What is the difference between leg cramps and charley horses?

What is the pathophysiology of muscle cramps?

Most muscle cramps are also accompanied by fasciculations in the same muscle and normal serum CK activity. Muscle cramps can be induced by forceful contraction of a shortened muscle, by changes in the electrolyte composition of extracellular fluid, and by ear tick infestations.

Do horses turn out together in the stable?

Among horses turned out together, the social order that establishes at pasture typically remains in effect in the stable. In addition to a normal pattern of maintenance behavior, normal behavior of stabled horses includes appropriate responsiveness to environmental stimuli.

What does it mean when a horses temperature fluctuates?

A horse’s temperature will fluctuate differently with a bacterial infection, than a viral one, as goes the same for neurological disorders. A horse’s gait may show abnormalities that are common with neurological issues and show up differently than those associated with soreness from hard work or injury.

What are the characteristics of a stabled horse?

In other words, the stabled horse is normally interested and reactive to events such as feeding, lights on or off, movement of people or animals, and disturbances in the barn. They tend to acclimate to a wide range of routine noises and activities, but continue to be disturbed by novel or abrupt events.

What causes a horse to drag his feet?

Low limb carriage, which can cause dragging of the toe, can be due to low heel, long toe foot conformation. Excessive toe wall thickness can also be a contributing factor. What problems can cause my horse to drag his feet?

What do horse stables do with manure?

Some stables have developed markets to distribute or sell the stall waste. Whether in a suburban or rural setting, proper manure management is based on simple principles that will virtually eliminate environmental pollution impacts and nuisances such as odor and flies. Manure includes both the solid and liquid portions of waste.

What do you like most about this book on equine behavior?

This book is an excellent resource for not only veterinarians like myself, but any true professional in the equine industry. It contains fascinating scientific evidence (as much as is available at this time), as to the hows and whys of many equine behaviors.

Why do horses drag their hind feet?

Horses drag their hind feet for many reasons, but the main influences are the rider, the horse’s conformation or shoeing problems. Horses can have a high or low limb carriage – this is the flight path the limb takes as it progresses through the stride.

What causes dragging of the toe?

Low limb carriage, which can cause dragging of the toe, can be due to low heel, long toe foot conformation. Excessive toe wall thickness can also be a contributing factor.

When is horse manure not waste?

Horse manure is not considered waste if all of the following apply: it is used lawfully for spreading on clearly identified pieces of agricultural land it is only stored to be used for spreading on agricultural land

Why does my horse have a squeaking noise in his leg?

It can be related to immaturity, lack of conditioning, sometimes size or arthritic changes in the joint in older or high performance horses. Do these noises need to be treated?

Why do some horses have one hoof?

The loss of toes may have enabled horses to support a larger weight and move faster on their longer legs. A single hoof better supports a horse’s weight and allows it to swing its legs more efficiently to gallop at a much greater speed. This is one of the crucial adaptations to allow horses to move as swiftly as they do today.

Why does my horse’s back leg swing outward?

Rear leg swinging outward likewise can be attributed to a dropped sacroiliac on the same side. The horse will endeavor to bring the rear leg forward by swinging it outward first since the brain will interpret this side as longer and thus stimulate muscles to swing outward.

What is manure plus bedding for horses?

This could be a wood byproduct (sawdust, shavings, or chips), straw, hay, or paper. Manure plus bedding will have a volume of 2 to 3 cubic feet per day (2,3,5). Soiled bedding should be removed from stalls daily and replaced with fresh bedding.

How much manure does a horse produce per stall?

This results in between 12 and 13 tons of waste per stall per year with 9.0 tons being manure, and the remainder, bedding from a 1000-pound horse. The density of horse manure is about 62 lb/ft3, not counting bedding. Annual stall waste from one horse will fill a 12′ x 12′ stall about 6-feet deep. This leads to a steady stream of manure to handle.

What is the lumbar joint on a horse?

It is actually the lumbar-sacral joint, or “coupling,” that flexes, letting the horse get its hind legs under its center of gravity in a spectacular jump takeoff or reining sliding stop. To have a strong lumbar region, the loin should be broad, strongly muscled, and not too long.

What does it mean when a horse has its teeth bare?

Finally, Jays says a horse may bare its teeth at you to tell you he’s in pain. For example, did you just touch a tender spot while grooming? Your horse may react by whipping his head around, teeth bared and ears back, warning you that he’ll bite if you keep touching that area.

How do horses get their hooves?

How Horses Got Their Hooves. From top, a modern day horse (Equus caballus), followed by prehistoric horses Pliohippus, Merychippus, Miohippus, Mesohippus and Hyracotherium. New research lends support to existing hypotheses that early horses had several toes and evolved to have fewer toes as they gained mass.

Why is my horse dragging his toes on the ground?

Toe dragging can be caused by stifle problems as well as spavin and the horse may be reluctant to flex its legs sufficiently to clear the ground as it swings through the stride which will scuff the toes. But again the reasons for toe dragging could be any number of things.

What happens when a horse jogs in a circle?

At slower gaits, the horse’s back muscles relax and become supple, giving him more freedom to bend and stretch. Ideally, when a horse jogs in a circle, he “bends around a rider’s leg.” That is, his neck curls slightly, while a less obvious curve immediately below the rider’s leg originates in the thoracic spine.

How do you dispose of horse bedding and manure?

Composting is the best and most environmentally friendly way to manage your horse’s bedding and manure as it becomes a natural fertilizer. Straw bedding composts easily, but wood chips and shavings take longer to break down. The other alternative is to arrange for the removal of waste by a waste disposal company which will involve costs.

How much manure does a horse need a day?

Manure plus bedding will have a volume of 2 to 3 cubic feet per day (2,3,5). Soiled bedding should be removed from stalls daily and replaced with fresh bedding. Soiled bedding may equal 2 to 3 times the volume of manure, depending on management practices.

How much bedding does a horse need?

Because of many types of bedding materials, wood byproduct (shavings, chips, sawdust), straw, or paper, the composition of the mix of manure and bedding will vary from farm to farm. In general, manure plus bedding will have a volume of between 2 and 3 cubic feet per horse per day.

What is the lumbar junction on a horse?

That is known as the lumbar/sacral junction, which is what enables a horse to bring its hindleg under its body. Flexion and extension happens at this junction — that is why a riding coach refers to a horse needing to lift its back.

What is the articulation of the vertebral body of a horse?

There’s no articulation with the vertebral body. The first lumbar vertebrae (L1) of this Quarter Horse mare is a transitional vertebra. (c) Melissa Longhurst, www.equinebodybalance.com.au