Archives for October 2012

A Healthy Horse is a Happy Horse

Happy Healthy Horse

When training a horse some people do focus solely on performance and forget to take anything else into consideration. But as with any other animal, to have a happy horse it is essential to have a healthy horse because it is of paramount importance. Believe it or not, health or pain issues can be the underlying culprit to behavior or training issues.

Good care can be complicated since there are so many things to think about when it comes to maintaining the health of your animal. Essentials include the daily care of hooves, grooming, regular exercise, making sure they are free from internal parasites, tooth care, diet and mental stimulation–to name a few.

Although you should always consult with your equine veterinarian when it comes to the health and diet of your horse, nutritional supplements can serve as preventative aids to help avoid or reduce many issues.

Colic is a broad term but one of the most disturbing problems horse owners encounter. The worst of this type of equine digestive problems can result in death. Colic blockage in the intestines can also lead to gastric ulcers. To reduce the risk, there are horse supplements that contain digestive enhancers which help to reduce blockages and therefore help damage to the digestive tissues and ulcers.

Since horses often spend much of their time on their feet, it comes as no surprise that hoof care is vital to avoid problems and keep your horse moving and pain free. Hooves can become infected if penetrated by a foreign object which can then lead to an abscess. Biotin supplementation can help to strengthen the hard tissues of the.

The role of the domestic horse varies as to the breed but many perform different tasks than their ancestors would have. Race horses are often bigger and more muscular and so the extra weight, combined with galloping and jumping, during extensive training, racing or other activities can put a massive amount of stress on their joints.

When a joint is traumatized, enzymatic action may injure or destroy the cartilage tissue. As a result, many horses suffer connective tissue or joint problems. In order to keep them as healthy as possible, consider supplementing with nutritional aids such as MSM or glucosamine. These types of aids may help improve the formation and repair of cartilage and might significantly benefit the horse.

Keeping your horse healthy and happy isn’t hard if you do your research. More and more discoveries in nutritional science seems to indicate that a vast number of problems can be prevented or improved with dietary supplements. And, although supplements can’t solve every problem, they might just help.

Finally, always consult your equine veterinary for any of concerns about your horse’s health. We hope these ideas help you keep your horse healthy and happy.

Guest Author Bio: This article was written by Murray LeClair a consultant to Equiform Nutrition.

Benefits of Buying Pet Food Online

Online Shopping for Pets

There is a new phenomenon that is currently taking over the world and that is the presence of online pet shops. All of those accessories, supplements, and special pet diets can now be found at a discounted price. This is great news for the consumer as they can now get great brands at remarkably discounted prices. Here are some tips and advice on how you can go about buying from a decent online pet shop.

Although there is often skepticism around buying pet food online, often centered from concerns over sharing personal banking or credit card details, fear about the website being hacked and personal information stolen can be resolved by using safe methods that helps protect buyers.

What you will need is to look for an online pet shop that has a secure or merchant payment system like PayPal, Google Checkout, or Visa. These are some of the three top payment methods now available and if a company is using these it means that you are fully protected on your purchase.

Next, you need to choose what type of products you want to buy and compare different websites and their prices. For example, if you are looking for a brand such as Eukanuba dog food then you may want to compare the different offers and delivery methods and then choose the site that offers the best overall service.

Some websites offer further discounts for those who buy in bulk so if you are an owner whose dog has just had a litter and you need to buy a lot of food then online shopping is going to be the ideal place for you to get your supplies.

Such sites usually also offer a wide range of supplements and even specialty pet items that are available at substantial discounts compared to your local veterinarian.

Lastly, it is important to do a bit of research in the company that you are buying from and make sure that they prove that they are who they say they are. A great way to do this is to check if they have a business registration in their area and other social network pages, such as a Facebook business page.

Check to see that they are active with other customers and have comments from people who have active profiles. These pages also let you connect with others and see if they have had a good experience with the company.

Reading previous customer reviews on products will give you valuable feedback on what they thought of the new food, its quality and if pets liked it. Customers tend to leave their opinion of the whole experience they had with the company, too, so pay attention. If the bad reviews outweigh the good you might want to question whether you want to give your money to that company.

Hopefully you’ll feel a bit more secure and informed to enjoy the savings benefits and convenience of purchasing pet food online. The larger bags of dog food can be pretty heavy so sit back and make the most of the delivery service; save yourself from man handling the heavy bags of dry food from the store, to car, and finally into your home.