Horses Need Extra TLC During Cold, Wet Winter Weather

CA.UKY.EDU/EQUINE ❙ THEHORSE.COM ❙ JANUARY 2019 BROUGHT TO YOU BY which can help them maintain body Horses Need Extra TLC During temperature.” If owners are unsure of their hay qual- Cold, Wet Winter Weather ity, slowly adding a daily concentrate can help provide a complete ration. he 2018-2019 winter has “Horses have three basic needs— Many horse owners use blankets, served up roller coaster shelter, feed, and water,” said Bob which can be helpful but also require Coleman, PhD, horse specialist for the extra attention. T temperatures and record University of Kentucky (UK) College of “You need to remove the blanket peri- precipitation in Kentucky. Our Agriculture, Food and Environment, odically to groom and check the horse’s equine friends are quite adap- in Lexington. “You can easily manage coat,” Coleman said. “We have some horses outside, but you’ll have to provide extreme temperature variations, and if tive to these variations, but horse a few creature comforts.” that blanket gets wet or if it warms up owners must provide additional Shelter should provide protection and traps moisture from the horse sweat- care to help animals cope and from the wind and the different forms ing, it could be detrimental to the horse’s thrive when temperatures dip of precipitation Kentucky sees in winter, health and coat condition. So, if you such as freezing rain, sleet, snow, and must use blankets, make sure you check low and are accompanied by wet ice. Coleman said horses’ hair coats can the horse often.” and windy conditions. effectively protect them from cold tem- It’s also important to ensure blankets peratures, but they’re less able fit properly. A blanket that is too big or to guard against windy and wet too small can cause coat-damaging fric- conditions. tion among other issues. “If a horse’s coat gets wet Water remains the most crucial ele- in rain or snow, it can dra- ment in winter horse care. If a horse matically chill them,” he said. drinks less water, he might eat less. “You may need to bring them Additionally, proper digestion requires inside a barn to dry and warm adequate water intake. up. Otherwise, three-walled “It’s not uncommon to see an increase shelters that guard against in impaction colics in horses that eat prevailing winds do a nice job high-forage diets without drinking of protecting horses from the enough water,” Coleman said. “Make sure elements.” the water you’re offering isn’t too cold, He also recommended having and check for problems with your tank bedding in shelters as long as heaters.” they drain well and stay dry. Horses are very cold-tolerant >Aimee Nielsen is an agricultural commu- and can comfortably withstand nications specialist within UK’s College of air temperatures down to Agriculture, Food and Environment. around 13 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperatures drop below that, however, owners In This Issue should think about adding extra hay to their feeding program. In cold weather, horses need more Abortion in Kentucky Broodmares 5 energy to stay warm. “Adequate high-quality feed UK, Lloyd’s of London OCK.COM T is very important, especially IS Partnership Continues 7 in the winter,” Coleman said. Horses adapt well to winter weather, but they require extra attention when the temperatures dip low and are accompa- “As horses eat and digest hay, 2019 Pastures Please!! nied by wet and windy conditions. digestion creates internal heat, Workshop Scheduled 9 1 Bluegrass Equine Digest ❙ ca.uky.edu/equine ❙ TheHorse.com ❙ January 2019 horses become lifelong latent carriers. Agents of Abortion Regardless of whether that carrier is a Masthead mare, the latent virus has the potential at s horse breeders eagerly await the any point to reactivate and replicate in the ■ University of Kentucky Ag Aimpending birth of their foals, they bloodstream. When that happens, says Equine Programs can’t help but fear one thing: abortion. Timoney, the horse can shed the virus into Abortion is foal loss before 300 days of the nasopharynx for 36 to 48 hours and Holly Wiemers, MA, APR, managing gestation. In worst-case scenarios, breed- potentially transmit it to pregnant mares. editor and communications ing facilities don’t lose just one foal; a Because of this, mares should be vac- director of UK Ag Equine Programs, [email protected] pathogen (disease-causing microorgan- cinated at five, seven, and nine months ism) causes an abortion storm in which of gestation. Patricia Sertich, VMD, Dipl. ■ Bluegrass Equine Digest several mares lose their pregnancies ACT, MS, associate professor-clinician ed- Advisory Board around the same time. Regardless of the ucator at the University of Pennsylvania’s Bob Coleman, PhD, PAS, associate magnitude of losses, abortion can be a School of Veterinary Medicine, in Kennett professor and extension horse devastating emotional and financial blow Square, cautions that even though the vac- specialist to a horse owner. cine helps reduce outbreak incidence and David Horohov, MS, PhD, chair of UK's It’s important to understand the various severity, it is not 100% protective. Department of Veterinary Science reasons mares abort and know whether “The reason for that is not that the and director of the UK Gluck Equine yours is at risk. In this article we’ll review vaccine is not good,” she says. “It’s just Research Center some of the most common infectious and that the virus itself doesn’t cause a good Michael “Mick” Peterson, PhD, director noninfectious causes. immune response in the mare, and so we of UK Ag Equine Programs and have to administer the vaccines repeatedly professor in the department INFECTIOUS Causes and frequently in gestation.” of biosystems and agricultural engineering Timoney says mares can be exposed to Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and contract the virus at any time during Ray Smith, PhD, professor and forage extension specialist in Peter Timoney, MVB, PhD, FRCVS, is pregnancy. However, most EHV-1-related the department of plant and soil the Frederick Van Lennep Chair in Equine abortions occur from seven months of sciences Veterinary Science at UK and a designated gestation onward. After it gets in the Jill Stowe, PhD, associate professor world expert on equine rhinopneumonitis bloodstream (viremia), the virus sets up in the department of agricultural and equine viral arteritis for the World shop in the placenta and can cause major economics Organization for Animal Health. He says damage to the placental vasculature, re- the most important cause of abortion sulting in thromboembolic lesions (when ■ Bluegrass Equine Digest in mares in the U.S. is EHV-1, or equine a blood clot blocks a vessel). This impairs Editorial Committee rhinopneumonitis. the placental blood supply and can lead Craig Carter, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVPM, “The virus is ubiquitous in domesti- to the placenta separating from the uterus director and professor of the UK cated equid populations worldwide,” says and expulsion of the foal. Depending Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Timoney, adding that up to 60% of adult on the severity of the damage, the virus Laurie Lawrence, PhD, professor in the department of animal and food sciences Krista Lea, MS, coordinator of UK’s Horse Pasture Evaluation Program in the department of plant and soil sciences Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. EVPC, ACVM, associate professor at the UK Gluck Equine Research Center ■ The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care Erica Larson, News Editor Brian Turner, Layout and Design The Bluegrass Equine Digest is a registered trademark of the University of Kentucky Ag Equine Programs and Gluck Equine Research Center. The Bluegrass Equine Digest is produced by the University of Kentucky in partnership with TheHorse.com and sponsor Zoetis. It is published monthly to provide up-to-date information on equine research from the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Research material is meant to be shared. OCK.COM T However, materials are copyrighted and require IS reprint permission from UK Ag Equine Programs. Understanding the cause of an abortion can help breeders and veterinarians manage the mare going Past issues of the Bluegrass Equine Digest are forward for future successful pregnancies. available at www2.ca.uky.edu/equine/bed. 2 Bluegrass Equine Digest ❙ ca.uky.edu/equine ❙ TheHorse.com ❙ January 2019 AGENTS OF ABORTION to abort at seven months of gestation or later, says Timoney, equine arteritis virus- infected mares can abort as early as two might not have time to infect the fetus. In months of gestation right through to term. such instances, only the placental tissues Some mares infected in late pregnancy will test positive upon necropsy. can carry to term and give birth to an in- In other instances in which the mare fected foal that dies within 48 to 96 hours. is exposed to the virus late in pregnancy, “If you have a foal that is born diseased, she might not abort. However, because the kindest, most humane, most appropri- the virus can cross the placenta the mare ate thing to do is to euthanize that foal will give birth to an EHV-1-infected foal. because it will not survive, and the longer Timoney says such foals suffer from you leave it alive, the greater the risk it interstitial viral pneumonitis (lung inflam- may transmit the virus to other animals mation) that is progressive and usually that are susceptible on the premises,” says causes the foal’s death within the first few Timoney. days of life. A vaccine against EVA is available and “There is nothing you can do,” says Tim- primarily targeted at breeding stallions, oney. “You can treat it symptomatically, but veterinarians also recommend it for but you will not reverse the pathogenesis at-risk broodmares.

Load more