EHV-1, or equine herpesvirus 1,is currently a hot topic here in Minnesota. In March 2014, several horses in Minnesota and western Wisconsin have shown neurologic signs of the disease, and some have been euthanized.  This outbreak of the disease has roots in the barrel racing scene, at a competition in Winona, MN in early March.  Cases have appeared in Hennepin, Chisago, Dakota, and Wright County in MN, as well as Burnett and Polk County in WI. Information is still emerging, but several of the horses who have been euthanized have connections to the barrel horse world.

The making of a good quality hay depends on many factors. Mother Nature, of course, plays a big role. Rain can limit access to fields and can wash nutrients out of the hay once it has been cut. A best-case scenario would be to cut the hay and have 2-3 days of hot dry weather and then the hay be promptly baled.    

Legume based hay should be cut before the plants are in bloom. The more mature the plant the less nutrients and digestible fiber it has. Grass hays fall into the same category.

Our current weather conditions have been wet and cool, which is perfect growing conditions for clover in our pastures. As horses are getting acclimated to the green grass, some people may notice that their horse is drooling after being out on pasture. The horse is usually not exhibiting any other symptoms and looks completely normal…..other than the ropes of saliva coming out of its mouth.   

The drooling is most likely caused by a fungus that grows on legumes (red and white clover, alfalfa).

As the weather heats up it is important to remember our pets. Dogs and cats are unique in the fact they do not have sweat glands covering their body. In fact, the only way our pets can dissipate the heat is through their tongue (by panting) and the pads of their feet.

Dogs with heavy coats should be groomed regularly to help cool down. This maybe accomplished through combing out dead undercoat or in the case of non-shedding breeds, getting the coat trimmed short. Make sure that your dog has access to water at all times.

Obesity is an issue that affects our pets as much as it does us. Inactivity and too many calories lead to weight gain. This will affect the health and wellbeing of our pet. Overweight animals are at an increased risk for diabetes melitis. The usual treatment is daily injections of insulin, but in some cases, animals that get down to a healthy weight can be weaned off of the insulin. Extra weight will cause unnecessary stress on joints. The most common joint affected being the stifle (knee) joint, which can result in a rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament.

This week’s topic is ulcers in horses. Horses are designed to be grazers and eat small meals several times a day.  They have a small stomach capacity of roughly 2 gallons.  Their stomachs constantly produce acid and they also lack a gallbladder.  A constant flow of food into the stomach gives the acid something to break down.  When we limit feeding to twice a day the horse will have times where there is nothing in the stomach for the acid to work on and this can lead to the formation of ulcers.

Acupuncture is an integrative modality that was discovered by the ancient Chinese people thousands of years ago and is relatively new to western society. Horses were the first animals to have acupuncture performed on them. These animals were important to the ancient people for agriculture and for war.   

Acupuncture is one aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine and one of the oldest medical treatments known to man. Its use in the United States became prevalent in the 1970's.

We are excited for our very first Muscle Monday!!!  The purpose of Muscle Mondays is to learn more about the muscles of the horse.  You will learn the origin, insertion, innervation (nerve that goes to the muscle), and action of the muscle.  One of these pieces of information will be left out and you will be asked to fill in the blank.  The first person to fill in the blank correctly will receive $5 off their next service!   

Muscles play a very important role in the horse.

Welcome to the new blog of Animal Connections Integrative Care!  We have decided to start a blog to keep people informed of what we're doing as well as to discuss topics of interest.  Please let us know if you have a specific question or would like to learn more about a certain topic and we will try to cover it in an upcoming blog.  Thanks for following us!!!!