Whinny, Author at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Three Easy Ways to Afford Your Horse!

Jul 2, 2012 | Feed

I was listening in on some phone calls this week, and learned a ton about the latest in financing options that Springhill Equine offers to help our clients provide the best care to their horses (I figured we just took cat food and treats as payment, but apparently we offer loads of other choices). Just so we are clear, Teenie and I are happy to continue to work for food (particularly Pounce).

The most exciting thing I learned about was Payment Banc. This option allows our clients to pay via an automatic withdrawal from a checking or savings account. Whether you want to pay monthly or weekly, ANY frequency can be set up – allowing for amazing flexibility. This program allowed one of our clients to perform extensive dental work on a geriatric rescue horse for just $70 down. Our Doctors performed an extensive float, and the horse was finally able to comfortably chew when they were finished. It will save her a ton in feed costs (instead of having that money dropped on the floor of his stall) as we get him back to a normal weight. The client was very excited since Payment Banc allowed her to spread the work over six weeks instead of one lump sum. The Doctors recommended bloodwork to check for Cushing’s disease (PPID) and X-rays of his front feet as well (to check for laminitis). Once the horse has had time to get back in shape, our client will add on to her payments so she can continue to provide the best for this fantastic old guy! This client told me (ok… well actually Marilyn, but I was right there on my cushion!) that application was quick and easy. She said a “soft credit check” was performed, but it did not impact or even register on her credit report. I have no idea what all that meant, but it sounded important to the client.

A second option I heard about in the office was Care Credit. This works like a credit card that is specific for health care providers. Many people apparently already have it for use with their doctors and dentists. Much like a credit card, Care Credit sets a credit limit. You are able to charge up to that limit with your healthcare provider. It is a great option for those sudden and unexpected expenditures – like the late-night colic that always happens just before payday! After you apply online and are approved, Care Credit offers INTEREST FREE payment plans for the first 6 months. Be aware, however, that Care Credit does revert to a large interest rate once the promotional period is complete (just like other similar offers from retailers like Best Buy). Just like Payment Banc, Care Credit allows you to add on when more services are provided. The biggest difference is the interest at the end. I have heard our clients talk about using Care Credit for major procedures, like colic surgeries or tooth extractions, while Payment Banc works better for minor procedures or routine services.

The last great option I heard about was recurring credit card payments. We are able to set up payments as often as once weekly on Master Card, Visa, Discover, and American Express. One client spread her payments for an extensive lameness evaluation over a two month period, while still earning points on her credit card! This client planned to go to the Quarter Horse Congress this year, and jokingly told us that all the points would help!

I must say, I expanded my knowledge of the many options we offer to make sure our clients can take excellent care of their horses. Our Doctors never want you to have to compromise on your horse’s care on account of your finances! And of course, may your food bowl always be full and your litter box clean!

Exciting new eye med!

Jun 3, 2012 | Ailments

Hallo there! Another day in the world of Tony here (just waiting for the Monday to come so I have all my people paying attention to me again). This weekend, watching the vets prepare another edition of our monthly newsletter, The Naughty Pony, I was amazed at what Dr. King had to share about a new eye medication called Equitrx Corneal Repair drops (from Bayer). I mostly stole this week’s blog from the newsletter, because I think as many people as possible need to know why they need to call us quickly when their horse’s eye becomes painful.

The vets at Springhill Equine have experienced recent success in treating ‘fresh’ corneal ulcers, thanks to a new medication. Corneal ulcers – defects or scratches on the outermost surface of your horse’s eye, are a serious problem for you and your horse. The new medication is for ulcers recognized in the first 24 hours, so we encourage you more than ever to call us IMMEDIATELY if you notice your horse has a painful eye.

Dr. King first learned about the medication, called Equitrx Corneal Repair drops, when a Bayer representative presented at a University of Florida Equine Club meeting (UF SCAAEP). She has subsequently prescribed the medication to appropriate cases with great success. Corneal ulcers are a particularly frustrating and potentially expensive problem for horse owners in Florida. The cornea, the outermost clear surface of the eye, not only is part of the sphere that keeps the eye inflated, but is the window to the eye. It contains no blood vessels and no water, thanks to special water pumps inside corneal cells – and this is how this thin layer stays so clear. An ulcer is a disruption in this outer surface – from a bump, poke (hay and grass heads are common culprits), or who knows what. Sometimes the defect heals quickly over in the face of infection, and what is called a ‘stromal abscess’ results.

The cornea itself is made up of three layers – akin to a hamburger (meat between two buns). A corneal ulcer disrupts some portion of the top bun and the meat, but can erode down and or/through the bottom bun. A stromal abscess is in the meat with both buns intact. It can rupture into the eye, or out. The scariest part is that the bottom bun is only 2 CELLS thick! The corneal layers are extremely sensitive to pain – which is why if you try to poke a horse in the eye, he reflexively shuts it. This ‘corneal reflex’ is one of the last reflexes to leave a horse when it dies, and can be used by veterinary staff to measure depth or level of anesthesia.

If your horse suddenly has one painful eye (squinting, eyelid drooping, tearing), a corneal ulcer is suspected until proven otherwise. If we see your horse, we will look in the eye, and can often see the defect in the surface, and in later stages blood vessels and/or surrounding edema. Blood vessels and edema obscure the window, making it hard for your horse to see. We will stain your horse’s eye with florescein, a bright green dye, which binds to the meat of the cornea. The amount of stain will show us how big and where the ulcer is. It can also help differentiate a corneal ulcer from a stromal abscess. Florescein does not bind to either bun, so in the worst cases, there is no stain in the middle of the ulcer (bottom bun), and a ring of green where the meat is exposed. These are medical emergencies and generally are treated surgically, which is usually close to and potentially significantly more than $5,000 by the time the ulcer has healed (usually weeks to months). Appropriate medical treatment for the average ulcer can easily reach $700-$1200 in 1-2 weeks of treatment, if hospitalization is elected (and strongly recommended) at Springhill Equine or a referral facility.

The first medication used to treat corneal ulcers is an antibiotic ointment applied directly to the affected eye. This allows the ulcer to heal free of infection, which will constantly and continuously work against and erode the healing cornea. Another significant potential for infection comes from fungi, which are unfortunately abundant in Florida! Fungal infection results in a ‘melting ulcer’ – where the cornea literally appears to be melting away (droplet-like) from the site. These are extremely difficult to deal with, aggressive antifungal treatment is necessary (eg, hourly, 24/7) to save the eye, otherwise surgical treatment may be required (removing the eye as the battle fails).

Atropine is also used as a topical eye ointment, to dilate the eye keeping it more comfortable. Banamine is used as well to keep the horse comfortable (it appears to work better than bute). A variety of other topical medications can be added into the regimine based on severity. However, without corneal healing, these treatments are for naught. This new product, which contains hyaluronic acid (a viscous fluid that we inject into joints), provides a scaffold over which the healing corneal cells can move. Dr. King has seen healing within 24 hours in 4 out of 5 horses she has prescribed it to (the 5th was particularly large/severe and required several weeks to heal). These cases all fit the appropriate criteria for the company recommends for treatment (eg, they were certain to have occurred in the last 12-24 hours).

I am convinced, as is the rest of Springhill Equine, that this new product holds a great deal of promise for horses attended within 24 hours of injury. We recommend, now more than ever, that you please call us IMMEDIATELY if you notice your horse has a painful eye, to save you and your horse a potentially long and painful process! Thanks for reading, and may your litter box be clean and your food bowl full!

Bot, oh Bot!

May 25, 2012 | Ailments, Pests

Ever wondered what those tiny yellow dots are at the end of the hairs on your horse’s chest, legs, and undersides? While many people have heard of ‘bots,’ they are often mismanaged and can seem to be a never ending problem, particularly in year-round warm of Florida.

The life-cycle of the bot-fly is centered on the horse – a bot is the larval stage of the adult bot-fly. They can be extremely irritating, and the irritation the horse experiences perpetuates the life-cycle. The cycle begins when the bot-fly (which resembles a small yellow honeybee) lays the small yellow eggs on your horse’s coat. When the horse licks, rubs, or bites the area of the coat where eggs are laid. Irritation by the horse stimulates the larvae in the eggs. The threadlike juveniles move into the horse’s mouth, where they burrow into the gums. Here they remain, nestled between teeth, for about four weeks. Then they move into the stomach, where they attach to the walls and grow to a fat red bean covered in rows of black spines. They mature and move through the remainder of the digestive tract, emerging with the feces when they are ready, and burrowing into the ground until adulthood is reached. One complete cycle takes approximately a year. Thanks to the Florida weather, what it typically a seasonal nuisance is a year-round infestation.

Bot-fliescan affect humans as well as animals, so diligence is important when caring for a horse with a bot problem. There are three species: the common bot (Gastrophilus intestinalis), the throat bot (Gastrophilus nasalis), and the nose bot (Gastrophilus haemorrhoidalis). They each tend to lay eggs in a particular area. The common bot lays eggs over the body, the throat bot’s eggs are generally under the neck and jaw, and the rare nose bot focuses on the lips. Ulcers (or larvae) can sometimes be found in and around the mouth, and teeth may be loose or have nearby pus pockets. Colic and gastric ulcers can be caused or exacerbated by bots, whether from direct damage or blockage from a mass of larvae. Inappetance, diarrhea, choke, weight loss, lethargy, and general unthriftiness can result from infection. Other complications include anemia, stomach rupture, and peritonitis (infection in the abdominal cavity).

Diagnosis is by simple fecal exam – they can collect a sample at your appointment, or you can drop a fresh ‘apple’ by the office for Danielle & Michelle to process. You can collect it with a zip-lock bag within 2-4 hours of passage, and store it in your fridge (up to 24 hours) until you can bring it to us. Sometimes larvae are discovered in the soil, or in your horse’s feces, mouth (eg, during a dental). Worms are easily identified in the stomach on gastroscopy (putting a 3 meter camera into the stomach), or rarely in the gastric reflux when tubing during a colic.

Treatment is simple enough, ivermectin usually does the trick – but wait until the average temperature is above 80 degrees F. Prevention is more difficult – good fly control measures and careful removal of eggs. Again, be aware – bot-fly larvae have been found in the skin, eyes, and stomachs of humans. Eggs should be removed from the skin with a bot knife, which is used to scrape the side of the skin to remove the eggs without injuring the skin. A grooming stone/block, pumice stone, and clippers also work well. As many eggs and hairs should be caught and disposed of as possible – preventing eggs on the ground from being ingested. Keep these simple tricks in mind, and you will find it is a problem worth managing!

As always, may your litter box be clean and your food bowl full!

The Flies Have It!

May 20, 2012 | Ailments, Feed, Pests

This week I thought I would blog a bit about that dreaded summertime pest: the fly. Teenie and I were having a movie night and I chose The Fly in preparation for this blog. She smacked me, told me I had poor taste in movies, and stomped off to sit at the front desk. Girls. I just don’t understand them. Oh well here goes, all I have learned about flies while hanging around the office.

To start with the most common species we see are the stable fly and the house fly. The house flies are annoying, spread disease, and are generally a pain in the rear. Stable flies are all that and they live off blood so they bite us and our horses. Each of these critters enjoy having babies in a mixture of hay or straw, feces, soil, and grain. Sound familiar? During my inspections of the stalls at the office I have found this combination of things are quite common around horses. The stable fly can go from egg to fly in as little as three weeks and the house fly can do the same in as fast as ten days in the summer!

I see many people spraying their horses with loads of sprays trying to keep the flies away but my keen cat sense has determined that this doesn’t work very well. My research found that sprays work well to knock down adult flies but don’t have much residual effect to keep them away. Some sprays contain scents that flies find mildly offensive but this approach is better for gnats and mosquitoes. One insecticide option that can work with flies are products like QuickBayt. This product is sprinkled on the floor or can be mixed with water and sprayed on vertical surfaces like walls or posts were flies hang out. When flies come in to contact they are killed. The product is very safe for children and animals. Dr. Lacher has proven this at her house when her dog ate a few mouthfuls before realizing QuickBayt tastes horrible. The manufacturer did this on purpose to minimize the risk of dogs and children thinking it tastes great.

So what does work? The best way to minimize flies is to minimize their breeding grounds. Keeping stalls meticulously clean and dry is the most important first step. It is extremely helpful to remove any hay mats left over after round bales are finished. Lift one of those mats up and you will find a fly baby making machine! Composting, when done properly, kills the fly eggs before they can mature. There are numerous web sites with excellent tips and tricks for composting (hmm future blog?). One excellent link is http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/soilmgmt/composts.htm Spreading manure helps dry the manure quickly and, well, spread it out making less fly friendly. Managing manure has to be the first step in fly control. None of the other methods can overcome poor manure management.

Feed through controls. There are two main brands out available: Solitude and SimpliFly. Solitude contains a compound called cyromazine. Cyromazine is not active until it passes through the intestinal tract and is deposited in the manure. From there it is eaten by the larval stages causing them to die. Cyromazine is generally considered safe for all ages of creatures. SimpliFly contains a compound called diflubenzeron. This compound is a little trickier to pin down on safety but is generally considered safe for adult animals. Diflubenzeron prevents the larva from making chitin so they can’t progress in their life stages to adulthood. The big advantage to feed through control is it delivers the compounds around the farm. Anywhere your horse “goes” your feed through goes. They are also very easy to administer since both are in an alfalfa pellet base.

Isn’t there a way to manage flies without chemicals? Why yes there is I say. They are called fly predators. These are tiny relatives of the big wasps we all see. They selectively lay their eggs inside fly eggs and their kids eat the baby fly. I love these critters! They can’t quite keep up their end of the baby making equation so you must spread extras around every month to keep up. Fly predators do a pretty darn good job as long as proper numbers are used.

I have to add one more management method: let the cat chase them. I find this to be the most fun of the options even if it isn’t very effective. If you find flies are driving you and your horses mad, call us for help finding an entomologist who can help you determine the best plan for your property. And that’s a wrap for this week. May your litter box always be clean and your food bowl full!

Horse breeding for dummies, part 4 – Pregnancy Diagnosis

May 6, 2012 | Breeding

Hey all! How are you all doing this week? I’m feeling especially important and accomplished, as I successfully pranked all of the Springhill staff this week! It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon, and I had been lounging peacefully in the office as the last appointments of the days drew the ramp up on their trailers. I quickly and quietly slipped away, however, before the crew started the close the front door to keep us up for the night. As closing time approached, I could hear Marilyn (our new office manager) yelling my name and shaking the treats. Later on, I heard Dr. King pull in and she also spent about 30 minutes calling my name. I could hear her on the phone with a frightened Dr. Lacher, discussing my absence. She also called to see if I had hitched a ride home in someone’s trailer. I watched as she walked to the road, looking at black tire scraps and continuing to yell. Finally, I decided to give up my jib and came up to the clinic. Dr. King hugged me and yelled at me, then fed me treats, scolding and petting me some more. I was a little confused, but glad to be rid of the spiderwebs that had clung to my fur on my adventure.

Anyway, we are supposed to be discussing breeding. We have been discussing the many aspects of the cycle of the mare, from seasonality to the hormones involved, the appearance of the uterus and ovaries when the mare is in and out of heat. We will discuss more about the actual breeding in the near future (semen will be covered with the stallion), we are going to assume that your horse has been bred and it is time to look for a pregnancy!

14 day embryo

We typically suggest a pregnancy check at day 14, when the embryo is large enough to be detectable by ultrasound, but when it is in the stage of moving around the uterus. A horse embryo rolls around the uterus for an unknown reason – presumed to be associated with the mare’s recognition of her pregnancy – prior to finding a spot to nestle in. If there is any chance your horse has had a double ovulation, it is critical that your horse be checked between day 14 and 16 post-ovulation. This is the optimal time to reduce twins before the embryo fixes and implants at day 17-18. To reduce a twin pregnancy, the embryo is “pinched” or crushed, with the aim of allowing one of the two twins to survive. This is easiest when they are small and mobile.

This sounds awful, but you must remember that while twin pregnancies do occur and survive to delivery, it is extremely rare to have a pair of twin horses survive to a year of age. A growing foal demands that their placental surface cover all available surfaces of the uterus, so sharing simply isn’t tolerated. Twin pregnancies that aren’t reduced result in one or both foals aborting, or they are born mummified, dead, weak, and/or undersized, and many born alive die soon after birth. If having one healthy foal survive a twin pregnancy is lucky, having a pair is a miracle. The 14-16 day embryo is the best time to manage this condition.

Many older mares have cysts in the lining of their uterus. If we have seen your mare before, we have an idea of where her cysts are located along her ‘Y’ shaped uterus. Cysts and embryos can appear similar sometimes, but the primary difference is that cysts remain the same in size and location, and embryos move and grow. One can imagine a cyst as a peg on a pinball machine, where the ball (embryo) can be delayed, stuck for a moment, or stopped completely if there are a number of them in a group. If there is any question if the structure seen is a cyst or an embryo, a check in hours or days will usually reveal the answer.

Once a single pregnancy is confirmed at 14-18 days, we also recommend checking your mare at 25-30 days. At this time, we look for a heartbeat, which will confirm that the embryo is alive and well. If it is not, we recommend giving the horse prostaglandin to lyse the CL, terminating the pregnancy before the endometrial cups form. Once these structures form, if the pregnancy is lost, the horse will be finished for the season. It will take the rest of the breeding season for the cups to resorb and uterus to return to normal.

Well thanks for stopping by to read my Blog! Until next week, keep up with your own pranks, and stop by to give me some pets! May your litter box be clean and your food bowl full! 🙂