SmartPak Monday Morning Feed: Ask the Vet, June Edition

Dr. Lydia Gray and SmartPaker Sarah have returned for June with a brand-new Ask the Vet video, answering fan-submitted horse health questions about mane pulling, brushing a horse’s teeth, pre-purchase exams, and more!

There’s no such thing as “knowing it all” — it’s simultaneously awe-inspiring and also sometimes frustrating that we’ll never learn all there is to know about horses, horse health, best practices for horsekeeping and all those little random facts about horses. But if you want to continue expanding your wealth of knowledge, SmartPak is here to help: watch or listen along as SmartPak staff veterinarian and medical director Dr. Lydia Gray and SmartPaker Sarah answer fan-submitted questions about a huge variety of horse health subjects.

Questions answered in this episode:

1. Is pulling a mane harmful to the horse, and if yes, are there products that aren’t harmful?

2. How can you tell the age of a horse by the teeth? Also, I bet you know that dog’s teeth should be brushed daily or they could produce teeth/gum/jaw bone diseases, and I was wondering if a horse’s teeth should be brushed daily or weekly? And what type of teeth/gum/jaw bone diseases can a horse get and what are the most common? And what are some ways to prevent any teeth/gum/jaw bone diseases?

3. Could you review the components of a typical pre-purchase exam? Which parts do you see as vital for any buyer? Which parts might you consider optional?

4. What to do when your horse is sick, how to know your horse is sick, how to prevent my horse from being sick.

5. How do I use liniment? As far as I know it goes on the horses legs after a hard ride. Is that even true?

Curious? Watch or listen to the video for the answers:

Want to submit your own question for next month? Comment on this video (via YouTube, not here at Horse Nation) and tag your question #AskTheVet. You can also post your questions on SmartPak’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or by visiting the SmartPak blog — don’t forget the hashtag! Questions can be submitted directly via [email protected].

Bonus: if your question is selected, you win a SmartPak gift card!

Go riding.