Horse Coat Colors

Coat color in horses is an interesting and complicated topic.  To begin, it is best to review some basic genetics terms.  The phenotype refers to the characteristics of an animal that can be seen or measured such as color, birth weight, etc.  Genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an animal.  A dominant gene is expressed when carried by only one of a pair of chromosomes.  A recessive gene is expressed in the absence of the dominant gene.  In horses, the black color is dominant and represented by E while chestnut is recessive and represented by e.  A black horse will have EE or Ee while a chestnut horse will have ee.  Homozygous refers to having the same genes for a particular trait (EE or ee) and heterozygous refers to having different genes for a particular trait (Ee). 

The base coat color of any horse may be either black with a genotype of EE or Ee or chestnut (sorrel) with a genotype of ee.  So why are there horses of many colors?   There are diluting genes that restrict or dilute the base coat color.  Some examples include the bay or agouti gene, dun gene, champagne gene, and pearl gene.  For example, the bay gene restricts the black color to the legs, ear rims, mane and tail.  Other color modifications include the grey gene, roan gene, white gene, tobiano, overo, sabino, and  appaloosa.  Horses will have a pair of genes for every color gene.  So a chestnut horse would have the color genotype of ee dd CC gg ww zz toto oo lplp rnrn.

See the full article from Alabama Cooperative Extension at Basic Horse Genetics to learn more on coat color genetics.

Some other references for coat color include the American Quarter Horse Association which has a Color and Markings Reference Chart and a Color Coat Genetic Book that has great pictures and descriptions of coat colors.  eXtension has a lesson with Color Descriptions.

Fire Safety in Horse Barns

     A recent tragedy has prompted me to write on this topic.  A recent horse barn fire claimed three horses and a heifer.  This happened in a barn that has had no problems before, but, as the news reports stated, it only took a spark from burning some trash nearby to cause the total loss of the barn, equipment, and the horses.

     According to fire experts, fires in horse barns spread very rapidly and cause a great amount of damage in a very short time.  That make sense when one considers what is usually found in a horse barn.  Just about everything is combustible, including the bedding, the hay, the materials that the stalls and barn are made of, down to the dust that tends to collect on most surfaces, including the spider webs in the corners and on light fixtures.

     When a fire starts in a stall, there is very little time to react and get the horse in that stall to safety without sustaining some type of injury.  It only takes two to three minutes for a straw fire to burn an area 10 feet in diameter.  By the time the fire is four feet in diameter, the horse will have suffered injury; by 6 feet, there will be lung damage, and it only gets worse from there.

     The Penn State Cooperative Extension Service has a comprehensive document that reviews fire safety in horse stables and makes specific recommendations that horse barn owners should consider when building a new facility or working in and managing an existing barn.  The web address for that publication is extension.psu.edu/pubs/ub034.  This link will open a pdf document, so wait a bit before navigating away thinking nothing is happening.

     Horse barn owners should do everything possible to prevent fires, and most do a good job of this.  Here is a summary of things to consider in your horse barn:

·      Store hay and bedding in a separate building from the horse stable.

·      Minimize fuel and ignition sources in and around the barn. Be sure to store and dispose of combustible materials properly.

·      Keeping the barn neat and clean has aesthetic appeal, will minimize the risk of fire, and increase the chances of escape during a fire.

·      Post and enforce a No Smoking policy.

·      Be sure that the facility is accessible to emergency vehicles and that the ground around the buildings is sturdy enough to support them.  Fire trucks weigh in excess of 40,000 pounds.

·      An effective tool for preventing fire spread is to separate the buildings.

·      All barns should be outfitted with a lightening protection system and inspected regularly. Only certified professionals should install and inspect the lightning protection system.

·      Having multiple water hydrants around the barn will give more options for early fire suppression.

·      Know where additional water sources (e.g., ponds) can be located.

·      Have at least one charged and mounted ABC-type fire extinguisher every 50 feet.

·      Be sure wiring and all electrical equipment is rated for agricultural use, is in working condition, is free of dust and cobwebs, and is housed in PVC conduit. Wires with UF-B ratings are preferable.

·      Design stalls with two exits that open into a secure, enclosed area and be sure that any swinging doors do not obstruct pathways.

·      Have halters and lead ropes easily accessible on stall doors.

·      Post written emergency information at each phone. This information should include written directions to the facility and a list of commonly kept combustibles.

·      Post and practice evacuation routes.

IN CASE OF FIRE, do these things:

1. Remain calm

2. Survey the scene

3. Call 911 or Fire Department

4. Evacuate.

     There just won’t be much time to get animals and equipment out of the barn in the event of a fire, unless the barn is designed to minimize fire damage and there are not many combustibles in the barn.  A lot of the early warning devices are not designed to work in a horse facility, or other agricultural buildings.  Use the best recommended warning devices in horse barns.  Each type has some drawbacks.

     Again, check out the Penn State publication for a more in-depth review of how barn fires can start and ways to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Planning for Emergencies

Photo courtesy of USRider

Do you have a plan in place for your horse in an emergency situation?  An emergency could include a severe injury, colic, foaling issue, trailer accident, horse being stuck or stolen, fire, etc.

Being prepared for emergencies could potentially save your horse's life.  Here are a couple of ways that you can be better prepared for an emergency:

• Know your horse's temperature, pulse, and respiration- this comes in handy to know what is normal and what is not for your horse when it comes to an emergency.
• Further your personal knowledge about horses by reading accredited articles, speaking with your veterinarian, and attending educational courses by your local Extension service, regional veterinary college, or other educational organizations.
• Develop a neighborhood watch program.  Make sure your neighbors have your contact information and see if they wouldn't mind keeping an eye on your horse while you are at work or away.  Just knowing how many horses you have and where they are kept will help in an emergency situation. 
• Know your veterinarian.  Be sure to know who the after hour emergency veterinarians are and their contact information.  Discuss with your veterinarian how to best handle emergencies with your horse and their veterinarian practice.
•  Know your regional equine referral hospital.  Make sure you know the location and their contact information in case you need to take your horse directly there for an emergency.
• Time is of the essence in an emergency- try to get your horse to the veterinarian within three hours of discovery for best possible results.  Don't ever sit around waiting to see what happens, get medical treatment right away, it could potentially save your horse's life and overall costs.
• Have your truck and trailer ready at all times.  You never know when an emergency is going to happen and your truck and trailer both need to be ready to haul your horse in any situation.  Make sure your trailer is safe and reliable.  It is also crucial that your horse will load on command, remember time is very important in emergencies and if your horse does not want to load, that can become even more stressful on the situation.
• Know your county animal rescue team (CART).  Participate in their emergency planning and become knowledgeable about horses and disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, trailer accidents, etc).
• Develop your own emergency plan for your horse, barn, and farm.  Have the steps written for each scenario such as a fire, colic, or a natural disaster.  Prepare an emergency contact list to have posted in your barn and for nearby neighbors that may be watching your horses for you.  Be sure to have your horse's paperwork handy in a notebook or other organized filing system (vaccine record, coggins, registration papers, etc).  It is also a good idea to have a horse first aid kit in your trailer and barn for emergencies.

Example of a horse first aid kit

Bottom line is that you can never be too prepared for an emergency.  Planning for an emergency and understanding horses in an emergency situation could potentially save your horse's life one day.  Educate yourself and prepare!

For more information, please visit Emergencies and Your Horse: Where and what to know by Richard A. Mansmann, VMD, PhD

Sensitive Skin in Horses

Horse owners oftentimes call our Extension office for advice on how to treat skin problems in horses.  They may have one horse out of the entire herd that will have big welts or bumps all over the body.  We usually get these calls in the spring and summer time.  This is because horses are normally more active during the summer, exposed to more sunlight, and insects are vigorous at this time.  There are many issues that can cause skin sensitivity in horses, but the most important thing is to find out the cause before starting treatment.  It is a good idea to pay attention to a horse’s skin and coat as you would any other aspect of the horse’s appearance.  Identifying problems early allows you to catch them before they have progressed to a state where treatment is more difficult.

Some skin problems affect specific breeds, ages, and colors of horses.  Different breeds are predisposed to specific skin problems, either indirectly through breed characteristics like color, or directly through genetics such as HERDA from the Poco Bueno cutting discipline line causing skin stretching and lesion issues. Another example is Cushing’s disease, which causes shedding issues in several pony breeds.  Young horses tend to get warts on their face that will eventually go away with age.  Other issues occur across the board such as Rain rot.  It is a bacterial infection of the skin and appears as crusts with hair loss.  Equine Ringworm is a contagious skin disease, which is caused by a fungus.  Girth itch is a fungal infection of the skin under the saddle and is commonly spread by infected tack.  Saddle sores are a common problem in summer and are usually seen in horses ridden with improperly fitting tack or poor riding technique.  Sometimes a thicker saddle pad is needed or simply sitting up straight instead of leaning forward can correct these problems.

In the Southeast, sunburn is a common problem in non-pigmented skin because of more intense UV light.  High SPF sunscreens, applied and reapplied as needed, can help protect areas that burn.  Some fly sprays provide SPF protection.  Fly masks and sheets may offer additional protection.  Different from simple sunburn is photosensitization, meaning hypersensitivity to sunlight.  Photosensitization appears as severely damaged areas of pink (non-pigmented) skin.  This problem occurs because of the presence of photoactive plant pigments in the skin which, when contacted by UV light, change to a form that damages the skin.  Secondary photosensitization relates to liver dysfunction.  A healthy liver is critical to the breakdown of plant pigments found in all plants.  When the liver does not function properly, these pigments reach high levels in the blood and skin.  The pigments then react to UV light and damage the skin. 

Flies and mosquitoes can be a big problem during summer months.  Even though insects irritate all horses, some are more sensitive than others and develop allergies, with significant breed and individual differences.  For example, Thoroughbred horses tend to be more sensitive to flies than some of the “thicker skinned” breeds.  Culicoides hypersensitivity is an allergic skin disease caused by hypersensitivity to the night biting midge Culicoides.  They are small black flies that are also known as  “no-see-ums.”  They are mostly active at night and can cause the horse to get hives.  Steroids and antihistamines are sometimes used for treatment of severe outbreaks.  To control flies, it is important to remove manure and other waste promptly during fly season.  

Pigeon Fever (also known as Pigeon Breast or Dryland Distemper) is an infection caused by a bacterial organism that is transmitted by stable flies.  The bacteria are carried by the blood stream deeper into the tissues and local lymph nodes, where they cause abscess formation.  The disease is called pigeon fever because horses with abscesses of the chest can have a huge protruding chest, like a pigeon. 

Information adapted by an article written by Douglas O. Thal, DVM.  For more information about skin issues and other disease please see:  http://thalequine.com/articles-client-handouts-and-newsletters-for-horse-owners-by-dr-thal/

Managing Overseeded Rye in the Spring

Horse farms around the Southeast look forward to this time of year. The cold winter days are  quickly getting behind us, and our pastures are starting to green up with rye as your horses are waiting to be let out each morning to go and graze. The downside of this time of year is that rye, for all the aesthetic beauty that it gives not to mention the additional grazing days it allows for this time of year is a very difficult forage to manage. Rye will go from barely growing the entire winter to growing so fast your horses will not be able to keep up with it in about a weeks time. No other forage reacts faster to longer day length and a few 60 degree days than rye.  Livestock owners always ask how they can manage this forage this time of year? There is a fine line between keeping it grazed or mowed down so it does not get too mature too quickly and not grazing it so low you kill it too early in the spring. Here are a few tips for trying to get a handle on managing rye pastures in early spring;

Graze on-Graze off

  Rye will give you 3-4 grazings as long as you can keep it between 2” to 6” this time of year. If you graze it all the way down to the soil the plant probably will not be able to recover in time to regrow enough to graze it again. On the other hand, if you let it get above 6 inches it will start to get tough and “stemmy” and horses will try to graze around it in favor of more tender forage. This little management tip is much easier said than done. You are way better off to graze across a paddock with several horses over a few days than 1-2 horses over a period of a couple of weeks. Of course most horse farms are not able to manage their paddocks this way. Another way to do this is to use temporary electric wire (polywire or polytape) and temporary posts and cut your paddocks up into much smaller grazing  sections. Moving the wire every 2-3 days forces them to graze more uniformly across the rye stand and allows you to schedule recovery time the grass receives between grazings.

When to accept the inevitable

  Annual Rye is in fact an annual, meaning that it will die at the end of spring. As big a service as it does for us in February-April, it quickly wears out its welcome. In mid to late April bermuda grass is struggling to come out of winter dormancy under the rye that is still standing. The longer the rye is allowed to stand and steal much needed sunlight from the infant bermuda the longer this transition will be stretched out.  By late April, the surviving rye has got to go. If you can still get your horses to graze it, then let them graze it as low as they can. If the rye has gotten too mature and has put on a seedhead, then mowing it with a bushhog as low to the ground as possible is the best way to deal with it.

Always remember there is no perfect schedule for managing rye in the spring. No two years are the same. Paying attention to your pastures and trying to be as proactive as possible are your best tools.

Written by Randy Wood