hay

'contributors' (adipobiology)
Written by WHINNY

Adipobiology (The Study of Fat in the Body): An Emerging Field

What exactly does stored fat do to a horse's body? It wreaks serious havoc on at least 11 vital body functions. Nat Messer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, an associate professor of equine medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri (UM), presented a compelling discussion of the relatively new field of adipobiology--the study of fat and its causes and effects. He discussed a paper submitted by Philip Johnson, BVSc(Hons), MS, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ECEIM, MRCVS, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery at UM.

Excess body fat (both subcutaneous fat, such as the squishy stuff around a horse's tailhead, and visceral fat that accumulates near various internal organs) isn't just an unsightly way to store extra calories. Researchers are learning that fat--or adipose tissue as it's scientifically called--is much more active biochemically in many species than was previously thought (particularly visceral fat), noted Johnson in his paper. Fat produces more than 100 substances (collectively called adipokines or adipocytokines) that can affect:

• Lipid and glucose homeostasis (normal fat and glucose balance in the body);
• Inflammation;
• Hemostasis (control of bleeding);
• Osteogenesis (bone production);
• Hematopoiesis (formation and development of blood cells);
• Complement activities (complement is a sequence of proteins in the blood that work to help the animal respond to inflammatory and infectious challenges);
• Reproduction;
• Angiogenesis (development of blood vessels in tissue);
• Blood pressure; and
• Feeding behavior.

In horses, adipokine-mediated alteration of these body functions can cause or contribute to chronic inflammation, metabolic problems such as insulin resistance and possibly pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (Cushing's disease), circulatory (blood vessel) compromise, and increased risk of laminitis. Also, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar, which is common in horses with severe metabolic syndrome) has been shown to generate oxidative stress--the production of oxygen free radicals that can damage many kinds of tissues.

"In fact, adipokines have recently been claimed to represent the 'missing link' between IR (insulin resistance) and cardiovascular disease in humans," said Johnson. For example, he noted that the branch of the coronary artery passing through an area of fat storage is the one most likely to develop arthrosclerosis (progressive narrowing and hardening of the artery, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke). Local effects of hormones produced by that fat deposit have been implicated as the cause.

Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Even if a horse is fat, if he is insulin- resistant, the cells in his body that depend on insulin for glucose uptake (generally skeletal muscle cells, as well as liver and fat cells) are actually starved for energy--the glucose they should be getting from food metabolism. "Decreased movement of glucose into the cell through glucose transporters (GLUT-4 in this case) in the cell membrane ... is the first step that is defective in human insulin resistance," explained Johnson. This can occur when fatty acids in skeletal muscle directly inhibit insulin activation of glucose-transport activity, he noted.

Not all obese horses develop insulin resistance, and not all insulin-resistant horses are obese, noted Messer. "But IR- associated medical problems are more likely to develop in concert with obesity in individuals born with IR," he said. "Obesity may be an 'add-on' risk factor."

Obesity and Laminitis

"Compelling experimental data have been published to suggest that glucose is essential for the health and strength of the equine hoof-lamellar interface," noted Johnson. "Hemidesmosomes (HD) represent the important attachment link between keratinocytes (hoof wall cells) and the underlying lamellar basement membrane (attaching the coffin bone to the hoof wall). Keratinocyte glucose starvation (from the aforementioned decreased movement of glucose into the cells) may weaken HD, which leads to separation of the keratinocyte from the basement membrane. Situations associated with cell- glucose starvation, such as IR, might increase the risk for laminitis."

He noted that it remains to be seen whether hoof keratinocytes depend (to any extent) on insulin for their glucose supply; this information is currently unknown.

In obese horses insulin resistance might also contribute to widespread inflammation and, thus, vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels), which is the case in human metabolic syndrome, Johnson added. "By so doing, IR may, in turn, promote the risk of laminitis. The equine hoof-lamellar microvasculature is extremely sensitive to vasoconstrictors (anything that constricts blood vessels)," he explained. Therefore, adipokine-induced vasoconstriction would pose another pathway for causing laminitis in obese horses.

Glucocorticoids and Obesity

Additionally, glucocorticoids have been implicated as a cause of both laminitis and IR. "Our team has been interested in the role that glucocorticoids (corticosteroid drugs or hormones that are involved in carbohydrate metabolism and the body's response to stress) might play in terms of risk of laminitis," Johnson commented. "Newer work in humans suggests that glucocorticoids play a critical role in the development of visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome.

"Glucocorticoids also cause expansion of adipose tissues in the body," he noted. "If present in sufficient quantity (as in the obese state), locally generated cortisol (often called stress hormone) will both stimulate further local adipogenesis (fat deposition) and contribute to IR.

"Circumstances under which individuals might be influenced by the action of excess glucocorticoids include Cushing's syndrome, the administration of synthetic glucocorticoids for therapeutic purposes, and stress," he wrote.

Treating Obesity

Unfortunately, "Obesity in horses is often desirable to owners," said Messer.

"There clearly exists a need for objective criteria by which horses might be 'scored' in terms of whole-body adiposity (such as the body mass index used in human medicine)," Johnson noted.

He added that a major goal of adiposity research focuses on identifying therapeutic strategies that effectively reduce the ratio of pro-inflammatory (inflammation- causing), insulin-desensitizing adipokines to anti-inflammatory, insulin-sensitizing adipokines. Owners need to control obesity now by properly managing horses' diets and increasing exercise levels.

Messer summarized his presentation quite succinctly: "You've seen what fat cells can do today. Until we get rid of excessive fat cells, we'll have all kinds of problems."

Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Nicholas Frank, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of large animal clinical sciences at the University of Tennessee, discussed the causes, clinical signs, and management of insulin resistance in horses, and its link to laminitis.

"Insulin resistance can be defined as failure of tissues to respond appropriately to insulin," said Frank. "Insulin is secreted by the pancreas to move glucose (sugar from digestion of food) into tissues when it's readily available (after meals)."

There are three types of insulin resistance. "Compensated IR is the most common form; this is when the pancreas secretes more insulin to achieve the same effect (hyperinsulinemia)," he explained. "Uncompensated IR is when pancreatic beta cells (the source of insulin) fail, so blood glucose concentrations rise and insulin levels are variable; this is fairly rare. An extremely rare event is Type 2 diabetes mellitus (caused by insufficient production of insulin or by resistance of target tissues to the effects of insulin), which describes advanced pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or Cushing's). This results in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and glucosuria (sugar in the urine)."

Insulin resistance is a part of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Said Frank, "There are three criteria for identifying the horse with EMS: Insulin resistance, prior (founder lines) or current laminitis, and general obesity or regional adiposity (areas of abnormal fat deposition such as a cresty neck or fat pads near the tailhead). It has a genetic predisposition--the 'easy keeper,' or the horse that could stay fat on fresh air, is more likely to have EMS."

Insulin Resistance and Laminitis

There are three theories on why insulin resistance might contribute to laminitis:

1. It decreases the amount of glucose getting into hoof tissue cells, which could starve them and hamper their function.

2. Insulin resistance causes decreased peripheral vasodilation (contraction of blood vessels at the extremities, such as in the hoof). Decreased blood flow to the foot means less nutrition for the tissues and likely less healthy tissues.

3. When adipose tissues reach their capacity for fat storage, they can become stressed and release cytokines, causing a pro-inflammatory state. This could lower a horse's threshold for laminitis. Thus, a smaller trigger could cause laminitis--less of a carbohydrate overdose, for example.

Whatever its mechanism of action might be, insulin resistance has been linked to laminitis. Frank described a study of a Virginia pony herd that found insulin sensitivity could even predict laminitis: "Measuring their insulin sensitivity predicted laminitis would occur in 13 ponies, and it actually developed in 11 (85%). This was the first paper saying insulin sensitivity had something to do with laminitis."

The Role of Obesity in IR

"Not all obese individuals are insulin- resistant, and not all IR-affected horses are obese. But IR-associated medical problems are more likely to develop in concert with obesity in individuals born with IR," said Messer. "Thus, obesity may be an 'add-on' risk factor," much as obesity in humans contributes to diabetes.

"The obese 'easy keeper' is poorly defined scientifically," Frank said. "Presumably this characteristic is inherited as a difference in metabolism where the horse is able to maintain weight on fewer calories--he's evolutionarily adapted to live on less food in harsh conditions. When you take this adapted horse and put him on a high-carbohydrate diet (including good pasture), he tends to become obese. Grain can make it even worse.

The theory of how obesity contributes to insulin resistance is as follows, he said: "The accumulation of lipids (fat molecules or diacylg lycerol) in cells alters the normal signaling events within the cell. Skeletal muscle is the most susceptible to this. The theory is that as animal gets more obese, intracellular lipids interfere with insulin activity. Insulin resistance develops as lipids disrupt insulin receptors. Initially this is a reversible process, but chronic IR causes irreversible damage."

Hold the Grain, Please

Management of insulin resistance might lower the risk of laminitis, and one of the cornerstones of management is diet. "Think of these horses as being in a prediabetic state," Frank said. "They need to exercise more and take in less sugar."

He made these recommendations:

• Take obese horses off sweet feed, they don't need it anyway.
• Consider a grazing muzzle.
• Don't overfeed them.
• Feed hay lower in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC; forage testing labs can tell you a hay's NSC content).
• Induce weight loss by feeding hay initially at 2% of the horse's current body weight, decreasing to 1.5% of current body weight, then finally dropping to 1.5% of ideal body weight.
• Consider pergolide treatment in horses with EMS to stave off PPID.
• Exercise horses to decrease weight.

If an insulin-resistant horse develops laminitis, Frank recommended the following management practices:

• Take the horse off pasture entirely-- remove some horses permanently, but most temporarily.
• Keep the horse in a dry lot.
• Hand-walk him for exercise once his feet are stabilized.
• If he's obese, feed low-sugar hay.
• If he's lean, feed hay plus a low-NSC feed.
• Consider strategic use of levothyroxine (generally used as replacement therapy in reduced or absent thyroid function) for three to six months in obese horses. However, "We are not treating hypothyroidism!" he stated. "That condition is extremely rare in horses. We are using it to accelerate metabolism (to decrease body weight)."

Frank said in an ongoing study, horses in a dry lot and given levothyroxine (Thyro-L; Lloyd Inc., Shenandoah, Iowa) lost an average of 62 kg, compared to 25 kg lost by horses in a dry lot without evothyroxine.

Take-Home Messages

The following facts should be considered if you have a horse that is showing signs of becoming overweight or having insulin resistance.

• Not all obese horses have EMS, and not all horses with EMS are obese.
• Diet and exercise are the main management and prevention strategies. Owners should avoid feeding concentrates and control affected or at-risk horses' exposure to pasture.
• Levothyroxine can be given to reduce body weight and increase insulin sensitivity for three to six months.

Cushing's Disease: Challenges of Diagnosis and Treatment

We know Cushing's disease (or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction--PPID--as it's more scientifically called), simply put, is an "old-horse disease" that results in metabolism disturbances and an abnormally heavy hair coat. But when it comes to testing and treatment, there are about as many opinions as there are people to ask. Luckily, Harold Schott, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of large animal clinical sciences at Michigan State University (MSU), discussed the challenges of PPID diagnosis and treatment.

"Owners have really pushed us to learn more about this disease," he began. "Unfortunately, I might not leave you with a totally clear picture, because a lot of what we know is still based on experience rather than scientific data."

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction describes altered activity of the pars intermedia lobe of the pituitary gland. Schott first described the prevalence of PPID clinical signs seen in various studies: hirsutism (excessive haircoat) 47-100% of affected horses; muscle wasting, 35-88%; chronic laminitis, 24-82%; polyuria/polydipsia (excessive urination and chronic, excessive thirst/intake of fluid), 17-76%; hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), 14-67%; abnormal fat deposition, 9-67%; chronic infections, 27-48%; lethargy, 43-82%; neurological signs, including seizures, 6-50%

"My subjective impression is that age at onset of clinical signs is important; the younger ones (at onset) do worse," said Schott.

"Laminitis is the clinical problem we deal with the most," he commented. "It's our main reason for looking at these horses. Here's take-home message #1: Evaluation for PPID is warranted in horses more than 15 years old that develop insidious (gradual) onset laminitis."

Diagnosing PPID

Unfortunately, no perfect PPID test (one that is 100% accurate with a single-sample test) yet exists. Schott noted that 11 tests are possible, from simple evaluation of clinical signs ("over-the-fence" diagnosis of hirsutism) to various measures of hormone levels in blood plasma and urine.

"The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is considered by many to be the gold standard diagnostic test, probably because of experience with it rather than actual data," he commented. "It's the most widely accepted test, the samples are stable (less affected by variations in handling), and cortisol measurement is readily available (at labs)."

The test is based on the fact that one pituitary pars intermedia hormone product stimulates the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol (often termed stress hormone).

Schott explained that the DST involves measuring cortisol, giving the horse dexamethasone (a steroid analogue that is used in this case to suppress cortisol stimulation from another lobe of the pituitary gland) in the late afternoon, then measuring plasma cortisol the next morning (15 and 19 hours after dexamethasone administration). Cortisol levels greater than 1 ug/dL at those times support a diagnosis of PPID.

Disadvantages: The DST requires three client visits (although the test can be modified to two visits), it is reported to exacerbate laminitis in rare cases (although Schott noted this observation is poorly documented), its results are not always repeatable, and it might miss early PPID.

He briefly discussed several other hormone tests and their accuracy levels, noting that researchers are finding significant seasonal variation in hormone levels and, thus, seasonal variation in test results, even on the same horses.

"Take-home message #2 is that seasonal variation complicates diagnostic testing--endocrine testing is not recommended from mid-August to mid-November because we have difficulty interpreting the results," he cautioned.

In addition to hormone testing, researchers often will evaluate pituitary gland tissue of research horses post-mortem to try to correlate histological (tissue) characteristics with hormone test results and clinical signs. Schott described a study that found lesions were common in both the pars intermedia and pars distalis regions of the pituitary gland. There was one other notable feature of the horses that were examined--they were all clinically normal.

"Based on this ('abnormal' tissue findings in horses that had no clinical signs of disease), I'm not sure histological examination is the way to go," he opined. "Take-home message #3 is that hirsutism is still the most accurate diagnostic feature (identifying 86% of affected horses). So why test horses further? To evaluate their response to treatment!"

Treating PPID

"Many cases do fine with management changes alone," said Schott. "This might include body clipping, regular hoof care, nutrition changes (such as reducing sugars and other rich carbohydrates), and good dental care to ensure proper eating for these older horses.

"Whether a horse needs medication and when that should be started is decided on an individual basis," he added. "When a horse is put on medications, I recommend twice-annual reassessment--clinical examination and glucose/endocrine (hormone) testing. If needed, we adjust medication dosing, then retest the horse in 30-60 days to make sure his (hormone) responses are in the appropriate range."

There's also the issue of the horse that is a possible PPID case, but it's between August and November, so testing is of little value (see take-home message #2). In these cases, "if the owner can afford it, we might treat the horse for a few months just in case, then try to take him off medications and test to see if it's truly warranted," Schott commented.

For confirmed cases, "Is continuous treatment required?" he asked the audience. "We don't really know. Epidemiological studies are hard enough, let alone following horses for 10 years (for the research needed to answer this question)."

Medication options for PPID include pergolide, cyproheptadine, trilostane, and chasteberry extract. One disadvantage is that no treatment is currently FDA-approved for PPID in horses.

Pergolide Schott described several studies that found this once daily medication to be a superior treatment in terms of improved hormone test results and owner assessment of improvement, although the latter might have also been due to improved management.

Disadvantages are that it's expensive (there's a cheaper compounded product available, but you have quality and liability concerns), it causes transient inappetence in some (less than 10% of horses), and it causes lethargy (depression) in rare cases, he said.

Cyproheptadine "This medication used to be less expensive than pergolide; now it's more expensive," Schott commented. Some have suggested that it might act synergistically with pergolide, but he said there were no studies proving this.

Disadvantages include limited efficacy, no pharmacological data, increasing price, and compounded product quality/liability concerns.

Trilostane This targets the adrenal gland to decrease cortisol production, so it could be used with pergolide, Schott commented. "It was shown to be effective in reversing clinical signs in one study in the United Kingdom," he added. "But adrenal cortex hyperplasia (overgrowth and overactivity) is not very common, so trilostane doesn't make sense as a front-line treatment (it doesn't address the pituitary gland dysfunction).

"Also, it's not approved for use in horses, not available in the United States, and pricey," he added.

Chasteberry extract (Vitex agnus castus) Schott reported that in one field study of this product, all owners reported improved demeanor, 22 of 120 horses had improved shedding, and no horses showed changes in hormone levels. In contrast, another study presented at the 2002 AAEP convention found that 13/14 horses deteriorated on the same product.

"Take-home message #4: Spend money on better management rather than questionable products," recommended Schott.

Understanding Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (a.k.a. Cushing's Disease)

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction--PPID, or Cushing's disease--is the most common disease of horses and ponies 15 years of age or older. Although it's not fully understood yet, researchers are learning more about how to treat and prevent it. Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of physiological sciences at Oklahoma State University's Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, discussed normal and abnormal function of the pituitary pars intermedia lobe of the pituitary gland.

"The horse has three distinct lobes of his pituitary gland--the pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars nervosa," she began. "Each produces different hormones."

The pars intermedia produces a protein called pro-opiomelanocortin POMC) that is converted into adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). This, in turn, is processed into several different hormones:

• Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), a potent anti-inflammatory hormone that plays a role in skin coloring, appetite/satiety balance, and fat metabolism.
• Beta-endorphin, an endogenous (originating within the body) opioid that provides analgesia and behavioral modification and suppresses immune responsiveness and vascular tone (the degree of blood vessel constriction).
• Corticotrophin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP), which stimulates insulin release.

Seasonality of Hormones

Season has been recently found to play a big role in secretion of some pars intermedia hormones in horses; this was already known in many other species (humans, hamsters, sheep, and weasels). Alpha-MSH levels are highest in the fall, coinciding with peak body weight, appetite, and body condition in sheep.

This seasonal increase might occur in horses and ponies as well, "to metabolically prepare them for a decrease in accessible food observed in the wild in winter," explained McFarlane. "If so, dysregulation of this pathway might be associated with abnormalities in body weight and fat storage." This might also explain the heavy haircoat of horses with PPID--it's literally a winter coat gone wild.

"Ponies show a much greater response to seasonal hormone changes than horses," she added.

Why is seasonality relevant? Given the increased activity of pars intermedia hormones in the fall, you're more likely to see clinical signs, false positive tests, and PPID-associated laminitis in fall, said McFarlane. This might have implications for treatment as well.

"It's possible that we might be able to treat affected horses (medically) in summer and fall when their hormones are highest, and wean them off medications in winter and spring," she theorized. "This is untested, but it's something to think about for mild cases."

What Causes PPID?

While several mechanisms for PPID have been proposed, McFarlane suggested that it is a neurodegenerative disease. This seems to be supported by the fact that her research has found almost no dopaminergic (dopamine-producing) neurons in the pars intermedia of affected horses, while there are quite a few in young horses or unaffected horses of similar age.

The lack of dopamine is critical, as she noted that the activity of the pars intermedia is normally inhibited (controlled) by dopamine. Without dopamine, the pars intermedia produces much more hormone than it should, causing the clinical signs of PPID.

Similar activity occurs in other species when dopamine is experimentally inhibited, she reported. This explains why the medication pergolide helps so many horses with PPID--it replaces dopamine activity and thus inhibits pars intermedia hormones.

It also explains why another popular treatment--trilostane--doesn't always work as well. McFarlane explained that trilostane acts on the adrenal gland to control secretion of cortisol hormone--"stress hormone." This helps control biochemical stress, but it doesn't act on the originating problem in the pars intermedia.

"I'm hesitant to recommend trilostane partially because it is only available compounded, and because it doesn't act against the inciting factor," she noted. "Pergolide treats in three ways: It protects neurons, adds dopamine, and has antioxidant activity."

Why would a horse's dopaminergic neurons degenerate? McFarlane speculated that oxidative stress, which is more prevalent in PPID horses, and misfolding of a protein called alpha-synuclein, a nerve terminal protein, might play large roles. Misfolding (improperly developing into a form other than its characteristic functional shape) of this protein can be caused by oxidative stress as well. An interesting side note is that this pathway of disease is the same as that proposed for Parkinson's disease in humans, and many biochemical features of Parkinson's closely resemble features of PPID in horses.

"Dopaminergic neurons are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage, because dopamine metabolism itself produces free radicals (chemically active atoms or molecular fragments that are missing electrons and damage large molecules within cells while attempting to achieve a more stable configuration)," she commented. Other contributing factors might include inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction (altered activity in the parts of cells that produce energy for carrying out the cell's functions).

PPID Prevention

"I think obesity drives chronic stress, which is a risk factor for neurodegeneration," opined McFarlane. "If we're going to prevent disease, controlling obesity will be very important. Also measure selenium (an antioxidant mineral that horses need in small quantities) and address that if needed, and keep in mind that antioxidant therapy might slow progression of the disease.

"Mitochondrial dysfunction is known to be a contributing factor to Parkinson's disease, and agricultural chemical usage contributes to Parkinson's in humans--these chemicals might well affect horses too," she suggested. "Also, ponies and Morgans seem to be more susceptible to the disease. What that genetic factor is, we'll understand better with more research. Understanding the mechanisms of disease is essential to knowing how to prevent this disease in these animals."

---

'contributors' (adipobiology)
Written by WHINNY

Adipobiology (The Study of Fat in the Body): An Emerging Field

What exactly does stored fat do to a horse's body? It wreaks serious havoc on at least 11 vital body functions. Nat Messer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, an associate professor of equine medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri (UM), presented a compelling discussion of the relatively new field of adipobiology--the study of fat and its causes and effects. He discussed a paper submitted by Philip Johnson, BVSc(Hons), MS, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ECEIM, MRCVS, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery at UM.

Excess body fat (both subcutaneous fat, such as the squishy stuff around a horse's tailhead, and visceral fat that accumulates near various internal organs) isn't just an unsightly way to store extra calories. Researchers are learning that fat--or adipose tissue as it's scientifically called--is much more active biochemically in many species than was previously thought (particularly visceral fat), noted Johnson in his paper. Fat produces more than 100 substances (collectively called adipokines or adipocytokines) that can affect:

• Lipid and glucose homeostasis (normal fat and glucose balance in the body);
• Inflammation;
• Hemostasis (control of bleeding);
• Osteogenesis (bone production);
• Hematopoiesis (formation and development of blood cells);
• Complement activities (complement is a sequence of proteins in the blood that work to help the animal respond to inflammatory and infectious challenges);
• Reproduction;
• Angiogenesis (development of blood vessels in tissue);
• Blood pressure; and
• Feeding behavior.

In horses, adipokine-mediated alteration of these body functions can cause or contribute to chronic inflammation, metabolic problems such as insulin resistance and possibly pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (Cushing's disease), circulatory (blood vessel) compromise, and increased risk of laminitis. Also, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar, which is common in horses with severe metabolic syndrome) has been shown to generate oxidative stress--the production of oxygen free radicals that can damage many kinds of tissues.

"In fact, adipokines have recently been claimed to represent the 'missing link' between IR (insulin resistance) and cardiovascular disease in humans," said Johnson. For example, he noted that the branch of the coronary artery passing through an area of fat storage is the one most likely to develop arthrosclerosis (progressive narrowing and hardening of the artery, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke). Local effects of hormones produced by that fat deposit have been implicated as the cause.

Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Even if a horse is fat, if he is insulin- resistant, the cells in his body that depend on insulin for glucose uptake (generally skeletal muscle cells, as well as liver and fat cells) are actually starved for energy--the glucose they should be getting from food metabolism. "Decreased movement of glucose into the cell through glucose transporters (GLUT-4 in this case) in the cell membrane ... is the first step that is defective in human insulin resistance," explained Johnson. This can occur when fatty acids in skeletal muscle directly inhibit insulin activation of glucose-transport activity, he noted.

Not all obese horses develop insulin resistance, and not all insulin-resistant horses are obese, noted Messer. "But IR- associated medical problems are more likely to develop in concert with obesity in individuals born with IR," he said. "Obesity may be an 'add-on' risk factor."

Obesity and Laminitis

"Compelling experimental data have been published to suggest that glucose is essential for the health and strength of the equine hoof-lamellar interface," noted Johnson. "Hemidesmosomes (HD) represent the important attachment link between keratinocytes (hoof wall cells) and the underlying lamellar basement membrane (attaching the coffin bone to the hoof wall). Keratinocyte glucose starvation (from the aforementioned decreased movement of glucose into the cells) may weaken HD, which leads to separation of the keratinocyte from the basement membrane. Situations associated with cell- glucose starvation, such as IR, might increase the risk for laminitis."

He noted that it remains to be seen whether hoof keratinocytes depend (to any extent) on insulin for their glucose supply; this information is currently unknown.

In obese horses insulin resistance might also contribute to widespread inflammation and, thus, vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels), which is the case in human metabolic syndrome, Johnson added. "By so doing, IR may, in turn, promote the risk of laminitis. The equine hoof-lamellar microvasculature is extremely sensitive to vasoconstrictors (anything that constricts blood vessels)," he explained. Therefore, adipokine-induced vasoconstriction would pose another pathway for causing laminitis in obese horses.

Glucocorticoids and Obesity

Additionally, glucocorticoids have been implicated as a cause of both laminitis and IR. "Our team has been interested in the role that glucocorticoids (corticosteroid drugs or hormones that are involved in carbohydrate metabolism and the body's response to stress) might play in terms of risk of laminitis," Johnson commented. "Newer work in humans suggests that glucocorticoids play a critical role in the development of visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome.

"Glucocorticoids also cause expansion of adipose tissues in the body," he noted. "If present in sufficient quantity (as in the obese state), locally generated cortisol (often called stress hormone) will both stimulate further local adipogenesis (fat deposition) and contribute to IR.

"Circumstances under which individuals might be influenced by the action of excess glucocorticoids include Cushing's syndrome, the administration of synthetic glucocorticoids for therapeutic purposes, and stress," he wrote.

Treating Obesity

Unfortunately, "Obesity in horses is often desirable to owners," said Messer.

"There clearly exists a need for objective criteria by which horses might be 'scored' in terms of whole-body adiposity (such as the body mass index used in human medicine)," Johnson noted.

He added that a major goal of adiposity research focuses on identifying therapeutic strategies that effectively reduce the ratio of pro-inflammatory (inflammation- causing), insulin-desensitizing adipokines to anti-inflammatory, insulin-sensitizing adipokines. Owners need to control obesity now by properly managing horses' diets and increasing exercise levels.

Messer summarized his presentation quite succinctly: "You've seen what fat cells can do today. Until we get rid of excessive fat cells, we'll have all kinds of problems."

Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Nicholas Frank, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of large animal clinical sciences at the University of Tennessee, discussed the causes, clinical signs, and management of insulin resistance in horses, and its link to laminitis.

"Insulin resistance can be defined as failure of tissues to respond appropriately to insulin," said Frank. "Insulin is secreted by the pancreas to move glucose (sugar from digestion of food) into tissues when it's readily available (after meals)."

There are three types of insulin resistance. "Compensated IR is the most common form; this is when the pancreas secretes more insulin to achieve the same effect (hyperinsulinemia)," he explained. "Uncompensated IR is when pancreatic beta cells (the source of insulin) fail, so blood glucose concentrations rise and insulin levels are variable; this is fairly rare. An extremely rare event is Type 2 diabetes mellitus (caused by insufficient production of insulin or by resistance of target tissues to the effects of insulin), which describes advanced pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or Cushing's). This results in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and glucosuria (sugar in the urine)."

Insulin resistance is a part of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Said Frank, "There are three criteria for identifying the horse with EMS: Insulin resistance, prior (founder lines) or current laminitis, and general obesity or regional adiposity (areas of abnormal fat deposition such as a cresty neck or fat pads near the tailhead). It has a genetic predisposition--the 'easy keeper,' or the horse that could stay fat on fresh air, is more likely to have EMS."

Insulin Resistance and Laminitis

There are three theories on why insulin resistance might contribute to laminitis:

1. It decreases the amount of glucose getting into hoof tissue cells, which could starve them and hamper their function.

2. Insulin resistance causes decreased peripheral vasodilation (contraction of blood vessels at the extremities, such as in the hoof). Decreased blood flow to the foot means less nutrition for the tissues and likely less healthy tissues.

3. When adipose tissues reach their capacity for fat storage, they can become stressed and release cytokines, causing a pro-inflammatory state. This could lower a horse's threshold for laminitis. Thus, a smaller trigger could cause laminitis--less of a carbohydrate overdose, for example.

Whatever its mechanism of action might be, insulin resistance has been linked to laminitis. Frank described a study of a Virginia pony herd that found insulin sensitivity could even predict laminitis: "Measuring their insulin sensitivity predicted laminitis would occur in 13 ponies, and it actually developed in 11 (85%). This was the first paper saying insulin sensitivity had something to do with laminitis."

The Role of Obesity in IR

"Not all obese individuals are insulin- resistant, and not all IR-affected horses are obese. But IR-associated medical problems are more likely to develop in concert with obesity in individuals born with IR," said Messer. "Thus, obesity may be an 'add-on' risk factor," much as obesity in humans contributes to diabetes.

"The obese 'easy keeper' is poorly defined scientifically," Frank said. "Presumably this characteristic is inherited as a difference in metabolism where the horse is able to maintain weight on fewer calories--he's evolutionarily adapted to live on less food in harsh conditions. When you take this adapted horse and put him on a high-carbohydrate diet (including good pasture), he tends to become obese. Grain can make it even worse.

The theory of how obesity contributes to insulin resistance is as follows, he said: "The accumulation of lipids (fat molecules or diacylg lycerol) in cells alters the normal signaling events within the cell. Skeletal muscle is the most susceptible to this. The theory is that as animal gets more obese, intracellular lipids interfere with insulin activity. Insulin resistance develops as lipids disrupt insulin receptors. Initially this is a reversible process, but chronic IR causes irreversible damage."

Hold the Grain, Please

Management of insulin resistance might lower the risk of laminitis, and one of the cornerstones of management is diet. "Think of these horses as being in a prediabetic state," Frank said. "They need to exercise more and take in less sugar."

He made these recommendations:

• Take obese horses off sweet feed, they don't need it anyway.
• Consider a grazing muzzle.
• Don't overfeed them.
• Feed hay lower in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC; forage testing labs can tell you a hay's NSC content).
• Induce weight loss by feeding hay initially at 2% of the horse's current body weight, decreasing to 1.5% of current body weight, then finally dropping to 1.5% of ideal body weight.
• Consider pergolide treatment in horses with EMS to stave off PPID.
• Exercise horses to decrease weight.

If an insulin-resistant horse develops laminitis, Frank recommended the following management practices:

• Take the horse off pasture entirely-- remove some horses permanently, but most temporarily.
• Keep the horse in a dry lot.
• Hand-walk him for exercise once his feet are stabilized.
• If he's obese, feed low-sugar hay.
• If he's lean, feed hay plus a low-NSC feed.
• Consider strategic use of levothyroxine (generally used as replacement therapy in reduced or absent thyroid function) for three to six months in obese horses. However, "We are not treating hypothyroidism!" he stated. "That condition is extremely rare in horses. We are using it to accelerate metabolism (to decrease body weight)."

Frank said in an ongoing study, horses in a dry lot and given levothyroxine (Thyro-L; Lloyd Inc., Shenandoah, Iowa) lost an average of 62 kg, compared to 25 kg lost by horses in a dry lot without evothyroxine.

Take-Home Messages

The following facts should be considered if you have a horse that is showing signs of becoming overweight or having insulin resistance.

• Not all obese horses have EMS, and not all horses with EMS are obese.
• Diet and exercise are the main management and prevention strategies. Owners should avoid feeding concentrates and control affected or at-risk horses' exposure to pasture.
• Levothyroxine can be given to reduce body weight and increase insulin sensitivity for three to six months.

Cushing's Disease: Challenges of Diagnosis and Treatment

We know Cushing's disease (or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction--PPID--as it's more scientifically called), simply put, is an "old-horse disease" that results in metabolism disturbances and an abnormally heavy hair coat. But when it comes to testing and treatment, there are about as many opinions as there are people to ask. Luckily, Harold Schott, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of large animal clinical sciences at Michigan State University (MSU), discussed the challenges of PPID diagnosis and treatment.

"Owners have really pushed us to learn more about this disease," he began. "Unfortunately, I might not leave you with a totally clear picture, because a lot of what we know is still based on experience rather than scientific data."

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction describes altered activity of the pars intermedia lobe of the pituitary gland. Schott first described the prevalence of PPID clinical signs seen in various studies: hirsutism (excessive haircoat) 47-100% of affected horses; muscle wasting, 35-88%; chronic laminitis, 24-82%; polyuria/polydipsia (excessive urination and chronic, excessive thirst/intake of fluid), 17-76%; hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), 14-67%; abnormal fat deposition, 9-67%; chronic infections, 27-48%; lethargy, 43-82%; neurological signs, including seizures, 6-50%

"My subjective impression is that age at onset of clinical signs is important; the younger ones (at onset) do worse," said Schott.

"Laminitis is the clinical problem we deal with the most," he commented. "It's our main reason for looking at these horses. Here's take-home message #1: Evaluation for PPID is warranted in horses more than 15 years old that develop insidious (gradual) onset laminitis."

Diagnosing PPID

Unfortunately, no perfect PPID test (one that is 100% accurate with a single-sample test) yet exists. Schott noted that 11 tests are possible, from simple evaluation of clinical signs ("over-the-fence" diagnosis of hirsutism) to various measures of hormone levels in blood plasma and urine.

"The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is considered by many to be the gold standard diagnostic test, probably because of experience with it rather than actual data," he commented. "It's the most widely accepted test, the samples are stable (less affected by variations in handling), and cortisol measurement is readily available (at labs)."

The test is based on the fact that one pituitary pars intermedia hormone product stimulates the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol (often termed stress hormone).

Schott explained that the DST involves measuring cortisol, giving the horse dexamethasone (a steroid analogue that is used in this case to suppress cortisol stimulation from another lobe of the pituitary gland) in the late afternoon, then measuring plasma cortisol the next morning (15 and 19 hours after dexamethasone administration). Cortisol levels greater than 1 ug/dL at those times support a diagnosis of PPID.

Disadvantages: The DST requires three client visits (although the test can be modified to two visits), it is reported to exacerbate laminitis in rare cases (although Schott noted this observation is poorly documented), its results are not always repeatable, and it might miss early PPID.

He briefly discussed several other hormone tests and their accuracy levels, noting that researchers are finding significant seasonal variation in hormone levels and, thus, seasonal variation in test results, even on the same horses.

"Take-home message #2 is that seasonal variation complicates diagnostic testing--endocrine testing is not recommended from mid-August to mid-November because we have difficulty interpreting the results," he cautioned.

In addition to hormone testing, researchers often will evaluate pituitary gland tissue of research horses post-mortem to try to correlate histological (tissue) characteristics with hormone test results and clinical signs. Schott described a study that found lesions were common in both the pars intermedia and pars distalis regions of the pituitary gland. There was one other notable feature of the horses that were examined--they were all clinically normal.

"Based on this ('abnormal' tissue findings in horses that had no clinical signs of disease), I'm not sure histological examination is the way to go," he opined. "Take-home message #3 is that hirsutism is still the most accurate diagnostic feature (identifying 86% of affected horses). So why test horses further? To evaluate their response to treatment!"

Treating PPID

"Many cases do fine with management changes alone," said Schott. "This might include body clipping, regular hoof care, nutrition changes (such as reducing sugars and other rich carbohydrates), and good dental care to ensure proper eating for these older horses.

"Whether a horse needs medication and when that should be started is decided on an individual basis," he added. "When a horse is put on medications, I recommend twice-annual reassessment--clinical examination and glucose/endocrine (hormone) testing. If needed, we adjust medication dosing, then retest the horse in 30-60 days to make sure his (hormone) responses are in the appropriate range."

There's also the issue of the horse that is a possible PPID case, but it's between August and November, so testing is of little value (see take-home message #2). In these cases, "if the owner can afford it, we might treat the horse for a few months just in case, then try to take him off medications and test to see if it's truly warranted," Schott commented.

For confirmed cases, "Is continuous treatment required?" he asked the audience. "We don't really know. Epidemiological studies are hard enough, let alone following horses for 10 years (for the research needed to answer this question)."

Medication options for PPID include pergolide, cyproheptadine, trilostane, and chasteberry extract. One disadvantage is that no treatment is currently FDA-approved for PPID in horses.

Pergolide Schott described several studies that found this once daily medication to be a superior treatment in terms of improved hormone test results and owner assessment of improvement, although the latter might have also been due to improved management.

Disadvantages are that it's expensive (there's a cheaper compounded product available, but you have quality and liability concerns), it causes transient inappetence in some (less than 10% of horses), and it causes lethargy (depression) in rare cases, he said.

Cyproheptadine "This medication used to be less expensive than pergolide; now it's more expensive," Schott commented. Some have suggested that it might act synergistically with pergolide, but he said there were no studies proving this.

Disadvantages include limited efficacy, no pharmacological data, increasing price, and compounded product quality/liability concerns.

Trilostane This targets the adrenal gland to decrease cortisol production, so it could be used with pergolide, Schott commented. "It was shown to be effective in reversing clinical signs in one study in the United Kingdom," he added. "But adrenal cortex hyperplasia (overgrowth and overactivity) is not very common, so trilostane doesn't make sense as a front-line treatment (it doesn't address the pituitary gland dysfunction).

"Also, it's not approved for use in horses, not available in the United States, and pricey," he added.

Chasteberry extract (Vitex agnus castus) Schott reported that in one field study of this product, all owners reported improved demeanor, 22 of 120 horses had improved shedding, and no horses showed changes in hormone levels. In contrast, another study presented at the 2002 AAEP convention found that 13/14 horses deteriorated on the same product.

"Take-home message #4: Spend money on better management rather than questionable products," recommended Schott.

Understanding Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (a.k.a. Cushing's Disease)

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction--PPID, or Cushing's disease--is the most common disease of horses and ponies 15 years of age or older. Although it's not fully understood yet, researchers are learning more about how to treat and prevent it. Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of physiological sciences at Oklahoma State University's Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, discussed normal and abnormal function of the pituitary pars intermedia lobe of the pituitary gland.

"The horse has three distinct lobes of his pituitary gland--the pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars nervosa," she began. "Each produces different hormones."

The pars intermedia produces a protein called pro-opiomelanocortin POMC) that is converted into adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). This, in turn, is processed into several different hormones:

• Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), a potent anti-inflammatory hormone that plays a role in skin coloring, appetite/satiety balance, and fat metabolism.
• Beta-endorphin, an endogenous (originating within the body) opioid that provides analgesia and behavioral modification and suppresses immune responsiveness and vascular tone (the degree of blood vessel constriction).
• Corticotrophin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP), which stimulates insulin release.

Seasonality of Hormones

Season has been recently found to play a big role in secretion of some pars intermedia hormones in horses; this was already known in many other species (humans, hamsters, sheep, and weasels). Alpha-MSH levels are highest in the fall, coinciding with peak body weight, appetite, and body condition in sheep.

This seasonal increase might occur in horses and ponies as well, "to metabolically prepare them for a decrease in accessible food observed in the wild in winter," explained McFarlane. "If so, dysregulation of this pathway might be associated with abnormalities in body weight and fat storage." This might also explain the heavy haircoat of horses with PPID--it's literally a winter coat gone wild.

"Ponies show a much greater response to seasonal hormone changes than horses," she added.

Why is seasonality relevant? Given the increased activity of pars intermedia hormones in the fall, you're more likely to see clinical signs, false positive tests, and PPID-associated laminitis in fall, said McFarlane. This might have implications for treatment as well.

"It's possible that we might be able to treat affected horses (medically) in summer and fall when their hormones are highest, and wean them off medications in winter and spring," she theorized. "This is untested, but it's something to think about for mild cases."

What Causes PPID?

While several mechanisms for PPID have been proposed, McFarlane suggested that it is a neurodegenerative disease. This seems to be supported by the fact that her research has found almost no dopaminergic (dopamine-producing) neurons in the pars intermedia of affected horses, while there are quite a few in young horses or unaffected horses of similar age.

The lack of dopamine is critical, as she noted that the activity of the pars intermedia is normally inhibited (controlled) by dopamine. Without dopamine, the pars intermedia produces much more hormone than it should, causing the clinical signs of PPID.

Similar activity occurs in other species when dopamine is experimentally inhibited, she reported. This explains why the medication pergolide helps so many horses with PPID--it replaces dopamine activity and thus inhibits pars intermedia hormones.

It also explains why another popular treatment--trilostane--doesn't always work as well. McFarlane explained that trilostane acts on the adrenal gland to control secretion of cortisol hormone--"stress hormone." This helps control biochemical stress, but it doesn't act on the originating problem in the pars intermedia.

"I'm hesitant to recommend trilostane partially because it is only available compounded, and because it doesn't act against the inciting factor," she noted. "Pergolide treats in three ways: It protects neurons, adds dopamine, and has antioxidant activity."

Why would a horse's dopaminergic neurons degenerate? McFarlane speculated that oxidative stress, which is more prevalent in PPID horses, and misfolding of a protein called alpha-synuclein, a nerve terminal protein, might play large roles. Misfolding (improperly developing into a form other than its characteristic functional shape) of this protein can be caused by oxidative stress as well. An interesting side note is that this pathway of disease is the same as that proposed for Parkinson's disease in humans, and many biochemical features of Parkinson's closely resemble features of PPID in horses.

"Dopaminergic neurons are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage, because dopamine metabolism itself produces free radicals (chemically active atoms or molecular fragments that are missing electrons and damage large molecules within cells while attempting to achieve a more stable configuration)," she commented. Other contributing factors might include inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction (altered activity in the parts of cells that produce energy for carrying out the cell's functions).

PPID Prevention

"I think obesity drives chronic stress, which is a risk factor for neurodegeneration," opined McFarlane. "If we're going to prevent disease, controlling obesity will be very important. Also measure selenium (an antioxidant mineral that horses need in small quantities) and address that if needed, and keep in mind that antioxidant therapy might slow progression of the disease.

"Mitochondrial dysfunction is known to be a contributing factor to Parkinson's disease, and agricultural chemical usage contributes to Parkinson's in humans--these chemicals might well affect horses too," she suggested. "Also, ponies and Morgans seem to be more susceptible to the disease. What that genetic factor is, we'll understand better with more research. Understanding the mechanisms of disease is essential to knowing how to prevent this disease in these animals."

---

'contributors' (adipobiology)
Written by WHINNY

Adipobiology (The Study of Fat in the Body): An Emerging Field

What exactly does stored fat do to a horse's body? It wreaks serious havoc on at least 11 vital body functions. Nat Messer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, an associate professor of equine medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri (UM), presented a compelling discussion of the relatively new field of adipobiology--the study of fat and its causes and effects. He discussed a paper submitted by Philip Johnson, BVSc(Hons), MS, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ECEIM, MRCVS, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery at UM.

Excess body fat (both subcutaneous fat, such as the squishy stuff around a horse's tailhead, and visceral fat that accumulates near various internal organs) isn't just an unsightly way to store extra calories. Researchers are learning that fat--or adipose tissue as it's scientifically called--is much more active biochemically in many species than was previously thought (particularly visceral fat), noted Johnson in his paper. Fat produces more than 100 substances (collectively called adipokines or adipocytokines) that can affect:

• Lipid and glucose homeostasis (normal fat and glucose balance in the body);
• Inflammation;
• Hemostasis (control of bleeding);
• Osteogenesis (bone production);
• Hematopoiesis (formation and development of blood cells);
• Complement activities (complement is a sequence of proteins in the blood that work to help the animal respond to inflammatory and infectious challenges);
• Reproduction;
• Angiogenesis (development of blood vessels in tissue);
• Blood pressure; and
• Feeding behavior.

In horses, adipokine-mediated alteration of these body functions can cause or contribute to chronic inflammation, metabolic problems such as insulin resistance and possibly pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (Cushing's disease), circulatory (blood vessel) compromise, and increased risk of laminitis. Also, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar, which is common in horses with severe metabolic syndrome) has been shown to generate oxidative stress--the production of oxygen free radicals that can damage many kinds of tissues.

"In fact, adipokines have recently been claimed to represent the 'missing link' between IR (insulin resistance) and cardiovascular disease in humans," said Johnson. For example, he noted that the branch of the coronary artery passing through an area of fat storage is the one most likely to develop arthrosclerosis (progressive narrowing and hardening of the artery, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke). Local effects of hormones produced by that fat deposit have been implicated as the cause.

Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Even if a horse is fat, if he is insulin- resistant, the cells in his body that depend on insulin for glucose uptake (generally skeletal muscle cells, as well as liver and fat cells) are actually starved for energy--the glucose they should be getting from food metabolism. "Decreased movement of glucose into the cell through glucose transporters (GLUT-4 in this case) in the cell membrane ... is the first step that is defective in human insulin resistance," explained Johnson. This can occur when fatty acids in skeletal muscle directly inhibit insulin activation of glucose-transport activity, he noted.

Not all obese horses develop insulin resistance, and not all insulin-resistant horses are obese, noted Messer. "But IR- associated medical problems are more likely to develop in concert with obesity in individuals born with IR," he said. "Obesity may be an 'add-on' risk factor."

Obesity and Laminitis

"Compelling experimental data have been published to suggest that glucose is essential for the health and strength of the equine hoof-lamellar interface," noted Johnson. "Hemidesmosomes (HD) represent the important attachment link between keratinocytes (hoof wall cells) and the underlying lamellar basement membrane (attaching the coffin bone to the hoof wall). Keratinocyte glucose starvation (from the aforementioned decreased movement of glucose into the cells) may weaken HD, which leads to separation of the keratinocyte from the basement membrane. Situations associated with cell- glucose starvation, such as IR, might increase the risk for laminitis."

He noted that it remains to be seen whether hoof keratinocytes depend (to any extent) on insulin for their glucose supply; this information is currently unknown.

In obese horses insulin resistance might also contribute to widespread inflammation and, thus, vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels), which is the case in human metabolic syndrome, Johnson added. "By so doing, IR may, in turn, promote the risk of laminitis. The equine hoof-lamellar microvasculature is extremely sensitive to vasoconstrictors (anything that constricts blood vessels)," he explained. Therefore, adipokine-induced vasoconstriction would pose another pathway for causing laminitis in obese horses.

Glucocorticoids and Obesity

Additionally, glucocorticoids have been implicated as a cause of both laminitis and IR. "Our team has been interested in the role that glucocorticoids (corticosteroid drugs or hormones that are involved in carbohydrate metabolism and the body's response to stress) might play in terms of risk of laminitis," Johnson commented. "Newer work in humans suggests that glucocorticoids play a critical role in the development of visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome.

"Glucocorticoids also cause expansion of adipose tissues in the body," he noted. "If present in sufficient quantity (as in the obese state), locally generated cortisol (often called stress hormone) will both stimulate further local adipogenesis (fat deposition) and contribute to IR.

"Circumstances under which individuals might be influenced by the action of excess glucocorticoids include Cushing's syndrome, the administration of synthetic glucocorticoids for therapeutic purposes, and stress," he wrote.

Treating Obesity

Unfortunately, "Obesity in horses is often desirable to owners," said Messer.

"There clearly exists a need for objective criteria by which horses might be 'scored' in terms of whole-body adiposity (such as the body mass index used in human medicine)," Johnson noted.

He added that a major goal of adiposity research focuses on identifying therapeutic strategies that effectively reduce the ratio of pro-inflammatory (inflammation- causing), insulin-desensitizing adipokines to anti-inflammatory, insulin-sensitizing adipokines. Owners need to control obesity now by properly managing horses' diets and increasing exercise levels.

Messer summarized his presentation quite succinctly: "You've seen what fat cells can do today. Until we get rid of excessive fat cells, we'll have all kinds of problems."

Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Nicholas Frank, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of large animal clinical sciences at the University of Tennessee, discussed the causes, clinical signs, and management of insulin resistance in horses, and its link to laminitis.

"Insulin resistance can be defined as failure of tissues to respond appropriately to insulin," said Frank. "Insulin is secreted by the pancreas to move glucose (sugar from digestion of food) into tissues when it's readily available (after meals)."

There are three types of insulin resistance. "Compensated IR is the most common form; this is when the pancreas secretes more insulin to achieve the same effect (hyperinsulinemia)," he explained. "Uncompensated IR is when pancreatic beta cells (the source of insulin) fail, so blood glucose concentrations rise and insulin levels are variable; this is fairly rare. An extremely rare event is Type 2 diabetes mellitus (caused by insufficient production of insulin or by resistance of target tissues to the effects of insulin), which describes advanced pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or Cushing's). This results in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and glucosuria (sugar in the urine)."

Insulin resistance is a part of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Said Frank, "There are three criteria for identifying the horse with EMS: Insulin resistance, prior (founder lines) or current laminitis, and general obesity or regional adiposity (areas of abnormal fat deposition such as a cresty neck or fat pads near the tailhead). It has a genetic predisposition--the 'easy keeper,' or the horse that could stay fat on fresh air, is more likely to have EMS."

Insulin Resistance and Laminitis

There are three theories on why insulin resistance might contribute to laminitis:

1. It decreases the amount of glucose getting into hoof tissue cells, which could starve them and hamper their function.

2. Insulin resistance causes decreased peripheral vasodilation (contraction of blood vessels at the extremities, such as in the hoof). Decreased blood flow to the foot means less nutrition for the tissues and likely less healthy tissues.

3. When adipose tissues reach their capacity for fat storage, they can become stressed and release cytokines, causing a pro-inflammatory state. This could lower a horse's threshold for laminitis. Thus, a smaller trigger could cause laminitis--less of a carbohydrate overdose, for example.

Whatever its mechanism of action might be, insulin resistance has been linked to laminitis. Frank described a study of a Virginia pony herd that found insulin sensitivity could even predict laminitis: "Measuring their insulin sensitivity predicted laminitis would occur in 13 ponies, and it actually developed in 11 (85%). This was the first paper saying insulin sensitivity had something to do with laminitis."

The Role of Obesity in IR

"Not all obese individuals are insulin- resistant, and not all IR-affected horses are obese. But IR-associated medical problems are more likely to develop in concert with obesity in individuals born with IR," said Messer. "Thus, obesity may be an 'add-on' risk factor," much as obesity in humans contributes to diabetes.

"The obese 'easy keeper' is poorly defined scientifically," Frank said. "Presumably this characteristic is inherited as a difference in metabolism where the horse is able to maintain weight on fewer calories--he's evolutionarily adapted to live on less food in harsh conditions. When you take this adapted horse and put him on a high-carbohydrate diet (including good pasture), he tends to become obese. Grain can make it even worse.

The theory of how obesity contributes to insulin resistance is as follows, he said: "The accumulation of lipids (fat molecules or diacylg lycerol) in cells alters the normal signaling events within the cell. Skeletal muscle is the most susceptible to this. The theory is that as animal gets more obese, intracellular lipids interfere with insulin activity. Insulin resistance develops as lipids disrupt insulin receptors. Initially this is a reversible process, but chronic IR causes irreversible damage."

Hold the Grain, Please

Management of insulin resistance might lower the risk of laminitis, and one of the cornerstones of management is diet. "Think of these horses as being in a prediabetic state," Frank said. "They need to exercise more and take in less sugar."

He made these recommendations:

• Take obese horses off sweet feed, they don't need it anyway.
• Consider a grazing muzzle.
• Don't overfeed them.
• Feed hay lower in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC; forage testing labs can tell you a hay's NSC content).
• Induce weight loss by feeding hay initially at 2% of the horse's current body weight, decreasing to 1.5% of current body weight, then finally dropping to 1.5% of ideal body weight.
• Consider pergolide treatment in horses with EMS to stave off PPID.
• Exercise horses to decrease weight.

If an insulin-resistant horse develops laminitis, Frank recommended the following management practices:

• Take the horse off pasture entirely-- remove some horses permanently, but most temporarily.
• Keep the horse in a dry lot.
• Hand-walk him for exercise once his feet are stabilized.
• If he's obese, feed low-sugar hay.
• If he's lean, feed hay plus a low-NSC feed.
• Consider strategic use of levothyroxine (generally used as replacement therapy in reduced or absent thyroid function) for three to six months in obese horses. However, "We are not treating hypothyroidism!" he stated. "That condition is extremely rare in horses. We are using it to accelerate metabolism (to decrease body weight)."

Frank said in an ongoing study, horses in a dry lot and given levothyroxine (Thyro-L; Lloyd Inc., Shenandoah, Iowa) lost an average of 62 kg, compared to 25 kg lost by horses in a dry lot without evothyroxine.

Take-Home Messages

The following facts should be considered if you have a horse that is showing signs of becoming overweight or having insulin resistance.

• Not all obese horses have EMS, and not all horses with EMS are obese.
• Diet and exercise are the main management and prevention strategies. Owners should avoid feeding concentrates and control affected or at-risk horses' exposure to pasture.
• Levothyroxine can be given to reduce body weight and increase insulin sensitivity for three to six months.

Cushing's Disease: Challenges of Diagnosis and Treatment

We know Cushing's disease (or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction--PPID--as it's more scientifically called), simply put, is an "old-horse disease" that results in metabolism disturbances and an abnormally heavy hair coat. But when it comes to testing and treatment, there are about as many opinions as there are people to ask. Luckily, Harold Schott, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of large animal clinical sciences at Michigan State University (MSU), discussed the challenges of PPID diagnosis and treatment.

"Owners have really pushed us to learn more about this disease," he began. "Unfortunately, I might not leave you with a totally clear picture, because a lot of what we know is still based on experience rather than scientific data."

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction describes altered activity of the pars intermedia lobe of the pituitary gland. Schott first described the prevalence of PPID clinical signs seen in various studies: hirsutism (excessive haircoat) 47-100% of affected horses; muscle wasting, 35-88%; chronic laminitis, 24-82%; polyuria/polydipsia (excessive urination and chronic, excessive thirst/intake of fluid), 17-76%; hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), 14-67%; abnormal fat deposition, 9-67%; chronic infections, 27-48%; lethargy, 43-82%; neurological signs, including seizures, 6-50%

"My subjective impression is that age at onset of clinical signs is important; the younger ones (at onset) do worse," said Schott.

"Laminitis is the clinical problem we deal with the most," he commented. "It's our main reason for looking at these horses. Here's take-home message #1: Evaluation for PPID is warranted in horses more than 15 years old that develop insidious (gradual) onset laminitis."

Diagnosing PPID

Unfortunately, no perfect PPID test (one that is 100% accurate with a single-sample test) yet exists. Schott noted that 11 tests are possible, from simple evaluation of clinical signs ("over-the-fence" diagnosis of hirsutism) to various measures of hormone levels in blood plasma and urine.

"The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is considered by many to be the gold standard diagnostic test, probably because of experience with it rather than actual data," he commented. "It's the most widely accepted test, the samples are stable (less affected by variations in handling), and cortisol measurement is readily available (at labs)."

The test is based on the fact that one pituitary pars intermedia hormone product stimulates the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol (often termed stress hormone).

Schott explained that the DST involves measuring cortisol, giving the horse dexamethasone (a steroid analogue that is used in this case to suppress cortisol stimulation from another lobe of the pituitary gland) in the late afternoon, then measuring plasma cortisol the next morning (15 and 19 hours after dexamethasone administration). Cortisol levels greater than 1 ug/dL at those times support a diagnosis of PPID.

Disadvantages: The DST requires three client visits (although the test can be modified to two visits), it is reported to exacerbate laminitis in rare cases (although Schott noted this observation is poorly documented), its results are not always repeatable, and it might miss early PPID.

He briefly discussed several other hormone tests and their accuracy levels, noting that researchers are finding significant seasonal variation in hormone levels and, thus, seasonal variation in test results, even on the same horses.

"Take-home message #2 is that seasonal variation complicates diagnostic testing--endocrine testing is not recommended from mid-August to mid-November because we have difficulty interpreting the results," he cautioned.

In addition to hormone testing, researchers often will evaluate pituitary gland tissue of research horses post-mortem to try to correlate histological (tissue) characteristics with hormone test results and clinical signs. Schott described a study that found lesions were common in both the pars intermedia and pars distalis regions of the pituitary gland. There was one other notable feature of the horses that were examined--they were all clinically normal.

"Based on this ('abnormal' tissue findings in horses that had no clinical signs of disease), I'm not sure histological examination is the way to go," he opined. "Take-home message #3 is that hirsutism is still the most accurate diagnostic feature (identifying 86% of affected horses). So why test horses further? To evaluate their response to treatment!"

Treating PPID

"Many cases do fine with management changes alone," said Schott. "This might include body clipping, regular hoof care, nutrition changes (such as reducing sugars and other rich carbohydrates), and good dental care to ensure proper eating for these older horses.

"Whether a horse needs medication and when that should be started is decided on an individual basis," he added. "When a horse is put on medications, I recommend twice-annual reassessment--clinical examination and glucose/endocrine (hormone) testing. If needed, we adjust medication dosing, then retest the horse in 30-60 days to make sure his (hormone) responses are in the appropriate range."

There's also the issue of the horse that is a possible PPID case, but it's between August and November, so testing is of little value (see take-home message #2). In these cases, "if the owner can afford it, we might treat the horse for a few months just in case, then try to take him off medications and test to see if it's truly warranted," Schott commented.

For confirmed cases, "Is continuous treatment required?" he asked the audience. "We don't really know. Epidemiological studies are hard enough, let alone following horses for 10 years (for the research needed to answer this question)."

Medication options for PPID include pergolide, cyproheptadine, trilostane, and chasteberry extract. One disadvantage is that no treatment is currently FDA-approved for PPID in horses.

Pergolide Schott described several studies that found this once daily medication to be a superior treatment in terms of improved hormone test results and owner assessment of improvement, although the latter might have also been due to improved management.

Disadvantages are that it's expensive (there's a cheaper compounded product available, but you have quality and liability concerns), it causes transient inappetence in some (less than 10% of horses), and it causes lethargy (depression) in rare cases, he said.

Cyproheptadine "This medication used to be less expensive than pergolide; now it's more expensive," Schott commented. Some have suggested that it might act synergistically with pergolide, but he said there were no studies proving this.

Disadvantages include limited efficacy, no pharmacological data, increasing price, and compounded product quality/liability concerns.

Trilostane This targets the adrenal gland to decrease cortisol production, so it could be used with pergolide, Schott commented. "It was shown to be effective in reversing clinical signs in one study in the United Kingdom," he added. "But adrenal cortex hyperplasia (overgrowth and overactivity) is not very common, so trilostane doesn't make sense as a front-line treatment (it doesn't address the pituitary gland dysfunction).

"Also, it's not approved for use in horses, not available in the United States, and pricey," he added.

Chasteberry extract (Vitex agnus castus) Schott reported that in one field study of this product, all owners reported improved demeanor, 22 of 120 horses had improved shedding, and no horses showed changes in hormone levels. In contrast, another study presented at the 2002 AAEP convention found that 13/14 horses deteriorated on the same product.

"Take-home message #4: Spend money on better management rather than questionable products," recommended Schott.

Understanding Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (a.k.a. Cushing's Disease)

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction--PPID, or Cushing's disease--is the most common disease of horses and ponies 15 years of age or older. Although it's not fully understood yet, researchers are learning more about how to treat and prevent it. Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of physiological sciences at Oklahoma State University's Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, discussed normal and abnormal function of the pituitary pars intermedia lobe of the pituitary gland.

"The horse has three distinct lobes of his pituitary gland--the pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars nervosa," she began. "Each produces different hormones."

The pars intermedia produces a protein called pro-opiomelanocortin POMC) that is converted into adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). This, in turn, is processed into several different hormones:

• Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), a potent anti-inflammatory hormone that plays a role in skin coloring, appetite/satiety balance, and fat metabolism.
• Beta-endorphin, an endogenous (originating within the body) opioid that provides analgesia and behavioral modification and suppresses immune responsiveness and vascular tone (the degree of blood vessel constriction).
• Corticotrophin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP), which stimulates insulin release.

Seasonality of Hormones

Season has been recently found to play a big role in secretion of some pars intermedia hormones in horses; this was already known in many other species (humans, hamsters, sheep, and weasels). Alpha-MSH levels are highest in the fall, coinciding with peak body weight, appetite, and body condition in sheep.

This seasonal increase might occur in horses and ponies as well, "to metabolically prepare them for a decrease in accessible food observed in the wild in winter," explained McFarlane. "If so, dysregulation of this pathway might be associated with abnormalities in body weight and fat storage." This might also explain the heavy haircoat of horses with PPID--it's literally a winter coat gone wild.

"Ponies show a much greater response to seasonal hormone changes than horses," she added.

Why is seasonality relevant? Given the increased activity of pars intermedia hormones in the fall, you're more likely to see clinical signs, false positive tests, and PPID-associated laminitis in fall, said McFarlane. This might have implications for treatment as well.

"It's possible that we might be able to treat affected horses (medically) in summer and fall when their hormones are highest, and wean them off medications in winter and spring," she theorized. "This is untested, but it's something to think about for mild cases."

What Causes PPID?

While several mechanisms for PPID have been proposed, McFarlane suggested that it is a neurodegenerative disease. This seems to be supported by the fact that her research has found almost no dopaminergic (dopamine-producing) neurons in the pars intermedia of affected horses, while there are quite a few in young horses or unaffected horses of similar age.

The lack of dopamine is critical, as she noted that the activity of the pars intermedia is normally inhibited (controlled) by dopamine. Without dopamine, the pars intermedia produces much more hormone than it should, causing the clinical signs of PPID.

Similar activity occurs in other species when dopamine is experimentally inhibited, she reported. This explains why the medication pergolide helps so many horses with PPID--it replaces dopamine activity and thus inhibits pars intermedia hormones.

It also explains why another popular treatment--trilostane--doesn't always work as well. McFarlane explained that trilostane acts on the adrenal gland to control secretion of cortisol hormone--"stress hormone." This helps control biochemical stress, but it doesn't act on the originating problem in the pars intermedia.

"I'm hesitant to recommend trilostane partially because it is only available compounded, and because it doesn't act against the inciting factor," she noted. "Pergolide treats in three ways: It protects neurons, adds dopamine, and has antioxidant activity."

Why would a horse's dopaminergic neurons degenerate? McFarlane speculated that oxidative stress, which is more prevalent in PPID horses, and misfolding of a protein called alpha-synuclein, a nerve terminal protein, might play large roles. Misfolding (improperly developing into a form other than its characteristic functional shape) of this protein can be caused by oxidative stress as well. An interesting side note is that this pathway of disease is the same as that proposed for Parkinson's disease in humans, and many biochemical features of Parkinson's closely resemble features of PPID in horses.

"Dopaminergic neurons are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage, because dopamine metabolism itself produces free radicals (chemically active atoms or molecular fragments that are missing electrons and damage large molecules within cells while attempting to achieve a more stable configuration)," she commented. Other contributing factors might include inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction (altered activity in the parts of cells that produce energy for carrying out the cell's functions).

PPID Prevention

"I think obesity drives chronic stress, which is a risk factor for neurodegeneration," opined McFarlane. "If we're going to prevent disease, controlling obesity will be very important. Also measure selenium (an antioxidant mineral that horses need in small quantities) and address that if needed, and keep in mind that antioxidant therapy might slow progression of the disease.

"Mitochondrial dysfunction is known to be a contributing factor to Parkinson's disease, and agricultural chemical usage contributes to Parkinson's in humans--these chemicals might well affect horses too," she suggested. "Also, ponies and Morgans seem to be more susceptible to the disease. What that genetic factor is, we'll understand better with more research. Understanding the mechanisms of disease is essential to knowing how to prevent this disease in these animals."

---

ARE YOU READY FOR A DISASTER???
Written by WHINNY

Disasters can happen anytime and anywhere and can take many different forms, from barn fires to earthquakes, from a propane line explosion to flooding from a violent storm. Any of these might necessitate evacuation. If you have horses or other large animals, it is important to have a plan to move your animals to a safe area. A plan is even more critical if you have a large group of animals.

During an emergency, the time you have to evacuate your horses will be limited. If you are unprepared or wait until the last minute to evacuate, emergency management officials could tell you that you must leave your horses behind. Once you leave your property, you have no way of knowing how long you will be kept out of the area. If left behind, your horses could be untended for days without care, food or water. To help avoid this situation, the following information and suggestions are offered by the Humane Society of the United States for planning for emergencies. With an effective emergency plan, you might have enough time to move your animals to safety.

---

ARE YOU READY FOR A DISASTER???
Written by WHINNY

Disasters can happen anytime and anywhere and can take many different forms, from barn fires to earthquakes, from a propane line explosion to flooding from a violent storm. Any of these might necessitate evacuation. If you have horses or other large animals, it is important to have a plan to move your animals to a safe area. A plan is even more critical if you have a large group of animals.

During an emergency, the time you have to evacuate your horses will be limited. If you are unprepared or wait until the last minute to evacuate, emergency management officials could tell you that you must leave your horses behind. Once you leave your property, you have no way of knowing how long you will be kept out of the area. If left behind, your horses could be untended for days without care, food or water. To help avoid this situation, the following information and suggestions are offered by the Humane Society of the United States for planning for emergencies. With an effective emergency plan, you might have enough time to move your animals to safety.

---

ARE YOU READY FOR A DISASTER???
Written by WHINNY

Disasters can happen anytime and anywhere and can take many different forms, from barn fires to earthquakes, from a propane line explosion to flooding from a violent storm. Any of these might necessitate evacuation. If you have horses or other large animals, it is important to have a plan to move your animals to a safe area. A plan is even more critical if you have a large group of animals.

During an emergency, the time you have to evacuate your horses will be limited. If you are unprepared or wait until the last minute to evacuate, emergency management officials could tell you that you must leave your horses behind. Once you leave your property, you have no way of knowing how long you will be kept out of the area. If left behind, your horses could be untended for days without care, food or water. To help avoid this situation, the following information and suggestions are offered by the Humane Society of the United States for planning for emergencies. With an effective emergency plan, you might have enough time to move your animals to safety.

---

ARE YOU READY FOR A DISASTER???
Written by WHINNY

Disasters can happen anytime and anywhere and can take many different forms, from barn fires to earthquakes, from a propane line explosion to flooding from a violent storm. Any of these might necessitate evacuation. If you have horses or other large animals, it is important to have a plan to move your animals to a safe area. A plan is even more critical if you have a large group of animals.

During an emergency, the time you have to evacuate your horses will be limited. If you are unprepared or wait until the last minute to evacuate, emergency management officials could tell you that you must leave your horses behind. Once you leave your property, you have no way of knowing how long you will be kept out of the area. If left behind, your horses could be untended for days without care, food or water. To help avoid this situation, the following information and suggestions are offered by the Humane Society of the United States for planning for emergencies. With an effective emergency plan, you might have enough time to move your animals to safety.

---

whats under foot
Written by WHINNY

Features Mud Management by: Karen Briggs June 01 2004 Article # 5191	Article Tools
Flanders and Swann, a singing comedy team from the United Kingdom, once penned a song that went like this: "Mud, mud, glorious mud, Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. So follow me, follow, Down to the hollow, And there let us wallow In glorious mud!" Of course the song was written from the perspective of a hippo. For that animal's distant cousin, the horse, mud also has its attractions--but for the horse's handlers, it is anything but glorious. Every spring and fall (or virtually all year round if you live in the Northwest!), your dapple gray turns seal brown--with clumps--and threatens to disappear into the quagmire that has materialized around the paddock gate. You lose count of the number of times your rubber boots have been sucked off your feet, to say nothing of the multiple lost horseshoes. Getting the wheelbarrow to the manure pile is a daily struggle. You cringe at the way your grazing land gets churned up by horses negotiating their way through the goop, and you have to give up riding for weeks because your ring is dangerously slick. And then there's your trailer, buried to the axles. What's not to like? In addition to being a giant pain, mud and pooled water are health risks to you and your horses. They provide an ideal breeding ground for many types of flies and mosquitoes, especially those that carry various types of encephalomyelitis (including West Nile virus). Slick footing can lead to injuries when humans or horses wipe out. And mud also harbors bacteria and fungi that can contribute to scratches (a.k.a. mud fever) on pasterns, rain rot on rumps and backs, and thrush and canker in hoof crevices. Finally, manure from your paddocks, mixed with water run-off, can be swept into nearby streams and ponds, where it can compromise the aquatic organisms that live there. Or it can find its way into the water table and eventually pollute your well (or those of your neighbors) with coliform bacteria. If you really want to avoid currying dried cement from your horse's coat on a daily basis, you could, of course, confine him to quarters for the duration of the muddy season. But restricting turnout, while likely to save the grass, tends to breed discontent and encourage the development of boredom-related vices, in addition to costing you considerably more in terms of bedding and time spent mucking out stalls. Besides, even if you keep your critters indoors, you'll still have to navigate the area around the barn yourself--preferably without the assistance of hip-waders. To some extent, mud is unavoidable. But its presence on your property isn't completely uncontrollable. Are there better strategies for channeling water away from your barn and paddocks, keeping the footing firm and usable for riding, and providing your horses with some outside time without sacrificing the grazing you're counting on for the summer months? Yes, gentle reader, there are. Here are some tips for mud management that should help see you through the rainy season(s). Some require some pre-season preparation, while others are simple routine changes you might not have considered. A Recipe for Mud Water plus soil equals mud, as we all know. But what determines whether surface water, from snow melt or rain, stays on the surface and mixes with the soil to create a problem, or drains away, leaving your footing firm and usable? The composition of your soil is one major factor. Those lucky enough to have sandy soil enjoy good drainage--in other words, surface water percolates down into the earth fairly quickly instead of sitting on the top. Heavier clay soils, on the other hand, hold rain or snow-melt on the surface and are a guaranteed recipe for mud when top layers become oversaturated. Wherever there are horses, you have to factor in manure. One of the reasons manure is a popular additive to flower gardens is that it helps retain moisture. But that same quality can have a definite down side when it comes to your paddocks. There's also the lay of the land to consider. If your barn occupies the deepest valley on your property, you can bet that water will find its way there from the surrounding high ground. Figuring out your property's natural watersheds is essential preparation before you build--bearing in mind that some streams are seasonal events, invisible in mid-winter or summer, but all too evident in the spring and fall! Finally, there's traffic, as in the concentration of human and equine feet stomping over a certain area. Ever notice how the areas around your paddock gates are the first to get squishy and swampy during the rainy season? That's because soil compacts there thanks to the repeated pressure of hooves and becomes impervious to water absorption. Puddles pool on the surface, horses churn it up, and presto, you have mud. With all of these elements working together, it might seem like you're fighting a losing battle. But there are things you can do to limit the impact of pooling water. Simple Strategies Good pasture management is an important mud reducer. Keeping horses off rain-saturated land is critical if you want to save your pasture plants and preserve grazing for the good weather. Constant pounding from hooves compacts even wet ground and can suffocate the roots of the grasses--and heavy traffic on winter- dormant pastures can be more than some grasses can recover from. Although it might seem handy to have a natural pond or creek on your property to water your horses, it's better to fence your animals away from these sources and provide a trough or automatic waterer for two reasons: First, when rainfall makes the soil around ponds and creeks soft, and horses stand on the banks to drink, they churn up the footing and soon create a muddy bog; second, manure on the banks soon filters into the water, contaminating not only your property's water, but areas downstream as well. The best strategy for wet-weather turnout is to choose a "sacrifice area," which might be a small paddock you just accept is going to be trashed in wet weather. When conditions are muddy or frozen, using your sacrifice area for turnout will save the majority of your pasture for better days. If you don't have a suitable small paddock for this, consider marking off one section of your main pasture with portable electric fencing. The location of your sacrifice area is key. Ideally, choose an area on higher ground, away from natural streams, seasonal surface water flows, or wetlands. For the sake of convenience, it should be fairly close to the barn (after all, you don't want to have to hike half a mile to rescue your critters from a storm!). Well-drained, gravelly soils work best--the idea is not to expect this area to grow grass, so it's not a priority to have lots of rich, organic material here. If your sacrifice area is adjacent to the barn or other buildings, pay attention to the way rainwater drains from the roofs. Are your gutters and downspouts doing their job, or is water pouring down right where your horses will be standing? If so, some repairs or re-engineering might be in order. Remember to protect your downspouts so that your horses can't destroy them (think heavy PVC or hot wire if they have to be situated within the fenced area). You might want to position them so they fill the water trough, thus killing two birds with one stone! United Kingdom resident Sue Grocott, no stranger to mud, says, "The ideal situation for paddocks is to set aside separate winter and summer enclosures. Save the higher ground for winter. The use of electrical tape is very prevalent here for fencing--it's portable and easily moved around. That way, if you haven't got the geography for separate paddocks, you can limit the use of your paddock space and save some grass for summer. I've seen one place where they extend the winter grazing literally a foot at a time to keep giving the horses something to eat." Population density is another factor to keep in mind. Alison Utting, who battles mud on a regular basis at her home in the Pacific Northwest, says. "I think the number of horses in a given area and how quiet they are play a part. Two horses walking quietly in and out will not cause nearly the trampling effect of six rambunctious horses using the same area." Because manure acts like a sponge, plan to pick up droppings in your sacrifice area every few days if you can. Although this might seem high-maintenance, there's a health benefit--you'll reduce the impact of internal parasites in a small, confined space. Furthermore, the less organic matter breaks down in the paddock, the less raw material will be available for mud formation. If the natural flow of water on your property after a heavy rain still means water is collecting in your paddocks or riding areas, you might have to resort to some ecologically friendly means of diverting the excess. Swales, ditches, and drains can help, especially if they're well seeded with grass. In fact, the roots of any kind of vegetation help absorb excess water, so consider doing some landscaping. One mature Douglas fir, for example, can drink up to 250 gallons of water a day, and evergreens keep using water in the winter months when deciduous varieties are dormant. Water-loving shrubs and trees, such as cottonwoods, willows, and dogwoods, are also useful additions. However, they're best planted outside the reach of your horses to protect them from root compaction and bark-chewing, and to keep the "drip zone" from the ends of the branches from contributing to even more rainwater pooling in your paddocks. What's Underfoot If, despite all your best efforts, mud remains as persistent as a telemarketer at dinnertime, you might find it better to revamp your footing to protect what nature has given you to work with. In the Pacific Northwest, chipped or shredded wood products added to the surface of turnout areas or riding rings are popular choices. Variously known as pole bark, peelings, stump grindings, wood chips, or "hog fuel," they're readily available in areas where there's a logging industry, and usually they are competitively priced. (Sometimes they're even free from construction or power companies looking for a place to dump their stump grindings.) Whether you use chips, hog fuel, or bark peelings, these natural wood products will break down and need to be replaced periodically, but they do a decent job of soaking up excess moisture. As they compost, they contribute to the breakdown of equine manure and urine, keeping aromas to a minimum and reducing runoff to your property's watershed. As they break down, the particles will get smaller and smaller, so that after a few years there will be a buildup of organic fines that will have to be removed, either by shovel or with the help of a front-end loader during the dry months. Otherwise, you risk it contributing to the mud problem come autumn. It's not a total loss, however--the fines will enrich your compost pile or garden. Avoid any wood footing product that contains hardwood shavings (most hog fuel is a mixture of cedar, pine, fir, and hemlock) or comes from a construction site where sharp metal objects (such as nails) might have gotten mixed in. The wood pieces should be soft and the pieces of a reasonable size--too fine, and it will decompose before winter's end; too large and manure-picking will be a nightmare. In places where hog fuel and shavings aren't readily available, many horse owners rely on sand, gravel, or stone screenings. "Fill" sand (the coarse type used for concrete work), spread on a leveled site, can provide a great all-weather riding surface, and it's an option to consider for mucky paddocks as well. If you use sand for a turnout area, however, do not feed your horses hay from the ground, because sand colic will become a risk. Instead, invest in a standing feeder that keeps hay and grain off the sand and reduces wastage. Gravel also comes in several grades, and as with hog fuel, you want something neither too big nor too small. The five-eighths size often used for driveways is preferred by many horse owners. Although it's usually used to help fill in paddock quagmires, it shouldn't be ruled out as a riding footing. Pam Burke, of Havre, Mont., says, "While I live in a part of the Great Plains referred to as high-plains desert, I do have to deal with mud every year. My problem is that I live on top of 75 feet of solid bentonite clay. So when we get rain (or when the snow melts in spring), I have a skating rink that takes forever to soak up water. "My solution is, oddly enough, a gravel pad," she says. "On top of my bentonite I happen to have enough gravel to run a gravel pit--this pit has been open off and on for decades. One of the gravel businesses crushed gravel, so I actually have a large bed of it from what they left on the ground. This gravel is no bigger than a half-inch; it was used by paving crews to chip-seal roads. It's too hard, gritty, and rocky to use when the ground is dry and hard, but when we get rain the water drains through it, so it rarely has standing water, but the footing softens while the gravel helps with traction. By the time the gravel pad hardens again, my usual arena in the barley field is in perfect riding condition." As Burke's durable gravel pad demonstrates, one of the advantages of using gravel or stone screenings is that they don't break down like hog fuel and won't need to be replaced nearly as frequently. In most locales, however, it's considerably more expensive than other types of footing. You might find that the best solution on your farm is to use several types of footings, alone or in combination, depending on what's available locally and at what price. You might choose fill sand in a riding arena, for example, hog fuel in your sacrifice paddock, and gravel at the entrance to your run-in shed and at the paddock gates. For the ultimate solution, however, consider investing in geotextile fabric, also known as filter fabric or landscape cloth. Often used in heavy construction projects, this plastic-based material is perforated with tiny holes that allow water to drain down, but not sand or silt to filter through. It's available through landscaping supply centers, farm supply retailers, and some larger hardware/do-it-yourself stores, in various weights and thicknesses, widths, and lengths. Choose the most durable one you can afford--one that can withstand penetration by your horse's shod hooves. The time to install geotextile fabric is during the summer, when conditions are dry. You'll need a backhoe to help dig down and remove about four inches of topsoil, level the site, then roll out the fabric, making sure the edges are well-buried. Depending on the area you're covering, you might need to lay down parallel strips, overlapping them by about a foot on each side. In high-traffic areas such as gates, plan to place the fabric across the width of the trouble spot and at least 20 feet into the paddock. Over top of the material, you'll place a layer of crushed rock or gravel, or a sand/gravel mix depending on the soil type (consult a landscape expert for his/her recommendation). All of this sounds like a lot of work, but many horse owners have found it to be well worth the effort. Says Missourian Jeannine Walter, "When I put my arena in, the excavator moved the dirt from the site to up around the barn. This was good in theory because that leveled out the addition I had put on, but bad in reality since all the junk he moved up was lovely Missouri clay. I went through one winter and that was it. My mare had a ball of clay in her tail that must have weighed five pounds. I had to cut her tail to get it out. "So I removed all of the clay, put down a geotextile fabric, and laid down 220 tons of screenings and rock. What a difference! The horses still manage to get dirty, but no more clay! And the footing stays firm even when wet. So no missing shoes and no sore tendons. I am thrilled." Linnea Mathews of Taylor Farm Connemaras in Fayette, Maine, who used geotextile fabric to improve drainage in her riding ring, agrees. "The sand and gravel need to be replenished every three to five years, depending on the site characteristics and use, but the geotech fabric and grading are set for life if properly done," she says. If you're looking for a permanent solution to a serious mud problem on your farm, geotextile fabric is likely the way to go. It can be applied in any high-traffic area--under gates, near troughs or automatic waterers, around run-in sheds or barn entrances, or under a riding surface--and its initial cost will pay off in the un-chapped heels and unlost shoes of your horses. After all, mud can be glorious, but only if you're a hippo.

---

whats under foot
Written by WHINNY

Features Mud Management by: Karen Briggs June 01 2004 Article # 5191	Article Tools
Flanders and Swann, a singing comedy team from the United Kingdom, once penned a song that went like this: "Mud, mud, glorious mud, Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. So follow me, follow, Down to the hollow, And there let us wallow In glorious mud!" Of course the song was written from the perspective of a hippo. For that animal's distant cousin, the horse, mud also has its attractions--but for the horse's handlers, it is anything but glorious. Every spring and fall (or virtually all year round if you live in the Northwest!), your dapple gray turns seal brown--with clumps--and threatens to disappear into the quagmire that has materialized around the paddock gate. You lose count of the number of times your rubber boots have been sucked off your feet, to say nothing of the multiple lost horseshoes. Getting the wheelbarrow to the manure pile is a daily struggle. You cringe at the way your grazing land gets churned up by horses negotiating their way through the goop, and you have to give up riding for weeks because your ring is dangerously slick. And then there's your trailer, buried to the axles. What's not to like? In addition to being a giant pain, mud and pooled water are health risks to you and your horses. They provide an ideal breeding ground for many types of flies and mosquitoes, especially those that carry various types of encephalomyelitis (including West Nile virus). Slick footing can lead to injuries when humans or horses wipe out. And mud also harbors bacteria and fungi that can contribute to scratches (a.k.a. mud fever) on pasterns, rain rot on rumps and backs, and thrush and canker in hoof crevices. Finally, manure from your paddocks, mixed with water run-off, can be swept into nearby streams and ponds, where it can compromise the aquatic organisms that live there. Or it can find its way into the water table and eventually pollute your well (or those of your neighbors) with coliform bacteria. If you really want to avoid currying dried cement from your horse's coat on a daily basis, you could, of course, confine him to quarters for the duration of the muddy season. But restricting turnout, while likely to save the grass, tends to breed discontent and encourage the development of boredom-related vices, in addition to costing you considerably more in terms of bedding and time spent mucking out stalls. Besides, even if you keep your critters indoors, you'll still have to navigate the area around the barn yourself--preferably without the assistance of hip-waders. To some extent, mud is unavoidable. But its presence on your property isn't completely uncontrollable. Are there better strategies for channeling water away from your barn and paddocks, keeping the footing firm and usable for riding, and providing your horses with some outside time without sacrificing the grazing you're counting on for the summer months? Yes, gentle reader, there are. Here are some tips for mud management that should help see you through the rainy season(s). Some require some pre-season preparation, while others are simple routine changes you might not have considered. A Recipe for Mud Water plus soil equals mud, as we all know. But what determines whether surface water, from snow melt or rain, stays on the surface and mixes with the soil to create a problem, or drains away, leaving your footing firm and usable? The composition of your soil is one major factor. Those lucky enough to have sandy soil enjoy good drainage--in other words, surface water percolates down into the earth fairly quickly instead of sitting on the top. Heavier clay soils, on the other hand, hold rain or snow-melt on the surface and are a guaranteed recipe for mud when top layers become oversaturated. Wherever there are horses, you have to factor in manure. One of the reasons manure is a popular additive to flower gardens is that it helps retain moisture. But that same quality can have a definite down side when it comes to your paddocks. There's also the lay of the land to consider. If your barn occupies the deepest valley on your property, you can bet that water will find its way there from the surrounding high ground. Figuring out your property's natural watersheds is essential preparation before you build--bearing in mind that some streams are seasonal events, invisible in mid-winter or summer, but all too evident in the spring and fall! Finally, there's traffic, as in the concentration of human and equine feet stomping over a certain area. Ever notice how the areas around your paddock gates are the first to get squishy and swampy during the rainy season? That's because soil compacts there thanks to the repeated pressure of hooves and becomes impervious to water absorption. Puddles pool on the surface, horses churn it up, and presto, you have mud. With all of these elements working together, it might seem like you're fighting a losing battle. But there are things you can do to limit the impact of pooling water. Simple Strategies Good pasture management is an important mud reducer. Keeping horses off rain-saturated land is critical if you want to save your pasture plants and preserve grazing for the good weather. Constant pounding from hooves compacts even wet ground and can suffocate the roots of the grasses--and heavy traffic on winter- dormant pastures can be more than some grasses can recover from. Although it might seem handy to have a natural pond or creek on your property to water your horses, it's better to fence your animals away from these sources and provide a trough or automatic waterer for two reasons: First, when rainfall makes the soil around ponds and creeks soft, and horses stand on the banks to drink, they churn up the footing and soon create a muddy bog; second, manure on the banks soon filters into the water, contaminating not only your property's water, but areas downstream as well. The best strategy for wet-weather turnout is to choose a "sacrifice area," which might be a small paddock you just accept is going to be trashed in wet weather. When conditions are muddy or frozen, using your sacrifice area for turnout will save the majority of your pasture for better days. If you don't have a suitable small paddock for this, consider marking off one section of your main pasture with portable electric fencing. The location of your sacrifice area is key. Ideally, choose an area on higher ground, away from natural streams, seasonal surface water flows, or wetlands. For the sake of convenience, it should be fairly close to the barn (after all, you don't want to have to hike half a mile to rescue your critters from a storm!). Well-drained, gravelly soils work best--the idea is not to expect this area to grow grass, so it's not a priority to have lots of rich, organic material here. If your sacrifice area is adjacent to the barn or other buildings, pay attention to the way rainwater drains from the roofs. Are your gutters and downspouts doing their job, or is water pouring down right where your horses will be standing? If so, some repairs or re-engineering might be in order. Remember to protect your downspouts so that your horses can't destroy them (think heavy PVC or hot wire if they have to be situated within the fenced area). You might want to position them so they fill the water trough, thus killing two birds with one stone! United Kingdom resident Sue Grocott, no stranger to mud, says, "The ideal situation for paddocks is to set aside separate winter and summer enclosures. Save the higher ground for winter. The use of electrical tape is very prevalent here for fencing--it's portable and easily moved around. That way, if you haven't got the geography for separate paddocks, you can limit the use of your paddock space and save some grass for summer. I've seen one place where they extend the winter grazing literally a foot at a time to keep giving the horses something to eat." Population density is another factor to keep in mind. Alison Utting, who battles mud on a regular basis at her home in the Pacific Northwest, says. "I think the number of horses in a given area and how quiet they are play a part. Two horses walking quietly in and out will not cause nearly the trampling effect of six rambunctious horses using the same area." Because manure acts like a sponge, plan to pick up droppings in your sacrifice area every few days if you can. Although this might seem high-maintenance, there's a health benefit--you'll reduce the impact of internal parasites in a small, confined space. Furthermore, the less organic matter breaks down in the paddock, the less raw material will be available for mud formation. If the natural flow of water on your property after a heavy rain still means water is collecting in your paddocks or riding areas, you might have to resort to some ecologically friendly means of diverting the excess. Swales, ditches, and drains can help, especially if they're well seeded with grass. In fact, the roots of any kind of vegetation help absorb excess water, so consider doing some landscaping. One mature Douglas fir, for example, can drink up to 250 gallons of water a day, and evergreens keep using water in the winter months when deciduous varieties are dormant. Water-loving shrubs and trees, such as cottonwoods, willows, and dogwoods, are also useful additions. However, they're best planted outside the reach of your horses to protect them from root compaction and bark-chewing, and to keep the "drip zone" from the ends of the branches from contributing to even more rainwater pooling in your paddocks. What's Underfoot If, despite all your best efforts, mud remains as persistent as a telemarketer at dinnertime, you might find it better to revamp your footing to protect what nature has given you to work with. In the Pacific Northwest, chipped or shredded wood products added to the surface of turnout areas or riding rings are popular choices. Variously known as pole bark, peelings, stump grindings, wood chips, or "hog fuel," they're readily available in areas where there's a logging industry, and usually they are competitively priced. (Sometimes they're even free from construction or power companies looking for a place to dump their stump grindings.) Whether you use chips, hog fuel, or bark peelings, these natural wood products will break down and need to be replaced periodically, but they do a decent job of soaking up excess moisture. As they compost, they contribute to the breakdown of equine manure and urine, keeping aromas to a minimum and reducing runoff to your property's watershed. As they break down, the particles will get smaller and smaller, so that after a few years there will be a buildup of organic fines that will have to be removed, either by shovel or with the help of a front-end loader during the dry months. Otherwise, you risk it contributing to the mud problem come autumn. It's not a total loss, however--the fines will enrich your compost pile or garden. Avoid any wood footing product that contains hardwood shavings (most hog fuel is a mixture of cedar, pine, fir, and hemlock) or comes from a construction site where sharp metal objects (such as nails) might have gotten mixed in. The wood pieces should be soft and the pieces of a reasonable size--too fine, and it will decompose before winter's end; too large and manure-picking will be a nightmare. In places where hog fuel and shavings aren't readily available, many horse owners rely on sand, gravel, or stone screenings. "Fill" sand (the coarse type used for concrete work), spread on a leveled site, can provide a great all-weather riding surface, and it's an option to consider for mucky paddocks as well. If you use sand for a turnout area, however, do not feed your horses hay from the ground, because sand colic will become a risk. Instead, invest in a standing feeder that keeps hay and grain off the sand and reduces wastage. Gravel also comes in several grades, and as with hog fuel, you want something neither too big nor too small. The five-eighths size often used for driveways is preferred by many horse owners. Although it's usually used to help fill in paddock quagmires, it shouldn't be ruled out as a riding footing. Pam Burke, of Havre, Mont., says, "While I live in a part of the Great Plains referred to as high-plains desert, I do have to deal with mud every year. My problem is that I live on top of 75 feet of solid bentonite clay. So when we get rain (or when the snow melts in spring), I have a skating rink that takes forever to soak up water. "My solution is, oddly enough, a gravel pad," she says. "On top of my bentonite I happen to have enough gravel to run a gravel pit--this pit has been open off and on for decades. One of the gravel businesses crushed gravel, so I actually have a large bed of it from what they left on the ground. This gravel is no bigger than a half-inch; it was used by paving crews to chip-seal roads. It's too hard, gritty, and rocky to use when the ground is dry and hard, but when we get rain the water drains through it, so it rarely has standing water, but the footing softens while the gravel helps with traction. By the time the gravel pad hardens again, my usual arena in the barley field is in perfect riding condition." As Burke's durable gravel pad demonstrates, one of the advantages of using gravel or stone screenings is that they don't break down like hog fuel and won't need to be replaced nearly as frequently. In most locales, however, it's considerably more expensive than other types of footing. You might find that the best solution on your farm is to use several types of footings, alone or in combination, depending on what's available locally and at what price. You might choose fill sand in a riding arena, for example, hog fuel in your sacrifice paddock, and gravel at the entrance to your run-in shed and at the paddock gates. For the ultimate solution, however, consider investing in geotextile fabric, also known as filter fabric or landscape cloth. Often used in heavy construction projects, this plastic-based material is perforated with tiny holes that allow water to drain down, but not sand or silt to filter through. It's available through landscaping supply centers, farm supply retailers, and some larger hardware/do-it-yourself stores, in various weights and thicknesses, widths, and lengths. Choose the most durable one you can afford--one that can withstand penetration by your horse's shod hooves. The time to install geotextile fabric is during the summer, when conditions are dry. You'll need a backhoe to help dig down and remove about four inches of topsoil, level the site, then roll out the fabric, making sure the edges are well-buried. Depending on the area you're covering, you might need to lay down parallel strips, overlapping them by about a foot on each side. In high-traffic areas such as gates, plan to place the fabric across the width of the trouble spot and at least 20 feet into the paddock. Over top of the material, you'll place a layer of crushed rock or gravel, or a sand/gravel mix depending on the soil type (consult a landscape expert for his/her recommendation). All of this sounds like a lot of work, but many horse owners have found it to be well worth the effort. Says Missourian Jeannine Walter, "When I put my arena in, the excavator moved the dirt from the site to up around the barn. This was good in theory because that leveled out the addition I had put on, but bad in reality since all the junk he moved up was lovely Missouri clay. I went through one winter and that was it. My mare had a ball of clay in her tail that must have weighed five pounds. I had to cut her tail to get it out. "So I removed all of the clay, put down a geotextile fabric, and laid down 220 tons of screenings and rock. What a difference! The horses still manage to get dirty, but no more clay! And the footing stays firm even when wet. So no missing shoes and no sore tendons. I am thrilled." Linnea Mathews of Taylor Farm Connemaras in Fayette, Maine, who used geotextile fabric to improve drainage in her riding ring, agrees. "The sand and gravel need to be replenished every three to five years, depending on the site characteristics and use, but the geotech fabric and grading are set for life if properly done," she says. If you're looking for a permanent solution to a serious mud problem on your farm, geotextile fabric is likely the way to go. It can be applied in any high-traffic area--under gates, near troughs or automatic waterers, around run-in sheds or barn entrances, or under a riding surface--and its initial cost will pay off in the un-chapped heels and unlost shoes of your horses. After all, mud can be glorious, but only if you're a hippo.

---

whats under foot
Written by WHINNY

Features Mud Management by: Karen Briggs June 01 2004 Article # 5191	Article Tools
Flanders and Swann, a singing comedy team from the United Kingdom, once penned a song that went like this: "Mud, mud, glorious mud, Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. So follow me, follow, Down to the hollow, And there let us wallow In glorious mud!" Of course the song was written from the perspective of a hippo. For that animal's distant cousin, the horse, mud also has its attractions--but for the horse's handlers, it is anything but glorious. Every spring and fall (or virtually all year round if you live in the Northwest!), your dapple gray turns seal brown--with clumps--and threatens to disappear into the quagmire that has materialized around the paddock gate. You lose count of the number of times your rubber boots have been sucked off your feet, to say nothing of the multiple lost horseshoes. Getting the wheelbarrow to the manure pile is a daily struggle. You cringe at the way your grazing land gets churned up by horses negotiating their way through the goop, and you have to give up riding for weeks because your ring is dangerously slick. And then there's your trailer, buried to the axles. What's not to like? In addition to being a giant pain, mud and pooled water are health risks to you and your horses. They provide an ideal breeding ground for many types of flies and mosquitoes, especially those that carry various types of encephalomyelitis (including West Nile virus). Slick footing can lead to injuries when humans or horses wipe out. And mud also harbors bacteria and fungi that can contribute to scratches (a.k.a. mud fever) on pasterns, rain rot on rumps and backs, and thrush and canker in hoof crevices. Finally, manure from your paddocks, mixed with water run-off, can be swept into nearby streams and ponds, where it can compromise the aquatic organisms that live there. Or it can find its way into the water table and eventually pollute your well (or those of your neighbors) with coliform bacteria. If you really want to avoid currying dried cement from your horse's coat on a daily basis, you could, of course, confine him to quarters for the duration of the muddy season. But restricting turnout, while likely to save the grass, tends to breed discontent and encourage the development of boredom-related vices, in addition to costing you considerably more in terms of bedding and time spent mucking out stalls. Besides, even if you keep your critters indoors, you'll still have to navigate the area around the barn yourself--preferably without the assistance of hip-waders. To some extent, mud is unavoidable. But its presence on your property isn't completely uncontrollable. Are there better strategies for channeling water away from your barn and paddocks, keeping the footing firm and usable for riding, and providing your horses with some outside time without sacrificing the grazing you're counting on for the summer months? Yes, gentle reader, there are. Here are some tips for mud management that should help see you through the rainy season(s). Some require some pre-season preparation, while others are simple routine changes you might not have considered. A Recipe for Mud Water plus soil equals mud, as we all know. But what determines whether surface water, from snow melt or rain, stays on the surface and mixes with the soil to create a problem, or drains away, leaving your footing firm and usable? The composition of your soil is one major factor. Those lucky enough to have sandy soil enjoy good drainage--in other words, surface water percolates down into the earth fairly quickly instead of sitting on the top. Heavier clay soils, on the other hand, hold rain or snow-melt on the surface and are a guaranteed recipe for mud when top layers become oversaturated. Wherever there are horses, you have to factor in manure. One of the reasons manure is a popular additive to flower gardens is that it helps retain moisture. But that same quality can have a definite down side when it comes to your paddocks. There's also the lay of the land to consider. If your barn occupies the deepest valley on your property, you can bet that water will find its way there from the surrounding high ground. Figuring out your property's natural watersheds is essential preparation before you build--bearing in mind that some streams are seasonal events, invisible in mid-winter or summer, but all too evident in the spring and fall! Finally, there's traffic, as in the concentration of human and equine feet stomping over a certain area. Ever notice how the areas around your paddock gates are the first to get squishy and swampy during the rainy season? That's because soil compacts there thanks to the repeated pressure of hooves and becomes impervious to water absorption. Puddles pool on the surface, horses churn it up, and presto, you have mud. With all of these elements working together, it might seem like you're fighting a losing battle. But there are things you can do to limit the impact of pooling water. Simple Strategies Good pasture management is an important mud reducer. Keeping horses off rain-saturated land is critical if you want to save your pasture plants and preserve grazing for the good weather. Constant pounding from hooves compacts even wet ground and can suffocate the roots of the grasses--and heavy traffic on winter- dormant pastures can be more than some grasses can recover from. Although it might seem handy to have a natural pond or creek on your property to water your horses, it's better to fence your animals away from these sources and provide a trough or automatic waterer for two reasons: First, when rainfall makes the soil around ponds and creeks soft, and horses stand on the banks to drink, they churn up the footing and soon create a muddy bog; second, manure on the banks soon filters into the water, contaminating not only your property's water, but areas downstream as well. The best strategy for wet-weather turnout is to choose a "sacrifice area," which might be a small paddock you just accept is going to be trashed in wet weather. When conditions are muddy or frozen, using your sacrifice area for turnout will save the majority of your pasture for better days. If you don't have a suitable small paddock for this, consider marking off one section of your main pasture with portable electric fencing. The location of your sacrifice area is key. Ideally, choose an area on higher ground, away from natural streams, seasonal surface water flows, or wetlands. For the sake of convenience, it should be fairly close to the barn (after all, you don't want to have to hike half a mile to rescue your critters from a storm!). Well-drained, gravelly soils work best--the idea is not to expect this area to grow grass, so it's not a priority to have lots of rich, organic material here. If your sacrifice area is adjacent to the barn or other buildings, pay attention to the way rainwater drains from the roofs. Are your gutters and downspouts doing their job, or is water pouring down right where your horses will be standing? If so, some repairs or re-engineering might be in order. Remember to protect your downspouts so that your horses can't destroy them (think heavy PVC or hot wire if they have to be situated within the fenced area). You might want to position them so they fill the water trough, thus killing two birds with one stone! United Kingdom resident Sue Grocott, no stranger to mud, says, "The ideal situation for paddocks is to set aside separate winter and summer enclosures. Save the higher ground for winter. The use of electrical tape is very prevalent here for fencing--it's portable and easily moved around. That way, if you haven't got the geography for separate paddocks, you can limit the use of your paddock space and save some grass for summer. I've seen one place where they extend the winter grazing literally a foot at a time to keep giving the horses something to eat." Population density is another factor to keep in mind. Alison Utting, who battles mud on a regular basis at her home in the Pacific Northwest, says. "I think the number of horses in a given area and how quiet they are play a part. Two horses walking quietly in and out will not cause nearly the trampling effect of six rambunctious horses using the same area." Because manure acts like a sponge, plan to pick up droppings in your sacrifice area every few days if you can. Although this might seem high-maintenance, there's a health benefit--you'll reduce the impact of internal parasites in a small, confined space. Furthermore, the less organic matter breaks down in the paddock, the less raw material will be available for mud formation. If the natural flow of water on your property after a heavy rain still means water is collecting in your paddocks or riding areas, you might have to resort to some ecologically friendly means of diverting the excess. Swales, ditches, and drains can help, especially if they're well seeded with grass. In fact, the roots of any kind of vegetation help absorb excess water, so consider doing some landscaping. One mature Douglas fir, for example, can drink up to 250 gallons of water a day, and evergreens keep using water in the winter months when deciduous varieties are dormant. Water-loving shrubs and trees, such as cottonwoods, willows, and dogwoods, are also useful additions. However, they're best planted outside the reach of your horses to protect them from root compaction and bark-chewing, and to keep the "drip zone" from the ends of the branches from contributing to even more rainwater pooling in your paddocks. What's Underfoot If, despite all your best efforts, mud remains as persistent as a telemarketer at dinnertime, you might find it better to revamp your footing to protect what nature has given you to work with. In the Pacific Northwest, chipped or shredded wood products added to the surface of turnout areas or riding rings are popular choices. Variously known as pole bark, peelings, stump grindings, wood chips, or "hog fuel," they're readily available in areas where there's a logging industry, and usually they are competitively priced. (Sometimes they're even free from construction or power companies looking for a place to dump their stump grindings.) Whether you use chips, hog fuel, or bark peelings, these natural wood products will break down and need to be replaced periodically, but they do a decent job of soaking up excess moisture. As they compost, they contribute to the breakdown of equine manure and urine, keeping aromas to a minimum and reducing runoff to your property's watershed. As they break down, the particles will get smaller and smaller, so that after a few years there will be a buildup of organic fines that will have to be removed, either by shovel or with the help of a front-end loader during the dry months. Otherwise, you risk it contributing to the mud problem come autumn. It's not a total loss, however--the fines will enrich your compost pile or garden. Avoid any wood footing product that contains hardwood shavings (most hog fuel is a mixture of cedar, pine, fir, and hemlock) or comes from a construction site where sharp metal objects (such as nails) might have gotten mixed in. The wood pieces should be soft and the pieces of a reasonable size--too fine, and it will decompose before winter's end; too large and manure-picking will be a nightmare. In places where hog fuel and shavings aren't readily available, many horse owners rely on sand, gravel, or stone screenings. "Fill" sand (the coarse type used for concrete work), spread on a leveled site, can provide a great all-weather riding surface, and it's an option to consider for mucky paddocks as well. If you use sand for a turnout area, however, do not feed your horses hay from the ground, because sand colic will become a risk. Instead, invest in a standing feeder that keeps hay and grain off the sand and reduces wastage. Gravel also comes in several grades, and as with hog fuel, you want something neither too big nor too small. The five-eighths size often used for driveways is preferred by many horse owners. Although it's usually used to help fill in paddock quagmires, it shouldn't be ruled out as a riding footing. Pam Burke, of Havre, Mont., says, "While I live in a part of the Great Plains referred to as high-plains desert, I do have to deal with mud every year. My problem is that I live on top of 75 feet of solid bentonite clay. So when we get rain (or when the snow melts in spring), I have a skating rink that takes forever to soak up water. "My solution is, oddly enough, a gravel pad," she says. "On top of my bentonite I happen to have enough gravel to run a gravel pit--this pit has been open off and on for decades. One of the gravel businesses crushed gravel, so I actually have a large bed of it from what they left on the ground. This gravel is no bigger than a half-inch; it was used by paving crews to chip-seal roads. It's too hard, gritty, and rocky to use when the ground is dry and hard, but when we get rain the water drains through it, so it rarely has standing water, but the footing softens while the gravel helps with traction. By the time the gravel pad hardens again, my usual arena in the barley field is in perfect riding condition." As Burke's durable gravel pad demonstrates, one of the advantages of using gravel or stone screenings is that they don't break down like hog fuel and won't need to be replaced nearly as frequently. In most locales, however, it's considerably more expensive than other types of footing. You might find that the best solution on your farm is to use several types of footings, alone or in combination, depending on what's available locally and at what price. You might choose fill sand in a riding arena, for example, hog fuel in your sacrifice paddock, and gravel at the entrance to your run-in shed and at the paddock gates. For the ultimate solution, however, consider investing in geotextile fabric, also known as filter fabric or landscape cloth. Often used in heavy construction projects, this plastic-based material is perforated with tiny holes that allow water to drain down, but not sand or silt to filter through. It's available through landscaping supply centers, farm supply retailers, and some larger hardware/do-it-yourself stores, in various weights and thicknesses, widths, and lengths. Choose the most durable one you can afford--one that can withstand penetration by your horse's shod hooves. The time to install geotextile fabric is during the summer, when conditions are dry. You'll need a backhoe to help dig down and remove about four inches of topsoil, level the site, then roll out the fabric, making sure the edges are well-buried. Depending on the area you're covering, you might need to lay down parallel strips, overlapping them by about a foot on each side. In high-traffic areas such as gates, plan to place the fabric across the width of the trouble spot and at least 20 feet into the paddock. Over top of the material, you'll place a layer of crushed rock or gravel, or a sand/gravel mix depending on the soil type (consult a landscape expert for his/her recommendation). All of this sounds like a lot of work, but many horse owners have found it to be well worth the effort. Says Missourian Jeannine Walter, "When I put my arena in, the excavator moved the dirt from the site to up around the barn. This was good in theory because that leveled out the addition I had put on, but bad in reality since all the junk he moved up was lovely Missouri clay. I went through one winter and that was it. My mare had a ball of clay in her tail that must have weighed five pounds. I had to cut her tail to get it out. "So I removed all of the clay, put down a geotextile fabric, and laid down 220 tons of screenings and rock. What a difference! The horses still manage to get dirty, but no more clay! And the footing stays firm even when wet. So no missing shoes and no sore tendons. I am thrilled." Linnea Mathews of Taylor Farm Connemaras in Fayette, Maine, who used geotextile fabric to improve drainage in her riding ring, agrees. "The sand and gravel need to be replenished every three to five years, depending on the site characteristics and use, but the geotech fabric and grading are set for life if properly done," she says. If you're looking for a permanent solution to a serious mud problem on your farm, geotextile fabric is likely the way to go. It can be applied in any high-traffic area--under gates, near troughs or automatic waterers, around run-in sheds or barn entrances, or under a riding surface--and its initial cost will pay off in the un-chapped heels and unlost shoes of your horses. After all, mud can be glorious, but only if you're a hippo.

---

Preparing Your Horse for Winter
Written by Trevor Bailey

Here are tips in four different areas of horse management to help your horse not only survive, but thrive during cold weather so you have a healthy and willing partner when warmer temperatures return.

Nutrition

Forage, or hay, should make up the largest portion of your horse's diet especially in winter. Increasing the amount of hay is the best way to keep weight on horses when it's cold, as the fermentation process generates heat. Horses needing more calories can also be fed fortified grain, fat or other supplement. "Easy keepers" should be given a ration-balancer or multi-vitamin/mineral supplement to correct any deficiencies in hay alone.

Read More...

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Preparing Your Horse for Winter
Written by Trevor Bailey

Here are tips in four different areas of horse management to help your horse not only survive, but thrive during cold weather so you have a healthy and willing partner when warmer temperatures return.

Nutrition

Forage, or hay, should make up the largest portion of your horse's diet especially in winter. Increasing the amount of hay is the best way to keep weight on horses when it's cold, as the fermentation process generates heat. Horses needing more calories can also be fed fortified grain, fat or other supplement. "Easy keepers" should be given a ration-balancer or multi-vitamin/mineral supplement to correct any deficiencies in hay alone.

Read More...

---

Preparing Your Horse for Winter
Written by Trevor Bailey

Here are tips in four different areas of horse management to help your horse not only survive, but thrive during cold weather so you have a healthy and willing partner when warmer temperatures return.

Nutrition

Forage, or hay, should make up the largest portion of your horse's diet especially in winter. Increasing the amount of hay is the best way to keep weight on horses when it's cold, as the fermentation process generates heat. Horses needing more calories can also be fed fortified grain, fat or other supplement. "Easy keepers" should be given a ration-balancer or multi-vitamin/mineral supplement to correct any deficiencies in hay alone.

Read More...

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Vegetables for horses?
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by cheryl dean

Okay. I posted this on the old forum...my cousin processes wheat grass, carrots, beets, kale, and celery every morning and gives her horses the pulp.

Does anyone else do this? I thought I read somewhere that kale wasn't good for horses? I tried this using everything but kale and Sunni ate everything (he kind of pushed some of it around for a while)...but I think he liked the moisture in al

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Horse Nutrition
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Sara

Sundancer asked a question about whether it was good idea to feed her horse raw vegetables. I said I didn't think there's any real problem with it, but that I would look into it. Here are some links that you can use to find out about various aspects of equine nutrition.

http://www.petplace.com/horses/nutrition-in-horses/page1.aspx
[url]http://www.petplace.com/horses/nutrition-in-t

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Racing horses question
In category General Discussions
Written by Mickey

I saw that several people here have racing horses.
I always thought that this was only done for business purpose, as I understand they are quite expensive.
Anyone having them just for fun?

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To treat or not to treat....
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Marilyn Opheim

It's hard to resist giving treats to your horse, but they are not necessary in their diet. Grass hay is their 'natural' feed in the wild and is best for them. Some people use treats when training, but I find that my horses can't concentrate on anything but the smell of the treat to come and pester me rather than listen to me! Anyone else find this to be true??

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drooling
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by patti bleile

my 2 horses have been drooling alot for about a month. my 2 ponies are not. the farrier said it was just a certain type of grass in the pasture that causes horses to drool and is nothing to be concerned about. the horses seem fine, just drool ALOT. Has this occured to others?

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found hay north Texas
In category General Discussions
Written by sharon slinker

I found good clean weedfree bermuda grass hay. $7.50 a bale if anyone is interested email me at slinkerqh@panaband.com or call me at 940-440-2001 sharon

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dehydration in horses
In category General Discussions
Written by warwick mordue

what should i do for a horse that has
mild dehydration?

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JJ Is Limping, HELP!!
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Trevor Bailey

JJ is 14 year old QH Geilding, he broke his left leg about six years ago right above the knee. He healed nice after the surgery which left 3 screws in his leg. He was able to run, lay down and get up without any problems. About a year ago he started with a limp. We called the vet and he said it was a absess. We called the farrier and he couldnt find no absess. The limp came and went for the first

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Diet Changes & Back Problems
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Trevor Bailey

magaju wrote:
We had 2 horses suddenly come up lame at the barn and it turned out that their backs were thrown out slightly and it was due to their diet. Changes in food were made and they have been fine since.

How does changing a horses diet create back problems for them?

Post edited by: TBOY30, at: 2006/08/24 08:35

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Diet for young colt
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Erika Fairbanks

I've had this colt since he was a weanling in 2004. He got pretty sick on the ride over to CA from Texas and we had a battle for his health. He's happy and healthy now, but I just don't like how he eats a lot, but doesn't show it that well. Right now he's on a mix (oat/barely/alfalfa) for one meal and then straight alfalfa for the other. I also feed him Equine Junior. Has anyone had any r

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site's slogan
In category General Discussions
Written by jeda

Hello everybody,

i'm a new member here... looks like a nice place! Especially for the people who are involved with horses.

i have a question: what's with the site's slogan? i personnaly do not think it reflects properly the nature of this place? and it sounds a bit too clumsy to me

Post edited by: jeda, at: 2006/10/02 16:22

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tmj
In category General Discussions
Written by Roxanne Danek

My 6 yr old gelding has been diagnosed & had an adjustment for TMJ. I would like to hear from other riders/owners that have dealt with this issue. We are riding Dressage & use the Bitless Bridle. I have found nothing online that states the Bitless Bridle can cause TMJ. Does anyone have any experience with this?

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big gray
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

big gray is located in virginia.and needs to be adopted by loveing humans.he needs a job,hes 20,ish..hes pushy except when he is not with a herd.he is sweet big 17 2 hands and very english..i have other rescues needing his spot. he is big i can hardy reach his head,some told me he may be a trakana???hmmmm tb cross????im not sure.i cant post a pic here it wont take but there is on on my profile sig

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THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN THE BARN
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ALL THOUGH THE BARN
ALL THE HORSES WERE SHUT IN BECAUSE OF THE STORM
THE WIND BLEW HARSHLY AS THEY STOOD IN THERE STALLS
WAITING FOR DAY BREAK AND THERE HUMAN SWEET CALLS,
SOME LAYED IN THE HAY SOME STOOD FACING THE WALL
SOME SLEPT WITH THERE HEADS OVER THE STALL DOORS
A FEW MUNCHED ON HAY ONE PLAYED WITH THE CAT
WAITING FOR DAY LIGHT WHEN SHE WOULD BE BA

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Beet Pulp?
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Jen


www.ILoveMyHorse.net

I Love My Horse [dot] Net is a Brand New online forum for horse lovers.
We have forums dedicated to all aspects of horse care.
Come join today!

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arabian the fire horse
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

I dedicate this to my 2 best friends Rashetar(rashie) and Gray Stone(stoney) who lay in wait for me at the top of the hill..buried togeather forever are two best friends.Arabians both only one was desert arabian Stoney the other, a polish Rashie.I couldnt of asked for two more decitaded horses and i thank the good LORD above for sending them to me.S toney came to me on a cold bright winter day.

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Fancy's Re-education
In category General Discussions
Written by Kerri Bell

Well now we know Fancy is fat and not expecting.. this morning me and my girls went to paddock to start her re-education.. We brushed her first and you could see by the look on her face, she wasn't that impressed by the thought of work.. I put the bridle on her so she would get used to that cold steel again and besides turning her head away when I was doing up the throat lash she was ok w

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FALLING TEMPERATURES
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Online News


Baby, It's Cold Outside; Tips to Keep Horses Healthy in Falling Temperatures
by: Erin Ryder, Staff Writer
January 12 2007 Article # 8671

Article Tools



Something about cherry blossoms blooming in January had many of us looking over our shoulders and wondering when winter would arrive. Although much of the country has been experiencing a mild winter, some parts

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Re:Happy Weather/Bad weather
In category General Discussions
Written by Tiffany

Oh yes the sun is shining and I am a happy camper, it is even warm out there today. Of course the gorund will unthaw and turn to mud but right now I don't care. I am just so happy to see some warm sun. If the farrier was not coming out today you can be sure I would be saddling up and hitting the trail.

Post edited by: luvallbreeds, at: 2007/01/29 02:57

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Horses
In category General Discussions
Written by ASHLEY HANSIN

Hey Yall,
Well ain't that country. I have been horseshowing for 2 years now, getting ready to go on my third! Yea me! My first year i won 49 ribbons and this recent year i won 94 ribbons. My family owns 11 horses, 2 on the way, 2 dogs,2 llamas, and 1 monkey. my dad breeds Quarter Horses as a business and he has his own Tack Shop. If u can't tell now I LOVE HORSES ! Well gotta go!:

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Kiss Kiss
In category General Discussions
Written by ASHLEY HANSIN

Why isn't anyone tlk 2 me?LOL!

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JAVA MONKEY FOR SALE!!!
In category Buy & Sell
Written by ASHLEY HANSIN

Hey Everybody,
I have a 6 yr. old Java Monkey for sale! Her name is Katie. We have owned her for sometime now. Katie loves to be read too. She also enjoys all the attention she can have and loves cooked food.
The price we are asking for is $3,500.00
Please feel free to contact!
King51

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Starvation Case \"One of the Worst
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Online News


Agriculture Official: Ga. Starvation Case "One of the Worst Situations We've Ever Dealt With"
by: The Associated Press
January 31 2007 Article # 8845

Article Tools



More than 200 starving horses, cows, goats and dogs have been discovered on a Concord, Ga., farm.

Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said complaints about the

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Puerto Rican Horse
In category Horse Breeding
Written by Louise

I find these horses extremly fascinating to watch. Its a little crazy how fast they move their legs in the so called "walk". They race them.

Post edited by: Nippy, at: 2007/02/02 03:24

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SLAUGHTER OPPOSING BAN
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Online News


Slaughter: Committee Leaders Issue Letter Opposing Ban
by: Erin Ryder, Staff Writer
January 26 2007 Article # 8766

Article Tools



Members of the House Committees on Agriculture and Energy and Commerce yesterday (Jan. 25) released a statement to Congress urging legislators to vote against the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which was re-introduced into t

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HAY NEEDED
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Area Horsewomen Organizing Hay Caravan for Seized Maryland Horses
by: Erin Ryder, Staff Writer
January 26 2007 Article # 8776

Article Tools





A small group of Maryland women have organized a caravan of horse trailers to transport donated hay to the 72 horses seized by animal control authorities in Sharpsburg, Md., in early December.

The horses are in the custody of the Was

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Floating a horse.
In category Horse Training
Written by Louise

What is the best way to teach a young horse to float/get in a trailer? Like what are the first training steps an owner takes to get a horse to float calmly .

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paso finos
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

About Paso Fino Horses


What makes a Paso Fino so special?

There are many reasons that a Paso gets under your skin and into your heart-but it always comes down to one most enduring trait- their naturally genetic gait, creating for the rider the smoothest, most comfortable, mile after mile, "no bounce" ride of any horse you have ever encountered!


How do they do this?

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the never ending story by all of us
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

nippy you start it and we will all add to it.keep in mind now you are a horse so we have to make like a horse..ok let all do this.

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16 reasons To Date A Horseback Rider.
In category General Discussions
Written by Kerri Bell

Found this on a website and thought it was worth a laugh. I didn't write it.
http://bridlepath.wordpress.com/2007/01/08/16-reasons-to-date-a-horseback-rider/
this is the link for the website.

1. We have 4 speeds and many positions
2. We wear tight trousers and tall boots
3. We love getting dirty
4. We know how to ride our mounts
5. We perform well with animals
6. We like

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Woman Charged with Starving Deaths of Six Horses
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Online News


Woman Charged with Starving Deaths of Six Horses
by: The Associated Press
February 12 2007 Article # 8921

Article Tools



A Columbia Falls, Mont., woman is to appear March 1 in District Court in the starvation deaths of at least six horses and severe malnourishment of two others.

A ninth horse is missing.

Tina Pickton, also known as Tina Houston, 32, is ch

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Do Horses Spread Non-Native Plants on Trails?
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Do Horses Spread Non-Native Plants on Trails?
by: Stith T. Gower, PhD
February 11 2007 Article # 8846

Article Tools



Can plant and weed seeds contained in horse manure, hooves, and hay cause nonnative plant species (plants that were introduced to that ecosystem but do not grow there naturally) to spread along trails and into parks and forests? This is an ecological question that

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what do cows eat( ya gotta read this
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

WHAT DO COWS EAT?

Were you under the mistaken impression that dairy cows ate
grass?

The March 25, 2002 issue of Hoard's Dairyman (the dairy
farmers magazine) reveals a mixed menu of gourmet foods in a
dairy cow's diet, including chicken feathers, blood, pork,
fish, and soybeans.

Does that grass-fed cow portrayed on a carton of milk
reflect what really goes into moo-juice?

Better

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Neglect Case: Defense Team Questions Necessity of
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Online News


Ga. Neglect Case: Defense Team Questions Necessity of Seizure
by: Erin Ryder, Staff Writer
February 20 2007 Article # 8971

Article Tools



The debate over seizure of 99 horses from a Pike County, Ga., farm rages on. While a veterinarian and the Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture felt the seizure was the right thing to do, a family friend and the lawyer for the t

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BLISTER BEETLES
In category Horse Health & Nutrition
Written by Karla Kingery

I just recieved a post from another site concerning BLISTER BEETLES. There has been comfirmed 7 horses with this problem in the Birmingham Alabama area. Two have died all ready and several of the other ones are not doing well. The hay is Alfalfa brought in from Eastern Colorado. It was sold by a reptable dealer. BLISTER BETTLES are found in the southern and southwestern states from Fl

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Bad situation for a couple horses at my barn
In category General Discussions
Written by anne knight

There are two horses at my barn who have owners that think it's ok to leave for a week and leave their horses in the barn for the whole time without having the stalls cleaned. Amazingly, the woman who owns the barn let them do this since she only cares about the money she's making, obviously, and not the animals. The barn owner was instructed by the owners to feed these ho

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trying 1 more time
In category General Discussions
Written by Riet

if this dont work i give up

Post edited by: whinny, at: 2007/03/07 16:10[size=1][/size]

Post edited by: whinny, at: 2007/03/07 16:19

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turkey talk
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

yesterday my horses were freeking out.i was turning in to feed and dolly went nuts broke threw the fence and hid in her stall.blue old man wouldnt go in his stall and balked at the door.baily went in and almost jumped on me to get out
scooter my stallion was in kill mode.. well i finnally got them all quiet and in there stalls and went around the barn to see what was happeing.i saw something out

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Mini Horse Ramp
In category General Discussions
Written by Amanda

Hi,

I have a 1 year old miniature horse that I like to put in the back of my ford ranger so I can take her places. I've been using a dog ramp but it's to narrow and steep. I usually have to back up to a hill or something and push her up. Which makes her legs splay out so I can hardly get her up with out help.

Anyway I was wondering if anybody had any sugestions on what I could use or make

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DEAR MRS EDD HERE ARE YOUR HORSES
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

I WILL SHARE WITH YOU MY BELOVIED BOYS OLD AND YOUNG..BE KIND TO THEM NOW.IF YOU WANT MORE JUST SAY SO! YOUR FRIEND WHINNY


THIS IS COCO HES THIRTYISH MY OLD MAN


NAVAHO IS MY BIG BABY BOY
[IMG]http://

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Nervous foal
In category Horse Training
Written by Louise

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get a nervous 4 month old foal used to people? His mum is very friendly and easy to handle but her foal (colt) is a different story. The foal hasn't had alot of handling at all. HE wont even come up to you if you are sitting on the ground. Any tips on how to ease this little boys mind that we are not giant creatures that want to eat him? (he is a miniature h

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About you!
In category General Discussions
Written by Carissa



Hello everyone. I decided to make my first topic. And i want to hear about you. Anything you wanna say. I want to hear about every animal you own! Make sure you say their name!

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Hay Alternatives for Horses
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Hay Alternatives for Horses
by: Press Release
February 08 2007 Article # 8898

Article Tools



Adverse summer grass growing or harvesting conditions or excessively long, cold winter weather can make it difficult to find or afford horse hay. These problems might tempt horse owners to feed their horses an all-concentrate diet. However, horse owners should remember a diet without rough

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Winter Nutrition
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Nutrition


Winter Nutrition
by: Marcia King
December 01 2005 Article # 6350

Article Tools


Come the days of long shadows, when the sun lies low in the sky, jeweled leaves crumble and fade away, and the wind's crispness hints of the cold, gray days on the way. The pasture dies down. It's time to start getting extra fuel into your horses. Unless you live where temperatures are w

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Keep Old Horses Healthy
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Keep Old Horses Healthy

"How do we tell when a horse is aged?" asked Nancy Loving, DVM, who owns Loving Equine Clinic in Boulder, Colo., at the recent Healthy Horses Workshop for horse owners (held Dec. 2 in San Antonio, Texas, in conjunction with the 52nd annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention). "Most people think a horse is old once he's over 20 yea

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more update on kentucky abandend horses
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Debate Concerning Horse Abandonment Continues
by: Erin Ryder, News Editor
March 26 2007 Article # 9235

Article Tools



The Associated Press today (March 26) released a new article by Jeffrey McMurray concerning horse abandonment in Eastern Kentucky and the alleged link to the closure of U.S. slaughter facilities.

The new story, which can be read via The Lexington Herald-Leader

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Help, My Horse is Too Fat!
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

Help, My Horse is Too Fat!
by: Cynthia V. Gutierrez, DVM
June 01 2006 Article # 7006

Article Tools


My 14-year-old mare has severe obesity problems. The veterinarian ruled out Cushing's disease because she does not exhibit the typical Cushing's traits. I am afraid to work her for fear that any overexertion will harm her physically. Are there any dietary supplements that can help to

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spring cleaning
In category General Discussions
Written by WHINNY

tell me am i the only one who is out there cleanning up after the long winter or in some cases cleaning up after a long summer.one of my pet peeves is hay build up in the stalls.with bad weather i cant get to them all the time.what are your pet peeves???what are your favoret things to do beside rideing.i love grooming i hate holding for the farrier i hate picking feet i like

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If you were an animal what would you be and why
In category General Discussions
Written by Lynette Lawer

I would have to say my dog Miny Foxy Gemma sleep when and were she choses yaps at anyone she want and pinch the kids toys and shoes when ever I got the chance. OH she would never chew the shoes just wait till they get close then run of again. {Nature-0002009C} 3 yr old dose not see the funny side.

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Perfect Horse
In category General Discussions
Written by Carissa

Hello to all who reads this. I need alittle Advice. I am looking for a trail riding horse. I am not going to show or anything like that. But i want a horse that a begginer would have. A calm Horse. What breed should i look for? I will ride Western..

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Keychain With Horse, Hay, Eating, Animal

* Durable acrylic key chain is crystal-clear and double-sided so the artwork or message is seen twi...

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Keychain With Stable, Horse, Hay, Eat, Animal

* Durable acrylic key chain is crystal-clear and double-sided so the artwork or message is seen twi...

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Mug With Horse, Hay, Eating, Animal

* Custom coffee mugs are dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe. Colors are permanently baked into the ...

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Mug With Stable, Horse, Hay, Eat, Animal

* Custom coffee mugs are dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe. Colors are permanently baked into the ...

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Ursa Inc. Turfurgr Turf Wagon

At its most basic, the Ursa Turf Wagon is anything but. Its corrosion-free Cargo Sled and anodized a...

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Ursa Field2s2lurgr Field Wagon

At its most basic, the Ursa Field Wagon is anything but. Its corrosion-free Cargo Sled and anodized ...

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Ursa Flatbed Wagon (spoke)

When the load is bigger than the wagon, you need a wagon that can hold its own. A large, stable plat...

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Ursa Cargo Sled

Interchanges with the Ursa Flatbed's platform. Or use as a stand-alone heavy duty sled. Includes han...

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Ursa Flatbed

Interchanges with the Ursa Turf Wagon or Ursa Field Wagon (4S)'s cargo sled. Large and stable (60" l...

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Ursa Flatbed Wagon (turf)

When the load is bigger than the wagon, you need a wagon that can hold its own. A large, stable plat...

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Ursa Wings

Ursa Wings give you the versatility you need to do the job right. The patented design encloses, heig...

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Gentle Touch T-shirt Short Sleeved 100% Cotton Shirt For Horse Lovers

This high quality T-shirt is hand dyed and printed in the United States. This is not an iron-on deca... Available in adult sizes M-XXXL (Women should order 1 size smaller than normal, as the adult sizes r...

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Horse At Fence T-shirt 100% Cotton Short Sleeved Kids Teens And Adults Cotton Shirt

This high quality T-shirt is hand dyed and printed in the United States. This is not an iron-on deca... See size chart for details

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T-shirt With Horse, Hay, Eating, Animal

Our standard t-shirts are made of 100% cotton and preshrunk (ultra cotton heavyweight). We typicall...

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Life Is Good Wmn "hay Buddy" Tee - Large - Sky

Cut especially for women, with narrow lycra based ribbing on the neck.

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Long Sleeve T-shirt With Horse, Hay, Eating, Animal

Gildan Long Sleeve Tee* 6.1 oz., 100% preshrunk cotton jersey* Seamless collar taped neck and should...

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8" Farrier Jake With Blacksmith Tools

"Breyers farrier is officially recognized by the American Farriers Assn. Breyers fully articulated f...

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Beyond The Hay Days: Refreshingly Simple Horse Nutrition, Second Edition

An easy-to-read, common sense handbook for all horse owners, from greenhorns to old hands. BEYOND TH...

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Cashel Hay Bag

This top opening, machine washable hay bag is built for durability. All seams are bound for added st...

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Intrepid International Nylon Hay Net

Sturdy, lightweight, economical.  What more do you want from a haynet? Approximately 40" long.

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