![]() Know how to recognize thrush, white line disease, hoof cracks, and other common hoof disorders. If the weather is wet and the field is muddy, provide a way for the feet to dry for at least part of each day. Stalls and paddocks should be kept picked out, so his feet aren’t constantly exposed to urine and manure that degrade hoof tissue. Keep your horse’s feet picked out regularly. Hoof hygiene is important to prevent hoof diseases. It’s especially important for horses with conformational challenges to stay on top of their hoof care, since they are at increased risk for damage. That can cause cumulative long-term damage as well as increase the chance of a major blow out of the tendon. When the toes get too long, it puts excess stress on the tendons and ligaments at the back of the heel and up the leg. Imbalance in a horse’s feet is one of the most common risk factors for tendon and ligament injuries. For example, a long toe and a negative palmar angle can exacerbate pain coming from the heel area, so a horse with navicular problems will be very sensitive to these measurements. Letting them grow too long between trims is detrimental to the health of his feet and legs and can cause serious lameness problems. Find a great farrier and stay on schedule. Your horse’s hooves should be trimmed every 4-6 weeks. these are all types of lameness problems that can be caused or worsened by poor hoof care. Laminitis, navicular syndrome, hoof abscess, tendon injury, white line disease, thrush, hoof cracks…. The cost of fixing broken fences or replacing barbed wire? Probably cheaper than a weekend emergency visit from your veterinarian. Walk those fence lines periodically with an eye out for not just broken boards, but also backed– out nails. Board fences look great and generally do a good job keeping horses in, but are prone to board breakages and nails backing out, leaving beautiful laceration opportunities. Your fence doesn’t have to be anything scary like barbed wire for your horse to find ways to injure himself. If a horse finds himself tangled in wire, he will immediately struggle and pull until he frees himself, even if that means leaving most of the skin from his legs behind. Horses are not like cows – their skin is not as thick, and their fight-or-flight instinct is much stronger. If it’s barbed wire, I guarantee there will be a laceration in your future, and you should either replace your fencing now or start a savings account called Vet Bills (you should have that savings account anyway, but that’s another blog). ![]() Even if the horse has been grazing around it for years without a problem, it only takes one instant in time to produce a dramatic injury. Things like barbed wire, old rusted-out car bodies, nails sticking out of walls, broken gates, ancient farming implements, broken buckets, and that sort of thing should be removed from the horse’s pasture, paddock, and stall. Basically, if you wouldn’t want a two-year-old kid messing with it for safety reasons, you probably don’t want your horse messing with it either. I recommend doing an inspection of every space that your horse has access to at least once a month. ![]() Your horse is looking around right now for somet hing to cut himself on. But if you could protect your horse (and your pocketbook), wouldn’t it be worth pu tting in a little effort now ? Here are my top 5 preventable reasons your horse might need a n emergency visit, and how you can avoid them. Of course, it’s not possible to prevent every issue, because horses are ridiculously talented at self-destruction. I t’s unfortunately pretty common for my d ocs to treat illnesses or injuries that could have been avoided with a little preventa tive action. Emergency vet visits tend to bring th ings down a bit, so let’s talk about how you can avoid them. As for me, I’ve found that I get more treats if you lot are in a good mood. Our favorite reason to see you is for routine stuff like vaccines and dentals, instead of emergencies, and I bet you would agree! Of course, Springhill is always there for you if something une x pec ted happens, but we are happier if things are going well for you and your horses. So do I, because that means more adoring fans bringing me treats and attention. My Springhill docs love seeing our clients and horses.
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