Newsletter XXVIII
Hi
Welcome back to this month’s HorseConscious Newsletter.
Wow, time certainly does fly, I can’t believe it’s a month since I was sat in a tent in the middle of nowhere in BC, Canada trying to produce last month’s Newsletter using my tiny netbook and a satellite internet connection. Anyway we had a lovely time at Liz’s ranch and so thank you to Judy, Cathy, Michele, Anna-Karin, Lena, Karusia and Kay and of course, Susan, Dave, Kevin and Liz.
In case you missed my last email, here are some photo’s from the event:
HorseConscious Community site
And the details for the Clinic at Liz’s with Robin Gates:
‘Exploring the Waterhole Rituals and the Joy
of experiencing a Deeper Connection’
A Robin Gates Clinic at Gateway 2
August 20-27
Robin is Carolyn’s first certified Trainer and has been learning and teaching the Waterhole Rituals for almost thirty years. So this is a perfect opportunity to learn the language of the herd with a real herd in the wilds.
Book by 15th July to save $400 with the Earlybird price of $3,000 for the all inclusive Retreat.
PLUS as a HorseConscious subscriber, you get a further 5% ($150) REDUCTION by taking advantage of the Earlybird offer – be sure to mention HorseConscious to claim your extra discount: http://www.equinisity.com/programs.html#Robin
Talking of Robin Gates, I’m excited to announce I will be doing a HorseConscious call with her this Sunday 3rd 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET. The details for this should be coming out tomorrow, so keep an eye on your inbox for an email from me.
Later in July, I hope to be talking with Anna Twinney, who has just released a great 4-DVD set on foal gentling called Success – Foals in Training. Anna teamed up with 2 rescues in CT and they rescued several P.M.U foals and Anna trained them over a 5 day period. Apparently it was a phenomenal training time and all the foals went from untouched to halter trained, leading, loading, vet & farrier prep and more. Phenomenal.
I haven’t seen it yet but I hear it’s not only a great teaching tool but also a portion of the profits go towards the foals to help throw light on the P.M.U. industry and the suffering the horses undergo. Anna’s husband Vin explained it to me like this, “… it’s a cross between an instructional DVD and a documentary. An instrumentary if you will 
“
Yeah, keep the jokes coming, Vin!
Anyway, it sounds like a great set to have, which you can get by going to this page on Anna’s website: Success – Foals in Training
AN INVITATION: I’ve recently been contacted by Lorrie Bracaloni, who is a Certified Holistic Equine Practitioner, about doing a HorseConscious call and so I thought it might be a nice idea to have a round-the-table discussion with a group of therapists/practitioners.
So, if you work in the field of equine health and healing and would be interested in taking part, please drop me a line by sending an email to Mark@HorseConscious.com with a subject line of “Practitioner Discussion”.
I anticipate the call will take place sometime in August and please note that HorseConscious calls are always at the times mentioned above, which does make it rather awkward if you are from Australia and New Zealand – sorry!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Gosh, I’m impressing myself with the seamless nature of this month’s editorial as we seque neatly onto an email conversation Tessa and I have been having with Kelly, who was asking whether we could consider having some Australian practitioners become HorseConscious Teachers.
Well, my normal arbiter in these matters is Stormy May. However, she recently wrote to me saying, “I realize that there is going to be more debate in the near future over riding/not riding. At this point on my own path it has become very clear that riding harms horses and I can see no justifiable reason to continue the practice in modern day society.”
You may agree with Stormy’s viewpoint, you may not. We are all entitled to our own opinion of course but as I’ve always said to Stormy, I think we need to offer a ‘broad church’ for people. There can’t be such rigid rules that people are automatically turned off, when what we are trying to achieve is the opportunity to open people’s hearts and minds to different ways of being with horses. So all this raises several interesting questions:
- Where do we draw the line?
- What is acceptable treatment/handling?
- What is considered cruelty and what isn’t?
- And therefore ultimately, assuming a practitioner has a desire to do so, how do we decide who should be a HorseConsious Teacher?
It seems to me that these first 3 questions go to the heart of the issue, yet are at the same time are very subjective. As a result, I don’t feel it is my right to make a decision to the last question on my own.
Which is why I have just posted on the HorseConscious Facebook Wall the following status update:
Who would you like to see be invited to become a HorseConscious Teacher and why?
We’d really appreciate it if you could not only write your suggestions below but comment on other people’s proposed practitioners. Thanks!
To start the discussion, I have posted the names and websites of the 2 Australian practitioners mentioned in the email from Kelly.
When you comment, always remember to add the website so that we check the people out if we are not familiar with them. So I invite and ask you visit the HorseConscious Facebook Wall and add to the discussion and let’s see where it takes us and who we find!
To break with my sequence of super smooth transitions, I would like to go back to a topic I first covered last December, which is the state of the economy.
Now I know some of you might be saying I shouldn’t add to already bad vibes and asking what place such a conversation has in a newsletter about horses but I can think of 2 people I know personally who are experiencing tough times and as a result so are their horses.
And though we hear bad news in the media every day, the truth is we never really get to hear the full story of what’s going on and the perilous state of some of our countries finances. If some of what you about to read below shocks you, I apologize, but it’s probably better to be shocked and prepared than shocked and caught unawares.
So the first quote comes from the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist Paul Mills speaking of the U.S. Treasury’s huge annual deficits at a recent Euromoney bond conference in London:
“I don’t think the debate has yet even begun to understand how big a fiscal retrenchment is going to be needed.”
Why would Europe’s troubles make us skeptical of the U.S. dollar? The dollar serves as the basis for the world’s economy and monetary system. If Europe implodes, as it must, dollars will be used to bail it out. This process has already begun – the U.S. provides much of the funding for the IMF, whose funds are being funneled to Greece.
And were you aware that for the last nine months, the U.S. the Federal Reserve has been printing up new dollars and buying huge amounts of newly issued debt from the U.S. Treasury – $600 billion of bonds, in a measure dubbed “quantitative easing II” (QE2)? And these purchases followed a $1.75 trillion program of quantitative easing (QE1) that ran from March 2009 to March 2010.
In other words, the Fed has been pumping over $2 billion of ‘funny money’ into the US economy every day during QE2. Money that didn’t even exist the day before and which they ‘magiced’ out of thin air. During QE1, that figure was nearly $5 billion per day. This is scary stuff and one of the key drivers behind the sharp increases in food and commodity prices we’ve all experienced recently.
The headline on the front page of the USA Today a few weeks ago read “U.S. owes $62 trillion.” Which means every man, woman and child in the U.S. owes $534,000 as part of their share of the national debt made up of federal, state, municipal, corporate and private (mortgages and student loans) debts. With the U.S. government also bound to pay for debts related to bailout spending, this figure could be closer to $100 trillion.
The numbers are so big, it’s hard to comprehend them so here’s a video that illustrates what I mean:
I don’t want to get into a political debate here, that’s not what this is about. I just want to make you aware, if you are not already, of the seriousness of the situation we all face. In the UK, there’s a saying ‘when America sneezes, we catch a cold’ and this is never truer than it is today and it applies to us all, regardless of the country we live in.
This is not the fault of 1 country or 1 political party but it is the reality before us and I would urge you to do your homework so that you can at least be prepared.
OK, I think I’d better lighten the mood before I sign off, so how about this as some alternative viewing… love it!
So until the same date, same channel, next month, best wishes to you and your herd, both human and equine.
Mark
‘Closeness, friendship, and affection: keeping your own horse means all these things.’ – Bertrand Leclair
TAKING THE NATURAL APPROACH OF HORSEMANSHIP A STAGE FURTHER – ALTERNATIVE HEALTH
It is truly encouraging to see a shift away from the old school way of treating, training and being with horses, to a new, more enlightened and natural way. But this is just the beginning of a new approach of life. There are many other outmoded ways of life that are taken for granted, but which are in urgent need of overhaul.
Let’s examine health care. The medical way of thinking is based on the reductionist or atomist theory. This aims to reduce every conceivable aspect ever smaller, trying to understand it in separation from its supporting neighbours. In other words, everything is interpreted through analysis as distinct and separate components.
Looking at every infection, every new strain of bacteria or virus keeps medical researchers busy, but does it help to keep a population healthy? When you look at the statistics, public health is deteriorating. With new diseases appearing constantly and antibiotic resistant superbugs plaguing hospitals, it appears that this atomist theory is not living up to its much acclaimed credentials.
As an analogy, you can pull your car to pieces and examine every small part of it, in separation from everything else. But it wouldn’t make you a better driver. So the reductionist theory fails you.
The opposite of atomism is holism. In regards to health, this is known as holistic health. This theory is based on the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Going back to the analogy of the car, there is something dynamic about putting all the components together. Something different happens.
The dynamic aspect of a being, whether human, horse or any other animal, is that we are not simply a collection of spare parts. There is a dynamic force at play, too. Called life. And life is energy. It is this energy that makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts. This energy that is intangible, that can’t be measured or put in a box and labeled.
If animal life is dynamic, it seems logical that the best approach to health care should also be dynamic. Using medicines that are based on an energy that will stimulate the immune response, that work by supporting and enhancing the body so that it can now heal itself, shifts that body into a healthier state. This means that there is now greater immunity, greater protection against future pathogens.
There are a few dynamic modalities of health care, including yoga and meditation, but the one which has the deepest and fastest action, the one that can be used equally well on animals as it can be on people, is homeopathy.
Homeopathy is nature’s perfect medicine. Homeopathic medicines are eternal. Bacteria, virus’, e coli or any other infection or pathogen can’t become immune to homeopathic treatment because the medicines treat the patient, not the disease. It is not the pathogen that is the enemy. It is the body’s inability to cope with the pathogen. Strengthen the body and the pathogen disappears.
This means that diseases deemed hopeless by the medical profession can be successfully treated by homeopathy. Some equine examples of this include colic, laminitis/founder, navicular disease, allergies, tendon and ligament damage, vaccine damage, quittor, recurring infections, paralysis and other neurological problems, broken bones and many more.
The current medical system is outmoded and old fashioned. It is inefficient, cumbersome and expensive. Homeopathy is energetic, effective, elegant and economical.
Madeleine Innocent, Two Legs and Four Homoeopathic Health and The Health Happiness Coach, Homeopathy, www.twolegsandfour.com.au
‘Bread may feed my body, but my horse feeds my soul.’ - Anonymous
ROYALS ASKED TO AVOID CALGARY STAMPEDE
A Canadian animal welfare group has asked royal newlyweds Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, to avoid the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, Canada, during their July visit to that country.
The Calgary Stampede is an annual event that features livestock exhibitions and rodeo-style competitions including the Rangeland Derby chuckwagon race. The race pits four teams of horse-drawn wagons against each other in a series of elimination races over several days.
In recent years several animals have died or were euthanized due to injuries or cardiac episodes sustained during chuckwagon races. The Vancouver Humane Society has criticized the race and other rodeo-style Stampede events on grounds that they put animals at risk for injury and death.
In a June 13 letter Vancouver Humane Society Debra Probert asked William and Catherine to avoid taking part in any Stampede activity on grounds that the royal couple’s presence at the Stampede will be portrayed as an endorsement of rodeo-style events that subject “animals to unnecessary pain, stress ,and fear.”
Stampede spokesman Doug Fraser was unavailable for comment on the letter.
The Prince and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to visit Calgary July 6 through 8. The Calgary Stampede begins on July 8.
thehorse.com, Pat Raia, June 21 2011, Article # 18416
‘His mane is like a river flowing, his pace as swift as light.’ - Bryan Waller Proctor
TYING-UP IN HORSES: A REVIEW
Halfway through your arena workout, your horse simply isn’t acting normal: He’s sweating and his muscles are shaking. He doesn’t want to move, and discomfort is evident in his posture and facial expressions. Many horse owners and their veterinarians are all too familiar with the signs of tying-up (also known as exertional rhabdomyolysis) in horses. Repeated episodes of this disorder, which affects horses of all shapes and sizes, can be a frustrating problem for owners and riders. Erica McKenzie, BVMS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of large animal medicine at Oregon State University, gave an overview of tying-up during the 2011 Western Veterinary Conference, held Feb. 20-24 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Manifestations
Horses exhibit a variety of different forms of exertional rhabdomyolysis, and what signs they show often depend on breed type.
McKenzie explained that polysaccharide storage myopathy (commonly referred to as PSSM) is thought to be the “most common condition associated with chronic external rhabdomyolysis in horses.” The disorder occurs in 36-50% of Belgian Draft horses, 30% of halter-bred Quarter Horses, and about 8% of Quarter Horse-related breeds (i.e., Paints and Appaloosas). The disorder also affects Warmbloods and other light-breed horses, McKenzie said.
A genetic disorder, PSSM is a debilitating and occasionally life-threatening disease in horses characterized by abnormally high glycogen (the storage form of glucose) concentrations in skeletal muscles.
Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, and Arabians are also prone to tying-up, however they generally do not suffer from PSSM. Instead, McKenzie said, these lighter breed horses most likely have a disorder involving disturbed muscle calcium regulation, referred to as ‘recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis’ (RER).
Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis causes affected horses to suffer recurring episodes of muscle cramping, stiffness, excessive sweating, and a reluctance to move after exercise.
McKenzie explained that researchers have found that both PSSM and RER are hereditary, so breeding affected horses is generally discouraged.
Finally, McKenzie added, healthy horses with no underlying genetic disorders can experience episodes of tying-up “if they are exerted beyond their level of conditioning.”
Clinical Signs of Tying-Up
McKenzie said typical clinical signs of exertional rhabdomyolysis occur soon after exercise begins or ends. She reviewed these, including:
- Excessive sweating;
- Muscle tremors,
- Muscle stiffness;
- Reluctance to move;
- A stretched-out hind-limb stance, as if trying to urinate;
- Firm muscles that are painful to the touch; and
- Dark colored or red urine.
- Management
McKenzie suggested that managing diets of horses with PSSM and RER carefully might be helpful in reducing the number of exertional rhabdomyolysis episodes a horse suffers.
“Controlled clinical trials have demonstrated that reducing soluble carbohydrate intake in horses with either PSSM or RER can significantly improve clinical signs, despite the different etiologies for these diseases,” she said.
She continued to say that the most effective means of controlling the diseases includes feeding a balanced, low-starch diet, adding necessary calories with fat sources (such as oils) and fiber.
In addition to an appropriate diet, owners should keep horses with PSSM and RER on a regular exercise schedule, as breaks in the exercise routine can be a significant triggering factor in horses that are prone to tying up. McKenzie said that there is evidence that consistent exercise is beneficial to these horses, and such activity “appears to provide additional beneficial effects and is probably very important for horses with repeated episodes.”
thehorse.com, Erica Larson, News Editor, June 15 2011, Article # 18391
‘There’s nothing in life that’s worth doing, if it can’t be done from a horse…’- Red Steagall
MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES FOR GATES ON YOUR HORSE PROPERTY
Having the right gate is another key towards being chore efficient. There is nothing more irritating than not being able to get equipment or deliveries into a area because a gate is too small or you have to walk “the long way” around a pasture every time you want to put horses out or bring horses in. I’ve seen many a horse property where cleaning paddocks is a real “chore” only because there’s not a good way to get in or out of areas.
There are many clever gates, including fencing that is easily removed to allow vehicle access.
The kiwi latch, the nifty, comma-shaped latch that came our way from the New Zealand sheep industry, is a handy little device.
A pass-through allows a person to slip into an area easily and quickly without opening a gate.
Here are some guidelines to think about when considering gate placement on your property:
Size gates for the deliveries you plan to get. Hay or feed? Gravel for footing? Does a tractor need to get through? Maybe the vet or farrier? How about getting the wheelbarrow or manure cart in or out of your paddocks? Think ahead and imagine what will be coming through your gates. Call places to see what size of trucks they have and what clearance they need. Usually 12 feet is wide enough for most large vehicles, unless there’s a corner involved.
For leading horses in and out, six feet is probably wide enough; bigger than that is often awkward and hard to hold other horses in or out when using them. Locate gates in the middle of fence lines, away from corners; a corner can be an awkward, tight spot where a more aggressive horse can easily pin another horse (or a handler!) in a corner and cause an accident.
While we’re speaking of corners, you may want to consider rounding out corners. Round corners in pastures are easier for mowing. They are also easier when bordering a driveway and you are pulling a vehicle around them.
Choose the very safest gate possible. When possible, and especially in confinement areas, choose gates with square corners. This will help alleviate a gap where a young, energetic horse might rear up and get its hoof wedged into an opening. Make sure the gate is constructed from material strong enough for horses. Will horses be leaning on gates or pawing them? If so, gates need to be very sturdy with solid panels to keep horses from catching a leg in between rails. Do you need to keep dogs out? Wire mesh gates provide more of a dog barrier. Watch out for rough edges, broken metal, rusted parts or anything flimsy.
Consider gate latches while you’re at it. Ideally you want something that you can open with ease but your horse can’t. Kiwi latches, the nifty, comma-shaped latch that came our way as a result of the New Zealand sheep industry, are handy little devices that allow you to open a gate with one hand while leading a horse with the other.
Pass-throughs are another gate consideration. These are for humans only (well okay, also for dogs and cats, too.) A pass-through allows a person to slip into an area with horses easily and quickly without opening a gate. There are many configurations for pass-throughs, but usually they consist of two wooden posts placed about 12 inches apart. Pass-throughs should not be used in enclosures for young horses or smaller livestock like llamas or sheep.
At Sweet Pepper Ranch, we are setting up one of our larger turnout paddocks with fencing and gates so we have been considering exactly these points. We chose to have a six-foot gate for where we take horses in and out, plus a pass-through for us. That way we can easily slip in with halters to get our horses, saving ourselves the extra step of opening and closing the gate. We also put in a 16-foot gate on the outside to be used for equipment (like tractors for mowing) or deliveries (like trucks with gravel footing) when we need to get into this area.
smarthorsekeeping blog, Alayne, June 14 2011
‘They drink the fountains, Fiery and sacred is their breath, and like the whirlwind they must go.’ – Dorothy Wellesly
How to Visualize Leading From Behind- Carolyn Resnick
As the Insider Circle and Extended Circle classes are going on, I want to share with my bloggers and the class more detail on how to approach Leading From Behind™ that I offered to Karin in the comments section of my last blog. I also added some information about how to approach your horse with reciprocal movements (leading and following in connection) and Leading From Behind at liberty, and the attitude and energy level that will help in how to approach this Ritual.
To read the complete article, visit Carolyn Resnick on HorseConscious.
The Quest- Kim McElroy
If someone asked us why we spend our lives with horses, we would say, “Because I must”. To love horses is to pursue a quest for an elusive form of love. The challenges and rewards are difficult to define to another person unless they share the same quest. Our experiences with horses can be equal parts elation, frustration, confusion, and redemption. Yet the pursuit is fulfilling, and gives us a sense of purpose.
If someone asked us why we spend our lives with horses, we would say, “Because I must”.
To read the full article, visit Kim McElroy on HorseConscious Facebook.
Riding at Liberty – Chapter 1- Stina Herberg
This is the first in a series of videos from Stina (student of Carolyn’s) as she starts to ride at liberty.
WHY DO HORSES GET ULCERS
Thanks to the seminal work of Robert Sapolsky, in “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,” we now have a much better understanding of the disparity between the way animals in their natural environment handle stress and the way humans do.
As a result of this intensive study, we can also ascertain that both the value of identifying and responding to, the physiological triggers of alarm. And with all that being said, one would not be stretching too far to hypothesize that horses also do not get ulcers. However, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Horses, like zebras, live in a natural environment. That is, roaming wild and fending for themselves. Yet, on the other hand, a vast number of horses do not enjoy this lifestyle. And here, we have a very interesting study. The truth is, not one case of ulcers in wild horses has been found. On the other side of the equation, racehorses, whose lifestyle is extremely demanding exhibit ulcers in 1 out of every 5 horses at the track.
Looking at the difference in the life of a wild horse, which is relatively serene, with healthy social group dynamics, and allows for freedom of response, and that of a racehorse, which is intensely demanding both physically and mentally, is lived in near complete isolation, and restricts freedom of movement, it is not hard to understand why these numbers would be so far apart. It is, indeed, a bit like comparing life in rural Colorado to downtown New York City.
But why then, do some racehorses get ulcers, and some do not? Well this phenomenon is best explained by the same principle that explains why some people suffer mental illness and others do not, when raised in similar environments. Called the “diathesis stress model,” this theory states that some people have a genetic predisposition for certain mental illnesses, and with enough environmental stress, theses conditions will develop. Therefore, in turn, we can say that some horses are predisposed to develop ulcers, but require the right situational conditions to do so.
So how do the ailments caused by stress affect the horse when engaged in equine therapy? Well for one thing, the horse’s natural ability to deflect stress, and therefore remain calm, is disrupted. Essentially what this means is that the horse is sort of chronically wired, or high strung.
When interacting with a novice horseperson, as most equine therapy patients are, this horse is actually likely to induce more anxiety in the person, and more to the point, the kind of anxiety that cannot be resolved through the relationship with this particular horse. Even worse, the person’s response of fear may aggravate the horse’s already disrupted physiological system, which then exacerbates the person’s worry as well. Essentially, the two are fused in physiological escalation that can’t be easily resolved.
This is a bit like an already anxious mother trying to calm her child without attending to her own out of control anxiety. The child is triggered by the mother, which sets off her anxiety even more, and the two soon relate almost exclusively through the anxiety. In this way, the anxiety becomes the glue in the relationship and the two know no other way to relate.
In order to disrupt this cycle then, and provide for a healing experience for both the horse and the person, the horse depends on a trained horseperson to help mitigate and recover from the effects of stress. Once the horse again realizes his own natural ability to offset stress, he may then be ready to perform equine therapy.
blogs.psychcentral.com, Claire Dorotik, LMFT, June 2011
EHV-1 OUTBREAK: USDA RELEASES FINAL SITUATION REPORT
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released its final situation report on the equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) outbreak that affected the western United States and Canada starting in mid-May. The outbreak is believed to have stemmed from horses attending a national championship cutting competition held in Utah in early May. In its most recent report the USDA indicated that disease spread had been contained.
Although it’s not transmissible to humans, EHV-1 is highly contagious among horses and camelids, and it is generally passed from horse to horse via aerosol transmission (when affected animals sneeze/cough) and contact with nasal secretions. The disease can cause a variety of ailments in equines, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory disease usually found in young horses), abortion in broodmares, and myeloencephalopathy (EHM, the neurologic form). Myeloencephalopathy is characterized by fever, ataxia (incoordination), weakness or paralysis of the hind limbs, and incontinence.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture issued a press release June 20 indicating that animal health officials believe the outbreak has been successfully contained in that state. The release indicated that California has not diagnosed a new case of EHV-1 in the past 14 days.
“It is important that the California horse owners remain vigilant as there is always risk of disease when horses of unknown health status are commingled at one location,” the release continued. “Consistent, basic biosecurity practices play an important role in reducing risk of exposure to diseases such as influenza, strangles, pigeon fever, or equine herpesvirus.”
Newly confirmed cases continue to trickle in; however, animal health officials indicate that all of the new cases are under proper quarantine and are being treated.
At press time (2:30 p.m. EDT), the following states and provinces had confirmed new cases of EHV-1:
Wyoming–The first confirmed case of EHV-1 was reported in Wyoming in June 22, according to State Veterinarian Jim Logan, DVM. He confirmed that the horse displayed some neurologic signs including recumbency (not able to rise); however, after beginning treatment he was able to stand and is now in the recovery process. Logan added that the horse is in isolation and the farm he resides on in Jackson County is under quarantine.
He added that a second horse was euthanized after becoming recumbent, and test results are pending. Logan said he expects to have laboratory diagnostic test results early next week.
Saskatchewan–The University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) has placed its large animal hospital under a voluntary quarantine after a horse with a suspected case of EHV-1 was admitted June 18, according to a press release from the college.
“The WCVM voluntarily suspended its equine clinical services on June 21 following the confirmed diagnosis of EHV-1 in a horse from the Saskatoon area that was brought to the clinic on June 18,” the release read. “While tests results are still pending, WCVM veterinarians suspect the horse was suffering from the neurologic form of EHV-1 … the horse was humanely euthanized due to the severity of the disease.”
One other EHV-1 positive horse was reported in Saskatchewan in May. No information was available about the animal’s clinical signs.
Alberta–Thirteen cases of confirmed EHV-1 have been reported in Alberta, according to a report from the Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian. Four of these confirmed cases displayed neurologic signs associated with the disease, five exhibited only respiratory signs or a fever, and four did not have any clinical signs. One of the EHV-1 positive horses has died, and the rest are undergoing treatment, the report stated.
Additionally, two suspect cases are displaying neurologic signs, but have not been confirmed positive via laboratory diagnostic tests.
The report noted, “Cases have been confirmed in Southern Alberta, in the Calgary area, in the Edmonton area, and in the Peace Country and all are in the cutting horse industry.”
Washington–A ninth horse has tested positive for EHV-1 in Washington state according to a report from the state’s Department of Agriculture. Officials believe that this horse was exposed to the virus during the initial quarantine at Washington State University but did not display clinical signs. The report indicated that the horse recently suffered a bout of colic, at which point he tested positive for the virus. The horse’s clinical signs were not reported. The EHV-1 positive horses are located in Thurston, Spokane, Chelan, Asotin, and Whitman counties.
The following states and provinces have not reported any change in the number of EHV-1 positive horses within their borders:
- Arizona–14 positives (one euthanized; no clinical signs reported for surviving horses)
- British Columbia–2 positives (clinical signs not reported)
- California–22 positives (two horses were euthanized after showing severe neurologic signs; eight confirmed cases displayed neurologic signs; 13 displayed only a fever; one displayed only a nasal discharge)
- Colorado–9 positives (six horses have shown neurologic signs; the remaining three have displayed respiratory signs and/or a fever)
- Idaho–8 positives (four EHV-1 positive horses have displayed neurologic signs [two were euthanized]; the rest have only displayed a fever)
- Montana–1 positive (no clinical signs displayed)
- Nebraska–0 positives
- Nevada–3 positives (two have displayed neurologic signs)
- New Mexico–4 positives (USDA Situation Report indicates two have been euthanized; clinical signs not reported for other horses)
- North Dakota–0 positives
- Oklahoma–1 positive (displayed mild neurologic signs)
- Oregon–5 positives (one euthanized with neurologic signs; four showing no clinical signs)
- South Dakota–1 positive (clinical signs not reported)
- Texas–1 positive (officials believe it is not related to the outbreak, but is an isolated case in a racing Quarter Horse)
- Utah–8 positives (two euthanized after becoming recumbent; clinical signs associated with the other confirmed cases were not reported)
thehorse.com, Erica Larson, News Editor, June 26 2011, Article # 18437
TIPS FOR HANDLING HORSES FEED IN HOT WEATHER
Handling and storing horse feed during the hot and muggy summer months can be a challenge. The equine nutritionists at Kentucky Equine Research offer the following tips:
Store your feed in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place. If there is a window in the feed room, you might consider putting in a window air-conditioner just for the summer months. If the feed room does not have a window but has a door that shuts tightly, consider running a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air. Using a closed bin for the feed is fine if it is in a cool place.
Do not buy any more feed than you can use up in 10 to 14 days. Avoid taking advantage of summer specials that give a free bag if you buy a certain quantity (e.g., buy 10 bags and get one free). This is not a bargain if you lose several bags to spoilage. Protect feed from direct sunlight.
Allowing air to circulate around the bags will help to avoid a buildup of internal heat. Never set bags directly on the floor, especially if it is concrete, as the bag will wick moisture and spoil the feed. Palettes are ideal because they get the bags high enough off the floor to let air circulate underneath them. If possible, set the bags up on end and slightly apart to allow the air to circulate all the way around (top, bottom, and sides). In areas with a lot of heat and humidity, the bags should not be stacked more than four high. Leave space between the stacks for air circulation.
Allow any heat within the bags to be released by “jouncing” the bags. This will also help avoid clumping in the feed. Remove shrink wrap from any bag because this covering will restrict the bags from breathing. Similarly, avoid storing feed in plastic bins because this too will limit air movement. Galvanized steel bins have a tendency to sweat on the inside if they hold a high-moisture feed. If containers are used, be sure to clean out any remains of older feed before adding new feed to a container. Avoid storing feed in bulk bins in the summer.
Many feeds, including all those formulated by Kentucky Equine Research, contain sufficient mold inhibitor and antioxidants for protection during the summer months. However, with some off-brand feeds, summer heat and humidity can cause spoilage in stored products. In general, pelleted feeds keep longer than textured (sweet) feeds. The molasses in sweet feeds may become spoiled, and pelleted feeds can mold. High-fat feeds will develop a rancid odor fairly rapidly in the heat and must be used up quickly.
Horses have a very sensitive sense of smell. If you can smell that something is going bad, you can be sure that your horse can, too. It is a good idea to check any feed before offering it to your horse. If the horse will not eat it, get rid of it.
If your horse has eaten spoiled feed, you may see signs like diarrhea or a loss of appetite. Most importantly, watch for indications of colic (horse looking at its flanks or kicking at its belly, patchy sweating, lying down and getting up repeatedly). Call a veterinarian if the horse seems uncomfortable.
Drs. Peter Huntington and Kathleen Crandell, June 7, 2011, www.equinews.com
‘Think, when we talk of horses, you see them Printing their proud hoofs i’ the receiving earth.’ – Shakespeare
COMMENTARY: NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR HORSES: WHERE’S THE SCIENCE?
Many owners don’t think twice before feeding their horses nutritional supplements touted to solve issues ranging from metabolic and joint problems to insect control and behavioral vices. But in many cases the science behind the powders, pellets, and liquids that these horses consume daily is lacking due to research challenges. Thus, owners need to be cognizant about selecting reputable supplements for their horses.
There are a number of issues that limit scientific research in horses. First, horses are extremely expensive research animals to maintain. Also, researchers must use disease “models” in which investigators incite a disease or ailment in the animal for research purposes; these artificially created disease scenarios do not always reflect what happens in natural cases of disease. This is also a concern when it comes to conducting studies in the laboratory setting using cell cultures to examine nutritional supplements’ effects. That is, what happens in a petri dish (in vitro) to samples of tissue or blood does not necessarily reflect what happens in the live horse (in vivo). Another obstacle is that equine studies often do not include sufficient horse numbers to give the studies enough statistical “power.” Thus, if only a small number of patients are included in a study, the chances for inaccurate results are higher.
Some nutritional supplement manufacturers also rely on scientific data conducted using similar–but not identical–products, claiming that both products work the same. Finally, some manufacturers rely on data from scientific studies performed in other species, such as rats, mice, and humans. In some cases there might be physiological similarities between species; however, this is not always true. Thus, a beneficial effect of a supplement in one species might not translate to horses. Nonetheless, conducting research on these products is important. In medicine, using research-driven decision-making is referred to as “evidence-based medicine” (EBM). According to David L. Sackett, FRSC, MD, FRCP, author of Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM, this type of medicine “integrates the best external evidence with individual clinical expertise and patient choice.”
Only a handful of nutritional supplement companies have conducted scientific testing to demonstrate safety, efficacy, purity, or to determine how these products benefit horses (mechanisms of action). This means that untested products may not be doing anything or, worse, may be unsafe for equine consumption. The lack of science in this area of equine nutrition underscores the importance of striving toward evidence-based studies on nutritional supplements.
Despite the fact that scientific research might be in relatively short supply when it comes to equine nutritional supplements, consumers can still select a nutritional supplement confidently using the ACCLAIM system. This method, described in detail by Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, DSc, FRCVS, Dipl. ACVS, director of Colorado State University’s Orthopaedic Research Center, at the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention, walks a consumer through a product label, identifying important information such as manufacturer information, research study results, dosing information, and valid label claims versus testimonials.
The veterinary nutritional supplement industry continues to grow at a rapid pace. Although the science behind nutritional supplements won’t change in the immediate future, owners and trainers can still obtain quality additives for their horses from reputable manufacturers. If in doubt of a particular supplement’s safety or efficacy, it’s advisable to consult a veterinarian or equine extension specialist to ensure a poor-quality supplement doesn’t cause harm to an otherwise healthy horse.
Understanding Equine Medications is your A-Z guide to learning more about generic and brand-name pharmaceuticals, possible side effects and precautions, and proper dosage.
thehorse.com, Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc,May 13 2011, Article # 18242
‘A horse gallops with its lungs, preserves with its heart, and wins with its character.’ – Tesio
Next Door – Kathy Pike
Through the deep darkness and the stillest part of the night, the roar of the heavy metal wheels rolled along the tracks. The train’s whistle sent a jolt through my slumbering body. A pack of coyotes fired up and let loose their screams and yips, multiplying in numbers by their mere sounds. Everything came thundering into my consciousness and cracked the seal around my deep, dark sleep. Images of a dark colored horse breaking through a fence jarred me into a panic. Where am I? What is happening? Where are my horses?
I gathered fragments of awareness enough to remember I was in my new home and that there is a train track in the distance. The early hours of the morning offered a glimmer of light. I checked in with my horses energetically. They were all safe and sound in the big pasture far away from the house. I dropped back into a deep sleep.
An hour or so later, the sounds of the morning began to fill the house. I rose from my bed at 5:30 to greet my little dog and glanced out my windows that face the west. Scanning the full view of the whole property, my blurry eyes caught the bodies of two dark horses. They registered as Piper and Cantata, two horses that came to work in the program. Then, a grey horse stood behind them. I looked again, what was going on? It suddenly dawned on me that Piper and Cantata were actually in the mid-property paddock.
Once I rubbed the morning haze from my eyes, I understood what I was really seeing. The six horses in the pasture next door had broken free. They were over exploring our teaching area. Throughout the week three bays, a paint, a grey and a little palomino Morgan had stood at the fence digesting our every move and session at the round pen. They had boldly left their green pasture to come explore our area. It was as if they wanted to have their hooves on the ground and their bodies in the space of our experience.
Since I have been here I had sensed that at least three of the horses next door wanted to come and be a part of the program. They are curious about this new paradigm of the horse being the teacher for the human. Once broken free of their own green pasture, they could have chosen to eat all of the rich green grass surrounding our teaching area. Instead they stood in the sandy area where we had created, as a community and herd, grounding and presence. I giggled in delight. As I ventured out they came to me, smelling my sweatshirt, gazing into my eyes. I thanked them for the visit and escorted them back home. Offering to them the opportunity to work with us from their pasture space and some day… well who knows… maybe they can come teach in a program!
For more info on Kathy Pike and her work, visit Kathy Pike on HorseConscious.
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‘They are more beautiful than anything in the world, kinetic sculptures, perfect form in motion.’ – Kate Millett
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