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The Facts on Strangles

The Facts on Strangles

Apr 10, 2018 | Strangles

Tuesdays with Tony

Let’s continue this little vaccine tour. I know I’m enjoying it! This week, let’s talk Strangles. With a name like Strangles, how can it not be fascinating?

What is Strangles?

Strangles is caused by a bacteria in the streptococcus family. Other fun things caused by this family: Strep throat, MRSA, and pneumonia. Family reunions must be an unbelievably good time! To be honest though, the bacteria are only part of the problem. The immune system is the other part. The immune system likes to respond with tons of white blood cells (this reads as ‘pus’ to us normal people), and those white blood cells turn into abscesses.  Those abscesses are where the real fun begins.

Snot, lots of snot

If your horse gets Strangles, snot is what you have to look forward to. Lots of snot and a high fever (103F, or even higher) are often the first signs of Strangles. From there, lymph nodes start swelling, abscessing, and often popping open on their own. It’s pretty awful. Those lymph nodes swelling is where Strangles gets its charming name. If they swell and don’t rupture open, they can cause enough constriction of the throat to cut off that airway. Luckily, with my Docs around, you don’t have to worry about that. The swelling of the lymph nodes and the extreme amounts of snot do help distinguish Strangles from the other fun upper respiratory diseases of Rhinopneumonitis and Influenza. Typically those last two have fevers, some snot, and some lymph node swelling, but nowhere near the levels Strangles produces. These clues, and a culture of the snot, help my Docs diagnose a case of Strangles.

What now??

Once the Docs have a positive diagnosis for Strangles a few things happen:

  • It gets reported to the State of Florida.
    • In Florida, Strangles is what’s known as a Reportable Disease. If my Docs even suspect it, they have to tell the State. Once it’s confirmed, the property is placed under a quarantine
  • You start practicing biosecurity.
    • The infected horses go someplace a minimum of 21 feet from other horses
    • Infected horses get taken care of last
    • You go through a lot of bleach, because everything gets bleached, every day
  • Infected horses get closely monitored
    • If they have trouble breathing, the Docs will see if they can open lymph nodes to drain
    • They may need soft food if they are having trouble swallowing.

Horse Strangles swollen lymph nodes

To give or not to give…The Antibiotic Debate

Horse people: Two people, three opinions. That’s true here, too. Generally, my Docs monitor Strangles horses to see how they are doing. If they are handling things OK, then they hold off on antibiotics. If they aren’t eating well, or they are getting so much swelling they are having trouble breathing, they will then give antibiotics.

There’s an Old Wives Tale that antibiotics will cause what’s known as Bastard Strangles. This is the term of affection given to Strangles abscesses that form in lymph nodes outside the throat. Most commonly these abscesses form in the abdomen and are a royal pain in the you know where. No research has shown that antibiotics cause Bastard Strangles. The truth is, no one knows why Bastard Strangles happens. Horses who don’t eat well take longer to get over any illness, and Strangles is no exception. So, my Docs will use whatever treatments they can to help these horses feel better, faster.

There’s a vaccine, right?

Horses that have been vaccinated for Strangles….. may develop milder signs of upper respiratory tract infection. – ACVIM White Paper on Strangles.

That’s a direct quote from the super-smart Medicine Specialty Veterinary group. Now, I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement of the vaccine. Turns out the vaccine for Strangles may help, but that’s about it. This vaccine can also have some pretty serious side effects. For example, if your horse has been exposed to Strangles, the vaccine may cause something called Purpura Hemorrhagica. This is a super-fun side effect where the body attacks the blood vessels. In horses, it often leads to laminitis as well, since that’s pretty much how horse feet respond to anything serious.

Moral of the vaccine story: there are very specific circumstances where this vaccine is helpful. For example, young (think yearlings and 2 year olds) horses who will be going to large sales. These horses are exposed to a ton of other horses, under stressful circumstances, after shipping. That’s a recipe for infections. Think about humans and airplanes. The average show horse doesn’t experience these same levels of stress, and they have a more mature immune system.

This is a case of ‘just because there is a vaccine doesn’t mean every horse should have it.’ Make a plan with my super-smart Docs for your horse, and your lifestyle.

Can you ever have enough Tuesdays with Tony? I didn’t think so. Now scroll down a wee tiny bit further and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!

Until next week ~

Tony

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Everything You Need To Know About Tetanus

Everything You Need To Know About Tetanus

Apr 2, 2018 | Lacerations, Tetanus, Vaccines, Wound care

Tuesdays with Tony

A little housekeeping before we get started on Tetanus: don’t forget about my Paddocks & Pastures Seminar on April 19th @ 6:00pm. Join me, the docs, and the Alachua County Extension Office to learn all you ever wanted to know about grass! The talk will be held right here at Springhill Equine, and as always, admission is FREE!

   Now for this week’s enlightening blog. Continuing my trend of why we vaccinate horses for things, I decided to talk to you all about Tetanus today!

What is Tetanus?

   Tetanus is a neurotoxin caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani, which lives in the soil pretty much everywhere. Clostridium tetani likes to form spores that are very resistant to heat, drying, chemicals, and fire-breathing dragons. Ok, I got a little carried away there… but seriously, this bacteria can survive for years in the environment. More bad news: it is particularly common in horse manure. You know where you can find plenty of that? On horse farms!
    Tetanus becomes a problem when it enters the body, usually through a wound or surgical incision. It is a myth that tetanus comes from sharp metal objects… it’s just that sharp metal objects tend to cause wounds which serve as a perfect entry point for this bacteria.
   Once the organism enters the body, it begins to multiply *evil cat laugh*. Clostridium tetani loves anaerobic (oxygen-poor) environments, like the inside of a wound. The tetanus toxin travels through the bloodstream and binds to nerve endings at neuromuscular junctions. The toxin signals the muscle to contract, and the muscle gets locked in the contracted position.

What does Tetanus look like?

Sawhorse stance tetanus    What this looks like is a horse with all 4 limbs stiffened (often called a “sawhorse” stance), a tight or locked jaw, and the third eyelid flashing across from the corner of the eye. The horse may be lying down with all 4 limbs extended, unable to stand. Eventually the tetanus toxin binds to the muscles used to breathe, leading to death.
    In short, Tetanus looks very scary. Horses usually begin exhibiting signs within 24 hours of infection. The disease can progress over days to weeks, but is over 50% fatal. In order to survive tetanus, a horse must be rapidly treated with tetanus antitoxin, and managed with intensive supportive care (read: $expensive$). Even with treatment, horses often have long-lasting deficits from the tetanus infection.
   If you suspect your horse may have tetanus, call your veterinarian immediately. Better yet, you should call your vet any time your horse suffers a wound that breaks the skin.

Is my horse at risk? 

   If your horse’s hooves ever touch the ground, then yes, he is at risk. If your horse lives on a horse farm full of tetanus-laden horse manure, then he is definitely at risk. If your horse lives on a horse farm, goes outside, and has access to sharp objects he could potentially cut himself on (this basically describes every horse I’ve ever met, and this cat has met a lot of horses), then he is at high risk for being exposed to tetanus at some point in his life.
   In fact, as a human you are also at a pretty high risk of contracting tetanus. This risk is increased if you spend time outside and at the barn, which most of our clients do with most of their free time. If you are a human, you probably received a series of tetanus vaccines as a child. Even so, you will probably receive a tetanus booster vaccine if you have a serious wound and have not been recently vaccinated against tetanus.
    “But Tony,” you may ask, “humans only need a tetanus booster like once every 5 years. Why do horses need boosters every 6 months?” Well, there are the high-risk factors discussed above (living outside in the dirt, having manure that is naturally full of tetanus). Then there is also the fact that nobody has ever studied exactly how long the protection of a tetanus vaccine lasts in horses. If you have a spare million dollars sitting around, you are welcome to fund such a study. Until then, I’m going to continue to err on the side of caution and recommend you vaccinate your horse once every 6 months.

How can I prevent Tetanus?

   I thought you would never ask! Conveniently, there is a simple, inexpensive vaccine that is very effective at preventing tetanus in horses. Our docs recommended the vaccine twice a year in case your horse suffers a puncture wound or laceration. If we perform a surgery (such as castration) we will want to make sure your horse has been vaccinated against tetanus within the last 6 months. Reminder: that’s not because the docs dip their scalpel blades in Clostridium tetani before your horse’s surgery. It’s because cuts, even clean surgical ones, create a route for this bacteria that lives all around us to get inside the body.
    When it comes to tetanus, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Since the disease is often fatal, and treatment is very difficult, we feel strongly that it is well worth a $20 vaccine. For this reason, many of the combination vaccines we give include tetanus. Tetanus is the “T” in “EWT-WN” (Eastern/Western Encephalitis/Tetanus/West Nile) and “EWTR-WN” (Eastern/Western Encephalitis/Tetanus/Rhino virus/West Nile) vaccines. It just so happens that these other vaccines are also recommended every 6 months, so why not lump them all into one poke? If that’s not your style, and this post has inspired you, we do stock the plain Tetanus vaccine at the clinic as well.
    So let’s all remember to call Shannon or MJ at the office to check when our horses are due for a tetanus booster, mmkay? Now I think I’ll go walk through some lovely tetanus-laden horse manure, and roll in some tetanus-flavored dirt! While I’m doing that, why don’t you scroll down a bit and subscribe? I’ll let you take a selfie with me at the next seminar if you do.
Until next week,
      -Tony

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Why Equine Vaccines Are Only Good For Six Months

Why Equine Vaccines Are Only Good For Six Months

Mar 26, 2018 | Vaccines

Tuesdays with Tony

Yeah yeah, I know I just talked about this, but today I want to answer the question I get ALL THE TIME: Do I really have to give vaccines every every 6 months? Yes. Yes you do. If you need more than my assurance, then read on.

When the immune system attacks

That’s exactly how the horse immune system works. My Docs give vaccines, and your horse’s immune system responds great. By that, I mean it makes antibodies to the diseases the vaccines were for. Those antibodies roam around the body 24/7/365 looking for their target (like Eastern Equine Encephalitis, EEE for short). When they find their target, they attack and fight to the death. When something like EEE attacks, it doesn’t attack with two or three little viruses. It attacks with millions of viruses, which means the body needs millions of antibodies. Even more important in a state like Florida with EEE out there all the time, the body needs to have millions more antibodies ready for the next attack.

There’s something I was supposed to be doing…

That last part is where horses have trouble. You see, the immune system needs to remember what viruses it’s supposed to make antibodies to. The equine immune system suffers from short term memory loss. My Docs give a vaccine, those millions of antibodies get made for a while, then the body starts to forget. That time frame is about 6 months. In some horses, it’s as short as 4 months! A bunch of researchers have vaccinated horses, then checked the blood every month for 6 months to see how many antibodies there are floating around. Turns out that number drops in a big way at 2 months, then does a slow decline over the next few months. Here’s a link to one of these papers, in case you need to read it for yourself. The important thing to note in this paper is that these horses were routinely vaccinated every 6 months for YEARS before this study came out. ← And that’s why horses have to get vaccinated all the time, even when they’ve had them for years.

Can’t you do a blood test?

My Docs often get asked, What if we run a blood test to see if there are enough antibodies? You may not realize it, but that’s a super-complicated question. Until recently, it was tough to find a lab that would run these blood tests, called titers. We do now have a lab at Kansas State University where Eastern Encephalitis, West Nile, and Rabies titers can be run. Next tricky part is deciding how many antibodies are enough. No one really knows. There was some work done many, many years ago to look at how much was enough. However, by today’s standards, the answers they got give us an OK answer, but not a very definitive one.

So yes, for some diseases, a titer can be done, but the answer may still be a big question mark.

Is this true for all equine vaccines?

Pretty much, yep. Horses just don’t respond well to vaccines. They do about the best with Rabies, but even then those antibody numbers drop hard and fast at about 14 months. Rhinopneumonitis (also called Herpes, Rhino, or EHV-1) is weird and will get its very own blog, but suffice it to say the vaccine doesn’t work very well, and it follows different rules anyway.

The influenza vaccine has two different versions: an intranasal one and an intramuscular one. The intranasal one is tough to get antibody levels on. Most of the antibodies hang out in the mucosa lining the nose and mouth so a blood test doesn’t work very well. However, in studies it does a great job preventing the flu for at least 6 months (and really more like 12). The intramuscular vaccine makes antibodies, we can measure them, and they seem to help make the flu less icky, but when compared to the intranasal, it’s no contest.  

Strangles also comes in an intranasal and intramuscular variety. This is another tough vaccine to sum up in a sentence. Tell you what, I’ll write a future blog about Strangles too, just for you guys.

So to answer your questions: When it comes to Eastern Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, and Tetanus, your horse definitely needs to be vaccinated every 6 months at a minimum. Rabies needs to happen at least yearly. The intranasal flu can happen every year. Strangles and Rhino are complicated. If you prefer, a blood test can be done for EEE, West Nile, and Rabies, but knowing what the results mean is tough.

Don’t want to worry about any of this? Leave it all to my crack staff of minions. They’ll take excellent care of your horse so you can worry about how that pesky outside rein works.

Now show this cat some love: scroll down a little further, just below that beautiful green virus, and hit that subscribe button.

Springhill Equine vaccines blog

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Why You Should Microchip Your Animals

Why You Should Microchip Your Animals

Mar 20, 2018 | Microchips

Tuesdays with Tony

Why Microchip?

This morning sucked. That’s the only way to put it. Around 6:30 am I was rousted from a sound sleep by a flash of light, followed by an earth-shaking boom. Then the power went out. When the power goes out around here, it’s followed by a whole lot of things beeping, loudly and insistently rather like those puppies you humans think are cute. All this beeping was followed by the sharp rattle of hail against the windows, the roar of wind, and the splatter of rain. I’m not going to lie: Teannie and I were hunkered down together under a desk. Once my minions arrived, I heard the world outside was even worse. Trees were down everywhere, and power was out. There was even discussion of a tornado.

Out of nowhere

Sure, we had a bit of a heads up from the weather folks that a line of thunderstorms was going to come through, but, heck, we live in Florida. That’s every day during the summer. I know Dr. Lacher had at least two trees down near fences and spent 30 minutes chainsawing her way out of the driveway. Luckily, all her outside fencelines were intact, but what if they hadn’t been?

With hurricanes we have agonizing days of watching it track towards us. Will it hit? Will it veer away? You have time to write your name on your horse’s side, braid ID tags into manes and tails, put leather halters on, and have a plan. I don’t know about you, but I was snoozing at 6:29 am, not figuring out how to save my butt if I got lost.

If only there was a way

To permanently identify a horse, that didn’t wash off, was always with them, and never needed to be charged or have its batteries changed. Ah but there is: the microchip. And yes, you’ve heard this from me before. That’s because microchips are a really good idea. Every horse, dog, cat, and family members you don’t want to lose should be microchipped, in my not-so-humble opinion.

Microchips are there 24/7/365. If there’s a sudden storm, the fence goes down, or someone leaves a gate open accidentally, the microchip is there ready to let law enforcement or veterinarians know who this horse is and how to contact you.

Is it difficult to microchip a horse?

Putting in a microchip is super easy. If you don’t believe me, watch this video. My Docs scrub a spot, put a dollop of novocaine under the skin, and inject the microchip.  The hardest part is filling out the paperwork. Even that’s not super-difficult. Pro tip from the cat: there are slots for four phone numbers. Pick one that belongs to someone who lives far away from you. This way if you get hit by a natural disaster, there’s still a working phone number rescuers can reach. For example, if you live in Newberry (like me), pick your friend in Atlanta. Both of those areas are unlikely to be hit by hurricanes at the same time.

Now you know how easy it is to keep your horse identifiable all the time. Next step is to call 352-472-1620, email, or live chat from the website with my minions to set up an appointment. Oh and be a good human: scroll down a little farther and subscribe to my blog!

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Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

How to Have A Smart Deworming Protocol

How to Have A Smart Deworming Protocol

Mar 12, 2018 | Deworming

Tuesdays with Tony

For those of you who missed my Deworming Seminar on Thursday- you have offended me down to my kitty core. I understand it was chilly and those were the days when it got dark at 6:30 pm, but all I wanted was to tell you my secrets about evil worms that like to live inside horse’s guts. Well, my secrets are out now, so I may as well share them with all of you.

Resistance

   Back in the day when Zimectrin, the first oral paste dewormer, stepped onto the scene, it seemed like a good idea to deworm your horse every 6 weeks or so. After all, more is better, right? Then, some different dewormers came on the market, and it seemed like an even better idea to rotate between these products, and use a different one every 6 weeks. Heck, vets even recommended this.
    Well, it turns out this wasn’t such a good plan. You know how antibiotic resistance develops when antibiotics are over-used or used improperly? The same thing is now happening with dewormers. By rotating between deworming medications, we have shown the parasites every drug in our arsenal. This has given the parasites the ability to become resistant to every one of our deworming products. And that, folks, is terrifying.
    So why can’t they just come up with a new deworming medication? Well, unfortunately it’s not a simple process. And “they” (the drug companies) aren’t too inclined to invest a bunch of time and money into research and development of a new product when people are still buying their available products like hot-cakes. (Mmm, hot-cakes…) Also, even if somebody decided today to start developing a new dewormer, it would be about 10 years before we would see it on the shelves. That’s just how long the whole process of drug development, clinical trials, and FDA approval takes.
   So basically this leaves us with a handful of equine deworming medications, and a population of parasites that is anywhere from a little bit resistant to completely resistant to them. Dewormers that used to work for 4-5 months are now only effective for 4-5 weeks. Deworming your foal with one product as a baby essentially means that product will not work the next time you go to use it. Depending on what type of worms you are trying to target (roundworms vs strongyles) you may as well be giving your horse apple-flavored toothpaste rather than some of our available dewormers.

Our Plan to Fight Back

   Even though the outlook is dismal right now, vets (with the help of some very smart researchers) have come up with a plan to fight back.
   So, we all agree that showing the parasites every dewormer multiple times is a bad plan, right? Instead, let’s only show the parasites ONE dewormer (Equimax), ONCE a year (in the fall). Fall is the best time of year to do this because that’s the peak season for parasite breeding here in Florida. Equimax is the product we recommend because it has Ivermectin to get the problematic small strongyles, as well as Praziquantel to take care of the tapeworms that don’t show up reliably on fecal checks.
   But Tony, you may ask, what if my horse is a high shedder? Well, let’s first remember that only 20% of horses carry 80% of the worm burden. This means that the chances your horse is a high shedder are slim. That being said, we are happy to do a fecal egg count on your horse in the spring, and IF he comes back as a high shedder, we will give you special permission to deworm him a second time.

What about Foals?

    Ok, foals are entirely different creatures when it comes to parasites. As babies, they are still susceptible to Ascarids (roundworms), plus they haven’t developed their own immunity against strongyles yet. For this reason, I have developed a unique protocol for these special ones, we’ll call it the ‘Tony protocol’. Step 1: Deworm your foal at 2-3 months with Panacur. Step 2: Bring us a fecal sample to check at 5-6 months…we will tell you what to do. Step 3: Bring us another fecal sample at 9 months; we will tell you if your foal is a high shedder. Step 4: Deworm at 1 year with Equimax.
     Yearlings to 3 year olds still get special treatment as they continue to develop their natural immunity to parasites. You may deworm them once in the spring with plain Ivermectin and once in the fall with Equimax. It’s a good idea to bring us a fecal sample in the summer for your 1-3 year-olds to see if they require a 3rd deworming.

What else can I do?

  Since you are going to be saving a bunch of money by NOT buying dewormer every 6 weeks, why not invest in a nice pitchfork and wheelbarrow, and maybe a fancy composting system at your farm? It’s a fact that removing fresh manure from your pastures drastically reduces worm burdens in grazing horses. Plus, it’s a great way to get a lifetime supply of high-quality fertilizer! Just remember to never spread fresh manure on pastures where horses will be grazing. Manure has to go through the composting process in order to reach high enough internal temperatures to kill parasite larvae.
     It’s important to remember that 80% of horses are only carrying 20% of the parasites, so there’s a good chance that your horse does not need to be dewormed at all. A simple fecal analysis will tell you if you need to or not. Out of the 30-something fecal analyses we did for those that came to the seminar last week, only 4 of them were high shedders. 4! That’s pretty solid reasoning as far as this cat is concerned.
    Now that you know my secrets, I need you to make me a promise. I need 100% cooperation for this once-a-year deworming master plan to succeed. We can defeat the parasites, but we need your help! So, promise me that you will tell all of your horse friends THE PLAN. If you came to my seminar, or read my blog, you are now an honorary expert on deworming horses. And if any of your friends have questions, tell them to call me….at which point I will direct them to the nearest doctor.
    Thank you for your attention. *APPLAUSE*
     -Tony
P.S. As a special gift from me to you, here’s a link to the video of the seminar. You will really have expert status with facts to quote after you watch this! Parasites and Deworming Seminar

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Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Office Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!