Creeping Indigo

Creeping Indigo

Tuesdays with Tony

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

 

It’s a Creeper For Sure

 

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

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

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

 

What Makes it Poisonous?

 

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

 

What Do The Toxins Do?

 

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

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

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

 

But Can You Fix It, Doc?

 

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

 

How Much Is Too Much?

 

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

 Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

I Am Appropriately Scared. Now What?

 

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

Until next week,

~Tony

 

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

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!

[jetpack_subscription_form title="Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms"]

Toxic Plants for Horses

Toxic Plants for Horses

Tuesdays with Tony

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

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

Trees

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

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

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

Landscaping

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

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

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

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Undergrowth/Shrubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all for now. It’s nap time.

Until next week,

~Tony

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!

[jetpack_subscription_form title="Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms"]

The Truth About Medroxy

The Truth About Medroxy

Tuesdays with Tony

Medroxy

Recently the hunter/jumper world was up in arms. A drug named Medroxyprogesterone was banned from competition horses. I asked my humans, why all the fuss? The answer was a complicated one. Read on for my take on mares, drugs, and the horse show world.

What’s It Do, Anyway?

Medroxyprogesterone is the name of the drug in Depo Provera, a human birth control injection. Why do horses need birth control injections, you ask? Me too! I mean, I had some ideas about why horses would need birth control, but my Docs told me it doesn’t even prevent pregnancy in horses. This left me completely stymied. Why give it to them? Medroxyprogesterone is thought (thought, I say, it’s not proven) to act on receptors in the brain which make horses feel calm. Medroxyprogesterone was being used for that effect, not keeping mares out of heat (which it doesn’t do, anyway), or minimizing stallion behaviors (which it also doesn’t do). It now made sense to me why it was banned. It’s thought to be a calming drug, and that’s a big no-no in horse shows. Again, I was told it’s more complicated than that. Gawd, you humans are a complicated lot!! Be more like cats. I want food, and I want the door to open when I ever-so-politely request it. Simple.

The Problem

Medroxyprogesterone is most often given to horses in the form of a compounded drug as an injection. Compounded drugs are their own very special can of worms. Compounding is the custom mixing of a medication into a different concentration or form. For medroxyprogesterone, this means making it more concentrated for the horse world. The biggest problems with compounded medications are consistency and sterility. If it’s an oral medication with a big range of dosing tolerance, then this is okay. However, for medroxyprogesterone, it’s an intramuscular shot, and that’s a big deal. In the recent past, multiple horses dropped dead immediately following injections. Now, this could be an individual horse’s reaction to the medication, or it could be a problem with the compounding process. Either way USEF, the organization that regulates hunter/jumper shows, said we weren’t so sure about this medication anyway, so we’re taking it off the table as a legal medication.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

The Human Side of the Problem

Based on this discussion, I wasn’t clear on the problem. It seemed to me that it was fine if this drug was gone. Everyone knows calming drugs like this aren’t allowed. Add to it that horses died. Why all the fuss? Because humans, that’s why. You humans are such a gullible, overly competitive lot. I’m pretty sure if I told you I could wave my left paw in front of your horse and they wouldn’t spook anymore, and they’d never need to be ridden, or lunged, and they’d walk in the show ring calm as a cucumber, ready to perform, you’d be lining up to pay me money. As an aside, should you ever feel the need to do this, I’d prefer cat food over money. Anyway. This drug was a hoped-for shortcut for most people using it. For others, the simple belief in its mystical powers caused their horse to behave better. Maybe we should give the humans the calming drugs……

But the simple truth is horses take time to train. And sometimes they see dragons in the woods. Sometimes plastic bags are scary. Unlike basketball or football, you guys are in a sport where the ball has a mind of its own. 

But My Mare is Horrible When She’s in Heat!

There are definitely those mares. We have a great drug for those mares with a proven track record: Regumate. You shouldn’t touch it with your bare hands, but that’s what gloves are for. If your horse is in a situation where a daily oral medication is tough, there is a long-acting shot version that lasts for a month. And this one really lasts. It has research behind it to show that it suppresses heat cycles, or maintains a pregnancy, depending on which goal you are going for. If your mare is awful all the time, even when she’s not in heat, then that’s the mare you’ve got. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no amount of medication is going to fix that. Removing the ovaries is also unlikely to fix it, unless it’s only a problem when she’s in heat. In this case I recommend finding a really good trainer, and practicing your patience. But then, with horses, that’s never a bad idea. 

Horses are tricky critters with a mind of their own. Accepting that at the start of the adventure will make you much happier with the outcome. Trying to find the right drug to create your perfect horse rarely works. Practicing patience and remembering that your horse’s life goals may not be the same as your life goals is key. Take some training advice from this wise cat: when things aren’t going the way you want them to, take a nap.

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!

[jetpack_subscription_form title=”Subscribe to Tuesdays with Tony”]

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks

Tuesdays with Tony

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

 

The Horse Show Parent

 

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

 Colic horse

The Lesson Horse

 

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

 

Barn Staff

 

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

 

The Barn Cat

 

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

 

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

Until next week,

~Tony

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!

[jetpack_subscription_form title="Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms"]

Blanketing

Blanketing

Tuesdays with Tony

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

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

Has your horse ever been blanketed?

 

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

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

 

Is Your Horse Body Clipped?

 

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

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

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Where does your horse live?

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

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

 

What if your horse is wet/sweaty?

 

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

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

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

 

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

Until next week,

~Tony

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!

[jetpack_subscription_form title="Subscribe to Whinny's Wisdoms"]

Preparing for Breeding Season

Preparing for Breeding Season

Tuesdays with Tony

Well, it seems the weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter. While for most of you this probably conjures up thoughts of fat Thanksgiving turkeys, glowing Christmas trees, and cozy winter clothes, it reminds me that breeding season is right around the corner! Now is the time to start thinking and preparing if you are planning to breed your mare this year. If you are on the fence about breeding, here are Tony’s Top Three things you will need to have if you want to create your own custom foal:

 

A fertile mare with several unique, redeemable qualities

 

Let’s break this down a bit. A fertile mare is one who is relatively young and ideally has a proven history of successfully delivering foals in the recent past. A mare’s fertility drops off steadily and rapidly after 8 years of age. By far the most challenging horse to get pregnant is an older maiden mare (i.e. a horse who has never carried a foal before). She needs to have normal external and internal reproductive organs. Her uterus needs to be free from infection, inflammation, and scar tissue. She should be negative for metabolic conditions such as Cushing’s disease and insulin resistance.

Another point to consider is whether or not your particular mare’s genetics are special enough to warrant being passed on to another generation. There is an equine overpopulation problem in the United States, and as such we must be sure we are breeding horses responsibly or not at all. If you want to breed simply because you want a young horse, you are much more likely to find what you are looking for if you purchase one than if you try to make your own. For example, you can choose which color you want, what personality type you like, and you can evaluate the horse’s skill and future performance potential prior to purchase. With breeding, there are no guarantees in any of these categories.

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

A lot of money

 

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

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

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

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

A lot of time and patience

 

It is widely known that humans sometimes have to try for awhile before they get pregnant. But did you know that the same is true for horses? A normal, healthy, young, fertile mare (see definition above) has approximately a 30% chance of conceiving each time she is bred. This means that you should plan on breeding your mare 3 times, over 3 heat cycles, before you can count on her getting pregnant. This means that even if you start trying to breed your mare on February 1st, you may not have a confirmed pregnant horse until mid-April. Then begins the waiting…

 

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

If you’ve made it this far and you still think you want to breed your mare, congratulations! You have a unique, talented mare with a great personality, and you can afford the stud fee for a stellar stallion that you know will compliment her beautifully. You have a specific plan for the future of this custom foal. You know that his value (either to you or someone else) will be greater than the amount you have invested in creating him. Now all you need is a good source of knowledge and advice regarding breeding, raising, and training a horse (i.e. a veterinarian)… and we’ve got you covered there. We offer a variety of breeding packages, which are going to absolutely be your horse’s best chance of conceiving a foal. We also have a pre-breeding package, which can help you answer that first question about your mare’s fertility. Breeding season is actually my favorite time of year. Baby horses are one of the creatures this cat is most curious about. Hopefully I have given you some insight on not only how to breed your mare, but how to breed responsibly.
Until next time,

-Tony

P.S. My humans have two podcast episodes on breeding, if you’re looking for more knowledge about this. Go to Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth and scroll down the playlist. I think both episodes are back in season 1. If you’re really going to breed, it’s worth an hour of your time to gather all the knowledge available, right?

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!

[jetpack_subscription_form title="Tuesdays with Tony"]