Many of you have followed the story of Highway. He fell off a trailer on the interstate, then was unclaimed by owners. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, my amazing Docs, Equine Medical Center, and a whole lot of people via GoFundMe got him through the first few weeks of a very severe injury. My Docs were feeling pretty good about Highway’s future, despite the severity of his wounds, and it was time for him to spend his days healing, and being loved. The great people at Dreamcatcher Ranch and Rescue agreed to give Highway a great home. If only Highway’s injuries had felt the same.

What’s in a joint?

I’m going to start by talking a bit about how joints are put together. This description works for most of the joints in the body. It also applies to cats, humans, horses, even dogs (I try not to discuss those loud, smelly creatures). The joint is basically a balloon that encloses the spot where two bones meet. That balloon is called a joint capsule. That capsule is lined with stuff called synovium. Dr. Lacher describes this as really bad 1970’s shag carpeting. I’m not old enough to have seen this in person, but it seems like really fuzzy carpeting. There are also the cartilage-covered ends of the bones inside the joint. Just outside the joint capsule there are lots of tendons and ligaments. To make things slightly complicated, this same balloon setup is also around some tendons without the bone part of things.

Joints and bacteria don’t like each other

In Highway’s case the joint capsule got torn when he slid down the interstate on his knees. Not only did he open his joint capsule, but he also got tons of debris, including asphalt into his knee joints! I’m no expert. Ok that’s a lie. As a cat, I’m expert in all things, but I digress. I doubt asphalt and knees go together well. The asphalt helped carry bacteria deep into the joint. Once in the joint (his middle carpal joint, to be specific), bacteria go to town in all that shag carpeting wannabe synovium stuff. Synovium provides a warm, snuggly place to cuddle up and make more bacteria. And if anyone has ever tried to clean shag carpeting, you understand how hard it is to get the bacteria out of all those nooks and crannies! While that bacteria is hanging out in the joint, the body is fighting to get it out as hard as it can. Unfortunately, that process is incredibly bad for the cartilage on the bones, and the joint capsule itself.

Get out, bacteria! Get out!!

Bacteria are bad, and they’re hard to get out a joint, so what’s a Doc to do? The first step was establishing that Highway had in fact opened the joint capsule. To do that, Dr. Vurgason cleaned the area around the joint really well. She also clipped all the hair away from the wounds. Then she put a needle into the joint from another location as far away from the wound as possible. This needle was attached to a bag of sterile fluids. Pressure was applied to bag, and the wounds watched closely. Nearly as soon as fluids started to flow through the needle, Dr. Vurgason could see the fluid coming out of the wound opening. This meant the joint was definitely compromised. To try to get as much bacteria out as possible at this stage, Dr. Vurgason ran the entire bag of fluids (1,000cc) through the joint, and finished up with some antibiotics. This was Step 1.

You guys are the reason Highway got to go to Step 2! A little bit of fluid was OK, but with a joint this open, and with this much stuff in it, Highway needed lots of fluid through that joint. And that means surgery. You awesome humans (wow, I don’t say that very often) stepped up, and off to Equine Medical Center of Ocala he went. While there, they put a camera and very, very big needle into the joint, and ran about 10,000cc of fluid through his joint. They also picked out as much asphalt as they could find.

After surgery  

To keep up the fight, Highway had high concentrations of antibiotics placed directly in the joint, along with daily regional perfusions of antibiotics. Regional perfusions work to increase the antibiotics to one specific area of the body. To do them, a tourniquet was placed above the wounds on Highway’s right front leg. Then antibiotics were injected into a vein. The tourniquet was left in place for 20 minutes, then removed. Highway also got IV antibiotics, and some bute for pain. His bandage was replaced every day with a new sterile bandage. This helped minimize the amount of bacteria near the joint. Most importantly, Highway stayed very, very comfortable. Horses can’t bear all their weight on just one front leg for very long without developing founder in the other one. Thankfully, Highway was never terribly uncomfortable, so the Docs didn’t have to worry about this.

Fighting and Hoping

Highway did great! The flushing, regional perfusions, and antibiotics, and a whole lot of fight from Highway himself seemed to do the trick. The knee joint closed, and still Highway was comfortable. If there had been a raging infection still going on in there, he would have been really painful as the immune system kept up the fight. My Docs gave him ten days off antibiotics, and two and a half weeks after the joint closed to be sure things were looking good. Then it was time to send him to Dreamcatcher, where he could get the long-term care he would need to heal. Horses being horses, it couldn’t be that easy. It turns out there was a simmering infection in the extensor tendon sheath, which is one of those joint-type things around a tendon. This one is located right over the knee joint.

This one still had bacteria, and even some tiny bits of asphalt in it. You see, even with all those fluids used to rinse the wound and joint the first time, it’s pretty much impossible to get it completely clean (think about that shag carpeting), but Highway’s body had been working hard to get that asphalt out. The tiny cells of the immune system had encapsulated it, and brought it to the surface of the wound to get it out of the body.

Highway has been back through the lavage, regional perfusion, bandage routine again with the Docs at Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital. He’s back fighting to clean the bacteria out of the joint, and trust me, it’s a fight. The bacteria have been in there since November 30th in the wee hours of the morning, when Highway decided he wasn’t going to stay in that horse trailer to face certain death. The bacteria have had time to get into all those nooks and crannies. They’ve withstood lavaging, regional perfusions, and antibiotics. It’s going to be harder to get them to leave now. But the Docs are fighting, Highway is comfortable, and you guys are supporting him through it! You humans are amazing sometimes! That’s high praise coming from a cat!!

Want to learn more about Highway? Or follow his story? My minions post regular updates on the Springhill Equine Facebook Page.

Want even more great info? Listen to the podcast the humans do: Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. The latest episode is all about deworming protocols, and you might not be as up to date with this as you think you are!

Want to be my favorite human? Subscribe to my blog. Get it a day earlier than everyone else, and be an official member of the Tony fan club.

Until next week,

Tony

     Happy New Year everyone! It’s that time of year again for me to help you with your New Year’s Resolutions. But don’t worry, my resolutions are way easier than trying to go to the gym every day or stick to the Keto diet. These resolutions are sure to make for a happy horse and an even happier horse mom or dad!

Sign up for a Wellness Plan

Yes, I know this is on my list every year. But that’s because it’s really, really important! All of Springhill’s Wellness packages go by calendar year, so now is the time to renew your horses for 2019. Also, if you are interested in our convenient monthly payment option, your horses MUST be signed up be January 15th to be eligible.

Do you remember all the perks that come along with your annual Wellness package? Two visits a year including all necessary vaccines, physical exams, Coggins, and fecal egg counts, plus an annual dental float with sedation included. NO EMERGENCY FEES for the entire year for any horses on a Wellness plan. Not to mention you get a really cute and clever T-shirt when you sign up (while supplies last)! While having your horse on Wellness is a huge money saver, the docs tell me that the true value of our Wellness packages lies in the bi-annual exams and the oral exam with every dental float. By having your vet give your horse a thorough once-over at least every 6 months, problems are identified early and can be treated before they become a major concern.

We offer 3 tiers of wellness plans so you can choose the one that best suits your horse’s needs. The Performance plan is ideal for anyone planning to compete or travel regularly in the year ahead. This plan includes a third visit to make sure your horse’s immunity against contagious diseases is kept in high gear. A third exam by one of our veterinarians also offers another opportunity for issues such as mild lameness, skin problems, or weight loss to be corrected before it derails your competition plans.

The Weekend Warrior plan is great for horses that mostly stay at home, but that plan on occasionally traveling to horse shows, barrel races, trail rides, or anywhere else they may come in contact with other horses. This plan includes vaccination against flu and rhinopneumonitis, the most common contagious upper respiratory diseases of horses.

The Pasture Pet plan is designed for the homebodies who spend their days mowing the grass and generally looking adorable. They may be riding horses that never leave the farm, or pets whose main purpose is being a cute pasture ornament. It’s still important to keep these guys healthy and protected against diseases that can be transmitted by mosquitoes and wildlife.

Once you have picked the plan that’s right for you, there are 3 super-easy ways to sign up. You can sign up online either on your phone or computer, in person at the office or during a vet visit, or by mail. If your horse had a 2018 Wellness plan, just call the office and tell my minions you would like to renew it for 2019. Easy as pie! Wait, what makes pie easy? Easy as catching a toy mouse!

Attend all of my Seminars

Did you know that I hold seminars here at the clinic just about every month? These are free opportunities for you to come and learn something new about your horse, or horses in general. Topics range from breeding, to feet, to senior care, to vaccines, to you name it! Seriously, if you have an idea for a seminar topic that you would be interested in, make sure to let one of my peeps know. Certain topics will be brought back by popular demand, but we are always open to new ideas.

Dr. Lacher, Dr. Vurgason, and Dr. Abbott are full of useful information, and we love to pick their brains. Nonetheless, we often bring in guest speakers for our seminars to hear their valued input on their areas of expertise. We recently had Dr. Samantha Brooks speak on the topic of equine genetics, and we will have Etalon diagnostics joining us for our Breeding Seminar on January 10th!

My monthly seminars are always free and open to the public. They are usually held here at the clinic on Thursday nights. The best way to find out about our upcoming seminars and other events is through our Facebook page, so make sure you ‘like’ and ‘follow’ Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic. Committing to stop by once a month for a great educational opportunity is an easy resolution to keep for 2019!

Listen to my Podcast

 One of my 2018 resolutions was to start recording a Podcast, aptly named Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. After all, my goal is to make the world a better place for horses. Well, that resolution was a success, so now you reap the benefit of listening to Dr. Lacher, Justin Long, and various guest speakers talk about numerous topics of interest to horse people! Topics thus far have included donkeys, flies, boots, ulcers, allergies, lameness, eyes, fat horses, vaccines, and many more. Again, if you have a suggestion for a podcast topic, feel free to pass it on to one of my little helpers!

Podcasts are a fun avenue for spreading horse knowledge around the world. You can listen to them anytime, anywhere, on your phone, at home, in the car on a road trip… you choose! Just download Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, or listen on our website. If you stick to this New Year’s Resolution, you will learn more than you ever knew you didn’t know about horses!

Well, Happy New Year to all my followers and friends! I hope 2019 brings you peace, joy, and of course, horses.

-Tony

There’s a superwoman out there many of you may never have heard of. Her name is Dr. Sue Dyson. She’s from England, works at a place called the Animal Health Trust, and does some fantastic research on horses. My Docs definitely have a huge nerd crush on her! Why do I bring her up this week? Dr. Dyson recently published two very interesting research papers about horses, rider weight, saddles, behavior, and lameness.

Weight vs Height

I’m as sensitive as anyone about weight, but this is an important topic for riders. I only have to ensure the counter is sturdy enough to hold me for my daily nap. Dr. Dyson performed a small study looking at rider weight and height, and how it affected horse’s backs. They had riders of all different weights and heights, and body mass index (BMI). This means two riders who weighed the same amount might have very different body types. Turns out that’s pretty important.

Measuring Stuff

Dr. Dyson measured the horse’s backs very precisely before and after riding. In what would be considered normal horses, with petite riders (she made sure weight wasn’t an issue at all with this group) the back normally widens immediately after riding. To be sure the saddle itself wasn’t the problem, Dr. Dyson had master saddlers on hand checking everything. Dr. Dyson doesn’t leave anything to chance! Once they were happy with the study design, they began testing the different riders.

The first issue they found was that taller, heavier riders need to be very, very sure their saddle fits well. They found this group tended to hit the back of the saddle harder than shorter, heavier riders. Hitting the back of the saddle caused pressure to be transferred through the tree in inappropriate ways. When the backs of this group of horses were measured, they found they got narrower! This was caused by muscle spasms. Next they found the horses ridden by riders greater than about 15% of the horse’s body weight caused temporary lameness. (A rider at 150 lbs with a 1,000 lbs horse would be at 15%) Dr. Dyson was very clear that this was a small study, and a whole lot more work needs to be done. Dr. Dyson also said lots of horse factors are important. Things such as how long the back is, how fit the horse is, and how well does the saddle fit are some of the factors she thinks are important. I have no doubt Dr. Dyson is continuing to work on this issue!

Is he lame or just bad?

It’s a question I hear all the time from my countertop. It can be incredibly difficult to decide if there’s pain somewhere, or if a horse is misbehaving. Horses make it even harder as prey animals. They have millions of years of genetic programming telling them to hide pain. Cats do this too, but it’s mostly because we have an image to protect, not because we’re worried someone is going to eat us. Dr. Dyson observed certain behaviors of horses during her lameness exams that resolved when the pain stopped. She put her research skills to work and came up with a study to look at behavior and lameness.

Dr. Dyson found that veterinarians were able to identify behaviors that signaled a lameness was present. However, she also found that many trainers and riders weren’t able to identify those behaviors. Dr. Dyson created a training program with pictures and descriptions of lameness-associated behaviors. After learning about the behaviors, these riders and trainers were pretty darn good at spotting them. Even more important, when the problem area was fixed, the behaviors went away. The hard part for many of these lamenesses was finding the problem area. But that’s a whole ‘nother blog. For now, know that your horse just might be hurting, and not being a jerk for the fun of it. That’s much more of a cat thing to do, anyway.

I realize the holiday you humans call Christmas is nearly upon us. Let Dr. Dyson’s first study be a reminder to go easy on the eggnog and cookies!

Until next week,

-Tony

P.S. Are you driving to visit loved ones for Christmas? Make sure you leave your veterinarian’s phone number in your barn, just in case something happens while you’re gone. And a good podcast can make road trips fun! Subscribe to Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, and show up to Christmas dinner with some new horse knowledge!

You may have heard the story of the horse we named “Highway” who was found on I-75 on Friday and treated here at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic for his wounds. It turns out that he fell out of a moving horse trailer. So, I thought now might be a good opportunity to tell you all my Tony Trailer Tips!

Check Your Trailer

The most important thing, whether you are planning on hauling a horse around the country or around the corner, is to make sure your trailer is in good working order. Most trailers are made out of a combination of metal, wood, or fiberglass. The problem is, metal can rust, wood can rot, and fiberglass can crack. Start with the floorboards, making sure there are no soft or weak spots where a horse’s foot could fall through. If you have floor mats, remember to pull them up regularly and check underneath.

Next, be sure to check your door latches and hinges for any pieces that may be rusty, loose, or missing. As a cat who works at a vet clinic, I see way too many lacerations sustained on horse trailers. So, for my sake, please also check the interior of your trailer for nails or other sharp things that your horse could find to hurt himself on.

Check your trailer brakes, as well as brake lights and turn signals before heading out. There could easily be a short in the wiring even if you just drove it yesterday. I see so many trailers come through the clinic with the lights not working. Why would you put the thing you care about the most in a trailer with no brake lights or turn signals? That’s just begging to get rear-ended, and that never ends well for the horse.

It’s always good to do a “circle of safety” just before driving away with your trailer. A circle of safety is where starting at the driver’s side door, you walk ALL the way around your truck + trailer until you return to that door, looking for anything amiss. Make sure you kick every tire, and make sure your spare is still inflated. Under-inflated tires are the number 1 reason for blowouts, and blowouts are the number 1 reason for trailers flipping over.

Don’t tie your horse

This is a controversial Tony Tip, but hear me out. If (God forbid) you were in a trailer accident, and the trailer flipped or rolled, would you want your horse to be attached to the trailer? What if the trailer landed sideways or upside down? Also, having your horse’s head attached to the trailer and unable to move freely in the event of an accident could place extreme torque on your horse’s neck. We don’t want that.

Another reason our docs recommend NOT tying your horse is to prevent shipping fever. Especially on a long trip, leaving a horse’s head untied allows them to lower their head to the ground to clear their nostrils of dirt, mucus, and germs. Tying your horse prevents this very normal behavior, resulting in several snotty, sick horses at the end of a long haul.

Leaving your horse untied in the trailer can’t 100% prevent “shipping fever,” because you still have the unfortunate combination of new bacteria combined with the stress of hauling. However, in our docs’ experience, it can greatly reduce the incidence.

If you must tie your horse (i.e. to prevent him from turning around in the trailer, or to stop him from bothering another horse you are hauling) always use a breakaway halter. Breakaway halters, as the name implies, are made of something that will break if enough pressure is applied. They are usually leather or have a strip of leather over the poll. The idea is that this leather strap will break before the horse’s neck in the event of an accident.

A word about loading

You seasoned equestrians will already know this, but consider it a refresher! You always want to load the heavier horse on the driver’s side. If you’re only hauling one horse, make sure he is on this “high side” of the trailer. The reason behind this has to do with the pitch, or slant, of the road. When paved, the road is actually taller in the middle than at the shoulder. If you were to put the heavier load on the passenger side, the combination of the pitch of the road and the uneven weight would cause the trailer to pull hard to the right.

Think safety first

When driving your trailer, practice defensive driving at all times. It seems today fewer and fewer people on the road understand trailer safety, so you have to be extra cautious. Give yourself more than enough stopping distance. Take turns slow and wide. Leave extra time and don’t speed. And my personal favorite: don’t pull in anywhere you aren’t sure you can get your trailer out of!

At rest stops, check your horse to make sure everything is hunky-dory. Remember to offer your horse water when you stop, to prevent colic on a long trip.

I could keep giving you Tony Trailer Tips all day, but a cat’s gotta nap. I think the most important thing to remember at all times is that you have some very precious cargo onboard! No one would ever choose to let their horse get injured rather than have their trailer fixed, right? Right?

Safe Travels to you and your horses!

     ~ Tony

P.S. After you subscribe to my blog, which gets it to you by email a day earlier than the Facebook masses get it, why don’t you try out the Springhill Equine podcast? It’s called Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, and each episode is packed with way more info than I could ever stay awake long enough to write down for you in my amazing blog. It’s free, and you can listen to it right from your phone while you’re doing human stuff. Trust me, it will change your life. Well, probably.