American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) President Dr. John de Jong released the following statement in response to this week’s passage of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The heart rate of a horse can go over 200 beats per minute with strong exertion such as galloping up a hill, running a race or working beyond her level of fitness. You will not see those high rates unless you have a heart monitor recording during the exercise. The most important count is the speed at which the heart rate recovers from that high point. From the end of the gallop or hill to the time you pull up, get off and find the heart to listen the rate will have dropped to somewhere around 60 to 100. Within another minute or two, it should be well below 80 beats per minute.

The P3 is one of four bones in the toe (if you will) of the horse. Its function is to serve as part of the team which enables shock absorption in the entire hoof during weight bearing and while in motion. It is meant to drop down, like a trampoline to accommodate the weight. For this to happen, the heels spread apart to provide space for the coffin bone and sole of the hoof to descend.

The State of Oklahoma is requiring horses living in areas with positive VS cases to have a health certificate within 5 days of when you are traveling. Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Championship Show exhibitors who are from an area that has a positive VS case are required to have a health certificate within 5 days of when you leave, instead of the 30 day requirement. Additional resources and information such as state entry requirements are available at www.equinediseasecc.org.

Horses have difficulty regulating their body temperature when temperatures exceed 90 degrees. If humidity is high, the temperature doesn’t even have to reach 90 degrees to make life uncomfortable.

Everyone has heard about the ketogenic diet by now, or “keto” for short. It’s basically a reinvention of the Atkins diet with more emphasis on eating fat.

The horse industry is littered with fallacy. Start by hosing or sponging cold water down the neck over the jugular veins, along the belly and in between the hind legs (look for the big dilated veins!). The repetitive application of cold water is the KEY to removing excess heat from the body.

The “whole food” claim is being used to market some feeds and supplements for horses, but what is a whole food and are these products really superior?