Water is the fuel that keeps all living creatures’ bodies functioning. In horses, it’s a crucial nutrient for digestion and thermoregulation, among other life-supporting functions. However, there’s more to keeping horses hydrated than simply providing them constant access to clean water.
Inadequate salt in the diet can result in abnormal eating behavior such as licking or chewing objects which have salt on them (fork handles etc.) or licking/eating dirt. Water intake may also decrease, increasing the risk of impaction colic.
With the temperatures dropping soon, it's time to take action to protect your horses from the cold and keep them healthy during these conditions. Here are some tips on what you can do to keep your horse healthy this winter:
If your horse had a sore back, would you be able to tell? Recent research by a French behavior team suggests that you might not. In a recent study, caretakers estimated that less than 12% of horses at various equestrian centers had back pain.
The first few weeks of a foal’s life can be the highest risk period in the life of a horse. There are several gastrointestinal disorders that can quickly drain the health of your foal and cause failure to thrive.
A variety of "old horsemen's tales" once advised withholding water from horses under particular circumstances. For example, many people still adhere to the notion that offering cold water to a hot, sweating horse will cause colic.
In our continuing series regarding horse feeding pitfalls, we now turn to the need for salt in the equine diet.
One common mistake is adding supplements to the horse's diet without first checking to see if the ration is already overloaded with any specific nutrients.
In any catalog or feed store today you'll find a variety of bagged feeds labeled for specific types of horses--growing youngsters, hardworking adults, broodmares, senior citizens, etc. All are formulated to provide the exact amount of calories and nutrition those animals need, and giving the wrong feed to the wrong...
Deworming treatments are often a regular component of horse health maintenance, but many horse owners may not understand the best schedule for their horse.
