All About ... the Ears.

In last Friday's blog I covered the Central and Peripheral Nervous systems . These systems interpret and act on information received from the Sensory Systems. The five senses are hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch.  Today I thought I would find out more about hearing and a horses'  ears. 

The ear is not only important for hearing but also for balance and enabling us to detect body movements.  For horses the ears also demonstrate their mood!  Sound is a sensation that is felt when the ear structures are acted upon by vibrations (sound waves) in the air.

The ear is divided into 3 parts; the outer ear which is air filled, the middle ear which is also air filled and the inner ear which is fluid filled.

The outer ear is the part which is mobile.  The ears of a horse are always on the move and they have far better hearing than humans.  By moving their ears towards a sound they are able to much more accurately pinpoint the direction the sound is coming from.  The cone shaped ears help to direct and concentrate the sound waves into the ear canal.  The outer ear consists of a flap (pinna) which the horse is able to move towards the source of a sound.  The sound waves then travel down the auditory canal until they hit the ear drum which is a tough membrane. 

The middle ear is the cavity behind the ear drum (tympanic membrane).  When the sound waves hit the ear drum it vibrates and transmits the vibrations to the 3 little bones (ossicles) called the hammer (malleus), the anvil (incus) and the stirrup (stapes).  These ossicles transfer the vibrations to the inner ear.  Equal pressure with the outside air is maintained due to the connection to the back of the throat by the Eustachian Tubes. There is one of these on each side.  

The inner ear is filled with fluid called the endolymph and is made up of the cochlea and the vestibular apparatus.  The cochlea is responsible for our hearing.  It is a long 3 chambered coiled tube which looks like a snail's shell.  The stirrup transmits the vibrations to the cochlea through the oval window (fenestra ovalis).  When this oval window vibrates it sets up pressure waves in the fluid.  These pressure waves in turn stimulate the hair cells (mechanoreceptors) which vibrate.  The vibrations generate nerve impulses which pass along the auditory nerve to the brain.  The pressure waves travel until they meet the round window (fenestra rotundis) when they dissipate.  The round window bulges into the middle ear.  

The vestibular apparatus help the horse to maintain balance and produce smooth coordinated movements.  This apparatus consists of semi-circular canals which contain cristae and sacs containing maculae.  There are 3 semi-circular canals placed so that changes of movement in any direction can be detected.  They are filled with fluid.  The cristae is the sense organ, each of them (there is 1 in each canal) have hair cells which move in response to movement of the structure in which they are embedded (the cupola).  These hair cells in turn elicit the nerve impulses which are then sent to the brain.

The 2 sacs found in the vestibular apparatus contain maculaue (a sense organ) these contain a jelly like fluid and are lined with hair cells.  There are granules which float in the fluid and the movement of these in response to changes in body position affect the hair cells.  As before the hair cells affect the nerve impulses sent to the brain.

Information from the vestibular apparatus is sent to the spinal cord where the body position can be adjusted.  Also, the information is sent to the brain where it is processed and interpreted before motor impulses are sent around the body or the information is sent on to other areas of the brain.

The ears are amazing.  Horse's rely on them in the wild and in domestic life to keep them safe.  They can hear things much further away than we can which certainly gives them an advantage.  Horse's ears come in all shapes and sizes and we must look after them!

Have you seen this week's vlog 'One day ... in September' 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, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Tommy Update

I thought it was probably about time I gave you an update on Tommy's progress.
On the 1st September I set the following aims:

1.       To be good for the farrier to have all 4 feet trimmed.

2.       Continue with the practice so that he is calmer for his headcollar to be taken off.

3.       Be able to catch him in the main part of the field when he is not wearing a headcollar.

4.       To continue putting the thin summer sheet on his back and try doing it up.

5.       To use conditioning spray in his tail.

6.       To start teaching him to be tied up.

7.       Introduce him to the hosepipe.

8.       To continue to build his confidence more.

9.       To increase his experience eg: seeing tractors, more new people etc.

10.   To give him lots of love and cuddles - which he loves

 

I didn't expect to achieve these aims in a certain period of time, these are longer term things which I would like to achieve.  The farrier is coming again next week so I hope that he will be able to trim all 4 of Tommy's feet this time.  Tommy is really very good to have all his feet picked out now, he is not snapping them up quickly anymore which is another step forward!  He has certainly got used to having them done in the same order every time which has helped with our progress too.
 
The Blue Cross are coming the same day for our first check.  I hope everything goes well.  Tommy still has his funny lumps (hives) which he absolutely loves having scratched and is now getting his winter coat quite quickly.  He is good with his headcollar and definitely getting more confident when I put it on or take it off.  He is not so worried about the strap going over the top of his head!  Tommy is also getting much more used to me feeling his ears to check he is warm enough.  He is still unsure if I enclose his ear in my hand but I can feel one side easily!

I have put the summer sheet on a few times again and he seems happy enough.  Unfortunately as I have been ill and he is often wet  I haven't had many opportunities.  He is fine walking about on the yard in it and is not worried by the feeling of it moving.  As he was getting good with this I tried putting a turnout rug on, whilst he was in the stable, which I bought second hand for him.  He was so good  I was amazed but the neck of the rug is too big so it won't be any good for him.  It is just the putting on and taking off which makes him a little nervous but I think this is just practise.  I am now confident that he will be fine.

We have had a week or so when Tommy has not been his usual confident self recently.  I think it started the day we had lots of rain and thunder and lightning.  Although Chesney and Basil hardly notice this Tommy was unsure about the hammering rain.  I wonder if it is because in the past he has been able to hide in a field shelter.  I don't have a shelter because the horses have always come into the stables for the day or night and I don't think they would use it.  Since then the farm behind us has been doing a lot of work and Basil has had his tooth out.  This means that the routine which we had settled into has been seriously disrupted.  I have also been ill so Tommy has not had quite as much attention as he was getting :(  Basically, he has just been a little more nervous again and unsure about things.  


In the last 4 or 5 days he has been fine again though which is a relief.  So much so that I have started teaching him about being tied up.

I have managed to catch him once in the field without the headcollar on since my last update but he had a week or so when he was nervous again.  Although, I am not sure that he doesn't think it is a good game to walk off!

The steps for the next few weeks are exactly the same:

1.       To be good for the farrier to have all 4 feet trimmed.

2.       Continue with the practice so that he is calmer for his headcollar to be taken off.

3.       Be able to catch him in the main part of the field when he is not wearing a headcollar.

4.       To continue putting the thin summer sheet on his back and try doing it up.

5.       To use conditioning spray in his tail.

6.       To start teaching him to be tied up.

7.       Introduce him to the hosepipe.

8.       To continue to build his confidence more.

9.       To increase his experience eg: seeing tractors, more new people etc.

10.   To give him lots of love and cuddles - which he loves 

Did you see yesterday's vlog ' One day ... in September'   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, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Goose Grass - is a herb!

Also known as Cleavers this is the plant that always sticks to you!  It has sticky buds and stems which attach to your clothes with ease.  Found in hedges throughout Europe and North America it can be gathered in March, April and may when it is just coming into flower.  

Surprisingly this plant has many curative qualities and is a useful herb.  It is rich in calcium, copper, iodine and sodium and is an excellent tonic for the lymphatic system.  Perhaps I should stop trying to get rid of it in my field.  

Actions:
See my herb blog for the meanings of these.
Alterative, Antiseptic, Antispasmodic, Aperient, Astringent, Diuretic, Laxative, Tonic, Vulnerary.

Part Used:
Plant.

Usage:
Internally - it can be used for skin diseases and irritations, urine infections, soft swellings and fluid retention. 
Externally - good for healing wounds.

Dosage:
40 - 50gms added to feed daily.

Look out for my September vlog tommorrow 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, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Atypical Myopathy

Just hearing those words is enough to scare me.  A few years ago I had never heard of it but for me and many other horse owners it is now a horrifying thought.  There have been awful stories of owners arriving at their field to find their horse dead.  So I have tried to find out as much as I can.  Now is the time to be especially vigilant!

What is it?

Atypical Myopathy is also known as sycamore poisoning is a disease which damages the muscles.  In addition to the Skeletal Muscle this also includes the Smooth and Cardiac Muscle (see my Muscle blog).  It is very often fatal.  Mostly seen in the autumn in horses or ponies kept on bare pasture it is also occasionally seen in the spring.  

Atypical Myopathy is seen in the UK and Europe, the American equivalent is Seasonal Pasture Myopathy.


Signs.

• Muscle soreness 
• Stiffness 
• Muscle tremors 
• Weakness 
• Lethargy 
• Fast or laboured breathing 
• Reluctance to work 
• Red or brown urine 
• Choke 
• Whinnying 
• Head tossing or low head carriage 
• Fast or irregular heartbeat 
• Sudden death

If your horse exhibits any of these signs DON'T WAIT call the VET IMMEDIATELY.    

                                  

Causes.

Research is still in it's early stages but Atypical Myopathy is thought to be caused by a toxin which prevents energy being produced in muscle cells.  This toxin is found in Sycamore seeds (sometimes called helicopters) and also to some extent Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) leaves.  These seeds usually fall in October and there is evidence that more cases are seen in this month.  It also seems that bad weather is a trigger!?

The level of toxin is variable and some horses seem to be more susceptible than others. There is research suggesting that young adult horses (ie: 3 years) are more likely to succumb but also evidence that older horses are more susceptible.  As with many other things it is likely that some horses are more likely to be affected than others and perhaps some build up a tolerance to the toxin. 

In the USA the Box Elder tree (Acer negundo) has been found to contain the toxin.  Current research suggests that other Acer's do also contain the toxin  but that the Field Maple (Acer campestre) does not.

Box Elder

Diagnosis.

This can be done by the vet, using clinical examinations and information about the horse's grazing. Muscle damage can be confirmed by measuring enzymes in the blood (these are released from damaged muscle cells).   Urine colour is one of the most reliable signs as the dark colour is unusual in any other diseases.  It is caused by the release of a muscle pigment from the damaged muscle cells. 



Treatment

There is treatment, if a horse or pony is found early enough with mild signs of the disease there is a 50:50 chance of survival.  Treatment needs to start immediately and will involve fluids, pain killers, anaesthetics, vitamins and minerals and perhaps anti-inflammatory drugs.  However, there is no specific treatment.   If possible it is better for the horse to be treated in an equine hospital but it is not always possible for them to be moved.  Recovery is slow and euthanasia is often considered the kindest option.


Prevention

As Sycamore seeds and leaves are a source of the toxin it seems sensible to prevent horses and ponies from eating these. Unfortunately, as these are spread in the wind some will inevitably blow into fields from the surrounding area.

• Move horses and ponies away from fields with Sycamore trees. 
• If this is not possible put a fence up to keep the horses/ponies away. 
• Consider picking up the seeds and leaves too. 
• Check your fields regularly. 
• Turn horses and ponies out for shorter periods. 
• Provide extra forage, eg: hay if the pasture is bare. 
• As with other Poisonous Plants (see my blog) horses and ponies are more likely to find and eat the seeds and leaves if they are hungry so ensure there is grass and/or hay to eat.  This will prevent them foraging - however, autumn is also a dangerous time for Laminitis (see my blog).

Don't take any chances, keep your horses and ponies safe from this awful disease.

Have you seen last week's video 'How to ... Cleaning my Grooming Kit'  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, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo