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FAQ
Answers
1.) What is Equus RX PRO?
Equus-RX PRO is a well-designed, easy to use, very powerful software package that helps you focus on the important things that come with keeping your horse healthy and fit. This software will keep detailed records of your horses health, condition and nutritional information while letting you view, plan and analyze all the details in an easy to use easy to read graph and report format. No need to be overwhelmed, this software was specifically designed to be powerful yet easy and convenient.
Tracking your horse’s workouts is often an overlooked part of many conditioning programs and one major reason why horses are injured unnecessarily.
Equus-RX PRO is perfect for the horsemen implementing a conditioning and nutritional program for their horse or horses. (You can choose virtually an unlimited number of horses to track.)
The Conditioning feature is broken down into 3 stages, allowing your horse to get into peak condition with out injury. Equus RX Pro will help keep your horse healthy and injury free by allowing you to document and analyze your horse’s daily conditioning and nutritional needs.
Easy tracking of your horse’s care and maintenance, such as Parasite Control, Hoof Care, Reproduction, Vaccinations, Dental and Medical issues.
Create, modify and track your horses’ nutritional needs through the “Nutrition Wizard for Horses”
This allows you to balance your horses’ feed based on their activity giving them the correct amount of calories, vitamins and minerals.
Our conditioning feature offers 3 stages to choose from:
1.) Preliminary
2.) Developmental and
3.) Advanced, with default workouts already built into the first 2 stages of the program. The advanced stage allows you to build, create, enter and track your own programs.
Our ration balancer (horse nutrition wizard) feature offers you the world’s largest database to choose from. Imagine the database is already pre loaded with raw feeds and commercial grains from around the world. (Don’t worry, if you can’t find the one your looking for, just let us know and we will almost instantly make it available to you or you can even add it yourself.)
Track, record, view and analyze your horse’s health, nutrition and conditioning information. Print detailed reports of all your horses’ information. You can even save them as a PDF file if you choose. (That means you can send them to virtually anyone and they can open and read your reports.) No more being stuck with all that valuable information on your computer and being unable to share it with the Vet or any other horse care provider.
Print out your horses conditioning schedule and taking it to the barn with you. You can even collect your horses vitals (pulse, temperature, respiration) and notes about the day on the form and input the information into Equus RX Pro when you return.
Avoid unnecessary feeding mistakes and potential disaster. Print out your horses feed schedule and post it in the barn to avoid mistakes.
Both products can help you and your horse. It’s ultimately up to you to decide which is more appropriate for your needs.
2.) Can I use Equus-RX PRO in other Countries?
Yes. The software allows you to modify or add the information you need to accommodate you wherever you are located.
3.) Can I use Metric or English?
Absolutely. You can use either one, the program supports them both.
In fact you have a chance to choose one or the other before you start.
4.) Why do I need this program for my horse?
If you want to know if your horse is getting the proper nutrition without the guesswork then you need this program. On the market today there are hundreds of feeds and supplements saying they are best. How do you know which supplements are right for your horse or if he even needs them? That is the most important question you need to ask yourself. Does my horse need supplements? With Equus RX PRO you can know quickly what nutrients your horse is getting enough of and which one he isn’t. Once you know this then you can add only the supplements he needs and how much. You no longer have to worry about feeding your horse and he will be healthier.
5.) What do I need to get started?
Once you purchase Equus Rx PRO you will need to know how much your horse weighs and his activity level. You will need to know how much grain, hay and supplements you are feeding your horse in a day. For example if you feed your horse three pounds of grain morning and night then you are feeding your horse a total of six pounds of grain a day. You do the same thing for hay and supplements. That means you have to measure your horse’s feed by weighing it not by volume. You will also need to know which brands you are feeding your horse so you can select the correct ones from the feed database. You will also need to know what condition your horse is in. Is your horse lean and athletic looking, over weight or too thin? To help you know what condition your horse is in you can look at a conditioning chart listed in the appendix in the software manual.
6.) Do I need the .NET Framework to run this software?
Yes you need the .net framework installed. The .NET Framework 1.1 is a component of the Microsoft Windows® operating system used to build and run Windows-based applications. Applications built for the .NET Framework require that the .NET Framework be installed prior to running. The .NET Framework Redistributable will install the .NET Framework onto your machine.
With the number of .NET Framework-applications on the market growing rapidly, we encourage you to install the latest version of the .NET Framework, if you haven't already.
7.) How do I know if the .NET Framework is already installed?
You can check to see if you already have the .NET Framework installed by clicking Start on your Windows desktop, selecting Control Panel, and then double-clicking the Add or Remove Programs icon. When that window appears, scroll through the list of applications. If you see Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 listed, the latest version is already installed and you do not need to install it again. If you are using Windows Server 2003 the .NET Framework 1.1 is installed by default.
8.) If I already have the .NET Framework 1.0 installed, do I need version 1.1?
Applications built using version 1.0 will run just fine on version 1.1 of the .NET Framework Redistributable. Although we do recommend you use the most recent version that can be found at the Windows Update site.
Weighing your horse and the feed
W1.) What is the difference between measuring my horse’s feed by weight and volume?
Most horse owners like to feed their horses by volume (quarts, scoops or gallons) while the directions found on most products calls for feeding by weight. If you feed by volume you will be inconsistent in ration mixing and feeding. The average owner will heap the coffee can full one time and take a quick swipe through the grain the next. Your employees may define the scoop of grain and flake of hay directions you left on the stall door differently from your intentions and that does nothing for the horse except promote more colic.
W2.) Why should I weigh my horse’s feed?
Feed requirements are based on body weight and activity, so both young and old horses should be weighed or weight taped to keep current on their rate of gain or loss. After all, a pound is a pound and feeding by weight will be more cost effective way to control your expensive grain and hay consumption, resulting in less waste.
W3.) How do I weigh my horse’s feed?
To weigh grain and hay there are scales you can buy that will measure in pounds or kilograms. On the equus Rx site under products there is scale scoop that you can order to measure your grain easily. The scale scoop can be purchased in pounds or kilograms. This is the scoop I use to measure my horses feeds. It is convenient and easy to use. You can also use a hanging scale to weigh your horse’s feed. This is also offered on the site under products.
W4.) Why do I need to know my horse’s weight?
Because feed requirements are based on your horse’s body weight and activity. By knowing your horse’s body weight you will insure your horse gets the correct nutrients. Remember knowing your horse’s weight is also important in the use of medications.
W5.) How do I weigh my horse?
You can use a commercial weight tape specifically designed for the horse’s body. They are usually within 5% accuracy, which is better than an eyeball guesstimate and are cheaper to buy than livestock scales. You can also use a girth-weight conversion chart that is also shown on the site in the appendix of the software manual.
W6.) How often should I check my horse’s weight?
This will depend on your horse’s activity and overall health. If your horse is at rest and is not working then you would generally check his weight if there is a change in his condition. Is he looking like he putting on more weight then he should or is he looking thin. You should also check your horses weight when you are going to start your horse on a conditioning program and incremental there after as you ask him to work harder and harder as he progresses through the program. Young horses such as foals, weanlings, yearlings and long yearling grow quickly and in doing so need more energy. You want to boost the ration proportionally as the foal grows and its requirements increased accordingly. Climate also affects your horse’s weight. In the summer the horse tends to not eat as much as the temperature gets hotter. In the winter they need to fed more to stay warm, as the temperature gets colder. In the winter they are using energy to stay warm. There many factors that influence your horse’s weight and you will be more likely to spot changes with a scale or girth measurement than with your eye.
Your horses diet
Y1.) What is a ration/diet?
It is your horse’s menu. What you feed your horse for a day. It is the daily nutrients you feed your horse to stay healthy.
Y2.) Once I balance my horse’s ration/diet when do I start it?
You can start it right away. The sooner the better so horse starts benefiting by it.
Y3.) How do I introduce new feeds to my horse?
Introducing new feeds to your horse should be done gradually. If done to quickly they can colic and get laminitis. A good rule of thumb is to start with ½ - 1 pound of the new feed. For example if your gets three pounds of nutrena senior and you want to switch to Purina senior you would give your horse one pound of the Purina senior and two pounds of the nutrena senior. Use this mix for a week then go up another pound of the Purina senior. So then it would be two pounds of the Purina senior and one pound of the nutrena senior. Repeat these steps till you are completely switched to the new feed. If you are introducing more than one new feed, than start each one. Not all at once. You can do the same thing with hay especially if you are going from type to another. For example if you wanted to switch from timothy to alfalfa. You want to introduce the alfalfa gradually because it is a richer hay then timothy. This allows your horse’s digestive system to get use to the new feed and stay balanced. Your horse’s gut has microorganisms in it that break down the food it has eaten. The numbers and types of bacteria in your horse’s gut are dependent on the type of ration/diet it is being fed.
Y4.) Can changing my horse’s ration/diet quickly give him colic and laminitis?
Yes. Your horse’s stomach is very sensitive and easy to upset. Any sudden change in ration/diet, can severely compromise the population of gut bacteria so essential for fiber digestion and when these bacteria start dying off, the horse is at risk of colic. So make feed changes gradually, over a period of a couple of weeks, rather than suddenly.
Y5.) What is colic?
It is a stomachache. The primary cause of this pain is distention of the stomach or intestine, which may be due to an accumulation of gas, fluid or feed caused by a blockage or improper movement of the gut. Your vet should be called as soon as colic is suspected, hay and feed should be removed and the horse left alone, unless it is so violent as to be in danger of injuring itself, in which case it should be walked and kept warm.
Y6.) What is laminitis?
It is inflammation of the sensitive laminae of the horse’s foot. It tends to be associated with over fat ponies and horses kept at grass, especially in the spring. It is also associated with grain overload and with generalized toxemia, for example severe diarrhea. However any over weight, under exercised horse or pony on a high grain ration is susceptible.
Y7.) How many times a day should I feed my horse?
The “golden rule of feeding” is feed little and often. Your horse is a grazing animal, which means their stomach, is designed to handle regular intake of small quantities of food. Your horse’s stomach will hold about two to three gallons. The best meal size is limited to just over half a bucket full. A good place to start is three to four times a day spaced out evenly over the course of the day.
Y8.) What if I can’t match my horse’s diet to the NRC nutrient requirements on the program exactly?
The perfect diet only exists on a piece of paper in the files of research scientists. In the real world, the diets of our horses are never perfectly balanced, but we can try to get as close as possible. Having said that a good rule is to be 10% (+) or (-) of the NRC requirement.
Y9.) What is the NRC nutrient requirements?
They are the nutrient amounts needed to sustain normal health, production and performance of horses. The numbers are selected values based on published research, calculations designed to get information over the total population of horses, and the NRC’s experience in applying information to field situations.
Health Tasks
H1.) Should my horse have regular dental exams?
Yes. At least twice a year. Your horse’s teeth are important to digestion because they process the fibrous food to be swallowed. When your horse chews the movement of his jaw is sideways which shears the food. This motion causes sharp points on the outside of the top molars and on the inner edge of the bottom molars. These sharp edges cut the tongue and cheek of your horse making it painful for him to eat.
H2.) How do I know if my horse is having a problem with his teeth?
A sign of this is dropping half chewed food out of the mouth and balling up of his hay.
H3.) Why is worming my horse important?
By worming your horse you are killing the parasites that are competing with your horse for the nutrients he needs to stay alive.
H4.) How often should I worm my horse?
Worming should be done on an average every six to eight weeks. This also depends on certain individual factors, such as whether your horse is stabled, lives at grass with other horses and if manure is removed regularly from paddocks and pastures. Cleaning your horse’s turn out area regularly is a big help in keeping worm infestations down on your farm.
H5.) How long will it take for my horse to put on weight?
On an average it will take your horse six to eight weeks to put weight on. This if from the time when you first increased his feed.
Forage
F1.) Why is hay important to my horse?
Hay is important in maintaining normal gut function. Horses are strictly plant eaters. Forage is the basis of your horse’s diet and when the forage is of good quality and in plentiful supply, your horse will suffer few digestive problems. At least half of your horse’s diet should be forage, such as hay or pasture grass.
F2.) How do I know I’m feeding my horse good quality hay?
Good hay should be greenish-yellow but not brown, sweet smelling not musty or moldy, free from dust when shaken and plenty of leaf and cut before seeding.
F3.) What kinds of hay can I feed my horse?
You can feed your horse legume hay or grass hay. Legume hay consists of Alfalfa, red clover, white clover, sweet clover, ladino clover, alsike clover, birdsfoot trefoil, and crownvetch. Grass hay consists of orchard grass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, timothy and brome grass. All are different in nutritional value and palatability. What hay you feed will also depend on availability in your area. If unsure you can ask your vet for advice.
F4.) How much hay and grain should I feed my horse?
Your horse’s grain portion of his diet should never be more than 50%, by weight, of a your horse’s total daily ration. Some ratios of forage to grain are as follows: resting 100 % hay, light work 75% hay and 25% grain, medium work 60% hay and 40% grain, hard work 40% hay and 60% grain and fast work 30% hay and 70% grain. Grain need not be fed at all, unless you wish to supplement the energy or nutrient demands of your horse.
F5.) When should I give my horse grain?
Grain does not have to be fed at all, unless you wish to supplement the energy or nutrient demands of your horse beyond what their forage provides. A good many pleasure horses, especially those who are “easy keepers”, do not need the addition of grain to their diets unless they have poor quality hay. Horses that are working do need grain to supplement their energy and nutrient needs.
F6.) What kinds of grain can I feed my horse?
There are many different kinds of raw grains to feed that are either processed or unprocessed such as oats, corn, barley and rice. Methods of processing grains can include cracking and rolling of dry grains to varying degrees. Heat processing can include steam flaking, micronizing, pelleting and extruding. When using these types of grains you can create your own balanced feed from a mixture them. The most popular format for feeding your horse today is using commercially prepared feeds you can buy at your local feed store.
Supplements
S1.) What are supplements?
A feed additive used to increase the amount of a specific nutrient or nutrients, to enhance performance, to put on weight, to help the immune system and general health in the diet. They can only work if it corrects an imbalance or deficiency in your horse’s diet.
S2.) Where can I buy supplements?
At feed stores, tack shops, health food stores, herb farms, catalogs and online stores. Some catalogs and online stores sell particular supplements for specific health or nutritional problems.
S3.) What kinds of supplements can I feed my horse?
There are nutritional supplements like vitamins and minerals, herbs for your horse’s health, joint supplements, supplements for the immune system, protein supplements, digestive supplements and supplements to put weight on your horse.
S4.) What are herbs?
Is a slow growing, deep-rooted plants containing a wide range of nutrients. You can feed herbs as part of your horse’s diet to act as a general support, or you can feed specific herbs to support a specific system.
S5.) What kinds of herbs can I feed my horse?
There are several different categories of herbs that affect particular parts of the horse’s body. They include demulcents, bitters, anthelmintics, carminatives, antimicrobials, vulneries and alternatives. Some examples of these are garlic, Echinacea, nettle, comfrey, meadowsweet, burdock, etc. There is several good herb books on the market that can help you decide whether you should feed herbs to horse or not.
S6.) What are some protein sources for supplementation?
Some good protein supplements are soybean meal, alfalfa, cottonseed meal and whey.
S7.) What are some fat sources for supplementation?
Vegetable oils like Wesson, Crisco and Mazola corn oil. There are also commercially prepared products that help horse’s put on weight which can be found in your feed stores and tack shops, catalogs and online stores. One that I like and works well is Uckele’s product coco Soya.
S8.) What other services do you offer?
We also do hair analysis testing, soil testing and nutritional consulting.
S9.) Can I have one of your nutritionists review and balance my horse’s ration/diet?
Yes. Go to additional services and click on nutritional consulting and follow the directions.
S10.) How does my vet fit in?
Your vet is an important part in keeping your horse healthy. You can consult with your vet not only when your horse is sick but also when you want to be pro active in your horse’s health. Your vet can help you with any nutritional questions you might have, stable management and health questions. You don’t know unless you ask.
Conditioning
C1.) What does conditioning mean?
Getting your horse in shape so he will be able to perform at his best physically.
C2.) Why are there three phases of exercise programs in the conditioning module?
So you don’t injure your horse unnecessarily. The preliminary phase is the beginning phase then developmental and finally advance phase. Each phase builds on top of the previous one. The preliminary phase starts to build muscle, the developmental phase builds stamina and continues to strength the muscles and the advance phase finishes the conditioning to the specific sport you are training your horse for.
C3.) Why should I condition my horse slowly?
So you don’t injure your horse. You also condition him slowly so he can build stamina and endurance.
C4.) How do I know if I’ve injured my horse?
Be on the alert for signs of progressive fatigue. Is he dull? Are his feet breaking up? Is he off feed? Is there filling in his ankles or lower legs? Is there a change in the length of his stride? Does he throw on the brakes for no reason, wring his tail or pin his ears? Is he sulky, standing with his head in the corner of the stall when he sees the saddle coming? When you come in from a workout, does his pulse or respiration remain elevated after 20 to 30 minutes? Don’t hesitate to ease up when you see any of these signs in your horse’s attitude or way of going. Give him a couple of days off and see if he bounces back. Most horses go as they feel. They don’t fake soreness or fatigue.
C5.) Why is it important to check and record my horses pulse, respiration and temperature?
Monitoring your horse’s temperature, respiration and pulse is an essential part of the training program. Your horse cannot tell you how he feels and so you must learn to read the signs of stress.
C6.) What are my horse’s normal pulse, respiration and temperature?
Your horse’s normal temperature at rest is 100 –1 degrees F and 38 degrees C. Your horse’s normal pulse at rest is 36 – 42 beats per minute and corresponds to the heart rate. Your horse’s normal respiratory rate is 8 – 16 breaths per minute.
C7.) How do I take my horse’s pulse, respiration and temperature?
You take your horse’s temperature rectally. Standing to one side of the horse’s hindquarters, lift the tail and gently insert a clean veterinary thermometer in the rectum. Make sure you have some form of lubricant on it, like Vaseline. To take your horse’s pulse runs your fingers down the inside of the horse’s left cheekbone until you feel a moveable lump running across the bone. Gently press two fingers along this lump, cupping the cheekbone and count the pulse for fifteen seconds and multiply by four to calculate the pulse rate for a minute. To take your horse’s respiration rate, look at the in and out motion of the ribs or rise and fall of the flanks. Each combination of in and out is counted as one.
C8.) Do I increase my horse’s feed when he starts a conditioning program?
Yes. For example if your horse has been at rest for a period of time and his activity level is going to go from maintenance to light work then his energy intake needs to go up. So you would want to change your horse’s diet to reflect the extra energy he will need to perform the extra work he is being asked to do. This would hold true when you take your horse from an activity level of light work to moderate work and from moderate work to intense work. Each activity level has a different energy requirement that needs to be met by the horse. So you would have to increase his diet when his activity level changes.
C9.) How often should I change my horse’s ration/diet during his conditioning program?
When you take your horse from one activity level to another. For instance when you go from light work to medium work and medium work to intense work. As your horse goes from one level to the next his body needs more energy to do the work you are asking from him.
Support
SU1.) If I have questions on using the software after I order it who do I contact?
You go to contact us on the home page and e-mail us with your questions. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
SU2.) Is there a manual that explains how to use the software?
Yes. If you download the free demo, the demo is included in the files.
SU3.) How long will it take to get the software once I order it?
As soon as you order it a message will be sent to your e-mail with a password. You use this e-mail to download the software. It happens within minutes.
SU4.) If I don’t see a feed I use for my horse in the database whom do I contact?
Contact your feed dealer where you purchased the feed from and ask them for a guaranteed analysis of that feed. You will have to also ask them specifically for the (DE) Digestive Energy in MCALS or KCALS separately if they aren’t on the original guaranteed analysis.
Payment Questions
1.) Is my Credit Card, personal information and my order protected and secure?
Your Credit Card, Personal Information and your order are all secure. We use Secure Socket Layering (SSL) technology to encrypt your information when you place your order. The information is encrypted on your computer before it’s sent to us (protected, jumbled, coded) and once we receive it is decoded here. We use only the most current Secure Socket Layering technology for your protection.
2.) Ok, you have great security... but I’m still worried. How can I be sure I’m protected?
Fraud Protection. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your bank cannot hold you liable for more than $50.00 of fraudulent charges. If for some reason your bank does hold you liable, don’t worry. You have our word and guarantee Equine Research Lab will cover the liability for you, up to the full $50.00. Please note we will help you and take over the $50.00 liability only if the liability occurred with the unauthorized use of your card (through no fault of your own) when you were using our Secure Server during your purchase with us.
So please let us take the risk away when you are using your credit card on line. Our order process is secure and your covered by the Federal Government and by The Equus Research Lab LLC as well.
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