A Horse, a Human, and a Microbe walk into a Barn…..

by Kip Tulin

Note: There are quite a few 50-cent words in here which you may feel free to skip past in search of Dr. Tulin's point about feed and supplementation. Science geeks, enjoy! -MG

humans, horses, dog, and gazillions of microbes...

….and while hanging out around the treat bin, they decide to find out if they have anything at all in common. Horse and human, sure. But a microbe?? Turns out all three (human, horse, microbe) have more in common than you might think: they—and I might as well say ‘we’— all have DNA made up of the same four ‘letters’ (called nucleotides) and they all use groups of three of these letters (triplets) to code for the the same twenty ‘building blocks’ (amino acids). It is truly amazing to think that all of the immensely diverse living things on earth, whether single celled, plant, insect, or animal use the same basic code of life.

The Transformation of Niko, Part 4 (Vitamin E edition…)

By Michelle Grimmer & Barbara Noble

First of all, Niko is doing GREAT! Two years after adopting him and starting down the road to

unraveling the puzzle of his various mental and
physical issues, I can finally say that he is doing well and moving soundly. Time, patience, persistence, a team of caring professionals, therapeutic exercise, hoof trimming, tack fitting, dentistry, structural integration, chiropractic adjustments, the list could go on. While we attacked things on the outside of the horse, and the inside of his brain, we have also addressed what we put into him in terms of the feed and nutrients required for healthy body building and tissue repair. A hay balancing supplement has been introduced to his feeding regimen along with magnesium, a joint supplement (makes me feel good at least, even if the jury is out on its actual benefits), and vitamin E.

Signs of Spring: Thoughts on Supplementation, Hay Analysis, and Laminitis

by Barbara Noble

When Barbara Noble sent us this article, I appreciated the reminder that springtime brings new growth of all kinds, including the prospect of new hay, rich new grass, and definitely, a few seasonal concerns. A timely post! - Mary Gallagher

Not long ago I took a course in Equine Touch. One of my fellow participants was a veterinarian from the area where the clinic was held.  Other participants were eager for the opportunity to access her expertise during free time and kept asking her questions, mostly, ‘should I give my horse a supplement?  What supplement should I use?  Does my horse need a different type of supplement?  I heard many supplement questions and only one answer: It depends upon what is in your hay.  You have to get a hay analysis.

Zinc for Equine Health: a matter of balance

By Barbara Noble

In my last article, I briefly discussed copper. Today I'd like to explore the role of zinc.  Zinc's indispensible contribution in your horse's body is to be a part of many enzymes.  For example, enzyme activity is included in insulin production, blood clotting and wound healing. Zinc deficiency can also be seen in horse's coats, their hoof quality, immunity, persistent skin infections and ongoing thrush.

Nutrition Supplement Awareness

By Barbara Noble, BS, CRNA

While others are thinking of holidays, my mind is on copper and zinc. The other trace minerals, iron and manganese are generally readily available. In our area (Pacific Northwest) iron is so available as to be an excess problem. Manganese is usually plentiful, and deficiency not a problem. However, copper and zinc are barely present in our soils and consequently are barely present in our pastures and hay.

Feeding Our Easy Keepers

By Mary Gallagher and Barbara Noble, BS, CRNA

When I was growing up, overweight horses were called "easy keepers", but now you hardly ever hear that term; instead, we call them fat, or in some cases, insulin-resistant. It's this group I'm going to discuss here.

What We Feed Our Horses

By Barbara Noble, BS, CRNA

Barbara Noble is a longtime horse owner and student of equine nutrition who has become a go-to advisor hereabouts on horse feed issues. She advised us on our recent hay analysis (see my article last month), which I found very helpful and clarifying. I hope Barbara will continue to contribute articles on various aspects of horse nutrition as she continues her studies with Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DVM. - MG
 
Writing for the Freedom Farm newsletter is a new adventure for me, and I plan to share information on horse feeding - and have it be interesting to read! My hope is that you will be able to incorporate some of this information for your horse's benefit.

Dr. Dallas goes to the Trailside Pharmacy:Sow Thistle

By Marilyn Crimmel and Dallas

An interesting thing happened just after the Farm Tour, while hand walking Dallas along the bike path. This walk is always a special treat for Dallas - she enjoys watching the cows, munching on grass and alfalfa flowers, and enjoying an occasional apple along the way.

Vitamin D for Horse and Rider

By Kip Tulin, M.D.

With the days getting short and sunshine a bit more scarce, it's a good time to think about Vitamin D, our friend in good health. In preparing a talk on the subject for the monthly Working on Wellness Forum in Sequim, I have been reviewing current research and meeting with a few surprises along the way. It seems that most of us, because of lifestyle, latitude and diet  are not getting enough vitamin D, even if we pay attention to that sort of thing. On a recent afternoon at Freedom Farm I also started to wonder about horses and dogs and vitamin D, so I did a bit more research and thought I'd share.