Ask the Vet – Long term Equioxx use, work to rest ratio, disinfecting, and more! – October 2019
You asked, we answered! In this episode of our monthly series, Ask the Vet, Dr. Lydia Gray and SmartPaker Dan answer 5 new questions on topics like the work-to-rest ratio for horses, introducing a horse to a protective herd, helping a horse adjust to a new barn, how to disinfect the items in your barn and how often to do so, long-term use of Equioxx, and so much more!
If your question was answered in this video, reach out to us at CustomerCare@SmartPak.com and let us know and we’ll get your gift card out to you as soon as we can! Have some of your own questions? Ask away using #AsktheVetVideo! If your question gets selected to be in one of our Ask the Vet videos, you win a SmartPak gift card! How awesome is that!?
Additional reading/watching material mentioned in the video:
Ask the Vet individual topics playlist
Ask the Vet blogs
Horse Health Library videos
Ask the Vet form
Grazing muzzle study recap
Conditioning Sport Horses by Dr. Hilary Clayton
Ask the Vet about new horse ownership
Protecting my pony from her pushy pasture mates blog article
Ask the Vet on relocating horses
Ask the Vet – Electrolytes for horses
Equine Disease Communication Center
Ask the Vet – How to manage a horse or barn with strangles
Ask the Vet – The dangers of EHV-1 in horses
Questions answered in this episode:
1. How often should you work/exercise your horse? Also, how often should hard working horses get a break?
2. How should you introduce a new horse to a very protective herd? 3 mares and a gelding who are all very protective of each other and don’t want the new guy near their friends 😞 love the videos!
3. I just got a new horse 3 days ago and he’s adjusting not so well.
1) we were told not to pasture him with mares and so we didn’t. There are mares in the pasture across from him and he paces the fence line. Other than moving the mare pasture what can I do.
2) he’s not drinking much water. We’ve tried Gatorade and alfalfa tea and he doesn’t like it. What are some other flavored drinks I can try?
4. What is the most effective, yet safe way to properly disinfect grooming tools, tack, water troughs, feed buckets, etc? Also, how often do you recommend disinfecting?
5. What are your thoughts regarding long-term Equioxx use in riding horses? Assuming blood work indicates no areas of concern, is there any benefit to doing a two day per week break (or any other intermittent breaks) from the drug if a horse is on it for an extended period?