Tips and Topics
Wood chewing can be an annoying and destructive behavior in horses. Understanding why horses chew wood and incorporating strategic management practices into your routine can help eliminate the problem. Researchers have documented an increased incidence of wood chewing in cold, wet weather (Jackson et al., 1994). It is thought that the drop in temperature causes horses to instinctively seek out additional fiber, which they find in the form of wooden... Read More »
Category : Health & Management | Tips and Topics
Your truck is gassed up and ready to go. You have gone over your trailer’s safety check list and it passed with flying colors. Your horse’s vaccinations are up to date; you have a negative Coggins and health cert tucked in the glove box. Your equine first-aid kit is fully stocked. Your tack is clean and in good repair. Your horse is fitted out with head bumper, tail wrap and shipping boots. You are ready to go. Or are you? What about your horse’s... Read More »
Category : Nutritional Minutes | Tips and Topics
"Tying-up” is one of the more common muscle disorders found in horses. In fact, we now know that there are several forms of tying-up and that RER or recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis is just one of them (another one is PSSM, but more on that in another article). Horses suffering from RER are unable to properly regulate the calcium ions that control normal muscle contraction and relaxation. When a horse has an episode of RER, the gluteal muscles... Read More »
Category : Health & Management | Tips and Topics
Don’t wait until you are in the middle of breeding season to support optimal fertility in your breeding stallion. Subfertility and infertility in stallions are usually caused by abnormal sperm production or function. One major source of these problems is oxidative stress caused by free radicals, which are potentially damaging byproducts of the body’s metabolism. Studies have implicated free radicals in numerous equine disease states, including... Read More »
Category : Essential Vitamins | Tips and Topics
No matter what the season, when horses work hard they produce heat and sweat. Properly cooling down your horse will ensure he stays sound and healthy. A daily workout for your horse probably consists of four separate periods: warm-up, active conditioning or schooling, warm-down, and cool-down. During warm weather training, the warm-down and cool-down periods are especially important because horses may be hot from conditioning exercises. The warm-down... Read More »
Category : Electrolytes | Health & Management | Tips and Topics
Hey everyone! I know KPP kept you updated on my past weekend at the American Eventing Championships, but I thought I might give you a little of my own insight. First off I want to say...IT WAS AWESOME! I would be lying if I said I went into this show with tons of confidence and not worried at all. It was the first show without a trainer in over 6 years, and it was Hoosier's and my first show back since May because of all of his health issues. So not... Read More »
Category : Team Have At It Blog | Tips and Topics
The minerals calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P) play a major role in proper growth and development of the skeletal system in horses. Calcium and phosphorus must be provided by a horse’s diet in the correct levels and ratio. If more phosphorous than calcium is consumed by a horse then calcium absorption can be impaired and skeletal malformations, poor growth, and muscle disorders can occur. Even if a diet contains adequate calcium, excessive phosphorus... Read More »
Category : Fat & Fiber | Tips and Topics | Valuable Nutrients
For those of you interested in the finer points of horse nutrition, you’ve no doubt come across this truism: Feed by weight, not volume. This makes sense because many feeding directions are given in a measurement of weight, not volume. In a perfect world, where time stands still, we would all carefully measure our horse’s daily feed ration. In the real world, however, where many of us are struggling just to get an hour or two alone with our horse,... Read More »
Category : Health & Management | Tips and Topics
Don’t rub till they’re nubs! Currycombs are a staple in grooming boxes everywhere. They are great at removing caked-on mud, sweaty saddle marks, and long winter coats. Most horses just love a vigorous curry that massages the muscles and scratches those hard-to-get-to itchy spots. It is important to make sure that your currycomb is up to the job. You may not believe it, but currycombs wear out! The teeth that grab and pull away loose hair and dirt... Read More »
Category : Health & Management | Other Topics of Interest | Tips and Topics
Once known as a stable vice, cribbing is now considered by equine behaviorists as a stereotypical oral behavior. Cribbing behavior (sometimes referred to as crib-biting) is rarely, if ever, seen in free-living feral horses but is frequently found in domesticated horses, leading researchers to believe that such unwanted behavior is caused by the way we manage our horses. When a horse cribs he grabs onto a solid object with his teeth, arches his neck, pulls... Read More »
Category : Digestive Health | Health & Management | Tips and Topics
The directions clearly state “Feed one scoop per day to a 1000-pound horse.” But which of the photographs depicts a true scoop? Is it the barely full one, the exact, leveled one, or the heaping one? Kentucky Performance Products (KPP) uses carefully controlled scientific studies to pinpoint exact feeding recommendations for its products. These recommendations are passed on to the horseman in the form of feeding instructions. Feeding more or less is... Read More »
Category : Health & Management | Other Topics of Interest | Tips and Topics
Hey folks, My name is Ryan Maxwell and I have been given the privilege of writing to you all about a very special person. I'll get to why I received this honor later, but first I want to ask a question. Have you ever had the experience of watching someone do something great? Whether it is a basketball player in the zone unable to miss a shot, or maybe you've been in the presence of a musician who is able to sound so melodious that it sends cold chills... Read More »
Category : Team Have At It Blog | Tips and Topics
Versailles, Ky. – Kentucky Performance Products (KPP) has recently introduced Neigh-Lox® Advanced to the equine marketplace. Neigh-Lox Advanced contains a proprietary blend of ingredients that work synergistically to maintain healthy equine GI tract tissues. By supporting proper pH levels, sustaining a favorable environment for beneficial bacteria, and supporting the healing of damaged or irritated tissues, horses are less likely to suffer from digestive upsets so they perform better and feel great every day. Continue reading
Category : Press Releases
Who am I? This could get complicated. A lot of people now know me as “Aunt Becky.” For some reason, a few years ago Megan decided “Aunt Becky” had a cool ring to it. This is really confusing for a lot of folks who get introduced to me as her sister, yet everyone is calling me Aunt Becky. That’s right, I’m Megan’s sister. For whatever reason, the ‘aunt’ stuck and most people now call me Aunt Becky. I guess now that I think about it, it... Read More »
Category : Team Have At It Blog | Tips and Topics
One of the most prevalent myths in the realm of horse nutrition today is that bran mashes are good for horses. Horse folks have long fed bran mashes for a variety of reasons: to act as a laxative and prevent constipation, to increase water intake, to add fiber to the diet, and everyone’s favorite, to warm their horse up on a cold night. Unfortunately, the negative effects of an irregular bran mash greatly outweigh the perceived positive ones. Wheat... Read More »
Category : Digestive Health | Fat & Fiber | Tips and Topics
