Wellness
Daily deworming products are safe, easy to administer, and if you use the brand name Strongid C, you can be enrolled in colic insurance with Pfizer. With these dewormers, you must give an ivermectin product 2 times per year for purge deworming. There is some resistance (by the worms) to the active ingredient pyrantel tartrate. One important advantage of this dewormer is that it prevents migration of the larvae through the horse's intestine and liver.
Most people use rotational deworming products in an attempt to prevent resistance. The problem is that there is already resistance to some of the dewormers in the rotation, so you are not getting a good purge of worms when these products are used. The best way is to use primarily ivermectin products, use double doses of pyrantel pamoate (Strongid), and only use fenbendazole (Safe-Gard) in foals or as a "power pack". This is a 5 day regimen using a double dose per day of fenbendazole.
It is always a good idea to test your horse's feces for worm eggs periodically. Two times per year is a good rule of thumb. This way you will know if your deworming program is successful. Then you can adjust accordingly depending on the results. All you need is a small sample, keep it refrigerated, and your veterinarian can send it to a laboratory to test for the worms.
Coggin's Testing
A Coggin's test is a test for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA). This is a viral disease similar to the HIV virus in humans for which there is no cure and no vaccine. Horses can be carriers without showing signs of the disease, so they can transmit EIA without being sick. The EIA virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and other biting insects. This is why it is important to test horses yearly with a Coggin's test.
Equine Metabolic Syndrome
This syndrome is seen most often in pony breeds, Morgans, Paso Finos, and Mustangs. These horses tend to deposit fat in the crest of the neck, the rump, and the sheath area. The condition is caused by insulin resistance in the body. This means that glucose (sugar) levels in the blood stay too high and cause metabolic problems resulting in this abnormal fat deposition. The high glucose level can also cause laminitis and disorders of carbohydrate and fat metabolism.
If you recognize your horse as having this type of fat deposition, it is important to adjust the diet to prevent some of the metabolic problems mentioned. This means a very low carbohydrate diet, with plenty of roughage (grass and hay). There are several newer feeds designed with low carbohydrate levels.
Many horses are companion animals and do not get the exercise that they need. Exercise is also an important part of preventing the effects of this syndrome. The disease is easily recognized by breed and fat deposition patterns. The best way to keep it in check is with low carbohydrate feeds and increased exercise.
Wound Care
The key to good wound care is keep it clean! There are many type of wounds with many different causes. It doesn't matter if it is a very serious, deep wound, or a simple flesh wound, the most important step to healing is to keep it clean.
The way to keep wounds clean is with daily scrubbing. This not only removes dirt and debris, but it removes all of the dead tissue cells. This allows the new cells that will build new tissue to develop. The best soap to use is an antibacterial soap like Dial or betadine scrub. You can also be fairly aggressive when scrubbing. The more abrasion there is, the more dead cells will be removed. Also, some bleeding is beneficial. Blood carries the new cells and also the white blood cells to fight infection.
Many horses need to be given antibiotics if they have a serious wound. The best way to determine if this is necessary is to have a veterinarian examine the wound. It depends on the severity of the wound, the amount of discharge, the quality of the discharge, and presence of a fever. Also, attention needs to be directed to pain management. A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory such as phenylbutazone (bute) should be administered for pain and inflammation.
Laminitis
Laminitis, which is also called founder, is the inflammation of the sensitive lamina of the hoof. The sensitive lamina is the layer of tissue between the inside of the hoof, and the bone that rests inside the hoof. This bone is called the coffin bone, and is also called the third or distal phalanx (P3). The lamina that connects the two is like velcro, and it holds the bone and the inside of the hoof close together. When a horse has laminitis, this connection is disrupted, and the consequenses can be life-threatening.
When the lamina is inflammed or disrupted (laminitis), the forces of the back of the limb start to pull the coffin bone down and back. The deep digital flexor tendon lies behind the lower limb at the cannon bone (third metacarpal bone). It attaches to the back (palmar/plantar) surface of the coffin bone and exerts a tremendous amount of tension. This is exacerbated by the fact that the horse is a 1000 pound animal that has very small feet.
The pulling forces on the coffin bone result in "rotation" of the bone. This is also why this disease is so painful and can be seriously debilatating. Signs of laminitis are shifting the weight of the front feet and rocking back on the hindlimbs. Most horses founder in the front, but can founder in the hind feet.
There are complications that can occur as a consequence of laminitis. Sometimes the coffin bone will protrude through the sole of the foot, and this carries a grave prognosis. The pain can be very difficult to control, and sometimes the horse will be recumbant (laying down) and will develop pressure sores that do not heal. Some horses that make it through the acute phase and recover do not return to complete soundness. At the same time, some horses founder only mildly, and recover to return to their previous level of performance.
The causes of founder include high fever, colic, grain overload, post surgical complication, injury of an opposite limb, being ridden on hard surfaces, long term illness, overlong toes, obesity, and equine cushing's disease. It is difficult to understand why these conditions would affect a horse's feet. There are several theories on the exact molecular components of the process, and new information is becoming available from current research.
So, why does a high fever, for example, cause problems in the horse's feet? The answer goes back to the processes that take place on a molecular level. There are chemicals and molecules that are produced during high fever, or serious illness, for example that get into the circulation. These end up in the vascular system (or cirulation) of the foot and disrupt the lamina. Then the whole process of coffin bone rotation and the pain associated with it begins.
On the other hand, some of the causes of founder that are mechanical: being ridden on hard surfaces, or overlong toes, simply place so much pressure on the hoof wall that the lamina is torn and becomes damaged. Then the same events take place, leading to pain and possible rotation of the coffin bone.
Laminitis can be prevented in some cases, or the severity reduced. The obvious is to keep horse's feet trimmed regularly, and prevent an overlong toe. Keep him from becoming obese. If a horse has a systemic illness that might lead to laminitis, there are drug therapies that can prevent, or at least reduce the severity of the laminitic episode if it occurs.
Corneal Ulcers
These are the most common injuries to the horse's eye. They are scrapes or scratches on the cornea of the eye. The cornea is the clear membrane that you see covering the iris and pupil. The horse will show signs of pain in the eye like squinting, tearing, and swelling of the lids. Any eye injury is serious and must be treated immediately. Intensive antibiotic and anti-imflammatory treatment is usually the standard.
Corneal ulcers can progress to stromal abscesses of the cornea which usually require surgery. They can also be infected with fungus, which is prevalent in a horse's environment. These fungal infections are very difficult to treat. Once again, any eye injury should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as they are noticed.
Colic Prevention
There are many causes of colic in horses. There are many misconceptions about colic, it's causes, and the appropriate treatment. There are several things that you can do to prevent certain type of colic in your horse.
Water: This seems elementary, but don't forget about water. Sometimes just one bucket is not enough in the stall. Also, make sure water containers are clean to encourage drinking. It is a good idea to give horses free choice electrolytes in a separate small feed bucket as they will drink more if they have salt (minerals) available.
Sand: It is difficult to avoid sand in this region. It is ideal to keep horses in areas with enough grass so that overgrazing does not result in sandy areas. This is not possible in many cases, so providing free choice hay will usually keep horses from ingesting sand while grazing. It is still inevitable that horses will pick up some sand while grazing. Metamucil or psyllium can be fed monthly in large doses to help move sand out of the intestine.
Stress: Sometimes horses just become stressed and show signs of colic from lack of intestinal motility or gastric ulcers. Gastric ulcers are very treatable and are quite common in horses.
