Horse Care
The owner’s manual for the care of horses developed from decades of experience.
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Aging Horses by Their Teeth
Basic Care and Safety
Behavior
Body Features
Coat Colors and Patterns
- Introduction to colors and patterns
- Base colors of red (chestnut and sorrel) and black
- Base modifiers – the dominant Agouti gene – control of black (bay)
- Base modifiers – the dominant gray gene
- Base Modifiers – the dominant silver gene
- Dilutions – The cream gene
- Dilutions – The dun and grulla gene
- Patterns – White markings, Pinto, Roan, Leopard, White
- The curly hair coat
- The dapple color pattern
- The mixed hair length coat pattern
Disease Prevention
Foal Delivery
Horsemanship
- Introduction
- Irrefutable Law 1 – A Horse Can Kill You
- Irrefutable Law 2 – The Horse That Will Kill You Is Your Own
- Irrefutable Law 3 – Stay Connected, Use A Lead And Halter
- Irrefutable Law 4 – Place Yourself Between The Horse And The Exit
- Irrefutable Law 5 – Become The Leader
- Irrefutable Law 6 – Know The Personalities Of The Horses
- Irrefutable Law 7 – Seek First To Understand…
- Irrefutable Law 8 – …Then To Be Understood
- Irrefutable Law 9 – The Law Of Energy
- Irrefutable Law 10 – A Horse Is A Horse
- Never stand in a field with food
- Rewarding bad behavior
- Horse Communication – Talk To The Hand
- Turning out with hind shoes
Injury Prevention
Nutrition
- Introduction
- Body Condition Score (BCS)
- Top Line Score (TLS)
- Concentrates (grain and byproducts)
- Feed by weight
- Feeding carbohydrates (sugar)
- Feeding fats
- Feeding ground plants
- Feeding growing horses and foals
- Feeding hay
- Feeding minerals and electrolytes
- Feeding protein
- Feeding signs
- Feeding supplements
- Feeding treats
- Feeding water
- Lectins in horse feeds
- Physiology of nutrition
- Weight control
Treatments and Therapies
General Thoughts Of Doc T
Here are some podcasts and blogs I have created that discuss general topics about science and veterinary medicine that can’t be filed under any one topic.
Podcasts
- How Is What You’re Doing Working For Your Horses? – The Horse’s Advocate Podcast #028 (September 22, 2021)
- Houston We Have A Problem – The Horse’s Advocate Podcast #023 August 18, 2021)
- The Right To Prevent– The Horse’s Advocate Podcast #018 (July 14, 2021)
- The Parachute Study– The Horse’s Advocate Podcast #009 (May 12, 2021)
Farms and Barns
Building or renovating, these ideas will save time, money and provide safety.
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Barn Structures
- Introduction
- Casting rails
- Ceilings
- Condo stalls
- Damaged barns
- Eavestroughs (roof gutters)
- Exterior views
- Flooring
- Footings and foundations
- Gates doors windows
- Interior and stall views
- Kick mats
- Protective trim
- Retaining walls
- Roof structure details
- Sandwich boards
- Slip stalls
- Stall doors and latches
- Stall floor dividers
- Stall walls
Bedding
Décor
Farm Systems
Fencing
Specialized Areas
Trailering Horses
Training Equipment
Waste Management
Systems and Diseases (column 1)
All the parts of the horse including what is inside them (Systems) and when they go wrong (Diseases).
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Blood, heart, arteries, veins, lymphatics
The cardiovascular system is the branch of medicine concerned with the heart and the vessels that move the fluids of the body.
Eyes, eye lids, 3rd eyelid
Foal diseases
- Introduction
- Anoxia (dummy foals)
- Cleft palate and wry nose
- Contracted tendons
- Developmental Orthopedic Disease
- Disease prevention
- Epiphysitis
- Failure of passive transfer
- Fetal malformations
- Fetal monsters
- Foal diarrhea
- Foal pneumonia
- Foal septicemia
- Genetic diseases
- Normal hair loss
- Patent urachus (dribbling urine)
- Persistant frenulum in males
- Umbilical hernia
- Valgus & Varus Angular Limb Deformities
Genetic diseases
Hooves
Immune system
Kidney, bladder, urine
Locomotion, soundness
Lungs, larynx, sinus, nostrils
Metabolism and Endocrine (hormones)
Systems and diseases (column 2)
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Muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilage, joints
- Introduction
- Amputation
- Ankylosis
- Conformation bench knees
- Conformation over at the knees
- Conformation toe in and out
- Contracted tendons
- Curbs
- Dropped fetlocks (DSLD)
- Dropped hip
- Firm limb bumps
- Fluid filling fetlock and cannon
- Fluid filling upper limbs
- Fibrotic myopathy
- Hunters bump
- Interference and overreaching
- Kissing spine
- Peronius tertious
- Sidebone
- Spavin
- Splints
- Stringhalt
- Sweeny
- Tendon sheath distension
- Thoroughpin
Neoplastic diseases, tumors, cancer
Nerves, brain, spinal cord, neurotransmitters
- Introduction
- Bells palsy – Horners’s Syndrome
- Cushing’s Disease (a neurodegeneration)
- Degenerative nerve diseases
- Encephalopathy
- EDM (Equine Degenerative Myeloenchepalopathy) & NAD (Neural Axonal Dystrophy)
- EMND (Equine Motor Neuron Disease)
- Head shaking syndrome
- Neurogenic atrophy
- Nigropallidal encephalomalacia
- Rabies
- Shivers
- Sleeping Disorder / Cataplexy and Narcolepsy
- Unknown neuropathy
- Wobblers (CSM)
Parasites internal and external
Reproduction, reproductive organs, hormones
Skin and hair
- Introduction
- Abnormal skin features
- Aural plaques
- Bandaging wounds
- Depigmentation leukotrichia
- Dermatitis
- Fascial tear
- Partial skin thickness wounds
- Pressure sores
- Proud flesh
- Puncture wounds
- Pythiosis In Horses
- Rain rot
- Ringworm
- Scratches or grease heel
- Shoe boil
- Skin abscess
- Skin lumps
- Skin reactions to treatments
- Skin scars
- Tack injury
- Tail rubbing
- Trauma wounds
- Unknown skin lesions
- Warts
- Wire wounds
Stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, bile
Teeth, oral cavity
- Introduction
- Canines calculus
- Canines debris
- Canines decay & EOTRH
- Canines fractures
- Canines in mares
- Canines just erupting
- Canines large
- Canines unusual
- Cheek teeth calculus
- Cheek teeth cap fractures
- Cheek teeth cap remnants
- Cheek teeth caps
- Cheek teeth displaced
- Cheek teeth end stage
- Cheek teeth eruption bumps
- Cheek teeth extractions
- Cheek teeth foreign objects
- Cheek teeth fractures
- Cheek teeth hooks
- Cheek teeth waves
- Chewing motion
- Dental speculum injury
- Incisors abnormal
- Incisors absence
- Incisors calculus
- Incisors cap extractions
- Incisors cap remnants
- Incisors caps
- Incisors cribbing rings
- Incisors damage
- Incisors decay and EOTRH
- Incisors extractions
- Incisors fractures
- Incisors hooks
- Incisors relaxed space
- Incisors supernumerary
- Incisors trauma
- Incisor wear
- Oral cavity abscess
- Oral cavity flabby cheeks
- Oral cavity foreign objects
- Oral cavity growths
- Oral cavity trauma
- Oral cavity vesicular stomatitis
- Overbite
- Parrot mouth
- Puffy cheeks
- Quidding
- Signs of sharp points
- Sow mouth
- The palate
- The tongue
- TMJ (temporomandibular joint)
- Underbite
- Wolf teeth blind
- Wolf teeth extractions