MLD Equestrian

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With cases of equine influenza (EI) being reported around the UK at increased levels it’s an important time to be vigilant for suspicious symptoms and at least as importantly to consider measures to minimise your horse’s risk of contracting infectious diseases more generally.

Sensible precautions to avoid exposure to and spread of infection are widely applicable to contagious diseases such as EI, equine herpes virus (EHV), and Strep. equi (“strangles”)… and, of course, routine vaccination of horses against these diseases can play a big part in prevention too.

Check out these links for useful information on biosecurity and disease incidence.

https://www.britishequestrian.org.uk/equine/health-biosecurity/biosecurity
https://equinesurveillance.org/landing/

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With temperatures soaring, we wanted to share some simple tips to help keep your horses comfortable and safe in the heat ☀️

🔆 Horses are usually happy living out, provided they have access to adequate shelter such as large trees or field shelters. Encouraging them into shaded areas with hay or their usual feed can also help. If you only have a field with little or no shelter, check your horse regularly and offer water frequently where possible, as some horses may become too hot to even walk to the trough.

🔆 If your horse seems too hot or uncomfortable, you can hose them down with tepid or cold water several times a day. Always let the hose run first to clear any water that may have become hot in the pipe. Avoid scraping the water off afterwards — evaporation is what helps cool them down, so keep hosing if needed.

🔆 Consider using fly rugs, ideally white or light-coloured, to reflect heat and help protect against flies.

🔆 Use fly spray when horses are out in the heat, as flies tend to be particularly active during warmer weather.

🔆 If your horse has a particularly thick coat, including those with Cushings, consider clipping them during the summer months to help keep them cool. Pink-skinned horses may then need a lightweight fly rug to help prevent sunburn.

🔆 Soaked hay and sloppy feeds can help encourage water intake and prevent dehydration (where appropriate and not for those on a laminitic weight-management programme).

🔆 Avoid riding during the hottest parts of the day whenever possible. Either ride very early, keep work light, or opt for a gentle hack. A few easier days won’t do any harm, but strenuous exercise in extreme heat certainly can.

🔆 Be mindful of stabling conditions. Some wooden stables can become extremely hot in direct sunlight — a good test is to stand inside yourself and see how it feels. If your horse is normally stabled overnight and turned out during the day, it may be worth reversing turnout times to avoid peak temperatures and the worst of the flies.

🔆 Take extra care when travelling horses in hot weather. Trailers and lorries can become dangerously hot very quickly, especially when stationary in traffic. If travel is essential, aim to travel very early in the morning or later in the evening where possible.

If your horse seems unusually lethargic, distressed, or loses interest in eating, please contact your vet.

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🦠 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐚 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 🦠

Many of you will be aware that there have been a number of outbreaks of Equine Influenza (‘flu’) in recent weeks throughout the UK. Flu is a highly contagious disease with signs including nasal discharge, a cough, high fever and depression. Disease incidence and severity can be reduced by ensuring horses are up to date on vaccinations. Whilst yearly boosters are often sufficient, 6 monthly boosters offer increased protection especially in the face of an outbreak.

To help minimise the risk of introducing flu to our Hospital, we will be asking additional questions (in particular about flu vaccination) when an appointment is made. We hope you all understand. Please talk to us or your vet if you have questions about ‘flu and vaccinations.

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗵 - is this happening out of season?

The spring flush of grass usually happens around April. Increasing sunlight, warmer conditions and showers create ideal conditions for grass growth. However, with milder winters now, the so-called spring flush can appear at all sorts of unusual times. A couple of warm, sunny days in February or March can trigger a spurt of growth. With no shortage of soil moisture this year and very little frost, conditions for growth are occurring very much out of season.

You may not notice the grass growing, but the signs can be there – horses preferring to graze rather than eat their hay, softer droppings and even very green droppings from horses with plentiful turnout. For many, these can be a welcome sign, but for horses with metabolic issues such as Cushing’s, Equine Metabolic Syndrome, insulin dysregulation and so on, it can present a risk. These horses are at greater risk of laminitis, so keep a very close eye on them and act immediately – the faster you can react and make changes, the less impact there is likely to be.

When conditions are very wet, the situation is exacerbated, as it can be more difficult to give horses the same level of exercise. Reduced workload combined with increased nutrition can trigger laminitis in susceptible horses.

If you are relying on your pasture, you may not notice the grass growth, as the horse will eat it as soon as it appears, so be very vigilant.

If you'd like to discuss dietary support for a horse prone to metabolic issues, contact the Feed Line on 01728 604 008.

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Across our area, many of us are affected by snow and ice at the moment. Managing horses in these conditions is not easy and a balanced approach is needed.

• Frozen land
• Frozen schools
• Slippery yards
• Difficult to get vehicles to yards
• Horses becoming bored and agitated

Here are some things to consider and look out for with our equine friends:

COLIC
• Horses can drink less than normal when the temperatures plummet. If water troughs are frozen you must find a way of getting water to them, maybe also tempt them to drink more with a very sloppy mash.
• Ensure plenty of hay / roughage is available for your horse to eat.

WINTER LAMINITIS
• Low temperatures cause sugar levels to increase in the grass. Sunny winter’s days can be dangerous to those prone to laminitis. The bright blue skies with plenty of sunshine allow the plants to photosynthesise during the day, the following cold nights then lead to storage of the sugars that have been produced during the day. When horses eat the sugary grass, the amount of glucose in their bloodstream increases, this causes a rise in insulin which has been shown to cause laminitis. It is therefor important to keep horses at risk of laminitis off the grass in these conditions.

SOLID, RUTTED PASTURE / FROZEN SCHOOLS AND YARDS
• If turning horses out be mindful of the very hard ground and the injury this could cause. Horse’s prone to galloping, bucking, and playing in the sunshine and snow are at risk of leg injuries and lameness, worst case scenario, there is an increased chance of broken limbs.
• Maybe place piles of hay / haylage out for them to eat to try to keep them quiet. The piles must be well spaced out to avoid any bickering between field companions.

HORSES STOOD IN FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME
• This brings its own risks as inactivity is far from ideal. Boredom and poor behaviour could set in.
• If this is your preferred choice, maybe try vigorous grooming to keep the blood flowing and the muscles loose.
• Stable toys to occupy the days
• Other horses, neighbours around for company.
• Risk of impaction colic, ensure good access to water and monitor faecal output.

RUGGING AND KEEPING YOUR HORSE WARM
• Remember, horses have a much lower thermoneutral zone (the temperature range where they do not have to expend energy to keep warm) than humans. Horses 5 - 25 degrees. Humans 20 - 35 degrees. This means that if you are cold your horse may not be cold
• Horses have a caecum which acts as a giant internal combustion engine producing heat - the human equivalent is the appendix which produces no heat
• Remember every horse is different, be sure to check your horses ears, not just his body to see if you think he is cold.

DIFFICULTY GETTING TO THE YARD
• Maybe you can buddy up with others and share the work load if someone is struggling. Maybe some have a more suitable 4x4 vehicle.

There are no ideal solutions in these conditions. All yards are set up differently and all horses cope differently. We can all only do our best and keep our eyes peeled for any potential problems arising.

Do not hesitate to give us a call if you have any concerns about your horse or pony. 0808 168 5580 or 01254 888 600.

Cold one today but ponies are happy ❄️😍

Now full 😊