Imaginative Horse Care

[Tiz]

I hadn't thought about making it salty. Hmmm, I use salt. but not that much. I'll give it try, Shammy. Thanks for the idea.

[photofinish]

Adding chopped garlic cloves (even garlic powder) to the feed can get finicky eaters "in the tub". Garlic powder can be bought for $.50 jar at the dollar stores. It's quite amusing, too, to watch the kid's face at the cash register when he's ringing up 20 jars of garlic powder

Aloe Vera juice and apple cider vinegar are great staples to add to the feed for stomach issues, apparently for over calcification, too -thanks!!

Be careful with Furacin, some studies (TB Times, maybe 4 or 5 yrs ago) have shown it can actually inhibit tissue growth in wounds. It has also been linked to ovarian cancer in women. We use only Fura-Free or other sweating agents now. And I still love Corona or Schriner's Spray or scarlet oil for wounds.

I grind all medications when we get them in with a cheap ($10) coffee grinder. I first grind up the dosage amount (or, w/ Bute 1 1gram pill). Measure that dosage into a scoop, mark the scoop, then grind the whole batch at once. I knew a vet who would do that, then measure the entire powdered amount and mix it (read blender for several minutes) with an equal amount of powdered sugar. He would then "double" the dosage amount on the scoop (because it was now 1/2 powdered sugar) but it makes alot of meds more palatable to top dress feed.

Yogurt makes a great probiotic. Syringe it down the throat in place of Pribios Tubes.

Generic Pepto-Bismol for foal heat scours in foals. (60cc 3-4 x day)

Listerine (15cc) with 15cc intra-nasaly pre-race to help tighten up the soft palate.

Sevin dust for ear ticks - one $4 canister will last about 6 years, at least.

[Shammy Davis]

Tiz posted:

I hadn't thought about making it salty. Hmmm, I use salt. but not that much. I'll give it try, Shammy. Thanks for the idea.

1/4 cup of salt per horse per feeding.

[barnchick]

I have always added generic jello powder to anything I had to dose. A weanling having to be dosed while living outdoors will come running for meds in the dark if they are mixed with the stuff. Without it they see you coming and hide in the dark. I always medicate 12 hours apart when a med. calls for 2xs a day. If that puts you out in a field of weanlings on a cold winters night, keep it moving or it may gel on you. I used to keep it under my coat, here in Canada it's the price we pay.

[Shammy Davis]

About a couple of months back, one of mares was not eating hay and showed signs of abdominal discomfort. I kept an eye on her and by the end of the day her discomfort did not increase, but it didn't disappear either. So, I figured colic. I called the Vet and he suggested that I put her in a trailer and ride her around for 30 minutes and see if she doesn't improve.

I followed his instructions. She left a hefty normal stool in the trailer and within an hour she was back to her old self. I gave her shot of banamine to get her through the night as a precaution.

As my Vet explained to me, you can't put a horse on a trailer and travel w/out them leaving at least one stool. If they don't, they may have a serious problem and should be seen immediately.

[Diane]

Excellent Shammy!

[Shammy Davis]

With the economy on the down turn the cost of equine services is going up. Shoeing in particular is a heavy burden on the budget.

If you have a farrier school nearby, check w/them about shoeing for only matrial cost. Student farriers do the work supervised by a journeyman instructor.

[Shammy Davis]

Came across this while browsing the www. Some handy common sense thoughts for the racehorse.


http://www.kohnkesown.com/racing14.pdf

[Shammy Davis]

Was re-reading the BACKYARD RACE HORSE. Came across this recipe for homemade supplement.

Ingredients: 25lb Bag of Clovite; 5lbs of Brewer's Yeast; 3-5lb Vitamin E and Selium; 3-5lbs of Biotin. Mix liberally. Serve 2 ounces daily.

Janet del Castillo also uses RED CELL.

Recipes anyone?

[xfactor fan]

About gelatin: Knox, or jello--seems to help joints by providing the stuff that the body needs to make healthy joint parts. May help horses, seems to help humans.

[Shammy Davis]

I stole this from THANKS FOR THE TIP thread. Madelyn posted:

giving Ivermectin to your just foaled mare within 12 hrs of foaling to prevent foal scours...

[Shammy Davis]

Various fly repellant recipes:


6 caps full of Skin so Soft
1 cup white vinegar
just a good squirt of Ivory liquid soap
filled a 32 oz Bronco Spray bottle with water



1 cup vinegar
1 cup baby oil
1/4 cup original pinesol
1 tbs dish soap
1 tbs skin so soft
1 cup water



U.S. Forest Service Bug Spray Recipe
1 cup water
1 cup Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil
2 cups vinegar
1 tbs. Eucalyptus oil (found in health food stores)
Optional: few tablespoons of citronella oil.
Shake spray bottle well before spraying on horse, human or dog!


Use a mixture of half Pinesol and half water. Spray on or apply with wash cloth. Horses were never bothered with flies or knats and their coats were shiney.

Always consult your vet and use at your own risk.

http://www.moniteausaddleclub.com/flyspray_recipes.htm

[Shammy Davis]

Homemade Fly Trap
2 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vinegar

Mix ingredients to make fly bait. Cut a plastic 2 liter soda bottle 1/4 down from the top. Invert top portion into bottom portion. Punch 4 holes at top, tie string (twine) to hold both portions together and hang. Add fly bait & hang at your barn. Dispose of entire container when full of flies. (as you probably know, the longer this hangs the worse it smells and the more flies that it attracts.)

Homemade Fly Paper
2 C. milk
2 T. black pepper
2 T. white sugar
2 T. brown sugar

Brown paper bags, cut into strips. Boil milk, pepper, and sugar together for 5 minutes. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes longer, until thickened, and then let cool.

Wind the brown paper strips into a tight roll and drop them into the milk mixture. Let them become completely saturated. Rewind the strips gently and let them air dry on a cookie sheet. They are ready to hang when they are sticky to the touch.
To use, suspend the strips up and out of the way wherever flies are a problem.

CAUTION: Keep the strips away from young children, especially after they are covered with flies.

Fly Repellent
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup Avon Skin So Soft (Bath oil)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

Reminder - Consult your vet and use at your own risk.
******

Fly Control
An easy do it yourself fly spray that is relatively inexpensive. This spray will attract dust. So don't use it before a show.

2 cups light mineral oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. citronella oil
2 tsp. eucalyptus oil
2 tsp. lemon dish detergent
Mix in a spray bottle

Reminder - Consult your vet and use at your risk.

http://www.showhorsepromotions.com/horseflies.htm

[Shammy Davis]

Had to deal w/a choking horse today. I have the greatest Vet (he started his career at Castleton in KY) and here is what he told me to do before I considered hauling the horse to the clinic.

Drop or slowly syringe 10cc of water into one of the ears. The horse will shake his head violently and most likely will dislodge the obstruction which in our case was a bolus of sweet feed. Repeat as necessary until you are sure the throat impaction is clear. Otherwise, if not sure and symptons persist haul to the clinic. or VET Hosp.

It worked like a charm. I administered the water twice and the horse was back to grazing. No need for ACE. No need for Banamine. No need to haul.

Caution, the horses head moves violently and you want to be prepared to duck and run. I've been floating teeth for years and I don't recall when I moved faster from a horses head than I moved today.

If you are unfamiliar with working around a horses head and mouth or you are not sure of symptons, consult your Vet.

[Shannon]

This is not a remedy, nor homemade, but one of the all time BEST coat care solutions I have ever seen is the healthy hair care product. $15 bucks a bottle in concentrate, and makes 6-8 individual spray bottles. I also used to dump some in a bucket of water for baths. Coats gleam, and hair detangles super easy with no residue. There is no silicone in it unlike showsheen, so it can be used on the whole body, even under tack. I used it on my geldings tail which was terrible, and it grew in very thick and strong.


Apple Cider Vinegar reccommended for mild arthiritis instead of bute.

Parsley flakes as a diuretic for horses with issues stocking up, or edema

Brewers yeast for digestion (works great)

Raspberry leaves for mares with "mare issues", as well as bee pollen, and salt peder (sp?)

Furacin/DMSO down the throat for young horses with "pimples" in the throat

Aloe vera gel for chronic coughs, throat irritations, as well as ulcers

WIllow bark for any type of inflammations such as laminitis (contains ASA naturally inthe bark)

Paprika to naturally darken the coat.


Beet pulp is my all time favourite feed. I always introduce it slowly, starting out with the regular feed, adding molasses for a day or two (never had a horse dislike molasses). Then I gradually add the beetpulp over a week or so to the amount I wanted them to get. Every rescue, yearling and racehorse I have ever owned or prepped has been on beetpulp. I love it for putting healthy wiehgt on and maintianing digestion. Touch wood, I have also never had a horse of my own on it colic either.