Aug 23, 2016 | Cancer, Drugs, Eyes
As I look forward to fall, I notice that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, No-Shave November (Movember) is for Prostate Cancer, but what about the horses? Equine Cancer is a thing too, but I don’t see anybody giving horses their own cancer awareness month! What gives? Well I, the honorable Tony, am officially declaring August to be Equine Cancer Awareness month! And my first act to raise awareness is writing this blog.
Like other species, horses are susceptible to many different types of cancer. The most common in horses are melanoma, sarcoids, squamous cell carcinoma, and lymphoma. I’m a cat, so I like to keep things simple. Basically if you are a grey horse, you are going to get melanomas. If you are an Appaloosa or Paint horse with white around your eyes, you are likely to have squamous cell. If you are an unlucky horse of any other color, you could end up with a sarcoid or lymphoma.
If you own a grey horse, you probably already know what melanomas look like. They are usually firm, round grey nodules that commonly occur under the tail or around the external genitalia. Luckily I make it a point to spend at least 5 hours a day grooming my external genitalia, so I would be sure to notice a melanoma right away. Small melanomas are usually benign, but as they get bigger and the horse gets older, they are more likely to become malignant. But have no fear- there are new treatments becoming available!
Oncept, a vaccine that has shown promise against canine melanoma, is now being studied in horses. Now, why you would want to prolong a dog’s life is beyond me, but I guess not everyone can be a cat person. Oncept is going to cost you a pretty penny too: about $4,000 for the initial course of treatment. In addition to Oncept there is an autologous vaccine (that’s a vaccine made from the horse’s own cells–aren’t you impressed I knew that?) in clinical trials.
Sarcoids come in many forms. They can be flat, bumpy, warty, or a mixture. They can show up anywhere on the body. Depending on their location, they usually don’t pose much of a threat, just more of a nuisance. Kind of like me lying in the doorway so everybody has to step over me when they walk through the door. However, the smaller they are, the easier to treat. One treatment for these pesky tumors is a cream called Aldara (aka Imiquimod- say that 5 times fast!) There is also an herbal cream called Xxterra that has shown success in shrinking sarcoids.
Squamous cell carcinoma is not as friendly. As mentioned, it tends to occur on and around the eyes and eyelids of light-skinned horses, and sometimes on their private parts too. This form of cancer is aggressive and difficult to treat. Chemotherapy with 5-Fluorouracil or Cisplatin, radiation, and enucleation (removal of the eye) are the most common treatment modalities. Boy, I can’t wait to play cat Scrabble with Teanie this weekend. Fluorouracil, how many points is that?!
Last but not least, horses can get lymphoma too. Just when you thought colic and laminitis were the only things horses could die from. Lymphoma is sneaky. It is usually impossible to diagnose until a large tumor has already grown internally and spread to other parts of the body. Weight loss and lethargy are often the first sign. Bloodwork usually doesn’t show any striking abnormalities. Sometimes a mass is identified by ultrasound or rectal exam, but most often it is a diagnosis made via the process of elimination.
Lymphoma is sad because it is usually fatal within a few weeks to months. Treatment with steroids and chemotherapy is being studied at UC Davis vet school, but it is going to cost you a lot of Meow Mix for that big of an animal. Hence why we need to raise Equine Cancer Awareness to fund new research!
So class, what have we learned from exceedingly wise, supremely intelligent, impressively well-educated Tony today? Cancer in horses does happen! It doesn’t always carry a poor prognosis for a long and happy life, but treatment options are few and very costly. We need to raise awareness of equine cancer in order to further research into new treatments for this malady!
Now that I’ve exhausted myself with all this knowledge, I must get back to my nap!
Until next week,
– Tony
Aug 16, 2016 | Disaster Preparedness, Infections, Injuries, Medication, Q & A, Safety
With all the rainy weather we’ve been having, I had plenty of time to sit around the clinic and pick the brains of Dr. Vurgason & Dr. Lacher. I had to get the scoop, the D-L, the 4-1-1, the Inside Story, on what our doctors keep in their own tack trunks. Now obviously everybody has gloves, their helmet, a crop, and a bag of those peppermint-flavored horse treats in case you forget to bring carrots. But what I was interested in was the medical supplies, the in-case-of-emergency box, right from the mouth of a bona-fide veterinarian!
When you peruse the aisles at your favorite tack supply store, you will find shelves upon shelves of medical supplies. Incidentally, there are also shelves upon shelves of cat treats, which are welcomed here at the office any time of day. Some people choose to buy all the medicines; which is fine if you enjoy spending money. Many of our clients have cabinets, shelves, bins, and boxes stocked full of every ointment, cream, spray, and powder you can imagine. But really there are only a few that you need, or that the docs might expect you to have on hand.
First, and this one should be obvious: duct tape. For any type of hoof injury, as well as various repairs around the barn, this is a must-have. Along with duct tape, baby diapers (size 1 for an average Quarter horse hoof, larger sizes for bigger feet) are excellent for hoof-wrapping. Another tack trunk must-have is Vetrap. Boy, do I wish I invented that stuff. I’d be lounging around in a cat palace on some island right now, rather than stuck in this office watching the rain with these humans. Vetrap is just the perfect balance of stretchy and sticky. It sticks great to itself, but not to anything else. Brilliant!
As far as ointments, creams, and the like, the docs gave me a hierarchy of wound dressings in order of preference: Silver Sulfadiazine (SSD for short), is an excellent topical antibacterial cream, great for any kind of wound. It is expensive, but if you buy the big blue tub it will last you a long time. Next choice would be the yellow stuff, Nitrofurazone (a.k.a. Furacin). Furacin is another good choice as a topical antibacterial wound ointment to have on hand. Beyond that, any type of Triple Antibiotic Ointment that you can find at your local drug store will do the trick. For open wounds, the docs wouldn’t recommend the ointments without antibiotics, the “natural” healing products, or Vetericyn (it is literally bleach-water, look at the ingredients)!
Swat is an old staple that is a good fly repellent to have in your trunk. It now comes in a clear formulation, not just the tell-tale pink that you can see from across the pasture. It’s important to realize, however, that Swat does not have any antibacterial properties, even though it is advertised for use around wounds. The only other cream I found in the vets’ tack trunks was Desitin (and no, it wasn’t for Dr. V’s baby). Desitin contains Zinc Oxide, which is great for treating burns, abrasions, or other wounds that need soothing and healing, but have a low risk of becoming infected. A&D ointment or Balmex are also good for this purpose. The docs have even used that on me (against my will) when my skin gets bad.
Other than that, just make sure you have some good antibacterial scrub for wounds (either betadine or chlorhexidine-based). Dr. Vurgason’s horse is prone to thrush, so she also had Thrushbuster on her tack trunk list. Dr. Lacher has a horse with insect allergies, so she also stressed the importance of a good fly spray (make sure it is actually a fly repellent, not just a fly killer).
So, to review, the official Vets’ Tack Trunk List: Duct Tape, Diapers, Vetrap, SSD/Furacin/TAB ointment, Swat, Desitin, scrub, fly spray, and Thrushbuster. Pretty simple, right? As my father Anthony would say, “clear as mud”! And if it’s not, just call us at the office anytime you have a question about any of the thousands of over-the-counter products out there, and we will be sure to direct you to the nearest doctor for their expert opinion. After all, they know what ingredients like Dimethyl Sulfoxide and Sodium Hypochlorite actually are. Remember to pick up some cat treats while you are stocking up on your tack trunk supplies!
Until next week.
– Tony
Aug 9, 2016 | Athleticism, Competition Horses, Events, Exercise, FES
So with all this athletic horse research I’ve been doing lately, it was inevitable that I would have to check out the Olympic team horses. I have to say they have a pretty good gig. If it weren’t for all the fitness stuff, I would try out. I look good in red, white, and blue and I like to travel so I think I could get a spot on a team. I suppose I would need to pick a sport but since it’s too late for this Olympic cycle, I will look to something for 4 years from now. Plenty of time for that later.
Just a warning, I went hard core social network stalker for this week’s blog. I started at the USEF and USEF Eventing High Performance Facebook pages, then checked out the Chronicle of the Horse, and finally went to the social media pages for the humans involved in this endeavor. Apparently getting to the Olympics is a very long process. It may take more patience than this cat can muster. It starts with a list of potential horse/rider combinations. These combinations are watched by a coach so special they need a French name: Chef d’equipe. Around the beginning of the year this coach narrows the list down to 7-10 possibles (the long list). And then the real fun begins.
Being a Team horse is kind of like being an NFL player. There are lots of perks, but there are lots of people who want to know all about how fit and healthy you are. It starts with a VERY complete examination by the Team veterinarian. They look at everything from tendons, to bone, to muscles, to eyeballs, to fitness. Next that special coach looks at competition results, how the horse works at home, and the rider’s history in high stress situations. Finally, there are some “test events.” These are set horse shows or three-day events that Team horses have to go to. Based on all of these factors the Chef d’equipe gets to pick a team. The check-ups continue after that. The coach is constantly checking in to see how training is going, the vet is checking to see how healthy the horses are, and the behind the scenes people are checking to be sure all the organizational stuff is ready.
Now the horses have to get to Brazil. No matter what discipline (Dressage, Eventing, or Show Jumping) if you made that long list you had to have a complete list of everything you wanted to bring for feed, supplements, and hay ready to go in January. This Olympics thing is looking a bit too complicated for this cat. All of the things on that list had to pass through the government of Brazil for approval and were shipped down well ahead of the Olympics. Next the grooms have to pack everything they could ever want to have in two tack trunks (OK they are big ones, but still). I mean this is the Olympics and you get a maximum amount of stuff you can pack. I don’t have a lot of experience at this sort of thing but I think I would want to take everything just in case. Meanwhile, the horses have to get special blood tests, vaccines at designated times, and make sure their passports are ready because they are getting on a plane. I think it would be really fun to get on a plane! Luckily by this point in their careers most of these horses are pros at the international travel thing.
Once the horses arrive at the Olympics they have an entire staff of people making sure their every whim is catered to. The vets are checking for soreness, stiffness, or any sign of even a slight sniffle. The physiotherapists are stretching, massaging, and FESing away to keep everyone in tip-top shape. The grooms are taking care of all the details like fluffing the bedding just the way these superstars like it, providing their favorite snack, and scratching that particularly itchy spot. Like I said earlier, there are perks to this Olympic horse thing.
And at the end of it, no matter the outcome, every one of those people will be honored to have taken care of these amazing horses. And with that I’m off to watch Eventing Show Jumping. I’m rooting for Boyd Martin and Blackfoot Mystery. Mostly because I have black feet so I’m sure it’s a sign but also because who doesn’t love an off the track Thoroughbred.
Jul 19, 2016 | Athleticism, Competition Horses, Exercise, Feed
I’m going to start with an easy one this week: Vaccinate your horse for Eastern Encephalitis (EEE). Florida has hit 12 cases of EEE in horses this year. Eleven of those horses are dead. One had a current vaccination status and is recovering. Did you get that? All eleven that had not been vaccinated had to be euthanized. The one that was is going to be OK. Call, text, e-mail, facebook message, heck send a carrier pigeon, however you want to get in touch with the humans here, but make sure your vaccines are up to date.
Whew now that that’s done, I would like to move on to my favorite topic: food. OK, one of my favorite topics, the other being naps. I had to research this week’s food topic since it is about the equine athlete and we all know I am not an athlete. Luckily, we had some very nice folks from Nutrena and Purina in recently that know all about feed and I got to pick their brains. It’s nice when all my sources agree. Here’s the problem in a nutshell: for the average horse sugar is bad (also true for humans and cats) but athletes need some to fuel muscles. Where is the line? Oh and it’s summertime and it’s hot. I promise that last bit is important, not whining. Cats don’t whine.
Nutrition for horses has come a long way in the past 20 years. Those bags of feed are no longer “grain” but are now a perfectly blended mixture designed for your horse’s metabolism, level of activity, and their weird GI tract. A large part of this change has been a decrease in simple sugars. Instead calories now come from complex sugars, fats, and protein along with a bit of simple sugar. For the average horse this is great. They spend a lot of time eating, lounging, and discussing the meaning of life with their closest cat. Sometimes the humans make them work but it usually isn’t for very long or very hard. Calories aren’t so important in this scenario. I resemble this scenario, though I am always trying to convince my minions to share their food with me since I’m starving.
Horses who work for a living are different. I’m not sure why you would want to work but I understand that horses do this and some even enjoy it. Weird. Anyway, at a certain point the equine muscle requires simple sugars to work well. Fat and protein are great long term energy sources but for those bursts of energy, sugar is the way to go. I’m not saying turn them loose in the sugar cube bin, but it is important to have sugars available in the diet. How much sugar you ask? That is an excellent question. How does your horse feel when riding? Do you find you are hitting a wall? Is there less zing when you need zing? Is the hot weather zapping them of energy? These can be indications it may be time to up the sugar content of the diet. That wall and that lack of zing happen when the muscle has used up all its energy stores. The fats and proteins can be used for energy, but the process takes longer. Processing fats and proteins also creates heat. Told you I wasn’t whining about the heat. Summertime in Florida is not when we want to make more heat.
You have decided your horse could potentially benefit from an increase in sugars in the diet. Now what? First check with the Docs. Horses with certain medical conditions such as metabolic syndrome, laminitis, or a muscle disorder called PSSM have to be very carefully monitored. Often the Docs will work with a nutritionist to come up with the best diet for these guys, and monitor them with bloodwork. If you get the OK from our Docs, then it is simply a matter of picking a diet with a higher NSC than the one you use now. I say simply but in reality it is simple but not easy. I’m going to recommend you talk with our in- house expert, Beth, before you just go with a bag of feed. There are million different ways to increase sugars in the diet and not all of them are good. Seriously, check with Beth. Beth has more years than she will allow me to say of experience in the equine feed industry. Beth will help you come up with the perfect program for your horse!
And now I am off to consume my low sugar diet which has been specially designed for diabetic cats. At least it means I don’t have to get insulin shots anymore!
– Tony
Jul 12, 2016 | Competition Horses, Dentals, Events, Feed, Pet Pigs
When Pigs Fly
I thought I had seen just about everything in my 9 lives. While I didn’t actually spot any pigs flying on Saturday, I did see several swimming in Kiddie Pools, walking on leashes, and eating watermelon during our first annual Piggy Ice Cream Social! It was quite the spectacle. I chose to park myself at a safe distance in front of the fans and speakers that the humans set up for me, and I waited for everyone to come give me attention. It worked.
In case you humans needed yet another reason to come and adore me at the clinic, this month we are offering $35 off in-house dentals! I didn’t quite understand why horses require so much dental care, so I asked the docs about it after Saturday’s social, and this is what I learned:
Unlike the superior feline species, horse teeth continue to grow throughout their lives. The fancy doctor word for this is hypsodont dentition. As the teeth erupt from the gum line, they are gradually ground down by forage in the horse’s diet. Humans have done a few things to fowl up this natural process of wear and tear, including feeding horses large grain meals to replace grazing on the prairie, and breeding horses to have extra long or short heads, which often means their teeth no longer line up.
In an ideal situation, the top rows of cheek teeth line up with the bottom rows of cheek teeth, and when the horse grinds it’s food in a circular motion, all of the teeth wear down evenly. (We are talking about molars and premolars now, not the incisors, which you see when you lift up the lips.) In reality, it is common for the top rows of teeth to stick out farther in the front, and the bottom rows of teeth to stick out farther in the back. This causes sharp hooks and ramps, respectively, to form.
In addition, the horse’s upper jaw is wider than the lower jaw. Over time this causes sharp enamel points to form on the cheek side of the upper teeth, and the tongue side of the lower teeth. Sharp points lead to ulcerations, which lead to pain, which lead to difficulty eating, which leads to weight loss…
Moral of the story: bring your horse in for a dental float, and the docs will be able to identify and quickly correct any and all of these issues. A healthy horse with an average mouth should have his teeth filed down, or “floated” at least once a year. If your horse has dental problems, such as missing or broken teeth, a wave mouth, a step mouth, or a long history of inadequate dental care, he may need more frequent dental exams.
The only way to thoroughly and safely examine all of a horse’s teeth is with sed
ation, a good light source, and a speculum (that’s the contraption that holds the horse’s mouth open and prevents the doc’s arm from being crushed). Honestly I still wouldn’t be caught dead sticking my paw inside the mouth of a 1000 lb animal with 42 teeth, but then again I’m not a vet!
Now, thanks to my cat wisdom, you are an expert on horse teeth. Feel free to go out and impress your friends with your new knowledge. I won’t even ask for credit, just give me a scratch behind the ears when you bring your horse in for his discounted dental this month!
-Tony
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