Equine Health Management Exam #1 Questions and Answers

What order should horses be fed? -ANSWER Horses should be fed in order of increasing risk for carrying a disease. Horses with the weakest immune system should be handled and fed first before horses with a higher exposure risk. The order should be the youngest, foals and broodmares, weanlings, older retired horses, competitive horses, and finally ill horses. How much water should a horse consume in a day? -ANSWER A horse should consume 5% of their body weight, an average 10-15 gallons of water per day. What are the steps required to keep human-made water sources from freezing? -ANSWER To keep human-made water sources from freezing bury all plumbing below the frost level, insulate all vertical plumbing, use antifreeze handles, place vats on south side of buildings, and use guarded electric outdoor heaters. What are the pasture management steps required to maintain a high-quality, high-producing pasture? -ANSWER To maintain a high-quality, high-producing pasture you should do a routine analysis, fertilize, over or reseed, irrigate, mow, drag, and rotate grazing. What are the pros and cons of natural water sources for horses? -ANSWER Pros: convenient and easy Cons: summer drying, winter freezing, contamination, pollution, vector source (snails and mosquitoes), unknown water consumption, urban watershed districts and laws What are the pros and cons of human-made water sources? -ANSWER Pros: clean, decaying animals can be eliminated, can monitor water consumption Cons: requires filling, damaged or dirtied by playing horses, rusting or crushed edges exposes metal edges, requires water lines/hydrants/possibly electricity - near stalls and pastures, equipment subjected to breakage or freezing during cold weather, may become subjected to algae and mosquito breeding sites List ten steps that will decrease the stable vector populations. -ANSWER Eliminate mosquito breeding sites, remove water receptacles, clean water trough weekly, place water troughs on a crushed rock base to minimize mud, clean the feed room daily, clean stall daily and pick paddocks weekly, keep manure or compost piles over 100 feet from the southern side of all buildings and paddocks, compost manure, spread manure every 7 days, clean roof gutters twice yearly, keep horses indoors during peak mosquito periods, use fly masks, sheets, and insect repellent, remove any birds located in or around the barn, use fly traps and strips in enclosed areas by barn doors