HEALTH & EDUCATION

Health & Education

We all want the best care possible for our horses. The Heath & Education section covers both Learning Institutions, Organizations as well as many sources for equine assistance including Veterinarians and Farriers.

For those who want a to formally study horses, the Education section includes College Riding, Equine Studies, and Veterinary Schools. Learn about the wide variety of horses in the Horse Breeds section. Supplements and Treatments Therapy are also included in the section.

Everyone can learn from Fine Art and there are some specialty Museums that might surprise you.

Horses as a therapy partner enrich the lives of the disabled. These facilities are listed in our Therapeutic Riding section. To help children and young adults build confidence and grow emotionally, please see the resources available on the Youth Outreach page.

Looking for a place to keep your horse? You can find it in the Horse Boarding section. Traveling? Find a Shipping company or Horse Sitting service if your horse is staying home!

Want to stay up to date with the latest training clinics or professional conferences? Take a look at our Calendar of Events for Health & Education for the dates and locations of upcoming events.

Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!

A new imaging modality made available to veterinarians, the PET Scan (positron emission tomography), is not yet fully understood. Dr. Katie Garrett, Director of Imaging, and Dr. Jose Bras, lead surgeon at the Wellington practice, discuss the uses of the PET scan in practice. Diagnosing repetitive stress injuries early has been a challenge for veterinarians. An earlier diagnosis may be possible potentially saving the horse from a more devastating injury. The PET scan, in conjunction with other imaging modalities such as radiology, nuclear scintigraphy and ultrasound, will allow more complete investigations of the difficult lame horse.

Shoeing the Modern Horse by Steven Kraus, CJF, and Katie Navarra

By Steven Kraus, CJF, with Katie Navarra

To shoe or not to shoe? If you’ve ever wondered which is better for your horse, you’re not alone.

The internet is full of opinions for you to consider. People have strong beliefs on both sides of the debate, which has created confusion and philosophical disputes rather than focusing on what is best for the modern horse.

Rather than ask, Are shoes necessary? or Is going barefoot better than being shod?, think of each horse as an individual. You will find the best answer for any horse when you take this approach. Horses live in diverse environments and are in many types of work, which contribute to deciding the best option for each horse.

With that in mind, it’s impractical to think that one method of hoof care is the only way to take care of all horses’ feet. Horseshoes may all look the same in the back of your farrier’s truck, but there is no such thing as one method or one horseshoe for all horses. “Cookie cutter” style shoeing or trimming does not work. Whether you choose to leave a horse barefoot, or use a shoe, trimming is the foundation of your horse’s hoof care.

Making Objective Observations

Observation and analysis of each horse, and not emotions, must guide the decision-making process to determine the best management of any horse. Good horsemanship, such as knowing the horse, his function, how to properly train, care for and use him offers the best answer in the barefoot versus shoeing debate. Often, there is more than one solution to consider, and the decision of which method to use should be based on facts and data. The WIDTH Protocol (see below) can establish if any horse is a good candidate to remain barefoot or is better served with horseshoes from an objective rather than subjective point of view. This protocol was developed using my observations working on horses in the central New York State region, shoeing almost 250,000 hooves over a nearly 50-year career. Ask yourself the following questions:

Work: What Does the Horse Do?

There are a multitude of ways horses are kept and used. Some are highly competitive, others perform in harsh environments, and some spend most of their time on turnout doing nothing at all. Most horses live somewhere between. Considering how often the horse works, the surface he works on, and his natural hoof quality are all part of the equation.

Theriogenologist Dr. Pete Sheerin joins Dr. Bart Barber and Dr. Peter Morresey to talk about the steps you can take to get your barren mare ready for the upcoming breeding season. The trio discusses the wide variety of issues that can cause your mare’s infertility and how you can intervene to improve the chances of a successful pregnancy.

This video shows this man's first time lunging a horse, courtesy of the EIE Editorial team.

Are you new to lunging? Here are some recommendations if you are a beginner.

What is lunging? You've seen it done at the circus, with horses in the ring. The horse is at the end of a long line and the handler is in the center of a large circle. The horse goes around the outside edge of the ring with the handler on the ground in the center, holding the line. It's a great way to warm up your horse before you ride. It's also great way for new riders to understand the movement of a horse without having to manage control of the animal.

1. Start with a horse that is experienced at lunging. A person with no experience shouldn't be trying to lunge a horse with no experience. Some people may think "they can learn together. We say. "Fuggetaboutit!"

2. Your equipment is a lunge line and whip. Practice cracking the whip without the horse nearby and get the feel of it. We've found it is best to use the effects of the sound and we've NEVER struck a horse with a lunge whip.

3. The lunge line is long so make sure it is wrapped neatly in your hand and not dangling on the ground. We once witnessed that part of the lunge line dropped to the ground, got twisted around her leg. got tripped by the lunging horse and she fell. The horse got loose but fortunately everyone was OK!

4. You can use a halter, bridle or cavison. Some people also use side reins but for the purposes here, we'll stick to the basics. You can clip the lunge line to the side or bottom of the halter. If using a bridle, you can clip it to the side of the bit. Please make sure to either remove the reins or fasten them so they don't come loose to cause the horse to trip.

Training a horse is a challenging but necessary part of equine ownership. If you don’t train your horse, it will become unruly and hard to manage as it reaches adulthood. Independently of which horse breed you own, maybe it’s a Shetland pony or maybe an Arabian horse, training it will take time, but the rewards are there if you can pull it off.

Set Goals

Before you start training your horse, it’s important to know your main objective. Some people just want to ride their horses around a field; some want to take their horses onto the road, and some want to take their horses around the country in trailers. Whatever goal you have, make sure you take it step-by-step and don’t rush things. If you want to teach your horse to get into the trailer, you have to get it used to the trailer first but if what you want is to ride your horse, it would be best to get it used to having a saddle on first.

Trust

Having your horse’s trust is one of the most important aspects of training. If your horse doesn’t trust you, it won’t listen to you, and you’ll waste hours training it when it’s in a state that won’t accept any training. You need to build that trust over time by doing simple things like grooming it, spending time with it, walking it, etc. Once you’ve built up that trust, only then can you begin training it.

Doctor Dorothee Bienzle,a Ontario Veterinary College researcher

by Jackie Bellamy-Zions

Heaves is known as a disease that can leave a horse struggling to breathe, ending athletic careers and even rendering a pleasure horse unsuitable for riding. Commonly known today as equine asthma, it’s an irreversible disease brought on by repeated exposure to dust and moulds. Ontario Veterinary College researcher, Doctor Bienzle has a long history of primary and collaborative work studying asthma in horses. Her most recent contributions include working with a group of researchers in Slovenia, investigating stem cells as a potential treatment option.

Bienzle explains the usual causes of heaves are long term exposure to dusty or mouldy hay, bedding, dusty environments and sometimes even grass in hot humid climates that provide the right conditions for mould to thrive. “Horses get sensitized to these components in the inhaled air and with time, they develop airway inflammation and that begins to manifest with occasional coughing or runny nose.”

With continued exposure to the same particulates, the condition worsens, and the coughing becomes more continuous. The nose may be running and then there is thickening of the bronchial wall in the lung. There is extra smooth muscle being laid down and it becomes hard for the horse to exhale against mucus and inflammatory cells in the lumen of the airway.

In the later stages of disease, horses can develop a ‘heaves line’ (hypertrophic abdominal muscles are recruited to assist with exhaling air). By the time equine asthma is diagnosed, it has usually been present for a few years, if not several. Treatment of the symptoms includes immunosuppression, but the disease cannot be reversed.

by Laura Crump Anderson

Pregnancy is such an exciting and nerve-racking part of a woman’s life. There is no denying that it will impact your riding as your body adapts and changes to the challenges of becoming a mother. While most doctors and literature on the subject will tell you not to ride while you are pregnant, if you are healthy and your pregnancy is progressing normally, you can certainly continue to exercise. You may need to make some modifications for your changing body, and that’s what a pregnancy-specific routine is designed to help you do.

There are some exercises that are very safe to do while you’re pregnant; there are also some things you should avoid doing, such as deep twists, exercises on your stomach, and after your fourth month, exercises that have you on your back for extended periods of time. Be aware that expectant mothers often tire sooner, so don’t push yourself too hard as exhaustion leads to an increased risk of injury. The last thing you want from your exercise program is an injury that would make life even harder while you’re pregnant, so make sure you listen to your body and back off when it tells you to.

I developed a special strength-building routine after working with riding clients who wanted to stay active during their pregnancies. Pregnant women are some of my favorite to work with because it is such an exciting period in their lives. They know that they need to work hard and take care of their bodies. Some days are harder than others, but they always show up and give it everything they have. As a personal trainer, I could not ask for more.

by ECIR Group Inc.

Hyperinsulinemia associated with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) and/or equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is well documented to put horses at high risk of laminitis. While dietary control of simple sugars and starch is the most effective therapy to control hyperinsulinemia, some horses fail to respond.

Since the publication of articles in 2018 and 2019 describing the effects of the SGLT2 (sodium glucose cotransporter 2) inhibitor velagliflozin in controlling insulin levels in horses with hyperinsulinemia, the Equine Cushing’s and Insulin Resistance Group (ECIR Group) has been interested in exploring this family of drugs in horses that do not respond to the usual measures of diet/carbohydrate control, pergolide if the horse has PPID/Cushing’s, and metformin.

ECIR Group members with horses that had unresponsive high insulin levels and laminitis, in conjunction with their treating veterinarians, trialed them on canagliflozin. Because velagliflozin is not commercially available, members used the flagship SGLT2 inhibitor, canagliflozin, with estimated appropriate dosages based on published information.

By Sean Patrick

Helping Your Horse Overcome His Fears

Horses usually take the path of least resistance and conserve their energy…a nice way of saying that they are inherently lazy. So why does a young horse surge in speed under saddle when a slower pace would take less effort? The answer can be explained by examining the horse’s fear level. He needs to build confidence through experience and habituation. Building your horse’s confidence is not just about desensitizing him to a saddle pad; it is an ongoing process every time you handle him or get in the saddle.

Expect your horse to be fearful of new experiences. Your job is to assist him in overcoming his fear. Here is a list of measures you can take:

Use your hands and legs wisely. Your horse must completely trust your actions and intentions. Communicate through physical touch that is fair and pleasing.
Apply motivators consistently and fairly—smoothly and with warning. For example, when using a dressage whip, take your position and begin hind-end tapping slowly with increasing firmness. Never startle your horse with an unexpected firm tap. With fair application he’ll learn to respond without ever showing signs of fear.
Be reasonable and consistent with reprimands. Your horse needs to know where the line is, and that the line is stationary.
Spend ample time in the saddle on a regular basis. This keeps your horse prepared and accustomed to his job as a riding horse. When your riding time is short and infrequent, he won’t progress nearly as well. You want the saddle and rider to be a normal part of his routine, where fear and discomfort are not factors.