Table of contents for Winter 2024 in Equus

HOW TO HELP YOUR HORSE RECOVER FROM A TOUGH WORKOUT When you wake up the day after stacking hay, how do you feel? Your horse feels the same sort of muscle soreness after a day of intense physical activity. The best way to help a horse cope with after-work soreness is to give him the opportunity to move—just as you might stretch your own stiff muscles. A horse can’t do this, however, if he’s confined to a stall. In fact, standing still the day after work will just make a horse feel achy. A better place for him to recuperate is a paddock with a friendly companion. He’ll move just enough to stretch his muscles, but not overtax himself. If you can’t turn a horse out the day after intense…

If you keep your horses at home, you probably do a final barn check before bedtime. I know I do. Of course, when I enter the barn, the first thing I do is flip on the lights. In response, my horses blink away at me, looking a little dazed. I always feel a little uneasy about disturbing their rest this way. And I have often wondered how long it takes for them to return to a restful state once I’ve left for the night. “You are right to give this serious thought,” says Barbara Murphy, BScEq, PhD, GDipUTL, associate professor at the University College Dublin in Ireland. “Horses are much more sensitive to light disruptions than are humans. Abrupt exposure to light at night—like the one your horses experience when…

This story begins, as far as we know, in the winter of 2022, when a horse we now know as Hoorah (mid-20’s) was rescued from the New Holland auction in New Jersey by a sanctuary. Like many of the horses at the auction, Hoorah was hungry and sick. While we don’t know what Hoorah was thinking at the time, one certainly would believe that the sanctuary would be a kind and loving home. Unfortunately, for Hoorah and hundreds of other animals, it was not. When the condition of the animals of the sanctuary was revealed, Rising Starr was called in to help save two of the 30 horses that needed help. Hoorah is just one of 11 that we rescued. We didn’t meet Hoorah until our second trip to New…

My mare Audie is an old-fashioned beauty. She’s a leggy part-Thoroughbred chestnut with plenty of white on all four legs and a flashy blaze. She is the sort of pretty that a 19th century livery stable owner would have appreciated. I think her looks—long, elegant neck, bright-penny coat, well-shaped ears—give her an old-timey sort of style, like a carriage horse in a linocut print or a well-turned-out hunter in a faded daguerreotype. Maybe it’s because I see her through this historic lens, but I believe that Audie has an old-fashioned personality, too. She is largely polite, though strong of mind, and she conveys her dislikes as if she were a movie librarian clearing her throat. Sometimes when I go out to the field to catch her, I am listening to…

NEW HOPE FOR MAPLE LEAF POISONING VICTIMS For the first time, hemodialysis has been used to save the life of a horse with silver maple toxicosis. The Quarter Horse mare arrived at the Ohio State University clinic about 12 hours after beginning to show signs of maple poisoning. The wilted leaves of certain maple trees—red, sugar and silver—contain toxins that damage the hemoglobin in red blood cells, limiting their ability to carry oxygen to tissues throughout the body. The toxins also cause destruction of red blood cells, which results in waste products that damage the kidneys. Affected horses become lethargic and develop rapid heart and respiratoryrates. Othertypical signs of maple poisoning are dark red gums and coffee-colored urine. With supportive care, which includes intravenous fluids, steroids and—sometimes—blood transfusions, about 50…

Two years ago, we asked Saddlebred owners to send photos of their horses performing in activities outside saddle-seat or fineharness competition, and we have continued to receive photos ever since. So far, more than 60 owners have submitted photos of almost 90 different horses. Although I would have liked to have featured all the horses whose stories we received, the limits of deadlines and space required me to make some difficult choices. So here I present six tales of transition and transformation, and I’ll share more stories in our next installment. In addition, I’m in the process of creating an index containing information on all the submissions, which I will post on the EQUUS website. Together and separately these anecdotes illustrate an often under-appreciated quality that Saddlebreds possess: to excel…

I grew up as the horse-crazy girl whose family couldn’t afford horses. So, I turned to books to get my horse fix. From Black Beauty to The Black Stallion to the Saddle Club and Pony Pals series, I devoured stories about the remarkable bonds that can be forged with horses. In the tales I liked best, neglected or cast-aside horses are rescued by young riders who can see the magic inside. Often, these stories culminated with the duo winning a prestigious race or competition. These books made heroic achievements seem possible, but my dreams were simpler—I just wanted a horse of my own. That dream became a reality when I was in college. My first horse was a gray Thoroughbred mare named Whisper. I adored Whisper, but four years after…

Any successful weight loss program starts with reducing the number of calories consumed. And for an obese horse at high risk of laminitis, a regimen may involve not only a reduction in feed but stall confinement as well. When food intake is restricted, ‘inedible’ bedding materials such as wood shavings are often recommended for stabled horses to prevent the supplementation of dietary intake through the ingestion of straw—a risk factor for impaction colic. During a study looking at weight loss (and weight loss resistance) in horses, some interesting and unexpected results were found relating to this practice. Led by Caroline McGregor-Argo, BVSc BSc(Hons) PhD DipECAR MRCVS, the team from Liverpool Veterinary School and Mars Horsecare monitored12 healthy but overweight horses confined to stalls and bedded on pine wood shavings for…

Marguerite Henry had been thinking about the Godolphin Arabian, a progenitor of the Thoroughbred breed, for quite some time—long before she wrote her beloved bestseller Misty of Chincoteague. It was, in fact, on a trip to work on that book that she first discussed the Godolphin Arabian, with artist Wesley Dennis. Some years earlier Dennis had been approached by Walter Chrysler, the auto magnate, to draw a portrait of the stallion as a letterhead for his stud farm stationery. Chrysler was not only the founder of the eponymous automotive company but also an avid horseman and Thoroughbred breeder. When Dennis asked his assistant to research a portrait of the Godolphin Arabian for the Chrysler commission, the assistant uncovered the remarkable story of the foundation sire’s life. Before the Earl of…

Have a question about your horse’s health, care or training? Our experts offer solutions for a range of equine-management problems. Write to EQUUS Consultants, P.O. Box 7510, Falls Church, Virginia 22040; email: EQLetters@equinenetwork.com. Send photos when helpful. LAMENESS Will a bowed tendon ever look normal again? Q: My horse bowed a tendon last year. With stall rest, careful rehabilitation and some luck, he’s sound again and back in work. But his tendon is still very thick—there’s a distinct bulge just below his knee on the back of his leg. It’s not puffy or painful, but definitely bigger than the rest of his tendon. Our veterinarian did an ultrasound of the area and says it has healed well. But it makes me anxious to feel that lump every day. Will my…