Health & Education
We all want the best care possible for our horses. The Heath & Education section covers both Learning Institutions, Organizations as well as many sources for equine assistance including Veterinarians and Farriers.
For those who want a to formally study horses, the Education section includes College Riding, Equine Studies, and Veterinary Schools. Learn about the wide variety of horses in the Horse Breeds section. Supplements and Treatments Therapy are also included in the section.
Everyone can learn from Fine Art and there are some specialty Museums that might surprise you.
Horses as a therapy partner enrich the lives of the disabled. These facilities are listed in our Therapeutic Riding section. To help children and young adults build confidence and grow emotionally, please see the resources available on the Youth Outreach page.
Looking for a place to keep your horse? You can find it in the Horse Boarding section. Traveling? Find a Shipping company or Horse Sitting service if your horse is staying home!
Want to stay up to date with the latest training clinics or professional conferences? Take a look at our Calendar of Events for Health & Education for the dates and locations of upcoming events.
Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!
Iron deficiency anemia does not exist in adult horses. - Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD
It's common knowledge that horses with anemia and performance horses should get iron supplements to build their blood – right? Wrong!
Close to 70% of the body's active — not stored — iron is in the red blood cell pigment hemoglobin where it functions to bind oxygen from the lungs and carry it to the tissues. Iron is also the active binding element of myoglobin, the pigment that makes muscle red and acts to temporarily store oxygen in muscle and deliver it to the aerobic metabolic pathways for generation of energy. Iron is an indispensable component of hundreds of other proteins and enzymes in the body.
The body also takes advantage of iron's high reactivity to shuttle free electrons in the chain reaction that generates energy from foods in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). A few antioxidant enzymes also use iron, and iron is used in body systems that detect dangerously low levels of oxygen.
However, iron's free and easy contribution in free radical reactions can have a black side. In white blood cells it is used to generate free radicals which are used to destroy invading organisms. When unchecked, that same capacity to generate free radicals can easily damage tissues.
While horses can be anemic for a variety of reasons, iron deficiency is not one of them. Except for foals raised in stalls with no access to dirt, iron deficiency anemia has never been found in a horse.
It's a common belief, however diet does not cause metabolic syndrome. - Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD
The wrong diet exacerbates equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) but it doesn't actually cause it.
It's easy to see where the idea came from. When a horse/pony/donkey has metabolic syndrome it is very important to limit the sugar and starch in the diet. Starch is digested to glucose before being absorbed. The higher the intake, the higher the animal's insulin levels will go and the higher the laminitis risk.
However, these abnormal elevations don't happen with every horse, and evidence continues to grow that metabolic syndrome is genetic.
London College of Animal Osteopathy (LCAO) is a global leader in animal osteopathic education. LCAO provides the highest level of training to veterinary and osteopathic communities, as well as advanced musculoskeletal professionals seeking qualification in animal osteopathy.
Read more: Welcome to London College of Animal Osteopathy (LCAO) (2:17)
We recently attended Katie Navarra’s seminar: Reset: Reconnect: Reframe. Since the seminar involved a horse, we expected something very different such as best approaches and ways to connect with a horse.
However, the horse was not the subject of the learning session but was instrumental in serving as a catalyst to achieve greater goals. We were pleasantly surprised how much we learned. We know Katie Navarra is an accomplished equine journalist and learned that she is an amazing coach.
In this seminar, she promised we would:
- Get honest feedback about what stands in our (or our team’s way to achieving remarkable results.
- Uncover what we were tolerating and identify next steps to achieving our goals and more purposeful interactions with others.
- Gain clarity on what energizes use, enabling us to maximize our professional pursuits.
- Recognize the strengths you bring to the field and how to leverage those to protect your mental health.
Read more: Katie Navarra Coaching - Reset: Reconnect: Reframe
Dr. Laurie Metcalfe reviews what is involved in a new foal exam and the importance of prevention and early detection of potential problems to give a foal the best chance for success.
Read more: The New Foal Exam with Dr Laurie Metcalfe - Rood & Riddle Stallside Podcast
Common signs of ‘misbehavior’ can be a direct result of pain.
When Korrina Tomes-Hughes – horsewoman, wife and mother of four – acquired a horse who often squealed and kicked out, she told her husband they had a year to solve the issues. “If a horse isn’t safe, they don’t stay at our house,” she said. “Considering a 1,200-pound horse versus our littlest kid of 40 pounds, there can be no taking chances when it comes to safety.”
It is important to bring up any behavior-related issues with your veterinarian, so they can examine your horse for any potential pain and discomfort that may be directing the behavior you’re seeing. And, that’s just what this family did. “You can’t just write [a horse] off for a bad day, or even a bad week. And when you have a mare, you especially have to make sure she is comfortable,” she said.
Pinpointing the Problem
To diagnose the issue, Korrina’s veterinarian examined the mare, Cash Flip Seven, and soon discovered the mare’s estrus cycle was to blame for her, at times, poor behavior. “When she cycles, she cycles hard. It’s painful for her,” said Korrina. She was acting up because of the pain she experienced from estrus, which is common, according to a study conducted by University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The study noted several behaviors directly linked to overall physical discomfort, which can often be overlooked and labeled as “mareish.”
Help horses weather the winter with insight from equine nutritionists, veterinarian
While impressively stout yet entirely fragile, horses require a great level of care, especially as it relates to their nutrition over the winter.
“Many horse owners may not realize they actually need to feed horses differently in the wintertime than they do in the summertime,” Jyme Nichols, PhD, director of nutrition at Stride Animal Health, shared in an interview with Valley Vet Supply.
For a better understanding, continue learning with these three facts.
Fact 1: A Horse’s “Thermoneutral Zone” Directly Impacts Their Nutritional Needs.
“The first thing that I think is important for everybody to understand is a term that sounds a little bit intimidating — thermoneutral zone,” Dr. Nichols said. “This is basically the temperature outside in which a horse can maintain their own core body temperature without having to exert any extra effort to regulate either their heat loss or heat gain.”
Horses in the United States have an average thermoneutral zone between 40 and 80 degrees, which means horses near the low end of their thermoneutral zone will have to use extra energy (thus calories) to maintain heat.
by Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD
I am personally very involved with medical causes, but this is about a central issue for all laminitis cases – the trim. Medications, diet and supplements can’t make up for an inappropriate laminitis trim.
Whether the horse has true rotation – coffin bone (P3) out of alignment with second phalanx (P2) – or capsular rotation – hoof wall pushed away from P3 by swelling or laminar wedge – the goal of trimming is realignment of the bones within the hoof capsule.
A realigning trim also corrects for the elevated palmar angle (angle the bottom of the coffin bone makes with the ground) seen in horses with true rotation. Reduced growth at the toe compared to heel can also result in this problem in any laminitis horse.
It’s that simple, and the realigning trim is as important today as it was when I learned it 45 years ago. Some things don’t change. The physiologically correct alignment between coffin bone, hoof wall and ground is one of them.
Rood & Riddle - Our cohosts reminisce on the inaugural year of the StallSide podcast and tell us what’s in store for 2022.
Read more: Our First Year with Dr Peter Morresey and Dr Bart Barber
- What’s New in Equine Healthcare with Dr Peter Morresey and Dr Bart Barber
- EHV-1 Research Study and Infection Control Tips
- Hoof Care in Winter
- Caring for Barn Cats?
- Pilates for Horses—It’s a Thing
- Fix the Horse That’s Behind the Bit
- Training the Equestrian Body and Mind with Yoga
- Here Comes The Sun ~ But It’s Not Good For Everyone
- New Rotavirus Revealed with Dr Emma Adam (43:34)
- Any Horse in Regular Work is a Performance Horse
- Lose Your Fear of Selenium
- UC Davis-led Study Investigates Distribution of the Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome Allele in Multiple Breeds
- Veterinarians are Considering Lecithin for Treating and Preventing Ulcers
- Tetanus: Your Horse’s Risk May Be Greater Than You Think
- Pitfalls of Fecal Checks for Parasites
- Cavallo Q&A: Horse Time for Healing
- The Last Half of Pregnancy
- Equestrian Diversity Project Spotlight: Ebony Horsewomen
- Equine Guelph at the University of Guelph in Canada presents "Journey of the Digestive Tract"
- Tennessee Walking Horse Stakeholders, Animal Protection Organizations Announce Historic Effort to End Abusive Practice of ‘Soring’ and Ensure Sound Economic Future for the Breed