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Peat Moss Or Wood Shavings: Bedding For Asthmatic Horses

The natural dust and molds found in bedding material often intensify the clinical signs of horses with asthma. Bedding materials differ in the inhalable and respirable particles they release, just as they have variable absorptive qualities and aesthetic appeal. While horsemen the world over use straw and wood shavings extensively, the popularity of peat moss often coincides with where it is easily obtained, such as in Nordic and Baltic countries. Finnish researchers recently investigated if the use of wood shavings and peat moss as bedding had different effects on the respiratory health of horses.

Researchers chose 32 clinically healthy riding-school horses for this study. The daily schedule of the horses included 18 hours in a stall, 2 to 3 hours of exercise in an indoor arena, and 3 to 4 hours outside in sandy paddocks. Horses were stabled in identically sized stalls with a common airspace and with the same level of ventilation. Researchers maintained bedding at a depth of approximately 4 inches, with new bedding added each day after stall cleaning to keep the depth consistent. Horses stayed on each bedding material for 35 days. Diets consisted of haylage and pelleted concentrate. Horses ate the haylage off the stall floor. Researchers performed lower airway endoscopy and sampling (tracheal wash and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) for cytological examination at the end of each bedding period.

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While researchers found no differences in respiratory rate or tracheal mucus accumulation between treatments, horses bedded on wood shavings had more neutrophils in their tracheal washes and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The researchers concluded that “between the two bedding materials used in this study, peat caused less neutrophilic lower airway inflammation in horses.”

Asthmatic horses should be kept outside as much as possible, a management strategy that keeps many horses from having severe symptoms of asthma. High-performance horses must often be stabled to accommodate training and competition schedules. In these instances, medical management of asthma should be guided by a veterinarian well versed in the respiratory care of horses. Management decisions are often based on reducing inhalable dust and molds, which includes careful selection of bedding and forages.

Aside from forage type (haylage versus dry hay) or treatment (soaking versus high-temperature steaming), another nutritional consideration is the use of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In a consensus statement from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, experts recommend the use of omega-3 fatty acids as a way to control airway inflammation.^° The most potent sources of omega-3 fatty acids available for horses are marine-derived oils, such as EO-3.

^*Monki, J., M. Sasstamoinen, N. Karikoski, M. Rajamaki, M. Roaekallio, J. Junnila, S. Sarkjarvi, M. Norring, A. Valros, S. Oranen Ben Fatma, and A. Mykkanen. 2021. Effects of bedding material on equine lower airway inflammation: A crossover study comparing peat and wood shavings. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8:656814.

American Wood Fibers Partners With Secretariat Center

American Wood Fibers (AWF) today announced a new partnership with the Secretariat Center, located in the Horse Capital of the World at the world famous Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The company will serve as the sole sponsor and supplier of animal bedding, contributing to the Center's upkeep and overall health of American Thoroughbreds. This sponsorship allows the Center to continue their impactful work, readying the horses for life after rehab.

Since 2004, the Secretariat Center has been considered the gold standard in retraining and rehabilitating former racehorses to prepare them for post-track careers. Through boarding and reschooling, the Center's goal is to create harmonious matches with adopters and educate the community about the American Thoroughbred breed. To date, they have successfully rehoused more than 800 Thoroughbreds.

“We are so excited about our new partnership with AWF,” said Shelley Mann, Executive Director of the Secretariat Center. “As our exclusive sponsor, they are helping us keep our stalls clean and comfortable, contributing to the health and wellbeing of our Thoroughbreds as we place them into loving families.”

The ongoing donation of animal bedding will help maintain the care and comfort of the horses housed at the facility. Most of the Thoroughbreds require stall rest for a successful transition, and AWF's large flake shavings will create a better environment during their stay. The premium softwood shavings are all-natural and eco-friendly.

“AWF is incredibly proud to support the Secretariat Center,” said Michael Keefe, VP of Sales and Marketing. “We are honored to partner with a visionary nonprofit who shares our enthusiasm for the equine industry.”

Despite temporarily closing their doors due to the pandemic, the Center was able to rehome 33 Thoroughbreds last year. The facility is now open and members of the community are welcome to attend virtual and in-person tours, watch training sessions and donate to their programs. Visit www.secretariatcenter.org for more information.

Study: Sedation And Whip Use May Lead To Trailering Trouble

Trouble getting a horse on a trailer is common; it often takes time and patience to get a horse to the point where he will load and travel well. However, if the horse needs to get on a trailer and there isn't multiple hours or days to work with him, there are quite a few tricks horse handlers can use, employing everything from feed to brooms to whips to sedation to get him in the trailer.

Nearly 14.5 percent of responders to an Italian study indicated that they had issues loading horses in their care onto trailers within the last two years. The 37-question, online survey was sent to people who were directly involved with the transportation of horses, either for recreational or professional purposes. The survey aimed to identify risk factors for problem behaviors and injuries.

The study team, made up of Drs. Francesca Dai, Martina Zappaterra, Michela Minero, Francesca Bocchini, Christopher Riley and Barbara Padalino, received 148 responses. The questions they asked related to the handler's equine background, vehicles, practices and experience. They were also asked if horses they handled sustained transport injuries within the last two years.

The most common problem behaviors were related to fear and anxiety before loading, including kicking and refusing to get on the trailer, and loss of balance while in the trailer. They discovered that the probability of the horse displaying an issue were:

three times more likely if the driver didn't check the brakes before hauling
five times more likely if the handler was female
five times more likely if the horse handler used a whip at loading
five times more likely if the vehicle wasn't designed for horse protection and if the trailer didn't have shavings as bedding
13 times more likely if the animal was sedated,

Nearly 11.5 percent of respondents said that their horses had injuries directly related to transportation within the last two years. The researchers determined that sedation and coercive equipment, like using whips, were major risk factors for injuries. Though sedation may be helpful to get a horse on a trailer, it can affect the ability of a horse to balance once the trailer is in motion.

Horses were more likely to be injured during travel if the trailer brakes weren't checked before transport, there was no padding on the chest bar and if there were no rubber mats on the floor. Horses that exhibited problem behaviors during loading and transport were more likely to be injured.

The study team concluded that transportation is a risk to the wellbeing of both the horse and the handler, and suggested that more research is needed.

Read the full study here.

Let Them Eat: Preventing Welfare Issues In Stalled Horses

Horses stalls overnight can spend multiple long hours with nothing in their stomachs, making them eat more rapidly when fed breakfast. German scientists suggest that horses kept inside should have something to chew on nearly continuously through the overnight hours, whether that's a constant supply of hay or their bedding, reports The Horse.

The Horse also notes that any straw horses ingest should be high quality and introduced slowly; a veterinarian or equine nutritionist should be consulted before adding edible straw to a horse's diet.

Dr. Miriam Baumgartner, of the Technical University of Munich, Germany, noted that horses shouldn't be without food in their system for more than four hours at a time. Horses bedded on non-edible bedding like pellets or sawdust are without something to eat for an average of nine hours each night.

When horses are without food for this amount of time, they “rebound” during the day, Dr. Margit Zeitler-Feicht, Baumgartner's colleague, noted. The duo studied 104 horses that were kept in stalls; those that were stalled on non-edible bedding ate faster with fewer pauses than horses that were kept on straw. They also ingested their evening meals more rapidly than horses kept on straw. The research team reports that this could mean that horses housed on inedible bedding may have compromised welfare.

The team concludes that horses should be offered something to eat continuously throughout the night, whether in the form of hay or edible bedding. To deny them the ability to eat continuously can cause health and welfare issues.