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Vet Rap F-PFear of needlesOne of the first large animal calls I made right out of school was with my boss, to preg check some shorthorns and vaccinate the owner's pet horse, a hand-raised Percheron/STB cross, who was supposed to hate vets and needles. While Hedley and John excitedly discussed shorthorn breeding, I slipped into the stall with Teddy and scritched his withers briefly, then snuck his EWT into his neck. A couple of minutes later, John asked if I wanted him to use a chain shank on Teddy. I asked why, and he said, to give him his shot; he's really nasty about it. When I informed him that Teddy had already gotten his shot, John looked surprised, Hedley looked relieved (he is much happier around cattle than horses), and Teddy was declared to be my patient henceforth. We decided that Teddy was unaware of the existence of female veterinarians. Foal heat/diarrhea(Foal heat is a term used to describe the first heat cycle of the mare after she's had her foal. It usually comes on 5-7 days after birth. Some believe foals get diarrhea due to a slight change of the milk) Foal diarrhea probably has nothing to do with the milk, as the phenomenon is also observed in orphan foals at the same age. More likely related to a changing of gut microflora, just coincidental with the mare's heat. FounderSince the cause of the founder is apparently unknown, it would appear impossible to prognosticate. Front LimbsThe front limbs of the horse have no bony connection whatsoever with the spine. They are attached by a muscular sling. Quite different from the human animal. Furacin SweatIf the vet recommends it, get him/her to show you what they want--regional customs vary. I mix liquid furacin w/DMSO. Careful with sweating w/this though; some sensitive horses will blister if you use plastic wrap under the cotton. (Race horse trainer who taught me always used wax paper BTW--it will tear if it slips down, not cord up like plastic.) Gall BladderNo gall bladder. (always a trick question in anatomy classes...) GarlicI doubt garlic added to the feed does much in the way of bug repelling, but please be aware that if fed to excess, it may cause a hemolytic anemia. As to what constitutes excess, 0.5% of the animals body weight of the plant. (I would suspect that is dried weight, but also suspect that the toxic constituents are in higher concentrations in the bulbs.) So, please keep in mind, that just because a little is good, a lot is not necessarily better.... Gelding and heightGelding will probably result in a taller horse, if you do it sooner rather than later--testosterone will influence the growth plates to close earlier than they would otherwise. German silverGerman silver is a white alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel. GoldensealGoldenseal Hydrastis Cnadensis contains several active constituents--berberine, hydrastine, and canadine, concentrated in the rhizome. Hydrastine is the chief active ingredient. As well as dyeing things yellow, it has an astringent effect on inflamed mucous membranes, and has been used to treat oral ulcers, digestive upset, and hemorrhoids. It also has a laxative effect. In the form of snuff, it has been used to treat the nasal passages., and a solution of the extract is sometimes employed as an eyewash. I would suspect any beneficial effects from its use on the horse in question are from its astringent effect, drying the area. Grass HayIMHO, it is impossible to overfeed grass hay. Feed them as much as they will eat. Intramuscular Shot TipI think what is being described is the trick of pinching the skin, then inserting the needle IM right next to it--the horse doesn't appear to notice it so much this way. It is a useful trick. All of the vaccines which I am aware of for horses are IM. IsoxsuprineIt works on some horses, not on others. It is illegal to show on. Navicular and Laminitis being the multifactorial problems they are, there's precious little academic literature on the use of isoxsuprine. Do be careful with tranquilizers, etc. when using isoxsuprine. Due to its vasodilating effects, it can potentiate those of the TQs. Said to be safe in pregnant mares. (No personal experience here.) IvermectinIvermectin works on gamma amino butyric acid, which mammals most assuredly have. The trick with ivermectin is that it doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier in any appreciable quantity, so it doesn't affect GABA in mammals except in very high doses.DO NOT give ivermectin intravenously. Backhoe rental is expensive. Eqvalan liquid is labelled for horses. The equine product is cleared for use in foals. KetoprofenAnother of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. Some of the less principled folk dose it on top of bute and flunixin megulamine, since they don't have the brains to lay up a lame horse, and they aren't allowed to use a high enough dose of the latter 2 to mask a lameness. Laminitis - NervingIn laminitis (there) is an arteriovenous shunting upstream from the laminae, resulting in hypoxic damage. If a similar phenomenon is taking place post nerving, that would certainly be a Bad Thing. Legend is IV, not IMI have used Legend in a number of horses, and been very pleased with the results. I usually have the owners follow up with an oral chondroitin sulfate product. Also, after the initial series, one repeat injection seems to do the trick. LevamisoleFrom Plumb's Veterinary Formulary: "Because of its narrow margin for safety and limited efficacy against many equine parasites, levamisole is not generally used in horses" Leg Fungusaka stud crud If this is confined to the front of the cannon area, and looks kind of like blackish greasy crud, it's quite likely to be "cannon keratosis", aka stud crud, though it is not confined to stallions. It is a keratinization defect, not a problem other than cosmetically, and is not "curable", per se. Best way to minimize appearance is to use a benzoyl peroxide shampoo on the area. Lyme DiseaseIf the horse is currently infected with the organism Borrelia burgdorferi, then antibiotics are indicated. If he is suffering from the arthritic aftereffects sometimes caused by the organism, then treat him as a horse with arthritis. I would try some injectable anti-arthritic medication for starters--Adequan or Legend, then go to one of the voodoo powders (J Flex is my current fave.) Won't hurt (except your wallet); might help. Malignant Fibrous HistiocytomaAccording to my notes, while this is highly likely to recur locally, it is very slow to metastisize. MastitisSystemic antibiotics may or may not reach high levels in the gland itself, though. There are no intramammary medications specifically for horses, but I suspect one of the dry cow treatments might be of benefit, in which case the thing to do might be to strip the gland once, then infuse it. I'd advise caution and careful technique though. It has been found that significant damage can be done to cows by overzealous poking about with the nozzle of mastitis syringes. Melanomas in grey horsesMelanomas in grey horses are, as a rule, non-malignant. They can occur on any part of the body, but do often occur around the anus. Its an odds on bet that any grey horse over the age of 12 has them, whether you can find them or not. I have known a *lot* of grey Arabs with melanomas. None have, to my knowledge died from them, most have lived to 30 or thereabouts. MintThe only member of the mint family Gordon lists in his poisonous plants syllabus is pennyroyal Mentha pulegium. Muzzle WartsTake a pair of hemostats or needle nose pliers, sterilize theend, and crush a few (just the wart, not the nose). This will helpstimulate an immune response. They are viral. Young horses will getthem; there isn't a lot you can do about it. Neonatal Heart MurmurA heart murmur in a neonatal equine is quite common, and not necessarily indicative of any defect. Neurectomy It is not uncommon for a nerved horse which is still subjected to rigorous traiing/exercise to rupture the DDFT OsteochondrosisExercise causes as much of a growth spurt as does a big feed intake. If inflamed joints are not backed off, you then risk osteochondrosis at stress points, cartilage dies late and becomes encapsulated in normal bone nearby, leaving a hole that can fracture later on OvariectomiesLots of mares which have had ovariectomies for granulosa cell tumors go on to produce with one ovary. Pin-FiringPinfiring is considered grounds for animal cruelty charges in Great Britain. I don't see as much of it around as I did 20 years ago, even with horses off the track. It does seem to be slowly falling from favor. My favorite vet school clinician, who graduated from school in 1953, never pinfired a horse. He used the excuse he didn't have the equipment. Worked until a client offered to buy it for him. Then he had to tell him the truth. The tendon is *not* strengthened by this procedure. Potomac Horse FeverTwo recent articles in JAVMA on the PHF vaccine. I believe that all the commercially available vaccines are based on the same strain of Erlichia risticii and there has been some change in the field strain, leading to a decrease in effectiveness of the vaccine. The trouble with trying to study this disease is the fact that we don't yet know how its transmitted. For that matter, I have seen references to studies in which horses which have never displayed clinical signs have positive titers. My take on the PHF thing is that I haven't seen any nasty reactions to the vaccine, so if it even helps only a bit, I'm going to give it to *my* horses. OTOH, I tell my clients that it is unclear how the disease is transmitted, and unclear whether the vaccine has reduced the incidence, so I can't in good conscience lean on them to use it. Some do, some don't. I only personally know of one case of PHF in my practice. Prescription DrugsSome are safe in multiple species; some are not. For example, acetominophen [Tylenol] will kill your cat. A low end dose of xylazine [Rompun] for your horse is a lethal dose for a cow. The take home lesson here, friends, is to use medications wisely. Prescription drugs are restricted for good reasons. Self medication in the interest of saving a buck often costs a good deal more in emergency costs. If you use a drug off label, the drug company will deny any knowledge of your existence.. Progestin Implants for MaresIt's an extralabel use of various cattle implants. Done in the neck region, seems to help for about 5-6 months, no hard data on any residual effects on fertility. Proud fleshProud flesh is defined as an overabundance of granulation tissue, which is the normal tissue which grows in to fill a defect. It is composed mainly of fibroblasts and capillaries. When it overgrows above a plane level with the surrounding epithelium, it becomes more difficult for the adjacent skin to grow over the area. Thus, you have to keep the granulation bed as level with the surrounding tissue as possible. The nice part about the granulation tissue is that there are hardly any nerve endings, so it isn't very painful to debride. (My favorite tool is a sharp blade, but hey, I'm a trained professional--don't try this at home. <G>) The trick is to keep from unduly disturbing the adjacent fragile epithelium while debriding the proud flesh, either mechanically or chemically. Wounds below the knee or hock which tend to be a problem with proud flesh. Wounds proximal to the knee and hock are much less likely to be a problem. I suspect if you had used warm water, you would have had a similar result. Personally, I think the H2O2/povidone iodine mixture would tend to be too irritating to healing tissue for my taste. I use red Vetrap when I bandage it after debriding. The white gets soaked through, and the owners think Pookie is gonna hemorrhage, and beep me....BTW, I should have mentioned--pressure, as in a bandage, seems to have a slight inhibitory effect on proud flesh, too. |
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