Archive for the ‘Horse Articles’ Category
It is very difficult to body condition score a horse via photos or descriptions since most people depend on actually feeling the horse's body.
Some general guidelines are:
- If the ribs cannot be seen but can easily be felt, that would be a 5 (average).
- If you can see her ribs, but she appears to have some fat over other parts of her body, the score will be below a 5, so probably about a 4.
- When the horse starts looking bony, that is when you enter the 1 - 3 range. The exact score depends on how much fat cover is present.
For more specific guidelines for body condition scoring, follow the link to the Learning Lesson: http://www.extension.org/pages/HorseQuest_Learning_Lesson:How_to_Body_Co...
If you would like another opinion, you should contact your veterinarian.
Any time a horse is unwilling to eat, there is reason for concern.
With foam coming from his mouth, one of the first problems to consider is choke (a blockage in the esophagus). If the problem does not resolve in an hour, your veterinarian will need to pass a stomach tube to check/resolve the choke.
Other possibilities that need to be considered are colic, respiratory problems, foreign bodies in the mouth/tongue, etc. All these problems are made worse in the heat of summer, when dehydration also becomes a concern. In any of these cases, it is best to contact your veterinarian.
Most herbicides used in roadside spraying do have grazing and harvest restrictions. Contact your local township or county to inquire about what product(s) was sprayed, when it was sprayed, and then read the herbicide label to determine if/how long the grazing/harvest restriction is. Once the grazing/harvest restriction time period has passed, it is safe to harvest/graze along the roadside.
Ideally, a horse herd (pastured or stabled together) should be on the same deworming program/schedule. Young growing horses may need to be dewormed more frequently, as they have less resistance to internal parasites than the older horses.
Rotating your pasture with other livestock species, removing manure piles in small paddocks, dragging manure piles in large pastures, and ensuring that the pasture is not over grazed (always at least 4 inches of forage stand) will all help in keeping your pasture parasite load low.
The latest recommendation is that horse owners have a fecal egg count test performed to determine the horse's parasite load. If a fecal test shows that the horses have few parasites, then skipping a deworming is recommended. This not only helps with decreasing the chemicals entering your horse's body, but it also can help decrease the chances of resistance build-up that we are beginning to see with some dewormers. A discussion with your veterinarian would be most helpful.
Some regions of the country deworm about every two months; others deworm every three to four months - it all depends on climate and exposure. Our suggestion is to weigh each horse (typically we use a horse weight tape that you can often find at a feed store) prior to deworming. Many people just give a tube of dewormer and never realize that they are not giving enough to cover the horse's weight. Give a couple hundred pounds more than the weight tape indicates, as most weight tapes are about 10% off. Most of these dewormers have a large safety margin. The best thing you can do is include your veterinarian in your management system.
For more information on internal parasite control for horses, go to: http://www.extension.org/pages/Management_and_control_of_internal_parasi....
Overall it sounds as though your mare's crack is minimal, however any crack can grow in size due to the pressures of everyday activity or exercise of the horse. Keeping the hoof lubricated is great, but it is always good to consult with a veterinarian or farrier for evaluation and possible treatment. The severity of the problem and which procedure is used to repair the crack will determine the amount of time it takes to completely grow out and what can be done while it is growing out.
It is also important to determine if it is a true quarter crack, starting at coronet band and moving down, or if it is a sand crack that starts from the bottom of the foot and moves up. It is certainly possible to repair a crack and put the horse back in training or competition. Depending on the procedure, many times it is best to allow the horse to rest for 24-48 hours to allow the repair to cure and the horse to be comfortable with the fix. If the crack was in the side of the hoof (quarter), then the heel is floated (not touching the ground or shoe) to remove pressure and stress on the crack. Removing the pressure and stress on the crack when the horse moves will enhance the effectiveness and longevity of the repair. So for a toe crack, if the hoof wall is touching the ground, a farrier may choose to shorten the hoof just below the crack to remove the pressure and prevent the crack from extending upward.
It will take several months to a year for the crack to grow out, depending on how high up on the hoof it appeared. If it goes up the entire length of the hoof to the coronary band, it will likely take a year for the crack to grow completely out. A normal, healthy horse will grow a complete hoof in 12 months.
