The 2018 AAEP Meeting – A Summary ( Moved to community.thehorsesadvocate.com )
This post has been updated and moved to our new private community.
The content is still free, but visitors must create an account to see it on all web browsers or the Circle.so app on any phone, tablet, or computer. It is no different than becoming a member of a private Facebook group, except this is more secure and filled with like-minded people (horse advocates). Artificial Intelligence (AI) searches and summarizes all material exclusively within Doc T’s material, and courses help to dig into subjects and test your knowledge. Plus, there are live events and discussion groups where you can join Doc T and others in conversation.
Please click this link (or the button at the top) to explore all of the features, take a tour (video), then sign in to view all of the content presented in a secure, beautiful, and easily accessible way on any device. You can also get notified of added new material.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the convention. Those thoughts allow us the opportunity to see from your perspective. Lynne
Thanks for getting the facts told.
BTW AAEP is pro horse slaughter and against our wild horses IMO.
Thank you for a thoughtful and important commentary on your experiences at the AAEP conference. The pictures and comments about the veterinarians/horses (1875 & 2005) remind me of comments & advice a former equine vet of mine gave me – 1) he said he attended a veterinarian conference in another country years ago and the seminar he was referring to was on how to determine if a horse was lame. All sorts of diagnostic equipment was showcased and lauded. My vet said something to the effect of – you don’t need all that diagnostic equipment, just watch the horse walk and move and you can tell that he’s lame. 2) One of my horses had some sand in his gut (I didn’t know what was wrong so called Dr. Dan) – instead of telling me to put my horse on psyllium, expensive other remedies, he told me to trot him everyday about 20 minutes for two weeks and that would get rid of the sand. It did. Very simple. Your comments about not paying attention to what the patient presents (symptoms, behaviors, etc.) and looking for a root cause, instead running expensive diagnostic tests & looking at those results, hits the nail on the head of what is wrong with medicine – human and animal – today. I have a thyroid condition, which if you dose me according to my blood tests, makes me hypothyroid. So, I’ve come up with a dosage, based on what works for me, that’s about 1/3 to 1/2 of what the labs say it should be and have no symptoms. Fortunately, my doctor values my opinion and is OK with my assessment. Keep up the good fight Doc T! There are more veterinarians and horse owners out there like you, but we are in the minority! I am doing my part (by example) to change perceptions by feeding and keeping my horses as naturally as possible in the city. My horses (and dogs) are almost never sick, don’t have behavioral problems and enjoy living in herds & packs. Yay!
Thanks Lorraine! On many levels your comment is very helpful. At my vet school we were taught by a great and older mentor the art of “physical diagnosis.” By the way, when I drove tractor trailers (18 wheelers) for a living my more experienced driving partner trained me to use my ears, eyes, nose and touch to recognize when something isn’t right with the truck. The Same applies to the horse as well as all animals and even vegetation. Becoming aware and being in the moment…. oops, sounding “fru-fru” and far out. It’s not “normal” to be a man and to be in touch with the senses….. I digress. Thanks again
most horses and people have zero access to pasture grass
Limited pasture is a huge problem in modern day keeping of horses. It becomes incumbent on people to try to feed horses like horses. Hay is preserved summer grass from earlier in the year. It is an adequate substitute for pasture but not as good as pasture. Adding a broad source of amino acids plus decreasing the availability of carbohydrates (sugar, starch) during the winter months will help keep the horse healthy.
More information on horse nutrition can be found in my nutrition blogs or my nutrition course. If we all started to feed our horses as they should be fed we could eliminate a bunch of ailments in them.
Just a thought, but if you could rest your horses for 2 to 3 months in a pasture it would be well worth the effort to transport them to it.
Your current day picture is right on. My horse wasn’t feeling well and one day she froze in place and couldn’t move so I had my vet come out and I noticed she didn’t really look at the horse but suggested blood testing. She didn’t even notice the tricep muscle loss that I had noticed . She had no Cushing’s, vitamin E was okay. We may have done other testing but I just can’t remember . When I had an acupuncturist come out, she said to test for Lyme. I did and she tested chronic. Sometimes I wonder if my vet thought it may have been Lyme but tested for other things first to make money. Once these horses and other pets pass on, I won’t be acquiring anymore. I just can’t stand depending on other people like this vet, undependable hay sellers, an “equine dentist” who destroyed my other horse’s mouth with an electric tool to a point he couldn’t chew hay from that day and even has trouble chewing chopped hay. He survives on alfalfa cubes and various pellets.
Thank you so much for the work you are doing and the wealth of knowledge you are sharing. My horses are so much better since they have been totally off any sugar etc. Now that the weather is cooler in Fl they are galloping and playing. What a difference! I’m so grateful!!!
Thank you for the great article. It is frustrating that the vets like Doctors don’t find the cause. Just fork out meds. It is a bit scary.
Thanking you for being our advocate and caring so much. I feel like I’m alone in my world with my horses. I have caring vets but I don’t feel like they “get it”, my horses are struggling with issues and right now they are just pasture pets, have been for quite some time and I cannot figure out the reason. From obesity to abcesses and laminitis, cushings symptoms, head shaking and high anxiety, A recent dental visit that resulted pulling 2 teeth and talk of pulling teeth on a 12 year old mare….what?! I’m at my wits end. I have implemented your ideas and I do see improvements and I thank you for that. I also have your courses that I need to complete. Thank you.
Thanks Kim. If all horse owners started to keep horses as they should be, the vets would be out of business. Same with doctors, the health care system, health insurance, food stores, farmers, supplement makers, magazines supported by the industry, and on and on if humans did it too. Thanks for reading, enrolling and taking the time to comment.
As always, well written and thought out. I like your candor and honesty. The research behind the “why” is so very important, and so often forgotten in the “lets sell it” state of mind.
Thanks for reading (and sharing…).
Thank for sharing. I know there are caring people and animal doctors out there. I just think they a few. Most time it’s about the money, instead of the patient.