I once had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Gerd Heuschman,
a German equine veterinarian and author, at a California
horsemanship clinic. I was already a huge supporter
of his work, which is focused on educating equestrians
about the negative effects of Rollkur (overflexion
of the horse’s neck), which is prevalent in the
European and American horse show industry.
In this month’s newsletter, I review Dr. Heuschmann’s
new DVD (see review for ordering info.), “If Horses
Could Speak“, which shows, with both real-life footage
and through use of a 3-D animated model how and
why Rollkur negatively impacts the horse, both physiologically
and emotionally. Hopefully, Dr. Heuschmann’s will
continue to gain followers both here in the United
States and worldwide, putting an end to this inhumane
practice.
See our secondary feature on the different types
of horse feed, and be sure to check our online holiday
store for new offerings, including the re-release
of “Yes, We Treat Aardvarks (formerly, “Most of
My Patients are Animals”)” and a new book of dog
cartoons (see below).
I’m also honored to report that I’m the recipient
of the 2012 Western Horseman Award. A ceremony will
be held at the annual Road To The Horse expo in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, March 9-11.
Happy holidays, from our family to yours.
Order now, using coupon code
HOLIDAY2011 and receive
20%
DVD Review: “If Horses Could
Speak”
Dr. Gerhard Heuschmann’s DVD, “If
Horses Could Speak (produced by JFF Film Produktion)”
isn’t an entertaining video, but its value is tremendous
from an educational standpoint. It’s the companion
to his excellent book, Tug of War: Classical versus
“Modern” Dressage (www.horseandriderbooks.com),
which is available in English (as is the DVD).
What Dr. Heuschmann documents are
the harmful methods that are so common today in
horsemanship, especially show animals. This applies
not only to dressage and hunter-jumpers—as the author
uses as examples—but also to recent trends in Western
pleasure horses.
The DVD, like the book, does an
effective—if disturbing—job of illustrating that
hyperflexion of the horse’s neck (Rollkur) and an
excessively low head carriage not only interferes
with the animal’s normal gaits, but also causes
pain, discomfort, and stress which ultimately lead
to premature unsoundness and inability to use routine
gaits. Ultimately, Rollkur is inhumane, unnecessary,
and violates proper horsemanship fundamentals.
As a veterinarian whose career in
equine medicine was largely focused on show horses,
I agree with Dr. Heuschmann’s point of view. I’d
also add that the worst things I see in the industry
are:
-
Starting horses too young and
working them too severely
-
Insisting on grotesque and unnatural
head positions, most often seen in dressage,
Western pleasure, reining, and cutting. Thankfully,
Western, stockhorse classes seem to be free
of these distortions.
When mules began to get popular
approximately 40 years ago, I campaigned against
the “peanut rollers” for Western pleasure classes.
I’m glad that those classes, as I’ve noticed at
Bishop Mule Days, are relatively free of such distorted
and harmful head positions.
My hope is that Dr. Heuschmann’s
efforts will result in head positions in all horse
show classes and disciplines that are less painful
and harmful, and which predispose to early unsoundness.
To order “If Horses Could Speak,”
click here.
Click Here to watch video on YouTube!
Make sure your horse is feeling his oats this winter
In our increasingly urbanized society,
I’ve observed a lack of understanding of the terminology
used in feeding horses. Below, a brief breakdown
of terms:
-
Pasture: Everybody seems
to understand that this refers to growing plants.
The pasture may be natural growth, or it may
be cultivated, which means that it’s been planted.
Pasture may be green and growing, or dry and
dormant, as in cold winter months.
-
Hay: Hay is forage that
has been cut and allowed to dry. It’s then stacked
or baled. It will remain palatable and nutritious
for a long period of time if it’s not allowed
to get wet and/or moldy. Hay can be made from
any of the many grasses (oat, timothy,
barley, Bermuda, orchard grass, rye, Lucerne,
etc.). Hay may also be made from non-grass forage
such as legumes; examples include alfalfa or
clover. Some people think hay and alfalfa are
different, but in actuality, there’s grass hay
and alfalfa hay.
-
Grain: Many people refer
to pelleted feeds as “grain.” This is incorrect:
grain is the seed of certain grasses
such as oats, barley, corn, and wheat. Grain
can be fed to horses whole, or rolled or crimped
or ground. This processing increases the digestibility
of grain(s), although they may also be included
in the formulation of pelleted or powdered concentrates.
Most feed companies produce concentrated supplements,
often in the form of tiny pellets. These contain
grain plus other ingredients, but they shouldn’t
be called grain because the word refers to cereal
grains (the seeds of certain grasses, as described
above).
Wild horses mainly eat grass including the seed
(if it’s spring or summer and the plant is producing
seed). Ideally, we shouldn’t veer too far from
this natural equine diet. On the West Coast,
where I live, I recommend a diet of 75% grass
(in the form of pasture or hay or both), plus
25% alfalfa (in the form of hay, cubes, pellets,
or green). Why the alfalfa? Because it’s a rich
source of calcium and protein.
-
Concentrates: If your horse
requires them because it’s a working animal,
growing youngster, nursing or pregnant mare,
or breeding sire, I do recommend supplementary
vitamins/mineral mixture to be sure no deficiencies
occur, but don’t overdo it. Ask your vet
what he or she recommends.
 |
Have
a question
for Dr.
Miller?
Send it
to
questions@robertmmiller.com.
We apologize
that due
to volume,
we can’t
guarantee
Dr. Miller
can respond
to all emails,
but we are
building
a more comprehensive
FAQ
page
on our website
to address
your needs.
All questions
may be edited
for clarity
and space.
Q.
There are
many recommended
treatments
for the
flat, gray
skin sarcoids
horses tend
to get all
over their
bodies—primarily
in the ears.
Which one
do you recommend?
A.
For verrucous
(wart-like)
sarcoids,
a common,
semi-malignant
skin tumor,
I used a
prescription
anti-cancer
drug (Fluorouracil
0.5%), trade
names Efudex
or Carac.
It’s a topical
cream, and
should be
applied
with gloves.
Lightly
rub into
the lesion
once a day
for 30 days,
and then
wait 30
days. If
any tumor
remains,
repeat the
treatment
for another
two weeks.
Only once
in practice
did I need
to do a
third treatment;
otherwise,
I saw remarkable
results.
Although
slow, this
treatment
is simple,
relatively
inexpensive,
and can
be performed
by the owner.
There are
over-the-counter-drugs
available,
but I find
Fluorouracil
0.5% most
effective. |
|
 New
from Dr.
Miller,
coming soon:
Is It
An Emergency?
- A Book
of dog cartoons
by RMM.
Introductory
price $10.00
(Regular
$11.95).
Now taking
advanced
orders –
We are working
as fast
as we can
to get this
out, but
won’t know
for another
7-10 days
if we can
have this
in time
for Christmas.
Watch this
page for
the latest
updates.
Is It An
Emergency?
Coming
early 2012
-
Causes and
Prevention
of Lameness
DVD
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Interested
in catching
one of Dr.
Miller’s
lectures?
|
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Mark
Your Calendars!
Interested
in catching one of Dr. Miller’s
winter or spring lectures?
|
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|
February 19-20: 84th annual Western
Veterinary Conference, Las Vegas, NV;
http://www.wvc.org
.
May 31-June 3: Light Hands Horsemanship,
“Equine Learning: From Birth to Maturity,”
Santa Ynez, Ca;
www.lighthandshorsemanship.com.
For contact details and other dates and
locations in 2012, go to
www.robertmmiller.com/appearances.html.
LIGHT HANDS
HORSEMANSHIP CLINIC 2012
HOLIDAY SAVINGS AND
UPDATES
Register by Jan 1st and SAVE
LHH will be hosting it's sixth year May
31 - June 3, 2012. We scheduled it a few weeks later in the year in
hopes of "perfect weather." Last year it was beautiful but the past
years have been marginal. So in our continued efforts in the
“perfect” category we moved it more into summer.
www.lighthandhorsemanship.com
Coming in our February
newsletter: Foaling season is coming!
Look for the latest in mare care and imprint
training tips.
Want to place an ad in our
newsletter, or book Dr. Miller for a lecture,
demonstration, or book signing?
Contact
info@robertmmiller.com.
Please send any comments
or suggestions to
newsletter@robertmmiller.com.
Have an idea for a cartoon? Send it to
cartoons@robertmmiller.com, or visit
www.rmmcartoons.com.
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