SARAH: Welcome back to SmartPak's Ask
the Vet video series, with Dr Lydia Gray, SmartPak Staff
Veterinarian and Medical Director.
I'm SmartPaker Sarah.
And I don't know if you guys missed us, but we missed you.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh my gosh, yeah.
SARAH: We did not get to film a video last month because
of a scheduling conflict, which if you can believe,
it was not because Dr Gray lives in Illinois.
I was the problem, and I come to the office every day.
So, I'm sorry that we missed you guys.
But we're going to make up for it
and we're going to do two back to back videos.
We're going to answer 10 questions today.
But only five in this video, and you're
going to have to wait a little bit for the next one
to come out.
So just be just be patient, but it's coming.
So as always, we're here to answer your horse health
questions.
And the questions that get submitted and voted on,
as you guys know, are all eligible to get a gift
card if we answer the question in the video.
And if you get your question answered and you haven't gotten
your gift card, email CustomerCare@SmartPak.com
and we'll make sure we take care of that for you right away.
In the meantime, you can check out our horse health library
for all of the questions that we've answered previously.
Because a lot of times we get a lot of repeat questions.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well that's how questions get selected.
If I just answered it, I'm not going
to pick it again to be voted on.
SARAH: Because we want to keep you guys excited and interested
and watching for more.
DR LYDIA GRAY: And there's lots of good topics out there.
So keep sending new topics.
SARAH: Absolutely.
We are always looking for new questions.
Speaking of how many questions we have answered,
we hit a milestone.
We've done five questions a month for over a year now.
So we've gotten through a whole bunch of questions.
But we got our 1,000th question submitted.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Nice.
And that's on them.
SARAH: Which is really exciting.
So thank all of you guys for submitting that.
And, we got our first question via text.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Cool.
It's about time.
I'm a little surprised.
SARAH: I know.
We're really, we're coming into this millennium.
And it's very exciting.
But if you guys don't know, you can text our Customer Care team
to place an order, or have account management.
There's all kinds of details.
You can go to SmartPak.com and visit the Contact Us page
to find out more about texting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Making your life easier, one text at a time.
SARAH: That's right.
That's right.
Changing the world, four hooves at a time.
All right.
So with that, let's jump in to our questions.
Our first question was submitted by marislisa on Instagram.
And she's wondering, "How do we know
if I need to give my horse electrolytes
after an intense ride on a hot day?"
And boy, is that a topical question right now.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, gosh, because it's really humid.
SARAH: And you're-- so Illinois and the Midwest is pretty
humid.
But yesterday here at SmartPak was awful.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Was Iike Illinois weather.
SARAH: Was like swimming through the parking lot.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, yeah.
So that's the critical thing.
It's not as simple as adding the temperature to the humidity,
although there is that rule of 150, that works to a degree.
When weather, and companies do it,
it's a really complicated algorithm.
But the humidity is what makes it tough for horses, right,
and the heat.
And so what you can do is--
this is my rule.
Not the rule of 150, it's Lydia's rule.
But I feed my horse salt year round.
Because in the summer, you need it for sweating.
And in the winter you need it for drinking and hydration.
OK.
Then in the summer I add, I don't change, I add,
electrolytes.
And when I heard a question I thought, why not?
Because electrolytes are not something you can load.
They don't save them.
So you can't feed them say in May,
and then be all set for, you know, June, July, August.
You feed them every day.
And you even give like a paste of them
on particularly hot, humid, sweaty, hard work days.
But you don't have to have an intense ride, as she says,
to give, to know, to trigger yourself,
oh I should give electrolytes.
Any horse, anywhere, that's sweating needs electrolytes.
Because it's not just fluid that is sweated out
like to cool the body.
It's the fluid and minerals like sodium, chloride, potassium.
And also to a more limited extent, calcium, magnesium.
So why not give them?
They're safe.
They're just excreted out in the urine if they're not used.
But if they're needed, they're there.
And so your horse does not get into a situation
of dehydration, but also being deficient
in those key minerals.
So I say salt year round, electrolytes whenever there's
a potential for sweating.
And keep pastes on hand for when you're trailering,
and it's hot.
Or you are going to compete and it's hot.
And then you're good.
SARAH: So electrolytes, a little bit more
like for people taking a daily multi-vitamin, and less
like taking an Advil when you have a headache.
It's not for a specific problem.
It's like a general good thing to do
all the time, kind of deal.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, yes.
SARAH: You see what I mean?
DR LYDIA GRAY: I do.
SARAH: She's talking about like oh, after an intense ride.
It's like, was today hard enough that he needs an electrolyte?
And if he's sweating, let them have electrolytes.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I don't think of it that way.
I think of it as something that should be on board daily,
and then maybe a little extra hit
when it gets like yesterday.
SARAH: Yes.
So you talked about that humidity
is what makes it really hard for horses when it's hot.
Why is that?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, because horses are like people,
and that they sweat to cool themselves off.
And when the moisture in the air climbs,
then that mechanism, that cooling method,
is not as effective.
And that's when you can run into dangerous situations of heat
exhaustion, or even heat stroke.
SARAH: All right.
So sweating is actually good for you, not just an unfortunate
thing that happens.
DR LYDIA GRAY: No, it's very good for you.
SARAH: When you walk around in the parking
lot for four minutes.
OK.
Our next question is from Hannah,
and it was submitted to CustomerCare@SmartPak.com.
And Hannah is wondering, "Are there
certain things you would recommend for older
horses, versus younger horses?"
So would you recommend it more for an older horse?
"Why," and she has suggested examples
are cold hosing, longer warm ups,
stretching before a ride etc.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So this is more in terms of like exercise?
SARAH: That is where it seems her question is going,
although if my 28-year-old horse, Cody, answered
this question, he would say older horses deserve
more treats.
Because they've put up with a lot more.
But he gets plenty of SmartCookies.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Here's what's interesting, is there's
actually beginning to be some significant research
right in this area, because horses are living longer.
I mean--
SARAH: Just like people.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Just like people.
So the health care nutrition is really ramping up
and the horse's lives are being extended.
And so now we're like, but wait a minute,
is there a difference in exercise,
or how you should work the older horse versus the younger horse?
It turns out there is.
There is, just like in people, an age related
loss of muscle mass.
There's an age, and I forget if it's 40, maybe 45, when
the muscle mass--
SARAH: For people?
DR LYDIA GRAY: In people, begins to decrease over time.
And so you need to counter that.
And it's the same in horses.
And so they looked at why does that happen?
And it's complicated.
It's cool, it's interesting.
It's got to do with satellite cells,
if you want to Google it.
But there is a loss in the mass, the volume,
of muscle in horses.
It's harder to maintain their top line.
So you need to do specific things to maintain it.
Likewise, for certain reasons, horses and people, as they age,
have a reduced aerobic capacity.
So her point, I think she talked on, should you warm up slower?
Yes.
And cool down longer?
Yes.
All those things, because part of it is,
they have a reduced circulating blood volume.
And they're not able to also dissipate heat as well.
We just talked about that a little bit
in the previous question.
So for lots of different areas in exercise physiology,
as horses age, they're less efficient in their mechanisms
to build muscle, to increase their cardiovascular output,
to dissipate heat as they work.
So all those things need to be taken into consideration.
The bad news is that the researchers
aren't sure what we should be doing to counter that.
Although, if you just use common sense with the longer,
slower warm ups, not letting the older horse down or off
completely.
So, not pulling shoes and tossing them out
for the winter, but keeping them on a plane of fitness.
It's going to be harder to bring them back.
That sort of thing.
And just being really, paying close attention
to your older horse, and knowing when he needs a break.
When he's had it.
Maybe it's a different exercise program
that is designed to build more muscle that you didn't have
to worry about when he was 5 or 10, but now that he's 15, 20,
you do.
SARAH: It's kind of like we say a lot,
every horse is different.
And it seems like as your horse starts to get older,
maybe every year is different.
And listen to your horse.
You know, when you're riding, and really take the time
to see how he's feeling.
I'm glad to hear that horses are living
longer, because my plan is for Cody to live forever.
So we're working on that, we're working right towards it.
DR LYDIA GRAY: You let me know how that goes.
SARAH: I will.
28 years going strong, so.
DR LYDIA GRAY: That is impressive, right there.
SARAH: Thank you.
So we have one more question, another question
from Instagram, Reagan Little, the Hunter Jumper.
Wow, what a great name.
I always like when you have like "the" after your name.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Like the only one?
SARAH: Like Lydia the beautiful.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, I love that one.
SARAH: I thought you might.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It's probably already taken.
SARAH: If you're getting a new horse,
how do you figure out what to feed?
DR LYDIA GRAY: It's such a simple but practical question.
And what's interesting is, I just helped a friend do this.
And it was harder than I thought, so glad you asked it.
I think the first step is finding out
what the horse ate before.
Because we know, you want to keep feed the same.
And by feed, I'm talking about the hay, as well as the grain.
So as much as you can, keep everything the same.
SARAH: And why is that important?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Because it's been shown that changing of hay
increases colic risk by a factor of 10,
and changing grain increases colic risk by a factor of five.
SARAH: And that changing hay doesn't
mean like you moved across the country,
and now you're getting a totally different type of hay.
It's like even from the same field, a couple of months
later.
It's a big deal.
DR LYDIA GRAY: The microorganisms
in the gut that do the majority of the digesting,
they just get shocked.
They do not like surprises.
So no balloons, no, none of that.
They just keep it the same.
Same.
So that's the first step.
And then I'm calculating any horse's diet.
I look at the forage first.
And make sure they're getting 1% to 2% of their body weight
each day in high quality forage.
And then I complete and balance the diet.
SARAH: What are some examples of a high quality forage?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, it should be clean and free
of dust and mold.
So that's one criteria of quality.
But the other is, just that it's not straw like.
It's not completely stemmy.
But it's got some leaves, because that's
where their nutrition is.
It's got a fair amount of protein.
Like you don't want hay that is less than 10% protein.
You want hay that has some protein in it as well as it's
not been sitting around for two, three, four years.
But it's green, and fluffy, and bright.
And it's got still some vitamins and minerals in it.
So those are the quality issues I look at.
SARAH: And so it's hay, and pasture.
Anything else that people can lump into the category
of thinking forage first?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Depending on where you live,
you may have to stretch your hay.
And there are some commercial products that do that.
Beet pulp is sort of a bridge between forage and grain.
So it does have a good fiber content that's available.
I feel like I'm missing something you were thinking of.
SARAH: No, I mean you kind of got there
with the hay stretcher and the beet pulp,
was the other example that I think people don't often
think of, when they're thinking of how
to get myself more forage.
Because hay can be expensive.
And with droughts, hay can be hard to come by.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Right.
And then the quality, based on the weather,
the quality can be not so good.
So you may have to stretch every once
in a while, and that that's OK.
SARAH: OK, so forage first.
Where are we are off to next?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well then you complete and balance the diet.
And your options there are something,
if you have a really good hay, then
you might just need a multi-vitamin mineral
supplement.
That's great.
And if you think your hay may be not so high in protein,
maybe you had it analyzed.
Then a ration balancer is also a good choice.
You can go up the rung of the ladder again
to a fortified grain.
But then you have to feed the full serving that the bag says.
And even a complete feed, typically thought
of as senior feed, is an option.
And then you look at, all along, you've
been assessing the body condition score.
And maybe even putting a weight tape on every week or two.
And you're like, is he maintaining his weight
and condition with his new place he's
at and the work he's doing?
Or is he gaining weight, or losing weight?
And so you use that information, and you adjust the diet.
You just started this diet based on well,
this calculates out right.
Well, we'll see how it actually works on the horse.
So then you either add some calories in,
and you can do that with the beet pulp, I like for that.
You can add calories.
Oats is a good way to add some oats when you need them,
and decrease.
There's supplements like fat that help with weight gain.
Or you may need to back the horse off a little bit.
So maybe you were feeding a fortified grain,
but the horse is gaining weight.
Back off to a ration balancer.
Back off to a multi-vitamin.
Maybe add-- maybe slow down the eating,
with like a small hole hay net, or a slow hay feeder.
So you start with something that works out on paper,
and then you adjust based on the feedback
you're getting from the horse.
SARAH: And the physical feedback,
because the emotional feedback will always be feed me more.
DR LYDIA GRAY: More food, more treats, yeah.
SARAH: So there's a lot of things
that we touched on there that you and I talk about
and feeding horses a lot.
It's something we're very passionate about here
at SmartPak.
And so there's a couple of things that we can talk about.
We could spend hours and hours on this subject alone.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yes.
SARAH: So I just want to call out a couple of things
that we're going to have in the description for you.
One is a blog about how to read your feed label.
Dr Gray talked about making sure that you're feeding
the full serving on the bag.
A lot of people don't even know that grain has a serving size,
and it's based on your horse's weight.
So we've got a blog for that.
The second one that we talked about
is, you talked about having your hay analyzed.
And I'm assuming you don't mean lying on the couch,
and talking about its problems?
How do you get your hay analyzed?
DR LYDIA GRAY: There are a couple
of places in the country you can send samples of hay.
They tell you how to sample.
You do need a special device.
But locally, you can get that from your feed store,
or county extension agent.
And then you send to these labs, and they analyze it
for proteins, and carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals.
And there's different panels you can pay for.
They range in price.
And then it comes back, and then you know what quality of hay
you have.
And then what is needed to complete and balance it.
Like, I don't need anything, because it's super hay.
Or I need a pretty extensive fortified grain,
because this hay is really just like fiber, and that's it.
SARAH: When you said I don't eat anything, I have a super hay,
I thought you were just bragging.
But then I realized it was just an example.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
DR LYDIA GRAY: That's the hay talking.
SARAH: Last but not least, we have body condition scoring.
So that's when Dr Gray, you talked about the feedback
that your horse is giving you.
And body condition scoring, it's hard to get your horse
to stand on a bathroom scale without breaking it.
So body condition scoring lets you
keep tabs on how your horse is doing, in terms
of his overall fat cover.
And we've got a whole bunch of great content
about that, as well.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I think there's articles and video, right?
SARAH: Oh, yeah.
We've got a lot going on.
So those will all be down in the description for you.
Wow, great questions.
So exciting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It seems so simple, and it was so short.
But it just covered so many areas.
SARAH: Yeah.
So question #4 was submitted by sammysamsam12.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh my gosh.
SARAH: Which is a great name.
My nephew's name is Sam.
And sammysamsam12 is wondering "When
moving barns, what precautions can you
take to decrease your horse's stress
and make it as seamless as possible?"
DR LYDIA GRAY: That kind of blends into the last question.
Because keeping the food the same, same, same, samey same.
SARAH: Oh!
DR LYDIA GRAY: Is the first step I would do.
I would say, when I'm moving, I would ask my two owners,
can I take some bales of hay from this place,
and move them over.
That's going to relieve--
SARAH: It's important to ask.
DR LYDIA GRAY: A lot of the stress.
Yeah, don't go in the cover of night and take it.
Done that, been there.
So the food is the same.
And the same with the grain.
Try to-- so that is out of the equation.
You remove that.
The next thing I would think about
is keeping the schedule the same, as best you can.
I know if you're moving from, say, a pasture
situation to a barn, or you're moving
from a really big barn to a small place,
you might not have a lot of ability for that.
But as best you can, keep the feeding on the same time,
keep the turnout the same.
Like, don't go from no turnout or 30 minutes a day to 24/7.
Wee!
It's great.
SARAH: Or big group to small group,
or being alone to a big group.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, and to me the social dynamics
are another whole thing in themselves.
You have to be very careful when you introduce horses
to each other.
Hopefully the new place will say,
we have a perfect group for your guy, based on age and size,
and all of that.
And they'll work with you, so that it's very safe.
There are some guidelines for that.
I did have some other lists on here.
Oh, you know this is a big one.
Try not to do veterinary work, like wellness care,
right when you move.
Leave yourself about two weeks, where there are--
SARAH: So not like vaccines, and then on the trailer.
DR LYDIA GRAY: No, because you need
about two weeks for it to work.
And you know with deworming the same way.
Because that, having the vet out, I don't know why,
but it's also very stressful.
And then you're asking the body to internally do some things.
And so you don't want to shock its system completely
by new food, new environment, new friends, and then
and also, you know, here's a vaccine,
like a five-way to work up.
So save that.
Do that earlier, because you may also
need a Coggins or health certificate,
depending on how far you're going.
And then don't add any new challenges.
Like don't move and immediately start in a lesson program.
Or go to a show.
So give your horse some time to adapt to all the new things,
and then begin to add in even more new things.
And that will, at least, not put a huge trust load
on at one time.
But sort of spread it out.
SARAH: Yeah.
So you talked about, that there are some things that
are just unavoidable.
Like if you're changing from a totally different situation,
you can't invent 30 acres of pasture at your new barn.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Not yet.
SARAH: If that's what you had at your old barn.
And so, some horses also have to go into quarantine
when they move, which can be really stressful,
because those horse is alone.
They spend a lot of time in a stall.
Are there any preventative, or proactive
things that horse owners can do if they're moving,
and they know their horse is going
to be exposed to stress that they can't avoid?
Is there any kind of support, or things
to be particularly mindful of?
Are there areas of the body that are more stressed than others?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, horses, their stomach
seems to be where their stress sort of gathers and collects.
And so that's the one organ that we think of,
protect at all costs.
Because once that begins to be irritated or inflamed,
then it just spreads throughout.
So at the very least, I mean, that's
why we talked about keeping the nutrition the same.
But you may want to add on a gastric or even hind
gut support supplement to assist your horse
during this transition period.
That's good.
In addition, talk to your veterinarian.
You might want to go one step further, and actually
provide something like UlcerGuard, which
is omeprazole, which is an FDA approved medication
to prevent ulcers.
That might be a good step.
But I would have a conversation with your vet.
Some horses don't need it, and others every time they
go to a show, they need that support.
So certainly, moving barns, they will be like whoa, that crazy.
My stomach is butterflies.
So those are two things I would think of.
SARAH: Yeah.
And it's one of those ounce of prevention, you know,
sort of situations.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Absolutely.
SARAH: It was really nice to be able to think
about that beforehand, rather than deal with weeks or months
of something on the other side.
Thank you, sammysamsam.
Last but not least, we have sophie_equestrian14
on Instagram wondering, "What do you
do when your horse constantly shakes and has sensitive ears,
but there is no sign of mites?"
DR LYDIA GRAY: I have a quote here
from one of my favorite veterinarians.
His name is Dr Kent Allen.
SARAH: You're one of my favorite veterinarians,
just so you know.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, that's so nice.
He is an FEI veterinarian, a foreign veterinary delegate.
He's been our team vet.
He's the chairman of the US Equestrian Drugs
and Medications Committee.
I mean, he's the bomb.
And what he says is, absent a diagnosis, medicine is poison,
surgery is trauma, and alternative therapy
is witchcraft.
The point is, get a diagnosis.
What this person describes could be so many things.
It could be aural plaques in the ears.
And I think we've talked about that.
It could be teeth problem.
It could be a sinus, a guttural pouch.
It could not even be anything with the head.
It could be a tack issue.
All sorts of things.
So you've got to get the vet out,
you've got to get a diagnosis.
Now, one thing it could be.
And I don't know we've talked about this.
I'm using this opportunity to do so,
is head shaking, because, I think there
is shaking mentioned in there.
That's a whole syndrome in and of itself.
And it has to do with the trigeminal nerve that
comes down in the head.
And it's fascinating, unless your horse has it.
And then it's maddening to them and to you.
And one of the things that people use for this
is why we have all these masks out here.
This is called a nose net, because horses
that head shake, they think it feels like a buzzing, a tingle,
an electric shock almost.
And it can be stimulated by light, by wind, by bugs.
But if you just put something over their nose.
So this would attach to the caveson nose band.
And then this part covers the nose.
And it's sort of like when you put your finger under your nose
to sneeze.
So they feel like just touching their nose gives them
some relief.
So that's what I use.
I used that one when I ride, because of course he has it.
This I think is new.
SARAH: Of course.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Of course.
This is new from Absorbine.
But this is detachable.
But it covers the eyes, and the ears, and the nose completely.
So when you're out in the pasture,
and your horse is a head shaker, then this
provides a lot of comfort.
The one I have is this brand.
SARAH: The Crusader?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
SARAH: Cody wears that one, too.
His name's right there.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, nice.
Because you can get it embroidered.
SARAH: You can.
DR LYDIA GRAY: And then no one can borrow yours.
SARAH: That's right.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So I love--
I love this.
This is excellent.
SARAH: Lots of good coverage.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, so.
SARAH: Got lots of options.
DR LYDIA GRAY: We do.
We have lots of options.
Let's just sit this one up so it looks pretty again.
But the diagnosis is the main thing.
And then based on what it is, then
you look at now what do I do?
Obviously if it's a teeth problem,
you know, then you have the mouth worked on.
If it's aural plaques, you may or may not have options.
If it's head shaking, then figuring out what
stimulates or triggers your horse,
and then it's sort of a--
SARAH: How much can you cope?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, that.
You have to test to try different things,
to see what works.
So, because in some cases, there was a research study
two years ago at AAEP that said magnesium was super helpful.
It was the most of like anything.
And then when it was combined with melatonin,
then it even was better.
There isn't really a drug for head shaking yet.
There's a lot of research on it, but if that's
something your horse has, we do have articles and information
about that.
SARAH: Oh, yeah.
We've got lots of stuff.
DR LYDIA GRAY: We've got lots of stuff.
SARAH: All right, well those are all our questions
for our July video.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Thank you for submitting the great questions.
And because of our schedule, my fault, again, very sorry,
our September video questions are going
to be accepted until July 28.
So you've got some time to get those
in for the September video.
As always, you can submit your questions
on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
on our blog at blog.SmartPak.com.
You can email them to CustomerCare@SmartPak.com.
You can text them to us.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I thought you were going to forget that one.
SARAH: No, never.
And you can click to chat on our website, too.
So don't forget about that.
And don't forget to use hashtag #AsktheVetvideo so we can keep
track of all those questions.
Otherwise, they're just out in the world,
and you're probably going to get some unhelpful answers
from your uncle on Facebook, or something.
So use that hashtag and you'll get the most helpful answers.
And some beautiful things to look at as well.
If your question was answered in this or a previous video,
like I said at the beginning, email CustomerCare@SmartPak.com
to get your gift card.
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