to it on your phone or your computer whenever you want to. Try it out, and see what the thousands of other subscribers have already figured out 😉

P.P.S. If you haven’t subscribed to this blog yet, make sure you scroll down to the purple box and sign up. Don’t rely on Facebook to deliver my weekly wisdoms to you, they’re very unreliable!

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Trailer Safety – Help Your Horse Arrive Alive

Trailer Safety – Help Your Horse Arrive Alive

Sep 3, 2018 | Trailer Safety, trailering

Tuesdays with Tony

Pumpkin Spice is back, therefore Fall is coming someday, right? I know, this is Florida. Fall will be here briefly in late October, and maybe some of November, with bits of the FaWinSpri season continuing through until March. FaWinSpri is a unique Florida season. It’s the time of year when it could be Fall, Winter, or Winter, Spring at any moment over a 24 hour period. Once April comes, you have to add in Summer since that can start happening too. Why my musings on seasons? Well, around September, horse people in Florida start their delusions of cooler weather is coming, I better start getting back in shape. This week we’re going to talk about something else that should be ready for cooler riding weather: the horse trailer.

 

The Horse Trailer Floor

 

Everyone knows the floor should be checked, but how many of you actually do it? Take out all the mats and do a thorough inspection. If you have a wood floor, lightly tap all over the floor with a hammer to be sure there are no hidden spots of rot. For aluminum floors, check very closely for pitting. Take this opportunity to wash the floor thoroughly and let it dry completely before replacing the mats. Want to really, really help your floor? Clean your trailer after every use. All that manure and urine produces compounds which do serious harm to any kind of trailer floor.

This horse went through the floor of a trailer. Yeah, it can really happen.

Surgery on Coby, the horse who fell through a trailer floor

 

The Tires

 

Check the condition and air pressure of your tires. A visual inspection to look for dry rot is great, but a knock with a crowbar will give you a better idea about your tire’s health. Also, splurge $1.99 for an air pressure gauge, and be sure you get one that goes all the way to 100 psi. Trailer tires often require higher pressure than regular car tires. Don’t forget to check both of your spare tires! Want to make those tires last longer? Park on a concrete pad and cover them so they stay out of the sun. While you’re checking air pressure and condition, check your lug nuts. Make sure they are all tight. 

Speaking of lug nuts, be prepared to undo them as well if you have a flat tire. Pro Tip: Look for a piece of pipe that will fit over your lug wrench, and keep it in the tack room. This will help you get extra leverage when you’re trying to loosen those pesky nuts, while sitting on the side of the road, while stressing about your horse, and the traffic is whizzing by you. Oh those ramp things: trailer aid tire ramps. Ahhmazing. Get one now. Here’s another Pro Tip: tires that explode on the highway are usually under-inflated. Tire pressure is important.

horse trailer safety

 

Lights, camera, action

 

This one is going to take two people. Check your lights. Make sure both turn signals, your 4-way flashers, and your brake lights work. You’ve put your most valuable possession (besides your cat) in the trailer, now make sure everyone can tell you’re stopping so you don’t get rear-ended. If your lights don’t work, get them fixed! Keep spare light bulbs with you at all times. This is the easiest fix in the world, and it’s far cheaper than a new horse and a new trailer. Asking those around to guess which way you’re going, or if you’re stopping, doesn’t work any better with a truck and trailer than it does in a crowded warm up arena.  

 

Hitches

 

Take the time to go over your hitch on your towing vehicle. If you have a gooseneck, get under the truck and do a visual inspection of the hitch. If you have a bumper pull, you get to do a visual inspection of the hitch, too. You also need to check the ball where it attaches to the hitch. The nut on the bottom can loosen over time. Give it a good check with a wrench to be sure it’s seated tightly.

 

Details, Details, Details

 

Keeping the little things taken care of on your trailer will prevent them from becoming big things. That door latch that’s not working quite right will become a liability when the door suddenly won’t close as you’re trying to pack up to head home at 9 pm. It’s also easy to let the little things pile up. Then you take the trailer in for repairs and get hit with a huge bill all at once. Doing repairs as needed will prevent that huge bill, especially leaks! Even if everything is great on your trailer, take it to a trusted repair shop every few years for a once-over. They can spot things you may not even realize were a problem!

Good riding weather will come. Get your trailer ready so you can take advantage of every precious moment it!

Now be a well-trained human: scroll down and subscribe to this blog. You’ll get it delivered to your inbox every week. That’s right, a guaranteed weekly dose of Tony. You can’t go wrong there.

Want even more good stuff? Subscribe to the podcast that the humans do. Look for Straight From the Horse Doctor’s Mouth wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.