EQUILIBRIUMS EQUINE ASSISTANCE
The information contained within each of these PDFs is intended to be general in nature and assist horse owners by providing them with a little more background on various subjects. This information should NEVER be considered to be a replacement for advice received by your equine vet or nutritionist.
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ANAEMIA AND NUTRITION
Anaemia is a deficiency in the number or quality of erythrocytes (red blood cells) that are circulating in the blood and that are stored in the body.
There are several types of anaemia, each with different causes and treatments. As treatments vary depending on the type of anaemia, it is important for the vet to advise you on the type of anaemia your horse is…
ANHYDROSIS | DRYCOAT SYNDROME | PUFFS | NON SWEATING DISORDER
The skin is the major organ of the body and it has a multitude of tasks. One of these tasks is to regulate the horse’s body temperature. This is achieved by the skin through sweating when the horse’s body temperature is too high. The sweat glands are densely packed in the skin – averaging 800 glands/cm2. They are a tubular coiled gland that exits the skin at the hair follicle. They have a rich blood supply and are surrounded…
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CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS
Always remember that in nature nothing acts in isolation – just as it is with minerals and vitamins and their interactions. This is particularly the case in calcium and phosphorus metabolism in the horse’s body where there are many complex interactions with other minerals and compounds. To reduce a nutritional problem to a simplistic lack of one mineral and supplementing with just that is a flawed approach to nutrition. Why are calcium and phosphorus needed in the diet …
COBALT
Cobalt requirements of horses. Even though we are describing the actions of individual minerals they never act in isolation and are interconnected with the supply and actions of other minerals and vitamins. This is why we produce Equilibrium and LexveT supplements which contain all the minerals, vitamins and electrolytes that are most often deficient in the diet. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances are rarely the action of one mineral alone. To supplement with only one or two minerals is usually …
CONDITION SCORING
The best friend a horse can have is an observant, astute and informed owner who can look at a horse and accurately assess their condition as a reflection of their nutritional and health status. Following are some general notes and guidelines to be followed by more detailed notes on specific cases that we have encountered. Body condition scoring is traditionally scoring the amount and distribution of fat that a horse has, which is a direct result of the calorie status of the feed they are on. Scoring charts will vary from…
COPPER
Always keep in mind that there are many complex interactions in the horse’s body between different minerals – excesses and deficiencies can be easily caused by supplementing with some minerals and not others. This is why it is important to use a multimineral supplement that addresses the correct levels of minerals required by the body. Very rarely is just one mineral deficient in a diet. Different organs and tissues in the body use many minerals for normal function. Why is copper needed by the body …
CUSHINGS DISEASE
Always be mindful that Cushing’s Disease has a profound effect on a horse’s metabolism and body function. It requires a thorough veterinary assessment and laboratory workup to ascertain the extent of the condition and also whether there are any other medical conditions present as well. Management and treatment of any cushingoid horse should always be under veterinary supervision. What is Cushing’s Disease? It starts with the enlargement of the pituitary gland at the base of the brain – either …
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DEHYDRATION
Dehydration is a condition in the horse where there is an inadequate amount of fluid in the body and/or unbalanced or insufficient levels of electrolytes in the fluid. Clinical dehydration occurs when a horse has lost 5% of its body fluid through excessive sweating, acute diarrhoea, electrolyte losses or inadequate intake of drinking water. A deficit of 1% in body fluids can reduce performance. Water is a critical nutrient for life and is needed by the body for normal functioning. The water content of a horse is between 68-72% of body weight on a fat-free basis…
DROUGHT FEEDING HORSES
Drought is a regular feature in Australia with the length and severity varying widely from year to year. Anybody who runs stock, whether horses, sheep or cattle etc. needs to always factor in drought in their management of the animals and the land. Financial, physical and emotional resources need to be factored in any decisions that are to be made. It is NOT okay to just hope the drought will break when your resources are declining – nor is it legally or morally acceptable to watch animals starve or dehydrate …
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ELECTROLYTES – SODIUM | POTASSIUM | CHLORIDE
Always remember that no mineral or vitamin acts in isolation – whilst the actions of each individual mineral is described as follows there are thousands of reactions occurring at any given moment in time in your horses body that involve interactions with other minerals, vitamins, protein and energy sources. That is why when supplementing your horse it is vitally important to supplement with all the essential minerals, vitamins…
ENTEROLITHS
What is an enterolith? They are stone like balls that in the right circumstances can form in the horses intestinal tract. Entero means intestines and lith means stone. While smaller ones are often passed in the horses manure, larger ones are occasionally retained in the intestines and can eventually cause an obstruction. They are made of struvite which is a mucoid mix of ammonium, magnesium and phosphate. How and why are they formed?…
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IMPROVING HOOF QUALITY AND HEALTH
Nutrition plays a vital role in hoof quality and health – we strongly recommend feeding horses a totally balanced diet that will give overall health gains. Targeted supplementation specifically for hoof health will often result in poor outcomes due to continuing imbalance of nutrients. Horses will show dietary deficiencies and imbalances in many different ways – some, for example, will present with poor quality hoof while others will have faded coats, poor feed conversion or reduced performance. Hoof quality can be reflective of the horses overall health for the previous twelve months. It can take up to…
INORGANIC AND ORGANIC MINERALS
Organic compounds, by definition, are those that are bonded to carbon atoms. For example, glucose is a sugar made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. When the atoms combine together they form a compound. The chemical formula for glucose is C6 H12 O6. Six carbon atoms combine with twelve hydrogen atoms and six oxygen atoms to form a molecule of glucose. Inorganic compounds are not bonded to carbon atoms. For example, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom combine to form a water molecule H2O. Water is…
IODINE
When reading about or researching horse nutrition always remember that no mineral, vitamin or electrolyte ever acts in isolation – there are thousands of chemical reactions occurring in the horses body at any given moment in time that involve complex interactions between minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, protein and energy sources.While science can answer many questions there are many other questions that remain unanswered with some aspects of horse nutrition. Whilst we may not know all the intricacies of digestion and metabolism, an…
IRON
While this fact sheet outlines the known actions and requirements of iron for the horse never forget that no mineral or vitamin ever acts in isolation. Supplementing with a single mineral is often ineffective due to the complex interactions of chemical compounds in the body. Equilibrium and LexveT were designed to overcome this by being a multi supplement of minerals and vitamins that are often deficient in the modern horse’s diet. A 500 kg horse contains approximately 33 grams of iron in his body – 60% of that iron is in haemoglobin…
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LAMINITIS
Laminitis – also known as founder or foot fever, is an extremely painful and debilitating condition of the hoof. It is a condition in which there is reduced blood flow to the laminae of the hoof which leads to breakdown and degeneration of the union between the horny and sensitive layers of the laminae. In people it would be equivalent to the area where our fingernail attaches to the sensitive area of the nail bed below the fingernail. Any major trauma to this area leads to a painful throbbing feeling to the finger – for the horse this painful throbbing is felt throughout the…
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MAGNESIUM
Always remember that minerals and vitamins interact in many different ways. Supplementing with just one or two minerals and not with others is highly likely to cause problems with imbalances in the other vital nutrients. Very rarely is a horse’s diet deficient in just one mineral and rarely does a nutritional medical problem respond to the addition of just one or two minerals. Whilst the action of individual minerals can be described in the functioning of the normal horse’s body never forget that it needs other cofactors to enable it to work. An…
MANGANESE
Manganese is a trace mineral required by horses for health and well being. As with all minerals and vitamins required by the horse, it does not act in isolation. A multimineral vitamin supplement combining all of these factors in a balanced ration is the ideal way to make sure that your horse gets all it requires for optimal health and well being. What is manganese needed for? Manganese is needed for normal skin and coat (in conjunction with zinc), reproduction and foetal skeletal development, and in bone matrix development and maintenance…
MYCOTOXINS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT
Mycotoxins are toxic chemical compounds produced by moulds which are members of the fungi group of plants. Generally speaking, the term mycotoxin is used for moulds that readily and easily colonise crops. Like bacteria, mould spores are ubiquitous in the environment. All herbivores come into close and constant contact with moulds daily – they can be both inhaled and ingested. The mould spores are microscopic and use oxygen to digest organic matter wherever the temperature and humidity levels are sufficient. In optimal conditions…
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RYEGRASS STAGGERS
What is ryegrass staggers? A microscopic fungus growing in ryegrass – known as an endophyte – is responsible for a condition that horses can develop called ryegrass staggers. It can also be known as grass staggers. The fungus produces mycotoxins ie. fungal toxins that affect the cerebellar area of the brain. This part of the brain is responsible for muscle coordination. When the mycotoxin affects the cerebellum it produces the classic signs of muscle trembling and loss of coordination which results in a staggering gait. Horses are most affected…
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SECONDARY NUTRITIONAL HYPERPARATHYROIDISM
Big Head, as it is commonly referred to, is a complex nutritional problem that has its origins in a calcium – phosphorus imbalance in the diet. This is different to an absolute lack of calcium in the diet which results in different clinical signs. Calcium and phosphorus are macro-minerals that are needed by the body in absolute amounts to perform the jobs required by the body. In addition they are required to be present in the correct ratio to each other in the diet Calcium and phosphorus are present in bone in a ratio of approximately 2:1 and…
SELENIUM
Why is selenium important? Selenium is a trace mineral requirement of horses and its major purpose is to act as an antioxidant agent. It works synergistically with Vitamin E to protect cell membranes from the by-products of energy metabolism. Selenium is also needed to activate thyroid hormones and it is also required for normal muscle integrity. It is also important for the normal function of the immune system. What is its relationship with Vitamin E? The functions of both Vitamin E and selenium are intrinsically linked – if there is a deficiency…
STRINGHALT
Stringhalt is the involuntary hyperflexion of the hock joint when the horse moves and may involve one or both hind legs. The upward movement of the limb is exaggerated while the downward motion of the limb is normal. The upward movement varies in the intensity of expression from minimal to where the fetlock can contact the abdomen. What are the different types of stringhalt? There are two forms of the condition which appear to be geographically predisposed. One form affects isolated horses and usually…
STUB BROCHURE
The purpose of this brochure is to assist stud managers in improving the health and wellbeing of their breeding and performance horses whilst making savings of up to 30% off their feed bill. This brochure outlines common feeding practices that undermine business value and profits and we outline how studs can feed for overall commercial success. Unfortunately, the presenting signs of improper nutrition and management are so common that they are often deemed to be normal or in some cases they are dismissed. In reality, improper nutrition and management reduces…
SUPPLIMENTS EXPLAINED
A supplement is a product that contains one or more vitamins, minerals, herbs or amino acids and is added to the diet of a horse. Over supplementation is increasingly becoming an issue. This occurs when owners are feeding more than one supplement with ingredients that overlap resulting in imbalances and excesses of vitamins and minerals in the diet. The majority of dietary requirements should be met from roughage sources. Supplements, concentrates, pellets and…
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TYING UP | RHABDOMYPLSIS | AZOTURIA | MONDAY MORNING SICKNESS | EXERTIONAL RHABDOMYOLYSIS | PSSM | RER
Tying up in horses is a complex condition that presents with similar clinical signs but can be caused by different syndromes. What are the signs of rhabdo (muscles) myolysis (breakdown)? The muscles of the backline and hindquarters (occasionally the shoulder as well) go into a cramp and do not relax. This is an extremely painful condition and the horse becomes reluctant to move their hindquarters and legs. The muscles in spasm become rock hard and the horse’s temperature can go up to 40-40.5 degrees centigrade. Shivering and sweating become…
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VITAMINS
Vitamins are organic chemical compounds required by the body for vital metabolic and physiological functions. Some are produced in the body while others are obtained through food or the environment. They are necessary for growth, health, feed conversion, reproduction and physical performance. The requirements by the body for vitamins will be affected by age, work load, illness and injury and reproductive status. Vitamin levels in the body can be classified as minimal, optimal or suboptimal. Minimum levels are those that…
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YEARLING PREPERATION
The purpose of this brochure is to assist owners and managers in preparing yearlings for sale. It could be said that the way yearlings are prepared for sale is a tradition with few questioning the process. Talking with industry stakeholders it would appear that “we do what we do because that is what we have always done” or simply because “everyone else does it that way”. For owners and managers willing to take a leap of faith, they will find that thereare more economical ways to prepare a yearling for sale that won’t cause the health and…
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ZINC
Never forget that minerals, vitamins and electrolytes never act in isolation. Just because a specific mineral may be important in a particular area e.g. zinc in hoof health it does not mean that just supplementing with zinc will improve poor hoof quality. It is always a complex interplay of many enzyme systems that rely on a multitude of minerals, vitamins and electrolytes at any one point in time. Why does my horse need zinc? Zinc is a trace mineral requirement of horses that is important in many enzyme systems in the body. It therefore has…