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Is Your Steed Sleepy? Anemia May Be To Blame

Anemia in humans often manifests as tiredness or weakness. The condition is caused by a lack of enough healthy red blood cells to carry enough oxygen to their tissues, and often leads to compromised metabolic and immune system functions. Though the causes can vary, some types of anemia can be prevented by eating a healthy, varied diet that includes a plethora of vitamins and minerals.

Iron-deficiency anemia in horses is rare, but it does happen. Most horses get sufficient amounts of iron in their diet from hay, pasture, and commercial feeds. An average horse needs 400 to 500 mg of iron per 500 kg of body weight, reports Dr. Gulsah Kaya Karasu of AGG Equine Nutrition Consulting in EQUUS magazine.

Horses may end up with anemia because of blood loss (causes may include an injury, cancer, or ulcers), reduced blood cell production, or blood cell destruction.

Some infections, like equine infectious anemia, can lead to red blood cell destruction, as can a heavy worm burden, particularly large strongyles. Chronic kidney disease, cancer, and a few other disorders can prevent a horse from making adequate red blood cells.

An anemic horse will have pale mucous membranes and an increased heart rate, in addition to being sluggish. Adding additional iron to the affected horse's diet isn't recommended as excessive iron can lead to depression, diarrhea, and compromised immune function. It can also interfere with the body's ability to absorb other minerals and increase the risk of a horse becoming insulin resistant.

Iron-related anemia is rare in horses, so a thorough investigation by a vet is recommended for diagnosis.

So Scary: Handlers Can Help Horses Overcome Fear Of Novel Objects

Polish researchers recently completed a study designed to help determine why horses are afraid of other animal species. Dr. Anna Wiśniewska and her research team focused specifically on cattle, which many horses seem terrified of.

Cattle and horses have traditionally lived together and were familiar with each other. In many modern operations however, most cattle and horses live separately, so they very rarely encounter one another. Horses kept in suburban areas may go their whole lives without exposure to bovines or other hooved animals.

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When horses that are not used to cows are exposed to one outside of their familiar barn, they may act fearful and try to avoid the cow. The research team from the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, the University of Chester in England, and the Polish Academy of Sciences created a study to determine if horses were more fearful of cows than other novel objects.

They created an experiment using 20 healthy riding horses; they put each horse individually in an arena familiar to them and exposed them to two different cows tethered in the space and a box on wheels. They also exposed them to nothing so they had a control.

The arena was marked off in sections, with section one being closest to the cow and section three being furthest away. The researchers then measured how much time the horses spent at different distances from the cow, as well as the horse's heart rate. The horse's reactions were also recorded.

Two months later, each horse was led either toward one of the cows or toward the box. The horse's heart rate was monitored. While loose, the horses avoided the area closest to the cow and the box; horses that were led became more fearful the closer they got to the cow and the box.

The results showed that the horses were as afraid or more afraid of the cow than a box. The scientists say this reaction suggests that the horse's fear of novel objects may also be a part of a horse's fear of unfamiliar species.

The team concludes that as prey animals, horses are sensitive to unknown and frightening stimuli, and they often act in fear despite years of domestication and selection against fearful behavior. This instinct to avoid fearful objects, living or not, may be exacerbated when the horse is restrained (in this case led toward the object). They also concluded that with handler support, trained horses can be easily habituated to objects they once found scary.

Read the full study here.

Obese Horses More Likely To Move Unevenly

In an effort to determine how added weight affects equine fitness and performance, Dr. Anna Jansson and a research team from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Hólar University published a study in Physiological Reports in which horses were fed controlled diets to add or restrict weight gain. The scientists used nine Icelandic horses that they split into two groups. Changes in body weight and fat were induced in the group being fed a high-energy diet for 36 days.

During the last seven days of the study period, researchers recorded body condition score and weight, and percentage of body fat was estimated with an ultrasound. Each horse was then given an exercise test on a treadmill and a field test that mimicked a competition, which was scored by judges. Blood samples were taken, as well as heart rate, temperature and respiratory rate.

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On the treadmill test, the horses that had gained weight had a higher heart rate and temperature, and heavier respiration. Blood tests showed that heavier horses had lower physiological fitness.

The team also found that overweight horses showed a marked gait asymmetry compared with leaner horses, as was shown both by sensors placed on the horses while they moved. The heavier horses moved most asymmetrically on the day after their field test.

Judges overseeing the field test also scored heavier horses lower than their leaner counterparts, suggesting that weight affects performance.

The authors conclude that higher body fat and body weight lowers equine performance, made horses move more unevenly, and delayed their recovery from exercise.

Read the full study here.

Sun Worshiper Or Shade Seeker? No Common Denominator For Hot Horses

Though most humans seek shade on swelteringly hot days, horses don't necessarily feel the same way. Even when provided with a respite from the sun in the form of a run-in shed or shade trees, not all horses will use it, though most welfare guidelines recommend offering a horse a place to get out of the sun.

Drs. Iwona Janczarek, Anna Stachurska, Izabela Wilk, Anna Wiśniewska, Monika Różańska-Boczula, Beata Kaczmarek, Witold Kędzierski and Jarosław Łuszczyński created a study to test horses' preference for shade, sun or a mist curtain, which offers immediate cooling capabilities.

The team used 12 Warmbloods that were normally kept in stalls for the study. They turned out each horse for 45 minutes on a sandy paddock on a day when temperatures were between 84 and 89 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity was 42 percent. Almost half the paddock was covered in shade and there was a mist curtain in one corner.

The research team monitored heart variables to determine if the horses' behavior or emotional states were affected when they stood in different areas of the paddock. The scientists found that the horses had no strong preference on the amount of time spent in a particular area.

The horses showed slightly heightened relaxation when standing under the mist curtain, but they displayed similar levels of emotional arousal in all three areas. They showed no signs of overheating when standing in the sun.

The team suggests that additional studies be completed that focus on longer periods of turnout. The ability to choose between sun and shade may be crucial for maintaining body temperature, so the provision of shade for equine welfare is reasonable, they conclude.

Read the full study here.