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Ep. 20: Managing Horse Show and Travel Stress Through Nutrition
Horse show season is here! And, while showing is mostly fun, the travel and work intensity competition requires can cause stress for horses and humans. We know stress impacts horses’ digestive health and immune systems, which can set them up for colic, gastric ulcers, and diarrhea. In this...
Ep. 19: To Test or Not to Test…the Big Hay Question!
While forages can be assessed visually, the only way to accurately know the nutrient content of your hay is to have it tested by a lab. This is easier and cheaper to do than many people realize and is worth considering if you buy large quantities of forage at a time. In this episode we talk about...
Ep. 18: Risks and Rewards of Spring Pasture
As the cold and snowy winter turns into a bright green spring, we all dream about turning our horses out on a picturesque landscape to graze, but should we? Is it safe? The fear of fat ponies, laminitis and other metabolic diseases haunt us. Dr. Clair and Michelle discuss the importance of...
Ep. 17: The Building Blocks of Equine Topline
When we refer to “topline,” we’re talking about the entire upper line of the horse’s body. That includes how the neck ties into the shoulder and the development of the back muscles under the saddle area, across the loin, and over the rump. When horses lack musculature over those areas, they are...
Ep. 16: Feeding Your New Horse
Getting a new horse is exciting! But, for the horse, a new owner can mean lots of change and stress. As herd animals that prefer routine, horses become stressed when moving to a new home with new horses, people, and expectations. Dietary changes during transitions can also cause stress....
Ep. 15: Optimizing Horses’ Manes, Tails, and Coats
Who doesn’t love a horse with a shiny haircoat and long, full mane and tail? While some horses are more genetically blessed than others in the hair growth and shine department, all healthy manes and tails and glowing coats start with a balanced diet. Grooming can help, of course, but no...
Ep. 14: Senior Feeds–Not Just For Old Horses
You see a sweet old horse on the bag, and the name clearly says “senior” in it. So that’s the right feed for your aged equine, right? Not necessarily. The horse feed industry doesn’t have a standard for what makes a senior feed a senior feed. And, in fact, some products marketed as senior feeds...
Ep. 13: The Ever-Versatile Equine Ration Balancer
Equine ration balancers are multipurpose horse feeds that pack big benefits in small portions. As the name implies, they are meant to “balance” horse diets by providing essential nutrients hay and forage might lack. Ration balancers are typically lower calorie than other concentrates but still...
Ep. 10: How Horse Supplements Come to Market
In this episode, Clair and Michelle get more than a little nerdy about equine supplements! They are joined by Dr. Lydia Gray to talk about supplement regulations and how new products come to market. Dr. Gray spent 16 years at SmartPak, where she served as Staff Veterinarian and Medical and...
Ep. 12: Winter Strategies for Managing Equine Respiratory Health
How and what we feed horses with equine asthma matters. Barn air quality is also a major factor in equine respiratory health, especially during the winter months when horses spend more time inside. Dr. Clair and Michelle talk about the importance of lower respiratory system health in performance and ways to support horse’s with respiratory allergies and/or compromised lungs through nutrition and management. Respiratory health is a major performance in all horses, and management early in horse’s lives can help them avoid complications as they age. This episode will be of particular interest to horse owners of horses with equine asthma, heaves, COPD and RAO. Ride along as we discuss tips and tricks to managing these conditions.
Thanks for riding along with us!