Let’s talk sleep and narcolepsy in horses. I’ve been accused of this, but to be 100% clear, I don’t suffer from narcolepsy. As a top line predator, I require up to 18 hours of sleep daily to keep my highly tuned body ready for the chase. Horses sleep much differently. I suppose you could call me a subject matter expert on sleep, so I feel uniquely qualified to talk on the topic this week.

They just stand around and sleep, right?

Horses sleep standing up. This statement is often made with all the confidence in the world, and yet it falls under the “colics should be walked” category. Only rated “sorta true” by science. Horses can nap while standing up. You know, that sleep you get when you’re on the couch with the TV on, and a whole lot of stuff going on around you? Yeah, your eyes are closed, and yeah you were “asleep”, but you would never call it really good cat-in-the-sunny-spot level of sleep. That’s what horses do when they sleep standing up. It’s more of a less-than-restful nap which lets you run from those panthers when they sneak up on you.

Slight side note: The mechanism that lets horses sleep standing is called the reciprocal apparatus. The front and hind legs each have a version. When the reciprocal apparatus is locked into place, the horse only needs a very tiny amount of muscle input to remain standing. This allows everything to relax. It’s kind of like when I sleep with my head on the keyboard, and my body against the monitor. I don’t have to use a lot of muscle strength this way, but I also can’t enter REM sleep this way.

REM is key

Pretty much everybody who sleeps has to enter REM state at some point. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, and it is characterized by not just eye movement, but also changes to brain activity. The more scientists learn about sleep, the more they learn about why REM sleep is important.

During REM sleep, our brain processes things we’ve learned during times of wakefulness. It files and categorizes them into the proper memory, emotional, and movement categories. This is why it’s really important to sleep well after you learn something new. Look at me; I’m full of knowledge, and I sleep all the time.

Anyway, the learning stuff has been known for years. Recently, scientists have also learned that REM sleep is when the brain does housekeeping. Dusting, vacuuming, and all the other brain-cleaning activities happen only right around and during REM sleep. You humans will usually enter this state 5-7 times per night if you’re sleeping well.

Horses MUST enter this state every three days to keep functioning at their best. Why is every three days important? Your horse has to lie down to enter REM sleep. This doesn’t happen during that sleep-standing-up phase.

No REM = Unhappy Horse

When your horse doesn’t experience REM sleep, the first thing you’ll notice will likely be the same as what you notice on people (or even yourself): they’re cranky, and generally unhappy with the world. The next thing, and this is the one my Docs get called about, is your horse falls asleep while standing up.

The crossties, while being groomed or girthed up, is the most common place this happens, but it can happen anywhere, even while being ridden. These horses hit that wall of sleepiness, and, boom, down they go. In humans, there is a medical syndrome called narcolepsy. This is a true medical condition, and involves the brain inappropriately triggering sleep. Except for a few cases of miniature horses with a genetic defect, this isn’t what horses are doing. They are actually sleep-deprived.

How to make your horse go to sleep

The first thing my Docs rule out is pain. Back, neck, or hip pain can make it hard for them to get up from laying down, especially in older horses. These horses don’t feel comfortable laying down. Remember, vicious panthers like myself could be lurking, and horses want to feel like they can run away at a moment’s notice. If they are worried about this, they won’t lay down in the first place until it is absolutely necessary.

A trial of a pain reliever like bute, or Banamine (after speaking with a veterinarian to get the right dosing) can help rule pain in or out as a cause. This one is generally pretty easy. After three or four days, you’ve got your happy horse back who doesn’t go crashing down on cross ties. You may even notice that this behavior has come on slowly, and you didn’t realize how much of a behavior change you were experiencing.

The next thing my Docs look at is social structure. Horses like to know they can sleep safely. Many of these horses have had a sudden change to their friends. Maybe a new horse moved into the barn, maybe you moved stalls around, maybe you moved pastures. In one case, the horse had recently been imported from Europe. We’re pretty sure he thought he had been kidnapped by aliens.

For these horses, you have to be committed to a whole lot of trial and error. If possible, go back to the set up that allowed your horse to sleep. If not, evaluate your horse’s personality. If they are a dominant type, ask yourself if the change has brought another dominant horse into position to challenge your horse. If your horse is submissive, the issue is more commonly that their dominant protector has moved. Submissive horses usually (but not always, because horses don’t like rules anymore than cats do) do best with a dominant horse close by to watch over them.

After pain and social structure, it becomes a game of trying to find what works. This can be a long, tedious, patience-testing project. Of course, that’s horses in a nutshell.

Sleep is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. I do a whole lot of it. If your horse seems to be getting cranky, or falling asleep while standing around, call my Docs. Let’s get them back to dreamland!

Until next week,

~Tony

More and more often I get the question, could my horse’s performance issue, behavior problem, weight loss, or other problem be caused by ulcers? Boy, this is a loaded question for a clinic cat to answer! But I will do my best to guide you to the answer you are looking for and how we can figure out if your horse’s problem is indeed due to ulcers.

Definition of Stomach Ulcers

First, let’s define “stomach ulcers”. Ulcers describe inflammation and a disruption of mucosa of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Contrary to popular belief, ulcers typically occur in the lower esophagus, stomach, and upper small intestine, NOT in the hind gut. Yes, I know you know that ulcers occur in the stomach, but listen to this cat when I tell you, there is little to no research indicating that horses get hind gut ulcers, so let’s just stop that conversation here. I am a man of much wisdom, but my wisdom is always backed by research. Ok, I will get off my soap box now and get down to the nitty gritty of today’s blog, gastric ulcers.

The horse’s stomach is made up of glandular and non-glandular or squamous portions which are separated by a distinct line called the Margo Plicatus.  Say that again: Margo Plicatus. Isn’t that just a fun thing to say? Margo Plicatus! Anyway, gastric ulcers can occur anywhere in the stomach, but most commonly occur along the Margo Plicatus on the non-glandular portion of the stomach. They can occur on the glandular portion of the stomach leading into the pylorus and duodenum or upper small intestine as well.

Signs/Symptoms

The fun thing about gastric ulcers is, they can present any way they want. Sometimes they can cause a horse to lose weight, sometimes they can cause a horse to have poor performance, other times they can cause a horse to develop odd behaviors, and sometimes, we may never even suspect a horse has ulcers, but they do.  It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, which is always super fun. Who doesn’t love rolling around in the hay? There have been reports of horses who get grumpy when their girth is being tightened. Some colic signs have been associated with gastric ulcers as well. However, it is very rare that severe colic signs are associated with gastric ulcers.

Causes

Gastric acid has an extremely low pH. The glandular portion of the stomach is made to handle the low pH. However, the non-glandular portion of the stomach really does not appreciate constant insult from low pH gastric acid. When a horse is being exercised, pressure within the stomach increases, the stomach collapses and the gastric acid moves around. This causes inflammation of the non-glandular portion of the stomach. Frequent insult to the non-glandular stomach leads in increased inflammation which leads to erosion of the mucosa.

Causes of ulcers in the glandular portion of the stomach are not as well known. However, there is some relation to the chronic use of NSAIDs such as bute and banamine and ulcers in the glandular portion of the horse’s stomach. That being said, there have been many horses who come through my clinic that are on daily NSAIDs and do not have these kinds of ulcers.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing gastric ulcers can only be done by gastric endoscopy. When performing a scope on your horse, my docs take this long tube with a camera on the end of it, they put it up your horse’s nose and then expect them to just swallow it.  You won’t get this cat to swallow any cameras; I certainly don’t need anyone knowing what my insides look like. Anywho, so this little camera thing goes down your horse’s esophagus and into the stomach. Then my docs “drive” it around looking at all the different parts of your horse’s stomach. They concentrate mainly on the Margo Plicatus, because as you already learned, that’s where most gastric ulcers occur.

They will then point the camera towards your horse’s pylorus and duodenum where they will look for evidence of ulcers, such as keratinization (yellow phglemy-looking stuff).  Oh, I forgot to mention, in order to scope your horse correctly, your horse must be fasted for at least 12 hours. Once your horse’s stomach has been fully inspected, my docs will slowly bring the scope out of the stomach and into the esophagus. They inspect the esophagus for signs of ulcers or any other abnormalities.

While scoping is the only definitive way to diagnose gastric ulcers, a presumptive diagnosis can be made with treatment with medications and resolution of clinical signs.  If you want to know for sure though, come in and see me, and get your horse scoped. It’s the only way to go.

Treatment

The goal of treatment for gastric ulcers is to bring the gastric acid to the maintenance level between a pH of 4 and 5. There is only one approved medication for the treatment of gastric ulcers, omeprazole. Omeprazole comes in several different formulations including oral paste and injectable. You all know the oral paste by the trade names GastroGard and UlcerGard. GastroGard is only available through your veterinarian. It is the only oral paste I recommend as it is highly regulated, and its contents are thoroughly monitored in order to ensure the appropriate dose of medication is in each tube.

The injectable omeprazole is a little less common but just as effective as the oral paste and it is given just once a week. It is extremely convenient for those horses who are difficult to dose orally on a daily basis. Next time you see one of my docs, ask them about the injectable omeprazole.  Other effective treatments for ulcers include Ranitidine and sucralfate. However, their effectiveness is not as well known or studied and therefore cannot be considered the gold standard, first line treatment or preventative for gastric ulcers.

So, by now you might be thinking your horse may have gastric ulcers, and you may be right.  So call my people and they will get you on the schedule for a gastric endoscopy! My docs can determine if your horse is at risk for or currently has gastric ulcers.  Treatment isn’t always cheap, but there are many other tricks my docs can talk to you about to help reduce the risk of your horse developing ulcers. Finding out for sure that they don’t have ulcers can save you a lot of money in the long run, too, and who doesn’t want to save money?

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. If you want to take a deep dive into ulcers, go over to the podcast page and listen to Season 1, Episode 13, Stomach Ulcers. My humans do a good job of explaining the nuts and bolts of ulcers and treatments. It’s a great free resource!

I’m not even going to pretend I didn’t straight up steal this week’s blog from Dr. Lacher. I was listening in on a recent podcast she did on airway issues. I found it pretty fascinating, so I’m going to summarize it here for you. If you like podcasts, and you should, because they’re a pretty great thing, check out Straight From the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. If you have no idea what a podcast is, you should follow these steps: 1) join us here at the Clinic in 2020, and 2) ask anyone of my minions to show you how to get to podcasts on those phones you humans worship. Anyway, on to airways.

Anatomy of an Airway

Let’s start with the fact that horses are amazing athletes. Fun fact of the day: horses increase their oxygen consumption 40 times when running flat out. Compare that to humans who can only increase oxygen consumption by about 7 times. There’s no value for cats, since science hasn’t figured out how to motivate us cats to exercise during a study. Anyway, using that much air takes a whole lot of really cool anatomy goings on to make it work. Let’s talk about that anatomy.

Picture from Anatomy of the Horse by Budras, et al

Things start at the nose. Those nostrils can open very, very wide to help scoop tons of air into that big old nose. From there, air heads back to the pharynx and larynx. The larynx is the voice box, and the pharynx is the area kinda behind your mouth but in front of your voice box. In humans, and cats, it’s not a very large area. In horses, it’s downright cavernous. Air continues down the trachea, also called the windpipe for obvious reasons, and then down into the lungs. In the lungs, air is funnelled into progressively smaller and smaller airways until it gets into the alveoli. Alveoli look like little grape bundles. This is where oxygen goes from the air to the blood through walls that are often only two cells thick! That’s like 1/1000th the thickness of one of my hairs, and I’m not talking whiskers. That’s incredibly thin! 

Potential Problem Areas

I swear horses were designed to have problem areas everywhere. Turns out the airway is no exception. I’m glad you humans find them pretty, or horses would really be in trouble. Let’s go through the airway trouble spots one by one.

1. Those nostrils. Sure, they can open wide, but sometimes they don’t do that the right way. If the nostrils don’t open and stay open, all that air rushing in and out hits a wall and slows down. This reduces the amount of air that can get to the lungs, thus reducing how fast and/or how long a horse can perform. Things like FLAIR strips can help this.
2. That big old nose itself. It’s not usually a problem area, but if there’s any swelling, or growths like nasal polyps, air flow can be pretty quickly restricted. 
3. The soft palate. If you fold your tongue backwards and feel the top of the very back of your mouth, that’s the soft palate. In horses, it’s really long and usually sits below the bottom edge of the voice box. It’s the reason horses can’t breathe through the mouth. It can also decide it doesn’t want to be where it’s supposed to be. It pops up above that bottom edge to flap in the breezes blowing by. As you can imagine, this doesn’t help airflow at all! There is a pretty effective surgery for this called a Tie Forward. 
4. The pharynx. This guy has to withstand massive pressures as air goes screaming by on its way in and out. It’s mostly soft stuff like mucosa and muscle with only some little tiny bones on the bottom called the hyoid apparatus. This means those muscles have to work like crazy to hold the pharynx open during breathing. Sometimes they just can’t even. We call that pharyngeal collapse. It’s tough to manage since there’s no surgery, medication, supplement (little cat joke there, supplements are never the answer), bit, or other gadget that can manage this. 
5. The larynx. Oh, the larynx. This is where Roarers happen. On either side of the larynx are the vocal folds. These flaps move in and out to create the vibrations that cause the much-loved whinny. I use mine to demand, I mean request, food from my humans. Either way, the left one is powered by a nerve that does some really strange meanderings to get where it’s going. The nerve starts at the base of the skull, runs down to the heart, does a u-turn and comes back up the left side of the larynx. Given the long journey, it has a lot of opportunities for bad things to happen. When the nerve quits working, that flap stops opening properly. That creates turbulence when your horse is breathing, and that sounds like roaring. There’s a surgery for this one too. It’s called a Tie Back. Those surgeons are so original with their names. 
6. The trachea. This one doesn’t cause too many problems for most horses. Minis are known for getting a collapsing issue. 
7. The lungs. Oh, the lungs. That teenie, tiny little membrane that allows horses absorb oxygen really efficiently so they can run fast, also does a really bad job at keeping the blood on the correct side of the wall. This is where “bleeding” comes from. If a horse runs enough times, and hard enough, bleeding will happen. It takes management and good training to keep this to a minimum. Sure, there’s Lasix, but did you know even a subtle lameness can massively increase the chances your horse will bleed? Talk to my Docs about making sure you’ve got a good plan to minimize the chances of bleeding. Medications are likely going to be part of it, but there’s a whole lot more to it. 

Moral of the story: horses can really mess up their airways in a lot of different ways. If your horse isn’t performing like they should, don’t just head to Dr. Google. Talk with one of my Docs about what’s going on. They will help you come up with a cause, and a treatment plan. Dr. Google can’t do that!

Now then, about that podcast. I’m sure you want more information about airways, so I’m going to show you where you can listen to the podcast without having to download anything fancy on your phone. All you have to do is click this link: Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. That will take you to the podcast page on our website. Then, you just scroll through the episodes. When you see one you want to listen to, just click Play. Make sure you turn your volume up.

Until next week,

~Tony

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

Money

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

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

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

Transportation

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

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

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

Stabling/Care

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next week,

-Tony

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

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

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

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

Stalls

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

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

Buckets

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

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

Water Troughs

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

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

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

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

Bits/Equipment

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

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

Until next week,

~Tony

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