It’s that time of year again! Love is in the air! My gal-pal
Christi and I have been enjoying the sunny bursts of warmer weather lately,
but there is so much mud around from all that snow, I don’t think our coats
will sparkle until summer! But that is OK because rolling in the dirt is way
too fun, especially after a nice grooming. Hopefully the groundhog,
Punxsutawney Phil, was right that spring will be early this year. I have a good
feeling about it. I also have been getting very excited about Valentine’s Day!
I was pleasantly surprised with a recent sweets-spread last week! Christie and I exchanged Whinny-Grams and
then shared cupcakes, doughnuts, and cookies! It was a hay bale of fun.
Valentine’s Day is so great because everyone realizes how much they appreciate
each other, and I appreciate you, my partner in science, and my fan!
Recently, I received two letters from young girls asking big
science questions. This was better than my Whinny-Gram because I love Equine
Science 4 Kids so much! I was so excited to check the mailbox, read about what
is going on and then help them understand what all of the information they
looked up means. One filly, who is 11, asked about Uveitis (you-vee-it is). She
explained that all of the information she found was too confusing and she was
hoping that I could explain it to her in clearer terms.
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| Photo Courtesy: forums.horsecity.com |
I told her that Uveitis is a condition when your horse
friend’s eye becomes red, swollen, teary, and hazy blue. This happens when the
horse’s iris (the colored part) becomes inflamed from a bang, infection or even
its own immune system! The best step to take when you think your horse has
Uveitis is to call your vet. He or she will confirm if your horse has it and
then may give you some medicine to reduce the inflammation. In the meantime,
try to limit the eye’s exposure to harsh light because this is irritating and
painful for your friend. So far, scientists don’t know what causes Uveitis, but
maybe you can figure it out someday!
Thank you for the question, my equine-loving pal!
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| Photo Courtesy: MyEquineClinic.com |
The second question I received was from a 12 year old fan
from New Jersey. She was interested in learning more about Cushing’s disease,
so she could help her pony and also talk about it with others. Cushing’s disease
is caused by an abnormal growth (a tumor) in the pituitary gland, which is
located at the base of the brain. This causes a big hormone traffic jam in
the body. First, the pituitary tumor causes an increase in the amount of
adrenocorticotrophic (uh-dree-no-cort-ico-tro-fic) hormone (ACTH) released,
which then triggers the adrenal gland (on the kidneys) to over-produce another
hormone, cortisol. Too much cortisol makes the horse hyperglycemic – it has too
much sugar in its blood! You might think that I have a lot of sugar from all
the doughnuts that I eat, but this is A LOT more sugar than even that. A
hyperglycemic horse can then become insulin resistant if there gets to be so
much sugar backed up that it can’t process it all, and this leads to more problems.
There are ways to make your horse more comfortable when they develop Cushing’s
disease, but once they get it, unfortunately, there is no cure.
Thank
you for the questions girls! You both made my Valentine’s Day on of the best
I’ve had and I look forward to many more questions from my fans! Your questions
were very interesting to answer, and I had a fun time checking in on the horsey
professors at the Rutgers Equine Science Center for discussion on the topics,
so we could give you the best answer possible. Maybe one day you will be doing
research at the Equine Science Center too and you will be able to figure out
the clues to curing and preventing diseases like these!
I
hope each of you has a lovely Valentine’s Day 2013, and I look forward to talking
with you again soon! If you have a comment, please write it in the box below,
and if you have a Valentine ’s Day photo with your horse post it on our
facebook page esc.rutgers.edu/fb! In the
meantime, check out some other cool facts about horses on Equine Science 4 Kids esc.rutgers.edu/kids!
Treat yourself and your horse this week!
Your Friend,
Lord Nelson
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