Wholesome Equine Nutrition, LLC

04/13/2025

Spring has shown up in full swing over these last few weeks. The grass is coming in, lots of “April showers bring May flowers” rain, and big temperature swings to boot. While the Spring blooms may be beautiful, it does come at a cost – the potential for sore feet.
If your horse has been comfortable all winter, and now either mid-cycle or shortly after a trim, is becoming sore or showcasing changes in their gait, there is a high probability of grass sensitivity. And when I say grass, I mean the sugars in the grass. I promise you, if you’re working with a responsible and communicative hoof care provider, it’s not the trim. Talk to us. When the laminae is compromised (meaning even just a little inflamed or irritated from the sugars in the grass), just the vibrations from the swipes of the rasp can tip the scales to soreness. If you have a grass sensitive horse, here are some tips to save you emotional distress, and most importantly, your horse the discomfort of grass sensitivity.

1. Understanding photosynthesis: The grass converts sunshine to energy (i.e., sugar). The longer the grass cooks under the sun, the more sugar it accumulates. The safest time to turn out is a few hours after dark or early morning before sunrise and coming in early afternoon. (Generally speaking)

2. Stressed grass, or “there’s not much grass in that paddock”, is the highest in sugar. If you can avoid mowing or overgrazing a field, that’s usually a better option. When grass is stressed (i.e., mowing or overgrazing), it goes into survival mode and stores extra sugar. More info at https://www.safergrass.org/

3. Muzzling. While muzzling isn’t a fan favorite for owners, I promise you it’s a heck of a lot better than a sore or laminitic horse. Horses tolerate them quite well and adjust quickly. AND for your Houdini horses, there are a surplus of designs to minimize criminal muzzle removal. If you’re noticing an improvement in comfort a few days after muzzling or being off grass…. There ya go.

4. Monitor temperature swings and rain. If there is a 20–30-degree temperature change from the high to the low, the grass will go into hyperdrive and will have massive sugar spikes. The same goes for heavy rain. If you have a very sensitive horse, it is best to keep them off grass during these big swings and after heavy rains to avoid tempting fate.

5. Dry lot. If you have the option to dry lot your grass sensitive or metabolic horse, this is always the go-to option. Please be sure to provide them 24/7 access to hay and buddies during this time. If your horse is highly sensitive and is in the middle of an episode, it may be best to soak your hay. Though if your horse is episodic, please work with your veterinarian.
- PS If dry lotting, please make sure they have access to shade. In the depths of summer here in GA, dry lots can turn into frying pans.

6. Jiaogulan: https://madbarn.com/jiaogulan-benefits-for-horses/

7. Booting for protection, especially when we have dry spells and the ground turns to concrete.

8. If your horse is acutely uncomfortable, pathological posture/camping out, has trouble turning, etc., please call your veterinarian immediately. These are important things to look out for and can be time sensitive.

9. Speak with your veterinarian on the possibility of metabolic disease and appropriate testing. Early detection can save lives.

Let’s keep our horses safe and comfortable this season!

04/08/2025

I can't stress this enough!

Laminitis is already hitting hard this year. I spoke with multiple owners last week who hadn’t started using their grazing muzzle yet because “the grass wasn’t really growing yet”…..are we all looking at the same grass??

The grass is HERE! The time to muzzle is NOW!!
My springtime muzzle rule of thumb is always March 1st through Memorial Day.
Check your horses hoof temperature every day and familiarize yourself with what their normal is.
Are they moving a little slower than normal today? Hesitating to cross the gravel driveway when they don’t normally? Hoof boots don’t fit because of sudden rapid growth?
Don’t wait until they’re full blown laminitic to take action. Being proactive with an ounce of prevention can save your horse!

(Pictures are from a laminitis rehab case last year)

04/05/2025

This morning I was in a mood.

In fact, I was downright grumpy.

I was likely not very pleasant to my trim clients (sorry y’all), and quieter than usual. I kept thinking about each foot I picked up, and how it would fit into the mold of various ideals I have been seeing around social media. Some groups would want me to change HPA, or bring back toes more, or lower heels more, or raise heels more, or take more bar, or trim less bar, or trim less frog, or trim more frog, or add XYZ for protection/correction/comfort… the list goes on. I doubt there was one trim I did today that would have pleased everyone on the interwebs.

I know I sound like an actual broken record, since I feel like I say this exact statement every few months, but the hoofcare world can be crazy and full of drama. There’s always someone claiming they have it all figured out, and that their way is the right way. Or the only way. Or if only everyone else did it their way, all horses would be saved. But since others don’t do it their way, horses are dying. And it’s their job to yell it from the rooftops. .

And with some of these bold statements of right and wrong we often have various groups of people who have an ideal of what we should do to the feet in XYZ scenarios.

Listen- I am not immune. I am guilty of it too. Most of you know I’m insanely passionate about navicular rehab, so much so that I wrote 2 guide books about it. That’s how much I think about how to rehab navicular. And I know I probably get pretty preachy about it too.

But that’s also why I try so hard to shadow and work with hoofcare providers outside my own little bubble, to see other ways of doing things - EVEN IF I might disagree with them - to hear and understand and have conversations and bridge a gap. Because I never want to end up in an echo chamber where I think I am always right or my way is the only way.

Any time we apply the same exact trim or protocol to every single horse no matter the circumstances, we are treading towards dangerous territory. If we do that, no matter what we say, we are forcing our own ideals on the horse- and some horses simply don’t fit the mold, don’t read the textbook, or have a lifetime of pathology or injuries or damage that absolutely can’t accommodate our cookie cutter ideas.

We have to listen to the horse.

If someone is telling you that a certain way of doing things supersedes what the horse is saying they may need for comfort, I’d take a big step back, a big deep breath, and think long and hard about what we are trying to accomplish.

Some conversations I see on social media - even amongst groups who are WORKING TOWARD THE SAME GOAL! - make it seem like we are often burning more bridges than building them.

The horse comes first. The horse has a say. The horse has an opinion. And we need to listen.

This is exactly why I put together the Humble Hoof Podiatry Clinic for this October with Dr. Jenny Hagen, Ula Krzanowska, Celeste Lazaris, and Pat Reilly- all amazing clinicians who focus on biomechanics, wear patterns, growth patterns, and balance: so at this clinic we can look at conformation and movement, pathology, muscling, biomechanics of the distal limb, hoof wear patterns, and radiographs on various kinds of blocks and how it affects the horses’ balance, so we can start to get a better picture of how to adapt to an individual horse’s needs. Because they don’t all need the same thing for soundness.

And as a side note: one huge shoutout to Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners, one of our amazing clinic sponsors, for being an incredible hoofcare education community that doesn’t believe in having any one hoofcare “guru” and taught me over the years to listen to the horse and push my tunnel vision aside. This group is open to horse owners, trimmers, farriers, veterinarians, bodyworkers and more, to have a great supportive group and wonderful continuing education options.

(And yes- our podiatry clinic is SOLD OUT- but we do have a livestream/video recording option available here: https://thehumblehoof.com/product/october-25-26-2025-livestream/ )

03/08/2025

In my opinion, joint spacing alignment is more important than phalangeal alignment. It’s very easy to achieve preconceived favorable palmar and hoof/pastern angles by lowering or elevating the heels with 2 dimensional trimming and or shoeing. Joint spacing alignment relies on finding the 3 dimensional balance of the true ground contact points in the calloused live horn in the solar structures. The joint spacing shouldn’t be compromised trying to prematurely improve the angles. True elevation comes from engaging and building the digital cushion, not by propping up the heels on premature preconceived favorable angles.

Build a sustainable foundation.

12/23/2024

Salt and electrolytes
I have recommended for many years at least 2 tablespoons of salt (about 50 g or so) and more in hot weather for horses on untested forage on the basis of the NRC Nutrient Requirements of Horses and Dr Eleanor Kellon VMD. Horses use sodium, chloride and potassium for chemical processes in the body (maintenance needs) AND for cooling down when sweating (sweat losses). Fortunately potassium is relatively high in all feeds including grass and hay so from a daily, maintenance aspect, the two electrolytes we mainly have to supplement is sodium and chloride. Fortunately the easy way to do this is with NaCl, salt. This amount of salt will hopefully cover maintenance requirements AND contribute to electrolytes lost in sweat.

I've been concerned for some time by some people saying to base horses salt supplementation on 5-10 g/100 kg BW (bodyweight). This is not going to be enough in many cases. It's not a BW calculation when you take into account the horse can excrete excess electrolytes easily, and the potential for high losses in sweat in hot conditions. If the horse is a miniature, I have halved the general recommendation but understand that excess salt (excreted easily as long as plenty of drinking water) is vastly better than an electrolyte deficiency.

Some years ago, a visiting vet told me she gives her horses 6 (six!) tablespoons of salt over a day on extremely hot days.
It makes sense. If we only supplement at one time in a day and knowing that electrolyte excess is excreted easily and efficiently within a 4 hour window, even within one hour, then it makes sense that if a horse is sweating in the heat in the paddock, it's not going to be enough. I've now stepped it up to 4 tablespoons, split between two small feeds (we have plenty of grass thank goodness).

If your horse does not have access to water (huh?) never force salt into your horse as it can cause hypernatraemia. Always have drinking water available.
Sodium is what the brain ‘reads’ in determining when to trigger thirst and when to regulate the amount of sodium and water the body excretes in the urine.

At normal body levels, the horse has 1.58 g of sodium per kg of body weight. That's 632 g of sodium for a 400 kg horse. Slightly over 50% of that is stored in the bone and only 10% of the body's sodium is in the blood. If blood levels of sodium have been low for a long time, when you start to provide salt, sodium will need to be replenished in the skeleton and other tissues, not just the blood.

When a horse is sodium deficient, they drink less, they urinate less to conserve sodium. A sodium deficiency = fatigue. Drinking less may make you think you shouldn't give salt but salt is what they need. By supplementing salt, it can trigger drinking. Many endurance riders know how well this works.
You may ask, why do horses not drink when they are obviously dehydrated (pinch test)? The two triggers that can cause the thirst mechanism to be activated are loss of body fluids and loss of concentration of sodium.

When body fluids around cells drop due to sweating (horse looks dehydrated, tucked up, skin stands up in tent, slow to lower), fluids are forced out of the interstitial spaces (around tissues and organs) to compensate for this. With continued exercise and sweating, fluid is absorbed from the stores in the gastrointestinal tract. (Jenkinson et al., 2006) This helps maintain the fluid volume of the plasma. Due to the large reservoir of fluids that the horse maintains, plasma volume is able to be maintained, even with a fairly large loss of total body volume.

The plasma concentration of sodium is also fairly stable. When the sodium levels drop, the kidney concentrates the urine and less is secreted. When the fluids move from interstitial spaces or from the colon, sodium is moved with it. This allows for a more stable plasma concentration of sodium, so the cells do not recognise that there is sodium depletion.

The notion that all grass and hay provides enough salt, or that horses will always get what they need from a salt block is not supported by pasture and hay test results or research. Horses are amazing at conserving sodium if the need arises, and will even excrete potassium as a substitute for sodium in urine. I don't want to confuse people, salt is so far the only documented craving in horses, they will travel long distances to a salt lick but the above hopefully will help with understanding why some horses simply won't access a salt block. The best way to supplement salt is in a feed, in addition a bucket of loose salt in the paddock is sensible too but NOT to be relied on. And please don't be fooled into thinking your horse knows always when he needs to grab salt from your salt block. Some don't even like the flavour.

Effects of feeding frequency and voluntary salt intake on fluid and electrolyte regulation in athletic horses
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jappl.1999.86.5.1610

Sweating. Fluid and ion losses and replacement
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9561689/

Voluntary salt (NaCl) intake in Standardbred horses
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279566836_Voluntary_salt_NaCl_intake_in_Standardbred_horses

12/11/2024

How do hay nets on round bales impact the axial skeleton of the horse?

You all asked, and we delivered with more research! And I promise it has been worth the wait!

Last week, the second portion of our study evaluating hay nets was accepted into the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, and this time we teamed up with an equine chiropractor (thanks Dr. Taylor Rieck) to evaluate changes in the axial skeleton!

Introduction: Many horse owners use hay nets. As our last study demonstrated, they have many benefits including a reduction in hay waste and management of bodyweight and body condition scores. Additionally, we were able to explore the impacts on dental health and did not have any concerns regarding soft tissue damage, tooth wear, or dental abnormalities. But that has led us to our next question, can the act of eating hay from a hay net result in changes to the axial skeleton of the horse, specifically relating to the vertebral column?

Materials and Methods: Because I want this post to be able to stand alone (and some of you may have forgotten what we did since the last research post), I will start from the beginning and I apologize for repeating myself. Thirteen mature geldings were used in this study and assigned to treatments based on weight. The study began in September 2021 and all horses received dental work and were assigned to their treatments, seven started on the no hay net control (CON) and six started on the hay net (NET) treatment and all were fed grass round bales. In September 2022, horses received dental work again and switched treatments in the cross-over design. Throughout the study, these horses lived in identical neighboring pens with shelter, ad libitum water, and free choice grass round bales with the only difference being NET horses had their round bale hay placed in hay nets with 1.75”/4.45 cm openings (graciously provided by Hay Chix) while CON horses did not.

During this study, from May through August of both years, changes in the axial skeleton were evaluated. This time frame was chosen as horses were not being worked in undergraduate courses. In May, when the semester ended, an equine chiropractor adjusted all horses to get them to a baseline. Horses were then evaluated for range of motion and pain-pressure thresholds at 4-, 8-, and 12-weeks post-chiropractic adjustment. Cervical range of motion was evaluated using neck stretches for lateral movement as well as chin-to-chest, chin-to-knees, and chin-to-fetlocks. Pain pressure threshold was evaluated at different points on the body using a pressure algometer which documented the amount of pressure applied until the horse moved away to avoid the pressure. Additionally, another chiropractic adjustment took place at 12-weeks and subluxations (misalignment of bones) were documented and rated on a 0 to 3 scale to indicate none, minor, moderate, or severe subluxations. These scores were combined for each location or vertebral region (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral).

Results: There was an average 8% increase in cervical subluxations observed in NET horses (P0.05) and sacral vertebrae were not analyzed as no subluxations were found.

Another finding was that average cervical range of motion was 5 degrees greater in NET horses compared to CON horses for chin-to-chest and chin-to-fetlock measurements (P≤0.05). No differences were observed in pain-pressure thresholds when comparing treatments (P>0.05).

While not the initial objective of the study, we also saw decreased range of motion and pain-pressure thresholds over time regardless of treatment, which suggests the benefits of chiropractic - but I will save this topic for another post when I can dive into into it deeper!

Discussion: Our main findings were a slight increase in subluxations in the neck for NET horses alongside an increase in cervical range of motion. While these findings initially appear to contradict each other, previous research in humans has found that activities which stimulate voluntary neck movements utilizing a wide range of motion and postures can recruit and strengthen cervical muscles. As a result, prehending hay from a hay net may have simulated exercises to strengthen the neck in these horses, however, these movements may have simultaneously resulted in an increase in cervical subluxations.

Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that hay nets do have the ability to influence the axial skeleton of the horse with minor changes. However, the researchers believe that the proven benefits of hay nets, including reduced hay waste, prolonged feeding time, and weight management, outweigh any minor changes in the axial skeleton observed in this study. Additionally, results from this study suggest regular chiropractic work can be beneficial for horses regardless of hay net use!

What Next? While this study gathered some very useful information to create a foundation of knowledge, I would love to investigate hanging net height and hole size to determine how these factors may influence the axial skeleton and time to consumption for horses in the future!

Funding: This study was funded by the University of Wisconsin - River Falls and HayChix.

I hope you find these results as fascinating as we did! There is always so much to learn!

Cheers!
Dr. DeBoer

12/09/2024

12/07/2024

There has been so much going on around the topic of ECVM, this congenital malformation is one we are diagnosing, managing and studying at Denali Equine in partnership with Rexos Inc, under the guidance of the legendary Dr. Sharon May-Davis. We wanted to give you the top ten points on ECVM facts. (Sorry this is long- Well worth the full read!)

1. ECVM is a congenital condition, meaning they are born with it. We suspect it is a recessive genetic disorder because two unaffected adults can produce offspring with it. There are several groups racing to find the genetics behind this condition. More information on the horizon.

2. ECVM is not a fatal diagnosis. However, it can be. It depends on the severity of the malformation and how well the horse can functionally compensate.

3. Radiographs of the lower neck are necessary to diagnose the condition. These radiographs must be clear lateral and obliques of C6, C7 and ideally T1. These can be done in the field for most horses. However larger generators do get better images.

4. Variability: Horses can be either a bilateral or unilateral malformation of C6, which in 52% of C6 cases can transpose either bilaterally or unilaterally. To C7; T1 and the first ribs are variably affected.

5. Studies show horses with transposition of the ventral lamina to C7 are more likely to suffer from clinical neck pain than horses with normal anatomy. In our experience horses with rib malformations have more severe clinical signs than those with normal ribs (no clear studies yet).

6. The bones absolutely do not tell the whole story. However, bones do not lie. They often indicate the level of soft tissue malformations present. The more severe the boney changes- the more severe the soft tissue is altered around them.

7. Clinical picture: all horses are not lame, but they do all have subtle clinical signs. Most often the clinical signs are not limb related lameness (but can be). These horses can show signs of the pain ethogram, rearing, sporadic behavior, abnormal front limb flight patterns (especially with equipment), girthiness, resistance to go forward, doesn’t like physical touch (brushing, blanketing ex). The signs are so variable for every horse!

8. The common things heard from owners/trainers:
* The horse was always bad from the start (this is concerning for the more severe cases)
* The horse was fine until it wasn’t. We find this is from something changed in the program. i.e., was imported, switched barns, changed jobs.
* They don’t understand why the horse is failing quicker than usual as it gets older. As the horse ages the clinical signs become more apparent. The body can only manage for so long. Think of it this way- the foundation was built wrong from the beginning. Therefore, it takes time for the cracks in your walls or floors to show, it then takes those cracks a while before they become a structural problem in your house.
* A minor incident happened and now they’re not ok. Suspect an injury can cause the horse to spiral out of stabilization or have the ability to compensate. An example could be getting cast or trailering event then the horse was never the same. Example, you do not know your house wasn’t built well until the storm blows it over.

9. These horses have significant soft tissue pathology on necropsies. Therefore, no matter what the data is showing us: If the horse has ECVM, is clinical, and other differentials have been ruled out these horses are clinically affected by the ECVM.

10. On necropsies we have found:
* Missing, malformed and fractured ribs
* Abnormal nerve patterns, these nerves can be totally entrapped and compressed by abnormal muscle patterns. The dorsal scalene can trap the large nerves of the brachial plexus within its abnormal paths. The phrenic nerve can get pulled inappropriately and leave impressions within the ventral scalene.
* Abnormal muscles: dorsal scalene, ventral scalene, iliocostalis, longus coli, re**us abdominal, intercostal muscles, serratus ventails cervicis. All these muscles have critical roles in stability, proprioception, and biomechanics.
* Abnormal vascular patterns
* Trachea abnormalities
* Fascial changes

ECVM is currently a controversial and sensitive topic so we thought we would share a few known quick facts to help you understand this issue better. Please go to our website (www.DenaliEquine.com) to find more information and links to the current studies on this disease. We are researching and studying these horses! We are working on several angles of research right now throughout Non-Profit Rexos Inc. If you would like more information on how you can help, please reach out!

DeClue Equine saddlefitting.us

11/22/2024

A fabulous and unique view of the sole papillae ©️ Lindsey Field

The papillae are those tiny hair like structures you can see between sole and the sole corium (raspberrybjam layer).

What are they? The papillae ONLY feed the cells in the sole, the first layer of cells called basal cells or germinative layer.
The papillae have a tiny artery and vein which both twice and twine around each other and branch numerous time to create minutes vessels. These vessels bring fuel to the dividing calls in the sole, and the fuel is needed to keep up with the energy requirements of the active cells.

The papillae do not produce sole. The papillae’s job is to being food to the cells.

Think about it- do blood vessels actually create any tissue?
Go back to your biology textbooks and check this out.

Without the live giving blood (literally) the cell reproduction will stop.
Without enough blood, the cell production slows down.
When does the blood flow in the foot get compromised?
When it is crushed due to conditions like laminitis, or more importantly if the foot is not trimmed correctly.

TRIM IS EVERYTHING. Trim is setting the foot up to be the best it can be in a balanced biomechanical state, the yin and yang, everything working a it should without stress and strain.

Trimming to create a bony column alignment is what we are taught and that is the goal. Meaning the hoof pastern axis is straught.
Anything moving away from that is thought to put stress and strain on the inner structures of the foot, and ultimately, blood flow.

Whether you agree with creating a straight bony column alignment is up to you but that is the gold standard and has served the equine well.

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