Latest News – The Horse

Tablet computers, Metron PX, Hi-8, true digital, megapixels, lithium vs. NiMH batteries, inverters, iGo Juice, Photoshop–what do all these things have to do with the equine veterinarian? The message of the Emerging Technologies Table Topic was they can do quite a lot to help.

“You get into a lot of these things out of necessity, not fun and games,” said moderator Dick Galley, DVM, a

Since then, more advanced drugs including new inhalant anesthetics have been developed to reduce stress on horses being put under anesthesia, and during recovery. Since the 1980s, research into the importance of monitoring blood pressure, respiration, and blood gases during anesthesia has also been documented.

Several studies have been conducted on extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) at various institutions this past year. One presented by C. Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, DSc, FRCVS, DrMedVet (hc), Dipl. ACVS, director of Colorado State University’s Gail Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Research Center, at the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Denver, Colo.,

To determine whether equine shock collars could eliminate aggressive behavior, Kennedy looked at a group of 15 horses that were either aggressive toward a new horse in the pasture, aggressive toward a horse on the opposite side of a fence, or aggressive within an established herd.

A major use of prostaglandin is to manipulate mares’ estrous cycles. Some side effects observed when mares are treated with labeled doses of these medications include sweating and colic, and as a result owner distaste for using the drugs is growing.

The conditions under which a veterinarian is asked to complete a purchase exam have great bearing on how much he or she is able to ascertain about the horse and its current state of health and athleticism. A roomful of veterinarians discussed the ins and outs of purchase exams at the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Denver, Colo., Dec. 4-8, 2004. Whil

Equine seizures can be disturbing to witness, and they can be puzzling for a veterinarian to diagnose, simply because the veterinarian isn’t always there to watch the horse as it has a seizure. Diagnostic tests can be expensive and time-consuming, but are necessary to determine the cause of the seizures and help identify ways to prevent them in the future.

Whether it be a geriatric horse with West Nile virus, a malnourished mare, or a multi-million dollar stallion that is down, recumbent transport can be a useful and safe way to move the horse if performed properly. A rescue glide made of recycled plastic can get the animal onto a trailer or ambulance, and the most difficult part of its use is getting the horse on the glide.

The examination of a well-preserved placenta adds value to a post-partum checkup. “What clients can do to help us is the timeliness of placental examination,” he added. “There is little you can draw from a placenta that has been exhumed from beneath an azalea bush after three days.”

Hudson found that embryo recovery can be enhanced by slight modifications of the standard embryo flush technique, and embryo transfer success can be improved by verifying that the embryo was not retained in the tip of the sheath with which the veterinarian performs the embryo transfer.

Swor and her co-authors from Texas A&M University (TAMU) found out that deep digital flexor tendonitis (DDFT) is more common than previously thought, and it is found more often in the hind limb than the forelimb. Additionally, horses with hind limb DDFT are more likely to make a full recovery than horses with forelimb DDFT.

Dyson and her colleagues discovered in a recent study that there were no significant differences in the angles of the distal phalanx (P3, or the coffin bone) between horses of mixed breeds, with and without DDFT injury. However, they found that when Thoroughbreds were considered separately from the other breeds, horses with DDFT lesions were more likely to have a more acute P3 angle.

Performance horse veterinarians treat everything from the cutting horse to the dressage mount, but when it comes to issues pertinent to their practice, they are much alike. The problems of online and traveling pharmacies, clients’ administering medications, drug testing at shows, and compounding were discussed at the performance forum at the 2004 convention of the American Association of

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has added the welfare of unwanted horses in the United States to its priority list for the foreseeable future, according to AAEP leaders during the annual convention Dec. 5-8, 2004, in Denver, Colo.

While the AAEP’s stand against the national bill that bans slaughter of horses has been seen as a negative by many horse owners,

Approximately 55,000 horses are slaughtered each year in the United States. These horses are most often sent to a processing facility because they are no longer serviceable, are infirm, dangerous, or their owners are no longer able to care for them. The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), a professional association with a membership of 7,500 equine veterinarians and veterinar