For some horses, certain antioxidants or vitamin supplements may be necessary. Horses with liver disease should be protected from sunlight. Dietary management is essential for animals with hepatic encephalopathy or liver disease. Affected horses should be fed carefully because difficulty swallowing may be a problem. Can a horse recover from Read more…
Bloodworms After worm larvae are picked up off pastures and swallowed by the horse they burrow through the large intestinal wall into arteries (blood vessels). Here they develop into adult worms over the next four months. How do you treat bloodworms in horses? Dewormers such as moxidectin and ivermectin are Read more…
They teach us to use muscles we never knew existed, but the most important lessons we learn from our horses have nothing to do with being in the saddle at all. We learn to be flexible, be present, be authentic, and to be honest with ourself and with others around Read more…
Besides dietary inefficiency, piling on too many supplements could increase the risk of accidentally overloading a horse on one nutrient which could cause health problems or toxicity. Can horses overdose on vitamins? Toxicity is thought to be rare in horses. High dose supplementation above 10,000 IU per day can cause Read more…
Small strongyles. Small strongyles (cyathostomes) are the most common internal parasite of horses. They differ from large strongyles in several ways. First, small strongyles do not migrate through tissues like large strongyles do. What is an internal parasite for horses? Large strongyles, small strongyles, ascarids, tapeworms, pinworms, bots, and threadworms Read more…
The best way to prevent external parasites is to practice proper sanitation in your animals’ pens and barns. For example, properly dispose of decayed wood shavings, vegetation, manure, garbage, and dead animals. Routinely drag pastures to scatter manure – this will dry out the matter and discourage larval development. How Read more…
Dragging paddocks two to three times a year helps break up manure piles and kill parasites. Often, horses pick an area to defecate in and not graze. Dividing the pasture into smaller paddocks can help solve this problem. Should you drag a pasture? Because manure is an important fertilizer source, Read more…
Transmission of Hendra virus to humans can occur after exposure to body fluids and tissues or excretions of horses infected with Hendra virus. What is Hendra virus horse? What is Hendra virus? Hendra virus is a virus that infects large fruit bats (flying foxes). Occasionally the virus can spread from Read more…
The most common tapeworm, Anplocephala perfoliata, often causes impactions at the ileocecal junction. This will cause your horse to show signs of colic. Horses may also show signs of unthriftiness and anemia. Gastrointestinal ulceration can occur where the tapeworms attach to the inner lining of your horse’s gut. Can worms Read more…
Horse manure is an attractive home for house flies, which mate and lay eggs in animal feces. What do fly eggs look like on horses? The eggs are small, round, and yellow-orange in color, and are attached to the hairs of the horse’s body by the adult botfly. They are Read more…