Jillyan Swasey
Crystal Anderson
Elements of Equine Science
7 November 2014
Thrush
The horse’s hoof is susceptible to many infections and unsoundnesses. These problems can be biological in nature, arising as a result of bacterial, viral, or fungal infections. Others are derived from issues of neglect, exposure to factors that can cause unsoundnesses, or encounters with septic conditions. Unsoundnesses can occur in horses of all ages but older horses are more susceptible to them. The time of year plays a part in what infections or unsoundnesses the horse can contract. For example thrush is common in the winter when conditions are muddy. This infection can be serious in the event that it is not taken care of so a horse owner must know what it is, how to treat it, and how to prevent the horse or horses from getting it.
“Thrush is a degenerative infection of the frog, usually involving the central and collateral sulci. It is characterized by black discharge, disintegration of the horn and an offensive odor” (Rolfe 223). Thrush attacks the hoof tissues and the grooves and cleft of the frog. The black discharge has a distinctive, revolting smell that is unforgettable. The pungent smell and
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The best way to prevent thrush and keep the horse’s hooves healthy is to keep the hooves and the horse’s environment clean and dry (Hills 123). The hooves became infected due to excess water in their environment so to prevent thrush the environment should be kept dry all the time. Hooves are healthier when they are dry than when they are wet, however not enough moisture can lead to cracked hooves. “Prevention should include providing clean, dry bedding and daily foot care” (Rolfe 223). Dry bedding will keep the moisture level down. Due to the fact that thrush can occur from the lack of maintenance of the hoof keeping the hoof clean and trimmed will make it less susceptible to the
Should you shoe your horses or leave them barefoot? What is better for the horse? What will benefit the horse more? Although it’s a hot topic, it has never really been an issue to me. I have always shod my horses in the summer when I know we will be using them a lot and always leave the shoes off in the winter. I ride with a lot of people that will never use shoes or will sometimes only use a pair on either the front or back. Each person has their own beliefs and reasons behind why they choose to do what they do. For example, when I bought my current horse (around ’08) the person I bought him from only ever shod the front two hooves. I started putting shoes on all four of his hooves and they have been that way just about every summer since I purchased him. Then again, I’m only one person. Everyone has a different viewpoint on what is best for the horses and how to go about doing the best thing for their individual needs. That’s really where this question comes from for me. I want to know why; I want to know why people are so opinionated in one way or the other, as well as find out what is actually in the best interest of the horse.
In cattle feedlots, the conditions are very bad. Most of the time, the feeder calves are standing in mud that is two feet deep. In these moist conditions, bacteria thrive. The cattle can suffer from foot problems, like foot rot. foot rot is a disease of the hoof which the skin between the toes of the hooves rots away and decomposes. If left untreated, the foot will swell and will rot off. This is extremely painful for the animal(Hasheider 34). In these feed yards, the feed is dumped into concrete feed bunks three times a day, and that is all the cattle get to eat. They are not offered grass or any type of forage, the forage, also known as hay...
The frog’s back is usually textured with coarse tubercles. Its fingers are thinly webbed while the hind foot is more developed. Large disks exist on the fingers and toes to assist with climbing and sticking to objects (Dickerson, 1969). The male and female Grey Tree Frogs are very similar. They are distinguished by the male having a dark underside of his throat. Also the females ears are smaller then the males (Dickerson, 1969).
Vet Tech has always been an option for me, helping animals is something that is very interesting. It was introduced in 1989, the AVMA officially adopted the name “Vet Tech.” In 1998, emergency vets debut on Animal Planet. And in 2008, student population grows from 500 to 700. There are about 17,000 people employed in the career field chosen. Some of the common trends of the job would be, working at Zoos, Aquariums, Boarding Kennels, and Wildlife sanctuaries. These jobs are usually found working in an animal clinic or hospitals and sometimes at farms because that is the “normal” areas for this occupation. In this career there are some general duties such as: Observe animals behavior and conditions, Provide nursing care, Bathe animals, Clip nails, groom animals hair, keep animals calm during exams or procedures. The more specific duties of the job would be to: take x-rays of animals and develop them, get utensils and prepare the animals for surgery, keep and record patient's history. Most of the clinics are open 24 hours. There is not anything that is unusual about the number of hours/nature of the job. (Bls.gov.vettech)
With over nine million types of horses in the United States, the need for quality health care for the horses has never been stronger. It’s certain that more equine veterinarians than ever before will be needed in the years to come to provide the care that owners want for their horses. According to the American Association of equine practitioners (AAEP), nearly half of the equine veterinarians are involved with performance horses(44.8%). The AVMA’S most recent employment survey of 2016 indicated that there were about 3,874 veterinarians in exclusively equine practice, with and additional 4,177 involved in mixed practices.
Deficient diets result in weight loss in the horse. Alternate causes of weight loss are internal parasites and diseases. Excess energy intake causes obesity which stresses joints and reduces athletic ability. A horse in moderate physical condition is described as “Back level”. Ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but can be easily felt.
A sound horse is any horse that has no condition that interferes with its use or intent ended used while an unsound horse does. An unsound (also called lameness) horse will not be able to preform or work properly do to this condition. Many people confuse unsoundness with blemish, but a blemish is an injury or condition that is cosmetically detracting but does not hinder a horses serviceability. Knowing how to spot unsoundness in a horse is essential when it comes to buying horses. Although it is best to have the horses examined by a competent veterinarian before purchase, there are a few conditions that indicate a horse is unsound including vision impairment or blindness, an overbite also called “parrot mouth”, or an undershot jaw. Sweeny,
Equine Infectious Anemia is a bloodborne infection. People have played an important role in EIA transmission over the years by using blood-contaminated needles and materials on different horses. EIA is frequently transmitted between horses in close proximity by insects such as horse flies and deer flies. The bites from these flies stimulate a defensive movement by the horse, which results in an interruption of the blood-feeding. When interrupted, the fly is motivated to complete the feeding as soon as possible. It then attacks the same or a second host and feeds to repletion. In this manner, any infective material from the blood of the first host that is present on the mouthparts of the insect can be mechanically transmitted to the second host.
Ensure that your pasture is free from anything that may harm the horse such as wire, metal rubbish etc. and adequate fencing is in place to prevent the horse from injury eg post and rail.
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura. The order Anura is broken down into 22 different families of frogs and toads. Although they belong to the same order, frogs and toads are different in a lot of ways. Some of the more distinct differences are their skin and where they live. Frogs usually have smooth moist skin and toads usually have dry watery looking skin. Frogs spend most of their lives in or near water and toads spend more time on land. Amphibian means "double life." Frogs and toads each have two parts to their lives: when they live on water and when they live land. A frog's life starts in the water when it is hatched from an egg as a tadpole. A tadpole looks very different from an adult frog. A tadpole has a tail, no limbs, and breathes through gills. After a while the tadpole goes through metamorphosis. During the change the frog grows limbs, the tail disappears, it uses lungs to breathe, and it doesn't have to live in water anymore. As a tadpole, the frog feeds mostly on vegetation. The tadpoles have a small rasping mouth suited especially for scraping algea from the bottom of ponds. Depending on the species, it can take a few weeks to a year or more for the tadpoles to become fully grown. Not all frogs hatch as tadpoles. Some species of frogs hatch as froglets. Froglets look just like adult frogs but are a lot smaller. Froglets don't go through a metamophosis. Most species that hatch as froglets are found in dry places. Frogs who live in dry places where rains are seasonal have to grow up quickly because a tadpole will die if their temporary pond dries up. Adult frogs can live in water or on land, but it always needs to be near water so its respiratory organs don't dry out.
Horses are grazers and prey animals by nature, their “fight or flight” reaction is prominent. Their senses are developed to rapidly detect changes in their environment. Horses have a strong herd instincts, they will group together and follow the herd leader. Animals isolated will be anxious and can be very dangerous and may charge at people or injure itself trying to rejoin the herd. Mares will protect their young; avoid separating mare-foal pairs. Horses have widely spaced eyes, which causes them not to be able to see behind or right in front under their nose. The blind spot behind the animal should be avoided at all times.
... have a crop (small whip) or peg spurs. Both of these do not hurt the horse, but are uncomfortable, so they know they are doing something wrong.
Horses have been domesticated for about five-thousand years. (Klinkenborg) Humans have domesticated horses and have controlled horses’ actions. There are many opinions in the horse related world that feel strongly about this topic. People need to raise awareness to the things we are doing to these wonderful animals. It all begins with the breeding process. That is the root of a lot of other problems that have occurred. People working with horses need to realize when to intervene and acknowledge the effects they have on their horses regarding the breeding process.
Moreover, this is an issue for whoever is using the horse. Instead of focusing completely on the task, the horse will end up being bothered by all the bugs biting at them with no way to get them off. This could cause the horse to momentarily lose focus and