Horse Health
Healthy Horses E-Newsletter: Volume 8; Issue 6
By
Apr 16, 2008, 13:22

AAEP News

Chew on This! Every Horse Needs An Annual Dental Exam

Because proper dental care is vital to a horse’s overall health, the AAEP is launching a campaign to promote the need for horses to receive a thorough oral examination at least once a year. Designed to reach horse owners, the campaign will kicked off this month and run through 2008. It is important to catch dental problems early. Horses with dental problems may show obvious signs, such as pain or irritation, or they may show no noticeable signs at all. But left undiagnosed and untreated, a dental problem can develop into a much more significant health concern. In a 2006 study of horses suffering from chronic weight loss, 20 percent of the horses experienced weight loss due to dental disorders. In addition to weight loss, the inability to chew feed into small particles can lead to colic, and the bacteria associated with gum disease in the horse’s mouth can migrate to other areas of the body, similar to what occurs with gum disease in humans.

“Routine dental maintenance is the easiest step an owner can take to prevent a more serious problem from developing,” said AAEP President Eleanor M. Green, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP. “When you schedule vaccinations or a Coggins test for your horse, this is the perfect opportunity to schedule a dental examination with your horse’s veterinarian as well.”

During the month of April, the AAEP’s “Ask the Vet” feature on www.aaep.org will focus on equine dentistry. Drs. Lynn Caldwell and Elizabeth Schilling of the Equine Dentistry Committee will answer questions from horse owners about dental health. In addition, a variety of educational articles and resources about equine dentistry are available on the AAEP Web site. Visit www.aaep.org/horseowner to learn more.

The AAEP Wants to Know - The AAEP would like to hear from you, the horse owner. Click on the link to answer an important dental care question.

Healthy Horses Workshop to be in Austin and feature Monty Roberts

The AAEP is proud to present the Healthy Horses Workshop, an educational day designed just for horse owners. This full-day event will feature seminars of practical, cutting-edge information led by AAEP-member veterinarians.

The morning will also offer the opportunity to listen to world-renowned “The Man Who Listens to Horses,” Monty Roberts, as he speaks about his past experiences and horsemanship skills “From My Hands to Yours.”

Scheduled topics include The Unwanted Horse - Tom Lenz, DVM, MS; Strangles - Amanda House, DVM, DACVIM; Lameness Issues From a Surgeon’s Perspective - Justin Harper, DVM; Being Around Horses - Monty Roberts. Pre-registration for this event is $70, and the deadline for that rate is July 3. Cost of on-site registration will be $90. Lunch is included witht the price of registration. Seating is limited so click here to register today!



In Other News

National Walking Horse Association Receives ASPCA Awards Grant

The ASPCA awarded a $3,000 grant to the National Walking Horse Association (NWHA) to provide funds for scholarships for individuals to attend the Designated Qualified Person (DQP) Clinic, and to help finance the annual clinic. The clinic is presented by the NWHA to train individuals to inspect horses in compliance with the USDA Horse Protection Act (HPA). Individuals are trained under the supervision of the USDA and are empowered to enforce the HPA to include eliminating horses that have been sored. The NWHA has a zero tolerance for soring, and does not allow padded horses or horses that use any artificial devices like chains in the show ring or show facilities. “The NWHA DQP Director Martha Day, Ed.D, has done an excellent job of organizing and managing the NWHA DPQ program. We feel that the NWHA DQP program is the best in the industry,” said Don Vizi, executive director of NWHA.


Rabies Rising in Michigan: Health Officials Don't Really Know Why

Michigan had more than five times as many confirmed rabies cases last year as there were a decade ago. Most were in southeast Michigan, with the greatest number reported in the counties of Ingham, Washtenaw, Oakland, Eaton and Clinton. A pocket of western counties around Muskegon also ranked among the state's highest. Read more.

Information courtesy of www.mlive.com.


Horse Supply Outpacing Demand

The forced closure of the last horse-killing facilities in the USA, done at the urging of animal rights activists, has caused a herd of unwanted horses in animal shelters nationwide, according to breeders, ranchers and horse rescuers. The surplus threatens to worsen if Congress passes a bill to ban the selling of unwanted horses to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. Read more.
Information courtesy of www.usatoday.com.


Helpful Tips


“Vetiquette” 101

In an effort to better serve you, the horse owner, and ultimately the horse, AAEP would like to offer some “vetiquette” tips in the upcoming issues of the Healthy Horses E-newsletter. These tips will offer some common courtesy techniques for your veterinarians as well as proper client etiquette toward your veterinarian.

Tip #1

If you know your veterinarian is coming for a routine visit, have your horses up from their pastures in an area easily accessible for examining. Also, groom your horses before your veterinarian arrives. This will help him/her better evaluate your horse(s) and be able to identify any noticeable markings, bumps, scratches, etc.


Informative Links


Fort Dodge Animal Health and the AAEP Launch Educational Web Site

Fort Dodge Animal Health and the AAEP recently announced the launch of a joint educational Web site to raise awareness regarding the health of horses. Americashealthyhorse.com provides valuable informational resources for horse owners and veterinarians.

The America’s Healthy Horse Web site will aide horse owners interested in the health benefits of wellness exams and the value of routine veterinary care. The Web site is primarily focused on issues pertaining to the cornerstones of equine wellness including disease prevention, parasite control, nutrition and dentistry. Wellness exams help veterinarians detect, treat and ideally, prevent health problems before they become serious or result in a prolonged setback. They also allow veterinarians to tailor season-specific immunizations, parasite control and other wellness protocols at the time of year when they most benefit the horse. America’s Healthy Horse is a multi-year, cooperative endeavor between Fort Dodge Animal Health and the AAEP and will continue to expand over time. For more information, click here.


Quiz Question

Last issue we asked:

I have a few horses that get a variety of supplements and I like to pre-measure and put them into containers so that the barn manager doesn’t have to weight them out each time. Is there a rule of thumb regarding which kinds of supplements should or should not be combined and stored together for a period of a week or so?

The answer is:

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any sort of guidelines for which supplements or ingredients should not be mixed together for a length of time before feeding. After speaking with several research scientists and nutritionists, however, I did learn that it’s a complicated issue and it’s probably best NOT to mix supplements.

For example, products containing unstabilized fats should not be combined with products containing antioxidants like Vitamin E, Vitamin C or Vitamin A because the fats rapidly degrade the antioxidants, essentially using them as preservatives. Then they are not present in the amounts listed on the label anymore and the horse doesn’t get them as vitamins or antioxidants or whatever their intended use. Some inorganic minerals can have similar chemical reactions with certain other ingredients and reduce them to meaningless levels.

What I learned from this brief foray into the biochemistry of nutrition is that the specific ingredient and the chemical form it is in have a lot to do with whether it will react with other nutrients. Therefore, it’s probably best to trust manufacturers to know which ingredients can be combined with which other ingredients in their own product, and that combining two or more different products, even from the same manufacturer, is probably not a good thing. Lydia Gray, DVM, Elburn, Ill.

This issue we ask:

How often should a horse receive a dental exam?

Look for the answer to this issue’s question in the “In the Spotlight” section of www.aaep.org/horseowner during the Dental Campaign. Click on the FAQ section when Dr. Jack Easley answers questions pertaining to equine dental care.


Upcoming Events

April 1-30: April "Ask the Vet" Forum. It's that time of year again in regards to both reproduction and dental care. Pose your questions concerning either equine reproduction or dental care for our experts Dr. Ben Espy (reproduction), or Drs. Elizabeth Schilling (dentistry) and Lynn Caldwell (dentistry) during the month of April.

April 1-30: Purina Mills Horse Owner Workshops (H.O.W.). Visit Purina's Web site to check the Event Calendar for educational seminars in your area.

April 23: Free Live Web Presentation from My Horse University – Weaning A Foal by Dr. Christine Skelly.
Weaning the foal is an important milestone for the young growing horse. Preparing the foal prior to weaning and then ensuring that the weaning process poses as little stress as possible will provide the young horse a definite advantage from both health and psychological standpoints. This presentation will discuss creep feeding the foal, compare weaning systems and conclude with nutritional management of the weanling. The presentation will start at 7:00 p.m. EST. To register or learn more, click here.

April 28-29: International Equine Summit. Radisson Hotel, Lexington, Ky. The goal of the inaugural International Equine Summit is to bring together an international audience of horse enthusiasts to discuss opportunities and challenges faced by the global equine industry. The Summit agenda will feature three specific topic areas including The Well-being of the Competitive Horse; The Emerging Science of Horse Breeding; and The Equine Economy in the 21st Century. To register for the summit or to obtain more information, click here.

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