One of the best ways to keep your horse healthy is to make sure he stays hydrated. Good hydration can keep him performing well, help his organ systems function, and reduce the chance of colic. But have you noticed that self-preservation is not one of your horse’s best skills? Many of them don’t drink enough water when they’re traveling, in a new place, or when the weather changes. Not that I blame them – my fine feline tastes make me picky about flavors too.

In the summer, your horse needs to drink to replace water lost during sweating and exercise. In the winter, he is probably eating more dry food material like hay, and less moisture-rich grass. Dehydration can result, because his food is naturally drier and there is less stimulus to drink when its cooler outside. My docs have seen a lot of colics lately with the weather changing. An average sized (1000 lb) horse should drink about 5-10 gallons of water a day, so keep a close eye on how much yours is consuming. Here are some tips to encourage him to drink more, whether it’s summer or winter.

1. Provide fresh water

Make sure your horse’s water source is always fresh and clean. Check all your water troughs, buckets, and automatic waterers daily. Replace the stale water and scrub all your water sources out regularly. Algae can grow quickly around here, and debris can fall into the containers and rot. Even worse, I’m sure you have all seen the dreaded pile of manure accidentally deposited in the water bucket – gross! Your horse is sure not going to drink that.

2. Think about the water container

Some horses are picky about what they will drink from. Some drink better out of a trough or larger bucket. If the bucket feels too narrow to him, he may not want to put his nose in. Make sure there’s no metal hardware or handle that might be in his way. Offer him several container options to keep him drinking well. But, it’s best to get him used to drinking from more than one type of container. If he only has a trough at home and you’re away at a show where he has no choice but a water bucket, he may not drink enough.

You’ll also want to provide at least 2 sources of water for your horse, in case something happens to one of them. For example, a bucket could tip over, an automatic waterer could break, or the dreaded pile of manure in the bucket could occur.

3. Flavor the water

Some horses can be encouraged to drink by offering flavored water. We use this strategy more for certain occasions like traveling to shows or on extra cold days, rather than on a daily basis. But when you need it, this can work great! Any time you are concerned your horse might not be drinking enough, you can give it a try.

There are a variety of flavorings that can be used. My favorite is to put 3 handfuls of whatever grain your horse loves in the bottom of a full water bucket – I call that “Sweet Tea”. Many horses love the taste of grain-flavored water and will drink the full bucket to get to the small amount of grain in the bottom. Other flavor options include Gatorade, apple juice, a little molasses, or even peppermint oil. Every horse will have different tastes, so experiment with what your horse likes. Always provide plain, unflavored water as well, in case your horse doesn’t like the flavored water. Check with my docs before doing this if your horse has any metabolic disease, insulin dysregulation, or history of laminitis and might not be able to tolerate extra sugar in his diet.

4. Bring water from home when traveling

Many horses get used to the flavor of their usual water at home, and don’t drink as well when the water tastes or smells different at a new place. An option is to bring water from home in a water tank or plastic containers so he can drink the same water he is familiar with. Another way is to disguise the flavor of the new water by getting your horse used to drinking water flavored with grain/apple juice/Gatorade like we just discussed in #3, and add the same flavoring to the new water. Hopefully he won’t be able to tell the difference.

5. Position the water near the food

If your horse must leave his food to go to his water source, he may be less inclined to drink. Most horses are all about the food! Make it easy for him to take sips while he’s eating by placing his water close to where he is fed. The food going through his GI tract will have more moisture in it, reducing the chance of an impaction.

6. Soak hay and grain

Wetting down your horse’s hay and grain can get extra water into your horse’s system. You don’t have to soak the hay for a long time before feeding it – even spraying it down just before feeding can help increase its water content. You can add a little water to your horse’s grain as well, to make it a mash or soup consistency. Bonus, this helps to decrease the chance of choke and suppresses dusty respiratory allergens too.

7. Warm the water in colder weather

Some studies have shown that in cold weather, horses will drink more warm water than cold water. If its chilly out, or if you live somewhere that water freezes (Oh the horror!), considering offering your horse warm water.

8. Supplementing with salt

Adding a small amount of salt to your horse’s diet can stimulate his thirst and encourage him to drink more. Start by adding 1-2 teaspoons of table salt (sodium chloride) to his grain 1-2 times a day. If you find that his water consumption has increased and he is better hydrated, you can slowly increase the amount of salt up to a maximum of 1-2 tablespoons daily. If he isn’t drinking more than before, stop the salt and try a different method.

There are a couple of situations where salt supplementation shouldn’t be used. Don’t give salt when your horse won’t have access to water for a while, like when he is traveling a long distance. That could actually cause him to become more dehydrated if he’s not able to drink. While diseases that require sodium restriction aren’t common in horses, it’s best to check with one of my docs before adding salt to your horse’s diet, especially is he has any existing health conditions.

Give these ideas a try and find out what works best for your horse. Then comment on my facebook post to tell us what your favorite strategy is! As always, if you have any questions, my docs are happy to talk. 

Until next week,

~Tony

 P.S. Have you been to my YouTube Channel lately? There are new videos going up every couple of weeks these days, with tons of great horse stuff. I know you humans are into that sort of thing, and I don’t want you to miss out. You’re welcome.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. I spent my weekend napping and recuperating from all my weekday napping. It’s a tough life, but somebody’s gotta do it. Anyway. Last week we talked about breeding your mare. This week I want to talk about the main event: foaling and foals.

Everyone loves foals! And what’s not to love? They’re absolutely adorable. Their disproportionate ears, long wobbly legs, fuzzy little tails, and tiny little feet make them almost irresistible. However, foals will break your heart in a split second. I’ve seen it firsthand. The act of foaling out is very dangerous and can be life-threatening for both the mare and foal. Luckily, most of the time foaling occurs without issue, but it’s important to be prepared for those rare times when foaling does not go as planned. 

Dystocia

Dystocia is an all-encompassing word for difficult birth. A dystocia can be life-threatening to both the mare and foal. Typically, a dystocia involves the foal being positioned inappropriately, therefore making it impossible for the mare to pass the foal through the pelvic canal. Once the mare’s water breaks the foal should be expelled within 30 minutes, 45 minutes max, before the life of the foal is at risk. If the foal is positioned incorrectly, it can put stress on the mare, leading to tearing and bleeding.

Your veterinarian will be able to assess your mare and foal to determine the severity of the dystocia. Sometimes it’s possible for your veterinarian to manipulate the foal into the correct position allowing for a normal birth to occur. However, if they can’t do that, sending the mare to a referral hospital may be necessary. When this decision is made, it’s extremely emergent and both the life of the mare and foal are in jeopardy. If you think about it, by the time the mare’s water breaks, you realized there is a problem, your veterinarian comes out, and the decision is made to refer, a big chunk of time has already passed. That’s why it’s always best to be prepared ahead of time, have a plan set up, and potentially even bring your mare to a facility to foal out where there is a veterinarian on staff should a problem arise.

Once at the referral hospital, there’s a possibility of your mare needing a cesarian section. A C-section involves general anesthesia which can be dangerous for the mare and foal. It has to be completed quickly and efficiently. Even if everything goes perfectly, it’s possible that the life of the mare or foal could be lost.  Dystocias can be very complicated and very dangerous, so be sure to talk with your veterinarian about the best plan for foaling out your mare.

Red Bag

The term “red bag” is well-known and heard throughout barns. But do you really know what it means to have a red bag birth? I did some research and found out that a red bag occurs when there is premature separation of the outer placental membrane from uterine wall. When this happens, the intact fluid-filled chorioallantois protrudes through the vulva. The chorioallantois is red in color and is what gives the term “red bag” its name.

Again, we all know that a red bag birth is bad, but why is it bad? Well, when the outer placental membrane detaches from the uterine wall before it is supposed to, there’s a rapid decrease in oxygen being transported to the foal. Thus, the foal can suffer from lack of oxygen and could even suffocate.

When a foal does not obtain enough oxygen during the delivery process, they can be born a “dummy foal.” Dummy foals can exhibit abnormal behaviors after birth, including sleepiness, ataxia, circling, weakness, loss of a suckle reflex, and disinterest in the mare. As you can imagine a foal who is not interested in the mare and does not suckle is a foal who is in danger. Dehydration, weakness, and illness can set in very quickly.

Your veterinarian may elect to perform the Madigan Squeeze on your foal if he is showing signs of dummy foal syndrome. This squeeze resets the foal’s neurologic system and often can alleviate the symptoms associated with dummy foal syndrome. However, if the foal does not respond to the Madigan Squeeze, hospitalization and intensive care may be necessary.

The good news about a red bag is, if you recognize it early, you can reduce the risks by sharply opening the placental membrane. This will allow the allantoic fluid to be expelled and the foal will be able to breath the ambient air. That being said, it would still be in the foal’s best interest to receive supplemental oxygen post-foaling.

It is highly recommended to have your veterinarian on the way if you notice any complications during the foaling process. And as I already said, it may be in your best interests, and the best interest of your mare and foal to have your mare at a facility to foal out where there is a veterinarian available immediately.

Post-Foaling Complications

We’ve made it through the foaling without complication, so now you may be thinking, Whew, now I can finally enjoy my new bundle of joy! And you can and should, but there are post-foaling complications that you should look for.

Immediately post-foaling is the 1-2-3 Rule: your foal should stand within 1 hour, should be nursing by 2 hours, and 3 hours post foaling the mare should pass the placental in full. A foal who does not stand, will not nurse. A foal that does not nurse will become weak and dehydrated quickly. And a mare with a retained placenta can become extremely ill, become laminitic, and can end up not being able to care for their foal appropriately. If any of these milestones do not occur, you will need to call in your veterinarian for assistance.

Post-foaling complications don’t always have to be life threatening. Complications such as contracted tendons or laxed tendons occur frequently. While these complications may not be life threatening, they can be career ending before your foal’s career even begins. It can affect their conformation and put them at risk for tendon and ligament problems in the future as well as hoof problems as they develop. And we all know the saying, no hoof, no horse. If you suspect you foal has a problem with his tendons, be sure to call your veterinarian as soon as possible, as time is of the essence to get the problem corrected.

Finally, foals are extremely accident prone. They are curious and excitable, which can lead them to finding themselves in precarious positions.  Ensuring that the environment for your foal is safe is essential to avoiding accidents and injuries.

Now, buckle up, because foaling season is right around the corner! Get with your veterinarian to come up with the best plan for you and your horse and let the foaling begin!

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. If you want more foaling information, you should go over to my Podcast Page and listen to my docs talk about this stuff. They have 3 or 4 different episodes about it, and one of them is an interview with a Board-Certified Internist who deals with new foals, so she has all kinds of great info to share on the subject. Go ahead and check it out, it’s free and painless!

Somehow, it’s that time of year again. No, not Christmas or New Years, but breeding season. Well, not quite yet, but it’s just around the corner, which means it’s time to start prepping now. And if you are just starting to prep now, you may even be a little late to the game depending on when you plan to breed your mare. Don’t fret, I’m here to get you back on track and discuss the ins and outs of breeding your mare.

I just love breeding season, because it means I get to see my docs all the time! It’s like they never leave the clinic, so I get to spend all my time outside which is my favorite place to be. It also means my docs are working double time with their usual appointments along with trying to get these mares bred, which is yet another reason to be prepared when it comes to breeding. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: breeding is not for the faint of heart. Yes, foals are adorable, and most mares are wonderful moms, but breeding is not without its pitfalls and heartaches.

Before You Breed

Did you know that even before you start the breeding process there is a lot of homework you have to do? First, and fairly obviously, you have to have a mare. Whether it’s your mare or a mare you are leasing/borrowing, you can’t make a baby without a mare. The next step to know your mare. Know her history, know what she’s done as a performance horse, know if she has any prior injuries or surgeries, and know her breeding history. Knowing all these things will help the docs help you make informed decision prior to breeding.

Once you know what mare you plan to breed, your next step is to set up an appointment with your veterinarian for a pre-breeding examination. During this exam, your veterinarian will go over the ins and outs of breeding your mare and what to expect. They’ll examine your horse in several different ways, starting with a brief physical exam, listening to her heart, lungs, abdomen, and looking at her overall state of health and conformation.

Next, they’ll do a speculum examination. This is odd if you ask me, but basically they take a sterile paper towel roll and gently insert it into your horse’s vagina. Then they look through the paper towel roll with a bright light and inspect the inside of the vagina for abnormalities. They inspect the cervix for discharge or scarring, and get an overall idea of the status of your horse’s vagina.

Next comes a rectal exam with an ultrasound. This way they can visualize the entire uterus, both ovaries and the cervix. The uterus is assessed for any evidence of infection or any uterine cysts that might be present. Both ovaries are examined for abnormalities and to determine where your horse is in her cycle.  After the ultrasound your veterinarian should get a sample of cells from your horse’s uterine wall. The cells are examined for abnormalities, bacteria and/or white blood cells which could indicate infection. Fluid is also obtained from your horse’s uterus to culture the cells and determine if there is a uterine infection. If the culture comes back positive, this allows the veterinarian to determine a best course of treatment. The pre-breeding exam is extremely important to perform early, so if your horse does require treatment, it can be completed prior to the start of breeding season.

Stallion

If you think this sounds like a lot, just wait, there’s more! In case you forgot, you have to have a stallion to make a baby. Finding the right stallion for your mare is not as easy as it seems. The stallion you pick should complement your horse’s conformation, and he should also fit your performance goals.

Once you have your stallion picked, you have to communicate with the stallion owner. A breeding contract should be drawn up and agreed upon by both parties. I can’t begin to tell you how important this contract is. The contract is your lifeline to getting your mare bred. It tells you exactly how much you should expect to spend on stud fees, collection fees, shipping fees, etc. It also gives you essential information that your veterinarian will need when it comes time to breed your mare.

Knowing what stallion you are going to breed to, if he performs live cover, or if cooled semen or frozen semen is shipped out, and what days semen is shipped is essential for owners and veterinarians to know. All this information allows your veterinarian to make decisions when it comes to breeding your mare to give her the best chance of conceiving.

The Breeding Process

So you’ve done your homework, you’ve had your mare checked over carefully by a veterinarian and you have all of the I’s dotted and T’s crossed with the stallion owner. You may think it’s going to be easy now, but it’s not! The breeding process is far from easy and far from simple. Rather than a one and done thing, it often takes up to 3 times of inseminating to get a mare pregnant. That means 3 collection fees, 3 shipping fees, 3 insemination fees and more. Breeding adds up financially very quickly.

Timing is of the essence when it comes to breeding, especially when it comes to cooled shipped or frozen semen. Often, my docs like to have the mare they are breeding at the clinic for several days to several weeks. This allows them to check where the mare is in her cycle daily, follow the development of follicles on the ovaries, and administer medications to induce ovulation in conjunction with when semen is available for shipment. The timing of ovulation is key. Mares should ovulate within 24 hours of insemination with cooled shipped semen. This is why my docs spend all of breeding season with me: they are constantly checking your mare and constantly stressing over when semen will arrive. It’s an extremely stressful time, but it’s also very rewarding.

Insemination is pretty simple: clean the mare up, put the semen in and wait. The wait is sometimes the hardest part. From the time of ovulation to the first pregnancy check is 14 days. Two weeks, that just seems like forever to wait. Two weeks after ovulation an ultrasound will be performed and everyone will be looking for that little black dot. Once that little black dot is seen, you may think the hard part is done. But, no, there is more.

The Follow-Up Checks

Two weeks after the first pregnancy check is when we can see the baby’s heartbeat. The twenty-eight day check is an essential check. It allows your veterinarian to ensure your horse is indeed pregnant, and to find the fetus’ heartbeat. Surely, we must be done now, right? Wrong. The next ultrasound is at 60 days of pregnancy where your veterinarian will assess fetal development.

Another ultrasound is performed at 90 days of pregnancy. This ultrasound is another check on fetal development and to check for signs of early embryonic death. At the 90-day visit, your horse will also receive her first pneumabort vaccination which reduces the risk of abortion caused by herpes virus. Pneumabort vaccinations are given at 3 months, 5 months, 7 months, and 9 months.

The 7-month ultrasound is extremely important. That’s when your veterinarian will check for signs of placentitis. Placentitis can lead to abortion of the fetus, so catching the early signs is essential. Whew, it has been a ride so far and we are only at 7 months! After the 9-month pneumabort vaccine, you’re in the home stretch. At 10 months, your mare will receive her pre-foaling vaccinations and you get to start getting ready for foaling. The excitement builds for the final event.

Foaling and after-foaling is a whole process of its own, so stayed tuned for my upcoming blog about foaling and your foal’s first few months of life.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. The humans have several podcasts on breeding, if you’d like to listen to hours of in-depth information presented in an easy-to-digest manner. Just jump over to the Podcast Page of my website and start scrolling through the episodes.

My Docs have a lot of ways they keep up with the latest and greatest things in medicine. One way is plain old talking. They talk with other veterinarians, they talk to horse people, heck, they’ll talk to anyone! Another way is on the internet. I’m convinced the internet was created by and for cats, so it must be a good thing. My Docs use it to talk with other docs about the crazy things horses do and how to care for them, and to attend formal continuing education (CE) on something called Zoom. (I thought this was what happens when I get excited and run for 4-5 steps, but it was explained to me that it’s sort of a meeting room for humans.) 

Anyway, my Docs have been doing a bunch of CE on this Zoom thing for the past 18 months. They say it’s been a great way to learn about things, but it lacks the fun of real life CE. Recently that changed! First Dr. Abbott went to a really cool CE all about finding the hard-to-find causes of lameness. She came back with some great tips, tricks, and complaints about how Colorado does winter. Just this past week, Dr. Lacher came back from the national equine practitioners conference in Nashville. She also had complaints about how Nashville does winter, but more importantly, she sat down with me to talk about some cool wound care stuff!

Bacteria and Biofilm

Holy horses and their wounds! If there’s a way to injure themselves, horses are going to find it. For the most part, they are then going to try very hard to heal it. Healing is a horse superpower. If that superpower seems to be struggling, there’s a good chance biofilm, one of bacteria’s superpowers, is to blame. Biofilm is this gooey, nasty covering bacteria create to keep themselves safe from antibiotics and the immune system. If they can’t get to the bacteria, they can’t kill them! When wounds on horses aren’t healing, biofilm has to go on the list of suspects. What’s a Doc to do? Debride, debride, debride, and some other stuff. Never fear, I’m going to cover the debride part, but first, let’s talk about some other stuff. 

The trick to getting rid of biofilm is to not also destroy the baby cells trying to heal the wound. There are some nifty things that help with this. Silver sulfadiazene has previously been thought of as the miracle cure for all as far as my Docs are concerned. Turns out, it also breaks down biofilm! That stuff really is amazing. There’s also a bandage with some stuff called, wait for it, it’s a mouthful, polyhexamethylene biguanide impregnated right in the bandage. This stuff does a great job keeping biofilm knocked back to manageable levels. Other things that worked well were topical antibiotics (after debriding, which, as stated, I promise I’ll talk about) and platelet rich plasma (PRP). But the most important thing to start with is……

Debriding

Docs need fancy words for things. Debriding just means taking away unnecessary tissue. For horse wounds in particular, this often means way, way too much granulation tissue. It’s part of their attempt at super healing which sometimes goes awry. Anyway. It can also mean removing dead tissue, dirt, and other debris. The most common way any of you humans debride a wound is with a water hose. You are always allowed to do this method unless there’s a whole lot of active bleeding. Tiny aside: if there’s lots of bleeding, wrap the wound with a whole lot of bandage material, call my Docs, have horse move as little as possible. Back to our story. 

If a wound is really nasty, as horses are known to do, there are all kinds of cool bandage materials and techniques that can help remove the unwanted bits, and biofilm, and get your horse back on the healing track. Honey and wet gauze were a few of the things talked about. The trick to debriding is knowing when to stop the debriding. Too much debriding will keep a wound from healing. Basically, don’t decide you’ve read all my cat wisdom and now know all there is to know and can go it alone. Nope. You need a whole lot of learning to know when to stop and when to keep going, and how to pick the right product for each different type of wound. 

On to bandaging!

There are some pretty cool products out there to help with the biofilm and debriding side of things, but what about bandaging? Bandaging helps keep swelling out of legs, provides coverage for wounds, can be part of the debriding process, and can contain things that reduce biofilm. Basically, bandaging is important. 

Regular readers (you have subscribed to my blog, right?!?) have heard me talk about Sox for Horses. These things are pretty darn cool. The silver woven into the materials works on the biofilm, the material helps with debriding, and they help provide compression to the wound. And they’re washable/reusable! 

However, sometimes you’ve got a leg or a spot that just doesn’t cooperate. May I (not-so-humbly) suggest you check out Equine Sleeves? These things are brand new to the horse world, and they’re pretty cool. They can be used on places as tricky as a hock. They can be stacked, or trimmed, used alone, or with things underneath them to help. Using Sox or Equine Sleeves with products that help debride and manage biofilm can help get those wounds back to healing quickly, and using fewer dollars. Sounds good to this cat! And these are also washable and reusable.

You know I talk about wounds on horses a lot. It’s because horses can’t resist an opportunity to hurt themselves. There’s really cool work out there to help my Docs do the best job they can to help your horse heal fast. I’m always amazed at the new, fun things my Docs learn about, whether it’s on the internet or in-person, and it gives me new, exciting information to share with you! So, make sure you scroll down and subscribe so you don’t miss out on any of my feline wisdoms.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. If you haven’t been over to my YouTube Channel recently, you’re missing out! The humans have been very busy making videos during the pandemic. If you like my blog, you’ll love their videos! Tell them I sent you.