Blog

There are a variety of respiratory diseases and abnormalities that affect the performance of equine athletes. These diseases and abnormalities fall into two sections depending on what region of the respiratory system they affect, whether it is the upper or lower respiratory tract.

Read more about Respiratory Diseases Affecting Equine Athletes

Stomach ulcers are a health issue that affects many horses, and can be difficult to manage and treat. These stomach ulcers appear along the lining of the stomach, and can cause many issues with digestion as well as create discomfort & pain for a horse. Stomach ulcers are more prevalent in equine athletes, as 50-90% of horses with this health issue perform athletically, such as racing, showing, endurance, etc. Read more about Stomach Ulcers in Horses

Olfaction (smell) is important for horse’s survival. Smell helps horse select what they eat (horses are sensitive to poisonous plants, moldy forage and grain, dirty water, etc.). Horses use smell to detect other horses by smelling feces, urine, and body odors. Smell is very important in detecting the sex and stage of estrous in mares. Read more about Horses Have A Highly Developed Sense of Smell

The horse is a prey animal, relying on their senses to assess their environment. Prey species are designed for scanning the environment compared to picking out sharp details. By scanning larger areas, prey is safer from a surprise attack from a predator. Horses use vision to orientate themselves, detect motion and distance, and evaluate the consistency of the environment.

Read more about Vision in the Equine Compared to Humans

Exercising muscles generate heat via metabolic reactions. Heat produced must be dissipated to prevent overheating, thus the horse sweats and evaporative cooling dissipates the heat. The amount a horse sweats depends on environmental conditions, the type of work performed, and the horse’s fitness. Horses may lose 5 to 7 liters (1 to 2 gallons) of sweat per hour when trotting and cantering for one hour under mild temperatures. As the temperature and humidity increase, sweating rates have approached 10 to 12 liters (>2.5 gallons) per hour. Read more about Electrolytes and the Exercising Horse

Calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) comprise around 70% of the mineral content of a horse’s body. The majority of Ca is found in teeth and bones. Calcium’s major role is to provide bone strength but it is also necessary for blood coagulation, temperature regulation, enzyme activity regulation, neuromuscular functions as well as energy generation. Phosphorus works with Ca to give strength to bone. It also has a role in energy metabolism, cell membranes, and buffering fluctuations in pH. Read more about Calcium and Phosphorus – Two Important Macro Minerals for the Horse

Water, the essential nutrient for life should be freely available for horses. The amount of water consumed by a horse is the best measure of water adequacy. The average daily intake of an idle horse weighing 1,100 lbs. under thermoneutral conditions is between 6 and 9 gallons. Heavy workloads and high heat and humidity may double to triple the requirement to 12 to 18 gallons per day. Lactation also increases water intake to a minimum of 8 gallons per day. Diet will affect water consumption. Grazing of lush, green pastures in the spring tend to decrease water consumption. Read more about Water Quality for Horses

Where did the famous barrel racing of the modern day today come from and why has it become so popular? For how long I’ve know about barrel racing I never really knew the history behind how it all started. I wanted to dig into the rich history of rodeo and the infamous clover pattern. It all started in the 1930’s when Faye Blackstone from Parrish, Florida as she was in her trick riding career, but it seemed to become replaced she started her horsemanship to the barrels. She began the barrel racing event with a couple other cowgirls in 1950 in Florida. Read more about Why a Clover Leaf Pattern?

Energy is supplied to the horse via the diet but fundamentally energy is not a nutrient. Horses need energy to carry out their body’s essential daily functions, including the digestion and absorption of food, activity, growth and reproduction. The total energy contained in a feed is called gross energy (GE). The GE of a feedstuff is not a good indicator of the energy available to a horse from a feedstuff. Thus, with horses, we use digestible energy (DE) which is GE minus the energy contained in feces. Digestible energy is expressed in Mcal which is a multiple of the unit of energy calorie. Read more about Energy, Feed Ingredients and the Horse

A summary of my wonderful summer and school plans. This summer was a slow grind of online classes and a whirlwind of working. This summer I worked as a wrangler at the Mair Farm and Stables Summer Camp. Read more about A Summery Summer Summary

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Equine Program conducted an online Equine Needs Assessment Survey to identify the educational needs of the local equine community. Participants were asked to check topics they would like to learn more about. Additional questions focused on program formats and resources. The survey was voluntary and anonymous. A total of 250 individuals answered the Iowa Equine Needs Assessment Survey. Results of the survey are listed below. The majority of individuals completing the survey have horse related questions five or more times per year. Read more about Iowa Equine Needs Assessment Survey Results

4-H Horse and Pony ID

• 4-H animals will be identified by May 15th, and State Fair-eligible horses need photos uploaded into 4hOnline by May 15th.
• Read the 4-H 202 publication, “Iowa 4-H Livestock Show Requirements - Animal Identification, Weighing, and Exhibiting Requirements for County, State and Interstate Shows”.