Natural Horse Care in an Unnatural World

If you have been following this blog, then you recall that, on February 13th, my 27 year old Paint colicked with a strangulated lipoma and needed emergency surgery. While he was at Tufts Veterinary Hospital for Large Animals, He was scoped and discovered to have ulcers. Upon returning home (9 days later, on Feb. 22nd), he was doing well. I had him on his ulcer meds for a month. I had to cordon off a portion of his paddock so he could still go outside and be with his friends. After the first month, I opened up his paddock to about 24 feet by 30 feet. This was to stay for another month.  However, on March 8th, only 3 weeks out of surgery, I brought him in and a friend who boards at the same barn noticed that Kobeejo's right knee was swollen. I had not noticed, as he was not limping nor favoring the leg. He also had a bit of a fever. I called my vet, who came out to check. He spent more time checking his intestines and doing an ultra-sound on his gut. Nothing was wrong there. He deduc...

I've done a lot of thinking and research on many topics since my 27-year-old Paint, Kobeejo, underwent colic surgery for a strangulating lipoma last month. Mostly, I have gotten deeper into my already existing research on the horse's most unique digestive tract. The very first thing I wanted to fully look into was the ulcers the hospital discovered my horse had. Every veterinarian and nutritionist, even at Tufts, insisted the way to prevent ulcers was to feed 24/7 free-choice hay/forage, always provide fresh clean water and make sure your horse gets plenty of movement (living outside with a shelter being ideal). I had always learned that, if a horse has this, plus the companionship of other horses even nearby (and no excessive medications such as Bute), they would be good to go. My horse always had all of this! So, why did he develop such severe ulcers? As it turns out, studies show that horses in stressful situations, such as moving to a new barn, being taken away from the...

I don't think there's anyone on earth who has not been impacted in one way or another by the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses considered "non-essential" have been closed down, others close at early hours. Even the coffee I have been getting at night when I go up to walk Kobeejo and give him his meds during his rehab from surger y is not available at night. The store is open, but everything you can "grab and go" is closed down. They only allow people to order their coffee and food between the hours of 6am and 2 or 3 pm (depending on which store you go to). I assume because they are trying to cut back on the number of employees (and customers) in the store at once. Yet, I believe I saw more traffic out tonight than I have in the daytime. Starting tonight at 8pm, the governor ordered all "non-essential" businesses and people to "Stay safe. Stay home." But this has apparently caused more concern than clarification. What exactly does that mean?...