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Foxtail and Horses in Colorado
You may have heard about foxtail and that it poses a danger to horses. But did you know it can actually get embedded in their mouth needing veterinary removal? It even poses dangers to dogs and other outdoor pets, and can get embedded in their paws. First, what is Foxtail? Foxtail Barley (hordeum jubatum) is a showy short-lived native perennial cool-season bunchgrass that belongs to the grass tribe Triticeae. This plant ranges in height from one to three feet tall at maturity. Livestock can safely graze foxtail barley prior to seed development. Once the seeds develop, livestock and other animals should no longer have access, as the seeds form awns…
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Tips for Taking care of your Horses and Equines with -50°F Temperatures
If you haven’t seen yet, Wednesday night through Friday morning, we are supposed to get a MAJOR freeze event in Colorado. They are predicting -12°F as the high in places with a -50°F windchill. This means exposed skin (human and horse alike) can get frostbite in as little as 5 minutes. Not to mention our normal concerns for colic during these drastic weather changes. Important things to consider for your horse and equine friends: Some tips for humans during this cold snap: Thanks to Dr. Kieran Smith from Vetwerx Equine South for providing some of these helpful tips for our horses and equines! If you have other recommendations, be sure…
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USDA warning: Colorado firm’s alfalfa cubes may kill horses
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — State and federal officials are warning horse owners not to feed their animals Top of the Rockies brand alfalfa cubes after nearly 100 horses developed neurologic illnesses — 45 of which have died or been euthanized. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the warning Saturday. The agency said it’s working with state agriculture departments in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas to investigate the horse deaths. Manzanola Feeds of Manzanola, Colorado, recalled the cubes Friday. The company warns that certain batches may contain bacteria that cause botulism, a fatal paralytic disease. The FDA said more testing is ongoing to confirm the causes of reported illnesses. The company…
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New & Improved Horse Microchip Look Up Website
Microchips are extremely important for keeping your horses safe. Many animals reunite with their owner’s thanks to their chips. A microchip is a great way to guarantee the identity and facilitate fair competition. The American Horse Council and AHC Foundation are happy to support this through two different programs. First, thanks to the great support of our member Equine MicrochipID, the AHC offers free microchips to horse owners. Second, the AHC is proud to debut our updated horse-specific microchip lookup tool, a website helping owners, competitors, rescuers and law enforcement correctly identify horses. The microchip is the first part, but your horse’s microchip number is only half of the journey. The…
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Bees and Horses, How to Coexist
If you are struggling with bees bothering your horses this spring like I am, I feel your frustration! Nothing has bloomed yet, we are having loads of warm days in between the snowstorms, and the bees are HUNGRY AND CONFUSED! My issues with the bees started extra early this year, in late February. Not to mention the fact beekeeping has become really trendy, but unfortunately, a lot of these beeks (bee geeks, yes it’s a term LOL) are not putting out adequate food on these weird in-between storm warm days. Not to mention the fact that, in my experience, many of these beeks are quick to tear you apart without…
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Inexpensive Nanny Cams for your Horses!
I’ve been looking for a way to monitor my horses in their paddocks for a while. The issue I ran into is there isn’t electricity for the cameras, and the WiFi signal isn’t great outside (we don’t have a booster or anything outside). We have a Blink system on our house so I really hoped that would work – but the range just wasn’t strong enough for those cameras central box to connect to. Then I stumbled on these Zeeporte Cameras for under $50. I figured I would order one and give it a shot. Y’all – I am blown away. After doing a trial with that one camera for…
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Cold Weather & Winter Hacks for Horses
We asked our online community to share their favorite cold weather and winter hacks to make life with horses easier, here’s what they said:
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A Primer on CBD for Horses from Trove CBD
Trove CBD has partnered with us to help inform horse owners about CBD use and specifically how it can benefit our horse and equine partners! Navigating the CBD Equine Obstacle Course Ever since the 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, the availability and popularity of cannabidiol (CBD) products for people and animals has skyrocketed. Use of CBD for pain, inflammation, and anxiety in horses has become mainstream, and positive results have been widely reported. But there’s still a lot of confusion out there about CBD for horses. Does it work? Can I give my competition horse CBD at or before a USEF or FEI show? What…
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Why is my Horse’s Urine Red?
We tend to notice this in periods where there is snow on the ground. Our horse’s urine turns red or a rust color once in the snow. Typically there is no need to panic (but if your horse has health concerns or you want to be sure – always reach out to your vet). However, if the stream of urine coming out of your horse is orange or red, call your vet immediately.
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Current Air Quality
As the fires continue in our state, it is important to note the air quality and air quality advisories if we plan to work our horses. If the air quality is too bad and there are too many particulates you can cause difficulty breathing, coughing, and even infection if horses are worked too hard and inhale too many of those particulates. If you can smell smoke, see ash, can’t see the mountains (or other distant landmarks you can normally see), or in general have a harder time breathing yourself, it is probably a good indicator that you might want to let your horse have the day off of strenuous work.
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