Recent News for Nutrition-Related Problems
Article
When Your Horse Thinks He's a Termite...
November 01, 2001
Q: Is chewing pressure-treated wood (the green-tinged wood) dangerous for horses? Catherine Q: Our horses have started eating our fences and tree bark quite frequently this year.... Read More
Article
How Does Your Horse Score?
November 01, 2001
Keeping a close eye on your horse's body condition and weight is perhaps the best way to gauge the effectiveness of a feeding program. We all want our horses to be in tip-top shape, well-muscled, and neither too fat nor too thin. The problem?... Read More
Article
New MRLS Theory Suggested
October 12, 2001
The examination of mycotoxins, wild cherry trees, molds, cyanide, odd climatic conditions, and unusually heavy caterpillar infestation has led to one more possible theory to how mare reproductive loss syndrome was triggered this... Read More
Article
Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
October 10, 2001
Tying-up is a problem that has troubled horses and their owners for many years, and it has been known by many names. The old-timers who battled the syndrome in their draft horses following a Sunday away from the fields called it Monday morning... Read More
Article
HYPP: Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis
October 10, 2001
They gave the muscular Quarter Horse colt an ambitious name: Impressive. He lived up to the name in such dramatic fashion that it became a household word in Quarter Horse circles - especially among breeders and exhibitors involved in showing... Read More
Article
Fescue Toxicosis
October 09, 2001
Mares grazing on tall fescue pastures infected with a toxin have increased gestation lengths, mare and foal deaths, agalactia (absent milk secretion after birth), retained placentas, premature separation of the placenta at birth, and... Read More
Article
Studies on Vitamin E
October 09, 2001
Researchers at Oregon State University and elsewhere are continuing to examine the role of vitamin E in horse health, including disease prevention and therapy. In particular, vitamin E deficiencies and/or supplementation could be important... Read More
Article
Medical Messengers--British Equine Veterinary Association
October 08, 2001
The annual meeting of the British Equine Veterinary Association provided a wealth of information on topics ranging from tendons and ligaments to muscle diseases, from disorders of the back to conformation. Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS,... Read More
Article
Amazing Minerals
October 04, 2001
Of all the ingredients of a horse's diet, minerals are unique. They contain no carbon, which makes them inorganic molecules. In fact, essentially, they’re rocks--and it can be difficult to imagine their being digested by a horse. But minerals are a... Read More
Article
Soil and Water Testing
October 02, 2001
As you push your shopping cart down the aisle at the supermarket, it's likely become routine for you to do a quick scan of the nutritional analysis printed on the side of every cereal box and container of yogurt you select. Instantly, you know how... Read More
Article
Tying Up is Split Up
October 01, 2001
Muscle disease in performance horses commonly is referred to as tying-up, exertional rhabdomyolysis, azoturia, or Monday morning disease. Horses experiencing tying-up show a stiff gait; reluctance to move; firm, painful muscle cramps; profuse... Read More
Article
Tying-Up Syndrome
September 13, 2001
I just bought a Thoroughbred filly which was in race training, but retired without running because of recurrent bouts of ‘tying-up.’ She had been turned out for six months before I got her, and never showed any problems while on the farm.... Read More
Article
What's in Your Feed? (Contamination)
September 01, 2001
"Yuck!" you hear your friend exclaim from the feed room as you move down the barn aisle one evening, doling out flakes of hay. "What is it?" you call over your shoulder. "There are huge lumps of molasses in this bag of feed!" she... Read More
Article
Syndrome Survey Nearly Completed; Hemlock Poisoning Not Ruled Out
June 03, 2001
Researchers at the University of Kentucky looking into the cause of mare reproductive loss syndrome are in the process of completing a comprehensive survey involving more than 150 farms. The... Read More
Article
Grass Sickness Remains Research Priority
May 25, 2001
The death of Dubai Millennium from grass sickness has again highlighted the devastating effects of the disease, and brought to prominence research tied to finding causes and a cure.In Great Britain, research is being carried out at Edinburg... Read More
Article
Latest Twist in Foal Loss Syndrome: Mycotoxins Out, Cyanide In
May 25, 2001
No longer does the mysterious Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome appear to be the result of incredibly high mycotoxin levels in pasture grasses; now the most likely cause appears to be cyanide brought onto pastures from wild black cherry trees, carrie... Read More
Article
May 23 Update: Additional Evidence Ruling Out Mycotoxins
May 25, 2001
The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture on May 23 posted the following information on its web site at http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/VetScience/mrls/briefings.htm... Read More
Article
Mother Nature's Toxic Spill: An Analysis of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome
May 24, 2001
A good mystery has many clues, some more obvious than others, and some more misleading. Researchers are scientific detectives, trying to piece together observations and facts that lead to a conclusion. But, while some cases are concluded with all... Read More
Article
Southern States' Triple Crown Feeds Contain Mycotoxin Binders
May 24, 2001
Southern States has included the patented mycotoxin binder MTB100 in its line of Triple Crown horse feeds since February of 2000, according to Bill Vandergrift, PhD, owner of Equivision nutrition company and a consulting nutritionist... Read More
Article
Where to Find the Mycotoxin Binder
May 24, 2001
Lexington, Ky., feed companies are busy filling orders for bags and buckets of mycotoxin binder from horse owners in 15 states throughout the East Coast.Feeding the binder, which is an additive derived from yeast, has been recommended by... Read More
Article
Forage Testing Points to Molds and Mycotoxins
May 18, 2001
There is increasing evidence indicating that molds and mycotoxins are involved in the syndromes in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia this spring. There have been some positive screens for the mycotoxin zearalenone in pasture and... Read More
Article
Explanation: Ergotism or Ergot Poisoning
May 16, 2001
At the industry-wide meeting on Thursday, May 10, Dr. Steve Jackson, an equine nutrition consultant and owner of Bluegrass Equine Nutrition, and Dr. Jimmy Henning, an extension forage specialist at the University of Kentucky's College of... Read More
Article
Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP) and Breeding
May 01, 2001
I have a 6-year-old Quarter Horse mare N/H (heterozygous) for hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), and a lot of vets have told me that I can breed her to a Thoroughbred, and the baby should be fine. She does have some problems with the... Read More
Article
Poisonous Plants
May 01, 2001
At a training barn in Washington, two prized half-Arabian horses munched on wood chip bedding that had been delivered to the facility. Moments later, both were dead. Among the chips lay a branch of yew, a type of evergreen that can be fatal to... Read More
Article
Shaping Up Your Overweight Horse
February 01, 2001
When preparing a horse for athletic events and sporting activities, whatever the discipline or level of difficulty, an important consideration is finding the horse's "ideal" body weight. This concept is well recognized in human athletics. For... Read More
