365 Days in Horse Country – Minerals for Good Health  Just like us humans, horses need minerals to keep their bodies functioning property and running at peak efficiency. The major minerals horses need are much the same as what we require: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfur.  Horses also require trace minerals: cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Trailer Maintenance  As the better weather has now arrived, today is a good day to check your trailer; the safety and comfort of your horses depends on it. Follow these steps to make sure your trailer is in good working order and road worthy: Check tires to ensure that they have at least ¼ inch (6mm) of tread. Evaluate tires for proper inflation, includin ...

365 Days in Horse Country – Tying Up Syndrome  Also Known as azoturia or exertional rhabdomyolysis, tying up syndrome is a systemic condition that results when horses are put through extreme exercise after several days of having little or no exercise, and after eating grain or another high-carbohydrate feed.  Some horses tie up simply because they aren’t physically fit for the job they ...

365 Days in Horse Country – The Power of Psyllium  For horse owners living in regions where the soil is sandy, worrying about sand colic is a fact of life.  Sand colic is caused by the accidental ingestion of sand during feeding.  It can be incredibly painful, expensive to treat, and potentially fatal. Besides avoiding feeding your horse directly off the ground, the best way to avoid ...

365 Days in Horse Country –Let Them Eat Hay... and Lots of It Horses eat hay, and with good reason.  It’s the most palatable and accessible type of forage available for the domestic horse. The horse evolved over time as a grazer, which means nature designed them to consume large amounts of low-quality forage.  In the wild, the horse had to eat a lot of plant material to maintain body we ...

365 Days in Horse Country –A Little Walkin' and Talkin' Most people who own horses love to ride, and spend all their horse time sitting on their horse’s back.  You can do wonders to nurture the relationship between you and your horse by spending time with your horse with your feet and on the ground. Taking a walk with your horse is a great way to spend time with him. Instead of mountin ...

365 Days in Horse Country –Treating Thrush  While we all welcome spring, it also beckons the mess that comes after a long winter.  If your paddocks are anything like mine, they are a muddy mess as a result of the melting snow and the thawing ground.  These conditions are ideal for the growth of anaerobic bacteria and fungi; and why we see an increase in the instance of thrush cases du ...

365 Days in Horse Country - The Inauguration  Those of you who know me, know that I grew up in small-town Ontario, and in the heart of horse country.  Like so many small-town folks, the allure of the big city can be rather hard to ignore at times, and like so many of my rural friends, I too succumbed to the romanticism of the big city; making the pilgrimage to the bright lights and the ...