Spring Health

With the spring season hitting us in full bloom it is time to really start thinking about the health of your horse. Spring brings out the best in pastures but also brings out flying insects and flies, and the ugly word Mosquitoes. Getting your horses their spring shots is one of the most important issues a horse owner can tackle during this time of year. Every region is going to differ in the shots needed for this time of year but most veterinarians are going to recommend a coggins, west nile, rabies and either a four way or five way vaccine. Most four and five ways are going to include tetanus, EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis), WEE (Western Equine Encephalomyelitis), and influenza. Along with these recommended vaccines horse owners also need to pay special attention to internal and external parasites. With livestock animals and horses becoming immune to the wormers we have available today, we need to make sure we are worming correctly. Due to the unseasonably warm winter and spring we are having parasites are going to be out in full forces and we want to make sure our horses are protected. If you need more information on spring vaccines or help with worming issues please contact your local Extension Office. Also make sure you have a client, patient relationship with your local large animal veterinarian. If you do not have one, your local Extension Agent can help you find one. This information was obtained from the “Horse Industry Handbook”.

Written by Jared Harrell, Area Livestock Agent - Chowan, Gates & Perquimans Counties

Dystocia

Foaling Problems

Problems with the foaling process are termed dystocia. Dystocia can be catastrophic and costly through loss of the mare or her future fertility and/or loss of the foal. Parturition (foaling) occurs more rapidly in mares than in most other domestic species (minutes vs hours). The sooner dystocia is detected and corrected, the less chance of catastrophic results.

Causes of Foaling Problems

A common type of dystocia occurs when a front foot or the head is turned aside before the foal enters the birth canal, blocking the foal's passage. Signs of this may be obvious, subtle or sometimes impossible to detect. In this situation, an experienced veterinarian or an "equine midwife" (a person who has assisted at many mare foalings) can be invaluable. If the dystocia is quickly detected and the diverted foot or head is redirected into the birth canal, the foaling proceeds normally. However, if the problem is not detected or corrected and the mare continues in her attempts to expel the foal, the dystocia becomes more dangerous for both mare and foal.
The second type of dystocia involves some abnormality, such as abnormal presentation of the foal (such as the back appearing at the birth canal), an abnormally large foal, a deformed foal, an abnormal birth canal (such as scarring or a bony abnormality), or some other abnormality in the mare (such as ventral hernia or uterine torsion).

Signs of Dystocia

In a normal foaling, the mare's uterine contractions cause the fluid-filled chorioallantoic sac to rupture ("breaking water"), after which the foal's front feet appear in the birth canal. Mares usually then lie down and begin contractions that expel the foal within about 15 minutes. Most mares pass the placenta within an hour after foaling; the placenta is considered retained if it has not passed within 3 hours. Save the placenta in a cool place for examination; do not allow access by dogs or other animals.
There are 3 important signs that foaling is not proceeding normally after breaking water. Remember that the foaling process in mares is a rapid event and that any problems that require intervention need to happen in a timely manner. Observation of any of the following signs, means veterinary assistance is required. If waiting for your veterinarian to arrive, unless instructed otherwise by your veterinarian, get the mare up and walking, as this will slow the uterine contractions. If the mare is to be transported to an equine hospital, have your truck and trailer ready to go in advance.
More than 15 minutes have elapsed since the mare has broken water, but the foal has not yet been delivered.
The mare is in hard labor for an extended period of time and no progress is made.
Only one leg is protruding from the vulva, and no more of the foal has appeared over the past 15 minutes.
The mare has not broken water, but a crimson mass appears at the vulva. This is the entire placenta being passed with the foal. The placenta must be quickly cut open so foaling can proceed and the foal can breath oxygen.

Considerations in Correcting Dystocia

Viability of the foal:
A normal foal can remain alive for up to 60 minutes after the water breaks. However, remember that an abnormal or already dead foal causes most dystocias.
Alternative treatments:
Your veterinarian will usually attempt to manually correct a dystocia for several minutes before considering another approach. These subsequent approaches depend on how long the dystocia has been present, whether or not the fetus is alive, the prognosis for the mare's survival, the prognosis for the mare's fertility, and the time it takes to accomplish the procedure.
The following is a list of some of the common alternative approaches, whenever your veterinarian must resort to any of these procedure, the risk to both mare and foal increases substantially:
General anesthesia:
After rapid intravenous infusion of an anesthetic, the mare's hind legs are lifted using hobbles, rope and a block and tackle. The foal can then be more easily repelled back into the uterus, repositioned and possibly delivered. It may be appropriate for you to prepare for this sometimes life-saving procedure by having hobbles, ropes and a block and tackle available, or a front-end loader will be needed to lift the mare.
Fetotomy:
If the fetus is dead, it may be necessary to surgically remove part of the dead fetus (fetotomy) to allow passage through the birth canal.
Cesarean section:
Cesarean section involves removal of the foal through a surgical incision in the mare's abdomen. This is a major surgical procedure. This procedure requires rapid action at a surgical facility that can mobilize quickly for such an operation.
Post Foaling Complications:
I recommend that all mares and their foals receive a post foaling examination and that you consult your veterinarian in advance as to the timing of this exam.
The mare that retains its placenta must be monitored for passage of the placenta, and then treated appropriately to prevent complications. Call your veterinarian should you have a retained placenta, as this can be dangerous situation for your mare. Additionally all mares must be observed for such complications as rupture of an internal artery, large colon torsion and laminitis. Continued sweating, reduced interest in the foal, and persistent colic indicate a problem in the mare. Mild colic from uterine contractions is normal after foaling, but not severe or persistent colic. The mare may be normal just after foaling but then may begin to sweat and show colic. Hot feet and constant shifting of weight, usually beginning 24 hours after foaling or later, indicate laminitis.
If you have any questions concerning foaling and foaling problems you should consult with your veterinarian. If you know in advance that you are not prepared to handle the possibility of a foaling emergency, you should talk to your veterinarian about options for having the mare deliver her foal in a foaling facility that is equipped to handle these situations.

Article provided by : Equine Medical Service 7888 Kremers Lane Laporte, CO 80535
For the full article please see : http://emsvet.com/newsletters/reproduction/foaling-problems.html

Laura Martin
Wake County Livestock Agent
laura_martin@ncsu.edu
919-250-1096

Does Bermudagrass Hay Cause Colic in Horses?

This is one of the long debated topics among horse owners and equine veterinarians in the Southeast for the last several years. The problem is that after years of debate, as well as a few research trials that have attempted to answer this question, we still do not have a definitive answer to this age-old question. Despite not having a clear-cut answer, we do know a few things about Bermuda hay and impaction colics.

·        The type of colic associated with bermudagrass is an ileocecal colic, which is difficult to treat but not very commonly seen (as far as colics go).

·        Water intake (or more specifically lack thereof) is directly related to this type of colic. So for horses that have restricted access to water, or are slow to drink due to weather conditions, this compounds the chance of colic greatly.

·        Bermudagrass hay, no matter how high the quality, is not as easily digestible as Timothy or good Alfalfa.

·        Horses that are suddenly switched to a mature Bermuda hay from green forage or a timothy-type hay are much more prone to colic-type problems than ones that are gradually introduced.

Finally, the biggest factor that is associated with Bermuda colic is the level of maturity of the grass at harvest. While other factors such as the presence of mold and weeds will affect the quality of hay, the maturity level tends to be the major deciding factor with associated colics. The more mature a bermudagrass plant is at harvest, the lower the digestibility the resulting hay will have. To try to put a value on this, you will need a full analysis of the hay in question. The ADF value (acid detergent fiber) measures the digestibility of the hay. Hays with values  below 35% are considered very digestible, while hays with ADF values above 35% are going to be less digestible, and more prone to cause problems.

 So what does this mean to the average horse owner who is feeding Bermuda hay? In a nutshell, if your horse(s) have been on Bermuda hay for more than a few weeks and has never experienced any type of impaction colic, you should at least feel that your horse can probably handle Bermuda hay barring an unforeseen issue. On the other hand, if you have a horse that has had some colic problems in the past, and is not a big drinker, you probably would do well to keep a close watch on them and pay attention to your hay quality. Below is a guideline for things to watch for;

·        Make sure the hay you are buying is relatively “young” hay, or is  “horse” quality A hay analysis can help you determine this (measuring the ADF values mentioned above), but so can an experienced eye when the time comes to purchase your hay for the winter.

·        Use common sense and proper management when introducing a newly purchased or boarded horse onto Bermuda hay. Don’t allow horses to gorge themselves on Bermuda hay the first few times they are fed it.

·        Make sure they are getting proper water intake.

·        Finally, if you know a particular horse is prone to colic, keeping that horse on a timothy or alfalfa mixture may be cheaper in the long run than a colic surgery.

So while no clear answers are to be had for the question of does Bermuda hay cause colics, it is clear than some horse will be easier to manage on Bermuda than others. 

Written by Randy Wood, County Extension Director and Livestock Agent, Scotland County

(with excerpts from Dr. Bob Mowrey, NCSU Animal Science)

Getting Ready for Pasture Fertilization

After a winter of feeding hay, horses and horse owners are looking forward to seeing green grass. Make plans now for getting the most out of your horse pasture this year. Your pasture grass species may vary by location, but most folks in Eastern North Carolina have warm-season grass pastures. With warmer and longer days, these grasses will soon be breaking dormancy and starting to grow. It’s important to be ready to supply nutrients to these growing plants.

I cannot stress enough that pasture management absolutely must start with a soil sample. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will conduct routine soil samples for free, so this will only cost you the time it takes to collect the sample. But the information gained can save you a lot of money.

Taking the soil sample needs to be done carefully. Use a plastic (not metal) bucket and a stainless steel or chrome plated collection tool. Identify the areas you wish to sample, paying careful attention to soil type, terrain, and the type of grass on the area being sampled. If there is a different species of grass, you will need a separate sample, because the recommendations you will be given are for the soil and the crop. Differing soil types should be sampled separately as well, because their needs will vary also. The rule of thumb is, if the area is large enough to be managed separately (liming, fertilizing, grazing) then it should be sampled separately. Once you’ve identified the area to sample, collect 15-20 cores from a random pattern all across the sample area. Put those cores in the bucket, stir them together to break up clods, and fill the sample box with the mixture. When collecting cores, avoid odd areas like old burn piles, hay-feeding areas, or obvious manure pats as these will give you inaccurate results. Sample boxes and soil test information forms are available at all county Extension offices.

The bad news about soil sampling is that the lab gets really busy in winter time with farmers who have submitted samples from their fields after harvesting last year’s crop. The current estimated turnaround time for soil samples is five weeks, so if you haven’t sampled, it will be at least that long before you can expect results. The alternative is to use a private lab, which will cost you somewhere in the range of $6-10 per sample, but should offer your results in about a week.

Once you have soil test results, the most important thing you can do is to apply any necessary lime. Lime corrects the pH of the soil. Our soils in NC become more acidic over time, and lime brings the pH back up closer to neutral. If the pH of your soil is low, then your crop, including a pasture crop, will not use any fertilizer you apply as effectively or efficiently. Lime can be applied any time of year to pastures, but takes a few months to start correcting the acidity.

So, if your pH has been corrected or was OK to begin with, now how about fertilizer? Again, those recommendations will be made in a soil test report based on your soil and the species of grass you are growing. The three major plant nutrients are Nitrogen (N) Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K.) Of these three, P and K can “build up” in your soils over the years by applying them in some form. If the levels of these nutrients in your soils (as well as some other nutrients like Sulfur) are high enough, then there will not be a plant response to any additional supply of these nutrients supplied in fertilizer. So if you are using a “complete” fertilizer such as 19-19-19, and have high P and K indexes in your soil, you are wasting money in this instance because two of the nutrients that fertilizer is supplying are not needed. My point in saying all this is that having a soil sample is the only way to know exactly what you need or don’t need for fertilizer.

So be prepared when grass breaks dormancy to apply needed fertilizer and get a jump on plant growth. For bermudagrass, which is our most common pasture grass, Nitrogen should be split into 3 equal applications in April, June and mid-July. Phosphorous can be applied along with the first fertilizing, and Potassium is best split into a spring and summer application. Remember that in grazing situations a lot of nutrient is returned to the soil by the animal’s urine and feces, so Nitrogen rates can be reduced by 25-50%, depending on how grazing is managed, and particularly on how uniformly the urine and feces are distributed across the pasture.

For more information on managing pastures for horses, contact your local Cooperative Extension office. You can find your local office’s information by visiting this link and clicking on your county. http://johnston.ces.ncsu.edu/index.php?page=countycenters