HEALTH HINTS FOR YOUR HORSE
One
of the real disappointments of horse ownership is planning a
number of horse activities, then finding that your animal is
physically incapable or mentally unwilling to engage in
them.
Horse owners who don't
practice "preventive maintenance" may find themselves in
this situation. As spring approaches, the urge to get
out and ride increases. If horses have been well cared for
through the winter, they will be in condition to ride.
Without an adequate feeding and exercise program, they may
be either too fat or too thin, or too soft to ride very
much.
If their feet have been
neglected, they may be too long from lack of trimming or
from leaving shoes on too long. They may be too short
from being broken or worn on rocks, or too contracted at
the heels from standing in dry stalls.
If the stalls have not
been cleaned or if they have been in muddy lots, they
may have thrush. Thrush is a foul-smelling, degenerating
condition involving the frog in the sole of the horse's
foot. In any case, they will not be in good physical
condition when needed.
Laminitis
Laminitis, or founder, is becoming
more prevalent. It can result from a number of causes
such as overeating of grain, hard work on hard surfaces,
colic, or foaling. In the spring, many horses founder on
grass. Perhaps the latter cause is the most common in
riding horses.
Symptoms
of laminitis
include lameness (usually in both front feet),
stiffness, settling back on the hind feet to get weight
off the forefeet, heat in the hooves, and bounding pulse
in the arteries at the back of the pastern. The wall of
the hoof separates from the sensitive laminae (inner
portion), allowing the coffin bone to rotate within the
hoof wall. Because the hoof can no longer grow normally
at the toe, the heel outgrows the toe. In long-standing
chronic cases, the hooves will turn up.
In serious cases, the
third phalanx or coffin bone may tilt downward or rotate
and penetrate the sole of the foot. This type of acute
case must be treated immediately. A delay of 24 hours
may cause irreparable damage regardless of the treatment
given. However, most cases of laminitis can be corrected
with proper veterinary attention.Therapeutic trimming
and shoeing can greatly improve chronic cases where
founder has caused separation of the hoof wall and
curling of the toes. In such cases the affected hoof
wall can be trimmed away and a replacement made with
acrylic. The filled and built-up hoof can then function
as normal, and growth of the hoof will continue.
Obese horses with heavy
crests turned on lush pastures run a high risk of
laminitis. This is particularly true of Shetland ponies.
Keep these horses in proper physical condition with
routine exercise and by restricting the feed intake. If
your horse is becoming obese on good spring pasture,
move him or her to an area with less pasture growth.
Horses that have developed laminitis will probably do so
each year. Therefore, keep them off grass during seasons
of lush growth.
Horses kept stalled
year-round develop dry hooves and contracted heels.
These horses are also predisposed to laminitis as well
as other lamenesses, such as navicular disease.
Navicular Disease
Navicular disease is quite common to
Western stock horses with small feet. An 1,100- or
1,200-pound horse on 0- or 00-sized feet has an
increased chance of developing this condition.
Navicular disease is an
inflammation of the small navicular bone and bursa
inside the hoof between the coffin bone and the tendon
that flexes or bends back the coffin joint. Symptoms
include pointing; a short, stubby, painful stride; and
lameness that is barely perceptible in the early stages.
This disease is incurable once bone changes develop, but
may be helped by therapeutic shoeing or by several new
drugs now available. In advanced cases with severe
lameness, surgically removing the nerves leading to the
diseased portion of the foot is frequently quite
helpful.
Most navicular disease is
caused by small, narrow heels that do not expand and
absorb shock while the horse is working.
Allowing the hoof to grow
long without frog pressure and working on hard surfaces
increase the incidence of navicular disease. Horses shod
with a narrow shoe, and with the hoof rasped off where
it overhangs, suffer dryness and contraction of the
walls of the hoof. This eliminates expansion for shock
absorption. Such horses are in danger of developing
navicular disease.
Small-footed horses can
be helped by keeping the walls short so they have frog
pressure that will increase circulation through the foot
and spread the heels with each step, dissipating some of
the concussion. They can be shod with plates or
lightweight shoes to keep the frog as nearly on the
ground as possible. In some cases, bar shoes with pads
and tar-oakum packs, or raw rubber frog supports are
recommended.
Reduce the risk of
navicular disease by selecting horses with larger feet,
maintaining frog pressure, and working with caution on
hard surfaces. Although the condition is not heritable,
the small feet with which it is associated are
heritable.
Nail Punctures & Related Injuries of the
Sole
Horses are very susceptible to nail
punctures. When fighting across a board fence, one horse
may kick off a board and another step on the nail.
Numbers of horses are incapacitated each year in this
way. Some are permanently injured.
At the first sign of lameness, raise the foot, clean it
out, and inspect for nail puncture. If the hoof is shod,
remove the shoe. Trim the hoof with a farrier's knife
until all parts of it show new tissue. You may find a
nail in the foot or see where the puncture has entered.
If you remove a nail,
cover the hoof with a burlap sack or other wrap before
putting it down, so the hole will not become packed with
dirt and manure. The puncture should be cleaned out,
packed and treated by a veterinarian, who will also
provide protection against tetanus. Preventing such
injuries requires caution. Be sure no boards with nails
are left in areas where horses are likely to be.
Many evils of the foot are brought about by improper
shoeing. If a horse is quicked and shows signs of it,
the nail can be withdrawn and tincture of iodine or
other disinfectant put in the puncture. These usually
are not serious. Blind quicking, however, may be serious
because the farrier doesn't know about it. This happens
when a nail bends inward after it enters the foot,
therefore exerting painful pressure on sensitive
tissues.
It may be difficult for
the nail to surface in hard feet, causing a small bend
that exerts pressure inwardly. In such cases a horse may
become lame from four to ten days after being shod.
Appropriate treatment should be given quickly.
Many horses have shoes left on much too long. The
maximum time to leave shoes on a horse is approximately
six weeks. Horses wearing shoes much longer than this
are likely to overgrow the shoe at the heel and walk
over the outer branches. This causes pressure on the
sole, leading to bruises called corns; or, it can wedge
the wall away from the sole, causing separation. Long
toes exert great pressure on tendons. Correct this by
removing the shoes and trimming the hoof properly.
Colic, Abrasion & First Aid
Colic is pain in the abdomen, usually
involving the stomach or intestines. Although some
horses are more susceptible to colic than others, it is
frequently a result of mismanagement. Sudden changes in
the feeding or watering procedure, or insidious changes,
such as buildup of parasites, high-fiber roughage, or
moldy grain and hay, all can cause colic.
The most common causes
are moldy feeds, overfeeding grain to fatigued horses,
letting overheated horses gorge on feed or cold water,
or riding horses immediately after a full feeding.In
winter, many horses develop intestinal impaction because
they do not get enough water.
Frequently an owner will
first notice that the horse has been pawing and rolling.
Symptoms of colic also include turning the head to the
side, stomping with the back feet, kicking at the
flanks, sweating profusely and showing a repeated desire
to lie down. A veterinarian should be called immediately
to identify the problem and treat accordingly.
The horse must be kept standing while the veterinarian
is coming. Otherwise it may roll and twist an intestine,
or actually injure itself from threshing around in the
stall. If the horse can be walked slowly with a leader
and someone to follow to keep it on its feet, the
likelihood of complications is reduced.
Wire cuts are the most
common causes of injury to horses. Their skin is
extremely thin and abrades easily. This fact, combined
with the great activity of young horses and their
tendency to panic, makes them vulnerable to such
injuries.
Check your fences for loose wires. Avoid square corners
where horses can hem in and kick one another. Don't use
barbed wire fences near the barn and low enough that
horses will paw through them as they await their feed.
Consider using boards or tine-meshed wire to prevent
hanging a foot. Electric fences in some locations are
useful.
Some breeds are discriminated against in the show ring
if they have scars. It is especially important to keep
blemishes off these animals. For this reason, barbed
wire should not be used around small enclosures where
horses run. If the area is quite large, the chance of
getting into barbed wire is reduced.
Keep horses away from machinery and other blunt objects
they are likely to run into. This is particularly
important in small lots and areas where they spend a
great deal of time. If horses share a shed with
machinery, they should be separated by a sturdy fence to
prevent a hazardous situation.
Keep some simple
first-aid medicines and bandages on hand and use these
on small abrasions. Have larger injuries sutured and
treated by a veterinarian. All injury cases must be
protected against tetanus. Avoid using irritating,
sticky medicine on wounds that require the attention of
a veterinarian. Such medication makes cleansing a wound
difficult, and certainly prevents suturing of some
wounds that would have healed better with stitches.
Profuse hemorrhaging is best controlled temporarily by a
heavy cotton pressure bandage while a veterinarian is
called.
Your Horse's Teeth
An adult male horse has 40 teeth: 24 molars or grinders,
12 incisors or biters, and four canine or tushes. A
mature mare usually has 36 teeth. She probably will have
no tushes.
The upper jaw is wider
than the lower jaw. Therefore, the upper jaw teeth
extend over the lower ones on the outside. Conversely,
lower jaw teeth extend on the inside of upper ones. This
causes wear that creates sharp points on the outside of
the upper teeth and the inside of the lower ones. A
horse should be checked annually to see if its teeth
need floating or filing to make it easier for to eat
grain or hard feeds.
If a horse chews with its head sideways or spills very
much grain from its mouth, its teeth should be examined.
Floating is a relatively simple operation and is done
without much restraint on most horses.
Young horses replace
their baby jaw teeth by growing others under them.
Therefore, they have small caps on the top that shed off
normally in the growth process. Sometimes these caps
fail to come off and cause a high spot that makes
chewing difficult. These can usually be removed without
difficulty.
Young horses also shed incisor or front teeth as adult
teeth emerge. This process ends at five years of age.
These may make eating grain and hay difficult for
awhile. They also may be shy around the mouth when being
bitted.
Small teeth in front of the upper jaw teeth are called
"wolf teeth." They may be directly in the way of the
bit, particularly a snaffle bit. They are painful and
cause head slinging if the horse is agitated. They can
be removed easily because they are not attached to the
jawbone in 2- and 3-year-old horses.
Some horses have a genetic defect that prevents their
front incisors from matching. This is called "parrot
mouth." A horse with extreme parrot mouth has difficulty
grazing. Such horses may be good work horses, but it may
be necessary to supplement their pasture diet with grain
or other feed during most of their lifetime. When parrot
mouth appears in a foal, the sire and dam are both
carriers of this genetic fault. Using such horses as
breeding stock is questionable.
Nutrition & Internal Parasites
Since horses make their living in motion,
they should have an athletic look. Indeed, hardworking
horses are athletes supreme. Idle horses can do well on
good pasture without supplemental feeding, although they
usually need additional grain or hay in winter.
Hardworking horses, however, must be fed grain to
maintain condition. Usually an idle horse, confined
without supplemental grazing, can be maintained on 15
pounds of good hay and four to five pounds of a grain
mixture. For a hardworking one, increase the grain and
decrease the hay. Well-fed horses are much more
resistant to disease and can withstand cold climates and
inclement weather better than thin horses.
Obese horses, like obese
people, are not in a good state of health for
performance or reproduction. Therefore, regulate feed
intake for correct condition of each horse. Horses vary
widely in nutrient need, depending on activity, age,
amount of work or growth that may be taking place.
More than 150 internal parasites are known to affect
horses. Four of these are rather serious in most horse
operations. They are, in order of importance: strongyles
or bloodworms, ascarids or roundworms, bots, and
pinworms. Young horses or thin horses are very
susceptible to these parasites.
Some resistance develops,
especially to ascarids, when horses reach two or three
years of age. Horses have insufficient resistance to
strongyles and must be treated throughout life for this
parasite.
A parasite management
program is important for reducing ingestion of larvae or
immature worms of these parasites. Larvae migrate
through tissues, in some cases up to 11 months, where
they are safe from routine worm treatment. Most
treatments rid the horse of adults in the digestive
tract, but do little to the migrating larvae that are
doing the greatest tissue damage.
Most horse owners find it necessary, therefore, to treat
twice a year as a minimum, and every two months where
horses are heavily concentrated. A statement often
heard is, "I have never treated for internal parasites
in my horses and they get along in good shape." This may
be true, but these horses likely have lost enough in
feed efficiency from parasitic infestation to have paid
for treatment many times. Remember, however, that while
medication for worms is necessary, medicine is never a
replacement for management.Immunizing all horses
annually should be standard procedure for tetanus and
Eastern and Western encephalomyelitis, or sleeping
sickness. There may be other diseases that call for
immunization in your area. In some southern states,
Venezuelan encephalomyelitis could be a real threat.
There are many other diseases that can affect the health
of a horse, but these are the most common.
Horses are usually used
intermittently by their owners. It is, therefore,
important for them to be in good health and ready to go
when their services are needed. Such horses will be
well-shod, well-fed, exercised regularly, immunized
against the major diseases, and physically fit when
called upon for services.
Written By: James R. Coffman
Kansas State University
Melvin Bradley (emeritus) & Wayne Loch
Department of Animal Sciences
