horse owners / horse experienced ppl...?

Question

Hey it's me again asking more questions about the horse im adopting in aug.! I just wanted to kno what u guys think are the best horse care products? i.e. shampoos, dewormers, thrush treatments, hoof care products, supplements, fly/pest sprays, etc.

As I have told many of u before i will be adopting my first horse and since im not that experienced with riding im going to be adopting an older (around 10) semi bombproof horse!

I was also wondering if this was a good first aid kit
http://www.sstack.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=8272&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=116&iSubCat=130&iProductID=8272

thanks for all ur help! =)

Answer 1

Hi, First off I have managed a 22 horse boarding facility and owned horses for 17+ years. I have been a 4-H horse project leader, high school equestrian team coach and given hundreds of riding lessons. This kit seems ok. The prep pads you will find will be too small to be of much use for any thing and in all my years on the farm and in ride alongs with vets I have never seen the need for a tourniquet and I've seen every thing from severed flexor tendons to broken legs to partial amputations to degloving incidents. I mention these types of injuries because this seemes to be what the kit is geared toward. Years of experience have brought together my kit which is actually a large green tote and to be honest, knock on wood, the items that get the most use are the white cotton towels-they are easier to clean, and you can see what color of matter is adhering to the towel, betadine, betadine sugical scrub (not a brush- I have never used a brush to clean any wound- but a betadine based soap), vet-wrap, standing/track bandages, pillow wraps, thermometer, and stethascope. So for the basics and you will build on them from there, the kit will be fine but I will plead with you to get a STETHASCOPE. It doesn't have to be a fancy expensive one, any vet supply catalog, Valley Vet Supply, United Vet Equine for example, actually most horse catalogs have them, but it will be the best money you spend. As long as you can hear your heart beat and your intestines gurgle you will be able to hear your horse's and that is what matters. Colic is the number one killer of horses, know the signs and know that these signs vary from horse to horse and are dependant on the different types of colic. Learn what is normal for your horse, know what his gut sounds like (some horses have a naturally noisier gut than others) listen to your friend's horse's gut, if you can listen to a colicking horses gut do so, if you can go on some ride alongs with the area horse vets do so, they usually are happy for some assistance, if not the company. Also first aid books are great, but get a couple of charts, first aid and anatomy (it will make communication with your vet simpler and more concise) and it is easier to read the chart at 'horse side' at a glance when you are in the thick of things, especially if it is your first go around and even if it isn't its nice to have a bit of a reminder when the panic is in the air and the blood is pumping and it can be a nice tool to settle the upset horse owner. And finally toss in a notebook and a pen or pencil and a high powered large beam flash light (just don't make it one of those long bodied ones, it can get it the way, especially if your dealing with a belly or fetlock injury). Pen and notebook to document everything, heart rate, resp. rate, temp., and when taken, medications given and when, last fed and when, water amount consumed and when ect., and a flashlight because no matter how well lit your barn or arena is your horse will find the darkest corner to stand it and the most akward spot on his body to have an injury.
Shampoos are a preference both for you and your horse, many horses can be sensitive to different things but here are the things that I use on my two, I like Quicksilver it keeps my mare's mane and tail nice and silver and her sock nice and white, and it rinses easily, which is the important thing, the rinsing. If you're dealing with a long mane and tail like I do, the best product I have found for detangling and leave-in is cowboy magic, it even works on my long hair and it doesn't attract dirt or build up. The fly spray I like is Tri Tec-14 it doesn't last 14 days but it does have good mosquito and deer fly nock down which is important for my day long trail rides, for regular fly control I feed garlic to my horses which helps a great deal and they wear fly sheets and the squirt of spray on the legs to ease their old joints. I don't use hoof care products, both of my horses are blessed with good hooves, they go barefoot year round with trims every 6-8 weeks depending on the moisture in the ground. I have never had a thrush problem in my barn. But if I did I would ask my farrier and my vet. Supplements, my best advice is to talk to your vet if you don't need them don't waste your money, I live in Michigan and our hay is deficeint in vit. E and Selenium, my horses were showing weakness problems related to the extremely low E & SEL levels now their blood levels are tested occasionally to make sure I am not over supplementing as these can be toxic if given in too high doses, they also receive ground flax seed and glucosamine and chondroitin because they are 25 and 18 (see elderly, to which we at the barn say hmmpf) and a touch arthritic. As far as dewormers, rotation is key, every 2 months, there has been a lot of literature in the vet journals about growing resistance to the ombendazoles, which is the older class of wormers like panacur and safeguard, but I think given in the frozen winter months to horses in a well maintained barn ie. all horses wormed at same time, manure kept picked up in the pastures ect then these wormers would be fine. As far as wormers causeing seizures all wormers have that ability, it is the nature of the ingedient, it is a nuerotoxin, that is what and how wormer kill the worms, too much of a wormer, and to over dose a horse with wormer you would have to give them 10 to 20 times the recommended amount. The majority of signs and symptoms I have seen published in journals is a 'drunken' behavior and indeed when I worm the barn cats and horse wormer is what I use if I give them a little too much they tend to act like they have been on a bit of a bender. Not to say a seizure absolutely cannot occur, like I said this class of drug is a neurotoxin it affects the nerves and neuromuscular control but my vet, my friends and I have used Moxedictin (Quest) from the beginning and never had a problem. In fact this is the first I have heard of a particular wormer causing seizures, usually every one is saying it causes colic, which it might (an impaction of worms). When in doubt talk to your vet.
wow this is a lot of stuff hope it's helpfull

Answer 2

As far as shampoos go, you can pretty much use any human shampoo, thats what we do and it works fine, I use thrush buster for thrush, it is a purple liquid in a small bottle. You should get a good farrier to tell you of the rest of the hoof care products. Instead of fly sprays we use Freedom. Fly sprays only last for about an hour or two while Freedom lasts about two weeks. It is a liquid in a small plastic tube that you put small dots on various parts of your horse's body (follow the directions), along with freedom, you can add a NATURAL fly spray if there are still a few flys left. Do not use a chamical fly spray as this will be too much chemical for a horse to have. We have always been happy with freedom. As far as dewormers go, do not use the same one each month, because different dewormers have different ingredients to kill different ttypes of worms. Here's our dewormer list for the year......
January-Anthelcide
March-Strongid
May-Ivermectin
July-Safeguard
September- Strongid
November- Ivermectin Gold

Deworming every month is unnecessary but every other month is.

For grain, we feed one scoop of Strategy which is a healthy pellet grain that we add about a half cup of corn oil to twice a day. The corm oil helps keep the fat on and it helps things slide through the body easily so it makes the horse less likely to get compacted or colic. It even adds a little extra shine to their coat. We also feed about two flakes of fescue hay twice a day per horse. As your horse gets older, you may want to [gradually]switch him over to Equone Senior which is a higher protein grain made especially for older horses.

Well, I think that pretty much covers it, I hope you have fun with your new horse, they are so much fun and great friends when you need one. Rescued horses are always the best because you create that bond and they appreciate your love and care so much more. Good luck!

Answer 3

I would say it is a fine first aid kit....

My advice for the stuff is as follows:
thrush remedy-Thrush Buster i can't remember who makes it but it is in a small bottle and the liquid is purplish

hoof oil- my fave is Absobine's Hoof Flex in the solid form but in the winter i like Fiebings hoof oil

shampoo-Mane and Tail is cheep and is sometimes sold in supermarkets for dirt cheep

Flyspray i use Equisect which is a good natural spray from Farnam (also, i like to put a fly sheet on my horses, they are about $60 @ sstack.com under "horse wear"

Ask your vet about dewormer rotation but avoid Quest dewormer b/c it can give horses seizers.

1 other product i really like is Show Sheen, especially for dangling tails so you don't rip out the hairs.
Good Luck!!!!!

Answer 4

There's lots of products on the market, but your best bet would be try shampoo and grooming products out on your horse and see what suits him best. As for thrush and other medical or first aid products the best advice is ASK YOUR VET they have all the pro knowledge of what you can fix and what requires a DVM. Same with your farrier.

Answer 5

That looks like a great first aid kit! I would recommend Strongid Paste for a dewormer. It's what we have always used and we have never had a horse with worms. And for flyspray I recommend Zonk It! I think that's what it's called. It's pretty cheap but works better than any of the more expensive kinds I've tried. I use Oster grooming equipment. It's very durable. Well I hope I helped!! Good luck with your new horse!! Contact me if you have any question. I'll be glad to help!

Answer 6

the best horse care products would be the ones that would suit your horse you have to check them out and make sure that he isnt allergic to anything, test products out on a small area first and if there is no reaction its alright to use your first aid kit sounds great it sounds like theres everything youd need there for cuts and bruises and stuff also its best to change wormers every time you worm your horse because the worms get used to the same product it tells you how often to worm them on the packet i cant recommend any products because i dont live in america and dont know what products you have over there but hope this helps anyway!

Answer 7

The first aid kit looks pretty sound, but make sure you also have vet tape, pillow wraps (flannel or similar), and standing wraps. A topical ointment is good, too, but I also really like Wonder Dust for areas that are prone to lots of dirt, as the goopy ointments tend to attract dirt particles and it's important to keep the wound clean to stave off infection.

Dewormer: Remember, you're going to have options with your wormer. You can either do a paste wormer at least every other month (6 times a year) in which you rotate the active ingredient in the paste. Good paste wormars are Strongyle Care, Equimax, and Zimectrin Gold. Alternatively, you can choose to use a daily pelleted wormer with the horse's feed, like Strongid. If you get Strongid from your vet, it costs more but it also comes with $5000 worth of colic surgery insurance. You still have to paste twice a year with a wormer that has a different active ingredient. Again, either Equimax or Zimectrin Gold would be good choices.

Shampoos: I use basic Mane & Tail on my horses because it's very mild and we have several TBs with skin irritations. Mane & Tail doesn't bother their skin, though. I also recommend having Absorbine's Show Sheen on hand for touch ups between bathing (too frequent bathing can strip the coat of its natural oils and soften the hooves). Quic Condition 1 or 2 is very good for keeping the tail in good health, as is Cowboy Magic.

Hoof Care: This depends on what type of issues you have with your horse's feet. If you live in a wet climate, for instance, you might want a toughening oil like Farrier's Best that helps fight against cracks and softening of the hoof wall. You should talk with your farrier, though. Once he sees your horse, he can determine what you'll want to get to keep your horse's feet in top condition. My advice is to go with the farrier's recommendations.

Supplements: Once again, it depends on your individual horse and what you'll be doing. Cosequin would protect his joints if you're doing high-impact or high-stress sports. If you live in an area with a high sand count in the soil, like southern Florida, you may also want to consider a sand colic preventative. If you have a hard keeper, you may want to add beet pulp to their diet. This depends on your horse and your activities, though.Speak with your vet and the horse's original owners about what they think and what the horse is already on. Supplements can get expensive, so try not to put the horse on anything unnecessary. If it's not broken, don't fix it.

Fly Control: No product works 100% of the time. You'll probably have to switch sprays midway through the season, too, as the flies tend to build up immunity. I like the Eqyss Marigold spray, as it seems to work for at least part of the time and it's natural as opposed to chemical-based. Equicare Super 7 is artifical, but it also seems to work well. So does Repel-X. I will warn you away from Bronco and Nature's Defense, as I think these products actually ATTRACT flies (at least they have with my horses).

Answer 8

when i got my horse i was thinking the same things you are. the kit looks pretty good but i didn't see that it had a stethoscope that will be also needed. as for the other products here are a list of things i use and really like.

shampoo:Oster Berry Fresh all purpose shampoo.
Hoof care: hoofflex liquid conditioner
fly/pest spray: farnam repel x ready to use 32 oz.
treats: win treats, wintreats.net
brushes:oster limited edition pink equine care series collection
clippers:oster protege clipper.
sweat scrapers: plastic sweat scrapper
vaccums: rapid groom
hoof supplements:focus HF- http://www.statelinetack.com
muscle pain: absorbine liniment gel for horses. www.statelinetack.com
toys: scented jolly balls www.statelinetack.com

i hope this helps

Answer 9

This is a daily routine not in order: -Groom horse -Pick out horses hooves (I do this twice a day) -Turn out horse into field, bring in from field (if they're going out that day) -Exercise horse if they are being exercised that day (could be in-hand work, lunging or riding) -Feed horse -Muck out (I do this in the morning, this is basically just cleaning out the stable of poo and topping up bedding if necessary) -Skip out (taking poo out of stable, I do this a few times a day) -Emptying water, cleaning water bucket and re-filling with clean water (I do this every morning) -Topping up water if it becomes low during day -Putting rugs on the horse -Lay down bed (I leave mine stacked in the corner in the mornings and lay it in the afternoon) -Clean tack if necessary (I do this whenever needed. once a week? & before shows) I might of missed off a few things; make your own list so you can look at it and make sure you've done everything everyday. Remember vet, farrier, dentist ect.

Answer 10

The important thing is to have a really good horse specialist vet. Then the vet and staff can answer any question.