The most common concerns when a horse ingests another commercial feed is intestinal upset. Even if the chicken feed isn’t medicated, the high quantity of starch can lead to the death of good bacteria in the hindgut, resulting in a potentially severe bout of colic. Has your horse consumed another Read more…
If harboring sufficient fungal loads, white clover, alsike clover, alfalfa, ladino, and lespedeza can induce slobbering. Why do horses drool with clover? The fungus produces a toxin called slaframine that stimulates the salivary glands of horses causing them to drool – sometimes in alarming quantities. If the fungus is growing Read more…
Polo wraps are bandage materials, usually made of fleece, for a horse’s legs. They can be quite stretchy compared to other bandaging materials, and are used mainly for protection during ridden work, longeing, and turnout. What is the purpose of polo wraps for horses? Polo wraps are the only leg Read more…
Slobbers occurs when a horse ingests pasture, hay, or silage that contains a fungus that is commonly found in soil and transmitted in seeds. The fungus produces a mycotoxin called slaframine that produces the clinical signs of excessive salivation. How long do Slobbers last in horses? The fungus produces the Read more…
Slobbers is caused by Rhizoctonia leguminicola, the fungus found on vegetation that produces the drool-causing slaframine compound. What does it mean if a horse is drooling? Clinical syndromes that can cause profuse salivation are: the virus disease, vesicular stomatitis; mechanical or chemical irritation of the mouth, e.g., by plant awns; Read more…
One common culprit is slaframine, a soaplike chemical produced by the plant fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola, which commonly infests clover. A horse who ingests the fungus usually slobbers as he eats and when he’s standing still. You’re likely to notice a puddle forming at his feet as he’s being groomed. Why Read more…
First, remove horses from the pastures with infected clover. Then, mow down the affected spots as much as you can. Finally, use a pasture-friendly broad leaf herbicide to rid your fields from any remaining signs of the fungus. Another warm weather clover to keep an eye on this spring is Read more…
Ingestion of slaframine stimulates secretion of saliva, sometimes to the point that copious amounts escape the mouth when opened. What triggers saliva production? Salivary glands secretion is mainly controlled by the autonomous nervous system. Parasympathetic stimulation produces abundant quantities of watery saliva, whereas sympathetic stimulation produces more viscous saliva (Bardow, Read more…
Investigation with blood tests is necessary to check if the horse has any functional testicular tissue. Abnormal testicles can be difficult to remove. The condition can be hereditary so affected stallions should not be used for breeding. How do you test if a horse is a rig? Tests and treatment Read more…
Horses are being bred to win races, not to sustain a long healthy life. The sad reality is that once the horse is worn out- “retired”- most will be killed. The public does not hear about race horses that had to be put down due to broken bones, unless it Read more…