Horse Husbandry Flashcards
Understand the history and evolution of the horse
Originated in NA
Domesticated in Asia
Evolution: Look at lower limb structure
Understand how horses have uniquely adapted to their surroundings (4)
1) Ability to digest food
2) Diatema
3) Springing foot
4) Vision
Scientific name for horses
Equus caballus
Horse quick facts
Lifespan: 25-30 years
Gestation period: 340avg (320-370)
Breeding: Seasonal summer breeders
Types of Heavy horses
1) Clydesdale
2) Percheron (tall, grey, spotted)
Types of Heavy horses (2)
1) Clydesdale
2) Percheron (tall, grey, spotted)
Types of Light Horses (8)
1) Thoroughbred
2) Australian stock horse
3) Quarter horse
4) Arabian
5) Warmblood
6) Standardbred
7) (Show horses)
8) Miniature horses
Types of Ponies (3)
1) Welsh Mountain Pony
2) Shetland
3) Miniature
Types of teeth in horses
Ever-erupting
Hypsodont (high crowned)
Ability to digest food adaptations
Grass as food
- ruminant digestion more effective
- non-stop eating
Cellulose = key
- Caecum in horse, Rumen in ruminants
- Fermentation essential: Bacteria and protozoa produce VFAs
Briefly describe the horse industry in Australia
Thoroughbred Industry: $671.2 Billion yrs
35% in South/East Australia
250,000 people employed
State the different ways that we identify horses
Examination procedure
Microchip
Written ID
DNA
Identification Procedures (7)
1) Sex
2) Colour
3) Age (or DOB)
4) Natural Marking - head and neck, legs, etc
5) Acquired markings
6) Congenital abnormalities
7) Brands
Identification Procedures (7)
1) Sex
2) Colour
3) Age (or DOB)
4) Natural Marking - head and neck, legs, etc
5) Acquired markings
6) Congenital abnormalities
7) Brands (tattoos)
Colt
Uncastrated male 3 years or less
Stallion/horse
Uncastrated male 4 years and over
Gelding
Castrated male of any age
Filly
Female 3 years or less
Mare
Female 4 years and over
4 Basic Colours
1) Chestnut
2) Bay
3) Brown
4) Black
Chestnut colour
Body colour: Yellow, Golden,red-liver colour
Mane and tail are the same colour as each other
Bay colour
Uniform bay (light brown) skin pigment
Mane and tail is black
Distal limbs and ear tips are black
Black colour
Uniform black skin pigment
Black muzzle
Black colour solid black (+/-) white markings
Black colour
Uniform black skin pigment
Black muzzle
Black colour solid black (+/-) white markings
Grey colour
Uneven mixture of coloured and white hairs
White develops with age
Transitional: Grey-brown, grey-chestnut
White colour
Foal born white
Pigment sometimes on poll, ear, and tail
Sometimes blue eyes
Whorls
Irregular arrangement of coat hair
Type of fingerprint
Cannot be brushed out
Absence of whorls on face need to be noted
Types of acquired markings (4)
1) Scars
2) Saddle and girth marks
3) Dropped hips
4) Nicks and tears in nostrils/ears
Congenital abnormalities
Wall eye - lack of pigment
Loop ears, Roman nose, dished nose
Muscle indentation
Dental abnormality
Branding
Freeze branding, Heat branding
Kills pigment producing cells (freeze)
How to read freeze branding
Top: Reference (breeder) brand
Middle: Foal drop (sequence) number
Bottom: Year number
Standardbred branding
Use alpha angle numerical symbols
2 columns of 4
Microchips
All thoroughbreds from 2003-onward Equestrian australia registration All horses that are vacc. against Hendra 15 digit number Must be implanted by vet
What do all thoroughbreds need if born after 2003?
Identification Card Passport for life Contain narrative, sketch, and microchip # Accompanies horse to races and stud Original created and signed by vet
Briefly explain the care of horses in relation to nutrition
Evolved as forage animals
Hind gut fermenters
Grazers
Store fat, use in drought or winter
Briefly explain the care of horses in relation to dentistry
24 teeth
Ever erupting teeth
1st molar is the oldest
Chemical sedation
Sharp enamel points from incomplete wear can cause ulcers
Gag, light, and floats are essential for dentistry procedures
Briefly explain the care of horses in relation to farriery
Constant growth Trimming every 4-6 weeks Ground underfoot influences rate of wear Long hooves can develop pathology NEED medial/lateral balance NEED 180deg. hoof pastern axis
Briefly explain the care of horses in relation to preventative care - worming, vaccination
3 Main: Tetanus, Strangles, Hendra
3 Types of Supplementation
1) Roughages: (grass, legumes [lucerne, clover], cereals [often chaff])
2) Concentrate: (oats, barley, sorghum, maize and rice, commercial mixes
3) Protein: (soybean, lucerne, lupins, cottonseed, sunflower, linseed)
Tetanus
Bacterial disease - Clostridium tetani Enter through wounds Neurotoxin -> Spastic paralysis Costly + difficult to treat Preventative vaccine - inactivated
Strangles
Streptococcus equi
Passes through nasal/oral secretions
Contagious, usually non-fatal
Vaccination: cell free extract
Symptoms: Painful swollowing (Dyspnoea) Cough Rupture of lymph nodes to outside Purulent nasal discharge
Hendra Virus
Group: Henipavirus
Vaccination only available to vets
Vaccinated horses must get microchip
Symptoms of Tetanus in a horse
Spatic muscles* Rigid limbs Erect ears Exposed 'third eyelid' Difficulty walking, eating, drinking, and breathing
Symptoms of Hendra Virus
Rapid illness onset Fever Increased heart rate Discomfort of weight shifting Rapid respiratory or nervous Difficulty breathing Muscle twitching Loss of vision
Explain basic breeding cycles of the mare (Mare Management)
Short days -> High melatonin -> Anoestrus
Long day -> increase GnRH -> Oestrus
~21 day cycle
Spring transition period: Follicles may develop and appear on heat, but no ovualtion occurs = no pregnancy
Bred from 15th Sept. to foal on 1st August
Can mimic long days
Mare breeding and how its affected by season
- Reproductive activity correlated with day length
Explain how we manipulate the breeding cycle to meet requirements of the Thoroughbred Industry
AI banned in Thoroughbreds
This maintains gene pool
~30-40 pregnancies/stallion/season
“Serving”
Breeding or mating
“Wet Mare”
Mare with foal at foot
“Dry Mare”
Mare without foal
Maiden Mares
Mares that have not yet had a foal
Multiparous Mares
Mares that have had many foals
Stallions: Two types of breeding systems
1) Paddock mating
2) Intensive mating
Paddock mating
- Stallions run with band of mares
- Pregnant mares removed and replaced
- Between 90% (ideal) and 66% (actual) conception rate
- Stallions may bet kicked or injured
Intensive mating
- Common: Stallions have high value
- Good handling affects conception rate
- Require daily heat detection “teaser stallion”
Mares on Oestrus tolerate male and display “TUW” = Tail up, Urinating, Winking
Males show “Flehmen” response
Serving Procedures
- Prepped with tail wrap
- Teaser ultrasound, rectal ultrasound
- Perineum cleaned
- Mare restrained with twitch, breeding boots, hobbles
- Stallion teased and penis washed
- AI also used
How can we mimic long days for Mare Breeding? (4)
1) 16 hours of daylight, 2-3 extra hours of artificial lighting
2) “Flash lighting”: 1-hour artificial lighting 9-10 hours after sunset
3) 8-10 weeks of increased light for mare to respond -> start on lights in July
4) Equilume Mask
Important dates for Breeding (5)
1) Ovulation: ~day 5 of Oestrus
2) Dioestrus (luteal) phase: 4-15 days
3) Preg check: 11-16 days
4) 30 days: Check still pregnant
5) 45 days: Check pregnancy + normal dev.
Causes of low conception rate:
1) inappropriate season
2) Selection of breeding stock
3) Aging mares/stallions
4) Breeding mares regardless of reproductive performance
Precautions taken for Mare before foaling (2)
1) Transport to foaling yard 6 weeks before foaling date to build antibodies to local infections
2) 2-1 Vaccination for proper colostrum antibodies
Parturition
- “Foaling”
- Best foaled in open yard with minimal interference
- 7-14 days before: Udder hypertrophic, vulva ligaments lengthen and relax
- Milk dripping from teat means ~24 hours to birth
- Mares usually foal between 7pm-7am, usually +/- 2hrs from midnight
3 stages of foaling
Stage 1: Uterine contractions and cervical dilation
Stage 2: Foaling proper
Stage 3: Passing of placenta (afterbirth)
Stage 1: foaling
- Called: Uterine contractions and cervical dilation
- (walk/trot around yard, leaves herd, rolls around “false colic”
Stage 2: foaling
Called: Foaling proper
- Water breaks “Foetal fluids”
- foal born 10-20 minutes after water break
- born 2x feet and head first
Stage 3: foaling
Passing of placenta (afterbirth)
- Occurs 15-120mins after birth
- if >6h, vet intervention needed
- Mare may show signs of colic
- Examine placenta (intact, other problems, etc.)
Equine Neonate: general info
Relatively mature at birth Standing by 1 hour Eyes and ears open No acquired immunity (need colostrum) Small glycogen stores - get tired easy Sensitive to temperature Fragile homeostasis: cant concentrate urine, high water loss, dehydrate easily
4 Foal Considerations
1) Clean umbilicus (iodine)
2) Meconium impaction
3) Check for failure of passive transfer (colostrum)
4) Tetanus antitoxin
Foal Weaning
5-7 months of age
Taught: to be caught, led, tied up, farrier
Branding/microchipped
Socialize with other hoses
