Flying Leap Farm

25/07/2024

Spent the past week intensively studying with some amazing equine professionals - learning hands on equine postural rehabilitation techniques and advanced spinal manipulative adjustments. In this intensive course we have been learning to reset inappropriate learned spinal reflexes - caused by - and effect - chronic misappropriations of hoof balance, dental (stomatognathic) balance and injury. The whole horse benefits when we address the whole body's compensatory effect in response to pain.

22/06/2024

Great tips here. Soaking but do not scrape. Misting is a preferred method for cooling. Horses transfer a lot of body temperature through their limbs and heads - take off those fly booties and masks because the humidity just makes it stifling! Wet their feed!!! This is a must, please, don't risk a choke! Added salts free choice blocks and loose salt and added electrolytes, equitea, etc - anything to encourage hydration. Dump and change/refill those buckets just like in winter.

08/04/2024

Totality ☀️

20/03/2024

☀️

27/01/2024

Comprehensive dental exams and flotations are so important for the health and comfort of your horse. Here is a great video of a senior horse not picking up her feed, head shaking while trying to chew her feed, and ultimately dropping feed once she does pick it up because she cannot move her jaws side to side to chew it!

14/01/2024

Cold Weather Winter Horse Care Tips:

Hay: Lots and lots of grass hay. An average 1000lb horse on any given not that cold day needs 20-24lbs of hay or forage. Winter weather = no grass that means hay. On a day that is in the single digits or below, expect that same horse to eat up to 40lbs or more of grass hay. Pro tip: coarser grass hay is actually better for winter digesting than that finer fancy green stuff! Feed the gut bugs good fiber so they can generate good heat!

Water: horses need a constant supply of fresh temperate water. Break those buckets and often. Cycle buckets multiple times throughout the day. Invest in tank heaters. More hay fed equals more water drunk. Horses can actually drink up to 20+ gallons of water a day in the winter! I'm somewhat anti-heated buckets, I've seen too many barns burn down.

Salt: salt increases water consumption. Horses should have free choice salt available (both block and powdered), and adding extra to any meals may help them drink more and stay hydrated. Ask me why I don't feed trace mineral salts. I only feed white table salt.

Oil and/or hot water mashes: There is nothing worse than treating choke on a 5*F day because someone fed a lot more dry grain - just because it was cold. Teach your horses to eat soaked or wet feed long before cold weather months. Sometimes a little bit of rice bran or corn oil in the feed can help older horses maintain weight and deter gas colics from the increased forage demands. It also helps the food bolus not get stuck along their esophagus causing choke. Pro tip: Warm it up. Take a warm water kettle out if you don't have hot water in the barn. Who wants to eat cold wet food? Put those new insulated Stanley Cups to good use.

Dentition: horses need proper teeth to chew up all that dry forage. The average young horse can get away with yearly teeth floats but the older they are they might need every 4-6month checks. Horses that cannot close their mouths and chew properly are more likely to drop feed, swallow larger feed boluses, choke and colic. Not to mention the sharp points that cause check and tongue ulcers. Ouch. PS: vets hate doing teeth in sub freezing temperatures unless you have an amazing heated barn with Infrared Lighting.... Do their teeth long before winter weather sets in.

Turn Out: Horses don't need to be pent up all day in their stalls. Get them out and get them moving every day. They're digestive machines and movement helps their guts move better. Even 1-4 hours a day (hopefully more) is enough to get them moving and get their zoomies out. What's good for the gut is good for the brain is good for the gut, etc.

Warm up & Cool Down: Muscles, Blood Vessels, Tendons and Ligaments all contract in cold temperatures. Go figure. You and your horse are more prone to injury if you do not properly take the time to warm up and cool down before, during and after exercise.

Stay Warm Out There!

09/01/2024

Equine dentistry is something often overlooked but is an integral part of healthcare for your horses. More brainspace is dedicated to the teeth and the jaw than any other part of their body. Correcting the torque and disalignment that occurs in multiple areas of the body (most notably in hoof, teeth, and spine) will help to strengthen and keep the whole horse in balance.

01/01/2023

Beautiful start for 2023!! I love a freshly groomed arena to start a wonderful season! Cold weather can stay far far away! 🐎

24/11/2022

Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for healthy horses and friends!

What are you thankful for?

13/10/2022

Somedays, I'm convinced my farm is blessed with all the rainbows. Beautiful morning and so much gratitude for the rainshowers!

29/08/2022

Dr. McFarland has been spending the last 8 months working towards her post doctoral certification in Veterinary Chiropractic with an emphasis on Applied Kinesiology and Functional Neurology. This system allows for localizing and finding deeper issues resulting in lameness and biomechanical problems such as muscle weaknesses and imbalances that ultimately lead to or result in injury. Restoring proper function to these areas is everything in the maintenance of health, performance and vitality of the animal! Dr. McFarland is accepting new patients for integrative consultations and adjustments.

14/06/2022

Somewhere under the rainbow...

01/06/2022

Another excellent article supporting forage based and turnout lifestyles for horses!

https://thehorse.com/139450/food-for-thought-are-feeding-practices-hurting-your-horse/?fs=e&s=cl

Are your feeding practices doing more harm than good? Experts share four ways to improve your horse's digestive health.

28/05/2022

Read that again: Insufficient protein in hay or pasture cannot just easily be made up for by simply feeding grains/concentrate or "ration balancers" without proper nutrient balancing.

As a veterinarian, I see nutrient deficient horses every day. Poor hoof quality, poor haircoat, bleaching, no dappling, poor muscling and behavioral disorders are all clues something is missing. Gut health is a horse's everything: and feeding them appropriate forage based balanced diets should be the priority of every horse owner and barn manager everywhere.

https://drkhorsesense.wordpress.com/2022/05/27/understanding-protein-needs/

Although most people can quote the percent protein in their feed, and manufacturers make a point of it, this particular piece of information is almost worthless. The horse’s protein requirem…

24/03/2022

01/11/2021

🍁

21/10/2021

Horses deserve beautiful vistas, sunrises and sunsets, too. 🌄🌅

13/03/2021

Nothing like beautifully drug arenas to start the spring!

16/07/2020

20/12/2019