Second Nature Equine Wellness

28/07/2023

I have appointments available this weekend.

24/07/2023

I will be in the Irma, wainwright, Viking area Wednesday evening July 26. I have openings for 3 horses.

26/06/2023

Evening and weekend appointments available around Vegreville.

25/11/2022

Saturday will be a "west of edmonton" day. I'll be near Spring Lake. I have appointments available after 12:30

11/11/2022

I'm local this weekend (Vegreville) if anyone's critters need some work. I work on most large animals as well as dogs.

01/11/2022

Saturday will be back to the west side of edmonton! Spruce Grove and area. I've got appointments available all afternoon at the moment.

31/10/2022

28/10/2022

I'll be sticking close to VEGREVILLE / TWO HILLS / VIKING area this weekend. Let me know If you'd like to book an appointment. The weather is changing and we all want our horses to go into the cold winter months in the best shape possible.

27/10/2022

Please don't over rug this winter ......

Thirty years ago most ponies were roughed off, turned out at grass to grow a coat and come in ‘ribby’ in the spring before putting the weight back on in a natural yo-yo dieting fashion.

To achieve this, the endocrine system will relay a whole series of messages about

food consumption and storage,

energy transmission,

suppression or increase of appetite,

depression of energy expenditure,

coat growth,

hair thickness and time to shed the excess hair.

Part of this system is circadian in nature (around a 24hour period) and relies largely upon light, but part of the system relies on seasonal temperatures and nutrient availability.

The problem with modern horses/ponies affected by metabolic syndrome is that the nutrients they receive are in excess of the nutrients they require and this is compounded by the fact that horses are no longer expected to,

travel long distances in search of food,

cope with extreme or variable temperatures,

grow thick winter coats and shed them at least 4 times throughout the four seasons of the year.

Winter coat growth, hair loss and shedding use a metabolic energy (AKT) pathway which involves both insulin and glucose, this entails the lowering of circulating levels of plasma insulin and use of an excess store of energy. Over rugging horses and native ponies or long periods in the stables during the winter/autumn/early summer months will deprive them of the ability to use up this excess glucose and fat storage.

The increased problem of a horse with equine metabolic syndrome is that the fat deposits of adipose tissue contain an independent endocrine signaling system with at least 4 hormones governing weight loss, energy output and weight control.

Most importantly; homeostasis of weight maintenance and appetite is governed by a balanced set of signals given out both by the adipose tissue and the gastrointestinal tract. In obese horses with large adipose deposits particularly in the neck shoulders and tail area there will be an increased volume of adipose hormones released which easily out balance the hormones released from the gut, compromising the vital homeostasis of appetite and weight control, further weight gain is the result.

As well as hormones of weight control and appetite, adipose tissue also releases a whole series of inflammatory chemicals which cause a pro inflammatory state, disrupt the normal circulation of the foot and together with circulating insulin play a major part in the onset of many disease states including laminitis.

Therefore the most important goal is to control adipose tissue gain. Reducing the cresty necks and fat pads will limit the abnormal and high volumes of signaling hormones that disrupt appetite, influence weight gain, disrupt circulation and gastrointestinal function, raise circulating insulin levels and that eventually result in an episode of laminitis.
There are understandably many problems for owners in the UK wanting to leave their horses out for the winter especially those living in very wet areas or on livery yards that do not want to ruin their limited grazing, this can be challenging and below are a few practical points to manage the diet and weigh gain of your horse not only through the winter but throughout the whole year.

Try not to rug too early, allow your horse to grow a good winter coat and be ‘roughed off’ or ‘let down’ for at least 8 weeks through the autumn/winter, this is vital for his metabolism, getting cold and wet causes the release of energy from fat stores. For some horses being turned out until Christmas is sufficient to use up the fat stored as adipose tissue, this avoids the worse months of January and February which can be even more cold and wet.
Avoid feeding hard feed which may contain hidden sugars, some labels are misleading and describe the amount of sugar added to the feed extra to what it contains naturally.

Sometimes it is impossible for horse owners to go back to rugless winter turn out as a method of adipose tissue control, adding an AKT energy pathway stimulant to the diet may help. check out Phytolean on www.phytorigins.com

24/10/2022

Had a great day yesterday helping 5 horses out by Spruce Grove and St. Albert. Looking forward to making this a more regular trip.

20/10/2022

PREY OR PREDATOR?

Something that I heard many times over many years is the importance of the prey/predator relationship between humans and horses. It seems when the subject of horse behaviour comes up one of the first things that come to a lot of minds is the notion that the relationship between humans and horses is dominated by the relationship between a prey animal (horse) and a predator (human). This view seems to have shaped the approach to horse training of many people.

I can’t recall ever hearing or reading Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Harry Whitney, etc talk about the relationship between people and horses in terms of a prey/predator relationship. I don’t think these really good horse people ever thought of it in those terms and never gave it any importance. But since the early days of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, the idea that a horse’s concern about humans comes from a natural fear of predator species has gained popularity. I guess it is a testament to Pat’s influence in the popular horse world – whether good or bad. After Pat started espousing this idea other people got on the bandwagon and added weight to the topic. To my knowledge, there is no substantive work to show that horses view predator species as friends or foes. It is just a theory and not much more.

There is no doubt horses exhibit fear or worry to all types of new experiences, but to claim that it is because something can be categorized as prey or predator seems to me to be far-fetched and alien to how horses actually see the world.

I certainly don’t believe that the reason horses and people don’t always get along has anything to do with the idea that the human is a predator species and the horse is a prey-type species. Horses are often scared of kangaroos, ostriches, wombats, sheep, and deer yet these are not predatory species. They are herbivores. They do not hunt. They are just like horses, yet many horses are naturally fearful of them.

Likewise, many horses are not afraid of predators. I have never owned a horse that showed fear of my dogs. Even horses that are worried by people can be okay with dogs. Zebra (another prey equine species) can be grazing very relaxed even when lions are roaming around the herd. They only become afraid when the lions go into hunting mode. They are not afraid of lions, they are afraid of lions hunting.

The behaviour of a horse towards a human is not shaped by the fact that we eat meat. It’s shaped by the fact that sometimes we present ourselves to horses in a way that makes them feel fearful for their safety. Our energy, lack of clarity, and our intent is what makes them alarmed. A horse can feel the same way about a sheep even though sheep do not eat meat and are not natural predators (hunters). But a sheep can act aggressively towards a horse and make the horse fearful. I had a ram that would attack the horses and they became very wary of it. At feeding time that ram could move any of the horses away from their food without fuss.

I want to get across the idea that just because we have the physical characteristics of a predator does not explain why our horses may be wary of us. I know a trainer who use to tell people not to look a horse in the eye because it would be interpreted as threatening. Another trainer would turn away from a horse to encourage “join up” with him in a round pen because he said to face squarely to a horse was to challenge him. This is all nonsense in my opinion.

It’s not what you do; it’s the way you do it. Horses don’t care if a human is a predator species. But they do care if we act like a predator. They judge us by our intent and not the way our eyes are set into our heads. They don’t see predators, they see predatory behaviour.

20/10/2022

Sunday I'm headed west of edmonton. Devon, Spruce Grove area.

16/10/2022

Had a great time at the Chipman Wagon Rally today. Looking forward to meeting some new faces near Vermillion tomorrow!

15/10/2022

Tomorrow I will be in VERMILLION and area. I have horse massage and chiro appointments available from 11am-5pm.

12/10/2022

I will be at the Chipman Cutter Rally on Saturday. We have space on the wagon for some riders if you want to come out. I'll also be available to do massage and chiro after the ride.

10/10/2022

The new Jeep is ready to hit the road. I'm looking forward to visiting your farm this fall to make sure your equine friends are in the best shape possible as we head into winter.

I've got openings evenings and weekends. I service approximately 100km radius of Vegreville. I will travel for groups.

I'll post when I'm in certain areas also. Calling me in when I'm already in the area will greatly reduce or eliminate travel costs!

Like this page for updates on when I'll be in your area.

16/09/2022

Evening and weekend appointments available.

Now also offering farm sitting