Ask the Vet - Shivers, Sheath Cleaning, Vitamin E, and more! - July 2016

You asked, we answered! In this episode of our monthly series, Ask the Vet, Dr. Lydia Gray and SmartPaker Sarah answer your questions about Shivers in horses, is sheath cleaning necessary, feeding grain before and after workouts, Vitamin E for horses, and scratches.

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 video before July 1, 2016, using #askthevetvideo.



Make sure to SUBSCRIBE so that you know when the next episode comes out - your question may be featured!

Additional reading/watching material mentioned in the video:

Questions answered in this episode:
1. I am adopting a draft horse with whom I've worked with for several years. He is a 10-12 year old Belgian gelding who has a slight "wobble" in his head when he's standing at liberty or while tied as well as stringhalt-like symptoms in his right hind. I've been told that his condition is called "shivers" though to the best of my knowledge it's never been officially diagnosed by a veterinarian. He appears to be otherwise workably sound and happy to do his job around the farm with his teammate; it's been something we've learned to work around. From my understanding of the condition, it's degenerative so I'm anticipating a lot of time over the next few years making sure his quality of life is the best it can be. Are there any exercises, feeding programs or supplements that will help his shivers symptoms?
2. My horse's sheath gets dirty very quickly, and I can give him baths and clean it in the late spring, summer, and early fall, but when the weather turns cold I can't clean his sheath without getting him cold and wet. Is there a way I could keep his sheath clean without a bath?
3. Going along with the water after work question from last month…what about feeding them grain? When is it safe to feed our horses after or even before riding? I was always told 30 minutes, but is that true?
4. My vet has recently been pushing for all her clients’s horses to get more Vitamin E. What is Vitamin E used for in the horse? How much should a horse be getting per day? And should you use a natural or unnatural supplement? What's the difference?
5. How do you treat and prevent stubborn cases of scratches?

[musikkofthenight]

Thanks, Sarah and Dr. Lydia! Between when I submitted the question and the video, we did take the Belgians to the vet clinic and got the official diagnosis of shivers. According to our vet he's in as good a shape as he can be expected to be, but we're starting a feeding plan to best support him. Thanks for your help and I hope this question also helped other SmartPak fans!

[sammieemery]

why is smartPak so awesome!that's my question

[kelliedoyle]

I am so excited! Lol definitely going for at least a new pair of piper breeches! I love them so much!

[michelekanefsky]

Good info on Vit E thank you! Wondering if it’s beneficial feed flax & Vit E? What would be the pros & cons?

[ladyfarrier]

I agree not needing to use soaps for cleaning the sheath. But i think geldings should still be cleaned just gently pulling out the excess and clumps and expelling the "beans".
Studs tend to keep themselves clean due to breeding. But geldings get a buildup that studs don't.

[leahh]

When our older horses trot and/or canter their backs make a weird noise. I can't really explain the noise, but it kind of sounds like a swoosh. It happens every stride and it sounds weird and it concerns me. This might be normal, but it doesn't sound normal because it's really loud. Does anyone know what it is?

[jessicalee]

I've been told previously that when rinsing a horse, you should start at their legs and rinse all 4 legs thoroughly before moving to the rest of the body. I understand starting at the ground and working up to their body to prevent the horse from spooking. The reason I was told for rinsing the legs first was to prevent a heart attack from cold water on the body right after work. Aside from the horse spooking, is it ok to rinse the body before the legs?

#askthevetvideo

[ayslin]

Do some more of the funny videos like short rider problems not all vet questions and showing clothes and stuff

[maria-laurah]

How often would you clean a horse's sheath especially if bits are falling out naturally? Or would you let nature take place and let it all fall out?

[dakotasauve]

I have a 10 year old mare, she has been bred two times and both times she showed all the signs of a healthy pregnancy but when it comes to birth she has trouble and unfortunately has still born foals... she's is a great healthy horse with great bloodlines and I'd love to pass down her genes but I'm afraid next time I breed her it will happen again.. I've taken her to the vet multiply times but they can't really tell what is causing her to pass the foals. thanks for your help smartpak

[fonjadidi]

What about the Bean in geldings? if you dont remove that they cause SERIOUS problems because youre horse cannot pee!

[xxmichelle.m]

What should I do when my mare is not feeding her filly.

[jumpereqx]

Are there any tips you guys can give me about my horse? He has a hard time building muscle, are there any specific diets or training I could do to help build muscle especially in his neck and hindquarters, thanks!

[ameliamarciniukkk]

My question: In my riding school we 28-29 horse and ponies all together. Most of them are working a few hours a day, and some don't even work at all some days. The thing is that they all get haylage 3 times a day and I heard it's unhealthy in large amounts at a time (they get it 3 times everyday). Also some horses don't get feed at all even though they did lots of work and some get LOADS of feed and they were in a stall for the whole day. Can you tell me how both these things can affect these riding horses? #askthevet

[suttonm]

#askthevetvideo I have heard a lot of different things about bathing in the western riding world, how often should I give my horse bath, I have heard that horse have oils on there coat and it's bad and you wash them off so people say to only give a bath ones a year but I have heard also to give a horse a bath once a week or so. Is a good bath once a year better or once a week or so?

[AutunmsDay]

baby Destin works on my horse starches

[abbychilds]

How do you get rid of rain rot or fungus fast?

[kassidilynn]

How do i know if my horse needs supplements? #askthevetvideo

[gracegochnauer]

#askthevet With the clover in my pasture my horse is slobbering everywhere! Is there any way to fix this "clover mouth?"

[faithamundson]

My horse gets very dirty in her hind legs below the hock from laying in the rocks what are ways that i can can clean her legs they had rain rot without washing them every day and scrubbing them with stiff brushes. #askthevet #askthevetvideo