How to Establish an Effective Grooming Routine for Your Horse

Regular grooming is an essential part of any horse’s care. Grooming promotes circulation and pain relief with massage-like brushstrokes. It also helps keep your horse clean and free from parasites and irritants like dirt, debris, and even fungi. Additionally, grooming provides you with the regular opportunity to closely inspect your horse for signs of injury, soreness, swelling, and infection. Horses that are groomed regularly tend to be healthier because these types of problems are detected early before they’ve had a chance to worsen.

Establishing Your Horse's Grooming Routine

Start With the Right Brushes

Every horse owner should have the right tools on hand to ensure their horse gets the proper grooming. In this order, your horse’s regular brushing routine should include:

Determine the Proper Schedule

While show horses will likely be set on a more frequent grooming routine, every horse should be thoroughly brushed at least a few days per week. Bathing schedules will vary, but less is usually more when it comes to maintaining a shiny coat. Shampoos and soaps strips the coat of its natural oils. Rinsing with clean water will help remove sweat without removing helpful, natural oils.

Leave the Tricky Tasks to Your Veterinarian

While some geldings will tolerate sheath cleaning while unsedated, many will not and its much safer to have your veterinarian perform this task with your horse properly and safely sedated and restrained. Your veterinarian will also evaluate any masses or abnormalities during a thorough sheath cleaning.Your horse only needs a sheath cleaning every 6-12 months, more often can cause irritation.

Remember That Beauty Starts on the Inside

Even the best grooming routine can only do so much to improve the health of a horse’s skin and the appearance of its coat, tail, and mane. A balanced and healthy diet that’s also rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids will do wonders to improve skin health while creating a lustrous, shiny coat.

We welcome our clients to talk with our equine veterinarians about the types of grains or other nutritional supplements that can be added to your horse’s diet to improve skin and coat health.

Get Expert Grooming Advice From Our Equine Veterinarians

At Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley, our equine veterinarians specialize in providing top-notch care to horses while also providing our clients with the knowledge and tools to help them raise healthy and beautiful horses for any purpose. To learn more about horse grooming or establishing a proper grooming routine for your horse, we welcome you to schedule a consultation with an equine specialist at Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley today.

Why Equine Vaccinations Matter

Horses are strong, hardy animals, but, like all animals, they’re still susceptible to disease. Whether your horses are working animals, show horses, livestock, or simply companions, you can protect them from some of the most common contagious and dangerous diseases with a regular schedule of vaccinations.

Core and Risk-Based Equine Vaccine

Not every horse needs to have every vaccination that’s been developed. Equine vaccines fall into two categories: core and risk-based vaccines. Core vaccines include those that are typically recommended for all horses, and risk-based vaccines include those that are only recommended on a case-by-case basis.

Core Equine Vaccines

The five core vaccinations for horses are:

All of the diseases from which these core vaccinations safeguard horses have high fatality rates and/or long-lasting symptoms that will hinder a horse’s health and performance for life. In most cases, equine veterinarians recommend that all horses receive a regular schedule that includes these core vaccinations.

Risk-Based Equine Vaccines

Additional risk-based vaccinations that are commonly administered on a case-by-case basis include:

What Vaccinations Do My Horses Need?

Not every horse will need to receive every vaccination. For individual horses, equine veterinarians usually make recommendations that include a combination of core and risk-based vaccines. These recommendations are based on each individual horse’s:

Our veterinarians at Advanced Equine keep track of all disease outbreaks that occur in our region, and we’ll make recommendations based on what our veterinarians and equine veterinarians from other practices are seeing in their patients. Additionally, horses that are exposed to lots of other horses (on neighboring farms, in horse shows, or at competitions) will likely receive a greater number of vaccinations due to their increased exposure risk.

For any horse, a thorough veterinary examination and evaluation are necessary to determine the appropriate schedule of vaccinations to keep that particular horse thriving and healthy.

More Ways to Strengthen a Horse's Immune System

The most important part of safeguarding a horse from disease is maintaining overall good health and an equally strong immune system. You can help support your horse’s immune system by always providing a balanced and nutritious diet, plenty of exercise, shelter and a clean environment, and regular veterinary care.

To schedule a checkup and vaccinations for your horse, we invite you to contact Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley today.

The Importance of Equine Preventative Dental Care

With regular wear and tear, a horse’s natural teeth are designed to last about 20 years, as the reserve crowns continuously erupt while the exposed crown wears away. With exceptional care, horses are living well into their 30s. A sedated oral exam performed with a mouth speculum and treatment (primarily odontoplasty) performed annually by a veterinarian is essential to maintaining your horse’s health and wellbeing.

3 Reasons Why Equine Dental Care Is So Important

1. Monitor Development

Foals are constantly teething from their first year until about age 4. While teething, horses should be monitored for proper development, tooth eruption, and shedding of primary teeth. This ensures healthy development and allows an equine veterinarian to address any concerns before they have the chance to develop into serious problems.

2. Prevent Tooth Imbalances

In the wild, horses have varied diets that help their teeth maintain normal wear patterns. The domestic equine diet differs greatly. Without professional dental maintenance, horses develop imbalances and malocclusion in their mouths, such as:

These issues are uncomfortable, make eating difficult, and are downright painful. Neglecting a horse’s teeth will harm the animal’s health.

3. Geriatric Health

Senior horses are prone to developing periodontal disease (bacterial infection of the gums), which can lead to systemic disorders and break down the periodontal ligaments that connect a horse’s teeth to the jawbone. This leads to loose and/or missing teeth.

Achieving perfect balance in a senior horse’s mouth is not always possible. Yet, maintaining their oral care and some degree of balance is essential to the horse’s overall health. Without a proper bite and healthy teeth and gums, a senior horse’s ability to process feed will deteriorate and so will the horse’s condition.

When to Schedule a Dental Exam for Your Horse

Equine oral health begins with a strong foundation of dental care. A horse should have its first comprehensive dental exam before it reaches 1 year. The horse should then have semi-annual dental exams until about age 5. After age 5, a horse’s schedule of dental exams will vary based on the individual horse’s condition and needs, but generally annual dental exams are recommended.

Schedule Your Horse's Next Dental Appointment in Fishkill, NY Today

At Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley, our equine specialists provide on-site dental exams, odontoplasty, extractions and other treatments to horses in NY and western CT. In addition to providing comprehensive equine dental care, our veterinarians have access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, enabling us to offer a comprehensive list of advanced equine veterinary care services.

To schedule a dental exam for your horse contact us today!

Horse Ownership 101: What You Need to Know Before Buying a Horse

Deciding to bring home any kind of animal is a big responsibility. When thinking about purchasing a horse, even more planning is needed. Consider the following when deciding if you are going to purchase a horse.

What to Consider Before Getting a Horse

1. Leasing

Loving horses doesn’t mean you should own one. Caring for a horse requires an enormous commitment of time, emotional energy, and money. Depending on how much you want to commit to horse ownership, leasing a horse might actually be the best option.

Having a partial or full lease on a horse means you’ll be able to spend a predetermined amount of time riding and enjoying the horse’s company without having to be 100% responsible for the horse’s care. Lease contracts will establish the level of access you have to the horse (partial to full) and predetermined responsibilities to it (board, vet, farrier, etc) without having to buy the horse. Leasing is an excellent option for people that are unsure if they want to own, are unable to buy a horse, or are moving up the levels and may require one type of horse now, but will need a different type of horse in a year or two. If a lease doesn’t afford you enough time with the horse, then ownership might be the better option for you.

2. Your Budget

Responsible horse ownership not only requires ample time, but it also demands a substantial budget. The first consideration is how much you want/need/can pay to purchase a horse. Prices for “starter” horses typically start at around a few thousand dollars and go up from there (some racehorses are worth millions of dollars). How you plan to use the horse and what you need out of its performance will largely dictate the amount you end up spending. However a horse’s care will far outstrip what you initially pay to purchase them.

3. Future Costs

Purchasing a horse is only the first expense in a long line of horse-related costs. To start, you’ll need to budget monthly for boarding, which may or may not include daily care, feeding, supplements, stall cleaning, and boarding-staff related fees, depending on your type of boarding situation. Horses also require regular farrier care and veterinary care. Add to that the price of equipment and tack, lessons with a professional, competition entry fees, and the cost of transportation, plus any unexpected costs (which are an unavoidable part of owning a horse). Altogether, you’re looking at dedicating a pretty significant amount of money toward your horse’s care and upkeep.

4. Choosing the Right Horse

If you’ve decided that ownership is right for you and you’re ready to handle the responsibilities, then it’s time to consider what horse will be the right one for you. Based on your intentions for the horse, you can make a decision based on the horse’s experience, age, temperament, and breeding. A professional trainer can help you make the best decision about your new potential equine partner, especially if you are new to horse ownership.

When you’ve found the right horse, remember that it’s essential to schedule a pre-purchase exam with an experienced equine veterinarian. This will ensure your horse is healthy and that you’re aware of any potential issues that might arise before you commit.

Ask an Equine Veterinarian in Fishkill, NY

If you’re thinking about purchasing a horse, we encourage you to schedule a pre-purchase examination and consultation with our veterinarians at Advanced Equine of the Hudson Valley.

Protect Your Horse with Veterinarian-Administered Vaccinations

With vaccines readily available at farm supplies stores, online pharmacies and other retailers, it’s sometimes tempting to save a few dollars by purchasing and administering them to your animals yourself.

There are hidden risks and costs associated with vaccinating animals yourself, therefore “cheaper” vaccines aren’t the value they first appear to be.

Ask your veterinarian to develop a customized vaccine program for your horse. Having your veterinarian administer vaccines is always safer, easier and a better value in the long run than doing it yourself.

Here are several good reasons why your veterinarian is the best choice for administering vaccines

Proper Handling of the Vaccine

Many vaccines require special handling and storage, for instance, protection from extremes of temperature or exposure to light to preserve its effectiveness. Rely on a licensed veterinarian to store and handle the vaccine properly—and to make sure the vaccine isn’t past its expiration date!

Safe Administration

A licensed veterinarian knows about safe administration: clean environment, an appropriate injection site and good documentation. They also know the best time of year to vaccinate and whether vaccinations would react with any medications being administered to the horse. Your veterinarian will document the vaccine’s serial number and administration date—especially important in the event of a manufacturer’s recall. This is one instance when poor documentation could put your animal in peril.

Availability for Treatment of Adverse Reactions

Any injection can result in adverse effects—mild swelling at the injection site, lethargy and a slight fever for one to two days, the immediate outbreak of hives and life-threatening anaphylaxis. If your veterinarian is administering the vaccine, he’ll know what to do to counteract a reaction—and he’ll have the medicine to do it.

When you think about the risks of doing it yourself, it only makes good sense to have a licensed professional administer vaccines.

How to Establish an Effective Grooming Routine for Your Horse