My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
After 28 days of force-feeding Zelda her ulcer meds, I’m happy to report that the latest endoscopic exam showed that healing is happening. In fact, she is able to taper off the Omeprazole over the next week, and will finish off the container of Sucralfate. Zelda has been a very good girl but she is […]
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Treating ulcers is only the first step of fixing the problem; preventing them from recurring is the tricky part. For the last few weeks, as I use medication to heal Zelda’s ulcers, I’ve been thinking about feeding to prevent ulcers in the future. The tricky part for me is that Zelda doesn’t fit the mold […]
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Zelda has always been a good girl about accepting oral meds. The occasional wormer, the odd tube of Banamine, none of those have caused a problem. Same with the first dose of omeprazole. The problem is, this isn’t a one-dose situation. Or even two doses. It’s once a day for 28 days. We have just […]
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Research has shown that among racehorses and performance horses, ulcers are very common. More than 90% of racehorses (thoroughbreds and standardbreds), more than 60% of endurance competitors (in season) and more than 50% of show horses typically have ulcers. The risk factors include limited turnout, prolonged period without feed, and stress — including competition, trailering […]
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One of the (only) downsides of the warmer weather we’ve been enjoying is the number of ticks has increased. Zelda, in particular, is a tick magnet. It’s not unusual for me to pick seven or eight ticks off her during grooming, sometimes more. She reacts quite badly to the tick bites and I can usually […]
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One of the problems of keeping my horses near a public trail is that passersby have no understanding of what horses shouldn’t eat. You’d think that people wouldn’t feed someone else’s horse — I mean, seriously, would you hand someone else’s kid a peanut butter sandwich? — but most people figure that horses in a […]
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No matter how much Zelda tries to convince me she’s not eating clover, the enormous amount of clover slobber running out of her mouth gives her away. The photo does not even come close to showing how much saliva has been pouring out her mouth. In fact, one of the more serious side effects of […]
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Buttercups are toxic to horses. Although I’ve taken care of my own horses for more than 15 years, I didn’t know that — despite the fact that our pastures have buttercups growing in them. Note: the photo for this post was taken in my hometown, but not where the horses graze. Hold a buttercup flower […]
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