 from the '87 crop of DVMs |
© 1996-1998 CMNewell, DVMCharlotte M. Newell, DVM, a graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, is a regular online contributor to rec.equestrian, AOL forums, the Arabian mail list and an adult lurker in HC's Jr Riders mailing digest. She owns, shows and breeds Arabians, and is a supporter of Al Khamsa, an organization of preservation breeders. Below is a sampling of information from her posts. This page is offered as general information (compiled by Kris Carroll) to help readers understand veterinary terms, treatments, medications and issues surrounding horse care.
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Vet Rap A-EACEIt is acepromazine, an injectable tranquilizer. It is a prescription drug The dose depends on the individual animal and upon the reason for administration. It is effective if used properly. Duration of effect depends on dosage and route of administration. One caveat: if the horse gets upset while under the influence, the results can be pyrotechnic. (Sorta like a belligerent drunk.) If used in place of training, it is being abused. If used with discretion in a particular set of circumstances, it can be helpful. I vaguely recall a study which indicated that sedation impairs learning, something which should be kept in mind if intending to use the drug in a training situation, as opposed to clipping ears, suturing wounds, etc. Infrequent, but true. Sometimes causes a persistent penile paralysis, and should therefore be used with caution in stallions and geldings. The mechanism is unknown. Alsike cloverAlsike clover is indeed toxic to horses. It can manifest as either photosensitization or neurologic impairment. Both are due to compounds which affect the liver. My horticultural mentor, Gordon De Wolf, PhD., consulted on a couple of cases of "big liver disease" several years back. Seems that the affected horses had developed an affinity for the one spot in the pasture that was almost straight alsike. I believe one died, one survived. Not a lot known about amounts which are considered toxic. Gordon recommends plowing it under entirely. The local suppliers of pasture mix have stopped including alsike in the seed. Linnaean designations are more specific, since the same plant may have more than one common name. Amino SupplementsLon Lewis has a new book out on equine nutrition. He's a DVM and a board certified nutritionist. AnemiaAnemia in and of itself is more a clinical sign than a diagnosis; for rational therapy, one needs to know the cause. Artifical InseminationThe theriogenologist at Tufts, when I asked her, recommended using all semen in a given Equitainer at the time it is first opened. Once the container is opened, it messes up the temperature maintenance. If shipping semen for successive inseminations from one collection, she recommended using 2 Equitainers. Hamilton-Thorne Labs put out a couple of really nice little manuals on cooled semen/AI. One for the mare owner, one for the stallion owner. AspirinA fair amount *is* known about the mechanism of action of acetylsalicilic acid and its nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory cousins They inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins, potent mediators of inflammation . Aspirin also has an inhibitory effect upon the release of PGE2 and F2 alpha from platelets, which quite nicely accounts for its anti-clotting activity. Aspirin inhibits local release of bradykinns, which decreases pain. Take a gander at "Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics", by Booth and MacDonald for the nitty gritty details. Automatic WaterersFor my money, better and cheaper would be to run PVC pipe along the top of your stall fronts, with a valve and 2' of hose in front of each stall. Easy to poke the hose through the grille and fill the bucket; gravity will drain the pipe in winter. And, IMHO, most important---you will know how much the horses are drinking. That is the main thing I detest about automatic waterers--unless you buy (and read) the very pricey meters for each one, you don't know that a horse isn't drinking till he's sicker than he would have been had you just looked at the water level in his bucket. Barn VentilationMost people overdo the warm and toasty bit to the detriment of the horse. Exhaust/air exchange fans are SOP in almost every cow and pig barn around, yet you rarely see them in a horse barn. Good rule of thumb is, if there's moisture condensing on the inside of your windows, you should be increasing your ventilation. Nutritional Value of Beet Pulp2.56Mcal/kg on a 100% DM basis digestible energy (for comparison, oats are 3.20) BiotinBiotin will help wall regrowth only in those cases where there is a dietary deficiency or absorption. Blistering HorsesIt's inhumane and ineffective. Don't waste your time and money, and don't abuse your horse. Bowed Tendon PrognosisLots of bowed horses go on to lead relatively athletic and useful lives. A lot depends on a) the extent of the injury and b) the quality of the rehabilitative efforts. I would strongly suggest a DVM ultrasound the tendon and advise on how to handle it. I also would highly recommend Tom Ivers' "The Bowed Tendon Book" ButeBute administered perivascularly can cause nasty sloughing of the tissues. In other words, if Dobbin moves while you're shooting him up, he can melt a piece of his neck, or sclerose the vein.... Bute may decrease inflammation, but it does not treat anaphylaxis. Combined immunodeficiencyCombined immunodeficiency. Found in Arabians and one or two Arab crosses. A simple recessive mode of inheritance. Results in affected foals having a deficiency of the immune system that results in serious infections and finally death as soon as maternal immunity wears off. Can be confirmed on post-mortem by examining thymus and lymph nodes. Can be inferred in neonates by obtaining a presuckle blood sample and assaying IgM. (which will be extremely low in affected foals.) Al Khamsa is an organization of preservation breeders, some Egyptian, some not. As far as CID in Al Khamsa horses, the only one I know for sure it hasn't turned up in is the Davenport group, which has been a closed breeding group since 1906. I suspect there are a number of Al Khamsa lines without any CID. Coggins testThere has been an "alternative" Coggins Test out for several years now, an ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay), as opposed to the "classic" Coggins AGID (agar gel immunodiffusion). The ELISA is quick to run, but more expensive. (How much more depends on the lab, and upon desired turnaround time.) Still, it makes a lovely STAT test, if you're in a bind. The lab I deal with, Tufts Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, has had it available for some time. The issue with any Coggins test is that it must be run by an accredited lab, and drawn by an accredited individual to be acceptable to the authorities. So I doubt you could get on-site testing in a show situation. Another caveat: last time I checked, the test was NOT accepted by the authorities for horses traveling to Canada, as the legislation which governs the shipment was drafted when there was only the AGID test, and specifies AGID in the wording. The EIA virus is worldwide in its distribution. Unless you plan on selling a horse for slaughter, it needs a Coggins test to go through a sale. This is to protect both the buyer and any horses which might subsequently come in contact with the untested (and therefore potentially positive) horse. NB: Many auction barns have a DVM on the premises for just this reason. S/he can draw blood for a Coggins on horses arriving without one. Notes on Colic"Recipe for colic" (what not to do!) My advice is, if you have a colicky horse, remove the food. In both anterior enteritis and colonic torsions, as well as in impactions, putting more in is a bad idea. But then, like I said, usually a significantly sick horse won't eat. Dipyrone (drug to treat colic) (Note: due to off label abuses in the dairy industry, the FDA removed this drug from it's approved veterinary medication list.) There was a research fund specifically established for colic research called the "Bolshoi Fund" (named for another victim). If I recall, it was based at the University of Georgia Veterinary School. Morris Animal Foundation is also a good bet. They fund equine health investigation. Colic - GasDepends on where in the GI tract the gas is.The pain receptors inthe gut are all stretch receptors, by the way, so something as simple as gascan cause excruciating pain. And it is also the case that the gas filledloops of gut can be displaced from their normal position, making a simplegas colic a surgical case. Edema in Pregnant MaresVentral edema is fairly common in near-term mares. Eastern Equine EncephalitisEastern Equine Encephalitis is a retrovirus. An infected animal either dies, or becomes a chronic carrier, much like a cat with FeLV. Browse Dr. Newell's article ElectrolytesWith the exception of sodium (and perhaps chloride, but to a lesser extent, I believe), forages and grain contain adequate amounts of electrolytes--the other major ones being potassium, magnesium, calcium. In fact, fresh vegetation (mainly in early spring) may cause hypomagnesemia due to its high moisture content. Dry matter contains higher levels of electrolytes per unit weight. Inexpensive recipe for electrolytes The dolomite is rather dispensible in this mix, as the average horse isn't in danger of losing enough Ca to be in trouble. This is a recipe from an endurance vet. And it has been superceded by some commercially available mixes which now contain calcium in a more readily useable form. Me--I just eat fruit flavored Tums. You can feed those to the horse, too. Equine Infectious AnemiaThe closest thing to HIV in horses is EIA (equine infectious anemia). It is, as the HIV virus is, a retroviral disease. There is no treatment. Most states require euthanasia or lifelong quarantine for such animals. APHIS/USDA maintains that "horses, mules, and asses" are subject to the disease and requires testing under certain circumstances. Equine Motor Neuron DiseaseBrowse Dr. Newell's article on this topic from her ftp server. Equine Protozoal MyelitisReseach Dr. Fenger or University of Kentucky Parasitology. You'll be rewarded with the latest information, as this is the source. Equine Respiratory DiseaseBrowse Dr. Newell's article on this topic from her ftp server. |
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