January 2022 NL
AAEP Highlights
In December Dr Katie went to Nashville to attend the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners) meeting to fulfill her continued education requirements. In this month’s newsletter, she would like to share some of the highlights with you.
Equine Ulcers / Treatment and Prevention
Many horses are subject to gastric ulcers. Stall confinement, stress, decreased hay intake, travel and competitions are risk factors. Horses with ulcers often grind their teeth, show abdominal discomfort, and may not eat their grain. Some horses may become cinchy, showing discomfort when tightening the girth.
Ulcers are diagnosed by fiberoptic scoping of the stomach, following fasting, or response to treatment.
At the AAEP meeting the recommended treatment schedule for ulcers is as follows:
5:00 am. Treat with Gastrogard. Give ½ tube for 2 weeks, then ¼ tube for 1 week on an empty
stomach.
6:00 am. Feed hay and feed with corn oil.
8:00 am. Treat with Sucralfate tablets orally.
10:00 am. Misoprostol tablets can be given for bad ulcers. Provide free choice hay all day or pasture.
6:00 pm. Treat with Sucralfate tablets orally.
7:00 pm. Feed alfalfa hay and grain with corn oil.
There are measures that can be taken to prevent ulcers. Horses, especially ones at a higher risk, can benefit from the following preventative measures:
- Feed free choice hay, preferably alfalfa.
- Add ¼ cup corn oil on grain, or ½ cup of aloe vera juice.
- Feed Ugard or NeighLox daily.
- Give Ulcergard or misoprostol in preventative doses.
EPM PREVENTION AND TREATMENT / REDUCED DOSAGE
EPM, a neurological disease caused from the protozoal parasite Sarcocystis Neurona, is spread by opossums. The infective stage of the organism (the sporocysts) is passed in the opossum’s feces. The horse comes into contact with the infective sporocysts while grazing or consuming contaminated feed or water. EPM is not passed from horse to horse.
A study was done with Merck Protazil (diclazuril). The Protozil was given on the feed at ½ dose twice a week for 12 months. The blood levels of the drug stayed above the level needed to inhibit the EPM parasite. Therefore, ½ dose given twice a week can be used a preventative for EPM. For the treatment of EPM, ½ dose of Protazil daily for 28 days can be used, reducing the cost of the drug by half.
Wound treatment
When bandaging wounds, the use of saline (salt water) soaked bandages was found to be more beneficial for wound healing and decreased scarring. Using hydro therapy (running water on the wound) to clean and wash away drainage daily is still a good treatment by itself and before rebandaging.
Cryptorchism (retained testicle/testicles)
Discussed was a blood test for a retained testicle following an HCG injection. The HCG response test is the most reliable test for detecting functional testicular tissue. It is useful for distinguishing fully castrated geldings from those with retained testicles or testicular remnants.
Hoof Wall Defects
The use of a hoof cast for bad or missing hoof walls was discussed. The cast material is placed around the hoof wall attaching it to the hoof wall with acrylic. The cast material over the frog and sulci is then removed to let the hoof expand. The cast can be left on for 2 months.
CBD Usage
Horses were given CBD orally for 6 weeks. The CBD was detectable in 4 days, and still detectable 10 days past the final dose. CBD at the 3mg/Kg dose was detected in joint fluid. Some horses had elevated liver enzymes and all had lower calcium levels. The pelleted supplement containing 150/mg CBD was fed for 56 days with no blood abnormalities and no sedation or ataxia effects. Detectable blood levels of CBD were found in 40% of the horses after one treatment and 78% by day 56. Therefore, it was not absorbed by 22% of the horses.
Equine Asthma or Heaves
The cause is an allergy to the dust of hay. Feeding round bales is the #1 cause of heaves. When the horse pulls hay from the round bale, three times the amount of hay dust is released as opposed to square bale flakes fed on the ground. There was a study done with heaves horses. Half of the horses were fed good green hay and half were fed dark moldy hay. Neither group experienced an increased allergic reaction (worse heaves) or an asthma attack. It was determined that heaves is caused by an allergy to the hay dust not the mold on the hay.
With the asthma attack or heaves, there is inflammation of the bronchioles (the small airways in the lungs) which produce mucous and constrict causing difficulty breathing. The signs are cough, forced expiration, flared nostrils and difficult breathing. There is no cure for heaves, just maintenance in controlling it and avoiding exposure to hay dust
CONTROLLING THE ENVIROMENT
Decrease dust. One episode of hay dust exposure (such as mowing the pasture) can trigger an equine asthma attack. Do not feed round bales, feed hay cubes. If feeding hay flakes wet or soak them before feeding. Feed pelleted feed, not oats. Do not use hay nets (even when trailering) or feed hay in hay racks. Hay should be fed on the ground. When cleaning stalls, take the horse out. Wet the stall and alley to decrease dust. Keep stored square hay bales away from the heavy horse’s stall.
TREATMENT
Asvero is a horse inhaler that fits into the horse’s nostril and delivers puffs of cortisone directly into the horse’s lungs. It is new and the best treatment because the cortisone goes into the lungs, not like the cortisone pills or shots that go through the whole body. For acute asthma attacks cortisone is needed along with the bronchodilator Ventipulmen. We can then use Dexamethasone, Prednisolone or Zyrtec tabs to control which is less expensive than the Asvero inhaler.
Castration signs this month are Monday the 2nd thru the Friday the 7th.
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