[KarenM]

Remy wants to know if you have recommendations for reliable rechargeable fans. I can’t make up my mind and he thinks the cheap one I bought smells.

**cribbing collar is a barn owner request. He pulled boards down. He gets regular breaks from it.

[Doc-t]

1st of all, there must have been a programming problem that made this question not appear until March 2023. I’m so sorry!

I don’t know of any rechargeable fans that will last long due to continuous recharging. An alternative is to set up a solar panel that feeds the battery so that the battery rarely runs low.

As far as the odor, these motors shouldn’t smell if they are all-weather, sealed fans. If they are not sealed, moisture will soon kill the motor, even if it is protected from rain. I don’t think rechargeable fans are a good outdoor fit.

Does anyone else have an idea?

[KarenM]

With the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sales starting today, I thought about young horse development (some of them are HUGE) and I’m curious. Do most of these well bred yearlings start out with decent mouth conformation? In your experience, are the majority of these young horses free from any sort of dental concerns (like conformation issues), and can you tell if there may be problems in the future? I never gave it much thought when I had youngsters, other than to have them checked annually. Thanks!

[Doc-t]

1st of all, there must have been a programming problem that made this question not appear until March 2023. I’m so sorry!

The most common dental issue in TB racehorses is loose or broken caps interfering with the tongue or digging into the cheek. The next most common are sharp points causing pain. When I worked at the racetracks, I floated teeth every 3 to 4 months because the dynamics of the mouth are very active when a horse is under 4 1/2 years of age. I could float a horse thoroughly, and 3 months later, 4 caps could be gone, and newly erupted teeth with sharp edges would be coming up in their place.

On occasion, I would find a parrot or sow mouth. However, the hooks found on the last cheek teeth with over- and under-bites (and NOT in sow or parrot mouth) were not an issue because the last cheek teeth don’t erupt until 4 to 5 years of age. But racehorses in this age group often showed bit problems as these last teeth were sharp in an area of the mouth with little room.

[Wren]

I would really like to hear the answer to Q7 but the sound is missing. Is there a transcript? Thanks!

[Doc-t]

So sorry, Wren, but I just listened to that part of the video and the audio is there. My guess is that you just need to refresh the page, or reboot your computer and reconnect to the internet and get a full download of the video.

There is no transcript. However, what I said in a nutshell is that metformin helps to reduce glucose by preventing gluconeogenesis from pyruvate and acetate (I goofed on these in the video, sorry), but not from amino acids. At least in humans… Some believe the dose is 10x too low in humans to be really effective and some believe it is a good drug to increase longevity in humans, though the evidence is sketchy.

The bottom line is that it’s’ use in humans has OK results, but to dose it properly in horses may be cost prohibitive versus the results from what is being given. Honestly, I’ve seen horses on metformin but I’m not aware of the beneficial results (owners shrug their shoulders, but no downside) or the quality of the studies done. I’m skeptical of most research in horses due to the lack of funding producing very underpowered research along with biased results for obvious reasons such as horse selection, etc. Don’t get me going on this rant!

I finish this question by saying the best way to reduce sugar in the diet is to eliminate its’ intake. Soaking hay and avoiding pasture, grain, treats, etc. Is better than any pill. I refer you to the podcast #55 of the laminitis pony laying down 19 hours a day, then being fed water soaked hay plus soybean meal who, 6 months later, is running in the paddock.

I hope this beats a transcript! Doc T

[Wren]

Thanks so much. I listened to #55. Very good. Wren has been on Metformin with no results except getting very nasty (biting, ears pinned back) so I stopped giving it in February. I figured if it hasn’t helped, yet, it isn’t going to help. I think the Metformin was the cause of his nasty attitude because now he’s happy again. My trimmer commented on the change in attitude and also commented on the hoof growth.

I’ll keep soaking hay, too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for sharing this information. I’m feeling encouraged. I’ve been dealing with these issues for at least 4 years and this is the first time I’ve seen any positive changes.