Horses have proportionally greater muscle mass than humans, with muscle tissue comprising up to 60 percent of their bodyweight, so it stands to reason that muscle problems can have a profound impact on performance quality.

According to Dr Jackson, the ponies in the worst condition were those used to cart rubbish around the island, up to 22 tons daily between nine ponies. They were skinny, lethargic and suffering from severe lacerations caused by nails that were used to hold their harnesses together.

#2- Be Patient- We like to have 30-60 days to evaluate a prospect to determine what level of training that horse requires and what his potential is. Also, understand that 30 days is not long enough to tell whether your horse is the next Congress Masters Champion. Don’t have unrealistic expectations. Try to avoid having preconceived notions of how long it will take to reach a certain milestone.

If the hay has been sprayed with propionate, and excess glucose is a concern for your horse, do not feed this hay. In areas of the country where humidity is not an issue, alfalfa is not likely sprayed with propionate. But it is always worth checking.

The timing is crucial on the placenta passing, because mares can get septic shock as the tissue starts to degrade in the uterus. “Bacteria can get into the bloodstream and also release inflammatory factors, and the horse can develop laminitis within a day,” Boyle said. “It is a life-threatening condition if you don’t get the placenta out.”

Pleasurable social activities, feelings of engagement and purpose with life are cited as some of the contributing causes of human happiness; however, does happiness exist in species other than humans and if it does can the signs be identified?

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign We hope you’ll join us for the 2016 Horseman’s Clinic on February 6, 2016. The Horseman’s Clinic aims to increase education and awareness of all horse owners on basic and in-depth topics pertaining to a horse’s health maintenance and prevention of disease. We’ll cover topics such as: Hoof care and […]