Welcome to e-Tips!
Welcome to the July e-Tips brought to you by My Horse University and eXtension/horse. With the summer heat coming into full strength, this month’s Do You Know article discusses fluid balance in the horse. Learn how to avoid heat stress and dehydration by ensuring your horse has adequate drinking water and electrolytes.
Did you know...?
Fluid Balance in the Horse
 The horse’s body contains 65-75% water. Horses maintain their body fluid balance by drinking water or eating moist feeds like pasture as well as through the metabolism of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Horses lose water through urine, feces and sweat excretion as well as expiration while breathing. A lactating mare also loses fluids through milk secretion. Water can also be lost through illness--diarrhea, for example, can be extremely dangerous to foals; they can lose water too quickly and upset their body fluid balance. Read on...
Click here for additional resources on equine fluid balance...
This Month's e-Tips
Maintaining water balance in the horse is vital for health and performance. Remember these tips to keep your horse hydrated:
• Condition horses in the climate conditions that they will be competing in.
• Monitor horses closely when exercising in hot and humid conditions for signs of heat stress.
• Provide mineral blocks and additional salt and potassium in the diet for performance horses.
• Offer horses water frequently before, during, and after long rides.
• Remember a lactating broodmare needs 50 to 70% more water to support milk production.
• When hauling, water should be offered every few hours and more frequently in a hot climate.
• When hauling, bring water from home to ensure horses will drink.
• Check your horse's water supply daily for quantity as well as manure and rodent contamination.
• Check water heaters and automatic water systems daily.
• Make sure the water troughs are located where even the most timid horse will have access.
Question of the Month
The natural cues (or aids) are:
A) Bit and reins
B) Hands and voice
C) Bit, reins, spurs and crop
D) Hands, voice, legs and seat (weight)
Click here for the answer!
Photo of the Month
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Ashley was sooooo happy to be showing Fancy in the leadline class at one of our local horse shows!
- Photo courtesy of Jenny Baker
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Want your extraordinary equine featured in the next Photo of the Month?
Send your photo along with your name and a little background info to info@myhorseuniversity.com.
Write "Photo of the Month" in the subject line.
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July 2009
In This Issue
Gold Sponsor
Purina Mills is a proud sponsor of My Horse University and eXtension.
News & Updates
5th National Small Farm Conference
Springfield, IL
September 15-17, 2009
Ask the Experts
eXtension invites you to Ask the Experts your horse-related questions.
Free Horse Learning Lessons
eXtension's team of horse experts have developed specialized lessons on various topics.
Online Horse Management Courses
Take an online course from My Horse University! eXtension HorseQuest participants can receive a 10% discount by entering the coupon code HQ1 when registering for a course.
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