AS104 - Final Exam Flashcards
What months are dehydration and impaction colic most concerning? Why is this?
January and February
This is because water sources can freeze
What is another way of providing extra water in your horse’s diet?
You can soak hay, roughage cubes/pellets, or beet pulp
Why should you increase the amount of roughage instead of grain in a horse’s diet during the winter?
The process of digesting forages generates a lot of warmth
What month should you consider having a fecal egg count done and why?
March
Because parasite eggs may start hatching in the pastures
What months should you be on high alert for colic, laminitis, and obesity?
April and May
Plant sugars, accumulate in some species of grasses when temperatures are cool, but skies are sunny
Fructans
What horses can fructans be dangerous to?
insulin-resistant horses
When is the safest time to graze in the spring?
In the early morning, after nights when the temperature stayed above 40 degrees F
When is the most dangerous time to graze in the spring?
in the later afternoon or evening, especially when temperatures dipped below 40 degrees F the previous night
What is the advantage to getting hay from a single source instead of several different sellers?
Consistent nutrition from bale to bale throughout the winter
When should hay be removed from the barn slowly to avoid spontaneous combustion?
If the hay is >140 degrees F
What months may horses need another fiber source to supplement the poor grazing (due to pastures turning brown and crispy)?
August and September
What month would be a good time to re-seed bare spots in pastures with cool-season grass seed?
September
What month are foals usually weaned?
October
What should you do to foals who are newly weaned?
Work to keep their stress of a diet change to a minimum
What trees are toxic to horses?
Red Maple, Oak, Eastern Black Walnut, Cherry and Plum Trees
When does a good, hard frost usually occur?
October and November
What months are a good time to deworm horses with a product that kills bots and tapeworms?
October and November
What can resurge in October and November that can affect insulin-resistant horses?
Fructans
Adjusting a horse from pasture to hay can increase the risk of ___.
impaction colic
What makes a horse’s dental structure so unique?
The tight alignment of the premolars and molars give the appearance of one chewing surface = dental arcade
What does chewing a circular motion do to feedstuff?
Reduces the particle size
What is the dental formula of the horse?
3-1-3-3 or 4
Why can horses have between 40-44 teeth?
due to wolf teeth
What do each of the numbers mean in the dental formula? 3-1-3-3(4)
3 incisors
1 canine
3 or 4 premolars
3 molars
What tooth is responsible for grasping and tearing food?
incisors
What teeth grind feedstuff and forage?
“Cheek Teeth” (pre-molars and molars)
What is the space in between the incisors and the cheek teeth? Why is it significant?
Interdental space
Significant because that is where the bit rests in the horse’s mouth
What tooth is tall and continues to erupt from the gum after forming within the jaw?
Hypsodont Tooth
What is a deciduous tooth?
Milk teeth/baby teeth
How can you tell the difference between milk teeth and adult teeth?
Milk teeth are small, white, and smooth
At what age do horses start to lose their milk teeth?
~2.5 years
What is the average growth rate of a horse’s tooth per year?
~1/8’’ per year
What are sharp enamel growth along the upper cheek teeth called?
Points
What age is a horse with oval shaped teeth?
<5 years old
What age is a horse with triangular shaped teeth?
> 15 years old
Changes in eating behavior, tilting of the head while chewing, foul-smelling breath, head shyness, objecting to bridling, weight loss, bolting of food, choking, quidding, and decreased performance can all be signs of what in a horse?
Mouth soreness
What equipment is needed to perform a deeper examination of a horse’s teeth?
Sedation, full mouth speculum, radiographs, and ultrasound
What are the two basic types of floating equipment?
Hand floats and power floats
What are the three key ingredients in a horse’s diet?
Fiber, protein, and carbohydrates
What ingredient provides maintenance energy and without the proper amount the digestive system does not work properly?
Fiber
What ingredient provides amino acids, the building blocks for the growth and repair of bones, muscles, and soft tissues?
Protein
What ingredient provides higher concentrations of energy?
Carbohydrates
What are some sources of fiber that can be fed to a horse?
Hay cubes, roughage chunks/pellets, haylage, beet pulp, bran, alfalfa pulp
What fiber source is not very digestible, a low-density feed, is very high in phosphorus and low in calcium, can result in a calcium/phosphorus imbalance, and takes a lot to supply a sufficient source of fiber to the average adult horse?
Bran
What are the two most important amino acids?
Lysine and methionine
What types of horse feed contain the highest amounts of carbohydrates? What are some examples of these?
Cereal grains
Oats, barley, and corn
Which hormone is responsible for maintaining correct levels of glucose in the bloodstream?
Insulin
What potential problem could arise in a young, growing horse when fed too much energy in his diet?
This can contribute to rapid growth, which can increase the risk of developmental problems with bones and joints
What are grains with seed coats that tend to be lower in carbohydrates and higher in fiber?
Oats
What are grains with hull-less seeds and are very carbohydrate-dense?
Barley and corn
When fed ____ in large amounts some of the starch is digested and absorbed as simple sugars (which is the goal), but the rest of the grain goes to the large intestine where it is converted by bacteria in the cecum to VFAs and lactic acid, this can cause ____ (toxic condition), diarrhea, colic, laminitis, and/or death.
- Cereal grains
- Cecal acidosis
What is a way to prevent cecal acidosis?
Small frequent meals
What are some examples of good pasture management?
- Do not begin grazing until pasture vegetation averages a height of 6-8 inches
- Avoid overgrazing by removing horses when vegetation averages a height of 3-4 inches
- Manage grazing more effectively by incorporating a rotational grazing system or limited grazing system
- Establish a grazing plan
- Mow, harrow, and fertilize when appropriate to keep your pasture productive
- Give pastures adequate rest from grazing
- Create a sacrifice area to conveniently keep horses off pastures when necessary
- Keep a realistic stocking rate for your property
What are the “plain grains” fed to horses for many years? What is the downside to feeding these grains?
Oats and corn
They do not provide a balanced diet for all horses
What types of grains are found in the classic equine feed “sweet feed”?
Molasses, oats, corn, barley
What makes complete feeds different from other grains?
They contain everything your horse needs in his diet, including forage, can be fed as the sole ration, not need for hay or pasture, high in fiber
What horses truly need grain?
Growing, lactating, breeding, and horses in heavy work
What type of work is recreational riding, beginning training, and horses that occasionally show?
Light work
What type of work is lessons, recreational riding, polo, and light ranch work?
Moderate work
What type of work is ranch work, polo, horses that frequently show in strenuous events, low to medium-level eventing, middle stages of race training?
Heavy work
What type of work is racehorses (QH and Thoroughbreds), endurance horses, and upper-level three-day eventers?
Very heavy work
What are legumes? What are some examples?
Tend to be higher in protein, energy, calcium, and vitamin A - in comparison to grass hays
Alfalfa and clover
Which type of horses benefit from eating legumes?
young, growing horses, lactating mares, performance horses
What are common varieties of grass hay?
Timothy, orchard, brome, prairie or wild native, oat, Bermuda, and fescue
Which type of horses benefit from eating grass hays?
Adult horses
What is the fungus that lives within plants and seeds and can cause horses alkaloid toxicity and can be a potential hazard to broodmares and foals?
Endophytes
Which type of grass is commonly infected with endophytes?
Fescue
How do you determine if the hay is infected with endophytes?
It looks healthy and nutritious to the eye, but the only way to determine is a lab analysis
How much hay should a 1,000 lb horse eat per day?
15-20 lbs per day
How much of a traditional-sized (~50 lbs) small square bale should be fed to a 1,000 lb horse to meet this goal (15-20 lbs per day)?
At least 7.5 lbs of hay each day
How long can hay be stored before its nutritional value is lost?
2-3 years if good quality when harvested and stored in a dry place with sufficient airflow
How much water does a horse need in order to maintain optimal health?
10-15 gallons of fresh, clean water per day
What is lower critical temperature? What are some examples?
temp below which a horse needs additional energy to maintain body warmth
with a summer coat = ~41 degrees F
with a winter coat = ~18 degrees F
What is an example of upper critical temperature?
~86 degrees F
The practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering “a good death”
Euthanasia
What are the two major instances where equine euthanasia is necessary?
1 Emergency setting = seriously ill or injured
#2 Chronic, longer-term problem = age-related ailment, terminal illness, irreversible poor quality of life, chronic injury that can affect the quality of life or the cost of care is prohibitive
What are the three most common methods of euthanasia?
- Intravenous administration of a barbiturate overdose
- Shooting
- Captive bolt
What are the three bodily functions/systems that are assessed when determining if a horse is dead?
- Ausculting the heart with a stethoscope to ensure it has stopped beating
- Absence of rhythmic breathing
- Absence of corneal reflex
What is used to determine the cause and/or extent of the illness/injury/failure to thrive?
Necropsy
Why are necropsies performed?
Confirm diagnosis, desire to gain further information, herd health standpoint, required by insurance company, closure, others
What are the options for disposal of a dead horse?
Rendering, burial, composting, leave the carcass for scavengers, cremation, university research, landfills
What does AVMA stand for?
American Veterinary Medical Association
What 6 factors does the AVMA take into account when they are considering an animal’s well-being?
- Proper housing
- Management
- Nutrition
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Humane handling
- Humane euthanasia, when necessary
What role does science play in animal welfare?
Degree of animal welfare risk that exists under specific circumstances
What role does society play in animal welfare?
Degree of risk that is acceptable
What does AAEP stand for?
American Association of Equine Practitioners
What are the eight factors that AAEP lists as the basic needs for every horse?
- Shelter
- Exercise and turnout
- Feed and nutrition
- Safe fencing
- Water
- Companionship
- Veterinary care and vaccinations
- Hoof care
Need protection from elements and a place to shade themselves from the sun =
Shelter
Daily exercise is good for the body (turnout, lunging, riding) =
Exercise and Turnout
Forage/hay, vitamins, and trace minerals =
Feed and nutrition
Wood planks, no-climb woven-wire (2” wide openings), no barbed wire =
Safe fencing
Need to provide round-the-clock access to clean, fresh water =
Water
Herd animals require companionship =
Companionship
Annual wellness exams and vaccinations =
Veterinary care and vaccinations
Need hoof care every 5-8 weeks from a qualified farrier or barefoot trimmer =
Hoof care
Failure to provide sustenance and care sufficient to maintain an equine’s good health
Includes food, water, shelter, veterinary care, and farrier care
Neglect
Overwork and torture are often used to define it, also very hard to define
Abuse
Someone has left horses and made no provisions for their care
Abandonment
Horse either wander loose or who show up on someone else’s property (“fence out” is exception)
Stray
In the case of neglect, abuse, and/or abandonment, who should be contacted?
Sheriff’s office, police department, animal control, local humane society, and equine rescue
Name the four most common parasites
Pinworms
Ascarids (roundworms)
Small Strongyles
Tapeworms
Three methods used to deworm horses
Oral paste
Tube deworming
Daily dewormer in grain
Clinical signs of a horse suffering from a large burden of parasites
Dull, rough hair coat
Decreased stamina, lethargy, or depression
Unthrifty or loss of condition
Slowed growth in young horses
Potbelly, especially in young horses
Colic and diarrhea
Identifies which individual horses are shedding more parasite eggs and should be dewormed more frequently =
FEC (fecal egg count)
Lower the horse’s resistance to infection, rob him of valuable nutrients, and cause permanent damage to internal organs =
Internal parasites
