On 3 May 2017, Highveld Horse Care Unit confiscated a severely underweight colt found working in cart. He was in poor shape – emaciated, covered in sores and lame.

He received medical treatment as soon a he reached the Unit in Meyerton. Closer inspection revealed he had a hoof abscess, was very young to be working, and depressed. The focus was treating wounds, drawing out the abscess and providing balanced nutrition to encourage weight gain. Overall, loads of “TLC” to get this young horse’s spirit back. Once he was in some condition to walk, he’d be taken out for short grazing sessions to try bring him back to normality. Joanne from HHCU reported after a few days at the facility, “Really can’t believe how much better this horse is doing. When he first came into the Unit, he was weak, injured, and so sore that he could not walk even a few steps. He was depressed. Yesterday, he was like a different horse – ears pricked, grazing, moving around comfortably.”

The “grey” touched hearts of many South Africans who followed his story closely, including us! He received a signature red Thermomaster Stable Rug from Mark White Nissan, and once we knew he was out of the danger zone with reintroducing balanced nutrition, it was essential to get a few months’ supply of Aktiv Equine Feed Booster to “grey” to aid his weight gain. We knew it was a long road ahead for “grey”, but Feed Booster would add protein and calories to his diet, surely showing improving in 4-6 weeks. What do you think of below?!

Joanne checked in with us again after 3 months of “grey” having Aktiv Equine Feed Booster added to his diet and he looks to be a completely different horse. Healthy, happy and a belly to show it!

Follow for more updates on “grey” who is sure to find a lovely new home when he is fully recovered, has had basic ground work and of age.

To support the Highveld Horsecare Unit, click here.

A horse that frequently does intense exercise, or that has injured itself, will benefit greatly from poulticing. The combination of applying cooling clay and bandaging the leg(s), prevents or minimises inflammation that may be present in the leg(s).

What do you need?

• Body brush
• Medical gloves
• Aktiv Equine Cooling Clay
• Glad Wrap/Cling Wrap (“plastic”) – perforated is easier
• Scissors to cut plastic if not perforated
• Cotton bandage wraps or ‘gamgees’.
• Stable bandages – not elasticated.

How?

• Brush the horse’s legs with the body brush to remove excess dust.
• Using cooling clay can be a fairly messy affair. To keep clay off your hands, wear medical gloves. Grab a small handful of clay from the bucket and apply a generous layer of clay onto the horse’s leg. How high or how low you apply the clay to the leg is dependent on personal preference and also purpose (e.g. injury).

Generally clay is applied from the fetlock joint to just below or over the knee/hock joint. A horse prone to inflammation or that has an injury in a specific joint or area e.g. hock, would benefit from having cooling clay applied on these areas.

Repeat until the leg is evenly covered with a generous layer of cooling clay.

• Remove medical gloves and tear off a square of glad wrap. (Note: A horse with very large legs may require a square and a half of glad wrap, thus the plastic would need to be cut).
• Wrap the plastic around the entire circumference of the leg area between the fetlock joint and the knee, covering the cooling clay.
• Bandage as normal from the fetlock to just below the knee/hock, over the cooling clay and plastic with the cotton bandage wraps and stable bandages,
• Poulticing can be left over night (or for approximately 8-10 hours). Thereafter, bandages, cotton wraps and plastic should be removed. The cooling clay should be washed off with water.

NOTE: AKTIV EQUINE COOLING CLAY IS 100% SAFE TO USE UNDER BANDAGES. DO NOT USE AKTIV EQUINE ICE MINT COOLING GEL UNDER BANDAGES – IT WILL CAUSE BLISTERING.

1. Aktiv Equine Biotin & Gelatine: For horse’s with brittle/weak hooves. This is a long-term feed additive. Biotin is an essential B-Vitamin that is added to the horse’s diet to encourage hoof growth and strength.
2. Aktiv Equine Hoof Oil Gel: Used in high moisture (rain, mud etc.) seasons to have a waterproofing effect on the hoof. The presence of Liquid Paraffin gives the Hoof Oil Gel antiseptic properties too, thus can assist in treatment of bacterial infections in the hoof. Applied 3 times a week in wet seasons.
3. Aktiv Equine Hoof Dressing with Heating Effect: Part of the hoof care routine. Encourages growth by heating up the coronary band, thus promoting blood flow to the hoof, and moisturises the hoof. Applied 3 times a week.
4. Aktiv Equine Hoof and Sole Hardener: Applied to a bruised sole and to treat Thrush. Apply twice a day for 4 days, for treatment of a bruised sole.
5. Aktiv Equine Stockholm Tar: Applied by farrier to treat Thrush and other bacterial infections in the hoof.

Sometimes farriers recommend hoof care feed additives that have high inclusion levels of Biotin to promote hoof growth and improve hoof strength in horses that have weak/brittle hooves. Research indicates that optimal inclusion of Biotin is 15mg per dose. If inclusion rate is too high, excess Biotin will be passed in the horse’s urine, as the horse will only absorb what it needs.

This applies to all feed additives that contain vitamins or ingredients that serve a purpose in the horse’s diet, such as promoting hoof growth or collagen synthesis.

Spend a little time doing some research on supplementation. It’s always good to have an idea of what vitamins/ingredients should be in your product (with the optimal inclusion levels) and what shouldn’t be included.
Check the composition of feed additives you are buying or looking to buy! For long-term benefit and to get full value of the product, it’s vital to have a product with the optimal inclusion rate of key ingredients. Inclusion levels lower than the optimum inclusion level will result in low efficacy, and inclusion levels higher than the optimum level will result in wastage as excess is passed through the horse’s urine.

Dosages are generally stated on product labels. This is normally formulated in accordance with the composition of the total product, ensuring that correct inclusion levels of each ingredient are included in the prescribe dose. Stick to the dosage – do not under-dose or overdose! Under-dosing (giving less than the prescribed dose) again means low efficacy as inclusion levels are now reduced, and overdosing (giving more than the prescribed dose) will result in wastage.

Is there an exception to the rule? If you own a horse that is well below or well over the average sized horse, you could adjust the dosage accordingly. This should preferably be done with the assistance of your veterinarian.

Lesson: Feed the prescribed dose of a product that is correctly formulated. Don’t throw away money on products (which are generally expensive) if you or the product will be under-dosing or overdosing.