A foal born to a neurologically impaired dam is unlikely to mimic his mother's unusual behavior. Photo © EQUUS

Q: If a mare with neurological problems gives birth, will the foal mimic her odd behavior? This is an ongoing debate at our barn. Some people are theorizing that as mom walks, baby walks, and as mom eats, baby eats. I understand that some foals, however, can be born with neurological diseases. Can you help us settle this?

A: Although it is true that foals sometimes mimic the behavioral patterns of their mothers, those born to mares with neurological issues generally do not imitate those deficits. At our neonatal intensive care unit, we have delivered many foals from mares who were afflicted with equine0 protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), one of the more common infectious neurological diseases seen in horses. These foals do not display any of the neurological signs their mothers do.

However, foals can be born infected with organisms that cause neurological disease that are passed down from the mother. For example, studies show that one of the organisms that can cause EPM, Neospora hughesi, can be transmitted via the placenta to the fetus carried by some naturally infected mares; however, the foals who were found to be infected with the protozoa did not necessarily demonstrate neurological signs for up to three months after birth. Likewise, transmission of the highly contagious equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) can also occur from the dam to the fetus via the placenta, but while these foals are born with EHV-1 in their bloodstream and various organs (lungs, liver, thymus), the majority of them do not show any neurological signs.

The most common cause of neurological disease seen in the newborn foal is neonatal encephalopathy. This can occur when the fetus is deprived of oxygen in the womb because the placenta is not functioning properly, usually because of a bacterial infection (placentitis). In cases like these, the foals are born with neurological abnormalities, such as incoordination and lack of the suckle reflex. Neonatal encephalopathy may also develop in foals who are deprived of oxygen for too long during the birthing process, as we often see with difficult deliveries (dystocias); these foals generally do not develop neurological signs for up to 18 to 24 hours. In both scenarios, the lack of oxygen leads to fluid accumulation in the brain tissue (cerebral edema), and damage may also occur to other organ systems, such as the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. The prognosis for these foals is generally very good if they are treated early and appropriately.

Rodney L. Belgrave, DVM, DACVIM
Director of Internal Medicine
Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center
Ringoes, New Jersey

As a horse grows older, his needs can change rapidly. Before you fall into your warm-weather routines, give your aging horse a once-over to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep him healthy and happy. Here are some areas to assess:

1. His coat. From 60 to 70 percent of horses over the age of 20 develop pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or equine Cushing’s disease), and one of the most noticeable signs is a winter coat that does not shed out normally. Contact your veterinarian if your horse’s coat remains long and shaggy well into spring. If he is diagnosed with PPID, the condition can be controlled with the drug Prascend, but for this year you may need to clip him to make him more comfortable.

2. His joints. Over time, most horses develop some degree of osteoarthritis. Overworking an arthritic horse aggravates the pain and stiffness of sore joints, but too little activity isn’t helpful either. Moderate exercise stimulates circulation, strengthens muscles and helps keep his weight under control. In addition, your veterinarian may suggest medications to ease discomfort and aid healing and/or supplements formulated to support joint health.

3. His teeth. A horse who has diffi-culty chewing hay or feed is at risk for a number of ills, including colic, malnutrition and choke. Regular dental examinations--ideally every six months--will identify and address issues such as uneven wear, cracked teeth and gum disease before they take a toll on a horse’s ability to eat.

4. His body condition. Keep tabs on your horse’s body condition and consult your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist if he’s getting too fat or too thin. Many older horses benefit from switches to easy-to-chew forages and/or higher calorie senior feeds. Implement any changes slowly to protect his digestive health. Also ask if your horse might benefit from a supplement. A number are available that can add vitamins and minerals to his ration as well as support joint and digestive health.

5. His feet. Make sure your horse’s farriery regimen is still appropriate. Does he still need shoes? Is going barefoot still the best for him? Also consider whether his feet are getting trimmed often enough.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #427.

When the spring weather finally comes, you may be anxious to quickly stow the winter gear so that you can get on with enjoying the sunshine with your horses. But if you take the time to clean your turnout blankets thoroughly and store them away carefully, you’ll extend their useful life--and you’ll thank yourself when it’s time to get them back out this fall. Follow these steps to keep stored blankets in good shape.

1. Wash them well. A quick spray-down with the hose may be enough to clean lightly soiled blankets, but for the best results, take them to a laundromat. (Before you go, be sure to ask whether they will allow horse items in their machines.) Run the rinse cycle twice to ensure no detergent residue is left behind.

2. Dry thoroughly. Hang the blankets in the sun until they are completely dry; this could take a day or more for heavier items. Storing them while they’re still damp can lead to mold.

3. Repair or replace, as needed. Examine all the fabric, stitching and hardware for loose connections, wear and holes. Have any repairs done now; waiting until the fall can leave you short of time as the cold weather approaches. Spring is also a good time to buy replacement blankets, if needed. You may catch a good sale, and you won’t have to rush to find one later.

4. Store them securely. Fold the blankets neatly and place them inside large plastic bags, then stack them in a dry place. To provide even more security against nesting rodents, store your blankets in clean trash cans or storage bins with lockable lids.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #427.

Carrots, apples and peppermint candies will pique the interest of most horses who like treats, but there’s no reason to stop there. Just for fun, try experimenting with other tasty tidbits your horse might like as an occasional snack.

• Fruits: bananas, watermelon rinds, mangoes without the seeds, grapes, raisins, fruit juices

• Vegetables: peas, green beans, lettuce, celery, pumpkins

• Other: bread, bagels, cake or pastries (without chocolate, cinnamon or poppy seeds); pretzels, corn chips or potato chips; pasta; eggs; dried pinto, red or fava beans (but these are better cooked); beer

To be safe, cut or break treats into pieces of two inches or less; offer no more than one or two bites of a new snack on the first try, and then never feed more than two pounds at once. Also avoid offering sweet treats to obese horses or those with insulin resistance.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #427.

Any horse might kick under the right circumstances, and the possibility of becoming the target of a well-aimed hoof is always with us. Most of us learn commonsense guidelines of defensive horsemanship early on, but it’s easy to get complacent among trusted horses. To stay safe, it’s wise to always keep these rules in mind:

• Stay alert. Focus your attention on the horse you’re working with as well as any who are close by. Pay attention to a swishing tail, pinned ears, flared nostrils and other signs that a horse is getting annoyed, and take steps to diffuse the situation before he “blows up.”

• Watch herd interactions. Steer clear of any who seem alarmed or threatened by your presence. Also sidestep any developing skirmishes.

• Avoid carrying feed or treats through a herd. Horses can become competitive and/or aggressive to get to the food, and you could inadvertently be on the receiving end of their blows.

• Don’t ride among loose horses. A horse at liberty may send yours a “don’t come closer” message that puts your leg in the line of fire.

• Tie horses far enough apart so that they can’t kick each other. You’ll also need a safe buffer zone so you can remain out of reach while walking between them.

• Stay close to a horse’s body when working around him on the ground. The most damaging kicks happen when a horse has enough room to fully extend his leg. Kicks at close range hurt but are less likely to cause serious injury.

• Put away your cell phone. Whether you’re on foot or in the saddle, stop talking, texting and indulging in other smartphone activities. Safety around horses requires your full attention.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #427.

When a rider uses negative reinforcement, she stops an unpleasant stimulus when the horse responds correctly to a cue. Photo © EQUUS

Q: I am helping a friend train her horse, an 8-year-old Appaloosa gelding she has owned for more than a year. Her horse responds well to my leg cues, but since her stirrup length is at least a foot shorter than mine (I’m much taller than she is), her leg cues touch him at a totally different place. This horse side passes and leg yields for her perfectly, but lately he has been avoiding the canter departure. We’ve already checked for saddling and bit issues, and otherwise he seems very willing to work. How can we teach her horse to respond to her cue for the canter? Any ideas as to why after learning leg yielding so well he would lose his canter depart?

A: I don’t believe this is a problem with leg placement or stirrup length; I think this is a matter of cue confusion: Your friend has accidentally trained her horse to do the wrong thing. He will probably be easy to retrain--he hasn’t forgotten how to do a canter depart; he just thinks the correct answer to her cue is to leg yield.

The cues for a leg yield and canter are easy to confuse because they are quite similar. I’ve seen many horses make this mistake, and the fact that you have been schooling leg yields makes it even more likely. I’m betting that what happened was that your
friend inadvertently rewarded the horse when he gave the wrong response to her cue for the canter.

When training, we often use a technique known as negative reinforcement, which in this case means releasing pressure when the horse gives the correct response. For instance, when asking for a walk, you apply leg pressure to his sides. As soon as he moves forward, you take away the pressure, thus rewarding the horse for the correct response. But, if you were to apply leg pressure to move forward and the horse ignored the signal, even if you stopped the pressure only momentarily, you would have trained the horse to ignore that leg cue.

Always remember this: Whatever the horse is doing at the moment you release pressure (either from the leg or rein) is what you just trained him to do. The next time you apply that cue, he will do the same thing he did the last time to get the release. It’s amazing how often this is the root of a problem: A rider hesitates after the horse incorrectly responds to a cue, and in that brief moment of pause the pressure is released. As a result, the horse thinks he did the right thing.

The key to successful training lies in how your friend responds when her horse does not “read” her cue correctly: She needs to take immediate action to correct the response and immediately reapply the cue, then release pressure only when the horse does the right thing.

If I had asked a horse for a canter departure and he began leg yielding instead, I would stop his sideways motion with leg and rein cues. I would bounce my outside leg (if you are leg-yielding left, the horse is bent to the right, so your outside leg is the left leg) on his ribs to say, “No, you cannot move that way,” close the outside rein (move my hand toward his neck), and reach forward to immediately send him on. Then, I would check his gait and, if the canter wasn’t picked up, instantly give him another strong, even exaggerated, cue. Using my voice aid to help the horse (with the kissing sound), I would repeat this process until I got the canter departure on the first request, then let him rest as a reward.

Without question, anytime two or more riders share a single horse, it is more difficult for him to distinguish cues because, no matter how similar two people are, their riding cannot be exactly identical. Luckily, most horses quickly adapt to each rider and learn to distinguish the variations in their signals. But I must add it seems unusual that you and your friend would ride with a full foot of difference between your stirrup lengths. This makes me wonder if one or both of you need to reevaluate your positions. For example, a rider with short legs would want a longer-than-average stirrup length to get more leg on the horse and lower her center of gravity. Adjusting your stirrups might make riding in general much easier and more comfortable.

That said, horses learn very fast, so keep up the training! Sometimes, good communication means being clear when a horse does not give the correct response: If he gives the wrong answer, he must be told he is wrong and to try again.

Julie Goodnight
Natural horsemanship trainer and clinician
www.juliegoodnight.com
Poncha Springs, Colorado

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #427.

Just like people, horses can be far- or nearsighted. © EQUUS

Q: I’ve read that horses can be near- or farsighted. Given how important good eyesight is for social interactions and performance in some sports, do horses ever receive corrective vision surgery? Many people with poor eyesight are treated with laser eye surgery; is that possible for horses? Or do those with poor eyesight simply compensate with their other senses?

A: Horses, like people, can suffer from a variety of optical aberrations that affect visual acuity. The common eye problems you allude to that can affect the eyes of both people and horses are refractive errors, such as nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (presbyopia), and astigmatism, which affects the eye’s ability to focus. A veterinary ophthalmologist can perform retinoscopy to assess a horse for abnormal vision.

Fortunately, most studies report the majority of equine eyes are nearly normal in function. A horse with normal vision (emmetropia) can see almost 360 degrees around with just two small blind spots: The first begins at the forehead and comes to a conelike point about three feet in front of his body. The other is right behind his head, reaching over his back and directly behind his tail.

When refractive errors occur, images are not focused properly on the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye’s interior that transmits signals through the optic nerves to the brain. Other significant factors that can affect a horse’s vision include infectious and noninfectious corneal disease, uveitis and cataracts. These diseases can be treated successfully medically and/or surgically, but scarring and inflammatory changes can result in permanent refractive errors.

So, in answer to your question, yes, horses can have refractive errors and abnormal vision just like people, but as a matter of anatomical and other considerations, LASIK surgery and corrective eyewear are not practical for use in the horse. In general, many horses can adapt and compensate

quite well with visual adversities and are able to lead normal lives, so we rarely intervene with corrective measures. An exception might be following cataract surgery, when an artificial or intraocular lens is placed in the lens capsule to improve the patient’s refraction.

Early detection and intervention increases the chances of successful treatment of eye diseases that could result in refractive errors, so have your veterinarian address any suspected eye problems promptly.

Brendan G. Mangan, DVM, MS, DACVO
University of Florida
College of Veterinary Medicine
Gainesville, Florida

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #426.

When teaching your horse to walk through water, it's generally safer to be on his back than on the ground. Photo © EQUUS

Q: My 19-year-old Thoroughbred is very quiet and well trained, except when it comes to water. It is nearly impossible to get him to cross it, mounted or from the ground. I have tried practicing over

small puddles, but he just backs up and refuses to go across. I need some help before entering any cross-country shows.

A: Some horses take to water easily while others have a deep-seated fear of crossing even the smallest puddles. In nature, a strong suspicion of bogs and rivers is a good survival trait.

The good news is that with proper training and repetition, most horses can learn to cross water confidently and even enjoy it. However, it can take a significant amount of time and inconvenience to school them repeatedly in the right circumstances.

The first thing to do is to find or create a suitable water crossing to school your horse through. It needs to be shallow with good, solid footing because a deep or mucky bottom is scarier to most horses. Never ask your horse to enter any water unless you have thoroughly checked out the bottom. You also want the water to be wide enough to encourage your horse to walk through rather than jump over it. Smaller puddles are not ideal unless they are very wide because a horse can avoid them too easily by going sideways. Also, small puddles seem to be inherently spooky. I have known many a brave, advanced-level event horse who would jump huge fences into water on a cross-country course but who balked at walking through a puddle!

Next, you need a companion horse who will march confidently through water. Stand back and watch while a friend rides the other horse through and then, while mounted, follow with your horse. If he is still unwilling to go in, ask your friend to ride back and forth slowly through the water and let your horse take his time and watch. With patience and persistence, he should develop the courage to follow.

Once your horse decides to enter the water, follow the other horse back and forth through it, dozens of times, until he becomes more confident. Ideally, you’d do this on a warm day so that when he finally gets wet, it feels good. If he will relax enough to paw and splash, let him enjoy it. Watch that he doesn’t roll, though!

You need to repeat this lesson almost daily, always with a leader, until your horse will enter the water without hesitation. Only then can you graduate to taking him in alone. The next step is to get him to try as many different water crossings as possible, first with a lead horse then eventually on his own. Once he can do that, you ought to be able to negotiate water that he has not seen before.

As I stated above, this training process can be time consuming, especially if you do not have suitable water crossings to practice with close to home. But the results are worth it because with this system most horses will gradually become confident enough to cross water willingly.

You mentioned attempting to hand walk your horse through the water. Although this approach will sometimes work, it is risky and requires great caution. Often, once a horse decides to enter the water he will leap, and it is very easy for him to inadvertently jump on you. When you are encouraging a nervous horse to enter water, you are generally safer on his back than in front of him on the ground.

Phyllis Dawson
Eventing trainer and rider
Hillsboro, Virginia

Most horses are eager to chow down on the first green shoots of spring grass. But new pasture growth poses some risks, particularly for laminitis-prone horses, who may develop the devastating inflammation of the hoof’s soft tissues after ingesting too much sugar-rich early growth grass.

Here are some precautions you can take as your pastures are transformed from winter brown to spring green.

• Restrict grazing time if necessary. When introducing your horse to a lush pasture in the spring, turn him out on it for only 10 to 15 minutes on the first day, then increase the time by five or 10 minutes per day, to give his intestinal flora time to adjust to the new, richer food source.

• Feed hay prior to turnout. Offer your horse his normal hay ration before turning him out. If he’s already eaten his fill, he’ll be less likely to overindulge on grass.

• Use a grazing muzzle. These devices, which fit over the muzzle and restrict the amount of grass a horse can bite off at once, can reduce the amount he can graze during his turnout time. Grazing muzzles are especially useful for controlling the calorie intake of obese horses as well as generic viagra price protecting the health of those prone to laminitis. If your horse is at risk for laminitis, ask your veterinarian how much grazing and turnout might be acceptable, given your local conditions. For some, especially those adept at getting their muzzles off, year-round turnout in a dry lot might be the only option.

Even after you’ve started turning them out on pasture for longer stretches, horses may still need supplemental hay to get all the nutrients they need. Many toxic weeds grow quickly in the early season, before the grass is well established. If your horse is getting all the nutrition he needs from grass and hay, he’ll be less likely to sample different types of plants.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #426.

Fires, floods, tornadoes and thunderstorms can do significant damage to a farm. As you balance your cleanup efforts with the ongoing care of your horses, one of your more important decisions is what to do with any medications you keep on hand--especially if you are treating a patient who needs daily doses. These guidelines can help you decide how to handle drugs that were exposed to different conditions:

• Loss of refrigeration: Drugs that need to be kept refrigerated, such as some antibiotics, can be rendered ineffective if they are allowed to come to room temperature. A closed refrigerator will keep its contents cool for some time, but if the power is out for more than four hours, the drugs may need to be replaced. No matter how long the electricity was off, replace any liquid medications that have changed in color, cloudiness or consistency.

• Extreme heat or freezing temperatures: The label on a medication’s bottle will give you a range of temperatures for safe storage. Any that have been exposed to high heat, from a fire, or freezing temperatures may have been chemically altered. It’s best to replace those exposed to extreme conditions.

• Water damage: Seals on drug containers aren’t meant to be waterproof. No matter how clean the containers may appear, any drugs that have been submerged by flooding need to be discarded---rising waters from both natural and municipal sources are often contaminated with pathogens. If your roof was damaged and rainwater got to your medications, use your best judgment. If pills and powders are dry and appear clean, they may be safe, but avoid using drugs from cracked or otherwise damaged containers, especially if it’s clear that water, dirt or other contaminants got inside.

It’s always safest to discard and replace any questionable drugs. But ask your veterinarian for guidance if you’re providing daily treatments to a horse and replacement medications may not be

immediately available.

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #426.