Northernhorse.com Blog

I talked to Darren Krill, Senior Manager, Communications at Northlands this morning about the horses that had become sick while at Farmfair (and later died).  He advised that the investigation at the Vet College in Saskatoon indicated that it was an isolated toxic event probably from contaminated feed (each exhibitor typically brings his own feed).

So, I wonder how common is “contaminated feed” problems? Has anyone out there had problems with “contaminated” feed? What are the usual contaminates and how do they get there?

We were hay farmers for years and although there were lots of years when some of the hay we put up was of too poor quality to feed to horses because of dust and/or mold in the hay, we have never had a “toxic event”. Am I just lucky? Is this from feeding very poor quality hay? Or, does something like road kill - perhaps we should call it “baler kill” end up in the bale and cause the problem?

Please feel free to comment (there is link to do so below the post) if you have had any experience with this kind of problem.

Many stallions are being retired from racing, showing and performance to enter the breeding shed. Their value as potential breeding animals is based more on exceptional performance than on their ability to sire foals. Reports indicate that at least 11 percent of breeding stallions are subfertile or infertile (Rossdale and Ricketts, 1980), contributing to the low conception rate of 60 to 65% generally observed in the horse industry today. Continue Reading »

Agriculture & Rural Development for the Alberta Government posted the following in their newsletter this week: The commercial transport of all livestock must be done by skilled drivers following strict federal regulations. “We strongly advise all livestock owners and buyers to use a transportation company with drivers that are knowledgeable about industry animal care expectations and provide for the safety and comfort of the animals during transport,” says Bill desBarres, chair, Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada. “We do not condone any transportation by unscrupulous haulers who may compromise the welfare and/or safety of horses and public.” The livestock industry in Canada offers training for livestock haulers. The Certified Livestock Transport program is a comprehensive training course and support service for livestock truckers, shippers and receivers. It focuses on the humane and safe relocation of livestock and the regulatory requirements for Canada and the US. Read more at http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/all/agnw14212

EDMONTON - Northlands shut down Hall B at Farmfair International after a draft horse died today.

The dead horse and a second horse, both from the same team, became sick on Saturday. They left the fair sick and were en route home, somewhere out of province, when the first horse died, said Northlands spokesman Brian Leadbetter.

You can read what the Edmonton Journal has to say about this at:

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=cb37df60-9f39-4cb3-a076-e2944808ea3d

Meet Molly. She’s a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. Continue Reading »

The Alberta Equestrian Federation (AEF) Bio Security Committee under chair Kathy Hunter, in partnership with Alberta Veterinary Medical Association and the Veterinary Medicine Faculty of University of Calgary have completed an amended Equine BioSecurity Brochure.

You may feel free to download, www.albertaequestrian.com, copy, otherwise circulate and encourage all horse enthusiasts to promote the prevention and control of infectious diseases. You may request a supply of this brochure by contacting the AEF office or downloading from the AEF website. Other educational and informative information and regional meetings are in the planning stages and will be announced soon. Continue Reading »

The University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is conducting exciting research in Alberta on the prevalence, risk factors and cost of equine respiratory diseases. We have now completed BAL sampling on horses across Alberta thanks to the participation of community members, but we still need your help. Respiratory disease represents the second most common reason owners seek veterinary consultation and heaves is probably the most frequent chronic respiratory disease in adult horses. How can you help?  Go to www.ucalgary.ca/heaves to fill out our online questionnaire. Upon completion of the questionnaire we can send you information regarding your horse’s respiratory status. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Wasko: heaves@ucalgary.ca or (403) 519-3712.

Thanks everyone for your help. A baby has been found and adopted.

Our mare Just lost her baby tonight June 10th from getting caught in the steel fence she is Very Maternal lets everyone drink from her, If you have any other contacts for an orphan foal for her please Call asap 306-452-3149

The Purina Mills website has information about the feed recall. We are hearing of some concern from people here but according to the website it is only involving feed that was distributed in the Eastern U.S. Purina Mills posted the following:

• In mid-February our own incoming ingredient testing and routine state regulatory testing simultaneously indicated aflatoxin above FDA action levels in certain feeds manufactured at our Statesville, North Carolina feed plant.
• We immediately implemented an internal investigation and testing regimen to determine which products might be affected and, as a precautionary measure, initiated a voluntary retrieval of affected products (February 14, 2008) even prior to receiving all testing results.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reminding horse owners and those who transport horses of the federal regulations that govern the humane transportation of animals in Canada.

Anyone wanting to transport horses for business or personal use must first ensure that the animals are healthy enough to handle the stress of transportation. When in doubt, seek the advice of a veterinarian or contact the CFIA before loading animals. Continue Reading »