Ask the Vet - Spring shedding, shots, pasture, and more! - April 2017
3,087 views · Published 21 March 2017 · 26:11 · Indexed 23 October 2026
Channel: SmartPak · 2017 · Sports
You asked, we answered! In this episode of our monthly series, Ask the Vet, Dr. Lydia Gray and SmartPaker Sarah answer your questions about springtime shedding, spring shots, spring pasture, feed rations in spring, and Cushing's Disease, also known as PPID. Additional reading/watching material mentioned in the video: The Anatomy of Laminitis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubUMx2SrK4Y Getting to the root of Laminitis: http://blog.smartpakequine.com/2014/07/getting-to-the-root-of-laminitis/ Using the Henneke Horse Body Condition Scoring System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY3yVC4l8K4 ColiCare Guidelines: https://www.smartpakequine.com/ColiCare Annual Wellness Requirements for ColiCare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkwS8d92M2c Supplements for a Cushing's horse: http://blog.smartpakequine.com/2010/10/supplement-for-cushings-horse/ Have some of your own questions? Ask away! If your question gets selected to be in one of our Ask the Vet videos, you win a SmartPak gift card! How awesome is that!? All you have to do is submit your question on this blog post before March 30, 2017, using #AsktheVetVideo. If your question was answered in this video, reach out to us at [email protected] and let us know! We'll get your gift card out to you as soon as we can! You can also ask your questions on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or right here on our blog, where you can read all of Dr. Lydia Gray's Ask the Vet articles (http://pak.horse/1TxdXlf)! Make sure to SUBSCRIBE so that you know when the next episode comes out - your question may be featured! Questions answered in this episode: 1. As the spring comes and horses start to shed their winter coat, I thought of this question. Is it healthy to use a shedding blade to get the winter coat off faster or is it healthier to leave it alone and wait until the horse will lose his winter coat by himself? 2. When should I start my horses on pasture as the spring comes? I’ve heard after the winter the grass in the pastures get too much sugar and fructan and are not healthy for horses to graze on. When is the best time to start letting the horses out to graze? 3. How should the feed ration of a horse change in the spring and should it at all? Is it recommended, in general, to put a horse on less grain than he was in the winter? I know each horse is individual, but I would love to hear about this in general. 4. Does it make a difference at all if a horse has his/her spring shots in early or late spring? Does it affect the way he is going to respond to the shots or anything else? 5. What is Cushing’s, and what is it caused by? What can I do to manage it?
