Late Fall Weather

I don't know where October went.  The month galloped past me as fast as Secretariat.  But I thought it important to mention a couple of  fall horse issues.  With these warm days and cool/cold nights please be on the lookout for colic. I wrote about this same issue on May1 - please refer to that blog for further advice on colic.  Another thing I often get called about are the "crusty, yellowish" bumps on many horses this time of the year.  They are commonly found on the chest, under or at the base of the mane and can certainly be elsewhere as well.  The crust is serum...a fluid found in our body that can leak out of the skin. I'm sorry to say that I don't have a good answer for what causes them.  The most information I can give you about these bumps are that they will go away and they aren't anything to worry about.  I have heard them called "protein bumps."  What is meant by protein bump I couldn't say.  Supposedly they come about when a horse has been eating dry, winter type feed and they get into some fresh grass such as around a building or other protected area.  Now logically this makes no sense to me - what is the difference if they eat alfalfa or another high protein feed?  Anyway you can work on removing them by hand, with a brush or bathing them - if it is warm enough.  Not a lot of information, but the biggest piece is that you don't need to worry about them.  Enjoy the FALL!  and hopefully you will get some rides under your belt before the snow flies.

GREAT NEWS

Thanks to our caring horse network, Rosa has found a new home.  Her new forever home loves mares, was looking for another small horse as they lost their beloved pony several months ago and their favorite color is sorrel.  GREAT match.  Then to top things off, Rosa's new mom just totally "gets her".  She understands her very well.  I am so excited for Rosa - now known as Forever, Filly, Fiona - the spicy, Irish, red head!

One of the other horses that was rescued & brought here with "Fiona" has been in his new home since March & is doing fabulous as well.  No more Twinkies & Wonder Bread for those two special souls!!

It is so awesome to report such good news.  And I want to thank everyone who helped get the word out for "Fiona".

Please help this girl find her forever home

These pictures are of a beautiful, 3 year old, sorrel, filly that will mature out to be about 14.2 or 14.3 - somewhere in there.  She is very stout & conformationally very correct.  She was a rescue that I have been fostering since January.  Though her previous owner was content feeding Wonder Bread & Twinkies (no, not an exaggeration)....she has blossomed on good, normal horse feed!  She is easy to catch but is strong minded - she does have her opinions about things so she will take someone who has some savvy to show her their way is better.  She will be a great horse for someone. She is current with her dewormings and vaccines.  At 3, she is ready to start learning about saddles, riders etc.  I will request a donation to Montana Horse Sanctuary who has paid for her supplements, vaccines, dewormings, & some feed (though most of her feed was donated by a generous donor in Clyde Park)...

If you or someone you know wants to add this beautiful girl to your life and give her a forever home, please email me at bigskyvets@aol.com.

Happy Horsing Around!!!

Dealings with Death

Death..not a subject we like to discuss but hopefully I can help shed a bit of a different light. The above graphic image is a picture I took of horse that died of starvation and neglect.  That is one extreme side to life.  The other side surrounds the humane euthanasia's that I am fortunate enough to be able to perform.  

 Euthanasia is a large part of any veterinarians life, but I have had on overdose in the last 2 months.  After today, I will have euthanized 7 beloved horses within the last 8 weeks and 1 beloved dog.  It is a heavy burden but as with so many things in life, there is the yang to the yin, both sides.  Enabling an animal to take it's last breath as we know it is for sure a heavy burden.  It is also an extreme "honor" (I have yet to find the word that fits perfectly, so honor is the best I have come up with to date).  The euthanasia's I have been blessed to be a part of, have all been sad and all have been liberating.  Sad for me, sad for the others involved in the animal's life.  Liberating for the animal who was burdened with the pain/discomfort of it's physical body.  Whether an old horse is facing suffering through another harsh winter, or a horse who has such pain in it's abdomen that it is bleary eyed with agony... which medications cannot relieve, or a horse whose feet hurt so badly from the affects of laminitis - that walking to and from water is simply more than they can bear (in spite of our best efforts to give them relief);  or an old dog who simply gets no joy in greeting us at the door or going for one of their beloved walks with their favorite human.....you get the drift.  I am blessed that we can enable these suffering creatures to take their last breath as we know it.  But the equally strong side of me does all that I can to help them continue their life.  And I am joyous with each new foal I encounter.  Life is full of extremes and my day to day life seems to be much about the extremes of life and death.

I hurt, along with the people making the decision to euthanize a beloved pet.  Yet I am grateful for the pain and the extreme difficulty in making the decision.  I think this is as it should be.  It should be a difficult decision, I think it would be sociopathic for it not to be.

My heart goes to all of you who have suffered the loss of a beloved animal.  My hope is that they are running free around us, eating to their hearts content with none of the health worries that overeating brings to us in this life.  And running as fast as their legs will carry them, with no sore feet, joints or any other aches or pains!  Just being the same joyous spirit they were when we knew them in their physical body, minus their physical discomfort.

Great seminar coming up this Friday

PLEASE JOIN US THIS FRIDAY 5/14/10 for the following seminar:

MSU Park County Extension


Park County 4-H

Dr. Lisa Jacobson DVM

Big Sky Equine Veterinary Services

Are teaming up to bring to Park County an

Equine Nutrition and Body Scoring Clinic

(Open to the Public)



Friday May 14, 2010 at 6:00 pm at the


Park County Fairgrounds Dining Room.


Presented by Dr. Lisa Jacobson DVM

Topics being

• Reading Feed Tags: (what's in my horses feed? Is his feed lacking?)


• Body Condition Scoring: (where does my horse fit in)


• Hay and Grain Quality: (Am I feeding my horse quality feed?)


• De-worming schedule: (When do I de-worm and with what de-wormer?)

• This will be a power point workshop, with some hands on.





Please call the Park County MSU Extension Office at 222-4156

For questions or additional information. Or if you have any

special needs.



The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and the Montana State University Extension Service prohibit discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Douglas L. Steele, Vice Provost and Director, Extension Service, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717

Teeth....the doorway to digestion!

I thought I would write a bit about teeth.  Horses are continual erupters as opposed to rodents, beavers and rabbits who are continual growers.  The erupters continually erupt teeth with age & when there is no more tooth - the erupting stops.  The growers are continually growing new teeth.  So the erupters have all the tooth in place as opposed to the growers who make new teeth.  Makes sense, a beaver or rodent wears down a lot of teeth with their occupations & their teeth are such an arsenal for their survival....they can't afford to be without.  Now with horses, if they lose a tooth for some reason - it is gone for good, however, the opposing tooth now will have nothing to grind against & maintain itself so as it continues to erupt with time - it will get longer & longer.  The worst case of this I ever saw was in vet school.  We had a late teens stallion admitted because they couldn't figure out his weight loss.  His teeth were seen as the "root" of the problem.  I was fortunate enough to be in on that surgery & in fact I still have the problem tooth.  The problem was that he had lost one of his molars (his cheek teeth) apparently several years before.  The opposing tooth, with nothing to grind it down, continued to erupt until it was actually growing into the opposite gum.  You now see the problem.  This was the most extreme I have ever seen & I have done a LOT of dentals.  Mostly, I see sharp points that are cutting the tongue & or cheek.  When does this start???  Great question - think of a puppy, think of their razor sharp puppy teeth & oh is it nice when they finally lose all of them & get their much more pleasant adult teeth.  A horse will have baby teeth for upwards of 5 years.  In that time their mouths can look like the Himalayan Mountains.  With sharp baby teeth, lost baby teeth, adults starting to come in but still much shorter than the baby's - you get the picture.  My words of advice.  If you are starting a 2 or 3 year old in a bridle - please get their teeth floated - get the razor sharp baby edges taken off so their starting experience is more pleasant.  Between the ages of 2 - 5, it is a good idea to have them floated at least once if not a couple of times.  Then they MAY be good until their teens (not always, but many are). 

A word about wolf teeth.  I am not of the school that they have them so they should be removed.  Most vets & trainers subscribe to that theory.  Some certainly do interfere with the bit & need to be removed, but please be judicial about removing them.  If they are in a position not to cause a problem & the horse isn't showing signs of the bit/wolf tooth interaction being uncomfortable - then no need to remove the wolf teeth. 

There you have a few random thoughts & suggestions to "gnaw" on.

Strong Views

As you may know, I am in strong opposition to horse slaughter.  There are many reasons, but the main reason is that I feel the whole system is inhumane to horses.  Starting at the sale ring, the trucking, the feed lots & finally the slaughter plant.  I have done my research and can go toe to toe with anyone who is in favor of slaughter & I have yet to come across any pro-slaughter person who can talk facts.  They make up lots of rhetoric that is simply not true.  The whole thing is exasperating because of the lies that horse slaughter advocated are spewing.  At any rate, there are several really good sites that talk about the facts, if you are interested please let me know & I will share some with you.  I beg of you to know the facts before deciding whether you are for or against horse slaughter.  I remember one lady testifying last year who said how much she loved her 2 horses, but she knew that the slaughter horses were treated well & so she would not mind sending her beloved horse to slaughter.  Shame on the pro-slaughter people for lying to that poor woman.  At any rate, if you have any questions about horse slaughter, please respond to this post & I WILL get you the fact about your question.  If it is not that black & white, I will be honest with you...give you all the gray areas & let you decide.  I just felt the need to write this as I was just reading yet some more rhetoric from 2 fanatical pro-slaughter people who wrote a long essay full of falsehoods.  Believe what you want to believe, but speak & believe the truth, NOT lies.  By the way, the 2 people mentioned above are loudly promoting horse meat as the next red meat for Americans....That is a truth & from that truth you can decide what works for you.

Followup For Spring Weather....COLIC

I think it is important to add a bit more information to my last post.  Spring (and fall) weather is often a time when I see an increase in the number of colic's.  One year, the late Dr. Dave Catlin & I were discussing  the frequency of colic's we both saw in the spring & fall.  We were scratching our heads about it then came to the conclusion that it is likely water related.  In other words, warm days & cool nights...the horses are probably not drinking as well as they should be on the cool nights, then with the warm days - their reserve just isn't there so they develop an impaction...from mild to severe.  A couple of things you can do to be proactive, 1) CHECK your water supply at least daily if not more frequently (I was just talking to a client yesterday whose outdoor, auto waterer was dry - for the first time since it was installed at least 6 years ago.  It turned out to be a pump issue.  Also,  I have had issues in the past with my auto, year round waterer's freezing.)  Automatic waterer's are wonderful time savers, BUT they must be checked at least 1x/day everyday!, 2) add a small palm full of salt to your horses' supplements every day in the spring & fall to encourage an increase in water consumption.  As well as ALWAYS having free choice salt AND a mineral available (loose or block is fine, just PLEASE DO NOT use a combo salt/mineral block - these are phony in the sense that they would have to consume way more salt than is normal to get their mineral needs met).

Signs of colic:  colic is simply abdominal discomfort.  There are MANY things that can cause colic or abdominal discomfort, everything from the dreaded large colon volvulus or twist or to a much more mild displacement or simply gas or an impaction.  These are just a few of the things that can cause colic.  It stands to reason that for as many things there are that cause colic, there are many signs horses give us that they have abdominal discomfort or colic.  It is not always, and in fact not common to display what most people know which is down, thrashing, rolling from side to side, standing then laying or throwing themselves down.  That is certainly one sign but USUALLY always there are much more subtle signs first.  It can be as simple as irritably swishing the tail (when there are for sure NO bugs), very subtly lifting a hind leg (& sometimes kicking at their belly), pawing (for no other reason such as boredom, loneliness - when tied by themselves, etc),  not eating when they normally would and sometimes something so subtle as curling their upper lip (not to be confused with the flehmen response when a horse curls its' upper lip in reaction to certain smells).  The key is to KNOW YOUR HORSE.  Know your horse's normal behaviors, that is the only way you will know abnormal.  And PLEASE, listen to your instincts, if their is some behavior that seems abnormal, trust yourself that you are seeing what you are seeing, continue to observe & respond if necessary. 

Winter Weather in Spring

Here it is April 29 and we are getting some very bad weather.  It took me almost 3 hours to feed today - usually takes 30 mins.  Part of the time was getting blankets put on.  So I thought I would write a couple of notes to everyone about these spring storms.  The horses are 1/2 or more shed out & almost ready for nice weather, plus it has been nice so they are accustomed to warmer weather.  A combo for some pretty chilly ponies on a cold, horribly windy, snowy day such as today.  When I went to feed, about 1/2 of my guys were standing around shaking like leaves.  I don't see any harm in putting a good, heavy winter blanket on them, even though they haven't had one on all winter.  They will probably only wear it 1 or a few days until it warms back up.  The spring & summer are a great time to pick up sale priced blankets.  All catalogs will tell you how to measure for them.  I have used MANY brands through the years & I will share with you that the brand I have been most pleased with are the Weather Beeta's.  They are durable, warm and made to fit a horse.  I have quite a few that have a neck portion attached to the blanket.  It is different than a separate hood.  It is just  a continuation of the blanket that comes up the neck to almost the head.  They have the design down pat & it fits the horses very well.  Another thing that you may want to think about getting is a cooler.  A nice wool, cotton or fleece cooler is invaluable when you need it.  I frequently use one in my practice when it is cool/cold out and I have a horse that is sweating.  They may be sweating because I have tranquilized them or because they are anxious (usually because of being alone) or painful (colicking or injured) or wet because of a cold rain.  Any way you look at it, a wet horse that is chilled will be helped tremendously by putting a cooler on them for 30 - 60 mins.  The coolers pull the moisture out of the hair (even long, winter hair) & wick the moisture to the outside of the cooler & away from the horse.  You may not use it often, but the few times you may need it, you will be glad you have it.  In summary, make sure you have a good winter blanket handy somewhere for these unexpected cold snaps as well as a cooler for the unexpected wet, cold horse.  And as always, please check their water source daily.  It is imperative that they always have fresh water.  And in our part of the country, even our automatic waterers freeze sometimes, or have something dead in them that is tainting the water. 

Frustrated about starving horses

I am very frustrated with our current laws & society's apathy about horses.  I know that there are many of us who are passionate about horses & for that I am asking everyone to put on their thinking caps....I have personally seen 310 horses belonging to 3 different owners within the last 13 months.  Not remarkable except all 3 herds are starving & these numbers don't include the dead horses that died of starvation/malnourishment/harsh winters.  A group of us mounted huge rescue efforts, spent lots of time organizing to rescue all 3 groups.....only to be halted in our tracks by either law enforcement not following through or wanting to pursue, or county/district attorneys not wanting to pursue (either because of judges not wanting the horses to leave the county or from county commissioners not wanting to be involved).  I want to scream!  Things have to change!!  At this time it looks like all 3 herds will have to endure yet another winter - starving.  And the a.......s who own these poor horses just get to trot along continuing to neglect them.....occasionally just getting their hands slapped but no one doing a damn thing!...try as some of us might.  I am feeling a bit hopeless about my generation & the older ones....leaving the thought that the only hope seems to be with younger generations!!  We need to make sure they are trained better than us!  Sorry to be a downer, but I am so frustrated and I am so sick of horses being the recipients of our ignorance, apathy, being stuck in our "old" ways, etc.  If anyone has ideas on how these situations can change, please share!!!

Horses Needing Homes

There is a phenomenal woman I have the joy of knowing who is just a great human.  She was instrumental in rescuing 18 of 39 horses that were being starved. She rescued 9 in November and she collaborated with Montana Horse Sanctuary & HSUS in January to rescue 9 more.  Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to get the remaining 21 horses.  We have found homes for 15 of the 18 horses but we still have 3 left.  I have 1 @ my place.  Her name is Rosa.  She is a 3 yr old sorrel mare.  She will probably mature out @ about 14 or 14.1 hands.  She is a really nice girl but needs an experienced horseperson.  Effie has 2 horses @ her place still looking for homes as well.  Ronan is a 2 yr old blue roan filly.  She will be an exceptional horse for an experienced horse person.  The other guy is a  2 year old gelding.  Bones is a very sweet guy who is quite easy to handle.  Ronan & Bones can be seen on Effies blog @ effieshorserescue.blogspot.com.  If you know of anyone who would be a great, last, best home for any of these 3, please contact me or put a response below.

WATER REMINDER & TIPS

Just a quick reminder to everyone to check their horses water source daily.  Remember, an adult horse can drink upwards of 20 - 30 gallons of water per 24 hours...especially when being fed hay and of course if the weather is warm.  Also, a trick for keeping large water tanks clean is to put goldfish in the tank.  They eat the algae and will keep the tank clean.  If you use this trick however, be sure to remove any dead ones immediately as they will "sour" the water & the horse(s) will stop drinking.  Other than that, this trick works great.  Also good to know, if you have a small automatic waterer or a small trough, I found that the birds will go fishing & you will quickly lose all your fish...but the birds will be happy.

April 20: Robert Wrigley’s “Kissing a Horse”

April 20: Robert Wrigley’s “Kissing a Horse”

I am not big on poems, but this is really a touching, nice horse poem. Enjoy!

2nd Day

OK, so I didn't get my first day posted when I wrote it.  Now we are on to day 2 (several days later). 

I had an interesting case today I would like to share.  2 horses with severe COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), also known as heaves....similar to asthma in people.  The owners were told sometime ago to wet their hay.  This is one component that is helpful.  But these horses needed more than just that.  These horses were treated medically & some new management tools were implemented.  I thought I would share with you a few management things we can all do.

We are lucky in the dry, northern climates to not see this disease as frequently as in the humid, damp, climates where molds abound.  But we do see this in the north.  Some management things that should be done for all...doing the best that we can.  1) Don't feed dusty or moldy hay...if it doesn't smell scrumptious to you &/or you turn your head away because of the dust - please don't feed it to your horses, 2) if your horse is kept in a stall, frequently kneel down on the floor, does the ammonia smell knock your socks off??  Please get it under control for your horses sake.  I can't tell you how many times I have gone into a stall to do something with a foal, I lean down to work with the foal & my nostrils start burning from the ammonia - think of how often that foal &/or horse lays down with their nostrils close to the ground ---also ---think of where their nose is when they eat (off the ground), 3)  please do what you can to manage the dust your horse lives in, remeber, if their footing is dusty - they are often shuffling along - kicking up dust - with their nose to the ground looking for a green stem.  Just a few things to ponder.  I hope tomorrow you get to enjoy some precious time with a horse!!

1st day

I am so excited to start this blog. My lifelong passion has always been horses. I have been fortunate to have had exposure to a lot of different areas of the horse industry. Including all aspects of care, many different disciplines of riding, different types of fencing, barns, etc., and many years experience as an equine veterinarian. I am always happy to share my knowledge with the hope of improving our care, understanding and relationship with our equine friends. I will also be launching a website www.everythinghorses.net.; with the hope of educating and furthering relationships amongst those of us who are passionate about the horse, mule, burro & donkey. This all will be a work in progress in my small amount of spare time so I appreciate your patience. We all have a lot to learn about equids, truly a lifelong journey.