Horse Abuse and Rescue

Not really what I wanted to write ending this year and going into the promise of the next, but the inhumanity that humans do to horses is not confined by the calendar. The good people at Perfect Harmony Horse Rescue & Sanctuary in Chaparral, New Mexico took in three (3) severely neglected horses on 29 December, confiscated by the New Mexico Livestock Board. Their New Years and the weeks and months following will be spent checking on these horses and providing small amounts at feed at 2-3 hour intervals round the clock. 

 This Rescue, chaired by Marianne Bailey and staffed with her husband Dan and daughter Jessica as well as several volunteers, see the worst in humans and the poorest horses. They never say no, even though it is usually a costly endeavor in funds, labor and the emotional toll, to provide neglected horses with sometimes just days of relief.

To the readers - I'm sorry to ruin your day by displaying pictures of these three horses below, but this is what Marianne and crew deal with on a routine basis. Perfect Harmony is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit and can surely use financial help. No donation is too small as they face a mounting feed, Veterinarian and Farrier bill to care for these horses. 

 If anyone can donate, these are the modes they can accept: 

PayPal at their e-mail, perfectharmony1@aol.com

Venmo at Marianne-Bailey-8

Cash App at $Perfect HarmonyRescue

Checks sent to Perfect Harmony Rescue, 636 Palmas, Chaparral, New Mexico 88081

My Navicular Case Study

In all my years I never owned a horse diagnosed with Navicular, until a few months ago. I have seen many horses that have foundered, and others with ring bone, side bone, and other connective tissue issues. Navicular is a general term for degenerative changes in the navicular bone in the horse's hoof, usually the front feet and usually bi-lateral - meaning both front feet.

At first you may notice an intermittent lameness, like I did on my horse Junior. Early on, you may not notice any lameness signs, such as head bobbing, when the horse is moving straight even at a trot because of the condition manifesting itself in both front feet. Although you may feel a slightly chopped or shortened gait. However, it will usually be telling when the horse moves laterally with a front foot.

My purpose in this article is not to take apart Navicular which again is a general term, whether it is called Navicular condition or Navicular disease. I'd like to focus on what I am doing with Junior now that his condition is chronic.

 

Junior is a now 21 year sorrel grade gelding who I bought when he was 4 years old and used him as my primary work horse when I was an Army Range Rider and Conservation Law Enforcement Officer working the desert highlands and four different mountain ranges. Long trailer hauls then long rides looking for trespass cattle and law breaking humans. Junior never let me down. I have rode him attending clinics, teaching my own clinics, day work on ranches and in horsemanship and ranch sorting competition. Junior is by far the fastest horse I ever rode.  He has certainly earned every feeding and then some. 

His feet were in bad shape when I bought him at a USDA Tick Rider auction. With thin hoof walls and the tell tale ridges coming out of the coronet band that foretold bad nutrition, and near collapsed heel bulbs on one back foot. I started him on Joint supplements (Joint pellets from SmartPak and Horseshoers Secret) as soon as I bought him. And my excellent horseshoer, Vince Vesely of Diamond Bar V horseshoeing, has been shoeing Junior for the past 17 years making him as good as he can be which was significant. Mental note - if you have a great shoer, treat him or her well.



He was a match racing horse in Mexico and much like the practice here in the United States, racing horses are started in training before they are fully grown and that training can be very hard on their feet and joints. That's why I am not a fan of Futurities in practically any equine discipline. Apologies to all the great horsemen and women who ride young horses, I know they are under pressure to create earnings quickly and they provide great care for their horses, but sometimes a heavy load of early training does a disservice to young horses in my opinion.

I first started to notice Junior's intermittent lameness in February 2020. Days off migrating to weeks off seemed to help him. When his condition became pretty chronic (early October 2020) I had my Veterinarian Dr. Amy Starr, DVM, do a work up including nerve blocks and take x-rays. She then worked with a equine radiologist and also a equine orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Jorge Ramos, DVM) to determine what the radiographs and her exam showed.

The diagnosis was that Junior had Bilateral navicular changes compatible with navicular disease of the left and right forelimbs; Chronic sesamoiditis of the medial sesamoid bone of the left fore fetlock; and, Mild side bone of the distal phalanges of both forefeet. These are things nobody wants to hear, as this is something you can't cure, only manage for pain. And managing the pain was my intent as Junior was now on his pension plan and planning on living out his days, as long or as short as they may be, as pain free as I make him.

Once I received the diagnosis, I immediately (mid October 2020) started him on Adequan injections and daily Equioxx tablets. In addition, I added a supplement to his existing joint and hoof supplements called Devils Claw Plus from Uclele.

Adequan is given through intramuscular injection and is recommended for the treatment of non-infectious degenerative and/or traumatic joint dysfunction and associated lameness of the carpal and hock joints in horses - according to the manufacturer. It is given again as an IM injection, every four (4) days for the first (7) seven injections, then every 30 days after that. Also according to the manufacturer, Adequan reduces the swelling and inflammation associated with joint disease to improve lameness; Restores synovial lubrication that facilitates movement and reduces local inflammation; Repair cartilage and rapidly aids in the production of new cartilage; and, Reverse the disease cycle that leads the loss of cartilage components by inhibiting harmful enzymes that attack cartilage and synovial fluid. For more information go here:

Adequan

Equioxx is a Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) for the control of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in horses. While it is available as an injection, or paste, I use the chewable tablet form and Junior has no problem eating in in a bucket of few crushed up horse cookies. It is given every 24 hours. And while it is intended for use up to 14 days, I am continually using with periodic blood tests to ascertain any renal issues.

For more information go here: Equioxx

In mid December 2020, after a conversation with Dr Ramos, I replaced Junior's feed supplements (senior joint pellets from SmartPak, Horseshoers Secret pellets and the Devils Claw) with Platinum Performance Complete Joint (CJ) supplement. In late January 2021, Junior looked comfortable, actually he was racing round his 25x45 foot pen, cutting and turning on a dime, bucking and all that nonsense, so I took him for a short ride maybe 10 minutes, then a few days later, a longer ride of 25 minutes including several stretches of trotting.

For more information go here: Platinum Performance CJ

Dr. Ramos, DVM consulted with me several other times as well on other treatment options such as Osphos injections which is a intramuscular bisphosphonate injection given with a 3 to 6 month re-dosing timeline. In layman's terms, Osphos is intended to reduce the degenerative changes, limiting the breakdown of the bone in the feet. Osphos really can't be used in conjunction with NSAIDS such as Equioxx.

For more information go here: Osphos by Dechra

And, Dr. Ramos also counseled me on the possibility of injections of corticosteroids in the coffin bone joint. This is not an easy thing to do as it requires a x-ray to correctly place the injection exactly where it is intended.

For more information on Corticosteroid injections in the Coffin Bone joint

The bottom line for Junior and me, is we'll stay currently with the daily Equioxx, monthly Adequan injection and daily use of Platinum Performance Complete Joint. Since the Platinum Performance CJ is a powder, I have to add an oil to Junior's pelleted feed so the Platinum Performance CJ powder binds to the pellets so he will eat it. I have been using an oil called CocoSoya from Uclele, which is a blend of coconut oil and unrefined, cold-pressed Soybean Oil. Junior who was unimpressed with powder mixed with his pelleted feed, rapidly eats the mix when I added CocoSoya oil, which is a natural anti-inflammatory as opposed to Corn Oil which is inflammatory.

For more information go here: CocoSoya

So after almost a year of being lame, Junior is now useable in mindful way. He has earned his retirement. No more cow work or long rides for him. But I'll use him for clinics and ride him when I can, if not just for his mental health. I hope this article is of some use to someone somewhere. I know some people are just loath to supplement their horses, but Platinum Performance is an amazing product. Also I can't emphasize enough that to bring your Vet into the equation. I'm fortunate to have a great Vet who reached out to specialists to get Junior where he is now. And I'm thankful for everyday this horse has been in my life and look forward to having him around, pain free or managed, for a long time to come.

Changing Feeding Routines for Older Horses

I try not to give too narrow of advice about feeding horses as there are just too many factors to consider. There are cases were something needs to change and this usually pertains to the amount of feed a horse is getting - much too little, or too much. Over the years, with my horses and managing a public barn for 6 years where we had an average of 40 horses, I saw just about every problem you could think of concerning feeding programs. When I was running that barn I contracted for a Equine nutrition doctoral student at nearby New Mexico State University to some in and give a seminar on nutritional requirements and developing a sound feeding program based on the individual horse. He too was careful not to give too narrow of advice, but he succeeded in reducing the incidences of colic and founder. Perhaps the best advice he did give was routine dental exams on all horses, especially the older horses.

Horses have individual needs based on their age, health, condition of teeth, and activity so those needs to be taken into consideration in their feeding program. And older horses can have rapidly changing conditions and nutritional requirements. Long ago, we started feeding a mix of alfalfa and grass hays. Some horse's get 70% alfalfa and 30% grass (in weight) and others the reverse ratio. Horse's generally don't need that high of a protein content that comes with alfalfa, and the grass helps balance out the minerals. So the horse I am describing below, Charlie, was getting about 6 lbs of alfalfa and 14 pounds of grass (Bermuda) each day.

Charlie is a big stout Quarterhorse type, 15.1 hands and around 1,300 lbs. In the picture above right, he is the sorrel horse with the white socks and one stocking. Although the young man I bought him from couldn't produce papers, Charlie came from substantially good breeding and had really good feet. Despite my advice to this young man, Charlie was on a straight alfalfa hay diet, also receiving one large coffee can of dry wheat bran on odd numbered days and a large coffee can of Strategy pelleted feed on even numbered days - see? I told you I have seen quite a bit of different, if not odd feeding programs. This young man never succeeded in being able to load him to take him to any ropings, which he had his Pa send Charlie to him for. He never asked me for help nor did I offer......as I kinda liked that horse.

Eventually this young man approached me about buying Charlie. He started asking $2,700 and ended over a few days settling for $800. He tried to pass Charlie off as an 11-12 year old, but I could tell he was near to 20. But knowing how resilient that horse was by surviving the odd feeding program and his obvious excellent conformation and good nature, I bought him for my wife.

Fast forward 12 years later, Charlie is near to 30 years old. My wife rides him often and even rode him in a Randy Rieman clinic where Randy called Charlie the Old Campaigner. He is animated as ever, especially at feeding time, trotting around with is head shaking wanting you to hurry up with the feed, but never aggressive or disrespectful when you are in his pen with the feed.

Lately Charlie would drop bolts of partially chewed hay and his manure was pretty loose as his gut absorbed more water trying to move the bigger pieces of lesser chewed hay through his system. We feed in huge box feeders, but it doesn't stop Charlie from throwing his feed out onto the ground most of the time. Thinking that the symptoms were a result of ingesting too much sand, I just upped the interval on him getting Sand Clear. Half the time this would clear up his less than formed manure. But the years have taken their toll. Despite dental exams and teeth floating every 12 months his molars are worn down where he can't masticate the longer stemmed hay anymore which causes some distress in his gut and sometimes, colic type symptoms. In the last couple months we changed his feed where more than half his grass hay needs are received using Standlee Timothy grass pellets soaked pretty good in warm to hot water to avoid so much of the long stemmed hay that he has a hard time chewing. We had other older horses but none of them had the problem with the longer stemmed forage that Charlie had, so this was a new problem for us.

Since we made the feeding change, Charlie's manure is well formed and moist. He has lost just a little weight, which he needed to do anyway, and his energy level is much higher. He gets about 3 lbs of alfalfa in the morning, along with 5 lbs (dry weight) of soaked Standlee Timothy grass pellets. Around noon he gets about 6 lbs of mixed Bermuda and Timothy grass. In the evening he gets about 3 more lbs of alfalfa, following by another 5 more lbs (dry weight) of soaked Standlee Timothy grass pellets and his Glucosamine supplement.

So really the whole purpose of this article is to pass on a lesson learned or maybe just a reminder that older horses can have rapidly changing conditions and needs, including routine or even a shorter interval for dental exams. And never having been a big proponent for pelleted feeds being a large part of my horses diet, I am very much pleased with the quality of the Standlee products. They make a wide variety of products from compressed bales of alfalfa and timothy hays; pelleted and cubed timothy and alfalfa-timothy blends; and much more. Plus their web site offers a ton of good information on equine nutrition which we all could benefit from.

Evolving Feed Programs

I get the occasional e-mail from people with questions on previous articles I've posted on what I fed my horses.  More questions are specifically asking about prevention of sand colic. Katie and BL would be the last two I received - this article is for you.  It is intended to show you want I do.  You would be well advised to work with your Vet on what is going to be best for your horses in your specific area.

A significant portion of horse owners have the benefit (and sometimes the dangers as well) of keeping horses near yearly on pasture. In West Texas and the desert Southwest, putting your horses on pasture is rarely an option. And if you own horses long enough you will see a case or two (or three or ten!) of sand colic.  I saw a lot of it when I ran a large public barn.  And, in my observation, the rates of colic increased when horses were fed straight alfalfa and consumed much of it of the ground.    

Sand colic of course is distress or even an impaction of the gut caused by the digestion of sand. If you want to get concerned about sand colic, goggle the term and look for x-rays and pictures of necropsies showing just how much sand a horse can accumulate in their gut. 

While for centuries, horses grazed off the ground, it has usually been plants and scrub. The tendency of a horse to pickup sand in his feed increases greatly when small alfalfa leaves or grain is dropped onto the ground and the horse cleans up every bit of it. Generally, horses can eat long stemmed forage, such as grasses off the ground without a problem, but feeders, and mats, that will contain the feed of the ground is generally safer.

I used to feed in tubs that were small enough where the horses would pull out their feed and distribute it on the ground, where they would pickup sand while cleaning up. As a preventative step, I used to routinely feed a wheat bran mash, usually mixed with Sand Clear - a pelleted psyllium supplement, to help remove sand from the gut. This also presented it's own issue with horses (some more than others) dropping mouthfuls of the mash onto the ground then cleaning it up digesting more sand. It was only when I went to using large box feeders, where the horses would drop very little feed outside of their feeder, where I could cease the routine feeding of bran mashes.

This is the evolving part of a feeding program for horses. As factors change, so does what and how you feed.  Many factors would influence changing types and amounts of feed- these are just of them:

~ As horses get older their dietary needs will change. We've kept horses rideable into their late twenties and even early thirties by adding judicious amounts senior type feed to ensure these great old horses obtained a healthier amount of vitamins, minerals and pro-biotics their aging bodies need.

~ Teeth issues, causing pain to chew or inability to chew food small enough is a big facto.  Older horses will generally have teeth problems.  And in fact, all horses can have teeth issues so nothing better than an annual exam and floating to eliminate teeth as an issue.  While you are at it, have a conversation with the Vet on what types of feed will benefit the changing health of the horse.

~ Changing sources of alfalfa and grass hay, with changing quality and nutritional value, will also likely move you to change your feedings. we feed a mix of alfalfa and grass hay and that ratio changes as we detect quality changes in the hays. First cut alfalfa, with it's normally rich leafy and higher protein values, direct us to feed less alfalfa and more grass.  While you can normally find a nearby asset to send feed samples to for diagnosis, the horse owner usually develops a feel for the feed quality through sight, touch and smell.
 
~ Several of our horses receive a periodic dose of pro-biotics and when we change alfalfa sources, all the horses get another dose even though we mix old and new alfalfas for 7-10 days. We also give them an out of cycle dose of Sand Clear as well.

I do routinely use Sand Clear. Some people have commented that it's expensive, but having a Vet respond to a colicing horse is more expensive. Horses are going to be different - some get along just fine without the intervention of added psyllium. I have three horses who get one scoop (5 ounces) of Sand Clear once a week. Nothing indicates that they digest much sand, but Sand Clear isn't just helpful to prevent sand colic, it's helpful to keeping a healthy gut. And two other horses get Sand Clear two to three times week depending upon the condition of their manure.

As a rough 'sand in the gut' check, You can collect five or six balls of manure that haven't touched the ground and put them into a mason jar.  Cover the balls of manure with water; shake the jar up, and let the sand settle to the bottom.  While I have done this dozens of times, I no longer bother to do.  I can usually judge by changes to the horse's manure piles on the ground.  Wet, partially formed manure can indicate sand in the gut. We have been able to keep two of our older horses pretty well balanced this way for years, and actually eliminated the periodic colicing of one of these horses when we first came to us.

My Vet runs a large stables and her practice is that all horses receive Sand Clear once a week. The fact that she recommends it should be good enough for most of her clients. I do still believe wheat bran has a place in the barn. A sloppy wheat bran mash with a bit of molasses (and I usually put in some corn oil) is a good way to get fluids and nutrition into a horse.

So to answer several questions over the past few months, and those from Katie and BL, I obviously recommend Sand Clear.  However, not all psyllium products are the same. I would be hesitant to use psyllium products intended or humans, and would not use any of these products that had artificial sweeteners added to make it palatable to humans. Metamucil for instance contains Aspartame. No human could consume Aspartame, and neither will my horses.

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. 

Lets Talk About West Nile Virus Again

We all should be pretty grateful for all the rain this year, breaking the drought in much of the affected areas, however with all the rain Texas and other western states have had this year so far, Mosquitos are a larger potential problem than in the recent past. And with Mosquitos come the threat of West Nile Virus, a viral disease transmitted from mosquitos to horses, and from mosquitos to people as well. Horses are pretty susceptible to West Nile, more so than people. Humans who are at risk are usually those who are already immunological weakened. There are still some misperceptions on West Nile such as "an infected horse can infect another horse", and no this is not the case. Only infected mosquitos can infect a horse.

West Nile attacks the nervous system and can cause brain and spinal infection or inflammation. A horse will appear to be drunk - lack of coordination in movement and loss of balance. Other symptoms can be: extreme lethargy; lack of appetite; and, dullness in the eye and other signs of depression such as head pressing on a stall wall or post.

There are other diseases, such as Encephalitis (Venezuelan, Eastern or Western) whose symptoms can mimic West Nile. Only with a blood test can you be sure, and then only supportive care for the symptoms can be done.

A few years ago, when I was running a large horse stables, a boarder brought in a horse and while in quarantine the horse started showing signs of lethargy, dullness, loss of appetite and severe loss of coordination and balance in movement - staggering when trying to turn around. A blood test confirmed West Nile. A week later the horse was pretty sound and was absent all symptoms, although the owner decided to sell the horse anyway. I found a buyer for him and transported the horse to a good home with several young boys who were even able to rope off of this horse.

There are several things a horse owner in a mosquito area can do to minimize risk to his horses. Even though I live in an area without mosquitos, I often trailer 15 miles away, close to the Rio Grande, where mosquitos are present, so the West Nile vaccination is part of my routine April or spring series of immunizations for my horses. In the first few years of the West Nile outbreak it was common for horses to receive an initial shot with a booster a few weeks later.

Taking care to drain or remove sources of stagnant water will help reduce breeding grounds for mosquitos. On most properties you would be amazed at the number of items capable of holding water that would attract mosquitos. Store empty buckets upside down. Open trash cans or dumpsters (without lids) could use a couple drain holes at the bottom to reduce collecting water. At the stables I managed years ago, I would spray insect killer on the manure pit, in-between dumpings, to help reduce chances of mosquitos. Fly spray, not insect killer, can help keep a horse protected as well, although I try to limit my use of fly spray on horses to a minimum. It seems that whenever I use fly spray I can't help but spray myself and go on about the day with the taste in my mouth. I guess that just goes along with me never being accused of having acute coordination.

Anyway, If you have any questions on whether you should vaccinate your horses against West Nile, talk to your Vet. Most Vet's would approach it from the side of caution and urge a West Nile vaccination, but it gives you peace of mind to inoculate your horses, even though the immunization won't keep your horse from getting West Nile, it just give him a better chance of making through the disease if he becomes symptomatic.

The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has reported West Nile present in Harris County (Houston) and Tarrant County (Dallas) and even El Paso County (El Paso) had a human death from West Nile, so it is not necessarily only the really humid areas, or areas close to water sources that are primarily the WNV threat areas.

The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA- APHIS) keeps track of animal diseases. The map below is the nationwide cases of West Nile Virus from last year. A complete list of counties in the U.S. where West Nile has been confirmed can be accessed here: