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Spring and Summer Horse Health Tips

Thursday, April 11th, 2024

Spring and Summer Horse Health Tips

Spring and Summer Horse Health Tips

Our experts have gotten together to provide some information and tips on how to keep your horse healthy and comfortable in the ever-changing seasons. When spring and summer arrive, so do hot temperatures! You can’t forget the new plants, allergies, insects, and pests.

Here are a few compiled some tidbits to help you avoid some complications:

  • In the spring and early summer, make the transition from hay to pasture feeding slowly. While spring sprouts are lower in sugar and starch, horses crave fresh and will overeat which is especially dangerous to overweight horses, or those that have experienced insulin-resistant laminitis.
  • It is very important to maintain regular vaccinations, deworming, and dental exams. Check with your veterinarian about seasonal vaccinations. Keep a detailed calendar of when your horse needs to be wormed. Also checking with your vet or equine dentist to establish a regular float schedule is very important to your horse’s health.
  • Always make sure there is fresh, clean, ample supply of water. Different things will affect the amount of water your horse needs including outside temperature, workload, feed, size, and health.

We hope you have learned some useful tips about spring and summer horse health. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our store!

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Your Horse: Avoid Being Felled by Fall Founder

Saturday, November 11th, 2023

Avoid Being Felled by Fall FounderYour Horse: Avoid Being Felled by Fall Founder: If you’ve been involved with horses for any length of time, you’re no stranger to the anguish caused by laminitis. You may be aware of common causes of founder. For example: grain overload, endocrine disturbances, and overloading of supporting limbs, there’s one you may overlook: fall grazing.

Spring pastures contain high levels of sugar that can induce a bout of laminitis. However, a feeding frenzy in the fall could have the same effect.

Fall Founder:

“Some rain and a late-summer heatwave, especially after a long, dry summer, can cause pastures to have a growth spurt similar to what happens in the spring. These pastures can have high water-soluble carbohydrate levels, including both sugar and fructan, that may induce laminitis,” explained Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a Kentucky Equine Research nutrition advisor. “Fall founder can also occur following the first frost.”

Cool-season forages such as tall fescue continue to grow late in the year, posing a risk for any horse or pony predisposed to developing laminitis. Further, cool-season grasses often experience a dramatic increase in sugar content after a frost.

“Grazing muzzles must be used for at-risk horses even in the fall to avoid pasture-associated laminitis,” Whitehouse said.

Management:

Using a research-proven buffer such as EquiShure will help minimize changes in hindgut pH, thereby stabilizing the intestinal microbiome.

Laminitis remains one of the most common reasons for euthanasia of horses. Above all, direct efforts at hoof health regardless of the season. One study* reports reasons related to euthanasia were attributed to disease stage, severity, and progression. For example, persistent lameness following a recent bout of laminitis commonly prompted owners to elect humane euthanasia.  A horse had a slow recovery from a laminitic episode. Some owners perceived their horses were at risk for future episodes and chose to euthanize.

“Owners were also more likely to elect humane euthanasia if slow recovery necessitated prolonged periods of time in a stall. Owners believed extended stall rest would negatively affect their horse’s psychological well-being and quality of life,” added Whitehouse.

Horses that have recovered from laminitis may benefit from a well-rounded hoof supplement. “Kentucky Equine Research offers high-quality products that include nutrients necessary for growth of strong, resilient hooves, such as biotin, zinc, methionine, and iodine,” shared Whitehouse.

In conclusion, do you have a specific question about your horse’s  health or diet? Visit Kissimmee Valley Feed today to check out our horse feed, hay and supplies!

Article Source: Kentucky Equine Research

*Pollard, D., C.E. Wylie, J.R. Newton, and K.L.P. Verheyen. 2020. Factors associated with euthanasia in horses and ponies enrolled in a laminitis cohort study in Great Britain. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 174:104833.

 

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Basics of Electrolytes for Horses

Monday, July 10th, 2023

Basics of Electrolytes for HorsesLet’s face it, the summer heat takes its toll…know the basics of electrolytes for horses to protect them! Based on the article, horses use their sweat to regulate their body temperature. Equine sweat is more concentrated with salt (sodium and chloride) than other body fluids. In result, horses lose a tremendous amount of electrolytes during these harsh, hot summer months. So what exactly are electrolytes? They help the body regulate water levels to maintain a balance between dilution and dehydration. There are five major electrolytes. These include sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Understanding how each one affects your horse is vital.

  1. Sodium and Chloride: These two play a factor in maintaining blood volume. They are the first to be released when a horse sweats. Imagine Sodium and Chloride as partners. Sodium leaves the body in sweat first, then water follows.
  2. Potassium: This is one of the most important electrolytes to your horse. It is required for muscle contraction and relaxation. Some horses require more or less than others in their diet but it is still present in a healthy horse.
  3. Calcium: This is essential for muscle function. Without this electrolyte, your horse’s body will break down and become weak.
  4. Magnesium: This is a vital component of body fluids.

Maintaining a balance between these can be tricky. Giving a dehydrated horse concentrated electrolytes can actually worsen conditions. But don’t worry, we have a solution! For starters, all horses should have free-choice access to loose salt or a salt block. Good-quality forage should provide adequate potassium. Together, these feedstuffs should provide sufficient electrolytes for the average horse. For any additional information, see the whole article here.

Presented by Kentucky Equine Research

 

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Signs of a Healthy Foal

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

Signs of a Healthy Foal: photo of a spotted foal in a meadowSigns of a Healthy Foal: Chances are your foal will sail through the baby stage with flying colors, especially if it’s normal at birth and good management practices are in place at your farm. However, even under the best circumstances, it’s possible that your youngster could fall prey to one or more problems that can affect foals. How does a healthy newborn foal appear?

Healthy newborn foals should:

  • Assume a sternal position (be able to sit up on his chest) within minutes of delivery.
  • Breathe easily, slowing from an initial high of about 70 breaths per minute to 40 to 60 minutes within 15 minutes of birth.
  • Have red or at least pink mucous membranes, indicating adequate oxygen is reaching the tissues.
  • Display a strong suckle reflex within two to 20 minutes of birth.
  • Appear alert and display an affinity for the dam.
  • Be able to stand within two hours and nurse within three hours.

If your foal fails to meet these criteria, he may already be suffering from a serious condition and needs the prompt attention of a veterinarian. Good observation coupled with prompt action gives you the best opportunity to help your foal avoid a setback.

Make every effort to maximize the chances of your foal’s continued good health. These good management practices can make the difference between a healthy foal and a sick one:

  • A well-ventilated, clean foaling environment.
  • Good farm and stable hygiene and parasite control.
  • Sound nutrition, current vaccinations and regular deworming of all equine residents.
  • Plenty of fresh air and room to exercise for the foal as well as commencement of a regular vaccination and deworming program.

Our Foal Health Watch Guide describes signs of a variety of common ailments that can occur during the first 6 months of a foal’s life. In most cases, even if the problem is not life-threatening, you will still want your veterinarian to confirm the diagnosis and direct you in the most effective treatment. Please keep in mind this guide lists signs that are frequently observed with certain foal disorders, but not all foals display the same signs or to the same degree. A foal’s condition can deteriorate very rapidly, so don’t wait until your sick baby shows all the signs before acting and calling your veterinarian.

Learn more about Foal Health from Nutrena.

Visit Kissimmee Valley Feed to purchase horse feed and optimize you horse’s health!

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Seasonal Diet Changes for Horses

Tuesday, November 8th, 2022

Seasonal Diet Changes for HorsesSeasonal Diet Changes for Horses: Pasture quality fluctuates with every season, but the shift in quality from summer to fall is significant.

During the fall, there are often warm, sunny days and cool nights. Pasture plants manufacture sugars in the presence of water, carbon dioxide and sunshine. They then use those sugars to fuel growth during the night. However, when nighttime temperatures drop in the autumn, it becomes too chilly for plants to grow and the sugars are stored for later use.  This leads to a concentration of stored sugars in the plants. In turn, it may increase the risk of digestive upset or laminitis in some horses.

Horses at most risk are those that are significantly overweight or those that have trouble managing normal blood sugar levels and are sensitive to sugar content in the diet.

Changing seasons also mean drastic swings in weather conditions and temperatures.  This, combined with a major diet adjustment of moving from pasture to hay, can increase the chance of digestive disturbances.

While not scientifically proven, many horse owners and veterinarians have experienced what appears to be an association between changes in barometric pressure and the incidence of colic episodes in horses. A dramatic drop in temperature often causes horses to drink less water. At the same time, horse owners will often increase the amount of hay fed to help horses stay warm.  More hay and less water consumption together may lead to impaction colic.

Hay:

As we move into fall and winter, hay becomes the major forage source for many horses.  Switching from pasture to hay or getting a new supply of hay represents as big a change to the horse as a change in grain. These significant dietary adjustments should ideally be made gradually to decrease the risk of digestive upset.

Horses should be fed good-quality hay to maximize nutrition and minimize potential digestive problems. Good-quality hay, of any variety, will be clean and have a high leaf-to-stem ratio, small-diameter stems. In addition, few seed heads or blooms, a fresh smell and appearance, and a bright color (faded, yellow or brown color may indicate aged hay or poor storage conditions). The maturity of the plant at harvest determines the hay quality more than any other factor. Young, leafy, immature plants contain more protein, energy, and minerals than older plants with thicker stems.  Also, as a plant matures, it contains more indigestible fiber (lignin). This reduces nutrient availability. Lower-quality hay must be supplemented with higher-quality feed to maintain horses’ good condition and health.

Fall is a season of transition and an important time to evaluate the quality of forage available for your horse and whether the grain ration is appropriate and adequate to meet your horse’s nutrient requirements. When winter arrives, horses must be in good condition to be able to withstand colder temperatures. Adjusting grain rations in the early fall will prevent weight loss due to lower-quality forage and, if horses need to gain weight, there is still time for a thinner horse to gain some before the cold weather really sets in.

For help dealing with Seasonal Diet Changes for Horses, visit Kissimmee Valley Feed!

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