Table of contents for Autumn 2021 in Equus

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY Q: Which of the following organs is not found in a horse’s body? a. gall bladder b. appendix c. spleen d. pancreas POP QUIZ ANSWER A. Horses do not have gall bladders. In humans and most other mammals, this small organ stores bile made by the liver and releases it into the small intestine as needed for the digestion of lipids after meals. Horses, however, evolved to eat constantly so they do not store bile. Horses have spleens and pancreases that function similarly to those of humans. Interestingly, the appendix, that small organ that can be removed from the human body without serious health consequences, is called the cecum in horses and is a large and critical part of the equine digestive system.…

Groundbreaking work from University of Pennsylvania researchers takes some of the guesswork out of determining whether horses are in pain. The Equine Discomfort Ethogram, a detailed catalog of equine postures and behaviors, was compiled based on a review of research data and consultation records for horses treated at the university’s veterinary hospital going back 35 years. With diagrams, photographs and videos, the researchers hope to help veterinarians and horse owners to better recognize and interpret the often-subtle signs of pain in horses. “We had two main reasons for publishing the ethogram in this form,” says Catherine Torcivia, VMD, a University of Pennsylvania research associate who assisted Sue McDonnell, PhD, with the project. “The first is to increase recognition of discomfort in horses by providing an educational resource. The second is…

Although the positive effects of turnout have long been known, a new study from Ohio suggests that to fully benefit from being on pasture, horses need room to roam. Researchers at The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute found a minimum of 342 square meters---the equivalent of about one-tenth of an acre---per horse is needed to reduce stress and minimize aggressive behaviors in the herd. “My students actually prompted the study,” says Jessica Suagee-Bedore, PhD. “They were working on facility management plans, and someone asked me, ‘How large do I make the dry lot?’ I said, ‘Let’s search the literature and equine extension and see what we find.’ We really didn’t find much at the time, so we designed a study to try to start answering that question.” She adds…

Picking out hooves is one of the simplest horse-care tasks. You probably do it automatically by now---the movements of lifting a hoof and running a pick through its contours are ingrained in your muscle memory as deeply as tying your own shoes. But this routine chore is also one of the most important when it comes to keeping your horse sound. Not only does picking remove potentially injurious debris from your horse’s hooves, but it provides the perfect opportunity to spot potential problems before they cause trouble. You may notice a loose shoe, for example, or discover odors, discoloration or other signs of bacterial or fungal infection. Taking a moment to inspect the underside of a horse’s hoof after you’ve picked it clean is time well spent. A focal point…

If there’s any common ground in the equestrian world, it’s covered in hay. No matter the breed in the paddocks or the type of saddles in the tack room, every facility that houses horses will have a loft, shed or other space full of hay. Dressage riders, team ropers and trail riders alike toss flakes of hay over fences---and probably end up brushing the excess off their shirts. Hay is a uniter of horses, too: A humble lesson horse and a racehorse may almost seem like different species until you place a net full of sweet-smelling wisps in front of each. Then they are both simply happy horses. Given the essential role hay plays in our everyday lives, it’s a bit surprising that we horse people don’t know more about…

The punning title to this article comes with apologies to Barbara Tuchman, author of “A Distant Mirror,” a riveting study of how history may repeat itself that draws parallels between events of the 14th and 20th centuries. American Standardbred broodmares are likewise important vessels of history. Whereas most equine pedigree studies highlight the contributions of stallions, this article celebrates the distaff side of the story. Whether they were racetrack contenders, broodmares, or both, the mares featured in this article are some of the greatest in the history of American horse breeding. Rysdyk’s Hambletonian is acknowledged as the chief foundation sire of the American Standardbred because, even before he died in 1876, he was the sire-line ancestor of all successful harness racers. This reflected the fact that his get proved to…

Prompter (1875). This handsome bay stallion by Blue Bull is out of Prairie Bird, a great-granddaughter of Old Pacing Pilot. Her tail female goes to Woodbury Morgan and Thoroughbred. Prompter sired three trotters and two pacers under 2:30. Blackwood Jr. (1871) is a great-grandson of the Morse horse, of whom we have very little other record. His sire is Blackwood, a blend of Morgan, Mambrino Chief, and Messenger. He is out of Belle Sheridan, a granddaughter of Black Hawk 1833 and Moreland’s Highlander, a foundational American Saddlebred. Blackwood Jr. was famous in his day, the winner of some 15 trotting races; he sired five trotters and one pacer under 2:30. Blue Bull (1858) Also known as Little Sam, Blue Bull was high-headed, muscular and compact, with a thick wavy mane and…

Mambrino Chief (1844). Foaled in New York, this stallion is by Mambrino Paymaster, a grandson of imported Messenger, and out of the E. A. Eldridge mare, said to have been large and coarse and “from the west,” i.e. from Pennsylvania, so possibly part Friesian. In making this rendition I have improved Mambrino Chief’s appearance as much as possible (the original photo was taken at age 31), but he is not a very pretty individual, sporting a large, coarse “hammer” head. However, this should not blind us to his powerful hindquarters, long thigh, excellent shoulder, and substantial and correct limbs. Mambrino Chief never set a trotting record of his own but sired many speedy Standardbreds, more than a dozen Saddlebreds, and a few Morgans. He is the most important broodmare sire…

Q: I have a 6-year-old, off-the-track Thoroughbred that I’m retraining for the hunter show ring. The problem is he keeps popping splints. He’s had three in the past 18 months: two on one leg and one on the other. He goes lame when they first show up and are soft. With ice and bute and rest, the lump hardens and he’s sound again, but we lose a lot of training time. Are recurring splints a sign of weakness in the bone? Will he eventually grow out of this? Is there anything I can do to prevent them? Name withheld by request A: “Splints” is the colloquial term for a boney reaction involving the small second or fourth metacarpal/tarsal bones adjacent to the cannon bone. As you correctly state, the condition…

When planning an overnight trip with your horse, there’s a lot to think about---from packing a first-aid kit to remembering any required health paperwork. You may also want to add “ulcer prevention” to that checklist. Gastric ulcers, which are lesions in the stomach lining associated with inflammation, can cause discomfort, weight loss and even attitude changes in horses. Common causes for gastric ulcers are high-grain diets and long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, but stress can also lead to their development. Research has shown that the simple act of trailering a horse to a different location and staying overnight can induce gastric ulcers in horses, even in those who are seasoned travelers and do not seem outwardly bothered by the experience. With this in mind, you may want to consider…

Turnout with an active but friendly herd in a good-sized space can provide sufficient activity for an older horse. It may seem early to be thinking about blanketing your horses, but it’s not. Now, while temperatures are still warm, is the time to pull your horse’s winter gear out of storage and confirm everything still fits and is in good condition. Start by putting each blanket on the horse you intend to use it on this winter, even if it’s the same horse who wore it last year. Changes in a horse’s weight and body condition can dramatically alter how a blanket fits. Check the fit of the blanket by running your hand between it and the horse along the shoulders, withers and hips. Your hand should slip through smoothly,…

A new biological dressing derived from fish skin shows promise for treating equine leg wounds, which are often slow to heal, susceptible to contamination and prone to “proud flesh” (excess granulation tissue) and other complications. To address the healing challenges of lower limb wounds, researchers at Assiut University in Egypt have been experimenting with wound dressings made using skin from the Nile tilapia fish, which is native to Africa and parts of the Middle East. Tilapia skin has a high collagen content and has been used to speed healing of human wounds and reduce associated pain. For their study, the Egyptian researchers applied sterilized fish skin to two-centimeter diameter (just over three-quarter inch) wounds on the right cannon bones of nine donkeys. Similar wounds on each animal’s left cannon bone…

This gripping story is told in three parts. The first is from the perspective of owner Wendee Walker, who describes the night she found her horse Arteiro on his back with a single leg trapped between the iron bars of a stall divider. The next section chronicles the work done by Claudia Sonder, DVM, the veterinarian most involved in treating Arteiro’s injuries and supervising his follow-up care. Finally, in part three, we return to Walker for reflections on what this harrowing experience taught her about her horse, the challenges of recovery and the power of persistence.…

It’s been a little more than a year since I found Arteiro hanging by his leg in his stall, and I still remember being gripped with fear that we’d have to put him down. In that moment I couldn’t imagine how he could survive, much less recover as well as he has. Arteiro means “mischievous” in Portuguese so I should have expected that being his guardian would lead to detours and adventures. Arteiro is sound as of spring of 2021. From the moment of the accident in April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, until today as America has started reopening, I struggled but remained determined to set Arteiro up for healing. Shockwave, MagnaWave and Bemer pulsed electromagnetic field treatments, along with massage and chiropractic therapy and handwalking, all…

Seely’s (or Seeley’s) American Star (1837). The earliest of the Morgan-related horses and the most important, this horse appears in the deep pedigree of a majority of Standardbred broodmares. Standing 15:2 hands and weighing about 1,100 pounds, he is by Coburn’s American Star, a sire-line descendant of Justin Morgan through Sherman Morgan. He is out of a mare by Sir Archy, she probably out of a Morgan mare. He was bred by Henry Berry, a friend of President Ulysses S. Grant at whose farm Grant’s imported Arabian stallions *Leopard and *Linden Tree were kept. Seely’s American Star is today counted as a Morgan and he sired three dozen Morgans, but also another dozen valuable Standardbred broodmares who produced winners in the decades leading up to the Civil War. This portrait is…

George M. Patchen, (1849). A big horse at 16 hands and 1,150 pounds, George M. Patchen gained his greatest fame by beating Ethan Allen singleton in 1860 in straight heats of 2:25, 2:24, and 2:29. In a track career from 1857 to 1863 he won 20 races, then retired to stud siring four standard trotters. By Cassius M. Clay, he was out of an Eclipse-bred mare tracing in tail female to American Eclipse and *Diomed. Like all the Clays, he presents smooth, harmonious conformation with a pretty head, well-arched neck and spectacular shoulder. Elmo, also known as St. Elmo, was a chestnut horse foaled about 1862. This portrait made directly from an original Schreiber and Sons photo, reveals a handsome stallion with a head that is big, expressive and noble. Elmo…

Robert McGregor (1871) is by Major Edsall by Alexander’s Abdallah and out of Nancy Whitman by Seely’s American Star, with tail female going to Sir Archy and the Saddlebred progenitor Brown Highlander. This stallion competed from 1874 to 1883, winning 18 races and posting a trotting record of 2:17 ½. He sired an almost equal number of trotters and pacers, many of which bred on, thus carrying his line up to the beginning of the 20th century. The image is after an original photograph by George Ford Morris. Cresceus (1894) is by Robert McGregor out of Mabel, a granddaughter of Mambrino Chief. Cresceus is included in this group because his dam’s tail female goes to Almont by Alexander’s Abdallah and Mambrino Chief. Cresceus’ World Champion trotting record of 2:02 ½ was…

Q: My daughter’s 16-year-old Welsh pony has fairly recently become prone to choke. We’ve owned him for half his life and he never choked until this year. Now, however, it occurs frequently---he has choked four times this year. Twice the blockage cleared on its own, but twice we needed to call the veterinarian and have him flush the feed out with a tube and water. We now make sure to soak the pony’s feed to the point of it being a sloppy mush, and he only gets chopped hay. But I’m worried there is something else going on. We’ve had his teeth checked by a veterinarian and they are fine for a pony his age. Is there anything else we should be looking into? Mary Ellen Watkins Stockton, California A: Choke…

At 2:15 a.m. on April 20, 2020---during the early, uncertain days of the pandemic---a violent banging noise woke me. The sound was coming from our stable, just down the hill from our house. I was accustomed to hearing the occasional clunking of hooves, snorting and other noises that are inevitable when horses live together, so I didn’t think much of it. Soon all was quiet, and I drifted back to sleep. But before long I was jolted awake again by a series of banging noises. I sat upright in bed, threw off the covers and told my sleeping husband, Mike, that something was wrong. As I rushed down the path to the stable, I glanced up at the starry sky and tried to remember how to tie ropes to a…

Some people make extravagant plans on Valentine’s Day. Some people get surprises. On February 14, 2019, I headed to pick up what would ultimately be the best Valentine’s Day gift I have ever received. I answered a call from local law enforcement about an emaciated horse that needed help. They weren’t sure he was going to make it. Those eyes. I remember the second I saw him. The only white in a sea of mud. Sweet little sparkling eyes that hadn’t given up even though the rest of his body was trying to. I was honestly worried that the stress of the trailer trip might do him in, so I drove half speed all the way home. When I opened the trailer door he was shaking and feeble, but he…

Leg Up Farm doesn’t feel like a medical facility. And that’s the whole point. You won’t find any outdated waiting areas, antiseptic offices or endless hospital corridors here. Instead, there’s a barrier-free playground, colorful classrooms, a giant koi pond, rolling horse pastures and an on-site barn. In short, the cutting-edge pediatric therapy center is a dream-come-true for children with special needs. “Kids don’t think they’re coming here for therapy,” explains Jennifer Hitz, chief development officer at the Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania facility. “This is where they come to play.” In 1997, Leg Up Farm founders Louie and Laurie Castriota dreamed of creating a therapeutic riding center. Ironically, not long after, they learned their daughter Brooke had mitochondrial disease, a genetic disorder that causes cognitive and physical impairments. Faced with the challenge…

St. Lawrence (1840) also known as January’s or Perkins’ St. Lawrence, or as the Simmard horse. A handsome seal brown, he did not actually have a blue eye (a convention of 19th-century racing art was to give the horse a “wild looking” eye). Apart from the eye, tiny ears, and a head shorter and smaller through the muzzle than it actually was, this engraving shows the horse’s conformation realistically, conveying especially that he had a relatively short neck carried high (similar to the Blue Bulls), powerful hindquarters, and clean but very substantial limbs. Standing about 14:2 hands and weighing 950 pounds, he competed from 1848 to 1856, winning 14 races. He is by the Québec stallion Francis Lareau, tracing in sireline to Justin Morgan and out of Faragone, a Canadian…

Edwin Forrest (1851). This big (16 hands), extremely attractive and powerful stallion sports a classic example of what used to be called “the American head”—less flatteringly called a “moose nose.” I once owned a part-Saddlebred gelding who had this type of head, and can attest that his nose detracted not one whit from his very great athleticism—notwithstanding that many people who saw my horse mistook him for an Arabian because in looking at him, they did not perceive a moose nose but rather a dished head. The head shape comes from the *Diomed Thoroughbred line, primarily through Sir Archy, from whom a majority of American-bred horses descend. Edwin Forrest is by Young Bay Kentucky Hunter, who traces in sire line back to an obscure short-pedigree Thoroughbred named Crusader. Crusader was the…

Q: Can a horse inherit a susceptibility to anhidrosis? I’m considering breeding my 9-year-old Quarter Horse mare, who is lovely in every respect but has a very limited capacity to sweat. She was actually relocated up here from down south because living in a hot climate was intolerable and unsafe for her. My mare sweats a bit now, but not nearly close to normal. Even though our summers here are fairly temperate, I have to keep a close eye on her. I don’t ride her when the temperature is above 80 degrees or it’s humid. She is otherwise healthy, has great gaits and is highly trainable so I would love to have a foal from her. But I don’t want to breed another horse that can’t sweat normally. If anhidrosis can…

My husband began riding at age 51. Unlike me, a lifelong English rider, Steve had no interest in perching atop a flimsy bit of leather and tracing circles in a dusty ring. He embraced Western riding, popular here in Montana, where endless miles of mountain trails beckon. His first horse, Gus, was a dude-string veteran. The little roan gelding packed Steve through rushing streams and over steep, narrow trails. Then, exactly one year after we’d hauled him home, Gus died of colic. Steve was devastated. Three months passed before he’d even consider buying another horse. After looking at a few unlikely prospects, he zeroed in on a Craigslist ad for a 7-year-old strawberry roan supposedly good on trails. “Needs arena work,” the ad also mentioned. The ad writer, it would…

Sharks have had a good run, but now it’s time for horses to have a week of their own. Back in 1988 an executive at the Discovery Channel had an idea: A week of programming dedicated to understanding sharks, supporting conservation efforts and correcting misconceptions about the ocean predator. Now, 33years later, Shark Week is not quite a national holiday, but it’s a beloved tradition that has informed and entertained millions. And it has most certainly raised the profile of sharks. This autumn, the Equine Network is hoping to do the same for horses. The inaugural Horse Week, running from October 3 to 9, will feature 25 hours of educational and inspirational video content, all of which will be available to stream to any smart device via horseweek.tv. Horse Week…