Should I Blanket My Horse?

The upper Midwest experiences winter weather extremes with ambient air temperatures commonly dipping to -20° F to -30° F! Many horse owners' inclination is blanketing horses prior to exposure to the elements. Is this the proper management?

A horses thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is the air temperature range in which horses expend no energy to maintain normal body temperatures of 99° to 101° F. The lower critical temperature (LCT) is the lowest temperature in the TNZ, below which horses increase metabolic rates and expend energy to maintain normal body temperature. Research suggests healthy, adult horses have a wide LCT, from 41° F for horses in mild climates to 5° F in natural-coated, un-clipped horses adapted to colder temperatures.

Factors influencing a given horse's TNZ include; ambient air temperature, wind, sunlight, moisture and air temperature that the horse is acclimated to. We are all familiar with the incredible winter coats horses grow. Thick coats provide a tremendous insulation factor. Wind and moisture, in the form of rain or melted snow are common factors influencing a given horses TNZ. Keep in mind that young, thin and older horses are less cold tolerant.

Cold Weather Management Recommendations:

• A waterproof blanket provides great protection for horses living outside all the time.  Remove the blanket every few days for cleaning to minimize risk for skin fungal infections.  Be prepared to rotate blankets, replace wet blankets with clean dry blankets.
• Shelter from snow, wind and winter rain is recommended.  This allows horses to stay dry which helps them stay warm.  Barns or run in sheds with raised floors are optimal.  
• Gradually acclimate horses to extreme cold temperatures. Full acclimation takes about 21 days.
• Research confirms cold weather increases dietary energy requirements.  Feeding free choice, good quality hay, is a simple method providing additional digestible energy in mature, idle horses experiencing ambient air temperatures below their LCT.
• Maintain free choice access to non-frozen water.  Many horses don't desire to drink "ice-cold" water.  There are numerous types of water heaters capable of maintaining drinking water slightly above freezing temperature.
• Ensure horses receive adequate vitamin/mineral supplementation, including salt! Allow free choice access or add one tablespoon daily to the horses grain mix.  Feed plain, white, granular livestock salt with no mineral added.  Top-dress appropriate vitamin/mineral supplement to the grain serving.

Simply said, the following three things will decrease cold stress in your horse.

1.  Provide areas for horses to get out of the wind chill.

2.  Keep your horse dry.

3.  Increase dietary energy to provide more calories for the horse to stay warm.

And the bottom line; blanketing can be an important management tool to reduce cold stress in horses experiencing winter weather extremes!

What Did He Say???

Pfizer Animal Health's Dr. Dennis Horter recently presented DiSC communications training to Badger Veterinary Hospital staff.  DiSC personality profile/behavior assessments enable better understanding of personality styles and behaviors, ultimately improving communications and enhancing relationships.

Improved understanding of behavior styles allows staff to approach others in a manner more meaningful to the person they are interacting with.

For example:

• The "D" personality is direct, to the point.  They have better understanding of and respect for information that is given in bullet points.
• People making decisions based on emotion are "I" personalities.  "I's" typically prefer interactive communication styles.  They want to be involved in the decision making process!
• Patient and calm describes the "S" personality.  They like to receive information in an organized and methodical demeanor.
• "C" personalities are thorough and analytical, preferring detailed, written information handed to them.  They need to read, understand and evaluate prior to making a decision.

The challenge?  EVERYONE has a primary personality type and its hard delivering information in a style that's not normal to us.  We're willing to take the challenge, how about you?

Badger Saves Christmas!

Badger Spirit!

Is Japanese Encephalitis Next?

In 2002, West Nile Virus hit the upper mid-west horse population with a vengeance.  Our practice examined ten cases in 7 days; 50% died.  Those surviving battled an extremely difficult illness for 5-7 days with significant expenses to owners.  West Nile cases, afflicting both horses and humans, are still sporadically reported.  West Nile immunization is standard in our practice; thankfully we haven't seen a case since 2003.  


In addition to West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis, is another mosquito-borne encephalitis virus afflicting horses in the upper mid-west.  The American Association of Equine Practitioners lists these two viral diseases in its core vaccine recommendations: http://www.aaep.org/core_vaccinations.htm. Similar diseases, rarely occurring in the United States include Western Equine Encephalomyelitis and Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis.  


Another encephalitis; Japanese Encephalitis, as pointed out by Drs. Peter Timoney and Stacy Oke, may be the next mosquito borne viral disease afflicting North American Horses; http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=20319.


Our best recommendation to horse owners?  As we approach the upper mid-west's mosquito-borne disease season height (late summer to early fall) make sure your horse's immunizations are up to date!

NEVER INJECT BANAMINE!

Banamine is an important anti-inflammatory drug commonly used by equine veterinarians and horse owners to treat a variety of maladies affecting horses we care for.  As this blog post, http://bit.ly/KQXg3x dramatically illustrates, use caution when administering Banamine to your horse!  I highly recommend Banamine NOT be administered as an intra-muscular injection.  The preferred method of administration of this important medication is either orally or by intravenous injection, under the guidance of your veterinarian.  NEVER administer Banamine by the intra-muscular injection route.