Posts Tagged ‘Dewormers’

He’s been your equine partner for years now. You’ve perhaps ridden in
shows, through trails or even relocated across the country with your
horse. You’ve been friends a long time, and it may be hard to admit, but
you’ve noticed your horse is slowing down.

Don’t lose heart. Just like with people, advances in health care and
nutrition are helping horses live longer, more productive lives, well into
their senior years. But older horses do take a little extra care. Here’s a
few ways to keep your aging buddy doing his best.

1. Give him light, consistent work. Your horse may not be able to keep
up a workout routine for competitions, but he’s probably not ready to
retire either. Keep him at a reasonable fitness level and he’ll feel and
perform like a younger horse. The worst thing to do is let him get out of
shape and then ride him hard some weekend when he hasn’t been
ridden for months. That’s not fair to him and may spell trouble for you
later.

2. Make sure your horse has regular vet check-ups. Don’t neglect the vet
check-up even if your horse isn’t around many other horses anymore.
Keep him up-to-date on vaccinations, like any horse, and make sure
your vet begins looking for signs of arthritis or soundness issues.
Sometimes cortisone shots given early can not only provide relief for
aching joints, but can prevent further inflammation and stiffness later on.

Continued deworming is also important for the older horse. Horses more
than 20 years old may have intestinal scarring from worm damage that
occurred before modern larvicidal dewormers were available.

Have your veterinarian check your horse’s teeth at least once a year.
The older a horse gets, the more likely his teeth will be worn into sharp
points. They may even be wearing out completely.

3. Consider a senior feed. Older horses do not absorb as many
nutrients from their food as younger horses. Couple that with worn-out,
missing or damaged teeth, and many older horses have difficulty
keeping weight on, especially through the winter months. Several senior
feeds on the market today offer alfalfa-based pellets that are easy for
older horses to chew, swallow and digest.

Many times older horses choose to eat very little hay. The senior feed is
designed to cover all roughage requirements for the horse as well as
provide the ideal vitamin and mineral balance for the older horse. Also,
don’t feed your senior buddy with a younger, more aggressive horse.
You want to make sure he doesn’t have to fight for his fair share.

4. Consider feed supplements. If you’ve never used a feed supplement,
now may be the time. Talk to your veterinarian about what kind of
supplement might be best for your horse. Biotin is great for hooves and
coat. Other supplements can help with energy. Of course, glucosiamine
is the standard supplement to keep joints healthy and lubricated.

5. Give him attention. It’s easy to forget about a horse you can’t use as
much anymore, but if you can’t use him, maybe you should loan his
services to someone who can. Many older, experienced show horses
are great lesson horses. He could give a neighbor’s child a few lessons
a week or stand still while you teach children how to properly groom a
horse. He might be a great mount for a beginner rider, or an adult who
doesn’t want any surprises. You could still take him on the occasional
leisurely ride. Just don’t leave him untouched in a stall for days. At the
very least, give him a buddy and plenty of turnout time.

It may take a little extra time and money to care for your older horse, but
when you think back to all the years he’s given, you’ll probably agree
he’s worth it. With the proper care, many horses are living sound,
productive lives well into their 20s.

Diane Samson is a writer with The Lieurance Group, a freelance writers cooperative in Kansas City, Missouri. Samson can provide writing, reporting and editing services for magazines, newspapers, corporate communications and especially animal publications. Find out more about her writing services at http://www.lieurancegroup.blogspot.com. or email her at: dianesamson@birch.net

Author: Diane Samson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Duty tariff

After years of practicing both conventional and holistic medicine for horses, I decided to compare the cost, effectiveness, and net results of managing and treating horses holistically versus conventionally.

In this article I compare results for the average trail horse that is ridden about 2-3 times a week. I have used average feed and veterinary costs for my area (Austin, Texas), and drug and supplement costs from a major horse supply catalog.

I then discuss the issues related to each area of care, including feed, supplements, vaccines, dewormers, and first aid. Stay tuned for different profiles in coming months, when I will compare horses in different disciplines, young horses, older horses, and broodmares.

>>> Holistic Horse >> Conventional Horse Feed Costs

Grain is slightly cheaper to feed and easier to store than hay, which makes the conventional horse slightly cheaper to feed on the one hand. On the other hand, the holistic horse, which has access to more hay, stays happy and entertained and is less likely to develop expensive habits and vices such as chewing on wood, cribbing, or weaving.

Supplements

In the past, hay and oats provided all the nutrition a horse needed, but these days common farming practices do not produce feeds that are high in vitamins and minerals. Hoof quality is the first area to be affected by such poor nutrition, and few horses can maintain healthy feet on a diet of hay and oats alone. If you doubt this, just check any horse supply catalog. The one I checked offered 22 topical hoof conditioners and 28 separate supplements. Cell Tech’s Super Blue Green Algae offers a wide range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants in a whole food form. It is inexpensive to feed, promotes healthy feet, and supports the horse in all aspects of health.

Vaccines

Some people will choose not to vaccinate at all while others will choose to use more vaccines than the ones I’ve listed in the trail horse comparison. I believe that over-vaccination is one of the most common triggers for chronic diseases such as laminitis and uveitis, and contributes to allergic conditions. Stressing the horse’s system with over-vaccination can also affect the digestive system, leading to mineral deficiencies. Stress also decreases the amount of healthy bacterial flora in the gut, increasing the likelihood of colic.

Dewormers

We are fortunate to have some fairly safe chemical dewormers such as Pyrantel and Fenbendazole, yet some people still prefer using natural products to support the horse’s digestive and immune systems rather than using chemical dewormers. Regardless of which method you use, it is wise to double check your program with fecal exams at least twice a year.

First Aid

When I practiced strictly conventional medicine I found that most horses suffered from minor injuries or infections at least several times a year. These minor emergencies kept me busy, and because they were so common most of my clients started keeping drugs on hand and learned to treat these conditions themselves.

When I began to treat my patients more holistically, with fewer vaccines and better nutrition (including the use of probiotics such as Acidophilus), I noticed that the horses had less and less need for drugs. My patients no longer needed bute or antibiotics for minor cuts and punctures. These wounds healed quickly and easily with no loss of riding time. Gone also was the aggravating chronic nasal discharge that often kept horses out of work for weeks at a time.

A holistically managed horse with a healthy immune system will often run a fever for a short period of time when exposed to a virus or bacteria. This response slows the pathogen’s growth and deprives it of nutrients. A short course of probiotics will help support the horse during this time. Once the fever breaks, the horse bounces back quickly with little nasal discharge or cough. These horses then go right back to work without concern about relapse. Conventionally managed horses taking anti-inflammatories and antibiotics will often get better in the short term, but then relapse or develop a chronic nasal discharge.

The Results Are In!

The trail horse example I have used above precisely demonstrates what I have experienced in my practice. While it costs about the same to manage a horse either conventionally or holistically, I’ve found that holistically managed horses are much healthier overall, which means fewer chronic problems and more days of riding time. In fact, conventionally managed horses have about 7 times the number of sick days as holistically managed horses.

Madalyn Ward, DVM, co-author of Holistic Treatment of Chronic Lamintis, is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy, Chiropractic and Acupuncture. Through her website, Holistic Horsekeeping, (http://www.holistichorsekeeping.com), she publishes a free monthly newsletter, offers the Healthy, Happy Horse resource group, e-books, holistic horsecare products and information for horse and mule owners.

Author: Dr. Madalyn Ward, DVM
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news