During a rainy spell this past weekend I went down a rabbit hole, metaphorically of course. Usually I go for actual rabbit holes. I am a top line predator after all. However, my real life rabbit adventures are generally frowned upon by my staff. Anyway, about that rabbit hole. It involved saddles and saddle fit. Want the TLDR (too long didn’t read)? There’s a whole lot that goes into saddle fit!

Western or English

This is going to be short. There is basically no information on Western saddle fit. What there is, has been extrapolated from English saddle fit. Based on what I could find you should be aware of how the ends of the bars sit on your horse. It may be too narrow or too wide up front, and there may be more pressure on one side or the other. This could be due to defects in the human. Yep that’s right. You probably don’t ride straight. And don’t try to fix your saddle by just adding a thicker pad. Western or English, that’s never the right answer. It does seem, based on my limited feline understanding, that the design of Western saddles is more forgiving to horse anatomy. Take that with a big ol’ grain of salt, because this cat certainly isn’t getting saddled up for a ride with any kind of saddle.

Pinching, poking, constricting

These are not words you want associated with a saddle which you strap to your precious horse’s back, which you then climb upon, and then ask said horse to do stuff. It seems reasonable that a horse’s reaction to any of those things would be to remove the pinching, poking, or constricting thing as quickly as possible. This does sometimes happen, but more often those tolerant souls try their hardest to do what you humans ask while wearing ill-fitting tack. Anyway, how to check your saddle for fit. This is going to be the basic feline understanding of the process. I strongly recommend you find a saddle fit professional, and take a trip down your very own metaphorical rabbit hole, to get the best fit for you and your horse.

There are some things you can do to your saddle to see if a professional should be called ASAP. Start by holding your saddle with the cantle resting on your hip. Grab the front and crunch your saddle front to back. Much like me when one of the Docs asks me to get off the top of the truck, nothing should happen. Next put the saddle on your horse with the girth tightened. ProTip: you should not need your girth tight enough to cut your horse in half for your saddle to stay on. With the saddle on your horse, grab front and back, push it away, and pull it towards you. There should be some motion, but not a ton. Here’s a few more things that should cause a whole lot of nothing: while holding the front and back of the saddle push it away, and pull it towards you, try to twist the saddle, and push down. If anything dramatic happens, don’t ride in this saddle, call a saddle professional ASAP. For more nuanced saddle stuff, I recommend a good fitter. However, I have linked a pretty good article at the end of this blog that covers a whole lot of stuff.

The human element

For simplicity, I’m going to continue on from the point of your saddle fits your horse. That leaves us with you, the human. You humans have some issues. For one, you are very rarely symmetrical, which means you don’t sit in a saddle straight, which means it might just be you, and not your horse, or your saddle that are crooked. Crazy talk, I know. Have someone film you riding with lots of straight towards, and away shots. I promise you, you will develop a whole new appreciation for your crookedness. If in doubt that it’s you, have someone else ride your horse with your saddle. While the saddle may still slip, it will likely slip in different ways with this other crooked human. I won’t give you humans all the credit for crookedness. Sometimes it’s the horse, usually as a result of some crooked human. If in doubt, have one of my amazing Docs evaluate your horse. Not only can they identify potential problems, they have solutions. For you humans, I’m going to plug Centaur Rehab. Tonya Olsen is a master at helping humans figure out where they’re twisted and turned, and finding solutions. Ask any of my Docs about Tonya’s amazing skills. They’ve all ridden with her.

Extra bits

Don’t forget all those extra things you attach to a saddle. Girths being the most common, and most necessary. It seems horses are as picky about girths, as cats are about cat beds. There are a ton of options out there. If your horse isn’t happy when you’re girthing up, try another version. The most important thing about a girth is that it buckles straight to the billets. If there’s an angle, change your girth, or saddle location. That angle will cause the saddle to do bad things, and increase the pressure at the buckle, which your horse may object to. A breast plate is generally not necessary for a well-fitted saddle. However, in some situations they are necessary. If you use one, consider one that attaches to the pommel and the billets, to minimize pressure in any one location. Look for one with elastic inserts as well. This will put some give into the breast plate, and make it more comfortable for your horse.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. This was an extensive rabbit hole. If you would like to follow me down it, I recommend starting at “Evaluating the suitability of an English saddle for a horse and rider combination,” authors
A. Bondi, S. Norton, L. Pearman, S. Dyson, and published in the August 2019 Equine Veterinary Education Journal. The Saddle Research Trust is also an excellent resource. Don’t want to read any of it? Check with any of my Docs for help sourcing a qualified saddle professional, and evaluating your horse.

This Florida cat knows better than to try to reason with hurricane season, and so should you. This week, there is talk of watching the tropics, so I decided to bring up an important component protecting your horse in times of natural disasters or other adverse events – microchip identification.

If you love your horse as much as most of the owners that come to my clinic, you want to do everything you can to protect him.  While there are things we can’t control about our horses’ health, providing a safe and reliable means of identifying them is sooo easy to do. A microchip is a solid way of proving ownership, not only in severe weather events where horses could go missing, but also in situations of theft or ownership disputes. In addition, many breed registries and show organizations require microchips nowadays.

What it is:

A microchip is a tiny device about the size of a grain of rice that is implanted into your horse’s neck, under his mane, with a needle. The chip contains a 15-digit numerical code that is unique to your horse. It’s like the VIN number your car has, but for your horse. The number can’t be changed and is a reliable way to identify a horse. Once it’s inserted, anyone with a microchip scanner can read the number and look up the registration information to find out how to contact the owner.

Why it’s useful:

Microchips are a better method of identification than lip tattoos or brands. Have you tried deciphering a thoroughbred’s lip tattoo? It can be a guessing game, especially as the horse gets older. Brands can also be difficult to read, and they’re not usually unique to individual horses. Also, both can be altered.  

Microchips are very common in dogs and cats, it’s often part of the routine healthcare performed when getting a new pet. There are many, many stories of lost or stolen pets being reunited with their families thanks to a chip, sometimes even years after going missing. While horses don’t wander off as often as we cats do, in the case of natural disasters or weather events, horses may have to be left outside and recovered after the danger has passed. They may end up a distance away from home. Rescuers attempting to reunite a displaced horse with its owner have quite a challenge. Think about how many bay geldings you know – I bet it’s a lot. But any horse with a microchip can be quickly and easily returned to its owner.

A microchip can be a great way of protecting your interests if you are buying or selling horses. A vet doing a pre-purchase exam on a horse can also make sure they have been presented with the correct horse to examine, protecting you as the buyer from potential fraud. On the other hand, when you sell a horse there is always some uncertainty about where your horse will wind up in the future. Equine rescue groups working with horses that have fallen on hard times can trace back the horse’s identification and potentially reunite them with a previous owner. Microchips can also be used to solve disputes about horse ownership. If you have a record of a horse’s microchip that lists you as the legal owner, you have a much stronger case to prove the horse is yours. Organizations such as the Equine Rescue Network are working to supply microchip scanners and volunteers to scan horses at auctions that may ship horses for slaughter. If the horse is microchipped, there is a chance the previous owner of a stolen or slaughter-bound horse may be able to be reached.

As if all those reasons weren’t enough, many major breed registries and show organizations now require horses be microchipped with the 15-digit International Organization of Standardization (ISO) chips for identification. These include, just to name a few, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the Jockey Club, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) and the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover.

How it’s done:

It’s really not a big deal to put it in. Really, it’s downright easy. I have one myself, and I didn’t even feel the need to bite the vet when she did it.

In horses, the microchip is implanted in the nuchal ligament on the left side of the neck, halfway between the poll and the withers, just below the base of the mane. My docs will do a sterile prep to make sure things are nice and clean, and then use a thingy that looks like a syringe and needle to put in the chip. It’s super quick and doesn’t take much longer than giving a vaccine. Depending on your horse’s personality, he may prefer a bit of sedation or some local anesthetic over the injection site. The chip is tiny and inert, so the vast majority of horses have no reaction to it, though a few might have a small swelling for a few days after insertion. The benefit of microchipping your horse definitely outweighs any risk.

After it’s in, my doc will wave a little hand-held scanner over your horse’s neck and make sure it reads the chip and then Presto! your horse is legit. Here’s a video of the insertion part of the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkwHe7t-VKY

My docs will make sure to use to use the approved ISO-compatible chips and record the number in your horse’s medical records. Then it’s up to you to register the code with your contact info and give the number to any breed registries or show organizations you belong to.

And what does this peace of mind cost? Hundreds? Thousands? Nope, it’s usually around $50 – $75 for the chip and the implantation, plus a little extra if your horse needs sedation or a farm call. Microchips usually last at least 25 years, so if that isn’t a good deal, I don’t know what is!

Here’s what it does:

• Provides permanent identification that can’t be separated from your horse or changed
• Helps recovery of your horse during a disaster
• Helps prevent theft and fraud
• Provides accurate identification for sales documentation
• Provides accuracy for competitions and breed registries (and is often required)

Here’s what it doesn’t do:

• It’s not a GPS tracker for your horse. You won’t be able to follow the chip to find his real-time location. (There are other devices that can do that though)
• The microchip itself stores only the horse’s identification number. Your contact info and info you enter about your horse is stored through the online registry when you register the chip. That’s why the registration after the chip is implanted is critical. Failing to register the chip, update your contact info, or transfer records basically renders the chip useless.
• There is no power supply (none is needed)
• Unlike in cats and dogs, microchips implanted in the nuchal ligament generally do not migrate away from the implantation site.
• Chips are not a fail-safe that your horse will never end up in a bad situation. Slaughterhouses and auctions don’t routinely scan horses for microchips. Though like I said, equine rescue organizations are working to make this more commonplace.

So, don’t wait until you are facing a situation where a chip could have helped you, because then it is too late. Microchip implantation is simple, safe, simple, and inexpensive. It’s an easy way to protect your horse that will last his entire life.

Until next week,

Tony

P.S. This is one part of disaster prep for your farm, but with hurricane season picking up, you might want to look over some of my other sage advice on this topic! You can click on the magnifying glass at the top of the page and type “hurricane prep” into the search bar and it will show you all my blogs on this topic. Tired of reading? Click here to listen to my doc’s podcast on emergency preparation. You might have to scroll down the list to find it, but I bet you’ll find some other ones you want to listen to, so it’s all good

As you all know, I like to keep up on all the interesting things my docs have been seeing out in the field and report back to you about them since, as a horse person you either have already experienced it or will likely experience it in the future. And let’s be honest, it is never a bad idea to learn more about the silly things horses like to do to themselves on a daily basis. The last few weeks, my docs have seen several cases of cellulitis. Don’t worry, I’ll explain what cellulitis is in a second, but from my understanding, cellulitis is one of those odd phenomena that horses develop usually at the most inopportune times, often without any explanation or reason.

 What is Cellulitis?

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection that develops in the soft connective tissues beneath the horse’s skin.  It can occur anywhere on the body, but most commonly occurs on limbs and more specifically, on hind limbs. Bacteria enter through a cut or laceration on the skin and spread quickly. Bacteria are such small little critters; they can weasel their way inside through a tiny little break in the skin. It could be so small that it was never even recognized even by the most diligent of owners.  I’m sure I would notice a small cut on my skin. I do have cat eyes, after all. Lucky for you all, I perform “CAT” scans on all of your horses when they come into the clinic and alert the docs to any areas of concern to help prevent any problems for your horse in the future.  That being said, it is very easy for small cuts to go unnoticed and allow bacteria to enter and infection to spread, thus resulting in cellulitis.

 Clinical Signs

Have you ever seen an elephant’s leg? Well, I have (I mean, we’ve all seen pictures, right?), and let me tell you, elephant legs are GINORMOUS! I know what you’re thinking: Tony, why are you talking about elephants? This is supposed to be a blog about horses. Bear with me, I want you all to picture what an elephant leg looks like. It’s huge, it is relatively straight, and it doesn’t have the nice contours that horse legs have. Imagine walking out to your horse one day, and you notice one of his legs looks like an elephant leg. That’s what a horse with cellulitis looks like.

 Cellulitis is not your typical stocking up of legs. Stocking up usually occurs in at least 2 if not 4 legs, whereas cellulitis is almost always localized to one leg. Horses with cellulitis are very painful, to the point that they will not put any weight on the affected limb. The limb will be hot to the touch, and even more painful. The skin will sometimes ooze and crack from all the swelling. You may notice that your horse becomes lethargic, he may run a fever, and may even decide he doesn’t want to eat. Man, cellulitis must be a pretty bad deal if a horse doesn’t want to eat! I know I have to be all out of sorts if I am going to miss a meal. 

 Diagnosis

If you suspect your horse might have cellulitis, the first thing you’re going to do is call my docs so they can come out and assess the problem. While acute cellulitis is not life-threatening, if left untreated it can quickly become a life-threatening situation and should always be treated as an urgent matter. Diagnosis may be made on physical examination alone, however, it is important to rule out other possibilities such as fractures. My docs may recommend radiographs or ultrasound to rule out other reasons your horse may be so uncomfortable.  Similarly, they will likely want to run bloodwork to assess white blood cell count as well as other organ function to determine the severity of infection. Once all the information has been gathered, a diagnosis is made.

 Treatment

Once a diagnosis has been made, treatment can begin. Treatment is targeted at treating the infection, controlling pain, and reducing swelling. Antibiotic therapy may include intravenous and/or intramuscular injections; however, oral antibiotics are usually the first course of treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as bute or banamine are used to help control pain and reduce inflammation. I’ve said it before and I am going to say it again: dilution is the solution to pollution, meaning, water, lots of water. Cold hosing the affected limb is a vital part in treating cellulitis. It reduces inflammation and relieves pain. Controlled exercise, while it sounds horrible to me, is also an important aspect of treating cellulitis. My docs may also recommend bandaging this affected limb as well as the support limb to decrease swelling and increase circulation to promote healing. Occasionally, hospitalization is necessary, and surgery can be required. However, if recognized and treated early, at-home treatment for cellulitis can usually be successful.

 Complications

As with everything horse-related, cellulitis can’t just be simple and an easy fix. There are certain complications that can develop, especially if left untreated. The biggest complication (and one of major concern) is support-limb laminitis. This, as you all know, can be a big problem and can even be life-threatening. Support-limb laminitis occurs because the horse does not want to put any weight on the affected leg and is therefore bearing all his body weight on the other 3 limbs, and more specifically, a significant amount of weight is placed on the limb opposite the affected limb.

 Without being able to rest the other limbs appropriately, inflammation develops in the horse’s foot and can result in laminitis. Laminitis can lead to rotation and sinking of the coffin bone and can be extremely painful, not to mention, expensive to treat. Why horses evolved to walk around on 1 finger is beyond me and supports my belief that cats are the superior species.

 The swelling associated with cellulitis can also lead to sloughing of the skin on the affected leg. This opens up the limb to further infection, which can affect the deeper structures within the limb and require intensive, long term treatment including hospitalization, antibiotic therapy and daily bandage changes. All of this can end up being very costly for your horse. Unfortunately, these complications can occur despite everyone’s best effort to treat cellulitis quickly and effectively. 

 Prognosis

If recognized early, and treated promptly by my docs, cellulitis can resolve quickly and without complication, getting you back in the saddle in no time. However, as you can see, there are some very serious complications that can occur. Most horses can recover without secondary complications.

 It’s important to note that once one episode of cellulitis occurs, it does then make your horse more prone to cellulitis in the future. In some cases, horses will develop scar tissue in the affected limb resulting in a limb that is larger than the others. It is also possible for cellulitis to lead to lameness, which mean cellulitis can be career-ending for some horses. Strict management of horses who have had cellulitis in the past is imperative. These horses tend to do best with ample turnout, sometimes even 24/7 turnout. I sure wish my minions would allow me to have 24/7 turnout!

 Horses who have had cellulitis also benefit from a strict exercise program. Apparently, they need to move around a lot, including long warm-ups and long cool-downs. And as always, cold water therapy will help these guys in the long run. Thank goodness cats aren’t prone to cellulitis… exercise and cold water, no thank you!

 Moral of the story is, if you think your horse is developing cellulitis, call my docs immediately so they can get your horse on the right track to recovery.  Remember, it is always better to call and have my docs out for something small, before it becomes a bigger issue with further complications and a less-positive outcome.

 Until next week,

~Tony

 P.S. Remember, we are offering Spa Day at the clinic once a month. Our next one is Monday, July 27th. Call the clinic to get your horse signed up for an all-inclusive day of FES, acupuncture, and equine medical manipulation (chiropractic) treatments, and a relaxing bath in EquiShield CK shampoo. It’s a great way to treat your horse to something really nice!

If you’ve ever visited Springhill Equine, you know I can usually be found in one of two places: the front porch, or the front counter. From this vantage point I watch Joe The Courier, and Tony The UPS Guy drop off packages just about every day. I’m partial to Tony for the obvious reason that his mother named him correctly. While the empty boxes are the highlight of my day, this week I’m going to talk about some of what’s in those boxes: drugs. Not the illegal kind, rather the kind my Docs use every day to help horses stay healthy. This is no small task with the propensity of horses towards self harm. Anyway, drugs. There are some very important things you should know about where they come from, and how my Docs know they can trust that the drugs they’re using are safe.

The FDA

Anything that would like to be called a pharmaceutical has to be approved as one by the FDA. You don’t just get to wake up in the morning and call my hairball a drug. You have to go through a process first, and spoiler alert, my hairball is unlikely to get approved as a drug. First, you have to be on a list of drugs the FDA keeps called the United States Pharmacopoeia. If you are, you can then proceed to prove that your version doesn’t violate any patents held by drug companies, that it has in it what it says it does, in the amount it says it does, and that it doesn’t have stuff in it it’s not supposed to. Makes sense. And seems like a darn good idea to this cat.

If you are a new drug, things are a little trickier, and more expensive. Now, some people like to start flinging litter over the expense issue of new drugs. I’m not going to debate that side of things. I’m a cat. Money means nothing to me. We’re going to stick to the process and why it exists. If you are a new drug, and very specifically a new animal drug, you have to prove you’re safe in all the species you intend to give that new drug to. For example, if you are licensing Adequan for horses, you need to show that it’s safe in horses. You haven’t shown that it’s safe in dogs, so you can’t say it’s okay for dogs until you show it’s safe for them, too. It gets even trickier if you’re saying it’s safe for cows that are going to be eaten by humans. Then you have to show that it’s safe for cows, and safe for humans eating those cows. All of this seems like a really good idea to this cat. I want to know that the drugs my Docs are using are safe, and have in them what they say they will.

Loopholes

That part where I talked about approval costing a lot of money. Well, there are some humans out there who would like to avoid that. The way they do that with a drug is by getting it labeled as a medical device. Tony, you ask, what is a medical device, and how is it different from a drug? Well, a drug relies on a chemical process happening in or on the body to work. A device works just by being there. A device is a needle, or a syringe, or a catheter. This definition has been used broadly to apply to things put on horses as well. Things like wound lavages that have ingredients similar to Adequan and Legend. That’s right. A bunch of those products out there that claim to be just like Adequan or just like Legend are actually regulated as medical devices instead of drugs. This means they are sterile, and must follow certain packaging requirements to ensure they are what they say they are. They don’t have to show that they are safe to give in any other way than what the packaging says. What am I trying to say? That “generic” labeled as a wound lavage has not been tested for intravenous or intramuscular injection in the same way Adequan and Legend have been. They also aren’t held to the same standards of consistency as a product labeled a drug. Overall, though, a medical device is at the very least sterile, and is what it says it is.

The Mother of All Loopholes

The supplement. Things labeled supplements are the Wild West of the pharmaceutical world. No one makes sure they are what they say they are. Supplement is also reserved for things you feed to your horse, not things you inject into them. If you are injecting something labeled as a supplement, you have absolutely NO guarantee that it 1) Is what it says it is, and 2) Is even sterile. Supplements are a buyer-beware market.

Now, the supplement industry recognizes this, and they don’t appreciate a bad apple. In an effort to combat this, there have been some industry groups formed like NASC. NASC tests supplements to be sure they contain what the label says, then places a label on that supplement letting you know they’re a member. It’s not 100% ideal since the supplement companies submit their products for testing, but hey, at least it’s an attempt.

Be wise like this cat. If it seems like you’re being sold snake oil, you probably are. Got doubts about a product someone wants you to try? Ask my Docs for help. They love answering questions! And they also love the opportunity to make the world a better place for horses, and if they can keep you from injecting a supplement into your horse, that counts as a win. Now, be a good human: scroll down to the purple box, and subscribe to this blog. That way you get an email when I write a new one, rather than relying on Facebook to let you know.

Until next week,
~Tony

P.S. If you want to learn more about this or any other horse-health-related topic, check out the podcast my Docs produce. It’s called Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. You can learn more than you ever imagined about your horse, and it’s all free! Now, time for a nap

The Equine Eye – and its Many Problems!

Alright humans, today we’re going to talk about horse eye problems. I’m going to use my loudest meow for this one, the same one I use when you are late with my dinner and I’m staaaaarving. Imagine me reading this to you in that voice. Because this is almost as important.

Horse eyes are pretty cool things. The horse has a field of vision that goes about 350 degrees, almost all the way around his body. I might be a bit jealous since mine only goes about 200 degrees, but hey, I do pretty well keeping the lizard population at my Clinic under control, if I do say so myself. While horses see a whole lot of things (all the better to spook at), the downside is a horse’s eyes are prominently located and susceptible to injuries.

Any injury or problem with their eyes should be taken very seriously, as damage can escalate fast. The biggest mistake that horse owners can make is not seeking treatment early and losing the opportunity to treat the problem before it’s too late. I know some of you have some ointment laying around the barn and you’re thinking about sticking that goo in your horse’s eye. Nope. This is not a “let’s see how it looks in a couple days and decide if we need to call the vet” kind of thing. The longer you wait, the more difficult (and expensive) the eye may be to treat. Don’t turn a treatable eye problem into a Cat-astrophe, call your vet! Fur real, you may well be saving your horse’s sight!

When your horse’s eye is healthy, it will be open, clear, and without any discharge. Here are some signs of problems:

• excessive watery tears
  • yellow or green discharge
  • an eyelid that is swollen or fully/partially closed
  • a cloudy-looking white or blue tinged eye
  • red or swollen conjunctiva
  • rubbing the eye or shaking the head excessively
  • obvious blood or laceration
  • a growth on or around the eye

There are multiple eye-related conditions that horses can suffer and telling one problem from another should be left to your vet. Without the training and equipment to differentiate them, trying to diagnose an eye problem yourself can lead to disaster. One ointment won’t fix all problems and may actually make some conditions worse. For example, the ointment that you had from your horse that had uveitis is one of the worst things you could put in an eye with a corneal ulcer.

The exam

Once you’ve called one of my docs, you can make your horse more comfortable by bringing him to his stall, or somewhere shady, since he may be more sensitive to light than usual. A dark place is better for my doc’s exam, too. Be aware that if he has obscured vision, he might be a bit more spooky than usual. Be gentle and slow when handling him and try not to surprise him on the side he isn’t seeing well out of. Don’t try to force his eye open to have a look – that can be very painful for the horse or possibly push a foreign object like a splinter deeper into the eye. Hold off on using any medications or ointments until your vet has examined the eye.

My doc will probably sedate your horse to get a good look in the eye. She will likely apply a special dye called fluorescein to his eye to look for damage to the surface of the cornea. (Pro Tip: this looks especially awesome on Halloween if you have a black light around. I tried it myself once – a black cat with glowing yellow eyes sure does freak the humans out! But I digress…) My doc will look thoroughly for anything stuck in the eye or under the eyelids, like a grass awn. She will use an ophthalmoscope to look in the back of your horse’s eye and evaluate for problems that aren’t apparent to the untrained eye. She may do other stuff too, depending on what she finds, but those are the usual starters.

Common conditions

There are a whole bunch of different eye conditions, and this cat just doesn’t have the patience to list them all, so here are just a few of the most common ones.

Corneal ulcers: Horses can develop an infection of the cornea (the clear surface of the eyeball) after scratching the surface of the eye. Then, bacteria or fungus in the environment get involved and bring their nasty habits along. Horses may have a white spot on their eye or the whole eyeball may look cloudy. They will usually squint and have tears running down from the eye.  These infections should be seen by a vet who can determine whether the infection is on the surface or if it’s deeper in the cornea – a stromal abscess. Regular antibiotic ointment may not work on those. Also, because the infection may be caused by a fungus (and fungi laugh at antibiotics!) your vet may need to prescribe an anti-fungal medication. After all, we live in Florida, and Florida is purrrfect for fungus! If your horse needs it, there are also specialized masks that provide eye protection with a molded eye cup, designed to protect the eyeball from rubbing while it is being treated.

Equine recurrent uveitis: Also known as “moon-blindness”, ERU is a disease of inflammation inside the eyeball. The signs of ERU can start mildly with tearing, squinting, or swelling, but can progress to severe eye pain and blindness, especially if left untreated. Sometimes it gets bad enough that the eye must be removed for the horse to be comfortable. Starting treatment in the early phases is important to minimize the progression of the disease. The symptoms can be pretty similar to a corneal ulcer, so it’s important that the correct diagnosis be made.

Conjunctivitis: This condition is caused by a bacterial infection of the conjunctiva, the pink tissues that line the inside of the eyelid. You may see swelling and redness of the conjunctiva and perhaps a yellow or green discharge. Windblown dust and insects cause irritation to the eye, causing the horse to rub his eyes, and bacteria can invade the tissues. Your vet will make sure the eyeball itself is ok, and if so, will provide antibacterial treatment.

Squamous cell carcinoma: SCC is one of the most common cancers found on or around the horse’s eye. It can be found on the eyeball itself, on the eyelid, or the 3^rd eyelid, and is especially common on horses with white markings around their eyes (or anywhere on their face). SCC may just look like a small pink cobblestone-textured bump, or like an ulcer.  If caught early, it can be treated. If not, it can be a bad deal.

Eyelid lacerations: A cut to your horse’s eyelid should always be looked at by a vet so it can be sutured if needed. Never assume it will just scar over and heal by itself. If your horse doesn’t have a functional eyelid margin, he won’t be able to keep his eye moist and painful eye ulcers can result. I know you would never dream of doing this – but I’m going to say it anyway – never cut any skin off the horse’s eyelid yourself.

How to avoid a problem

Yeah, even the most careful owner may not be able to avoid eye problems because horses are the most accident-prone creatures on the planet. But since they don’t have 9 lives like me, it’s worth a shot to make your horse’s home as safe as possible! Remove or cover any sharp edges, old nails, and protruding objects from your horse’s stall, fencing, or field. Avoid moldy hay so spores don’t get in his eyes. If his hay or bedding are dusty, dampen them with water or find a less dusty kind (hemp is a solid choice). Check his eyes every day for injuries or abnormal appearance. If flies are numerous or if he is sensitive to them, invest in a fly mask to keep his eyes protected. For horses with white markings around their eyes, make it a UV-protectant mask to reduce his risk of squamous cell carcinoma. But be sure to check under the fly mask daily!

If your horse has an eye condition you have been working on with your vet, here are a couple of other things you can do to make things go well.

• If you see improvement after a few days of treatment, don’t stop the medication until the full course is finished! This goes for any antibiotic for any condition. You don’t want to create super-resistant bacteria that won’t respond to antibiotics, riiiight? Stopping treatment before the infection is completely resolved can result in it flaring up even worse than before.
• If the eye medication is supposed to go in the eye 4 times a day, you gotta do that. My doc knows that schedule is a pain, she really isn’t just trying to torture you. But we can’t mess around with eyes, so it’s got to get done.
• If your horse isn’t letting you get the medication into his eye successfully, talk with your vet since there may be some options (such as a sub-palpebral lavage system) to make things easier on both of you.
• Communicate with your vet about changes you notice. If you think he has been rubbing his eye more, let your vet know. If you think the ulcer might be a bit bigger, your vet needs to know.

Prompt treatment is the key to a successful outcome for any eye issue. Follow these guidelines and work with your vet to help your horse’s eyeballs stay beautiful! Now after thinking about eyes for so long, I think mine need a rest…I’m off for a cat nap.

Until next week,

 Tony

P.S. Looking for more information on the equine eye and other great topics, be sure to check out our podcast here.  Dr. Lacher and Justin are full of wisdom and have some great guest speakers too!

Horses. They sure have had a week of being horses around here. You would think I could say that every week. Luckily, they aren’t all that way. We’ve had two horses decide fences were fun to put their legs through, one who wildly over-estimated his ability to jump a fence, one who thought eating all the hay placed in front of them was reasonable, and another who suffered from the poor design of the equine GI tract.

Where am I going, you ask? Horses are going to be horses. No matter how well you design your farm, they are going to find a way to hurt themselves, or Mother Nature is going to work against you with her questionable interior design. Having a plan is necessary when you have horses. Cats always land on their feet. I’m pretty sure horses always land in the manner which causes them the most bodily harm. 

First Aid Kit

Have one. In fact, call my minions and pick one up at the Clinic, or have them ship you one. We’ve got one ready made. Here’s what’s in it:

I also suggest you add the following to your first aid kit: 

·Pocket knife/multi tool

·Lead Rope

·Towels

·Info card with your horse’s normal vitals and microchip number

·Copy of Coggins

Armed with these supplies, you are prepared to manage just about anything a horse can do until one of my Docs arrive.

Insurance/Savings Account

Horses are expensive. I like to be a high maintenance guy with my diabetes and my overly sensitive skin, but I’ve got nothing, and I mean nothing, on a horse. A simple colic can be $500, a laceration can easily go into the $1000 range, and don’t get me started on surgeries. Before your horse sizes up your fence, tries to jump, doesn’t make it, and lays their chest open, have a plan for payment. Don’t be in denial that your horse won’t try to drain your bank account. Every. Single. One. Of. Them does it! 

Being the smart cat I am, I have two solid recommendations: a savings account, and insurance. A combination of the two is really your best bet. There are a ton of insurance options for horses. Even if your horses can’t be given a high value by an appraiser, they’re priceless to you. There are insurance plans that will let you cover colic surgery only, some hospitalization only, or all the things. Talking with a great insurance agent will open your eyes to the many options available. You can start by watching our Insurance Seminar over on our YouTube channel at this link (https://youtu.be/el7H3W9VCJI). 

You should also have a savings account with your horse’s name on it. Being the fiscally responsible cat I am, I would put a dollar amount in there every month. This way you have a cushion when Flicka finds the one stick in the pasture to impale herself on. You can also use it to cover the deductible on your insured horse. Win:Win. It’s important to know that many insurance policies work by reimbursing you after you’ve paid your vet bill. That makes the savings account even more important.

Documents

Be prepared even when you’re not there. Going away on vacation? Hit the menu above to find our boarding agreement document. This document works great if you are boarding to authorize your barn owner/manager to take care of your horse in your absence. It also works to authorize your farm sitter when you’re out of town. We’ve got an area for you to let us know how much you want to spend on your horse, how far you would like to go with treatments, and your wishes if your horse passes away. Super-useful so that you can enjoy that vacation with a little less worrying about the horses. 

Be prepared for the worst. You humans don’t like to even think about death, but if you’ve got horses, you need a plan in case the unspeakable happens to you. Talk with an attorney about setting up a trust for your cats, I mean horses, so they get the care you desire even if you are gone. My Docs see lots of horses in bad situations because their owners passed away suddenly, and there was no plan for the horses. My experience has been that humans hate planning for this part of the cycle of life. Do it. Get it over with. Move on. Life advice by Tony.

Spending a little bit of time planning for all the crazy things horses and life can throw at you will reap large rewards later. Take some advice from this wise cat. Get a first aid kit, investigate insurance, and look into a Trust. You can get it all done in less time than I spend lounging on the front benches every day. You can thank me at the next seminar. 

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. In case you missed it, my Docs put on a seminar recently about Acupuncture and Chiropractic, which is called Equine Medical Manipulation, or EMM, in horses. You can watch the video on my YouTube channel, along with many other past seminars. It’s a great resource, and it’s free! You’re welcome. Before you go, scroll down a bit more and subscribe to my blog. It’s the big purple block, you can’t miss it. Go on. Do it now. Obey the Cat.

I’ve gotten a bunch of questions recently about what is appropriate to feed your horse, and more specifically, what is the best kind of hay to feed. You all must be very smart coming to the cat for advice on food, best move yet.  With so many different types of hay out there I can understand why you might be confused. And let’s be honest, with the prices of hay what they are, your hay purchase is certainly an investment. Each type of hay or combination thereof, has a place in feeding horses and some types may prove to be better than others for your horse. Just because one horse eats one kind of hay does not mean that hay is a one-type-fits-all and it may not be appropriate for other horses.

Hay can be classified into legume hay or grass hay, within these two categories fall all the different types of hay. Let’s check them out.

Legumes

 Legume hays are hays such as alfalfa and peanut hay. These types of hay are high in protein and energy content while being lower in fiber. Alfalfa also has higher levels of calcium. Hay with a higher protein and energy content are ideal for the young, growing horse, the performance or working horse, and lactating mares. Similarly, the higher calcium levels of alfalfa are excellent for lactating and pregnant mares.  However, just because you like alfalfa or peanut hay does not mean that you horse needs it.

 Is your horse a pasture potato? Does your horse go on the occasional walking trail ride, or does your horse have metabolic changes like yours truly? Well, then, you probably do not want to feed them a hay that is high in protein and energy.  Because of its lower fiber content and higher protein levels, legume hay can lead to obesity in your horse.  While horses are not likely to become diabetic, they can become insulin resistant or develop equine metabolic syndrome which makes them prone to becoming overweight (which I wouldn’t know anything about, I’m as fit as a fiddle) as well as making them prone to developing laminitis and subsequent founder. Be sure to talk to my docs to see if your horse is at risk for metabolic changes.

 Did you know that the higher calcium levels in alfalfa hay have been shown to help decrease the incidence of gastric ulcers? Research as shown, and you all know I love my research, that the calcium in alfalfa hay acts as a buffer to the pH of the stomach and can reduce the incidence of gastric ulcer in your horse.  I recommend, however, if you suspect your horse has ulcers that you bring him into the clinic for evaluation and gastroscopy before changing up his feeding regime.

 Alfalfa tends to be slightly more expensive than peanut hay. I have heard from my minions that peanut hay can be messy to feed, so some people avoid feeding it.  A little mess never bothered me, but then again, I have people to clean up after me.

 Grass Hays

 Grass hays are what I would be forced to eat if I were a horse.  Not to say that they aren’t an excellent source of forage, I just prefer filet mignon over vegetables if you get my drift. Grass hays include timothy, Bermuda/coastal, tifton 85, and orchard hay.  These hays are high in fiber with lower protein, energy and calcium levels than legume hay.  They are ideal for the easy keeper type horse, the metabolic horse, and mature, non-working horses.  Grass hay is a good source of forage for horses that may not have the most luscious pastures to graze on as grass hay can be fed in larger amounts without adding a significant amount of calories to your horse’s diet. This means they can munch on it all day without getting too fat.  Hmmm, on second thought, grass hay isn’t sounding half bad. I would get to eat all day, so sign me up!

 Yet another benefit of grass hay is that the dust content is lower, making it an excellent hay choice for horses who are prone to respiratory problems such as equine asthma.  Grass hay has a wide range in cost as well. Some hay, such as coastal/Bermuda hay is relatively inexpensive whereas timothy hay can be significantly more expensive.  You can be as fancy as you want with grass hay.

 However, like legume hay, feeding certain grass hay is not without risk.  Coastal/Bermuda hay and tifton 85 are very common grass hays that are fed in Florida.  They are easy to get, inexpensive and generally have a consistent quality. However, if you look closely at these types of hays you will notice that their stalks are very fine. This, along with the anomaly that is the horse’s gastrointestinal tract can make a horse prone to colic due to coastal hay impactions.  These impactions like to occur in the small intestine of the horse where it narrows from a larger tube-like structure to a smaller tube-like structure.  The fine stalks of hay essentially layer on top of each other like a box of spaghetti and form these impactions.  If you have ever seen a horse with a coastal hay impaction, then you know, it is not pretty.  They get very painful and often require hospitalization, intravenous fluids and heavy sedation to recover.  Some coastal hay impactions can only be corrected with colic surgery.

 I promise I am not trying to scare you away from feeding coastal/Bermuda or tifton 85 hay. They are perfectly good hays to feed, and as you know, I am here to calm your fears.  If you elect to feed coastal/Bermuda hay or tifton 85, you can decrease the risk of colic by adding in just a small amount of alfalfa or peanut hay each day.  As little as 1/4-1/2 flake of alfalfa or peanut hay each day will suffice.  Soaked alfalfa cube or pellets are also an excellent option and provide a win-win situation because you have to soak them in water, so your horse will be getting the alfalfa he needs and you’ll be forcing him to consume water without him even knowing it.  See, you can lead a horse to water and make him drink, you just have to add alfalfa to it.

 Remember, before changing your horse’s feeding routine, please consult with one of my docs. They will be happy to help you determine the best hay for your horse at this stage in his life and will help you develop an appropriate feeding regime based on your horse’s lifestyle. Nutrition is the most important part of keeping a healthy horse (and cat) so make sure you are setting them up for success!

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. Don’t forget the humans have a great podcast that they put out weekly. Take a listen & then sign up. They cover all kinds of topics and have some pretty cool guest speakers too.

There’s a new doc around my clinic and she’s always going around “adjusting” horses and bending them in weird ways. I was purr-plexed, so I had to do a little research to get to the bottom of what’s going on at my clinic. Turns out they’re treating horses with Equine Medical Manipulation. It’s called Chiropractic when it’s done on humans, but for horses, my Docs call it EMM. Same thing basically.

Personally, I spend 23 hours a day laying around, but a lot of horses have jobs to do. Joint problems can really get in the way of their work. When the joints malfunction, it affects the neurological balance, and can cause your horse to have muscle or skeletal pain, muscle tension and restricted joint motion. The goal of Equine Medical Manipulation is to improve the mobility and function of the joints, reduce the pain your horse may have, and ease muscle tension.

What does it look like when my Doc does an EMM evaluation? She looks at the horse’s posture and how he moves, then does a whole lot of poking and prodding to feel the joints through their range of motion. She feels for muscles that are tight and she checks the horse’s flexibility. She can tell from all that what joints aren’t working like they’re supposed to. It takes about an hour and the horses usually get more and more relaxed as it goes on. Most horses will show their approval during the adjustment. They may lick and chew, take deep breaths, or shake their head around after a particularly good release of tension. I think the horses should just try purring, but my Doc says they don’t know how and the licking is just as good. Anyway, the horses look like they really like the adjustment. I tried to get the Doc to give me an adjustment by weaving around her ankles and between her legs, but she doesn’t seem to get my message.

What does EMM treat?

EMM treatment doesn’t replace traditional veterinary medicine, but it can give my Doc an additional way to diagnose and treat a variety of musculoskeletal problems. Here are some things it’s useful for.

• Treating chronic musculoskeletal problems
• Treating acute problems such as tension or stiffness

• Treating prophylactically to maintain fitness and performance, whether your horse is a sport horse or a weekend warrior
• Maintaining comfort in older horses

The number of EMM sessions your horse needs depends on the condition being treated, how long the problem has been going on, and his age. Conditions that have been going on for a long time usually require more sessions and newer conditions can require fewer sessions.

Mythbusters!

Let’s talk about things that get my fur in a knot…some misconceptions about Equine Medical Manipulation.

• The bones aren’t “out”. You’ve got to be kitten me! Can you see the bone sticking out of the horse? Is it on the ground with your dog chewing on it? (If it is, you have a whole other problem) If not, the bone is not out. It’s still in! So, let’s stop saying things like that. My Doc will talk about “restrictions”, she won’t say things like “his hip is out”. What really happens is that reduced joint mobility causes negative affects to the joint itself, the nervous system, and the muscles and tendons surrounding the joint. These things lead to your horse having pain, abnormal posture, or poorly coordinated movement.

• They’re not cracking anything. Cracking would actually be really bad! If I knocked your favorite coffee cup off the counter (again) and cracked it, would you be happy about that? What my Doc does is clear the restrictions around a “motion unit”, which is the bones of the joint and the soft tissues that surround them. That means she does a manipulation to help the bones, muscles, and other stuff move the way they are supposed to. Sometimes, you hear an audible sound when air pressure in the joint is released.

• You don’t need a lot of force to adjust a horse. It shouldn’t look dramatic. In fact, good EMM looks kinda boring. Like the horse is usually falling asleep by the end of it, and I’d be ready for a cat nap too. The adjustments are called “high velocity, low amplitude” which means they are quick and precise, not rough. They are done in a very specific location at a specific angle. It takes a lot of training to learn this. That’s why you should be careful who you hire to adjust your horse.

Would EMM be good for your horse?

So how do you know if your horse could benefit from Equine Medical Manipulation? Horses can show lots of signs that indicate pain or discomfort. These can include reduced performance, incoordination or uneven gait rhythm, poor attitude, tense muscles, abnormal posture, pinning the ears when saddled or mounted, hollowing the back, swishing the tail, behavior changes, sensitivity to touch, stiffness when bending, muscle wasting, decreased stride length, difficulty engaging the hindquarters, pulling against one rein, lack of flexibility, difficulty flexing the poll, difficulty with collected gaits, lateral movements, or turning, and bucking.

One really common thing my Doc sees is tension lines in the neck. Horses should have smooth necks, even the really well muscled horses. If your horse’s neck has creases in the muscle, that’s a sign of a serious muscle spasm and it’s definitely time to call my Doc!

Wow, that’s a long list. Horses really can be annoying. But purrhaps they’re not actually being jerks. Unlike us cats, horses don’t usually act like jerks just for fun – they’re not that creative. Sometimes they just hurt and don’t know how to tell us. When they act up, there is usually a reason. It may be a training issue, but pretty frequently bad behavior is due to pain or discomfort.

So if your horse is having a problem, or if you want to stay on top of their comfort before issues arise, ask your Doc about whether an Equine Medical Manipulation evaluation could help.

Until next week,

 ~Tony

P.S. Don’t forget..the humans are busy creating podcasts and YouTube videos, so make sure you check those out. Our next seminar is coming up on Thursday June 25th at 6:30 PM..all about Acupuncture & EMM! Please remember to wear your mask, I would hate to miss out on any tummy rubs!

I don’t know about you all, but for some reason, the bugs this year are driving me absolutely catty.  I’ve talked to you about flies ad nauseam, but today we are going to talk about a different little pest that has been popping up all over and causing much grief for horse owners and my docs alike.  No, not mosquitos, that’s for another time. Today we are going to talk about the nasty little boogers, the tick. 

 The tick population is booming! Luckily my minions keep me in flea and tick prevention so I don’t have to worry about them, but I have had a number of you call me to ask what to do about all these ticks.  We do not really know why ticks are so much more prevalent this year than years past. My theory is, us cats have honed our hunting skills and have decreased the bird and bat population which has allowed ticks to proliferate since the birds and bats aren’t around to eat them.  In reality, my docs explained, it is more likely due to global warming, habitat loss, and the increase in wildlife presence closer to our homes.  I’ll stick with my theory that cats are superior hunting machines. 

 The Problem with Ticks

 Ticks are attracted to the ammonia smell of your horse’s breath and sweat. They are also attracted to the heat and moisture from your horse. Ticks hang out on blades of grass and shrubs and wait for an unsuspecting host to come by. They wait with legs outstretched and when your horse walks by they jump on board for the ride.  Ticks typically look for thinner-skinned areas such as the underbelly, mane, tail, inside flank and under the tail.  They attach, have a blood meal, fall off and molt to the next stage of their life, leaving your horse with a firm, raised, itchy bump that can predispose your horse to a number of problems.

Most people associate ticks with Lyme Disease, obviously a very valid concern as Lyme Disease can cause weight loss, intermittent/shifting leg lameness, fever, poor performance, and other orthopedic problems for your horse. Luckily, the species of tick that carries Lyme Disease, the deer tick, is very uncommon in Florida. This does not mean that it is not possible for your horse to become infected with Lyme Disease but the chance is significantly decreased just because you were a smart horse owner who chose to live in Florida. 

 That being said, other species of ticks can cause other problems for your horse and spread other diseases that we must be aware of. Having had my fair share of ticks in the past, take my word for it, they are irritating.  When I was a young kitten, I remember a time I didn’t have such lovely minions to care for me, and I had a pretty severe tick infestation.   I was so itchy, I could not stop scratching.  I made my skin raw and angry and opened myself up for infection.  Luckily, I got it under control and haven’t had to deal with a tick infestation again. 

 I am not usually a sympathetic kind of guy, but if your horse has had ticks on him recently, I feel for him. You may have noticed your horse itching on trees and fences. His mane and tail may have bald spots, there may be areas of generalized swelling, and you may notice ulcerated, bleeding sores. Of course, a myriad of things can cause your horse to itch, ticks are just one annoyance that can play a role in your horse’s misery.

 Beyond the cosmetic impact, they can also spread diseases including piroplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and equine infectious anemia (EIA).  Fortunately, we test for EIA when my docs pull blood for Coggins and it is well-controlled in the United States. There are laboratory tests for piroplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, however, unless your horse is showing the specific signs associated with these diseases, routine testing is not recommended.  If you are concerned that your horse may be infected, ask my docs, they will know exactly what signs to look for. I’m just a cat that knows big words, my docs went to school for a long time to know exactly what those big words mean.

 Tick Prevention

 Unlike cats and dogs, there is not a specific topical medication like Frontline or K9 Advantix that is made for horses to prevent ticks.  However, tick prevention is important and there are ways to decrease a tick infestation on your horse.  First, knowing how to locate and remove ticks plays a vital role in reduction of ticks on your horse.  Ticks should never be crushed, cut, or burned off your horse. Instead, the head must be pinched close to your horse’s skin and the tick pulled off.  After the tick is removed, submerge it in rubbing alcohol to kill it. I recommend always thoroughly checking your horse for ticks before and after a ride and removing any you find. 

 Many bug repellents have formulas in them that will repel ticks. Products such as coumaphos spray or powder, permethrin sprays, wipes, or spot on treatments, as well as zeta-cypermethrin are all proven tick repellents. If you are unsure of which would be best for your horse, give my docs a call and they will be happy to help answer any questions you might have.  I stick with my handy dandy Seresto collar so I don’t have to remember to apply topical prevention once a month.  Someone should come up with a Seresto collar for horses… perhaps between my naps I will work on that.  Keep an eye on the news for the first millionaire cat who came up with a Seresto collar for horses, it will be me and then you can say you know a celebrity. 

 Finally, pasture management is key to tick prevention.  Remove any underbrush, weeds, etc from your pasture. Watch my seminar on pasture management, and you’ll understand why you want to do this even if you don’t have a tick problem.  Also, keep wildlife away. Yes, we all love watching the deer frolic. However, do not encourage wildlife to come into your pastures, let them stay next door and watch from afar.  If you don’t have barn cats that like to hunt, consider getting a few chickens or Guinea fowl. They love ticks and are excellent at eating any that may come around your barn. But remember, we are Springhill EQUINE, so be sure to have a bird vet on speed dial in case your chicken or Guinea were to fall ill or get injured at any time.  Trust me, you don’t want these horse docs working on your bird. 

 Ticks are a nuisance and can cause some major problems for your horse. Luckily, prevention is easy and treatment for minor irritations caused by ticks is simple. Just remember if you have any questions or concerns about ticks and your horse, my docs are just a phone call away. 

Until next week,

~Tony