Animal Health Products and Services
(1)
Back in stock!
https://www.animal-health.com.au/product-page/elitox-toxin-binder
Elitox is a unique mycotoxin eliminator for use in all equine diets. Elitox - Power-Mycotoxin Eliminator, with a combination of high quality antioxidants, including extra stabilized Vitamin C & natural occurring enzymes that benefits health and promotes a healthy digestion tract. Elitox is used....
đ«Hemp oil for everyone 5L
đ«Hemp for chickens 1kg and 10kg
đ«Hemp for Horses 10Kg
đ«Doggy treats
đ„łđ„łAll new and arriving next week đđ
We have avoided it as long as possible.. but the time has come.
*Price Rises*
Equine Essentials- 3kg bucket now $85. Refill bags $79
animal-health.com.au/product-page/equine-essentials-3kg-bucket
Elitox now $22.95 per kilo (currently out of stock-more coming next week)
animal-health.com.au/product-page/elitox-toxin-binder
Plenty of Acid Buf in stock
https://www.animal-health.com.au/product-page/acid-buf
And also Magnesium Oxide
https://www.animal-health.com.au/product-page/magnesium-oxide
Letâs talk about head-shy horses.
Itâs still usually viewed as a behavioral problem that needs to be trained out.
While sometimes that may be the case, it certainly isnât always.
At the very least, there are measures that can be taken to make the training process much easier.
Even if, letâs say, a horse endured physical abuse to their head at one point in time.
Maybe they were hit or handled roughly, maybe they were ridden in ill-fitting bridles, maybe they were worked in biomechanically incorrect postures for long periods of time (behind the vertical in particular), maybe they have a history of pulling back when tied, or even just pulled back once.
We may think of the emotional trauma that they likely still carry with them that keeps them from feeling safe in their own head, but what about the residual physical restrictions?
Itâs something thatâs often overlooked if there arenât obvious signs of trauma.
Letâs also not forget that the birthing process itself canâand often doesâcreate restrictions in the head and neck, if not the whole body.
This is why this work is so helpful for the youngsters!
Take a look at this simple sketch of the cranial nerves I snagged from google, which doesnât even entirely show the intricacy of the these nerves.
This doesnât show the veins and arteries that weave themselves throughout the head.
It doesnât show the spinal cord having to make its way through the atlanto-occipital joint, aka the poll, without restriction.
It doesnât show the fascia.
It doesnât show the vital glands that live in the brain.
It doesnât show the skull itself and all the bones itâs comprised of, including teeth.
Letâs remember, all of these components must have their own free motility in order to function properly.
Think of how our halters and bridles are hanging right on many of these tissues, across the most highly innervated areas in the body.
The nosebands that are often too tight.
The flash nosebands that have no business being on a horse at all, in my opinion.
The horrible posture that we commonly see horses ridden in, even in supposedly high levels, for extended periods of time.
There are so many reasons for horses to be head-shy that itâs amazing to me there arenât more of them.
So youâve got a head-shy horse?
This work is thorough in seeking restrictions, whether theyâre physical, emotional or energetic. Usually there are all of these components involved.
There are lots of great modalities out there, though I do lean toward craniosacral therapy and indirect osteopathic techniques, as they address all of these tissues.
The restrictions are in the clear?
Proper education is incredibly important.
My go-to recommendations for this are without a doubt are Patrick King, Warwick Schiller, Amy Skinner and Justin Haefner, all of whom take into consideration the emotional and physical state of the horse as they develop them.
In the meantime, I just encourage you to consider the intricacies of the horse.
What is the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and why does it matter?
The Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) is where the mandible articulates with the temporal bone, and might just be the most critical and most complicated joint in a horse. This joint is the fastest changing joint, and the closest joint to the brain and brainstem.
The TMJ is highly innervated, and is surrounded by structures that dictate the horse's balance and sensory perceptions. The quality of feedback in the nervous system is affected by the health of this joint. The neurology is too involved to detail in this post, however there is an intricate web of information weaving throughout the TMJ, throat latch, and poll that directly affect biomechanics and neurology of the whole horse.
The TMJ has two primary functions: mastication (mandible) and balance (temporal bone).
Any change in bite or movement of the jaw, will cause change in the joint. The muscles and ligaments associated with mastication (chewing), also attach to other important bones in the cranium. So when a horse is not chewing correctly, this will cause muscle tightness or weakness that will pull on the bones in the cranium--most importantly, the bone that the brain rests in, called the sphenoid bone.
Therefore, TMJ dysfunction can affect the central nervous system, causing a slew of issues that might be considered unrelated. Another importance of TMJ, is its relationship to c1 and c2, also known as âthe poll". The axis of rotation for the mandible (jaw) is at c1 and c2. So TMJ affects the mobility of the neck, and the neck affects the mobility of the TMJ. How many chiropractors adjust the poll because the poll is out? Why does our horseâs poll joint constantly need adjusting from a chiropractor?
There is also a spiritual and emotional aspect of the TMJ. The jaw is the most emotionally invested bone. A lot of emotions are reflected in mandible movement, such as anger, stress, peace, calmness, etc. When the jaw is restricted in movement, it has a physical effect and an emotional effect.
So, in short, the TMJ can be linked to psychological and physical issues, internal organ imbalances, and body compensations, due to the fact that the nervous system is associated with this delicate joint.
Horses show some very subtle body language to tell us how they are feeling. Here is just a glimpse....
Image courtesy of the Pet Professional Guild Australia
Apparently itâs March?
Our wonderful, tidy calendar says itâs autumn now too. And so here is my annual âItâs not actually autumn yet â donât deworm your horses straight away!â spiel.
Autumn is the No. 1 time of year to worm your horses, because it ties in best with breaking the bot-fly life cycle. A bot flyâs lifecycle is 12 months, so treating just once a year will break that lifecycle (and overtime decrease bot fly populations). By mid-autumn/early winter, the entire population of bot flies will be inside your horse, which means you can target all the bots on your property with a single dosage of a boticide dewormer (ivermectin, abamectin, moxidectin).
If you deworm your horses too early in autumn, you will not be targeting all the bot flies. For example, just this morning, I had to rescue my ponies from three of them. Had I dewormed on the 1st of March, there are three bot flies and all their subsequent offspring I did not control.
Hold off a little longer, if your horses are in good condition. Wait until the nights cool down and the bot flies disappear before deworming â and make sure that the dewormer you purchase is active against bots, otherwise it will all be in vain. If your horses need to be treated now, do so, but make sure you target bot flies again in early winter.
So thatâs my bot-fly spiel. Normally I write about strongyles (my favourite), and so I shall of course make a mention of them here too.
I always recommend a mid-late autumn deworming for ALL HORSES because it a) cleans out any bots and b) all horses really should have a strongyle clean out once a year as well. I may be against deworming for the sake of deworming, however that is only if you are doing it 3 or 4 or more times a year.
Strongyles can have a lifecycle of as little as 6 weeks. In addition, at any one point, about 90% of the strongyle population is living on the pasture, not in the horse. Therefore, the concept of using chemical dewormers inside the horse to break the lifecycle of strongyles would not work. At all. So, we chose our annual deworming-clean-out to line up with as many other parasites as possible.
All boticide dewormers are also effective against strongyles so deworming in autumn is a 2 for 1 type deal. You should also consider using a dewormer that also contains praziquantel to treat for tapeworms to get a complete clean out, just in case tapeworms are present. If your horses are only being treated once a year, it is good to do as complete a treatment as possible.
Lastly⊠wait, second lastly.. this is a topic to complex to get into here, but: this time of year is key for larval cyathostomins, where encysted larvae have mass emergences from the intestine wall, in response to changes in weather (eg in VIC as it cools and becomes wetter again). Deworming and removing adult populations of worms can act as a trigger for larval re-emergence, which is also why I often baulk at deworming horses now. The larvae may slowly re-emerge coming into the cooler weather and treating in mid-late autumn may be a safer bet to remove adults and emerged larvae. The research on this is sketchy as best, however these are patterns shown in cattle and hypothetically should translate over into horses.
And lastly (pat on the back for reading this far): just because Iâm recommending deworming all horses does not mean I am not recommending FECs in autumn. A FEC will tell you important things about your horses health, and pick up anything odd that may be happening (eg tapeworm you didnât know about). It will also allow you to test drug efficacy. Autumn should be a key time for everyone to do a FECRT (faecal egg count reduction test), where you get FECs done before and after deworming to make sure that it worked. If you only deworm once a year, then youâve only got one chance for a FECRT, and you cannot, I repeat, you CANNOT do a FECRT without a FEC before to compare to.
If youâd like to organise FECs and FECRTs for your horses this autumn, check out the website (link on the FB page) for postal submission and drop off points.
Happy autumn! I am now going to spend some time crying over the winter coats my ponies are already growing.
đ€ Shoes donât harm horses? Letâs talk digital cushionsâŠ
So itâs common knowledge by now (or at least it should be) that nailing a metal shoe to a dynamic and organic hoof is going to go against the natural hoof mechanism.
Thatâs a given right?
But what does that really mean for the health of the hoof?
Well letâs focus down on a part of the hoof that rarely gets any limelight - the digital cushion.
âLetâs celebrate you babyâ đ¶ đ„ł
Many people have heard of it, but not many people really give it much attention.
And that is SUCH A SHAME!
Perhaps people know it is important to the hoof, and that maybe it helps âcushionâ? - after all that IS part of its name.
Well a hoof without a healthy digital cushion is seriously compromised - and so is the leg, joints, soft tissues and body above it.
But letâs just find out how important it really is to the horse first.
The digital cushion sits between the frog and the bones of the foot, protecting and cushioning.
When horses are young, the digital cushion is present, but itâs structure is more fatty - itâs called a fibro-fatty tissue.
Useful, but not fully developed.
As the horse grows in size and gets heavier, the digital cushion really starts to develop into a strong, incredibly important structure.
And becomes⊠a bit more than useful.
It goes from that fibro-fatty tissue when the horse is young, to a fibro-cartilaginous tissue towards adulthood.
Stronger. Tougher.
This change in the structure of the digital cushion is important because as the horse grows it needs to be tough enough to withstand a larger horseâs continuous compression by the pastern bones on one side, and the frog beneath.
It has to MAN UP! đȘ
It is able to dissipate energy from compressional forces⊠and is essential for perfect shock absorption.
Working together with the frog, fetlock, lateral cartilages and bars⊠being compressed and squeezed on every stride, it is âelasticâ in its nature - bouncing back after each compression.
Pretty VITAL.đ
Pretty AWESOME.đ
BUT⊠and here it comesâŠ
If the digital cushion doesnât develop as it should, stays more fatty than cartilaginous⊠then it impedes the horseâs ability to EFFICIENTLY shock absorb.
OBVIOUS RIGHT? đ
The back of the foot just isnât up to the job anymore.
Even though the horse has now grown much bigger - the digital cushion stays underdeveloped.
And WHY would the digital cushion not develop?
Because like a muscle in your body, if you donât use it, you lose it.đŹ
Many, many people may not want to hear this, but when a horse is shod, it prevents the digital cushion from developing as it should.
Drastic for the horse.
Never thought about by the human.đđ
In fact, in that good old cognitive dissonance way that people have about them, what we are saying here is often generally thought of as propaganda.
âRubbish - the digital cushion does develop with a shoe onâŠâ
Well weâre sad to be the bearer of bad newsâŠ
butâŠ
⊠the digital cushion in shoes stays immature, rudimentary, weak, feeble - COMPARED to what it should have been if the horse had been allowed to remain barefoot.
How do we know? đ§
Because apart from the fact that when you palpate the digital cushion at the back of a long standing shod foot, you can feel the weaknessâŠ
. you can SEE it with your own eyes in this post, and we see it, and so do our students, every time we dissect a hoof.
EVERY TIME.
Not just on the odd occasion.
EVERY TIME.
WAIT â And one more thing to know about the digital cushion.
It can become SCARRED.
And that scarring also impedes its ability to efficiently shock absorb too.
How? Through persistent infection in the central sulcus of the frog, that âeatsâ its way deep into the digital cushion.
Nasty. And permanent.âčïž
And one of the biggest culprits for deep central sulcus infections in the frog - is contraction and atrophy at the back of the foot.
Caused by⊠yep you guessed it - SHOES.
SHOES are the biggest culprit for pain, disease, contraction and atrophy, at the back of the foot.
So, in answer to the âshoes donât harm horsesâ at the top of this post - they irrefutably do.
Itâs a fact. No nonsense. No propaganda.
A FACT.
But can a weak digital cushion ever become stronger again?
Yes - it seems all is not totally lost for that amazing digital cushion.
Because take your horse barefoot, and it can begin to develop once more.
âTo how it should have been if your horse had never been shod?â
No probably not - but it WILL BE âgood enoughâ.
**********
Find out more about keeping your horse barefoot by joining the BHM Fam! đ€©
Barefoot Magazine. Barefoot Live Members Group. Horse & Hoof Care Workshops. Active social media presence.
AND COMING SOON⊠Video courses and books.
Stay with us, stay tuned, and stay barefoot!
Your horse deserves it!
Issue 32 OUT NOW - go buy it, youâll not regret it đ https://bit.ly/BHMIssue32
Or better stillâŠ
SUBSCRIBE and never miss an issue đ http://bit.ly/ANNUALsub
AND, AND, ANDâŠ
JOIN BAREFOOT LIVE - the ONLY place on the net to get LIVE info about keeping your horse barefoot!
Go here for the BAREFOOT LIVE group đbit.ly/BarefootLive
We donât mess about - weâre in this for the horse - are you?
The BHM Team â€ïž
E. Oils are the best!
We use them in conjunction with other modalities or on their own.
https://thehorse.com/1104220/using-essential-oils-in-horses-consider-the-pros-and-cons/?utm_medium=Health+enews&utm_source=Newsletter
For generations, essential oils and aromatherapy have reportedly offered many health benefits. Research is now catching up with their use.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when All Things Animal Health posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to All Things Animal Health:
Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?
