Equine wellness
Equine
Your natural resource!
wellness
special issue:
natural hoofcare
jump
Get your
on!
Find relief from
sweet itch
Discover the fantastic benefits of free jumping
equine Wellness Magazine
Feeding for
allergies
A little nutrition knowledge goes a long way
Walkingthe beat R ead about the incredible journey of one mounted police unit as they took their patrol horses from shod to barefoot
Balancing Act Why the calc:phos ratio is so important
Riders are athletes too
Heading to a show? Here’s how to take care of yourself as well as your horse
Eco-friendly
trail riding
What’s biting you? Top four creepy-crawlies that bug your horse
VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4
Display until October 11, 2011 $5.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4
EquineWellnessMagazine.com
Contents 24
60
features 14 Get your jump on!
Free jumping can be a fun and beneficial way to enhance your horse’s training and development.
18 Feeding for allergies
Pollen, bugs, mold...they’re everywhere. A little nutrition knowledge can go a long way to lessening your horse’s allergy symptoms.
22 4 tips to successful hoof soaking
Trying to soak the foot of a horse that wants nothing to do with it is almost impossible, not to mention extremely frustrating. These four suggestions will make the experience less stressful.
24 Walking the beat
Follow the journey of one mounted unit as they took their patrol horses from shod to barefoot.
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equine wellness
30 Balancing act Deciphering the correct balance between calcium and phosphorous doesn’t have to feel like a bad math class flashback!
36 Roch & Equi-Bow
How a student of this unique healing technique helped a lame, easilyspooked horse become a champion.
40 Riders are athletes too!
Competitive riders always ensure their horses are looked after at shows, but often neglect their own nutrition and hydration during the day. Here’s how to make some positive personal changes.
42 What’s biting you? Learn to recognize and understand the top four creepy-crawlies that can put the “bite” on your horse – and on you!
54 The nature of interference
Do your horse’s hooves hit one another when he’s moving forward? It’s a manmade problem that can be corrected using a natural hoofcare approach.
56 Tread lightly
We all enjoy a relaxing trail ride – but are you aware of the effect some riding practices have on the land, and how you can help conserve trails for future use?
60 That not-sosweet itch
It can affect any horse and there’s currently no cure. What can you do to give your equine friend some relief?
36
40 Columns
Departments
10 Neighborhood news
8 Editorial
21 Hot to trot
39 Heads up
34 Natural performer
50 Equine Wellness resource guide
45 Holistic veterinary advice Talking with Dr. Cheryl L. Detamore
63 Marketplace
48 From agony to ecstasy 65 Did you know?
18
65 Events 66 Classifieds
14 equine wellness
5
4 tips to successful
hoof soaking
Trying to soak the foot of a horse that wants nothing to do with it is almost impossible, not to mention extremely frustrating. These four suggestions will make the experience less stressful. by Kelly Howling
I
’ll never forget my initial hoof soaking experience. The first horse I had been able to purchase for myself came up extremely lame less than a week after arriving at the barn. We had done a thorough pre-purchase exam, so we knew it was not a chronic issue. A farrier and vet exam, including hoof testers and nerve blocking, revealed little. So the plan was to soak the offending foot in warm water and Epsom salts twice daily, and hope an abscess would reveal itself. Now remember that this horse was fairly new to me, and we were still getting used to each other. He really did not
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equine wellness
want his foot soaked, at first – I think more water ended up on the floor and on me than stayed in the bucket. Looking back, I would have done a few things differently to make both our lives a little easier.
1
Plan for success
Naturally, my first tip would be to get your horse used to having his legs hosed and his feet soaked/wet as early on as possible. Horses are horses, and at some point they will injure themselves – it is so much easier on everyone if they are prepared in advance to be relatively calm about first aid and therapy processes, rather than trying to “train on
the go” after the fact. I am currently dealing with a newly acquired rehab horse who has an injury that requires clipping, needling and cold hosing – none of which he readily accepts. It can make an already traumatic event so much more difficult, and I do not recommend it. A little prep work can go a long way later on!
2
Boot or bucket?
There are a few options to choose from when determining what you are going to soak the horse’s foot in. When using an open container, I usually find the shallower the better. Some horses tend to worry less if they don’t feel their foot is “trapped” in something. I usually use a shallow Fortiflex rubber feed pan. Specific hoof soaking products involve a strong plastic bag that can be put over the horse’s foot and tied around the leg, or just a boot that goes over the foot and can hold a poultice. What you use depends entirely on your horse’s preference and what you have available to you. Regardless of what you are using, first check to make sure the horse is comfortable standing in it dry.
3
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Just add water
How much water you need, what you are adding to it, and what temperature you use will depend on what your goals/needs are. Ideally the horse should not be afraid of standing in water, or getting his feet/legs wet – if he is, it makes things much more difficult. The first time I soak a foot, I have someone hold the horse rather than putting him in crossties, just in case something goes bad or the horse needs a little more support.
4
The soaking process
Once you have everything set, pick up the foot you need to soak, place the container under it, and lower it into the water. I find it helps to keep my hands on the horse’s leg for a bit at first, until he settles with the idea – one hand on the knee, and the other on the tendon. Sometimes I’ll take this opportunity to do a bit of acupressure or massage work to make it a nice experience for the horse and help with whatever issue he is experiencing. If the horse gets antsy or removes his foot from the soak, I don’t make a big deal of it – I just start over again from the beginning. Eventually he’ll figure out that he can stand nicely and have it become a pleasant experience, with his rider by his side.
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Happy soaking! equine wellness
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