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HEALTH & WELFARE - WINTER WELLNESS
Ways to avoid...
Mud
Most winters and with very few exceptions, the horses’ fields can end up looking like a war zone, explain Equestrian.com. Huge puddles and churned up ground can be an owner’s nightmare when trying to keep horses clean and mud fever free. Plaiting your horse’s tail into a hunting knot prevents it becoming all knotted and is easier to brush through and it is also worth spraying on product to help keep it tangle and knot free. Without doubt the muddy fields will mean your horse will be dirtier especially after a good roll. Even if you are short on time it is important to make sure the areas where your tack will sit on the horse are clean and a dirt free zone before you ride. Investing in some products that provide your horse’s coat with a shine might help aid in the mud coming off easier and will prove a great time-saver. A full turnout rug that goes all the way up the horse’s neck not only provides more warmth for your horse but also keeps them much cleaner. Only having to brush the legs and head is a much better option than muddy, tangled manes which can prove difficult to untangle. Missing shoes become more of a problem in winter due to the boggy conditions. A quick run around the field can easily result in the loss of a shoe not only costing money but also time and effort booking and waiting for the farrier. While picking out your horses feet check for any signs of a loose shoe and also any infection or thrush.
Avoiding airborne allergens... Over the past few decades we have become more aware of respiratory disease in horses and the need to pay close attention to the environment as well as the horse’s diet, in order to reduce the level of exposure to the diseasecausing agents, explain Horsehage. If the horse is suffering from an infection of the respiratory tract or an allergic response to the presence of inhaled spores or
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ammonia, this can cause inflammation of the small airways, increased mucus production and bronchospasm, and the condition can be exacerbated by dust in the feed or environment. The connection between respiratory tract infection and allergic respiratory disease is well-known in human medicine and it appears that horses are more sensitive to respiratory allergens following an infection
of the respiratory tract, since the damage to the airways caused by the infection allows easier access of airborne allergens to the sensitive tissues. Not all infections will result in the horse becoming sensitized, but recovery time after respiratory infection is prolonged in the presence of environmental contaminants. Once a horse develops a dust sensitivity (which can occur over a period of years of being exposed to
environmental pollutants), it will remain so for life, whether that sensitivity was due to exposure to a severe challenge or following a respiratory infection. So the importance of a dust-free forage and also environment cannot be stressed enough. World-renowned veterinary charity, the Animal Health Trust, feeds patients in its equine clinic dust-free forage when appropriate. The dust-free element is particularly important for patients which are suffering from eye problems, or