Wendy Swackhamer of Wellington County Livestock Emergency Response (p.6-7)
EQUINE is a feature supplement to the July 24th edition of THE WELLINGTON ADVERTISER
EQUINE
How prepared are you for horse emergencies?
PAGE 2 | EQUINE JULY 24, 2015
Pasture management important for all horses
by Debra Ottier FERGUS - While this is a great time for horses to enjoy pastures, endless grass and large fields, owners and caregivers have to be careful with overweight horses and ponies that are susceptible to laminitis and founder. Some pasture management tips are essential to keeping horses happy and healthy during the summer. Pastures high in sugars known as fructans can cause an insulin response in the horse. The insulin is a strong vasoconstrictor, which constricts blood flow, usually to the outer parts of the body such as the feet. This is why horses have the camped back look and become sore to walk. How can people combat this serious effect? Limit pasture time for these horses
when the fructans are present. Fructans are produced when grasses are stressed, so drought conditions, when the grass is shorter then normal and usually in the hot periods of the day between 11am and 4pm. The grass needs fructans to grow but this sugar causes the grass to taste better and hence the horse/pony tends to eat this section of the grass more, thereby creating an endless cycle. This would mean it would be best to keep these susceptible horses/ponies on longer grasses overnight and on a dry lot during the day. Ration balancers are a great vitamin mineral supplement for these animals, as they have no sugars, just vitamins and minerals, and one is available with a protein level of 12 per cent. Other horses will need
to have their pasture cared for as well. Manure needs to be cleaned monthly and the fields cut to prevent certain areas from being overgrazed. Selecting hardy plants
to withstand this, in combination with compaction of the soil due to stomping and tearing up of areas with horses’ hooves, is key to maintaining a successful pasture.
The right seed mixture, establishing a good solid ground, along with proper fertilization and grazing management are other keys to success. Fertilizing pastures should only be done with the horses off the fields. It can burn their mouths, so wait a minimum of seven days after fertilizing before allowing horses back on the pasture. Also, it is wise to fertilize just before it rains to ensure plant uptake. Fields should not be below two to three inches in length, as this is a sign of overgrazing. Excessive weed growth is a sign of pastures that are old and require plowing and re-seeding as normal grass growth ensures natural competition to prevent weed growth. In the late summer, heavy graze your pasture, spread
the manure out when it is hot and dry to destroy any parasite larvae and fertilize to ensure adequate nutrient levels. Harrowing in a wet time will only cause the larvae to be spread out all over the pasture. Does pasture alone meet the nutritional requirements of a horse? That will depend upon the types of grasses in the pasture, growing conditions, soil conditions, etc. There are methods of free choice supplementation for horses on pasture to ensure their needs are being met. These come in the form of blocks or tubs. Because the horse licks the block or tub on their own, there is no need to bring them in or individually feed them. Debra Ottier is an equine consultant with Sharpe Farm Supplies.
Grand River Raceway offers 25th annual Industry Day ELORA - This year marks the silver anniversary of Grand River Raceway’s Industry Day celebration. Festivities and the TV broadcast kick off at 1pm on Aug. 3, with post time for the first dash at 1:30pm. The 25th annual event showcases a 12-race card featuring Grand River Raceway’s signature dash, the 18th annual Battle Of
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era, VIP dinner and races for two at Mohawk Racetrack, gift cards and more) - a program purchase is required to enter the draw; - a first-bet-is-on-us promotion (some restrictions apply) as well as several Horse Player Interactive (HPI) bet promotions; - 25th anniversary cake; - Standardbred Canada’s I Love Canadian Harness
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Full service Equine care including 24/7 emergency care and preventative health care Direct Equine line: 1-800-565-6823 available 24/7
EQUINE JULY 24, 2015 | PAGE 3
Gayle Ecker wins Equine Industry Vision Award for 2015 by Olivia Rutt GUELPH - Gayle Ecker, director of Equine Guelph, is the first Canadian to win the 2015 Equine Industry Vision Award presented by Zoetis and American Horse Publications. She received the award at the Tally-Ho at the Alamo Seminar in San Antonio, Texas on June 19. The award recognizes innovation, ingenuity and service in the equine industry. It also recognizes the recipient’s capability to inspire those qualities in others. “It’s a very important recognition of Equine Guelph by our peer group, so that’s something really, really exciting,” said Ecker in a interview with the Advertiser. The Puslinch Township resident was one of 25 nominees for the award. “They look for someone who is showing vision in moving the horse industry forward, people who have
integrity and strategic planning and are developing programs that have a widespread impact,” she said. “They are also looking for legacy programs, so people who are developing something that is going to stand the test of time.” Her peers said they believe Ecker is very deserving of the award. “When I saw the email regarding nominations for this award, I immediately thought of Gayle,” said Jackie Bellamy-Zions, communications and administration official at Equine Guelph. “When it comes to educating horse owners and equine industry professionals, Gayle is passionate, highly dedicated and effective; always developing pathways to learning that ultimately improve the health and well being of horses.” Susan Raymond, communication and programs officer at Equine Guelph, said, “I am so proud for both Gayle
Visionary - Gayle Ecker, winner of the 2015 Equine Industry Vision Award, poses with her horse Oreo at her farm in Puslinch Township. Ecker is the director of Equine Guelph, a centre at the University of Guelph that offers equine education, research and welfare promotion. photo by Olivia Rutt
and Equine Guelph for being recognized. “I have worked for Equine Guelph since its inception in
2003 and have watched it grow … It is wonderful to be recognized internationally.” Ecker says her staff is a
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them I don’t do anything. Each one of my staff has their own unique skill sets … everybody comes together and is a great team,” said Ecker. Equine Guelph Ecker has been a part of Equine Guelph since its inception in 2003, helping the program to grow from scratch. She wrote the proposal for funding to create the organization and for online equine courses and she helped develop the Equine Science Certificate. “There was a group of people at the time that felt we needed a centre for the horse owner at the University of Guelph,” she said. “One of the first things I did when we were talking about Equine Guelph is propose an online equine education program, which did not exist at that point in time.” Before Equine Guelph, she spent time working with Continued on next page
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PAGE 4 | EQUINE JULY 24, 2015
Ecker key in developing Equimania for kids FROM PREVIOUS PAGE horses heading to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She said it made her realize there wasn’t a strong connection between the research and the horse owner. “That taught me a lot of ‘okay we really need to work hard to get the research in a practical form out to the horse owner to support horse welfare,’” said Ecker. From there, she helped grow Equine Guelph to what it is today. “We strive to provide good quality information to all the caretakers of horses out there, and by applying that information then they can help support health and welfare of horses,” said Ecker. The learning centre sees over 800 students from all over the world each semester. Ecker’s education and equine background made her a natural fit for the project, which focuses on horse
welfare, education and support for the equine industry. “Gayle is truly an educator by heart. I recall as a student working in the research barn (back in early ‘90s), Gayle, then a researcher, always took the time to explain what she was doing and why,” said Raymond. “Gayle has student and
international learning community about horses, that is underscored by welfare of the horse, that’s really cool. “We’ve seen this pebble effect, where we affect our students, and they in turn are going out and helping improve welfare out there too.” The program also offers
Gayle is truly an educator by heart ...[She] has student and horse always in the forefront ... -
Susan Raymond of Equine Guelph
horse always in the forefront when developing our programs.” In its 12 years of existence, Equine Guelph has become an invaluable tool for students and the industry. “It’s not just a course, it’s a learning community,” said Ecker. “When you think of an
tools for horse owners to stay informed. Equimania Educating horse owners and caretakers is not the only thing Ecker is proud of - she wanted to foster an early love of horses in others so she started Equimania, a travelling interactive youth exhibit. “A lot of kids living in the
city just can’t ever reach out and have any experience with horses and yet they love horses,” she said. “So one of the things I was looking to do was to develop some kids program that would get kids interested in horses, make their parents feel comfortable that their kids are interested in horses, and really push the welfare.” Equimania brings horses to the children in an educational fashion. From welfare stations to horse anatomy to a vinyl reproduction of a horse’s gut, Ecker said kids have a blast learning about horses in such a different way. Ecker is also a horse owner herself. At her farm in Puslinch, she has two horses. Onyx, a quarter horse, was born on the property 15 years ago, and Oreo, a draft and quarter horse mix, was adopted from Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre.
Equine Guelph - Equine Guelph director Gayle Ecker, who won the Equine Industry Vision Award, poses with her horses Oreo and Onyx. photo by Olivia Rutt
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Lewis’ around-the-world horseback journey included stop in Fergus; continues this summer by Olivia Rutt FERGUS - A United Kingdom woman undertook a long-distance horseback journey across North America this summer. Megan Lewis, from Wales, stopped in Fergus on May 27 as part of her adventure westward. She has been riding long distances since 2008 when she started her journey at the end of the Great Wall near Shanhaiguan, China. “I’ve always wanted to do something ever since I was in my teens. I read books about people doing long horse rides and I always really wanted to do it,” she said in an interview with the Advertiser. Lewis said she had the opportunity to start riding for longer trips when her children left the house and the 2008 Beijing Olympics finished. “The Olympics gave me
the idea … a lot of things came together,” she said. Her goal was to ride from China at the end of the 2008 Olympics to London in time for the 2012 Olympics there. She aimed to raise money for the charity ChallengeAid and in China for the China Children and Teenagers
in 2012, the retired teacher kept travelling west to Wales, then the most western tip of Ireland. A year later, she decided to hop the pond and travel the New World. “I’ve just carried on going west really. I’ve crossed Ireland right to the westernmost tip of Ireland and
I loved it ... the people are really, really friendly. - Megan Lewis on her travels in Canada.
Fund. She also wants to raise awareness of the history, geography and culture of countries en route. She travelled five stages to reach London, only travelling during the warmer months. It gave her a chance to go home and fulfill her obligations on her farm. After arriving in London for the opening ceremonies
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the next logical place was North America, so I started at the easternmost tip in Newfoundland and I’m just going to carry on westward,” said Lewis. Her North American leg started in May 2014 after she bought her horse, Lady, in Newfoundland. She started heading west and travelled on the Trans Canada Trail WellingtonAdvertiserAd_July2015(3 5-16 x 5 7-16)_FINAL_PRESS.pdf where she could.
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A long horse ride - Megan Lewis, from Wales, and her horse, Lady, stop in Fergus in May as part of her journey. submitted photo
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Lewis said she loved travelling in Canada. “I loved it, it was really lovely, the people are really, really friendly. It was fabulous,” she said. “They’ve been absolutely fantastic the whole way. They really couldn’t have done more for me.” She garners attention in towns along the way, noting, “people always wanted to stop and talk.” Lewis passed into the United States in early June and expects to travel the Pony Express Trail next year. Her final destination is still unknown but it will be somewhere on the West Coast, “possibly San Francisco” she said. To follow her journey visit www.thelonghorseride.com/index.html. or www.facebook.com/ TheLongHorseRide.
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EQUINE JULY 24, 2015 | PAGE 7
Calm, education, resources vital to success during equine emergencies by Jaime Myslik ORTON – Education, resources and keeping a clear head are three of the most important factors that come into play when dealing with a large animal emergency situation, says Wendy Swackhamer, an Orton resident trained in that type of work. Swackhamer owns Wellington County Livestock Emergency Response (formerly Wellington County Large Animal Rescue), which focuses on educating large animal owners, first responders and other interested parties in best practices for injury prevention as well as providing emergency aid. She saw a void in this type of care and decided to fill it. She has certifications in livestock emergency response and equine emergency response, technical large animal emergency rescue operations and aware-
ness among others. The company was created about two years ago and Swackhamer said she focuses more on educating the public than responding to calls. “Which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned,” she said, adding the education must be working if calls remain at a minimum. She estimates she received about a dozen calls over the last two years. Two winters ago, when there was heavy snow and ice, Swackhamer said she had multiple calls about animals that had broken through surface ice and were stuck so deep in snow they couldn’t get out. She even had one call about a horse stuck in a snow bank. “I had [a] great big huge draft horse mare who went head first into a big snow drift and it was ice underneath and she couldn’t get
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During a training exercise Rusty, an Equine Guelph practice horse mannequin, is safely removed from a trench with a sideways drag using simple straps to pull him out and a green rescue glide to make the sliding processes easier. submitted photo
her feet under her to get herself back out,” she explained. She also talks owners through the rescue process over the phone. Covering all of Ontario, she said it’s not always possible for her to get to the location. “At that time when you call me then I’m going to start giving you things to do,” she said. “I’m going to start giving you things to set us up for the rescue.” She said the important thing is for the owner to remain calm. “Stop and take a breath and think of the most logical way to do something,” Swackhamer explained. “And if you can’t come up
with a logical way, feed the animal, keep it calm - feeding it is going to keep it calm and call me.” Swackhamer said she can
Stop and take a breath and think of the most logical way to do something ... - Wendy Swackhamer on the crucial first step in responding to equine emergencies. provide aid for various scenarios and there are numerous preventative measures every large animal owner should take. Fire plan Swackhamer said she has
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of focus is on various techniques to open stall doors. “If you’re expected to go into a burning barn that you can’t see your hand in front of your face and there’s horses in that stall do you
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know how to even get that stall door open?” is a question Swackhamer said she poses to the departments. However, it’s the farm owner who should have a fire plan in place before an incident so the rescue has better potential for success, she said. “Inviting your local fire department to your farm, setting up an emergency action plan, having a map so that when fire is responding they can look at it and say ‘okay, this is how this barn is set up’ (is important),” she said, adding she can also set up the plan. Swackhamer explained one of the biggest fire safety
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issues is barn wiring. “Your wiring in your barn should all be run with conduit pipe, inside conduit pipe. This is a big mistake people make using household, residential-rated fans, extension cords, those types of things in their barns,” she said. “Well you have cobwebs, you have dust, you have who knows what, so you’re just (increasing the) potential for fire.” Stuck in mud Wet conditions can also be troublesome. When any animal with hooves, like a horse, is stuck in mud the removal process is tedious and delicate. “When an animal is stuck in mud and you try to pull it out you will remove the hoof capsule with the suction,” she said. “If you do not break the suction and you try to pull them up, that whole hoof part will just stay in the mud and the rest of it will come out.” She said it’s similar to having a rubber boot getting stuck in the mud and leaving it behind when the foot is pulled out. Swackhamer has special tools for just this purpose. The lances look like poles with holes along the side so she can run water or air through them, breaking up the mud around the animal before she begins the removal. She said it’s important to have one person dedicated to controlling the animal’s head in any rescue.
Swackhamer and Rusty, an Equine Guelph practice horse. photo by Jaime Myslik
“That’s the biggest thing,” she said. “As long as you have control over their head, you’re ahead of the game.” Think outside the box Swackhamer also said thinking outside the box can be important in a rescue. For example, she said as long as some sort of rope is available, a halter can be made. “What I tell people is look for people with string in their
hoods,” she said. “Look for people at an accident scene with those and if you get enough together you then have a halter for your horse.” At an accident scene she said rope halters are preferable because they are adjustable and stronger than those held together with metal rings. In another situation, one of Swackhamer’s horses was
stuck in a hay feeder and instead of cutting the metal and destroying the $900 piece of equipment, she built up the height of the ground with a $4-bale of hay and her horse was able to get out. “We just built up hay on the inside and he was able to walk to get his feet high enough and then he just jumped out.” Round bale holes When round bales are left in the field and then removed they often leave a rut in a ground, a hole that large animals tend to get stuck in. Swackhamer said when a four-legged animal like a horse is stuck in a bale hole its legs are at such an angle that it is difficult to stand up. Rescue measures often need to be taken to drag the animal a distance until they can get their feet in a position to stand. A similar situation would occur if a horse was cast, meaning it’s unable to complete a roll because it’s blocked but is past the centre of gravity and can’t roll back. Intervention would be necessary to roll the animal back and because horses are so heavy, professionals would likely be needed to bring equipment. Required equipment “If you don’t have the equipment, know somebody that does,” Swackhamer said. She said it’s important for anyone who owns large livestock to have or know
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someone who has a loader tractor in case it’s needed for a rescue - or if that’s not possible, to know someone who has a tow truck which will do the same thing. “It’s not ideal but we can make it work,” she said. “A lot of it comes down to resources.” She equated necessary rescue equipment with car insurance. “You pay car insurance for 50 years and you never have an accident but if you do at least maybe you’ll get a new car,” she said. “It’s the same scenario.” In Swackhamer’s case, she has a team of people who have been trained. They don’t officially work for her but she knows she can call on them if she needs more people to help in a situation. ICE Swackhamer is working on creating an In Case of an Emergency (ICE) sticker to
install in livestock trailers. “The sticker would go on the outside of the trailer and inside the trailer will be an envelope or a folder of some kind on the wall that’s the same colour as the sticker and inside it will give first responders the information about the horses and it will also give the information about the people in the vehicle,” she said. “That same information sheet will also be in the glove box of the truck.” She said she hopes people will use it because it’s easier to deal with animals when first responders have as much information as possible, and if the driver is injured or killed it is difficult to track down this information in a hurry. For more information about Wellington County Livestock Emergency Response visit www.wclaer. ca.
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PAGE 6 | EQUINE JULY 24, 2015
EQUINE JULY 24, 2015 | PAGE 7
Calm, education, resources vital to success during equine emergencies by Jaime Myslik ORTON – Education, resources and keeping a clear head are three of the most important factors that come into play when dealing with a large animal emergency situation, says Wendy Swackhamer, an Orton resident trained in that type of work. Swackhamer owns Wellington County Livestock Emergency Response (formerly Wellington County Large Animal Rescue), which focuses on educating large animal owners, first responders and other interested parties in best practices for injury prevention as well as providing emergency aid. She saw a void in this type of care and decided to fill it. She has certifications in livestock emergency response and equine emergency response, technical large animal emergency rescue operations and aware-
ness among others. The company was created about two years ago and Swackhamer said she focuses more on educating the public than responding to calls. “Which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned,” she said, adding the education must be working if calls remain at a minimum. She estimates she received about a dozen calls over the last two years. Two winters ago, when there was heavy snow and ice, Swackhamer said she had multiple calls about animals that had broken through surface ice and were stuck so deep in snow they couldn’t get out. She even had one call about a horse stuck in a snow bank. “I had [a] great big huge draft horse mare who went head first into a big snow drift and it was ice underneath and she couldn’t get
They’re At The Post Racing 7:15 pm Saturdays until the end of September
Fully licensed restaurant open 365 days a year Free Admission & Parking all the time (see hanoverraceway.com for schedule details)
HANOVER RACEWAY
265 5th St. , Hanover 519-364-2860 www.hanoverraceway.com WellingtonAdvertiser_ad_July2015_FINAL_PRESS.pdf 1 09/07/2015 3:31:03 PM
During a training exercise Rusty, an Equine Guelph practice horse mannequin, is safely removed from a trench with a sideways drag using simple straps to pull him out and a green rescue glide to make the sliding processes easier. submitted photo
her feet under her to get herself back out,” she explained. She also talks owners through the rescue process over the phone. Covering all of Ontario, she said it’s not always possible for her to get to the location. “At that time when you call me then I’m going to start giving you things to do,” she said. “I’m going to start giving you things to set us up for the rescue.” She said the important thing is for the owner to remain calm. “Stop and take a breath and think of the most logical way to do something,” Swackhamer explained. “And if you can’t come up
with a logical way, feed the animal, keep it calm - feeding it is going to keep it calm and call me.” Swackhamer said she can
Stop and take a breath and think of the most logical way to do something ... - Wendy Swackhamer on the crucial first step in responding to equine emergencies. provide aid for various scenarios and there are numerous preventative measures every large animal owner should take. Fire plan Swackhamer said she has
The Village Inn C
M
Y
HORSE HEALTH TRACKER
MY
CMY
K
▪ i nsta l l ▪ rev i ew ▪ s ha re
G et t h e A p p
of focus is on various techniques to open stall doors. “If you’re expected to go into a burning barn that you can’t see your hand in front of your face and there’s horses in that stall do you
www.villageinnelora.com 888-733-3567 519-846-5333 66 Wellington Rd 7, ELORA
know how to even get that stall door open?” is a question Swackhamer said she poses to the departments. However, it’s the farm owner who should have a fire plan in place before an incident so the rescue has better potential for success, she said. “Inviting your local fire department to your farm, setting up an emergency action plan, having a map so that when fire is responding they can look at it and say ‘okay, this is how this barn is set up’ (is important),” she said, adding she can also set up the plan. Swackhamer explained one of the biggest fire safety
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trained about 75 per cent of the fire departments in Wellington and Dufferin counties in large animal rescue. A particular area
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issues is barn wiring. “Your wiring in your barn should all be run with conduit pipe, inside conduit pipe. This is a big mistake people make using household, residential-rated fans, extension cords, those types of things in their barns,” she said. “Well you have cobwebs, you have dust, you have who knows what, so you’re just (increasing the) potential for fire.” Stuck in mud Wet conditions can also be troublesome. When any animal with hooves, like a horse, is stuck in mud the removal process is tedious and delicate. “When an animal is stuck in mud and you try to pull it out you will remove the hoof capsule with the suction,” she said. “If you do not break the suction and you try to pull them up, that whole hoof part will just stay in the mud and the rest of it will come out.” She said it’s similar to having a rubber boot getting stuck in the mud and leaving it behind when the foot is pulled out. Swackhamer has special tools for just this purpose. The lances look like poles with holes along the side so she can run water or air through them, breaking up the mud around the animal before she begins the removal. She said it’s important to have one person dedicated to controlling the animal’s head in any rescue.
Swackhamer and Rusty, an Equine Guelph practice horse. photo by Jaime Myslik
“That’s the biggest thing,” she said. “As long as you have control over their head, you’re ahead of the game.” Think outside the box Swackhamer also said thinking outside the box can be important in a rescue. For example, she said as long as some sort of rope is available, a halter can be made. “What I tell people is look for people with string in their
hoods,” she said. “Look for people at an accident scene with those and if you get enough together you then have a halter for your horse.” At an accident scene she said rope halters are preferable because they are adjustable and stronger than those held together with metal rings. In another situation, one of Swackhamer’s horses was
stuck in a hay feeder and instead of cutting the metal and destroying the $900 piece of equipment, she built up the height of the ground with a $4-bale of hay and her horse was able to get out. “We just built up hay on the inside and he was able to walk to get his feet high enough and then he just jumped out.” Round bale holes When round bales are left in the field and then removed they often leave a rut in a ground, a hole that large animals tend to get stuck in. Swackhamer said when a four-legged animal like a horse is stuck in a bale hole its legs are at such an angle that it is difficult to stand up. Rescue measures often need to be taken to drag the animal a distance until they can get their feet in a position to stand. A similar situation would occur if a horse was cast, meaning it’s unable to complete a roll because it’s blocked but is past the centre of gravity and can’t roll back. Intervention would be necessary to roll the animal back and because horses are so heavy, professionals would likely be needed to bring equipment. Required equipment “If you don’t have the equipment, know somebody that does,” Swackhamer said. She said it’s important for anyone who owns large livestock to have or know
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someone who has a loader tractor in case it’s needed for a rescue - or if that’s not possible, to know someone who has a tow truck which will do the same thing. “It’s not ideal but we can make it work,” she said. “A lot of it comes down to resources.” She equated necessary rescue equipment with car insurance. “You pay car insurance for 50 years and you never have an accident but if you do at least maybe you’ll get a new car,” she said. “It’s the same scenario.” In Swackhamer’s case, she has a team of people who have been trained. They don’t officially work for her but she knows she can call on them if she needs more people to help in a situation. ICE Swackhamer is working on creating an In Case of an Emergency (ICE) sticker to
install in livestock trailers. “The sticker would go on the outside of the trailer and inside the trailer will be an envelope or a folder of some kind on the wall that’s the same colour as the sticker and inside it will give first responders the information about the horses and it will also give the information about the people in the vehicle,” she said. “That same information sheet will also be in the glove box of the truck.” She said she hopes people will use it because it’s easier to deal with animals when first responders have as much information as possible, and if the driver is injured or killed it is difficult to track down this information in a hurry. For more information about Wellington County Livestock Emergency Response visit www.wclaer. ca.
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PAGE 8 | EQUINE JULY 24, 2015
Good preparation saves the day
Emergency rescue seminar in Elora Oct. 3-4 GUELPH - “A successful emergency rescue is about 90 per cent preparation and 10% action,” reiterated Ontario SPCA officer Bonnie Bishop. Bishop cannnot say enough about how the Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER) program presented by Equine Guelph last fall has helped her on the job. On March 17 preparation was put into action when a bull trapped down a well, just north of Napanee, was successfully rescued with Bishop helping triage the situation on the end of a phone line with agent Tex Ridder on the scene. “Many organizations that participate in TLAER programs do not realize how far reaching this program is - that it concerns situations from loose horses on the highway, to cattle truck rollovers, to animals trapped and needing professional extrication,” said Dr. Rebecca Gimenez of Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Inc. “The most important feature of the program is safety for the people on the scene first.” Bishop was over two hours away in Cornwall when a call about a trapped Charolais bull came in. Although adrenaline kicked in right from the start, she said the TLAER program armed her with a logical system for assessing the
dilemma. Realizing the bull was not in immediate danger she knew lowering down some hay and water were first on the list to keep the bull calm while more calls could be made. Knowing the Incident Command System is one of the most valuable components when pulling together resources for a rescue. From first responders to the forklift operator and veterinarian, Bishop recounted how knowing the simple practical steps involved in making a plan and following a chain of command throughout execution is important. Staying calm through the whole situation, the bull’s owner then contacted all the necessary resources. Both the in-class videos and hands-on demonstrations from the TLAER program came into play. The memorable videos on “what not to do” coupled with the practical hands-on work detailing how to safely arrange recovery straps to a large animal contributed to a successful vertical lift. Bishop remembered from one of the class videos how important a chest strap was to stop a large animal from slipping out during a forklift rescue. While they were not able to secure a chest strap, the rescuers on the scene improvised to ensure the bull would not tip forward dur-
ing lifting. They placed the bull down a good distance away from the chasm ensuring he would not stumble, back in after his airborne adventures. Teamwork and planning are key ingredients to successful emergency rescues. Elora training seminar Equine Guelph’s next two-day Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue awareness hands-on seminar will be offered Oct. 3 and 4 at Grand River Raceway in Elora. Offered with support from the Grand River Agricultural Society and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the seminar is appropriate for a very broad audience: horse owners, first responders, law enforcement, animal control officers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, emergency animal response teams, livestock producers and associations. The program is applicable to obtain continuing education credits for coaches (from Equine Canada) and for veterinarians, veterinary technicians and emergency responders (from their respective organizations). Registration is limited. For more information about this program contact Susan Raymond at slraymon@ uoguelph.ca. submitted by Jackie Bellamy-Zions, Equine Guelph
New code for equine welfare GUELPH - Over the past two years, Equine Guelph has chosen a specific topic for their annual communications program. In 2015, Equine Guelph will continue with the “FullCircle-Responsibility” theme with a specific monthly focus on the new National Code of Practice for Equine Welfare. The document is the product of many hours of research, consultation and
review. “It is a consensus document that outlines best practices – agreed to by the industry and it is sciencebased,” states a press release from the organization. “It also plays a role in keeping our industry moving forward in its support of equine welfare.” Each month Equine Guelph’s Code Decoder will focus on a section of the
code and show its application for daily management starting next month with duty of care. They also have a new Horse Owner’s Tool that will help owners assess their management practices. “Give your friends the key to the code for the care and handling of equines by encouraging them to sign up at EquineGuelph.ca,” states the release.
EQUINE JULY 24, 2015 | PAGE 9
Pan Am competition horse bred, raised in Arthur
In December of 2012 ARTHUR - A horse born sport or producing top athhe was leased and later and raised here was among letes themselves. This crossing of breeds bought by Jenna Ponzo the equine competitors at is not unusual as the of Orangeville and carethe 2015 Pan Am Games. Canadian Pan Am Event Canadian Remount Service fully developed as a Show Canadian Hunter Jumping prospect under the Team rider Waylon Roberts and hails from Port Perry, but Improvement Society, pro- guidance of Christine Smithhis mount Bill Owen, was genitors to Canadian Sport Avery of Mansfield. The Macdonalds were bred and raised in Arthur by Horse, often used Hackney Horses in the crosses for surprised to receive word Vivianne Macdonald. that Money Well Spent had Bill Owen, a 12-year-old been sold to Kelly Plitz and registered half Canadian Bill Owen seemed her son Waylon Roberts, sport horse, was bred and special right from and under his new name, raised by the Macdonald Bill Owen, had won the 2013 family’s Kintyre Arabians and day one ... the Indoor Eventing Challenge Sport Ponies farm. first words used to at the Royal Winter Fair. Originally named and describe him were The same year he was registered as “Money Well Ontario Horse Trials Training Spent” Bill Owen is by “Well that’s money Champion. Both times he KingRidge Stables’ (King, well spent,” was teamed with Waylon. Ontario) Westphalen stallion hence his name. Horse Trials and Eventing Money Talks. Money Talks is require the team to compete one of Canada’s most successful show jumpers, win- cavalry and early Olympic in three different disciplines either all on one day (Horse ning back to back victories horses. Bill Owen seemed special Trials) or over the course in the prestigious $100,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at right from day one, when of up to three days with Spruce Meadows as well as this tall, big boned colt stood Eventing. The disciplines are dresmore than 10 Grand Prix vic- up, the first words used to tories and numerous plac- describe him were “Well sage (technical skill), cross that’s money well spent,” country (galloping several ings in World Cup qualifiers. miles over large jumps on Vivianne bought the stal- hence his name. At three, he went to be varied terrain including in lion service in a fund raising auction for the Canadian started under saddle by Jen and out of water), and the Sport Horse Association to McIlwraith in Freelton. By final phase is show jumpcross with her best brood- then he was close to his ing (again technical skill over Pressure Treated Decking mature height of 16 hands. jumps with rails that can mare the purebred Hackney 5/4" x 6" Lodgepole pine decking, treated in quickly come down – think Too energetic for his owner mare, Clovecroft 5/4"Horse x 6" Lodgepole pine decking, treated in Pressure Treated Decking Micro Pro Sienna colour. Superior quality, and her daughter Diana, Bill Ian Miller’s sport). Lucky Jenny. 5/4"Available xquality, 6" Lodgepole pine decking, treated in MicroWhile Pro never Sienna colour. long due lastingSuperior durability. In 2014 Bill Owen and Owen spent hisintime maturshown 8',10',12',14',16' lengths Micro Pro Sienna colour. Superior quality,won the Fair Waylon Roberts ing mentally and physically to juvenile injuries “Jenny,” LEATHERTOWN LUMBER Pressure Treated Deckingin long lasting durability. Available long lasting durability. Available in while the treated Macdonalds tried Hill Horse Trails Concours produced superior 5/4" x 6" athletes Lodgepole pine decking, in 8',10',12',14',16' lengths Combiné placing him into the lengths right International no matter whom sheSienna wascolour. 8',10',12',14',16' Micro Pro Superior quality, bred to. She long haslasting 12 foals, durability.hands Availabletoin develop him fur- one-star in Maryland. All CRO PRO SIENNA FEI-recognized (internather. who are successful either inlengths 8',10',12',14',16' Pressure Treated DeckingTreated REG 21.99 Pressure Decking LEATHERTOWN LUMBER
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In March 2015, Equine Canada released their candidates for the Pan Am team, Waylon and Bill, were longlisted but Bill was Waylon’s second mount. Long-listing means on the radar but not prime candidates unless something happens to the short-list candidates. After several more top placings for the pair at various events on the east coast, Bill Owen and Waylon
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Roberts, handily won the Bromont Quebec CIC twostar in all three divisions, clinching a spot of the Canadian Pan Am team. Vivianne Macdonald, now 75, said she is thrilled to have a horse she bred, raised and started competing at the International level. The Macdonalds still have three half sisters and one niece of Bill Owen in the herd.
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PAGE 10 | EQUINE JULY 24, 2015
$1,500 donation - James Koopman (CLAC representative), Ann Caine (Sunrise president), Nicholaus Caine (Sunrise student), Nicola Harman (Sunrise Education Coordinator and Insubmitted photo structor) and Keith Harman.
Sunrise Therapeutic receives CLAC donation PUSLINCH - Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre received a $1,500 donation from the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) as part of the union’s Building Communities Together program. The organization was nominated by Keith Harman who is a member of Construction Workers Local 53, affiliated with CLAC, and is employed by Collaborative Structures Limited. “Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre was founded in 1982 with a mission to develop the full potential of children and adults with special needs and lead them closer to independence through therapy,
recreation, horse riding, and farm-related activities,” says Harman. “Therapeutic riding is Sunrise’s core program, with lessons being taught by certified instructors and supported by trained volunteers.” Harman added, “Sunrise is the only accredited therapeutic riding centre in Wellington County and Waterloo Region and the only centre that offers a variety of fully integrated and accessible recreation programs, in which children with and without special needs learn and play together. This donation will be used toward scholarships for children with special needs from financially marginalized families.”
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Pain recognition skills vital prevention tools for owners by Jackie Bellamy-Zions GUELPH - Hiding pain is one of the top survival skills of a horse. An important part of horse ownership is learning to recognize signs that a horse may be in discomfort rather than dismissing subtle cues as just bad behaviour. Dr. Brianne Henderson recently gave a lecture to a room full of horse owners in Hillsburgh. The attendees were interested in ensuring the welfare of their equine companions by honing their skills for detecting pain. There has been increased awareness of pain recognition and management in small animals and this science is also gaining more acknowledgement in the world of horses as well. Everyone wants to be greeted by a bright-eyed, soft and relaxed face. The horse is telling you something hurts when they avoid looking at you, appear despondent, clench their jaw, flatten ears back and/or squint their eyes. Henderson rolled through a barrage of images asking the audience to denote which ones depicted animals in pain. By stance, facial cues and action the savvy auditors were hitting the mark and also picked up on the fact that circumstance plays a role. How many people
have had the phone call of alarm when a passerby sees a horse flat out in the field when it was actually just napping in the sun? Flehmen is another response that can be circumstantial. It can occur due to an interesting smell or taste sensation but it can also be a moderate pain response displaying nostril and mouth tension. The stallion curling his upper lip testing for pheromones when a mare passes by is a different context than
Horse people need to be on the lookout for atypical behaviour. the horse who didn’t finish his feed, is stretched out with his poll low and is showing the flehmen response. Subtle changes require your attention such as a horse at the back of its stall with a half-eaten breakfast when it is normally standing at the door waiting to go out after licking the feed tub clean. Catching a potential colic at this early stage could result in a huge cost savings as well as avoid what could turn into a very painful experience for the horse. The performance horse who suddenly starts refusing to accomplish tasks it
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be required to figure out if it is you or the horse that has changed. “If I have had a bad day at the office and not taken the time to decompress – my horse will not come to the gate for me,” Henderson explains. “Similarly, I know if he doesn’t come to the gate under normal circumstances, there is something wrong because he typically loves his job.” Grooming will also tell you much about your horse’s health. Rather than quickly dusting off the saddle area and jumping on to ride, take the time to run your
hands over their whole body, especially the back and legs, before and after work, checking for any heat, swelling or reactions that can be early indicators something is not quite right. Obvious pain requires a veterinary examination. When a horse comes in from the paddock hopping lame, it can often be hard to tell if it is an abscess requiring a simple poultice or a fracture requiring much more intensive treatment and stabilization. When acute pain is obvious; don’t guess or delay – call the veterinarian. For less obvious lameness, your veterinarian has been trained to assess the severity on a scale from one to five. Early intervention increases the chances of a good outcome and can prevent matters from escalating into a much worse injury. In addition to being on the look-out for signs of pain, a dutiful horse owner is always employing prevention practices. They apply poultice and wrap horse’s legs to stem swelling after a hard work out and give them time to recover. Our horses count on us, their primary care-takers, to be diligent and attentive in both prevention and early detection of pain. For further information visit: EquineGuelph.ca.
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EQUINE JULY 24, 2015 | PAGE 11
Horse welfare is everyone’s responsibility GUELPH - The plight of the unwanted or neglected horse is a growing welfare issue in this country. Seldom does a week go by without a publicized horse welfare issue in some form of neglect, abuse or abandonment. With the current economic climate and changes in the racing sector in Ontario, many in the horse industry have been forced to look for ways to live more frugally. Unfortunately in most cases, it’s the horse that suffers. “The majority of horse owners and riders have a strong attachment to their horses, and would not purposely go out of their way to neglect a horse,” said Gayle Ecker, director of Equine Guelph. “But proper equine welfare goes far beyond providing the basics of food and water. It’s about how the horse is managing with the conditions in which it lives. It’s about taking full responsibility for horse ownership right up until the end.” What is equine welfare? The simple definition of welfare, “quality of life”, can at times be unclear, as this term can mean different things to different people. Nonetheless, everyone can agree that providing good welfare to our beloved
What’s best for the horse? Recently Equine Canada and the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) came together to provide horse owners with updated guidelines for general equine management with the release of the new Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines. “The code was developed for both the professional and the individual owner for the health and welfare of horses,” said Jack de Wit, director with the Equine Canada board of directors and chair of the code development committee.
horses should be based on both physical and mental health. In the past, society normally regarded equine welfare only as it relates to the animal’s physiology and its environment, such as feeding and shelter. But over the past 15 years, the science of animal welfare has made huge developments in recognizing their needs by expanding the concept of welfare and management issues of the horse to include also their wellbeing and related tolerable threshold of pain, suffering or neglect.
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The code was established to develop and enforce guidelines for minimum standards for the welfare of the horse. This would include proper nutrition, appropriate shelter, disease prevention and treatment, humane handling, and when necessary, humane euthanasia. Its development was led by an 18-person committee made up of equine owners, caregivers, animal welfare and enforcement representatives, researchers, veterinarians and government representatives. A five-person scientific committee, which included researchers with expertise in equine behaviour, health and welfare, also aided in its concept. Printed copies of The Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines, a 92-page document outlining proper animal care requirements and recommended practices for equine welfare, are available by contacting Equine Canada. The Code can also be viewed or downloaded at http://www.nfacc. ca/codes-of-practice/equine. Meanwhile in Ontario, a new organization was formed to contribute to improvements in farm animal care and welfare. Established in January 2012, Farm and Food Care is the first coalition of its type
in Canada and resulted from the amalgamation of the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) and Agricultural Groups Concerned about Resources and Environment (AGCare) in order to bring awareness, appreciation, and information to farmers to help ensure that farm animals are raised in a responsible manner. “While we do not specifically represent horses at Farm and Food Care, there are many parallels that ex-
Proper equine welfare goes far beyond providing the basics of food and water. - Gayle Ecker director of Equine Guelph
ist between farm animals,” said Kristen Kelderman, Farm Animal Care Coordinator of Farm and Food Care Ontario based in Guelph. “Regardless of whether you are taking care of a cow, horse, pig or chicken, good farm animal welfare should be the same across all species.” Farm and Food Care offers a Farm Animal Care Helpline to assist farmers with management-type issues such as thin animals or lack of bedding, but is not meant for legitimate abuse
or cases where laws have been broken. “We do not take horse calls, because we do not have this agreement on the horse side. When people do call our office about horses, we recommend that they call the OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) directly,” states Kelderman. “The Helpline does not have the mandate or resources to respond to the thousands of calls that the OSPCA does, but is simply another tool for people to use...” Help prevent issues “Equine welfare is a human responsibility and should extend beyond our farm gates”, said Ecker. “While your horses are being properly cared for, what about the neighbour down the street who has fallen on hard times and is unable to afford sufficient hay to feed his horses?” she asks. “Do we turn a blind eye and hope they’ll be alright until the spring? That the problem will fix itself? All of us have a responsibility to take the necessary steps to prevent a horse from suffering. As they can’t speak, we must speak for them.” For serious concerns regarding horse welfare call the OSPCA at 1-888-ONT-SPCA (1-888-668-7722).
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PAGE 12 | EQUINE JULY 24, 2015
The impact of impact on equine bone health
by Jackie Bellamy-Zions GUELPH - Ontario Veterinary College graduate student Cristin McCarty is no stranger to joint health issues, having to work through her own athletic injuries from rowing. As an avid rider since age five, McCarty bought an exracehorse in her early teens for re-purposing into a hunter/jumper and immediately began an education in joint problems and maintenance options aimed towards keeping her newly-purchased horse sound. After pursuing an education in biology, McCarty was given the opportunity to work with Dr. Jeff Thomason and Dr. Mark Hurtig at the University of Guelph, where research ground-breaking is looking at joint loading of horses travelling at high speed. specializes Thomason in biomechanics, studying mechanics of locomotion in horses, in-vivo bone strain and finite-element (FE) mod-
elling of skeletal mechanics. Hurtig is an expert on the mechanical causes of osteoarthritis (OA). McCarty has been working with FE, gathering and analyzing data on loads acting at the fetlock joint and stresses in the cannon bone. By creating a computer generated model using computed tomographic (CT) or MRI images of an equine fetlock joint they are working on determining the internal bone stress under varying loading conditions (rates, directions and magnitudes) using FE software. This method of analysis could provide further insight into the biomechanical role impact has on the stress distribution in areas of high remodeling, which are associated with OA in racehorses. FE is used in the automotive industry in crash test simulations to assess material failure but it is a relatively new technology for applications in biology. McCarty, who has been working under
Bone density - Healthy and osteoarthritic bone density (green areas are higher-density bone) is mapped material stiffness on third metacarpal from micro-computed tomography images. Bottom images show the internal stiffness distribution through the medial/lateral plane of the distal end of MC3. courtesy Equine Guelph
Thomason for three years now, says, “it was a steep learning curve to become familiar with the software to build complex models.
That alone took almost two years.” FE, through complicated mathematical calculations, can test where stress points will occur under par-
ticular loading conditions. In a more dense bone (which occurs in OA) these calculations can show how stress points may be transferred and put onto the cartilage of the joint. Using FE researchers can also study how distribution of stress in a healthy, spongy less dense bone differs from that of an osteoarthritic joint. Contributing factors to OA in the fetlock joint of a horse lies partly in conformation. A horses’ large body mass is held up by four fairly small limbs and the fetlock joint is a small area to distribute the force and loading that occurs during high speed movement. Long pasterns and steep joint angles increase stresses on the back of the leg and can predispose a horse to issues. Footing plays a role with harder surfaces resulting in higher strains on the hoof. A blunt force trauma could also predispose a horse to joint injury and make it more susceptible to the onset of OA.
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Intense continuous training can set a horse up for OA and joint disease. McCarty goes on to talk about training programs and compares the training of human athletics to how train race horses are trained, “If you wanted to run a 200m sprint, you would not sit on a couch all day; get up to sprint 50m then return directly to the couch. With no pre-conditioning of joints, this is asking for injury. So why would we ask a horse to stand in a stall all day and then take them out for a gallop?” Chronic overloading of joints leads to problems over time. McCarty cites assessing the chronically lame horse as a potential use for FE modeling. It may allow predications of where the bone may fracture and under what conditions. Also, with greater understanding of high stress point areas and what is creating them, mitigation may be possible such as suggesting a change in the footing surface the horse trains on.