equine Living naturally!
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Inside:
WELLNESS
wellness resource guide
Your natural resource!
5 must-have tools for clear communication Horse
Charming How to create a playday for your horse
8 tips for better
saddle fit SEPT/OCT. 2006 Display until Oct. 23, 2006 $5.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2
Tooth or consequences
Is his mouth balanced?
www.EquineWellnessMagazine.com equine wellness
contents
42 Photo: Horsemanship for Women
columns 8 Neighborhood news
56
Book reviews
20 Holistic veterinary advice
57
Horsemanship tip
62
Tail end
51
Heads up!
25 Product picks
57
Events calendar
39 Wellness resource guide
58
Marketplace
Talking with Dr. Heather Mack & Dr. Joyce Harman
54 Did you know?
departments
46 Photo: Elizabeth V. Williams
6 Editorial
Equine Wellness Magazine (ISSN 1718-5793) is published six times a year by Redstone Media Group Inc. Publications Mail Agreement #40884047. Entire contents copyright© 2006. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Publication date: August, 2006
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Reba, a 13-year-old 17 H Belgian mare, was born and still enjoys life on photographer Christina Handley’s farm in Burnt River, Ontario. Christina describes Reba as a “sweetheart and a big suck who loves attention”. Reba and her two mates, a Belgian and a Belgian cross mare like to eat and hang out, and model for “mom” in their spare time. Says Christina, “They have a home here with us until the end.”
Photo: Christina Handley
Photo: Spencer LaFlure
Our Cover:
Volume 1 Issue 2 Editorial Department Editor-in-Chief: Dana Cox Senior Editor: Lisa Ross-Williams Graphic Design: Stephanie Wright Yvonne Hollandy Photography: Christina Handley Columnists & Contributing Writers Jessica Lynn David Lichman Heather Mack, DVM Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS Sabine Schleese Mary Ann Simonds Karen Scholl Genevieve Berardino Spencer LaFlure Frank Gravlee, DVM, MS, CNS Anna Twinney Melanie Sue Bowles Administration Publisher: redstone media group inc. President/C.E.O.: Tim Hockley Office Manager: Lesia Wright Information Services Director: Vaughan King Administrative Associate: Samantha Saxena Administrative Assistant: Joanne Rockwood Marketing and Cirulation coordinator: Devon Sibbett Submissions: Please send all editorial material, advertising material, photos
and correspondence to Equine Wellness Magazine, 164 Hunter St. West, Peterborough, ON, Canada K9H 2L2. We welcome previously unpublished articles and color pictures either in transparency or disc form at 300 dpi. We cannot guarantee that either articles or pictures will be used or that they will be returned. We reserve the right to publish all letters received. Email your articles to: submissions@equinewellnessmagazine.com. Advertising Sales Lesley Nicholson - National Sales Manager (866) 764-1212 lesley@redstonemediagroup.com Suzanne Pieper - Western Sales Representative (707) 331-0356 suzanne@redstonemediagroup.com Becky Starr - Sales Representative (213) 793-1867 becky@redstonemediagroup.com Anne Gibson - Canadian Regional Manager: (866) 464-5214 agibson@redstonemediagroup.com Classified Advertising classified@redstonemediagroup.com
To subscribe: Subscription price at time of this issue in the U.S. $22.95 and
Canada is $24.95 including taxes for six issues shipped via surface mail. Subscriptions can be processed by: Website: www.equinewellnessmagazine.com Phone: 1-866-764-1212 US Mail: Equine Wellness Magazine, PMB 168, 8174 S. Holly St., Centennial, CO 80122 CDN Mail: Equine Wellness Magazine, 164 Hunter St. W., Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9H 2L2 Subscriptions are payable by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, check or money order. The material in this magazine is not intended to replace the care of veterinary practitioners. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor, and different views may appear in other issues. Refund policy: call or write our customer service department and we will refund unmailed issues. Dealer or Group Inquiries Welcome: Equine Wellness Magazine is available at a discount for resale in retail shops and through various organizations. Call 1-866-764-1212 and ask for dealer magazine sales, fax us at 705-742-4596 or e-mail at sales@equinewellnessmagazine.com. Printed in Canada
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Improving the lives of animals... one reader at a time.
equine wellness
ProBioTICs:
by Jessica Lynn
Bugs you DO want in your horse’s life
ESOPHAGUS STOMACH SMALL INTESTINE COLON (LARGE INTESTINE) CECUM (LARGE INTESTINE) RECTUM
A
lthough many people in the horse world use the term probiotic, they may not realize the major role these live beneficial organisms play in their horse’s health. Probiotics boost our horse’s immune health, prevent some forms of colic, and may help our horses steer clear of equine ulcers. In fact, in her book, Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals, 12
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Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DVM, states “Probiotics improve digestion, protect against dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, and reduce gas accumulation.” These mighty microbes are definitely worth a closer look so jump on-board while we take a trip into the world of bugs – beneficial microorganisms, that is.
Digestive systems and good gut bacteria – working together for health To fully appreciate beneficial bugs, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the role they play in the equine digestive system. When a horse starts grinding food with his teeth, his mouth releases enzymes, and thus begins that mouthful’s approximately 100-foot journey through the digestive tract. The food mixes with digestive juices as it enters the stomach where digestive enzymes and billions of microbials begin their work.
Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines the word “pro� as “being in favor of� and “biotics� as a branch of science dealing with the phenomena of living organisms. “Antibiotic� on the other hand means against life or against living organisms.
Although a horse’s stomach is relatively small compared to its size, it is tasked with initiating the breakdown of nutrients using digestive enzymes and stomach acids; very little absorption takes place there. Instead, soluble carbohydrates, along with minerals, fats and proteins, are absorbed in the small intestine. Insoluble carbohydrates that are not so easily The Good, Bad and Neutral? digested, as well as any undigested soluble carbohydrates, then pass to the Although people often think in negative cecum, the “fermentative vat�, before terms when they hear the word “bacteria�, moving into the large in reality there are intestine. A variety of three kinds of bactelive microbials in the rial micro-organisms – cecum break down the “good� (beneficial), remaining nutrients “neutral� and “bad� into a viable usable (i.e. E. Coli, salmonella. form – absorbable volet al). Horses need a To reduce an animal’s atile fatty acids which balance between these susceptibility to gut the horse uses for and thankfully only energy and nutrients. disturbances, you can a few of the “bad� lactic acid-producing routinely supplement with Without a strong army bacteria are needed a product that couples of beneficial intestinal to keep the good and bacteria, the food probiotics with a high quality neutral in check. As moving through the long as the balance digestive enzyme complex digestive tract is not of good, neutral and containing amylase, “fermented� properly, bad bacteria remains and some remains uncellulose, b glucanase, lipase, constant and the digested. When it hits gastro-intestinal tract pectinase and protease. the gastro-intestinal is stable, the horse tract, this undigested stays healthy. food may lead to colic, bloat, or laminitis, and increase the However, when the delicate balance possibility of developing food-related is upset, the horse may not be able allergic conditions. to properly digest or assimilate the
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