Recent News for Nutrition-Related Problems
Article
The Mycotoxin Problem
June 25, 2003
There can be a number of reasons why a horse might have performance problems. A diagnosis can be frustrating, but one reason that might be overlooked is mycotoxicosis. It wasn’t until recently that the significance of mycotoxins was realized,... Read More
Article
Dietary Clues to Tying-Up
June 20, 2003
Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER, a type of tying-up) is an inherited disorder in Thoroughbreds. Research suggests that RER involves an abnormality in the regulation of calcium in muscle cells. High-grain diets have been implicated as... Read More
Article
Alltech Symposium Serves International Audience
June 03, 2003
Attended by delegates from more than 60 countries, Alltech’s International Feed Industry Symposium provided an abundance of information for those involved with horses, poultry, pigs, dairy and beef cattle, agronomy, aquaculture, and companion... Read More
Article
Obesity is Dangerous, Warns UK Researcher
May 07, 2003
Laminitis specialist Robert Eustace, BVSc, Cert EO, Cert. EP, MRCVS, director of The Laminitis Clinic in Wiltshire, England, wants horse obesity to be declared a welfare concern. In a campaign launched at the annual meeting of the International... Read More
Article
Pasture Management and MRLS
April 07, 2003
In the spring of 2001, hundreds of mares in Central Kentucky lost their pregnancies in peculiar abortions attributed to mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). Since then, horse farm managers have gone back to square one in reviewing their... Read More
Article
Speed Limit
March 05, 2003
The racing Thoroughbred is trapped between a rock and a hard place. The rock is speed, which evolved slowly by natural selection for 50 million years, then rapidly by human hand the last 500. The hard place is where we find our ward today, beset... Read More
Article
When Your Horse's Muscles Ache
March 01, 2003
Equine muscle injuries are often elusive, leading to frustration for the rider and a challenging diagnosis. ... Read More
Article
Diagnosis and Treatment of Rhabdomyolysis in Foals
February 13, 2003
We hear a lot about a horse experiencing rhabdomyolysis (tying-up) during or after exercise. However, foals are also susceptible to muscle damage. Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, presented "A Review of the Diagnosis... Read More
Article
AAEP 2002: Recent Developments in Equine Nutrition
February 04, 2003
A lot has happened in the field of equine research in the last five years. Ginger Rich, PhD, of Rich Equine Nutritional Consulting in Eads, Tenn.; and Leslie Breuer, PhD, of LH Breuer and Associates, updated veterinarians and others who attended... Read More
Article
AAEP 2002: Possible Environmental Sources of Drug Positives
January 07, 2003
As post-performance drug testing methods become more sensitive, racehorse and show horse owners, veterinarians, handlers, and trainers have become more aware that positive drug tests could be the result of inadvertent contamination of the horse... Read More
Article
Guinea Grass Toxicity
November 01, 2002
I have a 12-year-old gelding that can't eat guinea grass (Panicum maximum), not even for three days, because it causes the hair around his face, neck, and belly to fall out in patches. As soon as he stops eating it, his hair grows back withi... Read More
Article
Cardiovascular Changes With Moldy Corn Poisoning
October 01, 2002
Fumonisins are toxic byproducts of the fungus Fusarium verticilloides, which often grows on corn. These mycotoxins can cause leukoencephalomalacia (moldy corn poisoning) in horses, and are undetectable to the naked eye. Horses exposed to... Read More
Article
Malicious Mycotoxins
August 01, 2002
Leave your saddle sitting in a corner of your tack room after you and your horse are caught in a rainstorm, and you'll get an eye-opening look into the world of fungi and molds. Within days, your leather tack will have sprouted a patchy coat of... Read More
Article
Locked Into Place
August 01, 2002
Much has been learned about exertional rhabdomyolysis (tying-up) in recent years, but unfortunately some of that knowledge has been troubling. For example, at least one newly recognized cause of tying-up in foals has, in identified cases, always... Read More
Article
Skunk Cabbage Toxic to Horses?
August 01, 2002
Recently our horses have begun eating skunk cabbage that grows on the property. They have not done so before. They have plenty of grass plus hay and grain, all of which they also eat. One veterinarian says it is harmful to them; another says... Read More
Article
Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy and Back Pain
August 01, 2002
As many as 40% of all cases of equine back pain are the result of soft tissue injury. The primary causes include chronic and recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (CER and RER, respectively), and an inherited enzyme deficiency called polysaccharid... Read More
Article
Poison Control: Spraying Insecticides on Pastures
August 01, 2002
During the optimal Eastern tent caterpillar (ETC) eradication period (when larvae are still in trees), Lee Townsend, PhD, extension entomologist at the University of Kentucky (UK), recommended a list of insecticides for horse owners and farm... Read More
Article
Tying-Up in Horses
July 01, 2002
Tying-up is the most common muscle problem in horses. This syndrome is also called azoturia, set fast, paralytic myoglobinuria, and chronic exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER). HYPP (hyperkalemic periodic paralysis) in Quarter Horses is a different... Read More
Article
Copper Sulfate and Ergot
June 21, 2002
Making sure that copper requirements are met in the overall diet of horses is prudent. However, there is no real need to test soils for copper, and certainly no evidence that fertilizing with copper sulfate will minimize the occurrence of the ergot... Read More
Article
Poison Control: Spraying Pastures with Insecticides
June 19, 2002
No definite cause of mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) has been identified, but a recent discovery that Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) can cause early fetal losses (and likely contributed to MRLS) has scientists at the University of... Read More
Article
FDA Orders Recall of Mercury-Containing Drug
June 03, 2002
The government has ordered a nationwide recall of a horse drug sold over the Internet called Miracle Leg Paint, because it contains mercury that is poisonous both to horses and to people, according to an Associated Press report. Horse... Read More
Article
Bute Toxicity in Neonates
May 01, 2002
Q: My wife and I were told that giving Bute (phenylbutazone) to a mare in foal can cause heart defects in the foal, similar to aspirin taken by women in early pregnancy. Is there any connection? A: Signs of phenylbutazone toxicity in foals whose...... Read More
Article
Mycotoxin Binders Not Labeled Legally
April 12, 2002
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the claims made by some feed products that they contain mycotoxin binders is illegal. In Kentucky last year, many feeds and supplements were touted as having mycotoxin binders in the face of mare... Read More
Article
Mesquite Tree Beans Toxic?
April 01, 2002
My horse recently had a horrible colic episode due to mesquite tree beans. Every summer these trees produce large bean pods, which evidently taste like candy to horses. According to my vet, they also slow down gut motility--hence the colic. ... Read More
Article
Which Trees are Toxic?
April 01, 2002
It's hard to imagine that a natural part of our environment could possibly be harmful to our horses. However, many plants are not only poisonous, but potentially deadly to horses. Many plants and trees have strong medicinal qualities; early... Read More
