Cold Weather Colic

Cold Weather Colic can be a real stress for horse owners over the Christmas period and winter in general. 

There are several reasons why horses tend to colic more when the weather changes, but in winter, three main culprits are:

Lack of routine exercise: With darker skies at night and the sun rising later in the morning, combined with colder temperatures, and often wetter cold days, horses get less turn out and less riding time, spending more time in the stall. Regular exercise and movements helps to keep both horse and human digestive systems functioning properly. If you have ever been laid up sick and cannot move around, you know that your digestive system has a tendency to not work as well as when you move. The same thing happens to horses.  Even if you can only turn your horse out for a few hours or hand walk around the barn, it is better than no exercise at all.

Cold water and iced over water: horses will drink up to ten gallons a day on a regular basis, but in winter, they may drink fewer than three due to cold. Adding a salt block in the stall will encourage drinking or if possible, you can purchase a water de-icer that will keep the water at a comfortable temperature or perhaps even bring hot water from home to mix in with the cold to help encourage your horse to drink more often. Water helps to aid proper digestion which will help prevent conditions like colic. 

Lack of pasture: This problem is two-fold, first, in that there is little green grass which helps to absorb moisture into the gut and adds wet fiber to help move food along the digestive tract, secondly, horses that are kept on wooded pasture land will tend to eat tree bark, leaves and tree nuts when no other food source is around. Keeping hay in the pasture with plenty of water which is not too cold, will help keep a horse healthy and happy, though beware of getting a large round roll from a dealer you have not gotten hay from before, as many horses have colicked on new hay, especially finer hays like Alicia which tend to cause more impact collics than courser hays like coastal bermuda.

Bottom line - to prevent colic in horses during cold winter months, provide them with a convenient source of clean, ice free water, plenty of turn out, regular routine, soft music in the stall to prevent stress from being cooped up during foul weather days and be careful about feeding too much hay from different sources without giving the horse a chance to switch over gradually.

As always, if in doubt, don't hesitate to contact your vet.

Mud Rash in Horses and how to Combat it

Mud Rash can affect horse's legs and hooves

It’s almost Christmas, which means it's that time of year again when mud rash begins to become a problem.  So, how can we prevent it? If a horse gets it, how can we cure it? And why are some horses more prone to it than others? 

In a bid to help address some of these questions, we've pulled together some information on Mud Rash in horses and what to do to help keep your horse healthy, safe and comfortable.

What is Mud Rash?

Mud Rash is caused by a bacterium named Dermatophilus congolensis, which exists in the environment as spores, and is activated by wet weather - the cornerstone of any British winter.

As a result, horse’s legs are constantly exposed to the wet, making the outer layers of the skin much softer and at risk of external trauma. The skin is more exposed to infection so the bacteria can live and increase in it.

How can you tell your horse has mud rash?

Mud rash is most likely to be found on the backs of horses pasterns and fetlocks. The hair becomes matted and develops dry crusts, which may progress moist weeping lesions. If you scrape away the crust, there is often a moist pink surface which is sore with some pus underneath. In its worst phase the legs will swell and the horse can become lame.

Bathing the affected area with Hibiscrub and layering it with Sudocrem should help to protect the skin from the wet bedding.

In extreme cases, always call your local vet - better that than the legs becoming swollen and your horse lame. Usually, if bad enough, the horse is prescribed antibiotics to clear the infection up.

How can mud rash be prevented?

If you put your horse out when the ground is wet and muddy, always put udder cream or sudocrem on the heels and fetlock areas beforehand. Really smear the stuff on, so that is a good covering of protection. Usually, the thicker and greasier creams help form a better barrier against infection.

You can use Sudocrem or Vaseline but these tend to leave the legs feeling greasy for days afterwards.

The aim is to avoid the horse having too much contact with the mud, which is difficult at this time of year. If you can, don’t turn out every day but every other day, or not at all. I know of some stables that keep the horses in all through the Winter, both to allow the fields to recover and prevent the horses coming down with mud rash.

You can also use turn out boots and mud chaps to keep the lower leg clean and dry. You need to ensure that they fit properly and do not rub the skin. The boots and chaps must be kept clean inside or you defeat the object by mud rubbing in to the skin when they are worn. Some horses may sweat wearing the chaps creating more problems rather than preventing others.

Tying-Up in Horses

Tying up in horses, also known as azoturia is a muscle metabolism problem. The muscles over the loins and the quarters harden, with cramps and stiffness. The stride becomes shorter and eventually may lead the horse to stagger behind and potentially go lame. The horse may refuse to work or collapse during work. The temperature is usually raised, and there may be sweating. In severe cases the urine may turn dark red or brown.

The many reasons for tying-up or azoturia all have something in common; the normal balance of the horse's metabolic system is subjected to unexpected change. This may be a change of exercise or work routine, of temperature, of diet, of stress, or, in mares in heat, a hormonal change. The horse's system suddenly does not know what is going to happen next and so activates protective measures - it conserves, or holds on to, electrolytes. In tying-up, the cells have taken priority and the horse is in a poor state of improperly functioning muscles and digestion.

Tying-up may be Sporadic, that is occasional and temporary, occurring often but clearing up, or it may become Chronic, making the horse useless for further work. All grades of tying-up or azoturia introduce uncertainty about the performance of the horse in any competitive sport.

For more information, contact your local vet. 

Tic Tac Equestrian

Sarcoids

Sarcoids have been the blight of horses, their owners and vets for generations. On an individual basis they can be a cause of considerable pain and suffering to horses, heartache to their owners and frustration (and embarrassment) to their vets!

What is a Sarcoid?

Known formerly as the equine “wart”, the sarcoid is a skin “lesion” occurring singly or in multiple numbers, usually on the head, groin or the axilla (armpits) of horses. The term “lesion” is used generally here, although the term “skin cancer” is perhaps helpful to emphasise the severity of the disease. They can appear over a variable period of time and in six distinct forms, such that in some cases they can be difficult to diagnose. There are many different types of skin disease in horses and as a general measure, the majority should be checked by your vet, since they can be confusing to identify.

What causes sarcoids?

Despite years of research and investigation, no one is absolutely sure what exactly causes Sarcoids. Some evidence suggests that biting flies may be involved in transmission of the disease. This may explain why patterns of the disease vary in different countries and why in some countries (but not here) the disease is regarded as contagious.

What do they look like?

As mentioned above, there are six distinct forms of the sarcoid, so distinct in appearance that it is often hard to justify the inclusion in the same “disease”.

The Occult Sarcoid: nothing to do with the “Exorcist”, this is a circular patch of hair loss with a grey, scaly surface. this is fairly serious and looks very similar to ringworm or tack rubs or lice infestation.

The Verrucous Sarcoid: looks a little like the above, grey and scaly, but extends deeper into the skin and is more irregular in outline. It can be mistaken for a variety of viral skin diseases and a tumour called squamous cell carcinoma, which is a real nasty!

The Nodular Sarcoid: these are mainly found under the skin, forming round nodules with apparently intact (but often thin and shiny) skin overlying. They are usually found around the eyelids and in the groin and look like a variety of skin tumours, including typical melanomas in greys.

The Fibroblastic Sarcoid: these are nasty and aggressive and look like true ulcerated skin tumours. They can often start after injuries to the skin, especially on the legs or after surgical removal of other forms of sarcoid elsewhere. They look horrific and can be very invasive into the surrounding skin and deeper tissues.

The Mixed Sarcoid: like the pudding trolley of a dubious restaurant, a platter of suspicious-looking but vaguely-familiar nasties (as described above), of different ages, all jostling unattractively for position. May be occult, nodular and fibroblastic sarcoids all in there together.

The Malevolent Sarcoid: a sarcoid behaving like an aggressive tumour by spreading along lymph vessels. These often develop following surgery on fibroblastic sarcoids.

As with most nasty skin troubles, your vet is likely best placed to decide on appropriate treatments. Sarcoids are never good news, and neither are many of the diseases they can get confused with. If your horse has skin disease, and you don’t know what it is (especially if you have tried treatment, eg. for lice, and it has failed) then get it checked by a vet. If you check vigilantly and react quickly, even if it's just a slight suspicion, you can usually find yourself in good stead to locate an appropriate treatment.