The equine digestive tract is designed in this way to allow the horse to ingest large quantities of forage in a continuous fashion. How do horses utilize forage? Provides necessary nutrients The main importance of forage in a horse’s diet is that it provides the nutrients and energy necessary for Read more…
Horses are non-ruminant, simple-stomached herbivores. They are hindgut fermenters, meaning the large intestine is the main site of fermentation of fibrous feedstuffs. Where does fermentation take place in a horse? The horse is unique in that most of the digestion of their feed occurs in the hindgut through the process Read more…
Perforations of the equine stomach, large colon, caecum and small colon/rectum have been well- documented, occurring either spontaneously or secondary to ulceration, over-distension, obstruction, parasitism, physical trauma or infarction. What causes a perforated bowel in horses? Most commonly it occurs due to contamination (for example by perforation of the abdominal Read more…
milk leg, also called Iliofemoral Thrombophlebitis, or Phlegmasia Alba Dolens, inflammation of the femoral vein, the principal vein of the thigh, with formation of a clot that blocks the channel of the vein. How do you treat milk legs in horses? This involves antibiotics to treat secondary infections, antiparasitic treatments Read more…
To release an upward fixated patella, the horse should be pushed backward while simultaneously pushing the patella medially and distally. Alternatively, pulling the limb forward with a rope around the pastern may unlock the patella. What occurs in upward fixation of the patella? An upward fixation of the patella is Read more…
The patella plays a vital role in the horse’s hindleg action – its locking mechanism even allows him to sleep standing up. Vet Sarah Hunter explains how it operates and what can go wrong. The patella, otherwise known as the kneecap, is a round, flat bone in the tendon part Read more…
It is the largest joint in the horse’s body, and is comparable to a knee in people. It actually consists of three joints, two of which are divided into compartments. Within these spaces, the medial and lateral meniscal ligaments are found. If these ligaments become torn or injured, lameness is Read more…
The stifle is made up of the femorotibial and femoropatellar joints. It corresponds to the knee joint in humans. What is the stifle joint to a humans? Function. The stifle joint or genual (L. genu the knee) joint, commonly referred to as the stifle, is the most complex joint in Read more…
Forearm: the area of the front leg between the knee and elbow, consisting of the fused radius and ulna, and all the tissue around these bones; anatomically, the antebrachium. Hindquarters: the large, muscular area of the hind legs, above the stifle and behind the barrel. Do horses have forearms? Two Read more…
By the time the foal is 4 months old, he must supplement his nursing with other food sources, such as forage (hay and pasture) and grain. What do you feed a 4 month old foal? FOAL FEEDING GUIDELINES Provide high-quality roughage (hay and pasture) free choice. Supplement with a high-quality, Read more…