“Prolonged overfeeding of phosphorus can cause big-head disease or secondary hyperparathyroidism, and two ponies included in the study were beginning to show signs of the disease by the end of the study period. Is phosphorus safe for horses? Phosphorus is important for bone growth and skeletal health in horses. While Read more…
Grains such as oats, corn, and barley, as well as grain by-products wheat bran and rice bran, are low in calcium and higher in phosphorus. What is a good source of phosphorus for horses? Horses get phosphorus from many different feeds, including forages and oats. Feeds with particularly high phosphorus Read more…
If the amount of phosphorus exceeds that of calcium, the excess phosphorus will interfere with the absorption of the calcium, resulting in serious effects on the skeleton. In growing horses, the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the diet must be 1:1. What happens if a horse has too much Read more…
High levels of blood phosphorus are found in horses with acute kidney failure, tying up, injury or disease that is causing cell breakdown, parathyroid disease and overdosing with Vitamin D. What happens if a horse has too much phosphorus? “Prolonged overfeeding of phosphorus can cause big-head disease or secondary hyperparathyroidism, Read more…
The common infectious equine respiratory diseases are strangles, equine influenza and the equine herpesviruses. Other infections also circulate including the equine rhinitis viruses and equine adenoviruses, but these are less common. What is the most common infectious respiratory disease of horses? Equine influenza virus is one of the most common Read more…
True hypothyroidism in the adult horse is extremely rare and is seen more often in foals. Clinical signs include anemia (low red blood cell count); low body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate; lethargy; coarse hair coat; and obesity. How do I know if my horse has a thyroid problem? Read more…
Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP) is an inherited disease of the muscles primarily found in Quarter Horses which is characterized by sporadic episodes of muscle tremors or paralysis. What is horse muscle disease? Myopathies are diseases that primarily cause damage to muscles. They may be present at birth (congenital) or occur Read more…
1.5%. Research studies suggest HYPP horses should be fed with no more than 1.5% potassium of the total diet and individual meals should not exceed 33 grams of potassium. This can be quite difficult as most hays are higher in potassium than most commercial feeds and cereal grains. Why does Read more…
If a horse is kept in a stable, it needs two to three feeds per day. You should not leave your horse for longer than eight hours without food. Horses like routine, so try to feed them at the same time every day. Is it OK to feed horses once Read more…
Motor innervation of the eyelids is from CN III (oculomotor nerve) and CN VII (facial nerve). What nerve makes your eye blink? The corneal blink reflex is caused by a loop between the trigeminal sensory nerves and the facial motor (VII) nerve innervation of the orbicularis oculi muscles. The reflex Read more…