Horse Nutrition

Please find basic nutrition information for feeding horses at the link below.

https://extension.psu.edu/feeding-horses

My Horse University is offering several self paced free courses.  You can learn about biosecurity, purchasing and owning a horse, trail riding, the labor force, and youth safety.  Please go to the link below for more information.


https://www.myhorseuniversity.com/freecourses

Troxler encourages horse owners to vaccinate against mosquito-borne diseases and rabies

Troxler encourages horse owners to vaccinate against

mosquito-borne diseases and rabies

Mosquito-borne diseases can be deadly to horses, donkeys, mules

RALEIGH – Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging horse owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus.

“April until November is prime mosquito-breeding season in North Carolina and when horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,” Troxler said. “EEE is fatal 90 percent of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30 percent. Both diseases are preventable by vaccination.”

Last year, North Carolina saw its first case of EEE in July. There were seven recorded cases of EEE and five cases of WNV in horses in North Carolina in 2018, but the mild winter could cause that number to go up this year, State Veterinarian Doug Meckes said. Meckes recommends that equine owners talk to their veterinarians about an effective vaccination protocol to protect horses from mosquito-borne diseases. The combination vaccination initially requires multiple injections for horses, mules and donkeys that have no prior vaccination history.

Mosquitoes can breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four days, so removing any source of standing water can reduce the chance of exposing animals to WNV or EEE. Keeping horses in stalls at night, using insect screens and fans and turning off lights after dusk can also help reduce exposure to mosquitoes. Insect repellants can be effective if used according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Symptoms of EEE include impaired vision, aimless wandering, head pressing, circling, inability to swallow, irregular staggering gait, paralysis, convulsions and death. Once a horse has been bitten by an infected mosquito, it may take three to 10 days for symptoms to appear.

Symptoms of WNV include fever, weakness or paralysis of hind limbs, impaired vision, head pressing, seizures and aimless wandering.  

“If your horses or other equine animals exhibit any symptoms of EEE or WNV, contact your veterinarian immediately,” Meckes said.

People, horses and birds can become infected from a bite by a mosquito carrying the diseases, but there is no evidence that horses can transmit the viruses to other horses, birds or people through direct contact.

“It’s also a great time to make sure your animal is current on its rabies vaccination,” Troxler said. “In North Carolina we see about five cases of rabies in livestock each year. Horses are naturally curious animals, which puts them at risk for a bite if a rabid animal gets through their fence line.”

Managing Fire Ants in Pastures

By Eileen Coite

County Extension Director, Sampson County

Unfortunately, fire ants have found a home in most of our southeastern pastures.  With the mild temperatures of spring and recent rains, they will be mounding up, so to speak, in the weeks to come.  There are so many ways fire ants cause us problems, from damage to equipment, reduction in forage production, and of course possible pain and injury.  Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the fire ant problem.  Management of these pests depends on the concentration of the mounds and locations.  Of the products labeled for use in pastures, some are chemicals that treat the mound and will kill the ants, while others are insect growth regulators that can be broadcast across a pasture and will focus on making the queen of the colony sterile, eventually removing the colony. 

What products can be used?  Amdro Pro (hydramethylnon), Extinguish (methoprene), Extinguish Plus (methoprene+hydramethylnon), Esteem (pyriproxyfen), Award (fenoxycarb) Logic (fenoxycarb), Sevin 80WSP, XLR Plus, and SL (carbaryl).   Some of these products are recommended for mound treatment, some for broadcast, some both.   Sevin is sprecifically used as a drench treatment.  Some of the products are insect growth regulators (IGRs) that will cause the queen to become sterile, causing reproduction to cease and thus controlling the colony. IGRs are methoprene, pyriproxyfen and fenoxycarb.  

Timing and proper product application is the key to treating for fire ants. The best time to treat is mid-spring and fall, and mid-morning when air temperatures are around 70 degrees F.  It is also important to NOT treat if the ground is wet, or if rain is expected within the next 36 hours.  Once the bait gets wet, the ants won’t be interested in taking it into the mound.  It is also recommended to check for ant activity or “foraging” by placing potato chips or cheese puffs on the ground near the mound.  If ants appear on the snacks within 30 minutes, then the colony is active and foraging.

Some other key tips to remember:

-       Do not store products past the expiration date.  They will lose attractiveness to the ants and become ineffective.

-       Do not store near other pesticides or fuels.  They may absorb odors and affect taste for the ants, becoming ineffective.

-       Do not apply directly on mounds.  Ants do not travel on the top of the mound. 

-       Do not disturb the mound when treating.  This will upset the ants and disrupt their normal foraging behavior.

-       Do not re-apply baits within ten days of applying a direct poison, as there will be no ant activity during this time.

-       Always apply and re-apply when needed, as suggested on the label.  

For more information or a copy of fire ant management extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension Center, or visit the following article: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/red-imported-fire-ant-in-north-carolina 

The use of brand names and any mention or listing of commercial products or services in this article does not imply endorsement by North Carolina State University nor discrimination against similar products or services not mentioned.

Medication for Mares

You've done so much to make sure your mare is healthy and happy, and gets pregnant at just the right time with just the right stallion. It's important to think about how you feed and manage that pregnant mare, as well as treating them for illnesses or giving vaccines. Like pregnant women, pregnant horses can be sensitive to certain things. As always, if there's a question, consult with your local veterinarian.

Very few drugs have been evaluated on the equine side to determine if they're safe for pregnant animals. We usually have more questions than answers when it comes to this topic! In pregnant mares, the cardiac output is increased, the kidneys operate differently and the way blood flow is directed all change when an animal becomes pregnant. This can significantly impact the way medications are used by the body.

Antibiotics are one class of medication that a little research has been done on. Some can cross the placenta in the pregnant mare and others don't; it's important to know what you're treating and why. and how the medication may effect the mare or the fetus. When treating placentitis, inflammation of the placenta, there are a few choices; sulfas or trimethoprim/sulfa combinations travel across the placenta without any significant side effects to the mare. Penicillin and gentamicin also pass through the placenta well.

Sedation for pregnant mares is a common question, make sure it's necessary before you give it to the animal! Most of them are not labeled for pregnant animals but they typically don't cause serious side effects. Often times they will affect the mare's blood pressure, which in turn affects the blood flow to the fetus.

There are all sorts of medications and vaccines out there, make sure you do your research and ask questions before giving them to your pregnant mares! For more information: https://thehorse.com/166841/what-medications-are-safe-for-mares/

Do Fly Predators Fit In Your Fly Control Program?

Stable Flies and House Flies are two of the more common species of flies that bother horses during the warm months, especially around barns and stables.  Since it is April 1 (no fooling!), warmer temperatures are almost here, so it is time to consider what the fly control program will consist of during the rest or 2019.

Most horse owners and barn managers incorporate several fly control tools into the program to achieve the best results.  One method is mechanical control – removing manure, old bedding, and other fly breeding areas from the stable or barn.  Often this material can be composted, which will destroy any eggs and larvae during the process of turning this material into a pretty good soil amendment for gardens and landscapes.  Another is using insecticides to eliminate flies in concentrated areas, barriers are used to prevent flies from landing on the horse, especially around the face and eyes. Other tools include feed-through products for larvae control, and fly traps.

One tool that doesn’t get much discussion is the use of fly predators on horse farms.  These predators are tiny wasps that do not sting people or animals, but instead search for fly larvae to lay their eggs in. The predator larvae hatch inside the fly larvae and feed on it, preventing that fly larvae from becoming and adult fly. This helps to break up the fly life cycle and reduces the fly pressure around the horses.

There are several species of fly predators, and they are fairly specific to the type of fly they will help control.  They work best on either house flies or stable flies.  Some of the more commonly found species of fly predators and the type of flies they control are:

·     Spalangia nigroaenea - attacks both house and stable flies. 

·     Muscidifurax raptor– attacks house flies.

·     Muscidifurax zararaptor – attacks house flies.

·     Spalangia nigra – attacks stable flies.

·     Spalangia cameroni – attacks stable flies

·     Spalangia endius  - attacks stable flies

There are other species that will attack horn flies and face flies, but house and stable flies tend to be the ones found in stables and barns where the fly predators are more effective and cost efficient.

To use the fly predators in a fly control program, identify “hot spots” around the barn, and distribute the predators near those according to recommended populations of predators for the number of horses present.  The fly predators will travel up to 80 yards to find manure that contains fly larvae to parasitize. However, the fly predator population will not keep up with fly numbers throughout the fly season, so monthly releases of the fly predators through the control season are recommended.

Take care when using fly control insecticides if using the fly predators.  Don’t spray near the areas where fly predators have been released as the insecticide will also kill the fly predators.  If using a feed-through fly control product, the fly predators may be better used around concentrations of grass clippings, old bedding, or old round bales left on the ground. House and stable flies will lay eggs in these materials, so if they are not handled properly, these materials can be a breeding ground for flies.

There is no magic treatment that will totally eliminate the fly problem, which is why an integrated control program using different methods is recommended.  Sanitation, barriers, mechanical controls, insecticides, and biological controls can be combined to provide wide-spectrum fly control. Perhaps fly predators can be an effective tool to help in the fly control battles this summer.