Is your horse due for a dental examination? Scheduling dental exams annually is a critical step toward keeping his health, wellness and behavior in check. According to a 2020 equine dental wellness survey conducted by Zoetis, out of nearly 4,500 horse owners, 73% indicated their horse was showing at least one behavior associated with dental pain. The many benefits of recognizing these behavioral problems and following through with an annual dental examination by a veterinarian can include earlier diagnosis and treatment, along with improved health and performance for your horse. As vital as annual dental exams can be, the dental wellness survey also revealed that 22% of horses owned by survey respondents hadn’t received a dental exam in at least 12 months.

What to Expect During a Dental Exam

“I find that horse owners sometimes hesitate to schedule annual dental exams because they are unsure about what goes into an exam and what their horse will experience,” said Jeff Hall, DVM, senior equine technical services veterinarian for Zoetis. “Dental exams are a safe, routine procedure that should be conducted by your veterinarian proactively every year.”

A thorough dental exam can take between 10 to 30 minutes and includes:

◆ An assessment of external structures of the horse’s head and soft tissues (e.g., lips, cheeks and lymph nodes)
◆ An examination of internal structures (e.g., tongue, palate, gums and cheeks)
◆ The visualization and palpation of teeth

During examination, veterinarians use a full mouth speculum. A full mouth speculum is a piece of equipment that fits onto a horse’s head, similar to a bridle, with mouth plates that fit between the front teeth to hold a horse’s mouth open. This allows for a more complete visualization and palpation of most aspects of the teeth.

Reliable and Safe Sedation

To complete a full mouth speculum dental exam, horses need to be sedated for their safety and for the safety of their handlers. Sedation also ensures compassionate care of the horse and precise control of the procedure being performed. When your veterinarian considers equine sedative options, a consistent, reliable sedative is preferred. Additionally, a sedative that provides pain control is advantageous to ensure your horse’s comfort level during the procedure. DORMOSEDAN® Sterile Solution (detomidine hydrochloride) meets equine sedation and analgesic (pain control) needs in just one dose. With nearly 30 years of supporting safety data, veterinarians continue to rate DORMOSEDAN highest of all equine sedation products for efficacy, safety and reliability.¹

Annual oral and dental examinations are a recommended baseline of care for horses by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP).² Depending on your horse’s age, level of performance and overall condition of the teeth, additional examinations throughout the year may be needed.

Work with your veterinarian to schedule your horse’s annual dental exam. Consider scheduling it during your horse’s annual spring vaccination appointment to ensure your horse is set up for success and feeling his best year-round.

Important Safety Information: Do not use Dormosedan Sterile Solution in horses with pre-existing atrioventricular (AV) or sinoatrial (SA) block, with severe coronary insufficiency, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, or chronic renal failure. Intravenous potentiated sulfonamides should not be used in anesthetized or sedated horses. Careful consideration should be given to horses approaching or in endotoxic or traumatic shock, to horses with advanced liver or kidney disease, or to horses under stress from extreme heat, cold, fatigue, or high altitude. Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Handle dosing syringes with caution to avoid direct exposure to skin, eyes or mouth. See full Prescribing Information.

About Zoetis

Zoetis is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 65 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, which are complemented by biodevices, genetic tests and precision livestock farming. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. In 2019, the company generated annual revenue of $6.3 billion with approximately 10,600 employees. For more information, visit www.zoetisus.com.

For more information, contact:
Jessica Normand, Zoetis, jessica.normand@zoetis.com, 973-443-2907 or Theresa Fitzgerald, Bader Rutter, tfitzgerald@bader-rutter.com, 515-298-2239

¹ Freedom of Information Summary. NADA 140-862.
² Scrutchfield WL. Dental Examination. https://aaep.org/horsehealth/dental-examination. Accessed January 13, 2020.

The post What to Expect During Equine Dental Exams appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The term “hard keeper” refers to horses who struggle to maintain enough fat cover and/or healthy muscle tone. These horses can benefit from extra care and support year-round, but winter can be an especially challenging season for them. While there are some common reasons horses might struggle to maintain a healthy body condition, there are ways you can help to support a healthier, happier hard keeper horse this winter.

If you’re concerned about your horse’s weight, your first step should be to call your veterinarian. Ask your vet to perform a complete physical examination to ensure there isn’t an underlying medical cause for your horse’s weight troubles. Some of the health reasons that your veterinarian may check for include dental issues, gastric ulcers or other digestive problems, a chronic infection, or parasites.

Next, take a look at your horse’s diet. Whether it’s from fresh pasture, hay, or a combination of the two, your horse should be eating 1–2% of his body weight in roughage every day. When evaluating your horse’s daily serving of hay, keep in mind that horses burn more calories in the winter staying warm. Even if he’s getting 1–2% of his body weight in forage already, an increase in hay may be warranted to make up for what he’s using to maintain his core temperature.

It’s also important to look at your horse’s grain ration. While many horses don’t need a full serving of grain to maintain their ideal weight, every horse is an individual. Hard keepers or horses in heavy work may need the full recommended serving of grain to get the calories they need.

Once you have your horse’s diet squared away, take a look at where he spends his time. His living environment can play an important role in how well and how much he eats. For example, if he spends most of his time in a stall where he can’t see any other horses, he may be stressed about being alone. On the other hand, if he’s at the bottom of the herd pecking order, he may be using up valuable energy scrounging for food. If your horse sounds like one of these examples, think about whether you can help eliminate the stress in his life. If providing more turnout isn’t possible, see if you can use a stall guard so your horse can look out his door and check out his neighbors. If your horse can’t get his share of food in his herd, consider bringing him inside for meals or moving him to a different turnout group.

If your horse still needs extra support after you’ve ruled out health issues, checked his hay and grain ration, and eliminated environmental stress, you may want to try a weight gain supplement. For a comprehensive approach to weight gain, consider SmartGain. This formula provides a “cool” source of calories from healthy fats, which provide energy without causing a spike in blood sugar, as sugars and starches can. It also provides amino acids for lean muscle development, and prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes for digestive health of the horse, two areas where a hard keeper can benefit from extra help.

Further Reading

• October 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Senior SmartSupplements
• September 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supplements for Equine Respiratory Health
• August 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supporting the Horse’s GI Tract
• July 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: SmartSalt and SmartLytes for Salt and Electrolyte Loss
• June 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Important Ingredients for Joint Support for Horses
• All SmartPak SmartTips

The post November 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Help a Hard Keeper Horse During Winter appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Whether you’ve been partners for years or you’re both turning a new page together, you want to give your senior horse the care and support he deserves. Horses are living longer and longer, so caring for seniors brings some special considerations. One of those considerations is winter weather, and as the seasons begin to shift from warmer to colder months, there are ways to help support your senior with the right preparation and care.

To start, you may be wondering—how old is a senior? Nowadays, chronological age may not be the best indicator of when a horse is senior, but rather his physiological age. It’s important to work alongside your veterinarian to best understand your horse’s physiological functions, like digestive efficiency and immune status, to help determine his status and put the right plan in place for your horse’s individual needs.

Once you have discussed your horse’s health with your vet, there are other things you can do to support him. First, help your senior start winter off right by making sure he’s at a healthy weight this fall. Experts recommend that senior horses get two physical exams each year, so your horse’s fall physical is a great time to ask your veterinarian to show you how to evaluate his body condition. Once you know his body condition score, consider whether you need to make any adjustments to his diet now.

Next, it’s important to monitor your senior horse’s teeth all year round, but it is especially critical during winter. If your horse can’t chew properly, he’s not going to receive the full benefit of the food you’re providing. Every horse needs an annual dental exam, and seniors may need one twice a year. Schedule a dental exam with your vet to ensure that your horse’s teeth are in top shape before winter arrives.

In addition to general care, many senior horses may benefit from the daily, ongoing support that supplements provide, especially during the winter months. Key areas to support—such as weight, joint, and immune health—are important to consider for your senior.

SmartPak is pleased to offer a variety of formulas designed with the senior horse’s health in mind. We’ve formulated top-rated joint support with tried-and-true ingredients, like glucosamine and innovative support from turmeric and resveratrol. We’ve also designed supplements specifically with your horse’s weight and pituitary health in mind. However, if you’re looking for multiple areas of support all in one convenient supplement, we’ve got you and your horse covered with the SmartPak SmartCombo Senior line.

Further Reading

• September 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supplements for Equine Respiratory Health
• August 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supporting the Horse’s GI Tract
• July 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: SmartSalt and SmartLytes for Salt and Electrolyte Loss
• June 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Important Ingredients for Joint Support for Horses
• May 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: How to Help a Nervous Horse
• All SmartPak SmartTips

The post October 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Senior SmartSupplements appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

It’s a natural fit for Mane ‘n Tail and DreamWorks Animation to team up for a collaboration to celebrate the Netflix original series Spirit Riding Free and its new season, Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy. The Emmy® Award-winning series is about an ex-city girl, Lucky, who winds up in the small western town of Miradero and forms a tight bond with a wild horse named Spirit, all the while experiencing a ton of fun adventures with her new best pals, Pru and Abigail. In their latest adventure, the PALs (Pru, Abigail, and Lucky) and their horses head off to a prestigious riding academy to live and learn together.

What’s the “mane” connection? Teaming up “girl power” and “horse power.” Fans can follow the PALs from Spirit Riding Free and their horses (Chica Linda, Boomerang, and Spirit) as they make their way to Palomino Bluff’s Riding Academy, while not only celebrating their bond, but embracing the uniqueness of each girl and her horse! The DreamWorks series and Mane ‘n Tail celebrates the multi-cultural diversity of both “girl power” that spans the gamut of multi-culture (including all hair types) and “horse power” that runs rampant in all different breeds of horses.

Mane ‘n Tail products will be in stores with special bottle hang tags that give details about the DreamWorks Spirit Riding Free fan page. Once you are on the website, you may learn about the promotions for all the wonderful fans of the show. You will also be seeing a lot of buzz on the Mane ‘n Tail social media pages on both the personal care side and the equine/pet side.

The lesson today at the Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy is how to have “amazing hair”—not just for yourself but for your horse as well! Mane ‘n Tail has the solutions for long, flowing manes, for you and your four-legged friends, while teaching “good grooming” inside and out.

Celebrating both diversity and oneness is a common theme for both Mane ‘n Tail as a hair care and grooming brand, as it is for DreamWorks Spirit Riding Free as a series. Not only does Mane ‘n Tail have a solution for all hair types (from curly, to straight, to fine, to textured, etc.), but it makes shampoo and conditioner designed for “multi-species” (people, horses and other pets, too)! So, get the message about sharing your shampoo and conditioner with your four-legged friends. Wait, we started long ago in the barn, so maybe it is the reverse—the horses are sharing their shampoo and conditioner with us. Tune into the new series, which debuted on September 4, for great gal and horse adventures that will get you into the “spirit,” while at the same time you will Discover the Spirit for Great Hair!

About Mane N’ Tail

Since 1970, Mane N’ Tail continues to create and provide exclusive hair and skin care products renowned for quality and performance in both the equestrian and personal care markets. Naturally expanding to accommodate people, as the equestrian audience discovered a valuable “secret,” that the products they were using on their horses created remarkable results when used on themselves, as well. Mane ‘n Tail is now a leading brand in the personal hair and skin care world. Mane ‘n Tail continues to manufacture all products right here in the U.S., adhering to strict quality assurances, guidelines and consistently meeting a high-performance standard. It has expanded the variety of equine products to include the brands Cowboy Magic and Exhibitor’s. Mane ‘n Tail currently sells its products in over 200,000+ locations throughout North America and internationally. For more information, visit www.manentail.com and www.manentailequine.com.

The post Mane ‘n Tail Celebrates DreamWorks Animation’s <i>Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy</i> While Discovering the Spirit for Great Hair appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Dealing with respiratory problems can be stressful, especially since they can impact overall health and performance. In addition to veterinary care and a management plan, the right combination of ingredients in an equine respiratory supplement can also help support healthy lung function in horses with respiratory issues, so you and your horse can enjoy your rides!

Equine respiratory supplements primarily work by supporting healthy tissues and structures throughout the respiratory tract, including the trachea and the lungs. Additionally, because seasonal allergies can cause difficulty breathing, some respiratory supplements contain herbs to help support a normal immune response (allergic reactions are a result of hyper-sensitivity in the immune system).

When looking at a respiratory supplement, there are certain ingredients to look for. MSM provides support for a normal response to inflammation throughout the body, including in the respiratory tract. Meanwhile, grape seed extract, super oxide dismutase, vitamin C, and bioflavonoids offer support for respiratory cell health. Finally, there is N-acetyl cysteine, which has been shown to help protect airway tissues from seasonal respiratory conditions.

SmartPak’s SmartBreathe Ultra Pellets provides comprehensive support to help soothe and maintain your horse’s airways. This equine respiratory supplement offers those ingredients, along with spirulina, a freshwater blue-green algae that has been reported to help horses prone to respiratory issues, and DHA, a specific type of omega-3 from fish oil, which was shown in a recent study to provide benefits to horses with airway syndromes.

Further Reading

• August 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supporting the Horse’s GI Tract
• July 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: SmartSalt and SmartLytes for Salt and Electrolyte Loss
• June 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Important Ingredients for Joint Support for Horses
• May 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: How to Help a Nervous Horse
• All SmartPak SmartTips

The post September 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supplements for Equine Respiratory Health appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Your horse’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract has a number of critical roles to play, including breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and housing a large portion of your horse’s immune system. Unfortunately, many common elements of modern horsekeeping like training, travel, large grain meals, and increased stall time can be detrimental to GI health.

Horses in heavy training or those who travel regularly, particularly for competitions, may benefit from a daily gastric health supplement. While supporting the horse’sGI tract is a smart choice for any horse, it’s especially important for those dealing with these stressors, or for those with a history of GI issues. With any health concerns, it’s important to work alongside your veterinarian to determine the best course of action for the horse, which may include prescription medication.

You can provide additional support for your horse’s GI tract with a gastric health supplement, which works in three primary ways—by providing ingredients to support the normal structure and function of your horse’s stomach, by serving up ingredients that can help buffer sensitive stomach structures against acid, and by offering ingredients that can help soothe existing irritation.

Ingredients to look for in a gastric support supplement include calcium and magnesium, which can also help neutralize excess stomach acid. Glutamine is an amino acid that helps to promote healing and the normal repair of intestinal issues, including the stomach lining. Finally, sea buckthorn provides a wide range of compounds whose antioxidant properties assist in normal GI tissue healing and repair.

SmartGI Ultra utilizes these ingredients to provide comprehensive support—not only for gastric health, but it also offers ingredients for digestive health, too. This formula combines two of SmartPak’s most popular supplements, SmartGut Ultra Pellets and SmartDigest Ultra Pellets, both of which are backed by research. Plus, if you order SmartGI Ultra Pellets in SmartPaks and you may be eligible for up to $10,000 of colic surgery reimbursement through SmartPak’s ColiCare program!

The post August 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Supporting the Horse’s GI Tract appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Salt (aka sodium chloride) and electrolytes play a key role in the health and well-being of your horse, so it’s important to ensure that his daily requirement is being met. However, pasture, hay, and fortified grain provide very little sodium chloride, which means many horses’ diets come up short. A salt lick may help, but some horses don’t lick them at all, and others lick them excessively or bite off chunks, so you never know if they’re getting the correct daily amount.

Adult horses in no work need at least one ounce of salt per day, and that need goes up with exercise and warm weather because of the loss of these minerals in sweat. There are two types of supplements that can help meet your horse’s salt requirements consistently, day in and day out: salt supplements and electrolyte supplements.

Salt supplements provide the two macro-minerals that make up salt (sodium and chloride), ensuring that your horse is always getting a consistent amount to help meet his daily requirements. In addition to supplying the salt your horse needs, a salt supplement may help encourage normal drinking. Proper hydration is essential to your horse’s digestive function, muscle performance and recovery, and overall health, no matter what season it is.

When your horse sweats, he loses salt and other key minerals—including potassium, calcium, and magnesium—that are essential to normal nerve and muscle function, If these macro-minerals aren’t replenished, your horse could be left with a nutritional imbalance and won’t be in optimal health or able to perform well.

Electrolyte supplements are a smart choice when your horse is sweating, because they are carefully formulated to mimic the mineral losses in equine sweat, helping to bring your horse back into balance. Along with replacing the minerals your horse loses in sweat, the salt in these supplements may also help encourage your horse to drink.

While sweating is most common during the hot days of summer, horses that compete heavily throughout the winter or live in warm climates may benefit from a comprehensive electrolyte supplement all year round.

SmartPak offers both supplements in convenient, easy-to-feed solutions. If you’re looking to provide your horse with strictly salt, SmartSalt Pellets provide the daily needed 1 oz of salt in a tasty apple-banana-flavored pellet.

If you’re looking for an electrolyte, SmartPak offers SmartLytes in pellets, powder, and even paste. This comprehensive formula not only supplies the sodium chloride your horse needs, but it also includes the addition of other electrolyte minerals that are lost in sweat—potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

The post July 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: SmartSalt and SmartLytes for Salt and Electrolyte Loss appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The landscape for equine supplements is constantly evolving, and SmartPak is committed to staying on top of the latest trends and ingredients. One category of supplements that has seen increased use of novel ingredients — such as turmeric, resveratrol, and collagen — is joint support for horses.

Your horse’s body is designed to manage the normal “wear and tear” to joints that comes with being a horse in its natural state. However, the increased demands of riding, training, and competing can put additional stress on your horse’s joint tissues.

Joint supplements help ensure your horse’s body has a consistent, ready supply of the ingredients it needs to cope with the stress of exercise and maintain healthy joints. And because joint supplements are designed to support normal, healthy joint tissues, the best time to start supplementing is BEFORE your horse starts displaying signs of joint problems.

◆ Turmeric is a plant in the ginger family whose root has been prized for its health benefits for thousands of years. It’s been wildly popular in human supplements in recent years, and that popularity has started to transition over into the equine supplement space. The compound of interest in turmeric is called curcumin, and the ingredient is most typically used to help manage a normal response to inflammation and to support comfortable movement.

◆ Resveratrol is an antioxidant that naturally occurs in red grapes, Japanese knotweed, and a few other plants. Similar to turmeric, resveratrol is well known for its ability to manage a normal inflammatory response in the body, and therefore can support a variety of body systems, from joints to skin and more. Resveratrol is starting to be used more in more in horse supplements for joint health and comfortable movement.

◆ Collagen is the main structural protein in the body’s connective tissue. It can be found in cartilage, tendons, ligaments, hooves, skin, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and other tissues. In recent years, collagen has become popular as an ingredient in equine supplements, particularly for supporting the integrity of joints, tendons and ligaments, as well as gastric tissue.

SmartPak’s revolutionary supplement SmartStride Ultra Pellets combines these three novel ingredients with others to provide the next generation of joint support. SmartStride Ultra is a smart choice for hard-working horses in need of joint, tendon and ligament support. It is also a great option for horses experiencing stiffness and discomfort, or those who have not responded to other joint supplements.

This supplement provides those revolutionary and new ingredients, including turmeric and resveratrol for supporting a normal response to inflammation, and boron for maintaining bone health. It also includes collagen and silica for resilient tendons and ligaments. Finally, it combines “tried and true” ingredients, such as glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid for joint support in horses.

In a recent university study, SmartStride Ultra was shown to support joint health in horses by demonstrating a significantly increased range of motion of the hock at the walk and a tendency toward increased range of motion in the hock at the trot.

The post June 2020 SmartPak SmartTip of the Month: Important Ingredients for Joint Support for Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“Cooked hay?” That’s what four-time Olympic dressage rider Ashley Holzer asked when a friend recommended steamed hay two years ago. Even though high-temperature hay steaming has been available for over 10 years, Ashley wasn’t the only equestrian unfamiliar with its many benefits. Ashley has since become a big believer, as have equestrians around the world—from Olympians to regular horse owners.

But why?

Well, the short answer is that hay can be harmful to your horse because it contains microscopic bits of mold, dust, fungi, bacteria and other pathogens and allergens. This is true even of hay that looks and smells great and has top nutrient quality. Storing hay can increase the quantity of all these particles that are present from the get-go because of the way hay is grown, harvested and transported.

All of these inhalable particles can harm a horse’s respiratory and digestive system and increase susceptibility to developing more severe conditions.

Steamed hay was developed by Haygain in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural University in the U.K., in 2009. The goal was to eliminate these unhealthy elements without leaching important nutrients, as happens with the messy and laborious process of soaking hay.

Numerous and ongoing studies demonstrate Haygain Steamed Hay’s ability to improve horses’ respiratory and digestive health, hydration, appetite, skin health, and performance.

Respiratory Health

Steaming eliminates up to 99% of the dust, mold, bacteria and allergens found in hay. All of these are the main source of respiratory issues that affect a surprisingly high percentage of active sport horses: over 80% and often without obvious symptoms.

In March of 2019, The Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published a study in which 88% of the 731 participating sport horses suffered from inflammatory airway disease (IAD), a condition on the Equine Asthma Spectrum. The horses that were fed Haygain Steamed Hay had a 65% reduced risk of IAD. The study attributed this to steaming’s ability to kill fungi in hay, which has a high correlation to IAD.

As with all aspects of horse health, prevention is the best medicine. Steamed hay is a great step for maintaining respiratory health and for helping horses with existing issues live and perform comfortably.

Castle Larchfield Purdy, a 2016 Olympic eventer with Lauren Billys, is a classic example. His mild case of Inflammatory Airway Disease is managed so effectively with steamed hay’s help that he’s met the rigorous qualifications for the Tokyo Olympics.

Digestive Health

Pathogens commonly found in hay can trigger significant digestive health issues like colic and ulcers. Clean hay reduces these risks and improves the digestive tract’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients.

Hay steaming also increases hydration. Dehydration can be life-threatening, in part because clinical signs are often not noticed until the condition is at a very advanced stage. One study found that steamed hay increases water consumption by three times.

Palatability

Four independent palatability studies and owners’ anecdotal reports indicate that most horses prefer the taste of steamed hay. That’s why veterinarians like it for horses coming out of surgery: the appealing taste and smell helps patients get back on their nutrition plan, aiding their overall recovery.

Good-tasting hay also helps prevent ulcers because it keeps horses chewing and eating more and for longer periods of time. That mimics what nature intended for the digestive process of these grazing animals.

Stopping The Allergy Spiral

Like people, horses are subject to allergic responses to a multitude of airborne particles found in the stabling environment. Because a horse that’s suffered from one allergy is more susceptible to another, it’s critical to remove allergens to every extent possible.

It’s even more important for horses with insect bite hypersensitivity because that goes hand-in-hand with increased airway hypersensitivity. This can make a horse more vulnerable to the allergens in hay.

Performance

After soundness issues, many veterinarians put respiratory function as the biggest performance limiter in otherwise healthy horses. Which, in a way, is good because so much can be done to protect and improve it. Feeding Haygain Steamed Hay decreases exposure to potentially harmful allergens, pathogens and other bacteria, improving overall health and performance.

And that’s why steamed hay is now a foundation of healthy horse management.

For more information, please visit www.Haygain.us. Or find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.

The post The Benefits of Hay Steaming appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

It’s important to first work with your veterinarian and trainer to get to the root of the problem, whether it’s medical, physical, or behavioral. These concerns could range from gastric ulcers, to improper saddle fit, and lack of turnout time, respectively. If you’ve worked with your veterinarian and your trainer to cross off the possible health and management reasons for your horse’s bad behavior, adding a calming supplement to your horse’s diet may be a smart choice. There are three types of calming supplements to consider: nutrient-based, herb-based, and those for moody mares.

Horses may be anxious if their diet does not provide enough of the nutrients necessary for proper nervous system function. Nutrient-based formulas are designed to bring your horse’s dietary levels into the optimal range for a correctly functioning nervous system. These supplements provide ingredients like vitamin B1 for normal transmission of impulses along nerves, magnesium to support nervous system function, and tryptophan, which is converted by the body into serotonin and may help increase feelings of well-being and contentment. SmartCalm® Ultra Pellets is one of SmartPak’s SmartSupplements, which offers all of these ingredients to support a healthy nervous system!

If you’ve tried a nutrient-based supplement and didn’t see the results you were hoping for, consider trying an herbal formula. Herbal ingredients can provide soothing support for tense, anxious horses. These supplements include ingredients like valerian to help balance the nervous system and address muscle tightness associated with tension, chamomile to help horses who process their nervousness through their GI system, and vervain, which may help balance the nervous system of horses who have unfocused energy. This category of calming supplements combines herbs with the nutrient-based ingredients, too. SmartTranquility® Pellets provide a comprehensive formula, including these herbs, to offer support for a more balanced temperament.

Finally, if your sweet mare turns into a moody monster during or around her heat cycle, her unpleasant attitude could be related to hormonal fluctuations or discomfort in her reproductive tract. There are formulas that provide ingredients that support balanced hormones and an even disposition. These ingredients include raspberry to support smooth muscle tone and help relax muscles in spasm, passionflower for muscle tension in smooth and skeletal muscle, and chasteberry to help maintain a balanced hormonal system. SmartMare® Harmony Pellets is an ideal formula to help take her from moody to mellow!

Read more tips from SmartPak.

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