The Itchies Are Coming!... Whoa - it's not even Winter yet!

Now is the time to be thinking about warding off the spring/summer "itchies" which seem to plague many horses beginning with spring shedding and progressively getting worse as summer's bugs and sweat become part of daily life with your horses.

"It's winter and cold out, it's not a problem now!" I can hear many of us thinking. But this is exactly the time to start thinking about the basic causes of the inflammation process that triggers many forms of "the itches" and to begin your intervention tactics.  A multi-pronged approach I first learned from Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD, well known  leader and innovator in equine nutrition, has worked well for clients horses in the Southwest and across the country.

The basis of "itch", a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch, arises from inflammation of nerves. Once sensitized, it becomes easier and easier for the nerves to become "excited" and more and more difficult to quell the sensation.  The sensitivity may carry over from the original culprit (an insect bite or contact with a noxious plant or substance) so that almost anything becomes a "trigger" - something which will set off the need to scratch.  Along with this comes a whole catalog of false-positive "allergies", even to substances the horse has never been exposed to before. A "true" allergy requires previous exposure to an allergy causing substance and the development of antibodies to the allergen itself, while a "false" allergy is an inflammatory reaction to a trigger acting as an irritant to the immune system.

Why some horses respond or react more to inflammatory insults than others isn't really known - just as why some people are allergic to bee stings or have autoimmune diseases and others do not.  There may have been a reaction to midge bites or another "trigger" when their immune system was busy with something else and that began the process. What we need to accomplish is to support the immune system so it can effectively deal with future triggers.  At the same time we don't want to "stimulate" the immune system as it is already overstimulated.

The first step in a comprehensive plan to combat next season's itchies is mineral balancing your horse's diet.  Without the base diet in place to provide the body with the tools and building blocks to develop and maintain a strong immune system, all your subsequent interventions become an exercise in futility and a waste of your time and money.  Start with a calcium phosphorus ratio as close as 2:1 as you can bring it, add magnesium to bring it to a similar level to phosphorus, then identify and balance excessive levels of iron (pro-inflammatory) and manganese.

The next step in your comprehensive plan is to provide a source of Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E in your horse's diet year round.  When horses graze active gowing pasture they receive adequate Omega-3 but, as soon as hay is cut and cured this is lost almost immediately (along with vitamin E). Flaxseed (fresh ground or stabilized) at a rate of two to six ounces a day, flaxseed oil at one to four ounces per day, chia seed at two to six ounces per day or any of a number of commercial Omega-3 supplements can provide the powerful antioxidant support missing from hay.  Vitamin E is another antioxidant which is easy to include (at a rate of 2 IU per pound of body weight or 2,000 IU for an average horse).

By starting these steps now when your horses may least seem to need them you're ensuring they enter into the critical spring shedding season with good immune system reserves.

Spirulina

Thinking ahead to your horse's spring and summer response to their usual triggers - bug bites, sweat, etc. - be prepared to take action before these triggers can set off a full scale inflammatory response. If your horse always breaks out in hives at the first sign of a gnat or midge, begin giving Spirulina at a rate of 20 grams twice a day (or 40 grams once a day) about a month before the first bug is expected to appear.  Spirulina is a farmed source of a specific blue-green algae (not "any" blue-green algae will do). Despite some of the outrageous claims of Spirulina as a "super food", it does have some mast cell inhibition properties and suppression of histamine levels which can effectively slow down or even halt some inflammatory responses, (similar in effect to the human medication montelukast).

A "nutraceutical" which has an anti-inflammatory effect is chondroitin sulfate.  This is the "same" chondroitin popular as a joint supplement but given at a rate of 2.5 to 5 grams per 500 pounds body weight per day, or 5 to 10 grams per day for an average horse.

There are several other herbs and "natural" remedies which may be helpful but few will be effective once the inflammatory cascade has been set in motion.  If you wait until your horse is already reacting to sweat and bug bites with hives or scratching themselves raw, you'll most likely need veterinary intervention and medications incluiding steroids and anti-histamines to slow down and halt the process and you - and your horse - will be stuck with another year of the misery of the itchies.

Caution! Just because sometihing is "natural" does not mean it is safe!  Make sure your veterinarian is aware of any supplements, herbs and nutraceuticals you give your horse, especially if any medications or treatments are also needed.  Even "natural" topical medications and sprays can be triggers - for example, a "natural" fly spray triggered my asthma last summer and raised hives on one horse's rump.

Plan ahead - and think about next summer's worst being a good roll in the sand and a shake after a ride. (This would be a great time to take Dr. Kellon's NRC Plus and Nutrition as Therapy courses!)

Warm regards,

Patti
in very chilly Vail Az


Links:
I have included Wikipedia and commercial links here today because they provide some simple explanation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy
http://www.desertequinebalance.com/articles/allergic-skin-reactions
http://www.desertequinebalance.com/supplements/omega-3
http://www.desertequinebalance.com/supplements/vitamin-e
http://www.drkellon.com
http://www.drkellon.com/coursedescriptions/nutritionasatherapy.html
http://www.mybesthorse.com/productinformation/spirulina.html
http://horsetech.com/equine-supplements/basic-ingredients/spirulina
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1781653/pdf/12061428.pdf
http://www.lifeextension.com/protocols/immune-connective-joint/allergies/page-03
http://www.mybesthorse.com/productinformation/chondroitinsulfate.html

Warm Days, Chilly Nights and a Cold Snap Moving In - Salt is for Winter, Too!

Just another reminder that these conditions in the Southwest can set up your horse to easily become dehydrated which can lead to an impaction.

Your first line of defense? SALT!  An adult horse needs about an ounce of plain white salt a day added to feed for maintenance - about four teaspoons or a small handful. This will ensure an adequate "thirst response" as long as fresh clean water is available.  Most horses can't get enough salt solely from a block, although a plain white block or brick should always be kept available in their feeder and/or turn out area.

Next in our line of defense is monitoring water intake. My horses consistently are drinking ten to twelve gallons each now that the weather has cooled down, and a little more when daytime highs go up into the 80's (I just love living in Arizona!)  I long ago got rid of my automatic waterers and switched to large muck buckets for water, along with a 100 gallon tank in the turn out area. If you use automatic waterers, they need to be checked every day to ensure they are working properly and not freezing up during the night; providing a bucket of water also is good insurance but not always possible if you board. You should also do a hydration check on your horse daily - squeeze a fold of skin between your index finger and thumb, it should snap back flat in less than three seconds, and check that the gums are moist, not dry or sticky.

As horses age they make less saliva when they chew; this can be aggravated if water intake is inadequate. Combined with worn or missing teeth hay can become difficult to chew into digestible lengths which will pass easily through the digestive system leading up to an impaction.

Consider using a leaf mulcher to chop hay into finer lengths and/or wetting the hay down.  Getting the older horse used to accepting concentrates as a mash, with wetter and soupier consistency as it's accepted, is a good way to get more water into these older campaigners.  Hay pellets and beet pulp shreds will hold many times their weight in water and the fineness of the grind makes them a good option.

Caution with beet pulp pellets - unless they're soaked for several hours, beet pulp pellets can retain a hard center which may cause a problem for some horses.  I've been finding much more consistency in the beet pulp shreds I purchase now (cleaner, more consistent chop) than when I first started feeding beet pulp fifeen years ago, plus they soak up water quickly, eliminating the need for a long soak.

Feeding the mash in a large muck bucket will also encourage whoever is doing the feeding to add more water than if the feed is mixed up in a small bucket. I mix the beet pulp shreds, Timothy hay pellets, supplement (AZ Copper Complete), salt and any other add-ins in easy to carry buckets out to the stalls, then dump it into the large muck buckets and soak it all with a hard spray setting with a hose to thoroughly mix, using at least a gallon of water per horse.   The muck buckets are easy to keep clean and don't tip easily - at least not until they're down to licking up every last drop!


Bottom line - plain white salt is likely the most essential supplement you can provide to your horse - along with lots of clean, fresh water and quality forage.

Stay warm and enjoy your horses!

Patti
in warm sunny Vail AZ - until the weekend (Brrrrrr)

Links:
AZ Copper Complete - http://horsetech.com/arizona-copper-complete
Leaf Mulchers - http://www.bestreviews.guide/leaf-mulchers?
Large muck buckets -http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/muck%20bucket

Chromium - AZ CC now available with or without

Many horse owners are unsure if AZ Copper Complete with chromium is right for their horse.

This has been a popular supplement to use when hay can't be tested for more precise balancing or in boarding situations.  Developing this mix was done with the insulin resistant (IR) horse in mind on a diet of mainly Southwestern hay which is likely deficient in chromium.  Because chromium can provide antioxidant support, providing this mineral in small amounts can also be appropriate for horses which aren't IR, or consume hay or pasture in other regions of the country.

But there are some circumstances where we might not want to add chromium to the diet. Horses with PSSM/EPSM can be insulin "sensitive" rather than insulin resistant, so we may want to avoid ingredients such as chromium which can improve insulin sensitivity.  Soil in many parts of the US are not chromium deficient and some may have high levels as a result of "industrial fallout".

As I've had many requests about the availability of AZ Copper Complete without added chromium, I checked with Rod Johnson at HorseTech, where AZ CC is manufactured and sold.

I am happy to announce that you can now purchase AZ Copper Complete without chromium!

As most of you know, this supplement has always been available only directly from HorseTech, with no "middle man" or reseller charges, and I receive no remuneration from the sale of AZ CC. This ensures HorseTech is able to keep the supplement available at the most reasonable cost to you and that the product you receive is at its freshest. And, like everything they sell, it is covered by HorseTech's 100% satisfaction guarantee.

To order AZ Copper Complete without chromium, call HorseTech at 1-800-831-3309 or send an email to Service@HorseTech.com and request AZ Copper Complete without chromium.

The supplement will have a different "MS" number on the label; if demand is high enough then it can be added to their Popular Custom Products order page.  You can still order AZ Copper Complete with chromium at the Popular Custom Products order page as you alway have.

You can find out more about AZ Copper Complete here and view or download the label and a spec sheet.  If you have questions about including AZ Copper Complete, a custom supplement mix or another HorseTech product in your horse's diet, you can email me at desertequinebalance@gmail.com.

Best regards,

Patti Woodbury Kuvik
in monsoon soaked Vail AZ
Don't forget the salt!

Links

• AZ Copper Complete information http://www.desertequinebalance.com/az-copper-complete
• HorseTech - Awesome Supplements, Amazing Service http://www.horsetech.com
• HorseTech Popular Custom Products http://www.horsetech.com/popular-customs.html
• Metabolic Conditions http://www.desertequinebalance.com/nutrition-basics/metabolic-conditions

Updated Info on Southwest Regional Supplements

Website update - I've added Sally Hugg's California Trace supplement  to the SW Regional Custom supplements article on my website so you can now compare it to the three "Arizona" supplements I developed - AZ Regional Mix, AZ First Balance and AZ Copper Complete - manufactured and sold by HorseTech).
Even if you don't plan to use one of these four supplements, reviewing the charts in the article will give you an idea of some of the things to look for when comparing supplements.

• What levels of minerals and vitamins does it contain?
• What is the "base"?
• How much do I need to feed?
• Do I really need all the ingredients in the complete supplement or do I only need the basics?
• Do I need to add a lot of extras to the supplement?
• Do I want to pay for the convenience of having the "extras" included?

As you can tell by comparing the cost, analyses and suggested "add-ins" of these supplements, there is a wide spread between the "basic" supplements and the more complete mixes.  While it may be easier to simply buy the product with the most ingredients hoping to cover everything, I try to discourage horse owners from spending money on nutrients they don't need.  Sally's California Trace is perfect for a horse on quality pasture providing good levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E, or the owner who wants to purchase and grind their own flax seed.  The more intense support  of AZ Copper Complete might be the choice for the horse which never sees a blade of grass, whose hay quality is highly variable or the owner with little extra time available for "tweaking" their supplement.

The ideal is, of course, analyzing your hay (and pasture) to ensure you're meeting your horse's requirements and to give you a basis for filling in the gaps (or balancing excesses).  But when that is not possible, take the time to choose your supplement wisely, spending on the nutrients that will count for your horse.

Best regards,
Patti
Desert Hoofprints in very warm Vail AZ (99 F - don't forget the salt!)

Links -
SW Regional Supplements http://www.desertequinebalance.com/Files/regional-supplements
California Trace http://www.californiatrace.com/
HorseTech http://www.horsetech.com/

Vitamin A Question

A reader asked about my article Making It Through the Tough Times:  Would a Vitamin A source be needed, and if yes, which one would you suggest?

In the article I outlined the essential basics our horses need to maintain good health. 

Included were:

• The best hay you can find and afford (grass or mixed)
• The trace minerals copper and zinc
• Iodized salt (to provide both salt and iodine)
• Selenium if you're not in a high selenium area

plus flax and vitamin E when your horse does not have access to growing pasture.

Hay will retain good levels of vitamin A for several months.  In addition, horses store vitamin A in the liver - this is usually sufficient to carry them over the winter until new pasture or spring cuttings of hay are available.  

Once hay is more than six months old, especially in late winter to early spring, you may want to supplement some vitamin A.  In the Arizona regional mixes, vitamin A has been included at a minimum level (15,000 IU) to provide an "insurance" level. 

I like to evaluate the horse's coat condition in the spring to help me decide if I should begin adding some vitamin A until spring forage is available.  If the skin is "scurfy" - dry and flakey with an excess amount of "dandruff" even after a good grooming - I'll add some vitamin A and evaluate for improvement in ten days to two weeks.  Several other things can cause poor coat and skin condition including mineral imbalance, inadequate protein, parasites, illness or dehydration, or can interfere with vitamin A absorption or storage.  But in an otherwise healthy horse I'll expect to see improvement in skin and coat texture.

You can use either beta carotene or "preformed" vitamin A - both are available as human gel-caps from the drug store or from online sources such as http://www.swansonvitamins.com/.  If using beta carotene, look for one that provides a minimum of 25,000 IU of vitamin A activity.  I have used beta carotene with good results but, as horses convert only a portion of the beta carotene to useable vitamin A,   preformed vitamin A will likely give faster results.

If your hay was a late season cutting, deep green and still looks, smells and feels fresh in late winter/early spring and your horse is shedding out to a soft shiny coat with no signs of skin dryness, you probably don't need to add vitamin A.  But if your hay was put up early last summer and your horse's skin and coat are dry and lifeless despite knowing he's getting the essentials, give a couple of weeks of vitamin A a try. 

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To learn all the essential requirements your horse should have, consider starting with  Dr. Kellon's NRC Plus nutrition courses.  

Desert Hoofprints Email

Because of both the cost and "commercial" appearance of a newsletter service, I'm changing the way I keep friends and clients updated.  You can now subscribe on my blog to receive email updates - which will let you know when there is something new to learn about or if there have been important changes or updates to articles and files on my website.

I will also be including replies to questions emailed to me or asked in "comments" - if you have a question you'd like me to talk about in a Desert Hoofprints article, you can submit it by email from the home page or send directly to DesertEquineBalance@gmail.com.

Hope you enjoy the new format and find it more casual and friendly.

Patti
Making Desert Hoofprints in Vail, Arizona

Nutrition and Hoof Quality

My hoofcare provider (Courtney Vincent) emailed me to ask about a product she recently encountered:

I trim 2 horses, same place, same feeds, 3-4 year age difference, both QH, both on 5oz AZ Copper Complete.
Then [someone] gave her a sample of something called hoof armour or something like that - it is a yeast supplement for feet, very expensive. Have you heard of it? Anyway, she put the one horse on it and did not put the other horse on it.

I went back to trim and the horse on it had zero separation and foot looked good overall, the other one looked horrible, had terrible separation and just overall not good.

I had briefly looked at Kombat Boots some time ago and felt that, given the cost, I would just try HorseTech's Yeast+.

I took a closer look at it this morning, and also some other things I feel might affect hoof quality, especially in an older horse.

Yeast

Kombat Boots appears to me to be an expensive version of saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. http://www.kombatboots.com/.

Based on the information on their web site I don't see any advantage for this product over basic Diamond V http://www.diamondv.com/products-core/ or Yea-Sacc http://www.yea-sacc1026.com/yea-sacc/about.htm.

I've been using Yeast+ from HorseTech (which is Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast from Diamond V) http://www.horsetech.com/yeast.htm.

You can order bulk bags of Diamond V yeast at some feed stores or from here http://triangleh.com/category/diamond-v-yeast-order/ (I've never ordered here so don't know the level of service).

Yea-Sacc is available in SmartPaks http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=3706

If you do a comparison, Kombat Boots claims "100 grams of natural yeast in an 8 oz. serving". This is about 12.5 grams per ounce so I presume there is some kind of filler to make it pelleted. HorseTech's Yeast+ is 28 grams of yeast per ounce or 227 grams in 8 ounces. No filler. Same for basic Yea-Sacc or Diamond V.

Kombat Boots' web site says "other" products "...use yeast cultures, yeast extracts..." implying they don't actually contain yeast. The products I looked at above do contain "Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast..." or "Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and the media on which it was grown..." - this certainly indicates that these products do contain yeast. I don't know how yeast might be grown except on a culture medium of some type so any yeast might be considered a "culture", even if it is removed from the growth media.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast will act as a probiotic and to help older horses (and younger stressed horses) with B-vitamin support, and is thought to help with utilization of feeds - improved fiber digestion in horses hasn't been scientifically proven but is claimed in other species and in horses anecdotally.

Forage

Another thing I'd look at for an older horse (or any horse with hoof problems) is the crude protein (CP) and digestibility (ADF, NDF) of their hay, and if the energy level (DE) is sufficient to keep protein from being diverted to energy use. If the hay is not really good, even extra amino acids (AA's) in the supplement might not be enough. Horse's digestive systems weren't really meant to support horses living this long (how many horses over twenty or twenty-five survive in the wild?) - some that aren't doing well on the "basics" may need a boost. Protein sources that also contain moderate levels of fat can be useful, keeping in mind that high fat levels can worsen or induce insulin resistance (IR).

We also need to look at how the horses are processing their feed. Older horses make less saliva which makes chewing more difficult, compounded by less tooth function with age. Are they really chewing adequately? Dunking or soaking hay may help. Do they need to have their hay chopped (a wood chipper from Home Depot of Lowes) or do they need to be switched to

pelleted hay (this is why my aged black Appendix mare is getting close to 8-9 lbs alfalfa/Timothy pellets + beet pulp daily, along with her AZ Copper Complete supplement and Yeast+). Plain or mixed pellets from Mtn Sunrise, or Lakin or other mixed pellets can make up 100% of the ration, with hay provided for "entertainment". This might really be the first place to look for an older horse - it's worth trying a pelleted hay for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference.

Improving protein

There is a wide variety of feeds that can provide supplemental protein. Some of them - and the amount of CP they provide in 0.25 lbs/4 ounces - are:

Soy meal - 116g

Distillers Grains - 34.8g

Flaxseed - 31.7g

Sunflower seeds - 31.7g

Split peas - 28g (high starch)

Wheat bran - 19.7g (high starch)

Rice bran - 16.8g (high starch)

Oats - 14.4g (high starch)

Soy is a fairly complete protein plus it's cheap - thus its popularity in feeds. Soybean hulls may provide lower lysine content or its lysine availability may depend on what's combined with them. Calf Manna is an example of a high soy protein feed (but also contains corn which can make it unsuitable for an IR horse).

None of the others are "complete" proteins by themselves but, used in combination, can provide a more complete AA profile. Moorman's MoorGlo has rice bran, flaxseed and "SoyShine" lipids plus some alfalfa meal and is very palatable. Nutrena Empower is a similar product. Both are high fat (18-22%) so should not be fed in large quantities.

Whey protein isolate has a complete amino acid profile; most products (human sports/protein drink powders) provide about 24 grams protein in 1 ounce - or 96 grams in 4 oz. This is highly digestible protein (vs crude protein); does not add a lot of calories or sugars and would be one of my top choices for an IR horse or other horses where we want to limit sugar/starch. It's easy to add a scoop or two to feed twice a day. I tend to stick with vanilla - your horse may prefer other flavors. Whey (not the isolate) is a common ingredient in many feeds; it will have higher sugar levels and lower protein levels than the isolate. Make sure the product is pure whey - some protein powders also contain egg or soy protein.

So, going back to Kombat Boots, we have another "magic bullet" - an expensive product that appears to be the missing ingredient in our horses' lives. Can it help? - probably. Would it be so effective if protein, energy, vitamins or minerals were missing from our horses' ration? - probably not. Is it worth the cost? Well, until they show me in true scientific terms - double blind crossover studies comparing Kombat Boots to basic Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, I'll stick with my Yeast+ from HorseTech.