Category Archives: Diana de Rosa

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Healthy Horse Tip – The Power House for Our Horses Is Their Immune System

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Without the immune system we die!  When the horse’s immune system is not working properly it causes a lot of health problems for the horse and so it is up to us – the owners, trainers, grooms, and horse lovers – to do whatever we can to keep our horses’ immune systems strong.

The immune system’s job is to protect and eliminate external pathogens (bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites, and allergens) and internal pathogens (cancer cells, toxins, metabolic waste, and damaged cells/tissues).

Approximately 70% of the immune system is surrounding the GI tract, leaving very little to protect the skin, respiratory tract, and all other tissues.  An unhealthy GI tract leads to an overloaded stressed immune system that can lose its ability to respond properly when challenged.

When the immune system over responds we see allergies (hives, heaves-COPD), autoimmune diseases, and/or inflamed tissues (laminitis, sore muscles & joints).  When the immune system is fatigued and can’t respond, the horse is more prone to all types of infections.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – The ABCs of Quality Hay

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Many people grow their own hay.  If you, like most horse owners, cannot grow and harvest your own hay, how do you ensure that the hay you are buying is of good quality with the proper nutrition for your animals?

Traditionally good hay is green and leafy, smells and tastes sweet and should be without mold, dust, weeds, bugs or rain damage.

Looks can be deceiving!  A proven method of evaluating forages without an agronomy degree is to obtain the RFV number.  RFV (Relative Feed Value) measures digestibility and the amount of energy potential available to the animal.

RFV is measured in a six tiered scale with a range between zero and 150.  A value of 100 represents average good quality hay.  The tiers are as follows: Prime – over 150; Premium – 125-150; Good – 103-124; Fair – 87-102; Poor – 75-86; Reject – under 74.  The higher the RFV, the better the digestibility of whichever hay you purchase.

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Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – Ahhh! That Feels Soooo Good

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Chiropractic is much more than treating bones out of place. The vertebrae that encompass the spine surround and protect the spinal cord and major nerve roots. Life force is generated in the brain and transmitted through these nerves to the organs. So, if a vertebra is subluxated, it is more than pain or facilitation that your horse feels, it is also causing diminished activity and vitality of the organs connected to that vertebral segment. Potentially, this can cause digestive, immune and glandular imbalances.

Subluxation of joints is recognized by lessened motion of the joints, by slight changes in the position of the articulating bones, and by pain. The surrounding muscles and connective tissue will splint to protect the area. This alteration of movement in the vertebral joints is known as “kinesiopathy.”  Although most chiropractors adjust the spine, be sure that your chiropractor pays attention to the extremities as well.

Performance horses greatly benefit from regular chiropractic care. There are a plethora of different schools of thought in both the human and equine chiropractic fields. Watch out for excessive long lever techniques and the hammer and mallet folks with no formal training! Remember, by definition a subluxation can be a slight change in the position of bones. Sometimes you get all the adjustment you need from a subtle “network chiropractic” contact on the sacro-tuberous ligament or on the occiput. The American Veterinary Chiropractic Association certifies both DCs and vets to perform chiropractic. This is a good resource.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – Look at My New Shoes!

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Shoeing is like riding, dentistry, or a feed program, where balance is the most important thing.

Balance of the foot depends on not only your farrier, but the team work of the people around your horse. In achieving good feet for your horse, all possibilities should be considered: riding, vet, body workers, dentist, diet, etc. Unfortunately, if a healthy foot is not achieved, there are no consequences to us, the rider, farrier, trainer… only to the horse.

The majority of people are confused about the design of the hoof, so when evaluating your horse’s feet, follow these simple rules.

The horse’s foot should have a sensitive and insensitive frog, with a nice well-defined cleft. The foot should have a sensitive and insensitive sole. The depth of the sole and hoof wall should be at the same height as your insensitive frog. The white line should be of equal distance all the way around the foot. If your horse’s foot looks like that, you have a balanced foot. If you have chips, cracks, or flares, you have an imbalanced foot. This tells you the horse is out of balance, and you know then you have not completed the wellness circle (body workers, chiropractor, farrier, dentist, feed, etc).

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Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Are You Paying Attention to Your Horse’s Gut, Digestion and Diet?

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Some Horse Health Tips from KAM’s Equine Learning Circle

Horses also get stressed and their digestion and gut can suffer with ulcers and other ailments.  How to identify potential problems is something every horse owner should learn. One way to help prevent your horse(s) from getting sick or bring them back to health is by making sure what they eat is good for them.  We pay careful attention to our diets, but do we pay attention to what we feed our horses?  What our horses eat is important if we want them to be healthy and free from disease.

How to Restore and Recondition Equine Digestive and Gut Health

Many horses suffer from stress related digestive problems. Studies show over 50% of show and race horses have ulcers in their GI tract. When the proper acid-base balance of a horse’s digestive tract is disturbed, gastric and/or intestinal ulcers may develop. This increased intestinal permeability creates a pro-inflammatory state that may lead to food sensitivities, allergies, sore muscles and joints, impaired immune system function, colic, laminitis, and many other illnesses.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12745

*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – On the Road Again

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For an animal whose survival instinct is “fight or flight,” how unnatural is it for a horse to walk into a small, noisy, unstable, metal box with no escape route?  Yet we expect them to walk into a trailer and travel hundreds of miles while eating, drinking, sleeping, and eliminating in a rolling death trap.

Once they arrive in a new environment they are then expected to perform.  This is MAJOR STRESS!   When horses are in a “fight or flight” state their gut motility decreases and blood is diverted to muscles to run or fight.  This can lead to colic.  Stress causes an increase in the chemical Cortisol which lowers the immune system function.

Here are some tips to consider that may help your horse deal with traveling:

  • Get them used to loading/standing in the trailer at home (hitched).  Then start taking frequent short trips with positive reinforcement at the end (cookies).
  • Start using products to help the GI tract (probiotics) and the immune system (transfer factors) prior to travel.
  • Some vets recommend administering mineral oil before travel to help prevent impactions.
  • Bring a supply of hay, feed, and water that the horse is used to.
  • Use natural products that don’t have negative side effects to help them relax such as essential oils.
  • Make rest stops as needed where the horse can safely get out and move around.
  • Avoid traveling during the hottest part of the day and be aware of traffic and weather conditions ahead of time.

This tip was brought to you by John J. Hanover, DVM and KAM Animal Services, home of “Cookies with a Clue” and KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” (KELC) FREE webinars, which will take place twice a month from January through June of 2011.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for these webinars.  The KELC FREE webinar will conclude with a question and answer session, so be ready with your nutrition questions.  Stress Busters is the cookie that will help keep your horse calm for that trailer ride.  Just a handful is all it takes.  Order them at http://www.kamanimalservices.com/cookies/index.php.

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week: Stall Rest = Equine Jail

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All too often an injury or surgery requires a horse to be put on “stall rest” to promote healing and/or prevent further damage. Horses were designed to be herd animals while walking and grazing for 20 hours a day.  It should be no surprise the stress and problems stall rest can lead to.

Vices, such as cribbing and stall weaving, may develop to relieve boredom.  The lack of exercise can lead to circulation problems (swollen legs and poor blood flow to the hooves), digestive problems (colic), and weight gain.  Some horses build up so much energy they “explode” in the stall or when taken out for a walk.

Here are some tips to help:

  • Reduce their feed, especially “hot” grains, and control their calories.
  • Feed hay in a net or manger to slow down their eating.  This helps prevent boredom, weight gain and colic.
  • Provide extra bedding and water.
  • Monitor the ventilation and temperature.
  • Supply toys or a pet, such as a goat, to keep them busy.
  • Rotate other horses to stay in for company.
  • Take them for many walks daily if allowed.
  • Use leg wraps and products (oral and topical) to help with any swelling.
  • Consider calming agents, such as essential oils, herbs, Stress Busters cookies, and drugs if needed.

This tip was brought to you by John J. Hanover, DVM and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” (KELC) FREE webinars, which will take place twice a month from January through June of 2011.  To kick things off KAM will have a networking webinar on December 6th at 7pm CST.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for this webinar.  The KELC FREE webinar will conclude with a question and answer session, so be ready with your nutrition questions.

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

To Deworm or Not to Deworm

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Parasites, both internal and external, have been around as long as man and beast.  But are they all bad?

There is current evidence that some parasitic load is beneficial for developing the immune system, decreasing the incidence of allergies, and balancing the gut flora.  However, too many parasites can lead to colic, anemia (lack of blood), weight loss, and damage to various organs.  Age, overall health, risk to exposure, and geographical location all need to be considered when developing a deworming schedule.

Requesting your veterinarian to run fecals and fecal egg counts can help determine the frequency of deworming for your specific horse or herd.  Realize that all dewormers have a very low risk of potential side effects, including diarrhea which can be offset by administering pre & probiotics.

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Competitions, Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa, Disciplines, Events, Show Jumping, Sydney Masters-Durieux, Washington Int'l Horse Show

Hillary Dobbs at the 2010 Washington International Horse Show

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Photos by Diana De Rosa.

Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs’s daughter Hillary showed her wining style at the 2010 Washington International Horse Show in DC the last week. The 22 year old, who lives between Palm Beach, FL and Sussex, NJ, competed as “The Flash” aboard Marengo placing in second during always colorful and exciting $20,000 Gambler’s Choice Costume Class. Rodrigo Pessoa won the class, decked out in an authentic Formula One racing outfit, complete with helmet.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s daughter Georgina (also of Palm Beach and NYC) placed 6th, in a full nun’s habit.  The 3rd place ribbon in the costume class went to Shane Sweetnam, who partnered with Dobbs to win Saturday night’s $15,000 Open Jumper Pair Relay.

Please contact the Washington International Horse show www.wihs.org.

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa, Disciplines

Tip of the Week: The Asymmetrically Built Horse

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[singlepic id=567 w=200 h=150 float=] As with humans, the dominance of a horse being one-sided creates uneven lateral musculature. A rider often spends more time on the weaker side of the horse, working on lateral balance.

When a symmetrical saddle is placed on an asymmetrically built horse, the saddle is going to fall into the weaker side. This may not be an issue for men, who have narrowly placed sitting bones, and can merely sit slightly to the stronger side for lateral balance. For most women though, with a much wider base, they often have to sit further to the stronger side to get that same feeling and often have to collapse their upper body to laterally balance – this starts a chain of compensations.

Whereas a man’s centered position seldom interferes with the horse’s biomechanical movement, a woman’s cantilevered position will force the horse to brace on the rein of the stronger side for his or her lateral balance. This promotes additional muscling on the stronger side of the horse, and other compensations including inward lateral tracking on the passive hock.

Because of those compensations, the saddle should be fitted so the rider’s position does not negatively affect the biomechanical movement of the horse, and allow the rider to sit evenly in the saddle having full use of his or her relaxed core strength – the asymmetrical fit.

-By George Gullikson – Master Saddle Fitter – to view this article in full visit www.equineinspired.info.

This tip was brought to you by KAM Animal Services, now offering the Cookies with a Clue Holiday Gift Bucket, the perfect gift for anyone that loves and owns horses. The treats can be ordered from now until the end of December by going to www.kamanimalservices.com or by calling 519-463-9640. It’s only $29.95 and the cute bucket is loaded with wonderfully wrapped baggies of delicious, all organic, sugar-free supplement cookies.