Guardians of the Horse

Hello horse lovers! Is it spring yet? Yikes! It is taking a lot more effort this year to get the enthusiasm going. What do you do to get yourself moving? This past month I literally moved, horses, that is, and now have the girls out at my friend's place. They have their own personal run out back of their stalls and we've noticed a couple of things. First, the horses seem to like standing outside in their paddocks rain or shine, day or night time. Two of the horses, especially like the outdoors-one who had spent the first 4 years of his life in a round pen, knee deep in his own manure. He seems to feel comfortable out and about and loves to peek into the stall next to his where my mare Sal lives. The other gelding has spent the last 7 yrs in a very small stall and was developing swelling in his front legs as a regular occurence. He now stands outside all day and his owner closes his door at night as she thinks he'll stay out in the rain.

The other thing I've noticed is that my gal Sal's coat has become shiny again with no fungal infection in the mane and on the legs. Turns out that the high level of iron in the well water at our previous facility, mixed with the iron in her hay and low starch feed, triggered ongoing insulin resistance that raised her blood sugars. I might as well have skipped the change in feed. I had been trying to bring my own water in, but when the horses were in their paddocks out on the property, there was no way to haul fresh water to them and so they drank fresh water in their stall and well water in the paddocks. I've continued to search the internet for more info, but as was true just 5 yrs ago when my horse foundered for the last time, there is just not enough known about the triggers for laminitis. The average vet doesn't learn enough about hoof care and laminitis at school and any vet more than 10 yrs out of school is clueless unless they keep up their education or they are especially interested in hoof care. Of course, I always look to Pete Ramey's site for the most updated info. His videos now feature particular cases of hoof disease and how to care for the horse through diet and correct trimming.

When it comes to diet, even the horses who've never had laminitis or founder can go out on pasture and eat themselves into laminitis. Their feet will even feel a little warmer than usual, as my friend so astutely noticed when she went to pick her mare's feet, after spending several hours on grass in her newly fenced pastures. Another young horse at the stables is struggling with a case of colic which started before the move.

It all reminds me that we are the guardians of our horse's emotional and physical well being. We ask them to eat and drink what we give them, but is it more than they need? In the wild, horses are grazers that move constantly, eating a lot of forage and dried vegetation, not grain and high sugar foods like carrots, apples and sweet treats. They move about 20 miles a day and drink fresh water in different locations, interacting with a large herd of horses, yet we house them in small pens or paddocks isolated from each other. Exercise comes in small spurts and I've noticed that Sal's muscle tone has suffered from the lack of activity when I felt that her hock arthritis was severe enough to limit how much I rode her. She still needed to keep MOVING!

So, as usual, I begin to beat myself up for keeping my horses in an environment that is convenient for me, not my horses. I have to keep my promise to make each day with the them as stimulating as possible. I've begun learning some massage techniques, allow them to run in a very large outdoor arena and ride them as much as possible, even if it's up the long driveway of the new facility.

Our hope is to build an obstacle course this summer and my DREAM is to build a paddock paradise, that allows the horses to move constantly around an area that simulates the movement in the wild that takes them in a loop through their natural territory, able to slowly graze on small amounts of food, interact with other horses and most of all, stretch their legs and stimulate their feet to wear their hooves naturally. Sounds ideal!

Now that I'm energized, it's time to get out and spend time with my critters. They can't do it without us, so don't forget to be the best guardian possible. And enjoy your horse!