Firefly Farm Collective

09/10/2024

https://www.facebook.com/100001640730462/posts/8439744182756856/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

11/29/2023

NSC, NFC, ESC, WSC – it all really comes down to hydrolyzable carbohydrates for metabolically challenged horses. High insulin is the cause, not the result, of excess weight The only carbohydr…

08/12/2023

08/03/2023

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD to the Mad Barn team!

Dr. Kellon is a leading authority in equine nutrition and veterinary medicine, with expertise in metabolic conditions and performance horses. An Honors Graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Kellon received special training at the New Bolton Center in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery.

Dr. Kellon has experience in private practice, including management of a breeding farm and rehabilitation facilities, and has worked extensively with performance horses in various disciplines, including eventing, fox hunting, racing, and showing. As owner of the Equine Cushing's and Insulin Resistance (ECIR) Group, Dr. Kellon serves as an invaluable resource for thousands of horse owners and industry professionals, defining the standard of care for endocrine-challenged horses.

An established best-selling author, Dr. Kellon's books include "The Older Horse", "Keeping the Older Horse Young", "Equine Drugs and Vaccines", "Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals", and "Dr. Kellon's Guide to First Aid for Horses", as well as a compilation of Dr. Kellon's nutrition articles, Guide to Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals.

Having Dr. K join our team will help us continue to improve the educational content we deliver through all of our platforms, as well as supporting our nutrition services for horse owners and the broader equine industry. We’re so glad to have you on our team!

You can reach out to Dr. Kellon by email at [email protected]

07/31/2023

07/25/2023

They are very smart… extremely smart! Recognize what’s going on when your donkey is refusing something. 🫏🫏🫏Trainer Tip that works for me: Sometimes allowing for breaks in a training session helps them progress quicker which results in more permanent learning abilities ❤️❤️ a scared, stressed donkey doesn’t “learn” a scared, stressed donkey “reacts”. I want my donkeys to learn.. not just react 😘

07/14/2023

How much does applied contact / bit pressure affect stride length? …. This much!!!

There is a huge difference to applying contact to the reins VS the horse coming up, through and onto its own contact. Applying strong unforgiving contact can hollow the horse and inhibit the hind leg action, riders often then have to resort to excessive forward to keep the horse going.

The connection from “hyoid to hind leg” involves the sternohyoid to sternum through the diaphragm to psoas major.

To see the videos of this in action check it out on our patreon (this one is from todays live feed dissection).

https://www.patreon.com/bonesbrainsbodiesbehaviours/

04/15/2023

The British showjumping legend is following some of the world’s top riders of the moment by removing shoes from some of his up-and-coming horses

03/17/2023

Why do ‘cresty’ necks suddenly go rock hard?

This information is relevant and useful to people who own horses with Equine Metabolic Syndrome and are in danger of laminitis or whose horses are intermittently ‘footy’. Understanding this has helped with rehabilitating, not only all the ponies at Jen Heperi’s Mini-HaHa Rescue Haven but many more horses and ponies all around the world.

We learned from Dr Deb Bennett PhD (who has conducted many dissections), that “the horse's "crest" is made of fibro-fatty sub-cutaneous (adipose) tissue similar in texture to high-density foam”.

Have you ever wondered how it is that the ‘crest’ of the neck can harden so rapidly? Sometimes overnight?

The actual reason is because it goes ‘turgid’ (it fills with fluid). Like foam, the crest tissue can take up water like a sponge; so it swells and hardens because fluid ‘leaks’ into it, filling the interstitial spaces until it is hard as a rock, and ‘softens’ when electrolyte balances are corrected thereby allowing fluid to be resorbed.

When the crest swells with edema, other parts of the horse's body like the abdomen and the hooves (significantly the digital cushion is made of similar material, it is a thick wedge of fibro-fatty subcutaneous tissue) -- are liable to be in trouble, too.

Hardening of the ‘crest’ coincides with not only spring and autumn growth spurts but also potassium and nitrogen spikes in autumn and winter grasses. It coincides with early signs of laminitis which are ‘stiffening’ of gait and being ‘footy’.

It is a sure indication that one cause of ‘pasture related laminitis’ is as much to do with mineral imbalances, (particularly potassium and nitrogen excesses concurrent with salt deficit) as sugars and starches. It explains why short Autumn grass can cause laminitis when analysis shows soluble sugars + starch content is only 7.5% while potassium is 3.4%, sodium only 0.154%, nitrogen 5.8%, nitrates 2290mgs/kg (far too high, in mature grass/hay they are undetectable).
It is one of the many reasons clover is such a ‘no-no’ for EMS/laminitis equines and a likely explanation why there are some insulin resistant/elevated insulin horses that can't tolerate Lucerne (alfalfa) and is why Lucerne can perpetuate laminitis when everything else is being done ‘right’.

People who own horses with EMS are aware they need to pay attention to this vital sign: that just before a horse has a bout of laminitis, the normally soft and spongy crest stands up firm and hard. Then they can immediately reduce potassium/nitrogen intake by eliminating short, green grass replacing it with soaked hay and make sure they add salt to feeds and not rely on a salt lick. If action is taken quickly enough in these early stages, laminitis can be averted, you can ‘dodge a bullet’.

Soaking hay for about an hour not only reduces sugars but also reduces potassium levels by 50%.

Therefore a very important aspect of EMS and laminitis is that identifying and addressing mineral imbalances (particularly high potassium/nitrogen & low salt) are equally as important as sugar and starch content when rehabilitating individuals and assessing suitability of forage for these compromised equines.

02/24/2023

02/16/2023

02/14/2023

BLOODWORK

Some of those hoof cases that confound us, that just seem to have all these nagging problems that won't go away despite good diet and environment, things like the persistent thrush, chronic thin soles, hoof soreness/sensitivity, abscessing, wall quality issues, could simply be suffering from undiagnosed metabolic problems.

I want to be clear that while many of us assume a metabolic horse will be a chunky horse with a cresty neck and fat pads, thin horses can be metabolic as well. In fact, early PPID (Cushing's) often presents itself as a horse becoming a harder keeper, experiencing topline loss, or overall losing condition. Don't assume your horse isn't metabolic just because it's not fat!

To rule out metabolic issues, the first port of call is your vet. Have your vet pull some bloodwork to check that the horse's insulin and ACTH levels are in range. The Tufts Endocrinology Department has a great PDF about current practices, and ECIR is a wonderful resource for blood draws, so you can make sure your management leading up to the appointment will give the most accurate result on the blood test!

Just a note that this time of year (January through June) in the Northern hemisphere, ACTH levels are naturally lower. This can produce a lot of false negatives for early PPID/Cushing's cases - and can make people assume their horse isn't metabolic when the test simply wasn't sensitive enough for them!

During this time of year, ask your vet about a TRH stim test. It is much more sensitive and can help find those early cases of PPID that might be causing hoof issues but nothing else yet. Their coat might look fine, they might seem okay in all other aspects, but their feet are struggling a little.

The stim test is when your vet pulls a baseline ACTH blood draw, then injects a thyroid stimulating hormone, waits a bit, and pulls ACTH bloodwork again. This can help with comparing the pre-stim to the post-stim result to see how the pituitary gland is responding to the injection.

If you're struggling with hoof issues and can't seem to figure out why, bloodwork may be very telling!

02/10/2023

01/19/2023

"Oh, it's just an abscess!"

While even I have breathed a sigh of relief when a "three-legged lameness" turns out to be an abscess, abscesses aren't necessarily as benign as we might think.

The truth is, often abscesses are a symptom of a deeper issue. Of course, there are the cases where puncture wounds and acute trauma can lead to abscessing, but most "common" abscesses seem to come "out of nowhere."

Whether an abscess developed from thin soles, stone bruising/harder surfaces, weak laminae connection, hoof wall separation, or general poor quality hooves, these can all be symptoms of a systemic issue leading to hoof problems- and once we find the root cause, we can often remedy these and grow healthier feet that can withstand various surfaces and environments without abscessing!

The most common reason for thin soles/poor hoof quality/other problems that lead to abscessing, in my opinion, are diet issues and imbalances, or metabolic issues.
With chronic abscessing especially, the owner often can learn a lot from asking their vet about metabolic bloodwork, to rule out an endocrinopathic cause to hoof problems.
I also recommend owners take a look at their horse's diet. Excess sugar and starch, as well as an imbalance in major and minor minerals, can affect hoof quality to the point of chronic problems.

While abscesses may be common, they shouldn't be considered "normal." At the very least, they should serve as a sign to dig into the health of the hoof and where things may be able to improve.

01/13/2023

Winter is coming and with it comes the rain and mud and boggy fields. The reality is in the wild horses would never choose to stand in saturated ground, they would roam and find more suitable grazing areas. As we enter these wetter months what should we know about the effects of the wet and often we...

12/15/2022