August 2018

Equus

An annual index turns EQUUS issues into a valuable reference library

Equus3 min read
Letters
“Self-Defense for Trail Riders” (EQUUS 489) reminded me of something that happened to my mom while she was out riding in the Santa Susana Mountains in California in the late 1960s. A man approached her and grabbed the reins, trying to get control of
Equus3 min readPsychology
How Your Moods May Affect Your Horse
After an exasperating day at work, take a deep breath and leave your stress at the barn door: A new study shows that not only can horses recognize a person’s angry facial expressions, they are likely to remember and react to the signs of a bad mood i
Equus3 min read
A Sign Of The Source Of Lameness
The movement of a horse’s withers can signal whether lameness originates in a front or hind leg, according to a new study from Sweden. The process of detecting lameness in a particular limb typically begins by watching movement of the head and pelvis
Equus1 min read
Viruses Behind Aural Plaques Investigated
Aural plaques—the white, crusty growths that some-times appear on the inside of equine ears—can contain several types of equine papillomavirus (EPV), according to a new study from Brazil. Also known as papillary acanthoma or ear papillomas, aural pla
Equus2 min read
Improved Surgery For Roaring
Early results suggest that a modified version of the surgical technique commonly used to correct “roaring” in horses provides a longer lasting fix for the noisy respiratory condition. Roaring is characterized by a harsh, rasping noise as an exercisin
Equus1 min read
When Ultrasound Findings Don’t Mean Lameness
Areas of mineralization seen in tendons and ligaments during ultrasound exams are not necessarily associated with lameness, according to a new British study. In ultrasound examinations, high-frequency sound waves are used to produce images of organs
Equus2 min read
Hot Or Overheated?
When you ride your horse on warm summer days, you expect him to get hot and sweaty. But it’s important to be able to differentiate between “hot” and “too hot” because under the right conditions a horse can quickly overheat and develop dangerous heat
Equus2 min read
Reasons For Footsoreness
Your mare is reluctant to cross the gravel drive and takes “ouchy,” mincing steps when forced to. Is this cause for concern? The answer depends on whether this behavior is new. A horse who consistently hesitates to walk on rocky ground may simply hav
Equus1 min readMedical
Don’t Bug Healing Wounds
Wound care in the summer months has a season-specific challenge: keeping insects away. Studies have found that a single fly can carry more than 350 kinds of bacteria. By one estimate, a single insect can carry 6,000 salmonella organisms at a time. Ea
Equus4 min read
Begin With The End In Mind
Let’s talk about starting young horses. Notice that I say “starting” not “breaking.” I know most people don’t actually mean to “break” a youngster, but I prefer to use language that reflects the way I think---and to me those first training sessions r
Equus13 min read
KEEPING Your Horse’s Attention
Picture a horse with his hooves clapped over his ears, singing loudly to avoid the lesson you are trying to impart: “La, la, la, la, la!” Without his engagement, even the best training techniques go unheeded. Without yours, there is nothing he can te
Equus7 min read
The Oral Sugar Test Option
During my four decades as a practicing veterinarian, my clients would often ask me, “Is it safe to let my horse out in the pasture? Will grazing cause him to founder?” These questions are rooted in deep concern for the welfare of their horses. After
Equus2 min readMedical
Progress And Challenges
Finding ways to prevent, treat–and, one day, even cure–laminitis has been a goal of mine since the very beginning of my career. When I was a third-year veterinary student in the late 1960s, one of the first patients I met was a pony named Sugar Bear.
Equus23 min read
The Stuff Of Legend
Who created the Quarter Horse? Independent-minded men who knew just what to look for in a horse, families dedicated over several generations to finding and breeding speedy “short horses,” pioneers who established cattle operations that grew to become
Equus2 min read
Racehorses And Riding Horses
Southerners value easy-gaited horses who yet often, through their Hobby ancestry, possess a turn of speed. Nineteenth-century breeders deliberately used good Virginia Hobby or Mountain Horse mares with Thoroughbred stallions to produce half-bred Colo
Equus2 min read
Who Else Needs A Fast Horse?
Who besides a racehorse fancier needs a fast horse? An outlaw queen. Born Myra Maybelle Shirley, after marrying Jim Reed and then Sam Starr, both members of the infamous James-Younger gang, Belle became the gang’s de facto leader in Missouri and Okla
Equus4 min readHorses
In Praise Of Interim Horses
The summer before eighth grade, the barn where I’d learned to ride closed down. The owner offered the lesson horses for sale, and the resident horse girls scrambled to buy their favorites. I was torn. I loved a slow, sleepy buckskin named Barney, but
Equus2 min read
STOCK & TRADE
▸ Product: Farnam Vetrolin Liniment ▸ Description: A camphor-based formula, Vetrolin Liniment contains five essential oils to stimulate blood flow and soothe stiff, sore muscles and joints after a workout. It now comes in a new Equi Veil 360° continu
Equus3 min read
Glossary
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)---a hormone released by the pituitary gland that regulates the release of cortisol by the adrenal glands. arytenoid cartilage---ladle-shaped, movable cartilage in the larynx to which the vocal cords are attached. ca
Equus3 min read
My Storybook Horse
When I was a little girl, my father gave me a tattered old book for Christmas, one that his mother had given to him when he was little---Billy and Blaze, by C. W. Anderson. It’s about a boy and his pony and the adventures they share. I read it over a
Equus3 min read
Consultants
Q: In “Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis” (In Brief, EQUUS 479), you suggested methods to control standing water, which mosquitoes use to reproduce. As I understand it, mosquitoes don’t fly far, so control methods focus on the local area.

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