Horse News & Views - May 2007

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ontario Association of Equine Practitioners

• If you love horses and want to work with them, consider Groom One, a grooms' skills training program, presented by Equine Guelph, University of Guelph.

• Early spring is the time to rejuvenate your pastures and hay fields with an application of fertilizer. Grasses may require up to 300 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year to obtain the potential maximum economic yield. A yield response requires a minimum of 75 kg of actual nitrogen per hectare. Under grazing conditions, a valuable indicator of the need for nitrogen is an overall dull green appearance with poor growth. Better and greener growth appears around urine and manure spots. These spots will not be visible in a pasture receiving sufficient nitrogen. Yearly nitrogen application should be split into 1/2 in the early spring, 1/4 in late June and 1/4 in early September. Contact your local OMAFRA office or fertilizer supplier for soil-testing information.

• Small strongyles (cyathostomes) have become increasingly important as a cause of illness and death in horses and are considered the primary reason for deworming horses that spend time at pasture. Since drug resistance is becoming a significant problem in these parasites, the primary objectives of a sound parasite control program should be to minimize the number of anthelmintic treatments (dewormings) and to minimize the environmental contamination with parasites. Consult your veterinarian on the most appropriate parasite control program for your horse. Annual monitoring of the efficacy of the program, using a fecal sample collected in July/August, should be an integral part of any preventative health program. (Dr. A. Peregrine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph)

Related Links

• Groom One, Equine Guelph
• Soil Sampling and Analysis for Managing Crop Nutrients

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