Horses in closed herd situations may require fewer respiratory vaccines than horses competing or traveling to group activities. Respiratory diseases are risk-based equine diseases, so be sure to consider your horse’s risk factors when determining to vaccinate or not.

The wound healed, but nothing worked to make the mare sound — not stall rest, barefoot, hand walk, shoes, shoes with pads, plastic shoes, shoes with wedge pads, bring the toe back, boots, foot casts, anti-inflammatories, nutraceuticals or pharmaceuticals — until the new owner and Equitopia Center introduced Sala to horse shoes called “Sneakers.”

Truth is, if you’re feeding correctly, gas colic should not happen. And if it does, then you’re more than likely doing something wrong.

Muscles cannot be built without the nutritional building blocks they require of protein and amino acids in the diet. Although many of us have been taught that horses have a protein requirement, the requirement is actually for amino acids.

Dr. Joe Lyman, Professional Services Veterinarian with Neogen Corporation, will discuss biosecurity and how to minimize the risk to your horse, at home or while traveling. Rusty Ford, Equine Programs Manager for the Kentucky State Veterinarian’s Office, will provide an update on the current status of the EHV-1 outbreak in Kentucky and the protocols put in place by the State Vet’s Office.

Check out this helpful graphic from Penn Vet New Bolton Center about how to Keep Horses Safe in Cold Weather.

During the warmer months, horses and other grazing livestock receive much of their hydration from grass. When weather prevents grazing, recognize that horses will often consume more of their daily water intake from troughs and buckets.

By checking the pH level of mammary secretions in mares during the last month of gestation, the researchers found that as long as readings showed pH levels above 6.4, the mare was at least 24 hours away from foaling. When pH dropped below 6.4, they determined that mares would foal sometime in the next three days. This held true for 98% of mares tested.

In the winter, there also tends to be less ventilation in the barn, with doors and windows closed in an effort to keep horses (and humans) warm. This traps the ammonia in the stalls and the rest of the barn.