Beauty and the Beasts Animal Wellness and Massage

27/10/2024

It’s always a great day at A Jump Above Equestrian Center!! Everyone is always having a great time, especially these pampered boys Storm, Wilson, Merlin and Mumbo! 💕🐴💕

27/10/2024

I was blessed to meet these gorgeous babies today!
Mr. Barkston is a sweet playful boy who is recovering from a neck injury and loved his massage.
Ginger is the sweetest pup. She is just a baby and was beaten so badly that her left leg is ruined. She walks and jumps and kisses and has a beautiful spirit.
Both of these babies are looking for a wonderful loving home.
Please check out this wonderful rescue Coming Back Home Rescue for more adoptable babies. 💕🐶💕

25/10/2024

It’s been a fun filled sassy week with Miss Sassy Celeste, who hated to admit how much she loved her massage, spicy pony Zeus who got very sassy before his 20 yawns, and cute puppy Karma who wanted to play and kiss much more than lie still!
I am luckiest person alive to be able to help these beautiful babies feel their best !! 💕🐶🐴💕

17/10/2024

Interesting. Horses are so big and strong and so fragile 💕🐴💕

Pastures, nonstructural carbohydrates, and frost 🌱🍂❄️

Because it is that season, I want to discuss horse pastures and nonstructural carbohydrates, specifically as they relate to the beginning and end of a grazing season. Let’s begin by breaking this down by each topic before we add them all together:

Nonstructural carbohydrates, often abbreviated as NSCs, are comprised of water soluble carbohydrates (simple sugars and fructans) and starch. This class of carbohydrates is an important source of energy for the horse and they are digested and absorbed in the foregut, leading to an increase in blood glucose and insulin. As a result, high levels of NSCs in the diet can be an issue for horses with metabolic concerns specifically related to insulin dysregulation such as equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), Cushing’s (PPID), and laminitis/founder. While NSCs can be more consistent and documented in manufactured concentrates, more variation is observed in pasture or hay due to outside factors such as plant maturity, time of day, and weather conditions.

In pasture plants, NSCs are produced via photosynthesis, a process in which sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide generate glucose and oxygen. A separate but complementary process known as respiration is responsible for breaking down the glucose created during photosynthesis and releasing that energy for cellular use. As a result, increased photosynthesis leads to an accumulation of NSCs and increased cellular respiration leads to a decrease of NSCs. There are many weather conditions that can alter the balance between these processes in plants.

So how are these two factors connected to frost and the swing in temperatures observed in the spring and fall when horses are either being introduced to or removed from pasture? Well, when temperatures fall below 40°F, the enzymes involved in cellular respiration become significantly less active. And when temperatures fall below freezing, the enzymes can become denatured, stopping respiration altogether. This means low temperatures can lead to an accumulation of NSCs in the forage which can be problematic for grazing horses.

As a result, it is important to look at the nightly lows, and if these temperatures are sustained for more than a few hours, change your management practices accordingly, especially for glucose-sensitive horses. Furthermore, a hard frost occurs when temperatures drop below 28°F for more than four consecutive hours and will not only result in NSC accumulation but also marks the end of the growing season. While current recommendations allow grazing to resume 7 days following a hard frost, pastures require a minimum height of 3” to 4” going into the winter to support pasture productivity the following grazing season. Since grasses will no longer grow after a hard frost, continuing to graze can put undue stress on the pasture.

Additionally, sudden changes in the diet that would occur from removing horses from pasture abruptly, keeping horses on dried forage for 7 days, and then reintroducing horses to pasture, could lead to digestive upset or other health problems and the process will be time intensive for owners. When shifting the diet, even between different forages, it is critical to plan intentional transitions that allow the gut microbiota to sufficiently adapt. While the transition back to pasture can be accelerated in the fall compared to beginning grazing in the spring, it should still be done with care.

I hope this information is helpful as you make decisions on horse management and grazing this season!

- Dr. DeBoer

15/10/2024

This 💕🐴💕

Love your horse, not what they can do.

My horse had to retire this year.
It was unexpected and it changed everything.

But for him, nothing changed.

He still goes out in the field, still gets a nice big fluffy bed, cosy rugs and a carrot every night. He still gets remedial shoes, gets his teeth done and regularly sees a physio.

Nothing changed for him, because he’s not a machine and the level of care he gets is not dependant on what he can do. I loved riding him, but that was a privilege, not a right and certainly not a way for him to “earn” good care.

He’s not a car that can be scrapped or sold on because he can’t do what I want to do anymore.

When you take the reins of a horse, you make a commitment.

A commitment to ensure their happiness and welfare always come first; whether they are jumping big tracks, competing at Grand Prix level, hacking or grazing in a field. Level of competition or ability should not dictate the level of care.

Horses are fragile. They break. They get injured. Soemtimes they have to retire. It doesn’t mean they are any less worthy of your care, attention or money.

Stop giving away, “loaning” or selling your broken down horses because they can’t do what you want them to do and if that means you have to change your plans or put them on pause, then so be it.

Love your horse, not what they can do.

13/10/2024

Sweet, handsome Cody and Teddy loving life after their massages today. 💕🐶💕

12/10/2024

Mazy and Maverick had their first ever massages today and they LOVED them. Maverick also enjoyed the photo shoot while Mazy felt she was having a bad hair day so gave a big side eye 😂💕😂

12/10/2024

Gordon sure loved his massage today. And he makes super cute faces 💕🐴💕

12/10/2024

Not much better in life than treating the sweetest 10 year old Great Dane with a massage 💕🐶💕

09/10/2024

Jasper and Biscuit loved their massages and being cheeky for their mom. Jasper needed to play and Biscuit insisted on grooming her the whole time. His video is in comments!
😂💕🐴💕😂

09/10/2024

😔🙏🏻😔🙏🏻 🙏

03/10/2024

Very handsome Seven started his massage in a slight tizzy and ended with sleepy eyes and licks and chews 💕🐴💕

24/09/2024

Sweet Lucy loved her massage 💕

22/09/2024

💕💕

17/09/2024

I will be available for massage, cold laser, kinesio taping and energy work at All American Quarter Horse Congress. My massage includes myofascial release and craniosacral therapy.
Feel free to schedule early or reach out nearer the time. Look forward to seeing everyone!

16/09/2024

Good news update… Onery Pumpkin and his owner selfie added💕💕
Some of yesterday’s happy clients at Sagewood in Ravenna🐴💕🐴. Unfortunately Pumpkin didn’t get a selfie but I gave Andre a lovie as I walked by and he clearly expressed his desire for a massage with about 20 yawns💕🐴💕

04/09/2024

Had a fabulous evening helping these beauties feel fabulous at A Jump Above Equestrian Center! Beautiful place, beautiful people, beautiful horses and a beautiful evening… and a beautiful chicken!! 💕🐴💕