Canadian Horse Journal - Pacific & Prairie - SUMMER 2020

Canada’s Only National Horse Magazine DISPLAY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

29

th

ANNUAL

CELEBRATION OF HORSES

PHOTO

Contest

CELEBRATING CANADA’S BEAUTIFUL FOALS & FAVOURITE HORSES Winning photos will be featured in our Winter 2020 issue, and on HORSEJournals.com.

Two Runners-Up per category will also be chosen.

AMATEUR CATEGORIES For Amateur Photographers Only n

Stable Stork

Beautiful babies of 2020 n

Love of Horses

Depicting the human-horse bond n

Horses on the Job

Performance, working, heritage n

Horses Being Horses

Humour, personality, action n

Winter Scenes

Sleigh rides, winter wonderland, dashing through the snow! n

At Liberty

Horses in action (playing, galloping, with no tack)

OPEN NEW CATEGORY FOR

PROFESSIONAL

ENTRY DEADLINE: October 10, 2020

OVER

$2,000 IN PRIZES

Six Amateur Category Winners Will Each Receive a Grand Prize...

$250 Gift Card for Online Shopping at

SummersideTack.ca

including products by Horseware Ireland, Back on Track, Weaver Leather, Shires Equestrian, Professional Choice and more!

All Runners-Up will each receive an “I Love Horses” Tote Bag and a 1-year subscription to Canadian Horse Journal.

PHOTOGRAPHERS 1 WINNER & 2 RUNNERS UP

ANY EQUESTRIAN-THEMED IMAGE Winner will receive a Sponsored Profile about their photography business, published in Canadian Horse Journal and on HORSEJournals.com.

PHOTOS (2019 CONTEST WINNERS) — MAIN IMAGE: JOSEPHA BAUER / SMALLER IMAGES, L-R: MARILYN VANDER WEKKEN, RACHEL SDOUTZ, KELLIE GOROSH, AMBER BOND, SAIF PATEL

TO ENTER, VISIT

www.HORSEJournals.com/contests

Get closer to your horse The top saddle pad endorsed by Master Saddlers, Spinal Surgeons, Veterinarians, Trainers and more!

90% Shock Absorption Close Contact Feel • Shimmable Available for All Disciplines

Tack for equestrians of all disciplines for both horse and rider’s comfort and spinal protection

Ask for ThinLine at your local tack shop Shop online at

www.ThinLineCanada.ca

Your one stop shop for everything equestrian Horseware Ireland, Back on Track, Weaver Leather, Shires Equestrian, Professional Choice and more!

Come in and meet our friendly staff!

www.summersidetack.ca • Call us at (250) 890-9158 1081 Knight Road, Comox, BC • summersidetack@shaw.ca

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

3

b IN THIS ISSUE

SUMMER 2020

52 36 ISTOCK/ALINA555 | 48 SHUTTERSTOCK/PETER TITMUSS | 52 CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY | 56 CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY

56

36

PHOTOS

48 SPECIAL FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

28 Forage Testing with NIRS

2 Celebration of Horses Photo Contest

Which option in forage testing makes sense for you this year?

34 Stable Hygiene: The “New Normal”

As barns reopen, physical distancing and new cleaning protocols are critically important.

36 Equine Emergency First Aid

4

Every horse owner should be equipped to handle a horse health emergency when it happens. www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

48 Riders Are Athletes

How to find — and own — your equestrian athlete identity.

52 Format Your Ride

The organization of your ride determines how well your horse will excel as an athlete.

56 Rider Posture

How to create a more functional and integral posture both in and out of the saddle.

8 Editorial 35, Inside Back Cover To Subscribe

60 Horse Council BC News 62-63 Horse Industry Products 64 Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association News

66 Manitoba Horse Council News 67 Meet Our Contributors 67 Index to Advertisers 68 Roundup

b IN THIS ISSUE

28

10

HOOF CARE & LAMENESS 10 10 Things About Hooves

Ten things you might not know about horse hooves and how to keep them healthy.

12 How to Recognize and Manage Club Foot

6

One of the most common hoof deformities can be corrected if recognized early in the horse’s life. www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

22 Diagnosis and Treatment of Equine Joint Disease

Management practices and treatment options to make your horse more comfortable and extend his career.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

12

PHOTOS

22

10 SHUTTERSTOCK/MARIAIT | 12 COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES | 22 SHUTTERSTOCK/BRASTOCK | 28 ISTOCK/MAGBUG

SUMMER 2020

ON THE COVER: Some horses will test you.

Some will teach you.

And some will bring out the best in you.

Author unknown PHOTO: PHOTO: ISTOCK/FOTOKOSTIC

EDITOR’S DESK

b Your Horse b Your Passion b Your Magazine

WE’RE CELEBRATING!

Published by Horse Community Journals Inc.

Canadian Horse Journal Honoured at 2020 Equine Media Awards We are thrilled to share our news with you. Canadian Horse Journal and its talented editorial team received top honours for editorial excellence during the American Horse Publications (AHP) 2020 Equine Media Awards. AHP Equine Media Awards are the premier awards within the equine media industry, and AHP has been honouring excellence in equine media since 1975. The awards ceremony, meant to be part of the AHP’s 50th Anniversary Conference in Lexington, KY this year, was instead held virtually on May 30 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s AHP Awards competition for material published in 2019 was judged by 21 professionals and included 56 classes, with 731 entries from 111 member publications, journalists, photographers, and businesses representing the top equine media from across North America.

We are honoured to be recognized and especially thrilled to win the Feature Single Article category for the third year in a row! This recognition means so much to all of us.

Every member of our team goes above and beyond to make Canadian Horse Journal the best it can be.

“I was amazed and very excited to see the comments,” says writer Margaret Evans. “It’s all very humbling. You all did such a beautiful job with layout and design. Everything that brings an article together matters; it’s such teamwork.”

Our two winning articles this year are:

Volume 20 • Issue 6 Summer 2020 Issue (July/August) of Canadian Horse Journal EDITOR / PUBLISHER Kathy Smith ACCOUNTS Geri Pronovost ADVERTISING April D. Ray • Terry Andrucko • Janna Reimer SOCIAL MEDIA April D. Ray Subscriptions Steve Smith MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION Janna Reimer ART DIRECTION, PRODUCTION Elisa Crees CONTRIBUTORS Margaret Evans • Tania Millen • Shawn Hamilton April D. Ray • Jec Ballou • Shelagh Niblock Annika McGivern • Alexa Linton Equine Guelph • WCVM • HCBC • MHC • CanTRA ADVERTISING, SUBSCRIPTIONS & GENERAL INQUIRIES 1-800-299-3799 • 250-655-8883 or email: sales@horsejournals.com ADVERTISING DEADLINE 4 weeks prior to issue date e.g., Oct. 1 for Winter (Nov/Dec) issue.

ONLINE EDITION WEBSITE www.horsejournals.com MAIN OFFICE EMAIL editor@horsejournals.com

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

SAFER LANDINGS

Hoofbeats Across the Silver Screen

By Margaret Evans

How to Minimize Risk of Injury from Falls

By Margaret Evans

1ST — Feature Single Article (26 entries)

1ST – Service to the Horse Industry Single Article (18 entries)

The film industry has an enduring fascination with these amazing animals that shaped our civilization and remain our faithful partners.

Judge’s comments: “This is a wonderful read that will benefit TV and movie fans as well as horse lovers. The writer does a deep dive into researching decades of feature films’ use of horses — not just those in starring roles, but their doubles and backups.

The information on how horses and other animals were abused on film sets is presented with straightforward accuracy, never descending into sentimentality.

And the information provided by trainers, stars, stunt workers, and caretakers adds an unexpected depth. It is a superb story; I savored every word.”

Falling, or otherwise parting company with your horse, is part of riding. If fall safety training saves even a small number of riders from catastrophic injury, it’s worth training every rider.

Judge’s comments: “We have all been told that if we fall off a horse, we must get right back on. Well, easier said than done. And no one ever told [most of] us that we could actually be trained on how to do a fall the right way. This very thorough article covers that and more. It is well sourced on the training and the need for physical fitness.

This article also includes interviews with riders who described what happened to them physically and mentally after coming off a horse. Most of us who have come off a horse can identify with their experience.

You can read these award-winning articles, as well as our roster of award-winning articles from previous years, on our website.

Kathy Smith 8

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT EMAIL design@horsejournals.com

Publishing 6 issues per year SUBSCRIPTIONS – REGULAR RATES 1 yr/6 issues: $24 + tax 2 yr/12 issues: $37 + tax US $59/2 yrs, 12 issues ORDERS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICES, & UNDELIVERABLE COPIES ARE TO BE SENT TO: The Canadian HORSE JOURNAL Suite 202, 2400 Bevan Ave., Sidney, BC V8L 1W1 (250) 655-8883 • fax: (250) 655-8913 • 1-800-299-3799 POSTAGE PAID AT Winnipeg, MB PUBLICATIONS MAIL REG. NO. 40009439 GST REG. NO. 829298140 ISSN. NO. 1496-1733

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART OF ANY MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. The information and services listed herein are intended to facilitate accessibility to the professionals, products and services that play a part in the horse industry. While readers are encouraged to use the products and services of the merchants listed in this Guide, Horse Community Journals Inc. does not recommend or guarantee the products and services of advertisers or associates listed.

Manuscripts and photographs will be returned only if SASE is provided. The return of unsolicited material is not guaranteed.

Contributors and advertisers warrant all materials supplied are free of copyright and they have the legal right to use the same.

All material accepted for publication is subject to such revisions as are deemed appropriate by Canadian Horse Journal (CHJ).

The opinions expressed in CHJ are not necessarily those of the publisher. CHJ reserves the right to refuse any advertising or submission. Contributors consent to have their submissions published in CHJ and on www.HorseJournals.com and elsewhere as determined by the publisher.

Printed in Canada. Please recycle.

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

SPONSORED

Embracing Change

How Businesses Can Thrive in COVID-19 Times With the coronavirus pandemic expected to continue for an unspecified length of time, horse industry businesses have been considering how best to reduce the spread of the virus, maintain a healthy environment for staff, horses, and clients, while also operating effectively. In many operations, participants can easily maintain a physical distance of two metres, which provincial and federal governments continue to encourage to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19.

However, some businesses have shared spaces — for example, tack rooms at boarding facilities — where riders and owners are more likely to touch the same surfaces. As such, riders, trainers, owners, grooms, transporters, professionals, and caregivers who work in the horse industry are struggling to figure out how to operate in these uncertain times.

Fortunately, there are some practical solutions.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Mike King has been discussing risk-reducing tactics specific to COVID-19 with horse industry clients.

King is a partner at CapriCMW Insurance, the insurance provider and risk management partner for most Equestrian Provincial/ Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) in Canada, and says many businesses are thriving by understanding the potential risks they and their clients face, and subsequently changing some everyday practices.

King says the horse industry insurance policies administered by CapriCMW have been in effect throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, understanding government and health regulations is an imperative first step for business operations at this time, along with accessing information provided

by Equestrian Canada and the PTSOs. Due to the pandemic, governmental policies have restricted the movement of people and the operation of many businesses. Therefore, government and health authorities have

PHOTO: DREAMSTIME/CASTENOID

Source: CapriCMW Insurance

provided specific guidance and protocols for ongoing business activities.

King’s advice reflects these directives.

“We urge everyone to establish a written protocol for sanitization, social distancing, the movement of people and horses as applicable to their specific site and business, and then seek approval from the local health authority,” he says.

Educational signage, sanitizing sprays, personal protective equipment, specific timetables for activities, and risk acknowledgement forms for clients and staff to sign, are a few of the things to consider.

Once a business has established new protocols, it makes sense to educate clients and staff about those protocols. This is a great opportunity to advise clients about changes to operating hours and services, as well as how the business is helping keep clients and horses safe during the pandemic.

Plus, since risks associated with the pandemic are constantly changing, business owners need to stay on top of directives from provincial health organizations and revise their business protocols accordingly.

By now most Canadians are well-practiced in reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19 and are willing to enact new procedures to help reduce risk to others. As such, altering horse industry business operations to reflect our changing times is acceptable to most consumers and clients.

However, it’s important to note that operating a business during a pandemic has inherent risk. Nobody wants to get sick or spread this virus to others and it’s up to everyone to try to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 as much as possible.

Bear in mind that insurers around the world are preparing, or have already imposed, specific exclusions related to the contraction of COVID-19 and other communicable disease at places of business.

As operators prepare their new risk management plans, they should assume the mindset that unlike most other risks inherent in equine activity, COVID-19 is not, or is soon to be not, an insurable risk.

One strategy that has appeared in the last few weeks to mitigate, but not eliminate, liability is the use of specific risk forms for COVID-19, and we strongly urge all operators to use them.

Fortunately, with some good planning and protocols, communication, and education, many horse industry businesses can, and are, successfully operating during these challenging times.

For more information on CapriCMW services, coverage and risk management options, visit > www.capricmw.ca/equine SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

9

Cleaning hooves regularly will help control fungus and bacteria.

10 THINGS You Might Not Know About

HORSE HOOVES

We have all heard the saying “No hoof, no horse.” Hoof care is a vital part of ensuring horse health, but the best ways to keep hooves healthy are often hotly debated. We worked with UC Davis veterinary hospital farrier Shane Westman, APF-I, to share ten things you might not know about horse hooves.

1 It’s never just a trim.

The trim is where it all begins.

Your farrier is assessing your horse’s conformation (hoof/pastern axis, heel angle/length, digital axis, palmar/plantar angle, centre 10

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

of rotation, dorso-palmar/ plantar balance, hairline) and trimming to keep everything in proper alignment.

2 Horses in hard work aren’t the only ones that need shoes.

A shoe is anything that covers the foot for protection (boots are shoes). Shoes can be used for a variety of purposes, including protection, traction, support, and therapeutic applications. A farrier can use shoes to manipulate the forces acting on a hoof, positively or negatively. Shoes can move the weight load around, and leverage can be reduced or

SUMMER 2020

added to ease stress on tissue or to change movement.

3 Wild horses have many of the same hoof problems as domestic horses. Research on feral horse hooves identified abnormalities similar to those seen in domestic horses, including long toes, medial/ lateral imbalances, dorsal and quarter flare, laminar rings, cartilage changes, frog abnormalities, and contracted and underrun heels. In one study, more than 75 percent of specimens from the Equus fossil record (~1-3 million years old — i.e. well before domestication) exhibited pathology consistent with chronic laminitis.

4 White hooves are not softer and do not have more problems than black hooves.

A comparative study of horseshoe fixation versus hoof colour concluded that colour did not appear to have

a strong effect on the resistance to nail extraction, and hence shoe fixation.

Other studies found that hoof pigmentation had no detectable effect on hoof wall stiffness/elasticity, moisture content, or hoof hardness.

5 Hooves may grow slower in the winter, but not because of the weather. Hoof growth is dependent on many factors including genetics, nutrition, environment, regular professional hoof care, proper weight management, and regular movement/exercise that can be impacted by seasonal changes (for example, colder weather and shorter days may mean less exercise).

6 An eight-week trimming/ shoeing cycle may not be ideal. Hoof care cycles depend on a number of factors. There is no one set rule that works for all horses and all

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/MARIAIT

HOOF CARE

7 Horses do not get thrush from standing on wet ground.

Thrush is a fungal (Fusobacterium necrophorum) infection of the frog, and may spread to the white line, sole, and sensitive layers of the hoof. The hoof is under constant assault from anaerobic bacteria and fungi, but balanced, healthy hooves have a natural cleaning mechanism. The presence of urine and feces seems to be a causative factor for thrush.

Hot shoeing can kill bacteria and fungi between the shoe and the hoof, and regular cleaning and topical treatments can help keep bacterial and fungal invaders

at bay. The best way to avoid thrush is to clean your horse’s feet regularly.

8 Hot fitting a shoe does not hurt the horse. The hoof is an amazing insulator and can sustain extremes of cold and heat. Heating the shoe makes the metal softer and easier for the farrier to fit to the hoof.

Hot fitting kills microbes and can help dry the hoof, making for stronger-holding nails.

9 Flared hooves usually indicate underlying issues.

Flared hooves do not cause problems; they are the result of problems. The flaring is a sign of uneven load, and it is important to figure out the underlying cause. Removing the flare does not solve the problem; it just removes the evidence.

10 Overrunning water troughs so horses stand in wet ground will not moisturize their hooves. There is 100 percent relative hydration inside the

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/SERGEY GRANEV

situations. Studies show that visiting the farrier every five to six weeks is an optimal schedule to maintain proper balance, especially for horses in work. However, it is important to talk with your farrier to come up with the best schedule for your horse.

Allowing the horse to stand in water or on wet ground will not moisturize the hooves; rather, it may actually dry them out.

hoof, where the blood supply is located. Moisture drops from the inside to the outside of the hoof, all the way to two percent at the outer hoof wall, which is almost impermeable. The hoof actually gets its moisture from the blood supply, not the external environment.

Standing in water might

actually dry out the hoof, having the opposite effect of the one intended. One study found that moisture content in the hoof remains at about 30 percent, regardless of the environment. b Printed with the kind permission of UC Davis Center for Equine Health and UC Davis veterinary hospital farrier Shane Westman.

WORLD’S

BEST HOOFCARE STORE

SHOP ONLINE AT

AnvilBrand.com

Or visit us in person on Old Route 66 South – 500 S. Spencer St., Lexington, Illinois SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

11

HEALTH

Recognizing & Managing the

PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

Club Foot in Horses

By Dr. Kirby Penttila, Burwash Equine Services

P

odiatry in equine veterinary practice is gaining increasing attention. We continue to learn more about the function and biomechanics of the horse’s foot, and develop new and innovative strategies to alter those biomechanics and mitigate problems that lead to lameness in the foot. To achieve a successful outcome, equine podiatry requires a team approach and great cooperation between the owner, the veterinarian, and the farrier. Although a relatively small part of the horse’s body, the foot plays a very important role in soundness. It is simply amazing to consider all of the functions that are occurring in this structure in order to support a horse’s size and

12

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

weight. It can be even more overwhelming when we start to consider how small changes to the biomechanics of the foot can change the function of the foot, and result in lameness issues for the horse down the road. One of the most common hoof deformities, which develops as a result of a change in the healthy balance and biomechanics in the horse’s foot, is the club foot.

What Is Club Foot?

Many horses have what are known as “mismatched feet” (Figure 1). This occurs when the horse has a higher or more upright hoof angle on one foot and a low hoof capsule angle on the opposite foot.

We’ll explore later on how this differs

from feet that are defined as “club feet.”

Factors that contribute to the development of mismatched feet include the influence of genetics, developmental factors, abnormal exercise or loading of the feet, and pain. If you have ever watched foals or young horses graze, you will likely have noticed that most foals have longer legs than necks, and as such often need to stagger their forelimbs when they put their head down to graze.

Many foals and young horses have a tendency to stand with the same limb out in front of them and the same limb underneath them, which creates an increased load on the heel of the limb in front and an increased load on the toe of the foot behind. This difference in load

PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

can affect the horse’s foot growth and predispose them to mismatched feet.

These horses can be recognized by the disparity in the toe angles (one steeper, one lower), heel height (one high, one low), the size of the hooves, the direction of hoof wall growth, and the difference in the hoof pastern axis (the alignment of the three bones of the digit – the coffin bone, the short pastern bone, and the long pastern bone). This disparity in hoof angles is very common in the horse population, with about a third of sound competition horses affected. It may contribute to poor performance, subtle lameness concerns, and a decreased forward phase of stride on the upright foot. The upright foot tends to land toe first, resulting in bruising at the front of the foot and poor sole growth under the tip of the coffin bone. As a result of the decreased forward phase of stride in the upright foot, the foot with the low angle gets overloaded, which increases stresses on the navicular bone and the deep digital flexor tendon. This foot also has a longer distance from the centre of articulation to the toe, increasing the amount of force it takes to rotate the coffin joint and move the foot forward, which increases the

FIGURE 1

An excellent example of mismatched feet. Note the low heel on the left foot and the high heel on the right foot.

chance that this foot will develop lesions in the soft tissues of the management of horses with true club foot.

When we contrast mismatched feet with what we refer to as club foot, we make the differentiation based on the severity of the deformity and the underlying reason for development. Club foot is one of the most common deformities in the horse world. Horses affected with club foot

develop a flexural deformity of the coffin joint, due to a shortening of the musculotendinous unit that starts high up in the limb and inserts on the coffin bone in the foot, resulting in an upright conformation of the foot. The muscle belly that controls the deep digital flexor tendon is located high in the limb above the knee at the back of leg. In horses that develop a club foot, the flexor muscle fibres have an abnormal

FOAL CARE

TASTY TREATS

HOOF CARE

HYDRATION

www.mcintoshproline.com • 1-877-825-7325 SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

13

degree of persistent contraction, which shortens the overall length of the muscle and results in a shorter distance from origin to insertion of the deep digital flexor tendon at the coffin bone (in simpler terms, the flexor tendon is essentially tighter and shorter than it should be). This results in persistent tension on the back of the coffin bone within the foot. Biomechanically, the tension from the deep digital flexor tendon is overwhelming the opposing forces on the coffin bone, causing a change in the orientation of the bone in the hoof capsule, a broken forward hoof-pastern axis, and subsequent deformation of the hoof capsule over time. These horses are at significant risk of chronic lameness as a result of the abnormal forces on the foot and the deformation of the hoof capsule. Early rec-

ognition of this condition and proper intervention can make correction possible.

Club foot is generally graded according to the following system (Figure 2): GRADE 1: The angle of the toe and the palmar angle of the coffin bone are 5 degrees greater in the affected foot than the opposite foot.

GRADE 2: The growth rings in the hoof wall become wider at the heel than at the toe, the palmar angle increases even further, and the horse’s heel no longer touches the ground when the heel is trimmed or rasped back to the widest part of the frog.

GRADE 3: The increased tension of the deep digital flexor tendon eventually bends the hoof wall, creating a dish in the dorsal hoof wall; the palmar angle gets even higher,

and the normal slope of the coronary band from the toe to the heel is lost.

GRADE 4: The coronary band has lost all slope and is parallel with ground; heel height is equal to or greater than coronary band at toe, giving the foot a very boxy appearance.

Note: The term “palmar angle” refers to the angle of the bottom of the coffin bone as it relates to the ground.

As the severity of the grade increases, the heel is no longer being engaged with each step (it is essentially being held off the ground by the too-tight deep digital flexor tendon), which causes the frog to recess up into the foot. When this happens, the horse tends to load the foot toe first, which increases the amount of pressure on the

FIGURE 2: GRADES OF CLUB FOOT Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

PHOTO: istock.com and horse community journals inc.

Grade 1

14

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

MAGIC CUSHION Introducing

®

The Paste Hoof Packing Trusted by Farriers

Cools hooves after exertion • Cushions for comfort • Starts working within one hour “Magic Cushion is my go-to hoof packing.

It keeps my horses comfortable and performing at their best.”

- Ian Millar Now Available in Canada!

©2019 W. F. Young, Inc.

International Show Jumping Champion

FIGURE 3 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Short Pastern Bone

To aid in preventing and relieving many of your hoof care problems

Coffin Joint

CUSHION FROG PADS

Navicular Bone Coffin Bone Site of insertion of deep digital flexor tendon on coffin bone

SMALL: 6 1/2” x 5 7/8” x 1/16” LARGE: 8” x 7 1/2” x 1/8” TWO DEGREE: 6 1/2” x 5 7/8” x 5/16” TWO DEGREE LARGE: 8” x 8” x 5/16”

EGG BAR PADS

SMALL: 6” x 6 ” x ” LARGE: 7 3/8” x 7 7/8” x 1/8” TWO DEGREE: 6” x 6 1/2” x 5/16” 1/2

1/8

PERFORMANCE PADS

#4: 6 3/8” x 5 3/4” x 3/16” #5: 7 1/4” x 6 5/8” x 3/16” #4: 6 3/8” x 5 3/4” x 1/4” #5: 7 1/4” x 6 5/8” x 1/4”

IMPAK PADS

#8 IMPAK ABSORBER: 5 1/8” x 4 3/4” x 3/16” #8L IMPAK LARGE ABSORBER: 6 5/8” x 6” x 3/16” (For Prolapsed Frog)

CASTLE PLASTICS Celebrating 100 Years!

1-800-9-CASTLE castleplastics.com 11 Francis Street, Leominster, MA, USA 01453

castle@net1plus.com • Fax: 978-534-9915

16 26

www.HORSEJournals.com Journals.com www.HORSE

::::

SUMMER 2020 SPRING 2020

The structures evaluated in a radiograph of the horse’s foot (right) and their correlation to the structures in the specimen of the horse’s foot (left).

PHOTO: CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

THERAPEUTIC PADS

for this deformity (Figure 5). Genetics have sole under the tip of the coffin bone. This been implied as a contributing factor as increase in load slows the growth of the sole in this region while growth continues well, with some practitioners seeing club unchecked at the heel, causing the foot commonly in certain family lines, or in diverging growth rings that we see. foals from the same stallion or mare. Again, Radiographs (X-rays) of the horse’s feet if these foals are recognized early, we can play an essential role in both diagnosing look for potential instigating causes such as and grading this condition, but also in nutrition or pain, and work to address these helping to develop a treatment plan. Figure factors and help correct the problem.

The National Farm andstructures Facility Level Standard for the Equine Sector 3 gives you an idea of the thatBiosecurity are provides the following best practices for disease response Options processes following the Treatment evaluated in a radiograph of the horse’s suspicion or identification of disease in a horse at a farm or facility: foot. These valuable radiographs also allow In young foals, early measures to correct the veterinarian to measure and assess a inciting cause, theowner’s use of special n Notification — Notify the owner or the personthe authorized to act and on the behalf. number of important details within the foot glue-on shoes to address the excess tension n Separation — can Whenever possible, physically thecan suspect and ill horses (Figure 4) and they shed light on what ofseparate the tendon, be successful in from the other horses, and a distinct group to prevent direct and exactly is going on within the footmanage from a them asresolving the flexural deformity. indirect transmission of pathogens. biomechanical standpoint and allow the In older horses, when club foot has veterinarian to determine the best course of become a more chronic n Obtain tentative diagnosis — Consult a veterinarian to determine if thecondition, horse is action. A full discussion of these details is altering the biomechanics of thetofoot is infected with a contagious disease. If a veterinarian is not immediately available beyond the scope of this article. often the key to management. attend the property, request advice from the veterinarian for measures to prevent Radiographs of the feet are essential in further spread.

Development providing the information necessary to nAActivate disease response team and implement the the communication strategy — and basic understanding of the anatomy evaluate existing biomechanics, For large facilities a team with different backgrounds of the horse’s foot and and limbevents, is required to of individuals determining the appropriate changes and expertise is useful for managing the situation.

Designate a spokesperson understand how club foot develops. that need to be made.

The generalto communicate Yourare veterinarian may that be required to report certain Figure 5 highlightsthe theinformation. structures that strategies are considered when diseases federal reportable disease or a developing provincial reportable/notifiable at play in this(atype of deformity.

Horses a corrective farriery plan are: disease) to the appropriate government agency. can be born with this type of deformity • Redistribute the load on the foot by (congenital) or can develop the deformity creating a ground surface that puts the n Identify other potentially exposed horses — While obtaining a tentative diagnosis, later in life (acquired). and the frogon onthose the same determine which other horses may have beenheels exposed.

Focus that plane. may In Congenital deformities are relatively othercontact words, we needequipment, to trim the heels have had direct contact (nose to nose) or indirect (shared uncommon, but often can be corrected toparticipants). the widest part of the frog. adjacent stall, shared water, and contact withback other fairly easily if recognized early and • Reposition point in the n Restrict movement — Temporarily restrict movements ofthe ill, breakover suspect and exposed treatment is instituted within the first two foot.

This will decrease the tension on horses, their to four weeksalong of life.with There arehandlers, various until a veterinarian has made a tentative the deep digital flexor tendon and diagnosis andthe a response theories regarding trigger forplan the is implemented. subsequently decrease the force on the acquired form of the deformity, but none n Monitor horses — Observe ill and exposed horses in health status. toe asfor thechanges foot leaves the ground. have been scientifically proven. One theory • Heel elevation.consult This is with required n Release horses Prior removing movement restrictions, the to is the rapid growth of— the bonetowhen accountthe forevent the underlying shortening attending Brief all participants leaving about the disease compared to theveterinarian. deep digital flexor tendon, ofof the deep digital tendon and the need to monitor their horses illness.

Horsesflexor that are ill and/or as a result of overfeeding carbohydrates to for signs musculotendinous unit, home whichbe is what exposed and indirect upon their return the mare whilethrough the foaldirect is nursing, or to thecontact should separated from other horses, monitored, andistreated asthe appropriate until causing problem in thetheir first place foal itself after weaning.

Another theory is clears or their health status is determined.

Unexposedthat horses may be cannot and something we typically pain illness in the limb (from any cause),resulting transported to other response venues – in disclose previous attendance at an event wherestep an in a protective withdrawal the change.

This becomes a critical disease was present. limbinfectious that involves the tendon responsible when we address the first strategy and

Disease Response

ILLUSTRATION ©HORSE COMMUNITY JOURNALS INC.

IMAGE COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

FIGURE 4 All of the intricate measurements that can be gained from good quality radiographs, to help the veterinarian and farrier team develop the best approach to corrective shoeing for this particular horse’s foot.

trim the heels back to the widest part of the frog. Elevating the heel will effectively load the foot properly, but will decrease the tension in the deep digital flexor tendon. If we don’t do this, these horses can get even worse.

Traditional shoes with wedge pads that transfer load to the heel are a common formula used in horses with

FIGURE 5 ANATOMY OF A LIMB The structure in green is the deep digital flexor tendon, and the structure in red is the check ligament, which is often cut as a surgical means of treatment for cases that don’t respond well to farriery.

club feet. Figure 6 shows a visual representation of what we are trying to accomplish with this strategy. These shoes are simpler than the rockers we’ll discuss later, but unfortunately, wedging the heels to the extent that is often necessary does appear to impair blood supply to the heels and weaken them over time.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

17

An alternative strategy that is relatively new to Western Canada is rocker shoes (Figure 7). Rocker shoes can be used to alter the forces at play in the foot. Rockering the shoes at a point directly below the centre of articulation (centre of rotation) of the coffin joint, and loading the heel at the widest part of the frog, will decrease the tension of the deep digital flexor tendon, redistribute load to the heel, and provide the horse with a self-adjusting palmar angle. In other words, the horse can choose where to load the shoe to find a palmar angle that is the most comfortable. Farrier Kirk Shaw of Equine Unlimited has been working in partnership with our clinic for the last decade, and has implemented and refined the specialized technique required to fit a rocker shoe to the horse’s foot.

Higher grade, more severe club foot (grade 4, or grade 3 club foot that doesn’t respond to corrective farriery) may actually require surgery to correct. The surgical procedure employed to help these feet is known as a desmotomy of the check ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon, which basically means that we cut the ligament that anchors the deep digital flexor tendon to the cannon bone in the mid-cannon bone region. Cutting this ligament can increase the length of the deep digital flexor tendon and decrease the tension on the back of the coffin bone, which relieves some of the abnormal force on the foot that causes the external deformities that we see. In some severe cases that don’t respond to other treatment strategies, we may even consider what is called a tenotomy of the deep digital flexor tendon — cutting the tendon to relieve the pull on the back of the coffin bone.

FIGURE 6 The image on the left represents what is happening in a horse with a club foot, where the excess tension from the deep digital flexor tendon pulling on the back of the coffin bone is essentially holding the heel off the ground, preventing the horse from fully loading its heel. The image on the right represents what we are trying to accomplish when we shoe with a wedge pad. As you can imagine, standing for long periods of time as shown in the image on the left is likely to make one’s toe quite sore, compared to standing as shown in the image on the right.

OKANAGAN SCHOOL OF

Natural Hoof Care

FIGURE 7 A club-footed horse fitted with a rocker shoe.

• Over 10 hours of videos • Slide shows • Hoof dissections • Full length trimming videos

ONLY $199

www.oksnhc.com Save 10%— use code CanHorse 18

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

Online Hoof Anatomy, Function, and Barefoot Trimming Course

FIGURE 8

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

Left Foot

Right Foot

Colonel’s front feet on initial presentation. In the left front, note the dish in the hoof wall at the toe. In the right front, note the more pronounced dish in the hoof wall at the toe, and the lack of slope of the coronary band from toe to heel.

Small Old for the wee ones

for the golden years

Big

Tall

for the big ones

for the extra tall

has them all +1.208.278.5283

www.hoofjack.com SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

19

FIGURE 9

LEFT FOOT

RIGHT FOOT

Colonel’s radiographs from initial presentation. The white line on the hoof wall at the toe is barium paste, which is used to mark the outside of the hoof wall to ensure it shows up on the radiograph.

Colonel’s radiographs taken just less than five months after starting his corrective shoeing plan.

20

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

IMAGES COURTESY OF DR. KIRBY PENTTILA, BURWASH EQUINE SERVICES

FIGURE 10

Meet Colonel Colonel is a six-year-old Quarter Horse gelding who presented for concerns over the deformity noted in his hoof wall, as well as his poor hoof wall quality. On presentation, he was noted to have a bend in the hoof wall at the toe, to lack the normal slope to his coronary band, and to have growth rings that were wider at the heel than the toe (Figure 8).

Radiographs were taken to evaluate the biomechanics at play in his feet, and to help determine a strategy for altering them via corrective shoeing. His initial radiographs (Figure 9) showed a very steep palmar angle, minimal sole depth under the tip of the coffin bone, a broken forward hoof pastern axis, and the distortion of the hoof wall at the toe. He was diagnosed with a grade 3 club foot on the right front, and a grade 2 club foot on the left front. In many horses similar to Colonel, we often see remodelling of the tip of the coffin bone from the chronic increased loading, and concussion of the bone due to the increased load on the toe, given the abnormal biomechanics at play. This type of remodelling is certain to result in some degree of pain and discomfort. Fortunately, Colonel presented before this had occurred.

It was recommended that Colonel be placed in what are known as full rocker shoes, with some additional mechanics built into the shoe by the farrier. The hoof wall distortion and his sole growth responded rapidly to these biomechanical changes. His foot had started to make a nice recovery within five months, with over 18 millimetres of sole depth under the tip of the coffin bone and resolution of the dish to the dorsal hoof wall (Figure 10). Since this is an underlying conformational flaw for Colonel, he will likely need to be maintained in a special shoe for life, or risk slipping back into his previous predicament.

The club foot deformity has been a challenging condition to manage for veterinarians and farriers alike. If not recognized and addressed early in the horse’s life, it can lead to frustrating lameness and limit a horse’s usefulness.

By learning to recognize this condition early on and taking proactive measures to correct the deformity, we can make a world of difference for these horses. b > Dr. Kirby Penttila is a frequent contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 67.

decisions do you hope to have made?

What did you do that you are proud of?

Consider who you want to be as a rider or a coach or a business owner in a year’s time and work backwards from there.

Identify what you can do today to get one step closer to that goal.

Competence — Choose to use this time to get better at something that will improve your performance in something important to you. Can you study the theory behind advanced dressage movements? Strengthen your core using at-home exercises from YouTube?

Develop your business plan? Watch some equestrian masterclasses? (Check out NoelleFloyd.com for some high-quality examples.) Whatever it is, continue to work towards mastery in the areas that matter to you.

Connection — Although we are physically separated from our communities and our horses, this shared experience gives us unique opportunities for empathy and connection. We can all relate to how we are all feeling right now.

One of the best ways to boost our sense of connection is by finding a way to help others. Are you an expert at clipping or braiding, or at starting young horses?

Maybe you could share some tips with your community. If you are a coach, this is the perfect time to work through goal setting with your clients, or to encourage

Delta, BC • at Greystone Stables, 6087 64 St

PROTECT & DEFEND Flexes with Terrain.

FROG does its JOB!

SOLVING LAMENESS SOLE TO SPINE

QUANTITY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! Less strain on suspensory ligaments, pasterns, tendons, shins, knees, hocks, stifles, shoulders, hips and back!

Watch a farrier shoe with Goldenwings: www.horseflix.com/goldenwingshorseshoes

Available on AMAZON and at www.GOLDENWINGSHORSESHOES.com

Premium farm and ranch fence solution • Economical • No Maintenance

CONTINUOUS FARM & RANCH FENCE VERY HORSE FRIENDLY

• Practical, durable, user-friendly, reasonable prices • Can be used for arena fencing or large pastures and smaller pens • Fences can be 3, 4, 5, or 6 rails • Suitable for 7 rail stud pens

Great for all kinds of fencing applications, from large paddocks to small pens to working pens.

Completely weather and livestock resistant.

• Several spacings available • Completely customizable

SHIPPED THROUGHOUT CANADA & USA INSTALLATION AVAILABLE IN BC AND ALBERTA

CF Fence

250-490-5662

www.cffence.com

alc@cffence.com

3200 WILLOWBROOK ROAD, OLIVER, BC V0H 1T5

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

21

EARL

Equine Joint Disease

By Diane Gibbard It is estimated that a staggering 60 percent of all equine lameness is due to arthritis and joint disease. One of the biggest challenges is that some arthritic horses might not show signs of lameness when there is damage and inflammation in the joint; therefore, proper prevention and early diagnosis is key to managing the progression of joint disease.

There are many potential causes of equine arthritis.

The everyday wear-and-tear of repetitive and excessive force on a joint may wear down the supporting tissues.

Weightbearing joints, including the knee, hock, fetlock, pastern, and coffin joints are more prone to be arthritic since they endure the majority of the concussive forces. Poor conformation may exacerbate this, placing additional strain on joints.

A physical injury can trigger inflammation, and other types of injuries, such as a bacterial infection (septic arthritis) or a joint fracture, will stimulate an inflammatory response.

22

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

Prevention — What Can You Do? Look for pain, swelling, heat, and loss of function. Signs of pain such as lameness or soreness upon palpation of the joint may indicate inflammation in a joint.

Swelling: Acute swelling (sudden onset) occurs as a result of blood vessel dilation and the movement of fluid into the joint to help repair damaged tissues. This type of swelling is often soft to touch and the horse may be sore upon palpation.

Chronic swelling, or long term swelling, of an inflamed joint may feel harder due to the production of new bone as a result of the chronic inflammatory process.

Heat: When a joint becomes inflamed, the temperature might rise as much as one degree Celsius above resting body Learn about basic joint anatomy and spot problems early by checking the horse’s legs for pain, swelling, heat, and new lumps, using the opposite limb for comparison.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/ANNAELIZABETHPHOTOGRAPHY

Diagnosis & Treatment of

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/BRASTOCK

HEALTH

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/KAPAI

Weightbearing joints that sustain the majority of concussive forces are more prone to arthritis and joint disease.

Conformation abnormalities can worsen the effect.

Visual Exam: Inflammation in the joint might be visible from the outside due to swelling. Noticing and identifying any swelling at an early stage might help in the early diagnosis of joint disease.

Palpation: Palpating, or feeling, your horse’s joint is an easy method to identify potential inflammation.

Familiarize yourself with basic joint anatomy and know what is normal, and which lumps should and shouldn’t be there. You may also use the opposite leg of your horse for comparison. When you are feeling your horse’s leg, check for any signs of heat, swelling, pain, and reduced range of motion.

If you suspect any signs of inflammation, speak to your vet. Veterinarians have a wide range of diagnostic tools at their disposal.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/OSETRIK

temperature, which can be useful as a diagnostic tool given the appropriate equipment (our hands are likely not sensitive enough to notice this small change in temperature).

The most commonly used diagnostic tool to help pinpoint joint-related lameness is the X-ray.

Diagnosis — What can your veterinarian do?

It is important to work closely with your veterinarian to properly diagnose and design an appropriate treatment program for your horse. Here are a few diagnostic tools that vets use to help in the diagnosis of joint disease.

During a clinical examination, your vet might perform any number of tests, including flexion test and nerve blocks (anesthetic blocks) to help pinpoint any joint-related lameness. Other tools described below are used alone or in conjunction to help in the diagnosis of the joint disease.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

23

///////////////////////////////

Language of Joint Function ARTICULAR CARTILAGE

Everyday wearand-tear and the cumulative stress of repetitive activities may wear down the joint’s supporting tissues.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PROMA1

Specialized tissue lining the ends of bones in a joint. It is composed of a matrix of collagen, proteoglycans (hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate) and water. It allows for a smooth, gliding surface during joint movement and also acts as a shock absorber. Articular cartilage is continuously being remodeled by breaking down the matrix and replacing it with a new layer.

BONE

Serves as the framework for the horse’s body, where muscles, ligaments, and tendon attach. The bone in a joint supports all of the joint’s tissues, and joints need healthy bone to function properly.

LIGAMENTS, TENDONS AND MUSCLES

All three are involved in providing stability to a joint. If any of these tissues become damaged, the joint will lose stability and may be more susceptible to injury.

SYNOVIAL FLUID

Serves to lubricate the joint and provide nutrition to neighbouring cells maintaining joint cartilage, as well as removing waste products.

Normal joint fluid is pale yellow in colour and oily — similar in consistency to car engine oil.

24

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

JOINT IMAGING TECHNIQUES X-Rays (Bone): X-ray is the most commonly used diagnostic tool in joint disease. It is often used as the first stage of diagnosis, given its practicality and ease of use. X-rays are able to identify the presence of bone chips and the growth of new bone that is associated with certain cases of osteoarthritis. Narrowing of the space between the bones in a joint, which is associated with the breakdown of articular cartilage, can also be seen in an X-ray; however, this is only seen in later stages of joint disease. Unfortunately, X-rays are not able to show changes in articular cartilage, since it is mostly made up of water and doesn’t show up on an X-ray.

Computed Tomography – CT (Bone): A CT scan takes multiple X-ray images at different angles across the limb while the horse is anesthetized. A computer then produces a series of “sliced” images. This allows for very detailed pictures of the structure and shape of the bone, as well as its bone density, all of which can be very helpful in the diagnosis of joint disease.

Arthroscopy (Cartilage): Diagnostic arthroscopy is a new technique that is currently being researched. It is more invasive than traditional techniques as it involves the insertion of a small endoscope into the joint and distending the joint with fluid, which allows for a clear view of the inside of the joint.

Nuclear Scintigraphy – Bone Scan (Inflammation): A bone scan is able to detect inflammation in the joint. During inflammation, there is an increase in the dilation of blood vessels in the joint, which can be detected using a bone scan.

In this test, a radioactive dye is injected into the bloodstream of the horse, and the dye diffuses out of the blood vessels and concentrates in an area of inflammation, which can be seen with a special camera. Although this technique is very sensitive, it is not specific to the problem causing the inflammation.

Ultrasound (Soft Tissue): An ultrasound is useful to evaluate any damage to soft tissue in and around the joints including ligaments and tendons. It does not indicate problems associated with bone disorder and/or inflammation in the joint.

PHOTO: ISTOCK/GROOMEE

Unlike the X-ray, this technique is more sensitive and allows defects in joint cartilage to be seen.

Veterinarians can inject medication directly into the joint to control inflammation.

It Works!

We’re the first and still the best since 1986

BIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES Serum biomarkers (Early detection of changes in bone and cartilage): Serum biomarkers have been shown to be very useful in early diagnosis of joint disease.

A biomarker is a substance/element that is measured and used to indicate the status of a metabolic process inside the horse’s body. Biomarkers inside the synovial fluid and blood serum can be measured to detect changes in the joint.

For example, when articular cartilage is degraded, there is a breakdown of collagen, and the subsequent release of molecules and enzymes (such as proteoglycans) can be detected in blood or synovial samples. An increase in these enzymes measured in the blood might indicate joint disease.

Treatments The primary goal in the treatment of joint disease is to reduce inflammation in the joint. It is critical to prevent the products of inflammation, such as interleukin (IL-1), from further damaging the joint — specifically the articular cartilage. Pain relief is also an important factor when looking at the treatment of joint inflammation and arthritis, as this is a very debilitating and painful disease.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): NSAID’s are anti-inflammatory agents that inhibit some of the enzymes involved in the inflammatory process that cause damage to the synovial fluid, collagen matrix, and articular cartilage.

Body Support

™

Body Builder in USA A Healthy Alternative to Steroids

From yearlings and 2-year-old prep horses to racehorses and competition horses to broodmares and stallions. Yep, it works for all.

Available in various catalogs and at your local tack shops, Greenhawk outlets, and through WeCan Sales distributors.

Equiade, Inc. • www.equiade.com • 1-800-413-3702 • 727-562-2832 SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

25

NORMAL JOINT

Lateral Splint bone (4th metacarpol)

A joint is where two bones meet. A normal joint allows for proper movement and it needs a good framework of bone, cartilage, synovial fluid, ligaments, tendons, and muscles to function properly.

Flexor Tendons

Proximal Sesamoid bone

Cannon bone (3rd metacarpol)

DIGIT

Long Pastern bone (P1)

Fetlock Joint

Short Pastern bone (P1) Pedal bone (Coffin bone, P3)

Pastern Joint

Coffin Joint

Although NSAID’s have been shown to help manage joint inflammation, care needs to be taken when using NSAID’s since negative side effects might occur.

Intra-Articular Injection: Joint injections allow veterinarians to administer medications directly into the joint. The most common medications administered are corticosteroids, hyaluronic agents, and polysulfated glycosaminoglycans (PSGAG). All these medications are used to control the process of inflammation through different metabolic pathways. Other products derived from the horse’s own body can also be injected into the joint — these include interleukin receptor antagonist protein (IRAP), stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP).

Research on these techniques b is ongoing.

Published with the kind permission of Equine Guelph.

HEALED JOINT After a phase of acute inflammation, a joint may return to normal.

This is the best-case scenario.

Swelling in leg

Inflammation and swelling in joint Synovial fluid

Articular cartilage

INFLAMED JOINT When injury occurs, inflammation may result. Inflammation is a normal and protective response to an injury, and signs include heat, pain, swelling, and loss of function. Normal inflammation helps repair injured tissue by dilating blood vessels, releasing white blood cells and enzymes into the joint to “mop up” damaged tissue. Unfortunately, sometimes these enzymes go out of control and will break down synovial fluid (joint lubrication) and proteoglycans (which hold the integrity of the collagen). This in turn stimulates further inflammation. Controlling inflammation is key to stopping this vicious cycle and preventing further damage to the joint.

26

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

ARTHRITIC JOINT In cases where inflammation is chronic, it progresses slowly and is often uncontrolled. This can lead to the breakdown of cartilage within a joint. Here, the degradation of articular cartilage by the inflammatory molecules outweighs its capacity to synthesize a new layer. This can eventually lead to osteoarthritis and degenerative joint disease. This results in reduced and damaged cartilage, and a scenario in which bones are virtually rubbing against each other.

Swelling in leg Inflammation and swelling in joint Rough surface, breakdown of articular cartilage

PHOTO: ISTOCK/MAGBUG

HEALTH

Good quality hay is the foundation of a balanced diet for horses of all ages.

Horse owners are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the nutritional components of the hay they feed.

Does It Make Sense for You This Year?

By Shelagh Niblock, PAS 28

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

PHOTO: ISTOCK/ALEXA KHRUSCHEVA

Hay Testing with NIRS A

ccurate laboratory analysis is the backbone of efficient ration planning for many horse owners today. Whether you have an elite competition horse or a senior who is essentially a pet, horse owners are becoming increasingly aware that informed forage buying decisions can make a significant difference in the

health and performance of their horse.

Easily accessible forage analysis options are more common than they were even ten years ago, but maneuvering your way around them can be confusing. When choosing a lab to analyse your hay, always choose one that specializes in forage and provides the following nutrients as part of their

analysis package: crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), and ethanol soluble carbohydrate (ESC). Once you find the lab, they will generally have an easy-to-follow directory of the different forage analysis packages from which to choose.

What are you testing for?

One of the more important nutrients you will be looking for is protein, and if you have an overweight horse, or a horse with the metabolic conditions ­— insulin resistance or Pars Pituitary Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Cushing’s Disease) — you may also be looking for the “sugar” or water soluble and ethanol soluble carbohydrate (WSC and ESC respectively) values. You might also need trace mineral analysis including copper, iron, manganese, or zinc values. Alternatively, if you have a horse afflicted with Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP), you will most definitely be looking for a total potassium percentage in the hay you are considering buying. Your analysis objectives should dictate whether you choose a lab that utilizes wet chemistry methodology or, alternatively, a lab that

utilizes Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) methodology.

NIRS or Wet Chemistry? What’s the difference?

Traditionally, laboratory analysis was completed in a lab using a combination of heat and reagents to determine the nutrient composition of a forage sample.

This is called wet chemistry, and it is still the gold standard for accuracy in laboratory results. While wet chemistry methods are still widely practised today, another method of laboratory analysis has gained in popularity over the last 25 years due to its speed and efficiency.

NIRS or Near Infrared Spectroscopy is a laboratory analysis methodology that utilizes near infrared light and the spectra reflected back when it is directed at an unknown test sample. The unique spectra “fingerprint” generated by the test material can be used to predict the nutritional components of the sample.

The spectra of the unknown sample is compared to a data set of spectra from known samples, and similarities are compared using computer software. The “calibration set” used to predict the nutritional components of the unknown

sample is constructed through the use of data derived through wet chemistry methods, mathematical calculations, statistics, and computer software designed for this purpose.

NIRS is inexpensive to run because it requires no specialized reagents. It is also environmentally friendly and fast.

Typically, a hay analysis completed using wet chemistry methodology will take at least a week, while the same forage sample could be analysed using NIRS in about one hour. NIRS is very accurate in predicting nutrients such as protein, but it is less accurate than wet chemistry at predicting nutrients such as fat content.

If you want an analysis of your hay sample that includes trace minerals such as copper, zinc, manganese, or iron, NIRS is not an acceptable analytical method to use, and your forage sample must be analyzed using wet chemistry methods.

Macro minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium are often reported on a hay analysis done using NIRS methodology.

The results can be considered reasonably accurate because of the association these minerals have in the plant with the organic components of cellulose and

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

29

PHOTO: PAM MACKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY

The only way to accurately determine the nutrient content of your hay is to have it tested. A representative forage sample is important for accurate analysis, and the best way to take a good test sample is with a hay probe.

hemicellulose, which are accurately quantified through analysis using NIRS.

Supports a healthy digestive system

What is NIRS and how does it work?

Enhances fibre digestion and nutrient absorption Total digestive formula balances hindgut pH Improves immune function and binds toxins Prevents digestive upsets in horses of all ages

animalproproducts.com 1.800.420.3633

30

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

NIRS analysis is based on the use of near infrared light, which is the fraction of light with a wavelength of 700 to about 2500 nanometres (nm). This is the fraction of light that the human eye cannot see, but that humans can feel as heat. When a beam of infrared light is shone onto a test sample of hay, the energy from the light is absorbed by the organic material in the sample. This organic material includes the nutritional components of protein, fibre, and sugar. Each of the nutrients present absorb the energy at different levels and reflect the energy back that is not absorbed. The energy reflected back is called the “spectra” and it will take on unique characteristics determined by the nutritional composition of the organic material. The spectra from a hay sample will be very closely correlated to its nutritional composition.

How do we use the spectra to determine the forage analysis? NIRS is based on developing a “calibration set,” which is a set of similar forage samples where the nutritional analysis of each is determined using wet chemistry methods and saved in a computer database. Each sample in the set is also “scanned” using near infrared light, and the spectra for each sample is also saved in the database. The data from the wet chemistry results for each sample

is aligned with the spectra for each sample through the use of computer software. The resulting “calibration set” can be used as a point of reference when scanning an unknown sample. The computer software takes the spectra from the unknown sample and compares it to the calibration set of known analyses and “predicts” the nutritional analysis of the unknown sample. A calibration set could be created with as few as 10 samples of similar type hays, but in order to develop a “robust” calibration set that is very accurate, it should have no fewer than 100 samples in it.

Often calibration sets will be comprised of data from thousands of samples. Labs such as Equi-Analytical/Dairy One or Cumberland Valley Analytical, which routinely analyse forages such as grass hay or alfalfa hay, will have very robust calibration sets with thousands of forage samples included. Any lab offering NIRS forage testing service will have individual calibration sets for a variety of forages, including grass hays, legume or alfalfa hays, grass silage or haylage and corn silage (predominantly used as feed for cattle).

Accuracy is important!

A good NIRS analytical process has a system of checks and balances built in to ensure that the results it generates for a test sample are accurate. Operators of NIRS analysis systems are trained to look for signs that the sample being analysed is an “outlier” or a sample that, for whatever

reason, doesn’t fit the calibration set. This could be caused by the presence of foreign material in the sample, such as sticks or soil or a lot of weeds. Weeds will reflect the near infrared light differently from the grass in the hay and so can skew the nutrient prediction. The software will have parameters that must be met when generating the NIRS analysis. Samples that “don’t fit” the calibration set are generally sent out for wet chemistry to ensure the client gets an accurate analysis.

It is important that the hay you submit for NIRS analysis is being “scanned” using a calibration set of similar forages. Otherwise, it could be classed as an outlier when really, it just isn’t well represented by the data set.

Again, this is where a good lab with trained laboratory personnel will be able to determine if the sample can be accurately analysed using NIRS. Sometimes, less common forages like cereal hays are difficult to analyse accurately using NIRS because they aren’t well represented in a grass hay calibration set. If in doubt about the accuracy of the NIRS result on a forage, it’s always wise to use wet chemistry methods as a back-up.

NIRS is inexpensive to run because it requires no specialized reagents. It is also environmentally friendly and fast. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Which is better? Wet chemistry or NIRS? Wet chemistry results are usually very well correlated with NIRS results on the same sample. A recent paper by the respected equine researcher Dr. Patricia Harris of the Waltham Institute in the UK, (PA Harris et al. Journal of Equine Veterinary science 71[2018] 13-20) has shown that statistically, wet chemistry results and NIRS results on the same forages are generally very similar for most nutrients.

The only component that shows wider variation on both NIRS and wet chemistry analyses is sugar (WSC) and Harris speculates that it is probably due to the wide range of fructan content possible in cool season grass hays such as timothy, tall fescue, orchard grass, rye grass, and native grass species. Statistically, it is very

difficult to predict WSC with great accuracy, and results on cool season grass hays, whether analysed using wet chemistry methods or NIRS methods, can vary plus or minus two percentage points between labs or samples on the same stack of hay. Those of us with the IR, EMS, or PPID horse know that finding low WSC hay with reliably consistent results can be frustrating.

Why doesn’t NIRS predict minerals well?

Minerals in a forage sample do not reflect the energy of infrared light and therefore do not generate a spectra.

Macro minerals, such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium are usually associated with the fibre fraction of the plant and so can be approximated by NIRS, but if the levels of these minerals in your forage is particularly important it is advisable to get them determined using wet chemistry analysis.

Is NIRS accurate?

NIRS is well respected in the scientific, manufacturing, and processing fields as an accurate methodology for analysis of

Quality Modular Barns, Row Barns, and Run-in Sheds

We will custom build your dream barn to suit you and your horses’ needs.

Our team will work with you to design a barn to your specifications.

Serving all of Ontario For over 20 years • Check out our website for floor plans and ideas!

DENCO STORAGE SHEDS INC. www.DencoSheds.ca 8309 Wellington Road, Moorefield, ON • 519-638-5550

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

31

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/KATARZYNA MAZUROWSKA

If you are responsible for feeding an overweight horse, or one with a metabolic condition such as insulin resistance or PPID, have their hay analyzed for sugar content.

Call for Special Pricing!

Our Mini Balers Have All the Features of a Full Size Baler!

32

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

organic materials. It is recognized by the Association of Official Analytical Collaboration (AOAC) International under the Official Methods of AnalysisSM (OMA) program. Labs offering NIRS services are scrutinized carefully in order to ensure that high analytical standards are being met. It is important to remember though that the analytical results you get for your money will only be as good as the sample that you submit.

Accurate sampling of forages such as hay is of great importance. Submitting a flake of hay in a garbage bag will get you an analysis that may not be representative of the stack of hay in your barn. It is also important to submit the hay in a form suitable for scanning. Hay samples are scanned using NIRS methodology in either a whole “as sampled” form or in a fine ground form, depending on the equipment in the lab. Either way, your sample must be submitted in a form with the pieces chopped up into segments approximately one inch or less in length.

This is easily achieved if you are using a proper hay drill to collect your sample. If you aren’t, you will need to get out the scissors and chop up your sample before submitting. Long pieces of hay simply cannot be scanned accurately.

requirements for most equine rations. If you need trace mineral analysis on your hay, then you should be considering a wet chemistry analysis. However, remember that whether you are submitting a sample for wet chemistry analysis or NIRS analysis, the sample you take is very important in determining the usefulness of the results.

A poor sample will generate poor results.

If you have a horse with PPID or insulin resistance, ensure that the analysis package you choose reports WSC and ESC and not just sugar. Keep in mind that WSC and ESC are notoriously variable. In other words, just because

your analysis comes back with an NSC of slightly over 12 percent doesn’t necessarily mean that your hay is unsuitable for your metabolic horse.

You will always be further ahead in your goal of having a happy, healthy horse if you know the analysis of the forage he eats. Consider contacting the satellite lab in your area for information about analysis options and the costs to further your achievement of this goal. b > Shelagh Niblock is a regular contributor to this magazine.

Read her bio on page 67.

Are there local NIRS Forage Labs?

The two best known and respected NIRS forage testing labs in North America, which generate reports suitable for horse owners, are Equi-Analytical/Dairy One in Ithaca, New York, and Cumberland Valley Analytical in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

Both these labs have satellite labs in Canada. Satellite labs are permitted to use the very large calibration sets built and maintained by the parent company. This can be an advantage to the horse owner, as a large calibration set is usually a more robust one and therefore more accurate.

Satellite labs will also have expertise available to help you to decide which analytical package is best to get the information necessary for your horse. If you need a wet chemistry package the satellite lab will look after getting your sample into the appropriate channels to get it done for you.

Does testing your hay with NIRS make sense for you?

Getting your hay analysed for nutrient content always makes good sense, and utilizing the quicker and less expensive NIRS methodology may as well. NIRS analysis on forage samples will meet the SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

33

STABLE HYGIENE

THE “NEW NORMAL”

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/KONSTANTIN TRONIN

I

t will be critically important to maintain physical distancing as barns prepare to reopen with a new “normal” for the upcoming months. The maintenance of six feet physical distance will need to be strictly enforced, as well as many new cleaning protocols.

Recommendations First and foremost, follow all current local, provincial, and federal recommendations when reopening your stable to the public. Below are some suggestions to help modify your barn’s biosecurity plan: 1. Set up an area at the entrance and exit for everyone to wash their hands and to scrub and disinfect boots.

2. Consider a drop-off area so riding students can go directly to their lesson horse in the arena.

3. Continue to adhere to physical distancing, staying six feet apart from others. Many factors will need to be well thought out including spacing out areas used to prepare horses for riding, maintaining distance during riding activities, and limiting the number of riders and spectators.

Requiring people to wear cloth masks when unable to maintain six feet of distance is not unreasonable.

4. Stock your first aid kit with disposable masks and gloves, and ensure first aiders are aware of COVID-19-related first aid protocols. Discuss with your local public health authorities to determine best practices.

34

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

5. Create a cleaning and disinfection schedule to execute multiple times a day for common areas and frequently touched items such as doorknobs, light switches, horse stalls (including stall door latches), tack rooms, wash stalls, hoses, sprayers, bathing and grooming equipment, cross-ties, pitch forks, brooms, shovels, wheelbarrows, and tack. Have clear guidelines for disinfection of different items and who is responsible.

6. Consider setting up outdoor grooming stalls if practical, or only allowing tacking up in the horse stalls rather than sharing cross-ties and asking riders to wipe down the areas they touched with disinfectant.

Clean tack and grooming supplies after each use.

7. Use outdoor rings whenever possible.

8. Create a schedule for lessons and boarders, and limit the number of people allowed on the property at one time. Keep a sign-in list.

9. Modify your Biosecurity Plan following the six steps

SUMMER 2020

outlined in the National Farm and Facility Level Biosecurity Standard for the Equine Sector.

10. Self-screening should continue to be adhered to and anyone exhibiting any signs compatible with COVID-19 should not be allowed on the property.

It is important to always practice good general stable biosecurity practices, such as wearing clean clothes to the barn and cleaning and disinfecting boots — if visiting more than one barn in a day, do this for each facility.

Remember to bring clean riding gloves for each visit too.

“It’s an easy-to-kill virus.

Pretty much any disinfectant will do it, as will time and/or sunlight. The virus will likely only survive a couple days on surfaces, often less,” says Dr. Scott Weese, infection control expert. “The main risk isn’t the environment, it’s people. If they have this virus on tack, that was put there by an infected person who poses more risk.

Measures to keep high risk (sick, exposed) people out are critical. Beyond that, things like minimizing crossover of tack and surfaces, and cleaning/ disinfecting are useful, but are very much plan B. “Leather doesn’t tolerate a lot of disinfectants. There are likely some household disinfectants with claims that they are safe on surfaces like that, and those should still be effective since this virus is wimpy. Otherwise, wiping off the disinfectant after the appropriate contact time (varies with product, usually two to fifteen minutes) can help reduce damage.

“Given the susceptibility of this virus, even soap and water can be effective. So, for routine situations where increased control is desirable, washing with a leather-safe soap would be reasonable. If there’s real concern about an item, then a disinfectant would be appropriate, or the items could just be left alone for a few days.” b Published with the kind permission of Equine Guelph.

HORSE

HEALTH LINES Veterinary Medical Centre

Western College of Veterinary Medicine SUMMER 2020

Little horse, big attitude  

Testing shock wave therapy

Sable Island studies Western College of Veterinary Medicine

T o w n s e n d E q u i n e H e a lth R e s e a r c h F u n d

a

Horse Health Lines is the news publication for the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s Townsend Equine Health Research Fund (TEHRF). Visit tehrf.ca for more information.

Send comments and article reprint requests to: Myrna MacDonald, Editor, Horse Health Lines WCVM, University of Saskatchewan 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4 horse.health@usask.ca Horse Health Lines design and layout: Priddy Design

Veterinary Medical Centre

INSIDE 1 Horse care amid pandemic

Other than physical distancing and extra protective gear, it was nearly business as usual for the WCVM’s Equine Field Service this spring as they worked through COVID-19.

2 Putting shock wave therapy to the test WCVM researchers evaluated extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) as a potential treatment for caudal heel pain.

5 MacKay driven to help horses get better

Dr. Angela MacKay has made a career of helping to puzzle out horses’ lameness issues.

6 Big attitude helps little horse survive

When Jennifer Leier’s miniature horse Kimchi suffered a traumatic injury last spring, his future looked bleak until a WCVM clinical team and his oversized personality saved him.

9 Sable Island’s ‘incredibly wormy’ horses

WCVM scientist Dr. Emily Jenkins is delving into the discovery of Dictyocaulus arnfeldi, a lungworm, in feral horses living on Sable Island.

10 Research in print

A round up of WCVM-related equine research articles that have been recently published in peer-reviewed journals.

12 A lasting honour for horses and people

A memorial program offers a way to show they care by supporting equine health research at the WCVM.

13 Galloping Gazette

The latest equine news at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.

On the COVER: Four-year-old Kimchi takes a walk in the WCVM’s aquatic treadmill as part of his rehabilitation.

Myrna MacDonald

Equine field service resident Dr. Lea Riddell and one of her team’s patients.

Christina Weese

Horse care amid pandemic

By Katie Brickman-Young

For the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) equine field service team, a typical spring is filled with 12-hour days of visiting barns and farms to help with vaccines, dental care and other general horse health tasks.

But since mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the equine team provides services to horses and interacts with owners.

“The day-to-day work is really different. The types of cases and how we tend to those cases have changed,” says Dr. Lea Riddell, a resident with the equine field service. “In March, we were strictly just emergency while we figured out the safest way for us to work. Now, we are doing more than just emergencies because our patients and their welfare are still our top priority.”

The WCVM Equine Field Service switched to operating in three teams with two to three members per team and with a shift schedule. They also encouraged owners to stay in their homes or at least two metres away while they worked with their horses.

“Everyone has been really understanding about the new protocols. [At] most of the places we have been out to, everyone is in good spirits and trying to do their best to get through what is going on right now,” says Riddell.

“Our Field Service teams have always been cautious about being clean when going from farm to farm, because there are a lot of communicable diseases in horses that you can carry as a veterinarian,” says Dr. Steve Manning, associate dean of WCVM clinical programs.

One common example is strangles, a bacterial infection that can cause respiratory disease. While the bacterium that causes strangles is chiefly transmitted through horse-to-horse contact, humans also contribute to its spread by reusing contaminated tools or wearing the same clothing when working with ill and healthy horses.

People’s actions also play a role in the spread of the most common equine herpesvirus species (EHV-1 and EHV-4), which can cause respiratory disease as well as outbreaks of abortions and neurological disease.

“We are constantly wiping down instruments after one person has touched it so there isn’t that cross-contamination. We are using a lot more gloves and masks … as a precautionary measure when we have to be in close proximity to other people,” says Manning.

The WCVM Equine Field Service team has handled previous outbreaks of EHV-1 — including a neurologic case at a Saskatoon boarding stable in January 2020. There are many comparable lessons learned from managing infectious diseases in animals and what is happening among human populations during the COVID-19 health crisis.

“I think that our experience with infectious diseases and our expertise at minimizing the risk or spread of that really makes veterinarians a well-suited group to know what to do and communicate that to their clients on what they should do when it is a human pathogen running through our population,” says Manning.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine

1

Putting

shock wave

ten quine TEHRF

therapy to the test

By Katie Brickman-Young

2

HORSE HEALTH LINES | Summer 2020

WCVM researcher Dr. Steve Manning (left) and Dr. Angela MacKay prepare to conduct magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an equine patient’s left front hoof.

Christina Weese

Dr. Angela MacKay’s passion is solving equine lameness.

“My favourite thing to do is try to sort out where the horse is hurting and how to make it feel better,” says MacKay, a clinical associate in equine field service at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

When MacKay was completing her combined residency and graduate program at the WCVM, her graduate research project

focus was on the use of an alternative therapy — extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) — to treat caudal heel pain.

Her thesis topic was based on a suggestion from her supervisor, WCVM assistant professor Dr. Kate Robinson, whose own horse was affected by caudal heel pain. The desire to look at ESWT was due to the lack of research around the use of a therapy that’s commonly used to treat caudal heel pain in horses.

“People are prone to jump on the bandwagon for alternative therapies without understanding what is happening and if what they are doing is helpful,” says MacKay. “That’s why I thought it was a great idea to study shock wave therapy and its effects.”

A ‘perfect storm of events’ Caudal heel pain is a catch-all term used to describe pain in the heel region of the foot, usually in the horse’s front limbs, explains MacKay. Most owners know caudal heel pain as navicular syndrome — pain coming from the navicular region of the foot. In addition to the navicular bone, this vital area consists of soft tissues, tendons and ligaments, as well as the coffin joint and fluid-filled structures that assist movement.

“The navicular region is important for supporting the foot but also for allowing the coffin joint to flex,” explains MacKay.

“All the structures can be injured when navicular syndrome or caudal heel pain occurs.”

Veterinarians believe that 90 per cent of lameness in horses is within the foot, but from that percentage, it’s unclear how many lameness issues are considered navicular syndrome. Researchers think caudal heel pain is a “perfect storm of events,” a degenerative condition that results in an abnormality of one or more of the equine foot’s structures.

“In normal tissues in any animal or human, there are micro-injuries when we use our bodies. Usually those heal and make tissues stronger over time. In the foot of the horse, the blood supply is different, and there is the thought that these structures get those micro-injuries, but they can’t heal normally for some reason,” says MacKay. In shock wave therapy, the machine generates a sudden energy of release to cause a pressure wave, which can stimulate the cells by changing their membranes — encouraging them to release growth factors and increase cell metabolism.

“It feels like a hammer hitting the tissues.

It does cause a bit of discomfort when applied, so we sedate the horses before treatment,” says MacKay. “Shock wave therapy can help, potentially, by having some anti-inflammatory effects and increase blood supply to the region.”

Western College of Veterinary Medicine

3

WCVM assistant professor Dr. Kate Robinson (left) uses extracorporeal shock wave therapy on an equine patient’s heel.

Caitlin Taylor

WHAT WE LEARNED After analyzing all of the study’s data, the WCVM research team’s key findings included the following: • Horses in the shock wave treatment group that had a single leg forelimb lameness experienced a statistically significant improvement in their lameness (pain) following treatment, based on subjective evaluation.

• Horses in the treatment group with a bilateral forelimb lameness (both front legs were in pain) did not experience a statistically significant improvement in their pain following treatment, based on subjective evaluation.

• Horses with a bilateral forelimb lameness can be difficult to assess accurately. The way they move to compensate for their pain sometimes inhibits the ability to get a real sense of their pain.

• All horses enrolled in the study had injury to more than one structure in the foot of the most painful leg. Most horses had an injury to their deep digital flexor tendon, had osseous fluid in their navicular bone (which can indicate edema or swelling, injury from repetitive concussion or degeneration), and had inflammation in their navicular bursa (sac cushioning the navicular bone from the deep digital flexor tendon). This condition is referred to as “navicular bursitis.”

4

HORSE HEALTH LINES | Summer 2020

Two-phase study In the first phase of their research study, MacKay and Robinson surveyed members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners through an online questionnaire about the condition. Of the 144 veterinarians who responded, 65 practitioners frequently used shock wave therapy to try and treat ligament-related injuries.

In the study’s second phase, the research team put a video together asking for local horse owners who would be interested in participating in the study. After receiving 200 requests, they evaluated 83 horses and worked with 30 client-owned horses that were all diagnosed with caudal heel pain in one or more of their limbs.

For each horse, MacKay and Robinson completed a lameness exam and physical exam, nerve blocks, X-rays of the front limbs (if a horse passed the nerve block step), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the affected limbs.

Then, the researchers randomly slotted each horse into one of two groups. Horses in the treatment group were sedated and received shock wave therapy every two weeks for a total of three treatments, while

horses in the control group were sedated but received no treatment over the same period.

Throughout the study, the researchers conducted lameness exams and kinematic gait analyses on all horses before sedation and treatment. At day 128 (32 weeks after the initial treatment), the research team repeated all of their original evaluation steps.

Based on the study’s results (see sidebar), MacKay and Robinson concluded that ESWT was not a supportive treatment option for navicular syndrome or caudal heel pain.

“Horses simply did not experience improvement, for whatever reason,” says MacKay. “As with any research project, there are limitations that may have affected our results, but I don’t recommend shock wave therapy for navicular syndrome because I think there are better options.”

Financial support for this study came from the Mark and Pat DuMont Equine Orthopedics Research Fund, Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund, and the Townsend Equine Health Research Fund. TEHRF also provided scholarship funding.

Dr. Angela MacKay was given a choice between braces and horses as a teenager. It was no contest on which option she chose.

“The dentist always told me I had pretty good teeth, so naturally, I chose horses,” says MacKay, a clinical associate in equine field service at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

Growing up in southeastern British Columbia, MacKay’s family owned horses, and her mother (who is now a family doctor) worked as a jockey when she was a teenager.

“My interest in animals steered me into veterinary medicine,” says MacKay. “I also spent several years in high school, shadowing a veterinarian in my hometown. Dr. Rob McLeod (WCVM ’90) was a very good mentor and encouraged my interest and helped make my decision.”

MacKay came to the University of Saskatchewan (USask) — her parents’ alma mater — and studied animal science in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources before coming to the WCVM.

WCVM Conn’s herpesv over tw

Chris

MacKay driven to help horses get better

By Katie Brickman-Young

“The first three years were very much book learning and were a little overwhelming, but I stayed involved in the horse industry in Saskatoon, and that kept me interested in what I was learning,” says MacKay, who counts who counts show jumping, dressage and thoroughbred racing among her interests.

The summer before her first year in veterinary school, MacKay spent most of her time exercising racehorses at Saskatoon’s Marquis Downs. There, she met WCVM equine surgeon Dr. Spencer Barber, who gently suggested the option of specializing in horses.

“I realized that I wanted to specialize so I could focus on the information of one species instead of having to learn a bit about everything,” says MacKay. Expanding her skills and acquiring new knowledge was essential to MacKay. After completing her second year at the WCVM, she spent the summer assisting at a race track practice in California. During her fourth and final year of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program, she completed externships in California, Hong

Kong, Australia and Oklahoma — gaining critical experience with racehorses.

“The externships were great because they allowed me to see horse specialty practices in other areas of the world,” she says.

“Going to different race tracks and seeing how horses are handled differently from the medical side was eye opening.”

After graduating from the WCVM in 2014, MacKay completed a one-year surgical internship at Oakridge Equine Hospital in Edmond, Okla. Through that experience, she became more knowledgeable in equine health and lameness — her particular area of interest.

“Oklahoma was a good choice because it was a very busy practice,” she says. “In some instances, we were seeing 25 to 30 lameness cases a day and watching horses trot and trying to figure out their problems. We would be doing 12 surgeries a day, too — it was an immersive experience in that regard.”

In 2015, MacKay returned to the WCVM to complete her Master of Science (MSc) program and residency in equine field service. For her graduate research project,

MacKay explored the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for caudal heel pain with Dr. Kate Robinson, her supervisor.

“I wasn’t quite ready to leave Saskatchewan since I made a lot of friends, and it felt like home,” MacKay says. “Overall, it was a positive experience, and because I knew so many people in the horse community. There was an underlying level of trust, which is important for building those veterinarian-client relationships.”

After MacKay completed her residency in July 2018, she went on to pass her board examinations with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) in October and then successfully defended her MSc thesis in February 2019.

Today, MacKay is a clinical associate with the WCVM’s Equine Field Service team — plus the hospital’s go-to expert for its standing MRI unit and equine imaging.

True to her nature, MacKay is also taking more training: she’s working to complete the University of Tennessee’s intensive equine rehabilitation certificate program, which is mainly taught online.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine

5

“He never went off his food, he never broke out in a cold sweat. [He just thought], ‘Okay, now I’m a guy with a cast.’”

— Jennifer Leier

Little horse,

Jennifer Leier knew her latest purchase, a four-year-old miniature horse named Kimchi, had an attitude. His sassy personality and his champagne grullo colour were why she brought him home to her hobby farm near Prince Albert, Sask.

But on Friday, June 17, 2019, she had no idea that Kimchi’s attitude was about to get them in big trouble — and eventually, back out again.

Kimchi had been gelded at the same time as another one of Leier’s miniature horses.

After a few days of recovery, Leier turned out the two geldings. But when she went to bring them in, Kimchi refused to be caught. Leier finally turned out her riding horses in the same pasture, hoping their presence would allow her to catch him.

big attitude

By Christina Weese

6

HORSE HEALTH LINES | Summer 2020

Kimchi, however, had other ideas. To Leier’s disbelief, the miniature horse attacked Winston, her Fjord-cross gelding. After warning the tiny biting, kicking whirlwind to back off, Winston turned around and kicked — his hoof landing on Kimchi’s right hind leg between his stifle and his hock.

“I knew instantly the leg was broken,” says Leier. “Just from the way he was standing. I was just sick — devastated. I didn’t know what to do.”

She called her local veterinary clinic, but realistically, horses don’t recover from a broken tibia.

“If I wanted to euthanize, they were prepared to help with that,” says Leier.

“But [for] anything else — I’d have to call Saskatoon.”

Tibial fracture in miniature Leier contacted the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Medical Centre (VMC) and talked to large animal surgery resident Dr. Michelle Tucker, who told her to do what she could to stabilize Kimchi’s limb for transport. It was paramount that the broken bone didn’t puncture the skin. A puncture would introduce the possibility of a bone infection from which recovery is nearly impossible.

Leier devised a sling for Kimchi in her trailer, using ratchet straps connected to bolts in the roof and a thick Western saddle pad under his belly. With Kimchi stabilized, she made the late-night trip to Saskatoon where the veterinary teaching hospital’s clinical team took radiographs of Kimchi’s leg to assess the damage.

“As soon as I saw it [the X-ray], I started bawling,” says Leier. “We’re talking 12 to 15 pieces of shattered bone in the leg. ‘He’s done,’ I thought.”

Tucker advised euthanasia, but Leier just couldn’t give up. Tucker then suggested calling Dr. James Carmalt, a large animal surgical specialist at the WCVM. “She [Dr. Tucker] said, ‘If anyone’s going to do something, it’s going to be him,’” says Leier.

After examining the radiographs, Carmalt’s initial reaction was that tibial fractures aren’t fixable in full-size horses.

But since Kimchi was a miniature horse, he thought there might be a chance. However, Kimchi still had to make it through the night: Leier slept in her truck with her horse suspended inside the trailer. “[The sling device] probably saved him,” says Carmalt. “It meant the fracture was not an open fracture, the bone was not poking out of the skin — he kept his weight off it all that time.”

After discussing Kimchi’s potential for recovery, costs and his overall welfare, Leier agreed to go ahead. Lacking enough large bone pieces to use a plate, Carmalt used two screws to hold the largest pieces of bone together, then inserted pins into the tibia’s head to create a transfixation cast.

The pins, inserted at a 90-degree angle into the bone, stuck out far enough that they went through the cast, transferring the animal’s weight from bone to cast.

“It makes sort of a ladder,” explains Carmalt. “Because horses’ skin is so thin over these parts of the bone, the distance between the bone and the cast is essentially zero.”

A long road to recovery Leier knew Kimchi’s recovery was going to be long because she had been through it herself with a tibia-fibula fracture five years ago. That experience was part of the reason she decided to go ahead with the surgery, along with feeling guilty about Kimchi’s injury.

“I allowed things to happen that I wouldn’t normally have done …. As his guardian, I put him in a position to get hurt.”

Kimchi’s recovery wasn’t smooth. Skin over the original injury’s site sloughed off, creating a large wound that required weekly cast changes. The pin sites also became infected. By the time the pins needed

to be removed, clinicians put Kimchi in a cast over a standing bandage. This set up allowed him to be left in his cast for a longer stretch of time — and that’s when he began improving.

By late October, radiographs showed that Kimchi could progress from a cast to heavy-duty support bandages. As the clinical team removed the final cast, Leier recalls Carmalt’s comment.

“He said, ‘Just so you know, there’s a chance it could all fall apart.’ I think that’s the only time [during Kimchi’s recovery] that I felt sick about the whole thing,” she says. “You genuinely feel that you’re out of the woods, and then that!”

‘A tenacious little dirtbag’ The next step was rehabilitation and therapy to help rebuild Kimchi’s atrophied muscles and to improve the range of motion in his hock joint, which had been immobilized in the casts and bandages for months. When Tucker mentioned that there was an aquatic treadmill in the VMC’s small animal rehabilitation centre, that led to a new adventure for the gelding.

The therapy team, led by clinical associates Drs. Kira Penney and Romany Pinto, moved slowly to introduce Kimchi to their equipment: “The first day we weren’t sure how reactive he would be, so we had him Western College of Veterinary Medicine

7

“They really helped me in understanding the overall process; they were very good about going through all the information with me — the good, the bad, the ugly.”

— Jennifer Leier

Kimchi’s rehabilitation sessions included walking over cavalettis to help improve his range of motion.

Myrna MacDonald

8

HORSE HEALTH LINES | Summer 2020

stand facing the treadmill and practised filling and draining it so he got used to the noises,” says Pinto.

Once he was accustomed to the noises, the team practised backing Kimchi into the treadmill, getting his hoofs wet as it filled with water, and walking out. Pinto also used a hoist (typically used to help support large dogs with back or neck

issues) to hold a sling on Kimchi’s hind limbs, which helped to support him as the team cleaned and wrapped his hoofs to prepare for the treadmill, and to assist him with backing in to the therapeutic device.

He soon progressed to full sessions on the treadmill with water up to his chest.

The team used laser, acupuncture and massage to help relax the sore muscles he’d been using to shift his weight throughout his recovery. They also used cavalettis, passive range of motion and underwater treadmill walking to help increase the flexion in his hock.

“By the second week of rehabilitation, we were measuring the range of motion in his hock, and it was changing day to day,” says Pinto, adding that Kimchi took all of the new experiences in stride. The same oversized personality that got Kimchi in trouble also played a big role in his recovery.

“He’s such a tenacious little dirtbag,” says Leier, laughing. “If it wasn’t for his big personality, I don’t think he would have recovered. He never went off his food, he never broke out in a cold sweat. [He just thought], ‘Okay, now I’m a guy with a cast.’”

Carmalt agrees: “I think it was a huge factor in his case … [it was] to the point where Dr. Tucker could issue a voice ccommand, and he knew they were about to lift him up or carry him or move him in a particular manner. He is also not a highstrung horse. He looked after himself, which is very important.”

Success stories such as Kimchi’s case are always a team effort — from an owner with the resources to try for recovery, to a patient with the right disposition and patience, to a veterinary team with the skills and resources of a medical referral centre behind them.

“They were so, so good to me,” says Leier.

“They really helped me in understanding the overall process; they were very good about going through all the information with me — the good, the bad, the ugly.”

“One of the first things I tell students is that the only time you really lose is when you don’t try,” adds Carmalt. “In this case, the owner … gave us the option to be as creative as we could possibly be, and utilize a team as big as we needed.”

“I think I always would have regretted not trying,” says Leier, who brought Kimchi home on Feb. 20. “He’s got a little hitch in his step. But we have some therapy exercises to work on. In a year’s time, it’ll be interesting to see where he’s at.”

One of Sable Island’s resident horses grazes on a picturesque spot looking over the Atlantic Ocean.

Martha Smith

Sable Island’s ‘incredibly wormy’ horses

By Martha Smith

As you breathe in the crisp ocean air and follow hoofprints down the sandy beaches of Sable Island, you can see a band of the island’s iconic horses grazing in the distance.

While the scenery is breathtaking, another factor is causing these horses to have respiratory issues. For the first time ever, researchers have recently documented the presence of Dictyocaulus arnfeldi (D. arnfeldi) in the Sable Island horses — a parasite that hasn’t been found in domestic horses for 40 years.

This lungworm causes an infection of the lower respiratory tract in horses. Since donkeys are the parasite’s normal maintenance host, the lungworm’s presence in Sable Island horses “was a really unexpected finding,” says Dr. Emily Jenkins, a parasitologist at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

Common belief had been that the parasite could only be transmitted on pastures grazed by donkeys. Since there are no donkeys on Sable Island, Jenkins decid-

ed to investigate further. After searching through the literature, she and her research colleagues found past evidence of lungworm transmission between horses.

“Historically when horses had a more natural reproductive cycle where there would always be young horses around, the parasite likely did have horse-to-horse transmission,” says Jenkins. She adds that this information was probably forgotten since the parasite has been virtually eradicated in domestic horses.

Another unusual aspect of this infection was the infected horses’ age. Lungworm is normally passed in feces of foals and yearlings. Infected adults typically do not shed larvae in their feces but are more likely to be symptomatic. However, tests revealed larvae in the feces of more than a third of adult horses on Sable Island.

The lungworm isn’t usually fatal for horses, and in the case of the Sable Island horses, not many researchers had even noticed coughing among the population.

Still, Jenkins points out that the discovery is significant.

“Individually, in heavy worm burdens, it [the lungworm] can cause irritation to the airways. It is not likely the cause of death, but can be a contributing factor,” says Jenkins. “Because there are so few populations left of horses that have D. arnfeldi, I think it is a neat opportunity to study the epidemiology of the lungworm.”

Unmanaged since the 1960s, the Sable Island horses have no contact with domestic horses, which makes them an ideal study population. Population ecologists and Parks Canada researchers have studied the Sable Island horses since 2007. Jenkins travelled to the island in 2017 to join the research team and investigate the causes of death of about 10 per cent of the horses.

Through post-mortem and fecal examinations, the researchers screened the horses for infectious agents and mineral deficiencies. Among their findings, the researchers have discovered other Western College of Veterinary Medicine

9

The presence of the lungworm D. arnfeldi in Sable Island horses came as a surprise to researchers.

Martha Smith

“The Sable horses have much higher parasite loads in comparison to domestic horses and even other feral horse populations.”

— Dr. Emily Jenkins

respiratory pathogens (viruses and bacteria) and high gastrointestinal parasite levels.

“The Sable horses have much higher parasite loads in comparison to domestic horses and even other feral horse populations,” says Jenkins. “The first horse [carcass that] we opened had every parasite I had ever learned about.”

Jenkins considers the Sable Island horses to be a wonderful learning opportunity for future veterinarians. She uses the Sable Island population as real teaching specimens with actual photos and specimens to show her students.

10

HORSE HEALTH LINES | Summer 2020

With anthelminthic (deworming) resistance becoming a looming threat for the horse industry, the Sable Island horses present a unique chance to learn more about equine parasites. By studying the epidemiology of the infections, the researchers can determine which parasites should be targeted for horses of different ages and in different populations. Jenkins suggests that best practice is to determine high, moderate and low shedders (through feces analysis) in individual populations and to treat only horses with high burdens or evidence of clinical disease.

“The Sable horses can teach us to use our anthelminthics more wisely and to take a more science- and evidence-based approach rather than just reacting to fear that may or may not be justified about the actual effects of parasites,” says Jenkins.

“We have to get smarter with how we use the products that we have that still work in domestic horses.”

She points out that even though horse owners do have access to these drugs, good management practices are extremely important. For example, owners can effectively remove larvae by meticulously “pooper scooping” their pastures.

Sable Island horses can also provide insight into genetic markers that indicate parasite resistance. The fact that these horses are “incredibly wormy” but are able to survive with such high parasite levels indicates the possibility of breeding horses for parasitic resistance. As well, parasites in Sable Island horses have never been exposed to deworming drugs.

“They are a snapshot of the ancestral horse populations,” says Jenkins. “[They’re] what horses were like before people came along, and they provide a unique opportunity to look at a closed population that is not managed in any way.”

Funding sources for this research include the WCVM’s Townsend Equine Health Research Fund and the L. David Dubé and Heather Ryan Veterinary Health and Research Fund. The Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) contributed through Discovery Grants held by Jenkins, Phil McLoughlin and Jocelyn Poissant. An NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award and the WCVM’s Interprovincial Undergraduate Summer Research program also supported Smith’s summer position.

Martha Smith of Jasper, Alta., is a fourth-year veterinary student at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

Research in print A round up of WCVM-related equine research articles that have been recently published in peer-reviewed journals

Montgomery JB, Steinke SL, Williams AC, Belgrave LJ. “Initial testing of a computer-integrated weight compensation system for rehabilitation of horses.” Comparative Exercise Physiology. Aug. 2019. 15(5):379-384.

Steinke SL, Belgrave LJ, Montgomery JB. “Development of a novel harness system to aid in rehabilitation of horses.” Comparative Exercise Physiology. Aug. 2019. 15(5):385-391.

Carmalt KP, Carmalt JL, Henderson K, Allen AL, Wilson DG. “Novel technique for prevention of rotation of the distal phalanx relative to the hoof wall in horses with acute laminitis.” American Journal of Veterinary Research. Oct. 2019. 80(10):943-949. doi:10.2460/ajvr.80.10.943 Steinke SL, Carmalt JL, Montgomery JB. “Weight reduction and possible implications for the rehabilitation of horses with ambulatory difficulties.” Equine Veterinary Education. Nov. 2019. doi:10.1111/eve.13210.

Lohmann KL, James CR, Higgins SN, Howden KJ, Epp T. “Disease investigations for equine infectious anemia in Canada (2009-2012) — retrospective evaluation and risk factor analysis.”

Canadian Veterinary Journal. Nov. 2019. 60(11):1199-1206.

Tucker ML, Sumner D, Reinink SK, Wilson DG, Carmalt JL. “Ex vivo evaluation of arytenoid corniculectomy, compared with three other airway interventions, performed on cadaveric equine larynges with simulated recurrent laryngeal neuropathy.” American Journal of Veterinary Research. Dec. 2019. 80(12):1136-1143. doi:10.2460/ajvr.80.12.1136.

Smyth TT, Allen AL, Carmalt JL. “Histologic assessment of age-related changes in the temporomandibular joints of horses.” American Journal of Veterinary Research. 2019;80(12):11071113. doi:10.2460/ajvr.80.12.1107.

Rockwell H, Mack M, Famula T, Sandmeyer L, Bauer B, Dwyer A, Lassaline M, Beeson S, Archer S, McCue M, Bellone RR. “Genetic investigation of equine recurrent uveitis in Appaloosa horses.” Animal Genetics. 51:111-116. doi:10.1111/age.12883.

Fernandez, NJ, Gilroy, CV, Wagg, CR, Kwong, GPS, Roy, M-F. “Intra- and inter-rater agreement for the detection of band neutrophils and toxic change in horses.” Veterinary Clinical Pathology. 2019; 48: 668– 676. doi: 10.1111/vcp.12811.

Tucker ML, Wilson DG, Barber SM. “Chitosan-based agent use for hemostasis after cryptorchidectomy in a horse.” Veterinary Surgery. Jan. 2020. 49:758– 763. doi:10.1111/vsu.13363.

Jenkins E, Backwell A, Bellaw J, Colpitts J, Liboiron A, McRuer D, Medill S, Parker S, Shury T, Smith M, Tschritter C, Wagner B, Poissant J, McLoughlin P. “Not playing by the rules: Unusual patterns in the epidemiology of parasites in a natural population of feral horses (Equus caballus) on Sable Island, Canada.” International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. Apr. 2020.

11:183-190. doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.02.002.

Sandmeyer LS, Kingsley NB, Waldner C, Archer S, Leis ML, Bellone RR, Bauer BS. “Risk factors for equine recurrent uveitis in a population of Appaloosa horses in Western Canada.” Veterinary Ophthalmology. Feb. 2020; 23:515– 525. doi:10.1111/vop.12749.

Lopez-Rodriguez MF, Cymbaluk NF, Epp T, Laarveld B, Thrasher M, Card CE. “A field study of serum, colostrum, milk iodine and thyroid hormone concentrations in postpartum draft mares and foals.” Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. July 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103018.

Mund SJK, Kawamura E, Awang-Junaidi AH, Campbell JC, Wobeser B, MacPhee DJ, Honaramooz A, Barber S. “Homing and engraftment of intravenously administered equine cord blood-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells to surgically created cutaneous wound in horses: a pilot project.” Cells.

May 2020. 9:1162. doi:10.3390/cells9051162.

Visit tehrf.ca for more news updates Western College of Veterinary Medicine

11

A lasting honour for horses and people When veterinarians wish to comfort their clients on the loss of a special horse or loved one, the Townsend Equine Health Research Fund (TEHRF) memorial program offers a way to show they care.

For nearly two decades, the program has allowed practitioners to make memorial gifts supporting equine health research at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

Each time the college receives a donation form listing one or more memorial gifts from a clinic, office personnel send each owner a letter acknowledging the donation in honour of their deceased horse. If the gift is in memory of a client or colleague, the person’s family also receives a note.

The program was created after TEHRF advisory board member Dr. David Paton suggested it. Since then, he has been one of its longstanding users.

“It’s important that clients understand that equine veterinarians truly do care about the welfare and health of the horse, but that they also recognize the bond that we have with our clients,” says Paton, who practises in Aldergrove, B.C. “This fund gives us the opportunity to demonstrate to our clients that we truly do care for their horses.”

Lacey, a once-in-a-lifetime horse, is remembered by donating to equine research.

Supplied

What does the fund’s memorial program signify to others?

A horse owner’s perspective

“As horse lovers, some of us are lucky enough to have that ‘once in a lifetime’ match that will forever be a part of our hearts. I was fortunate to have that partner in my life for 21 years. My life was filled with happiness that I should have such a beautiful, spirited animal whom I could always trust completely ....

When it came time to say good bye to my beautiful Arabian mare, my veterinarian (Dr. Paton) kindly made a donation to WCVM. I felt it was a fitting memorial and I was happy to make a donation myself. Since that time, nearly 12 years ago, I have remembered Lacey by donating each year.

The research that goes on to improve the lives of these wonderful animals benefits us all. Our help to support research is a most fitting memorial for our best friends. In a changing world, there are improvements being made all the time — and we benefit constantly from how far medicine can move forward in just a few years.”

Josephine Wing, horse owner Mission, B.C. 12

HORSE HEALTH LINES | Summer 2020

A veterinarian’s perspective

“During my time on the TEHRF advisory board, it occurred to me that there wasn’t a good mechanism in place for equine veterinarians to recognize and honour the passing of a client’s horse.

That thought led to the TEHRF memorial program.

Our practice (Paton & Martin Veterinary Services) began to make contributions to the fund on behalf of clients when their horses passed away. We have found this to be a gratifying contribution and have been humbled by the responses that we have received from many of our clients. I think that it is very helpful for them to know that their horses have been honoured in such a fashion. The fund gives horse owners the additional opportunity to contribute to this very worthwhile cause: supporting vital research in the areas of equine health.”

Dr. David Paton (WCVM ’78) Aldergrove, B.C.

Graduate tuition awards

HONOUR FOR WCVM RESEARCHER The American College of Theriogenologists (ACT) has selected Dr. Claire Card as the 2020 Theriogenologist of the Year, an award which recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to theriogenology (reproduction). A graduate of Cornell University, Card is a professor and clinical researcher in the WCVM’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. She has an active equine research program and is also involved in teaching equine and companion animal reproduction, physiology and sustainable development.

Card has held numerous leadership positions in the veterinary profession and is a past-president of ACT. She’s a board member and volunteers for Veterinarians Without Borders-Vétérinaires sans frontières (VWB-VSF). For the past 12 years, she has been part of a project in rural Uganda that focuses on improving the livelihoods of impoverished women affected by HIV-AIDS.

SASKATCHEWAN EQUINE EXPO Horse owners of all ages attended the ninth annual Saskatchewan Equine Expo at Saskatoon’s Prairieland Park in mid-February — an annual event that’s supported by Prairieland, Saskatchewan Horse Federation (SHF) and the WCVM. Since equine education is a key part of the event, the 2020 Expo featured a WCVM-sponsored presentation by Dr. Sue McDonnell, a board-certified applied animal behaviorist from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. McDonnell is widely known for her expertise in the natural behavior of horses, based on her observations of a semi-feral pony herd that she established at UPenn’s New Bolton Center 25 years ago.

In honour of McDonnell’s visit, the Expo equine education area featured horse-focused research topics, tabletop experiments and intricate dioramas created by TEHRF advisory board member Shirley Brodsky. During the weekend, veterinary students worked alongside SHF staff and members to answer questions about horse health, behavior and management. WCVM students and faculty also gave presentations on equine health topics — including talks on recognizing pain and lameness in horses, vaccinations and deworming practices, fecal flotations, equine herpesvirus, dentistry and a “build your own first aid kit” presentation for young horse enthusiasts.

EQUINE DAY AT WCVM Over 250 young riders, parents and chaperones gathered at the WCVM for the annual Equine Education Day on March 7. Organized by members of the college’s Equine Club, the popular event offered a wide range of horse health presentations, demonstrations and tours for riders in three different levels.

The day also included talks on biosecurity and infection control that were sponsored by the Saskatchewan Horse Federation (SHF) with funding from the Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada (through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership).

A number of local businesses also sponsored the Equine Education Day, including Early’s Farm and Garden, Greenhawk, Horse Journals, Horse Welfare Alliance Canada, Co-op, Lammle’s, Cowtown, Omega Alpha, Country Junction Feeds and Prime Equine.

Through its graduate student tuition scholarship award program, the Townsend Equine Health Research Fund (TEHRF) is providing more than $42,200 to support eight equine-focused graduate students at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

To encourage horse health research in basic sciences and clinical research, the program covers the students’ tuition fees for one year.

Lashmitha Arasaratnam, Master of Science (MSc) student, supervised by Dr. Kristen Conn (Veterinary Microbiology). Research: characterizing the chromatin regulatory mechanisms of IE1, the essential equine alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) transcription activator.

Maria Lopez Rodriguez, MSc student, supervised by Dr. Claire Card (Large Animal Clinical Sciences). Research: serum, colostrum, milk iodine and thyroid hormone concentrations in mares and foals.

Karen Pimentel, MSc student, supervised

by Dr. Kate Robinson (LACS). Research: control of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in thoroughbred racehorses.

Antonio Jose Guerra, MSc student, supervised by Dr. Keri Thomas (LACS). Research: assessing a combination of sedation and local anesthesia drugs for modulating pain in the equine distal limb.

Jane Westendorf, MSc student, supervised by Dr. Bruce Wobeser (Veterinary Pathology). Research: investigating the scale used by veterinary pathologists to grade equine uterine biopsies and estimate a mare’s fertility, to determine how reproducible this scale is and if different observers agree on the same diagnosis.

Roman Koziy, PhD student, supervised by Dr. Elemir Simko (Veterinary Pathology).

Research: developing reliable diagnostic markers to accurately determine the elimination of bacteria in horses with joint infection (septic arthritis).

Michelle Tucker, PhD student, supervised

by Dr. David Wilson (LACS). Research: computed tomography-based fluid dynamic analysis of equine laryngeal surgeries.

Suzanne Mund, MSc student, supervised

by Dr. Spencer Barber (LACS). Research: the effects of intravenously administered equine umbilical cord stem cells on wound healing in adult horses.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine

13

Honour their lives

with the gift of Equine health

Pay tribute the lives of your patients, clients and loved ones by making a donation to the Townsend Equine Health Research Fund (TEHRF) through its memorial program. Each time you give to the fund, we will send a letter to the client or loved one’s family acknowledging your gift to the equine health fund.

“Our practice (Paton & Martin Veterinary Services) began to make contributions to the fund on behalf of clients when their horses passed away. We have found this to be a gratifying contribution and have been humbled by the responses that we have received from many of our clients. I think that it is very helpful for them to know that their horses have been honoured in such a fashion. The fund gives horse owners the additional opportunity to contribute to this very worthwhile cause: supporting vital research in the areas of equine health.”

Dr. David Paton (WCVM ’78) TEHRF donor

Questions?

wcvm.supportus@usask.ca | 306-966-7268

Check out Horse Health Lines online at tehrf.ca PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40112792 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: Research Office, WCVM University of Saskatchewan 52 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4 horse.health@usask.ca

tehrf.ca

PHOTO: ISTOCK/JOHNNY GREIG

HEALTH

When Accidents Happen…

+

Equine Emergency First Aid

PHOTO: ISTOCK/ALINA555

By Margaret Evans

36

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

A

PHOTO COURTESY OF JUDY TODD

lmost every owner will have to deal with an equine “It had been raining, and the homemade bridge across emergency sooner or later. A horse’s natural curiosity, the road from my property, which we cross regularly, felt a trail ride mishap, or turnout with herd mates can lead to a bit slippery under Zulu’s shod feet,” recalls Judy Todd, all kinds of cuts, bruises, kicks, an Abbotsford, BC-based and bites. Scrapes, stone bruises, physiotherapist with a punctures, sprains, or sores can specialty in hippotherapy. happen suddenly, and more “Before I had a chance to serious conditions such as warn my friend to dismount abscesses, colic, or bacterial and lead my second horse infections can flare up with Bo across, his hoof boots no warning. turned into a pair of skates While the advice of a and he did a macabre kind veterinarian may be necessary, of tap dance before he many minor health conditions went down, one back leg can be dealt on site with hanging off the bridge, his adequate knowledge and first front legs struggling to get aid equipment. But to take full a purchase. With my friend advantage of on-hand solutions, and I pulling on the saddle certain protocols should be in and any part of him we place to help you and anyone could access, he finally else caring for your horse. managed to pull himself BE PREPARED up, only to get caught under the wood railing and With some advance planning pushed back down again. and basic knowledge of first aid, “This time his left leg you’ll be better equipped to handle a horse health was caught underneath the emergency when it happens. bridge while his right was Emergency contact half off. At that point he information, such as the phone gave up the struggle and numbers and email addresses took a breather, so I for the vet and farrier, should be phoned home for ropes, posted in the barn and saved on blankets, and mats for a your phone. Maintain a health better grip, and tried to record of your horse’s imagine who might have a vaccinations, dewormings, past backhoe handy, but before injuries and incidents, and any I got through, he started up allergic reactions, and have it his efforts again. We got his readily available, along with a left leg unhooked, and slid record of his normal vital signs.

The fateful bridge seen through Bo’s ears. him forward on his belly Know how to use all the until he was able to medications and washes, and struggle up without getting caught under the railing. practice bandaging before you need to do it in an emergency.

“Amazingly, he was able to weight-bear and had Make sure you have access to a truck and trailer that is accumulated only minor-looking cuts and grazes. The accessible on short notice. Teach your horse to load quietly and safely in a trailer; in the middle of an emergency is not the time girth was shredded, and we had damaged the stirrup bars for a trailer loading lesson. from all our pulling. Unwilling to lead him back over the Keep your first aid kits for the barn, trailer, and trail rides bridge (which was also damaged), we elected to lead both well-stocked and easily accessible. horses to the nearest road where my husband met us with the trailer, first aid kit, and blanket. His vital signs were good, and I addressed the skin abrasions before encouraging him to hobble up the ramp.

“His rehab was extensive, and it involved hip and pelvis musculoskeletal trauma from his efforts to get up, but he made a full recovery over a few months. Had he not been small, calm, and trusting, he could have panicked himself right off the bridge, and the outcome would not have had a happy ending!”

Know Your Horse’s Vital Signs

As the person responsible for the horse’s care and well-being, it’s important to know what is normal for your horse so you can quickly determine when he is not well. Start by recording your horse’s normal vital signs when he is healthy and calm, and store them where they are easily accessible. In the event of illness or injury to the horse, being able to check and report his vital signs to your veterinarian can help him to determine the horse’s condition.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

37

count the number of beats in 15 seconds, then multiply by four to get the rate per minute. More than 60 beats per minute at rest, or a weak or irregular heartbeat, should be cause for concern.

PHOTOS: PAM MACKENZIE

HYDRATION — During dehydration, skin elasticity decreases due to loss of water from the skin. Two simple ways to check your horse for proper hydration are the capillary refill test and the skin pinch test.

Check your horse for dehydration using the skin pinch test or the capillary refill test.

TEMPERATURE — The body temperature of an adult horse at rest can vary from about 37 degrees C to 38.6 degrees C. With the horse secured, body temperature is taken with a thermometer positioned just inside the anus. Today’s digital thermometers do not necessarily need lubricating and a temperature reading can be achieved quickly. Temperatures higher or lower than the horse’s normal range should be cause for concern.

HEART RATE — The pulse is the rhythm of the blood flow in response to the heartbeat. A horse’s pulse rate is 30 to 40 beats per minute at rest and it can be taken by feeling the artery just under the cheekbone. Using the flat side of your fingertips (not your thumb or you’ll feel your own pulse), press inward and upward against the inner edge of the lower jaw until you detect your horse’s pulse. A simple way to measure is to

The skin pinch test is done on the neck in front of the shoulder by taking a fold of skin between your thumb and forefinger, lifting it away from the underlying tissues, twisting it slightly, and releasing. The pinch fold should disappear within one second. A fold that remains for more than two seconds indicates dehydration.

For the capillary refill test, lift the upper lip of the horse and look at the gums above the teeth. These mucous membranes should be a healthy pink, shiny, moist, and slippery. If they are pale, dry, or tacky this can indicate dehydration. Mucous membranes that are pale white, jaundiced, brick red, bluish, purplish, or muddy are indicative of a serious problem. Next, press your thumb or finger on the gum to push the blood out from under the finger to determine capillary refill time. Upon release of the pressure, the pressed spot will be white and should return to pink within 1.5 seconds. A delay of two or more seconds is cause for concern. A prolonged capillary refill time may also be a sign of shock.

/////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

+ First Aid for Common Ailments Lacerations — Lacerations can be anything from a superficial scratch to an open flesh tear.

The immediate priority is to clean with gentle running water from a hose or a spray bottle of saline.

A clean wound will heal faster and with fewer complications.

If the wound is deep and continues to bleed, clot with layers of bandage. A vet visit may be necessary. Wounds should be covered unless it is impractical, in which case healing jells that stay in place are an excellent solution.

38

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

Puncture wounds — These present greater challenges since any foreign object or bacteria can be trapped inside and primed for infection, which will show as swelling, tenderness, a smell of pus, or the horse having an elevated temperature. A vet exam is necessary.

Stone bruise — These are common and often the result of the horse misstepping on rough ground.

Hosing the foot, an antiinflammatory such as bute, and rest all help, but watch

SUMMER 2020

for any signs of an abscess forming which will require veterinary treatment.

Colic signs — Colic is not always a gas pain. It often presents with the horse rolling frequently, showing anxiety, not eating or drinking, and becoming restless. Using the stethoscope, listen for gut sounds on both sides and take the horse’s temperature. Gut sounds may be weak or absent.

Call the vet and have that information ready, as well

as your horse’s normal readings or gut behaviours.

It may be a gas pain, but it could be a variety of other issues.

Lameness — The cause of lameness can be obvious, such as swelling on a leg, or obscure such as a pulled shoulder muscle, or foot issues related to a bruise or laminitis. Rest, cold water hosing, and support wrapping may be appropriate until you can reach your vet for a full diagnosis.

/

PHOTO: PAM MACKENZIE

Take the horse’s heart rate by locating the facial artery on the inside edge of his lower jawbone with your fingertips.

GUT SOUNDS — Check your horse’s gut sounds by pressing a stethoscope or your ear against his barrel behind the ribs, in front of the stifle. Normal gut sounds vary widely, but gurgles and growls should always be present. Faint, infrequent, or absent gut sounds usually indicate colic and your veterinarian should be called.

WEIGHT — Use a weight tape to estimate the weight of your horse, which is valuable information when calculating some medications.

Learn the Signs of Pain or Illness Familiarize yourself with the following symptoms horses can display when they are in pain and discomfort: • Restlessness and sweating on neck and flanks.

• Anxiety.

• Repeatedly lying down and getting up.

• Depressed appearance.

• Dilated pupils, glassy eyes or eyes either dulled or staring.

• Flared nostrils and increased breathing.

• Muscle tremors.

• Increased pulse/heart rate.

• Difficulty moving, abnormal gait or changes in weight bearing.

• Loss of appetite.

• Rolling, pawing, or flank staring.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

39

PHOTO: EARTHWAYS MEDIA PHOTO COURTESY OF CHELSEY HENLEY

<

The initial veterinary fee for the author’s mare, Daisy, was a few hundred dollars. By the time her runny nose led to two rounds of antibiotics, an X-ray and surgery to remove dead bone, plus the postsurgical care with two weeks’ supply of saline solution and more antibiotics, the veterinary care rounded out at over $5,000.

<

When her mare, Tenley, was found with a head injury, Chelsey Henley knew right away that veterinary attention was needed. “Our mare split her head open to her cranial ridge!” She has no idea how it happened, but it looked as if Tenley hit the tree head on. “The wound was way beyond our skills, but I will say that having syringes and a form of pain meds is super important.” She also stresses the importance of being able to load the horse into a trailer quickly and quietly.

Four Essential First Aid Rules When an incident happens, remind yourself and anyone helping you to follow these first aid rules: REMAIN CALM — Your calm attitude will help reduce the horse’s sense of panic. The worse the situation, the calmer you should be.

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM — Try to determine what happened, and if the horse is in danger or at risk of further injury.

ASSESS THE SITUATION — Assess the horse’s condition in terms of breathing, bleeding, or an injury that is preventing the horse from moving.

TAKE ACTION — Get the horse out of danger. Take the horse’s vital signs, stop the bleeding, minimize shock, administer first aid, call for veterinary assistance if necessary.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED Most often, it’s the incidents that happen at home that require first aid attention.

“Horses get themselves into pickles,” says Gayle Ecker, director, Equine Guelph. “They can get tears, pokes, and lamenesses.

Domestic situations are where we see a lot of horses get into trouble when they are turned out with others. These are behavioural issues. A horse can get pinned in the corner and get kicked, or run away and slip. Often, it’s a first aid situation. The implied thing is that horses are ‘stupid’ and get hurt, but owners might not always appreciate the importance of the pecking order.”

Horses live in a hierarchical community, with a leader and followers in descending order of rank. The order is rarely changed, but if one horse feels crowded or a newcomer is trying 40

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// to find its place in the band, feet and teeth can fly. But what might appear to be a flesh wound could actually be something more complex. On our farm, an example of this resulted from introducing a boarding horse to our band of horses. The new horse seemed to settle in well but unfortunately, our broodmare, Daisy, got caught in the middle of a conflict.

We found Daisy standing by the gate with her face covered in blood. Thinking she had torn herself, we brought her to the barn to wash her face and found she had a four-centimetre gash below her left eye. I washed the cut with a saline solution and applied a gel product to promote healing. The cut healed well but when her nose started to dribble a vet check led to the conclusion that she had likely been kicked in the face. She now had a sinus infection as well as a bump between her eyes.

Antibiotics didn’t fully take care of her dribbly nose and an X-ray revealed some dead bone under the bump. She went for surgery to clean out the dead bone and returned home wearing a mask fitted with tubes. For the next ten days, the surgical site was flushed with saline administered through the tube by her ears, and the fluid drained through her left nostril. It healed well, but it all likely began with a pecking order dispute.

Trailering horses is done so often and so casually that safety checks are sometimes overlooked. But trailer mishaps will invoke their own emergencies.

“Aloha injured himself somehow in his paddock and it was found too late to be stitched,” says Riki Davies. “I had to irrigate it with saline twice a day and pack it full of Polysporin until it healed and closed up on its own.

At first it was a major fight to irrigate it, but by the end I could do it while he was lying down.”

BEFORE

AFTER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RIKI DAVIES

More is missed by not looking than by not knowing.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

41

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/KONSTANTIN TRONIN

Sometimes small wounds, like punctures, can be more serious than they first appear. If there is nothing in the wound, clean it and watch for signs of infection.

If a foreign body is embedded in the puncture, it should be removed by a vet.

42

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

“Check the flooring, the brakes, hitch, and divider,” says Dr. Susan Raymond with Equine Guelph. “People have to look at their trailers, especially if their use is seasonal. But people look at what they are putting into it, rather than the trailer itself.”

Todd can really relate to that.

“I can still remember the shock of dropping the trailer ramp at the show and finding the horses in a heap!” she says. “My niece’s pony had bumped up the central divider and was lying against the dislodged divider at 45 degrees on top of my horse, who was sitting like a dog. Our birthday treat for this little girl was a weekend with her pony at our farm and a trip to her first horse show, so we were in their trailer and (mistake #1) I hadn’t checked the securing pins on the divider, and (mistake #2) I took my brother-in-law’s word that their pony was a good traveller.

“Burly men materialized from around the show ground to push the completely unharmed pony upright and out of the trailer, then my horse was able to scramble up on his own. There were superficial cuts on his back legs above the shipping boots and he had sprained a few hind end joints. My vet knowledge back then was woefully inadequate, but I had extensive first aid experience as a sports physiotherapist, so I applied the rest-ice-compression principals and he recovered completely within a couple of weeks. My first aid kit was in my trailer at home (mistake #3), but the kind men who helped us provided wound cleaning supplies and I found a hose with a limitless supply of cold water for the swelling. I palpated his spine, as I would a human, and he seemed pain free. A lot of lessons were learned that day!”

Tony Wass discovered that trailers used seasonally must also be checked for wasps’ nests.

“In August 2007 we trailered Jed and Soleil to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, [Vancouver Island] BC. I felt a bit of kicking activity from the trailer but could not stop on the road. On arrival, we found Soleil has a gash on her inner left rear hock. It looked like she had raked herself with her right rear shoe. After

okay overnight or that you really need to bring her in to see us.”

Carmalt firmly believes that the horse owner should know the whole horse – behaviour, attitude, reaction to things.

Quoting Dr. Thomas McCrae who famously said that more is missed by not looking than by not knowing, Carmalt says, “If you go over your animal with a fine-tooth comb, you may not understand what you are seeing, but at least you have seen it and you can describe it. If you don’t look [or observe behaviour], you are in deep trouble.

//////////////////////////////////////

much soaking and standing in the Sooke River to cool her down, as she was sweating and fretting, we used our towels and duct tape to bandage her. The bleeding had long since stopped but we returned home, the vet arrived, and Soleil had stitches. She needed stall rest and bandage changes for a few weeks.”

A second trip to the Sooke Potholes resulted in the same injurious behaviour. That’s when Wass further examined the trailer, found the remains of a wasp nest, and concluded that Soleil had been stung, kicked out, and injured herself — twice.

Hope is not a strategy.

If you are not ready to take care of this, the horse pays the price of tuition with suffering.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH A flesh wound may be the immediate priority, but don’t assume it is the only one. Carefully examine the whole horse and observe his general demeanor.

“It’s quite often the tiny ones, the punctures, that people don’t pay attention to,” says James Carmalt, professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. “You’ve got a wound on one hock, and a small puncture wound on the opposite hock, and it turns out that the small puncture wound went into the joint; the big one is an eyesore, but it will heal. It is the little ones that might cause real damage.

“The modern cell phone is a blessing.

I can ask where’s the wound? Is it halfway up the leg? On the joint? What part of the joint… the pointy bit? Clients can send me photos of the wound and it takes seconds. Remember that a photo is great, but it is not a replacement for hands-on examination.

“So, if you’ve got a wound on the leg, look for something else. Chances are, it’s not the only thing. Check the opposite, normal leg. If there’s a bit of drainage or something stuck, or it’s a bit wet, ask yourself why it’s wet — especially if it’s not normally wet there.”

Carmalt stresses the value of a first aid approach and pre-vet visit work.

“There are more and more clients who have a thermometer and a stethoscope, and know how to use them,” he says.

“That, for me, is fascinating. You send me a picture or a short video from your iPhone, and you couple that with information about whether the horse is off her food, other physical symptoms, her temperature, her heart rate, her respiration rate. Now we can get a whole lot closer to saying that you should be SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

43

/////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

44

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

PHOTO: ISTOCK/DENYSHUTTER

Generally, first aid equipment is inexpensive, and you can create a comprehensive kit for a reasonable cost, saving yourself hundreds of dollars in unnecessary vet calls.

“Every horse owner should have a well-stocked first aid kit on hand,” says Heather Davis, executive director, EquiHealth Canada. “All too often we hear of folks with items scattered all over the place and they can’t find what they need when they need it.”

Keep a comprehensive first aid kit for the barn, a travelling kit in the trailer, and an essentials kit to carry with you on a trail ride. Don’t forget to have a first aid kit for yourself!

Know where you draw the line — to do your own care or call a vet, says Gayle Ecker, director, Equine Guelph.

“We are trying to teach people when to call the vet in, or when to talk to the vet on the phone.”

Equipment for the trailer should include not only medical needs but reflective vests, cones, and flashlights in case of a roadside breakdown.

For a recreational ride, plan for a typical risk. A ride on a quiet country road is different from one on wilderness trails. However, the kit should include things to control bleeding, small wounds, a hoof pick, and a hoof boot. Pack a folding penknife, and outfit the horse with a halter under the bridle and the shank packed or secured.

“Put a dog tag on either the halter or bridle or the D ring of the saddle with your name, horse’s name, and phone number,” says Ecker. “[If you fall off and are separated from your horse] they really help when someone finds the horse. It is useful to put two phone numbers, yours and one other person, one on each side.”

Keep an inventory list of everything in your first aid box and tape it inside the lid. Replace anything that has been used up or is past its due date.

Your First Aid Kit should contain: 60cc syringe – to flush wounds; administer oral fluids.

Alcohol swabs – good for cleaning small wounds or creating a cleaner site for injections.

Aloe wound gel – great for healing wounds naturally, as it has minerals, vitamins, amino acids and very strong antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties.

Garbage bags – cover large wounds; clean up.

Cool Cast Emollient Leg Bandage – apply to help alleviate swelling.

Cotton roll – an absorbent bandage layer on smaller wounds.

Cotton swabs – to clean small or delicate wounds.

Diapers – an alternative bandage layer.

Antiseptic mouthwash – can be used for bug relief, on scratches and thrush, as well as rain rot and bot eggs.

Duct tape – useful in any emergency, and especially good for hoof wraps as it is water-resistant, moldable, and fairly durable.

Antiseptic wound cream – like Hibitane® cream or Furacin® ointment.

Epsom salts – mix with warm water to soak an abscessed foot or use in a poultice.

Blood Stop – helps stop serious bleeding wounds.

Bottle of saline solution – useful for cleaning out wounds in delicate places like around the eyes. A bottle of contact lens saline solution with a squirt nozzle is perfect.

Bulldog clip – used to hold a veterinary thermometer to tail for three-minute temp.

Face masks – minimize exposure to odours from necrotic tissue or protect yourself from spray from wounds/blood/pus.

Flashlight/head lamp – to help you see wounds in a gloomy stall or dark field.

Forceps or tweezers – for removing splinters, ticks, or other nasties.

Gauze pads — when it comes to horses, bigger is better.

Gauze roll – used to hold the absorbent bandage layer.

Hand sanitizer – good for when a hose isn’t handy to ensure you’re not spreading germs.

Hoof pick.

Hot/cold pack – alleviates heat and muscle pain; useful when cold hosing an injury isn’t possible.

Iodine – or an antiseptic scrub such as Betadine® (povidone-iodine, or “tamed” iodine) or Nolvasan (chlorhexidine).

First Aid Kit continued on page 46

Hand Sanitizer

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/MARIDAV

+

Items For a First Aid Kit

/

“If there’s a leg wound, what else is there? Why is he walking kind of funny?

Don’t just focus on the wound or the colic or this or that. Look at the whole horse.

Know the subtle signs.

“With colic, people think of it as gas pain but it’s not always gas pain. The client will know the horse hasn’t eaten her food. It’s not normal for her. Not eating is a big deal. So maybe there is something. She’s not throwing herself on the ground and rolling with classic colic, but there’s something here we need to keep our eyes on. If we blow it off, then something bad could happen. It’s a holistic approach.”

THE ESSENTIAL RAINY DAY FUND

3 angles, 2 colours, 1 perfect pair of stirrups.

Position yourself for excellence in Peaks!

Proudly manufactured exclusively in Canada.

Highest quality materials and sophisticated machine technology.

Made in collaboration with riders, trainers, and medical professionals.

Order your pair online at www.peakequestrian.com Follow us on instagram at @peak_equestrian

The price of veterinary horse care can climb alarmingly between first aid treatment and surgery, which is why Carmalt strongly advises setting aside funds for a rainy day. “[Maybe] it’ll cost $300,” says Carmalt. “That’s not too bad. But it’s not just $300. By the time you have nursed that horse at home for the next few months there will be additional costs.

Don’t spend it all at the hospital as you will need more money at home for all the after-surgery care. Think carefully about the price that is quoted.”

He cautions horse people to know what they can afford and be realistic.

People know what a car or a saddle cost, says Carmalt, but they come to the vet and it’s a hell of a surprise that treatment is going to cost this much.

“It’s 3 in the morning and you’ve got a horse of 20 years throwing itself on the ground, that is not the time to have to make a decision. Do people have $10,000 lying around to spend on the horse? It becomes a big family discussion about what to do. There are all these emotions and people start dipping into the college fund or remortgaging the home. What are you doing?! Everyone needs rainy day money.”

Some horse owners are fortunate to have equine insurance. Insurance providers offer a variety of coverages, such as horse mortality, medical, surgical, transport, loss of use, infertility, and public liability. Discuss options with your insurance broker or talk to your provincial organization for advice on an insurance company specializing in services to suit your needs and budget.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

45

Latex gloves – keep your hands clean and free from germs and other gross messes.

of your horse’s heels from chapping if you have to cold-hose a leg injury for several days.

Lipstick or chalk – mark sore spots upon investigation of pain.

Medical adhesive tape – for securing bandages.

Lubricating jelly, like Vaseline® – for the thermometer, and for protecting the tender skin

Mineral Ice® – alleviates heat and muscle pain.

Notepad/pencils – write down vitals, important phone numbers.

Peroxide – its bubbling action is good for cleaning dirt out of fresh wounds and for dealing with thrush.

Don’t use it routinely on a healing wound as it will inhibit the healing process.

Plastic wrap – sterile and non-toxic, use as a single layer wound dressing to prevent wound contamination, fluid losses and pain from swelling.

Razors – to shave hair from around wounds.

Rubbing alcohol – for sterilizing instruments; can alleviate pain and itch of stings or bites and soothe sore joints and muscles.

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/REZKR R

First Aid Kit continued from page 44

Rope – used as lead.

Safety scissors – with rounded ends so you don’t accidentally cut into your horse if you’re snipping off a bandage.

Scrub brush – with fairly soft bristles to scrub larger wounds.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////

Let’s Have a Barn Raising at Your Place!

Affordable Barns

Assembled on your property & ready to use in 2 - 3 days!

• Lots of upgrades available including insulation, tack rooms, skylight, windows, window grills, door upgrades and much more!

We are a Canadian Company!

www.affordablebarns.com • 1-866-500-2276 46

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

PHOTOS: PATRICIA BARKER

• Barns built starting at as low as $17,995, including stalls and one sliding 6' door.

Keep a rainy day fund for your horse’s veterinary care, and remember to budget for the costs of at-home care and rehab if needed during the recovery period.

Small aluminum pan – a clean space to set wound cream, bandages etc.

Spray bottle – fill with soap and water and use to clean delicate wounds.

Thick sanitary pads – absorbent and good for applying direct pressure to a bleeding wound.

Treats – entice, calm, distract, reward.

Tube socks – cut out the toes and cover bandages for protection, spray with fly spray to keep insects away.

Vital signs card — Normal vs. Abnormal.

Stethoscope – inexpensive ones can be purchased through medical supply stores or pharmacies for under $30.

Wash cloth – clean and scrub wounds or use to dry hands.

Tampons – to insert into puncture wounds.

Wet wipes – used to preclean wounds if really dirty; clean your hands.

Thermometer — rectal veterinary thermometer or the plastic digital kind.

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/CRACKERCLIPS

Self-adhesive bandages – such as Vetrap™, to secure and protect dressings, hold bandages in place.

Weight tape/tape measure – used to calculate weight of horse for medication doses.

"As a professional horse trainer, Dynamint Equine Leg & Muscle Rub is an important aspect of my program. Dynamint is a natural product that has a cooling effect, it calms tired, sore muscles and rejuvenates horses keeping them feeling their best.

I use Dynamint on my horses and myself. The results I have experienced have not been matched by any other product in the market.

For long hauls and after hard workouts Dynamint is the only product I use on horse's legs. If you are looking for a product that is safe on skin and delivers results, trust Dynamint Equine Leg & Muscle Rub. Your horse will thank you!"

— Jill Barron

All natural soothing lotion for sore or strained muscles and joints.

Available in 1L spray bottle for easy and quick application to larger areas, or a 500ml rub bottle.

A soothing combination of natural essential oils in a gentle cream base. Specially formulated with natural ingredients to assist in the relief of leg, muscle and joint strain.

National Distributor: Canadian Centurion 1-800-361-3860 Local: Janian Imports • (604) 462-9238

First Aid Kit List is courtesy Equi-Health Canada

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Dynamint Equine

MANUFACTURED FOR: Integrated Bio Systems Inc., 8558 Chilliwack Mountain Rd, Chilliwack, BC V2R 3W8 Phone: 1-877-501-5003 • Fax: 604-391-0029 • E-Mail: intbiosys@shaw.ca

CALGARY STAMPEDE RIDERS and DYNAMINT

www.integratedbiosys.com

FIRST AID EDUCATION

Even the most basic first aid knowledge can help you treat your horse in a crisis. Opportunities to learn about the value, importance, and applications of first aid are available at both Equine Guelph and Equi-Health Canada.

“A lot of people hope nothing happens,” says Ecker. “Hope is not a strategy. If you are not ready to take care of this, the horse pays the price of tuition with suffering.”

Equine Guelph offers a variety of online first aid courses. In addition, they developed their Large Animal Rescue Training program, working with Dr. Rebecca Gimenez Husted, Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Inc., renowned for training in difficult and technical rescues.

Heather Davis, executive director, Equi-Health Canada says she receives regular inquiries, which she refers out to their instructors.

“We also have a Certified Safe program where a facility that hosts the first aid basic, first aid advanced, and disaster planning courses receives their Certified Safe status, a listing on our website, and we send them a certificate for their barn wall. Many boarding barns are in the process of obtaining this certification, in order to ensure that their boarding clients feel safe and comfortable with where their horse is living. Equi-Health Canada has also just finished revamping its safe trailering practices course and are currently working on upgrading the Livestock Handling and Safety for First Responders course.” b Equine Guelph online courses are available at The Horse Portal > www.thehorseportal.ca Equi-Health Canada online courses at offered at > www.equihealthcanada.com

> Margaret Evans is a regular contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 67.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

47

Riders are

ATHLETES Finding and Owning the Equestrian Athlete Identity

PHOTO: ISTOCK/FOTOKOSTIC

By Annika McGivern, BA Psychology, MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology

48

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

After years of riding competitively and coaching, I believe that the human athletes in our sport do not generally think of themselves as athletes. We are riders, horse people, equestrians… but rarely athletes. Most horse people consider their horse to be the real athlete, and the majority of their nurturing is directed at their horse. Yet in theory, many would also acknowledge that to be successful, we must nurture both sides of the partnership equally.

If, as most definitions suggest, an athlete is anyone trained in a sport that requires agility, strength, and stamina, then there is no question that riders are athletes, regardless of whether they compete.

If you have the goal of improving your skill as a rider, you are an athlete. Accepting the athlete identity shifts our perspective. It does not make our horses any less important or lesser athletes themselves; instead it allows us to consider ourselves as equally important, in ways that significantly impact our well-being, our success as riders, and our horse’s experience when working with us.

If we do not think of ourselves as athletes, we won’t treat ourselves like athletes. If we don’t see ourselves as an important element of the partnership, we won’t invest in ourselves by looking after our bodies and our minds with the same care and attention we give our horses. Because of this, equestrians often end up mentally and emotionally exhausted by their sport, which directly impacts performance ability. This exhaustion can

PHOTO: ISTOCK/MLENNY

At its core, equestrian sport is a partnership between horse and human. This relationship is unique, and it affects both the culture of the sport and our identity as athletes. Today, we are going to look closely at our equestrian athlete identity.

Just as you allow your horse some time off to rest and rejuvenate, prioritize your own well-being so both you and your horse can be at your best during your time together.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

49

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/NADEZDA MURMAKOVA

The best part of investing in yourself as an athlete is learning how to manage your state of mind.

also have a negative impact on day-to-day efforts to improve ourselves and our horses. At the end of the day, if we are mentally, emotionally, and physically burned-out, we cannot be the rider and partner our horse deserves to have. We cannot be the most successful, high-performing version of ourselves.

As the decision-making side of the partnership, our state of mind is critical to the partnership’s success. If we are not clear-headed, grounded, and fully in the present moment, the risk of making bad decisions skyrockets, with obvious negative conse-

quences for our performance. Decision-making aside, consider the impact our emotions have on our horses. Our equine partners are emotional sponges, soaking up whatever feelings are influencing us, and reflecting them back to us in subtle — or not so subtle — ways. Because we set the tone for these interactions, the ability to understand and regulate our own emotions is a key mental skill for equestrian athletes. Our state of mind controls all these skills: emotional regulation, focus, being grounded, being present, and much more. However, this critical piece of preparation is often forgotten amidst the many demands of training in horse sports, and underprioritized due to our tendency to credit our horses as the most important part of our team. If we do not see ourselves as an equally significant element of the partnership, then why invest in ourselves? Unfortunately, this type of thinking results in so many equestrians struggling to progress in their riding or feeling a lack of control over their improvement and success.

This is not to suggest that horse care is not important, only that self-care is equally important. As an athlete, I have personally experienced the way an exhausted mind can sabotage even our finest efforts. Despite the best training and preparation, it can be incredibly challenging to succeed when your mind is tired, depleted, anxious, and full of self-doubt. As a coach, I have seen the frustration of clients when their hard work does not produce results in the ring because of anxiety and low confidence. As a mental performance consultant, I have come to understand the power and inevitable influence that our state of mind has on our success. With poor mental preparation, we can be thrown off course by the smallest of bumps in the road. But with excellent mental preparation we can succeed and progress regardless of the situation.

Below are examples of the negative effects of not looking after our state of mind. Have you experienced any of these?

• Rollercoaster of emotions • Sense of no control • Hopelessness • Always playing catch up • Poor recovery from setbacks • Overwhelming sense of failure • Not enjoying riding anymore, or as much • Inconsistent riding aides • Unfair frustration with your horse So, how do we begin to shift this identity within ourselves?

How do we find the time inside our busy, hectic, horse-loving lifestyles to prioritize our well-being? What does a healthy and helpful state of mind for equestrians even look like?

Below are some examples of the benefits of learning to manage our state of mind. When in your life have you experienced these?

• Emotional stability (fewer up and downs) • Quick recovery • Ability to turn setbacks into opportunities • Maximizing opportunities • Maximizing effort in training • More consistent results • Consistent aids, empathetic riding • Stronger relationships with our horses

Manage Your State of Mind The first step is to start thinking of yourself as an athlete and describing yourself to others as one. Even this small change will 50

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PETER TITMUSS

PROGRAMS INCLUDE: Animal Health Technology Equine Reproduction Technician Farrier Science Veterinary Medical Receptionist Veterinary Technical Assistant

Before mounting, centre yourself by taking five deep, slow breaths and focus on what you want to accomplish during your ride.

start to influence how you perceive yourself and begin to affect your choices around self-care. Working on our identity and state of mind is best done in small bits over time, and can be worked into any schedule. It is less about doing things differently, and more about thinking about things differently. Like all changes, this will take awareness and practice and lots of repetition, but the change will happen if you work at it.

These exercises will get you started on finding a helpful state of mind within yourself.

Exercise #1 — Learn to centre yourself before your ride.

Pause and take beforenumbers you mount.

Pull should the air into companies may notfive givebreaths their drivers’ out, they your stomach by inhaling through your nose.

Hold it there for five at least have an emergency contact system available to you. The seconds and exhale fully, making sure the exhale is longer than opposite is also true: If I have your horse on board, I need to know I your inhale.

Ask yourself: can talk to someone at any time if your horse has a problem.

• What do I want to accomplish in this ride? you provide updates?

•Can What is the one thing I need to do to make that happen?

A quick text or email at rest stops, border crossings, or Exercise #2 — Shift your mindset. other milestones along the way is not only professional, it’s just When you hitshould a setback, frameYou’re the struggle within lumber; the bigger something that be done. not shipping picture of our progress.

Instead of wallowing in the feeling of failure, you’re asking the hauler to care for a living being. Calls confirming always tell yourself you can do it… just not yet.

Adding “yet” delivery times, announcing delays, or other changes to the is a small but are powerful way brainyou from to problem itinerary a given; at to noshift timeour should be wallowing left in the dark solving.

There isyou always a way to excel in the things we find difficult about anything need to know. if we are willing to workfor hard.

However, weusually see ourinfailure as proof For example, except short hops, I if am contact that never the riders wealong wantthe to be, then we block our withwe mywill clients atbe several points journey.

If the client brain figuring out how to improve. most important belief is notfrom present at pickup, I’ll advise whenThe the horse is on board, we can hold is the belief that we can improve at anything, as long as and if necessary, revise the previous estimated time of arrival we are willing to put thelength, work. I will have already outlined rest (ETA).

Depending onintrip Theand bestprovided part of investing inestimate. yourself as an athlete learning stops an arrival I will adviseisETAs withhow the to managecontact, your state of if mind.

This will result in adelivery feeling of having receiving and the client is not at the point, I will notifytime them once the horse hasinbeen safely tucked in.it as a time more and mental freedom the future.

Think of investment. If we can learn to manage our emotional reactions, and What happens if my horse is injured or becomes increase our adaptability in challenging situations, we will recover ill onfrom board? faster setbacks, spend less time spinning in anxiety and selfThis is one of a multitude carriers have, doubt, and enhance the qualityof offears all ofprofessional our time spent with our horses. andIt’s wetime develop safety we can.

From preventative to shift ournets waywherever of thinking and embrace your measures support networks that include identity astoancomprehensive equestrian athlete.

More equal focus on both veterinarians if needed, reputable carriers strive provideand the athletes in this partnership will result in greatertosuccess safest environment for your horse.

If they cannot contact you well-being for ourselves and our horses. b within a reasonable period of time, they may elect to call a vet; if is necessary, youisare legally responsible any and all costs >this Annika McGivern a regular contributor for to this magazine. related that If the 67. carrier contacts you and you elect to Read to her biocall. on page decline veterinary intervention, then full responsibility for all consequences of that choice fall in your lap. This includes damage, risk, injury, or ailment to other horses on board, carrier personnel

APPLY NOW!

THE ORIGINAL TREELESS SADDLE®

! w e N

Genuine Bob Marshall Treed Saddle

Office Hours: 7am-4pm, Mon-Thurs, Central Time

(270) 988-2684 • sportssaddle@tds.net ™

www.sportssaddle.com SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

51

How to Format Your Ride

By Jec A. Ballou

52

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

PHOTO: CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY

TRAINING

Most of us intend for our daily rides to improve our horse at some level, either by adding to his physical conditioning or progressing his training skills. But whether or not your horse actually makes these gains often comes down to the amount of time you spend on each phase of the ride. The format of your ride determines the outcome of physical improvement.

For instance, if you spend too much, or too little, time on the warm-up phase, the horse will not make optimal muscle fibre recruitment and will likely fatigue quicker in your session, which diminishes the amount of productive training you can fit in.

Likewise, spending too much time, or not enough, on the schooling phase can lead to tired or under-utilized muscles, but not necessarily stronger ones. A loosely-applied formula, as I offer below, can help you derive the most from your daily rides and your horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fitness.

I should note that this formula applies regardless of whether you ride on trails or in an arena. Your daily ride should divide into three phases of more or less equal duration:

• Initial walking and warm-up: 33 percent • Schooling and conditioning: 33 percent • Flexibility and cooldown: 33 percent For simplicity, let’s look at how this breaks out for a one-hour ride, and then we will get more specific with the details. You would spend your first 10 minutes walking around, followed by a 10-minute warm-up. This walking and warm-up phase should take you one-third of the way through your hour. Now, you enter your 20-minute schooling or conditioning phase as I’ll explain below, which will bring you to two-thirds of the way through your hour. You will then spend the next 10 minutes on flexibility routines, followed by a 10-minute cooldown. That is how you structure a balanced session that prepares, works, and then adapts the body to gains.

Now let’s clarify the specifics of what is included in each phase of your ride.

Walking Phase Joint fluids require 10 minutes of slow movement to decrease their viscosity and lubricate the joints well. This is the reason for the age-old wisdom to walk a horse for 10 minutes before doing anything else with him. Until the fluids have thinned out, warmed up, and spread throughout the joint, the concussive forces of movement will be absorbed by the cartilage, which wears down quickly. The first phase of your session every single day, whether you are working the horse from the ground, going for a trail ride, or schooling in the arena, should entail walking him around for 10 minutes uninterrupted.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. B ALLOU

Throughout your ride be mindful of which phase you are in, and focus on what the horse’s body needs from that phase.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

53

EQUINE ESSENTIALS TACK & L AUNDRY SERVICES 604-992-5676 equineessentials@outlook.com GREYSTONE STABLES 6087 64th Street, Delta, BC

Award-winning content

ay!

Subscribe Tod “Great magazine...

hard to put down.” - Daphne Carter

Canada’s National Horse Magazine www.HORSEJournals.com 54

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

Warm-Up When a horse is in a resting state, which includes hanging out in his paddock, only 15 percent of blood volume is circulating to his muscles. During exercise, up to 85 percent of blood volume circulates to his muscles. This dramatic shift in distribution is possible through a graduated warm-up.

Otherwise, the body will work poorly.

This significant increase of blood and oxygen to muscles allows for faster delivery of energy. Blood and oxygen delivery also increase the elasticity of muscles and connective tissues. As oxygen consumption rises, the buffering capacity of muscle cells increases, thereby delaying the acidity that accumulates during exercise and leads to fatigue.

The intensity of your warm-up should be well below that of the athletic activity to follow, but it should be a rhythmic continuous bout of movement.

Wandering around at a walk does not count. Give yourself at least 10 minutes to conduct your warm-up, and be sure to make it active. This is not the time to dawdle listlessly. Spend most of this time trotting large circles and changes of

directions, riding transitions between trot and canter, and practicing a few speed changes within each gait.

Schooling This third of your ride is where you execute your plan or focus for the day.

This might include refining the dressage movements you are currently working on, or it might be performing a cavalletti pattern. If you are on the trail, this period will include faster gaits, hill climbs, perhaps more demanding terrain (fording creeks, mud, tall grasses, and so on).

Basically, this is the phase during any session where you are working, whether that means refining a skill or boosting fitness. Previous to this point in your session, you have been preparing the horse’s body systems for the work you will now ask of him during this 20-minute phase.

Within this block of work, you do want to give your horse short rest breaks at the walk, allowing him to stretch his neck out on long reins. A general rule of thumb is to offer these breaks every three to five minutes. The purpose of these breaks is to relieve pressure that builds

During the 10-minute walk phase at the end of your ride, you may choose to walk with loose reins, but you can also hack in a field or dismount and walk with your horse.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEC A. BALLOU

We carry all of your riding essentials!

up on the nerve endings and muscles, which soon blocks the transfer of oxygen, gases, and enzymes necessary to continue making comfortable, efficient muscular contractions. A 30-second break is sufficient. If you wander around longer than this, your horse’s neuromuscular system begins returning to a resting state. Use your watch; do allow your horse to walk and stretch out his neck, but after 30 seconds get back to work.

Put His Shine On! Your world revolves around your horse and so does ours! That is why we take great pride in creating grooming products that deliver superior results and are made with ingredients that respect the health of horses and the planet.

100% free of nasty chemicals, silicones, and parabens. GMO free.

we make horses beautiful. naturally. ecoliciousequestrian.com

Flexibility At the end of the schooling portion of your ride, you move seamlessly into the flexibility phase. The flexibility and cooldown phase will comprise the last third of your ride. Here is where you want to ensure that any muscular strength the horse acquires remains pliable and loose, meaning the muscle fibres do not clump together, nor does the connective tissue become shorter and thicker over time, which limits the body’s range of motion.

Flexibility drills can include riding the horse in a long and low neck position at all three gaits for a few moments, encouraging him to stretch well over his topline.

It can also include patterns that stretch the sides of the horse’s body, such as figure-eights or serpentines in a relaxed frame and calm speed. Towards the end of this phase, you begin to slow down all gaits and incorporate more walking.

100% Natural Organic 60 Minerals 12 Vitamins 21 Amino Acids TM

HORSES

Includes Iodine / Selenium / Biotin Vitamin E / Methionine / Lysine

And Much More Feed Only 35 Grams Daily

www.Ultra-Kelp.com • Toll Free 1-888-357-0011 150+ ACRE HORSE RANCH • PRINCE GEORGE, BC

Cooldown The 10 minutes of walking after a ride allows the muscles to gradually cease activity and, in so doing, clear out metabolic waste and stress hormones that are released during exercise and can lead to stiffness if allowed to sit or pool in the tissues. This process can greatly influence day-to-day muscle function. Most riders choose to walk around with loose reins in the arena during the cool down, which is perfectly fine. But feel free to get creative so long as you meet the 10-minute criteria. You might consider hacking around the field, dismounting and walking with your horse, or perhaps meandering around or over some obstacles if you have them available.

At any point in your ride, be clear which phase you are in and honour what the body needs and derives from each phase. In this way, your horse will excel as an athlete. b > Jec A. Ballou is a regular contributor to this magazine — read her bio on page 67.

Fenced/crossed fenced, paddocks, outdoor arenas, stables, covered round pen, cedar barn, “Silver Eagle Barn” with lighting and running water. Creek with water rights; 6 maintained dugouts for watering.

Access to Tabor Mountain Recreation area (250 km of mapped wilderness trail system).

2900 sq ft log home with amazing views, wrap around deck, walk out basement.

Separate caretaker property rented.

125 head of the most outstanding ‘Real Appaloosas’ found anywhere — five or more generations of exceptional progeny.

Home of prestigious BC Appaloosa Centre.

$1,720,000

CARRIE NICHOLSON PREC*

MLS® # R2441103

(250) 614-6766 • Prince George, BC carrie.nicholson@exprealty.com

Beware of the horse with a sense of humour — Pam Brown PHOTO: ISTOCK/RELAXFOTO.DE

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

55

Rider POSTURE WHAT IS ACTUALLY INVOLVED?

PHOTO: CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY

By Alexa Linton, Equine Sports Therapist

56

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

Get ready for a summer of pleasant riding with one of our As a rider, it can be tricky to discern exactly how much influence our structural alignment is having on our horse and our riding. The conversation about posture can be a complex and even frustrating one. In part, this is because we innately know that what is happening in our bodies can’t help but influence our horses, given their sensitivity to changes in weight and pressure, and the near impossibility of a rider being posturally “in tune” with their horse at every moment.

Posture, defined as the way someone holds their body while sitting or standing, often conjures visuals of pulling our shoulders back, standing tall, and taking on a near-military rigidness. Instead, we’re going to imagine it as a much more fluid concept, inclusive of freedom of movement, natural balance, and coordination. Ideally, in the saddle we will have a neutral pelvis supported on our seat bones, an aligned spine, the ability to take a full relaxed breath, and a sense of being supported by our skeletal structure without tension. Like our horses, most of us are carrying a variety of compensating and adapting postural patterns, dependent on environment, injuries or surgeries, stress levels, habitual movements, breathing patterns, and much more.

The position and mobility of a structure tell a story of how functional that structure is. For our discussion today,

we are more concerned with the functional movement of a structure, as is your horse. For example, positionally, the left side of my pelvis is high at all the main landmarks. But, if my pelvis is mobile, allowing it to be neutral and spine-aligned, and letting my body move freely, my mare Diva is happy to be ridden and is balanced on each rein. If my pelvis loses mobility, disrupting my ability to move with my horse, I notice an immediate change and resistance in Diva. Like myself, many of us may have body asymmetries that affect the position and/or the mobility of our structures and our posture.

Let’s take this example a little further by unpacking some of the reasons my positionally-asymmetrical pelvis might become limited in its mobility. First, I am prone to rigidity at the junction of the occiput and first cervical vertebrae, which causes my spine and pelvis to adapt to keep my eyes level and stay in a healthy relationship with gravity. With direct attachments in this region, the dural membranes running through the spine and attaching directly to the sacrum can restrict the mobility of my pelvis and my spine, especially when I am dehydrated or closer to my menstrual cycle. For riders who identify as women and have a cycle, or are in menopause, hormonal changes can have influences on your posture.

In this same vein, I have chronic tension at the root of the mesentery, which anchors

Riders should be mindful of their posture and consistently work to improve it. Most riders carry a variety of compensating and adapting postural patterns that impact their posture in and out of the saddle.

confident, family-friendly

TRAIL HORSES

15

TO CHOOSE FROM!

Prince George, BC appaloosacentre@telus.net

BC APPALOOSA CENTRE www.AppaloosaCentre.com

Myles Herman LANGLEY, BC 604-309-4616 mylesherman29@gmail.com

EQUINE BODYWORK Animal Structural Kinesiology

PHOTO: ISTOCK/SIMONKR

Sport New Forest Ponies

Competitive Ponies for Adults & Kids!

Pferde Traum Farm

Breton, AB • Dallas Grubenmann 780-898-9706 • dallas@ptfponypower.com

www.ptfponypower.com SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

57

ated Upd ula!

Form

supplements for horses

FORMULA 2 PELLETS

Biotin added • No added iron Now with MORE Vitamin E

www.drreeds.com

FEEL THE DIFFERENCE AIR RIDE CAN MAKE! 587-897-4625

www.shockerhitches.ca

Wisdom of the Herd

annpturner@shaw.ca 604-302-8229

P.Ann Turner — Equine Facilitator

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK_213774823

www.WisdomOfTheHerd.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEXA LINTON

Offering Empowerment & Personal Development using the Wisdom of the Herd

Aligned spine with slight asymmetry in pelvic landmarks (high on left). Horse helper is the beautiful Raven.

my small intestine to the posterior abdominal wall. My tight mesentery has a habit of adhering to my uterus, which can impact my mobility and posture of my lumbar spine, sacrum, and pelvis. It’s important to realize that your organs and viscera can become adhered together due to injuries/impacts, surgeries (scar tissue), chronic stress or inflammation, or certain health conditions. Like most riders, I’ve been injured — in my case a disc injury at L4-L5, close to my centre of gravity and impacting my postural stability, and a tailbone which, like many riders, has seen its fair share of direct blows and is connected directly to the alignment and free movement of my spine.

In my case, these factors cause me to have a hard time sitting in functional spinal alignment, moving my pelvis into a neutral position under my spine, finding my balance in the saddle, and rotating in my lower spine. My postural tendency is called an anterior type, where my chin is pulled out in front of my pubic symphysis, which affects my riding position and ability to balance in the saddle. A posterior type of posture would be the opposite, with the tendency for the chin to be behind the pubic symphysis.

Posture is not as simple as get your shoulders back, get your heels down, and get your leg under you. Forcing these changes can create unnecessary tension in your

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALEXA LINTON

When in doubt, let your horse figure it out.

ARCHED BACK AND RIGID SPINE, ANTERIOR TILT IN PELVIS.

58

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

ALIGNED SPINE AND NEUTRAL PELVIS.

system, reducing the effectiveness of your riding and the happiness of your horse.

There are multiple variables in your own story that led you to your current posture, and it takes time and commitment to work with these variables in lasting ways to create an ever more functional and integral posture.

How do we begin?

I will start by saying bluntly that if you plan to ride your horse, you need to also plan to work with your posture regularly and consistently, to ensure the well-being of your horse and yourself. As an equine sports therapist, most non-ridden horses I see are far more comfortable than their ridden counterparts, and I really hope to see that change in my lifetime. Since I’ve shared my unique posture story, I’ll also share my strategies for creating change, and some of the ways you can work with your posture as well.

Your daily practices — Every day I work with body awareness, stretching, breath work, and movement (including strength and coordination-building activities).

Multiple times a day I do a full body scan, notice my areas of tension, and breathe into them. As riders, we need to have a consistent self-care practice. I highly

recommend checking out the Feldenkrais Method and the Alexander Technique to work with body awareness and your breath in and out of the saddle. One of my favourite books on this related to riding is Centered Riding by Sally Swift.

Your team — You may be reading this thinking of the manual therapist who has changed your life and posture, and that’s awesome. But for many, it can be challenging to dedicate the money and time for regular body work, and to find a modality that is effective. For my body, the game changer was osteopathy. Before this work I didn’t realize that my organs could be part of my posture and mobility issue; that my sacrum and base of skull were completely locked; that there was a structure called the dura mater that was limiting my spinal and pelvic mobility; and that my riding posture was distinctly a tension-ridden, “toilet seat” position that was restricting/blocking the movement of my horse. Osteopathy is an investment, but my body and my horse thank me daily.

Chiropractic, physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage, rolfing, or a combination can all be helpful — find what works best for your body. Ask your friends — referrals are my preferred way to find the right fit. Receive professional support around a specific stretching and strengthening practice that will improve your unique posture. Work with a riding instructor who can support you to grow your body awareness and cultivate functional and horse-friendly biomechanics in the saddle.

Your horse — Listen to your horse. If he is resistant on one lead, to collection, in transitions, to moving forward, or even to being ridden at all, he may be attempting to get a message across about your current posture and alignment. He may be telling you to begin with bodywork before riding is your priority. When you ride, start mindfully at a walk and find a neutral position in your seat bones and spine; feel your full breath, noticing the movement of your pelvis with each stride. Pay close attention to the responses of your horse and follow the relaxation. After all, the goal is for both horse and rider to enjoy themselves.

Custom Horse Hair Jewelry Original Designs Handmade in Canada Expert Craftsmanship Sterling Silver & 14k gold

terena@silverhaylo.com • 604-943-5183

www.SilverHaylo.com

FERRIS FENCING

Quality Products • Prompt Service See our ElectroTape and Rope CATALOGUE Portable and Permanent on website — Electric Systems request a copy PastureLIne with pricing - 4mm Monofilament • Diamond Mesh

• No-Climb • Vinyl Post & Rail

• General Farm,

• Woodguard • Gates & Accessories Wildlife & Predator Control - Electric Nets

Your Equine & Farm Fence Specialists info@ferrisfencing.com • 1-800-665-3307

www.ferrisfencing.com

HORSE CAMPGROUND

The conversation about posture is a huge one and we’ve just scratched the surface, but I hope you’re now thinking about what might work for you, and what might be impacting your posture in and out of the saddle. Good luck and happy trails! b COLLAPSED POSTURE, POSTERIOR TILT IN PELVIS.

> Alexa Linton is a regular contributor to this magazine. Read her bio on page 67.

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

59

NOTES FROM THE OFFICE

BY JOCELYN ADAMS

HCBC 40th Anniversary Photo Contest

We know you’ve got beautiful, funny, touching images of your time with your horses and we want to celebrate that! With 2020 not going according to anyone’s plan, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate our members.

We are giving away HCBC 40th Anniversary Prize Packs for the best photos in the following categories: • On the Trail – Your best shots from BC trails • Pony Tails Kids Club Shutterbug Photographers 12 and under • Coaches Corner – Your best shots of life as a coach or coaching in action • Throwback – Shots from over the years, prizes could be awarded for the best photo for 40 years of Competition, Industry, Recreation, and Coaching • Life with Horses – Open category Winners will also be featured in the Fall/Winter edition of BC Equine Lifestyle Magazine.

The Contest will be judged by Orville Smith, Liz Saunders and Karen Swantje (two past HCBC presidents, and our current HCBC President).

CONTEST DETAILS • Contest closes September 13, 2020. Contest is open from 12:00am June 6, 2020 to 11:59pm September 13, 2020.

• HCBC supports and promotes the use of helmets while riding or driving, and your photo subjects must be wearing helmets if riding or driving.

• Any current member of Horse Council BC may enter.

• All photos to be submitted to communication@hcbc.ca with HCBC Photo Release Form, found on the HCBC website.

• Full contest rules and details are available at www.hcbc.ca.

HOW TO REACH US OFFICE HOURS: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm OFFICE ADDRESS:

27336 Fraser Highway, Aldergrove, BC, V4W 3N5 PHONE: 604-856-4304 • FAX: 604-856-4302 TOLL-FREE: 1-800-345-8055 WEBSITE: www.hcbc.ca

60

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

HCBC Event Directory

2020 Core Grant Recipients

We know this year hasn’t gone according to the plan, and we want to give BC clubs the opportunity to raise awareness about your educational events or schooling days on the HCBC Event Directory. Email communication@hcbc.ca for more information.

Core funds are provincial funds targeted for events or projects that support sport growth and development. An approved event or project will be open to all qualified participants in your area, not just your club members. The event or project must support the goals of HCBC for developing sport within the province. Clubs are expected to charge participants reasonable registration fees. Money will be released only after a financial report, receipts, and an event summary are received by HCBC. We are pleased to announce the 2020 Core Grant recipients by club name and project: • BCHBC West Kootenay Chapter — Mountain Trail Pond • Campbell Valley Equestrian Society — Show Jumping Arena Footing Improvement • Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association — Sensory Trail • Kelowna Riding Club — Jump Shed • Northern Saddle Club — Main Arena Repairs • Prince George Horse Society — Indoor Arena Revitalization • Southlands Riding Club — Synthetic Footing Arena Groomer Upgrade • Vimy Western Riding Club — Concession Upgrade

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: administration@hcbc.ca

RECREATION & TRAILS: recreation@hcbc.ca

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY: industry@hcbc.ca

COMPETITION: competition@hcbc.ca

MEMBERSHIP: membership@hcbc.ca

HCBC FORUMS: forums@hcbc.ca

COACHING & EDUCATION: coaching@hcbc.ca MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS:

communication@hcbc.ca

HCBC BOOKSTORE: bookstore@hcbc.ca FINANCE & GRANT FUNDING: finance@hcbc.ca HARASSMENT POLICY: harassment@hcbc.ca

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/ROLF DANNENBERG

HCBC is Celebrating 40 Years and We Want to Share Your Photos!

PRODUCT REVIEW IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

PEAK Equestrian Angled Stirrup Irons PEAK Equestrian, a division of Corma Industries Inc., is a Calgary-based manufacturer and retailer of PEAK Stirrups, angled English stirrup irons. These irons have an angled footbed, designed to keep the hunter/ jumper rider confident and in control by helping to maintain the heels down position in the saddle, a correct leg position, and by reducing the strain on ankles, knees, and hips.

They are available in three different angles:

four degrees, six degrees, and eight degrees, to suit the needs of the individual rider. Made from high-quality mid-weight aluminum, the stirrups contain a wide footbed with a strong tread to keep the foot stable in the iron and prevent it from slipping.

I am currently riding my horse in a dressage saddle, so I recruited students and friends to help test these stirrups out — but not before I tried them myself. I tested

PHOTO: CANSTOCK/CONLEYSHORSEPHOTOS

Does Your Business Need Strong Promotion That Gets The Job Done?

The promotion with Horse Journals was very successful — and I hope we get to do it again, soon! — RCMP Foundation for the Horse Auction We’re going to keep advertising because we know it’s working.

— Maple Lane Equestrian Trailers

Let us work hard for your business.

Horse Community Journals Inc., Publishers of...

1-800-299-3799 • sales@horsejournals.com 62

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

REVIEWED BY APRIL D. RAY

stirrups angled at six degrees, and found them to be a perfect weight. The timing was exceptional as I had just run a half marathon, and not wanting my horse to have any time off I rode the day after, despite being incredibly stiff and sore. I found with the PEAK stirrup irons, the pressure on my joints was relieved and I was able to easily keep my heels down with little to no effort.

Once I had ridden in them for a few days, I gave them to Julia, a student of mine, who immediately commented on how easy it was to keep her heels down and her leg in place — something her sensitive mare truly appreciated. Previously, anytime Julia was off balance, or her leg didn’t stay underneath her, her mare would act up. Another rider at the barn tried the stirrups and liked them so much she has already committed to buying a pair. A long-time hunter/jumper rider with various injuries and resulting stiffness in her joints, she noticed a huge difference after riding in them just one day, and found she preferred them over her other stirrups.

While there are countless options out there for irons, I would highly recommend these. Not only are they made in Canada, (the Canadian flag embedded in the footbed is a subtle reminder of this), but they are also well designed and incredibly effective. Not having to fight against your tack while riding is beneficial for riders of all levels, and these stirrups help to keep your leg in place, which is essential for a good ride. These well-designed irons would also benefit anyone experiencing joint pain or stiffness, something that often goes hand-in-hand with the sport.

With a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, you really can’t go wrong.

To learn more, please visit > www.peakequestrian.com.

SPONSORED

Benefits of a Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle

Increasing the horse’s comfort is always a good idea — and now it’s easier than ever to go bitless. The Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle is designed to allow gentle, effective control with pressure that is distributed evenly around the horse’s head.

Sometimes, when you just can’t find a bit that works, or your horse seems to resent riding altogether, the Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle could be the answer. Whether you ride English or Western, using a bitless bridle — even for a short period of time — can be like a new beginning for your horse and riding program.

With increased comfort, the horse becomes a happier, more willing partner, leading to improvements in performance, safety, and your overall riding enjoyment.

There are numerous benefits to using a bitless bridle. If you suspect mouth discomfort might be a factor in undesirable behavior, removing the bit will help pinpoint the problem. On long trail rides, there will be no bit to hinder grazing and drinking. Horses that have had recent dental work, or seniors with tooth issues, will appreciate the bitless comfort. And for the riding school or therapeutic horse, whose riders have not developed an independent seat and soft hands, removing the bit will allow them to relax and focus on their rider more intently.

The transition to riding bitless requires a surprisingly small amount of time and effort — often just one ride. As with introducing any new tack or equipment, it’s best to start in a small enclosed area, such as a round pen or indoor arena.

The Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle was devel-

oped after years of research. It’s made in the USA out of premium American materials, marketed all over the world, and used in all disciplines.

For more information, please visit > www.bitlessbridle.com

SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

63

2020 CanTRA Awards

Congratulations to our award winners!

The beauty of a community, working together, is an extraordinary thing. The CanTRA Awards tap into our most valuable assets and showcase the key people

BY BREN PICKEL without whom our programs would fail to exist!

The Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association

KERRY HOULDING

Kerry Houlding, The Equestrian Association for the Disabled (TEAD), ON “Kerry is a pretty special lady. To know her is to love and admire her!” — Hilary Webb, CanTRA Coach and Examiner.

In 2001, Kerry Houlding started at TEAD as a volunteer. With a Masters in Behavioural Science and her work in intensive behavioural intervention helping children with autism, she was an asset to the program. After completing more than 100 volunteer hours, it was inevitable for her to step into the study and process to achieve her CanTRA instructor certification.

In 2019, Kerry decided to continue building upon her skill set and experience. Contacting the CanTRA Equine-Facilitated Wellness (EFW) Committee, she set about acquiring all of the qualifications needed to become a certified EFW Mental Health Professional. While working www.HORSE Journals.com

::

Marion Chartley Award for Outstanding Administrator Roberta Landry, Cavalier Therapeutic Riding Club, NB

Andrea Gillies Award for Outstanding Instructor

64

“An open mind and fluidity are other beautiful qualities that Kerry demonstrates, and it sets her apart from other instructors.

She finds that certain connection point, and she compassionately understands that abilities are not a static thing. She realizes that what people can tolerate fluctuates from day to day, and one lesson to the next.

Kerry has this unique ability to ensure as much benefit and joy is gained from each experience as possible.”

— Amelia Kowalyshyn, Mom to three riders.

SUMMER 2020

“This lady goes above and beyond for the club every single day; you could say she’s ‘the backbone’… truly.” — Debbie Wilson, Instructor.

In 1998, Roberta Landry and her husband, Jim, bought a farm in Riverview, NB, that housed the Cavalier Riding Club. They both wanted to see the program continue, and Roberta immediately became immersed in the club.

Attending lessons each night, first as a representative of the farm, she quickly joined in as a horse handler and side walker, helping with whatever was needed. She always made sure that the ring was clean and ready for the club, and helped out around the barn with grooming, tacking, and organizing volunteers.

As time passed, Roberta became a member of the Board of Directors, instrumental with fundraising and administration. To this day, she takes on the vital task of coordinating the rider schedules, which is not an easy job. With many phone calls and a lot of discussions, she sets each

ROBERTA LANDRY

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAVALIER RIDING CLUB

PHOTO COURTESY OF TEAD

towards her qualification, she designed, marketed, and implemented the EquineAssisted Social and Relational Skills Building Unmounted Program at TEAD. Programs such as this are paramount in alternative therapies, meeting a variety of special needs.

rider in the right lesson that works with everyone’s schedule.

Over the past few years, Roberta held the position of Vice President and stepped into the President’s seat when it became necessary. In that role, Roberta managed and oversaw the relocation of the club to another property, their current home in Irishtown, NB. “With her years of experience and knowledge in all aspects of the program, Roberta has proved to be a huge asset to the club. Without her, I don’t think the club would still be going.”

— Patricia Carter, Treasurer and Lesson Volunteer at Cavalier.

Rhonda Davies Award for Outstanding Volunteer(s) Wayne & Brenda Singbeil, Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association (VTEA), BC “They are our ‘Dynamic Duo,’ and to nominate one without the other would be like trying to separate the yin from the yang – it is simply

Circle F Horse Rescue ABBOTSFORD, BC

not possible.” — Lynn Moseley, Director, VTEA.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VTEA

“I hope that they continue to enjoy all that they do, as that is what keeps them coming back every day, and their spirit is infectious — something that every nonprofit organization needs.” — Jackie van Dassen, CPA, CA Interim President.

WAYNE & BRENDA SINGBEIL

Finding loving homes for abused, neglected or surrendered horses for over 20 years.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

PHOTO: LINDY MAYER

Eleven years ago, the VTEA relocated to its current location across the street from the Singbeils. What started as a simple act of kindness, helping a neighbour during a snowstorm, blossomed into one of the most dedicated relationships in VTEA’s history.

As Board Secretary, Brenda is very involved behind the scenes at VTEA. She works diligently on policy and procedure protocols, keeps track of volunteers’ hours, and is a key organizer with fundraisers and events.

Wayne wears many hats around VTEA. Ever the handyman, from building paddocks, to installing sprinkler systems, and harrowing the arena, he also volunteers his time leading and side walking in therapeutic lessons. And then he sits down on the Board of Directors.

Brenda and Wayne’s investment in VTEA has even rubbed off on their grandchildren, who are now helping out around the property!

Must be over 18 years old.

At least 2 years of horse experience preferred.

CircleF.HorseRescue@outlook.com www.Circle-F.org RUSTY’S MOON (AKA ROSIE)

CanTRA Outstanding Therapy Horse Rusty’s Moon, Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association (VTEA), BC “The sweetest mare you will ever meet. Rosie has the kindest temperament and the heart of an angel. Always ready to work, always ready to please. She loves her job, and it shows.”

— Lynn Moseley, Director, VTEA. This striking red roan splash-overo Paint mare, Rusty’s Moon (aka Rosie), has “been there, done that.” Rosie had worked as a lesson horse throughout her career, and landed at VTEA when her current owner began volunteering with them over five years ago. When used for hippotherapy, Rosie is relied upon to provide steady and robust movement. Her personality shines when she is working with some of VTEA’s more timid riders.

Rosie touched the heart and soul of one rider in particular: that of Fran McGuckin.

Rosie and Fran became partners in VTEA’s Senior’s Hippotherapy pilot project. At age 69, with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and as a brain injury survivor, Fran suffers many residual effects, including anxiety and depression.

The confidence, joy, and peace of mind restored in Fran through her interactions with Rosie became the impetus to write again. Their story is now part of the popular collected series Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive, Live Happy.

FORTUNE SEEKER • GELDING • 16.3 hh Ernie is a very friendly guy.

He looks forward to his training sessions and is an enthusiastic ride.

“While the job of a therapy horse is not an easy one, Rosie does it with such grace and willingness; she is one of the cornerstones of Valley.” — Kristin Griffin, Director, VTEA.

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| For more information about Instructor Certification, Educational Online Webinars, and CanTRA Membership please contact our Head Office at ctra@golden.net.

Follow us on Facebook @CanTRA_ACET and visit > www.CanTRA.ca.

ADOPT • VOLUNTEER • DONATE

Dedicated to finding adoptive homes and new careers for former Thoroughbred racehorses.

778-985-5673 • www.newstride.com SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

65

EST. Morning Star Acres Inc. 2007

A place where it’s all about the horses, not the breed.

Manitoba Horse Council Serving Manitoba’s Equine Community

By Linda Hazelwood, MHC Business Manager and ex-Recreation Chair

Are We There Yet?

Equine Rehabilitation & Rescue Facility (NFP)

Specializing in rehabilitating, retraining, and rehoming Harcourt, NB horses of all breeds.

WORKING CLOSELY www.MorningStarAcres.webs.com

DONATE TODAY

WITH NBSPCA

gogetfunding.com/project/ morning-star-acres-fund

THOROUGHBRED RETIREMENT

SOCIETY

Finding Permanent, Loving Homes for Retired Racehorses.

Do you have room in your heart and home for a new friend?

For everyone it’s been a long winter and spring, and it’s developing into a longer summer as we try to make the best of the situation. But horse people are used to weathering adversity, right? At Manitoba Horse Council (MHC), just like the other provincial associations representing horse people, since March we’ve been in a “hurry up and wait” position. Like everyone else, we’ve been learning new technologies, new protocols, and doing our best to help our members come to terms with what COVID-19 has meant to the lives we took for granted with our horses.

Manitoba horse people have been more fortunate than some other provinces; as a well-spread out community not linked to a major travel hub, the province was shut down very quickly and managed to keep a grip on COVID-19 cases. Although horse riding was at first classed as “recreational riding,” we also maintained the position that boarders were essential services for their horses. In the absence of support staff, boarders were able to carry on providing daily care and exercise, as long as the management of the boarding barn was comfortable maintaining COVID-19 protocols.

MHC was able to work for members and prepare their Return to Play protocols for provincial approval very quickly (thank you for the groundwork, Equestrian Canada!), and widened activities within those parameters.

We hope that our province’s managers now understand that distance riding is not done in an arena, and polo needs a field bigger than a soccer pitch — and there are no nets to sanitize. Just kidding! Our provincial managers have been awesome.

MHC’s Equestrian Facility in Bird’s Hill Park was able to open in mid-June, with Manitoba Hunter Jumper Association working with Manitoba Horse Trials to provide

opportunities for training. At the same time, MHC opened up one of the largest sand rings for one-hour flat practice sessions four evenings a week, so flat riders could remind their horses what is was like to ride next to dragon bleachers and things blowing in the wind.

We congratulate members who renewed their MHC memberships to maintain the valuable insurance options that come along with that. Every year, we repeat the message that MHC membership starts January 1 and coverage starts the minute a member renews, so it’s risky to wait until show season to get that important coverage.

Looking at the bigger picture, a strong horse industry benefits everyone — through strength of numbers, provincial horse associations were able to back Equestrian Canada’s program to provide support for lesson horses in jeopardy when riding facilities were closed to the public.

Your Manitoba Horse Council continues to work for you behind the scenes, and hopes to see you all at events in the coming months.

See our web page for horses available for adoption.

How to Reach Us

Volunteers are always welcome!

Donate Today – Help a Retired Racehorse!

Gunningforfranks, LongRun Graduate

Follow us on Facebook:

LongRunTB

www.longrunretirement.com

66

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

Manitoba Horse Council, 145 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2Z6 PHONE (204) 925-5719 EMAIL mhc.exec@sportmanitoba.ca WEBSITE www.manitobahorsecouncil.ca FACEBOOK Manitoba Horse Council; Manitoba Recreational Riders

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/TSPIDER

My Jimmy 2003-2019

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS

>>>> INDEX TO ADVERTISERS <<< 5 Star Equine Products................................................45

Affordable Barns............................................................ 46

Margaret Evans Margaret Evans is an award-winning freelance writer/journalist and author with over 45 years’ experience. She has written for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, and has published five books.

She offers clinics and courses in writing, editorial services, and gives multimedia talks. www.EarthwaysMedia.com

Alexa Linton A modern-day cowgirl with a mission, Alexa Linton is known for lighting up her world with her infectious personality, bold facilitation style, often irreverent tongue-in-cheek writing, and her menagerie of a therapy practice. With over 12 years of experience working with horses as an equine sports therapist, as well as thousands of other animals and people, Alexa has developed a therapeutic style that is both intuitive and highly collaborative. She is currently a fifth year student of human osteopathy, the co-founder of the Cowgirl Re-union, the creator of the Whole Horse Apprenticeship, author of Death Sucks: A Straight-Up Guide to Navigating Your Pet’s Final Transition, and co-steward of Firefly Farm in the gorgeous Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, where she lives with her horse, Diva, dogs Reilly and Kia, and cat, Parker. www.AlexaLinton.com

Shelagh Niblock PAS Shelagh Niblock PAS is an equine nutritionist with an extensive background in both ruminant nutrition and forage science as it relates to both horses and ruminants. She has spent more than 35 years in the feed industry in BC, and her lengthy experience working initially as a dairy nutritionist piqued her interest in the contribution made by forages to the diets of our horses. Her work in ruminant nutrition has given her some unique insights into equine hind gut health and its impact on equine performance and health.

Shelagh currently practices as an equine nutritional consultant, offering advice on the successful feeding and husbandry of horses.

Shelagh is a horse owner herself and an enthusiastic pleasure rider who is especially interested in the disciplines of dressage and three-day eventing.

Jec Aristotle Ballou Jec Aristotle Ballou trains in Santa Cruz, CA, when not giving clinics around the United States. She is the author of 101 Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider, Equine Fitness, and 101 Western Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider. For further resources on the above topics, she recommends Beyond Horse Massage by Jim Masterson. Jec's newly published book, 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses, helps resolve chronic postural imbalances and challenges that inhibit many performance horses. www.JecBallou.com

Dr. Kirby Penttila Dr. Kirby Penttila, DVM is a veterinarian and practice owner at Burwash Equine Services, Ltd. She graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, SK, and went on to complete an internship in private practice at Idaho Equine Hospital in Nampa, ID. Burwash Equine Services, Ltd. is an exclusively equine practice in Calgary, AB that offers a wide range of veterinary services to a clientele that varies from World Champions and Olympians to backyard horse owners. www.burwashequine.ca

Annika McGivern Annika McGivern is a Mental Performance Consultant who grew up as a Three-Day-Event rider in British Columbia.

Her passion for eventing took her to Ireland, Australia, and America as a working student to world class riders, where she developed a keen interest in the psychological side of sport and performance. Annika has a BA in Psychology, an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and seven years experience as a certified Equestrian Canada Competition Coach. Annika works with athletes and coaches, in person and online, to help them find enjoyment and satisfaction in their sport through achieving their best possible results and outcomes. www.annikamcgivern.com

Anvil Brand......................................................................... 11

Bar-Bar-A............................................................................47 BC Appaloosa....................................................................57

Bear Valley Rescue....................................................... 66

CADORA Inc........................................................................63 Canadian Horse Journal.............35, Inside B/Cover

CapriCMW.......................................................................9, 42 Castle Plastics..................................................................16 Celebration of Horses Photo Contest................... 2

CF Fence.............................................................................. 21 Circle F Horse Rescue...................................................65

Cowboy Magic...................................................................29 Denco Storage Sheds....................................................31

Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle..................................................63 Dr. Reed’s Supplements for Horses.................... 58

Eaglewood Equestrian Supplies..............................59 EcoLicious Equestrian..................................................55

Equiade Inc........................................................................25

Equine Choice.................................................................. 30

Equine Essentials Tack & Laundry Services.....54

Equine Foundation of Canada ................................65 Equinerehab.ca National School of Equine Massage............. 50

EQyss......................................................Outside B/Cover Farrier’s Fix Hoof Oil.................................................... 20

Ferris Fencing ..................................................................59

Goldenwings Horseshoes .......................................... 21 Hoofjack .............................................................................19

Horse Council BC............................................................61

Horse Habit, The............................................................. 21 Integrated Bio...................................................................47

KIOTI......................................................................................39 Life Data Labs................................................................... 17

LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society... 66 Magic Cushion (Absorbine)........................................15

Main ‘n Tail........................................................................... 1 Maple Lane Equestrian Trailers..............................45 McIntosh ProLine............................................................13

Morning Star Acres........................................................ 66

MS Schippers....................................................................24 Myles Herman - Equine Bodywork .......................57

New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society........65 Nicholson, Carrie - EXP Realty.................................55

Okanagan School of Natural Hoof Care..............18 Olds College......................................................................51

Otter Co-op.............................................Inside F/Cover PEAK Equestrian .............................................................45

Peruvian Horse of Canada ....................................... 58

Pferde Traum Farm........................................................57 PrairieCoast Equipment .............................................33

Prestige Italia .................................................................... 7

Professional Farrier Supply.......................................19

Pyranha Pest Control ..................................................27

Saugeen Bluffs Horse Campground......................59 SciencePure Neutraceuticals......................................5

Shocker Hitches.............................................................. 58

ShowSheen (Absorbine)............................................. 49 Silver Haylo - Custom Horse Hair Jewelry.........59

Sports Saddle ..................................................................51

Summerside Tack & Equestrian Wear...................3 Thinline Canada ...............................................................3 Tram Sales ........................................................................32

Ultra-Kelp ..........................................................................55

Award Winning Content

UltraShield (Absorbine)...............................................41

University of Guelph ................................................... 40 We Cover Structures......................................................43

Whole Horse Apprenticeship - Alexa Linton....53

Wickaninnish Inn............................................................53 Wisdom of the Herd..................................................... 58 SUMMER 2020

::

CANADIAN HORSE JOURNAL

67

ROUNDUP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISUBSCRIBER SUBSCRIBER SERVICES SERVICES

Eric Lamaze and Hickstead to be Inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame SOURCE: STARTING GATE COMMUNICATIONS

PHOTO: CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY

2008 Beijing Olympic show jumping champions Eric Lamaze and Hickstead will be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020/21. The announcement was made in Calgary, Alberta, on May 27, 2020.

Together, Lamaze and Hickstead wrote show jumping history. Their crowning achievement was claiming the individual gold and team silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Lamaze and Hickstead also earned an individual bronze medal at the 2010 World Championships where Hickstead was awarded the title of “Best Horse.” They won team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2007 Pan

68

www.HORSE Journals.com

::

SUMMER 2020

American Games, as well as several major grand prix show jumping titles including Calgary (2007 and 2011), Geneva (2008), Aachen (2010), La Baule (2011), and Rome (2011).

“It is an honour for myself and Hickstead to be recognized for our achievements by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame,” said Lamaze, 52. “I’m especially happy for Hickstead. In our sport, it takes two athletes, one human and one equine, working together, and in Hickstead I found a true partner. It’s wonderful that his accomplishments are being recognized for the great athletic feats that they were.

“Together, we were proud to represent Canada on the world stage,” continued Lamaze.

“My sincerest thanks to all who supported this nomination and made it possible. I gratefully accept this honour on behalf of all of our supporters, our fans, and our great nation.”

In addition to being inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, Lamaze will receive the Order of Sport, Canada’s highest sporting honour.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, traditionally held each October in Toronto, ON, will not take place in 2020. Rather, it will be deferred for one year, making Lamaze and Hickstead part of the class of 2020/21.

Lamaze and Hickstead will be the second horse-rider combination ever inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, following Ian Millar and Big Ben’s induction in 1996.

Hickstead (Hamlet – Jomara x Ekstein) was bred in The Netherlands by Jan van Schijndel and born on March 2, 1996. Lamaze purchased the Dutch Warmblood stallion in 2004 through Stephex Stables in Belgium, and owned him in partnership with John Fleischhacker’s Ashland Stables of the United States. Prior to his tragic death during competition in Italy in 2011, Hickstead earned more than $3 million in prize money during his career with Lamaze, and was widely considered to be the best show jumping horse of his era.

Having competed at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio Olympics, Lamaze is now focused on representing Canada at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He owns and operates Torrey Pines Stable, a large show jumping training and sales business with bases in Wellington, Florida, and Brussels, Belgium, where he trains many students from various nationalities at the elite level.

For more information > www.ericlamaze.com For more information on Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the class of 2020/21 > www.sportshall.ca.

Do you need to — • Renew your subscription?

• Give a gift subscription?

• Change your address?

• Report a delivery problem?

• Ask a question?

From time to time, Canadian Horse Journal makes its names and addresses available to carefully screened organizations who want to let you know about a product or service that might interest you.

If you do not want your name, address, or email address made available, please let us know.

www.horsejournals.com EMAIL: subscriptions@horsejournals.com PHONE: 1-800-299-3799 OR (250) 655-8883

How to Reach Us Display Advertising: sales@horsejournals.com Editorial, General Inquiries: editor@horsejournals.com Subscriptions: subscriptions@horsejournals.com or www.horsejournals.com News, Show reports: news@horsejournals.com Phone (all depts): 1-800-299-3799 (250) 655-8883 Fax line (all depts): (250) 655-8913 Mail: Suite 202, 2400 Bevan Avenue, Sidney, BC, V8L 1W1

www.HORSEJournals.com b

My Horse b My Passion

My Magazine

t s e B ver BOGO Sale!

E Subscribe Today During Our Double-The-Term Subscription Sale Get 2 years for the price of 1: $24 (reg $37)

66% Off the Cover Price!

Canada’s Only National Horse Magazine is for all breeds and disciplines

OR

Get 4 years for the price of 2: $37 (reg $59)

75% Off the Cover Price!

Offer available to Canadian residents for new subscriptions, renewals, extending the term of a current subscription, and gifts.

How to Order

visit

www.horsejournals.com

b call

1-800-299-3799

Your Subscription Includes: • • • •

b email

6 BIG BI-MONTHLY ISSUES per year Both Print and Digital editions Canada’s Equine Guide — Special Annual Award-Winning Content

subscriptions@horsejournals.com