Another common test performed to achieve a diagnosis of Equine Cushing’s disease is the Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test. This test involves taking a blood sample from the horse to get a base-line measure of circulating cortisol. After the blood is taken, a dose of dexamethasone is administered into the Read more…
If the horse is standing with one hoof forward, this is called pointing. This can indicate a hoof problem, or a lameness problem further up the leg. Sometimes a horse will try to point with both hooves. Why does a horse stand with one leg bent? The most common cause Read more…
Lip twitching and flapping are common after a horse has been given an oral medication or de-wormer. The lip curl (Flehmen response) is a natural gesture when a horse is presented with a new smell, and is common in breeding stallions around mares. Does a lip twitch hurt a horse? Read more…
Toxicity. Brackenfern and horsetail are toxic when horses eat it fresh (in pasture) or dried in hay. If horses eat a diet with 20 to 25 percent brackenfern or field horsetail for about three weeks, neurological signs may occur. What is the most toxic plant to horses? Nine poisonous plants Read more…
Like ferns, field horsetail does not produce flowers or seeds. This species reproduces by spores and more commonly by creeping rhizomes and tubers. They have two separate stages in their life cycle. The one is the spore producing stage, which includes the vegetative stems. How do horsetails reproduce asexually? Reproduction. Read more…
Milk thistle for horses, the powdered seed is rich in antioxidants and can be used to promote a healthy equine liver. Milk thistle will help to support the body’s natural regeneration of new liver cell growth and, as a result, give nutritional support for healthy hooves, healthy skin and the Read more…
Ingestion of these plants causes irreversible neurological damage to the horse, and if left untreated, they will usually die from starvation, inhalation pneumonia, or dehydration. Yellow star thistle causes the same clinical signs as Russian knapweed (Centaurea repens), but is considered more toxic. Can thistles be poisonous? Milk thistle, a Read more…
People, dogs, horses, lizards, dogs, cats, and many other animals are in the vertebrate category. Animals without a backbone are called invertebrates. What type of vertebrate is a horse? Horse Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family: Equidae How is a horse a vertebrate? Animals that have a backbone are Read more…
The thoracic vertebrae are the true “back” vertebral structures of the skeleton, providing the underlying support of the saddle, and the lumbar vertebrae of the loin provide the coupling that joins the back to the hindquarters. What is the function of lumbar vertebrae in the horse? The vertebrae make up Read more…
Horses are generally strong enough to carry more than 300 pounds on their back, pull a load three times their weight, and bite with a force as heavy as 500 pounds per square inch. How strong is a horse compared to a human? In fact, the maximum output of a Read more…