Table of contents for July 2018 in Equus

Danger in the trailer After reading “Butt-Bar Hazard” (Hands On, EQUUS 489), I wanted to share our butt-bar horror story. We had just returned from a show with our two-horse trailer, and we had unloaded one horse and were just in the processing of releasing the other when someone let off a gunshot nearby. The horse panicked and came out under the butt bar. He skinned all of the hair off his spine all the way up to his withers. I thought he had broken his back. Thank God he hadn’t, but it took months to heal. Fortunately, he did recover completely. Your suggestion to attach a chain to prevent accidents like this is a good idea. Thank you for publishing this very important reminder of how something that is…

A new study from England suggests that bacterial contamination of nearby skin may not always be the culprit in surgical site infections after colic surgery. Researchers at the University of Liverpool sampled the skin of the midline from 31 horses for bacterial culture prior to colic surgery, during the procedure and again every 48 hours until the horses were discharged from the hospital. Seven of those horses (22.6 percent) went on to develop surgical site infections after surgery. However, the researchers found that the presence of bacteria on the skin at midline during or immediately after surgery was not associated with greater likelihood of surgical site infection, nor was the type of bacteria found on the skin. In fact, in the seven horses that did develop a surgical site infection,…

Is your horse getting the correct amount of grain? If you’re measuring it only in “scoops” it’s impossible to know. Most horse feeds are formulated to be fed by weight. You’ll see this right on the feed tag: An average-size horse in light work, for instance, might be listed as needing three pounds of that feed per day. Three pounds does not equal three scoops, however. The weight of the feed held by a scoop will vary by the specific feed, the design of the scoop and even how tightly the feed is packed into it. The solution is to weigh the grain with a kitchen or postal scale. With a mechanical scale, weigh the empty scoop, then fill it with grain and weigh it again. Subtract the scoop weight…

Between fly sprays and grooming products, my collection of spray bottles got unwieldy. To stay organized, I hung a tension rod across the top of a storage cabinet in my tack room. The bottles now hang over the rod by their triggers where they are easy to see and reach. —Jessica Phelan, Bakersfield, California Send your suggestions for inexpensive horse-care substitutes as well as hints for saving effort and time to Hands On, EQUUS, P.O. Box 7510, Falls Church, Virginia 22040; email: EQLetters@aimmedia.com. Senders of published items will receive selected EQUUS merchandise.…

“I heard a neigh. Oh, such a brisk and melodious neigh as that was! My very heart leapt with delight at the sound.”---Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Chimera,” A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys Designed for durability, the Rambo Plus Flymask (suggested retail, $45), from Horseware Ireland, is made of a sturdy Textilene mesh with soft polyester ear covering and fleece edging for comfort. Other features include a detachable nose flap and adjustable closures with elastic to allow for comfortable grazing. In oatmeal with black trim, silver with purple, or silver with navy, in sizes small pony, pony, cob or horse. Call 800-887-6688 or visit www.horseware.com. The SmartPak Deluxe Fly Mask (suggested retail, $29.95), from SmartPak Equine, features a fleece bumper in the crown to lift the mask off of the eyes…

A well-known phenomenon in human medicine known as “white coat hypertension”—when anxiety related to a doctor’s visit leads to unusually high blood pressure readings—may also occur in horses, according to new research from Switzerland. The study, conducted at the University of Bern, was based on 40 horses who regularly received preventive care at the equine clinic there. While the horses were at the clinic, a researcher measured their blood pressure using a cuff at the base of the tail. The next day, the same researcher traveled to each horse’s home stable and again measured blood pressure using the same method. This two-day testing sequence was repeated with each study horse three times over the course of a year, with tests done approximately three months apart. The data showed all of…

A new study from Germany underscores how difficult it is to determine the reasons for a mare’s miscarriage. Researchers at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen reviewed the records of 123 mares in central Germany that spontaneously aborted their foals. In almost half of the cases–47.2 percent–no cause for the miscarriage was found. Of the rest, infections were responsible for 26.8 percent–17 percent of those pathogens were bacterial and 8.9 percent were viruses. The most common nonpathogenic reason for spontaneous abortion was twin pregnancy (21.1 percent). Other causes of foal loss included fetal malformations (3.3 percent), uterine torsion and umbilical cord accidents (both 0.8 percent). The researchers note that these findings are consistent with those reported in studies they found in electronic databases and veterinary journals. Reference: “[Causes of abortion…

Turnout time is crucial to a horse’s mental and physical well-being, but it is also an opportunity for accidents and injury to occur. Minimize your horse’s risk of hurting himself while he’s on pasture by taking the following precautions: • Remove hazards. Inspect your pasture fences, as well as any structures in the space, for sprung nails, loose boards, drooping wire and other potential tial hazards and remedy them immediately. Remember to look below and above your own eye level. • Improve footing. Ground in high-traffic areas---near gates and troughs or other places horses congregate---can become slick or deep in wet weather, making missteps and soft-tissue injury more likely. Reinforce these areas with gravel and/or a geotextile fabric. • Evict hole-diggers. Craters made by gophers, groundhogs and other wildlife can…

After a period of stall rest, a graduation to hand-walking can be a welcome change for a horse. For the handler who has to walk him, however, it can be quite a challenge. A horse who has been cooped up can greet his relative freedom with such enthusiasm that he reinjures himself or hurts the person trying to walk him. To keep everyone safe, follow these guidelines: Plan your walks for quiet times. Don’t walk the recuperating horse while others are being fed or turned out. Wait until things are calm and even boring around the barn. Walk in a location with good footing. Slick or deep spots, divots or debris can trip the horse or you. A riding arena is typically a good choice for hand-walking. Have a plan.…

In many parts of the country, hot, humid summer weather means it’s time to take steps to protect horses against equine monocytic ehrlichiosis, more commonly called Potomac horse fever (PHF). The disease was named for the Potomac River Valley, where it was first recognized in 1979, but cases have been identified throughout the United States as well as Mexico and Canada. “Equine neorickettsiosis is the better name for this disease because endemic areas occur all across the country, not just in the Potomac River area,” says Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, of the University of California–Davis. PHF occurs when horses ingest the bacterium Neorickettsia risticii. N. risticii infects a parasitic fluke (a type of flatworm), which under goes a complex life cycle in which at different stages it can be found…

Researchers at the Brooks Equine Genetics Lab at the University of Florida are currently investigating the heritability of anhidrosis. And they are asking owners of anhidrotic horses to submit genetic samples for further research. “There’s no way we can keep a herd of horses here that all have anhidrosis so we are depending on owners to submit samples,” says Laura Patterson Rosa, DVM. “If anyone owns a horse of any breed that is diagnosed with anhidrosis, we would like them to contact us for involvement in this study. Enrollment is strictly confidential.” Participation involves pulling a hair sample from the horse’s mane or tail and mailing it in to the lab. Owners are also asked to fill out an online survey with information on the horse’s health history, medications and…

This was my fourth year on the Divide. The elk were plentiful the first winter, but over time they avoided our pasture, which made me a little sad. Then, a long drought left vegetation sparse and water even scarcer. So when I noticed some elk cows in the horse pasture during the last days of winter, I figured I’d give them some help. I used the overflow from my water storage tank to fill some stock tanks for them and put out a big salt block, thinking the drought probably made it hard for them to find both water and salt. This was partially correct. Early morning on the Thursday before Easter, I checked on my main pasture, where I put out a $160 six-string, eight-foot big bale (1,200 pounds)…

During the summer months, the air quality index (AQI) is an important environmental measurement to people with respiratory disorders. AQI is a measure of pollution in the air, which is influenced by ground-level ozone and particulate matter as well as heat and humidity. The AQI scale runs from 0 to 500 with corresponding color codes. Higher values and certain colors are associated with more pollution and greater health concerns. On days with low air quality, children, the elderly and people with asthma or similar conditions are advised to limit their physical activity. All of this also applies to horses, so it’s a good idea to check the AQI daily and adjust your horse’s activity levels as necessary. Here are what AQI color codes mean: Green (AQI from 0 to 50)…

antibody---disease-fighting substance produced by the body in response to the presence of an antigen. antihistamine---drug used to suppress histamine, a substance produced by the body in response to injury, infection or allergy. carbohydrates---large group of carbon-based compounds, including starches, sugars and cellulose, that are found in plants and form the largest class of animal foods. Carbohydrates, together with proteins and lipids, are principal components of cell protoplasm, the viscous fluid that fills plant and animal cells. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)---large organic molecule that consists of two chains of nucleotides wound around each other; the material of which genes are made. Genes are responsible for the individual inherited characteristics of living organisms. electrolytes---simple inorganic compounds that dissolve in water and are essential for many of the chemical processes in the body. endemic---belonging…