Your Horse

Worming Your Horse

Small strongyles (‘small red worm’) are the most common and harmful intestinal worm of horses worldwide and account for 95% of faecal worm egg count burdens. The adult worms are small (1-2 cm long) and live in the horse’s large intestine (Fig. 1). The adult worms lay eggs which pass onto the pasture in the manure. Larvae (immature worm) hatch from the egg and cleverly migrate up blades of grass...

Selecting Hay for Your Horse

Differences in nutrient content between different grass hay varieties are much smaller than differences between legumes and grasses (Table 1). Cool-season grasses (grown in temperate climates) include timothy, orchardgrass, fescue and annual ryegrass. Warm-season grasses (adapted to tropical and subtropical regions, like Florida) include Coastal bermudagrass, Tifton-85 bermudagrass, and bahiagr...

Keeping Your Eye on the Rail: Gaze Behaviour of Horse Riders Approaching a Jump

The gaze behaviour of riders during their approach to a jump was investigated using a mobile eye tracking device (ASL Mobile Eye). The timing, frequency and duration of fixations on the jump and the percentage of time when their point of gaze (POG) was located elsewhere were assessed. Fixations were identified when the POG remained on the jump for 100 ms or longer. The jumping skill of experien...

How to find the best deworming schedule for you and your horse

ASC-173: Botulism: A Deadly Disease That Can Affect Your Horse

B is a deadly disease caused by the toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The botulinum toxin is a potent neurotoxin that impairs nerve function, including those of the diaphragm, leading to paralysis. When the nerves to the diaphragm are paralyzed, the affected animal stops breathing and will die as a result. C. botulinum is an anaerobic (lives without oxygen), gram-positive,...