2010 Archives

Several State Departments of Agriculture have issued letters stating that any horse shipping to a racetrack and/or training facilities in the state must have a certificate showing it is negative for equine piroplasmosis.

Equine piroplasmosis and Potomac horse fever.

Going green on your horse farm is not difficult or expensive. You may already be doing environmentally friendly methods of horse-keeping and just need to make some adjustments.

Any farm that houses animals in the state of Pennsylvania will have to have a written Manure Management Plan, meeting the guidelines provided in the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Manure Management Manual.

Rain rot or rain scald, is caused by bacteria and often is mistaken for a fungal disease. The bacteria live in the outer layer of skin and cause pinpoint to large, crusty scabs to form.

Recently fallen leaves are dense and can compact in the horse’s digestive system and cause compaction colic.

The framework will provide the basic tenets of an improved animal disease traceability capability in the United States.

Signs of WNV in horses include ataxia, weakness of the hind limbs, laying down, muscle tremors, convulsions, and coma. Diagnosis is typically achieved by one or more blood tests and by ruling out other causes of neurologic disease.

The important arthropod pests of horses are flies, gnats, mosquitoes, bots, lice, ticks, mites and blister beetles.

The primary toxin, galitoxin, is found in all vegetative parts of the plant. In addition, a group of toxicants known as cardenolides may be responsible for digitalis-like signs that cause or contribute to death.

The average horse will intake 5 to 10 gallons of fresh water per day. Water consumption is extremely important in the digestive process to avoid colic impaction, dehydration and other life threatening ailments.

Finally, winter has released its grasp and it is time to enjoy the spring time weather. The harsh winter made horse ownership a challenge and just as the horse owner thinks the worse is over a new problem develops...TICKS.

The problem for the horse owner is the challenge of controlling the amount of consumption of the green grass when returning the horse to grazing. When the horse’s metabolism is not accustomed to the lush forage dramatic side effects can occur.

The pasture management techniques outlined below can be used to help you maintain healthy, productive pastures for your horses.

Proper pasture management leads to high quality, productive pastures that can supply excellent nutrition for horses. Pasture management can be a challenge because of continually changing environmental conditions and fluctuations in horse populations on farms.

Some livestock parasite populations have developed to be increasingly resistant to the drugs.

The lactating broodmare is one of the hardest working class of horses to feed. The wet mare’s nutrient requirements are greatly influenced by the amount of milk produced to supply the nutrient needs of the foal. Milk yields range from two to three percent of the mare’s body weight per day, so it can be easily seen that nutrient needs are greatly increased.

Omega 3 study results on stallion fertility and broodmares.

The success of any breeding program depends partially on correct nutritional management of broodmares.

Today’s horse owner provides adequate training for horse and rider, proper equipment, balanced nutritional needs of the horse, and stabling facilities. Missing is fire prevention and the course of action to take in case of fire. We receive the best available instruction in equitation, but few have any idea of how to react in a disaster situation such as fire.