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If you have ever seen a horse suffering from symptoms of COPD, also called heaves, then you know that the picture is not pretty. The horse can’t breathe properly, respiration is high, nostrils are flared, and then there’s the heave line, a sure sign of respiratory distress.

Although this used to be a horse health care condition that affected mostly older horses, today it has become common in younger performance horses or horses under stress. While it has always been assumed that COPD or horse heaves is caused by an allergy to hay, dust, mold, or other allergens, I recently discovered that this condition can also be simply a sign of stress.

While many people feel that heaves is a permanent condition, this case study demonstrates how the symptoms of heaves can be alleviated with nutritional support.

Reyacita: A Case Study

Reyacita is a four-year-old mustang mare I adopted about 8 months ago. She had a rattle in her chest when I brought her home, and the rattle always sounded louder when she was under stress (such as when I started her under saddle).

A few months after she came home, the rattle in her chest developed into a full-blown case of heaves, or COPD. She had difficulty breathing, and coughed deeply and constantly. She was clearly suffering and she could not eat her hay.

Since this happened in late winter, I could not put her on pasture. Instead, I took her off hay and began feeding her soaked beet pulp and a senior pelleted feed. I also offered her grass hay cubes that had been soaked.

I supplemented this diet with Xango mangosteen juice, blue-green algae, enzymes, and probiotics to help heal her lungs. Within two weeks, the coughing had stopped but the rattle in her chest always reappeared when Reyacita was stressed. A prime example is when I rode her through our small town for the first time. Although she showed no other signs of stress, when we reached an intersection that had traffic, she put her head down and rattled with each breath. As soon as we turned around and headed for home, the rattle disappeared.

The Veterinarian’s Diagnosis

When I consulted veterinarian Dr. Madalyn Ward about Reyacita’s case, she told me that I was on the right track with the mare’s diet and supplements. She asked me to find out Reyacita’s horse personality type by taking the online test at Horse Harmony. Reyacita turned out to be a Metal personality type, whose typical physical weakness is the lungs, so her bout with COPD or heaves was not surprising.

Recent Changes

Once spring arrived I was able to turn Reyacita out on pasture, although I continued to syringe the mix of mangosteen juice and other supplements into her mouth daily. Her health improved to such a point that the rattle in her chest disappeared, even when she was under stress. Everything went well until she started eating hay again this fall.

I wanted to try feeding her hay again to see whether she had truly conquered her COPD or whether she was truly allergic to hay. For the first 4-5 days, she ate the hay and showed no signs of coughing. Then one day I began training all the horses for cowboy mounted shooting. This involved firing a small revolver at a pretty good distance (about 500 yards) from the horses so they could become accustomed to the noise.

None of the horses showed much alarm, they just all moved to the far end of the pen. However, Reyacita immediately developed a deep heaving cough. The noise from the revolver stressed her enough that her physical weakness, her lungs, immediately showed the effects.

When I discussed her situation with Dr. Ward, she pointed out that when Reyacita heard the sound of the pistol, she probably immediately flipped from the parasympathetic nervous system (the one we use in normal life conditions) to the sympathetic nervous system (used when horses are in fight-or-flight mode). Once the sympathetic nervous system kicked in, Reyacita’s immune system became compromised and she started to have heaves again.

Not convinced that Reyacita’s COPD symptoms were due to a hay allergy, Dr. Ward suggested I supplement the mare with Eleviv, an herbal product that supports the adrenal system and helps restore the parasympathetic nervous system. I fed Reyacita 2 capsules of Eleviv the first day but gave her no hay. The Eleviv calmed the COPD symptoms within a few minutes, and she improved more during the course of the day. On the second day, I fed her 2 more capsules of Elviv and offered her a few flakes of hay. Reyacita was able to eat the hay without any COPD symptoms. The third day was the same.

This indicates that Reyacita’s COPD is the result of stress rather than a hay allergy. While many horses with COPD or heaves are assumed to have hay or dust allergies, this may or may not be the case. As with Reyacita, these horses may simply be under too much stress, and their weakest physical link may be their lungs, hence the COPD.

It would not surprise me to discover that many performance horses operate primarily off their sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system, which depresses the immune system and prevents healing. Bringing this horse back around to the parasympathetic nervous system, as I did by giving Reyacita the adrenal-supporting Eleviv, may allow these horses to not only heal but also to feel a great deal more comfortable.

These days I give Reyacita Eleviv anytime I feel she might be under stress, such as when I haul her to a horse event or when I started her on roping training. So far, she has never shown any signs of COPD or stress when supported in this way with nutrition. It’s not for every horse, but Eleviv is definitely something that stays in my first-aid kit in my horse trailer.

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Stephanie Yeh is a zen cowgirl obsessed about horses, healing, natural remedies, herbs, magic, MLM, and more. Check out natural horse care tips, ways to fund your horse obsession, natural health products, and more on her blog ( http://zencowgirl.blogspot.com ) and order XanGo mangosteen products including Eleviv on her website ( http://www.mangosteengood.com ).

Author: Stephanie H. Yeh
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Canada duty

Ah yes, it is truly the season to be merry, to give thanks, and to give gifts. This year I got to pick out my own Christmas gift: a baby Hughie of a horse named Moose.

To make a long story short, Moose (now named Fezzywig) is a 16.2 hand Holsteiner warmblood horse, a 3 year-old gelding, who developed a roach in his back. I had inquired about him early in the year, when he was for sale rather than for adoption, and passed him up.

Then he became available for adoption, his former owner not being able to help him with his roached back, and I just had to take him. I think I can help him, roached back and all.

Case Study: Moose (a.k.a. Fezzywig), the Roach-Backed Horse

So Fezzywig is a gentle giant with a giant hump in his lower back. The hump in his back is pretty significant, although it does not seem to interfere with his gaits, soundness, or movement. Other than that, he seems to have no other health issues or vices.

Based on my conversation with his former owner, I believe that he developed this roach as a result of jumping out of a six-foot tall round pen. He probably sustained some injury after that leap, and I believe his roach back developed as a result of that injury and subsequent internal adhesions.

Fezzywig’s bump, or roached back, is not tender at all, even when you palpate the area with firm pressure. However, he is sensitive on his flanks and abdomen. His last rib is very close to his pelvis on both sides of his body, and I believe this is caused by the roach in his back. Also, his abdomen is very distended and tense, which leads me to believe that when he jumped from the corral, he perhaps tore some muscles and ligaments in his belly, causing his internal organs to “fall down.” This in turn puts pressure on his abdomen, causing it to sink and pulling his pelvis close to his last rib. Hence, the roached back.

Fezzywig’s Horse Health Care Treatment Plan

In terms of horse health care, my goal with Fezzywigis release his internal adhesions, raise his belly, and shift his pelvis back, thus relieving the roach in his back. I also aim to free up his withers, which are lower than his hind end and a bit bound up. To that end, I am doing network chiropractic sessions on him once a week, and Bowen sessions (also called Equine Touch) on him two to three times a week. I’m lucky that I learned these techniques since I would not be able to pay a veterinarian to work on him that often!

Fezzywig responds very quickly and well to the bodywork, although he is sensitive and often moves away from my hands. When he moves away from me, he’s telling me, “That’s enough. I need to process this change.” He licks and chews and yawns frequently during these sessions, which are all signs that his body is processing the changes.

In terms of diet, Fezzywig is getting my regulation “horse goo” made of mangosteen juice, blue green algae, probiotics, and enzymes. He also gets extra enzymes to help him flush out the toxins generated by released adhesions, and a special herbal supplement to help him shift back into this parasympathetic “healing” nervous system. So far, he’s not too keen on the goo, but is willing enough to eat it.

The Veterinarian’s Report

I’ve checked in with Dr. Madalyn Ward, a well-known holistic horse veterinarian and osteopath, and she feels that Fezzywig can be made healthy again, although he may never fully lose that “roached” look. That’s fine by me. There are tons of roach-back horses who live useful working lives, and I feel that Fezzywig can definitely be helped in that direction.

I have not yet assessed Fezzywig’s horse personality type on the Horse Harmony Test website, but I plan to as soon as I get to know him a bit better. This will help me better assess how to restore his health, what to feed him, and how best to manage his care. You may want to check out the Horse Harmony Test website, along with Dr. Ward’s other horse health care websites, which are Holistic Horsekeeping and Horse Harmony.

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Stephanie Yeh is a zen cowgirl obsessed about horses, healing, natural remedies, herbs, magic, MLM, and more. Learn more about the adrenal herb supplement mentioned in this article (Eleviv) and order XanGo mangosteen products, including Eleviv, on her website ( http://www.mangosteengood.com ). Also, check out natural horse care tips, ways to fund your horse obsession, natural health products, and more on her blog ( http://zencowgirl.blogspot.com ).

Author: Stephanie H. Yeh
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Excise Tax

Owning an old horse can be at time upsetting when you see your old companion fading away. However, nowadays, horses can live happily until a very old age, some well after the age of 30. Hopefully this article will help you and your old mate find the right care.

According to NRC and veterinary bodies, a horse is considered geriatric at the age of 20. In general, a horse is considered a senior horse from 15-16 years of age. In fact, many horse feed manufacturers provide specifically designed feed stuff for horses 16 and over. Whether it is true or not is debatable. Some horses seem to age earlier, others later. The horse will age differently depending on the lifestyle it had therefore it would be wrong to label all 16 year-old horses as old. However, from 20 onwards, a horse is definitely labelled geriatric as its body and organs have started deteriorating significantly.

As a guideline, when the horse reaches 15 or 16, one should pay extra attention to its condition to ensure it stays healthy and its weight stays consistent. From the age of 20, a body condition of 2-3 (Australian body condition scoring 0-5) should be maintained.

Most common problems encountered with senior horses

Feeding the old horse might become a challenge as various factors play an important role in feed absorption.

Teeth
The most common issue is related to teeth. As the horse ages, its teeth will wear off, some might fall off, some might become decayed and chewing of feed will be impaired causing improper absorption of feed and nutrients.

The usual signs for bad teeth are:

• Slow to chew, inability to masticate properly
• Feed falls off the horse’s mouth – the horse seems to be messy at feed time and kind of dribbling
• Whole food found in droppings such as grains and long stems
• Bad breath due to rotten teeth
• Thick nasal discharge, usually on one side, may appear if a decayed tooth has been left untreated and has become infected
• Tendency to choke
• More prone to colics. According to an Auburn University study conducted in the mid 90s, impaction colics have a ratio of 88% in older horses in comparison to 29% in younger horses. Out of the 104 horses above 17 years of age, one of the main reasons was dental diseases (as well as poor grazing and tumours).

  During the same era, another study was conducted in Texas (USA) over a period of 12 months to identify dietary and management factors associated with colic in horses. The results identified that horses aged 10 years and over who are stabled and still get regular exercise are at higher risks than those pastured at all times. Among other factors are recent changes in diet, in type of hay, in weather conditions, in housing and worm infestation. Further studies confirmed similar results in 2000/2001, where 364 horses were examined over a period of 12 months in Texas USA. In summary, changes in diet (type of hay, grain or concentrate) as well as feeding more than 2.7kg of grains, feeding round bales of hay, and decreased access to pasture contribute to high risk of colic.

Worms
As seen above, worm infestation is a primary issue. This also applies to all horses, young and old. If the horse is ridden with parasites, its feed absorption will be lessen. One should follow a worming regime of 6 to 8 weeks.

A horse infested with parasites is more at risk to have colics and difficulties in putting on weight. If the horse has received a consistent worming programme all its life, it is less likely to have colics and more likely to have a long and healthy life.

Poor digestion
As the horse ages, its digestive system seem to become less effective at breaking down food as the horse may have reduced salivation and oesophagus functions. Although calcium absorption does not seem to be drastically affected, fibre and phosphorus digestion reduces with age. The later being even more pronounced in horses with tumours.

When the horse is depleted of important nutrients, its immune system ability to fight illnesses will also be decreased, exposing it to high risks of not only becoming ill, but also not being able to recover easily.

The horse is then prone to lose body condition and weight.

Arthritis
Arthritic conditions are painful and may restrict the horse in walking and grazing.

Other illnesses
Horses who developed pituitary and thyroid tumours may have reduced insulin response and become sugar and starch intolerant. Same applies to founders which is often linked to pituitary tumours.

Horse with renal and liver diseases also require special diet. In case of renal problems, beep pulp and lucerne hay should be avoided due to their high content of calcium. In case of liver and hepatic diseases, high protein and high fat diets should be avoided.

How to care for the senior horse

It is important that the old horse be comfortable and enjoy its retirement.

Its teeth should be checked every 6 months and full vet check-up should be done every 6 to 12 months. A full blood test is not expensive and will help you understand how to care for your old companion. It will show many abnormalities and your veterinarian will be able to help you find appropriate treatment.

In case of arthritis, apart from medication to make the horse more comfortable, many natural therapies may help as well. Acupuncture, homeopathy, shiatsu, acupressure, aromatherapy and clay therapy are some. The herb Devil’s Claw can work as a natural anti-inflammatory instead of giving phenybutazone (Bute) but should not be given if stomach ulcers are present, in case of diabetes and cardiac disorders. French green clay applied as a poultice to sore area may provide great relief.

Old horses quite often get bullied by the youngsters at feed time. One should ensure that the senior horse is able to eat in peace and all its meals.

For better digestion, feed small quantities 2 or even 3 times a day.

A good shelter is essential to the old horse as it is more sensitive to weather changes.

In cool weather, if the horse accepts it, a rug will keep him warm and will help save his energy.

Always provide clean fresh water at all time.

Vitamin C may help the horse’s immune system. Vitamin C can be found naturally in Rosehip. 1 to 2 tablespoons a day in the feed.

Vitamin B group in the form of Brewer’s Yeast might be beneficial, especially in cases of renal and hepatic diseases. It will help with digestion as well. Up to 100 g/day.

Sweet feed should be avoided, especially in founders and sugar intolerant horses. This includes molasses, honey and sweeten feed mixes.

If there is no liver dysfunction, the addition of vegetable oil may help keep its body condition. Up to 2 cups a day, introduced slowly over a 3 week-period. Virgin coconut oil is a rich source of lauric acid, the source of disease fighting fatty acid derivative monolaurin. Cold pressed Canola oil is also an excellent oil for horses. It contains around 10% omega 3 fatty acids, 20% omega 6 fatty acids and omega 9 fatty acids. Omega-3 and 6 are essential to the normal functioning of all tissues and for vision, heart, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. These two fatty acids need to be balanced and the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 should be about 2:1, which is provided by cold-pressed Canola oil. Coconut oil can be given in smaller quantity than Canola such as 25-100ml. Canola can complement to reach 2 cups of oil a day. When providing fat and high protein diets to a horse, one must monitor the horse’s dropping to see if their consistency stays normal. If the droppings become too lose like “cow pat”, reduce the oil and/or the protein content. Too much protein can be seen in urine as it becomes thick, smelly and difficult to pass.

Avoid starch food for better digestion, especially if the horse has a tendency to tie-up or founders.

Because the digestion is not optimal at this age, avoid feeding grains. Extruded grains are much safer and have shown good results with geriatric horses. Feed manufacturers provide extruded/micronized grains as well as especially designed feed stuff for senior horses.

Herbs that may help with gut ulceration are Marshmallow, Meadowsweet, Liquorice and Slippery Elm Bark. A handful each of Marshmallow and Meadowsweet once a day may help with gut ulceration, inflammation and irritation. Liquorice has to be used with caution as it is a laxative and should not be used if the horse is scouring or have loose manure. It should not be used long term either and only 1 teaspoon a day for up to 3 months. Slippery Elm Bark is good for scouring at a dose of 1 to 2 tablespoons a day.

You may provide good quality protein (12-16%, 8-10% if renal diseases are present) in the form of full fat soy meal or stabilized copra meal. Copra meal like CoolStance provide 20% crude protein whilst a full fat soy meal like Soygize (HyFeed) contains 39% protein, so only a small quantity might be needed. If no liver and renal diseases, good lucerne chaff may be added in small quantity for protein.

Because the horse might have poor teeth, provide its meals as a soft mash for easier chewing as well as good quality chaff. Hay might be too hard to chew or the horse might choke on it, so the hay might need to be dampen to soften it, or chopped like chaff. It is good practice to dampen hay so it is not dusty. To do so, John Kohnke recommends to put the hay in an hessian bag and let it soak in water for up to 1 hour. Remove the bag and let it hang to drain water.

Always provide hay at ground level. If hay is in hay nets that are suspended too high, there is higher risk of choke. A horse, by nature, grazes with its head down and its digestive system is adapted to this practice. Having to eat with its head up goes against its physiology and causes problems.

As we are on the chapter of dust, rations should always be dampen to eliminate dust. Dust is very damaging to a horse’s lungs. Stabled horses should also have a dust free environment.

And of course, always seek veterinary advice, even if it seems to be nothing! Better be sure than sorry

You can find more information on feeding your horse at http://www.australiannaturalhealing.com

References:

Siciliano PD. “Nutrition and feeding of the geriatric horse“, The Veterinary clinics of North America. Equine practice, 2002, p491-508

Cohen ND, Gibbs PG, Woods AM. “Dietary and other management factors associated with colic in horses“, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1999, p53-60

Dr J. Kohnke, Dr. Frank Kelleher, Dr. Penny Trevor-Jones. “Feeding horses in Australia, a guide for horse owners and managers”, RIRDC Publication No. 99/49, 1999

D. G. Pugh, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACT, Diplomate ACVN. “Feeding the Geriatric Horse“, Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, 2002

Dr John Konhke. “Feeding the senior horse”, Fact Sheet

Pete G. Gibbs, G. D. Potter, W.L. Scrutchfield, M.T. Martin. “Mature, Senior & Geriatric Horses: Their Management, Care and Use“, Texas Cooperative Extension, The Texas A&M University System, 2005

Victoria Ferguson “The Practical Horse Herbal”, Horses For Courses, 2002

Catherine Bird “A Healthy Horse The Natural Way”, The Lyons Press, 2005

Cass holds a certificate in Aromatherapy and one in Aromatherapy for pets. She is currently studying Flower Essences and Homeopathy for animals.

Cass has also certification in Reiki (level 2), Angel Intuitive, Remedial Techniques, and Higher-self communication. In a more mundane life, she holds a degree in Information Technology and various other certifications in this field.

Cass came in contact with horses at the age of 6 and was able to acquire her first pony at 12. Since then, a passion was formed and an uncanny bond with horses. Natural remedies have always been part of her life and she has applied them to her family, pets and friends.

To find more information on natural remedies, therapies, products and care for horses and dogs, visit her web site http://www.australiannaturalhealing.com

Author: Cass Martinez
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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