Dr. Michelle Abraham, resident in large-animal internal medicine at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center, will deliver a presentation about newborn foals. Foals can be susceptible to many illnesses, and recognizing the first signs of disease can be vital to successful treatment and care. Dr. Abraham will discuss what to expect in a normal foal, tips on early recognition of illness, and information about various diseases.

“There are also some causes of lameness that young horses are born with termed, ‘developmental bone disease,’ where the cartilage and bones do not form correctly.”

“Stopping on snow or ice without skidding and/or jackknifing takes extra distance. Use brakes very gently to avoid skidding,” added Riss. “If you begin to skid or jackknife, ease up on the brake and steer into the skid to regain control.”

“We’ve already seen a case where a horse fell through the ice and had to be rescued earlier this month. There’s always a risk for that as animals search for water sources and end up walking out onto ice-covered ponds.”

Training Tip by Dana Hokana: “Keeping your horse on the arc is way more important than most people realize. The correct arc of a left lead, for example, is that the horse’s right hind leg will be in between the two front legs and you will be able to see the back outside corner of […]

Acute cold is found in the cold snaps that last for a short period of time. Chronic cold is the cold that takes hold and stays with a region for a much longer duration. Sometimes an acute situation can prove to be more dangerous to animals.

If you feel him drop to his front end or take several steps into it before he is truly committed in his gait, then stop him firmly, back him up and then send him off into the trot again.

Despite these challenges the American Horse Council was able to achieve several successes and advance many horse industry priorities concerning equine health, welfare issues, and disaster assistance, in addition to its a new initiative to get more people involved with horses.