Haygain USA and “horse health” are synonymous terms in the U.S. Increasingly, “education” should be added to that word cloud as the company’s library of educational articles grows almost by the day.
Horses grazing near foothills
Haygain makes an ever-expanding library of useful articles available to all horse owners.
© 2018 by William Taylor
Enter a wide range of topics – from airway inflammation to winter weather care – on Haygain’s easily searchable website, www.haygain.us, and a relevant, research-backed article is likely to pop up.
With a long list of active veterinary, sports medicine and equine behavior experts and active equestrians in its stable of authors, Haygain is as devoted to horse owner education as it is to developing equipment that supports their horse’s well-being and performance.
Here’s a sampling of recent articles that are available for reading, posting, re-printing and sharing with fellow horse owners.
The Importance of a Good, Comfortable Night’s Sleep, by Sharon Smith, MSc, British Horse Society APC.
“We’ve only just started to understand how much poor sleep impacts on our mental and physical health. Does it affect horses in the same way?” asks Sharon, an equine behavior expert. “Early research is suggesting ‘yes,’ and competition results, or even rider safety, could suffer as a result.”
To learn about the impact of Slow Wave and REM sleep and recent research’s conclusion that sleep deprived horses are less healthy, less motivated, quicker to fatigue and slower to learn, click here.
How the Digestive System Functions to Reduce Risk of Various Health Problems, by Dr. David Marlin.
Dr. Marlin’s areas of expertise include equine exercise physiology, thermoregulation and nutrition and he frequently advises on those topics at international competitions including last year’s World Equestrian Games
The horse’s existence as a “non-ruminant herbivore” means no significant fermentation takes place in the stomach and that the sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach does not permit vomiting. Along with a high acidic content in the lower stomach, these are among the reasons why the horse should eat as they would in nature: frequent small meals, even though many aren’t fed that way.
To read how all of this relates to colic and ulcers, click here.
Therapeutic Stall Flooring Helps Dressage Prospect Resume Work after Navicular & Other Distal Limb Issues
On April 2 of 2018, Fourth Level dressage prospect Leopold WF was diagnosed with navicular. Many owners would have turned the promising 12 year old Hanoverian out to pasture at that point, but not his owner, professional dressage trainer Hannah Croteau of Maine.
When Leo’s lameness got worse after the traditional treatment of injections, Hannah began researching other options. MRIs to get a more detailed diagnosis were the next step. They revealed worse news: severe arthrosis in the fetlock and damage to lower leg tendons and ligaments, but Hannah didn’t quit.
To find out how barefoot shoeing and ComfortStall flooring helped Leo’s remarkable return to work, click here.
Press release provided by Haygain