Keep your horse healthy. Enjoy your horse more!

If you read EQUUS, you’ll know these and other facts about horses and their care…

• Why the perfect “football weather” puts your horse at increased risk of laminitis.
  Cool, crisp sunny days alter the chemistry of pasture grasses, leading to a rise in sugars that can trigger laminitis in metabolically sensitive horses. Approach fall pastures as you do new spring growth—limiting your at-risk horse’s access with a muzzle, or keeping him off it entirely until growth has stopped for the year. 

• How adding another water trough to your field can help prevent injuries.
  Most pasture squabbles occur because of a scarcity of resources. Horses jockeying for position at a single hay feeder or water trough may kick out at each other, which can lead to serious injuries. You can eliminate this risk by providing multiple feed and water stations in each enclosure. 

• Why there’s no need to stand in the stirrups when your mount urinates.
  This enduring myth is based on the notion that a horse's kidneys and/or bladder should bear no weight as he urinates. But those structures are located deep beneath layers of muscle and bone, far beyond where the saddle rests, so a rider's weight has no effect on them. In theory, it may be easier for a horse to stretch out to urinate if his rider stands, but sitting very still may have the same effect. In the end, the only compelling reason to stand may be to avoid rebukes from fellow riders who mistakenly think you must.  

• That, contrary to popular belief, cold water can be given to a hot horse---and in fact may save his life.
  Multiple studies done around the time of the 1996 Olympic Games showed that there was no physiological harm in sponging a very hot horse with cold water. And while some studies have suggested that horses prefer to drink slightly warmer water during the winter months, there is no scientific basis for the notion that drinking cold water is dangerous for horses, even immediately after work in warm weather. 

• That horses don’t really hold their breath to avoid girth tightening.
  This is a popular and persistent myth, but the reality is that a horse’s first 10 ribs, which lie directly under the saddle, are relatively immobile, which makes it nearly impossible for a horse to expand the diameter of his girth area through lung power alone. What is really happening when a horse “puffs up” in response to be girthed is he is tensing his abdominal muscles, an action that expands the width of the chest slightly, allowing the cinch to loosen when he relaxes. The key to "deflating" a horse's belly is relaxation, not admonishment. Give him a few moments or walk him a bit, then check your girth to see if it needs to be tightened again. 

• Why bran isn’t the best grain for making a hot mash for your horse.
  Although bran is the traditional mash base, it can lead to digestive upset from the sudden ration change or nutritional imbalances if fed too often. You can make a safer hot meal for your horse by adding a few cups of warm water to his normal grain ration. Most pellets will soak up water within a few minutes.

 Each issue is packed with great articles!