Is Your Barn Clean?

Particularly in light of the current VSV outbreak here in Colorado, we thought it a good time to remind everyone of proper disinfection and biosecurity for barns, horse farms, and hospitals. A critical component of disease prevention involves proper cleaning and disinfection practices!

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How to Prepare Your Performance Horse for Optimal Output

Everyone is familiar with preventative medicine.  From vaccinations, to dental care, to eating right, preventative medicine applies to humans, as well as to our equine friends.  However, one area of preventative medicine that is often overlooked for all species is athletic performance.

What we ask of our own bodies, as well as what we ask of our equine athletes, is far beyond the natural athletic requirements of the body.  If you watch a horse in the pasture, or even a wild horse, they spend the vast majority of the day with their head down, wandering while eating.  Occasionally something may spook them, and they might run for a short distance and then stop to gather their wits.  But we don’t see horses running in circles, chasing a cow, or jumping over obstacles of their own volition.

With this “overuse” in mind, is there a different way that we should treat our “high performance” friends?

One place where problems tend to pop up is in joints. Muscle soreness from overuse and overexertion is a temporary issue since muscle tissue generally heals quickly and well.  On the other hand, joint damage, even something very minor, can begin a cycle of synovitis and inflammation of the joint.  This chronic inflammation cycle can quickly damage a joint, adding up over time and eventually leading to a lame horse.

A challenge for us as stewards of our horses’ health is that each horse is different in their pain tolerance, leaving us in a difficult position.  If a horse has a high pain tolerance, they may allow this damage and inflammation to build to an irreparable level.

So what can we do to be more proactive with our equine athletes? Preventative lameness workups can be critical in keeping the high performance horse, or even a weekend warrior, in top health and mobility.  Though a horse may not be having obvious lameness issues, the problems can be far more subtle and difficult to detect.  Over time, there can be slight decreases in a horse’s willingness to work, level of performance, behavior, etc.  These changes can be difficult to notice when we see them every day.  A preventative lameness exam, including flexions, may pick up these subtle issues before they become a major problem.

With a number of treatment options and preventative methods available, there is a lot of support that we can give our equine athletes to prevent injury and breakdown, and allow them a longer, more comfortable performance career.  They’ll also have a happier retirement!!!

Contact us today to set up an appointment for a preventative lameness exam for your athletic partner.

 

 

How do I know my horse needs a float?

Spring is the time of year in Colorado that many horse owners look forward to. Large mats of shedding hair wafting about in the breeze, sticking to every square inch of fleece that might be exposed. Getting your tack cleaned up for riding season now that you have hours (plural HOURS!) of daylight after you get out of work or school to ride. Working on some refresher training sessions before the show season, in case there is a little bit of rust.

All of these things are rites of spring for horse owners here in Colorado. But spring is also time to schedule your spring checkup visit with your friendly, neighborhood veterinarian! Vaccine boosters, deworming, an annual checkup, and even discussion on Body Condition Scoring are great reasons to make an appointment for your horse. Spring is also a great time to find out if your horse is due for some dental work.

Just like us, regular maintenance dental work is an important part of your horses’ overall health. Horses have teeth that continue to erupt throughout their lives, and this leads to bad malocclusions, fractured teeth, periodontal disease and even a loss of condition in horses that never have a dental procedure done. Most of us have heard of horses needing a dental “float” before (routine filing of the teeth to correct malocclusions and remove overly sharp enamel points from the horses’ cheek teeth), but do you know what the signs are that your horse may be overdue for a dental procedure? What type of things should trigger the thought that your horse could benefit from a dental equilibration or “floating”? At what age should your horse have their first dentistry performed?

Most horses benefit from having their first dental exam and float between 2 and 3 years of age. While there are some reasons to check them out earlier than this age, horses at 2 to 3 years are often beginning to go into training. Making sure that their “baby teeth” are coming in correctly as well as removing any sharp uncomfortable points can really help a young horse to focus on the training that they are receiving. Young horses have teeth that are softer, and erupt faster, than older horses. This means that they can quickly develop sharp points that cause behavioral problems.

In any horses, odd chewing motions, or problems eating are two signs that we see that could indicate the need for a dental exam. If your horse is a “sloppy eater” with grains and pelleted feeds, and they drop more feed than they eat, they could be having problems with uncomfortable bucchal ulcers (sores on the inside of the cheeks) caused by overly sharp enamel points on the cheek teeth.

Also, problems with the bit or bridle, and head shaking or resisting the rider during training can indicate that a horse is due for a float. Most pieces of tack cross the face at the exact place where horses are most likely to develop these painful bucchal ulcers. So reports of a horse “not liking” a bit or bridle, or reports of changing through different types of bridles or bits can be associated with dental or oral discomfort.

Always touch base with your equine veterinary dental expert and ask questions if it has been more than 2 years since the last procedure was performed. By taking care of this important component of preventative maintenance care, you can make sure that your equine partner has a long, healthy, and comfortable life.