Vet: Take hoof injuries seriously

Dr. Adam Biedrzycki

A dog or a cat might adjust to the loss of a foot or leg but horses need four sound feet and legs to survive and perform. Part of the reason a horse can’t manage without the use of its feet is the sheer size of the animals. Plus horses carry almost 60 percent of their weight on the front legs and depend heavily on the rear legs for propulsion, said Dr. Adam Biedrzycki, UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

“Horses can’t lie down for long periods of time. They need sound feet to even be able to rest,” he added.

Biedrzycki, speaking at a recent first aid for horses seminar, explained that a horse’s hoof is a complicated junction for bones, tendons, ligaments hard tissue, soft tissue and an assortment of blood vessels. Take injuries in the area of the lower leg and hoof seriously.

“Any treatment of the hoof will involve your farrier. They’ll be the ones who’ll be able to work with your horse’s feet and your veterinarian in a treatment and recovery plan,” Biedrzycki said. 

The navicular bone joins the hoof near the back and is tied together with ligaments and tendons to the “coffin bone” which in turn is encased in the hoof itself. An injury to the area at the back of the leg or hoof may involve the navicular bone, Biedrzycki said.

Under the hoof resides the “frog,” a pad of soft tissue protected by the outer rim of the hoof itself. Injuries to the frog, especially penetrating injuries, are a 50-50 proposition for healing, he said. The reason injuries to the frog are iffy is because there are so many complicated structures coming together in the hoof.

“A street nail or penetrating injury that goes deep needs to be seen by a vet. It’s tempting to pull a nail out but leave it alone. A radiogram while the object is still in the hoof can tell us how serious it may be. A nail can go in through the frog and completely miss all the important structures. But you don’t know what has happened unless you do the radiogram,” Biedrzycki said.

And the difference between a serious penetrating injury and one that isn’t is a $5,000 vet bill.

Lacerations, or jagged cuts, around the area of the hoof are another common type of injury. Because there is such a concentration of blood vessels around the hoof, a laceration may look worse than it really is, he said. Since horses are prone to getting their feet tangled in fences and other places, lacerations to the hoof area are another set of common injuries owners are likely to encounter.

“There’s a coronary band that supplies blood to the hoof. That blood supply is responsible for all the growth of the hoof. You should take such wounds seriously,” Biedrzycki said.

Diagnosis of the injury is the first step in determining the treatment and making decisions. Because the hoof is such a complicated place, veterinary costs can begin to pile up fast. A penetrating wound to the hoof, for example, can result in a simple abscess that’s easily treatable with a high probably of full recovery.

But once you start considering surgery and other complicated treatments the costs start to climb and the potential for a complete recovery also may decline, he said. Against the cost and time involved are the value and use of the horse.

Stable opens with new owners

People in the horse business around Stoughton will probably recognize Foxfield Stables as something new in the neighborhood. They’ll also recognize the new stable in town as one of the most well-known horse operations in the area as the former Stiklestad Stables.

Stiklestad Stables was operated for years by the Henry “Hank” Stikelstad family. Its location north of Stoughton on a sweeping curve made it a “can’t miss” landmark for anyone heading out of town to Lake Kegonsa. Tourists and townsfolk alike recognized the setting.

Now, the Stiklestad family has left the horse business and the location is in new hands. Jesse and Andrea Nelson with their six-year-old daughter Natalie in tow bought the stable in the summer of 2010 and began picking up where the former owners left off.

“Hank has been out here a couple of times,” Jesse said. “We asked if we could leave the “Stiklestad Stables” on the barn and he said ‘sure.’”

From what Jesse and Andrea gather, Hank and his family are genuinely pleased to see the place carry on with horses. There was some cleaning up and fixing to do but today it is Foxfield Stables and Jesse and Andrea are busy bringing business back and developing plans of their own.

There’s space for 22 horses in stables and room for more in rough board. As of March, they were boarding 15 horses with nine more expected to start rough board in April. Andrea also is developing a group of people for lessons and they have three horses of their own.

Even though the facilities are seasoned, everything was well built. Stables ring the small but workable indoor arena. There’s enough land for pastures, paddocks and making some hay. Boarders do have access to the adjacent Kegonsa State Park where they can use the park’s road system.

“Horses have road rights in the park. There aren’t any actual riding trails but as long as riders are on the roads they can go over there,” Andrea said. “We’re not going to offer any trail riding because the insurance issue is just too much.”

Andrea mentioned the location is not only well known in the community, it’s also easy to get to from Madison which helps access equine-minded people. “We’re about three miles from Stoughton and only about a 10 minute drive on the interstate from the east side of Madison,” she said.

Facilities are rounded out with outdoor riding areas, wash racks, locking tack room and a heated viewing area next to a small office. Much of the outdoor fencing was replaced with electric tape with wood posts.

“We cut and hauled a lot of brush away to get the fences and pastures ready. And when we first went in the barn we found all the doors off the hinges on the stables. We had to go around and hang and repair almost every stable,” Jesse added.

Even with so much ongoing work restoring the facilities and managing business, Jesse and Andrea have an eye on the future. Plans are underway to add a larger more modern riding arena. There’s also room to grow the riding lesson business and provide other services.

“We take care of each horse. Every horse is a little different: different feeds, different supplements, different breeds and each one has its own personality. So we want people to come out and enjoy the time they spend with their horses,” Andrea said. “We’re in a nice spot here and I think people are going to continue to want to have horses and a place they can go and ride.”

Certainly if you’re starting a new business it helps to have a solid old brand name to build from.

Stay calm with a wounded horse

Dr. Sabrina Brounts

Stay off the panic button and size up the situation if you find your horse cut and bleeding, said Dr. Sabrina Brounts, UW-Madison Veterinarian, during a recent seminar on equine first aid. The last thing an injured horse needs is panic that might make the injury worse or imperil you in your efforts to help.

Wounds fall into several categories: punctures, lacerations, incised wounds and abrasions and contusions. If you know what you’re looking at and can properly describe the wound to a veterinarian you’ll have a better chance to help your horse when you start taking action steps and treatments.

“Determining the nature of the wound will go a long way toward knowing what to do. Knowing what you see can help you make decisions about whether or not you should move or transport the injured horse, if immediate attention is needed or if it’s an injury that can perhaps wait,” Brounts said. The more you know the less likely you are to panic, too.

Puncture wounds often are hard to spot but can have debilitating effects. Nails are a common culprit in puncture wounds and can leave a small, round hole that’s hard to detect. And if you find a nail sticking in your horse, resist the impulse to pull it out.

How severe the puncture (nail) wound is depends on how deep it goes and where it is. An x-ray can determine if the nail is near anything vital or how much damage is done. And nails can bend in odd directions and what looks simple is often not so easy.

Lacerations are rough, jagged cuts to the skin. Unlike the laceration, an incised wound is a clean, even knife-like cut to the skin. Abrasions are non-penetrating scruffs usually at the surface of the skin and contusions are deep scruffs on the skin that may expose muscle or bone tissue.

“It can really help if you’re on the phone with your vet and can tell them if you’re looking at a laceration or a contusion,” Brounts said. “And what kind of wound the horse has affects what you can do right away.”

Also important to the assessment is where the wound is on the horse. Wounds close to joints, bones, and tendons are potentially more serious than wounds confined to soft tissue areas. Bleeding or discharges from the wound also are clues. If the wound is bleeding, make an estimate about how much it’s bleeding. Severe blood loss may require a tourniquet or other measure.

One step you can probably take is to clean the wound. If at all possible, Brounts said, cover the wound and clip away all the surrounding hair. Hair in the wound introduces more bacteria and makes it harder to treat and care for as you go. Avoid razors in favor of clippers when trimming hair.

“The next thing is to clean the wound and remove as much dirt and debris as possible. You can irrigate the cut with warm tap water and a spray bottle or a large syringe. Don’t use a hose with pressure because that can cause more damage. If you use a sponge, use the softest most non abrasive sponge available,” Brounts said.

In certain cases, you may need to explore in the wound with your fingers to find any remaining debris or objects. Brounts said to always use medical gloves and move gently with your hands.

Disinfectants are tricky. Clean tap water is usually your best cleaning solution but keeping saline solution on hand is a good practice. Iodine in diluted solution of 0.1 percent so it looks like weak tea is suitable in some situations and after thoroughly cleaning the wound.

A two percent solution of Chlorhexidine diacetate also works as a good disinfectant after cleaning a wound. The chlorexidine does have a slight residual effect meaning it’ll continue to fight bacterial for a short time after being applied.

“Avoid using hydrogen peroxide, bleach or vinegar. Those substances can actually damage the tissue,” she said.

What happens once you have a wound cleaned up depends on consultations with your vet. Dressings, stitches, trimming are all possible pieces of the treatment process. Stitches are often used to close incised wounds, for example, but stitches may not be used in a complicated laceration.

“Just remember to try to stay calm,” Brounts added.

Here's looking at ya

Here's looking at ya, originally uploaded by NetAgra.

One of those kinds of pictures!

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.