The Equine Connection Podcast

Feeding the Lazy Horse

Last week we discussed feeding strategies for the anxious horse. In this week's podcast, we evaluate the other spectrum and offer tips and advice on feeding the lazy horse. There can be many factors that can contribute to a horse being considered lazy, one of which is diet. One factor that is common is quite simply the horse is overweight. Thus, we discuss what in the diet is contributing to a horse being overweight and we offer up advice on how you might adjust your feeding plan. On the flipside, if a horse may be too thin, we discuss ways on how you might safely increase their energy. Then for horses that are neither thin nor overweight, but they just seem to lose energy when exercising, we discuss some reasons why and how you might alter their diet. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

Feeding the Anxious Horse

Everyone who works with or around horses will encounter an anxious horse, or even many anxious horses in their lifetime. While we briefly cover the many contributing factors that potentially lead to anxiety in horses, one we especially highlight this week is diet. When focusing on the diet as a potential cause, we first talk about the different nutrient categories and discuss how they may or may not be a problem for this type of horse. One category that we especially focus on is energy in the diet. We discuss the differences in sugar/starch and fats and how they can influence our animals. We also talk about other nutrients and especially how nutrients like magnesium or thiamine are thought to be calming agents. Towards the end of the podcast we offer up some general broad recommendations and strategies on feeding the performance horse down to our retired horses. All in all, diet can be a contributing cause that can lead to anxiousness in our horses and one that needs to be analyzed carefully.  

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

Hair Analysis for your Horse

Is it possible to analyze your horse's hair and get a snapshot of their dietary health? In this week's podcast we discuss what is exactly involved in a hair analysis, the science behind it, and what some are claiming it proves. However, we discuss why this actually is not a good strategy for aiding your nutritional decision making. We do discuss where a hair analysis might be useful for you as a horse owner and when you may want to use it. We conclude this week's podcast with discussing  a more appropriate and affordable  tool to analyze your horse's diets. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

 

Carbohydrates in your Horse's Diet

Carbohydrates are a hot topic in the equine industry and for good reason. They are often linked with metabolic disease and other disorders in some of our equids. Specifically, non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). However, NSC are also critical to your horse's health and their performance. Thus, in this week's podcast we focus in on carbohydrates and why they are important your horse. We first talk about the different types of carbohydrates, structural and non-structural, and where horses receive them in their diet. Dr. Rambo highlights some of the latest research regarding NSC and horse health, and what it means to you. She also talks about how you can calculate just how much NSC your horse is getting in their diets. We also talk about why NSC are still important to your horse and are a critical source of energy for many of our horses. We finish off the podcast about the thought process of what goes into formulating NSC levels in a concentrated feed. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

 

Interview with former jockey and current trainer Rosie Napravnik

Rosie Napravnik is former world-class jockey and now current trainer of retired racehorses. Rosie had an incredibly successful career as a jockey and was in fact the second female jockey to win a Breeder's Cup race. She also has raced in multiple Triple Crown events and was a top 10 jockey for multiple years before retiring in 2014. Today, Rosie is focused on training retired racehorses. In our interview we talk about Rosie's illustrious career and about her love of Thoroughbreds has led to her passion for giving them second careers. She is the owner of Off-Track Sporthorses and continues to be an inspiration to all horse enthusiasts. 

We hope you enjoy our interview with Rosie and you can learn more about her and Off-Track Sporthorses by visiting her website HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

Horses that don't Sweat (Anhidrosis)

It is estimated up to 6% of all horses develop a syndrome where they start to sweat less and less, which is called "anhidrosis." Eventually, anhidrosis can lead to an almost complete absence of sweat from a horse. This is very concerning since sweating is the primary way horses cool their body temperatures. In this week's podcast, we discuss how anhidrosis may manifest in your horse. We highlight some of the signs to look for in a horse that is developing anhidrosis and what some of the dangers are if left unmanaged. Then, because these horses need to be managed to maintain their well-being, we also give some tips on how to alleviate their discomfort. We also discuss some of the available research on horses that suffer from anhidrosis, while also briefly giving nutritional tips on how to help these horses maintain optimal health. Finally, if you suspect your horse may be suffering from anhidrosis, it is critical you speak to your veterinarian, as only they can diagnose your horse. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

 

Cribbing Horses

One of the most frustrating abnormal behaviors a horse may adopt is the act of cribbing. Briefly, cribbing is when a horse places their front teeth on a hard surface, arch their necks back forcefully, and then gulp or inhale air. There are many factors that may cause a horse to start cribbing and in this week's podcast we address some of the latest research into the origins of cribbing. Stress is still a primary factor on why a horse may start cribbing, but there are other influences that owners should be aware of. We also address how ulcers may either be induced by cribbing or may be a cause of why a horse may start to crib. There are health other concerns with a horse that cribs beyond the wearing down of their front teeth that we address and what that may mean to your horse. In the past it was believed that a horse should be prevented from cribbing at all cost. That attitude has changed and we discuss why it may now be acceptable to let a horse crib, but there are management strategies that can be implemented to reduce just how often a horse may crib. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

 

Horses Eating Manure

Owners may become alarmed when they witness their horse start to eat either its own manure, or even manure from another horse. Typically this is seen in foals and other young horses and we talk about why they may exhibit this behavior. There is even some evidence that manure eating is beneficial to young horses and we briefly touch upon that. Then we switch the discussion of what to do when this behavior is observed in our adult horse population. Owners should be aware of the underlying causes of why an adult horse may begin to eat manure, and then we give some management tips on how to alleviate these causes. We also talk about some of the health concerns with horses that eat manure and what you can do to protect your horse. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

 

Importance of Vitamin E

When discussing equine nutrition we often focus on the larger picture. However, sometimes we need to focus down to the importance of certain nutrients. Vitamin E is one such nutrient. In this week's podcast we focus in on the importance of vitamin E and why owners should be aware of it, and why they need to ensure their horses are receiving enough of it. Vitamin E is not only critical for basic body function, it also imparts many benefits such as its role as an antioxidant. Vitamin E deficiency has the potential to cause serious health problems with your horse. Thus, we discuss this while also highlighting the sources of vitamin E in the diet and explain why a "hay only" diet is not enough to satisfy a horse's vitamin E requirements.  Dr. Rambo also talks about natural versus synthetic sources of vitamin E and how that can influence the diet of a horse. We also give some final tips and considerations when it comes to feeding vitamin E to your horses. 

You can learn more about these topics by visiting our expertise page HERE

If you have any questions or concerns about your own horse, please contact us HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition

Interview w/Lauren Sprieser of Sprieser Sporthorse

This week we are publishing our first podcast interview with equine industry professionals. The focus for our interviews will be to find out about our guest's journey into the horse industry and the "why" of what they do. We are very excited to host for our first interview Lauren Sprieser of Sprieser Sporthorse. In our chat Lauren describes where her love for horses began and how she has navigated her successful career as a Grand Prix Dressage trainer, rider, and clinician. We talk about what she has learned not only about horses, but also about herself over the years working with these special animals. We also talk about her latest Grand Prix horse Elvis, and just what makes him so special. Lauren is also a prolific writer and blogger. We also ask about the many articles she has written that have appeared in The Chronicles of the Horse, Practical Horseman, and Dressage Today.

We hope you enjoy our interview with Lauren and you can learn more about her and Sprieser Sporthorse by visiting her website HERE

This podcast was brought to you by Tribute Superior Equine Nutrition