This Week in Horse Health News Presented by Absorbine

A birthday cake? For me??? Creative Commons Photo. A birthday cake? For me??? Creative Commons Photo.

When I look at the coggins results that I have on file for my own horses, I notice something that bothers me. For on each sheet under the location where the ‘date of birth’ should be filled in, I see that January 1st (along with the appropriate year) appears for each horse. As someone who is a stickler for details, it is always something that catches my eye…since none of my geldings were actually born on January 1st.

However, many horses are typically assigned the same birthday by breed associations and for the purposes of competitions. And that common birthday is…you guessed it…January 1st. This really does help keep things more simple, and bring clarity when grouping young horses for competition. No matter whether your horse is a springtime baby, or whether they came into the world later in the year, they’re all “the same age” for some purposes.

One of my own geldings, Mark, was a late foal. Born on July 4th, he was leaps and bounds behind in his development when compared to the two fillies who were his pasture mates. While not so far off in age from the other foals on the farm, I often wondered if he should be fed differently, since he was behind them from a developmental perspective. Head over to The Horse.com to check out an interesting article that discusses feeding young horses according to their actual birth dates. You can check out the article here.

Afterwards, make sure to check out some of the other topics from this week in Horse Health News, presented by Absorbine:

Cooling out Horses in Winter – While it can seem to be a time-consuming and tedious task during the cold season, cooling down your horse after a workout is even more important in frigid temperatures. Sweating can be much more exaggerated on a horse whose full winter coat has grown in. Read up on tips for cooling out your horse during Winter. [Equus]

Stress-Free Horse Clipping Tips – Are you looking to get to work with a pair of clippers? Before you grab your clippers to start your work, make sure to check out these helpful tip and tricks for how to prepare and set yourself up for a clipping session. [Practical Horseman]

Awakening to Thoroughbred Aftercare – Bringing home an OTTB has become somewhat of a trend these days – though the prospect of a career after the track did not always exists for racehorses. Take a look at an article over at The Horse to learn about how Thoroughbreds started to move from being a breed who ‘fell off the radar’ after their racing career, into a breed who is valued and sought after by riders today. [The Horse]

Hospital Care Improves Odds of Botulism Survival – A recent study conducted on treatment records has revealed a nearly 50% survival rate of horses that were hospitalized for the treatment of botulism in the U.S. The typical survival rate for horses who were not hospitalized for treatment is only 10-30%. [Horsetalk]

Stifle Issues in Sporthorses – The stifle joint is a complex one, being the equivalent to a human knee. Due to the concussion and stress that is placed on this particular joint, sporthorses can be at a higher risk of a stifle injury then the average pleasure horse. Ready up on how to recognize risk factors and what treatment options. [Practical Horseman]