Glucosamine Studies On Horses

By Thomas Morva

“Healthy as a horse” implies that horses have a good resistance to many diseases. But being athletic in nature they are trained for long hours and made to run long distances. Such activity schedules and accidents can lead to joint inflammation and degeneration of cartilage, a condition termed as osteoarthritis. Cartilage can be broken to an extent where bones rub each other causing severe pain to the horses.

Generally horses over the age of 15 are more prone to arthritis as the cartilage begins to wear out faster than it is produced at that age. These horses also suffer from weakened tendons and ligaments that become more elastic and results in instability.

To treat arthritis in horses, glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are commonly used. Glucosamine sulfate is extracted from crustacean shells and chondroitin from bovine cartilage. They are generally added to horse’s daily diet. Chondroitin sulfate is believed to block certain enzymes that result in the breakdown of cartilage.

Recent studies conducted in Toronto, Canada have shown that glucosamine sulfate and its supplements have improved the arthritic joints in horses suffering from arthritis.

In a study conducted by the veterinary orthopedic society horses between the age 5 and 15 diagnosed with arthritis were given glucosamine and chondroitin for two months. After two months the horses were examined and they showed significant improvement.

In 1997, a study on degenerative joint disease in horses was conducted. Horses with cartilage breakdown of the hock, fetlock, pastern and cannon bone were selected for this study. They were administered glucosamine and chondroitin for six weeks. The researchers could see a significant improvement in the horses within the first two weeks.

Arthritis is treatable if detected early. The horse must be regularly examined by a veterinarian to check for signs of arthritis or other ailments.

Glucosamine [http://www.e-Glucosamine.com] provides detailed information on Glucosamine, Glucosamine Chondroitin, Glucosamine Sulfate, Liquid Glucosamine and more. Glucosamine is affiliated with Hip Joint Pain [http://www.e-JointPain.com].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Morva
http://EzineArticles.com/?Glucosamine-Studies-On-Horses&id=405451

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Undigested food particles in manure…

by asbservices2

So what does it mean to float a horse’s teeth? I’m sure you’ve heard this a time or two (if you haven’t, sooner or later you will from another horse owner or from your vet), and if you’re like me, you imagined for the longest time what this could possibly mean and wondered what it involved.

To float a horse’s teeth certainly sounds funny, too. Floating means to smooth or contour your horse’s teeth with a file (called a “float”). Unlike your own teeth, your horse’s teeth keep growing. At times, your horse’s teeth may develop sharp edges, making it difficult for her to chew food, hold a bit, or simply have pain and discomfort inside her mouth.

An adult horse may have between 36-44 permanent teeth. And just like humans, your horse gets two sets of teeth in her lifetime. Your horse starts out with temporary baby teeth and by age five, will most likely have her full set of permanent teeth. The horse’s front teeth cut hay and grass, while the top and bottom cheek teeth grind the forage between the flat surfaces in a sideways motion. This grinding action breaks down the food into a pulp before swallowing which helps it to be digested better.

If your horse is unable to grind down food all the way due to uneven teeth surfaces, the unchewed food will not be digested as well. Most often, points develop on the upper cheek teeth toward the outside of the mouth next to your horse’s cheek. And on the bottom cheek teeth toward the inside of the mouth next to your horse’s tongue. These points can then cut into the cheek and tongue making your horse uncomfortable.

Though it may seem tedious and like a burden, you know having routine dentist check-ups contribute to the overall good health of your own teeth. Well, your horse is no different and deserves some of the same attention to her teeth as you give to yours. Confined horses or those that do not have the ability to graze all day are more prone to teeth overgrowth, as they are not naturally grinding their teeth all day to keep them smooth. Also, just like you, your horse can have other dental problems. A horse can have excessively worn teeth, loose or broken teeth, or infected gums.

One sign that your horse’s teeth may need to be floated is if she is consistently dropping food from her mouth and you start seeing signs of weight loss. Your horse may also exhibit behavior like head-tossing or opening her mouth frequently.

Possible horse dental problem indicators: • Drops food from her mouth • Exhibits difficulty in chewing • Excessive salivation • Loss of weight • Undigested food particles in manure • Head-tossing • Excessive bit chewing • Resisting having the bridle put on • Difficult handling while riding • Mouth odor • Blood in the mouth • Face swelling • Nasal discharge

Because horses are adaptable creatures, even if they are having discomfort, some do not show any signs of dental problems. So don’t assume that if there are no symptoms, there are no problems. Sharp teeth edges can hurt the inside of your horse’s mouth causing pain and creating sores on her tongue or cheeks. Your horse may show resistance when riding due to added pain from the bit pressing against the sores. The vet or equine dentist will carefully file all your horse’s teeth that need smoothing to achieve a flat grinding surface between the upper and lower teeth.

Having your horse’s teeth floated is well worth it so she digests her food better, is in better spirits, and makes riding more enjoyable for you both. How often floating is necessary varies quite a bit from one horse to another. Some horses seem to have slower-growing teeth and may require floating only once every several years while others may require floating every few months.

Even if your horse does not require her teeth to be floated often, it is still a good idea to have her teeth and gums examined once a year. The procedure the vet typically uses to float your horse’s teeth is to first sedate your horse to make her relaxed. A special halter is put on with a rope thrown over a ceiling rafter or the equivalent in order to hold your horse’s head up. A mouth speculum is used to keep your horse’s mouth open. The vet will then either manually file your horse’s teeth using a rasp in a back and forth motion to flatten the high points, or may use a power tool. The whole procedure is quick and painless – taking about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

If you’re like me, you cringe at the thought of someone filing away on your teeth with a rasp. You can imagine the shooting pain from the nerves in your teeth. Personally, the dentist can’t give me enough Novocain to make me feel comfortable before poking around or drilling in my mouth. Unlike us, a horse’s nerves end close to the gumline, so there is no nerve where the tooth is being worked on, and therefore does not feel any nerve pain. We humans should be so lucky.

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Basic Horse Care

Author:Fran Black

Horses are amazingly beautiful and sensitive creatures. Horses require not only understanding and patience to have a horse as a pet, it also requires a whole lot of care.

Herd Mentality: Observe horses in the herd system, each horse’s welfare in the wild depends upon an instinctive submission to the discipline of the herd. The instinct is for immediate action. To the horse, action is survival. When horses live in an herd environment, they often take turns sleeping and standing guard for any predators. When the leader of the herd signals danger they take flight. Learning respect and ascending to authority starts on the first day of life for the foals, there is a distinct pecking order in herds of horses. It is important to keep a quiet profile around horses. Horses naturally do not like unnecessary noise because in the wild their survival depends on detection of predators with their hearing. Extraneous noise interferes with this predator detection. This predator detection is tightly coupled with a horse’s flight reflex. Due to these survival genetics, horses have a physiological wiring in their brains that predisposes them to prefer quietness and to become bothered by unnecessary noise. Many horses can get startled easily from abrupt noises and this could result in injury to the horse, the rider, or people around the horse. Talk to your horse in a quiet, reassuring voice.

Relationship With Horses: A horse will love you if, first and foremost, you treat it fairly, and secondly, if you allow yourself to develop a relationship with it in the same way you would a human partner. There are too many who will look after the horse’s material needs but put nothing back into the partnership itself. The horse born in captivity will identify with an alternative provider and companion, resulting in a healthy relationship from the beginning. A healthy relationship with your horse requires: trust, coupled with respect, fondness with compliance, and a desire to please.

Check Your Horse: Examine your horse every day and especially prior to riding the horse. Carefully examine the horse’s legs and back for any unusual heat or lumps. Make sure that the horse’s eyes are alert and not glazy. Listen for any excessive noise or gurgling sounds coming from your horse’s stomach. Catching problems before they become serious is critical to keeping a show horse sound and alive. Exercise caution and discretion when around stallions and mares when they are in heat. They are dealing with hormones on an order of magnitude that you probably can not comprehend. Stallions typically bite and some may be easily triggered into violent behavior.

Grooming Horses: Keep your horse clean. Keep your horse’s entire coat free from dirt, mud, sand, and sweat. Brush your horse every day. Pick out your horse’s feet every day. Wash out any sweat residue from the saddle pad or girth every day. Wash out any dirt or sand residue, as from the riding arena, on your horses legs every day. A number of different problems can result if a horse’s coat is not kept clean.

Barn Care: Keep your horse’s stall clean. Make sure that your horse’s stall is cleaned every day. Be sure that any wetness is removed with the manure. Replace the removed bedding with fresh, clean, dry bedding. Water should be dumped from buckets every day without exception. Unhealthy dirt and bacteria can build up in a bucket if it is not cleaned on a daily basis. Clean water is essential to maintaining a healthy horse. Make sure your horse always has clean, fresh water available.

Training A Horse: The intelligence of the horse increases rapidly with education. An intelligent trainer can make an intelligent horse. A kind but firm trainer will result in a disciplined but pleasing horse.

Horse Feed: Feed your horse(s) at the same times every day. A horse may get upset and colic or injure themselves by kicking the stall or pawing, if not fed when feeding is expected. You should not make radical changes in a horse’s feed program. If you must make a change in the feed program, make the change gradually. Drastic changes in a horse’s feed program can cause the horse to colic and in some cases, may die. Your horse’s stomach is a highly sensitive bio-reactor that maintains a delicate balance of the organisms that digest food in your horse’s digestive track. Visitors should not feed a horse that you do not own without the owner’s permission; no carrots, no apples, no treats, nothing. The horse could potentially, get sick if they have an allergy or sickness.

Pay attention to everything that goes into your horse; that means all feed, all hay, all water, all treats, all supplements, all pills, and all shots. This knowledge could save your horse’s life in an emergency situation. Post this information on your horse’s stall door so that it is available to a vet if you are not around in an emergency. Make sure that your horse gets high-quality feed and hay. Your horse’s health and soundness depends on the nutrition that you provide for them. Take good care of your horse. A rider without a horse is no rider at all.

Vet Care: Make sure that you have a good equine veterinarian. A good vet will save you money in the long run and may save your horse’s life some day. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Make sure your horse has all the vaccinations that are normal for your geographical location. All horses should be on a good worming program to control intestinal parasites. A horse should be wormed by a vet at least twice a year.

Horse Flies: In the summer spray your horse trailer down with fly spray about 10 minutes before you load the horses. The flies should leave, and your horses will be without those pesky flies! Cooling Horses: Never spray a hot, sweaty horse with cold water immediately after working the horse. This can cause muscle spasms and binding, or shock that can lead to death. Wait until the horse is breathing regularly, and use warm water if it is available. If a horse has heat shock, consult your vet and the vet may instruct you to cold hose the horse, even if still hot and sweaty. Never put a horse in a stall or confined area while sweaty or while they are still breathing heavily. This can result in shock and/or colic that can lead to death. Walk the horse until the horse is cooled out and the breathing is normal. Shoeing: Horses’ hooves generally grow approximately 1 cm in a month, and take nearly a year to grow from the coronet band to the ground.

Horse’s hooves need to be trimmed regularly (about every 6-8 weeks). Shoeing a horse does not hurt them. If you were to grow out your finger nail, you could put an earring/pin through it without causing discomfort; however, if you pushed the pin through the part of your nail that is attached to the soft tissue of your finger, it would hurt. When horse shoes are nailed in, they are nailed at an angle so which the horse doesn’t feel it. Make sure that you have a good farrier, especially if you show your horse over jumps. The concussion from landing from jumps amplifies any problems in a horse’s shoeing. If a horse gets sore feet or legs from bad angles or bad shoeing, the horse can not just take his shoes off, sit back on a couch, and rub their feet, or find another pair of shoes like you can. Bad shoeing can result in your horse becoming lame due to a number of problems including: bowed tendons, popped splints, or shoulder/back soreness or spasms. Bad shoeing can ruin a good horse, so don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish where shoeing is concerned. A laid-up horse is far more expensive to maintain than a good farrier. And remember not all horses need to have shoes, only if they are competing, walking on hard/rocky surfaces, or have hoof problems.

Sleeping: Horses do lay down to sleep, but only if they feel completely comfortable in their environment. It is not enough to provide a dry stable, food and water. Horses will often sleep standing up by locking their knees. Horses are one of the few animals that can put one half of their body asleep while the other half is wide awake.

Emotionally and mentally, all horses need to feel they have and be comfortable in their own space! To fully enjoy a horse’s finer qualities you must treat them with both kindness and quality care. In the end, a happy horse will mean a nicer ride and a happier rider.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/basic-horse-care-27128.html

About the Author: Rob Daniels has been an equestrian rider for 25 years. He has studied various disciplines additional articles are available at: Riding Stable – http://www.riding-stable.com and Horse Stall http://www.horse-stall.net

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Submitted by SamBenson

Horses can become sick easily. One of the problems that constantly plagues them is parasitic worms. They’re usually found within the horse’s gut and intestinal area. While the mere presence of these worms won’t usually cause any damage, they can begin to infest the horse’s body. If a massive infestation occurs, a horse can experience severe bouts of pain and fever. Below, we’ll describe how worms enter a horse’s body. Plus, you’ll discover what horse worming is and how it helps maintain the horse’s health.

How Do Worms Get In The Horse?

Most horses have worms at some time during their life. Often, they infiltrate a horse’s system during grazing. Other times, a mother will pass the worms in her body to her foal while the foal nurses. Once worms are present in a horse’s gut, it will lay eggs. These eggs will usually pass through the horse when they defecate. The larvae hatch and find their way to the grass. A horse will graze in the area and ingest the worms. This cycle perpetuates itself. As a result, worms are common in horses.

How Does Horse Worming Work?

Most horse owners use a paste to deworm their horses. The paste is ingested orally and should be administered at least every 2 months (though doing so every 6 weeks is recommended). For foals who are still nursing, deworming should be done every 4 weeks. After foals are weaned, they should be dewormed every 6 weeks.

Deworming a horse doesn’t kill the worms. If the worms die while still within the horse’s gut, it’s possible that they’ll release materials with a high level of toxicity. The toxic materials can have a severe impact on the horse’s health. Instead, when a horse ingests the deworming solution, the chemicals contained within paralyze the worms. Once paralyzed, the horse can pass the worms through its system when it defecates. After they have been excreted, the worms usually die.

Preventing Infestations

Remember, worms are common in horses. It’s only when a massive infestation occur that the horse’s health is in jeopardy. That’s why it’s important to deworm a horse every 6 weeks. It prevents an infestation. In the end, being a diligent horse owner means taking action constantly to ensure the health of your horse.

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Understanding the Health of your Horse

Author: Benjamin Wise

Your horses health can be affected by lack of shelter and clean water. Horses living in fields are subject to hot sun, pouring rain and flies. Horses with no access to water can become dehydrated and die. Drainage ditches and stagnant ponds are not a suitable source of water for your horse. A shelter acts as a windbreak and a dry place to escape from flies. Horses living at pasture must be checked at least twice a day. Grooming your pastured horse provides a good opportunity to inspect your horse for injuries. Grooming also keeps the coat clean and prevents matted hair. Dirt and matted hair reduces your horses ability to keep warm and encourages skin diseases such as rain scald or rot. That is the last thing you want to happen to your horse. Depending on the quality of pasture, your horse may need supplemental feeding. Providing a mineral block to your horse in pasture provides a good source of nutrients. If you note your horse has lost weight you will need to increase his grain ration. As a good guide increase your horses grain before the cold of winter hits. Your horse will need all the nutrition it can get to last a long winter. A horse living in a pasture offers you low-maintenance and less time commitment than a stabled horse. However a pastured horse should not be neglected simply because he is free in a field. Observing your horse will help will help to maintain its health.

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