eye candy? for jenni - Page 13

What diseases are you worried about Deanna?  Something like West Nile? (is that common in the States?)

I asked the trainer what the foals were vaccinated for and he has no idea.   I'll ask my dad as he boarded a brood mare for years, maybe he knows what the vet gave.  I'm thinking Blitzen is right with the Tetanus.

As for bugs, I have never vaccinated my race horse for anything since I've had him (as a 3 year old).  I use Immune Plus, and Equine Choice and he's never been sick.  He is stabled in race barns with many other horses at the races once per week during his racing season.
Our other race horses usually catch a cold upon arrival to our barns, especially the babies (2 year olds) from the stress of moving I think.  Sometimes the bugs are long lasting, but only really affect their racing abilities, and the discharge looks awful.  It never knocks them down so much they stop eating.

We did have one horse ( a really good one too) that got a persistent sore throat from which he never recovered approx. 4 years ago.  He had to go on Prednisone long term.  The vet thought he caught the Herpes virus, but was just guessing as no test was conclusive so no one really knew for sure.  I have my own suspicions but that is all they are, suspicions.
That to date is the worst case of anything we've had.

You know in some parts, WN is so prevalent that they say not to bother, right? Meaning, the horse has been exposed based on probability and there isn no point vaccinating for it. My FL horse wasn't vaccinated for it and the vet said any horse who's ever been to FL needn't be vaccinated. I know of several horses with permanent neurological damage from the vaccine, but I don't know any who have died from the virus. I think Cindy Rhodes (Leerburg) had a horse w/a bad neurological reaction (if I remember right, it was her). Permanently damaged.  She no longer vaccinates, obviously.

Does anyone seriously still believe that you need to booster vaccines yearly or <gag> twice a year??? 

Hooves are meant to flex. How can preventing what nature intended be a good idea? 

I always thought shoes were horrible, but then I started studying under a renowned therapeutic barefoot trimmer and now they are absolutely horrifying to me. There is plenty to be found on that subject if people care to look into it. Most would rather just do what they're told, however. Why do mustangs have the best feet? 

I was born barefooted as nature intended, but shoes are kind of necessary in my line of work!!..lol..:)  I could not resist Jenni..;)

Mustangs in the wild are not asked to perform gaits that could lead to wear/strain/injury as are sport or work horses..Shoes are also necessary and/or beneficial IMO to prevent injury or to promote better balance at the walk, jog/trot, canter/lope. When my horses are standing in the pasture all winter I don't worry about shoes unless there is an issue... I can not imagine race horses not wearing shoes..Maybe RedSable can shed some light on that...


 

Shoes are absolutely necessary unless you only ride your horse  on grass or a few times around an arena. I always shoed my riding horses because I rode in parades and down the road, never in an arena.

 At the track we cannot go more than a day without a shoe on or the horses feet wear down to the point of where they cannot walk.  We jog on tracks covered in stone dust.

Shoeing doesn't scare me as much as who is doing it.  They can certainly make a horse lame in no time. Our farrier has been doing racehorses for eons and knows much about the hoof and corrective shoeing. 

We will take the shoes off for a couple of months during turn out to let the foot get it's natural shape back but  also because a horse can do serious damage to another with shoes on. 

There are a decent number of Arabians on the endurance circuit going barefoot and doing pretty well. Also of interest: http://www.houstontx.gov/police/mounted/horses.htm "In 2003 the Houston Police Department Mounted Patrol was the first unit to initiate a bare foot program for all law enforcement agencies in the United States and the program has proven to be a great success. We no longer utilize a farrier and over this period of time we have had very little hoof problems. Currently, there are four (4) mounted officers who have been trained in barefoot hoof trimming. These officers believe so much in this program that much of their learning of barefoot and trimming techniques was paid for out of their own pocket. Initially, when a horse's hooves are trimmed we will utilize hoof boots until the sensitivity has dissipated. Over a period of time the hoof will strengthen and no longer require the boots. Our hoof boot of choice is the EasyCare, Inc., Old Mac G2."

  RS,,"Shoeing doesn't scare me as much as who is doing it.  "  I agree..and thanks for the input..:)

 MAJ,,,I am sure that some horses to wonderfully barefoot, but IMO there are situations that make shoes a better option...:)