Summit Equine Hospital

04/18/2025

Preparing for horse show season involves meticulous planning, training, and preparation of both the horse and the rider. This includes organizing your calendar, ensuring your horse is physically and mentally fit, practicing your courses or patterns, and having all necessary equipment and supplies ready.
Horse Preparation:
Start Training Early:
Begin training your horse well in advance of the show season to build fitness and confidence.
Conditioning and Fitness:
Ensure your horse is in peak physical condition with proper exercise, diet, and conditioning.
Grooming:
Regular grooming, including bathing, hoof care, and trimming, is essential for a clean and presentable appearance.
Tack:
Clean, polished, and properly fitted tack, including saddles, bridles, and stirrups, is crucial.
Health:
Consult with your veterinarian for necessary vaccinations, deworming, and health checks.
Mental Preparation:
Familiarize your horse with the show environment through schooling shows and gradual exposure to show routines.
Rider Preparation:
Practice:
Practice your show routine, courses, or patterns consistently to build confidence and fluency.
Learn the Rules:
Understand the specific rules and regulations of the shows you plan to attend.
Clothing:
Ensure your show attire, including coat, gloves, and boots, is clean, polished, and appropriate for your discipline.
Show Book:
Create a detailed show book with show schedules, lodging information, and any other necessary details.
Mental Preparation:
Develop a pre-show routine to help manage anxiety and focus on your goals.
Nutrition:
Plan your meals and snacks strategically to maintain energy and focus throughout the day.
Show Day:
Packing: Pack everything you need, including tack, grooming supplies, and personal items, the day before the show.
Travel: Plan your travel route and ensure your trailer is in good working order.
Arrival: Arrive at the showgrounds early to settle in and prepare your horse.
Turnout: Ensure your horse is presented at his best, with proper grooming and tack.
Show Routine: Follow your pre-show routine and focus on the tasks at hand.
Stay Positive: Maintain a positive attitude and focus on achieving your goals, regardless of the outcome.

04/18/2025

If you believe that horses need grain in their diet to meet their nutritional needs, you are not alone. However, horses should get most of their nutrients from a good quality forage source such as grass, hay, hay pellets, or a complete feed.

Horses generally eat between 1.5-2% of their body weight each day, so an average size 1,000 lbs horse should eat 15- 20 lbs of hay daily. To help fill any nutrient gaps such as essential vitamins or minerals, a ration balancer may be beneficial. Depending on breed, body condition, and exercise level, concentrates may be added in to provide additional energy but are often not needed.

When deciding on what to feed your horse, it is best to invest in high quality forages as the foundation of your feeding plan. You can even have your hay tested to see exactly what nutrients it is providing.

Please consult with your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist about your horse's diet before making any major changes, and remember that any changes should be made gradually over time to avoid GI upset.

Thank you to the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee for providing this information.

04/10/2025

Dr Maxwell providing equine education at Friendship High School's Animal Science Class yesterday.

04/10/2025

DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAUSES GRASS FOUNDER?

Spring is a wonderful time of the year, but it may be the beginning of some serious problems for horses vulnerable to grass founder — like horses that are over the age of 10, easy keepers, overweight or cresty-necked.

Laminitis or founder, as it is commonly called, is inflammation of the laminae of the horse’s foot. Laminae are the delicate, accordion-like tissues that attach the inner surface of the hoof wall to the coffin bone (the bone in the foot). A horse suffering from laminitis experiences a decrease in blood flow to the laminae, which in turn begin to die and separate. The final result is hoof wall separation, rotation of the coffin bone and extreme pain. In severe cases, the coffin bone will actually rotate through the sole of the horse’s hoof where it becomes infected and can ultimately lead to the horse having to be euthanized.

Laminitis can be triggered by different causes, like repeated concussion on hard ground (road founder), grain overload, retained placenta, hormonal imbalance (Cushing’s syndrome), obesity, and lush grass.

In cases of grass founder, the sugar fructans produced by rapidly growing grass stimulates an overgrowth of bacteria in the horse’s large intestine. The bacteria produce and release toxins (endotoxins) that are carried by the bloodstream to the foot where they cause damage to the laminae and small blood vessels.

The best way to deal with laminitis is preventing and managing the causes under your control. Consult your equine practitioner for further information and to formulate a plan tailored to your horse's individual situation. If you suspect laminitis, consider it a medical emergency and notify your veterinarian immediately.

03/24/2025

Happy 18th Birthday to sweet Lola!

03/15/2025

Happy St Patrick Day from this little Herd!
Stampede of Love

02/25/2025

Our technician Kelsey explaining to these 2 cuties that they are going to be castrated but all will be well. 😁

02/20/2025

Colic can be a stressful and scary occurrence for equine owners, and it often requires the attention of an equine veterinarian to detect the cause of the episode and to provide treatment.

One way your horse doctor may try to determine the reason your equine companion is colicking is by performing a re**al examination. Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding the equine re**al exam:

• Re**al exams need to be performed by a skilled professional (your vet) or severe damage can occur to the internal structures.

• Re**al exams typically do not allow a veterinarian to alleviate the reason for colic. Your vet is feeling structures through the re**um not directly on the structures themselves, and therefore cannot pull out an impaction, etc.

• For the safety of the patient and your veterinarian, as well as the nature of the procedure, sedation is often required.

• NEVER perform a re**al exam yourself while waiting for the vet to arrive, as this could result in life threatening tears in the re**um and/or colon.

If you have questions or concerns that your equine companion may be colicking, please contact your veterinarian.

Thank you to the Horse Owner Education Committee for providing this information.

**alExams

02/19/2025

Spending winter with your equine friends can be magical with snowy rides and cozy grooming sessions in the barn. As temperatures drop, it’s important to take extra precautions to keep your hooved friends safe, healthy and happy. Here are a few winter weather reminders from the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC).

Feeding for Cold Weather
Did you know that a horse’s calorie requirement can increase by as much as 25% on cold winter days? While this doesn’t apply to every horse, some may need additional feed during the winter. Shelter, outside temperatures and individual tolerance can affect how much additional nutrition your horse needs. Work with your veterinarian or nutritionist to ensure that they have adequate nutrition year-round.

Fresh Water
When horses graze in a growing pasture, they naturally consume water from the vegetation. During the winter, horses are often given more dry hay and pelleted feeds, which contain less water than fresh pasture plants. Dehydration is a common cause of impaction and colic, so it’s important to monitor your horse’s water intake and ensure they always have plenty of fresh water.

Horses can be reluctant to drink cold water, and chilly winter temperatures can cause your horse’s water to freeze. Keep your horse hydrated during the winter and prevent ice from forming in your horse’s trough by implementing heat sources. You can install a water heater, use a larger trough, place the trough in direct or partial sunlight, or add compost manure around the trough to help insulate it.

Keeping Surfaces Safe
Remove icy areas from your barn or paddock. If that’s not possible, apply sand or mulch to these areas to decrease the risk of falls, but don’t allow your horse to consume sand as that can lead to impaction. If heavy snow occurs, promptly remove the snow to enable your horse to access their shelter, food and water.

Winter hoof care is also important. Continue routine hoof maintenance, such as picking out hooves and farrier care, to aid traction and prevent injuries.

Adequate Shelter
Ensure that your horse always has access to shelter to escape wind, snow, sleet or rain. Horses who are exposed to the elements are more susceptible to illnesses like frostbite. Young horses are especially sensitive and require special care.

To Blanket or Not to Blanket
Horses will grow a winter coat while the days get shorter. Blanketing your horse before the winter solstice will reduce the growth of their winter coat.

You may need to blanket a horse who is:

Clipped.
Very young or a senior.
Thin and with a body condition score less than four.
Not acclimated to the cold.
Note: Once you start blanketing a horse, you need to continue blanketing them until warmer weather arrives.

If you blanket your horse, be sure to:

Choose a blanket that fits your horse.
Inspect the blanket each day for damage.
Monitor your horse for areas of irritation from the blanket.
Remove damp blankets immediately and bring your horse to a sheltered area to dry. Then place a fresh, dry blanket on your horse.
Remove blankets on warm winter days to prevent sweating.

02/14/2025

Cheers to continued success!

02/14/2025

01/29/2025

Share your winter Equine hacks in the comments-

What's your WEIRDEST winter barn hack that works? For SmartPaker Kit, it's a lacrosse stick. No, really!

"Now, even with the cover there are still days that ice does form on the buckets. Particularly up here in New England where it can easily get to the low teens and single digits at night, the outside water buckets will get that layer of ice on top. This breaks up easy, but then you have the challenge of getting the ice chunks out. If you have waterproof gloves you might be able to reach right in and scoop them out, but that isn’t always possible. The best fix that I have found for this is a lacrosse stick! It’s light weight, has a long handle so your hands stay dry, and the net is the perfect shape to scoop out the ice chunks and toss them to the side without lifting tons of water or the net getting oversaturated and heavy. You certainly don’t need any fancy kind of lacrosse stick either, in fact the one I use was just a local find from someone who no longer needed theirs! Now it lives in the barn and saves our hands from chilly water on those cold winter days."

Read his entire blog with more tips and tricks here: cur.lt/9bjriynyb

01/24/2025

Winter riding isn't for everyone, especially when the temps really drop! When the air hurts your face, how do you keep saddle time fun? We've got four tips below, but we'd love to hear yours, too!

1️⃣ Use the Buddy System
Riding with a friend can keep both of you motivated and even spark some healthy competition or creativity.

2️⃣ Spice Up Your Flatwork
Riding in an indoor arena or the same cleared trails throughout the winter can feel like riding in circles day after day. Try NEW exercises to spice up your flatwork like lateral work, ground poles, or even elements from dressage tests.

3️⃣ Get Outside When Possible
If you have a warmer day (or feel like braving the cold!), take your horse for a short trail ride around the property or on a cleared, level trail. Even if you just take an amble around the property before getting down to business in the indoor arena, you and your horse may appreciate the change of pace.

4️⃣ Set Goals for Yourself and Your Horse
Set short-term and long-term goals for you and your horse this winter. Whether your goal is to make it out to the barn to ride four days a week all winter long or to master the half pass, a new goal is a great motivator.

01/23/2025

Please share your equine "Snow Day" pictures in the comments below

Winter has turned everything into a cold (& snowy) wonderland for many of you, and we know equestrians are out there doing what we do best: showing up no matter the weather! 🐴💪

Whether you’re:
- Bundled up like the Michelin Man in your warmest barn coat 🧥
- Busting frozen water troughs like it’s an Olympic sport 🪓💧
- Navigating icy & muddy ground with excited horses who suddenly forgot how to horse 🐎✨
- Braving frozen fingers to get blankets swapped, hay tossed, and everyone fed 🥶🍎

We want to see it all! 📸 Share your snow-day photos in the comments or tag us - bonus points for the funniest or most relatable moments!

Let’s celebrate winter, equestrian-style.

01/22/2025

Tips for Senior Equine Companions-

It’s not uncommon to find horses and ponies living well into their 20s and 30s, thanks to continuous advances in nutrition and health care.

Horse owners have a big impact as well and can help their horses thrive in their golden years through proper management practices like those illustrated in the graphic. But remember, although there is much you can do on your own to keep your older horse happy and spry, some conditions associated with aging require medical intervention.

Scheduling regular visits and keeping a good line of communication with your veterinarian will allow you to respond quickly to any ailments or injuries that could cause your horse a serious or prolonged set back. That means less worry for you, and a better quality of life for your old friend!

01/17/2025