Feeding Herbs - Sage

This is another mediterranean plant, which is relatively easy to grow.  It also has a  pleasant smell and is used for quite a few different situations.  It is another herb I have in my garden! 

 
Sage should not be fed to pregnant mares as it reduces lactation.  It is a useful herb for gastro-intestinal disorders so it could be a good herb for me to add to Basil's feed.  See my Stomach Ulcers blog. 

Actions:
See my herb blog for the meanings of these.
Alterative, Antifungal, Antigalagogue, Antimicrobial, Antipyretic,, Antiseptic, Antispasmodic, Aromatic, Atringent, Carminative, Diuretic, Emmenagogue, Febrifuge, Nervine, Spasmolytic, Stimulant, Tonic, Vulnerary.


Part Used:
Leaves.

Usage:
Good for coughs, colds and for nervous conditions.  In addition to its uses for gastro-intestinal disorders it is also used for wind colic and mouth infections! 

Dosage:
20 - 30gms added to feed daily.

Look out tommorrow for this week's 'How to ..... '  video. Horse Life and Love
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You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates on Chesney, Basil and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Top Tips for looking after your horse this summer.

A heatwave is predicted for this week, good news for many, but don't forget to think about your horse and his health when you are putting on your suncream.  In the UK many of our horses are not used to baking heat.  Every year there are cases of colic, dehydration and respiratory distress which are attributed to warmer summer weather. Unfortunately, there are also some fatal cases of heatstroke or exhaustion.

•  Water and an unlimited supply of it is the most important thing to remember. An average size horse, in work, can consume over 25 gallons of water per day when the temperature is above 70°F. So make sure that you keep your water troughs and buckets clean and free from insects to encourage your horse to drink.

• If you usually keep your horse in the stable at night and out by day in the winter it is a good idea to swap this for the summer months. This will mean they are not out with the worst of the flies and will avoid the hottest part of the day. It will also give them time to rest during the day and cool down at night if we have a prolonged hot spell. An added advantage is that the time inside will help control their weight, however, they should still have some forage eg: hay to keep them occupied and their digestive system working. 
• Keep the windows open to ensure a through breeze.  
• If possible spray your horse’s stable walls and/or field shelter with an insecticide to reduce the number of flies. 
• If your horse is grass kept all year and you do not have access to a stable, ensure there is a shady place for them to rest. Trees provide fantastic shade but a field shelter will also provide respite from the flies.

• Remove droppings from your paddock regularly and keep the muck heap a good distance away from your horse’s stable to help reduce fly problems.  
• Use a fly sheet if possible, fly repellent and fly fringes are also useful. 
• If your horse is bitten you can treat a one-off bite, with an ice pack or bathe with cool, salt water (use a teaspoon of salt to two mugs of water). If your horse has multiple bites, using a mild horse shampoo may help to remove scurf or bacteria which can irritate the area and will cool the inflamed skin. 
• White areas on the face and heels can become sunburnt because they have less skin pigment and hair coverage, so if your horse has to be in the field in the heat of the day, remember to apply sun cream to these areas. Human sun cream with a high factor is usually appropriate but if your horse tends to be sensitive then a more natural cream may be the answer.

 

Chesney gets sunburnt on his pink nose!

• Sweet itch is a miserable disease for those horses that suffer. Midges are more prevalent in wet areas close to lakes and streams, so if possible avoid these areas, have a look at my blog for more information. 
• If your horse is still particularly hairy in the summer it may be worth considering clipping. Keeping their manes short will also help to keep your horse cool. 
• Sponge cold water over your horse, or if he will tolerate it use a hose, especially down the large blood vessels under the belly and neck and inside the legs. This will help lower the temperature relatively quickly.

 

• Wet weather following a long dry spell can result in a flush of new grass growth similar to spring, so you may need to limit your horse’s grazing if you are concerned about laminitis or weight gain. Check out my blogs.
• If you’re competing, leave as early as possible to avoid travelling in the heat. Keep windows open to keep fresh air flowing through the horsebox. When you arrive think about whether your horse would be cooler standing in the lorry or trailer out of direct sun or better outside in the shade.

Heatstroke
Extreme heat can take its toll on a horse working or standing in a stuffy stable or trailer. Heatstroke occurs when a horse is unable to get rid of excess heat from his body. The horses’ natural cooling process will include moving blood flow closer to the skin but this will also mean less oxygen getting to internal organs and the brain. When a horse is also sweating excessively heat stroke can follow. Heatstroke is a serious condition. Severe cases of heatstroke lead to collapse, seizures, or death.

Signs:

• Elevated respiratory rate – if breathing becomes shallow and remains elevated after a few    minutes rest 
• Elevated heart rate- that again remains elevated after a few minutes rest 
• Elevated temperature – 103° or higher
• Sweating – if your horse is sweating all over or stops sweating entirely
• Lethargy – depression, disinterest in food, stumbling or collapsing

If you suspect that your horse may be suffering from heatstroke:

• Stop work immediately 
• Allow him to rest in a cool stable or under a shady tree
• Pour cool water over his back
• Offer small amounts of water every few minutes 
• If symptoms persist contact your vet.

It is fantastic to spend time with your horse in the summer and I love going for long hacks.  But think about your horse, would you be better to ride early in the morning before the heat builds up?  Remember these tips and you will both enjoy the better weather.

Have you seen last week's 'Mini Haul' on my You Tube channel.   Horse Life and Love
Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates on Chesney, Basil and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

All About - The Horse's Respiratory System

This system's main task is to take oxygen from the air and pass it into the blood stream.  Without oxygen all activity will cease and the horse will die within a few minutes.  The respiratory system is also responsible for:

• removing carbon dioxide from the blood 
• helping temperature control by breathing out warm air and taking in cool air 
• to eliminate water 
• to communicate by sound 
• sensory - smell and touch via the nostril hairs 
• filter for air-borne invaders

The System.

Getting oxygen in .....

• Air is taken in through the nostrils (horses do not breathe through their mouths).  The nostrils can change shape to form part of a facial expression and will become bigger if the horse needs to take in more air.  The nostrils also blow air out as a snort to communicate and the small hairs (cilia) catch air-borne invaders eg: dust particles. 
• The air then passes into the nasal passages. One for each nostril. These nasal passages are separated from the mouth by the hard palate - as it gets nearer to the throat it becomes the soft palate!  Whilst in the nasal passages the air is warmed by the mucous membranes which cover the turbinate bones.  These bones are wafer-thin and curl so that they have a large surface area.  Air must not strike too cold on the lungs.  By warming this air the body is losing some heat when the air is expelled.  The membranes contain the olfactory nerve endings - which detect smells. 
• The air then passes into the pharynx (which is a common passage for air and food).  The epiglottis closes to cover the respiratory passages when the horse swallows so that food passes down the oesophagus instead. Thus when stomach tubing a horse it is imperative to pass the tube up the nostril.  
• Air passes from here into the larynx (this is also where the voice box is located). The larynx controls the air going in and out and monitors it for foreign objects. 
• The trachea (or windpipe) then takes the air.  It is made up of rings of cartilage and is lined by cilia again to help filter the air.  The lining also produces mucus which traps the foreign particles.  These particles are then wafted back up the trachea to the larynx by the cilia where the mucus (containing the particles) is coughed up and swallowed.

•  The trachea then divides into 2 bronchi at the entrance to the chest, one going to each lung!  Each lung is covered by the pleura, a smooth membrane which prevents friction. 
• Within each lung the bronchi then divide and subdivide into bronchioles which are also protected by cilia and mucus.  
• The bronchioles then divide into little alveoli which end as alveolar sacs.  These look like bunches of grapes!  The sacs have thin walls which are covered with capillaries - see my Circulatory System blog coming up next week.  Basically these are tiny blood vessels where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide take place.  Oxygen is passed out of the air into the capillaries and carbon dioxide and some water vapour are passed out of the blood and into the air!

• These capillaries then take the oxygenated blood into the pulmonary vein which carries it to the heart.  See my Circulatory System blog - next week.

Getting carbon dioxide (and other waste) out ....

• The pulmonary artery brings deoxygenated blood (it has given it's oxygen to the body) back to the lungs.  
• In the lungs the pulmonary artery divides and subdivides, these thin walled capillaries then come into contact with the alveoli.  Here (in a similar process to getting the oxygen in) the carbon dioxide passes out into air which is expelled along the same route as it came in!

Both the oxygen and carbon dioxide are carried in the blood attached to haemoglobin. This will also be in next Friday's blog.

How a horse breathes.

Breathing is the process by which air is taken into the lungs and also where the body tissues use the oxygen.

A horse draws the air in by muscular expansion and contraction of the rib cage (thorax), it is expelled by elastic recoil of the rib cage!  The thorax is separated from the abdomen by the diaphragm.  The diaphragm is dome shaped (with the top towards the front of the horse) it flattens, by muscular contraction, to allow the horse to take a deep breath.  If the stomach or intestines are full the diaphragm is not able to flatten, so limiting the amount of air the horse can take in!  This is why we don't work our horses on a full stomach! (see my feeding blog)

A horse at full exertion will take 5 times the amount of air in that it will at rest.  The lungs are NEVER totally empty.

Understanding a bit about the respiratory system again helps us understand our horses and why we are advised to do certain things!  eg: leaving a horse for 1 - 2 hours after feeding before they are worked!


Have you seen Wednesday's video yet? This week it's a 'Mini Haul'  video!
Horse Life and Love.   Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

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Until next time!

Jo

Schooling Ideas.

If you read my blog regularly you will know that I sometimes struggle to make my schooling sessions interesting.  I have been trying to find new exercises and have a great book which gives me suggestions of things to try ........................

 I recently read an article in a magazine 'Your Horse' from May that was a lesson in 'How to lighten the forehand' with Ruth Edge (the eventer).  According to the article it is common for ex racehorses to work on their forehand.  This is something I didn't know although it is something that Basil and I are working on!  Interestingly she talked about transitions being a great way to improve this by encouraging a horse's hindlegs to come through.  

I have been working on an exercise with transitions on Basil.  Ruth suggest doing quick transitions so 6 strides of walk and 6 strides of trot.  This is similar to what we have been trying but the biggest problem I have is that Basil tends to get a bit excited if we do lots of transitions.  He is also not always that quick to react to my aids to slow down!  

Apart from transitions Ruth suggests using circles to engage the hindleg more.  By riding a 10 metre circle at every other letter (or where they should be).  In the lesson they are doing this in canter, Basil and I are certainly not balanced enough for this and we are still working to do this in trot.  However, this is an exercise I am going to try with him, we need to try to do smaller circles in trot so perhaps I should start by reducing our usual 20 m circles to 15 and then when these are balanced we can try 10m.

I also think we will have to work up our fitness to be able to canter these small circles as they are quite hard work!

Have a look at yesterday's 'Mini Haul' video on my You Tube channel.   
Horse Life and Love.   Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates on Chesney, Basil, Floss and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Stomach ulcers in horses.

When I first got Basil he was a bit thin and was (and is) a crib biter!  He did not eat a great amount of hay and ground his teeth.  Turnout was limited where he was kept by his old owner and in his life before that, as a racehorse, the bulk in his diet would have been limited.  Based on this background I fairly quickly decided that it was likely he had stomach ulcers.  Over 80% of racehorses have been found to have ulcers and up to 70% of competition horses. 

What are they?

Ulcers occur in the horse's stomach when digestive acids come into contact with the upper part of the stomach lining.  Known as Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUC) the ulcers vary in severity from an inflamed stomach lining to erosion and bleeding of the stomach lining.  In extreme cases there can be perforation of the stomach - which can be fatal.

What causes stomach ulcers in horses?

The horse's stomach secretes acid all the time, even when the stomach is empty.  This acid is usually neutralised by the saliva produced in response to regular chewing.  If the horse's stomach is empty this acid will attack the stomach lining.  

Symptoms.

These vary but can include:

• Poor performance 
• Reduced appetite 
• Altered temperament - difficult to ride, bucking, refusing at jumps 
• Weight loss 
• Teeth grinding 
• Colic 
• Diarrhoea 
• Crib biting 
• Back pain 
• Peritonitis and death

Diagnosis.

Really the only accurate method of diagnosis is by gastroscopy.  The horse’s oesophagus, stomach and duodenum are  inspected.  The ulcers are graded on a scale of 1 to 4 with 1 being mild thickening only to 4 being deep widespread ulcers. Bleeding does not relate to the depth or the severity of the ulcer.

How to prevent ulcers developing.

Chewing creates saliva, this is a natural antacid which helps to neutralise the acid in the stomach.  So by 'trickle feeding' your horse (as they feed in the wild) you are ensuring they are chewing and producing saliva at all times.  There is also constantly food in the stomach for the acid to work on.  So keeping your horse at grass if possible and/or feeding ad lib hay is ideal.  However, never forget that obesity brings its own problems!

Other ways to limit the chance of your horse developing ulcers are:

• Avoid feeding oats or other cereal grains (barley, maize etc).  These starchy foods stimulate the stomach cells into producing more acid and grains tend to move through the stomach too quickly and so leaving the stomach empty. 
• Feed sugar beet pulp instead of cereal grains.  This has the same calories as oats but doesn't tend to cause excess acid production as starch does. 
• If you need to feed extra fat choose vegetable sources that are high in omega 3 eg: flax or chia seeds - these will reduce the inflammation experienced with ulcers. 
• Legumes such as alfalfa, soybean meal and split peas offer enough amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein) to allow proper maintenance and healing. 
• Feed hindgut bacteria (the good bacteria).  These make digestion more efficient and promote the synthesis of B vitamins which heal the digestive tract. 
• You could also feed extra B vitamins, these are used up rapidly when a horse is in pain. 
• Reduce stress.  Stress can increase acid production so think about what stresses your horse; traveling, being left alone, change of routine etc.

I didn't have a gastroscopy for Basil but introduced some easy steps to try to reduce the problem.  I fed him as much hay as he could eat and gradually he started eating more.  He was turned out during the day (night in the summer).  He doesn't have a cereal based mix, he has an alfalfa based feed.  Although Basil still crib bites quite a lot and grinds his teeth when he wants to go in the field I feel he is better.  He eats plenty of roughage and has practically no time, apart from when I ride, when his stomach is empty.

Look out for tomorrow's 'Mini Haul' video on my You Tube channel.   
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates on Chesney, Basil, and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo