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Let’s Get Ready For Foals!

Let’s Get Ready For Foals!

Jan 22, 2018 | Foals

Tuesdays with Tony

Foal season is almost here!!! There, I pretended baby horses excite me. They don’t. Everyone brings in pictures of the babies after their Well Baby Checks. Then there is oohh-ing and ahh-ing over them. And “Oh look at the chrome!” and “Wowza, that hip!!” and I’m left wondering why my chin isn’t getting scratched. However, if the babies are going to come anyway, I may as well do my best to get you humans ready.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense

You might think I said that wrong, but I got it right. Start your foal off on the right foot. Vaccinations for Encephalitis, Tetanus, West Nile, Flu, and Rabies should be given to mares about 4-6 weeks before they are due to foal. This gets their immune system churning out protective antibodies. Those antibodies are then dumped into the all-important first milk, colostrum. The foal’s intestines absorb the antibodies and Viola! we have our immune system for the first few weeks of life. Without those all-important antibodies, foals can’t fight off pathogens like bacteria and viruses until their own immune system kicks in at about 3 months of age. In other words, colostrum is your foal’s best defense against the harsh world.

Scissors and Towels

These are the two most important things to have on hand for the actual foaling. There are a few other things: thermometer, Fleet Enema, hay string (because really, when isn’t hay string necessary?), Bute or Banamine for mom, and a small notebook and a pen. An extra human is a nice thing to have on had as well if you have one available.

Let’s discuss the use of each of these items.

Scissors: A very clean, very sharp pair of scissors should be near your foaling area. These will be used if a red bag delivery happens. A red bag is just what it sounds like: a red bag-looking thing comes out the vulva instead of the normal white. If that happens, it is an absolute emergency! You don’t have time for one of my Docs to come to you. You must cut the bag open and help delivery the foal. The red bag is the placenta separating from the uterus before it should. The foal can’t break through the placenta like it can the amnion (the normal white tissue), so you have to cut it for foaling to continue. This is where the extra human comes in handy. They can call 352-474-5007 and talk with one of my fine Docs while you are cutting the placenta.

Towels: Just plain useful to have around. If it’s chilly out when your foal decides to be born, you can dry them off. After she has bonding time with the foal, you can use them to start cleaning up your mare’s legs. You can use them to wipe the tears of joy from your eyes, or the sweat off your brow.

Thermometer: Used for the obvious thing: to get a temperature. This can be very important information on both mom and baby if things aren’t going quite as expected. An extra human is also useful here since foals can be incredibly squirmy about getting their temperatures taken.

Fleet Enema: Foals should have a dark, tarry first stool called meconium within about an hour or two following birth. If they don’t or they are experiencing constipation, we recommend 1 (ONE ONLY) Fleet Enema. If that doesn’t fix it, call 352-474-5007. You’re going to want to at least talk with one of my docs. Oh, and if you thought they squirmed for their temperature, you’re really going to want that extra human for enema administration.

Hay String: Extremely useful for tying up the placenta while you are waiting for it to drop. DON’T EVER EVEN THINK ABOUT PULLING ON THE PLACENTA! Ideally, mom shouldn’t step on it, either. As an aside, the placenta should be fully passed by three hours post-foaling. Once it passes, put it in a bucket of water so my Docs can check it later. If it doesn’t pass by three hours, guess what number you should call? Yep 352-474-5007. Not necessarily an OMG emergency, but the Docs are going to want to know.

Bute or Banamine for mom: Good to have on hand. DO NOT give without talking with one of the Docs first. If foaling was rough, or your mare is not handling full, painful udders well, these anti-inflammatories can help. They can also mask important pain signs, which is why my Docs like to know if you’re giving it.

Notebook and pen: Once foaling starts you will be sure it is taking approximately 7,382 hours to happen. By writing down the times things start to happen, you can keep yourself honest about how long things are actually taking. Also useful for writing down questions to ask the Docs later.

OMG It’s time!!

Once it’s time, things happen fast in horses. Things should be progressing very quickly from the moment you see water break, until the entire foal is out. Foaling in horses often takes as little as 15 minutes. Longer than 30 and you better call (you know the number now) 352-474-5007. Because things happen so fast in horses, there is little room for error. If you have any questions about how foaling is going, call us. My Docs would rather talk to you 100 times for something that isn’t a big deal, than have you not call for the time it is.

1-2-3 Rule

There is now a foal laying down, having just been born, and a mare laying down thinking Whew that was a lot of work! and you watching it all thinking What now? Never fear: we have a rule for this. By 1 hour after foaling, your foal should be standing, by 2 hours the foal should be nursing, and by 3 hours the placenta should be passed. If any of these things don’t happen, guess what? Call 352-474-5007. While waiting for the standing, the nursing, and placenta passing, I recommend posting lots of pictures on Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat or whatever new fun thing you humans are doing these days.

Last step?

Call the Clinic in the morning to schedule your Well Baby Check. If you haven’t done it by now, take a minute and put the number in your phone so you’ll have it when you need it: 352-472-1620. On the second phone number line, put in the emergency number so you can get the doc in the middle of the night: 352-474-5007. Oh, and you’ll also want a phone charger in the barn. Trust me.

Until next week,

Tony

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Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office 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!

Thrush

Thrush

Jan 15, 2018 | Thrush

Tuesdays with Tony

I found a hoof pick in the Clinic the other day. Upon inquiry to my humans, I learned what this odd thing was for. Apparently not only do horses not groom themselves, they also require you humans to clean their feet. Seriously, clean their feet!?!? I don’t understand why you humans put up with these crazy critters who can’t even clean their own feet. I clean my own feet several times daily, and do my own nails! This discussion about cleaning horse feet led to a discussion about thrush. I love thrush! They’re such tasty little birds. Ah, scratch that. I’ve just been informed we aren’t talking about birds. We are talking about an infection in horse’s feet. I learned a lot about thrush in horses today. Read on for my take on the situation.

Thrush: Well, that’s a funny name

Thrush is caused by a bacteria called fusobacterium necrophorum. Sometimes other bacteria come along for the ride too, but fusobacterium is the main culprit. Fusobacterium likes warm, moist places with little air movement, and some organic material to feed on. What does the bottom of your horse’s foot look like? A warm, moist place with some nice organic poop to feast on. The bacteria move on to the hoof itself after they eat the organic material, and that’s when the problems start.

Deep Canyons

Most people think of gooey feet when they think thrush. This is the most common presentation of thrush in the sulci down the sides of the frog. However, thrush can also get into the central sulcus and here is where it likes to make horses sore. Thrush can present here without all the goo. Typically it just appears as a very deep central sulcus. The problem with that really deep central sulcus is it feels like walking on a hangnail. You humans usually want your horses to perform in some way, and walking on a hangnail is not conducive to performance. At the bottom of that deep sulcus, the thrush can eat into the delicate soft tissues there creating a wound.

Make the thrush go away

Finally, the answers you’ve been seeking. There are several great, easy ways to treat thrush. Generally, my Docs first step is cleaning the foot daily and applying Durasole to any areas that appear a little deep. If the thrush is out of control, or there is a very deep central sulcus, they go to the cattle mastitis ointments called Today or Tomorrow. Either one seems to work great, and they come with a convenient applicator tip that goes right into those deep crevices. A little bit applied three to four times per week will clear up the thrush in no time. Every once in a while my Docs get a really bad case of thrush that requires treatment with antibiotics under bandages, but those are pretty rare.

Make the thrush stay away

What do wild horses do? This is a common question about all things horse. The answer for wild horses in this case: They don’t live in a stall. Standing around helps stuff pack into the crevices, giving fusobacterium a lovely place to live. Lots of turnout time and exercise help hooves flex and move which works to keep them clean and healthy. Equally important to turnout time is a good farrier. A good quality trim will keep the frog open and flexible. A good trim will also keep the heel height appropriate which is the key to a healthy frog.

I hear there’s an old saying that goes something like, without a foot, you don’t have a horse. Got questions about your horse’s hoof health? My Docs have answers! Now I’m off to clean my own feet.

Until next week,

— Tony

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Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office 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!

New Years Resolutions and Horses

New Years Resolutions and Horses

Jan 8, 2018 | Lameness, Wellness Program

Tuesdays with Tony

 Ahh a new year, another chance to make your dreams come true! 2018 offers us each the opportunity to start fresh, to turn over a new leaf. I know you horse-crazy cats pretty well by now, and I bet I can guess some of your New Years resolutions. For some of you, it might be to make it to Pony Finals. For others, it might be to get in the money in the 2D. Some of you might even have the goal of riding your horse for the first time in several years. Whatever your competition goals this year, Springhill Equine can help you achieve them. My docs are well versed in getting your horse to where he needs to be to make your wildest dreams a reality. I need to find someone to help me with that… cats have dreams too, you know!

Resolution #1: Get my horse on a Wellness Plan

   First, let’s start with the basics. In order for your horse to get back in the game and stay there, you will need to make sure his healthcare needs are taken care of. The easiest way to do that is with one of my all-inclusive Wellness Plans. Not only do they cover all of your horse’s routine medical care like vaccines, dentals, and Coggins, but they also offer peace of mind in the form of No Emergency Fees should your horse meet with an unexpected illness or injury this year.

    Whether your goal is trail riding or racing, or somewhere in between, your horse can’t be expected to do his best if he isn’t feeling well. Each Wellness Plan comes with 2 complete physical exams each year to catch the little problems before they become a big deal. These visits are also a great opportunity to check in with one of our vets, and discuss any concerns you may have with your horse’s performance. If there is an underlying medical problem, you will certainly need to get that taken care of before you can move up to the next level in your sport. I realize that this advice would have more clout coming from someone who actually participated in sports, which I decidedly do not.

Resolution #2: Have that nagging, super-minor, only-sometimes, usually-works-out-of-it lameness checked out

  Just because a judge wouldn’t necessarily notice it in the show ring doesn’t mean it’s not there. If you feel your horse is off, even if it’s only a little hitch when he comes around that 3rd barrel and it only happens when he’s tired, you should really have one of my amazing vets look into it.
    There are a few reasons you should have a mild lameness worked up sooner rather than later. First, even a minor lameness could be a sign of a serious injury, and continuing to work your horse could make the injury worse. Second, the lameness could be an early sign of a disease that can be prevented. For example, if your horse is diagnosed with early arthritis, there are medications you could start him on now that are proven to protect his joints from further damage. Third, and most importantly, that nagging, barely-there lameness could be affecting your horse’s performance, and getting it properly treated could make the difference between first and last place at your next competition. Wouldn’t you love to know if something as simple as a shoeing change could make him feel—and thus perform—10 times better?

Resolution #3: Achieve my competition goals

   Once you have your horse’s health in order, this third step will be easy! With the help of my splendid team of vets, techs, and staff, your horse will be looking and feeling his best. I like to offer our clients the total package – from nutrition to dentistry, from farriers to trainers, rest assured someone at Springhill can point you in the right direction. Remember, a healthy horse is a happy horse, and happy horses win prizes!
    I’m afraid the only competition I have to look forward to this year is the occasional cat fight between myself and Teanie over someone’s tuna sandwich. So, I must live vicariously through all of you and your horses. Your New Years resolutions are truly important to me, and I want to see you stick to all of them!
     WishIng you and your horse the best of luck and a Happy New Year!!!!
      -Tony

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Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office 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!

The Curse Of Knowledge

The Curse Of Knowledge

Jan 1, 2018 | Colic, Dentals, Eyes, Injuries, Lacerations

Tuesdays with Tony

My humans have been worrying about the future a lot this week. The weather people say it’s going to get cold (no one seems to remember how often they’re wrong), and with cold weather comes colicky horses. That got me thinking, so this week I asked Kayla, Nancy, Beth, and MJ what they worry about more now that they’ve worked here and seen all the things horses really can do to themselves. After all, they see hundreds of horse problems every year, so they have plenty to worry about with their own horses. We call that the Curse of Knowledge. Here’s their Top 5 list.

#1 Eye ulcers

Maybe you’ve had the Docs come out and put some of that fluorescent green dye in the eye. Then they tell you to use a few ointments 4 times per day, give some Bute or Banamine, and they come back out to check it again in a few days. Lots of eyes heal perfectly well this way. The ones that don’t, however, are the ones my team worries about. My minions have all had the joy of treating ulcers in eyes. They say what makes this one Number 1 on their list is that everything can be done absolutely perfectly, and things can still go bad. These ulcers are also very expensive and extremely time consuming. Treatment very quickly goes into the thousands of dollars, and is a minimum of 4 weeks. My minions also agree eye problems are a great reason to have major medical insurance on your horse!

#2 Very specific lacerations

Last year we had a weanling come in with a very small cut over her hock. She was an extremely well-bred barrel horse. Turns out that small cut went into the hock joint. It looked like no big deal, but because of the location, it was life-threatening. That’s right: life-threatening. Wounds in joints can very easily lead to infections in joints, and infections in joints are extremely difficult to clear in horses. Luckily, with about $5,000 in treatments, my Docs were able to get this one cleared up. MJ was horrified at how small the wound was, how easy it was to overlook, and how bad it all could have ended up. She says she’ll never take a wound for granted again! We all know horses are incredibly fragile, but MJ was amazed to see it action. Also, yet another reason to have major medical insurance on these crazy horses.

#3 Colic

This one had to be on the list. However, my minions said they view colic very differently than they did before working here. All colics used to scare them. Now it’s the colics that don’t respond quickly to drugs. Then they go into full on panic. You see, most colics get some sedation and a little pain relief, a whole lot of water and electrolytes, and off they go. It’s the ones that get painful again very quickly that scare my minions. Too often those are surgical colics. Even if they aren’t surgical, they do require lots of fluids, pain meds, and care. These colics are always touch and go for a bit. And yet another reason to insure horses!

PS on this one: coastal hay is the number one cause of colics. You can feed coastal to your horse, but please, please, please also feed some alfalfa or peanut hay!!

#4 Tendon Injuries

You pick up the trot one day and something doesn’t feel quite right. You wait a day or two and try again: still not right. My Docs come out and do a lameness evaluation, put some novocaine in different parts of the leg until the lameness goes away, and then do an ultrasound. You know you should be worried when the Doc gets “that look” on her face. She tells you it’s a proximal suspensory tear. Why do my minions fear this diagnosis so much? They know it’s a minimum of 6 months of rehab work before we even know if things are going to be back to normal. They know with some of these small tendons and ligaments (like the oblique sesamoidean) that it is nearly impossible to get the horses back to normal. They also know that the best shot for healing comes with extremely diligent physical therapy work, and most people don’t do so well at that part.

#5 Lay Tooth Floaters

I saved this one for last, but it should probably be higher on the list. There are lots of people out there who will “do your horse’s teeth” for not a lot of money. You get what you pay for. Unfortunately you also often get much, much less than you pay for. My minions have seen broken teeth, missed tumors, infections caused or made worse, and, simply put, really bad floats done. Even worse, many lay floaters sedate horses which is AGAINST THE LAW. My Docs went to school for a really long time to know all the things that can go wrong when they sedate a horse. They drive around with a truck full of stuff to manage problems if things do go wrong. My Docs have the knowledge to understand how that little thing they see can be an indicator of BIG problems. I can’t be any clearer: Lay floaters are not a good answer for your horse’s health. Dentistry should be done with bright lights, sedation, a speculum, and a doctor.

Want to know how to keep your horse safe in a scary world? Communicate! My Docs and minions are here to help you. Send pictures, call, email in questions. From abscesses to zoonoses, they’ve got you covered. Now I’m headed for a long winter’s nap.

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!

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Horse Tech

Horse Tech

Dec 25, 2017 | Exercise

Tuesdays with Tony

Let me begin by saying I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday. What more could a cat ask for than shiny things on a tree followed by empty boxes and wadded up paper? I realize you humans have lots of holidays, for lots of different things, but this one gets my vote as best.

Moving on to an actual topic: Horse Tech. Dr. Lacher has an obsession with technology. She may not have all of it she wants, but she sure researches the heck out of it. So without further idle chit-chat, I bring you a few of her favorite things.

FitBit for Horse

There are four or five companies working on slightly different versions of the fitbit for horses. Equisense, SeeHorse, Orscana, and Trackener are just a few. The main drawback they all have at the moment is they work on one part of your horse’s life. They either are designed for use during work, or while they are hanging out, but not really both. We all love our fitness trackers because they tell us about our entire day. It would be great to know you rode your horse for 3 miles, and he did another 7 in the pasture last night. For the record, there will never be a fitness tracker for cats for obvious reasons.

These trackers do have some pretty cool things that they track. They can tell you how “even” your horse moves from right to left, they can tell you how much time you spent at the walk, trot, and canter, how you did on take-off distances for jumpers, and even how your horse compares today to his “normal.” Using some of these features, they found that you humans are really bad at knowing how much work you’ve actually done on your horse. Humans underestimated the time they had spent on walk breaks by 50%. And you think cats lay around all the time!

Equilume

If you breed mares and want early babies, you know the struggle of mares under lights. You need them in the stall until 9:30 – 10pm every night, they think that’s stupid, and you wonder if the light is bright enough.

Enter Equilume. They did the work to prove that a blue light shining in one eye at a certain brightness for a certain amount of hours worked as well as being in a stall. Then they took that light and put it on a racehorse hood. Voila! Your mare can hang out in a field with her friends, with a light shining in one eye. Because that light is blue, and only on one eye, she can still see all she needs to see.

Bonus feature: just this year they found that mares wearing the hood who were due to foal early in the season had bigger, stronger, healthier babies than mares on the same farm not wearing the hood. Biggest downside of Equilume is the cost (around $500) for something that can only be used for one season. I imagine that like all tech it will improve and get cheaper as time goes on. I also know that some of you would pay a lot more than $500 to not have your mare in a stall.

Horsepal

Can’t decide how many clothes your horse wants to wear tonight? I’m going to tell you, it’s fewer than you think. I find you humans are always cold compared to those of us with a fur coat. I digress. Turns out there’s an App (and a sensor) for that. Horseware Ireland, being a manufacturer of some of the best blankets on the planet, found out that lots of people have that same question, so they made Horsepal.

This is a small sensor that fits inside your horse’s blanket and checks temperature and humidity. Using that information, the Horsepal app tells you if your horse is likely too hot, too cold, or just right. The App links weather from your area and compiles past data for your horse so over time you can figure out which clothes will be best for what weather. Downside: it can’t send that data to you from the field, but it does store three days worth of data for you to download and review. I’m also not sure how useful this is in Florida, but I do think it gets cool points for helping you humans know how your horses are feeling in the field at 2 am.

KurtSystems

I’m including this one simply because it’s just so dang amazing! Seriously, when you humans put your mind to something, it’s unbelievable what you can do. The inventors of this system were trying to come up with a way to pre-train baby thoroughbreds. They looked at the research out there and found that if you could put babies through a build-up fitness program before you put a rider on them, you had fewer career (and even life) -ending injuries. But how do you do that?

Their solution certainly isn’t cheap, but it is pretty spectacular. The KurtSystem is basically a big monorail system for horses. They use this to start training horses on a track-size area (so way bigger than a roundpen) with no weight. The horses start with slow speeds and short distances and work up over 6 months to faster speeds (still not racing fast), longer distances, and even a bit of weight (around 70 pounds). The goal is to create horses who have some level of fitness, and an understanding of how to do their job before adding a floppy human to the whole system. It seems balancing you humans is really hard work! While I’m certain this won’t be a feature in every barn, it’s cool to geek out on it and to see someone trying so hard to prevent injuries in young thoroughbreds.

What’s your horse tech dream for 2018? My tech dream is a button I push to open the door. Although, I’ll admit, it is fun to watch my staff open and close and open and close it for me. Now scroll a little further down the page, enter your email, and subscribe to my blog. It will make you a better human.

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!

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Eye Injuries

Eye Injuries

Dec 18, 2017 | Eyes

Tuesdays with Tony

As we get into the Christmas spirit, it seems horses can sense the strain on your wallet from all that shopping. As a cat I’m a little more conscientious about such things, of course, but horses get some sort of evil pleasure from making their owners squirm.

 Every Eye Injury is an Emergency

If you are a horse, one easy way to rack up a big vet bill in a short amount of time is by poking something in your eye. Remember that eye injuries are always an emergency, and the more time that passes before the right medication is initiated, the more expensive they can be to treat.

Corneal Ulcer

This is the most common eye injury in horses, but it can be just the tip of the iceberg. The cornea is the clear outermost layer of the eye that you see through. Puncture wounds, abrasions, and other forms of trauma can cause a break in this layer. Usually these “simple” ulcers will heal just with a few days of triple antibiotic ointment. However, any break in this protective outer layer creates the opportunity for infection. Uh-oh.

Stromal Abscess

When a corneal ulcer gets infected by any of the bacteria or fungus that exists in our lovely Florida soil, it becomes a ‘complicated’ ulcer. What often happens at this stage is the outer layer of cornea heals over, trapping the infection beneath. This is called a stromal abscess, which takes on average 8 weeks of medicating the eye 4 times a day to heal! No fun. A Stromal abscess can often be prevented by early treatment of a Corneal Ulcer. That’s why all eye injuries are an emergency! That, and….

 Iris Prolapse

Certain types of fungus that can infect corneal ulcers actually cause the cornea to ‘melt.’ The fancy medical term for this is keratomalacia, which would be great to use in a game of Scrabble! Melting corneal ulcers are the worst of the worst. If left untreated, they can cause iris prolapse, or rupture of the eye. It is every bit as gross as it sounds. Basically, the ooey gooey insides of the eye leak out through the hole in the cornea, until the iris (the part that gives the eye it’s color) blocks the hole. This requires emergency conjunctival graft surgery or enucleation (removal of the eye) to treat. This is definitely not something you want to make your horse endure due to your inaction.

An Ounce of Prevention

You can’t really protect your horse 100% from everything, because they’re a lot like cats in their ability to find a way to cause mischief. However, you can go a long way towards preventing eye injuries (injuries in general, really) by doing a few simple things. First, make sure they don’t have something sharp to scratch on. Check your stalls and fences regularly for nails and broken boards. Broken tree branches are another favorite scratching point. Also, don’t put your horses out with things like rusted-out car bodies, tractor implements, falling-down structures, and things like that. Just because your neighbor’s horse made it in that type of environment for 20 years is no guarantee that yours will.

A quality fly mask can also prevent many eye injuries. Gnats and flies are a major cause of itchy eyes, so keeping them away is a huge help. The mask itself will also keep most scratching sessions from becoming eye injuries. It’s a lot cheaper to buy a new fly mask every year than it is to treat an eye injury. Do your horse (and yourself) a favor, and cover it up!

The moral of the story

If your horse has a squinty, tearing, swollen, or otherwise weird-looking eye, don’t waste any time getting one of our amazing docs to check it out! Quick treatment can make a huge difference in whether or not your horse loses an eye, and it can also be the difference between hundreds of dollars and thousands of dollars. I’m a professional risk-taking cat, and I’m here to tell you: Don’t take risks with your horse’s eyes! There’s nothing to gain, and everything to lose.

Until next week,

-Tony

 

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!

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Let’s Go Horse Show!

Let’s Go Horse Show!

Dec 11, 2017 | Competition Horses

Tuesdays with Tony

I hear this thing called ‘competition season’ is approaching. As a cat, I compete with no one. I am perfection, and I know it. However, I understand things are different in your world. You humans have a thing called horse shows, where you compete for who has the prettiest browband, most silver on their saddle, or most expensive outfit. No wait, that’s not true. You compete for who has the best horse! Oftentimes the most important competition, however, is the one between your current self and your past self. Can you make today’s performance better than your last one? Yep, that was a deeply profound statement from a cat. I am a keen observer of the human psyche, even if it looks like I’m sound asleep most of the time. To prepare you humans for the upcoming competition season, I have prepared Tony’s guide to getting the best performance ever.

Goals

Go find a mirror. They’re everywhere. You can even point your phone at yourself and hit the record button if needed. Now, look deep into your eyes and honestly determine your goals for the next year to 18 months. But how do I know if it’s an appropriate goal, Tony? Good question. Goals ask us to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zone. Improve upon what we’ve got now, but not go to the impossible. For example, if you and Spot are currently working on how to trot a 20 meter circle, then making the Olympic Dressage Team in the next 12-18 months is probably unrealistic. However, scoring a 65% on a training level test at a recognized show is an excellent goal. Goals must be something you can achieve, or they will annihilate your willingness to try.

I got skills!

I’ve got a goal, I’m good to go. One year from now I will have achieved my goal because I said I have a goal. Yeah, that’s not how that works. Look at your goal. For simplicity (you humans are a simple species), I’m going to stick with the dressage thing. Your goal is to score a 65%. Make a list of the skills needed to achieve a 65% at training level. What are you great at? What do you really, really need to work at? If you can nail a halt from the walk, trot, or canter, don’t spend a whole lot of time on that. If your 20 meter circle looks like something a 2-year-old drew with their eyes closed, you should spend lots and lots of time working on geometry! Making a list of what you rock, what you are OK at, and what you really, really need to work on will help you see how best to achieve your goal.

Get Help

I mean this in every sense of the word. If you are reading this, chances are you’re a crazy horse person. This means you should probably get some counseling. If you are still reading this, you have now identified some skills you need to improve. Get help to improve them. Go to a clinic, find a trainer, seek out a friend who’s riding skills you admire. Chances are good you aren’t the only one who has trouble with that skill. In our dressage example, riding round circles is really hard. Talk to your trainer (or friend) about where your difficulties lie. Tell a clinician you seem to prefer abstract circles to the round variety, and ask if they have any help for this issue. Keep your eye on that goal. Don’t get distracted and work on your already amazing halts over and over and over again. Work on the things that are holding you back. Practice what you’re bad at.

Keep the Pressure On

When I tell you this next step, I want you to remember this blog is free. That’s right, I give you all this amazing cat wisdom for free. This may be the most important step: Find someone who will hold you accountable. It can be a horse friend, a trainer, a Facebook friend, (probably not your spouse) anyone that will listen to your progress from the previous 10-14 days, your outline for the next 10-14 days, and not cut you any slack on excuses for not achieving. This person will help you ride when it’s dark, cold, and/or raining outside. This person will push you to do more that you ever thought you could. And the best part? You can do the same for them!

No excuses, humans! The weather is great for riding. We have access to amazing talent in Florida for the winter in pretty much every discipline you can do with a horse! The only thing holding you back is you.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. Don’t want to worry about keeping your horse healthy while you two are achieving these amazing things? Sign up for a Wellness Plan now! Save money, have a happy horse, enjoy more time. Click here before our limited slots are gone.

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!

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Poisonous Plants

Poisonous Plants

Dec 4, 2017 | Poisonous Plants

Tuesdays with Tony

Poisonous Plants

Plants are delicious. Who doesn’t love to chow down on a plant the humans have carefully placed for decorative purposes? I know I do. I have learned, however, that not all plants are safe for eating. This rule applies to cats, dogs, and horses.  This week I’m going to educate you humans on the top 5 poisonous plants in the horse world.

Quick dog and cat tip before I begin: Easter lilies are deadly to cats in very, very small amounts, and Coonti palms work the same way for dogs.

Red Maple

While beautiful, Red Maple trees are very, very bad for horses. Eating as little as 2 pounds of Red Maple leaves will cause toxicity in horses. Like many plants, wilted leaves contain the most toxin. The toxin, gallic acid, causes the body to attack and kill the red blood cells. This makes the blood unable to carry oxygen. Horses are affected within about 24 hours of eating. They become extremely depressed, and may even have blue mucous membranes. They will also urinate red or dark brown urine. There aren’t great treatment options for this toxin. The Docs give them lots, and lots, and I mean lots, of IV fluids. If they make it 36 hours, it’s very likely they will recover.

Since poisonous plants pretty much all look alike to me, I have included a pictures of these various plants.

Creeping Indigo

This is one horrible poisonous plant, and ‘Creeping’ is the key word. It creeps along very close to the ground, making it really hard to find. Creeping Indigo also spreads by long, hard-to-pull roots and seeds making it difficult to fully kill in one round. This plant makes you go to full-on war.  Horses need to eat around 10 pounds of creeping indigo daily for about 14 days to develop signs. That seems like a lot, but some horses develop a taste for this weed and seek it out! The toxins are 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) and indospicine. These toxins attack the nervous system in many weird ways. That means the symptoms of Creeping Indigo toxicity are difficult at best to figure out. They can vary from runny, squinting eyes, sleepiness, nystagmus (this is the fancy term for eyes wiggling back and forth), gait abnormalities, and mild colic-type signs. Yep, a wide variety. To add to the joy that is Creeping Indigo, there are no lab tests to identify the toxin, and no real way to know if it’s the cause of the problem. Special tests on tissue taken after an animal has passed away can identify the toxin.

Here’s a picture of Creeping Indigo to help you identify it, with chapstick container for size reference. It will die if you spray it with Grazon, or other similar products, but you MUST pull up the dead plants since the seeds are still viable! The ways to hate Creeping Indigo are many.

Crotalaria

Crotalaria is commonly known as rattlepods or rattlebox, due to the sound of the seeds rattling in their pods. This one suckers you in with pretty flowers, then BAM! Your liver gets annihilated. This plant really starts growing in late summer. It like damp places, such as the area around the water buckets or troughs in your pasture.

It has big broad leaves with a spike of small yellow flowers, and commonly grows to 4′ in height. Luckily, crotalaria tastes very bitter, so unless animals are starving, they usually won’t eat it. Interestingly, some less-toxic strains of this plant are consumed by humans in various places around the world. It just proves my point that some people will eat anything.

This one will happily die with pretty much any plant killer, but it does like to come back every Fall.   

Oleander

This plant often gets planted as a decorative hedge. Horses think decorative hedges have been placed for snacking purposes. One mouthful of this hedge is enough to cause problems! In humans, a very small amount is enough to kill. The toxins in oleander are powerful cardiac poisons like digitoxigenin, and oleandrin. They target the heart muscle and cause it to die. Horses that eat oleander can show signs from poor performance to extreme lethargy depending on how much they ate. All I have to say about this one is don’t plant it in first place. If you do have oleander, be very, very careful removing it. All it takes is some sap in a small skin wound to cause problems with human hearts! 

Nightshade

Last of the horrible Top 5 poisonous plants is nightshade. This fun little guy loves to grow along fence lines. Long ago, crazy humans used the plant to dilate their eyes since they thought it looked good. The main toxin in nightshade is atropine. My Docs use it as a drug in its purified form. If your horse eats nightshade they will experience fun things like diarrhea, nervousness, irregular heartbeat, and extreme sensitivity to light. Luckily this guy also doesn’t taste very good. Keeping plenty of hay in front of your horses is a great way to keep them from checking out nightshade to see if it’s tasty. Most of the time this one can be treated with time. The easiest way to get rid of it is to check your fence lines regularly and simply pull them up. 

Poisonous plants are no joking matter. The best way to know what you’ve got? Call your County Extension Service and have them come walk your property. County Extension Agents are full of all kinds of useful knowledge about plants and grass. Best of all, they are part of your tax dollars at work!

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!

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Fencing

Fencing

Nov 27, 2017 | Fencing

Tuesdays with Tony

The docs have seen a lot of fencing-related injuries recently, so I have been tasked with educating you humans about the best way to keep your horses safely where you want them. Cats, as a rule, don’t exactly have boundaries, so I’m not sure I’m the best one to school you on this topic. However, I do know which type of horse fencing causes the most injuries that I see here in the clinic, and I overhear a lot of chit-chat regarding the do’s and dont’s of containing your equine companions. Here are the top 3 factors I would consider when choosing fencing for an accident-prone horse (which, as we know, is all of them).

 

horse fencingSafety

   We all know that horses are constantly looking for new and creative ways to injure themselves, and often they use their immediate enclosure as a means to achieve this end. But, with a little foresight, you can interfere with their self-destructive plan. My two favorite vets agree that barbed wire is not acceptable fence material for horses. Horses do not equal cows; their skin is not as thick, and their fight-or-flight instinct is much stronger. If a horse finds himself tangled in wire, he will immediately struggle and pull until he frees himself, even if that means leaving most of the skin from his legs behind. A cow, on the other hand, would probably just sit there and chew his cud until someone came out to feed the next morning.

 

That being said, plain wire is the number one source of fencing-related injuries I see here at the clinic. While it may seem harmless, it is difficult for horses to see (especially when running, in the dark, away from one of those invisible monsters). Wire fencing also tends to coil when broken (or when sitting in a pile prior to installation). Horses find these coils of wire particularly enticing as holes in which to place their limbs. “Goat wire” fencing is fine, but keep in mind that small rectangles are preferable over hoof-sized squares. Tip: Horses don’t like electricity! An electric wire around the top of your fencing will make almost any fence a safer fence.

Height

   The height of your fencing should be determined by the animals you are attempting to contain. For example, if you have a Warmblood stallion who has a career as a jumper, you probably want at least 5’ electric fence on all sides. However, if you are planning on confining curious foals or adventurous minis, you may opt for wooden planks that start just a few inches off the ground. In addition to the size of your equid, you must also consider his temperament. Is your horse one to stick his leg or head through a gate made from a round pen panel, or is he smarter than that? I know I am, but we have previously established that cats are the superior species.

Practicality

You are probably thinking, “that’s all fine and good, oh wise Tony The Magnificent, but I can’t afford miles of immaculate fencing like you see lining the roads of Lexington.” That’s OK! Good, safe fencing doesn’t have to be super-expensive, and it doesn’t have to be pretty. Instead of a 4-board wooden fence, consider wooden posts with goat wire between. If you want your fencing to hold up longer, try installing a strip of electric tape along the top to deter your horses from stretching over the top to graze, pick leaves from the trees, or scratch their necks. If you choose electric fencing, consider the solar powered version (with electric back-up) to save on your electric bill each month.

 
 I know you are all going to go right home and fix your fencing now. But just in case you have one of those horses who finds ways to hurt himself despite your best efforts at accident prevention, remember that Springhill Equine is available 24/7 for your emergencies! Any day, any time, including weekends and holidays, you will reach a real live vet on-call through our emergency hotline: (352) 474-5007. Not that you will need it now, all thanks to me!
     -Tony

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!

Tuesdays with Tony

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Do you REALLY want to buy a horse?

Do you REALLY want to buy a horse?

Nov 20, 2017 | Buying and Selling

Tuesdays with Tony

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas horse shopping season. Three words: DON’T DO IT! Read on for wise words of wisdom from this cat before you buy a horse at Christmas time.

Know the cost

Just like there are no free lunches, there are definitely no free horses. The purchase price is a very, very small part of the cost of horse ownership. Horses require a place to live. Board for a horse can range from $250 to, well let’s be honest, the sky is really the limit here, but let’s pick $800 as our high number. The low number likely doesn’t include grain or hay, so add another $50-$80 per week for grain and hay. This is like your monthly horse mortgage payment. It gives them a place to live, but not much more. Plan on adding on the farrier every 4-6 weeks, and routine veterinary care (our Wellness Plans make this part easy). If you’re as smart as a cat you’ll also add on either an insurance payment or a payment to an emergency fund. Should I mention tack? Fly masks? Sheets and blankets? Water buckets? Go wander around the Tack Shack and make a shopping list, and get an idea of what you’re looking at there.

Put in the time

Horses require a lot of money and a lot of time. If you want to get good at horses, plan on spending a minimum of 15-20 hours per week doing horse stuff. I can hear it now, “It would be heaven to spend 20 hours every week riding!” Listen to the cat: I didn’t say riding. I said doing horse stuff.  They require brushing, cleaning up after, handling on the ground, and all kinds of not-riding type of time.  In fact, the more time you spend with them not riding, the better your riding time will be. Speaking of riding time, plan to spend some money on lessons.  Based on my observations of humans, you guys don’t come equipped with horse sense. You’re going to need to learn that from a trainer, and lessons cost money.

We’ll sell him and make money

There are definitely people who make lots of money in the horse world. Here’s how that works:

  1. They started with a large fortune and now have a small one, thanks to horses.
  2. They have the knowledge to buy young, untrained horses and put their time and training into them to make them worth more.
  3. They have a leprechaun and a four leaf clover hidden somewhere giving them unprecedented luck. For every one that makes money, there are a hundred that lose money.

But I really want a horse

If you have read this and still really want a horse, keep reading. Some human once said, “The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a human.” It’s true. I watch it happen at Springhill Equine every day. They calm you crazy humans. They teach you patience, and confidence, and empathy, and all kinds of wonderful things. So here’s a few steps you can take to be sure you really, really want a horse:

  • Take lessons. If you can commit to once-weekly lessons, and are still hungry for more after six months, you might be ready for a horse.
  • Volunteer somewhere taking care of horses. In our area we have HOPE, The Retirement Home for Horses, and HPAF who will happily let you come groom horses and get a feel for being around them.
  • Lease a horse. This is a short term commitment to horse ownership. You get to have a horse for a while to try it out.

Do you really want to buy a horse?Before you buy

If after all this you are ready to buy a horse, don’t skip my final, most important piece of advice: Never, never, never, ever buy a horse without a pre-purchase exam from one of my veterinarians. My Docs will go over your potential horse with a fine tooth comb to be sure there are no health complications you may not have noticed. These can range from eye sight issues, to heart problems, to subtle lamenesses. Pre-purchase exams can save you a lot of headaches!

Every horse-crazy kid has wanted a pony for Christmas. I’m not saying don’t buy a horse. Okay, I am, but if you are going to get a pony, at least be smart about it! That’s the wisdom of Tony for this week. Now go enjoy a long Thanksgiving weekend with your horses!

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office 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!

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