Bute For Old Bones

I have a 38-year-old grade gelding with huge, arthritic knees. He fell three weeks ago. X rays show nothing broken or fractured. My veterinarian wants him on bute forever. Is there anything else that could help him with no side effects?

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs are sometimes necessary in aged horses to keep them comfortable and many horses do not have any problem being on daily NSAIDs, including phenylbutazone (also known as bute). There are many joint supplements commercially available that can help the horse with mild arthritis, or help in combination with NSAIDS such as bute, but if the arthritis is severe you might, as your veterinarian suggested, need to use drugs to alleviate the chronic pain.

Bacteria in Semen

Q - I'm wondering if there is a bacterial component that can be present in stallion semen. We have a stallion that will settle mares easily one year and then not be able to settle mares the next. We have had his semen tested at Colorado State University, and they gave us recommendations about collecting him that we are following. But we still have this recurring problem, so I am wondering if it is possible for a stallion to infect a mare, causing fluid to build in her uterus and, thus, making it more difficult for the embryo to attach to the uterine wall.

A - A short answer to your question is yes, bacteria can be present in semen that might result in decreased pregnancy rates. Several factors can contribute to the presence of bacteria in a breeding dose of semen. For instance, the semen in its raw form can contain bacteria, resulting from a bacterial infection of the stallion's reproductive or urinary tracts. But the most common source of bacteria is from improper handling of semen during or after collection. Breeders and veterinarians must practice strict hygiene during every step of collecting, processing, shipping, and breeding.

Veterinarians can evaluate semen microscopically for bacteria as well as grossly (without a microscope) for the presence of purulent (consisting of pus) clumps or blood-tinged fluid. Cultures of the raw and processed semen can help identify the bacteria and an effective antibiotic that can be used in the semen extender as well as post-breeding in mares.

It is also critical to ensure the mare's uterus is not the source of the bacteria, resulting in a post-breeding inflammatory reaction. Thus, a veterinarian should evaluate mares with culture and cytology before breeding. If he or she determines the mare to be clean even with fluid present after breeding, a post-breeding lavage (flushing) can be beneficial. Your veterinarian might also prescribe drugs for the mare such as the prostaglandin analogue cloprostenol or oxytocin, which both help clear fluid from the uterus after breeding. By determining the source of the bacteria, your veterinarian can help you establish a protocol that will result in more consistent pregnancy rates.

Feed Management for Donkeys and Mules

An article published in Equine Veterinary Education pointed out that donkey's don't require the same level of nutrition that horses need. Because donkeys evolved as browsers (eating shrubs and woody vegetation) as well as grazers (eating mainly grass and legumes), their digestive systems are able to handle highly fibrous forage that is lower in nutritional quality than what is required by horses.

Mules share some of the nutritional pattern inherited from their donkey parents. As a rule, both donkeys and mules have significantly lower energy and protein needs when compared with horses. Feed management for these animals should be based on moderate-quality forage and hay, which will usually be sufficient for the majority of donkeys and mules, especially if they are performing little or no work.

Except for those on an active exercise schedule, most donkeys and mules should be given only very small portions of grain, and most do not need any concentrate feeding at all. Because donkeys and mules tend to gain weight easily and are prone to obesity and related disorders, owners may also need to restrict access to pasture. Use of grazing muzzles, dry lots, and periods of time in a stall can help to keep these equines from becoming too heavy.

KER Staff

Age for Onset of Osteoarthritis

At what age is osteoarthritis likely to start in a horse?

You most typically start to see an onset of osteoarthritis (OA) in adult horses 4 to 6 years old, but that can vary a great deal due to breed of the horse and its use. Conformation is also a very important consideration leading to OA.

A poorly conformed horse is more likely to be predisposed to an arthritic condition that would affect them earlier in life. Predisposing radiographic factors that are present in a young horse can also indicate possible future issues.

As an example, sometimes foals and young horses will have compression in their hocks leading to degenerative and arthritic changes early on in that joint. Spurs in the knees are another. So in the radiographs during a prepurchase exam you might see these tell-tale signs that can indicate the horse might have a problem later.

Osteoarthritis Versus Arthritis: What's the Difference?

Primarily what we see in the horse is osteoarthritis (OA). Osteoarthritis is characterized primarily by the degeneration of the tissues of the joint as a whole, so it's the cartilage on the end of the bone and inflammation in the joint.

There are other types of arthritis we see in cats, dogs, and humans, such as rheumatoid arthritis, where it's an immune-mediated disease, meaning your body is attacking your own tissues. But in horses, we don't really recognize immune mediated arthritis. So, when your veterinarian diagnoses your horse as having arthritis, OA, or degenerative joint disease, they're all really synonymous with arthritis.

I own a six-year-old Thoroughbred/Oldenburg gelding that weighs about 1,000 lb (455 kg). He’s ridden about six days a week—dressage four times weekly and conditioning work twice weekly. He is fed as much mixed hay (grass, clover, and alfalfa) as he will consume and a scoop each of a popular low-starch feed and rice bran. He receives biotin, omega-3, and joint supplements. He has a trace-mineralized salt block at his disposal, too. Does my horse need more minerals in his diet?

I plugged the information you provided into MicroSteed, Kentucky Equine Research’s state-of-the-art ration evaluation software program, to determine whether your horse requires mineral supplementation.

Because the program requires weights of each of the feeds and supplements, I had to take an educated guess as to how much of the low-starch concentrate and rice bran you are feeding (there are many different sizes of scoops) and assumed that the amounts you gave were the total for the day, not per feeding (if there is more than one feeding per day). For this evaluation to be more truly accurate, I would need exact weights of the feeds and supplements. Keep this in mind whenever you ask for help in the future.

As it stands, the combination of forage, concentrates, and supplements do an adequate job of meeting the recommended requirements for almost all of the nutrients except selenium. Because your horse is consuming less than the recommended feeding rate of the low-starch concentrate, it is not supplying all of the trace minerals that are needed by the horse. Fortunately, the other supplements are picking up the slack (i.e., copper, zinc, vitamins), except for selenium.

What Causes Equine Cushing's Disease?

What causes Cushing's disease, and why does it seem like it's so prevalent in our horses?

This is a disorder that's better referred to as pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). The word dysfunction is the best place to start, because this is a progressive disorder that begins with the dysfunction of the pituitary gland. This gland at the base of the brain sends out a number of hormones, and as the horse gets older and develops this condition, we see region of the pituitary gland--the pars intermedia--starts to send out more hormones. And it's really a collection of hormones that get sent out and affects the horse in many different ways.

We also call this Cushing's disease because there's an element of it that leads to an increase in cortisol and other stress hormones in the body. It’s not as straight forward as just elevated cortisol concentrations all the time, but it certainly has this underlying problem of an increase in stress hormones. So, it’s a dysfunction that develops overtime into a small tumor or multiple tumors in this particular region of the pituitary gland and the key part is that they are active tumors sending out too much hormone all the time, so that's what's causing the signs we’re seeing in the animals.

Why is it so common? Really because lots of this goes hand-in-hand with aging and this particular part of the pituitary gland is controlled by some nerves that basically degenerate over time. They degenerate in some horses faster than others, and those are the animals we see the disease in. As a horse gets older the risk of getting PPID increases, until we get to an age (in the 20s or 30s) where one out of three old horses will have Cushing's.

Sweet Feed Horse Cookies

Ingredients

• powdered sugar
• 4 cups sweet feed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 cups molasses
• 2 grated carrots
• 2 grated apples
• 1/2 cup flour

Directions

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. mix together all ingredients, except powdered sugar
3. form into large balls and press flat onto greased cookie sheet
4. bake for 20 minutes
5. cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar

New Information on Heaves in Horses

Heaves, also called recurrent airway obstruction, is somewhat similar to human asthma. Horses with heaves are sensitive to the dust and mold spores found in bedding and hay. Exposure to these airborne particles causes irritation and inflammation in the airway. The result is exercise intolerance and a forced exhalation.

A study conducted at Virginia Tech University and funded by the Morris Animal Foundation found that horses with heaves have decreased levels of some important components of surfactant, a substance that helps to lubricate the small airways in the lung.

Further study could uncover therapies aimed at restoring normal surfactant composition. Also, keeping track of the composition of surfactant could be a way to measuring a horse’s response to treatment.

Flexion Tests in Horses: How Much is Enough?

A common part of a lameness exam is a flexion test in which a horse’s leg is held in a tightly flexed position for a short period of time, after which the leg is straightened and the handler is asked to trot the horse immediately. Subtle lameness is often made increasingly obvious after flexion, with the horse showing a more irregular gait that is an aid in diagnosis.

The period of time for which the leg is to be held in a flexed position has varied among practitioners. Short periods might not significantly increase the appearance of lameness, but longer periods often led to fidgeting horses and possible danger of injury to handlers.

A study conducted at Kansas State University used 34 horses in a study to analyze the importance of flexion time in evaluating lameness. The horses ranged from completely sound to extremely lame. All horses were jogged without having been flexed and then were jogged after a five-second and a sixty-second flexion. The same veterinarian performed all flexion tests, and all jogs were recorded on videotape. A panel of 15 veterinarians watched the tapes of the unflexed jogs and post-flexion tapes that had been edited so that the duration of flexion could not be determined. There was strong correlation in the lameness assessments regardless of how long the flexion was held, suggesting that a short period of flexion is as effective as a longer period for showing lameness.

Researchers commented that, regardless of results of a flexion test, this procedure is only one tool in determining the location, severity, and cause of a horse’s lameness. Diagnosis will be more exact when several types of examination procedures are carried out.

What Popping a Splint Means for Your Horse

Splints are enlargements that can occur along the length of a horse's splint bones, two slender bones that begin under the horse's knee and continue down the cannon bone. These enlargements, often referred to as the horse "popping a splint" because the splint bone looks larger on the leg, indicate that the area has been inflamed.

Most splint problems are easily seen as a swelling along the course of the splint bone. The area will feel warmer than normal and be painful until this inflammation quiets down. During the healing process, the body's reaction is to lay down more bone in an attempt to better stabilize the splint bone. This produces a permanent enlargement along the splint bone. In time, these bony enlargements can remodel and shrink to some degree, but they will always be present.

Inflammation can result from several sources: a kick or other trauma (the usual cause when the outside/lateral splint is involved), if the horse interferes and hits the splint area, or simply if a young horse is worked too hard and overstretches the ligament between the splint bone and the cannon bone.

Splints can also develop if you allow a young horse to get overweight. Mineral deficiencies, excesses or imbalances, especially of calcium and phosphorus, may also predispose a horse to splints. Medial or inside splints can develop if the cannon bones are offset to the outside, not perfectly lined up underneath the knee above them. Hooves that are not correctly balanced can result in uneven weight distribution and pressures along the leg, predisposing to many lameness problems, including splints.

Avoiding Splints

• Make sure the feet are meticulously balanced.
• Don't allow the horse to get overweight.
• Check that the diet contains adequate levels of calcium and phosphorus, and in the correct amounts (ideal of 1.2 to 2 times as much calcium as phosphorus).
• Avoid overworking young horses.
• Avoid speed work with young horses.
• Use splint boots if your horse has a tendency to wing his feet in rather than move them forward in a straight line.

Splint Complications 
A blind splint is inflammation that occurs very high along the length of the splint bone and along its inner edge (toward the cannon bone). In these cases, the swelling cannot usually be seen because it is located inside the connective tissue that stabilizes the knee joint. An experienced vet can detect the problem by carefully palpating in this area.

Splints that occur very high on the medial/inside splint bone carry a risk of also involving the knee joint in the inflammation because the head/top of this splint bone forms part of the knee joint. Large splints that involve the inner edge of the splint bones can also irritate and cause inflammation in the suspensory ligament.

When the stress on the splint bone is severe, or if a horse continues to work without letting the inflammation from a splint have a chance to quiet down, the splint bones may break. Fractured splint bones are more painful and produce a greater bone reaction, with a higher risk of involving the suspensory ligament.

Treating Splints 
The most important part of treating splints is rest. The horse should be confined to a generously sized box stall or a small paddock until the inflammation has quieted down. This can take anywhere from two weeks to two months, and there's no way to rush it along. Working the horse again too soon will only make things worse.

A Look at the Splint Bones

The splint bones are two very slender, splinter-like bones that begin under the horse's knee and travel down the back of the cannon bone. At their top/knee end, splints have a knob-like head, with the bone beneath gradually tapering down until it is very slender at the end.

In the young horse (under the age of about 5), the splint bones are attached to the cannon bone by ligamentous tissue. As the horse matures, the splints become fused to the cannon by bone.

The suspensory ligament travels down the back of the cannon bone in the space between the two splint bones.

Having your veterinarian examine the leg is a good idea for several reasons. He/she will be able to assess if other structures may be involved, check for other problems that may be going on at the same time and give you some idea of how long it will probably take before the horse should be worked again.

For the first few days to a week, frequent cold-water hosing or ice packing of the leg will help tremendously in getting control of the inflammation. When cosmetic appearance is a major consideration, the vet may choose to inject a small amount of corticosteroid in an attempt to minimize how large the healed splint will be. However, this also slows healing, can make the horse comfortable by blocking inflammation (which could make you think it's safe to work him again before it really is) and always carries some risk of infection.

After the acute inflammatory phase, mild counterirritants to encourage good blood supply are often used in hopes of improving healing. Although never scientifically proven, this is a popular practice and does no harm if used correctly. One of the most popular products is Splintex, from Horse Systems Inc., www.splintex-horsesysinc.com, $24.50/bottle. Consult with your vet before using a product like this, and anytime you think the healing process might not be going along like it should (e.g., if the leg stays hot and very swollen longer than a few days to a week, or if the pain, heat or swelling worsens).

Treatment for OCD Lesions in Young Horses

Osteochondritis dissecans, or OCD, is a condition characterized by defects in cartilage formation and maturation in joint surfaces. Horses with OCD develop small flaps of cartilage that partially or completely separate from the underlying layers of tissue. Some of the bits of cartilage find their way to resting places within the joint where they don’t cause problems, but other horses develop inflammation and become lame due to the condition.

One treatment is to trim off and remove the loose flaps, smoothing the joint surface to prevent further irritation. A newer technique is to secure the flaps by reattaching them to the underlying bone. Tiny degradable pins are used in this arthroscopic procedure, which has been in use for over 15 years.

In a Colorado State University study of 44 OCD-affected joints in 27 horses, pinning was a successful treatment in 32 joints. In eight of the other joints, some debridement (scraping and removal of damaged tissue) was necessary before pins were used, and only four joints were not able to be treated by pinning.

The technique had an excellent success rate for the horses in this study. Of the 20 horses that were followed for a long-term performance analysis, 19 reached their intended performance level, and none of these horses had any evidence of lameness related to OCD.

Homeopathic First Aid Kit for Horses

You can address a variety of your horse's bone, muscle and joint injuries with the remedies I'm about to describe. Dosage is always 4 or 5 pellets (I recommend 30C potency), dissolved in 12 cc of spring or distilled water in a small plastic syringe and squirted into your horse's mouth. I'll give you guidelines for the injury or other problem each remedy is good for and for signs that the remedy is working. Just remember that serious conditions such as bowed tendons, broken bones and puncture wounds will also require your veterinarian's immediate attention, whether you are treating them homeopathically or not.

Three Essential Remedies

• Arnica Montana (known as arnica)
  Good for: Soft-tissue damage, such as muscle strain or soreness; or for bruising or bleeding resulting from a traumatic injury such as a kick, rope burn, fall or getting cast. Arnica also comes in gel, spray-on liquid or cream form for direct topical application.
  What Arnica does: Stabilizes the capillary system, slows or stops seepage and immediately starts the healing process by causing blood and fluid to resorb.
  Keynote symptom: Your horse may act as if he doesn't want you to touch him anywhere, not just around the injury site, He may not want to lie down, no matter how much you wish he'd get off his feet and rest. He may not want a bruise to be dressed or wrapped.
  Watch for:
  Bruises or bumps becoming less sensitive or swollen; your horse becoming less irritable about being touched and more willing to lie down.
• Rhus toxicodendron (known as Rhus tox)
  Good for: Muscle strains--especially of the back--that go beyond the point of soreness to the actual tearing of muscle fibers; injury to connective tissues, especially tendons and ligaments; joint pain that improves with motion but gets worse with rest and humidity.
  Keynote symptom: When you bring your horse out of his stall, he's so stiff he can barely walk, but he improves with movement. He may appear restless and repeatedly change position. He may get particularly stiff if you bathe him with cold water when he's hot and sweaty.
  Watch for: Your horse being less stiff when he first begins to move.
• Ruta graveolens (known as Ruta)
  Good for: Bone bruises of the lower limb. Injury to one of the smaller lower-limb joints, such as a knee, pastern or stifle; damage to a ligament, especially an evulsion fracture in which the ligament has not only pulled away from bone but taken a piece of bone with it; damage to cartilage (the elastic connective tissue found in joints) and/or the periosteum (the fibrous membrane covering the surface of a bone). Strained flexor tendon. Strain or tightness in the hamstring.
  Keynote symptom: Your horse's joints are painful--possibly to the point of cracking--when you bend them. He does not improve with motion and is easily tired by exertion.
  Watch for: Your horse becoming more comfortable; his range of motion increasing.

Two Nice-To-Have Remedies

• Symphitum officinale (known as Symphitim)
  Good for: Bone injuries, including kicks, fractures or bruises, especially stone bruises or damage to the periosteum. A bowed tendon in which a hole shows up on ultrasound. Any penetrating bone injury, such as a nail through the coffin bone.
  Keynote symptom: An injury that stays painful and unhealed longer than expected, given the degree of damage (for example, a bowed tendon that continues to hurt after a month or so, or a bone bruise that continues to be sensitive after a couple of weeks).
  Watch for: Healing and less pain.

• Bryonia alba (known as Byonia)
  Good for: Bursitis, particularly in the shoulder; a fluid-filled joint, such as the hock, where there's localized pain, heat and swelling. Bryonia is terrific after your vet drains, then injects hyaluronic acid into, a fluid-filled joint.
  Keynote symptom: Pain gets worse with the slightest motion but improves with rest and firm local pressure.
  Watch for:Less painful movement.

Equine Guelph can Help Plan for a Profitable Equine Business

When it comes to operating a business in the equine industry, a bit of planning can certainly make the difference between its success or its downfall.

Equine Guelph, the horse owners' and care givers' center at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, provides the tools necessary to those who are looking to operate a profitable horse business through its online course in equine business management which runs this September.

"Many who work with horses have no business knowledge, yet they want to turn their passion for horses into a business," says Heather Gentles, instructor of the equine business management program at the University of Guelph. "This course covers the basics of setting up a business and is overseen by instructors who have extensive business and horse knowledge, so that they are able to guide the students on their journey. The interaction with other students helps spur ideas, and gives feedback and support, which are invaluable."

Gentles, has over 20 years of experience in marketing research and product management. She also helps small businesses get off the ground and develop their marketing initiatives.

Throughout the 12-week course, students will learn the time management and readiness skills to start a business, examine smart goals, understand market research, and how to identify profitable products and/or services, as well as pricing strategies, and marketing, legal and insurance needs. Topics also covered include basic financials such as start up costs, income statements and cash flow, human resources, business organization, and establishing a business team. At the completion of this course, students will have developed a business plan entirely geared to their business.

Other courses offered in Equine Guelph's Fall 2012 lineup include:

• Management of the Equine Environment;
• Equine Health & Disease Prevention;
• Equine Nutrition, Growth, and Development;
• Exercise Physiology;
• Advanced Equine Behavior;
• Equine Journalism; and
• Stewardship of the Equine Environment.

Registration is now open, with early bird registration ending Aug. 10. Courses run from Sept. 10 to Dec. 2.

For more information, please contact the Centre for Open Learning and Educational Support at info@coles.uoguelph.ca, call 519/767-5000, or visitwww.equinebusinesscertificate.com.

More Good Home Remedies!

FLY REPELLENT RECIPE

* In a quart sprayer container:

1" white vinegar

1" blue Dawn liquid dish washing detergent

Fill with water and shake to mix.
Spray on horse.

1/2 cup to 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar mixed in with horse's feed once a day should also help prevent flies. It's also said this is used by some people to help calm a nervous horse, to help itchy skin, and to help with arthritis and joint pain.

Summer Weather Related to Some Disease Outbreaks

Potomac horse fever (PHF) has been reported in Indiana, and West Nile virus (WNV) was found in a mosquito in Ohio. This summer’s hot, dry weather may have something to do with the incidence of these diseases.

Veterinarians in Indiana have more commonly seen PHF in late summer and early fall, coinciding with a rise in the number of freshwater snails, caddisflies, and dragonflies that carry the bacteria that spread the disease. This year’s warm weather in early spring may have reset the life cycles of these creatures, bringing an earlier onset of the malady. Horses with PHF may show colic, diarrhea, and dehydration. Treatment with antibiotics and NSAIDs is usually successful, though horses can die from untreated PHF.

WNV is spread by infected mosquitoes that breed in standing water. Dry summer conditions have allowed many streams to turn into a series of shallow pools which are ideal for producing a large crop of mosquitoes. The disease produces neurologic signs such as stumbling, uncoordinated gaits, depression, and muscle twitching, and can be fatal if not treated. Horse owners can use management steps to reduce the chance of horses being infected by keeping vaccinations current, eliminating standing water throughout horse properties, and minimizing the number of lights in or near barns at night.

More Home Remedies!

Injuries -

Preparation H - helps reduce proud flesh and encourages hair growth on wound sites.

Sugar and Iodine - mix into paste for burns and scrapes.

Diapers - place on the underside of hoof and wrap duct tape around the horse's hoof. This is great for holding a poultice in place and keeping abscesses clean. The diaper stayed on and the abscess stayed clean and was able to heal.

Cleaning open horse wounds -


The best thing to use in cleaning all sorts of cuts, tears or abrasions is sterile saline solution. You should always have some saline in your first aid kit, and plenty of it, since it's the best way to clean wounds. If you've run out or are in a place where there is no saline, flush wounds out anyway with water from a hose. If there's any contact lens saline around, that will work. 

The goal in cleaning the wound by flushing with clean liquid is to wash away bacteria which might otherwise cause infection, so use plenty of fluid when flushing a wound, and let the excess pour away, hopefully carrying bacteria with it to the ground and away from your horse.

Poisonous Plants & Storm Damage

The poisoning of horses by leaves of the Red Maple tree [also called the swamp maple] is a seasonal disorder that occurs during the summer and fall months.  Fresh leaves right from the tree are safe and present no problem to a horse other than the danger of colic; not unlike the colic risk of a horse eating any strange food.  But dried-wilted or fresh wilted leaves are a different story; they are deadly to our horses, even deadly in very small amounts. 

Experimentally dried-wilted leaves are toxic when administered at a dose of 1.5mg/kg body mass.  

Translated:  that is far less than a 1 ounce meal of dried-wilted leaves per 1000 pound adult horse; point of fact, the amount is about equal to the weight of two adult aspirin tablets. The exact toxin present in the Red Maple is unknown, but it is recognized and classified as an “oxidant” toxin.  

The clinical disease produced when horses eat fresh-wilted or dried-wilted maple leaves is that of an acute, hemolytic anemia.  Hemolytic anemia is the abnormal break-down of the red blood cells, with ultimate destruction of the red blood cells. The red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen in the blood.  

When is a plant poisonous?

Some plants are poisonous to horses only when they are fresh, while some are poisonous only after they have died or are dried out (storm damage). Then there are those plants that are poisonous both fresh and dried.

How much is toxic?

It depends on the species of plant to determine how much is toxic. For some plants such as oleander, as little as a few mouthfuls of the right part of the plant can kill a horse in minutes. The yew is another extremely toxic plant, with as little as 8 ounces capable of killing an adult horse in 5 minutes!

Then there are the plants like bracken fern that slowly cause problems and a negative reaction might not occur until months after the plant has been eaten.

It also depends on the growing conditions of the plant...in some growth conditions a plant may be barely toxic, but put it in another growing condition and it could be extremely toxic.

To compound the problem, some plants don't even have to be eaten to be toxic! Black walnut is one example...using shavings from this tree in your stalls will cause laminitis in your horses when a mere 10% of the shavings are black walnut!

What do I do if my horse eats a poisonous plant?

If you suspect your horse has eaten a plant that is poisonous, the first course of action is to call your veterinarian. They will be able to tell you what to do for your horse until they get there.


If the poisonous plant is located in or near a pasture that other horses have access to, remove the horses from the pasture until the plant can be removed.

Which plants are the offenders?

Here is a list of the most common plants that are poisonous to horses. It is by no means absolutely complete, though I have tried to include as many as possible.
Click on the name of the plant to be taken to its page where you will find:

• Plant information
• Level of toxicity
• Picture (if available)
• Toxicity Symptoms

as well as any other pertinent information about the plant.


So, on to the offending plants:

Alsike Clover Azaleas Black Cherry Tree Black Locust Tree Black Walnut Tree Bracken Fern Buckwheat Castor Bean Chokecherry Crotalaria species Fiddleneck Firecherry Tree

Ground Ivy Horse Chestnut Horsetail Larkspur Locoweed Lupine Milkweed Mountain Laurel Oak Oleander Peach Tree Plum Tree

Poison Hemlock Potato Red Maple Tree Rhododendrons Senecio species Sorghum Grass Tobacco Water Hemlock White Snakeroot Wild Cherry Tree Yellow Starthistle Yew

How do I prevent poisoning?

The best way to prevent your horse from consuming one of these plants and becoming ill is to use common sense.


Check your pastures, especially the borders along the fence (BOTH sides of the fence!) and make sure you can identify all the plants growing there. Also make sure none of them are poisonous. If they are, learn how to successfully remove them, and do so.


When grass for grazing is depleted, make sure you supplement your horses with adequate hay. In most instances, horses will not bother poisonous plants, even if they have access to them. However, when they get hungry and no (or poor) grass is available, that is when they will start sampling other plants and get themselves in trouble. Be extra vigilant if you have young or curious horses around, as these groups are more likely to sample unknown plants.


When you are in unfamiliar areas, do not allow your horse to graze unless necessary. If you do allow him to graze, ensure that you know what all the plants within his reach are.


KNOW WHERE YOUR HAY COMES FROM! This is a big one, as many of these plants are toxic when they are dried, and the favored habitat of many of them is on the edge of fields. It is very easy for these plants to get baled into hay, so make sure you are buying from a reputable hay seller, and that he or she knows you are feeding the hay to horses (many of these plants do not affect cattle the same way due to digestive system differences).

What to feed an Insulin-Resistant Pony?


Q. - I have a laminitic, insulin-resistant mare, a 13.2-hand Welsh Pony (Section B). Her insulin levels remain elevated even though she is given metformin twice a day at a rate recommended by the veterinarian. I am happy with her weight, even though ribs are visible, but she has fat deposits. Her diet includes two scoops of senior feed, 7.3 kg (16 lb) of soaked hay, and free-choice salt. Can you give me any suggestions?


A. - The primary goal for managing a horse with insulin resistance (IR)/equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is to control weight, improve insulin sensitivity, and lower the risk of laminitis through correct nutritional management.

The diet you are currently feeding is high in fiber and low in starch/sugar, which is good for your mare in preventing laminitis. The diet, however, is missing some important nutrients for general health and well-being, including essential trace minerals. My recommendation is to balance the forage diet with a high-quality balancer pellet. Fed at 400-600 g per day, this will provide all the additional nutrients your pony needs without contributing calories or starch/sugar, which you need to avoid with an IR/laminitic horse.

You commented that you are feeding a lot of metformin, which is a common medication for IR horses. Metformin is used in humans to improve the action of insulin. Research in horses has shown that intestinal absorption of metformin in horses is very low and certain studies on metformin supplementation did not improve insulin resistance in IR ponies. Because of this new research, many people are not using it on IR ponies.

You did not mention your pony’s age or if she is lame, but exercise is important to help improve insulin sensitivity. Turnout in a field (with a muzzle) is helpful in addition to ridden exercise.

Research has also recently shown that supplementation with DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids (from fish oil) may also improve insulin sensitivity in horses, so if you can locate a good source of fish oil in the U.K., we would recommend 30 ml per day.

We’re Ready for a Hunter Revolution
by Julie Winkel


I’d love to see the days of the comatose show hunter behind us, and I think we’re going to see that happen sooner rather than later. There’s a feeling in our industry that I’ve not experienced before— trainers, owners, riders and judges are realizing that where we’ve ended up isn’t really where we wanted to go.

So, I’ve decided to step up and candidly discuss our show hunter sport. It’s not going to be pretty, but it’s time for us to really lay the cards on the table, see what hand we’ve been dealt, and then start a new game.

I’ve been involved in the hunter/jumper sport for more than 30 years, from the days when our classic Thoroughbreds dominated the scene to today, when they are basically an anomaly in a show ring full of warmbloods.

Personally, I’d like to see the hunters continue to evolve back to more of the lighter types, with the Thoroughbred influencing their jump and movement. About 20 years ago, our show hunters became completely different than they started out being in the mid-20th century, and that evolution has fundamentally changed how we do what we do today.

As a United States Hunter Jumper Association clinician, I’m hoping to help guide our sport back to the days when our show hunters were rewarded for boldness and brilliance. During a recent judges’ clinic in southern California, we had a lively classroom discussion about this topic.

We want to encourage the judges—new ones as well as experienced ones—to remember how important it is to reward expression. A major part of having a great hunter round is when your horse is doing what he loves and expressing that sentiment.

We Do Know
I’m going to be frank. As judges, we know when a horse that has been over-medicated or over-prepared comes into the ring. It’s actually the first thing we notice. Usually, they’re glassy-eyed or just not alert. Often, they’re slow to react to their surroundings or the aids, and that’s not safe for the horse or the rider.

I’m a professional. I know everyone’s under pressure to produce winners, but we owe it to our horses—and to the sport—to do a better job of training our horses and riders.

Maybe we need to take a step back and teach our clients to ride rather than having them simply learn to show. I see so many people who have no business showing because they don’t ride well enough yet. Our pros are under a lot of pressure to make the money, make clients happy and make them look good. It’s hard to tell clients that they’re not ready to go to a horse show.

But as professionals, we owe it to our clients to educate them about the sport and horses, and I think we need to say up front that this is a sport that takes years to master. That’s why riding a hunter or jumper is so incredibly rewarding—because it’s challenging, and it’s important to master the basics before you compete. Even the quietest horse won’t help a rider who just doesn’t know how to ride.

Concurrently, we’ve seen a recent upswing in substances given to horses specifically as quieting agents, including magnesium sulfate, Dexamethasone and Carolina Gold. Many of you have probably now heard that Carolina Gold and the amino-acid GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) have been deemed prohibited substances by the United States Equestrian Federation and the Fédération Equestre Internationale. There have been excellent articles written about the dangers of such drugs, including one by Dr. Stephen Soule regarding Carolina Gold that was published in this magazine’s April issue.

Drugs are not the way to go, but I’m certainly not condoning the other primary way to quiet horses, “lunging ’til dead,” which I think is just as detrimental. It’s a vicious cycle; horses that get lunged get too fit and have to be lunged even more. So what is the answer? It’s a combination of better horsemanship and finetuning our judging system.

I’d love to see more horses out of their stalls, hand walking, hand grazing, allowed to mentally unwind instead of becoming physically exhausted. I know it’s easier said than done with the demands already imposed on our grooms, but altering the way we run our businesses is a big part of the solution.

In case you’re wondering, I don’t just sit in a judge’s box. I’m still in the thick of things with breeding and training young horses, taking clients to shows and giving lessons to novice children and timid adults. I understand the importance of safety and making sure horses are quiet and properly prepared for their jobs. But I have never condoned drug use. There are other ways!

Be a Horseman
I once had a really great grand prix jumper prospect that was too careful and too spooky. He scared himself when he rubbed a rail. By the time he got to 1.45m, he was so worried that it wasn’t fun for him or for me.

So, I put aluminum shoes on him and sent him into the hunter ring. He took the biggest breath and went, “Wow; this is awesome.” He was Regular Working reserve champion in his first outing.

We had some retraining up front, but I took the time to do it properly. I didn’t rely on the lunge line to be his training tool. In the end, he became a top junior hunter and has enjoyed a long and fruitful career. But I chose to take the proper steps and not rush him. Instead of drugs and lunging, we figured out what worked for him.

We never rode this horse in the ring in the morning. We found from showing him in the jumpers that he did his best when he went to the ring and hung out for 45 minutes before his turn. He would take it all in and relax. He still shows, and we still use this same routine. He does his best because he’s mentally relaxed and not exhausted or in a coma.

Each horse is different. You must find out who they are and what will make their performance the best. Today’s horsemen need to return to individualized programs for their horses. In the old days this was more common and it wasn’t a cookie-cutter approach to training that often occurs today.

Just because you’ve started a lot of young horses doesn’t mean that you have the key to success all mapped out. Once in a while, you’re going to get one who needs a different program, and you’ll do best by that horse to adapt to his needs. Yes, it may take more time, but by doing the right thing for each horse he’ll have a longer and more successful career.

Continuing Education
Altering the way we judge hunters is an ongoing discussion in our USHJA Judges’ Clinics. I think that trainers and professionals believe we want dead quiet, comatose horses when in fact it’s not the case. Having this discussion out in the open is a big step. It’s basically putting into writing what the judges are feeling and broadcasting our wishes.

Judges want to see more enthusiasm and liveliness in our show hunters. But I also want to be clear that I’m not saying these horses in the adult amateur hunters, for instance, should land off a jump and buck. That’s manners. They’re not going to be rewarded for poor manners. It’s important to remember that the amount and type of enthusiasm we see and score is all relative to the job the horse is doing. You’re always judging the class or division in front of you.

In the High Performance Hunters, those who are a little more seasoned, we like to see more brilliance of pace and expression. The enthusiasm is also a factor here. For a junior or amateur-owner hunter, at this point in their careers we want to see a horse who still has enthusiasm for the job. We love to see a horse figuring out the jumps a little, eager to go down the line, even if maybe he doesn’t have the help that a pro would give him. So maybe he jumps big out of a line and shakes his head and plays on landing; that’s great. We expect that. If they love their job after years in the show ring, more power to them!

As you go down the levels, you’re looking for a horse who can take care of himself. You don’t want a comatose horse who can’t help his rider!

On the other hand, manners are important. I’m a little harder on one that plays too hard and might unseat his adult or child rider. Their job is to cope with things that come up but still take care of
their riders. Self-preservation can never be underrated, either.

I believe consistent judging will change the goals we set for our horses. It’s all about continuing education for our judges, professionals, owners and riders. At a recent judges’ clinic, we watched a video of Rumba and John French winning the 2009 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals. He cared so much about every jump. There were probably three or four times where after the jump he shook his head with enthusiasm. That was something I hadn’t noticed when I was judging the Finals, and it really hit me how much that horse loved what he was doing. That outcome has to be our goal. The sport is about making our horses happy and not about making people
look good!

Keep that thought in mind as you go about your business. At the end of the day, if we’re doing the right thing for the horses, then everything else is going to fall into place.

Julie Winkel owns and operates Maplewood Stables Inc., in Reno, Nevada, and has been a USEF-licensed hunter, equitation, hunter-breeding and jumper judge since 1984. She’s presided over the top shows in the country, including the USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals in 2009 and 2011, the ASPCA Maclay and USEF Medal Finals, and the fall indoor shows. She’s on the USHJA Board of Directors, several committees and task forces, and is a USHJA Certified Trainer.

Acupuncture Use in Equine Reproduction

Originally published on TheHorse.com

Breeding season can mean a growth in acupuncture needle inventory for many horse reproduction specialists. Such veterinarians combine strategic insertion of tiny needles with Western veterinary techniques to address subfertility issues in mares--and even stallions. During a presentation at the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas, Rhonda Rathgeber, DVM, PhD, a partner at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, in Lexington, Ky., discussed using acupuncture to improve mare and stallion fertility.

"Integrating principles of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine can provide the best treatment for equine reproductive disorders," Rathgeber said. "Acupuncture is used widely in human infertility clinics, and acupuncture for infertility cases has been cited in literature since 11 A.D."

Mare Infertility

"Acupuncture stimulates increased blood supply, relieves local pain, and relaxes muscles," Rathgeber explained. "Acupuncture also increases the immunity of local tissue by stimulating the large number of mast cells at each acupoint.

"All of these factors should facilitate the uterus to be healthier, reduce inflammation, and be more suitable for implantation (of an embryo as occurs in pregnancy)," she continued. "They should also help the uterus clear any post-breeding inflammation more readily."

Rathgeber explained that she has used acupuncture to treat a variety of reproductive issues in the mare including:

• Anestrus (mares that aren’t cycling);
• Cystic ovaries;
• Retained or cystic corpus luteum (which forms from the tissues remaining after a follicle ruptures at ovulation; structure is also responsible for production and secretion of progesterone in the early stages of pregnancy.);
• Silent heat;
• Pseudopregnancy (false pregnancy; when a mare is not pregnant, but her body tells her that she is and all of her reproductive systems react accordingly);
• Inflammation of the reproductive tract;
• Retained placenta (after foaling);
• Uterine prolapse (when the uterus falls out of place, often times emerging out of the body through the vagina);
• Uterine fluid accumulation; and
• Uterine infections.

She has also used acupuncture to prevent abortion and, on the other hand, to induce birth.

Rathgeber described a German study of women treated with acupuncture before and after embryo transfer: The investigators showed an increase in pregnancy rate as opposed to those not treated with acupuncture before and after embryo transfer—from 26% to 42%.

Researchers on another study, she noted, found that treating women with acupuncture or hormone therapy yielded similar pregnancy rates, but the 131 women in the acupuncture group "had fewer side effects and less subsequent infertility."

Rathgeber also noted that in the aforementioned study, researchers found that those women receiving acupuncture treatment 30 minutes before in vitro fertilization had a 51% pregnancy rate and an 8% miscarriage rate. Those that did not receive acupuncture treatment had a 36% pregnancy rate and a 20% miscarriage rate.

"Although the exact mechanism of acupuncture in (mare) fertility remains to be elucidated, there is certainly plenty of evidence supporting its integration into a reproductive practice," Rathgeber summarized.

Stallion Infertility

"There is very little information on acupuncture in stallions compared with mares," Rathgeber said.

She noted, however, that because acupuncture has been well-documented to relieve equine back pain, stallions experiencing back pain "would be good candidates given the nature of their job."

Rathgeber noted there are reports of success in treating both sub- or infertile bulls and men with acupuncture, and that there are "increasing numbers of studies in men identifying the effects of acupuncture on fertility."

Researchers on one study she discussed found that 24 of 30 men (80%) receiving acupuncture treatment had an increased libido and an easier time sleeping.

In another study she mentioned, investigators revealed that men receiving acupuncture had a significant increase in total sperm function as compared to a control group with no increase.

Finally, she noted, a recent study demonstrated increased sperm motility and quantity, along with better morphology (structure) in men that were treated with acupuncture for five weeks.

Take-Home Message

While there are few studies on the effects of acupuncture on horse fertility, studies in human medicine are yielding promising results to support its application in equine reproductive practice. Additionally, Rathgeber reported success in using the complementary therapy in her own management of subfertile mares and stallions. 

Disclaimer: Seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian before proceeding with any diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.