Magnesium for Horses

Magnesium--it's more than just a symbol on the periodic table.  It's a major mineral that you and your horse both need!  Up until a few years ago (when I took equine nutrition courses), I had no idea of how important it was in the horse's diet.  According to Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD, "Magnesium is involved in so many aspects of the structure and function of the body that it's virtually impossible to think of anything that doesn't involve magnesium." 

The National Research Council (NRC) recommends 0.015 grams of magnesium per kg of your horse's bodyweight (per day).  While magnesium is found in forages and many commercial feeds your horse may be consuming, it may not be enough.  The only sure-fire way to know how much of the mineral your horse is getting is by testing your pasture or hay and closely examining your feed labels. 

Common signs of a magnesium deficiency are:

• irritability
• hypersensitivity
• muscular symptoms (twitching/ spasms)
• stilted gait
• reluctance or inability to canter
• difficulty controlling hind end when turning

However, these are also symptoms of exessive calcium, so you will want to make sure you're not feeding too much calcium instead (i.e.--alfalfa).  The optimum Calcium to Magnesium ratio is 2:1.   

Equine nutritionists and vets may also prescribe supplemental magnesium for extremely anxious or  spooky horses and also for horses with insulin resistance or laminitis.   Studies have shown observable benefits of feeding magnesium for horses with these conditions.

When I learned to balance my horse's diets, I found that they all needed more magnesium (along with several other minerals).  I have one horse in particular that I've noticed a considerable difference in since balancing her diet.  She's always been on the irritable side (or what I always called 'marish'), had extremely sensitive skin, and has been continuously sore in the back--all symptoms that go along with magnesium deficiency.  Since being on a balanced diet however, these symptoms have improved noticeably.

So where does one get magnesium?  It's a common ingredient in many supplements, but to solely increase magnesium and not other minerals, you will want to feed magnesium oxide or a supplement like Quiessence. I get my magnesium oxide from Horsetech, but I hear that some feed mills carry it as well. 

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Natural Trimming Basics

I've been trimming my own horses using Pete Ramey's natural trimming methods for the last two years now, and I can honestly say that their feet have never looked better.  We're not quite to the 'gravel-crunching' level yet, but I think we're getting there.

I know a lot of people are becoming more interested in all things 'natural', including the natural trim.  I think there are even some farriers out there who've jumped on the natural trimming bandwagon, even though they know very little about it.  To me, if you are truly a natural trimmer, you don't shoe horses as well. . .  One farrier even told my husband (who also went to farrier school) that he just tells people he does the natural trim and that gets him business.  If you're an owner and you haven't done the research yourself, you'd probably have no way of knowing.

I am by no means a natural trimming expert, but I have studied the method quite a bit and trim at least one horse a week.  For those that want to learn to trim their own horses or just want to know what a natural trim looks like, I wanted to share the basics.  This is by no means a detailed tutorial on natural trimming.  I highly recommend Pete Ramey's book, Making Natural Hoofcare Work for You or his dvd series, Under the Horse to learn more about it.  His website is a great place to start, too.

Before you ever attempt to trim, you should study a diagram of the inner structures of the foot.  The natural trim uses the coffin bone's shape and placement in the hoof capsule as a guide.  You should understand how to gauge the coffin bone's position before ever laying a tool to the hoof.  With that said, here are the natural trimming basics:

1.  Place horse on a level surface and note any imbalances or flares.  Note if the horse leans forward (sign of heel pain) or leans back (sign of toe pain).

2.  Use the sole callous as a visual guide for trimming .  Never pare or rasp into live sole, but do scrape away dead sole with your hoof knife.  It is usually powdery or flakes off easily.  Pay close attention to scraping away dead, chalky sole in the seats of corn (V between bars and wall near heels)--it tends to build up there.

3.  Trim the hoof wall so that it stands 1/16 inch above the sole.  Trim it just slightly shorter in the quarters (so that a credit card could fit under that area if the horse were standing on a flat surface).

4.  Trim the heels at the level of the wall, but never trim long heels drastically in one trimming.  You may need to work your way down in several trimmings.  (Yes, we actually want low heels!)

5.  Trim the bars level with the heels.  If the bars have been neglected, they may be folded over and run over part of the sole.  You may have to carefully trim them back with your hoof knife. 

6.  If the frog has any loose flaps, you can cut those away.  I tend to leave the frog alone for the most part though.

7.  From the outside of the hoof (usually with a hoof stand), rasp flares on the lower 1/3 of the hoof flat.  You want the lower 1/3 of the hoof to eventally be at the same angle as the hoof growing down from the coronary band. 

8. Finish off with the 'mustang roll'--a round beveling of the wall all the way around the hoof (except heels).  Using my rasp, I start the mustag roll from the bottom of the hoof, but then finish from the top using my hoof stand. 

9.  Inspect the hooves again while the horse is standing on a level surface to make sure hooves are balanced. 


And those are the basics!  Of course, I've left way more out than I've included here, but that's why there are books and dvds and entire websites dedicated to the natural trim.  Hopefully this will give you some insight though.  And if I can trim my horses, you can too.  Knowledge is more important than brawn here!

Ta-ta!

Home Remedies & Acupressure for 'Gunky Eye'

First of all, I'd like to preface this post with the statement:  I'm not a vet.  If your horse has a condition that your unsure of, take him to a vet for a diagnosis.  With that said, occasionally my horses get gunky eyes for one reason or another, and I usually just treat it myself.  Three of them have the eye gunk currently, so I'm guessing that it's some sort of viral conjunctivitis (pink eye).  I thought I'd share a couple homemade remedies for treating conjunctivitis in horses and a few acupressure points that can help clear up eye problems.


Here are the remedies (borrowed from an equine rescue website):

Conjuntivitis Remedy #1:  
Steep several tea bags ( black tea is strongest ) in a cup of hot water (distilled water is safest). Bring to lukewarm temperature.  Wash each eye with soggy tea bag saturated in tea.  Wash carefully, do not break open the tea bag.  Use several tea bags for each eye to make sure the eye is thoroughly cleansed and do not use same tea bag on both eyes, it could cause contamination.  Do not dip tea bag back into tea, this will contaminate tea mixture, also.  The tannin in tea has antibiotic properties. 

Conjunctivitis Remedy #2:

Using unpasteurized honey, mix 3 tbs. honey in 2 cups of boiling water (distilled water is safest).  Stir to dissolve, cool, and use as an eye wash.  Unpasteurized honey has antibiotic properties.   

Note:  I haven't used either of these remedies yet, but I plan to as soon as I can get the ingredients. I'll probably try the first remedy since tea is cheaper!

Acupressure Points for Eye Problems

You can apply slight pressure with your forefinger to these points.  Hold for about 10-15 seconds or until you see a 'release' from the horse, such as head-lowering, licking, or chewing. The points are bilateral so use them on both sides of the horse.  If the horse won't tolerate you touching a certain point, just skip it.

Bladder 1: benefits eye disorders; located just in front of the inside corner of the eye (not on the eye itself)

Bladder 67:  clears the eyes; located just above hoof, 2/3 of the distance from the front to the back of the hind hoof on the outside of the leg

Stomach 1: used for all eye problems; located directly beneath the center of the eye

Large Intestine 4: benefits the eyes; located in the 'valley' on the inside of the 'knee' when you pick up the front leg (you have to feel for it by running your fingers around the backside of the 'knee' when the leg is held up as you would hold it when cleaning the hoof)

                                                Acupressure Points for Eye Problems

These are just a few natural remedies for treating gunky eyes or other minor eye problems.  Again, if you suspect your horse is ill or there may be something else going on, please see your vet!

Ta-ta!

The Grazing Muzzle

It may look strange or just plain cruel if you've never seen a horse with a grazing muzzle on.  "What is that thing?" many a friend has asked when seeing one of my horses in a grazing muzzle.  The muzzle is not to keep the horse from biting (although it would probably work for that!), but it's to reduce grass intake.  And it might just save your horse's life.

Growing up, we had four (or more) horses kept on about two acres.  We never had a problem with an overabundance of grass.  I had never heard of things like laminitis or insulin resistance back then.  When I got married, my husband and I bought thirty acres.  We fenced off a five-acre pasture, and again, I never worried about how much grass my horses had access to.  I rode nearly every day, and my horses weren't fat.

Fast forward to 2011.  I now had five horses in two pastures--both with more than enough grass.  Four of these horses were what I'd call obese.  I had two small children so riding time was limited.  I had recently completed two equine nutrition classes as part of my acupressure certification and had learned just how bad too much grass can be for your horse.  I knew I needed to do something.

I know it seems ironic that grass can be bad for a horse.  Aren't horses, like, supposed to live on grass?!?  Well, the wild horse actually evolved in the desert regions where vegetation was sparse.  They covered many miles a day as well.  Many of our domesticated horses today are actually in quite a different environment than their ancestors.  And while it may look pastoral to see the fat horse grazing peacefully on the lush, green pasture, it's actually not a good thing.  It seems we're seeing more and more overweight (and under-exercised) horses these days.  And researchers believe insulin resistance and laminitis are on the rise.

Anyhoo, back to my topic--grazing muzzles.  If your horse is overweight, shows symptoms or has been diagnosed with insulin resistance or laminitis, a grazing muzzle may be the way to go (unless you want to keep your horse in a dry lot and feed low-sugar hay).  There are some laminitic horses that can't tolerate any grass at all.  But if they can, a grazing muzzle can greatly reduce the amount of grass they eat.

I use grazing muzzles on three of my horses, but not all of the time.  They've gotten used to them and don't seem to mind them too much.  I have one horse who simply doesn't like the grazing muzzle though--she will stand in her stall and pout all day if I leave it on her.  I've actually done several things to limit my horses grazing-- we re-fenced our pastures, making them smaller, I keep the horses in their stalls/pens during the daytime hours in the spring/ summer (since sugars in grass are highest during the day), and I use the grazing muzzles.  It's really helped to keep their weight under control.  Hopefully, we won't be seeing any laminitis or IR around here!

To read more about safer grazing, I suggest Katy Watts site, or this article from The Horse.  


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Is Thrush Causing Heel Pain in your Horse?

In the past, I never worried too much about thrush.  I knew what it was, and it only happened in horses kept in wet pens or dirty stalls.  I knew it always presented with a black mush in and around the frog and a foul odor.  Well, it turns out I was wrong.  I've since learned that thrush can happen in nearly any horse--no matter what their environment, and it doesn't always look like thrush!  It's caused by a bacteria or fungus, and if left untreated, it can cause permanent lameness.

So how do you know if your horse does have thrush?  It can be a little difficult to recognize when the foot doesn't present the classic symptoms.  If your horse appears to have heel pain--long, stretched toes (symptom of toe-first landing), has contracted heels, or high bars, he may have thrush.  Also, a spongy frog or a deep groove in the central sulcus (groove in middle of frog) can be a tell-tale sign.  If your horse is barefoot, put him on cement and see how he stands.  A horse will tend to lean forward if he has heel pain.

Many people automatically think 'navicular' if their horse has heel pain.  That may not be the case though--it could very well be thrush, which is much easier to treat!  If in doubt, I would treat for thrush.  Pete Ramey, an expert in natural trimming,  recommends soaking an infected hoof in lysol (follow dilution directions on bottle) for 30 minutes 4-5 days in a row.  Or for a topical treatment, mix 50/50 triple antibiotic cream and athlete's foot cream ('Pete's goo') and apply in the central sulcus.  If you'd rather buy a product, White Lightning is a good one.  To read more about thrush causes, symptoms, and treatments see Linda Cowles website.

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Prebiotics and Probiotics for Horses

Whether we like it or not, there are bacteria living inside us all--including our horses.  But bacteria gets a bad rap, usually.  Along with the harmful bacteria that can cause illness, there are also beneficial bacteria that help the gastro-intestinal system work properly.  Since horses ingest forage on a continual basis, these 'good' bacteria help with the process of fermentation of the forage in the gut.  They keep things in balance.  And horses are prone to many digestive problems when things get out of balance.  If a horse is exposed to a wide variety of plants which he can graze on, he will naturally consume these good bacteria.  Many horses are kept on overgrazed pastures, in dry lots, or in stalls, though.  These horses, along with very young or old horses may need a little help--a prebiotic or probiotic may be called for.

What exactly are probiotics and prebiotics?  Most people don't really know the difference.  Well, a probiotic a product containing live microorganisms that benefit the digestive tract. That's right--it IS the good bacteria!  Probiotics are good to feed during stressful situations such as long transport, changes in feed (which should always be made slowly), or after an illness, surgery, or round of antibiotics.  According to Dr. Kellon, VMD (my equine nutrition instructor), two good probiotics are Equine Generator and DFM-EQ.  You usually don't need to feed them long term though.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, are actually 'food' for the good bacteria.  They stimulate the growth and activity of the good bacteria.  Many feeds or feed ingredients such as beet pulp, flax, yeast, or psyllium are prebiotics.  You can feed them daily to promote a healthy gut.  Two great manufactured prebiotics are Ration Plus and Forco.  I personally feed Ration Plus and have seen its benefits.

So how do you know if you're horse could benefit from a pre or probiotic?  As I mentioned before, probiotics are good during times of stress and usually aren't fed long term.  Prebiotics are good for any horse, but if you're horse is having trouble holding weight, suffers from chronic diarrhea, is prone to colic or ulcers, has a poor appetite, or has poor coat/ hooves, he could very well benefit from a good prebiotic.  Of course, you should always check with your vet first (especially for chronic diarrhea cases).

Hopefully, I've explained the differences between pre and probiotics well enough.  It's important to know what you're feeding before you feed it!

Ta-ta!

To Stall or Not to Stall--That is the Question

Many performance horses are kept stalled  for the majority of time, but is this the best practice for keeping horses?  In my opinion, as well as others who have done research on the issue, the answer is no.  If in doubt, I always go back to the wild horse.  I try to keep things as natural as possible, and lots of turnout is natural.

That's not to say I never stall my horses--I do.  But here are the reasons why I do it:

• to limit spring grass (especially in my overweight horses)
• to allow for some 'gravel time' to keep their bare hooves in shape
• or in extreme weather (for me extreme is a foot of snow or several inches of ice on the ground)

I usually only stall for up to six-eight hours at a time, too (except maybe in cases of extreme weather).  I much prefer my horses to be outside when they can, though.  I'm sure many horse owners have their reasons for stalling as well.  If you don't have some good ones, you may want to reconsider your horse's living situation though.  I wrote an article (based on a scientific study) for The Horse called Are Stabled Horses at Increased Risk for Colic?  You might want to check it out.  There are also articles out there that explain the detriments of stalling on the hoof.  Movement is crucial for proper hoof development and healthy maintenance.  

If you do stall for any length of time, making sure your horse has hay to munch on for the majority of the time is very important.  Even an obese horse being stalled to help with weight loss will not lose weight nearly as quickly if he is starved.  A horse's gastro-intestinal system is designed to constantly digest forage.  That's probably why the full-time stabled horses in the study I wrote on were found to be at increased risk for colic--not enough forage. 

So what is the answer when stalling is sometimes necessary or beneficial?  For me, it's about balance. I have a lot of grass and several overweight horses.  They are at risk for laminitis in the spring especially.  I try to keep them off of the grass or muzzled during most of the daylight hours during the spring (and fall).  They are always turned out at night.  If you don't have a lot of grass, or if your horses aren't overweight, there may be no reason to stall them whatsoever.  There are some good reasons to keep a horse stalled--just keep in mind the downfalls of stalling before you decide to do it.

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