Drastic, sudden weather changes are often experienced across the United States. One day it’s sunny and 70 degrees, and the next it’s windy and the temperature has dropped 20 or 30 degrees. Although no study has scientifically proven a link between weather and illness in horses, extreme weather changes are known to cause colic. There […]
Pain Management For Your Horse
Pain is a kind of perception, much like tasting or smelling. Every painful sensation is created by the brain to alert the body of a harmful situation. Pain is initiated by receptors at nerve endings, which detect a hazard and send a message thru the nerves to the spinal cord. The spinal cord then sends […]
Physiology of Stress
Stress is any type of mental or emotional strain that results from exposure to adverse or threatening conditions. A horse’s body responds to stress through all 8 physiological systems. For example, the musculoskeletal system responds by tensing the muscles to guard against injury and pain, the respiratory system responds by increasing respiration rate, and the […]
When to Blanket Your Horse
While you may be shivering in the barn aisle once the temperature drops below 50 degrees, horses are much more well adapted to the cold weather. As the days grow shorter, the horse responds to the diminishing sunlight by growing long hair all over the body. When it is very cold, these hairs stand up […]
