ridecamp@endurance.net: Bits and EPM

Bits and EPM

Victoria A Thompson (toriandsteve@juno.com)
Mon, 17 Mar 1997 01:55:32 EST

First off, hi Tom, glad to have you back. We need you spice things up
again. It was pretty boring while you were "on vacation".

Second, about bits. Before you go out and buy a new bit of any kind
stick your fingers up in your horses mouth to see what kind of room
he/she has between her tongue and the roof of his/her mouth. Some horses
have thicker tongues than others and need a "skinny" mouth piece. My
mare did the same thing (chewed the shank). I switched to a "skinny"
snaffle (she made the chewing motions in a "fat" snaffle) after I stuck
my fingers in her mouth and found there wasn't a whole lot of room left.
She hasn't "chewed" since.

Third, please e-mail me privately as not to tie up the list with this
non-endurance question. Does anybody have any information on EPM (Equine
Protozoal Myeloencephalitis)? A local vet called wanting to talk to our
Horsemen's Association about the epidemic of EPM in our area and I can't
find anything on the subject. My vet book only gives a brief description
of the disease. I would like to be prepared to ask questions
(intelligent ones, if possible) and thoroughly grill this vet (I don't
like him) before I will take his word for anything. There have been 12
confirmed cases and 5 suspected cases of EPM here on the Palos Verdes
Peninsula in the past few months and I don't want people leaving our
meeting in a panic. If you could direct me to magazine articles or books
or whatever I would be most grateful.

Thanks,

Tori Thompson
ToriandSteve@juno.com

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