Is your horse as cold as you are in that frigid winter weather? Probably not, but in certain circumstances, blanketing is necessary. Find out when your horse needs a blanket, and what sort of blanket to use.
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Biosecurity is anything that we do to protect a population (in this case, horses) against harmful biological substances. In the horse world, these are preventative measures we take to limit and minimize the spread of disease. What is your biosecurity plan?
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When is an injury an emergency? When it comes to the eye, better safe than sorry.
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By Dr. Shane Baird
As horse injuries go, cuts, scrapes, and bruises of all shapes and sizes are common – the challenge is learning when veterinary intervention is required.
Is There Joint Involvement?
One of the most critical factors for laceration severity is the location of the laceration. A solid “rule” to keep in mind is that if the wound is over an area that “bends” and appears to be fully through the skin, it justifies at minimum a call, and likely a visit from a veterinarian. Cuts that seem to be no big deal, but are located directly over a joint, can be disastrous for the horse, while something that looks horrible at first glance but only involves skin and muscle can heal without causing any problems.
The lower limbs of horses don’t have a lot of tissue between the skin and the joints or bones. This “lack of padding” makes it easy for a cut that looks simple to penetrate into the joint. Joints open to the outside world are open to infections and if infected, can become debilitating for a horse due to the arthritis associated with the process.
Severe Wounds Without Joint Involvement
Severely traumatic wounds, where tissue (skin, muscle) have been damaged or are just missing, can greatly benefit from prompt veterinary attention. Proper removal of tissue and thorough cleaning of these wounds will speed the healing process significantly. Though some of the skin may be missing from a wound like this, with some creative suturing, what remains can be used as a natural bandage, even if only temporarily. At times, if healing is taking a longer than expected, there is justification for skin grafting techniques, even in an ‘in the field’ situation.
Head Wounds
Though the head can heal quite well on its own, lacerations to the eyelid region and around the eyes often warrant closer examination. If your horse has an injury like this and they have no desire for you to even look, much less touch and clean the wound (which a fairly common response!), please call your local veterinarian so that things can be tended to (likely with sedation). Trying to fight with the horse can quickly lead to other issues or injuries. With sedation these wounds can be treated without further injury to the horse or any humans.
Tips on Pre-Veterinary Visit Wound Care
If you do decide that a veterinarian should see the laceration, here are some basic rules to follow:
As always, if there is any question, give your veterinarian a call. After a conversation you can both make a decision of whether your horses’ laceration should be seen or not.
By Dr. Allison Hartman
Laminitis has been a bane of horseman and farriers since the horse was first domesticated. As our medical knowledge and diagnostic abilities have evolved, so has our understanding of the contributing factors of this disease process, including Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Equine Metabolic Syndrome is a term that’s been thrown around the equine community for the past few decades, but what does it mean?
What is EMS?
Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a condition most commonly characterized by an inability to properly metabolize carbohydrates. The disease has been known by many names, including hypothyroidism, peripheral Cushing disease and pre-laminitic syndrome. Today, we know that Equine Metabolic Syndrome is characterized in horses, ponies and donkeys by obesity, regional deposition of fat, and systemic insulin resistance.
Insulin is an important hormone that allows the cells to obtain glucose from food. Without insulin, or a proper response to insulin, cells cannot utilize glucose, regardless of how much food the horse is fed. This starvation process at the cellular level pushes the horse into a stressed state (characterized by elevated cortisol levels) where the body is encouraged to hold on to as much fat as possible, making weight loss next to impossible in these horses. In addition, glucose deprivation in the laminae of the horse’s feet can lead to laminitis.
How is it Diagnosed?
When we suspect a horse may have EMS, we will recommend bloodwork to confirm our suspicions as well as guide us in the proper treatment of your horse. Horses with EMS may also have concurrent Cushing disease, which has been shown to be a contributing factor to the initial development of EMS. It is important for us to understand the underlying metabolic factors that are contributing to your horse’s case in order to provide the most efficacious recommendations both medically and diet.
The key values we assess when running blood work for EMS include:
What Can You Do About It?
Horses that are merely overweight but not actively laminitic should be put on a low starch diet, comprised of hay with less than 12% non-structural carbohydrates fed at 1-1.5% body weight. (in this example, a 1000lb horse should be fed 10-15lbs of hay per day). Their forage diet can be adequately balanced using either a ration balancer or a specifically formulated low starch feed. These horses also benefit from routine exercise as an additional aid for weight loss.
In those patients that are actively laminitic, exercise is not recommended but the same dietary recommendations apply. In addition, if your horse is diagnosed as insulin resistant (IR), metformin is a beneficial medication used to increase tissue sensitivity to insulin. Horses with IR are comparable to humans with type 2 diabetes, in that they produce adequate amounts of insulin, but their body simply fails to respond appropriately. Metformin is a medication commonly used in humans with IR and its efficacy in equine IR cases has been confirmed both in laboratory and field studies.
Another option to stimulate weight loss in EMS horses is levothyroxine, commonly sold in the equine community as Thyro-L. Thyro-L functions by increasing the rate of the horse’s metabolism to further stimulate weight loss. It is important to understand that Thyro-L has no direct impact on the laminae of an actively laminitic horse and instead works indirectly over a longer period of time.
EMS is a frustrating disease for practitioners, clients and patients alike. The more we understand of the disease process the better our chances at restoring metabolic equilibrium and preventing further deterioration of the laminae. If you suspect your horse may have EMS, talk to your vet about appropriate diagnostic measures.
By Dr. Shane Baird
After weeks of searching, you have finally found the right horse. He’s everything you’ve ever wanted. What now?
A veterinary pre-purchase exam should be the next thing on your mind! At a minimum, an active and passive exam by an equine veterinarian should be performed prior to purchase, but what about additional diagnostic imaging? Regardless of whether or not you’re buying your next equine athlete or your trail partner for the next twenty years, radiographs and ultrasound imaging may be in your best interest to protect your investment.
The Right Horse is the Right Horse For You
In all the pre-purchase exams we’ve performed, we have yet to find a “perfect” horse, and a horse that may be right for your goals, might not be the right horse for someone else’s.
It is important to remember that it is not the responsibility of the veterinarian to “pass” or “fail” a horse. What you should really be asking is, can you and your horse live with the faults identified during the exam and the limitations that arise because of those shortcomings? We are there to provide you, the buyer, with information pertinent to the health and soundness of this horse so you may decide how the horse may fit in your life and barn.
In some situations, it’s easy to determine whether or not the horse in question will stand up to his intended purpose. In other situations, we must rely on additional diagnostic means to answer these questions, thus enabling you to make a more informed decision.
When Should You Get Digital Images?
Let’s say that your veterinarian has completed the basic pre-purchase exam and that a few issues have been discovered that require additional consideration. You may decide that the findings are small enough that they don’t impede your future plans with this horse, in which case the exam may not need to go any further. However, you might decide that the findings could deter you from purchasing the horse. This is when we would recommend further diagnostics in the way of nerve blocks, in addition to radiographs and possibly ultrasound.
Ultrasound technology is far more portable and convenient to use stall side than it was even just a few years ago. If there is any palpable soft tissue issue, but no lameness is detected on exam, then a scan is completely justifiable, especially if the horse is responsive to palpation of the area. Ultrasound can help us to see issues of the past and try to understand if they could become an issue in the future.
Similarly, radiology (x-ray images), are often the quickest way for us to understand a mild lameness that is identified in the dynamic portion of the exam. Technology these days enables us to develop radiographs within seconds as they appear on a computer screen. We may determine that there is a mild amount of arthritis in a specific joint or that this horse has significant degenerative changes that may impact his ability to perform as desired, or as long as desired. Radiographs, and digital/stall side images are the best way to differentiate between the two.
While forecasting the future is always the most difficult part of the pre-purchase exam, advanced diagnostic imaging can make that picture just a little clearer! A
complete exam, and imaging to help understand any issues uncovered, is our best shot as veterinarians to help you, the buyer, and make sure this new horse is truly the “right one for you!”
Does Acupuncture actually work? If so, how? Read this month’s blog to get a primer on how and why acupuncture works in the body, and how it can help your horse.
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Gastric Ulcers can cause various problems with our horses’ health. What causes them, and how can you tell if your horse has them? Find out more in our December blog post.
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This is Part 3, and the conclusion of our Colic Series. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here for a basic overview of equine GI anatomy, the difference between medical and surgical colic, and some colic causes.
For what to expect financially from a colic episode, how to plan, and some of the more common causes of colic we see here in Colorado, click here for Part 2.
Today, we’ll be talking about what you can do as horse owners to help prevent colic.
In part 2 of the colic series, we covered the “common” causes of colic on the Front Range, particularly here at Mobile Veterinary Services. Unfortunately, there is no ‘magic’ formula to keep colic out of your barn, but there are a few precautions that can certainly reduce your risk.
Consistency
The first and most important rule is to understand that horses thrive on consistency. Keeping their routine as routine as you can is imperative -from feeding amounts and times to their turnout and exercise program. If you do have something that is changing (a new load of hay for example), monitor them closely and try to make that change over several days.
Weather can be a trigger as well -with winter firmly settled in here in Colorado, our weather fluctuations are constant and unrelenting. It’s
common to see 5 below zero one day and 50 degrees 2 days later. These constant changes are terribly difficult on horses and their bellies! Consistency in every other aspect of their lives can help to mitigate the effects of the things, like weather, that we cannot change.
Water
Water is imperative to all life. Domesticated horses who live on hay have had most of the water they would naturally consume (via live grasses) removed from their diet. As a result, our horses need access to liquid water at all times, whether this means keeping the ice off in the winter so they always have access, or keeping plenty of it available in the summer. Restriction from water for even as little as 2-3 hours can drastically increase chances of colic issues.
Dietary habits and changes
Hay diets and domestication have also led to horses eating larger, more infrequent meals. Horses are designed to graze all day, and a horse on pasture or in the wild will be grazing 18-20 hours per day. This constant eating keeps the large colon full and occupied, and the GI tract working optimally.
Although domesticated horses may be “getting enough calories,” they are consuming them over a much shorter period of time, which could potentially increase colic risk as the GI tract experiences being full, then empty, then full – not a normal state of affairs for the horse.
Parasites
Parasite infestation is a known risk factor for colic so deworming is a very important part of not only good husbandry, but also good colic prevention!
Fecal egg counts can determine whether your horse is a low, medium, or high shedder, allowing you to tailor your deworming program accordingly to your horses’ needs (instead of blanket deworming which can contribute to parasites building resistance to dewormers, rendering the dewormers ineffective).
Sand
With good preventive measures, sand can be eliminated as a risk factor. The problem simply needs to be identified. In our practice area, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have “sand” where your horses eat. We have seen horses in the mountains of Colorado living on a hillside end up with sand in their colon. Decomposed Granite (DG) can act just like sand!! Commercial preparations of psyllium hulls fed on a regular basis can squelch the issue.
Dentition
Like deworming on an appropriate schedule, regular and appropriate dental care is imperative to a good colic prevention program. If your horse can chew his food well, it can reduce his colic risk, not to mention increase feed efficiency.
Senior horses can be particularly prone to this issue, but it can affect any horse of any age. Horses under the age of 5, and seniors should have their teeth checked every 6 months. Horses in their prime with good mouths can probably go a year.
There is no way to eliminate the risk of colic in horses… unless you are on a carousel. But with good management and some preventative measures, you can significantly reduce the risk. Again, the best advice we can give is that horses thrive on consistency, and the more consistent we are in all things we do “horse,” the happier our horses are!
This is Part 2 of our Colic Series. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here for a basic overview of equine GI anatomy, the difference between medical and surgical colic, and some colic causes.
Today, we’ll be talking about planning for colic, costs of colic treatment, and some of the more common causes of colic we see here in Colorado.
Colic Planning – Before it Happens
Colic is an issue that we as horse owners and veterinarians just have to live with. If you own horses long enough, you will eventually get to deal with a colicky horse (hopefully just a little medical one), and knowing how you are going to handle the situation can ease the stress and panic of the situation. You should have this conversation with both your veterinarian and your family.
Planning with Your Veterinarian
With your veterinarian, you should discuss knowing when to call and how urgent the situation may be, as well as the kinds of information your veterinarian is going to need from you – things like temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, discomfort level, etc.
Your veterinarian can guide you in how to get this information, and how to prepare before colic occurs with anything you might need, such as a thermometer and a knowledge of your horses’ baseline vital signs.
Your veterinarian can also talk you through the escalating steps of colic, and the probable outlook for your horse in each. For example, if your horse needs hospitalization, what would that entail? If your horse needs surgery, what are their odds of survival, and their ability to thrive after surgery?
Different scenarios can mean different long-term outlooks. Some surgical intervention is minimally stressful on the horse and has a very good long-term outlook, while some surgical interventions may involve cutting away dead tissues that could affect your horses’ long-term survival in a negative way. You should understand what these scenarios would look like, and what your decision would be in each.
Planning with Your Family
With your family, you should plan for whatever situation you may face, while you’re not in an emotionally heightened frame of mind. This conversation should include both talk of a budget and the limits of “what you want to put your horse through.”
Hopefully your situation would just be a simple medical colic that is treatable in the field. But there could be occasions when your horse will need more help than we can give in the field. If your horse needs hospitalization, that doesn’t necessarily mean surgery, but it could. Would your horse be a candidate for hospitalization and supportive care? Would your horse be a candidate for surgical intervention? You must know your limits both financially and emotionally.
Each of these can be progressively harder on the horses, but also on your budget. Each of these steps can cost significantly more than the one before, and as much as we’d like to not have money be a factor with our horses’ care, the brutal truth is that it is. Surgical intervention can cost upwards of $10,000. A hospital stay can be over $4,000. Can your budget handle these large expenses?
As with most things “horse,” planning is crucial. It is far easier to have discussed and planned before the crisis occurs. At the time of the colic, emotions run high, and emotion-based decisions, whatever they might be, can be regretted.
Common Colics We See in Colorado
Gas Colic
Here at MVS, the vast majority of the colicky horses we see are “simple colics.” Usually there has been some kind of change – feed, environment, even weather. These changes can lead to “spasmodic” or “gas” colic. In essence this is “indigestion” in the large fermenting portion of the colon. This indigestion causes cramping and discomfort, which present to us as “signs” of colic.
Left untreated, the horse may quietly work his way through the issue, with no assistance. Alternatively, the situation could worsen. There is no way to know which direction each individual horse or individual episode will go.
Impaction Colic
Here in Colorado, worsening is often due to dehydration. Because of the gut pain, the horse is not eating, and in most cases they are not drinking either. Dehydration, along with the “indigestion,” can lead to impactions, the second most common type of colic we manage here at MVS.
An impaction is essentially constipation. The drying out of the body due to dehydration dries out the contents of the gut, making it more difficult to pass manure. As the gut tries to move this mass, it creates discomfort. Impactions generally take a little more care and time to get through.
Displacement Colic
The more severe colics are the exception rather than the rule. These horses look far more uncomfortable, and need more medical help. These more severe cases are usually the displacement colics we mentioned in Part 1, and should be quickly referred to a hospital so the horse has the best chance of survival. Waiting only runs down the horses’ energy reserves, strength, and immune system, making it that much more difficult to survive a surgical intervention.
Any colic we as horse owners or veterinarians face can be daunting, but thankfully, with quick response and appropriate attention, most can be quickly squelched. Stay tuned for Part 3 of our colic series, which will focus on what we as horse owners and veterinarians can do to help prevent colic episodes.
