Virus is contagious between horses, but does not affect humans

RALEIGH – The neurologic form of equine herpesvirus, EHV-1, has been confirmed in a North Carolina horse. The horse, from a Rockingham County stable, was taken to the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State University upon becoming ill, and directly quarantined to the equine isolation unit of the hospital.

“We have been fortunate that we’ve not seen this particular form of this common virus in North Carolina to date, even though it has been increasing in frequency throughout the country for almost a decade now,” said State Veterinarian David Marshall. “We are working with the College of Veterinary Medicine and with the stable to implement biosecurity measures and minimize the risk of further spread.”

EHV-1 is highly contagious among horses, but poses no threat to humans. It most often causes respiratory infections in young horses, but different strains can also pose neurologic problems, which the affected N.C. horse exhibited. The virus also can cause abortion in pregnant horses or neonatal death. Vaccines are available that protect horses from most forms of EHV-1, but not from the strains that cause neurologic problems.

Biosecurity measures to protect horses include quarantining facilities that are suspected to house EHV-1-exposed horses. Water and feed buckets should be disinfected and not shared. Stalls and trailers should also be cleaned and disinfected regularly to prevent the spread of disease. New additions or those returning from shows and exhibitions should be isolated for 3 weeks prior to comingling with other horses upon returning home. Horse owners should also talk with their veterinarian to determine a vaccine schedule.

More information about EPV-1 and how to prevent the virus can be found at www.ncagr.gov/vet/Disease Alerts.htm. Questions regarding College of Veterinary Medicine protocols may be referred to David Green at 919-513-6662.

There are no horse events scheduled this weekend at facilities owned by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Raleigh, Williamston and Fletcher.

CONTACT:
Dr. Tom Ray, director of Livestock Health Programs
NCDA&CS Veterinary Division
919-733-7601

Almost two years after discovering her western pleasure show prospect has the devastating genetic defect HERDA, owner finds a new purpose.

There was so much to look forward to for Robin Davison.  She had just purchased a wonderful western pleasure show prospect in November of 2009 and was going to chase her dream of showing at the National Western Stock Show. Unfortunately a few months after a local trainer started the filly under saddle, she developed saddle sores that never healed.  In May 2010, A DNA test at the University of California, Davis confirmed that “Penelope” (registered name Quality Sensation) is affected with HERDA, or Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia.  Her riding days were over and Robin’s dream was shattered.  After many months of research and digesting this horrible reality, Robin decided to find as many things to do with Penelope as her condition would permit.  They have attended local clinics, participating from the ground, and showed at some local shows in showmanship.  Penelope was even a 4-h project horse, placing reserve grand champion in showmanship at the local county fair.  Along the way, Robin found herself educating fellow horse owners about Penelope’s condition which resulted in a website, http://herdahorse.com/. Their story was covered in the December issue of EQUUS and due to such positive reader response a shorter version of this story is on their website.

Check out this great information that we all need to be aware of. This disease is on the rise.

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/case-report-hereditary-equine-regional
-dermal-asthenia-herda/

It is almost impossible to imagine that these large muscular creatures we call horses get most of their energy from sugar. In my neck of the woods, I have not seen protein shakes for horses nor chicken tenders, though one of my clients does feed his horse chicken nuggets on occasion.

Sugar is served as cubes, apples, carrots, candy, all grain, and most hay and pasture. These are all sugar. Sugar needs insulin to be absorbed into the cells or it is lost. The two largest organs to use sugar are the brain followed by the skin, including the hooves.

Excess sugar is placed in holding cells including fat cells. This reserve is normal and necessary. Observations of feral horses show that horses fatten up before winter. Cattle that remains thin from summer draught stricken pastures die in the winter.

In the wild, the sugar intake ebbs and flows, but in domesticated horses, the sugar intake becomes constant. While the mechanism is still being accurately determined, it now is evident that chronic excess sugar intake can cause Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS). Signs include a cresty neck and fat deposits at the shoulders and tail head. Most significant is a rise in blood insulin levels and a strong predisposition for laminitis.

An often overlooked source of sugar is the hay. Your eye cannot see the difference between high and low sugar hay. It is like looking at a juicy grapefruit or orange expecting to taste a sweet sugar filled fruit but then you are fooled by the bitter taste of a low sugar fruit. If you can’t test the hay you buy and you are worried about the sugar content, then soak the hay for 30 minutes in water before feeding it. There is hay available that is tested and bagged such as Triple Crown’s Safe Starch Hay. If you read about the sugar content of hay you will come across these terms:
NSC = Non Structural Carbohydrate = digestible sugar or starch;
SC = Structural Carbohydrate = non digestible sugar = fiber.

Speaking of low sugar, there are many grains today labeled “low starch.” Feeding low starch grain is like eating half a Twinkie expecting to lose weight. No grain, like no Twinkie, is how to lose weight.

Two final thoughts:
1) Why do we spend billions of dollars to make us thin and with what money is left over, we fatten our horses?
2) The equine body condition score (BCS) goes from 1 (near death) to 9 (obese). If 5 is ideal weight, where do you think vets make most of their income? The 7s, 8s, and 9s with laminitis, arthritis, ligament and tendon breakdowns, poor performance, etc.

The horses with a BCS of 5 and athletes at a 4 receive the glares of the neighboring horse owners. With one fist folded into their waist, the other with an extended finger points directly at your soul. Her eyes narrow and the sullen voice shreds your heart with the guilt stimulating words, “What kind of mother are you?”

Your ears become deaf to reason and logic as you scoop more grain into the feed bucket and think how you are helping your vet put her kids through college.

That is why sugar causes deafness. For those who didn’t get to the end of this it might be because sugar causes blindness too.

Doc T

©2011 The Equine Practice

Most evidence indicates EIPH in horses is caused by extra high blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation during exercise causing capillaries to rupture, vein remodeling and further damage when blood leaks into healthy lung tissue.  Now there’s an effective, natural treatment that can restore healthy blood pressure and prevent bleeding completely: an electrolyte-balancing patch marketed under the trade name “Equiwinner”.

Mesa, AZ (Oct. 25, 2011) – Bleeding in horses (Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage, EIPH) is now widely accepted as being associated with extra high blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation when the horse is under exertion[1].  Bleeding, and its consequences, not only affects performance negatively, it is a risk to the horse’s health and general well-being and should not be ignored.

In addition, researchers at Michigan State University believe that every time a horse exercises, not just during a race, the pressure goes up in its lungs enough to stretch veins, causing the veins to remodel.   Severe remodeling leads to rerouting of blood to nearby areas thus raising the pressure there.

The goal, therefore, is to restore normal, healthy blood pressure.  Normal blood pressure is the low resting to very high racing scale of blood pressure found in a free running wild horse, or a domesticated endurance horse, rising with exertion but not so high as to cause distress or bleeding.  The extra high blood pressure associated with bleeding is caused by capillary loss known as rarefaction when the electrolyte balance has deteriorated.  This loss of an essential part of the circulatory system is well known in humans to cause blood pressure to rise.

Furosemide, a diuretic, will temporarily reduce blood pressure by excreting water, but now there is a better, more effective alternative to continually treating for high blood pressure.

That solution is a patented, non-invasive dermal patch that serves as a natural electrolyte balancing system.  Developed by Therapina Ltd in the United Kingdom, the SmartCell Signal system restores normal cell metabolism by stimulating communication directly between cells in the horse’s body. The patch is marketed under the trade name “Equiwinner”.

Equiwinner resets electrolyte balance and starts to work almost immediately and, combined with only walking exercise for a total of fifteen days completely restores all capillaries to prevent the extra high blood pressure. The lung tissue has scars caused by previous bleeding, and these scars will normally rupture, causing more bleeding, but the Equiwinner procedure allows the scars to fully heal during the fifteen days. Normal training can then be resumed with confidence.

Since electrolytes are involved in every physiological process in the horse’s body, restoring optimal electrolyte balance with Equiwinner also improves overall performance.

These electrolyte-balancing patches are safe, effective and easy to use. The simple treatment costs less than continually trying to manage EIPH. One single treatment can be effective for up to one full year, when used as directed. Because the patches contain only natural balanced electrolytes, no chemicals or drugs are released into the horse’s body so the animal will never test positive in any competitive sport.

Equiwinner patches are distributed in the United States and Canada by Signal-Health LLC and are available from the company’s website at http://www.signal-health.com or by phoning toll-free: 1-877-378-4946.

Contact:
Barbara Socha, President bsocha@signal-health.com
480-985-9515 or 1-877-378-4946

Signal-Health LLC and Signal-Health Canada Inc. are distributors of the Equiwinner patch in the United States and Canada, respectively. Equiwinner is manufactured by Therapina Ltd UK.

1. Langsetmo, I., Meyer, M. R. and Erickson, H. H. (2000) Relationship of pulmonary arterial pressure to pulmonary haemorrhage in exercising horses. Equine Vet J 32, 379-384.

Lexington, KY – October 21, 2011 – Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital will hold an educational symposium for horsemen on sport horse health entitled “Achieving Peak Performance – A Whole Horse Approach” on Thursday, November 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. The seminar will be held in the North Exhibit Hall of the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, and will be free to ticket holders for Alltech National Horse Show events on that evening.

The symposium will highlight a range of veterinary topics impacting sport horses of all disciplines and levels. Talks will include “How Dentistry Affects Performance” by Brad Tanner, DVM; “Neck and Back Dysfunction” by Alex Emerson, DVM; “Hind Limb Pain and the Use of Stem Cells” by Scott Hopper, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS and partner at Rood & Riddle; “Shoeing for Performance” by Vern Dryden, DVM, CJF and “Nutritional Supplements for Sport Horses” by Steve Elliott, Global Product Director at Alltech. The symposium will be moderated by Chris Newton, DVM, partner at Rood & Riddle.

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is the official veterinarian, farrier and pharmacy of the Alltech National Horse Show, which is making its first appearance in Lexington, Kentucky this year. The 128-year-old show features a number of prestigious hunter and jumper classes, including the Double H Farm $75,000 International Grand Prix on the evening of the symposium.

Rood & Riddle is committed to providing educational opportunities for its clients, with the belief that furthering education results in better equine care.

“Rood and Riddle is pleased to hold a sport horse seminar for our clients and attendees and competitors of the Alltech National Horse Show. We have a wonderful line-up of speakers and topics which should provide great value for all horsemen,” said Tom Riddle, DVM founder of Rood & Riddle.

This year’s show, designated CSI4*-W, will feature a complete schedule of ‘AA’-rated hunter divisions, including the Pony Lane Farm High Performance Hunter section. Also on the agenda, a big money Open Jumper division highlighted by the Sasco Creek Farm $50,000 Welcome Speed Class, the $75,000 Double H Farms Thursday’s Jump-Off class, the $60,000 Spy Coast Farm Faults Converted Speed class on Friday and of course, the $250,000 Alltech National Horse Show Grand Prix, an FEI World Cup qualifying event. $100,000 will be up for grabs for the Junior and Amateur Jumper divisions, including the $50,000 SJHOF Junior/Amateur Championships, sponsored by Sleepy P Ranch, Chansonette and Deeridge Farm. The final Sunday is highlighted by the signature event of the National Horse Show, the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals, presented by C. M. Hadfield’s Saddlery.

Founded in 1883 at the original Madison Square Garden, the National Horse Show is America’s oldest indoor horse show, firmly established as a major fixture on the national and international sports and social event calendars. The National Horse Show Association’s primary activity is the annual production of the National Horse Show and all ancillary events. Over the years, the National Horse Show has provided financial aid to many worthwhile charities. For more information on the National Horse Show Association of America, Limited, please visit www.nhs.org.

For more information about the Rood & Riddle Sport Horse Symposium, please contact the public relations office at (859) 233-0371.

Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition – Fast Facts

What:
The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition, is a weeklong championship event featuring “AA”-rated hunters, open jumpers, junior/amateur jumpers, and the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals. The event will run November 2-6, 2011, in the Alltech Indoor Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, site of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games(TM).

Parking:
Horse Show Exhibitors may purchase a weekly parking pass at the main Horse Park entrance for $5.00. Dogs are permitted at the Kentucky Horse Park on a leash.

Directions:
The Kentucky Horse Park is located 8 miles northeast of Lexington, Kentucky at Exit 120 on Interstate 75.

Information:
Carolyn Vincent
National Horse Show
PO Box 386
Greenvale, NY 11548

Telephone:
Phone: (516) 484-1865
Fax: (516) 484-1982

Email:
NationalHS@aol.com

Website:
www.nhs.org

Shopping:
Vendors offering equestrian equipment, apparel, jewelry and home furnishings are located in the Alltech Arena.

Additional Contacts:
Vendors – Matt Morrissey at Mmorri4398@aol.com or 941 915-3457
VIP Table Sales – Kiki Umla at KIKIUMLA@aol.com or 904-606-5541
Advertising – Laura Reed at reed.laura@insightbb.com or 859-321-7687
Sponsorship – Mason Phelps at mpjr@phelpsmediagroup.com or 561-753-3389 or Susie Webb at webb_susie@yahoo.com or 301-520-6162

Hotels:
CLARION HOTEL (formerly Holiday Inn North) – 859 – 233-0512 – Approximately 4 miles
FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES BY MARRIOTT – 859 -977-5870 – Approximately 4 miles
FOUR POINTS SHERATON – 859-259-1311 – Approximately 4 miles
LA QUINTA – 859-231-7551 – Approximately 4 miles
KNIGHTS INN – 859-231-0232 – Approximately 4 miles
EMBASSY SUITES – 859-455-5000 – Approximately 4 miles
MARRIOT GRIFFIN GATE – 859-231-5100 – Approximately 4 miles
RESIDENCE INN – 859-231-6191 – Approximately 5 miles
COURTYARD BY MARRIOT – 859-253-4646 – Approximately 5 miles
HOLIDAY INN GEORGETOWN – 502-570-0220 – Approximately 6 miles
RAMADA INN – 859-299-1261 – Approximately 6 miles
RED ROOF INN – 859-293-2626 – Approximately 6 miles
HAMPTON INN – 502-867-4888 – Approximately 6 miles
SUPER EIGHT – 502-863-4888 – Approximately 6 miles
MICROTEL INN & SUITES – 502-868-8000 – Approximately 6 miles

Management:
Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC
P. O. Box 11428
Lexington, KY 40575-1428
859-233-0492 (phone)
859-233-0495 (fax)
email: hakshows@earthlink.net
website: www.kentuckyhorseshows.com

ALLTECH MEDIA CONTACT:
Susanna Elliott
Corporate PR Manager, North America
Alltech Corporate Headquarters
3031 Catnip Hill Pike
Nicholasville, Kentucky

Telephone: (859) 887-5144
Mobile: (859) 473-2696

Email: SuElliott@alltech.com
Web site: www.alltech.com

NATIONAL HORSE SHOW MEDIA CONTACT:
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
12230 Forest Hill Blvd.
Suite 214
Wellington, FL 33414
561-753-3389 (phone)
561-753-3386 (fax)

pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
www.phelpsmediagroup.com

About Alltech:
Founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech is a global animal health and nutrition company with 31 years’ experience in developing natural products that are scientifically proven to enhance animal health and performance. With more than 2650 employees in 128 countries, the company has developed a strong regional presence in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle-East, Africa and Asia. For further information, visit www.alltech.com. For media assets, visit www.alltech.com/press.

Gravity. It’s not just a good idea… it’s the law! This goes for horses and dogs as well as people. Pretty much all activity on earth is influenced by gravity, and the forces generated by gravity are the primary source of most athletic injury. However, most injuries aren’t caused by running or jumping, as you would think. They actually originate with how the person or animal uses their body while standing. In horses, this is especially critical, because they spend 20-22 hours a day standing: standing and eating, standing and sleeping or just plain standing.

What goes into posture?

Did you ever think about what it takes to stand up? You have to organize your legs, joint by joint, engage your spine, support your head and at the same time, keep the whole apparatus from falling over. All these tasks are done unconsciously by postural control centers in the brain, which process information about the body’s position in space. The nerves that receive information and take it to the central nervous system are called afferent nerves, and a special class of them are known as “proprioceptors.” Proprioceptors tell the brain where different parts of the body are: feet on the ground, head in the air, how much each joint is bent, etc. The most important information needed to generate posture comes from the position of the head and upper neck, the contact between the feet and the ground surface, and the position of the temporo-mandibular joints (TMJ), or jaw joints. These areas are very rich in proprioceptors; information transmitted to the postural control centers from these three regions will generate the correct standing posture needed to keep the animal upright.

Normal and compensatory posture

When a horse is standing normally, on level ground, all four cannon bones are perpendicular to the ground, like a table. The equine anatomy is adapted so that this posture is the most energy efficient. Any other posture is a compensatory posture, which takes more muscular energy to maintain, and puts strain on tendons and ligaments. There are normal, appropriate compensatory postures, such as when a horse stands uphill, or has an injury on one leg and shifts its weight to the other three legs. More often, we see abnormal compensatory postures, which are created by distorted information coming in to the postural control centers from the neck, feet or TMJ.

What causes compensatory posture?

Though they are the same genetically and physiologically, most domestic horses live in a world that is quite different from that of the wild horse. Instead of wandering the range all day grazing, our horses stand all day on wood chips in a 10’x12’ room, get a couple of meals of high calorie food, and exercise — if they are lucky — one to two hours a day. They have restraints (halters, bridles, cross-ties) on their upper necks, depend upon a farrier to trim, and sometimes put shoes on their feet, and once a year, a vet or an equine dental technician files down their teeth. All these changes in the natural ecology of the horse are part of the compromise of living among us humans. We do the best we can for our horses, but sometimes it isn’t quite good enough. Inadequate exercise and lack of appropriate ground surface changes a horses hoof growth and shape. Farriers do the same, sometimes making the hooves better and more functional, sometimes inadvertently making them worse. Eating small amounts of grain rather than large amounts of hay or forage, not only alters their digestion, but changes the way a horse grinds its teeth, affecting the position of the TMJ. Getting shanked, or pulling against cross-ties, can damage the delicate muscles of the poll. All these things will contribute to abnormal posture by distorting the neural signals that inform the brain about the body’s position in relation to gravity.

How does this work?

One of the most common causes of abnormal compensatory posture is imbalanced hooves, especially long toes. When a horse has excessive toe length, it stretches the flexor tendons, and puts pressure on the heel of the foot. The same thing would happen if a horse stood facing up a hill. With long toes, the brain gets confused, and thinks the body is on a hill, so the horse puts its front legs back in relation to its body. But since it is actually on level ground, if it leaned forward, it would fall on its nose, so the hind end must counter-balance. The result is the common compensatory posture we call “goat-on-a-rock”, where both front and hind legs are camped in. In this posture, the horse’s weight is pitched to the rear, standing heavier on its hind end than its front end. Normally a horse carries 55% of its weight in the front and 45% in the rear.

Chronic compensatory posture of this type can be the primary initiating cause of sore backs and hind limb lameness, as well as heel pain (sometimes called navicular syndrome). Back pain comes because the long muscles of the back are overworked to hold the body in an abnormal position. Hind limb lameness can be the result of carrying an inappropriate amount of weight in the hind end, overloading the hock and stifle joints, causing premature arthritis. Heel pain can develop from always rocking back on the heel of the foot, which crushes the digital cushion and damages the navicular bone. Amazingly, many of these syndromes can improve when the horse starts standing up straight. The same postural abnormalities can also be caused by problems with dental occlusion or injury to the poll.

How can I recognize if my horse’s foot balance is abnormal?

Take a ruler and measure the width of each hoof’s frog at its widest part, which should be the weight bearing part of the heel (the end of the shoe). In a horse with normal posture the front frogs will be wider than the hind frogs. Now, take your ruler and find the widest part of the entire hoof. A healthy hoof tends to be round, not oval, or spade shaped. The widest part of the hoof is the center of the hoof, from front to back. A horse’s heel support should be at the widest part of the frog. So, if heel to center line is one half the length of the foot, there should be an equal distance from the center to the toe “breakover”, which is the last part of the foot to leave the ground. If your horse has more foot in front of that center line than behind, its toes are too long. Ask your farrier to bring the heels back to the widest of the frog, and put the breakover the same distance as from the heels to the center of the foot, also called the “bridge”. This will balance the foot from front to back, so that the horse can bear weight evenly. If your horse has had long toes for a long time, it may take a few days to a few weeks for it to adjust to its new trim. Hang in there — the improvement will be worth it!

What else can I do to improve my horse’s posture and health?

Good dental equilibration is essential for the horse, whether an elite athlete or best friend. Find a veterinarian who specializes in dentistry, preferably one certified by the IAED (International Association of Equine Dentists), and make sure that your practitioner of choice will equilibrate both front teeth (incisors) and check teeth (molars). Most horses should have a thorough oral exam once a year. If your horse is sensitive at the poll, has a stiff neck or is head shy, it may benefit from someone with specialty training in veterinary manipulative therapy, either chiropractic or physical therapy. Once your horse can generate and maintain a normal standing posture, it should be able to heal itself from most body strains cause by poor hoof balance, dental malocclusion or poll dysfunction. Sometimes, when a horse has abnormal posture for a long time, it may need some help reprogramming its system. You can try to find a practitioner trained in Postural Rehabilitation at the website below.

Remember, a horse will be healthiest and happiest if it can live like its wild cousins. Give it lots of turn out, feed hay free choice on the ground (not in a hay net or trough), and go barefoot if possible. If your horse lives in a stall most of the time, make the stall as level as possible, so it doesn’t have to stand on peaks and valleys all day long. Horses are highly social, and become stressed if deprived from social interactions with other horses. Domestic horses live the good life in many ways — free food, safety from predators, shelter from the wind and rain. We can go a long way to mitigate the disadvantages of living among humans once we recognize the problems and their sources.

Dr. Karen Gellman is a graduate of Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, and has a doctorate from Cornell in animal locomotion biomechanics. She has advanced training and certification in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic. She has also studied physical therapy techniques with some of the leading equine physiotherapists in England and Canada. She teaches internationally about posture, complementary therapies and biomechanics to horsemen, veterinarians and physical therapists. She also is involved with both clinical and basic science research about posture in horses, dogs and humans. Learn about her work and upcoming events at www.equinesportsmed.com, or find a Postural Rehabilitation practitioner at www.posturalrehabvets.com.

Horses may have colic without diarrhea, diarrhea without colic, and colic with diarrhea, depending on the cause.

Colic is defined as acute abdominal pain.  Colic does not indicate the cause, location, or source of the abdominal pain.

Diarrhea is defined as passage of fecal material that has increased water content.

There are many types and causes of colic such as: ulcers, dysbiosis (imbalance of good and bad bacteria and yeast), leaky gut syndrome, gas distension, obstruction/impaction, intestinal twists, hernias, foreign bodies, parasites, toxins, medications, infections (bacterial, fungal, and viral), spasms, and more.

There are also many possible causes of diarrhea such as: ulcers/dysbiosis/leaky gut syndrome, parasites, toxins, infections (bacterial, fungal, and viral), medications (NSAIDs/antibiotics), cancer, and more.

Some cases of diarrhea and colic can self-correct, while others require medical and/or surgical treatment.  Some cases can become chronic and severely affect the horse’s health even resulting in death.

Preventative care is the best option!  Provide good quality feed, hay, pasture, and water.  Adding digestive enzymes and pre/probiotics will improve digestion and promote a healthy GI tract.  Only a few products available in the U.S. have the beneficial yeast clinically proven to survive past the stomach and treat the large intestine/colon, where diarrhea originates from.  KLPP is one of them.  Monitor and control parasite load.  Keep up with dental care.  Limit the use of medications and dewormers to only when necessary.    Administer pre/probiotics to protect the GI tract when giving medications that may cause problems, such as antibiotics.

If your horse is colicing and/or has diarrhea, contact your veterinarian for medical advice.   Flunixin meglumine (Banamine) is often recommended to help manage the pain and protect from toxins.  Some essential oils may be beneficial when applied to the abdomen and under the upper lip, such as Peppermint and DiGize.  Most veterinarians will recommend hand walking to stimulate normal gut motility.  Sometimes a trailer ride can be beneficial to “get things moving.”  With your veterinarian’s approval, giving KLPP orally can help with gas, ulcers, and irritation in the stomach and intestines.

This tip was brought to you by John J. Hanover, DVM and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” FREE webinars.  These webinars are an expansion of KAM’s weekly tips.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com for more information.

Initially when you talk about how to make a horse sweat it sounds much like leading a horse to water.  So I’ll make it clear: this simple protocol may or may not work for your horse but it has proven to work for many others. In the least, I hope it will provide direction in case you find your horse slipping into symptoms of anhidrosis.

This tip is not completely about anhidrosis because that is a tip in its own right.

However, if your horse exhibits continued instances of non-sweating a diagnosis of anhidrosis may be around the corner.  As with any abnormal body response early detection and treatment is key.

Anhidrosis is also known as the “non-sweating disease.”  In the early stages you may see horses panting heavily, even beyond cessation of work.  Visually there will be very little, patchy or no sweat as well as an elevated pulse and increased body temperature. If you witness these symptoms immediate veterinarian care is recommended.  Sweating is how the body cools itself.  Thus the initial protocol is to provide means of cooling the horse with a cool mist of water or sponging, fans, shade and exposure to a breeze/wind.

For preventative care balanced minerals, vitamins and electrolytes need to be incorporated into the diet.

Culprits that lead to anhidrosis are poor nutrient and imbalanced diets, poor quality and imbalanced water plus lack of hydration. If you have a horse that exhibits symptoms of anhidrosis support of a nutritionist would be beneficial.

Lastly, if you find yourself at a competition/ride with a horse that is not sweating appropriately we have discovered a simple protocol.  An electrolyte supplement mixed with a liquid digestive support product has worked wonders for getting the ball rolling again.  The continued use of this combination throughout the competition/ride and post work may get you through a serious situation until the horse’s diet and source of water may be evaluated.  There are products on the market that indicate they are supportive of horses with anhidrosis; however, we strongly suggest the diet and water be reviewed prior to their application.

This tip was brought to you by Kendra Helfter (www.abcplus.biz) and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” FREE webinars, which take place monthly.  These webinars are an expansion of KAM’s weekly tips.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for the next webinar.

PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma, or blood plasma with concentrated platelet content. Platelets are derived from stem cells in the patient’s bone marrow.

As platelets come into contact with the damaged collagen and endothelial cells, a fibrin clot forms and growth factors are recruited and released.

Two growth factors are of particular interest in dealing with orthopedic injuries. Platelets release transforming growth factor beta and platelet derived growth factor upon activation at an injured site. These growth factors and others act synergistically to enhance access of healthy inflammatory cells to the area of tissue injury, formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), formation of new connective tissue (fibroplasia) and regeneration of injured tissues.

Injection of PRP is a recommended treatment option for both sub-acute and chronic tendon and ligament injuries. Certain arthroscopic procedures are also incorporating the use of PRP in equine surgery.

Most equine injection procedures are done under standing sedation with or without a local nerve block. Sixty milliliters of whole blood is drawn from the horse in a special syringe, and processed immediately, to separate the platelet rich fraction. The PRP is then injected into the injured site and the limb is bandaged for two-three days.

Re-examination with ultrasonography is conducted every 30-60 days initially and every 60 to 90 days during the remaining healing period depending on the degree and location of injury. Horses are placed on controlled exercise protocol based on the ultrasound findings and subsequent degree of lameness.

This tip was brought to you by Chuck Maker, DVM (www.alpinehospital.com) and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” FREE webinars, which take place monthly.  These webinars are an expansion of KAM’s weekly tips.  The next webinar is on September 26 and will cover preparing for an emergency, such as hurricanes, fire, etc.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for the next webinar.

Equine tendon, ligament, and joint injuries are some of the most frequently seen problems in clinical veterinary practice.  These lead to joint instability, degenerative joint disease, and reduced performance.

Osteoarthritis is one of the main causes of lameness in horses and involves the deterioration of joint cartilage leading to pain and inflammation. Conventional therapies involve intra-articular medications such as hyaluronic acid and/or steroids, rest, shockwave therapy, Polysulfated glycosaminoglycans, hyaluronic acid, IRAP and PRP.

Adult derived stem cells are a relatively new means of treating acute and chronic tendon injuries, suspensory and collateral ligament injuries and osteoarthritis in horses.  Adult derived stem cells are concentrated and autologous to the patients in which they are used.

Research is ongoing pertaining to how stem cells offer regeneration of injured tissues.  The process begins either by the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood in a foal or by harvesting 50 grams of adipose tissue (fat) or 20-40 cc of bone marrow from the sternum or hip under standing sedation in adults.

These samples are in turn sent overnight to commercial laboratories where they are processed for pleuripotent stem cells.  These initial cells are then cultured in a lab and expanded to produce 5 to 30 million cells for injection back into the patient depending on the injury being treated and patient’s age and relative health. Stem cells are injected back into an injured joint or ligament or tendon with ultrasound guidance when needed or after arthroscopy if appropriate.  Additional stem cells can be cryo-preserved dependent on the initial cell yield and used for subsequent regenerative therapy treatments. Get more info at www.alpinehospital.com.

This tip was brought to you by Chuck Maker, DVM (www.alpinehospital.com) and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” FREE webinars, which take place monthly.  These webinars are an expansion of KAM’s weekly tips.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for the next webinar.  The FREE webinars will conclude with a question and answer session, so be ready with your questions.