Table of contents for Spring 2023 in Equus

On average, AHFEH member organizations find forever homes for more than 1,000 horses each year. In 2022, an estimated 7,829 horses were being cared for at AHFEH rescue facilities, and 1,241 of those horses found their forever homes. Celebrate with us by recognizing four of those 1,241 special horses. AMAZING RECOVERY Bonanza showed up malnourished and underweight, with an abscess in her frog that caused a lot of pain and swelling in her leg. On top of that, she had elevated liver enzyme levels. We weren’t sure if she would make it. Our dedicated staff spent days carefully soaking and wrapping the foot until the abscess finally started to heal. Even after her abscess healed, Bonanza wasn’t out of the storm—her liver enzyme levels were still elevated, and she wasn’t…

A new study from the University of California, Davis, challenges the common assumption that misbehavior in mares is often linked to “elevated ovarian hormones” and instead suggests other potential causes. The California researchers reviewed 2,914 hormonal profiles of mares referred to the UC Davis Clinical Endocrinology Laboratory and the Equine Reproduction Service with case histories that contained the terms “behave,” “behavior” or “behaving.” They then analyzed the data for any association between reported abnormal behaviors and concentrations of testosterone and other hormones produced by the ovaries. The data showed that abnormal behaviors were associated with elevated hormone concentrations in less than 10 percent of the study samples. Only stallion-like behavior—such as vocalizations, biting and/or mounting other horses—was found to be correlated with elevated concentrations of hormones. In contrast, simple aggression…

Although they have tended to be forgotten, Highlanders were almost as important in shaping the Saddlebred as the Chiefs and Denmarks. Highlanders descend from Scottish Galweys, sturdy horses with cob-like conformation and ambling gaits. I present images of a gray (below) taken in Scotland about 1900, when very few Galweys remained (the breed continues to exist even today but is still considered rare). American Highlanders come from *Brown Highlander (pictured above), imported about 1800. My reconstruction of his appearance reflects the fact that he was out of a Thoroughbred mare and is thus somewhat leggier and lighter-bodied than the purebred Galwey. After 1880 not only had Galweys become rare, but so had many other bloodlines that contributed to the early formation of the Saddlebred. Many of these were reviewed in…

Black Squirrel: A branch of the Denmark family that deserves special mention, the squirrels descend from Black Squirrel 1876. A great-grandson of Washington Denmark, his dam was Mollie 1st, an inbred Highlander mare who also has lines to *Janus, *Fox, and *Diomed. Foaled in Kentucky, he was brought to Mexico, Missouri as a 3-year-old and turned over to Joe McDonald for training. Scharf gives this description: “Black Squirrel… had ample size, standing 15:3 hands high, and a lot of substance combined with an extraordinarily high degree of the style and finish so essential in a Saddle Horse. His head, singularly small and refined, was carried high on a neck of remarkable range, clean at the throttle, and set on sloping shoulders. His back and coupling were strong and his quarters…

For more than 30 years, Madison Seamans, DVM, MS, has been taking care of horses. His veterinary practice has taken him from Texas to Kentucky, California, Idaho and New Mexico. In his new book, Never Trust a Sneaky Pony, he shares stories about horses he has known, problems he has solved and people he has helped along the way. Here are a few highlights: TREATMENT BY TRAILER RIDE We had just had the first cold spell of the year. Abrupt weather changes can trigger small epidemics of colic, so I was not surprised when I was called out to see a horse with a sudden loss of appetite. Lots of things can start a colic episode—the fact that it is Tuesday is sometimes enough. I also have found colic tends…

LAMENESS How do I investigate when my horse just “doesn’t feel right”? Q: I’m worried about how my 16-year-old gelding is moving. He doesn’t look or feel lame, but his stride seems to have gotten increasingly shorter over the past year and he’s reluctant to move off my leg. My veterinarian says he doesn’t see anything obviously wrong, but we haven’t done any radiographs or deeper diagnostics. My horse doesn’t compete or have to be a tremendous athlete; we just go out on the trail and do very small, local hunter shows. I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on diagnostics. Yet I don’t want to keep riding him if he’s in pain. Where do we even start investigating and/or treating a vague “doesn’t feel right” sort of problem?…

Don’t delay spring vaccinations Schedules fill up quickly in springtime. Whether it’s social obligations, competitions or just a mile-long to-do list, it can be easy to postpone making an appointment for your horse’s spring vaccinations. The longer you wait, however, the greater the risk to your horse. Remember that many spring vaccines protect against insect-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and encephalomyelitis, so you’ll want your horse’s immune system prepped and ready to confront these organisms when they emerge. Ideally, you’ll have your horse vaccinated at least two weeks before insect-friendly weather, and current climate trends keep pushing that earlier and earlier in the year. If you haven’t al-ready, call your veterinarian today to schedule the appointment—it’s a busy time of year for them, too. Spring cleaning: Make the…

By now you’ve probably put away your blankets for the season, but a study from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, may have you rethinking how you will use them when the cold weather returns this year. Researchers found that blanketing has little or no effect on equine hair growth over time. For the study, eight mature horses were blanketed starting in late October and eight were left uncovered all winter long. None of the horses were clipped. Between October and the following March, researchers took 20 hair samples from the hindquarters and non-mane side of the neck of each horse every month and the length and diameter of each hair was measured and averaged. The data showed that blanketed horses had slightly shorter neck hairs in January and February…

This sidebar features a succession of stallions beginning with Squirrel King, an elegant gray son of Black Squirrel foaled in 1882. Note how, thanks to judicious selection by knowledgeable breeders, conformation faults are balanced out through succeeding generations. Squirrel King is out of Artist Eagle, a great-granddaughter of Washington Denmark with two lines to Justin Morgan. This horse is conformationally correct but small and somewhat delicate. Forest King, the sire of Tom Bass’s famous Belle Beach, is the conformational opposite of Squirrel King, his sire. Foaled in 1894, he is out of Stella French—a big, strapping mare that stood fully 16 hands, by Montrose by Star Denmark with tail female tracing to Black Hawk 1833. Bass helped this rather heavy-bodied horse achieve a successful show career. Highland Squirrel King, foaled in…

It’s one thing to be on the leading edge of change, it’s another being 30 years ahead of your time. For one equine practitioner, a realization about the nature of traditional deworming practices and a crusade to change them put him decades ahead of the rest of the horse industry. The story begins in 1991, when John Byrd, DVM, was an equine veterinarian with a solo practice in Southern California. Like most veterinarians, Byrd spent most of his days doing lameness exams, colic calls and suturing the occasional wound. Also like most veterinarians in the United States, he didn’t administer deworming treatments to his patients—his clients did that themselves—but he’d offer advice about timing and products when asked. “Back then, most owners were worming every two months,” says Byrd. “Because…

Sometimes, working with horses can feel like an endless “discussion,” the kind in which you try to explain to them why your ideas are best and your company the sweetest. But however persuasively you argue, in your darkest moments you find yourself secretly questioning why any grass-eating, energy-conserving herd animal in his right mind would consider your requests more worthwhile than grazing in the pasture with his buddies. Then, maybe just when you’re at your least persuasive, they surprise you. I’ve received many such surprises—some might call them graces—over the years. Some of the best and most lifeshaping of these came from my late Quarter Horse mare Ginger. Ginger came to me the summer before I started high school. Our early “conversations” were riddled with false starts, misunderstandings and occasional…

New research from Europe suggests that castration can be performed on colts without adverse effects far earlier than previously thought—even at 3 days of age. Colts are generally castrated at 12 to 18 months old, but Stefan Deleuze, DVM, PhD, of theUniversité deLiègein Belgium and the INRAE of Nouzilly, France, says the reasons behind this custom are unclear. “I presume it is based on the belief the body needed the hormones of puberty to achieve full development,” he says. “I would also guess that practical reasons are behind it. Most horses are castrated so people can avoid having to handle stallions, who can be a bit edgy. Hence, an age somewhere after puberty and before someone gets killed.” In addition, he says, some owners believe delaying castration until the onset…

During an outbreak of equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1), repeated testing helps identify infected horses and guide biosecurity efforts, such as quarantines. However, horse owners sometimes balk at the preferred testing method—the insertion of a long swab into the horse’s nasal passage to collect nasal secretions—worrying that it is too invasive. Now, researchers at the University of California, Davis report that alternative swabbing methods can be just as useful as nasal swabs in efforts to detect EHV-1 and monitor outbreaks. EHV-1 typically causes the respiratory infection known as rhinopneumonitis. In rare cases, it attacks the central nervous system, producing signs ranging from incoordination to paralysis, sometimes with fatal consequences. This neurologic form, technically known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), is often referred to as “neuro” EHV-1. Because EHV-1 is so contagious,…

The decades following the Civil War marked economic boom times in America, a period of unbridled consumerism for those who could afford it and a period of opportunity for people at all economic levels. During the Gilded Age, horses of every class and type reached an apogee of usefulness in America: Nearly everyone owned at least one, and they performed all the work of transportation, agriculture and “supply chain” now performed by cars, taxis, trucks, buses, trains, airplanes and yes, even UPS and Amazon Prime. Door-to-door delivery is not a new thing; it’s an old thing—in that era, most homes in a town or village took daily delivery of milk, eggs, meat and bread, and weekly delivery of household sundries such as candles, twine and soap as well as ice,…

Gaines’ Denmark sired a dozen good sons, most of them gotten before the Civil War. In terms of registry representation, Washington Denmark 1855, Star Denmark 1856, Diamond Denmark (also called Gays’ Denmark) 1858, Sumpter Denmark 1865 and Lail’s Denmark Chief 1865 are the most important. I completely agree with the Registry’s first President, Gen. John B. Castleman, in believing that another important horse, Mambrino Patchen, was sired by Gaines’ Denmark (he continues to be listed in the Register as a son of Mambrino Chief). Each of these stallions in turn sired some good horses. Unfortunately we possess images of only a few, although grandsons and great-grandsons are easily found. From the evidence we have, note the uniformity of type; Saddlebreds had already begun “breeding true” by the 1870’s, and this…

This group represents available photos of Chief-bred stallions. They are not as conformationally uniform as the Denmarks, nor as beautiful, but all are substantial and useful. The fountainhead of this family is Mambrino Chief 1844, primarily known for getting harness champions. He was, as has been noted, a big and somewhat ungainly horse who had a coarse head. “You don’t ride the head”—or drive it either, as the old saying goes, and this stallion proved his worth to the Saddlebred by improving light-boned mares. The two of his sons who most influenced the development of the Saddlebred were Clark Chief 1861 and Highland Chief 1860 (note this is NOT the 1890 son of Squirrel King). Clark Chief: Bred strictly for harness use, like his sire this horse was considered coarse with…

The sample invoice below illustrates how Horsemen’s Laboratory reports the results of the fecal egg count tests it conducts for clients. “We are priced by the kit—which is used for a single test—not the horse,” says owner Ivy Lewis. “So, whether you have one horse at home or run a large boarding stable, you can have the same access to our expertise.” A single kit is $26, between two and five kits are $23 each, and six or more kits ordered at one time cost $21 each. “Everything is included in our pricing,” says Lewis, "including shipping with prepaid envelopes and tracking. You just fill the container with manure, make sure it’s labeled with the horse’s name, snap the lid closed and mail it back to us. When we get…