Posts Tagged ‘Dehydration’

From the minute your horse steps into a trailer to be transported, he’s completely dependent on you, the horse owner, for his well-being. As a reliable owner, this isn’t anything to be taken lightly. It’s important that you commit every effort to keep your horse secure and healthy while traveling.

When acquiring your trailer, ensure that it’s large enough for your horse. The average sized bumper pull trailer is normally 6 1/2 to 7 feet high. These trailers were intended for average size horses. Should you own a massive horse, consider a bigger trailer that could give your horse sufficient room.

Next, there are many things that you can do to ensure your existing trailer is safe. Check your floors underneath the trailer, especially when you have wood floors. Next, make sure there’s nothing on the interior of the trailer that may poke or scrape your horse. This is particularly important to check in older, steel trailers.

Once you have determined the trailer itself is safe, it’s time to focus on the health and well-being of your horse. If you’re going on a long journey, you might want to provide electrolytes ahead of the trip to help avert dehydration. This is above all essential if you know your horse is usually a nervous traveler. You should also consider wrapping your horse’s legs for a long journey. This puts a stop to scrapes, nicks and different leg injuries. Finally, never forget to tie your horse using a quick release snap or knot. Take a line from your horse stall us it. In the event your horse gets tangled or trapped somehow, these mechanisms will be much easier to release.

But, the safety doesn’t stop there. Make certain your horse and trailer are safe while on your way as well. Double check to make sure your trailer is secured properly to your truck and periodically check your mirrors for any sign of problems. Consistently checking out your horse at rest stops is also a good idea, but never take your horse outside of the trailer to let him eat the grass. Grass in these locations is often treated with chemicals that may quickly poison your horse or cause serious colic. At that point, you might be miles away from any veterinarian or other help. For lengthy trips, plan in advance for safe stops to take your horse outside like a vet, friend’s house or local fairgrounds.

Should you doubt the safety of your trailer or your capability to keep your horse safe while driving, it’s best to not go. If your trailer uses rubber pavers, make sure they are secure. Incidents involving horse trailers can be severe and you may hurt others including your horse. Create a checklist just before traveling to double check your safety measures and don’t forget – safety first.

Curtis Gardner is CEO of Triton Barns Systems online at http://www.tritonbarns.com. Triton Barns provides horse stalls, horse barns and horse barn accessories online to thousands of horse owner globally. Triton horse stalls are hot dipped galvanized and are covered with a 25 year warranty.

Author: Curtis Gardner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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During hot, humid weather, your horse may not drink enough water to keep up with fluid loss. When that happens, dehydration can occur.

Horse dehydration is more common in the summer, but it can happen at other times of the year, too. Intense activity in hot, humid weather is the most common cause, but an inactive horse in a hot, poorly ventilated stall or without access to sufficient water (think frozen water buckets!) can become dehydrated, too.

There are some simple things you can do to get your horse to drink more water.

1. Make sure he has enough water. An idle horse needs a minimum of ten gallons of water a day and an active horse in hot weather can suck up 25 gallons.

2. Make sure the water is clean, clean, clean and easy to access. Tipped over, leaky or funky water buckets won’t encourage your horse to drink any more than they’d entice you.

3. Soak hay before feeding to increase its hydrating capability. One wet-down flake of hay can absorb 1-2 gallons of water. If you feed your horse well-soaked hay, you can make a real impact on his fluid consumption.

4. Offer fresh grass, watery bran mash and moisture rich treats such as carrots, apples or watermelon.

5. Allow your horse access to a clean salt block.

6. Combine 1 teaspoon salt with 2 tablespoons of applesauce. Put it in a syringe or de-worming tube and shoot it in her mouth. The salt should stimulate thirst.

7. Try squirting 1 tablespoon of corn syrup into her mouth. It will coat her tongue and compel her to drink.

8. If her water is very cold, try adding some warm water to the bucket.

9. Some horses don’t like “different” water. If you’re going on the road and can bring enough water from home, do so. If not, try to add a little apple juice, sugar beet water or apple cider vinegar to the water a few days prior to travel. It may help to disguise the “new” flavor.

10. Go for a ride! A 15-minute walk or a light ride will stimulate thirst. Check with your vet before exercising if your horse is recovering from dehydration.

Exercising your horse after he consumes water will not make him colic. The horse’s stomach empties very rapidly in response to a water ingestion.

Moderate dehydration can be reversed by allowing the horse unlimited access to water and electrolyte supplementation

Severe and dangerous dehydration can best be reversed by giving electrolyte fluid intravenously. Contact your vet if your horse is severely dehydrated.

Let Practical Horsekeeping show you how to become an efficient, effective equine expert! Moira Clune and Noreen Girao provide helpful horse care information with a practical twist at http://www.PracticalHorsekeeping.com/ Our free horse care ezine shows you the fastest, safest, smartest ways to care for your horse and create an organized, appealing environment that works for horse and rider! Sign up today and get our free, veterinarian approved Colic Preparedness Report that shows you exactly what to do in a horse colic emergency. Join us today and start getting practical!

Author: Moira Clune
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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There are certain things you should consider when buying a new horse trailer. After all, you want make sure that you’re getting a safe, quality trailer that meets the needs of your horse(s), as well as your own needs.

The first and foremost thing you should consider when shopping for a new horse trailer is your horse(s). Keep in mind that horses are claustrophobic by nature. Therefore, a trailer with plenty of room, light, and ventilation will create less stress on the horse. In turn, the horse will load more easily and will travel more comfortably. He will also be less likely to injure himself and will be less likely to suffer from stress-related health problems such as shipping fever, dehydration, and colic.

The Importance of the Size of the Horse

The size of your horse is a very important factor to consider. Most likely, you don’t enjoy being cramped-up in tight quarters when you travel. And, neither does your horse! If the horse doesn’t have enough room to move its legs forward and sideways, it could lose its balance while moving. Narrow trailers and trailers with full center dividers can potentially cause the horse to scramble, because he does not have enough space to spread his legs to keep his balance. Be aware that slant load trailers are not styled for horses that are over 15.3h, and the length of the stall is not long enough to allow the horse freedom of movement. Horses over 15.3h should have at least 7 feet of stall length and 3 feet of head area – 10 feet overall. In the past, a 7 foot tall trailer was considered extra tall.

Today, however, it isn’t unusual for trailers to be 7’4″ to 7’6″ tall. This height should be considered for any horse over 15.3h. There should also be enough room for the horse to lower its head to remove debris (hay dust and other contaminants in the trailer) by coughing, in order to keep his respiratory tract clear.

Make sure there are no sharp edges or protrusions anywhere on the trailer. (Check both inside and out.) Look at the floor boards. These should run the length of the trailer (vertically), not across the trailer (horizontally), and there should be good support underneath.

Floor mats and ramps should be non-slip. Ramps should not be steep. If it’s a step-up trailer, the horse should be able to walk out headfirst when unloading. (Step-up trailers can be dangerous when backing the horse out, because the horse can slip under the trailer and possibly receive a major injury, as a result.)

For safer trailering, rubber torsion suspension is available on almost all newer trailers. This type of suspension greatly reduces the amount of shock. As a result, the horse absorbs less shock through the floor of the trailer, thereby reducing stress to the horse. Also, if the trailer should have a flat tire, rubber torsion suspension allows the remaining three wheels to maintain the trailer until you can get to a safe place to change the tire.

Quick-release mechanisms on all tie rings, center dividers, chest bars, and butt bars are a must-have for safety and convenience. Construction material and all other parts should be strong enough to hold up to the largest, strongest horse you will be hauling. In fact, the strength of the trailer, not its weight, should be your first priority, if you have large horses to haul. How well will the trailer hold up to a panicky horse or in a traffic accident?

Now that you’ve taken into consideration the needs of your horse(s), it’s time to consider your own needs. Do you need a trailer for hauling horses long distances or short distances? If you’ll be frequently traveling long distances, will you need a dressing room for showing or a gooseneck for sleeping? Are you comfortable towing a large rig across the country? (Keep in mind that, once you’ve chosen the right horse trailer for you, you’ll need to buy a tow vehicle to pull the trailer.)

These are just a few of the considerations when purchasing a new horse trailer.

Neva Scheve is the author of The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing a Horse Trailer. She and her husband Tom are the owners of EquiSpirit Horse Trailers. Built for your horse’s safety.

http://www.equispirit.com

Author: Neva Scheve
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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I love to hear my horse whinny to me. The sound of his satisfied munching is another reward I find in horse ownership. Of all the things we enjoy doing for our horses, feeding can be one of the most emotionally rewarding. Sometimes we can be guilty of “over-kill” when it comes to feeding our horse.

In order to avoid causing damaging imbalances when feeding our horse we need to calculate the nutrients the horse is receiving from his basic feed ration in the first place. Once that is established then a decision to add supplements to his diet can be made. Supplements can be beneficial to our horses if they need them. Overloading nutrients can be harmful when we are feeding our beloved equines and must be avoided.

When feeding our horse we must not overlook the significance of availability of fresh water at all times. Having access to fresh clean water will reduce the chances of impaction colic. This is very important for horses kept mainly on dried forage. The horse will drink more often if he is offered fresh clean water. This will help prevent dehydration in the horse also. In cold weather heated water will encourage horses to keep drinking water. Heaters for water tanks are available commercially that keep the drinking water at a palatable temperature. This will encourage them to drink more water during cooler weather. Often decreased water consumption as the temperatures drop can lead to colic.         

Another consideration if you have more than one horse make sure there is more than one source for water and easily accessible to all of the horses. When feeding more than one horse sometimes horses will bully others. More than one water source can help this situation.

When feeding horses we must not overlook salt. Sodium and chloride (salt) is essential to many bodily functions.  Not naturally present in grasses and grains salt is a vital nutrient that we need to add to our horses’ diet. Horses lose salt when sweating and it is necessary for it to be replaced. A block of salt may be placed in your horses pasture. It will be available to him when he needs it. If the horse has a balanced diet a mineralized salt block will not be necessary when adding salt to his diet.  In the winter additional salt (no more than a tablespoon) to your horse’s food at night will encourage drinking as nighttime temperatures drop. This can aid in preventing colic that sometimes occurs as temperatures become cold outside.

If given an opportunity horses will consume the salt they need. Horses have a natural appetite for it. Sometimes horses kept in stalls will get bored and consume too much salt. There is a solution for this. When feeding such a horse loose salt, an ounce or two may be added to the diet. Table salt may be used if the horse already has a balanced diet. 

As we give our horses food we must make sure our desire to care for them does not conflict with their need to graze and roam. We must make sure we do not create imbalances in their nourishment. After all the time and money we put into our horses we want to enjoy them for many years to come. When we are feeding our horses right we are well on our way to obtain that goal.

For additional information about practical horse management please go to http://wcf-ltd.com/horse/ to learn more about how to care for your horse.

Author: Fran Mullens
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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As any pet is cared for within the home, the care for horses is very much the same; ensuring the proper medical, physical, and nutritional care for a horse is part of the responsibility of its owners. There are many different facets of horse health and all must be attended to in order to ensure the horse’s vitality and longevity.

In order to be well-versed on horse health it is important to understand the signs of a healthy horse; conversely when those signs wane, you will immediately be alerted to a possible decline in the health of your horse. One quick indicator of horse health is the overall appearance of the animal. A healthy horse has a shiny, slick coat with a hard hoof. Any nutritional issues would immediately show up on the horse’s coat – resulting in dullness, slowed shedding, and even bald patches. Additionally, dry and cracked hoofs could be a sign of dehydration or poor circulation.

Of course, not much tells a greater story of horse health than the horse’s eating and drinking behaviors. The sudden and ongoing decrease in appetite or refusal to eat and drink altogether can be a common sign of a horse in dangerous health. Pay attention to the amount of grazing a horse does during the course of the day, its ability to hold food in its mouth and chew (problems with this could indicate teeth/mouth conditions) as well as the frequency with which it urinates and eliminates waste, and any weight fluctuations in the animal.

One of the most important indicators of horse health is behavior; like people, horses have their own personalities so what behavior may inspire concern when exhibited by one horse may be well within the boundaries of another horse’s personality. But there are a few common behaviors that generally signal distress across the board including the appearance of anxiety, lethargy or fatigue, decreased socialization, and stall weaving – a behavior signaling heightened anxiety wherein the horse paces around its stall. A healthy horse should also move unreservedly; any limping or bobbing of the head often indicates painful movement and a veterinarian should be consulted immediately.

As a matter of fact, the most important step to preserving horse health is an established relationship with a reputable veterinarian. As a horse owner, you are the first line of defense in maintaining the health of your horse; you are in a better position than anyone to recognize signs and symptoms that may indicate trouble for your horse. A veterinarian, however, in addition to performing frequent check-ups, can help you identify and address any health concerns you have throughout the lifetime of the horse.

Owning a horse can be a wonderful experience; but also an enormous responsibility. Just as children depend on us to care for them in every capacity, a domesticated horse relies on its human companions in much the same way. In this role, it is incumbent upon us to understand the many facets of horse health and do all that we can to do to protect the lives and vitality of our animal friends.

For more information on horses, try visiting http://www.interestinghorses.com – a website that specializes in providing horse related tips, advice and resources including information on horse health.

Author: Riley Hendersen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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