A temperament for healing

From 2011_CT_temperament

If your horse is badly injured, you’re facing a series of serious decisions. But how well your horse will accept being managed during treatments, surgery and recovery goes a long way toward whether or not you get a positive outcome. The word “temperament” was only a bullet point on a list of things affecting injury outcomes presented by Dr. Adam Biedrzycki, UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine during a recent seminar on first aid for horses.

But Biedzycki's bullet point set up an entire afternoon talking about equine temperament based on conditioning your horse to a wide range of activities and events that can payoff in emergency and injury treatment situations. And yes, exposing horses to a wide range of hoses, buckets, noises, flapping, flying things can produce a better and safer ride, said Lori Wegner, Interlace LLC, Springfield, IL.

The relationship between humans and horse starts out uneasy; horses have the instinctual mind of a prey animal and humans have as a foundation the mind of a predator. A horse has to overcome its instincts and learn to trust its human in a wide range of situations.

“Resistance (by the horse) is usually found in some kind of physical or mental restriction,” Wegner said. A classic example of resistance is loading horses into a trailer. Many horses don’t want to load and overcoming that resistance requires uncovering the mental restrictions the horse may have to loading.

“Dr. Biedzyski spoke about how temperament can affect your decisions about what you’re going to do with an injured horse,” she said. “He’s right. So isn’t the time to start working on your horse’s temperament when there isn’t an emergency?”

For example, some hoof injuries can require soaking the hoof in a solution. If your horse will willingly put its hoof in a bucket or barrel, you’re ahead of the healing process because you can make the horse step in the bucket without a struggle to begin with.

If your horse is likely to fight every phase of every treatment because it’s frightened of being handled, it’s going to be hard to do everything that’s needed. A horse that rejects handling has a poorer prognosis than an animal that accepts the treatments.

“And what about an emergency?” Wegner asked. “How your horse acts if it gets its leg stuck in a fence can determine how badly it’s hurt or if it’s hurt at all.”

The instinctive reaction for a horse with its hoof stuck in a fence is to start pulling and thrashing around to get loose. Training your horse to not panic if its foot is stuck means actually working with the animal while everything is calm and normal.

“Get out and play with your horse,” she said. “Put a rope loop around its hoof and tighten it up. Work slowly. When the horse gives you the behavior you’re looking for release it. Keep going a little at a time.”

“Play” can help you with any number of practical horse chores. Deworming involves sticking a threatening-looking tube in the horse’s mouth and administering something that doesn’t taste good. Start getting your horse used to the applicator by holding it in your hand and letting the horse smell it.

Gradually begin to put the applicator syringe near the horse’s mouth. Once that’s okay with the horse take it away. Next, go a little more into the mouth. Leave the applicator in one place until the animal accepts it there and then remove it. Keep gradually introducing the deworming applicator until your horse lets you put it in and take it out.

“If you get your horse used to the syringe when you don’t have to give them dewormer, then when the day come for you to give them the dewormer it should go a lot better,” Wegner said.

Training a horse for the unusual is different from training for a discipline such as barrel racing, jumping or other equine athletic activity. Wegner may call it “playing” with your horse but the investment can be as rewarding as clearing any hurdle.

That's horse...

A pile of horse manure does not compost make. Genuinely composting involves some science, a touch of management and a dash of art.

If you're willing to tackle the composting recipe, you can turn that 32 pounds of manure the average horse produces each day into something safe and useful.

Is the effort worth it? Consider the benefits, said Ellen Phillips, University of Illinois Extension agronomist. The process of composting reduces the volume of material by about two thirds; reduces issues with odor; reduces fly populations; kills bad bacteria; fungus, and yeasts; plus it kills weed seeds.

"Composted horse manure is a safe soil amendment if you're spreading it back on pastures or fields. Compost also is free of viable weed seeds and is almost sterile in terms of pathogens, so it's good for use in gardens and potting plants," Phillips said.

Simply stacking manure isn't composting. Composting involves an anaerobic bacterial process that requires air to work properly. A pile of manure left to its own decomposes via aerobic bacterial process and in essence it rots, Phillips said. Rotten manure is going to be loaded with pathogens and will smell bad, all the while providing a home to flies.

As it turns out, horse manure is a near ideal candidate for composting. Pure horse manure contains near ideal ratios of nitrogen and carbon components that make it compostable with limited need for adding anything to make composting work, she said.

There are numerous ways to get started composting horse manure, Phillips said. People often get caught up in the facilities and equipment of composting, but if you have a good understanding of how the process works you can manage composting with limited means.

"The process requires air to work. Keep that in mind. As long as you have a way to turn the manure from time to time, you can just make piles on the ground. The piles need to be large enough to start the heating process, and I recommend making a pile 4 feet tall as a minimum and 6 feet tall is about right. If you make the pile too tall and too big then you lose some of the aerobic activity," she said.

Once you have a pile of the right size, stop adding fresh material and monitor the temperature. The pile should heat up quickly - to no more than about 160 degrees - and then begin to cool down. Heating and cooling may take up to three weeks. Once the pile cools to room temperature or so, it's time to turn the pile. You may need a loader to turn a large pile, but if you have the labor, turning by hand does the same thing.

After you turn a pile it will heat up again. Keep turning the pile until the heating process stops. At that stage, the bacteria have used up the available food and you're left with a high quality fertilizer. How long the process takes will depend on weather, temperature and moisture.

Phillips noted there are a few things to keep in mind when considering horsemanure composting. Make an estimate of how much material the horses in your stable are generating. You can count wheelbarrows out, or estimate on a per horse basis about how many cubic feet of manure are being produced each day.

"You'll need enough room to make your composting piles, so you need to know how much manure is being produced. There needs to be enough space to keep making piles and turning the piles based on how much manure you have," she said.

Knowing how much manure is being created is important if you build facilities such as compost bins. The bins and equipment need to be sized to the task at hand. You don't want to spend more than is needed to build facilities and you want the facilities you build to properly do the job.

Locate all manure handing areas where drainage won't seep into surface or groundwater. It's considered good public relations to keep manure handling areas out of sight of the public and managed with environmentally sound methods, Phillips said.

Composting works best if the compost is all horse manure. Bedding such as wood shavings can affect the process. Try to separate the manure from the bedding. In some composting situations, adding some straw or similar materials is useful to the process, she said. If the horse manure has a high amount of wood shavings you may need to add a nitrogen source such as urea to feed the bacteria.

"You'll need to learn how to compost," Phillips said. "Moisture levels and air temperature make a difference. The pile should be about 65 percent moisture, so at times you may have to add water or dry matter to keep it adjusted. And composting doesn't work as well during really cold weather because it affects the heating process."

"No two compost piles are the same. It may take you a year or two to begin to get the hang of it. We can explain the science, but you'll need to apply the management and learn the art of composting yourself," Phillips said.

A "Heavy Freezing Spray Warning"

Ouch! Ick. Having a hard time understanding why anyone
needs to be warned to stay off the lake with predictions
of gale force winds and sub zero temperatures. Yet...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING MEANS HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY IS
EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY ACCUMULATE ON VESSELS. THESE CONDITIONS CAN
BE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TO NAVIGATION. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT
MARINERS NOT TRAINED TO OPERATE IN THESE CONDITIONS OR VESSELS
NOT PROPERLY EQUIPPED TO DO SO...REMAIN IN PORT OR AVOID THE
WARNING AREA.

A GALE WARNING MEANS WINDS OF 34 TO 47 KNOTS ARE IMMINENT OR
OCCURRING. OPERATING A VESSEL IN GALE CONDITIONS REQUIRES
EXPERIENCE AND PROPERLY EQUIPPED VESSELS. IT IS HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED THAT MARINERS WITHOUT THE PROPER EXPERIENCE SEEK SAFE
HARBOR PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF GALE CONDITIONS.

Equine mind games

Dr. Jeannine Berger

The better you can manage "mind games" with your horse, the more likely you can get the results you want.

Principles of horse behavior are universal. Sure, genetics and situations affect how an animal acts, but you can count on a series of common behavioral responses among horses that can be used while training.

"The trick is to get the horse to want to do what you want it to do," said Dr. Jeannine Berger, an equine behaviorist from Davis, Calif. To start with, understand that horses have a highly evolved fight-or-flight response, she said.

Reacting quickly to perceived dangers and threats is what kept the herd alive and thriving. Primitive horses had to learn the hard way that running away was a good thing. "Their flight-or-fight response is what kept the horse from ending up as a painting on a cave wall," Berger said.

Berger offered three principles to managing equine behavior: understand what stresses the horse; prepare you and the horse for those stresses; and provide motivation to overcome or accept the stresses. Behavior management is essential for performance horses that are constantly taken to competitions, but sound behavior management can greatly improve the experience for the pleasure horse and rider, too, she added.
Since horses have such a highly developed flight response, it's easy to produce stress. Stress results from a constant sense of fear brought on by situations in the environment the horse can't control or understand. If the horse feels it can't control its situation, it wants to take off If the horse can't take off because it's in a pen, on a trailer, or being ridden, the stress can cause undesirable behavior.

"When the horse can't control the outcome of a situation, then the stress can often become distress. Not only can you see bad or altered behavior, constant stress can also begin to lead to health issues like ulcers or other disorders," Berger said. "Problem horses and horses with metabolic disorders are often horses under stress."

Horses are creatures of habit and most view change to their routine as bad. Loading on trailers, travel, new stables, new footing, different water and feed, new sounds and noises can all stress a horse. Getting the horse to accept change requires the handlers to build trust.

"You should be able to ride a horse up a telephone pole, but it's your responsibility not to try it," Berger said. "It's good to start by getting your horse used to lots of different situations. Change the routine once in a while. Some fresh obstacles in the paddock or stall make for good distractions. Make change part of the routine."

If you travel with your horse, bring some clues from home. Horses have a keen sense of smell, so having along blankets and tack from home can help. Bring a friend if you can. Horses usually hate to be alone, and other horses or animals from home are a comfort.

"You are the one who must stay consistent. Your horse is counting on you to be its pillar. A horse must be able to rely on its human to be the one who it trusts and looks to," Berger said. "A horse needs a consistent human with a reliable plan."

Bring feed and water from home if possible. If you can't bring water when traveling, Berger suggests adding a drop or two of vinegar to the water at home. The change in taste is harmless to the animal but prepares it for changes in the water from place to place. Increase the long-stem roughage in the ration. Horses need forage in their guts at all times, and keeping them full of hay reduces stress.

"Mostly, take your time," Berger said. "If something startles your horse, bring it back around to the spot again. Pretend that you always have all the time in the world."

Finally, if you have your horse on a trailer, do everything possible to make the experience positive. Abrupt stopping, starting and turning can be a terrifying experience to a horse.

"I have a clinic where I have horse owners get in a trailer and we go for a ride," Berger said. "They usually come out with a whole new understanding of what it's like for a horse in a trailer."

Work the animal's instinctive behaviors into your training program. Reward positive reactions to possible stress situations and build the animal's confidence in you by managing changes and situations for the horse, she said.

Vet: mind your easy keeper horse

Dr.Kara M. Lascola

"Easy keeper" is an endearing term. It's the animal that horse owners know to somehow overcondition on a diet of grass hay and rank pasture. It turns out the easy keeper often develops a freshly recognized metabolic syndrome called insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is often discovered by veterinarians when a horse owner makes a call about laminitis or founder, said Dr.Kara M. Lascola of the University of Illinois. The syndrome first became a specific diagnosis in 2002 as research began to sort out the differences between metabolic disorders such as Cushing's disease and hypothyroidism.

"Insulin resistance can affect younger horses," Lascola said."Repeated bouts with laminitis or founder are usually what gets the vet out for a look. When they ask about the horse's history, the pattern of laminitis is an indication"

The disorder has no cure but is manageable with proper diet and exercise. Because insulin resistance tends to affect young horses, management is typically the route owners choose. The easy keeper in the pasture is often obvious. It will look healthy but will have fat deposits at key spots on its body. The horse will have a high body condition plus fat pockets on its tailhead, udder, crest of the neck, shoulders and flanks.

And there also are symptoms such as sore feet, bruising and episodes of laminitis.

Insulin resistance can hit any breed, but it's most common among ponies, Morgans, Arabians, Warm Bloods and Saddlebreds. It's less common among Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds, and Lascola suspects the racing breeds have less insulin resistance because of their high activity levels.

"Insulin resistance is sometimes called a 'disease of prosperity' because it's often induced by overfeeding. Continuing to feed high levels of grain and highly digestible forage to a horse that's worked infrequently can cause a horse to over-condition and become insulin resistant," Lascola said.

Management means a strict diet and increased exercise for the life of the horse. Technically, the syndrome starts when glucose (sugar) remains in the blood stream. It's very similar to type 2 diabetes in humans. The sugar in the blood can't be used by the cells so the sugar is converted to fat and laid down in pockets on the horse's body. Without the ability to use the glucose properly, the cells become inflamed, further reducing blood flow to critical areas such as the hoof, Lascola said. Once a horse has a bout with laminitis it will always be susceptible in the future.

"Reduce non-structural carbohydrates in the diet, soak hay in water, and restrict access to pasture. A grazing muzzle can be a very effective tool. Consult with your veterinarian about the details of feeding and caring for your horse," Lascola said.

Veterinarians will take blood samples to confirm insulin resistance and to develop a management plan. Testing for the syndrome is essential since it's similar to Cushing's disease and hypothyroidism. The diseases share some similarities. In fact, a horse can have Cushing's and insulin resistance at the same time, she said.

Here we go!

Looks like the season is kicking off!

Jim Nienhuis, culture, cuisine, food

Waiting begins

It's been said wait for nothing and enjoy the now. So
that's what I plan to do. Still...

A fall walk with a friend

Nothing like a walk with a buddy on a fine fall day!

Feeding a beast

Feeding a beast, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

It is beast-like isn't it?

Corn for the world

Corn for the world, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

Harvest is good!

Global hunger map (sad)

Lightharvest

Lightharvest, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

More along the lines of harvesting the sun.
As of this week there are still a lot of acres of corn
and soybeans to go but progress is rapid.

2010 soybean harvest ends

2010 soybean harvest ends, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

Last of the soybean crop being gathered on the Leach Farms in Rock County.

Close action

Harness racing was once the feature event at county fairs and
festivals throughout rural America. About a half dozen Wisconsin
county fairs still have harness racing. I had "free rein" to
take pictures at the Iowa County Fair and get close enough to have
track dirt tossed all over me as I took pictures.

Heat on the vine

Heat on the vine, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

These habenaro peppers look so harmless and sweet
hanging on the vine.

Sun against the sun

Blazing away at each other.

A very red horse

Mid summer, right after a bath and Courtney is seen as a very
red horse. She's often darker coming out of winter.

A blazing summer sun

Sun flower. Sun. Sun on earth. Not of this earth?

Roll on!

Roll on!, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

This wheel keeps bringing me back...

Lovin' Spoonful - Summer In The City

Always think of this tune when it gets hot!

Independence Day

Okay, so it was July 5. Things are lush and green. Forget corn
knee high on the Fourth of July. How about tasseled and
silked on the fourth?

Bean Horizon

Wish I'd shifted the sun out of direct center. Eh, maybe I can crop
it to my liking some day.

Energy

Sun, corn, power lines - energy!

Green, red, blue

Corn is starting to tassel on July 4.

Hooks

Pea vines send out these tiny hooks. It's amazing to
watch them seek out places to anchor. And they cling tight
once they find a point to wrap.

Pea flower

Following days of rain, the sun is out and things are drying.
There has been so much rain that plants just
grew and grew and grew and we didn't see much else. A
day or two of sun has really brought out the development
phases so we can hope for some fruit.

Pansy portrait

Flower photos aren't my usual thing. In this case the light
was hitting the flowers making it interesting
to try something.

peculiar

That day at House on the Rocks I took almost 200 pictures.
The place is just so weird. This shot was in an area loaded
with circus things: tiny model circuses by the thousdands,
wagon wheels, posters...and this.

Infinity room

The Infinity Room at House on the Rocks. Or something. The "house" itself is
rather cool. The rest of the place is just odd. Lots of it is junk. Some of it
is priceless. Maybe. All a head shaker.

Stormy dinner

This is from a set called "feeding the string." A storm had just passed
and the horses and people came out of their shelters to finish evening
chores.

Over the shoulder

The outcome of the picture seems to imply being blocked
off from going toward the other horse. But not so much.
Just me trying to take a different horse picture.

Running for the barn

A storm blew in as I was out in the pasture taking pictures.
The horses made it back to the barn ahead of me!

Ms. Jersey

Ms. Jersey, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

Curious history. Snapped this shot while visiting an agricultural
experiment station. Ms. Jersey is a research animal. She is not a pet,
or for that matter a member of a commercial dairy herd. But she is,
along with her herd-mates, one of the best cared for animals in the
world. It's a portrait of a working dairy animal. One of my photofans has
commented that, in a set of related photos, the cows don't look so good.
I've asked in a reply why the commenter feels that way. Right now, I'm
guessing that most people see animals as pets and a picture of a working
dairy cow in a work setting is foreign. Ms. Jersey was eating vigorously
before she looked up at me and the camera.

Spooky

Spooky, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

Deer head in a window. I took a few shots thinking it's cool just
on the oddity scale. Later, I was messing around with it in Picasa and
enjoyed the soft focus around the edges. And the more I look at the
image the less spooky it gets and the more intellectual it feels.

Yes!

Aus trees

Aus trees, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

These trees were hybrid crosses between willow and poplar. They grew 60 ft. tall
in less than 15 years creating a hazard in my yard. They did have their moments, however.

At the end of the boom

Up, looking down

Nothing like a 60-ft cherry picker rental to give you a new perspective.