by Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DVM

Your horse's health, happiness and performance depend on normal functioning of the nervous system and muscles. All nutrients have a role to play but some are particularly important.

The complexity within a single nerve cell is staggering but the horse's very life depends on the nervous system receiving proper nutrients to maintain its health.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant which becomes incorporated directly into the membranes surrounding cells and also structures within the cells. These membranes are made of phospholipids which are very vulnerable to attack by free radicals generated from toxic minerals or during immune system activity.

The nervous system is known to be particularly sensitive to oxidative damage from free radical attacks. The muscles are also at high risk even in good health because of the huge amount of free radicals generated during the production of energy.

Read more: Neuromuscular Support Nutrients

by Bob Burdekin

As I started to work with horses that had a large amount of stress that had been retained within their bodies I started to realize that there were other controlling factors that needed to be considered and addressed.

This is where the factor of PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome) was first considered and researched; before I could start to help a horse that might be suffering from PTSD I had to understand what PTSD was, what caused it to occur and look at where it might have come from.

Upon seeing some of the basic research that had been done with people I did realize that it was based within the workings of the brain and certain aspects or even a specific occurrence in an individual's life opened the door to PTSD. It was at this point that in order to fully understand how it might affect the horse I felt that I needed to look to a comparison between the human brain and the brain of the horse.

What I found in that comparison was quite amazing; what I learned showed me that both brains are just a similar as they are different.

Initially, I discovered that the brain of the horse has an average size similar to a large grapefruit; while the human brain occupies most of the space that is available within the human skull. The next point of interest that was discovered was that any species ability to think through any specific problem (their cognitive skills) is directly related to the ratio of the size of the brain to the size of the body that it is contained within.

The human brain is close to 1/50th of the total body weight and size, where the brain of the horse is 1/650th of their body size and weight.

The next logical step was to look to how the brain of the horse functioned and it was here that I discovered how and why horses think and respond the way that they do. Let's start at the very beginning when a horse is born that have to have to be equipped to survive from the moment they are born, I have heard this referred to as "ready for life".

What I understand that to mean is that new-born foals are up on their feet and totally operational within the first hour of their life. Consequently, at this point in their life, all of their actions are controlled by their "brain stem", which is an integrated part of their "reptilian" part of their brain. This becomes very important since it is the reptilian part of the brain that becomes the storehouse for additional information as the foal grows and progresses.

It is during this time of development that the main areas of importance are the aspects of controlling balance along with developing better use of both eye and head movements.

Read more: The Roadmap to PTSD in Horses