Taxonomy term

Dust Management horse barns, purdue extension, breathing for horses, respiratory disease equine, roa, dust control horse barn, horse barn renovations, better ventilation horse stable

Better Breathing in the Barn - Why should horse owners be worried about the air quality in their equine facilities? Is there really anything that can be done to improve the quality once the barn is built?

wildfire smoke horses, protect horse smoke inhalation, how to tell if wildfire smoke dangers horses, smoke on a horse farm, air quality index

Canadian equestrians breathe a sigh of relief when long-awaited spring weather finally arrives and the outdoor riding season begins in earnest. Time to fit up our horses and ourselves for trails, competitions, and the pleasure of spending time outdoors, finally free of the layers of winter gear and horse hair that come with the chillier seasons…

how to remove ticks, tick removal horses, preventing tick bits horses, best bug sprays horses, areas to avoid ticks canada, what do ticks look like on horse, grooming horse tick

Not much can gross out a horse person. We happily pick out hoofs, observe the quality of manure, scrape bot eggs off our horses’ legs, and get a weird sense of satisfaction from an expressed abscess. But ticks… ticks are just nasty.

Farrier, Farriey, Ben Yager, American Farrier’s Association, equine trimming techniques, hoof-pastern alignment, farrier apprenticeship

Is your farrier certified with the American Farrier’s Association (AFA)? Did he or she serve an extensive apprenticeship at the beginning of their career? Does your farrier pursue additional education?

strangles, symptoms of strangles, strangles outbreak, treatment strangles, how to prevent strangles, signs of strangles, steps to contain strangles, s. equi infection

How to reduce the risk, recognize the symptoms, and take steps to manage an outbreak. Strangles is a highly contagious infection caused by the bacterium, Streptococcus equi (S. equi). It is not an airborne virus. Rather, the bacteria spreads through contact, which could be direct nose-to-nose between horses, or via contaminated surfaces or equipment such as shared halters, lead shanks, cross-ties, feed tubs, stall walls, fencing, clothing, hands, the hair coat from other barn pets, grooming tools, water buckets, and communal troughs.

wildfire smoke horses, protect horse smoke inhalation, how to tell if wildfire smoke dangers horses, smoke on a horse farm, air quality index

Horses exposed to fire smoke can suffer respiratory injury of varying degrees, ranging from mild irritation to severe smoke inhalation-induced airway or lung damage. Knowing what is normal versus concerning can help to know whether a veterinarian should evaluate your horse.

breathe herbs for horses, equine asthma treatments horses, alternative therapies horses, equine respiratory ailments

Respiratory disease is one of the most important health concerns facing the horse industry, and accounts for one of the biggest reasons why horses miss training days (Rossdale et al., 1985). Equine asthma, also known as “heaves,” is one of the more troublesome small airway diseases which causes an elevated respiratory rate, chronic coughing and runny nose, and affected horses often find it difficult to exhale.

how to prevent a horse dehydration, equine guelph, riding horses in heat, summer horseback riding

With exercise, the body temperature rises. This heat must be dissipated, or the horse will literally “cook”! The body cools itself through the evaporation of sweat, so sweating is especially important for the exercising horse. The sweat contains water and electrolytes, or salts. The main electrolytes are sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. When the body loses water and electrolytes, various functions are compromised, and the health of the horse can be at risk. To ensure that your horse remains healthy, learn to effectively replace both the water and electrolytes — and the electrolytes must be replaced in balance with what has been lost.

preventing flies horses, diseases mosquitoes horses, fly sheets, fly masks, manure pile location, botfly eggs on horse, horse fly leggings, parasitic wasps

How flies spread parasites and disease - Flies are the bane of many horses’ existence from spring through autumn. In Canada, horse-biting flies include gnats (no-see-ums), black flies, stable flies, deer flies, horse flies, and mosquitoes, all of which create painful sores. Non-biting flies include house flies, eye gnats, face flies, bot flies, and warble flies, and can be just as irritating. It’s not just buzzing and biting that’s worrisome; flies may transmit parasites and diseases, can cause a horse’s immune system to overreact, and some use horses as hosts, all of which impact horse health. Preventing horses from being bitten is key. Before diving into solutions, here’s a summary of the damage that flies can inflict on Canada’s horses.

toxic plants to horses, toxic weeds to horses, equine laminitus, andrea lawseth, poisonous horse plants, Andrea Lawseth, field horsetail toxic horse, Water hemlock toxic horse, Stork’s bill toxic horse, Johnsongrass toxic horse, pyrrolizidine alkaloids toxic horse. Poisonous plants horses, equine laminitis

There are a vast number of plants located throughout Canada that are toxic to horses in some respect. Many need to be eaten in large doses to cause much of an effect, while others require only a few mouthfuls. There are a variety of resources on plants toxic to livestock, but the Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System seems to be the most comprehensive. It lists over 250 poisonous plants found in Canada, their lethal dose (if known), and symptoms of poisoning.

Pages