When feeding horses hay off sandy soil, always place it in a feeder, trough or on mats to minimize the amount of sand ingested. ©EQUUS Magazine

Sand colic, digestive upset that stems from the chronic accumulation of sand and dirt in your horse’s intestines, can strike any horse who lives on loose, sandy soil.

Horses pick up sand as they eat hay fed from the ground or graze short grass in pastures. The granules then settle to the bottom of the intestines, specifically in the large colon, where their grittiness can irritate the intestinal lining.

Mild sand colic, which is often accompanied by diarrhea, may be transient, but eventually enough sand can accumulate to result in severe, ongoing discomfort. In the worst cases, the intestines may become twisted or displaced or even rupture.

One way to tell if your horse is ingesting sand is to do the “mason jar test,” also called the “fecal flotation test.” Take six fecal balls from the middle of a fresh pile (this assures they are not contaminated with sand from the ground) and place them in a quart of water. Stir the contents, let the concoction sit for around 15 minutes and then check the container to see if any sand has settled in the bottom.

If more than a teaspoon of sand collects at the bottom of the jar, your horse is probably ingesting a potentially dangerous amount of sand. However, the absence of sand doesn’t necessarily mean he’s home free: It’s possible that sand has settled in his gut and is simply not moving through the digestive tract. If your horse shows even mild signs of colic, call your veterinarian regardless of what you see at the bottom of the jar. Ultrasonic0 imaging can reveal an accumulation and aid in making a definitive diagnosis.

Removing sand from a horse’s intestines can be difficult. Psyllium, a natural laxative, can help dislodge the granules, but surgery may be needed to manually remove large amounts of sand. It’s far easier to keep your horse from ingesting sand in the first place by feeding hay off of mats rather than the bare ground and managing your pastures so that they do not become overgrazed. If you feed a psyllium supplement to prevent sand accumulation, be sure to follow the instructions on the label.

A field full of dainty, bright yellow buttercups may look pretty, but those tiny flowers pose a threat to horses. When ingested, the leaves and stems of buttercups release a toxic oil called protoanemonin, which can cause excessive salivation, mouth blisters, diarrhea and mild colic. Toxicity varies with the plant’s species and maturity, but to be on the safe side, consider all buttercups potentially harmful.

Buttercups tend to thrive in pastures where grass is overgrazed or patchy, because the weeds have little competition for space and nutrients. The proliferation of buttercups is further aided by their low palatability---horses tend to leave them alone because they aren’t  all that tasty.

But don’t assume your horse won’t ever eat them. If your pasture is sparse and you don’t offer supplemental hay, your herd may begin to consume the yellow flowers out of hunger or even boredom.

Buttercups can be controlled chemically and/or mechanically. If a pasture has only moderate amounts of the weed, herbicides may be the easiest option. However, if buttercups are crowding out other plants in a pasture, more extensive measures, such as tilling and sowing new grass seed, may be necessary. Your local extension agent can help you devise the best buttercup eradication plan for your property.

Endurance riders are particularly skilled at keeping hard-working horses hydrated. ©EQUUS Magazine

that you may want to consider using incentives to get your horse to drink more.

One easy method is to flavor the water. Mixing in apple juice or some other flavor can make your horse’s water more appealing. This is particularly helpful on the road because it masks the unfamiliar taste of “foreign” water.

A favorite trick of endurance riders is to feed watermelon, which is 92 percent water. A horse will still need water, but ingesting watermelon can help in a pinch.

One last option for encouraging drinking is providing your horse slightly salted water immediately after exercise, which will stimulate a stronger thirst response. To do this, simply mix one tablespoon of salt per gallon of water and offer that mixture to you horse. Then, 20 minutes later, replace the salted water with plain water. Research has shown this method will trigger thirst, and the horse is likely to drink more of the plain water than he would have otherwise.

Most equine wounds heal without complications after only routine cleaning. However, it’s still wise to keep an eye out for infection. Call your veterinarian if a wound on your horse shows any of the following signs.

• Heat: With a clean hand, gently feel the wound and surrounding areas for excessive warmth. You may want to compare it to the same area on the opposite side of your horse.
• Swelling: After an injury, damaged capillaries leak fluids into the surrounding soft tissues, while infection-fighting cells rush to the site. This influx of healing forces is seen externally as swelling. Initial swelling in the hours after an injury is normal and usually subsides within a few days. However, if the swelling worsens or returns after waning, it may indicate infection. • Odor: Any “off” or pungent odor coming from a wound, especially the oddly sweet smell of dead tissue, can be a sign of infection.
• Color: Red skin adjacent to the wound can indicate infection, especially if red streaks radiate from the area outward. Keep in mind, however, that redness may be difficult to see on dark skin. Also observe the color of any exudate draining from the wound. Healthy exudate has a clear or creamy tinge---the result of natural sloughing of dead white blood cells and wound debris. On the other hand, bright green or yellow discharge indicates that bacteria and inflammatory cells are present and an infection is at work.
• Tenderness: Any new injury is likely to be sore. However, if your horse’s wound seems more sensitive to the touch than it was previously, or the pain has spread to the surrounding area, suspect infection.

You’ve gone a new direction on the trail and come to the creek at a place you’ve never crossed before. Is it safe to forge ahead into the water with your horse? Ideally, your trail companions will be familiar enough with local topography to know what sort of footing lies under the water. Lacking that information, however, you can make an educated water-crossing choice by closely observing several clues:

• Survey the land leading up to the water’s edge. Swampy muck often precedes a dangerous bog beneath the water surface, and a steep or rocky drop-off into the stream usually indicates that unreliable footing lies ahead.
• Look for areas where other animals have entered. Deer, for example, have a knack for finding firm, gentle slopes into the water. But beware of following cattle tracks; cattle wade in wherever they happen to be, churning stream banks into mire as they do. Ride the banks to look for a narrow, firm path down into the water, and avoid wide expanses of mud covered with shallow water, no matter how many hoofprints they may hold.
• Listen to your horse. Extreme reluctance to enter the stream on the part of a usually water-savvy horse is to be heeded. Don’t under estimate equine intuition.

If, even after careful deliberations, your crossing choice puts you on unstable footing midstream, you’ll have to make a split-second decision as to your next move. Most horses want to lunge forward through boggy footing; if you are more than halfway to the opposite bank, you may be wise to let your mount do so before he sinks to his knees. Slippery shale and boulders, on the other hand, are usually best avoided; go back carefully the way you can, and try another crossing. In either case, dismounting will free your horse to take whatever actions he must to get out of his fix. You’ll be wet for the rest of the ride, but will remain out of harm’s way as your horse scrambles and lunges.

Your farrier has done an excellent job of fortifying your horse’s weak, shelly hooves, but what happens to them between farrier visits can go a long way toward preserving their health. To help strengthen your horse's hooves, try incorporating the following tips into your daily management:

• Keep your horse’s hooves as dry as possible. Moisture weakens hoof walls and provides an ideal environment for bacterial invasions. Just as destructive as excess moisture, however, are extreme fluctuations between wet and dry conditions, which cause the hoof to expand and contract with each moisture change. Horses on summer pasture go through the wet-dry cycle daily, with morning dew giving way to ground-baking dryness. Frequent baths and postexercise hosings also contribute to this problem, so stick to careful spongings that keep hooves relatively dry.
• Stand your horse on solid ground. A tenderfooted horse may look ouchy on harder footing, but the firm ground helps toughen feet. An ideal flooring for stabled horses is made up of dense stall mats covered by a thin layer of dry bedding.
• Make sure your horse gets enough exercise. Simply walking around a pasture stimulates hoof circulation and growth. Even if your mount’s feet look fragile, resist the urge to restrict activity.
• Apply hoof tougheners. Commercial bonding agents formulated to harden hooves are available through tack stores. Ask your farrier which ones would be most suitable for your horse. Avoid preparations that contain oils because they can contribute to softening of the wall.

A plain bay is as plain as day and an outright Appaloosa is easy to spot, but what about those horses who seem to sport a blend of colors or markings? To help you identify these oddities, here are some common color modifications, as defined by Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, PhD, in his book Equine Color Genetic:

• Dappled – having a network of dark and light areas in which the centers are lighter than the peripheries or, very rarely, the reverse pattern. Dappling can occur on any coat color, and comes and goes depending on the season and the horse’s level of nutrition.
• Sooty – having black hairs present among the body hairs, most commonly over the top of the horse, so that the back, shoulders and croup look darker than the rest of the body.
• Mealy – exhibiting pale red or yellowish areas on the lower belly, flanks, behind elbows, inside the legs, on the muzzle and over the eyes. Mealiness can occur on any background color.
• Bend Or spots – random dark spots, ranging from tiny and inconspicuous to large and obvious, most commonly found on chestnut horses. Name for a so-marked Thoroughbred who lived more than a century ago, Bend Or spots can appear on nearly any breed.
• Birdcatcher spots – small, random white spots over the body that appear spontaneously with no relation to injury or skin damage. Named for a Thoroughbred who bore them, Birdcatcher spots tend to run in families but are not yet genetically linked to any breed.

A “cold back” has nothing to do with temperature but with a general soreness in a horse’s back muscles that subsides after he begins to move. A cold-backed horse sometimes “sinks” as the rider mounts, hollowing his back to avoid the pressure. Cow kicking when the girth is tightened or bucking just after being mounted are also signs of soreness. As the muscles stretch and flex and circulation increases, the horse usually improves dramatically.

Accommodations include tightening the girth gradually – one hole at a time instead of one big pull – and longeing the horse for a few minutes to loosen up his back before he has to bear the weight of a rider. But a cold back is not normal and shouldn’t be dismissed as a behavioral quirk. It is a sign of a problem with saddle fit, the rider’s technique, the horse’s conformation or a combination of all three. To root out the cause and eliminate it for good, you’ll have to do a thorough assessment of the situation

• Check the fit of the saddle and any pads you are using. A poor fit that concentrates pressure in a small area, such as a too-small saddle, can quickly “chill” a back. A better-fitting saddle is the best cure.
• Assess the horse’s overall fitness and “carriage” under saddle. Horses who are ridden infrequently or in a “hollow” frame may never develop sufficient back muscles to carry a rider comfortably. More frequent riding, coupled with specific techniques to encourage the horse to stretch and “lift” his back, strengthens the muscles that bear the rider’s weight.
• Consider the conformation of your horse’s back. A back that is proportionately too long, swayed or roached has inherent weaknesses for which you’ll need to compensate. A custom-fitted saddle and appropriate pad in combination with a consistent fitness regime are critical for the health of structurally weak backs.

It’s not unusual for a horse to dive in as soon as his grain hits the bottom of the bucket. But if he eats too quickly, referred to as “bolting," he may swallow before the feed is thoroughly chewed or moistened with saliva. The large, dry particles can then become stuck in his esophagus0 and lead to choke—a blockage of the esophagus.

Here are some things you can do to discourage feed bolting and protect your horse from choke:

• Switch from a feed bucket to a larger, shallower feed pan. When grain is spread out in a thinner layer your horse will have to take smaller mouthfuls.

• Place rocks (fist-size or larger) in his feed tub. Your horse will be forced to eat around the objects, slowing his intake.

• Feed hay free-choice. Offering hay continuously throughout the day---using a slow feeder can cut down on waste---keeps a horse from becoming ravenous by feeding time.

• Feed smaller meals more often. Not only are smaller meals better for a horse’s digestive system, but frequent feedings take the edge off a horse’s hunger and the “novelty” out of feeding time.

• Separate horses at feeding time. Some horses fed in herd situations feel they must eat quickly before being bullied away from their meal by a more dominant horse. Horses fed in protected, personal spaces, such as stalls or separate paddocks, can eat at their own pace.

At the start of every ride, your old gelding coughs two or three times, regardless of the weather or surroundings. But then he settles happily into his job, with no further signs of respiratory troubles, until the next time you saddle up.

You’ve gotten used to this routine, but wonder, “Is this something to worry about?” Probably not. If your horse shows no other signs of illness and has no difficulty breathing as he works, chances are good that this “warm-up” cough is just a natural reaction to the initiation of exercise.

A cough begins when receptors in the esophagus0 are irritated by pollen, dust or even just cold air. Those receptors set in motion a chain of events: The horse inhales and the larynx0 closes, locking air in the respiratory tract. Next, the muscles in the abdomen contract, air pressure increases in the lungs, the larynx reopens and the air rushes out, carrying any irritants with it. That rush of expelled air is the sound you hear.

Warm-up coughs often occur when excess mucus accumulates behind the larynx. Hairlike structures called cilia that line the esophagus continuously move mucus upward, but once it reaches the larynx, it has no place to go. When a horse begins to exercise, he breathes more deeply, so he may cough to clear mucus from his airways. Some horses naturally produce more mucus than others, so for them, a cough or two at the beginning of a ride is just normal.

But don’t tune out your horse’s coughs entirely. Unusual or prolonged coughing can be a sign of respiratory illness, and if his normal hacks grow louder or more frequent, you’ll want to talk to your veterinarian about it.