Skin & Healthy Horse Coat

Get under your horse's skin with healthy supplements     Get under your horse's skin with healthy supplements
The condition of a horse's coat and skin are generally a reflection of his overall health. A healthy horse will have a shiny, even haircoat without excess oiliness or dryness. His winter coat will be longer and thicker, and should shed out completely in the spring.     Get under your horse's skin with healthy supplements

Understanding skin anatomy and function
The skin is the largest and one of the most important organs of the horse's body, making up 12-24% of his total weight. It varies from 1-1/2 inches thick on the lower back and rump, to less than 1/2 inch on the head and underbelly. The skin is made up of layers of cells. The tough outer covering is called the "epidermis" and the deeper layer called the "dermis."

Epidermis
The epidermis is composed of older cells that form a tough, almost impervious, protective outer barrier. As the outer cells erode, other cells mature and move up to replace them. The epidermis varies in thickness. The more exposed areas, such as the head and back, are thicker than areas such as the armpits and belly.

Dermis
The deeper layer (dermis) contains hair follicles, sebaceous (oil) glands, muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. Each hair follicle includes a root and the shaft of hair. There are two basic hair sizes. The larger hairs, which serve as the outer coat, are called the "guard" hairs. The smaller and more numerous hairs serve as the inner coat. Microscopic sebaceous glands produce and then secrete oils into the hair follicles. The oils work their way up the follicle and over the skin, helping to lubricate the skin and prevent excessive drying. Tiny muscle fibers are associated with each follicle. These can raise the hairs (a process called piloerection), allowing more air between them and increasing their insulation quality. Blood vessels carry nutrients to the cells, take away the wastes, and as they dilate and constrict, can help conserve or dissipate heat. Nerves in the skin help the horse to sense his environment - temperature, touch, pain, etc.

The hair of a horse does not grow continuously, but in cycles, similar to our eyebrows. Anagen is the first phase, in which the hair is produced. It grows along side the old hair, which is subsequently lost. Telogen is the resting phase in which the follicle is basically dormant, and the hair has actually died, but has not yet been shed. Catagen is the intermediate stage between anagen and telogen. The shedding of the hairs is mainly influenced by the amount of daylight, and to a smaller degree, by the temperature.

The skin and hair of a horse have many functions including:

    Serving as the first barrier against injuries, chemicals, diseases, and the elements
    Regulating body temperature
    Preventing excess loss of moisture and thus maintaining hydration
    Synthesizing Vitamin D
    Sensory perception (the sense of touch)
 

Causes of dry skin and dull coats

 Since the skin and coat are so visible, disorders are readily detected during an examination. Dry skin or a dull haircoat can be caused by a number of conditions including:

•     Hormonal imbalances
•     Parasites, both internal and external
•     Allergies
•     Poor nutrition (e.g., low protein, diet poor in fatty acids)

Managing dry skin and dull coats

 
If your horse has an unhealthy coat or skin condition, work with your veterinarian to find the underlying cause. Once diagnosed, you can develop a management plan that may include:

•     Treating any underlying medical condition
•     Starting a regular worming and parasite prevention program
•     Grooming your horse regularly - removing the dead hair and skin flakes and  distributing the natural oils through the coat
•     Shampooing with the appropriate product for your horse's particular condition
•     Supplementing or correcting the diet and balancing your horse's ration to include at least 12% protein and ensuring adequate amounts of fat

Common ingredients in skin supplements
The most common ingredients in skin supplements include:

•     Vitamin A, especially if there is no access to pasture - necessary for the production and maintenance of healthy skin and hair
•     B vitamins, including Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
•     Biotin - a vitamin necessary for the health and growth of skin and connective tissues
•     Methionine - an amino acid essential for the growth of healthy skin
•     Lysine - another amino acid necessary for healthy skin and coat
•     Zinc - a mineral that is an antioxidant and is necessary for the proper production of proteins that are present in skin, hair, and hooves
•     Fatty acids - important building blocks for healthy skin and coat
•     Vitamin E - an antioxidant and vitamin essential for the production and maintenance of healthy skin; more Vitamin E is needed as more fats are added to the diet

By :  Drs. Foster & Smith Educational Staff
         http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

Horse Trick Training

Did you know that you can also teach horses tricks? Horse training also involves trick training. The experience can be fun for both the trainer and the horse. There are times when the usual training routine gets boring. You can amuse yourself by teaching your horse neat tricks. 

How to be Ashamed

Your horse should already be used to a halter and lead by now. Let your horse stand in the stall, near the fence, or the aisle. Get a carrot and hide it behind your back but turn around a little so that your horse can see it. Then tell him ‘shame on you’. Make your horse lower his head. When be obeys, you can now give him the carrot. Repeat this for about five times each day until he finally gets it. Make your tone a scolding one. 

Saying ‘No’ by Head Shake

When an insect bites your horse, you will notice that he shakes his head. Horses have short attention span and so you need to make the lessons quick and simple. You can teach this trick when your horse is relaxed and standing still. 

Get a nail and stand on your horse’s left side. Prick the horse near his withers but make it light, just like the bite of a fly. Experiment on the pricking until you find the right spot where your horse shakes his head. When he shakes his head, give him a reward or a pat. Praise your horse. Put your horse away and after an hour, repeat the procedure but this time, ask a question that requires a no answer. Again, you must consider your voice tone when asking the question; repeat this for a couple of times. 

Keep on repeating but this time use your whip as a cue; you can still use the nail for pricking when your horse does not shake. Eventually, he will learn the cue when he sees the whip and shake his head. 

Nodding

You can also teach your horse to say yes by nodding. Again, you will need a nail to teach this trick. Refresh the ‘no’ trick before you start teaching this new trick. Take the nail and prick your horse lightly on the chest. When the horse bites, it means that you’re pricking him too hard. The initial reaction of the horse is to pull his head down to bite the fly. Praise your horse when he moves his head downwards. Find the right spot where you can get an immediate response from your horse. Keep repeating this process. 

Allow your horse to rest and then do the same thing but this time, ask a question that requires a ‘yes’ answer. Get the whip and use it instead of the nail. Use the nail if the horse doesn’t respond. As you keep on repeating the lessons, on the cue of the whip, your horse will bend his head downwards.

How to Smile

Horses look funny when they smile. You can also teach them how to smile. Remove the halter and lead and let him stand by the fence or in the stall. Place a thing which smells strange to the horse like an onion or ammonia near his nostrils, then say ‘smile’. Repeat this procedure until you’ve removed the ammonia or onion. Eventually, your horse will smile when you touch his muzzle.

Horse Training

Training a horse is not as easy as you may think. But are you aware that by using the horse’s movements and body language, you can easily train it? It is important to establish trust between the rider and the horse. Choosing the right horse training techniques is vital if you want to succeed as a horse trainer. 

Once you’ve established trust, you can easily ride the horse during special events. You can also ride for pleasure or perhaps for working. You see, some horses are still used for herding farm animals like cattle. Other horse owners use them when traveling to remote areas and in dangerous terrains. If you plan to use your horse when traveling, training is an essential requirement. During the journey, make sure that you can calm your horse no matter what kind of situation you may encounter.

Horses have better senses than humans and they can easily detect any changing conditions. You must know the subtle signs that the horse exhibits so that you will know what to do. If you’re a good rider and a horse trainer, you can easily read the cues given by your horse. 

For competitive horse events, you must have a sound horse. Cross country races and show jumping can be strenuous for your horse. During a race, your horse will need to travel several miles at a fast pace and solid jumps are inevitable. There are also dangerous courses in competitions. But with ‘trust’, the horse will obey the rider’s commands no matter how frightening the challenges can be.

To build the muscle and balance of the rider and the horse, you should try dressage training. By using the right training techniques, you can achieve precision and grace. 

When you’re into horse training, you should try pleasure riding. Some horses fear humans and you must be able to remove that feeling. If fear is not present, you can ride the horse and have fun at the same time. You must successfully build communication in a way that the horse understands. Try to learn your horse’ language and you can go a long way together. Riding a horse is a pleasurable experience because you can feel the wind blowing through your body and it’s also like freeing your spirit. 

The stamina of your horse is essential as well. Through extensive training, you can improve the horse’s stamina. 

In natural training, you will need to build trust, learn how to communicate, and improve the stamina of your horse. by combining all these things, you can surely train your horse to be one of the best. 

Whether you plan to use your horse in events, traveling, or in farming, a well-trained horse will be of great use to you. By treating it humanely, your horse will not hesitate to trust you in any situation. Remove the fear of your horse by applying the best training techniques possible. 

Horse training is a tough task but if you put your heart and mind to it, you can easily train your horse. There are lots of horse training resources that you can check out but first, you need to read about the body language or movements of your horse. Once you understand your horse’s language, you can already determine the perfect training techniques to use.

Start learning about the various training techniques now; with a bit of patience and hard work, you can have fun while riding your horse.

Cleanliness and your Horse's Health

One of the most important factors in how healthy your horse ends up being is cleanliness. You might not believe it, but it is something that is completely true. In order to have your horse live a very healthy life style, it needs to be able to maintain a life in which it is clean and in which it can have access to all of the things that help it to be happy and healthy.

When you have a horse, you are going to want to work hard to make sure he is happy. This means that he needs to have fresh straw and food, as well as fresh water. You also have to be sure that you are providing your horse with plenty of room to run, and plenty of rest when he has been working. All of these things are important, but they are also impacted by one single factor – the cleanliness of the stable and your horse in general. Not having a clean area, and not having a clean life can lead to all kinds of problems within all aspects of your horse. If his food and water are not fresh and clean, he is going to have health problems. If his stall is not clean, he is in danger of developing other illnesses as well. Overall cleanliness is very important if you want your horse to be as happy and healthy as he could be.

Remember, there are many factors that you have to consider when you are looking at your horse’s cleanliness and his health. The food and water must be clean and fresh, but this does no good if you don’t provide them in containers that are also clean. If you are giving your horse clean food and water in dirty containers, he is going to get sick.

His stall also must be clean at all times, and this is something that only you can do. Even if you hire someone to clean out your stalls, you have to be sure that the person you have hired is doing the right work. It simply does no good for your horse to be living in dirty quarters.

Along with this, you have to be sure that you are grooming and cleaning your horse as often as he needs to be groomed and cleaned. This is something that is more vital than you could possible imagine, because if your horse isn’t clean himself, he isn’t going to be very happy.