HEALTH & EDUCATION

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!

George Stubbs "Lord Grosvenor’s Arabian Stallion with a Groom", c. 1765, oil on canvas, possible W series genotype, 39 1/8 x 32 7/8 in. (99.3 x 83.5 cm) AP 1981.03, photo courtesy of Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

by Patricia N. Saffran

“Do you see that Thoroughbred in the pasture over there with the splotchy paint colors and white socks above the knees? He has to have Quarter Horse in him, but don’t say I told you so.

I could get in a lot of trouble with the Jockey Club if anyone found out I was saying Thoroughbreds aren’t what they’re supposed to be,” so says an anonymous source on a visit to a New York State Thoroughbred farm. Sure enough, the horse in question had a beautiful Thoroughbred conformation but was quite colorful.

Do Thoroughbreds have Quarter Horse in them and is that responsible for the occasional high colors and socks above the knees? What are the genetics responsible for the high colors in both breeds so that one pattern can resemble the other, or more importantly, what are the latest genetic findings?

The Thoroughbred is often described as a purebred horse but this is not the case according to Franco Varola. He modified a French mathematical theory, Dosage Index, for racehorse performance with a points rating to distinguish short distance sprinters against the stamina needed for long distance runners.

In Typology of the Racehorse, J.A. Allen, 1974, Varola writes, “The Thoroughbred in the present-day meaning of the word is neither a pure nor an impure animal, but much more simply a hybrid, obtained by crossing different strains for racing purposes, and by keeping these strains isolated from the remainder of the species of the genus Equus within a register known as the General Stud Book [UK, first published in 1793].”

Varola finds the influence of the founding fathers of the breed in the 18th century too nebulous and prefers to trace them through more recent descendants, who have been bred to each other in what he calls a kaleidoscope of changing parts that remain the same. Regardless, he still refers to Thoroughbreds as hybrids. The notion of hybrid also applies to Quarter Horses.

Kathleen Gustafson, PhD and Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD

The ECIR Group has improved the welfare of equines with metabolic disorder by focusing on prevention and treatment of Laminitis. The US alone has almost 10 million horses. The most current estimates are that 10% to 15% of horses will suffer from Laminitis every year, with 80% to 90% of the cases caused by endocrine disease. On average, that is 1 million horses per year in the US alone.

They recommend that Horses who cannot regulate insulin should not be grazing pasture. Owners should concern themselves with the insulin in the horse, not the fructan in the pasture.

This is ECIR Group review of an article which is largely based on the 2006 research dissertation of Dr. Bridgett McIntosh, entitled, “Circadian and Seasonal Variation in Pasture Nonstructural Carbohydrates and the Physiological Response of Grazing Horses”. The entire dissertation is publically available HERE This is an excellent resource.

Photo Courtesy of Zoetis - Dormosedan Gel® (detomidine hydrochloride) administered from a single-dose syringe under the tongue

By Jeff Hall, DVM, Senior Equine Technical Services Veterinarian, Zoetis

It’s the perfect day for a ride. But while unloading your horse, he quickly steps back, lifting his head high to catch on the bare metal of your horse trailer. The gash is deep. What are your next steps?

Make sure you know the best plan of action to help minimize your horse’s risk in times of emergency.

Injuries such as cuts and bruises are common with a horse’s natural curiosity and flight-or-fight response. Other types of emergencies can include colic, choke, lameness and illness. Considering such potential threats posed to your horse, your knowledge of, and access to, a first-aid kit will be crucial to help ensure his overall safety when away from immediate veterinary service.

I recommend keeping a first-aid kit in not only your barn but also your horse trailer, should you ever need quick access to supplies when traveling with your horse. Listed below are key materials to keep stocked in your kit.

Three bay tobiano mares and black stallion, courtesy of Alexandre Gonçalves-Haras Guariroba

by Patricia N. Saffran

Tobiano is a striking large white spotted coat pattern. Also called pinto, meaning painted in Spanish, the pattern is very old. Tobiano was one of the horse colors to come out of the expansion of coat colors during the Bronze Age in the Eurasian Steppe. Horses had been black or bay/dun, and then at this time, they started to appear in a variety of colors. This period was when some scientists believe that horses were domesticated, or alternatively, it was when horse domestication spread to Europe and Asia. Natural selection is a possible reason for the proliferation of color coats.

The name tobiano comes from the 1800s in Brazil. The question is how did pintos in Brazil come to be known as tobiano? Most sources offer cockeyed and incomplete explanations. The genotype for Tobiano (TO) color remained a mystery until it was discovered in 2007.

Samantha A. Brooks, PhD, Assistant Professor of Equine Physiology, Dept. of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Brooks, who discovered the Sabino 1 genotype (SB1) variant (a white patterning), also worked on the Tobiano genotype. She discovered that the Tobiano gene is governed by a large chromosomal inversion on chromosome 3 near the KIT gene (responsible for white patterning). This inversion is only found in Tobiano horses, and it occurred around 3000 BC, at the time of the proliferation of horse colors.

With proper nutrition and veterinary support, orphan foals can become healthy, thriving adults.

Spring is here and so is peak foaling season. While an exciting time with frolicking foals, having a plan for the unexpected can help alleviate stress in case a mare is unable to care for her baby. To help orphan foals through the tough early stages of life, experts at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center have developed an emergency feeding program.

“As foals age, their nutrition requirements change rapidly,” says Karen E. Davison, Ph.D., director & nutritionist with Equine Technical Solutions at Purina Animal Nutrition.

Ensure orphan foals receive the best nutrition by following these recommendations:

Day 1

It’s important to feed colostrum to the foal within the first two hours of life.

“Colostrum, or “first milk,” provides antibodies needed to build a foal’s immune system and fight diseases,” explains Davison. “After 18 to 24 hours, foals can no longer absorb antibodies in colostrum.”

Check with your veterinarian to discuss the need for any medications or vaccines and if the newborn has the proper immunoglobulin levels.

Hippocrates Health Institute, West Palm Beach, Florida

by Diana De Rosa

In 2005, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and like any devoted daughter who was devastated by the thought of losing her “rock,” I went in search of answers. I came up with Hippocrates, a hidden treasure of health and wellness located in West Palm Beach, FL. While for my mom, going to their three-week Life Transformation Program didn’t happen, I never forgot what I heard in the orientation session we attended.

Since then, I have devoted a large portion of my life to learning about alternative methods of health. I’ve delved into healthy eating habits, essential oils, detoxification, pH balancing and so much more.

Because of the knowledge gained over the years, often people will come to me for advice for simple things like a cold or more complex issues like cancer. Together we discuss things they should consider to help strengthen their mind, body, soul, spirit and their immune system. My consistent answer to everyone is, “if I were in your shoes, the first thing I would do is go and take the three-week Life Transformation Program offered by Hippocrates.”

Now 12 years later, I still make the same suggestion but when people started to ask very specific questions, it became clear that if I wanted to give them answers, I needed to test the waters. While three weeks would be my ideal, a busy lifestyle allowed me one week to see what Hippocrates is all about. Now as I look back on that experience it’s my goal to share what I call the “gift of health” to others, especially those involved with horses.

Hippocrates Can Also Help Horses

Florida in the winter is an area that has a host of horses in every breed and discipline including dressage, show jumping, reining, racing, polo, and so much more. So, it only makes sense that Hippocrates is a place for the horse people who love and care for them.

With a rapidly growing unborn foal, the transition time from mid- to late-gestation can pose nutritional challenges for pregnant mares.

Up to 60 percent of an unborn foal’s growth happens during the last three months of pregnancy. As such, late gestation can pose nutritional challenges for pregnant mares.

Comparatively, unborn foals grow very slowly (approximately 0.2 pounds per day) during the first seven to eight months of gestation, causing very little nutritional stress on the mare.

“Dry mares in early gestation can be fed like a mature, idle horse,” says Karen Davison, Ph.D., Director and Nutritionist for Equine Technical Solutions at Purina Animal Nutrition. “Good quality pasture or hay along with a ration balancer or vitamin/mineral supplement may be all that is necessary to meet the mare’s nutritional requirements.”

However, during the last 90 days of pregnancy, the fetus gains approximately 1 pound per day and has a significant impact on the mare’s nutritional requirements for protein, vitamins and minerals.

by Natalie Voss - from the Paulick Report

Earlier this month, veterinarians and state officials in three Florida counties (Columbia, Bradford, and Hillsborough) publicly announced they were dealing with a small outbreak of strangles, a contagious bacterial infection of the equine upper respiratory tract characterized by swollen lymph nodes. Strangles is a relatively common communicable disease, but in this case, alerts issued via the Equine Disease Communication Center indicated the outbreak's origin was a pen at a horse sale facility in Bastrop, La.

Though the specific location was unnamed in the alerts (it was not the well-known Bastrop Kill Pen, according to the information provided), the distributor's set-up is similar to many other so-called “kill pens” these days: facility operators or independent organizations offer horses destined for the slaughter pipeline for “bail” by rescues or private owners in exchange for a fee which is often higher than fair market value on the animal. When the money is paid, individuals may either own the horse or foster it until a permanent place can be found, and since social media is global, that means horses may leave such pens and travel many states away.

Dr. Angela Pelzel-McCluskey, equine epidemiologist with the United States Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said that type of large-scale movement of horses is a serious biosecurity concern for people who foster or purchase the animals – not just for strangles, but other communicable diseases.

The Knabstrupper horse is an old and rare breed, originally developed in Denmark the horses come from the same original stock as the Spanish horses that gave rise to the Appaloosa. The Knabstrupper and the Appaloosa share the same unusual color patterns, they are the ‘spotted’ horses. The color variations range from the whole body spots of the classical Leopard pattern (sometimes called “Tiger’ pattern), in bay, black and chestnut to the blanket spotting and to varnish roan and snowflake patterns.

While their unusual color patterns make them eyecatching and different to look at, what makes the Knabstrupper really special is their superb temperaments and willing kind natures. Bred as working horse and selected as much for attitude and ability as beauty the Knabstrupper is a true family horse.