rethinking PERFORMANCE
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UNDERSTANDING THE
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VOLUME 11 ISSUE 3
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EquineWellnessMagazine.com Equine Wellness
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Conte 24 14 FEATURES 10 THE BALANCED
24 DEVELOP
42 THERAPEUTIC
Is your performance horse lacking in the show ring, or in his training? Here are the top three reasons your wellbred and well-trained horse may not be living up to his potential.
Good hands are the hallmark of a great rider. Take a look at how you can build this trait.
This colorful therapy can help your equine through rehabilitation, training and injury prevention.
PERFORMER
GOOD HANDS
TAPING
28 HOT WEATHER
48 GOOD VIBRATIONS
A closer look at the effects of feeding oils to horses.
Your horse’s hoof care needs change with the seasons. Keep him sound and healthy this summer with these tips.
54 THE EQUINE PAIN
18 DEALING WITH
32 A BREATH
Are you struggling with show nerves, or disheartened because the perfect performance you envisioned isn’t materializing? The solution could be as simple as changing the way you think.
Keeping the equine lung healthy.
14 SUPPLEMENTING WITH OILS
PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
4
Equine Wellness
GUIDELINES FOR HEALTHY HOOVES
OF FRESH AIR
36 A DOG AND PONY SHOW
How to safely and happily introduce predator (your dog) and prey (your horse) to one another.
Whole body vibration therapy for horses.
RESPONSE
Understanding how your horse perceives pain helps with diagnosis and treatment planning.
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8 Neighborhood news
6 Editorial
22 Herb blurb
23 Product picks
30 Minute horsemanship
40 Equine Wellness resource guide
39 Business profile:
45 Heads up
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51 Social media corner
46 Holistic veterinary Q&A
58 Marketplace
52 To the rescue
60 Events
62 Acupressure at a glance
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The BALANCED PERFORMER Is your performance horse lacking in the show ring, or in his training? Here are the top three reasons your well-bred and well-trained horse may not be living up to his potential.
Y
by Madalyn Ward, DVM
ou have saved up and bought a very well-bred performance horse. You have invested in a proven and successful trainer. But your horse is not “living up to his potential”. Your trainer tells you he has the ability but is just not advancing. She wants to send him home unless you can find a way to help him improve. Let’s take a look at the top three reasons why your wonderful horse may not be thriving in his performance!
1. NUTRITION Most performance horse owners and trainers know that commercial bagged feeds and grass hay don’t provide all the nutrients required to support high level equine athletes. Based on this knowledge, performance horses are often given multiple supplements in an effort to enhance their performance. These supplements often contain many varied ingredients in an effort to support hoof, joint, digestive and immune health. The challenge with this approach is that your horse is getting more than he needs of some nutrients and not enough of the ones that could potentially help him. Your best plan is to start from scratch and design a program specifically for your horse. Start with what your horse is eating the most of, which is hay. Start with the best quality grass hay you can buy and feed it in a slow feed hay net so your 10
Equine Wellness
horse will have hay in front of him for as much of the day as possible. Plan to use the least amount of grain or bagged feed needed to maintain your horse’s weight and energy. Horses have very small stomachs so keeping bagged feed under one pound per feeding is best. If your horse does not keep his weight on with lower amounts of bagged feeds and quality grass hay, you can consider adding some alfalfa hay to his diet. Good alfalfa is easier to digest and gives more nutrition per pound than grass hay. Additional vitamins and minerals may be needed for a performance horse, especially if he is still growing. It is better to get these nutrients from whole foods, such as algae, rather than from formulated supplements using synthetic or inorganic ingredients. Good quality whole foods will support healthy hooves, joints, digestion and immunity in most horses.
Good quality whole foods will support healthy hooves, joints, digestion and immunity in most horses. 2. PAIN Acute pain is easily recognized but chronic, low grade pain can hurt the performance of any great athlete. Digestive and musculoskeletal pain can both fall into the chronic, low grade category. Digestive pain can come from ulcers or simply an upset stomach caused by stress. Hay access 24/7 is one of the best ways to avoid ulcers and upset stomachs. Pre and probiotics can also support healthy digestion by keeping the horse’s gut bacteria balanced. Feed that is too high in sugar and/or starch will damage healthy bacteria and encourage the growth of pathogenic bacteria and yeast. Poor digestion can lead to more than gut pain. Damage to the intestinal lining can lead to toxins moving into the blood where they are deposited around joints or ligaments. These toxins can cause pain and stiffness. Stomach pain can also interfere with deep breathing. If a performance horse can’t inhale without discomfort he will take shallow breaths. Full, deep breaths are needed to bring in adequate oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. Higher levels of circulating carbon dioxide cause the kidneys to work harder Equine Wellness
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