I was wondering how I'd test a horse for fecal parasites. I have a microscope, centrifuge, slides, test tubes & sugar solution. I've done this before, but with alpacas. Not sure if I'd follow the same procedure with a horse, or do something different.

Bits are only as harsh as the hands of the rider. Some horses don't have enough space in their mouth for a thicker bits, in which case thinner is kinder. This is the case with Bella. I tried all manner of bits & bitless bridles with her. The bit she likes is actually a thin, mullen mouth curb bit. My advice would be to listen to your horse, and do what would make him most comfortable.

I used to have 2 Wintec Isabell's, and I never had any issues with them. Good quality & well made. I sold mine, since my picky pony didn't like her's, though she doesn't like anything with a tree. And I realized that the other one just wasn't wide enough for my Haflinger. Personally, I kind of miss mine, especially with the synthetic being so low maintenance. Have a lot of high humidity here, and pretty much everything ends up getting mildew this time of year.

This looks to me a lot like hives. Just do a google search for horses with hives, and pictures just like his will turn up. This is an excerpt from an article from The Horse about hives. Hives (Urticaria) According to Bain, hives is probably the most common immunological equine skin disorder. A systemic reaction to a number of triggers, hives is seen as localized, soft, pitting swellings most commonly found on the neck and chest, although they can appear anywhere on the body. The resulting lesions

At first glance, she looked to me a bit like a draft pony, so I was a bit surprised when I saw her pedigree was Trakehner, TB & Warmblood. Since she doesn't look like what she is, I'd think that would be reason enough not to breed her. She has a short thick neck & body, which is what made me think draft pony. For her body, her legs are a bit spindly, plus I do NOT like her front legs at all, or the way her hocks are so much higher than her knees, which does not support long term soundness

It might be easier to research the benefits of joint supplements, not just glucosamine, since joint issues are often multifaceted. Cosequin is probably the most well-known, but there's also Arthroxigen and several others. The manufacturer's website can be a source of information, keeping in mind that it will be biased towards selling their product. I do have a book about alternative therapies for horses, which I think is called the Whole Horse Wellness Guide. These are all the articles that

She used to be on a RelaxHer, but I took her off it since I didn't think she needed the calming anymore. I just made that connection recently, and she is back on the RelaxHer, though I haven't seen any difference yet. Though I've seen her scratch her butt when she isn't in heat. Is there any supplement for mare in heat issues that doesn't taste very strong? She is on a rotational deworming program, and she usually is turned out all day with my other mare. She's only in at

For a little while, it looked like she was getting better. But now she's rubbing her butt again & has a bare spot on either side of her tail. any other ideas?

We did fly predators last year, with our 13 alpacas, and it worked very well. Going to be doing it again this year. In addition to the fly predators, we also have solar fly traps & electric fly zappers. We got everything from stopflies.com.

What I did was concentrate putting them in & around the barns & manure building. I also put some along the fence line we have that goes along a little stream. Just dig a shallow hole, take a handful of fly predators, dump them in the hole & cover it. Instructions say its best done at dawn or dusk, since they're a bit sensitive to sunlight. Also let them hatch inside their bag if its still a bit cool out. We didn't use any kind of fly spray or pesticide, and we really didn't