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Showing posts with label horse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horse. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Bug's Bane, the newest herbal supplement from Earth Lodge for Horses and Ruminants
Contains: Garlic, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Stinging Nettle, Nutritional Yeast, Calendula.
Monday, October 25, 2010
New and Improved Herbal Formulas for Horses and Other Animals!
Earth Lodge is proud to announce that we are introducing all new improved formulas for our Animal Herbals. After years of focused research and trials, the majority of our herbal supplements are benefitting from significant reformulations and your animals will enjoy better results from their formulas for the same great price. 8 of our current formulas have been improved with the addition of carefully chosen, even more effective herbs: for example, our calming formula will now incorporate calming passionflower and our digestion formula is benefitting from fennel.
We are also introducing a NEW formula, Anti-Viral Immunity Boosting Support in herbal form, using ginseng, elderberry, elderflower and astragalus to help fight illnesses and encourage speedy recoveries.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Horses Never Forget Human Friends
This great article by Jennifer Viegas was originally posted on Discovery.com.
Human friends may come and go, but a horse could be one of your most loyal, long-term buddies if you treat it right, suggests a new study.
Horses also understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories," allowing horses to not only recall their human friends after periods of separation, but also to remember complex, problem-solving strategies for ten years or more.
The bond with humans likely is an extension of horse behavior in the wild, since horses value their own horse relatives and friends, and are also open to new, non-threatening acquaintances.
"Horses maintain long-term bonds with several members of their family group, but they also interact temporarily with members of other groups when forming herds," explained Carol Sankey, who led the research, and her team.
"Equid social relationships are long-lasting and, in some cases, lifelong," added the scientists, whose paper has been accepted for publication in the journal Animal Behavior.
Ethologist Sankey of the University of Rennes and her colleagues studied 20 Anglo-Arabian and three French Saddlebred horses stabled in Chamberet, France. The scientists tested how well the horses remembered a female trainer and her instructions after she and the horses had been separated up to eight months.
The training program for the horses consisted of 41 steps associated with basic grooming and medical care. For example, the horses had to remain immobile in response to the verbal command "reste!" which is French for "stay." The horses also had to lift their feet, tolerate a thermometer inserted into the rectum and more. When a horse did as it was instructed, the trainer rewarded it with food pellets.
With tasty rewards, the horses "displayed more 'positive' behaviors toward the experimenter, such as sniffing and licking," the researchers wrote. Horses do this as a sign of affiliation with each other, so they weren't necessarily just seeking more food.
The scientists added, "Horses trained without reinforcement expressed four to six times more 'negative' behaviors, such as biting, kicking and 'falling down' on the experimenter."
Nevertheless, after the eight months of separation, the horses trained with food rewards gravitated towards the same experimenter. The horses also seemed to accept new people more readily, indicating they had developed a "positive memory of humans" in general.
"From our results, it appears that horses are no different than humans (in terms of positive reinforcement teachings)," according to the researchers. "They behave, learn and memorize better when learning is associated with a positive situation."
While people often train dogs in this way, also using verbal commands, Sankey and her team point out that "the majority of horse-riding training is based on tactile sensations -- pressure from bits, movements of riders' legs, weight change in the saddle."
Since "horses are able to learn and memorize human words" and can hear the human voice better than even dogs can, due to their particular range of hearing, the scientists predict trainers could have success if they incorporate more vocal commands into their horse training programs.
Jill Starr is president and founder of Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, a non-profit that provides refuge, training and adoption placement for otherwise slaughter-bound wild mustangs and domestic horses.
Starr told Discovery News that she's observed horses responding well to verbal commands, such as "trot," but she still feels "horses and people get along better if the person doesn't chatter, since this causes the individual to have greater awareness of body language that is more familiar to horses."
She, however, agrees that horses are loyal, intelligent and have very long-lasting memories -- of both good and bad experiences.
Starr said, "Horses can be very forgiving, but they never forget."
Horses also understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories," allowing horses to not only recall their human friends after periods of separation, but also to remember complex, problem-solving strategies for ten years or more.
The bond with humans likely is an extension of horse behavior in the wild, since horses value their own horse relatives and friends, and are also open to new, non-threatening acquaintances.
"Horses maintain long-term bonds with several members of their family group, but they also interact temporarily with members of other groups when forming herds," explained Carol Sankey, who led the research, and her team.
"Equid social relationships are long-lasting and, in some cases, lifelong," added the scientists, whose paper has been accepted for publication in the journal Animal Behavior.
Ethologist Sankey of the University of Rennes and her colleagues studied 20 Anglo-Arabian and three French Saddlebred horses stabled in Chamberet, France. The scientists tested how well the horses remembered a female trainer and her instructions after she and the horses had been separated up to eight months.
The training program for the horses consisted of 41 steps associated with basic grooming and medical care. For example, the horses had to remain immobile in response to the verbal command "reste!" which is French for "stay." The horses also had to lift their feet, tolerate a thermometer inserted into the rectum and more. When a horse did as it was instructed, the trainer rewarded it with food pellets.
With tasty rewards, the horses "displayed more 'positive' behaviors toward the experimenter, such as sniffing and licking," the researchers wrote. Horses do this as a sign of affiliation with each other, so they weren't necessarily just seeking more food.
The scientists added, "Horses trained without reinforcement expressed four to six times more 'negative' behaviors, such as biting, kicking and 'falling down' on the experimenter."
Nevertheless, after the eight months of separation, the horses trained with food rewards gravitated towards the same experimenter. The horses also seemed to accept new people more readily, indicating they had developed a "positive memory of humans" in general.
"From our results, it appears that horses are no different than humans (in terms of positive reinforcement teachings)," according to the researchers. "They behave, learn and memorize better when learning is associated with a positive situation."
While people often train dogs in this way, also using verbal commands, Sankey and her team point out that "the majority of horse-riding training is based on tactile sensations -- pressure from bits, movements of riders' legs, weight change in the saddle."
Since "horses are able to learn and memorize human words" and can hear the human voice better than even dogs can, due to their particular range of hearing, the scientists predict trainers could have success if they incorporate more vocal commands into their horse training programs.
Jill Starr is president and founder of Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, a non-profit that provides refuge, training and adoption placement for otherwise slaughter-bound wild mustangs and domestic horses.
Starr told Discovery News that she's observed horses responding well to verbal commands, such as "trot," but she still feels "horses and people get along better if the person doesn't chatter, since this causes the individual to have greater awareness of body language that is more familiar to horses."
She, however, agrees that horses are loyal, intelligent and have very long-lasting memories -- of both good and bad experiences.
Starr said, "Horses can be very forgiving, but they never forget."
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Our progress in coping with laminitis - any thoughts to share?
Our "new" beautiful and kindly horse of 16 years age arrived at the end of June this year. We knew she was coming with a history of lameness due to chronic laminitis. Laminae bind the hoof wall to the third phalanx, or foot bone. During laminitis, the laminae become inflammed and swell. As the condition worsens, foundering involves the laminae tearing and the foot bone rotating to point downward, rather than being held in a position paralleling the hoof wall. The tearing and rotation can be extremely painful; and the rotated foot bone can eventually go through the sole.
Our new horse's vet records showed that previous laminitis events were brought on by a high fever in 2004 (in which her hoof walls were damaged) and by foaling in 2007 (which resulted in significant foot bone rotation). Vet records also showed a lameness event occured a month before her coming at our farm, cause unknown.
For the first two months in her new home, efforts focused on changing the shoeing to reversed shoes (bar shoes), lowered heels, reduced toes, and removed pads. Isoxaprine, a vasodilator, was given with a light dose of Earth Lodge Hoof Support herbals and biotin.
Progress in the quality of the her hooves and soles was good, but inadequate in dealing with the internal foundering that was occuring. Her pain levels increased. The horse was lying down more than normal, standing stiffly (rather than comfortably grazing) more often, and walking with obvious painfull tenderness.
Clearly a more agressive program was needed.
Radiographs were taken 5 weeks ago. They showed both front feet had rotation that was somewhat worse than the 2007 levels and definitely quite serious. The front feet were hot to touch.
After just a month of special care, radiographs showed one front foot had reduced rotation, while the other front foot was unchanged. Both feet had significant improvement of the sole's callusing, and hoof growth improved. The horse's walking significantly improved, with no lying down to relieve foot pain. The fee have cooled down to normal.
Appetite and bowel movements remained good throughout the therapy.
Our activities:
Meds: isoproxine for vaso dilation...24 per day of 20 mg each; aspirin...8 per day of 325 mg each; pepcid (famotidine) ...4 per day of 10 mg each; divided into a morning and evening dosage dissolved in water, each dose blended with 3 cups of applesauce poured over 1/2 scoope of grain. Supplements: CoQ10...4 tablets of 100 mg each; 3 tablespoons of flax seed oil; 2 scoops of biotin.
Herbals: prickly ash, devils claw, thyme, willow bark, and rosehips added to the Earth Lodge Hoof Support formula that includes calendula, cleavers, kelp, chamomile, hawthorn, nettles, celery seed, meadowsweet, yarrow, cleavers and milk thistle seed....2 handfuls, divided between the morning and evening grain.
Farrier: Removed shoes. Trimmed the hoof wall even with the sole, lowered the heel, cut back the toe, removed any side flaps, kept the horse on soft footing to absorb the load through out the sole and hoof wall.
Our new horse's vet records showed that previous laminitis events were brought on by a high fever in 2004 (in which her hoof walls were damaged) and by foaling in 2007 (which resulted in significant foot bone rotation). Vet records also showed a lameness event occured a month before her coming at our farm, cause unknown.
For the first two months in her new home, efforts focused on changing the shoeing to reversed shoes (bar shoes), lowered heels, reduced toes, and removed pads. Isoxaprine, a vasodilator, was given with a light dose of Earth Lodge Hoof Support herbals and biotin.
Progress in the quality of the her hooves and soles was good, but inadequate in dealing with the internal foundering that was occuring. Her pain levels increased. The horse was lying down more than normal, standing stiffly (rather than comfortably grazing) more often, and walking with obvious painfull tenderness.
Clearly a more agressive program was needed.
Radiographs were taken 5 weeks ago. They showed both front feet had rotation that was somewhat worse than the 2007 levels and definitely quite serious. The front feet were hot to touch.
After just a month of special care, radiographs showed one front foot had reduced rotation, while the other front foot was unchanged. Both feet had significant improvement of the sole's callusing, and hoof growth improved. The horse's walking significantly improved, with no lying down to relieve foot pain. The fee have cooled down to normal.
Appetite and bowel movements remained good throughout the therapy.
Our activities:
Meds: isoproxine for vaso dilation...24 per day of 20 mg each; aspirin...8 per day of 325 mg each; pepcid (famotidine) ...4 per day of 10 mg each; divided into a morning and evening dosage dissolved in water, each dose blended with 3 cups of applesauce poured over 1/2 scoope of grain. Supplements: CoQ10...4 tablets of 100 mg each; 3 tablespoons of flax seed oil; 2 scoops of biotin.
Herbals: prickly ash, devils claw, thyme, willow bark, and rosehips added to the Earth Lodge Hoof Support formula that includes calendula, cleavers, kelp, chamomile, hawthorn, nettles, celery seed, meadowsweet, yarrow, cleavers and milk thistle seed....2 handfuls, divided between the morning and evening grain.
Farrier: Removed shoes. Trimmed the hoof wall even with the sole, lowered the heel, cut back the toe, removed any side flaps, kept the horse on soft footing to absorb the load through out the sole and hoof wall.
Setting: Initially she spent a few days in the stall with deep shavings. But, as the aspirin reduced her pain, separation from her herd pals became intolerable and she tried frantically to exit the stall. Rather than put her back into pain in order to keep her in the stall, we let her spend most of each day moving freely around the loamy soil pasture. The ground near the gate and water trough was wetted daily to create mud that the horse could stand in to cool the feet and absorb the loading, while dry ground was present so that the horse could move back and forth between the two settings.
Submitted by Sandra Cointreau.....Comments welcome.
Submitted by Sandra Cointreau.....Comments welcome.
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