Archive for the ‘Horse Health’ Category
Years ago, chopped carrots might have made up a significant portion of a work horse's diet. In Europe, root vegetables are more likely to be fed chopped or dried to compliment a horse's diet. However, carrots are 90% water which in today's world makes them better suited as treats than a major feed source for most US horse owners.
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is stored in the liver for three to six months. The fact that it is stored makes it less likely that a deficiency will occur. Vitamin A plays a role in night vision, reproduction, and a horse’s immune response. It is also an antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage done by free radicals, which cause oxidation to occur. Free radicals are considered the cause of many illnesses and diseases.
Vitamin A is also often referred to as retinol, retinal, and retinoic acid. Good sources of vitamin A are fresh, green forages and newly-stored alfalfa hay. These are high in beta-carotene, which is a precursor to vitamin A. The carotene is actually synthesized into vitamin A in a horse's intestinal wall. The levels of carotene tend to drop in stored feeds, drought-affected forages, and overly-mature grass forages.
An idle mature horse (1,100 lbs) has a Vitamin A requirement of 15,000 IU while a pregnant or lactating broodmare has about double that requirement. While carrots are high in vitamin A (about 2,000 IU per large carrot), they are also high in water content (90%). So it would take about 8 carrots to meet the daily requirement of Vitamin A for an adult horse at maintenance. If your horse has access to pasture in the summer time, chances are it is more than meeting this requirement and the liver stores will see it through the winter months. If you have a broodmare with a higher requirement, the typical commercial horse feed designed for broodmares will also meet these requirements if supplemented according to feed bag directions. Most of the calories from carrots come from sugar, so if you have a horse where sugar in the diet can set off metabolic issues, then you should stay clear of feeding any treats like apples and carrots. If you are feeding carrots, it is best to feed them finely chopped in a feeder, versus out of your hand. This will help prevent bad habits in your horse, avoid the risk of getting your fingers bitten, and decrease the risk of choke from large pieces of carrot.
If you feel your horse is unable to maintain its weight due to the cold, then a blanket may help. You need to make sure to remove it daily to check for sore spots, groom the horse and check the horse's body condition. It is suggested that you visit with a veterinarian to ask if there may be another reason for the weight loss. Reasons could include inadequate or improper de-worming, inadequate dental care or inadequate calorie consumption in the winter months. If all of these seem to be okay, then adding a blanket may help. You may also want to increase your horse's hay quality and intake as that will increase body heat because thermoregulation does require additional energy.
Proper Way to Bandage the Forearm
Wounds on a horse's forearm are difficult to bandage because of the forearm's shape. The tapering of the forearm will cause the bandage to slip off.
Numbers correspond to leg drawings above. Note all hand positions.
- Make sure the leg is cleaned, dried, and ready for routine dressing.
- Apply two or three long strips of adhesive tape vertically;
- Apply medicated gauze pad and wrap with flexible bandage such as Kling Gauze, starting in the middle of the forearm and spiraling downward, then back up and to the middle.
- Wrap cotton around leg.
- Start self-adherent elastic wrap in the middle of the forearm under edge of cotton wrap and secure with a second wrap. Work the ends of adhesive tape into the elastic wrap. Remember to work down the leg, then back up and to the middle.
Learn more about bandaging a horse's leg.
- Wrap or Bandage a Hock
- Wrap or Bandage a Knee
- Wrap or Bandage the Forearm
- Wrap a leg below the knee or hock
- Standing Bandages
- Shipping Bandages
Proper Way to Bandage a Knee
It is more difficult to apply bandaging over the knees and hocks. Care must be taken to not place pressure on the bony prominences located just under the skin of these joints. Otherwise the horse will have bandage sores.
Numbers correspond to leg drawings above. Note all hand positions.
1) Apply medicated gauze pad, and take two or three wraps with flexible wrap such as Kling Gauze above the knee.
2-5) Wrap a figure eight around the knee about 12 times.
6) Spray tincture of benzoin on the hair above the knee to aid in sticking the self-adherent elastic wrap.
7) Starting 6 to 8 inches above the Kling Wrap, take two wraps with the elastic wrap around the leg.
8) Use moderate tension as you start wrapping downward.
9) Continue wrapping down the knee, trying not to cover the bony prominences of the inside and back of knee.
10-12) Continue wrapping until you have applied four layers of elastic bandage, ending above the knee.
Learn more about bandaging a horse's leg.
