Farm Call: Your Questions Answered
Foal with Hoof Problems (Club Foot)
January 01, 2010
Q. The owner of a Quarter Horse foal with an early club foot asks for information on farrier/hoof trimming strategies and the possibility of surgery.
Deworm on a Dry Lot?
December 01, 2009
Q. All of the articles I've read talk about managing parasites in horses with turnout time. Like many other owners in dry locations, here in New Mexico I don't have pasture. Both stalls and turnout areas consist of sand. I purchase bales of alfalfa and grass hay to feed my horses. What are the chances of parasite infection when horses do not graze?
Grazing Oat Pastures (Q & A)
December 01, 2009
Q. Can horses be turned out on an oat pasture if it is dried up and not green? The oats have already been harvested, and we turn cattle out to graze the leavings, but is it okay for horses?
Sunburn Solutions
November 01, 2009
Q. My neighbor has a major problem with sunburn on her Appaloosa mare. She is a black mare with spots on her rump that sunburns easily. We have not been able to find anything that has helped it. What do you recommend to help it heal?
Neck Atrophy
November 01, 2009
Q. I was told by a trainer that my horse has atrophy in her neck that could cause problems later in life. Can you tell me what I may be facing in the future? She is a 4-year-old mare. What, if anything, can be done?
Trailering Anxiety or Heat?
October 01, 2009
Q. My 24-year-old Arab gelding recently came off the trailer very sweaty and with tremors in his shoulder muscle and hindquarters. It was only a 15-minute trailer ride, and it was sunny, but not hot. Is he suffering from heat issues because of his age?
Cryptorchid Concerns
September 01, 2009
Q. I have a 24-month-old Azteca colt that has dropped only one testicle so far. He had two normal-appearing testicles at birth, and both of them withdrew above the inguinal ring before he was a year old. Do you believe cryptorchidism is hereditary?
Weaving Worries
September 01, 2009
Q. I have a 12-year-old Tennessee Walker who weaves. I recently noticed lameness in the right front leg. How does weaving affect the lameness, and what treatments can I use to stop or decrease the lameness? Would steroid injections help?
Snakebite Woes
August 01, 2009
Q. My mare's personality seems to have changed since a rattlesnake bite six years ago. She seems less people-friendly and less energetic. Is it from some sort of facial nerve damage from the bite? Have you heard of long-term effects from a snake bite?
Guttural Pouch Tympany
August 01, 2009
Q. There seems to be little information available on the Internet about guttural pouch tympany. I lost a filly to this, along with displaced soft palate.
Scoliosis in Adult Equines
July 01, 2009
Q. My gelding's back is skewed to the left, making riding uncomfortable for him. Could the crookedness in his spine be caused by overschooling with pain and incorrect muscle use? Or could the scoliosis have always been there and gotten worse?
Rehabilitating Muscle
June 01, 2009
Q. Q: My horse has a severe laceration involving the biceps femoris and semitendinosis muscles (along the back of the hindquarter). He is 17 and in very good shape, training Prix St. Georges. We were able to suture the site and the incision is healing nicely. My question is on rehabilitation. What would be the best avenue to take to prevent too much scar tissue from forming and
A Rash of Questions
May 01, 2009
Q. Q: We have a Paint mare that is mostly white. In the spring and summer she has a rash-type skin problem around her nose and moving to her shoulders. It starts out looking like what we were told was dew poisoning, but it has spread to the point of bumps, scabs, raw sores, and bleeding. What could be causing this? Are there any preventive measures we can take? What are our
"Sticky" Third Eyelid
April 01, 2009
Q. Q: Twice, my 12-year-old Paint gelding has gotten his third eyelid "stuck" over the top of his eyeball for 10 or 20 seconds. The first time was when water splashed in his eye during a bath. He tossed his head, rolled his eye upward, and the third eyelid stuck over the top of his eyeball, blocking his vision. Today the same thing happened when he rubbed his eye on his knee. He
Insulin Resistance and Layup Time
April 01, 2009
Q. Q: My 18-year-old Percheron/ Morgan gelding was diagnosed with insulin resistance. Just prior to being confined to stall rest for a connective tissue injury, his insulin was 67 microIU/mL. The vet did a dexamethasone suppression test to rule out pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), and it was well within normal bounds. After a six-month layup and a very controlled diet
Abnormal Sheath Buildup
April 01, 2009
Q. Q: I have searched the Internet and asked everyone I know about the abnormal sheath buildup on my 17-year-old palomino gelding. Ever since we bought him, we noticed a large, crusty buildup all over him. We have been cleaning him once a month for three years because within four weeks, he is crusty and dirty again. We use a sheath cleaner every six months, and we use Vaseline or
Hay: Does Fertilization Matter?
March 01, 2009
Q. Should I look for hay that comes from a fertilized or unfertilized field? In what ways would the nutrition be affected? Does fertilizing the field increase the protein content of the hay? What are appropriate questions to ask regarding the hay?
Vaccine Reaction: Calculated Risk?
March 01, 2009
Q. Q: I own a 12-year-old Percheron/Thoroughbred gelding who started to have severe allergic reactions to vaccinations last year. He's been receiving the same vaccinations for the past several years--a five-way and West Nile virus (WNV). Last spring, we decided to separate the vaccinations to make the effect less toxic. He received the five-way only, but he still had an allergic
Glucosamine in a Cushing's Horse?
December 01, 2008
Q. Q: As soon as my 20-year-old gelding was diagnosed with equine Cushing's disease, I eliminated glucosamine from his diet. However, he appears to have become gradually and increasingly stiff and short-strided without it. I really think that it helped him, and I'd love to put him back on the supplement if I could safely do so. Based on current thinking, would it be at all possible
Protein Levels and Seizures?
November 01, 2008
Q. My 37-year-old pony has suffered seizures on and off for about two years. I have noticed that when protein in her feed is increased, the seizures occur more frequently. Is it possible that high protein levels can cause seizures?
Training Age and Soundness
October 01, 2008
Q. Does the fact that cutting horses are started so young have any effect on their future soundness? Is it best to wait another year before starting them in training?
Seeing Stars
October 01, 2008
Q. My mare stares into lights, both electric lights and the sun or moon. She'll stare for a while when she first gets into the arena and when she's just turned out, then she goes about her business. Why might she be doing this?
Mosquito Dunk Danger?
August 01, 2008
Q. Q: Has there been any research on the safety of using "BTi mosquito dunks" in horse water troughs and buckets? A: Mosquito dunks are a form of the solid-dwelling Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria
Obesity: Big-Boned Beastie
August 01, 2008
Q. Obese horses should be taken off pasture, except for very short (30-minute) turnout periods two or three times a day for exercise, and a grazing muzzle should be used at these times.
Managing Navicular Pain
July 01, 2008
Q.
Q: My horse was diagnosed with navicular syndrome about five years ago. He was put on isoxsuprine and half a gram of Bute twice a day, and we changed his shoeing regimen. He has been sound since, and he remains sound, as long as he gets the Bute and is trimmed on a regular basis. He is now 19 years old. He occasionally becomes lame when the ground is hard--like during the
