Recently there has been reports of a Female Hormone (estrogen like) contaminate in Beet Pulp. If this is fed to mares for breeding or stallions it can affect the ability of the mare to become pregnant and stallion to become sterile.

Word of caution, if you are feeding a feed with Beet Pulp to Mares or Stallions it may be safer to switch to oats for these horses.

In Stamina Plus’s research, oats along with a good supplement is still the best and safest way to feed horses grain.

The pharmaceutical companies have done a good job of combining the primary vaccinations that horses need in the spring.

I suggest to my clients that the horses be vaccinated for; Rhino, Flu, Tetanus, Eastern and Western Encephalitis and West Nile. All of these diseases can be prevented with a combination vaccination so only one shot has to be given. There are a number of vaccines on the market that combine all of the above like; Prestige V with WNV and Vetera with WNV.

Strangles is another disease that needs to be vaccinated for if the horses are under three of age or the horses will be at shows or Rodeos with strange horses.

There are specific diseases that occur in certain parts of the country so it is always a good idea to check with your Veterinarian to see what other vaccination should be given in area.

For a De-Worming program the spring is a good time to get all the worms including Tape Worms. There are two good products on the market that will do just that. They are Equimax and Ivermectin Gold

Stamina Plus has Developed and Researched a Swine product that can be used in Nursery diets that maintains feed intake and gain without using any Swine By Products.

Stamina Plus Swine Enhancer AH is all natural without Swine By Products that is used in Nursery diets at 50 lbs per ton and is less expensive than using Swine By Products.

Protect your Swine Herd and use Swine Enhancer AN with confidence.

Stamina Plus has developed Calf Electrolyte Plus to stop scours fast and re-hydrate calves within 30 minutes. With Stamina Plus Calf Electrolyte Plus the calf can stay with the cow which helps get the calf back to nursing and normal within 12 hours.

Stamina Plus Calf Electrolyte Plus is manufactured in the United States and Ranchers can treat calves for $2.00.

Signs of toxicity are; stiff gait, trouble walking, difficulty in eating and eventually a down animal that cannot get up.

This is the time of year horse owners must be particularly observant for contaminated spoiled feed and dead animals around feed or in paddocks or pastures.

Horse owners have had hay stored for the winter and with snow and or rain some of the hay can become moldy and a good place for the Botulism bacteria to grow and produce a toxin. Even if the moldy hay is not fed, the hay in adjoining sections or bales can contain the toxin. Therefore now is the time to watch the hay carefully for mold and not feed those bales. I have found dead animals in bales of hay and I always discard those bales.

If you have been feeding on the ground or in round bale feeders mold and Botulism bacteria could be growing on the bottom of wet material accumulated over the winter.

Also watch your paddocks and pastures for dead animals and remove them if found. These dead animals could be birds, cats, rodents, deer or any dead animal. Although the horses may not actually eat the dead animal the toxins can contaminate grass or hay around the dead and decaying animal.

The answer is no.

No De-Wormers are 100% effective in killing all the worms.

That is why it is important to have a program for De-Worming that is frequent enough to not allow a buildup of intestinal worms.

Your Veterinarian can help you with the best program depending on how many horses you have, your location and problems in your area.

This week one of the horses purchased 6 months ago and housed in a pen with one other horse developed a Pin Worm infection with classic signs of irritation to the perineal area, with severe rubbing and loss of hair. This horse has been wormed with both Ivermectin and Panacur over the last 6 months.

There have been reports of resistance to both of these products.

If your horse develops signs of Pin worm infection it would be advisable to contact your Veterinarian for treatment options.

These trace Minerals are necessary for; Nerve Function, Muscle Health, Thyroid Function, Reproduction, Skin and Hair Health, Bone Development, Blood Cells and Fetal Development.

As you can see Trace Minerals are important for all body functions. You have to be careful because in excess these Trace Minerals can also be toxic. These Trace Minerals also have to be in the correct ratio to each other to function correctly and not be toxic.

There are in general two types of Trace Minerals, Inorganic and Organic. Stamina Plus has developed a unique formulation of these Trace Minerals using both the Inorganic and organic forms, to be in the correct ratio, are safe, and maintain a healthy horse and allows performance horses to perform to their potential.

These B Vitamins are important in converting energy and protein into usable forms by the horse, hair and hoof growth, reproductive functions and blood builders.

Adequate amounts of B Vitamins insure good digestion of feed stuffs so that the horse can actually be fed less feed.

Stamina Plus through research has shown that the amounts of B Vitamins in its Supplements decreases amount of required hay by 15%.

By feeding Stamina Plus Equine Supplement or Equine Senior Plus horse owners can be assured that the correct amounts of B Vitamins are being fed daily.

It was with this in mind that Stamina Plus decided to study miniature ponies feed requirements and develop a practical feeding program for them.

This study was carried out in the fall of 2011. The results showed that as with standard size horses hay and grain can be feed to these ponies at about 1.5% of their body weight. In previous studies with standard horses Stamina Plus found along with its Equine Supplement the standard hay intake is about 1.5% of the body weight as long as the Equine Supplement is fed with the oats.

The miniature ponies were fed 4 lbs of grass hay daily along with ½ ounce of Stamina Plus Equine Supplement and 4 ounces of oats per day. No ponies developed laminitis nor any signs of Insulin Resistance.

The take home message from this study is that by being careful on the amount of hay and grain the miniature ponies can lead a normal life with no fear of developing metabolic problems.