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The amount of forage a horse is given or has access to is extremely important as the equine digestive tract continuously produces acid, therefore the horse’s digestive tract must contain food most of time; if a horse is without forage for more than 3 hours, the acid in the digestive tract will build up which can cause ulcers, diarrhea, and ...
Signals of bit-related pain overlap those observed in horses ridden in conflict with their rider, suggesting that bit-related oral pain is a major cause. [43] On the other hand, severe oral pain makes veterinary examination of the horses concerned difficult, as they may strongly avoid being touched in the mouth.
Poor hoof balance, due to conformational flaws or poor trimming, can cause lameness from musculoskeletal injury, [20] and poor hoof balance has been associated with increased risk of catastrophic injury in racehorses. [21] Side-to-side (mediolateral) imbalance can cause sheared heals and hoof cracks. [22]
However, there is a growing movement to eliminate shoes on working horses. Advocates of barefooting point out many benefits to keeping horses barefoot and present studies showing that improper shoeing can cause or exacerbate certain hoof ailments in the horse. A hoof boot may help protect the horse's hooves during the transition period.
Adjustments in trimming or shoeing can be made to help support the hoof, allowing pressure to be distributed over healthy tissue in order reduce the force over damaged or diseased tissue. Application of various types of therapeutic shoes, pads, and wedges, can be used to help alter stress placed on structures within the foot or the lower limb.
A horse can live with laminitis for many years, and although a single episode of laminitis predisposes to further episodes, with good management and prompt treatment it is by no means the catastrophe sometimes supposed: most horses suffering an acute episode without pedal bone displacement make a complete functional recovery. Some ...
Its main cause is a missing tooth which allows the opposing teeth to grow into the gap, but it can occur because of uneven wear or if the deciduous cap or baby tooth is retained too long preventing normal tooth growth. It can prevent the horse from freely chewing and cause the improper wear of the molars and incisors.
A shoe boil is an injury that occurs when there is trauma to the bursal sac of the elbow, causing inflammation and swelling. Multiple occurrences can cause a cosmetic sore and scar tissue, called a capped elbow, or infections. Shoe boils generally occur when a horse hits its elbow with a hoof or shoe when lying down. [29]