Could you do the same?

Equine Clipping Business

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., 34-year-old Kristen Abano was a horse girl who majored in communications and English. After college, she worked in office administration at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists in Elmont, N.Y., for a year before relocating to south Florida. Eager to be more hands-on in the equine industry, Abano began working as a veterinary technician at Palm Beach Equine Clinic in Wellington, Fla.

“Once I got into vet med, I thought that would be where I’d work the rest of my life,” she says. “That was my dream job at the time, but the burnout is real in that industry. Toward the end of my time as a vet tech, I started doing some grooming [for private clients]. When I left the clinic in early 2020, I started my own business as a professional groom and made it a legal operating entity in 2021.”

It took three years for Centerline Equine Clipping to create full-time income, but the business has doubled every year. Her own horse, Ace, a Haflinger/Quarter Horse cross, models for her business marketing photos.

Centrally located near the show horse hub of Wellington, Fla., Abano is able to service south and southwest Florida. She works on everything from six-figure show horses to the 40-year-old backyard pony.

“Body clipping is not just about aesthetics; some horses need this medically,” says Abano. “Take Cushing’s horses, for example: I have these on a four- to six-week schedule to stay ahead of their coat growth, otherwise they may develop further health complications.”

While most of her business is body clipping, Abano offers plenty of other services, including sheath cleaning, mane tidying, private client grooming for shows, and preparing horses for photo sessions.

“Photoshoot prep is one of my favorite services,” she says, noting that she can do all the grooming and hand over an immaculate photo-ready horse, or stay for the duration of the shoot to help with details and getting ears up.

“My favorite part of what I do is getting horses to look and feel their best,” she adds.

Working Thoroughbred Sales

In 2023, an amazing 14,462 Thoroughbreds sold at public auction in North America for gross receipts of $1.2 billion. The average price per horse was $86,114.

Consignors who sell horses at these auctions routinely hire workers who specialize in preparing and handling horses at the sales. The most talented are able to work sales exclusively, rather than working on farms. On average, these consignors pay sales workers $250 to $300 per day.

Giovanni (Gio) Garcia, 31, of Little Village, Ind., has built a reputation as a top hand and makes a living working the country’s biggest Thoroughbred sales.

Garcia wasn’t raised with horses, but he’s consistently worked in the equine industry since starting as a groom at Tampa Bay Downs in 2012.

“I started coming to Ocala and working as an exercise rider and groom on a farm,” says Garcia. “Someone asked me about working sales and told me I could make more money doing that.”

He experienced this firsthand in 2020 when he worked for Claiborne Farm at the Keeneland yearling sale in Lexington, Ky. It was there Garcia found his niche. Since then, he’s been hired by sales consignors to work at Thoroughbred sales in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland and New York.

“I go wherever the horses go,” says Garcia.

During the longest sales, he may be away from home 16 days at a stretch. Once the horses ship in, the days are long and intense with no time off until the sale ends.

Whether he’s tacking up and wrapping the legs of a 2-year-old before a breeze show (where buyers get to watch the horse have a timed workout on the track before the auction) or showing rambunctious yearlings to prospective buyers, Garcia’s focus is always making sure the horses look their best.

“Whether it’s cold, raining, or hot, I love what I do,” he says. “I love horses and I’m paid to do something I love.”

Paul Sharp, one of the industry’s top 2-year-old consigners, sees Garcia’s passion.

“He’s reliable, knowledgeable, communicates well, and has a good touch. He definitely has a passion for the horses.” Ocala-based Sharp has hired Garcia to work all of his consignments since 2021.

As Sharp explains, an experienced hand like Garcia understands what’s at stake with the big sales and pays close attention to detail.

When he’s not working a sale, Garcia is home spending time with his family—his wife Courtney and their almost 2-year-old son, Giovanni Jr.

“He loves horses and already has a pony,” Garcia says with a smile.

Supplement Business

When Jerry Miller was a young man cowboying in Wyoming, he never imagined owning an equine supplement company.

Raised in Sheridan, Wyo., Miller went into the U.S. Navy after graduating high school. After serving his country, he moved to Seattle and worked as a welder for 12 years.

Miller then earned his mechanical engineering degree and moved to Idaho after graduating college in 2002. For the next 15 years, he traveled across the U.S. working as a consulting engineer for a company that built food and beverage processing systems.

“Between my ranching, welding and engineering experience, I was able to come up with new ways for my clients to make money,” says Miller. “I was always on the lookout for a way I could be my own boss.”

That opportunity came in 2019, when Miller wrote an engineering proposal for a nearby CBD oil extraction lab. The owner ended up hiring Miller as the production manager to design and run his extraction lab in Oregon.

“I learned everything I could about the product and processing it,” says Miller.

When he realized the company threw away the hemp after extracting the CBD oil to use in human products, he sent samples for testing. When the results came in, his entrepreneurial mind started spinning.

Testing revealed the hemp contained no THC, but was rich in 18 amino acids that fuel hoof, bone, skin and hair growth, repair muscle, manage weight, and help mental focus, among numerous other benefits.

After doing a trial with horse-owning friends and seeing how readily horses ate it, Miller knew he had a viable product. From there, it was a matter of researching the best way to dry the hemp, grind it, and process it into a supplement.

Miller officially launched Remount on May 1, 2020, during the early days of the pandemic. His company is registered in Idaho and his production shop is located across the border in Ontario, Ore.

Remount is a 100 percent hemp amino acid CBD equine health supplement. It contains 18 vital amino acids, including lysine, methionine, leucine, and more. The supplement is available in both powder and pellet form.

“I put some money in the business to get it rolling, but it was paying for itself by the second year and became profitable by year three,” says Miller. “I’ve seen a 30 to 40 percent increase in sales since 2021.”

In addition to selling online through Remount’s website, Miller has the supplement in eight retail locations in five states, and he has 12 distributors in 10 states.

This fall, he is heading south in his fifth wheel to spend the entire winter in Arizona, doing vendor booths at horse events from November through March.

Advice for Making an Equine Career Happen

Do you have what it takes to launch a career in the equine world?

“There are many ways you can make a living working with horses,” says Abano. “Find what you’re good at and figure out how to make money at it. Make sure it’s something you enjoy and are passionate about. If you’re offering a service, you have to love it.”

Miller recommends researching first.

“Find something no one else is doing and go for it,” he says.

If you’re marketing a product, be prepared to give away samples in the first year to get people to try it. Sponsoring good competitors who use your product also helps get the word out.

For obvious reasons, location matters if you’re offering a service. For example, Abano’s proximity to Wellington and her ability to travel in south Florida set up her business for success.

During show season in Idaho, Miller has a vendor booth at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, which hosts many shows and equine events, allowing him to showcase his product to horse people from a variety of states and different breeds.

Next, don’t skimp on appearances. A professional website is crucial when you’re launching a business. Miller says “before and after” photos of horses using his supplement have really helped promote Remount.

Finally, take advantage of social media and make the most of your connections.

“Wahl reached out to me after having followed my social media for a few months and asked me if I would be interested in joining their Pro Equine team,” says Abano. “Professionally, having this credential behind my name makes my business more competitive and marketable.” She is now a Wahl ambassador and educator who exclusively uses Wahl Animal products.

“I have consistent sales in over 25 states,” says Miller. “I couldn’t have gotten sales in some of those states without social media. I do a lot myself and have 15 to 20 sponsored competitors who talk about the brand on social media.”

This article about niche equine jobs appeared in the October 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Niche Equine Jobs appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Although often wrongly identified as insects, ticks are actually eight-legged parasitic arachnids, making them relatives of the spider.

Unfortunately, ticks can transmit a variety of harmful pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi, the infective organism that causes Lyme disease in humans, dogs, and horses.

The disease takes its name from Lyme, Ct., where it was first identified in the U.S. in the mid-1970s.

Lyme disease is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis (the eastern black-legged tick), found in the north and eastern part of the U.S., and Ixodes pacificus (the western black-legged tick), found in the Pacific Coast states of the western U.S. Both are also referred to as “deer ticks,” as deer are common hosts.

Ticks have four life stages: egg, larvae, nymph, and adult. From larvae stage onward, blood meals are needed to survive.

It is through feeding that ticks become infected with disease-causing pathogens. For example, the black-legged tick can become a carrier of B. burgdorferi after feeding on a white-footed mouse, which is known to carry the bacterium. If that tick then feeds on a horse, human or dog, it can transmit B. burgdorferi.

Shaped like tiny corkscrews known as spirochetes, this bacterium can colonize in the bloodstream, brain, joints, organs, and central nervous system.

At Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N.Y., Thomas J. Divers, DVM, has devoted years of research to studying bacterial tick-borne infections in horses.

Divers notes that the rise in tick numbers and their expanding geographic range has no doubt increased the exposure of humans, horses and dogs to B. burgdorferi.

Clinical Signs of Lyme Disease in Horses

Lyme disease is the most common of several tick-borne diseases affecting horses. Diagnosing Lyme, however, is not straightforward, and can in fact be extremely challenging.

In humans, Lyme disease can affect the entire body with an array of troubling symptoms, often causing misdiagnosis. A similar problem is found in the equine world, as the clinical signs of equine Lyme disease can mimic other diseases.

Another difficulty with diagnosing Lyme in horses is that the clinical signs aren’t consistent. These signs may include:

◆ Nodular skin disease at the tick bite site

◆ Neurologic disease affecting the spinal cord, brainstem or brain

◆ Uveitis (inflammation within the eye)

◆ Overall tenderness/sensitivity

◆ Vague lameness

◆ Neck and back stiffness with pain

◆ Muscle atrophy

◆ Behavioral changes

◆ Weight loss

◆ Ataxia (lack of voluntary coordination)

Adding to the challenge of diagnosis is that clinical signs may not appear for weeks—if not much later—and the horse may only exhibit random signs.

Diagnosing Lyme

In areas of the U.S. where B. burgdorferi exposure is common, 20 to 50 percent of adult horses have likely been exposed.

“The infection rate in horses is high, but clinical disease following infection appears to be very low in horses,” says Divers.

Exposure does not prove Lyme infection, so if your horse is exhibiting clinical signs related to the disease, your veterinarian should conduct a thorough exam to rule out any other causes.

If your veterinarian suspects Lyme, blood is drawn for serologic testing to determine if the horse’s immune system has produced antibodies to B. burgdorferi.

Having a high antibody suggests the horse has been exposed to the bacteria, but doesn’t necessarily confirm the horse has Lyme disease, since numerous equine diseases share similar clinical signs.

“It’s important to remember that most horses exposed to the bacteria and having a positive antibody test show no signs of Lyme disease,” says Divers. “If the antibody remains high without a drop in titer after several months, this suggests chronic infection, but most horses with this laboratory finding appear completely normal.

“I still believe clinical Lyme disease is much less common in horses than humans,” he adds. “There might be a slight increase in confirmed equine Lyme cases, but some of this is likely due to increased diagnostics, rather than a true increase in the disease.”

Treatment

Veterinarians admit that there is no “ideal” treatment protocol for equine Lyme disease.

Drug protocol and the duration of treatment should be determined by the attending veterinarian based on where the infection is in the horse’s body.

Divers emphasizes that it isn’t appropriate to use antibiotics to treat a horse that is antibody positive but doesn’t have a confirmed Lyme diagnosis, as this can contribute to widespread antimicrobial resistance.

Drugs in the tetracycline family, including doxycycline and minocycline, have been used to treat the disease. For a horse that truly has Lyme disease, a course of antibiotics may result in improvement of clinical signs within a few days. However, completely eliminating the B. burgdorferi organisms likely requires long-term treatment of weeks to months.

Divers generally recommends rechecking the antibody levels after six weeks. If no decline in titer is visible, the veterinarian should reassess the treatment protocol.

“Recovery from neurologic disease and uveitis is difficult,” cautions Divers, adding that prognosis is guarded in horses with such clinical signs from Lyme disease.

Protecting Horses from Exposure

No vaccines for Lyme disease are currently labeled for use in horses, although a vaccine is available for dogs. Some horse owners in areas where Lyme disease is prevalent have tried using these canine vaccines, but veterinarians may be hesitant to recommend such off-label use.

The best way to protect horses from possible infection is by limiting their exposure to ticks, which typically occurs when horses are turned out in or ridden through wooded areas.

When not on a host, ticks prefer shaded, sheltered areas with vegetation. If it’s not possible to keep horses out of wooded areas completely, maintain a 10-foot mowed boundary strip between wooded areas and open pasture. Keep that strip mowed very short, since ticks usually avoid open, sunny areas with little cover.

You should also protect your horse by:

◆ Keeping pastures well mowed; don’t let them get overgrown

◆ Removing weeds/leaf litter around barns, fence lines and under trees

◆ Practicing rodent control in and around barn

◆ Applying repellent products specifically labeled for use against ticks and, ideally, approved for use on horses

◆ Checking horses thoroughly after any exposure to areas that may harbor ticks

Unless you see a tick moving on a light-colored horse, you aren’t usually aware of their presence without careful observation. Check closely in thin-skinned areas of the horse’s body, including the chest, neck, flank, under the mane and tail, inside ears, and under the belly.

It’s often said that a tick must be attached for 24 hours before the Lyme disease organism can be transmitted, but this is not black and white. The best protection plan to is keep ticks off horses as much as possible.

Even if they don’t transmit disease, the ticks can cause inflammation, swelling and itching at the bite site.

After removing a tick, clean the site thoroughly with an antiseptic made for equine use, then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

The post Lyme Disease in Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Of course, many domestic horses don’t live in such an environment.

Some are turned out on pasture or even a dirt lot with other horses, but many spend most of their time alone in a stall or corral. These arrangements may be a necessary part of life, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s not natural for the horse.

Even though horses can adapt, many common management practices can unintentionally ramp up their stress level. Ongoing stress can end up causing health problems, which are often seen in the form of gastric disturbances, including colic and stomach ulcers.

Are you making your horse’s life stressful without realizing it? Take an honest look at your daily routine while considering these common causes of stress. Then take a look at how you can make changes for the better.

1. Inconsistency

“If you watch horses in a field, they have a routine,” says Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist who works with Kentucky Equine Research. “They often graze in certain parts of the pasture at certain times of day, and rest at certain times. When we become their provider, it’s helpful to them if we put them on a routine because then they know what to expect.”

She notes that without a routine, horses may develop stereotypies, such as cribbing, stall walking, and pawing.

“Horses are creatures of habit and do a lot better with a schedule, [where] you’re feeding and turning out at the same time every day,” says Sam Crosby, DVM, an equine veterinarian since 1994 who maintains his own practice, Crosby Veterinary Services, in Arcadia, Okla.

Crosby often finds that when he examines a horse that is losing body condition and weight, or has gastric ulcers, that horse has not been on a consistent routine.

2. Confinement

Confinement is an ongoing stress that constantly triggers the nervous system. When your horse lives in a stall or in a small corral, regular exercise and/or daily turnout is vital. Making sure other horses are visible also reduces stress.

Whether your horse is stalled or in a dirt lot, hay should be available most of the day and night. Use of a small-hole hay net or slow feeder makes it last longer, so the stomach doesn’t have a long period without forage.

Ideally, a horse should eat at least 1.5 to 2 percent of his body weight in forage daily.

3. Herd Dynamics

If you’re fortunate to have your horse in a pasture setting, keep him in a compatible group. In boarding situations where horses come and go, this can be challenging.

“Horses have a natural pecking order and have to establish that, but if one horse is a bully, you have to separate them,” says Crosby.

Once you have an established group that gets along well, it’s best not to change it.

Changing herd dynamics, such as moving from one pasture to another and being with different horses can be enough to trigger ulcer development.

Feeding in a group setting is also asking for trouble. It puts horses lower in the pecking order at risk of not getting their share of feed or even getting injured. The safest option is always to separate horses at feeding time and then turn them back out together. If this is not possible, spacing hay piles or grain feeders quite far apart with one more pile/feeder than horses is the next best option.

4. Lengthy Periods Between Meals

“The gut pays the price for stress,” says Crosby. “When the GI system reacts to stress, it lowers the immune system and puts the horse more at risk of contracting respiratory disease and other illnesses.”

One of the biggest stresses to the GI tract is going without forage for hours at a time.

“If your feed routine is first thing in morning and then early afternoon, you’ve got 8 hours between the first feedings, but 16 hours until the next one,” says Crandell. “The longer the stomach is empty, the more acidic it becomes and the more likely the horse is to develop ulcers.”

Because horses are hind gut fermenters, their GI system functions best when fed small amounts of forage throughout the day.

Crandell points out that in the 1500s to late 1800s, when horses were used for work and transportation, it was unheard of to feed less than four to six times a day. Horses were routinely given breaks to graze or eat hay.

Space out feedings evenly so you aren’t feeding large amounts of grain at once or going long periods with no forage intake. This may mean feeding three to four times a day instead of twice.

5. Changing Hay and Feed

Buying whatever hay or feed is on sale and frequently making changes is stressful on the horse’s digestive system.

“Abrupt changes in feed can cause serious changes in the gut,” says Crandell. “If the gut is healthy, the immune system functions optimally; 70 percent of the immune system is in the gut. It’s all about the balance of the microbiome.”

Beneficial bacteria create a mucous layer in the small and large intestine, offering protection from digestive juices and large molecules.

“The beneficial bacteria maintain this mucous lining, but if you disrupt the good bacteria, the mucous layer breaks down, and this is what allows pathogenic bacteria to get through the gut lining and into the blood stream,” she adds.

Changing feed abruptly imbalances the microbial population and can result in damage to this protective mucous lining, making the horse more susceptible to gastric upset and leaky gut.

Always allow a week to make feed changes by adding one-quarter of the new feed or hay to three-quarters of the old. Then gradually add more of the new while tapering out the old. This allows the gut microbes to gradually adjust to the new source.

6. Travel

Transporting horses is common, but travel is a high source of stress, so take practical steps to reduce its impact.

Keep hay in front of horses during travel so they don’t have long periods with an empty stomach.

Don’t tie so short that horses can’t drop their heads at all.

When traveling longer than five or six hours, plan for stops of at least 15 to 20 minutes to encourage horses to drink and urinate, as many won’t do so while the trailer is in motion. On longer trips, schedule overnight stops, or at the very least unload long enough that horses can walk, stretch their legs, and lower their heads, which is important for clearing the airways.

Both Crosby and Crandell recommend supplementing with probiotics for overall gastric health, particularly during travel and competition.

To help prevent ulcers, it’s also beneficial to use a proven medication, such as UlcerGard, two days before, during, and right after travel.

7. Weather Extremes

Living in tornado alley, Crosby has treated many horses after being injured in tornadoes. He’s found that extreme weather can do more than cause physical injury.

“When a horse has been through a big event like a tornado, it has a lasting effect on the psyche,” says Crosby. “These horses will generally be spookier afterward and have problems coping. It’s a common happening and is like PTSD in humans.”

Although major weather events are totally out of your control, be aware that they can cause significant stress in horses.

If you live in an area with extreme weather, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, have plans in place so your horse is in the safest possible situation. This may mean evacuating ahead of a storm or turning out in a large field instead of keeping the horse inside a barn.

8. Barn Atmosphere

The atmosphere in and around the barn either contributes to stress or reduces it. This includes feed, exercise, and training routines, how horses are handled, human personalities, and even the noise level.

“Your barn should be calm; if it’s not peaceful, the horses will feel it,” says Crosby, who often treats horses whose stress and anxiety is directly related to their daily environment, routine, and how they’re handled.

Do everything you can to promote a stress-free barn atmosphere. On occasion, this may mean moving to a different boarding facility, but if it makes your horse’s life less stressful, it’s worth it.

This article about causes of stress in horses appeared in the August 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Mild and Severe

Working in the show horse mecca of Wellington, Fla., Meg Miller Turpin, DVM, DACIVM, of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, routinely treats horses with equine asthma.

Miller Turpin explains that mild to moderate equine asthma is also referred to as inflammatory airway disease (IAD), while severe asthma is best described as recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).

“Mild and moderate [IAD] are the earlier forms of the disease, which we tend to see in young and middle-aged horses,” she explains. “If caught early, it can be reversible. When aggressive treatment and essential management changes are applied to these reactive horses, then many will completely recover. In the sport horse world, we’ve improved our early diagnostic measures, which allows treatment before the condition becomes severe and irreversible.

“Unfortunately, when the disease progresses to severe [RAO], there are lung changes that are irreversible, so then we must rely on figuring out the best way to manage the symptoms,” Miller Turpin adds.

In the past, this airway condition was known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or “heaves.” Many horse owners still refer to such respiratory conditions as heaves.

“The terms are often used interchangeably, but they all mean basically the same thing: mucous plugs in a hypersensitive airway,” explains Miller Turpin.

Clinical Signs of Equine Asthma

Signs of equine asthma can include:

• Coughing
• Nasal discharge
• Wheezing
• Flared nostrils when breathing normally
• Increased respiratory effort/heavy breathing
• Increased respiratory rate, even at rest
• Poor performance
• Resistance to work
• Exercise intolerance
• Anhidrosis (partial or total inability to sweat)
• Elevated heart rate during exercise or recovery
• Prolonged recovery after exercise

“We see a lot of horses with anhidrosis in Florida,” says Miller Turpin. “I’ve found that many horses with mild or moderate asthma [IAD] stop sweating, so that’s a double whammy. Sometimes you can get them to start sweating again once you get the airway issues under control.”

She finds that horses suffering from equine asthma can take much longer to recover from exercise—as long as 30 to 60 minutes to start breathing normally.

When a horse’s heart rate is much higher than it should be for the rate at which he’s working, this can indicate a lung problem is preventing the heart from getting enough oxygen to pump to the rest of the body, including muscles required for action.

Affected horses can have elevated respiratory rates as high as 50 to 90 (or more!) breaths per minute. Keep in mind, normal respiration for an adult horse is 8 to 20 breaths per minute.

Dramatically high respiratory rates combined with hot weather can be life threatening.

Causes and Triggers of Equine Asthma

Equine asthma is typically related to inhaled allergens and irritants. These can be year-round, such as dust, mold and fungal spores found in hay, straw and poorly ventilated or closed-up barns.

Other horses may only be susceptible to seasonal allergens, such as pollen encountered during specific times of year, typically spring and summer, or sometimes fall. Seasonal allergies can be easier to manage because you know when to expect a problem.

Miller Turpin finds that if horses have had a respiratory virus or a bacterial infection of the airway, this can make them more vulnerable to irritants that act as triggers.

It is believed that some horses may have a genetic predisposition to developing asthma, and when faced with environmental triggers, like dust, they will develop clinical signs.

Sensitive horses that often get hives and are very reactive to topical products and/or vaccines may be more likely to develop equine asthma.

“Horses that are stalled in cold climates in the winter with windows closed are set up for even more reactions to dust and molds,” says Turpin Miller. “Ammonia levels from urine in the stall can be toxic to the airways in a closed environments with poor ventilation. In tropical Florida, we have all this growth, bloom and mold, so even if horses receive additional turnout, there are still triggers in different grasses [and the] hay that is delivered from different areas of the United States and Canada.”

Those inhaled allergens and irritants cause inflammation, which leads to airway constriction as the tissue lining the small airways in the lungs narrows and becomes thickened. The smooth muscle surrounding these airways also constricts and tightens. Thick, sticky mucous accumulates in the airways, which also obstructs breathing.

As a result, inhaling and expelling air from the lungs becomes an effort for the horse. When the condition goes untreated, lung tissue can suffer permanent damage, resulting in irreversible loss of lung function.

Over time, horses can develop what is known as a “heave line” along the bottom of the rib cage on both sides as the abdominal muscles enlarge due to the continued effort of exhaling.

Diagnosing Equine Asthma

When a horse exhibits clinical signs that point to equine asthma, the veterinarian should do a thorough physical exam, including ultrasound of the lungs and a resting airway scope of the upper respiratory tract.

The veterinarian may also wish to perform a scope while the horse is exercising to rule out a mechanical cause, such as a displaced palate or abnormal epiglottis.

Should the horse’s heart rate be abnormally elevated, the veterinarian may use an exercise EKG to evaluate the horse under exercise.

Skin allergy testing may also be used to determine specific allergens that might be associated with inflammatory airway disease.

When equine asthma seems likely after these exams, the veterinarian will likely use a procedure known as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to better define the diagnosis.

The BAL can be done without taking the horse to a clinic. While the horse is sedated, a special tube is passed through the nostril into the trachea and down into part of the lung. Sterile saline is flushed in and suctioned back out, drawing cells and mucous out with the fluid. These samples are then submitted for cytological analysis to pinpoint the most effective treatment.

Treatment Protocol

The traditional medical approach is to address inflammation with corticosteroids and, if necessary, open the airways with a bronchodilator.

The duration and amount of medication used is tailored to the specific horse.

Although systemic steroids have been the gold standard to relieve inflammation and asthma signs, these drugs can suppress the immune system and carry risks, such as laminitis.

Administering steroids via nebulizer or inhaler, instead of orally or by injection, may reduce the risk of side effects by targeting the steroids directly to the lungs.

“With competition horses, you also have to consider competition regulations and withdrawal times,” says Miller Turpin.

Some regenerative medicines are being used with promise, including stem cells. Another innovative treatment uses a patented process to filter alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) from the horse’s own blood. This protein has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and can be administered via a nebulizer. (Studies are still necessary to prove the efficacy of these medications.)

Supplements may also help. Miller Turpin notes that both high doses of Vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids have lung health benefits.

It also appears that acupuncture can help breathing function in some horses with equine asthma.

The Importance of Management

Owners need to be very aware of their horse’s environment and any individual triggers. For the horse to experience ongoing relief, management changes are a crucial part of treatment protocol.

“You can treat aggressively with medications in the early stages and the horses may respond well, but if you don’t take away the triggers causing the allergy or reactive airway, then as soon as you stop the medication, the symptoms will come back, and often they will be exacerbated,” cautions Miller Turpin.

Depending on which allergens/irritants are to blame, your horse may do better when kept outside as much as possible. On the other hand, horses battling seasonal allergens may have less exposure if they’re not turned out as much that time of year.

Air quality is key. Eliminate dust and mold as much as possible. Reduce allergen/irritant exposure by:

• Using the stall with the most airflow (usually an end stall).
• Reconsider bedding (straw is often the worst choice; peat moss or cardboard may be better).
• Remove the affected horse from the barn whenever cleaning stalls, sweeping, or using a blower.

Forage Considerations

Obviously, forage is the main part of the equine diet. For asthmatic horses, however, hay can be a primary source of allergens and irritants.

Some owners find that dampening or steaming hay helps. Dry hay is not recommended, and round bales are an absolute no-no due to their high levels of dust, fungal and mold spores.

“These horses do better when you replace hay with chopped forage, pellets or complete feed,” says Miller Turpin.

Case History

The first indication Natalie Pai’s Oldenburg stallion, Mister-C, had respiratory issues was a hacking cough at the beginning of his workouts.

After Pai imported the stallion to Florida, she found he was also very sensitive to topical products, often breaking out in hives.

Miller Turpin examined Mister-C and did a series of skin allergy tests, which showed he was reactive to a wide array of allergens. She also performed airway endoscopy and a BAL. He was diagnosed with equine asthma due to severe allergies.

A2M and steroid/bronchodilator treatments through a nebulizer are part of his routine. He also gets allergy shots administered subcutaneously every two weeks. His hay is steamed to remove any dust.

“His breathing is very well managed now,” says Pai, who understands the frustration of breathing problems since she herself has allergy-induced asthma.

Key Takeaway

When a horse has breathing abnormalities, especially combined with skin sensitivities, have your veterinarian conduct an exam for possible equine asthma. Being proactive with early treatment and management changes may keep the condition from becoming severe and irreversible.

Further Reading
◆ Horse Respiratory Issues: Management of Asthma and Other Disorders
◆ Horse Allergies: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention

This article about equine asthma appeared in the July 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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When you’re training toward a goal, consistency is important, but be mindful when you ride to avoid overheating—or worse. For practical advice on summer riding, we turned to veterinarians in two hot—but very different—regions, the Southeast and Southwest.

Hot and Dry

Summer temps in the desert Southwest can easily climb to 120° Fahrenheit, so riding between mid-morning and late afternoon is strongly discouraged.

“Ride early and be done by 10 a.m. or break it into two sessions,” advises Christine Staten, DVM, a large animal veterinarian and owner of Adobe Veterinary Center in Tucson, Ariz. “[You can] ride early in the morning and late in the day, instead of one long session.”

In addition to shorter rides, don’t hesitate to head for the shade for quick breaks.

“In dry environments, just getting under shade can reduce the temperature by 20 degrees,” she notes.

“This advice is as much for riders as it is for horses,” says Staten. “We see more heatstroke in riders in the middle of a hot day than in horses. Every year in Tucson, we have people die from heatstroke on the trail.”

Hot and Humid

Heat and humidity alone can be challenging for horses. Add exercise to the equation and health risks increase.

“The coastal humidity in Florida multiplies the heat index substantially because it reduces the body’s ability to dissipate heat through evaporation or sweating,” explains Caitlyn Henderson, DVM, of Peterson Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala, one of Florida’s largest equine clinics. “It’s akin to trying to breathe and cool yourself from under a hot, wet blanket.”

In addition to not riding during midday, Henderson always advises having a shaded area where horse and rider can take short breaks. Keep buckets of cool water available so the horse can drink. When humidity climbs, it helps to add a misting fan if the area has access to electricity.

Quick Math

For a simple assessment on riding safety, add the air temperature to the humidity percentage.

When the combined total is under 130, a healthy horse can effectively cool himself. When the combined total is between 130 to 150, the horse’s ability to cool himself is decreased.

If the combined total is over 150, this ability is greatly reduced. Once the combined total is over 180, conditions can be life threatening for any horse under physical stress.

A good rule of thumb is to avoid riding if the air temperature and humidity combined total over 150.

Horses at Risk of Overheating

Certain horses are more vulnerable to overheating. These include:

• Old or very young
• Not acclimated to climate
• Out of condition
• Heavily-muscled, thicker body types
• Diagnosed with an endocrine disease, like PPID (Cushing’s disease)
• History of equine asthma
• Recovering from a recent respiratory challenge
• Diagnosed with anhidrosis (partial or total inability to sweat)

“If your horse shows any signs of heat stress, have your veterinarian evaluate him to determine if there are underlying issues,” says Staten. “If this is happening, there’s probably something going on that needs to be addressed so we can come up with a plan to remedy it.”

Acclimation

Whether you live in a hot, arid region or where it’s hot and humid, it’s critical that your horse be acclimated to those conditions before strenuous exercise.

After 25 years of equine practice in Tucson, Staten has never seen a healthy, acclimated horse have heatstroke. The problems she sees are in horses that have recently moved to the area or have an endocrine disease, like PPID, or have anhidrosis.

Staten finds the best season to move a horse to the desert Southwest is fall or winter, as this gives the most time to acclimate. If you move in spring, expect acclimation to take at least a couple of months.

“Dark-colored horses struggle more when trying to acclimate to our weather. If a horse is still shedding a winter coat in spring, that can make it rough on them,” she cautions.

“It’s recommended that human athletes take six weeks, minimum, to acclimate to a new climate, and no less than that should be afforded to our equine athletes,” says Henderson.

She finds it easier for horses to gradually acclimate to heat and humidity if they’re introduced to it in early spring, at latest.

Proceed with caution if you’ve just moved to an area where it’s significantly hotter and more humid than where your horse lived previously.

“I see a lot of riders who come here from New York and New Jersey and just want to ride, but to do this in the summer months is going to be more of a challenge,” says Henderson.

She recommends giving the horse a full week to recover from travel. Then return to light work under saddle, exercising at the coolest time of the day for at least six weeks as the horse acclimates.

She encourages riders to take it day by day, because some horses need more time than others to adjust.

Keep Horses Drinking When It’s Hot

Hydration is critical for horses in hot weather.

Electrolyte loss due to exercise or simply sweating can lead to metabolic stress and decrease the horse’s thirst response, which can result in dehydration and overheating.

In addition to access to salt (plain or trace mineral), horses may need electrolyte supplementation to replenish the sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride lost through sweating and urination.

Henderson tells riders to prepare for summer temps by introducing electrolytes to the horse’s diet earlier in the year. The goal is to encourage water intake year-round, so horses are always well hydrated before exercising.

“If you’re at a show, offer water between classes,” says Staten. “If you’re on the trail and there’s a place to drink, let them. A horse should always be allowed to drink, even when he’s hot.”

Cool Down

Many people think the best way to cool a hot horse after exercise is just to walk him in the shade. However, research shows that the most efficient method is to continuously shower a stationary horse with cool (79° Fahrenheit) tap water. In a recent study, this method decreased the horse’s core temperature in an average of just two minutes.

“Focus water on the jugular vein and the large veins inside the legs,” says Staten, noting that this helps cool the horse’s core temperature.

Finish cooling out by slowly walking the horse until his respiratory rate and body temperature are normal. Movement helps remove lactic acid from the system and keeps muscles from tightening up.

Always allow the horse to drink during recovery. Research shows that horses voluntarily drink more within the first hour after exercise when water is about 68° Fahrenheit.

Offer half a gallon of water at a time throughout the cool-down process until the horse doesn’t want to drink any more. Make sure there is plenty of water in his stall/corral to drink after he’s totally cooled out.

Summer Travel

Any time you trailer during the summer, pick the coolest part of the day to travel. Increase air flow by opening all vents and windows, but for safety’s sake, do not let horses put their heads outside the trailer.

“Hot metal is like an oven, so get them out of the trailer as soon as you get where you’re going,” says Staten.

Common Sense

So, is it ever too hot to ride?

“If you think you are going to struggle to get through a ride due to the heat, so will your horse,” says Henderson. “If there’s ever a time you think it might just be too hot to ride, you’re probably right. Go with your gut feeling and take your horse’s health into consideration. It’s never wrong to delay a ride for a cooler time of day for the safety of your horse.”

This article about when it may be too hot to ride a horse appeared in the July 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Enteroliths are mineralized intestinal stones that sometimes form within the horse’s colon. The condition can become serious if a stone gets too large to pass through the digestive tract. When an enterolith causes obstruction, surgical removal is the only solution to avoid a fatal gastrointestinal rupture.

It takes at least a year—but more likely several years—for an enterolith to become large enough to form an obstruction.

The process under which enteroliths gradually form is known as enterolithiasis.

What’s Causes Enteroliths in Horses?

Like a pearl, an enterolith starts by forming around something. This small, indigestible object could be a pebble, coin, piece of rubber or wire, or even a piece of baling twine, rope, or fabric the horse has swallowed.

Mineral salts in the horse’s intestine or colon sometimes form around the object. These struvite crystals are comprised mainly of magnesium, ammonium and phosphate.

To support this struvite mineralization, there must be the correct environment within the colon, which includes a higher pH/more alkaline colonic contents, combined with a rich combination of minerals.

Diets high in alfalfa hay are most likely to create this optimal environment for mineralization.

“Alfalfa is a forage with a relatively high buffering capacity compared with other forages, thus it contributes to the more alkaline colonic environment needed for enterolith formation,” says Diana M. Hassel, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl ACVS, a colic surgeon at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital and professor in the Department of Clinical Services. “The other big contributing factor is likely the mineral content in alfalfa. Magnesium has been implicated, and it is particularly high in alfalfa grown in certain areas versus others.”

Some studies have recognized higher magnesium and other minerals in the water in regions of the country where enterolithiasis is more common.

The enterolith that forms around a hard object like a pebble, coin, or wire can be round, spherical, triangular, or flat in shape. Enteroliths can vary in size from as small as a walnut to larger than a grapefruit. Among the most dangerous are those that are baseball-sized.

When the horse swallows a soft foreign body like baling twine, it can become mineralized, resulting in the formation of hundreds of tiny enteroliths along the piece of twine.

Risk Factors

Risk factors for enterolith formation include:

• Geographical region
• Diet high in alfalfa
• Stall confinement
• Sibling that developed the condition

California, Texas, Florida and Arizona are the primary areas for enterolithiasis in the U.S. This may be related to minerals in the soil, and/or the fact that many horses in these states eat a high or all-alfalfa diet.

“It’s not known whether it’s the water, the soil, the alfalfa itself, or simply the amount of alfalfa owners feed in these regions that makes these areas at higher risk,” notes Hassel. “Within the state of California, there are areas with very few enterolith cases, even when alfalfa is fed frequently, and other areas where [cases are] commonly found.”

Hassel points out that stall confinement and diets high in alfalfa are the only repeatably documented risk factors for enterolithiasis, with high alfalfa diets being the most impactful.

“Alfalfa is higher in protein than most other forages, and this may provide a source of nitrogen for the ammonium content in enteroliths—and contribute to the higher pH in the colon,” says Hassel.

She notes that the roles of phosphorus and other minerals, such as calcium and zinc, are not well established.

Studies have shown that Arabians and Morgans are most commonly affected, but Hassel notes that no breeds are “immune” to developing enteroliths. Any breed may be affected when rich alfalfa hay is fed.

Interestingly, the condition is found in mares more often than in male horses.

Watch for Signs of Enteroliths in Your Horse

Clinical signs of enterolithiasis can include:

• Recurrent bouts of colic/abdominal pain
• Depression/lethargy
• Loose stool
• Change in behavior/“crankiness”
• Weight loss
• Resentment when girth is tightened
• Reduced performance
• Reluctance to go downhill or jump

On occasion, a horse will pass small enteroliths in manure. If you see this happen, it’s a red flag that should not be ignored. This is an indication there may also be a larger stone that can’t pass.

Pay attention when cleaning the stall; a small enterolith passed in the manure will be hard as a rock.

Any time a horse passes a small enterolith, Hassel strongly recommends making an appointment at a veterinary referral facility to have abdominal radiographs performed.

“If there are no large enteroliths present (all are smaller), it may be possible to manage these cases long-term without surgery,” says Hassel. “If larger enteroliths are present, surgical management on an elective basis is a lot less risky and less expensive than an emergency colic surgery.”

Surgical Resolution

When abdominal radiographs reveal the presence of an enterolith too large to pass through the GI tract, surgery is the only solution.

This is not a “wait and see” situation. Without surgery to remove the obstructing enterolith, the horse’s intestine can rupture, causing a painful death.

Fortunately, when the horse is in good condition and without other issues, surgery for enterolith removal has a high success rate.

Reducing Risk of Enteroliths

Horse owners can be proactive and lower their horse’s risk of forming enteroliths.

“The most critical advice is to reduce the quantity of alfalfa fed to 50 percent or less of the diet,” says Hassel. “If the horse is at high risk (for example, already had an enterolith removed), I would recommend taking that horse off alfalfa entirely.

“Keep in mind that if your horse has an enterolith and you change his diet to a different hay, that may contribute to movement of the stone downstream in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in obstructive colic,” she adds.

Hassel encourages any owner who suspects their horse has an enterolith to first have abdominal radiographs done before making diet changes.

Other preventative management techniques include:

• Daily access to pasture/turnout
• Keeping hay and feed free of foreign objects
• Feeding small amounts of grain twice daily with a half-cup of apple cider vinegar (ACV) to attempt to decrease pH level in the gut

Although ACV has a small but reliable impact on decreasing pH in the gut, it can’t dissolve an enterolith that has already formed.

Hassel finds that horses who regularly graze on pasture are at lower risk for developing obstructive enteroliths.

If grazing is not an option, it’s beneficial to keep hay available throughout the day using a slow feeder so the horse doesn’t go for many hours with an empty gut.

Encourage water consumption by ensuring clean, cool water is available 24/7. Electrolytes can help promote drinking when horses consume less water during cool weather.

Because enteroliths form around small objects the horse has swallowed, keep feed areas free of debris. If you use rubber mats, sweep them daily. Make it a routine to clean hay bunks and feed bins frequently.

Careful management, taking proactive measures, and being observant can protect most horses from enterolithiasis.

This article about enteroliths in horses appeared in the May 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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You’ll be glad to know once-a-year sheath cleaning is sufficient for most male horses. This not only keeps them comfortable, but also allows anything abnormal to be found and addressed.

As for the how, we’ve got you covered step by step, so read on.

Quick Anatomy Lesson

Whether gelding or stallion, every male horse has a penis and sheath. Unless he “lets down” to urinate or is sexually aroused, his penis is retracted inside the sheath.

Muscles keep the retracted penis protected by a loose double fold of skin called the prepuce. The external part of the prepuce is known as the sheath.

To reduce skin-on-skin friction when the penis extends and retracts, lubrication is provided by an oily substance called sebum, which is secreted by the sebaceous glands.

As sebum combines with dirt, exfoliated skin cells, dirt, natural bacteria, and moisture, it forms a thick, waxy substance known as smegma. It can vary in color from creamy to gray or black.

Why Do You Need to Clean a Horse’s Sheath?

If you never know the normal appearance of your horse’s sheath and penis, you may not realize if something changes.

Male horses can develop cancers—sarcoids, melanomas, and squamous cell carcinoma—on the penis and sheath. Habronemiasis, aka summer sores, can also occur in this area.

“The majority of the time, horses aren’t walking around with the penis extended, so unless you make it a point to clean the sheath, you won’t see if there are any changes,” says Melissa J. Prell, DVM, M.S., DACT, director of the Advanced Fertility Center at Peterson Smith Equine Hospital in Summerfield, Fla. “Even more important than cleaning is monitoring the overall health of the horse, and this includes the reproductive tract.”

Signs a Sheath Cleaning is Needed

“People often associate the existence of smegma as unhygienic, but it’s a normal process for horses to have smegma,” says Prell. “Some horses are dirtier than others; it doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong. Horses roll in dirt, sand, and shavings, and skin sheds naturally, so all of this accumulates in the dark, waxy appearance of smegma.”

The following signs may indicate your horse has excess smegma and needs his sheath cleaned:

◆ Visible smegma on the outside of the sheath, hind legs or belly near the sheath

◆ Penis looks dirty when visible

◆ Change in urine stream

What is a “Bean?”

Sheath cleaning and beans are often mentioned together.

A bean is the firm accumulation of smegma that can form at the end of the penis near the urethral opening in a depression known as the urethral fossa.

So named because of their shape, beans can vary from the size of a pencil eraser or lima bean to as large as a walnut.

“Some horses form more of a bean than others, depending on how dirty and waxy their smegma is,” says Prell.

What if you never clean the sheath?

Some horses will develop massive beans that can make them uncomfortable. But one of the biggest concerns is not catching potential pathology, such as cancer.

Bacterial or fungal infections aren’t common in the penis or sheath, but Prell points out that gray horses especially are vulnerable to cancers in this area.

Fortunately, by cleaning the sheath once a year, you should spot any issues that can then be addressed as needed by your veterinarian.

Be Prepared

Some horses relax so much during a thorough grooming session that they drop their penis, but in most cases, sheath cleaning is easier to do if the horse is sedated.

If you feel uncertain about the “how-to,” schedule a visit with your veterinarian. Prell suggests adding sheath cleaning to the agenda when your veterinarian comes for the annual dental exam, since the horse will likely be sedated for that.

If you’ve never cleaned a sheath before, watching the veterinarian do it provides a great opportunity for you to learn. Ask them to explain the process in detail so you’ll know how to do it the next time.

Horse owners may also opt to ask their veterinarian for a prescription for Dormosedan Gel^®. Unlike sedation drugs administered intravenously, this product is given under the tongue, lasting long enough to sedate the horse for sheath cleaning.

Supplies you’ll need:

◆ Disposable gloves (obstetric exam gloves, which are longer than standard gloves, are even better)

◆ Bucket of warm water

◆ Commercial sheath cleaner or mild dish soap, like Ivory

◆ Cotton squares

◆ Paper towels

Prell explains that most smegma can be removed with warm water and cotton. If you want to use a product, she recommends a commercial sheath cleaner or mild dish soap, like unscented Ivory.

“Don’t use chlorhexidine, betadine, or any anti-bacterial soap,” she cautions. “Those can kill the good bacteria, and you can end up with a problem.”

Step-by-Step Sheath Cleaning

To keep the horse from moving around, tie him securely or have someone hold him.

Some horses can still react when sedated. Stay safe by standing well in front of his hind legs, and monitor his attitude throughout the process.

Let’s get started:

◆ Roll up your sleeves. Put on gloves.

◆ Apply a small amount of cleaner in one gloved hand.

◆ Pick up a cotton square dampened with warm water.

◆ Gently hold the extended penis with one hand and run the hand holding the cotton along the shaft of the penis to remove any flaky, peeling skin and loosen the smegma.

◆ Examine penis for any abnormalities (sores, lumps, et cetera).

◆ Once you’ve removed any loose skin and debris along the penis, check for a bean in the urethral fossa (the depression at the tip).

◆ If a bean is present, gently dislodge it with the tip of your gloved finger.

◆ After cleaning the penis, use additional damp cotton square(s) to remove any smegma or debris (dirt or shavings) inside the sheath.

◆ Use a paper towel to pat the penis dry.

◆ Discard used cotton, paper towels, and gloves in a lidded trash can.

Prell recommends cleaning the penis first and saving the inside of the sheath for last, since you can still do this even if the horse retracts his penis.

“You can still clean inside the sheath even if you don’t get a good view,” she notes.

All done! You can now cross this task off your to-do list until next year.

This article about how to clean a horse’s sheath appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Unfortunately, much of what happens in life is out of our control. Insurance can’t prevent bad things from happening, but it offers a financial buffer when they do.

Here, we’ll review the most common equine policies, what they entail, and different circumstances to consider.

Most Common Equine Insurance Policies

Restricted Perils

Also called Specified or Named Perils, Restriced Perils is the least expensive option and covers only what is listed in the policy, such as death by wind, fire and/or smoke, lightning, collision, or overturn in vehicular transit. Depending on the company, it may include theft.

Full Mortality

A full mortality insurance policy covers death due to any cause, except for willful neglect or destruction. It covers the insured horse in the event that he dies or must be humanely destroyed due to illness, accident, injury, disease, fire, smoke, lightning or theft.

Think of Restricted Perils and Full Mortality policies as “life insurance.”

Major Medical

Major Medical protects the horse owner against covered medical, veterinary, and surgical costs up to a specified amount per policy year.

Surgical

This policy reimburses for covered surgical expenses up to a specified amount per policy year. Surgical coverage applies to necessary procedures performed under general anesthesia, not elective surgeries, like castration.

Colic

This equine insurance policy reimburses for a medical or surgical colic.

Major Medical, Surgical and Colic endorsements aren’t available on their own, but can be added to a Full Mortality policy. Think of these policies as “health insurance.”

Equine Insurance Policy Details

“Full Mortality is the base policy, and then you can add to it,” says Rhonda Mack, an agent in the Ocala, Fla., office of EPIC Insurance, a nationwide company.

“Most insurance companies include a colic surgery endorsement with Full Mortality, but you can add additional coverage on top of that,” says Mack, noting that some companies allow “stacking” of endorsements.

A colic endorsement has a $10,000 limit and will reimburse the owner for medical or surgical colic expenses for an insured horse.

Major Medical typically covers issues like lameness, gastric ulcers, eye injuries, clinic costs, MRIs, et cetera, plus surgical costs, such as colic surgery. Some insurance companies include acupuncture and chiropractic in their Major Medical policy, but coverage varies with each company, so read your policy carefully.

The decision to purchase equine insurance is both financial and emotional.

“It’s based on your comfort level and what you worry about happening to your horse,” says Mack. “If your horse is facing a $12,000 colic surgery and you have to make a decision based on if you can afford it or not, insurance can give you peace of mind, knowing you have help with veterinary expenses.”

Horse Value

The premium for Full Mortality coverage is determined by the price you paid for the horse and his use (pleasure, show, racing, or breeding). If you bred the horse, your insurance agent can help determine a value based on stud fee, bloodlines, sales averages, et cetera.

“Most carriers now require a minimum Full Mortality insurance amount of $15,000 to be eligible for Major Medical,” says Mack.

The following examples are based on December 2023 policy prices.

An 8-year-old dressage horse insured for $25,000 under Full Mortality with a $10,000 major medical policy would have an annual premium of approximately $1,375.

A 10-year-old Quarter Horse trail horse insured for $5,500 with a $10,000 surgical endorsement and $5,000 free colic surgery would have an annual premium of approximately $350.

Reimbursement

Major Medical already includes surgical expenses up to a specified amount. For a relatively low price (usually under $200), owners can add a $10,000 surgical endorsement to their Full Mortality coverage.

Endorsements function by reimbursement, rather than paying the veterinarian directly. The horse owner pays the veterinarian and then turns in the invoices and veterinary report to be reimbursed for the covered expenses, less any deductible and copay.

For example, if the insured horse required a $9,000 colic surgery, after the deductible and co-pay are applied, the owner would be reimbursed about $8,000.

Horse Age

Age comes into play when insuring horses.

“After age 15, premiums get higher,” says Mack. “Most companies will insure to age 18, some to age 20. We consider all horses’ birthdays to be January 1, even if they’re born in June.”

Even though full mortality and surgical coverage aren’t usually available after age 20, Restricted Perils coverage is still offered.

Individual Horse Owner’s (IHO) Liability Coverage

Individual Horse Owner’s (IHO) liability coverage has nothing to do with the health of the horse. This policy protects the owner in the event their horse causes damage to a person or property.

“Equine liability is recommended,” says Mack. “Any time you own a horse, you have risk exposure.”

Coverage provides liability protection in many situations, such as if your horse gets loose at a show and injures someone.

You don’t need to own property to purchase this coverage, and it’s for those who don’t derive income from their horses. With IHO liability, the premium is based on the number of horses owned.

Mack says that an IHO liability policy with $1 million coverage covering a few horses generally costs less than $400 a year.

Many people mistakenly assume their personal homeowner’s policy extends to cover damage or injury caused by horses.

Insurance for Equine Businesses

People who own breeding and training farms or boarding stables should have a commercial liability or farm package policy, which includes the residence on the property as well as equine owner’s liability coverage. Care, custody & control is another option if you board horses you don’t own.

Let’s say your horse breaks through the fence and ends up on the road, causing an auto accident. If there is damage to the car and/or an injury or death of the car’s occupant(s), a resulting claim would not be covered under most homeowner’s policies.

However, if found negligent, it would be covered under a commercial farm owner’s policy or IHO liability policy. (Equine liability policies also cover defense costs).

Key Takeaway

If you decide to consider insurance coverage, don’t be afraid to talk to more than one provider, get multiple quotes, and ask plenty of questions.

In the end, your peace of mind is worth every penny.

This article about equine insurance policies appeared in the April 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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The arrival of a new foal is the culmination of planning, hopes and dreams—unless something goes wrong.

Only about 5 percent of mares experience foaling difficulties, but it happens. Sometimes a mare dies during or shortly after foaling. Some mares reject their foals, while others don’t produce adequate milk or get seriously injured and can’t care for their babies.

In any of these scenarios, prompt intervention is needed to give the foal its best chance for survival.

Raising a “bottle baby” is certainly possible, but not the best option for a foal, who ideally needs to be raised by a horse to be properly socialized.

Enter the nurse mare.

In the traditional nurse mare business, mares are bred to have a foal each year so they’re available for lease if needed to raise another mare’s foal. When that nurse mare is called into duty, her own foal is left behind to be raised on milk replacer. Often called “throwaway foals,” some of them end up in the slaughter pipeline.

The nurse mare industry has long been a reality, but not one that people spoke of with pride. It’s a tragic irony that a business created to save valuable foals makes orphans out of others.

Using a More Ethical Option

As a young woman, Laura Phoenix worked in the traditional nurse mare business, but grieved over the brutal truth of those foals left behind.

“It was always sad,” she says. “I didn’t like coming home to the orphans.” She later left the business because of that aspect.

Decades later, she learned about the concept of hormonally induced lactation (HIL). With HIL, mares are safely brought into milk production without being pregnant and having a foal.

In 2011, Phoenix gave it a try with two of her mares. After finding demand for the service, she started adding more mares. Today, Phoenix owns and operates Nursemares of the Northeast at her home base in Walton, N.Y., and Nursemares of Kentucky in Paris, Ky.

Raised on a working horse farm in Virginia, Bronwyn Watts became a professional groom, working at the highest levels of eventing competition for years.

She’d worked in the horse industry her whole life, but learned about the traditional nurse mare business by reading an article in 2017. This inspired her to look for a more ethical way to help orphans.

After researching HIL, she got her first two mares and in 2018, launched ColdSpring Nurse Mares, LLC, in Ocala, Fla.

Although their businesses are totally independent, Phoenix and Watts are both driven by the same passion.

How HIL Works

With HIL, mares are given hormones for a short period to mimic late-stage pregnancy and stimulate milk production, explains Alan Riggs, DVM, a veterinarian with Peterson Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala, Fla.

After a brief hormone protocol, the mare has mammary gland development. It typically takes anywhere from five to 10 days for her to come into milk. Hand milking encourages further milk production until a foal is nursing her.

“Once the mares come into milk, they are milked at least twice a day to keep up the milk production. This is done until a foal is on them. It’s completely safe for the mare and safe for the foals,” notes Riggs, who specializes in reproduction.

Each mare is different, and the protocol can be adjusted for each individual.

“With [HIL], lactation can be timed to when the mares will be needed,” he adds. “By far the biggest benefit is not having a foal that becomes an orphan.”

Phoenix and Watts each have their own unique protocols they’ve developed over time and personal experience.

“The mares have 21 days of hormonal support protocol, and then they’re treated just like any other mare,” says Phoenix. “They dry up after weaning just like a mare who’s had her own foal.”

Because one never knows when a nurse mare will be needed, Phoenix and Watts both keep mares ready in different stages of protocol throughout foaling season.

Bonding with the Foal

The traditional nurse mare leaves her own foal at home, and must often be sedated, blindfolded, hobbled and forced to accept the orphan foal. That trauma is never part of the process with HIL nurse mares and proper pairing.

But just having a lactating mare doesn’t ensure success. The strategy is pairing the right mare with the orphaned foal so they can bond quickly and thrive together.

“There’s a lot of misconception that any lactating mare will make a nurse mare,” says Watts. “It’s a very delicate situation. You have to really know the mare and know what you’re doing bonding mare and foal.”

Great care goes into matching mare and foal, taking into consideration size, personality, history, and health of the foal.

If the foal is having health issues on top of being orphaned, it takes just the right nurse mare to fill the spot. Sometimes the foal is sick and already in the clinic. This situation requires a mare who is not only going to bond with the baby, but whose personality can handle the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) setting.

The mare is hauled to the foal’s location. Every effort is made to ensure that conditions are optimal for bonding. The less distraction, the better. A team of two people is optimal: one to safely handle the foal and one to handle the mare.

The mare is brought into the stall with the foal and the handlers stay in place until the foal is nursing, which helps cement the bond.

“The bonding process is dictated by the mare,” says Phoenix. “Safety is the No. 1 thing, so we take every precaution.”

Pairing can take only minutes with very young foals but can take a little longer if the orphan is older when he loses his biological mother.

What Makes a Good Nurse Mare

What makes a good nurse mare? For starters, she must previously have had her own foals and proven to be a doting mother with good milk production.

Personality is a crucial factor. Nurse mares are sent to both small farms and large breeding operations. Either way, they need to be easy to catch and handle.

Vices like stall walking or weaving will disqualify a mare, as will aggression or serious lameness issues, such as laminitis.

“If a mare is cribber, that’s not a deal breaker if she’s a good mom, but she will wear a crib collar,” says Phoenix.

Since most nurse mares are on the older side, averaging late teens to 20s, age isn’t a negative factor, providing the mare is healthy.

Both Phoenix, who has 220 mares, and Watts, who has 80, have built their herds through donations. Mares often come from clients who want their retired broodmares to have great homes.

Although many are retired Thoroughbreds, there are plenty of other breeds in the mix, including warmbloods, Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, Arabians, Standardbreds, and draft crosses.

For most nurse mares, raising orphans is their third career.

“In the beginning, we said we were saving a life,” says Phoenix. “However, we quickly realized we’re saving three: the unwanted broodmare, the client foal, and the throwaway foal.”

Situations with Unusual Orphans

Not every client who calls needs a nurse mare for a horse foal. On occasion, baby equines of different species need a mom.

In 2023, Nursemares of Kentucky came to the rescue when a zebra foal lost its mother. In addition to their dramatic stripes, zebras don’t vocalize like horses, so it required just the right nurse mare to adopt this unusual newborn.

“The client was licensed to have exotic animals, but they didn’t have the facilities to keep them in for bonding, so they brought the zebra foal to us,” says Phoenix, who had prepped two mares for the unlikely orphan.

The first mare took to the zebra immediately and the two were able to return to the owner’s farm within four days.

ColdSpring Nurse Mares has provided nurse mares for three donkey foals. One of these was a Poitou, a rare long-haired French donkey breed that is considered endangered.

Watts says her nurse mare who raised the Poitou donkey foal was known for her powerful mothering instincts and had even nursed a calf.

Lease Arrangements for Nurse Mares

Nurse mares are leased for a flat fee plus delivery charge, which varies depending on distance. Between Phoenix and Watts, their nurse mares have been sent to clients in the entire eastern half of the U.S. and beyond.

Foal owners lease the mare for as many months as needed to nurse the baby. During that time, the lessee is responsible for all mare care (feed, hoof care and deworming), as well as shipping the mare home after weaning.

In the traditional nurse mare business, the lessee is required to breed the mare back, but obviously, this isn’t required with HIL nurse mares.

“What these mares do is so special,” says Watts. “We’re giving these older broodmares a job they love to do, helping an orphan foal, and not contributing to the population of unwanted horses. You can’t go wrong with this.”

Phoenix agrees.

“Even with us putting out this many mares, I’m still shocked to find out so many people don’t know about this option,” she says. “These nurse mares are heaven sent. When we can fill that need without having an unwanted foal, everybody feels good at the end of the day.”

This article about the improving practices of the nurse mare industry appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How the Nurse Mare Industry is Changing for the Better appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“It depends somewhat on the individual horse whether you can influence his temperament with diet, but there is evidence that for many horses, what they are eating can influence whether they are reactive, flighty or calmer,” says Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist who works with Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

She explains that calories are just a measure of the amount of energy in feed. Different feed sources can supply the same number of calories from different sources of energy.

“It all comes down to how the energy source is metabolized within the body as to what kind of energy it will supply,” says Crandell.

For example, fat and fiber are considered “cool” energy sources, while starch and sugar tend to be “hot” energy sources.

The Protein Myth

While you may have heard that high-protein feeds make horses more excitable or “hot,”  that’s simply not the case.

“The old belief was that protein dictated the amount of energy in a feed,” says Crandell. “Horse owners would look at only the protein percentage to determine if the feed had enough energy for the horse. We now know that is not the case, and protein percentage is merely an indicator of protein, not energy.”

She explains that the amount of starch and sugar is typically what contributes to the amount of energy the horse can get out of a feed, along with the digestible fiber and fat.

Crandell points out that energy sources in the equine diet are fiber, fat, and non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), which is the combination of starch and sugar.

“Horses get their energy from the feed by the digestion of carbohydrates, both structural carbohydrates (fiber) and non-structural carbohydrates, which are starches and sugars,” she explains.

If a horse needs more energy than he gets from fiber alone to maintain his weight or do his job, you can feed more concentrated energy sources, which are found in non-structural carbohydrates and fat.

This is why work horses in the past were traditionally fed significant amounts of oats or corn. They simply couldn’t eat enough fiber (hay or grass) to supply the caloric energy needed for their workload.

Starch and Sugar

Feed with a high percentage of starch and sugar can make some horses more excitable. That’s why changing feed may help “chill out” a high-energy horse.

Research studies and anecdotal evidence both show that the amount of starch and sugar in the diet influences excitability.

Crandell says the original research compared a high-starch diet to a high-fat diet. Horses were less excitable and reactive when fed the high-fat diet.

“More recently, there was a research study where horses were fed a high fat-and-fiber feed versus a high-starch feed,” she says. “The horses on the high fat-and-fiber feed were, once again, less reactive to stimuli.”

Corn tops the high-starch list at 70 percent, followed by barley at 54 percent. Oats are considered “moderate” starch at around 43 percent—plus they contain more fiber than corn or barley. All three are higher in starch than wheat middlings, soybean or oat hulls, and beet pulp.

In low-starch horse feeds, ingredients like wheat middlings, soybean or oat hulls, and beet pulp are commonly used to substitute fiber calories for the starch calories normally supplied by grains.

You can assume that sweet feed is fairly high in both sugar and starch because of the grain and molasses content.

But what about textured feed?

“Back in the late 1990s, a new generation of textured feed appeared in the horse industry,” says Crandell. “It was made basically with beet pulp, high-fiber ingredients like soy hulls, oil, and vitamin/mineral pellets, with a smaller amount of molasses. These are technically ‘textured feeds,’ but they are high in fiber and fat and low in starch and sugar. This type of feed has become more common than sweet feeds through the years because horse owners are looking for lower-starch options to feed their horses.”

“Cool” Energy

Think about the sugar overload kids get at a birthday party after eating lots of sweet snacks.

Crandell says the same concept applies to horses, as the digestion of both sugars and starches in feed may be responsible for excess energy. It is the digestion of soluble carbohydrates that causes rises in blood glucose and insulin, which are thought to have the effect on temperament.

Energy from fiber and fat is generally described as “cool” energy because during the digestion of those energy sources, there are no significant changes to blood glucose and insulin.

This is why if your horse tends to be anxious or easily excitable, it may help to feed him a diet low in starch and sugar, but high in fiber and fat. 

Crandell saw this firsthand in a research study at KER. Study horses were fed either a high-starch or high-fiber feed for 21 days. All horses eventually were on each of the diets over the course of the study.

“When one of the horses was on the high-starch diet, he became very nervous and hard to handle, yet when he was fed the high-fiber feed, he was as gentle as a lamb,” she says. “It is no guarantee that a horse may be calmer on a low-starch feed, but it’s certainly worth a try.”

Because fat is a concentrated source of calories, it supplies energy without adding bulk to the diet.

“If a horse is not maintaining weight or needs to gain weight, high-fat feeds are ideal for getting the maximum calories into him in the least amount of feed,” notes Crandell.

A high-fat feed or supplement can also help a horse in hard work that needs more calories. 

Adding Energy

While there’s a lot of focus on making horses calmer, some owners may wonder how to make a laid-back horse more energetic.

With the popularity of low-starch feeds today, Crandell says it’s not uncommon that a naturally calm horse eating a feed with less than 12 percent starch may be lacking in energy.

She notes that muscle glycogen is a major energy source when the horse is exercising and performing, but ultra-low starch feeds (less than 12 percent starch) may not provide enough glucose to build that muscle glycogen.

“The ultra-low starch feeds are ideal for horses with muscle diseases, such as PSSM [polysaccharide storage myopathy], because these horses have a problem that causes them to build up too much muscle glycogen,” says Crandell. “The ultra-low starch feeds work by not supplying the substrate [glucose] that encourages muscle glycogen deposition, so they can’t build up too much.”

While ideal for horses with glycogen disorders, ultra-low starch feeds may not supply enough NSCs (ultimately, glucose) for every performance horse.

Key Takeaway: Evaluate and Adjust

There’s no “one-size-fits-all” feeding program. Adjustments must be made based on each horse’s workload, stabling/turnout situation, body condition, and temperament.

Crandell says finding the right feed for each individual horse is often a matter of trial and error.

A healthy horse that lacks “get up and go” may simply need more starch in his diet, while a healthy horse that always seems to have excess energy may be getting fed more calories than needed.

Most horses today don’t work as hard as horses in the past, but they’re often fed as though they are working all day.

“It is important to match caloric intake to the caloric needs of every individual horse,” says Crandell.

A healthy horse in good weight doing little to no work may not even need grain/concentrate. Hay and a ration balancer will ensure he’s getting adequate protein, vitamins and minerals, and this may be all that is needed.

Take an honest look at your horse’s feed program, exercise routine, and temperament, and adjust accordingly. Ultimately, nutrition can play a role in a horse’s temperament, but as with anything in horse care, the “recipe” must be fit for the individual.

Further Reading
◆ Rules to Feed a Horse By
◆ 8 Horse Feeding Mistakes to Avoid
◆ Horse Feeding Dos and Don’ts

This article about horse nutrition for temperament appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Nutrition for Your Horse’s Temperament appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.