Management Tools for the Spring Transition

Management Tools for the Equine Owner

1.     Don’t graze too soon! It has been a long winter and hay supplies are dwindling but remember to wait for your pastures to reach a proper grazing height before turning horses out for long periods of time. Feeding hay a little longer come spring time can be a pain and time consuming but it will be worth it in the end. Your grasses are also trying to recover from winter and need all the help they can get to become bountiful again. Horses are hard on pastures because they have a full mouth of teeth unlike ruminants so they tend to rip grasses out of the ground at a higher rate. So, if you reseeded in the fall to have a more productive pasture for this year don’t shoot yourself in the foot by allowing your horses to pull newly established grasses out of the ground because they don’t have an adequate root base yet. Also, March and April are a great time to fertilize pastures, just be conscientious of temperature and weather. Consult with your local Extension Agent for further guidance.

2.     To further enhance your pastures production for your animals, adopting rotational grazing practices are extremely beneficial. Rotational grazing helps grasses rest and regrow for higher yields, helps deposit manure more evenly across the area reducing parasite loads, and helps make horses graze more evenly across an area so there is less spot grazing.

3.     Finally, one of the best management tools is to drag your pastures after moving horses off of an area. This helps break up the manure piles which in turn spreads out nutrients and helps reduce parasite activity. Some cheap drags can be made from a few old tires and works great to break up manure piles and not damage your forages.

Horse Health Insurance Options. . .What You Should Know

As with human health care, animal health care prices are on the rise.  Because of this, animal owners of all species are turning to insurance policies to help cover the cost of emergency situations and routine health exams throughout the year.

In the past, equine policies have been purchased to cover costs of medical care associated with surgery, loss of use and mortality and were usually reserved for owners of show horses, racers and other high value equines.  However, the tides have turned and now even pasture pets are considered for equine health insurance. 

To understand insurance policies, it is recommended that you read the following article:  Understanding Equine Insurance Policies.

 

There are several types of insurance that you, as a horse owner are eligible for:  Mortality, Major Medical, Loss of Use and Liability.  Be sure you check all of the options out before you make a decision on coverage of your animal.

 

When problems arise with our hoofed friends, costs tend to soar, so check into the following for equine health insurance companies:

Equine Insurance Center

Blue Bridle

Goetz Insurors

Equisure

Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency

Great American Insurance Group

Allen Financial Insurance Group

Equine Insurance

ASPCA Pet Health Insurance

Markel Mortality Insurance

***This is not a complete list, but should get you started on companies that can help you with your horse care needs.****

 

If you have questions about information presented in this article, please contact your local Cooperative Extension Office’s Livestock Agent for more help.

Health Checks

February is a good month to take care of some health essentials for horses.  With the trail ride and horse show season fast approaching, it is a good time to have a Coggins test done.  The Coggins test checks a horse for the presence of Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) antibodies.  Of course, we want those tests to come back negative, and 99% of them do.  Those test results are important to anyone who will be taking their horses off the farm to locations where horses form several areas will be comingled – places like horse shows and trail rides. Those negative Coggins papers must accompany each horse wherever they go.  As mentioned, February is a great time to get the Coggins test done and get the results back before transporting horses.  The Coggins papers are good for one year, and the process must be repeated.

Some counties hold Coggins Clinics in cooperation with a veterinarian to help folks with just a few horses get the test done.  Check with your county’s NC Cooperative Extension center to see if any of these clinics are scheduled.  There will be two of these held in Granville County this year.  One is on Saturday, February 15, and the second will be on Friday afternoon, February 21.  Call the Granville County NC Cooperative Extension Center at (919) 603-1350 for details.

These clinics also offer vaccinations for the common equine diseases.  The ones most often made available in this area include eastern/western equine encephalitis + tetanus, rabies, West Nile Virus, flu + rhinovirus, and strangles. Check with your veterinarian to make sure that any additional vaccination needs are met as the core vaccines vary across the country.

While at a clinic, or when the veterinarian visits your farm, it is a good idea to get a routine health check for the horse. Most veterinarians will include this if done in conjunction with a Coggins test or when providing vaccinations.  They will also check teeth and make sure that there are no issues there.  If teeth need to be floated, that will likely be a separate appointment at the veterinarian’s clinic.

One last item – be sure to keep a check on your horse’s hooves.  We are experiencing a long period of mud, so be sure to check feet frequently.  Keep them cleaned out and make sure that no infections develop. Common things to check for are obsesses, thrush, fungus growing on the lower legs, heat in the hoof wall or sole, general lameness, or sensitivity.  If some work needs to be done on the feet, be sure to call the farrier sooner than later.  Before riding the trail or entering the ring at a horse show, be sure that the feet are good to go.

Equine First Aid Kit Supply List

As we look towards show season, rodeo season, and trail riding season it is a good idea to look through your horse first aid kit and restock any items that you may have used. If you don’t have a first aid kit then there is no time like the present to make one! Being prepared to immediately give your horse first aid in the event of an illness or injury can drastically impact the outcome of the situation. First aid kits are always a good idea to have in case of emergencies whether at home or on the road. It is a good idea to keep your supplies in a water proof ben/tote that is easy to pick up and carry. This comes in handy whether you are packing it in the truck or need to quickly grab it and go to your horse if they are injured. If some of the supplies are new to you make sure to take them out and practice using them, an emergency is not the time to learn. Also, you need to regularly go through your first aid kit to check expiration dates and quality of items to make sure they have not degraded over time. Do not store your first aid kit in direct sunlight or in the heat since that can cause ointments, gloves and bandages to degrade.

Emergency Phone Numbers

Thermometer

Stethoscope

Petroleum jelly

Scissors (regular and/or dressing)

Adhesive tape

Duct tape

Vetwrap

Leg Wraps

Soap

Flashlight

Extra Batteries

Antibiotic cream

Clippers

Hemostats

Latex gloves

Large syringes

Needles

Fly repellent

Pliers

Small plastic bowl (for sterile water, iodine, or clean instruments)

Cooling packs

Lint free towels

Wound dressing

Hand Sanitizer (alcohol based)

Antiseptic wash (betadine)

Antiseptic sprays

Epsom salts

Plastic feed bucket (to soak hoof or carry water/trash)

Hoof poultice

Fura-zone ointment

A twitch (in case restraint is needed)

Hoof pick and knife

Phenylbutazone (Bute)

Bottles of sterile saline

Bag of baby diapers (absorb a lot of blood/water)

Sterile bandage materials: roll cotton, gauze pads, cling wrap, nonstick pad, bandages

Sheet cotton

Elastikon

Electrolytes

Normal Adult Temperature: 99 – 101.5 F

Normal Adult Heart Rate: 24 - 48 beats/minute

Normal Adult Respiratory Rate: 10 - 20 breaths/minute

Parasite Control Options for Horses

A comprehensive parasite control program involves more than deworming your horse on a regular basis. The most important feature is the ability to reduce the number of parasites and eggs in the environment. Secondly, the program should be effective with the fewest number of treatments necessary. Finally, the program should be broad spectrum to control many different types of parasites.

Preventative medication is a very important component of parasite control. The bad news is that there is no single program that works for all situations. However, there are many different programs available, these include:

Targeted Dosing: This strategy involves testing the level of parasite burdens in individual animals. Standard fecal egg counts should be performed once monthly. Also tapeworm testing via fecal testing or serology (blood testing) should be done twice yearly. All animals that are positive over a certain cut off level should be treated. A yearly treatment for "bots" should also be included during the winter. This program is only appropriate for adult horses and should be considered on a farm with a dedicated manager where good grazing management is in place.

Strategic Dosing: This strategy involves treating all pastured animals at regular intervals with an appropriate product. The interval between dosing can be determined by the egg reappearance period (ERP)of the medication, which is shorter for young animals. The ERP is the period after medicating an animal with a dewormer until there are significant numbers of parasite eggs present again in the feces. The animals are only treated during the spring/summer season when the risk for increased egg loads is highest.

Interval Dosing: This strategy is the one most commonly used. It is similar to Strategic Dosing; however, animals are treated year round at regular intervals. As the duration of parasite kill varies from product to product and even between farms, the interval between doses should be determined by the ERP or by guidelines set by your veterinarian based upon products used. This program may be appropriate for farms where there are frequent new additions to the group, at more casually managed (hobby) farms and in young animals.

Daily Deworming: This strategy involves the addition of a parasite control medication to the horse's daily ration. This program is appropriate for most adult grazing horses; however, additional periodic deworming with other products is usually necessary. Twice yearly treatment with ivermectin (Eqvalan, Phoenectrin, Zimectrin), ivermectin/praziquantel (Equell) or moxidectin (Quest) has been recommended. This program can select somewhat for resistant organisms since the parasites are continuously exposed to a low level of the drug.

Click here for more information about deworming your horse.

Source: Jeremy D. Frederick, DVM, University of Minnesota

Horse Fitness During the Winter

Although NC is not exactly known for its' harsh winters, there are some days that are just too chilly to want to ride.  It is important to maintain a good fitness program during our colder months to be sure you and your horse will be in shape when springtime rolls around!  Check out the following link for tips on how to keep both you and your horse active throughout the winter months:

https://www.southernstates.com/farm-store/articles/horse-fitness-during-the-winter

Winter Horse Care Tips

The holiday season is always a busy time, and this year has been no different.  Fortunately, temperatures have been cold but not terrible in eastern NC as of yet. Even so, with the chilly temperatures and frosty mornings that come this time of year, we need to remember our horses and all animals that live outdoors.  Along with the low temperatures and decline in forage growth, comes an increase in calories needed to maintain weight, stay warm, and for some, to nurse their young.  Minimum essentials for our animals are adequate nutrition, whether forage, feed, or both, along with clean water and some type of shelter. With the chilly days we will see more of, being able to provide water instead of a block of ice is critical.  Feed and farm supply stores sell stock tank de-icers and other heated buckets that come in handy.  Making an investment in this type of equipment might save you the cost of a vet bill later, or even worse, the loss of an animal as a result of cold weather dehydration.

Providing good quality, nutritious hay is another critical aspect to winter management of horses.  This is the time of year where hay supplies can get thin, so planning ahead and purchasing enough hay to get through the winter is critical.  When temperatures get below freezing, winter pasture growth reduces tremendously, and hay is our only forage option.  Horses, along with other grazing animals, need hay to stay warm.  Hay and other forages are digested in the cecum and large intestine of the horse, and this digestion process is the primary source of regulating body temperature. Many horses can maintain their weight through the winter with just an increase in hay consumption.  Those that are harder to keep weight on or older will often need a gradual increase of grain as well. Horses should consume at least 1.5% of their body weight in hay during cold periods.  For example, a mature 1000 pound horse should consume 15-18 pounds per day of hay to meet these temperature needs in cold weather.  It’s important to pay close attention to body condition during these periods, and actually “feel” your horse.  A long hair coat or winter blanket can often cover up thin spots on a horse, so be sure to examine your horse closely and get a feel for where your horse’s ribs, backbone, etc. are and how much fat or “cover” there is over and around them.  If a horse given plenty of hay is having trouble maintaining weight, increasing fat to the concentrate diet may also be helpful.  Many “high fat” feeds are on the market just for this purpose. 

These are just a few tips to help you and your horses get through the brisk winter days that are starting and will be here for a while. For more information or advice, don’t hesitate to contact your local county extension agent or veterinarian.