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Horses have hoofs to
carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them from wind and cold.
They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their heels.... Such is the
real nature of horses. -Chuang Tzu
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Nutrition and Health
I feel that proper nutrition is
the backbone of health. Nutritional requirements and health are impacted by not only the
type of food
that an animal eats but also the quality of the water/air it consumes, the
type of environment it lives in, its social interactions, type of work it
performs, access to free exercise, its genetics (breed) and its behavior.
Ideally, with optimum nutrition and appropriate housing, many disease states
can be prevented and optimum “health” maintained. It is for this reason that I
often discuss housing and management with clients particularly on the first
visit, often recommending changes including feed and supplementation.
Horses are herd animals designed
to be on the move grazing with buddies for most of the day. It is very
important to keep this in mind when designing feeding and housing plans for
your equine companions. As basic care horses should be provided with fresh
good quality water and hay, free access to mineral salts, room to roam for at
least part of the day and some way to interact with other horses. Most horses
do very well kept out in pasture but very young and old horses or those
suffering from illness should be provided with at least shelter from cold wind
and extreme heat.
Part of maintaining your horses
optimal health includes regular maintenance items such as proper shoeing and
trimming, regular dental care (oral examination with speculum 1-2x yearly),
regular fecal checks for parasites (at least 4x per year), appropriate
deworming, annual vaccine titers and vaccines as needed. Vaccines, when used
appropriately, are a wonderful tool for the prevention of disease in your
horse. We now have the ability to check the amount of antibodies present in
your horses (and dogs/cats) system for a variety of diseases. This allows us
to determine if there are enough antibodies present to adequately protect the
animal against that particular disease in the case of your pets exposure.
These vaccine titers give us the ability to vaccinate only when needed,
giving the immune system a break from vaccine stimulation. There are some
vaccines that are necessary to give annually or in the case of injury, such as
Tetanus, but by integrating a holistic approach to health care, including some
herbals, homeopathic remedies and acupuncture/chiropractic, unwanted vaccination responses
can be minimized. I also recommend that elderly animals have annual blood work
run and have the primary care veterinarian out at least twice each year for a
"check up" and have a chiropractic and acupuncture exam completed at
least 2-3x per year. This allows your vet to catch any age related changes early and
make recommendations as needed - illness is much easier to prevent than treat
once it has set in and chiropractic and acupuncture are wonderful tools for
helping your animals stay healthy and happy!
LINKS
http://horse.purinamills.com
http://www.nutrenaworld.com/Screens/Equine.aspx
http://www.holistichorse.com
I am providing these links for nutritional reference only, not promoting a
particular product. |
