Keeping Horses Healthy in the Winter

We're pretty lucky here in the Tularosa Basin as it is a rare winter, and really only short parts of it, that provides a challenge to managing our horses. Mostly it's keeping water lines from freezing and ensuring the horses have free access to fresh water, but that's not the only thing they need.

If you keep horses stabled in the winter and you are subject to bad weather, or just weather too cold for you to ride in, it is easy to over look the exercise needs of your horses. It isn't just about physical exercise, either,....horses that don't get ridden, turned out or even exercised on a line or a walker are more susceptible to mental issues. We all know that horses get fearful, and I think they get depressed as well and there's nothing like being confined for long periods of time to create that.

I see too many horses spending virtually their entire lives in small pens and that saddens me greatly. If you happen to be one of these owners, then please take a moment to look at your horse's life from their perspective.

Maybe being too cold to saddle up and ride out is a blessing as it can creates short blocks of time where we can pull a horse and do some ground work: Backing off a slight feel or vibration in the lead line; coming to you with a slight tension in the lead; getting your horse to side up over to you like you are on a platform and want to mount; sending your horse in a straight line; sending him into the trailer; doing half circles with forward momentum; turning a horse who is okay about having his feet handled into a horse that is very good about his feet; sacking him out on a flag, or a tarp or really anything that he may be fearful of; and the list of things you can do in short sessions just goes on.

If you do ride or exercise your horse then remember that he still needs an adequate period of cooling off before you give him access to feed and water.

I know some of you are looking at national weather reports and thinking that "Boy, those folks in the desert Southwest have it easy with relatively high temps" and you would be right, and we are grateful for not breaking ice everyday. This week's national weather map showing 15 degrees in Minnesota and 7 degrees in Southern Idaho making West Texas at 34 degrees this morning seem pretty tropical, but you add in a 20 mph wind and the wind chill factor makes it 24 degrees. Sometimes that wind just cuts through to the bone. So consequently a wind break for the horses, such as a three sided shelter, will help keep your horses warmer and more blood in their system going to the digestive tract rather than the legs and neck to warm them helps lessen the threat of colic.

I not big blanketing fan, but don't hesitate to using the appropriate blanket when the temps or weather conditions warrant this. I get sent a lot of questions asking for guidelines, but the horse's age and overall health have a lot to do with a decision to blanket, so that question is hard to answer. All I can say is that on my thin haired horses, I'll blanket when the temps are in the high 20's, sometimes the low 30's,  most of the time.

I have an enclosed 18' x 14' brood mare stall, which doubles for a hospital stall as well for any horse recovering from an injury or illness that necessitates that. I have to be careful to ensure the accumulated ammonia from horse urine and the dust isn't a health hazard. I have a wide vent all the way around the top of the brood mare stall to help with the ventilation and therefore the horse's respiratory health.

The winter months can actually increase feed requirements as your horse burns more calories to stay warm. We usually throw extra grass during the cold winter days to keep the horses gut moving and give them something to do to reduce boredom. So just a reminder to be conscious on your horse's body condition in case he starts dropping weight.

Most people reading this hopefully know better and this serves either as a reminder or to just take up space.  Besides already knowing something has never kept my wife from telling me again,.....and again. Hope everyone' post Christmas is peaceful and blessed. 

Judging Your Horse's Manure

If you are like me, you are always evaluating your horse's manure, whether in a stall, corral or on the trail. Sometimes I'll be riding with people who see me do a short circle around a manure pile that my horse just dropped and sometimes I get asked why? The reason I do this is that you can get an idea on the health of horse or maybe get a lead on emerging problems by evaluating their manure.

I'm not only looking at what the manure looks like, but how many piles that horse will drop in a given day, and each horse is different. My quarterhorses and grade horses will drop 9 to 12 piles a day, while my Mustang only drops 6 to 7 piles a day.  Any quantity much different and that horse bears watching just a little more closely. 

Each horse's normal manure will look different. Some horses normal manure will be flakey and sometimes break apart when hitting the ground; other horses may drop smaller piles with balls more roundish than not; and yet others may drop egg shaped balls. If I put all my horses in one corral I can tell what manure pile belongs to what horse which is helpful on determining if any one horse is dropping significantly less piles than normal, which can be indicative of a looming problem, usually dehydration and subsequent colic.

Normal manure is generally formed manure balls that appear to be a little wet. If they are not glistening with moisture then I would not get worried unless they appear to have a mucous type covering.   After a while you'll know what is normal for that horse and what is not. The picture of manure at right is pretty normal.

Very dry piles can lead you to believe that the horse may be hydrated. Sometimes I'll soak his hay in water for a couple feeding to see if he gets moisture back into his manure. If I have been watching that horse then I see mucous on the manure then I would absolutely call my Vet. 

Manure piles that are somewhat or mostly unformed, like the picture at left, could be a result of sickness or discomfort, from sand or a change of feeds.  The manure in the picture wouldn't spin me up unless it started becoming worse - wetter and less formed.

Runny and unformed manure piles, almost looking like a cow pie, can be indicative of sand in the gut. My Vet tells me that some horses can have as much as 80 lbs of sand in the gut. The horse's system will drive fluid to the gut to help remove it, hence the wet unformed piles. Dehydration becomes a real threat from this.

You can test for sand by collecting some of the manure that hasn't contacted the ground and put it into a quart sized ball jar. I'll put about 3-4 inches of manure in the jar, then fill with water, shake and let it settle for 15-20 minutes. If there is sand in the gut,  it will settle to the bottom of the jar and be visible. The picture at right is manure, like a cow pie, likely caused by too much sand.  And while it is likely feed issues cause digestive problems which you see in the manure, I also think that, in some horses, their manure can show increased stress. 

If sand is present, especially in any quantity, you need to take action. I will never hesitate to call my Vet, but I also try to stop problems before I call her. I use Sand Clear, a pelleted psyllium seed husk supplement, that I add to my horses fortified feed for a five day period every 4 to 5 weeks, and on one horse in particular I usually put him through a 10 day regime of Sand Clear once every 4 - 5 weeks as he seems to take in more sand than the other horses.

I think that some horses, particularly older horses, may benefit from pro-biotics.   I feed pro-bios in paste form, about every six days, to a couple of my horses.  While I think it may be helpful, I just don't know for sure.      

Another thing to look for in your horse's manure piles is bits and pieces of undigested feed. This can be because your horse is not chewing his feed completely enough - maybe a problem that can be fixed with getting his teeth floated.  Again, preventive care in the form of routine dental exams is a good idea.  Have a safe, and healthy journey.  

James Question on Horse Joint Supplements

James wrote to Functional Horsemanship and asked, I don't believe joint supplements for Horses work, as I have tried several different brands for a few years, but if you have had some good luck with a particular brand please let me know as my 20 year old mare, a Tennessee Walking, is really getting stiff.

James, I would have a good horse vet look at your mare to figure out if there are any detectable problems causing your mare to be stiff, but 20 years is a fairly old horse.  Some stiffness and crepitice, which is the creaking and cracking sound in the joints, would be normal.

I have talked to both human and equine scienitists about joint supplements. What I have been told and believe is that,
1 - There are minimal trials and data on joint supplements. The manufacturers of these suppplements are kinda reluctant to fund independent research because there is the chance the research would come back as ther products not helping what they claim - kinda like funding your own funeral.  There is plenty of anecdotal or personal testimony of joint supplements that work, just without the provable data.  
2 - Most of the scientists, both horse related and human, that I have talked to believe that Glucosamine works to strengthen cartilage and actually rebuilds it slowly, but are pessimistic about the two other common joint supplements, Chondriotin and Hyluaonic Acid, having much help on joints.
3 - that quality of the product is the key.

I believe there are some joint supplements that help horses. I think that a horse would have to be on a quality product for at least a month to get any benefit and even then it may be hard to tell if it is helping. I had a similar aged ranch horse who had a front knee injury. I put him joint supplements as I rehabilitated him. He seemed to be doing much better after a couple months where I could team rope off him. I was unsure if the progress was related to his rehabilitation (exercise and good feed) or the joint supplements. I now tend to believe it was a combination of both.

If it doesn't put you out too much, I would try another joint supplement program for a few months and see what it does. Just pick a quality product with a high level of Glucosamine and at least some sort of outside approval, such as NASC or GMP. I think that a product with Vitamin C would be preferable. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that is thought to be good for connective tissue health.  MSM or Methylsulfonylmethane is a sulfur compound and another common joint ingredient.  Some think that MSM helps in the organic synthesis possibly helping other joint compounds get into the joints and tissues, and helps reduce inflammation.  I am waiting to be proved if MSM works in any capacity. 

Smart Pak is a company that offers supplements and information on all sorts of products. Click on the link to see a chart of joint supplements broken down by form (pellets or powder), ingredients, seals of approval and cost.  I have one of my horses on a joint supplement presently and I think the small cost is worth the possible benefits to the horse.  

Possible Foot Problems on Jared's Roping Horse

I received the following question from a reader in Kentucky . ”My roping horse is getting much worse when handling his hooves. My farrier gets mad when the horse pulls his hoof away. Is this something that should happens when horses pull their hooves away like where I can discipline my horse? How should I do that? Thanks. Jared.

Jared, You and your farrier need to be on the same page when he is underneath a horse and that horse acts up and needs to be corrected. Nothing like driving some nails through a shoe then have that horse rip his foot away to piss of a shoer.

How old is the horse and how much do you use him? Your question reminds me of a couple young guys who were sharing a 25 year horse for Friday night ropings. Each would get 8 to 10 runs on this horse then put him away until the next Friday. One of the boys asked me to look at his horse since the horse was pulling away his back left leg when they handled his feet. When I saw the horse I saw that the horse obviously had an issue with his other foot (the back right). It appeared to be ringbone, which is a calcification around and above the coronet band that made that foot uncomfortable or even painful when the opposite foot was handled placing all the weight of the foot with ring bone.

If a horse, who previously, stands well for shoeing starts pulling his foot away, I would think first that it is problem with the weight bearing foot. There are so many things that can go wrong with a hoof, from a stone bruise to side bone, to a puncture in the hoof to a navicular problem, to a problem in the pastern or even the hock or stifle. I even had an old roping horse break of the wing of a coffin bone, essentially one of the only bone breaks a horse can have in the foot and have a chance of being healed. A great horseshoer and 12 months of egg bar shoes made this horse sound again.



Now if I have a horse pulling on his feet when I’m cleaning them I won’t let the horse pull his foot away and I’ll only give him his foot back when he relaxes,…think pressure and release – getting his foot back when he does the right thing is his release and how he learns. Sometimes, the horse needs an open handed smack on his butt and a command to “settle down”. There are some horses that will will only raise their anxiety level. So all horses are alittle different in what works for them. But making the horse stand for picking his feet up and all, needs to be done before the shoer arrives or in other words it the responsibility of the horse owner to train his horse to stand quietly for the farrier.

New Equine Feed Supplement - HorseManna from MannaPro

Just heard about Horse Manna from MannaPro. In the past I have used Calf Manna, intended for cows, on horses to help them gain weight. And whether you are trying to put weight or take weight off a horse, go slow. I bought the horse in the picture, Roy , when he was 16 or 17, and he was maybe 150-200 lbs underweight, probably in body condition scale 2 or 2.5. I used grass and alfalfa hay, Calf Manna and corn oil to slowly put weight on him where in maybe 3 months he was looking good. Roy is now 27 or 28 years old and still doing good.

This is what MannaPro says about their new pelleted feed product, HorseManna :

Introducing the next generation of the Manna family: Horse-Manna™! We started with the proven science behind Calf-Manna® then added several nutritional features specifically for your horse. These added benefits, along with a complete fortification of vitamins and minerals equal the Horse-Manna Difference you will see and your horses will taste!

Horse-Manna includes multiple sources of high-quality proteins. These proteins provide a wide array of essential amino acids that promote growth and better muscle development in horses.

Supplemental Fat & Stabilized Rice Bran = Better Weight Gain

Horse-Manna has added fat to increase calories and help support weight gain and increased body condition.

Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Yeast Culture, Microbials = Better Digestion

These key ingredients in Horse-Manna help promote optimal digestion of the entire diet.

Flax and Linseed = Improved Coat Condition

Flax and Linseed Meal have been added to Horse-Manna and are rich sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids which add sheen and luster to your horse’s coat.

Anise = Palatability

Ingredients like Anise provide Horse-Manna’s inviting, sweet smelling aroma and taste for horses. The great taste encourages horses to stay on feed during times of stress such as travel, illness, or environmental changes.

Vitamin & Mineral Fortification = Improved Health & Well-Being

The 26 vitamins and minerals in Horse-Manna ensure your horse is getting complete fortification for their overall health and well-being.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein Min 25.00%
Crude Fat Min 6.00%
Crude Fiber Max 7.00%

Horse-Manna will be available at your local retailer in June 2011. To find out more about Horse-Manna, Manna Pro, or to find a local dealer, please visit www.mannapro.com

Horse Healthcare - Colic Symptoms

I'm not real fond of getting calls at night saying "I think somethings wrong with my horse". It's not the call or the time of night, it's just hard to talk to people over a phone and translate what they are seeing. With some Vet bills for a night or weekend colic call being several hundreds of dollars, several people I know call me or my wife to help.

Colic is always bad news because the symptoms are sometimes misread or misleading and the threat to the horse is high. I have always wanted to film a colic case, but usually have my hands full doing something else and too worried about the horse to remember about a camera. Plus it always seems like horse colic always starts on a Friday night through Sunday night, don't it?

"The horse don't seem right" is often the first indicator of colic. Sometimes the horse's action just seem different. Sometimes it may be listlessness that gets our attention. Other signs include: horse not interested in feed; standing stretched out like when a horse urinates; ears focused backward; biting marks on the side; laying down, standing up and laying down again; in bad cases with alot of pain the horse will throw themselves down on the ground and this of course can result in a twisted gut which without immediate surgery is almost always fatal.

Before they lay down or throw themselves down Horses will usually walk around in a circle with their head down....like they would when they are trying to find a place to roll. I have a horse who seems to get gas colic more often than other horses, so one day I was lucky enough to have a video camera nearby and had someone shoot film on the horse's action to better explain some colic symptoms.



Other symptoms include tail wringing which indicates aggravation; lack of gut sounds on the horse's barrel when you place your ear to the gut; and, overly sweating can also indicate the horse is in distress.

Treatment for colic may include calling the vet and relaying what you are seeing - the more accurately you can provide descriptions on what the horse is doing, the better decisions the Vet can make; getting a halter on the horse and walking it around but don't over walk it as you can dehydrate it more and take needed blood flow away from the gut. This also keeps the horses from trying to throw itself down and in bad cases the horse will balk under halter and try to go down, so you have to create a little energy to keep the horse upright. If they stop and want to stand quiet during periods of reduced pain then I'll encourage this.

Banamine which is a muscle relaxer, usually given as 1cc per 100 lbs of body weight, can help. Best to get it into the horse via a vein (IV) as opposed to into the muscle (IM). If your Vet tells you to give your horse a shot of Banamine, note the time and amount to relay to your Vet.

Offering the horse a chance to drink occasionally is a good idea. And if the Vet comes out, normal protocol after an exam is to put a tube through the nose to the gut and pump mineral oil and water into the stomach. The exam usually includes palpitating the last few feet of the horses digestive tract with a gloved arm to check for impaction or a twisted gut. Some Vets will also suggest an IV line into the horse to keep it hydrated and giving the horse a mineral oil/water enema.

The weather's getting hotter now. Here in West Texas it hit 99 degrees yesterday. Make sure to monitor your horse's water intake and always provide clean water and plenty of it to drink. Keep a barrier between your horse's feed and the ground especially if the ground is sandy. Keep your horses wormed on schedule. All this can reduce the chances of colic, but know what to look for because time is very important in the treatment. Safe Journey.

Horse Health - Know the Plant Life in Your Area

I was riding by a neighbor’s place the other day and noticed how his once clear dirt turn out, adjacent to his horse stalls, were overrun with Snake Weed. I made a mental note on talking to him about the noxious weed then decided to do a post on plants in general.

If you are a trail rider or other wise keep your horses near any vegetated area, you should probably learn about the plant life in your area. Know what is poisonous and what is okay for the horse to eat. Even if the plant is safe for your horses to eat, a good rule would be to limit his consumption of any new feed. Horses’ guts are sensitive and even a small change in feed types or sources can cause them gut distress and even colic.

The local extension office of your State Agricultural office or U.S. Department of Agricultural can help you identify noxious or poisonous plants for your horses.

As a former Army Range Rider and having taught Wilderness Survival for years, I am just greatly interested in the plants and animals, so I made it my business to understand edible and poisonous plants and what plants horses can eat.

In the part of the Chihuahuan Desert where I live, with about an average rainfall of 6 inches, there are many plants that are both toxic and edible. When I get up to the higher elevations the density of certain plants decreases and other species of plants are prolific. So there may be subtle changes in plant life density in the areas you ride as well.

In the below videos I will show you Yucca, Snake Weed, Sage and Mesquite on video one, and Western Peppergrass, Desert Marigold and Mormon’s tea in video two. When I get a chance to ride in some higher elevations, I will film more plants.

Generally, poisonous plants are bitter and horses won’t eat enough of it to make a great different, but why take chances? All horses are different and small amounts of toxic plants that do not affect one horse may very well affect another adversely.

The whitish bulbs on the Yucca stalk are generally safe. I had a paint horse who loved to eat Yucca leaves. He would strip a whole stalk without adverse affects. Horses won’t generally eat snake weed, maybe excepting for am mouthful and I have had horses eat a mouthful without ill affect, but this is a toxic plant to horses. Mesquite beans are just like green beans and are great cow feed. However, most ranchers would like to tear out their mesquite as it takes a lot of water away from the available grasses. I have seen horses eat a few beans and mesquite flowers, but generally horses won’t eat mesquite beans.

Western Peppergrass is pretty pungent, like the name. The flowers are crushed and used in stews and on meat. Never seen a horse digest any, but would rather err on the side of caution and keep them away from it. The Desert Marigold is a bitter plant, however once it dries up in the fall and winter, horses will readily eat the dried flowers and stalk without ill effect - not much nutritional content ( I had it checked at a local University). Mormon’s tea is best used by people, brewed into a tea which is a decongestant as it has a natural ephedra in it. Never saw horses eat any, and if I had a Arab or Thoroughbred, I would keep these naturally excited horses away from it – just kidding on the Arabs and TB’s,…I actually know a couple decent horses of each breed so please don’t send me hate mail.

Video One


Video Two

Horse Health Care – Vaccinations

A regular vaccinations schedule should be a part of any health care plan for all horses. In fact, many commercial and private stables or boarding facilities require vaccinations on a common schedule.

When I ran a private horse facility, governed by rules including general health management rules and a vaccinations schedule, one of the harder things to do was to have horse owners keep their horses up to date on vaccinations.

The most common vaccinations for horses include:

Rabies. This is an annual vaccine, however I think some Vets will tell you that your horse will be fairly well protected getting this vaccine every two years. In my experience one out of every 20 horses has some sort of reaction to this vaccine which contains a killed virus in order for the horse to develop anti-bodies to this disease with is transmitted through a bite from an infected animal. This disease can be transmissible from horse to human. Check with your Vet to see if a rabies vaccine is indicated for your area.

Tetanus. This vaccine is given initially followed by a booster shot four to six weeks apart, then yearly after that. If you skip an annual vaccination then your Vet will probably have you go back to the initial shot followed by a booster. Tetanus is a bacteria that can enter a wound. You may remember stepping on rusty nail as a child with your Mom having a cow until she was able to get to the doctor for a tetanus booster.

Eastern and western encephalomyelitis. This disease is a virus transmitted by the mosquito. Some people think this disease is transmitted by birds,.......I just think they mistook Montana mosquitos for small birds. This vaccine is much like Tetanus where an initial vaccination is given followed by a second dose in two to three weeks or four to six weeks, depending on manufacture of vaccine used. A yearly vaccination is given after that. It is common for the Tetanus and Encephalomyelitis vaccines to be combined, sometimes with a vaccination for the Venezuelan strain of the Encephalomyelitis and called VEWT.

Rhinopneumonitis (Rhino). This is a viral disease that causes respiratory problems in horses. This is an annual vaccination but some Vets suggest a yearly vaccination in the spring with a booster in the fall. There are actually two forms of this disease. Consult your Vet to determine which version(s) your horse needs to be vaccinated against.

Influenza (Flu). This is a highly contagious viral disease that affects the upper respiratory tract of the horse. An initial vaccination is given with a 2nd shot three to four weeks later. Much like Rhino most Vets will recommend two vaccinations a year and sometimes three vaccinations depending upon if the horses travels a lot like a racehorse or show horse. It is common for the Rino and Flu vaccine to be combined.

West Nile Virus (WNV). This is a mosquito borne disease that affects the brain and spine through swelling. It has rapidly spread across the country since it was detected 10 or 11 years ago. I have read statistics that say one in every three effected horses will die. I have only seen one infected horse, and he made it, but it looked to be touch and go for awhile. Now this horse is roped off of and doing well. Lack of motor control, stumbling, loss of appetite and lethargy are all signs of this disease. Much like other vaccinations there are two shots in the initial series followed by one annual vaccination, although some Vets will suggest two shots, each one about 4 to 6 weeks before the onslaught of a rainy season and therefore mosquito season. I am lucky to live in an area devoid of a large number of mosquito so I vaccinate once a year, in April before the June rains.

Pneumabort K-1B is a vaccination for pregnant mares, given the 5th, 7th and 9th month of a pregnancy to prevent against abortion.

Strangles. This is a bacterial disease that is contagious and affects the horses respiratory tract with symptoms that include abscesses that appear along the lower jaw. Sometimes a tooth problem may appear (misdiagnosed) to be strangles. I have seen stables quarantined by the USDA for a positive strangles case. This vaccination requires three initial shots, followed by a yearly vaccination.

Potomac Horse Fever is a disease usually seen in the summer months which can cause high fever and diarrhea among other things with a chance of the horse also foundering. This disease has a high mortality rate. A annual vaccine is now available, however requiring an initial shot and booster in 3 or 4 weeks, then an annual vaccination.

The horse owner should consult with his/her Veterinarian to determine which vaccinations are appropriate to the area. There are many combinations of vaccinations and some Vets will let you give your own vaccinations thereby lowering your cost, except for rabies which is normally required by the state to be given by a licensed Vet. The risk is too great for your horses not to have them on a routine vaccinations schedule.

Common Horse Problems – Colic.

Colic can be broadly described as intestinal problem causing a large amount of pain to a horse. There are many different types of Colic but I’m only going to discuss the types that I have experienced in horses.

Sand Colic is a common type of colic resulting from sand accumulating in the horse’s intestines, which I’m going to refer to the stomach and intestines as the gut to keep it simple, which suits me as I am often referred to as a simpleton. The horse owner can and should take steps to prevent the horse from digesting or accumulating sand, such as not feeding on the ground but in tubs, bins or feeders. Even then horses natural graze so they will spend a great deal of time with nose on the ground searching for and picking up left over pieces of feed and therefore in-take sand into their gut. A common test to determine amount of sand in the horses manure (manure in the jar test-click here to go to this post) can be done to see how much sand is in the horses gut and therefore potential for sand colic. Some horses may have as much as 80 pounds or so in their gut!

Sand Colic can cause blockages and a gut rupture or tear, or more commonly, causes such pain as to make the horse throw himself down over and over again and end up twisting a gut. The twisted gut blocks blood supply and the portion of the gut begins, rapidly, to die. This is fatal, unless surgically treated immediately, although it can take a horse several days to die. This is a heartbreaker. I’ve had to put down a young very promising horse. I have also seen twisted guts where the horse goes through short periods of relief which gives the horse owner a false sense of the horse getting better.

Prevention is key and that includes feeding smaller amounts of hay several times a day, rather than one or two large feedings, and, plenty of fresh, clean water for the horse to drink. Some horse people believe in regular treatment through feeding bran mashes or a commercial product such as Sand Clear or Miracle Sand Out pellets. I’m one of those. If a horse of mine exhibits signs of sand in the gut such as very loose manure or diarrhea, I’ll place him on a seven day regime of the above mentioned products, which usually clears up the lose manure or diarrhea in a week. I also routinely give bran mashes, every 7 days or so, which are dry bran mixed with a little corn oil, molasses and Psyllium (Fiber) to a watery mix.

Gas Colic is another common type of colic, resulting in gas buildup in the gut faster than it can be relieved, most likely caused by feeding large amounts of rich feed. First cut alfalfa, not slowly integrated into the feeding program and Sweet Feeds in my experience are two more likely causes. Another cause is rapid changes to the diet. Prevention again includes feeding more often in smaller amounts, slow changes to different feeds such as different cuts of alfalfa.

Symptoms of both Sand and Gas Colic may include the horse standing stretched out; pawing the ground; ears back and eyes looking listless; biting at his side or looking at his sides; trying to lay down or laying down, getting back up again, and laying down again – or actually throwing himself down to the ground.

Treatment of Colic. You need to call a Vet immediately. Be prepared to articulate the symptoms that the horse is showing. If the Vet comes out to look at your horse he/she will examine the horse, will probably administer Fluxomine / Banamine by IV, which is injected directly into a vein for immediate effect, then probably put a tube through the nose into the stomach and pump a water / mineral oil mixture into the gut in an attempt to get any blockages moving and reduce toxins in the gut.

Prior to the Vet coming out you should probably lead the horse around at a walking pace for two reasons, 1 – to utilize the natural movement of the walk to add digestion and 2 - to keep the horse from throwing himself down and greatly increasing the chances of a twisted gut. Some Vets will palpate the horses rear end, that means stick a gloved hand into the butt to see what may be going on in that last part of the intestines. Most Vets will not give the horse a water/mineral oil or straight mineral oil enema, however I think this option should be considered and almost always done – what’s another $10 of mineral oil after the Vet made a Farm Call at 2:00am?

A lot of horse owners keep Fluoxomine/Banamine on hand and will treat the horse themselves if a Vet is not readily available or in hopes of resolving the colic before a Vet is necessary. I’ve treated a lot of horses with symptoms of Colic myself although I would never hesitate to call my Vet and arrange a Farm Call. Sometimes it’s throwing the dice either way, but the sooner the horses receives treatment the better the chances for a recovery.

Horse Health - Worming Horses

One of the hardest programs to manage when I ran a large private horse stables was to get all the boarders and their horses on a routine worming program. Despite the rules, despite automatically adding the cost of wormer to their board bill, owners had a hard time abiding this important and routine agenda of horse health. Some of that was surely their inability to give a horse wormer which they ain't necessarily fond of to begin with.

Anthelmintics, or horse wormer needs to administered to each horse not only on a routine basis but on a program designed to be effective against the parasites and minimize the chance of the parasites being resistant to the worming product. It is not simply a matter of picking up a tube of wormer at the feed store several times of year. Worming products need to be rotated to ensure effectiveness against various parasites.

The various worms that we use a worming program to combat include:
Tapeworms. Tapeworms can contribute heavily to colic. A horse affected with Tapeworms may appear to be poor (malnourished) as they affect the horse’s digestion process. I have seen a horse heavily infected with Tapeworms colic bad after being wormer for the first.

Bots. The adult Bot looks like a potatoe bug and lay their eggs on the hair of the horse. As the horse licks itself they ingest these Bot eggs which eventually travel to the stomach and can cause damage to the horse.

Large Strongyles. Found in the large intestine, adult Strongyles burrow themselves into the large intestine walls. Strongyle eggs are passed in the manure where they hatch and are ingested by the horse completing this cycle. Strongyles can damage the blood vessels and cause colic and blood clots.

Pinworms. Picked up by horses through feed, water and from the ground, Pinworm eggs can cause a horse to rub his tail against a fence or pole and at worse damage the tail or at least rub hair off.

Roundworms: Picked up by horses grazing, these worms are found in the intestines. As adults, roundworms are normally found in the in the small intestines and sometimes passed in the manure. Traveling through the blood supply, the eggs of Roundworms will travel to the lungs and the liver affecting the health of the horse.

Worming schedules. There are many different worming schedules based on the area you live in and whether your horses are turned out with others and on pasture. The most common worming schedule is a bi-monthly schedule, giving a different wormer every other month. Most Horse Supply Product catalogs with feature several different such schedules. One schedule may be:

Jan/Feb – Pyrantel/Praziquantel (for Large/Small Strongyles, Roundworms and Pinworms – Praziquantel additionally for tapeworms)
Mar/Apr – Fenbendazole (for Large/Small Strongyles, Ascarids and Pinworms)
May/Jun – Ivermectin (for Large/Small Strongyles, Ascarids, Bots and Pinworms)
Jul/Aug – Pyrantel/Praziquantel (for Large/Small Strongyles, Roundworms and Pinworms – Praziquantel additionally for tapeworms )
Sep/Oct – Fenbendazole (for Large/Small Strongyles, Ascarids and Pinworms)
Nov/Dec - Ivermectin (for Large/Small Strongyles, Ascarids, Bots and Pinworms)

With the introduction years back of combination worming products, I have opted for a quarterly worming schedule. When I bring a new horse in, I quarantine him for three weeks and catch him up on the worming program as well as vaccinations and a Coggins (EIA) test.

Feb Fenbendazole
(Safeguard or Panacur, I’ll rotate from year to year which brand)

May Praziquantel with Moxidectin
(QuestPlus)

Aug Ivermectin
(Zimectrin)


Nov Ivermectin with Praziquantel
(Zimectrin Gold)

Be careful to administer the correct amount of wormer to your horse. Use the scale on the stem of the worming syringe to set for that horse’s weight. It is always a good idea to get a fecal egg count for parasites by your vet before administering wormers for the first time to a new horse. I said before, a horse being wormed for the first time may drop a bunch of parasites which can cause a blockade and colic that horse. Talk to your Vet before giving wormers to a Broodmare in foal and to standing foals.

I do not use daily pellet wormer. I know good horse people that do, but it seems to me like it’s a lot easier for the parasites to build up a resistance to daily, therefore a lesser strength product. Again, talk to your Vet, present him/her with a worming schedule and ask their opinion for that area and environment before beginning your worming program.