On March 30, 2012, my nearly 3 year old Arabian gelding was spooked as a storm blew in, and took off down an asphalt road at the equestrian center where I board him. He made a sharp turn for the barn, and lost his footing. He fell hard on the asphalt and slid, coming up with major road rash, similar to what a motorcycle rider might have after a bad fall. Horse's wounds were treated and healed with Healing Tree T-Zon and Tea-Pro. Continue reading

FOSH is a national leader in the promotion of natural, sound gaited horses and in the fight against abuse and soring of Tennessee Walking Horses. For more information about FOSH or to become a member, please visit www.fosh.info or call 1-800-651-7993. Continue reading

"Issues important to the horse industry will be on the table," noted Jay Hickey, president of the American Horse Council (AHC), which represents the horse industry in Washington. "Comprehensive immigration reform, internet wagering, tax reform, animal welfare, trails legislation, equine health, and the farm bill are important to the equine community. Overriding all debate, however, is how existing programs can be paid for and whether new programs can be initiated in a Congress that will be focused on reducing spending and the size of government." Continue reading

But chocolate contains another very powerful stimulant called theobromine, and theobromine affects the neurological systems of dogs quite dramatically. If your dog ingests too much chocolate, you might see symptoms like restlessness, vomiting, staggering, tremors and even seizures. Continue reading

It's too cold and wet to bathe with a medicated shampoo or to rinse every day with some sort of iodine/betadine concoction, but if you don't take care of it now, the problem will just get worse and worse over the course of the winter and you'll be faced with a more significant problem come spring. Continue reading

The quest of most photographers is to capture beauty in their images. Typically equine beauty is portrayed in color, conditioning, tone, strength, movement, and in their connection with humans. In this assignment, that beauty was not always visible upon the first glance. They found beauty in places most people would avoid looking. Whether it was hardship of their humans, neglect, abuse, greed or in some cases human mental illness, each animal had a story. These are stories born of sorrow, however many of these horses now have hope due to kind intervention. Continue reading

USRider offers tips for conserving cell phone battery life. Continue reading

The horse.com came out with a great article today about horses that have served in combat over the years. We thought we would share. Take a few minutes today to think about them. Click here for the article. Continue reading

Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) has been speaking and consulting for over a decade, working to advance the conservation of land for horse-related activity. This capacity has been recently expanded and formalized. ELCR has a broad array of presentation and consulting topics for equine/equestrian, conservation, trail, community, agency or association meetings or organizations. They include: An Introduction to Equine Land Protection Issues and Solutions A Community Land Use Planning Primer: Essential Information for Horsemen Rural Preservation Strategies & Farmland Protection Tools A Farmland Protection Primer: Know the Basics Effectively Advocate for your Equestrian Trails Leave No Trace for Horse Use:... Continue reading

With more than 30,000 American Mustangs waiting to be adopted in BLM facilities, the Mustang Heritage Foundation is stepping up its efforts to help these American legends find adoptive homes. In 2011, the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s Extreme Mustang Makeover events will continue to showcase the talents of the American Mustang and will up the ante by offering the largest purse ever in Mustang competition. Continue reading

The American Horse Council reports that President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 into law on September 27, 2010. The bill is intended to help small businesses and create new jobs. The bill continues the bigger write-off for horses and other property purchased and placed in service by a horse business that were originally included in earlier stimulus bills. Continue reading

Online resources are now available to help horse owners and veterinarians brace for equine emergencies. The American Association of Equine Practitioners advises coastal veterinarians and horse owners to review their disaster response protocol during the height of the 2010 hurricane season. Preparation is the horse owner and veterinarian’s greatest asset during a crisis or emergency. Horse owners have access to educational resources about how to prepare for a disaster at www.aaep.org/emergency_prep.htm. Articles by AAEP-member veterinarians address important considerations during a disaster, including state guidelines for equine evacuation, medical record updates, feed and water supply, emergency rescues, and first aid. The... Continue reading

For years, most equine practitioners basically treated all chewing problems or quidding (the dropping of food while eating) and gum, tongue or mouth abrasions by simply floating the sharp edges of the cheek teeth. We relied on manual float blades, not unlike heavy metal sandpaper, to smooth down the calcium points that would commonly grow on the outside edges of the upper teeth and the insides of the lower ones. Continue reading

A common problem experienced in all parts of the country (heck, for all I know, all parts of the world!) is a condition commonly referred to as ‘sweet itch’. Other names include ‘summer sores’, midline dermatitis, etc. It’s more than just an allergic reaction with subsequent itching; it involves a number of different aspects, so let’s break it down. Small gnats of the Culicoides family are attracted to the midline of the horse’s chest and abdomen where the hair is either very thin or non-existent, just down the very middle of that part of the horse’s anatomy. It’s also the... Continue reading

It’s that time of year for many parts of the country where, after a long and cold and wet winter and spring, many horse owners are trying to figure out how best to treat the various fungal and bacterial skin conditions that their horses have. There are many names for these problems including ‘rainrot’, ‘rainscald’, ringworm, sweet itch, galloping crud (okay, I made that last one up, but you gotta admit, it fits, right?). The term ‘rainrot’ typically refers to a fungal skin/hair condition that often covers large areas of the horse’s body. Rainrot can occur anytime of year, but... Continue reading

Evan Almighty One evening in March 2010, Theresa Batchelor, founder and president of Beauty’s Haven Farm & Equine Rescue, Inc (Morriston, Florida) was made aware of a malnourished colt that was advertised on Craigslist for $100. Theresa responded to the advertisement and was told by the owner that in addition to the baby there was also a mare for sale for $300. An appointment was made with the owner for Theresa to meet the baby the next day. The next morning, when Theresa arrived to meet the baby she found him standing in the yard with a glazed look in... Continue reading

These are general terms, often regional in existence, for a common dermatological condition that horses get, usually just involving the pastern and fetlock area, but sometimes ‘climbing’ up the back of the cannon bone as well. Although usually just superficial, it can be quite irritating and very painful. The veterinary term for it is pododermatitis. More often than not, it affects non-pigmented hair and skin, so that white socked horses usually suffer from the condition more frequently. The underlying cause is actually threefold: bacteria, fungus and an inflammatory response on the part of the horse to the microbes that cause... Continue reading

Who doesn’t love a good story while learning about horses? Dr. Eric Witherspoon, who specializes in wound care, healing and related topics, combines real-life situations, humorous stories and thought provoking how-to’s in an entertaining format. He is available for speaking engagements, podcast interviews, tele-seminars, and other media opportunities. Dr. Witherspoon earned his DVM degree in 1980 from the University of Tennessee. Upon graduation, he founded a private practice in Carlton, and over the ensuing 30 years has built a large and successful practice. He now has four small animal veterinarians and two equine veterinarians working for him at the Carlton... Continue reading

I had previously brought up the question: to wrap or not to wrap, in particular when dealing with ‘scratches’ or mud fever. Many of the treatments used in the past consisted of sticky, waxy products based on a zinc oxide or Desitin® type ointment or something with lanolin or other non-soluble bases. The thought was that if you gooped enough stuff on the affected area, it would ‘protect’ it from more moisture, dirt, etc. Well, this just attracted MORE dust and dirt and grime…..everything in the horse’s environment seems to stick to that type of product. So, it made sense... Continue reading

by Dr. Eric Witherspoon, DVM. I recently talked about the specific condition, ‘scratches’ (also known as mud fever, greasy heel, dew poisoning among others) and what causes it (see post April 27, 2010.) The question for me as a veterinarian was: how to treat this condition most successfully? To be honest, the products that were available, either by prescription, or OTC or what I had been taught in vet school, simply didn’t work very well. I knew I had to come up with something brand new, a concoction that would treat the bacterial and fungal infection, the redness and inflammation... Continue reading

by Eric Witherspoon, DVM Imagine your horse has replaced Tom Hanks in the starring role of that cute movie of several years ago about an e-mail relationship. (I know, I know, I’m asking you to stretch your imagination a bit more than normal.) Instead of hearing that ubiquitous, and in my humble opinion, obnoxious, voice intoning, “You’ve got mail”, your horse would instead hear, “You’ve got worms!” Not exactly a dinner table or cocktail party conversation topic, but nonetheless, quite important for all horse owners. Over the years, we’ve all been bombarded, by veterinarians, store owners, and drug companies with... Continue reading

by Eric Witherspoon, DVM You walk into your favorite store at which to buy shampoo and conditioners for yourself and you’re immediately confronted with a vast array of products, most of them proclaiming to be pH-balanced. What’s a consumer to do? What if you don’t even have the faintest idea what ‘pH’ means? What if you’re harming your hair, your skin, your neighborhood, your child’s chances of getting into any Ivy League college, the earth if you use the wrong pH product? What’s a consumer to do?? And then, just when you think you can ignore the problem and it... Continue reading

Healing Tree's WOW optical brightner, whitener and natural color restorer was used on "Sparky," the United Kingdom 2008 Horse of the Year. If you have ever owned a grey horse before, you know how hard they are to keep clean. Sparky's owner, Kathleen Vines of Lancashire, England, used both WOW and QuikClenz for a winning show look! Continue reading

One of our good customers at Healing Tree, Dawn Diovera (HorseandMan.com and Itchy Fingers Films, Inc) wrote a wonderful story about her filly, Ava, and her recovery from a severe case of proud flesh. Says Dawn, "We went from a filly who was suggested to be put down to a filly with no scarring! Well, a few years later, this picture was taken of my Ava as she was winning the World title in English Pleasure at the Morgan Grand Nationals. She healed really well!!" Read her fabulous story! Continue reading

The person who coined the phrase, “an accident waiting to happen” must have owned a horse. Horses get themselves into predicaments we could never imagine, or anticipate. Knowing how to properly treat an injury is a skill that will override panic and is vital to handling an emergency. Wound care expert Eric Witherspoon, DVM will be at the Ohio Equine Affaire to discuss emergency steps to take before the vet arrives, proper wound care, techniques and substances that encourage healing, and how to avoid proud flesh. Equine Affaire runs from April 8-11 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus. Dr.... Continue reading