The statistics are gripping. Equestrian-related injuries account for 70,000 emergency room visits yearly, with 12,000 of those being head injuries. Equestrians across the country, and across disciplines, are sharing their harrowing close calls and their reasons behind wearing riding helmets.

Leslie (Barrel racer)

I ride in a Troxel. I remember being in OKC at the Better Barrel Racing Finals and just decided it was time to wear one. It was before the helmet fad started. When I pulled up, they had 1,500 entries. I went right to the stockyards, bought a helmet and brought it back. That weekend, two girls hit the wall. One girl went to the hospital. Then six months later, my horse went front end over end. I ended up underneath of him. Two hooves scrapped by the helmet, and I stood up with no injuries. I was totally lucky and thankful I had the feeling I needed a helmet before that happened. I always ride in a helmet. Thank God I wore it before; a lot of people wear a helmet after an accident. Trendy or not, it’s smart.

Sonja (Jumper)

One day, we were riding around the outdoor arena, and out of nowhere, my horse Luna tripped, and then tripped a second time. I prepared myself mentally for the inevitable fall that was coming. As I felt her body fall out from underneath me, I hit the ground face down, and the next thing I knew she was rolling over top of me. I will never be able to get the sound of my helmet crunching as she continued to roll over me and then away from me. I was, and am, so lucky for both her and me to walk away from our worst fall/crash basically unscathed. It was in those heart-stopping moments as she tripped, fell down and my helmet crunched under her body weight that I realized just how appreciative I was of all the trainers and people along my way that preached to me that I must ALWAYS wear a helmet.

Anne Marie (Jumper)

I had a horse fall on my head in November and didn’t even get a concussion. My helmet was smashed in three places, but besides bruising and swelling, I walked into the ER with no concussion and never blacked out. The doctors were so impressed with the helmet!

Tina (Barrel racer)

The main reason I wear a helmet is because I had three friends who within just one summer, all had head injuries from horseback riding. It was then I thought to myself, "OK, it might be time to start wearing a helmet." I’m an older rider, and I’m the first to know that I don’t ride as well as I once did. All three of my friends who had head injuries are now wearing helmets. It’s been about two years since we were at a barrel race, and it was misting. I was warming up, and my horse drifted off the dry ground to grass, taking a bad fall. I had my helmet on, and I broke my ankle. The helmet was covered in mud; I obviously hit my head. I hate to think, "What if I hadn’t been wearing my helmet?"

Chakara (Trail rider)

I wear a helmet because life is too short not to. A close friend of mine spent all of her life on working ranches, riding anything and everything. She made a living training horses and working as a ranch hand, being considered one of the guys. Until one day, that all changed. She was moving a bull on a horse she trusted, something they had done many times before. But that day was different. The bull didn't want to move and ended up throwing her horse and her with it. After a lengthy hospital stay and having to learn basic motor functions all over again, she now wears a helmet. And that is why I do, too.

Riders can help avoid grave risk by wearing an ASTM/SEI approved helmet. With an extensive selection of riding helmets available, equestrians can have peace of mind knowing they are protected.

Editor's note: A college friend is a doctor in one of the busiest emergency rooms in the country. The first thing he asked was if we rode with a helmet. He explained the number of serious head injuries, and even death, could have been avoided by riders wearing helmets.

This article originally appeared on Valley Vet and is published here with permission. Valley Vet Supply was founded in 1985 by veterinarians for people just like you - people who want the very best for their four-legged friends and livestock.

All photos courtesy of Valley Vet.

There are more informative articles in our section on Health & Education.

Monty Roberts welcomes a group of combat veterans to his ranch for a weekend of his renowned program Horse Sense & Healing. The film follows three veterans as they experience their first Join-Up® with a horse and begin to build back a sense of trust and a reduction in anxiety.

Join-Up is that moment when a horse (a flight animal) decides it can follow a person because they use a body language that Monty learned from the wild mustangs in Nevada.

Monty believes that Post Traumatic Stress is an injury, not a disorder (PTSI not PTSD).

Read more: Horse Sense & Soldiers with Monty Roberts (59:00)

On Monty's 88th birthday, Monty and Pat Roberts celebrate by cutting cattle on their quarter horses, Chrome and Blackie. In this full length version, Monty talks about his career and his philosophy before demonstrating the cutting moves so familiar to himself and Chrome.

Read more: Monty Robert's 88th Birthday - Cutting (43:03)

Ken Najorka will demonstrate proper and effective Riding Position in both English and Western seats. This is a educational and safety video brought to you by the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) For more information on the largest certifying body of riding instructors and barn managers in North America, Certified Horsemanship Association, please visit www.CHA.horse.

Read more: Good Riding Position with Ken Najorka (8:06)

Cheerful horse behavior is encouraged through equine enrichment, such as toys for horses, social interactions and movement.

Four Signs of a Happy Horse

You love your horse and do everything possible to ensure his health through equine vaccines, horse wormers, the best supplements and more. And of equal importance to horse health, is horse happiness.

We asked Robin Foster, Ph.D., certified equine behaviorist and university professor of 30 years, how horse owners can know whether their horses are as happy as they are healthy. She shared with us four key characteristics of happy horses -- engaged, enriched, social and moving -- and explained more about each unique component.

Engaged

Happy horses are engaged with life going on around them. They are active members in their social groupings and attentive to, and eagerly willing to, explore their environment.

Enriched

“Enrichment opportunities for horses have really grown dramatically,” Dr. Foster said, crediting positive changes made in zoo environments for large animals in confinement. “Minimizing the effects of isolation, stress and limited movement -- zoos have these same challenges, and the equine industry has borrowed from that,” she said.

Enrichment falls under different categories, such as sensory, movement and feeding enrichment, which offers horses the opportunity to enjoy treats and work for food, such as with problem-solving horse toys. Cognitive enrichment keeps their mind working and burns energy,” Dr. Foster said.

“The first job is to make sure it’s something your horse will work for. Some horses love certain enrichment items, while for other horses, they just sit there. Shop around and experiment,” suggested Dr. Foster. Horses can learn the game rather quickly through their curious nature or by watching another horse. “When they can see other horses, they learn very quickly that food comes out of that thing and they will give it a good try,” continued Dr. Foster.

Social

It’s important that from an early age, horses have social interactions with other horses to meet their social needs. Depending on how horses are housed, they often have limited social time even at a barn with other horses. This is also true in the human-horse interaction.

“No matter how much you care for your horse, humans have very complex lives with many demands -- the horse being only one of many. Your life with your horse is maybe an hour a day. The amount of time a person spends with their horse can be limited, and what does the horse do the remaining 24 hours? If horses do not have a social life with other horses, and a rich, complex environment, you can bet that affects their overall behavior,” Dr. Foster said.

Moving

“Horses need the ability to move freely,” Dr. Foster strongly encouraged. Happy horses are free to run, roll, turn wildly, race around and kick up their heels -- not just move in a fixed way, such as lunging. All of this can play a role in a horse’s behavior.

“Horses able to move more freely are usually more physically fit for competition or riding. And mentally, they are more resilient and buffered against stressors,” Dr. Foster said. For example, think of how a barn-kept horse under saddle might react to a large owl spreading her wings to swoop from a tree, compared to a pasture-kept horse or one with intermittent turnout.

Consider these four characteristics as they relate to your own horse’s happiness. Is your horse displaying each of the four signs, or could a few changes be needed? Learn more information at ValleyVet.com to help keep your horses healthy and happy.

This article originally appeared on Valley Vet and is published here with permission. Valley Vet Supply was founded in 1985 by veterinarians for people just like you - people who want the very best for their four-legged friends and livestock.

There are more informative articles in our section on Health & Education.

What is it, when is it a problem, how to treat it.

Read more: Seedy Toe White Line Disease

Equine core muscles are very difficult to isolate with the traditional training techniques common to horse sports. However, by examining what we do with the human body when faced with a weak core, we can find new methods for conditioning these areas of the equine body. Simon Cocozza has taken principles of the human practice of yoga and used them to develop novel ways of reaching deep within the horse’s body.

Read more: Core Conditioning for Horses - Book Trailer

By Tony Hawkins, DVM, Valley Vet Supply Technical Service Veterinarian

Just like with people, horses are more likely to combat respiratory challenges in the colder months. Besides the drop in temperatures alone, other contributing factors include the drier air and decreased immune function in the lungs. When we’re looking at respiratory challenges impacting horses, the greatest risks include equine influenza, Rhinopneumonitis (Rhino) and strangles. To help horse owners understand each, we’re looking at these three conditions closely within a three-part article series – covering aspects from disease spread to signs, treatment considerations and prevention. Let’s begin with the topic of equine influenza.

Background

The equine influenza H7N7 subtype was first reported in the 1950s and last reported in the 1970s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports “[H7N7] is now considered to be extinct. The EIV H3N8 subtype was first reported in horses in the United States in the 1960s and still spreads in horses globally today.”

Equine influenza is spread from horse to horse through contact with infectious nasal secretions. This can occur through direct, nose-to-nose contact with an infected horse. Coughing is also a very common cause of spread, as well as contact with what we call fomites – meaning inanimate objects like feed buckets, brushes, tack, clothing and hands – that have those nasal secretions on it. It's been reported that a horse’s cough can travel as far as 150 ft, so it doesn't have to be nose-to-nose contact for this disease to spread. After horses are exposed, it's only a one- to three- day incubation time and should they become infected, they can shed for up to 14 days. Equine influenza attacks the normal immune functions of your horse’s lungs, which causes an increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection and bacterial pneumonia.

Signs

A cough is a pretty classic sign of flu. Horses also may demonstrate fever, nasal discharge, lethargy and loss of appetite. Some horses that become infected may not show any symptoms; they are called asymptomatic shedders.

Treatment

Most importantly, horses will need rest and supportive care, which will differ a little bit from horse to horse and case to case. Rest is very important. You don't want to exercise those horses or add any stress because that just makes things worse. The most common recommendation from the experts is to provide one week of consecutive rest for every day of fever, even if they start feeling better before that rest period is over. For horses experiencing fever or secondary bacterial pneumonia, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medications and antibiotics would be needed. Work closely with your veterinarian on treatment options available.

Prevention

To prevent equine influenza, consider the steps we take to shield ourselves from the flu.

Vaccination plays a very important role in prevention of disease. Should vaccinated horses become exposed, either one, it's not as serious should they become infected, or two, the vaccine will hopefully prevent the disease from taking hold. As for vaccination timing it really comes down to a few things – the immune status of the horse and the risk of exposure. I recommend annual vaccination for horses with lower risk and twice-a-year vaccination – every six months – for horses with high risk of exposure or those who may have questionable immune status.

The following groups of horses I would consider high risk and recommend they receive twice-yearly vaccination:

• Young or senior horses
• Horses traveling frequently or have exposure to those who do
• Those residing in boarding/training barns with frequent new arrivals

Cleaning is very important when you're caring for animals. Clean and disinfect your tack, buckets and anything that your horse or others could come in contact with. If you have any sick animals on the premises, you really need to care for the healthy ones first and then care for the sick ones last, so you don't pick up the infectious materials and take it to your healthy horses.

New arrivals need to be quarantined for at least two weeks from your resident horses. And if you take your horse somewhere else and then come back home, quarantine that horse away from your other horses at home for at least two weeks.

Through vaccination and best management practices, you can help prevent your horse from equine influenza risk. Stay tuned for part two of this series.

About the author: Valley Vet Supply Technical Service Veterinarian, Tony Hawkins, DVM, attended Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to his role on the Technical Service team at Valley Vet Supply, Dr. Hawkins owns a mixed-practice veterinary clinic in Northeast Kansas and is treasured by the community for his care across species. He is greatly involved in cattle health, including processing and obstetrical work, as well as providing hands-on care for horses and pets through wellness appointments and surgery.

All photographs and images courtesy of Valley Vet.

This article originally appeared on Valley Vet and is published here with permission. Valley Vet Supply was founded in 1985 by veterinarians for people just like you - people who want the very best for their four-legged friends and livestock.

There are more informative articles in our section on Health & Education.