Aug 27, 2015 | Castration, Cryptorchid, Dentals
Waiting for RJ to wake up
They sure do require a lot of supervision around here. The doctors have been busy with all kinds of stuff this week. There have been lameness exams, dentals, ultrasounds of tendons and ligaments, necks, and backs. Dr. Vurgason ultra-sounded a 14 day pregnancy which was pretty cool. Monday I supervised a rare bilateral crypt-orchid surgery. That is fancy doctor speak for both testicles were in the abdomen instead of down where they are supposed to be. According to Dr. Lacher it’s usually only one that stays where it’s not supposed to and the other is normal. That is him in the background sleeping like a baby after surgery.
We have also seen some routine care this week at the office. I enjoy these visits since it gives me a chance to really connect with my fans. I get to spend some quality time visiting with them, chatting about what they are up to with their horses, getting my ears scratched, talking about how great I am, marveling at my beautiful yellow eyes, shiny black coat, and wonderful athletic physique. Dentals are my favorite routine appointment since this is often when I get the best ear and chin scratches while the docs and techs are busy with the horses in the stocks. I also feel that I do my best supervising with dentals. I watch as the doctors examine the horse, then administer sedation, place the big thing in their mouth that holds it open, and put a funny looking light on their heads. From there they carefully examine every tooth before performing the dental float.
There has been lots of discussion around the office about management of Coby’s wounds. In case you haven’t been checking in with me regularly, Coby has some very serious wounds to his hind legs that the docs are intensively managing. I am learning that these wounds go through many different phases and require different things at different times. Right now they are figuring out which pieces of skin aren’t going to make it and how best to cover the wounds as they heal. Coby’s body is beginning to move from the clean up phase to the wound healing phase. The start of that is called contracture. The tissue around the edges will slowly constrict around the wound as it grows until the wound is covered. Out in front of that contracture is granulation tissue. Little baby skin cells will then start migrating across the granulation tissue. Skin cells are very particular about how and where they travel. They like flat, moist areas. So the docs have to work on keep the wound wet but not too wet, covered but not too tight, clean but not scrubbed too hard, all while keeping infection in the surrounding tissue under control. In a wound like this the docs also have to make sure the bone stays wet or it will dry out and be VERY unhappy. Tomorrow we are going to do a lot of work on Coby so I’m off to rest up for a long, tough day of supervising Springhill Equine.
Aug 24, 2015 | Allergies, Coughing, Lameness, Laminitis, Leg issues
Please be sure to check your trailer floor for rotten areas. Many of you saw this horse on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds. Dr. Lacher and Charly pieced him back together and now begins the healing. He is looking at several months of bandaging but with some luck he will be back to good soon.
Main Topic:
The sun is just peeking over the horizon in the morning as you head out to feed your horse. You open the feed can, scoop out the morning ration, and dump it in the feed bucket. As you walk away you hear a dry, raspy cough. “Probably just the dusty grain,” you think and remind yourself to ask Springhill Equine about it the next time they come out to the farm. What does that cough really mean? Allergic airway disease.
Allergic airway disease has had a bit of an identity crisis over the years. It has been called: Heaves, asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heaves (again), and currently Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO). All of these are our fancy names for constriction of the small airways in the lungs due to allergies. The allergic response causes an increase in mucous in the airway and makes the muscles around those same airways tighten up. It’s an unfair combination which makes it very difficult to breath.
So why the dry cough? These horses typically breathe in fairly well but can’t breathe out without pushing extra hard. We call this abdominal breathing. One way these horses manage to get a good breath out is by coughing. The other thing that leads to coughing is called airway hyper-reactivity. This means anything that touches the airway causes a coughing fit. Dust from grain and/or hay is the most common cause of coughing at feeding time for allergic horses.
Recently there has been a lot of research on these allergic airway horses. Sadly much of it has not progressed to finding new treatments, but we are learning more about the genetics behind allergies, what different symptoms mean, and how well currently available treatments do work. Most older research focused on the effects of allergic airway disease on the racehorse only. Here are the highlights of a few recent papers. If you hear your horse coughing on a regular basis chances are very good they have allergic airway disease. Allergic airway horses are statistically way more likely to have hit this wonderful genetic trifecta: allergic airway disease, allergic skin, and Anhidrosis (non-sweating). Dexamethasone works well in most allergic airway horses but not all. For the horses Dexamethasone does not work on, inhalers provide a safe and viable option.
Treatment is targeted at reducing the allergic response. Dexamethasone is a short acting (about 24 hours) steroid that can be given by injection or orally. Especially during the summer Springhill Equine Doctors will usually start horses on Dexamethasone to get symptoms under control. Typically the dose starts very high and tapers every few days until we find what makes your horse happy. Changes in the weather, pollen levels, and dustiness of hay or grain may require a brief increase in Dexamethasone dosages.
For horses who are unable to tolerate Dexamethasone or don’t respond to it, metered dose inhalers can be used. Steroid inhalers are used most commonly for human asthma. Inhalers present some challenges for horse owners. First how do you get your horse to breathe deeply when you want them to? Answer: you don’t. Second, inhalers can be very expensive and time consuming. To solve the first problem we use an extender which seals over one nostril that allows us to time the “puffs” with the horse’s breathing. For the second problem we discuss options with you, the horse owner, and come up with the best solution.
Once winter comes around Intradermal Allergy Testing can be performed. Allergy testing allows us to identify what allergens bother your horse. Once we know what bothers your horse most we can begin shots, which over time teach the immune system to tolerate those allergens. Allergy shots can offer real help to allergic airway horses but it takes time. It is generally well towards the middle of the second year of therapy before we see benefits. But those are fantastic benefits. We are able to reduce the length of time and dosages of drug therapy these horses are on.
Moral of the story: if you heard a cough, give us a call. The better we control allergic airway disease the longer your horse stays happy, healthy, and ride-able.
Erica’s Corner
Whew! There I did it. I took a breath!!! I am very glad to have Dr. Vurgason here and settled in. It means I get to sneak away to the beach for a long weekend. I am ready for slightly cooler weather so my non-sweater starts sweating again and a little less rain so her constant rain rot can catch a break but such is summer in Florida. The extra breathing room has also meant my two younger horses are getting ridden more. I have seen this as a blessing and a curse all at the same time. I love the way younger horses advance so quickly as they learn the big lessons of life but I hate teaching them! They are sometimes painful lessons for the rider…..
Tech Spot
Springhill Equine is here to help you through any and all lameness issues your horse might be having, whether it is painfully obvious or ever so subtle, we can help! Dr. Lacher’s extensive background in performance horse lameness coupled with all of our new technology makes Springhill Equine your one stop solution for lame horses and ponies. After performing a lameness exam, flexing and blocking if necessary we also can utilize our digital X-ray and ultrasound machines to pin point the issue and develop the quickest most effective rehab program for your horse. Once the source of the issue is revealed there are several new procedures we are performing to help speed up the recovery process and keep our horses performing longer including IRAP, PRP, and FES. If you are at all concerned about one of your’s limping or even just feeling a little funny please don’t hesitate to call!
Aug 18, 2015 | Ailments, Breeding, Disaster Preparedness, Feed, Infections, Injuries, Leg issues
Tuesdays with Tony
Whew what a week! Yesterday was Black Cat Appreciation Day and my hordes of adoring fans came by to give me offerings. I am sure you all appreciated the Black Cats in your lives yesterday but if not we may still be adored today.
Many of you saw the pictures yesterday of the hind legs of a horse who went through the floor of a trailer. Luckily the trailer wasn’t moving at the time. Dr. Lacher and Dr. Vurgason have a long road ahead of them taking care of that guy. The first step will be seeing how much of the skin survives the first week. About half of what you see will survive; the other half will need to be trimmed off. Next week sometime they will remove the sutures and re-suture the wounds to try to get better coverage. After that it’s bandaging, bandaging, bandaging. I think regular cat scans will also be in order to be sure all is going appropriately.
The rest of the week was jam packed. Last week something called a pig came in to the office. Some may think those are little and cute but I have my serious doubts about that. It made a very loud noise when I sniffed it. Dr. Vurgason loves these things called pigs so I will likely be supervising more and more care. I have put in a request for earplugs. Dr. Vurgason does routine pig care including vaccinations, castration, nutrition, and Wellness Care.
It was a very busy and diverse week here around Springhill. I supervised Dr. Lacher doing something called IRAP on a horse with a lameness in a hind leg. IRAP is this amazing stuff that actually comes from the horse. Dr. Lacher draws blood then does some special processing which increases the concentration of IRAP and then injects that back in a joint that has pain or inflammation. It about requires a PhD to understand but luckily I am a cat so naturally I know everything. The horse she used it on this week had an infection in a joint in his leg. The infection was aggressively treated and fixed but the body was over-reacting and causing the joint to be painful. IRAP will help calm down all that inflammation like a cat purring on your lap.
Meanwhile in the office, Dr. Vurgason did a few dental floats and some breeding work. Being neutered since I was a little tyke I know nothing of this breeding thing. They assure me my life is better but I have my doubts. I ended the week making sure Charly correctly drew blood for an Oral Sugar Test. This test determines if a horse is responding to sugar correctly or if they have Metabolic Syndrome. I told the horse I hope she doesn’t have it since it sounds like exercise and a diet are involved and those are two words I do NOT like to hear. In preparation for another busy week I am now..
Aug 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
How to be our favorite client:
As the official feline office manager, I am generally a fan of anybody who walks through our door. However, there are certain traits that you, the client, may exhibit, which put you higher or lower on my ‘favorite humans’ list. Below are a few examples that come to mind:
1: Ask advice from Dr. Lacher & Dr. Vurgason (as opposed to Dr. Google)! They both went through a whole lot of school AND owned horses for their entire lives. You also know what you’ve got when you are talking with them. You never know who is on the other side of the internet! They are more than happy to talk to you, any time of day or night, whether you have an appointment or not. In fact, they would much rather give you advice than have you guessing and potentially creating problems that need to be fixed down the road. Dr. Lacher and Dr. Vurgason may send you to the internet but they will send you to sites with known great information.
2: Follow directions. This can mean following recommended doses of a prescription, following instructions on bandaging, or calling us if your horse doesn’t seem to be getting better. In most cases, the doctors are giving you directions for a reason, not just to be a pain in the butt! Many medications can have severe adverse side effects if used incorrectly. Incorrect frequency of bandage changes or improper bandage application can have dire consequences. If your horse has a corneal ulcer that is not getting better with the initial set of eye meds we prescribed, we need to see it again right away! I promise you, following directions will make you and your horse happier in the long run. If your horse thinks our directions are stupid we can have one of our amazing technicians help or we can board your horse at the hospital (this comes with complimentary daily cat scans from yours truly). If you have questions about the directions your doctor gave you, please refer to #1.
3: Keep up with routine care. Many of the problems that the doctors and I see on emergency could have been prevented simply with proper maintenance. This includes regular hoof trimming/shoeing, feeding a healthy and appropriate diet, regular fecal egg counts/deworming, routine dental care, and keeping current on vaccinations. This is definitely a case of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! If you have any questions about how often your particular horse needs each of these types of maintenance, see #1. By now you should see a theme forming: call us! We are always available to hep!!
4: Keep your appointment. Most of you are pretty good about this, but every once in awhile you will decide your horse really doesn’t need to be vaccinated twice this year…and anyway you are on a budget. Or, well the cut on his leg looks like it’s getting better, so he probably doesn’t need that second antibiotic shot. If the docs recommended a recheck for your horse’s problem, I’m sure there was a good reason! And as far as keeping up with vaccinations goes, see #3. Questions? See #1.
5:Be ready for the costs of having horses. Here is where cats are, once again, far superior to horses. Colics, eyes, bad cuts…horses know how to rack up a large bill quickly. There are several great options available to help with the cost of horse emergencies. And horses will be horses so there will be emergencies. Insurance, SmartPak ColiCare, savings accounts, and CareCredit are just a few options available. Think about what you can and will spend on each of your horses and be ready to make tough decisions before you absolutely need to. We understand the stress involved when we have to hand over a large bill but remember they have to make sure the cat is well fed!
So there you have it. The 5 keys to being the cat’s meow. May your litter box be clean and your food bowl full.
Jul 4, 2015 | Feed, Hay, Hoof Care, Leg issues
The Naughty Pony
brought to you by Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic
July 2015 Issue 51
Person of the Month:
Dr. Vurgason graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine
in 2014. During vet school, she worked in the Equine ICU, and participated in
numerous externship experiences across the country. She was captain of the Foal Watch
Team at Mizzou, and enjoyed a unique trip to South Africa to practice wildlife medicine.
Please join us July 22nd @ 6:30pm at Springhill Equine Clinic to Meet and Greet
Dr Vurgason and the Gainesville Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit
Main Topic:
The list of supplements available and the things they will fix is simply awe inspiring. I
recently flipped through the SmartPak catalog and came up with several new problems I
didn’t even know my horse could have! And I went to Veterinary School. What’s a horse
owner to do?
First apply a few rules. Just like human diets, quality is key. Using high quality hay as the
foundation of your horse’s feed program starts things off correctly. Next add in a
concentrate (grain) only as needed to fill in the gaps. For the average pony this means
having loose trace minerals and salt available.
However, a thoroughbred in the same field may require 6-8 pounds of a high fat, high
protein concentrate. For most horses this is all they need. Yep that’s it. Hay and a little bit
of concentrate.
The next rule is you should understand all the ingredients in the stuff you use. There are some very fancy words in the ingredient list on most feed bags but those words are often just the scientific names for vitamins and proand pre-biotics. This is an excellent time to use Google. If you Google tocopherol you will find this is a high falutin’ way of saying Vitamin E. If you Google BioThrive Formula E you are not going to understand what it is anymore than you do from the words BioThrive, Formula, and E. It’s like looking up the definition for some of those crazy Words with Friends words: no definition is available at this time but you can use it to play this game. Outrageous claims about the products efficacy and a name that means nothing is code for we put some stuff in a jar with a pretty picture and we have no idea what it does. Run away!
A corollary of this rule is that the quantities of stuff must make sense given the size of a horse. I’m going to pick on resveratrol for this one. There have been several studies done in rats which indicate resveratrol is the stuff in red wine that is good for you. The problem is the rats have been on pretty large doses of resveratrol in those studies. A company came up with a supplement with resveratrol in it. You feed 2-4 ounces per day of this stuff. Based on the rat studies horses would need to consume somewhere between 3 and 4 POUNDS daily to experience the same benefits. Fat supplements are another pet peeve here. Feeding a 1200 pound horse a 2 ounce scoop of a 30% fat supplement means you just gave them a little over one half an ounce of fat.
The last rule: Consult your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist to determine if the need for Fancy Supplement X is real. Sometimes it is, often it isn’t. For example, Dr. Lacher has a “special” horse who doesn’t sweat in the summer and is allergic to everything she comes in contact with. This horse gets alfalfa hay, pasture, and Purina Enrich for her concentrate. To help her sweat she gets Platinum Refresh and to help reduce inflammation in her skin she gets Flax seed oil. If you read the label on Platinum Refresh you would think every horse needs it to help “thermoregulate” in the summer. The truth is most horses thermoregulate just fine. Horses with the medical condition anhidrosis do have a problem regulating and therefore a supplement is needed to help.
We all want to do everything possible for our horses. Trust us we know, we are just as bad.
That’s why everyone at Springhill Equine looks in the mirror and says “Do I really need
this for my horse?”
Erica’s Corner
Holy hotness!! This vet, her technicians, and our patients have been incredibly hot already
this summer. I can tell you Icees and Gatorade are lifesavers this time of year. The horses seem to be handling the weather OK. I will say we see more colics as the weather heats up. It seems once they get used to the hot weather things level back out. The upside of hot weather is fewer lacerations since everyone is just standing around in their fields not looking for trouble.
My horses don’t know it but their vacation is almost over with the arrival of Dr. Vurgason. I
am beyond excited to begin introducing Dr. Vurgason to everyone. I may also be a little bit
excited to not work seven days a week and go back to showing my horses. Dr. Vurgason
brings a lifetime of horse knowledge along with a love of potbelly pigs and Disneyworld. I
hope you can join us at her official Welcome Party on July 22nd, 6:30pm at the Clinic.
Tech Spot
July in Florida means one thing for sure… afternoon showers!
While the grass and our gardens love the rain, our ponies’ feet do not. Consistently wet feet can cause thrush and mushy soles, which can eventually lead to very sore feet.
We all want our horses to be happy and comfortable and aside from keeping them in the barn, there are a few things we can do to help their feet stay hard through the rainy season.
We recommend picking hooves at least once aday, and we always start by applying Durasole or a similar product four times a week. If that is not working please feel free to call the office and we can get you a stronger product and assess different shoeing options.
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