Equine Herpes Virus New Information

I got this in an email today and it refers to Sonoma, CA area.

August 24, 2011: Two additional EHV-1 cases confirmed

Pain Management in Horses

New free webinar on Horse.com about equine pain management.

A Horse’s Story That Needs to be Told

Okay, here is a story to make you proud of animals. Reckless…the mare.

This horse was a pack horse during the Korean war, and she carried recoilless rifles, ammunition and supplies to Marines.  Nothing too unusual about that, lots of animals got pressed into doing pack chores in  many wars.

Continuing to the Opposite Hind Foot and Leg

The last area of concern when discussing the low heel syndrome as a whole package is to look to the opposite rear leg and foot of the affected front. If the front left foot is the one with the low heel problem you need to look to the opposite hind, the right rear leg and foot.

Getting Back to the Shoulder

What I want to discuss now is if the low heel problem as discovered later in life, that is after the athletic career was started there is a much higher rate of success. So if the horse comes up lame say after a jumping and is then noticed to have a low heel problem in one of its front feet and the knees are now uneven there is a high probability that the horse can go back to full use with proper and correct shoeing techniques and a physical rehab program to condition and build up the weak soft tissues so that the horse can accomplish what is asked of it.

Low Heel Syndrome Page 2

In the last post I ended with letting you know that the shoulder is also affected by this condition, well let’s get into the explanation of what goes on there.

The Low Heel Syndrome Controversy

I haven’t opened a can of worms in a while I thought that this might do the trick and get people to give their opinions on one of the most discussed foot problems today – what is often referred to as “Low Heel Syndrome”.

Last Word on Bits

I have covered the five groups of bits and tried to explain simply what they do and why they are used. But, one of the better stories that I have heard on how horse bits were used is the one about how the native people of North America reacted to the use of the bit when they first saw it used.

Half Breed Bits

When anyone discusses half breed bits they are actually talking about a curb bit that has a high port. Remember from my post on port bits that any port bit that is taller than one and one-half inches is considered a half bred bit.

Gag Bits

The gag bit operates by pulling straight back then up on the lips when pressure is applied through the rein. To properly use a gag bit you need to be able to work with two sets or pairs of reins; the first rein is connected to the snaffle ring and the second rein is what is known as the “gag rein” since it run through the guides that are made into the snaffle ring.