b'2019 AAEP CONVENTION WRAP-UPCommercial Equine In Vitro Embryoconsider offering OPU-ICSI (ovum pickupan egg. Since he started the program in Production: What to Expect and intracytoplasmic sperm injection) as2014, his team has performed 1,600 OPUs In vitro (in the lab) production ofa commercial service, said Tom Stout,and produced more than 2,200 embryos. equine embryos is a field that has grownDVM, PhD. Theyve achieved a 70% pregnancy rate rapidly over the past few years, thanks toStout runs one of those commercialfrom 1,145 embryo transfers.increasingly promising pregnancy rates.embryo production programs at UtrechtTo help practitioners set client expecta-The ability to salvage the genet- University, in the Netherlands. Based ontions for chances of a successful preg-ics of subfertile animals, use scarce orhis experience, he described factors thatnancy, Stout analyzed his labs data from expensive semen very efficiently, and/orcan affect a clients likelihood of success. the past several years. He included data produce embryos from competing maresStouts lab collects oocytes via OPUfrom 552 OPUs performed on 323 mares without having to put them through aand packages and transports them to anwhose eggs were injected with frozen-full insemination and embryo recoveryassisted reproduction center in Italy forthawed semen from 114 stallions. He said cycle has proven attractive to sport horseICSI, a form of in vitro fertilization wherethey recovered an average of 13 oocytes breeders and triggered many practices toa single sperm is injected directly intoper mare (a 57.6% recovery rate) and Take-Homes From VeterinarianThis isnt a drug you circle on aSESSION SPONSORED BYcalendar, said Maupin. If your horse Roundtable on Bisphosphonate Use is sound, you dont need to give theIn 2014 the FDA approved bisphosphonates to control signs of na- drug again. If hes still sore, do more vicular disease in horses age 4 and up, changing the way veterinariansdiagnostics. manage performance horses of all disciplines. To evaluate their useTheyre consistently doing better, in the five years since, Dechra, maker of the intramuscular injectablesaid Boswell. I dont see horses be-bisphosphonate Osphos, recently organized a roundtable of Englishcoming lame soon. Its also dramatical-and Western sport horse practitioners. ly decreased the frequency with which I Rob Boswell, DVM, an English sport horse veterinarian basedneed to perform joint injections.in Wellington, Florida, and Billy Maupin, DVM, who treats WesternTexas-based practitioner and roundtable attendee Chris Ray, DVM, performance horses in Nampa, Idaho, summarized the discussionssaid its not unusual in his practice for horses with navicular pain to take-homes during a Dechra-sponsored Sunrise Session. improve at least two lameness grades after bisphosphonate therapy.Bisphosphonates primarily work by preventing excess boneNavicular horses should look better after 14 days and still be good after four months, said FEI veterinarian Marc Koene, DVM.resorption, which occurs with navicular disease (aka podotrochlosis)Concurrent therapies The veterinarians agreed that bisphospho-and other bone disorders. They might offer the additional benefit ofnates are almost always part of a multimodal approach to treating an reducing bone pain. While bisphosphonates are labeled for navicularissue. Concurrent therapies and considerations might include cortico-treatment alone, Boswell and Maupin said veterinarians use them off- steroid joint injections, Adequan or Legend (polysulfated glycosami-label in other lameness cases.noglycan or hyaluronate sodium, respectively), and hoof support and Its been a game-changer as a standalone and adjunct therapy,shoeing.said Boswell. In some cases, it has made a difference in horses whenSafety Known potential side effects of bisphosphonates include I dont know whats going on, but I think its bone-related. Its dramati- gastrointestinal signs and renal (kidney) toxicity, particularly if ad-cally increased the weapons with which I can attack many commonministered in conjunction with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs problems. (NSAIDs).Case selection Diagnostic imaging, horse age, and type ofIll ask the client when the horses last dose of NSAIDs was, said work the horse is doing dictate whether veterinarians administerBoswell. I like to have a two-day window before and after giving bisphosphonates.Osphos in which the horse doesnt receive NSAIDs.Accurate diagnosis is paramount, said Boswell.He said he also makes sure the horse is well-hydrated. Occasionally Regarding diagnostic imaging findings, Im looking for radiographica horse shows colic signs or strange behavior, which he said typically or scintigraphy (bone scan) changes, said Maupin. If they light up ongo away within 10 minutes.a bone scan (e.g., in the pelvis or sacroiliac joint area), Im pretty muchWhile safe to administer at once, Maupin said his approach to going to reach for Osphossame with radiographic changes in the feet. avoiding renal effects is to split the bisphosphonate dose over three Hot spots on bone scans indicate abnormal bone metabolism, anddays. anything that could be associated with abnormally increased boneBoth veterinarians said they feel comfortable administering Osphos metabolism is a candidate for Osphos, said Boswell. off-label for conditions besides navicular pain. Results Boswell said he expects definite short-term improvementsIts been the best drug in a long time to get horses back in the in navicular-related lameness within seven to 10 days of administeringshow pen and reduce the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories bisphosphonates. In his practice he redoses horses two weeks later,and injections for any lytic (involving bone loss) disease, said Mau-then again two weeks after that, for a total of three full doses over 30pin.Alexandra Beckstettdays. Horses can stay in normal work throughout this period. GoingEditors note: Using bisphosphonates to treat any other condition forward, he doesnt administer Osphos again unless he needs to. besides navicular pain is considered off-label use.TheHorse.com|The HorseMarch 202035AAEPWrapUp.indd 35 2/5/20 2:54 PM'