4
EASY TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR HORSE’S
BALANCE
Equine Wellness
1
Contents 30 30
59
FEATURES 10 WOLF TEETH Many myths
33 CHEWING
42 CHANGE THE
14 HEART OF THE HOOF
age, they may need some special considerations and diet changes to help them maintain optimal health.
his balance.
34 HANDLING HEAD
themselves, especially at play. When is an injury to the head cause for concern?
All horses, by nature, are claustrophobic to some degree. Understanding why will help you make him feel more comfortable in tight situations.
36 DO YOU HAVE A
56 CHINESE MEDICINE
and mysteries surround these teeth. Here’s how to separate fact from fiction.
Restricting blood flow within a horse’s feet can negatively affect every system in his body.
16 ANATOMY IN MOTION: HOW HORSES MOVE
Understanding the mechanics of good movement is crucial to helping your horse achieve his full potential while remaining sound and happy.
25 ALL ABOUT SALT
Understanding and meeting your horse’s electrolyte needs.
30 A HISTORY OF
ENTERTAINMENT
Medieval Times is not just entertaining – the organization also works to preserve the bloodlines of the Andalusian horse, and the medieval traditions of knighthood.
4
Equine Wellness
CHALLENGES IN THE SENIOR HORSE As horses
TRAUMA Horses are forever hurting
SPRINKLER SYSTEM?
It could save your horse’s life.
POSTURE, CHANGE THE HORSE Four easy tips for improving
52 IS HE
CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
AND THE EQUINE TONGUE
Your horse’s tongue can tell you more about his health and well-being than you may think!
56
25 COLUMNS 8 Neighborhood news 24 It’s elemental! 28 Green acres 46 Holistic veterinary Q&A 48 Homeopathy
DEPARTMENTS 6 Editorial 29 Product picks 40 Equine Wellness resource guide 49 Heads up 58 Social media corner 60 Marketplace
50 To the rescue
61 Classifieds
59 Herb blurb
62 Events
SOCIAL MEDIA “f ” Logo
16
CMYK / .ai
Facebook “f ” Logo
CMYK / .ai
Tips, contests and more! Like us /EquineWellnessMagazine Updates, news, events @ EquineWellnessMagazine Product reviews and tutorials EquineWellnessTV
Equine Wellness
5
IT’S ELEMENTAL The Five Elements Theory is a significant part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and has been in use for thousands of years. It is believed that the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) can be related to different aspects of the body and surrounding natural world. This issue’s column is all about the Wood horse — see if you can recognize any of these traits in your horse!
THE
By Madalyn Ward, DVM
HORSE
Wood is a symbol of life. We use it to build our homes and the furniture inside them. It’s strong yet flexible, and creates heat to warm us. When forests are cleared of heavy underbrush, they make wonderful shaded home sites. Conversely, if they are left to grow wild they can become the fuel for massive forest fires. The Wood horse is also full of life. He is strong and athletic, and loves to run and play hard. He likes to work but also wants his work to challenge him. The Wood horse has a self-assured presence that makes him stand out in a crowd. When his energy is directed towards competition, it can produce a breathtaking performance. If the Wood horse is allowed to grow restless and is not given a goal, he can easily become a dangerous outlaw.
TRAINING The Wood horse is born bold and willful. He is not only competitive, but also wants to dominate his opponent. He is the horse that plays roughest with others. When the young Wood horse is turned out with older horses, he will often receive multiple kick and bite injuries as his pasture mates attempt to discipline him. He is not one to back down or take no for an answer. When working with a Wood horse, you may not want to stay focused too long on a solid foundation. He will learn best within the context of a challenging job. Perfect his stopping and turning skills by following a cow or negotiating a jump course. The Wood horse gets bored very easily, so be sure and take him to new places and teach him new things on a regular basis. You never want to fight with him, but be prepared to stand your ground when differences of opinion occur. The Wood horse does not enjoy working harder than needed, so make extra work a consequence of bad behavior. Let him learn patience by standing tied to an overhead tree branch, where he can stay occupied by watching other horses work.
FEEDING
Madalyn Ward is trained in Veterinary Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Bowen Therapy, Network Chiropractic and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners and American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. She has authored three books, Holistic Horsekeeping, Horse Harmony, Understanding Horse Types and Temperaments and Horse Harmony Five Element Feeding Guide. Holistichorsekeeping.com, Horseharmony.com. 24
Equine Wellness
Wood needs just the right amount of moisture to maintain its usefulness. Too much and it will rot; too little and it becomes brittle. If the Wood horse is fed too much rich food he will build up dampness in his system, which shows as stocking up in the legs. He can also become hard to handle if excess rich food causes his system to overheat. At the same time, he needs plenty of blood to nourish his connective tissues and keep them supple. Chlorophyll is a tree’s blood and chlorophyll-rich foods, such as blue green algae and alfalfa hay, are very beneficial. The liver is potentially the weakest organ in the Wood horse. It is responsible for detoxifying the body and maintaining steady sugar levels in the blood. To make the liver’s job easier, feed the Wood horse a simple low carbohydrate diet. Avoid multiple formulated supplements or herbal mixes. Milk thistle on its own is good for liver support.
all about Understanding and meeting your horse’s electrolyte needs. By Michael Lindinger, PhD
You know your horse needs salts. But what kinds of salts, and how much does he really need to maintain and promote his health and well-being? More and more people are providing their horses with exotic salts, and are sometimes giving them too much. Salts are important nutrients. But when any nutrient is given to horses in excess, it can be toxic. For example, most of us know that dietary starch is needed to provide energy, but that too much can cause laminitis. The same is true with salts. Horses need dietary salts for many beneficial reasons. But it is also easy to give them too much of one or more of the nutrients found in the various salt mixtures you can buy at the tack store.
WHAT IS SALT? It is important to understand how salts exist within the horse’s body. A salt is formed when a negatively charged element (anion) bonds with a positively charged element (cation); this happens when the solute (e.g., water) is unable to keep the salt dissolved. For example, table salt is sodium chloride. The sodium carries a positive charge (Na+) and the chloride a negative charge (Cl -). When in solution, such as water or body fluids, the elements within salts exist as individual ions, or electrolytes. The other main electrolytes found in body fluids
are potassium (K+), calcium (Ca++) and magnesium (Mg++). There are many others, but these are present in much lower concentrations in the body.
UNDERSTANDING ELECTROLYTES Electrolytes, which come from the salts we eat, play important roles because they make every cell and organ in your horse’s body work. Their main functions include the transmission of electrical signals from the brain to the spinal cord, and the transmission of signals from the spinal cord to the muscles. Electrolytes are needed to make the muscles contract and relax when the horse moves and breathes, and for the normal function of every cell in the body. They are also what help keep water within the body; they maintain the correct balance of water inside and outside the cells. The cells also recognize each of the different electrolytes found in the body fluids surrounding them; they do not function properly when any one of these is too much out of balance. Too much or too little of any one electrolyte will result in clinical signs. Balance is key.
FINDING A BALANCE So what is the right balance of salts for your horse? The NRC’s 2007 Nutrient Requirements of Horses states that it depends on what your horse does on a regular basis. If you have a leisure Equine Wellness
25