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Equine Asthma aka Heaves

Equine Asthma aka Heaves

Jun 19, 2023 | Allergies, Equine Asthma, Heaves

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everybody, Whinny here! This week we’re talking about breathing problems in horses. Equine Asthma, which is what we’re calling it now, has been known by several other names over the years. Some of the most commonly used terms were Heaves, Recurrent Airway Obstruction, and Inflammatory Airway Disease.

Equine Asthma is a disease primarily associated with lung inflammation. This lung inflammation results in the clinical signs that we observe with this disease, including coughing, mucous production, wheezing noises from bronchoconstriction, and a “heave line”. The heave line can be observed as an abdominal push near their flank area where they are exerting extra pressure to breathe. This is often accompanied by nostril flaring. As you can imagine, an Equine Asthma attack can be distressing for the horse and hard to witness for someone who is caring for them.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

            Diagnosing Equine Asthma can be done with a thorough physical exam. My veterinarians will listen to the lungs of a horse with their stethoscope for a high pitched “wheeze” noise. This noise in an otherwise healthy horse that has a cough is often enough to diagnose Equine Asthma. More complex cases may require a BAL (bronchoalveolar lavage) where my doc takes a sample of the lower airway and evaluates it for the presence of certain types of cells to confirm the diagnosis. 

            Equine Asthma is often triggered by different allergens. The biggest culprit for horses tends to be dust. Additionally, mold, pollen and other environmental allergens can play a role in triggering an acute asthma attack. Asthma often occurs seasonally, but some horses do need to be treated year round.

Whinny Wisdom: Donkeys are just as susceptible to Equine Asthma as horses are! Make sure you keep an eye on their breathing, and be ready to manage them and their environment the same way you would with your horse.

            Since there is inflammation in the lungs with Equine Asthma, the mainstay of therapy includes a very potent anti-inflammatory: dexamethasone. This is a steroid medication that can be given orally, intravenously or intramuscularly. Since we are often giving this medication daily, many owners prefer to give the medication orally (the horses also prefer this way). The biggest risk to steroid medications is laminitis or founder. Due to this risk, nebulized or inhaled versions of steroids may alternatively be used instead of dexamethasone to treat the condition. This may be recommended based on an individual horse’s concurrent risk factors for laminitis. Yet another good reason to keep your horse at a healthy weight!

            In an Equine Asthma attack, a rescue medication may be used for several days in a row to help open the lower airways in addition to the steroid therapy to reduce inflammation. This rescue drug is commonly called Ventipulmen, or clenbuterol. This medication may be recommended to have on hand depending on the horse’s response to steroids.

            Additionally, an antihistamine such as ceterizine (generic form of Zyrtec) or hydroxyzine may help reduce the number of acute episodes a horse may experience depending on the allergens that are causing the asthma in the patient. While these medications can help reduce the number of episodes, they do not provide the anti-inflammatory effects that a steroid can provide, so cannot be solely used for management. (If you read between the lines, it says: don’t do any of this without the guidance of your veterinarian!)

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

            Finally, a key management factor is environmental management. This primarily focuses on reducing dust since this is often one of the main triggers for Equine Asthma. This can be accomplished by wetting any feed, both grain and hay. In more severe cases, some horses may not be able to consume hay due to the dust and allergens that are present. Hay steamers can also help in these situations as they reduce dust and kill mold spores and bacteria that may be present. Depending on the horse’s allergens, stabling time may need to be limited as the barn bedding can be dusty. If a horse with Asthma needs to be stalled, minimally dusty bedding such as hemp or flax should be selected. Straw should not be used as it often has a high level of dust and allergens. 

            Although it can be stressful to see your horse afflicted by Equine Asthma, it’s important to remember that treatment options are available to manage this condition and my docs here at Springhill Equine are ready to help. If you think your horse might be developing a breathing problem, give us a call at (352) 472-1620 to set up an evaluation.

Until next week,

~Whinny

P.S. Want more? Check out the podcast episode my docs did on airway issues in horses! You can listen to it right from your phone, and by the end you’ll know all about it!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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5, 6, and 7 Panel Testing

5, 6, and 7 Panel Testing

Jun 11, 2023 | 5, 6, and 7 Panel Testing

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Tony and I were chatting recently about genetic testing. Well, I was asking him questions while he was attempting to sunbathe, but let’s not argue over the details of the event. I had heard one of the Docs talking to someone about 5 panel testing recently, and I had no idea what they were talking about! Tony let me know 5 panel testing is so 2010. Now there’s 6 and even 7 panel testing! So off this mouse went to do some research about genetic testing.  

The AQHA, APHA, and ApHC offer members a genetic test for a panel of 5 different genetic diseases affecting Quarter Horses. The panel tests for Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP), Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy type 1 (PSSM 1), Malignant Hyperthermia (MH), Hereditary Epidermal Regional Dermal Asthenia (HERDA), and Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency (GBED). The other two add-ons are Immune Mediated Myositis (IMM) and Overo Lethal White Syndrome (OLWS). All these diseases are genetic, and are caused by single mutations in DNA that are easy to test for. All AQHA breeding stallions have to have the 5 panel test results on file.  All APHA (Paints) must have a 6 panel test result on file. The ApHC (Appaloosas) require HYPP testing of foals from an HYPP positive parent, and recommend stallion testing. This requirement doesn’t restrict the use of stallions that may test positive for one or more of the diseases, but it does give mare owners valuable information to consider when making breeding decisions.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Whinny Wisdom: All of these tests look for two gene copies. They are reported like this: A/B. One copy is A, and the other is B. The letter N is used to denote a normal copy, and the acronym for the disease is used to report the mutated version. So a single copy of HYPP would be reported as N/H, and two copies would be H/H.

HYPP

HYPP stands for Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis. This disease affects the electrical impulses within the body that control muscle contraction. The defective gene results in clinical signs of muscle tremors and fasciculations (mice just say ‘twitching’ but veterinarians have $10 words for everything). In some severe cases, horses may be unable to stand, or even breathe. Horses can show symptoms with only one copy of the defective gene, but symptoms are often more severe if they have two copies of the mutation. This disease mostly affects halter horses, and can be traced back to the prolific stallion ‘Impressive’. Since Impressive lines were also used in Paint and Appaloosa halter breeding programs, HYPP is found in those breeds as well. AQHA does not allow registration of foals that test positive for two copies of the defective gene (H/H), but will allow registration of foals that are H/N which is one defective and one normal gene.

PSSM 1

PSSM stands for Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy. This disease causes changes in the way sugars are stored and used by the muscles. It causes frequent episodes of ‘tying up’ if not properly controlled by a special diet and regular low intensity exercise. There are two types of PSSM. Type 1 is caused by a genetically identified mutation, which is testable. Type 2 is suspected to be genetic, but that mutation has not yet been identified by researchers. Most Quarter Horses with PSSM have type 1. Horses will show symptoms of PSSM type 1 with one or two copies of the mutation.  Like HYPP, PSSM type 1 is more common in halter QHs than in other lines. Some QHs have been shown to have mutations for both HYPP and PSSM. There is no genetic test for PSSM2.

HERDA

HERDA stands for Hereditary Epidermal Regional Dermal Asthenia. Horses with HERDA have defective collagen, an important protein that is part of skin, cartilage, muscles, and tendons. The major clinical sign is skin that is easily injured, torn, or even sloughed off. The skin is also very slow to heal. There is no treatment for the condition, and horses that have it are often euthanized. Horses will only show symptoms if they have two copies of the mutation for HERDA. Horses with only one copy of the mutation are clinically normal. These animals are called ‘carriers’. They can pass copies of the mutation to their foals, and if one carrier is bred to another carrier, the foal might inherit the mutation from both parents and be symptomatic. HERDA is limited mostly to horses with reining and cutting horse bloodlines.

GBED

GBED stands for Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency. Like PSSM, this disease also affects how sugars are stored, but in a different and more severe way. It results in abortions, stillborn foals, and foals that are alive but weak at birth and die or are euthanized soon after. Like with HERDA, horses may be carriers for GBED – if a horse has only one copy of the mutation it will be clinically normal. Paints and Appaloosas can also carry the GBED mutation.

MH

MH stands for Malignant Hyperthermia. This disease changes the way muscle cells handle calcium, and thus the metabolism of the cell. Horses with MH will appear normal most of the time, but have specific occasions when they show symptoms. During an attack, horses will have a very high fever, profuse sweating, high and irregular heart rate, high blood pressure, and rigid muscles. Attacks are triggered by certain anesthetic agents or stress, and are sometimes fatal. MH is believed to be less common than either HYPP or PSSM, but the percentage of affected horses is not yet known. Several breeds including Quarter Horses and Paints can be affected. Horses may be positive for both PSSM and MH together, and these animals appear to suffer from more severe episodes of tying up than horses that have PSSM alone.

IMM

IMM stands for immune mediated myositis. These horses are susceptible to sudden onset muscle wasting. It can be set off by many things, but most commonly the organism that causes Strangles is implicated. A Strangles vaccine can also cause an episode. Some of these horses can have episodes of profound muscle loss with no obvious cause at all. Horses with one copy are at about 20% risk of having an episode, while horses with two copies of the gene are at an 80% risk of having an episode. Double positive horses generally have worse muscle wasting and are at a higher risk of life-threatening complications. 

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

OLWS

OLWS stand for Overo Lethal White Syndrome. This genetic mutation is associated with the coat pattern known as frame overo. Frame overos have white centered on the body and neck, meaning it doesn’t cross the topline. If you’ve got one copy of this gene you are only a carrier, and won’t experience any issues. However, foals born with two copies don’t form their intestines properly, and cannot survive. 

Genetic testing is super important for breeding! It’s actually pretty useful for anyone with a horse, but that’s a different blog. Knowing all this information about a stallion and mare can help make successful breeding decisions. Knowing all this information about any horse can help you and my Docs make good health choices! For example, knowing that a horse has a copy of the MH gene means any procedure requiring anesthesia will be managed very differently. I hope you’ve enjoyed this dive into the 5, 6 and 7-panel tests. I think I will spend the remainder of my day in the sun with Tony talking genetic testing. I’m sure he’ll love it!

Until next week,

~Whinny

P.S. If this just whetted your appetite and left you wanting more knowledge about these problems, you can listen to the podcast my docs did, or watch a video they made. Both take a deep dive into these disorders, but the podcast is the most in-depth. If you want pro-level knowledge, check them both out!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Equine Vital Signs

Equine Vital Signs

Jun 5, 2023 | Vital Signs

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hi everyone, Whinny here! There’s a ton to learn as the Springhill clinic mouse. Fortunately, the Springhill vets really like to teach horse owners how to take great care of their horses, and I get to listen in! I know they think it’s a great idea when people know how to check their horse’s “vital signs”. Vital signs are the heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, gut sounds, capillary refill time, and digital pulses. Not only should you know what your horse’s normals are, but it can be of great help to my vets in case of an illness or emergency. It can also help my vets determine whether they need to come out to examine your horse. Taking vital signs is really not as hard as you may think!

Heart Rate

First of all, go buy an inexpensive stethoscope. You can get one for as little as $20! Amazon, CVS, Walmart, they’re not hard to find. Sure, my vets probably use a fancier one to hear all the subtle things, but a basic one will let you count the heartbeats just fine. Then practice ahead of time, don’t wait for an emergency to happen. Put the stethoscope ear buds in your ears so they point forward. Listen for the heartbeat on the left side, just behind your horse’s elbow, about where the girth rests.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

It’s helpful to have him stand with his left leg forward a bit so you can push the stethoscope forward under the muscle and get good contact with his chest. Try pressing more or less firmly until you can hear the heart clearly. A horse’s normal heart rate is around 26-46 beats per minute (much slower than yours, and way, way slower than mine!). Since it’s so slow, you will probably be able to hear both heart sounds. It will sound like “lub-DUB”. Be careful that you don’t accidentally count double – “lub-DUB” just counts as one beat. It may take a couple tries to get the hang of it, but at least you don’t have to listen to my mouse heart, which beats 600 times a minute!

Once you have the rhythm of it, set your stopwatch for 15 seconds and count the beats in that time. Then multiply by 4 to get your horse’s actual heartrate. For example, if I listen for 15 seconds and hear “lub-DUB” 10 times, I multiply 10×4 and so his heartrate is 40 beats per minute.

Whinny Wisdom: There are places you can feel the pulse with your fingers to count the heart rate, but these are usually trickier to master than just listening with a stethoscope. When my vet comes out to vaccinate your horse, you can ask her to show you the technique for listening to the heart or feeling the pulse.

Respiratory Rate

Counting your horse’s breaths can be done in a couple of different ways. You can listen with your stethoscope, but it’s usually just easier to look at his flanks moving in and out. If he’s breathing hard, you can watch his nostrils flare, but if he’s breathing normally this might be harder to see. Remember that inhale + exhale = one breath. Count for 30 seconds and then multiply the number of breaths by 2 to get the respiratory rate. The normal respiratory rate of a horse at rest is 12-20 breaths per minute.

Gut Sounds

Gut sounds are what you will hear when your horse’s intestines are moving normally to push food through. A normal horse has active rumbles all over his belly, and you shouldn’t have to listen for much longer than 15 seconds to hear some. Your horse’s gut sounds can be heard on both sides of his belly, high and low, in front of his hips. Again, practice ahead of time to get used to his normal.

Digital Pulses

Digital pulses are a good indicator of the amount of inflammation in your horse’s feet. My vet’s favorite place to feel them is at the fetlock (your horse’s “ankle”). Using your thumb and middle finger, feel on either side at the widest part of the fetlock, towards the back. You will often feel a “squishy” area that is the artery and vein on either side – that’s the right spot. Use light pressure and feel for the pulse. It’s usually a light movement against your fingers and may be a little hard to find at first.

Get to know what it feels like in a normal horse so you can tell if it’s more prominent than usual. My vet says if there is inflammation in the foot, the pulse will feel stronger than usual. She calls it a “bounding digital pulse”. It’s kind of like the throbbing feeling you would get if you hit your thumb with a hammer.  

Temperature

Get yourself a plastic digital thermometer like my vets use. They’re quick and easy to use. Keep it just for your horse’s use of course! To take his temperature, it’s safest to have someone holding him for you in case he objects to it. If your horse strongly objects or you just don’t feel safe, it’s ok to give this one a pass.

Stand close to your horse’s hindquarters on one side, not right behind him. I know you might feel safer standing farther away, but you’re usually safer if you’re right up against his side. Gently move his tail up a little and to the side, then slowly insert the thermometer into his anus a couple of inches, almost up to where the digital display is. Press the thermometer’s button to turn it on. It will beep again when it has finished reading the temperature.  A normal horse’s temperature is between 98.5-100.5 Fahrenheit. Take your horse’s temperature on different days to see what his normal temperature usually runs.

Mucous Membranes

Take a look at the gums above your horse’s upper teeth. They should be pink or pale pink. Any colors besides that are a problem, so call my vet. They should be moist to the touch and not dry or “tacky”, which can be signs of dehydration. Next, press your finger onto the gum firmly. The pressure should be firm enough that when you lift your finger away, you see a white spot where your finger was. Count the number of seconds it takes for the spot to fill back in with color. In a normal horse, it should be less than 2 seconds. If it’s longer than that, it could indicate shock or dehydration.

Being able to take good care of your horse’s health is a critical part of good horsemanship. Practice taking your horse’s vital signs frequently, so that it’s second nature by the time you really need to do it. I guarantee that my vets will be happy to show you their technique when they’re next at your barn. There are few things the vets at Springhill Equine like more than helping to educate owners on good care for their horses!

See you next week!

~Whinny

P.S. If you found those videos helpful, you should check out the full video library over on my YouTube Channel! We’ve got over 125 videos, with new ones being made all the time. Don’t miss out on that great free resource! Just click on the blue text to get there (clicking your heels 3 times is no longer necessary!).

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Cattle Breeding

Cattle Breeding

May 29, 2023 | Cows

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everybody, Whinny here with some cow and goat (or ruminant, as my docs call them) stats for you: Did you know that Florida is the ninth largest cattle producing state of the country? It’s true! We’re also the ninth largest in meat goat production. The cattle raised here are primarily raised in small operations, with almost 80% having less than 49 head (that’s how we describe cow numbers).

Breeding

Let me start off by saying one thing very clearly: if you own cattle or any other large species you absolutely must have facilities for working with them. Go ahead and check out my previous blog on livestock housing facilities for more details. But today we’re going to talk about making more cows–or other ruminants like sheep and goats.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Anytime you’re planning on breeding an animal you should think about WHY. Yes, baby animals are super cute, but there are already a ton of them out there! This consideration is even more important in pet animals like dogs, cats, and horses, but the reasoning applies to food producing animals such as cattle and small ruminants as well. We’re going to talk a bit about breeding and producing cattle in Florida. A lot of this will apply whether you’re breeding in order to make or sell beef products, or if you’re just making more pets.

A veterinarian’s role in quality food production is maintaining animal health and well-being, supporting producers in managing the health and productivity of their animals, and monitoring the safety and wholesomeness of animals entering the food chain. What does that mean?

Whinny Wisdom: All herds should have a veterinarian involved in their care and maintenance who can help set protocols. Paying for a veterinarian at the start will actually save you money in the end.

Now, the details. Florida is a bit different than other areas of the country because we don’t have much, if any, of that very cold white stuff that comes from the sky. For that reason, calves are normally hitting the ground between January and March. A cow’s gestation is about 9 months, so the breeding season should be between April and May. Calves are weaned at between 7-9 months of age, so these hardworking mama cows are getting pregnant while they are still producing milk most of the time–stay tuned for another blog on nutrition because it’s really important!

These time tables are assuming you are trying to have calves born in a select window of time so they can be reared together and sold together, which is often best for their health and your pocketbook. When you have a specific breeding season planned, the next step is figuring out how you’re going to get those cows bred! Options include natural service by a bull–which can be purchased or rented–or artificial insemination of some sort.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

A bull will often have the highest conception rates, but they certainly come with some risks–and you’d better make sure you have good fencing and facilities! Some health considerations for the bull include their body condition score (it can often drop a full point over the course of a breeding season), mineral consumption, and transmissible venereal disease risk. It’s often recommended to purchase a bull that has had a breeding soundness exam performed which also tests for some of the venereal diseases.

Bulls can occasionally harm the cows they are meant to breed, and can get injured themselves. If you purchase a bull to keep over multiple years, it is important that he not breed any of his daughters, and you must know that his fertility may decline over time. There are some people who choose to keep a bull out with the herd at all times and not have a defined breeding season. This is an option, however that also means you must be prepared for newborn calves every day of the year! As we’ll discuss, newborn calves are not always easy.

The females are generally the most important part of the equation (aren’t we always?). A female bovine that has not had her first calf yet is known as a heifer, and she becomes a cow as soon as she gives birth. If natural service mating is being used, the bull will be able to detect when cows are in heat. If artificial methods are being used, the best approach will be using injectable medications to bring her into heat when the doctor wants her to be, so that they can breed her at the best time. Cows will be much less likely to come into heat if they are still lactating, but it is possible.

Prior dystocia (difficult birth), retained placenta, or uterine infection of any sort are likely to delay her ability to get pregnant. The female’s nutritional state is probably the biggest factor for achieving pregnancy. If you’re not sure how to check her body condition score, you should definitely schedule a Herd Evaluation with one of our veterinarians so they can teach you all about that!

Once breeding has happened in one way or another (there’s some birds, there’s some bees, you know the drill), cows should be checked for pregnancy by a veterinarian. When to schedule that will vary by the specific herd conditions, but will always require handling facilities such as a chute or at least a head catch. Those with confirmed pregnancies should be monitored closely for the next 9 months. There are tons of risks to the fetus and dam: Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Listeria, Neospora, estrogenic plants, and Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus are just a few. She may also have a spontaneous abortion or one caused by stress or an incorrect medication.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Calf Care

Now for the fun and Cow–ute part: babies! A newborn calf is on average 60-75 lbs. Cows most often have singleton calves but occasionally will have twins. Dystocia, or difficult birth, is always a risk and often needs veterinary intervention. One of the best things you can do is ensure the bull isn’t too large and has a good “calving ease score,” meaning he produces smaller, easier to birth calves.

There are five essential aspects of newborn calf care: Colostrum, Cleanliness, Comfort, Calories, and Consistency.

  • Colostrum is the mom’s first milk, and needs to be in the calf by 2 hours after birth ideally. As soon as the calf consumes anything, its gut will begin closing, so it’s vital the first thing it consumes is colostrum.
  • Cleanliness: Cows should give birth in a clean, dry, comfortable place – that can be a field, barn or stall.
  • Calories: If the calf is nursing from a good mama, she should take care of calories, but we must monitor calves for growth and supplement if they’re not getting enough. Some choose to offer a creep feed from the first few days of age.
  • Consistency has to do with food, location, and environment. Calves get easily stressed, and when they are stressed they get sick. If you have kept a tight breeding season, you should have a tight calving season, so there shouldn’t be too many age groups together. If the calving season will not be so streamlined, it’s a good idea to separate out cows about to calve into a clean pasture away from the other adults and older calves.

We didn’t even tackle the nitty gritty of vaccination, deworming, and other health protocols, but these are vitally important if you intend to breed cows! They are also unique to each herd though, so be sure to have a great relationship with your local cow vet so they can help out! Now to go enjoy my favorite cow breeding byproduct–cheese!

Until next week,
~Whinny

P.S. Have you subscribed to my blog yet? It’s the best way to make sure you get my latest post every week. Just scroll down and put your email in the purple box. That’s it! Good human 🙂 

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Summer Sores and Horses

Summer Sores and Horses

May 22, 2023 | Summer Sores

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everybody, Whinny here! Although it’s not quite technically summer, the warm weather has arrived in full force in Florida. With the onset of heat, we’ve had an eruption of flies! And once flies begin pestering our horses, we soon run into a common Florida problem: summer sores.

Summer sores are caused by a stomach worm called habronema. Normally, the larvae of the habronema hatch out of horse manure and are picked up by flies. Then, the flies are supposed to deposit the habronema larvae onto the mouth of the horse where they are ingested. Once they are in the horse’s stomach, the larvae are produced and passed back into the horse manure to complete the cycle. That’s a complicated life cycle! Makes me glad I’m a mouse.

This stomach worm usually does not cause any disease or illness when the cycle occurs in the usual way. Summer sores, also known as habronemiasis, develop when the habronema larvae are deposited in the wrong place. The locations include wounds and mucocutaneous junctions, so around the mouth, eyes and genitals.

Classically, summer sores appear as circular wounds that are not healing. They may also be raised or have exuberant granulation tissue, which is colloquially known as proud flesh. In some cases small, hard yellow pieces called sulfur granules are found in the wound. These granules are formed as a calcifying reaction around the habronema larvae because they are not where they are supposed to be. Aggravatingly, these wounds can occur even with the smallest cut or break in the horse’s skin, so prevention is key, otherwise we can end up dealing with a sore all summer long!

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

The most common mucocutaneous junction that can be affected is the medial canthus, or the inside portion of the eye. Horses are very likely to rub their eyes if they are harboring summer sores there, predisposing them to corneal ulcers. As if horse eyes don’t have enough problems!

Prevention starts with keeping wounds clean and wrapping or covering any wound until it is healed. Pasture management and manure cleanup are also essential in order to minimize the population of flies that are on your farm. During the spring and summer months, horses should really be wearing fly masks to limit their exposure to flies and their likelihood of contracting ocular summer sores. In instances where a wound cannot be wrapped, some creativity may need to be involved or they may need to be stalled with a fan periodically to keep flies off as much as possible.

Although they can be a pain and take time to heal, summer sores are treatable and they do heal eventually, especially once we enter the winter months. Treatment may include surgically debriding wounds, topical treatments or injections with steroids mixed with antibiotics, and oral deworming. Keep in mind that not all dewormers are created equal. Summer sores should be treated with Quest (moxidectin) based on your horse’s weight.

If you suspect your horse has a summer sore give my docs a call! Proper diagnosis is always key in expediting treatment. Summer sores can occasionally be misdiagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoids, or pythium, but the veterinarians at Springhill can set you on the right path.

Until next week,

~Whinny

P.S. Have you seen the new YouTube series called Horse Girl Goes to the Vet on our YouTube Channel? I promise you don’t want to miss it! I’ve heard people say the Horse Girl looks a lot like Dr. Lacher’s husband, but I don’t see the resemblance, myself. Anyway, there are way over 100 videos about all kinds of horse health things, much like my blog, and you don’t want to miss out on that great free resource. Your horse will thank you, and so do I!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Horse Eye Problems

Horse Eye Problems

May 15, 2023 | Eyes

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Alright humans, today we’re going to talk about horse eye problems. I’m going to use my loudest squeak for this one, because as the clinic mouse, I see a lot of horses with eye problems. And some of them end up worse than they needed to be because of mistakes well-meaning owners make. As Tony would say: don’t turn a treatable eye problem into a cat-astrophe – call my docs! Fur real, you may be saving your horse’s sight!

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 that’s all I need to keep an eye on my clinic. 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.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

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
  • Swollen eyelid
  • Squinting
  • Cloudy white or blue tinge to the eyeball
  • 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.

Whinny Wisdom: The ointment that we use for 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. (bonus – this looks especially awesome on Halloween if you have a black light around. I tried it on Tony once – a black cat with glowing yellow eyes sure does freak the humans out!) 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.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Common Conditions

There are a whole bunch of different eye conditions, and this mouse just doesn’t have the space 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. 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 3rd 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.

Horse eye problems at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

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 Tony (can a mouse get in on that deal?), 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. 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 my doc since there may be some options (such as a sub-palpebral lavage system) to make things easier on both of you.
  • Communicate with my doc about changes you notice. If you think he has been rubbing his eye more, let her know. If you think the ulcer might be a bit bigger, my doc 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 nap.

See you next week!

~Whinny

P.S. If you want to learn more about eyes than you ever thought possible, my docs have several podcast episodes about them. The podcasts are audio only, so you can listen while you’re cleaning the barn, or driving to the barn, or grooming your horse in the barn, or putting out little treats for the mouse in your barn! You can find the podcast over on the Podcast Page, or subscribe in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Housing Livestock Species

Housing Livestock Species

May 8, 2023 | Barns, Goats and Sheep, Pastures

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hi there, Whinny here! I may be small, but I know a thing or two about living quarters, being nimble enough to explore them and all. If you’re new to horses or livestock you may not know how they want to live. Housing seems like a simple thing, but who lives with who and how much space they have can be really important. In this article, I’ll share some tips and tricks for creating a cozy and comfortable home for your large animals. So grab a piece of cheese and settle in, because we’re about to get started!

General Housing Principles

Large animals like horses, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, and pigs (oh my!) need plenty of space to move around and exercise. Make sure your pastures, stalls, or whatever area they live in are large enough to accommodate your animals comfortably. These areas should also be kept clean. It’s fairly obvious that stalls need to be cleaned (Tony says they’re basically just giant litter boxes), but paddocks and pastures often need to be cleaned of excess manure too. Plus, it’s really important to walk your property often looking for stuff that shouldn’t be there like trash, metal scraps, roofing nails, and bailing twine.

Every animal needs access to fresh, clean water at all times. Make sure you’re regularly (daily is ideal) dumping, scrubbing, and refilling buckets and water troughs. Horses and livestock need shelter from the elements, including sun, wind, rain, and snow (I’ve never experienced that last one but I hear it’s extra chilly!). This can be in the form of stalls, run-in sheds, or sometimes really nice tree cover is enough.

Every place is a little different, and the needs of your animals may vary depending on the climate, terrain, and other factors. Our doctors and technicians here are always happy to chat about the best management plan for your individual situation when we’re there seeing your crew. Let’s get into some specifics for the different species now!

Horses

The amount of space required for horses depends on a variety of factors, including the size of the animal, the breed, and the level of activity. In general, horses need enough space to move around, lie down, and access food and water. For horses that are kept in stalls, the recommended stall size is around 12 feet by 12 feet, although larger stalls may be needed for larger horses.

For horses that are kept in pastures, the recommended amount of space is typically around 1-2 acres per horse, but many appreciate more than that. Horses also need access to shelter, such as a barn or run-in shed, to protect them from the elements (and house their mousey friends). It’s very important to keep horses in a clean and well-ventilated environment to prevent the spread of disease. If you’re building a barn, always consider air flow and drainage. My docs made a video about barn design that you’ll enjoy, so I’ll put a link in my P.S. at the end.

Cattle

Most cattle are comfortable living outside most of the time as long as they have shade and protection from the elements. For beef type cattle in a production setting, the recommended amount of space is around 250-500 square feet per animal, depending on the size of the animal. For dairy type cattle on a working farm, the recommended amount of space is around 100-150 square feet per animal. For pet cows, generally 1-2 acres per cow is most comfortable.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

If you are going to house cattle on your property and you expect to get any vet care ever (especially from our team here), it is *required* that you have handling facilities. Cows are really big! I know I’m a mouse, but even compared to you humans they are large and dangerous. While pet cows may allow you to pet them for food or scritches, when our doctors come at them with needles and stethoscopes they often end up at the other side of however many acres they have. The best plan for facilities involves a chute or head catch that are in a location the cattle can be directed into. These facilities can be part of the cows normal life and you can practice pushing them through on days when they aren’t needed so it becomes routine.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic 

Sheep and Goats

Sheep and goats are great pets! The most ideal situation is for them to have both barn space and pasture space. They can definitely be kept together, but they are handled a bit differently, so it may be easier to keep sheep with sheep and goats with goats. Barn space should allow for at least 20 square feet per animal and pasture space should provide at least 300 square feet of usable space for each animal.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

It’s important to provide a variety of surfaces for sheep and goats. Goats especially absolutely love to climb, so if you can get them a boulder, stump, log, or other elevated surface to play on they will appreciate it. Both sheep and goats benefit from having textured ground such as gravel or roofing tiles in a commonly used area of the pasture to help wear down their feet in between hoof trims. Sheep tend to stay where they are put if they are left alone, but goats are always looking to go on an adventure. They require tall fencing that has only small gaps (no horse horizontal board fencing!) and is well reinforced.  

Whinny Wisdom: If you throw water at a fence and it makes it through, so will a determined goat! 

Camelids

Camelids that are kept as pets generally include llamas and alpacas. Yes, these are different critters! Llamas tend to be larger, have a longer nose, be more independent, and more commonly don’t need no drama. Alpacas are smaller and flightier with a much softer fiber. Camelids as a group technically includes old world camelids such as dromedaries and bactrians, however they should really not be kept as pets, so we won’t talk anymore about them.

Llamas and alpacas have similar space requirements. When they are kept in a barn, they require at least 50-60 square feet per animal. Their pastures should provide around 200-400 square feet per animal. Many times they are kept out all the time, and it’s a good rule to have no more than 5-10 llamas and alpacas per acre of land. If you plan to breed your camelids or will have intact animals, eventually you will need a total of four separate pastures: one for females, one for weanlings, one for young males, and one for adult males.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Alpacas and llamas really shouldn’t be housed with other animals. You can, but most of the other animals I’ve discussed here have vastly different nutrition requirements to camelids, which would mean they couldn’t be fed together. This isn’t a nutrition article, but remember that all-stock feed is good for no stock you need. The larger large animals like cattle and horses can easily injure camelids which can put a major damper on them living together.

Pigs

Pigs can be popular farm animals and pets, but can present some unique challenges. They are pretty smart, just like your mouse here, and can often be great escape artists. For pigs that are kept in pastures, the recommended amount of space is around 200-300 square feet per animal. Pigs can be kept in a barn for part of the day but absolutely need access to the outdoors for a chunk of the day so they can root in the dirt, roll in the mud, and do other fun piggy things.

Well, that’s all! Thanks for learning about your animals’ house from a mouse! If you have any questions drop a comment or ask one of our veterinarians the next time they’re out seeing your animals. Cheese you next week!

~ Whinny

P.S. Here’s a link to that Barn Design Video I mentioned. My docs have a ton of great video content over on our YouTube Channel, so make sure you check it out!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Arthritis Part 2

Arthritis Part 2

May 1, 2023 | Arthritis

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everybody, Whinny here! This week I’m going to tackle part 2 of my blog on arthritis. I learned that there is a lot to this topic! Last time we talked about what causes arthritis and what it does to your horse. Now this week let’s find out how to deal with it if your horse has been diagnosed.

To start with, arthritis unfortunately can’t be cured. The damage is already there, so the goal is to manage the pain and inflammation so your horse can live comfortably. Interrupting the cycle of inflammation is important to slow the progression of damage as much as possible. Each case is different, depending on what joint is involved and how advanced the arthritis is, but in many circumstances, horses can live normal lives and continue being ridden. Your vet will help you decide on the right treatment for your horse based on his individual case.

What Can You Do at Home?

  • Turnout and exercise
    • Horses with arthritis benefit from as much turnout as possible to reduce stiffness. They tend to feel creakier when they’re kept in a stall for long periods of time and aren’t able to move their joints. Moving around helps to keep the joints lubricated. You’ll want to make sure your horse can easily get to his food and water source in the pasture. Also watch out for herd dynamics, as an older arthritic horse might be picked on by his companions. He might be better off in a smaller pasture with quiet herd mates. If your vet thinks it’s ok, riding work can help to strengthen the muscles that help support the joints. Light, consistent work is best, as long as your horse is comfortable with it. Retirement is not always the best thing for an arthritic horse! Consider the footing you’re riding on. Hard, rocky, or uneven footing can be tough on the joints.
  • Hoof trims
    • Make sure your horse’s hooves are trimmed regularly, about every 5-6 weeks. If the hooves grow too long, or aren’t well balanced, it can put extra stress on the joints. This goes for every horse, not just those with arthritis, but since an arthritic horse is already dealing with an abnormal joint, he’ll feel the effects of a long toe or inappropriate angles even more.
  • Balance his weight
    • You’ll want to keep your horse in good body condition – not too fat and not too thin. If he’s too heavy, it puts excess strain on his joints. You may have to adjust his diet if he’s not doing as much physical work as he used to, since he may not need the same number of calories. On the other hand, some horses have trouble keeping weight on as they age, and if your horse doesn’t have the muscle mass to support his joints, that’s also problematic. Your vet will help you evaluate his nutritional needs to keep him in balance.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Medical Treatment

Direct medication of the affected joint

The most effective treatment for arthritis is usually a direct injection of a medication into the arthritic joint. The benefit is to the specific joint that is treated, but it can really decrease the pain and inflammation coming from that area and make your horse much more comfortable. There are several different types of joint injections nowadays.

  • Corticosteroids
    • These are the most common anti-inflammatory medications used for joint injections. They’ve been around the longest and are quite effective at reducing pain. They help to slow the deterioration of the cartilage by interrupting the damaging cycle of inflammation. Steroid injections are often combined with hyaluronic acid, a joint lubricant. Typically, the treatment is repeated every 6-12 months. Horses with Cushing’s disease or metabolic syndrome may not be candidates for steroid injections, so be sure to talk to your vet about it.
  • Polyacrylamide gel products
    • Arthramid and Noltrex are examples of these products. When injected into the joint, they work by integrating into the synovial lining and provide shock absorption, lubrication, and joint capsule elasticity. Polyacrylamide gels can benefit even some cases of advanced arthritis where steroid injection is no longer effective. They’re a bit more expensive than steroids, but the effect can last longer. They’re safe for horses with Cushing’s or metabolic disease.
  • Regenerative therapies
    • These injections are derived from your horse’s own blood and harness the power of molecules that naturally occur in his system to decrease inflammation and promote healing. The most common types of regenerative therapies used for arthritis are Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) and Interleukin Receptor Antagonist Protein (IRAP). Blood is drawn from your horse (don’t worry, it’s not a scary amount!) and processed in a way that concentrates the beneficial molecules to be injected back into the arthritic joint. These injections can be very effective and are my Springhill vet’s first choice for younger horses or less severely affected joints.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications

Commonly used, “NSAIDs” such as phenylbutazone (bute), are effective at reducing pain and swelling. Remember though, that these medications are like a band-aid – they’re making your horse feel better while they’re in his system, but not really treating the arthritis. They can also be hard on the GI tract and kidneys if used long term. So, while bute is inexpensive and commonly available, and can be helpful for occasional flare-ups, you probably don’t want to rely on it for long-term treatment. Some horses do benefit from a daily medication for overall comfort, especially if they have severe arthritis or multiple joints affected. In that case, your vet may choose firocoxib (Equioxx), which is the same medication type as bute, but less irritating to the GI tract and safer for long term use. A topical medication called Surpass is also available, which is applied directly to the skin over the affected joint.

Oral joint supplements

It’s important to understand that supplements aren’t required to meet the same standards for effectiveness as medications are. There are many, many supplement products being sold out there, and unfortunately few have any research behind their claims to support joint health. Oral joint supplements often contain ingredients such as glucosamine and chondroitin – substances found in joint cartilage. Unfortunately, horses don’t absorb these materials well in the oral form, that’s why these products work better in dogs and humans than they do in horses.  

There are a few products that have shown some protective effect, but in general you won’t see anything like the improvement a joint injection can provide. Oral supplements aren’t inexpensive either, so you may be better off saving your money for a more effective treatment. If you’re going to use a joint supplement, it’s probably better as a preventative in a young horse, rather than as a treatment for existing arthritis. I wish I had better things to say about joint supplements – it would be nice if they really worked well.

Other injectable medications

There are several treatments that are injected by the intravenous or intramuscular route. These are similar to supplements in that they provide some of the building blocks for cartilage, but there is more evidence for their effectiveness. They work best in mild to moderate arthritis and can be useful if the horse has multiple arthritic joints. The most frequently used is Adequan, an intramuscular injection that contains polysulfated glycosaminoglycans to reduce joint inflammation and stimulate the production of joint fluid. Another product, Legend, is an intravenous form of hyaluronic acid that decreases inflammation in the joint. These products can be useful, but if your horse is significantly lame, think about these as helper medications to be used along with another type of arthritis treatment.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Joint Fusion Procedures

In cases of severe arthritis, where medical treatment is no longer effective to reduce pain, a procedure to fuse the joint may be considered. What this means is that the veterinarian destroys the remaining cartilage in the joint so that the bone ends can grow together and fuse into one structure. Once the joint is essentially removed, it no longer causes pain. There are several ways to accomplish this, depending on the joint involved and the amount of arthritis. Facilitated ankylosis is where a chemical is injected into the joint to kill the cartilage cells. Arthrodesis is a surgical procedure where cartilage is physically removed, and screws are placed to hold the joint immobile. Joint fusion isn’t a shortcut treatment, and definitely isn’t appropriate for every case, but can provide a solution in certain situations.

Complementary Medicine for the Arthritic Horse

Chiropractic treatment can help to maintain your horse’s overall comfort. Reduced joint mobility causes negative effects on 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. As he compensates for his arthritic joint, your horse may become sore elsewhere, very commonly in his back. Chiropractic care can help to improve his overall physical function.

Acupuncture stimulates the nervous system, releasing chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These biochemical effects stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities. They can increase blood circulation, relieve muscle spasm, and release pain-controlling endorphins. The National Institute of Health consensus statement concluded that there was compelling evidence of acupuncture’s ability to control multiple ailments in people, including osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal pain. We think it’s a great treatment to help control arthritis pain in horses as well.

We’re lucky nowadays to have so many options available to keep our horses comfortable. My Springhill vets are happy to talk with you about which of these treatments would be best for you and your horse!

Until next week,

~Whinny

P.S. Are you watching the videos over on my YouTube Channel? There’s some really good stuff there! From How To’s to seminars to funny stuff like the Horse Girl Goes to the Vet series, there’s something there for every horse owner. Don’t miss out!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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How Horse Feet Work

How Horse Feet Work

Apr 24, 2023 | Feet

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everyone, Whinny here. As the resident mouse, I spend a lot of time around feet, and what you see a lot, you have a lot of questions about. This has led to a very steep learning curve for this mouse about what horse feet should look like. Really, all things feet. I started with the abscess blog, and have really gone on quite the educational journey from there. Tony has been very helpful throughout. He’s been teaching me about all the ways humans mess up horse feet (his words, not mine). So, I thought I’d go over some of that knowledge with you guys this week!

A Giant Middle Finger

Tony and I were comparing our paws while discussing horse feet. We both have 5 toes on our front paws, with claws on each. Then we looked at one of the horses in the hospital to better discuss how weird horse toes are. Tony told me that one toe they have is actually a really long version of our middle toe. The hoof is basically a fingernail that goes all the way around, and it only covers the very last bone. If we are comparing that to a human, the finger is everything towards the ground from the fetlock, and the cannon bone is the middle bone of the palm. The wrist is called the knee, because as Tony constantly reminds me, horse people are weird. 

Whinny Wisdom: The laminae is the name of the tissue that holds the hoof to the bone. Swelling gets the suffix -itis, so laminitis is swelling of the laminae.

Lots of Physics

Every time a horse (or mouse, or person) steps down, force goes back up. This is physics. Horses are big and so they have a lot of force. Then add the design of standing on one toe, and all those forces are concentrated. Now add running, jumping, turning fast, and all the other things horses do, to the one-toe-design and there’s really a lot of force going up that one tiny toe! It’s hard to believe it doesn’t break all the time. 

The point of all this physics talk is to say everything needs to line up really well on horse feet or those forces are going to go every which way. If you read Part 1 of my Arthritis blog last week, you know what happens when those forces go every which way. It’s not great. 

Pictures!

We had a horse in the hospital that was going to get his feet done by our podiatrist, Dr. Staples. I learned a lot hanging out by her shoeing trailer during that appointment! I have some pictures to help explain.

My first picture here is just a foot so you can see it without any markers. 

My second picture here has markings from an app called HoofMapp. This app was developed with a whole lot of work from Yogi Sharp. It lets any mouse (or human) take a picture of a horse’s foot, do some measurements, and get a good idea how balanced that foot is. I will say it takes a lot of practice to get just the right picture. Ask any of the Docs here, and they can give you pointers.

Anyway, here’s picture two:

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

The mark that lines up with the coronary band has a hash mark ⅓ of the way back from the very front of the foot. Yogi looked at hundreds upon thousands of x-rays and pictures of feet to determine that this point is pretty darn close to where the weight should be centered on the foot. The line at the ground surface goes from front to back of the weight bearing surface. 

Notice I said weight bearing. If you look closely at the line, you’ll see it goes from the spot at the front where the shoe touches the ground to the very last spot of the shoe at the heel. Next, a perpendicular line is drawn from that hashmark up top to the line along the ground. It should divide that line in half. This is a guideline and it doesn’t have to be exactly 50:50, but you can see this one is nowhere near that! 

Back to Physics

I know all those lines were a lot of geometry, but they tell a physics story. They tell us this horse has too much toe. That means when those forces go up the leg, they are way too strong in some parts, and not strong enough in others. While this horse is an extreme example, a toe that’s too long is the most common problem my Docs see. It puts huge forces on the back of the foot. You know what’s on the back of the foot? The deep digital flexor tendon and the navicular bone. They get lots of excess wear and tear from all those forces, and then we’re back at my arthritis blog. But it can all be avoided with proper trimming!

Whew, that was a lot of info! There’s so much to horse feet. I hear the Docs around here talk about how important it is. If you’ve got questions about your horse’s feet, ask them: They love to talk feet! Or you can watch this video my docs made to help you figure out how to assess your horse’s feet without HoofMapp, if it’s easier for you. 

That’s it for this week!

~Whinny

P.S. Are you subscribed to my blog yet? There’s a big purple box right below here that you can put your email in, and I’ll send you my blog every Monday. As Tony would say: Don’t rely on Facebook to tell you it’s out!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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More Adventures of the Horse Doctor's Husband
Arthritis Part 1

Arthritis Part 1

Apr 17, 2023 | Arthritis

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everybody, Whinny here. As the Clinic Mouse and a brand-new blog-writer, I’ve been learning tons about what goes on at Springhill Equine! From my mouse-house on the side of the field, I can watch the Springhill vets evaluating horses as they trot up and down. Then If I scurry over by the clinic, I can hear what they talk about with the horses’ owners. One of the things that gets talked about a lot is arthritis. I’d never heard of that before, so one night I found this giant book someone left out and I read up on it. Wowzers, that was a looong chapter, and really complicated, so I couldn’t possibly tell you everything in it. I’m actually going to write two separate blogs on arthritis because there is so much stuff I thought was interesting! Today I’m going to go over what it is and what it does to your horse. In a few weeks, I’ll tell you what I learned about how to treat it!

What is Arthritis?

Well, first of all, a horse has joints. Hocks, stifles, pasterns, fetlocks – those are all joints. Mostly we think about the legs, but there are tons of joints in the neck and the back, too. The joints have to move constantly and also support the horse’s weight. That’s a hard job and they have to do it for the horse’s whole life!

A healthy joint has cartilage in it that provides a smooth surface over the bone for movement and shock absorption. There’s fluid in the joint, called synovial fluid, that lubricates the joint and helps to nourish the cartilage. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

Arthritis means inflammation in the joint and all the bad stuff it can cause. I’ll talk about why it happens in a minute, but basically, when you have arthritis, the cartilage becomes damaged and that causes pain, stiffness, and swelling of the joint. That results in lameness and all the ways it can affect your horse. Arthritis is usually progressive and results in permanent damage to the joint. If you’ve heard of degenerative joint disease, that’s another name for the same thing.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Arthritis is suuuper common. Lots of riding and show horses get it, but even wild horses do, too. I read that arthritis is responsible for up to 60% of all lameness. Considering how many lameness exams I see the Springhill vets doing, that’s a lot! I also read that 50% of horses older than 15 have some arthritis. So I’m glad I looked it up, since it must be really important. 

How Does Arthritis Start?

There are a couple different types of arthritis. I’m going to talk about the most common kind, osteoarthritis (aka degenerative joint disease). There’s another kind called septic arthritis, caused by an infection in the joint, but that’s different so I’ll save it for another blog. Osteoarthritis is most often caused by “wear-and-tear” of the cartilage over time. It starts with low-level inflammation in the joint caused by exercise or aging. The inflammation can overwhelm the body’s ability to contain it, and a vicious cycle begins. Destructive enzymes are produced in the joint, breaking down the lubricating synovial fluid and causing it to become thinner and less protective. The cartilage molecules (proteoglycans and collages) are damaged and lose integrity.

Because of that, the cartilage’s ability to retain water and provide shock absorption is decreased. The damage stimulates even more inflammation, more destructive enzymes, and more cartilage damage, and so the cycle continues. If left untreated, the inflammation will lead to long-term deterioration of the joint. Eventually, the cartilage can erode away entirely, leaving exposed bone without its protective cartilage cap. This is very painful, advanced arthritis.

Osteoarthritis can also be caused by a sudden, direct injury to the cartilage or bone such as a chip fracture in the joint, a developmental joint disease like an OCD lesion (see Tony’s previous blog on OCD), or instability of the tissues that support the joint. Those things will jump-start the progression of arthritis, but it ends up the same as the wear-and-tear type, with permanent degradation of the joint cartilage.

What Does Arthritis Look Like?

So if your horse has arthritis, how will you know? One important thing I learned is that you won’t always see obvious limping. While there definitely can be clear lameness, especially if the arthritis is already severe, there are also more subtle signs that your horse may have a painful joint. He may just feel stiff with a shortened stride. A horse with arthritis sometimes warms up out of his stiffness after riding for a little while, or the stride may stay short and choppy the whole time. He might have trouble picking up or keeping a canter lead, or he might cross-canter with the front end on one lead and the hind end on the other. He might lack power while jumping or have difficulty stopping or turning.

You may notice that a horse with arthritis in his hind end drags his toes and wears the toe of his hind hooves or shoes excessively. Your farrier may tell you that your horse has trouble holding up a leg for hoof trims. Horses with more advanced arthritis may have an obviously enlarged joint, difficulty getting up after laying down, or not move around the pasture as much. Sometimes chronic soreness can cause a horse to become sour or look like he has a bad attitude. It’s not his fault though, he just hurts. Hopefully you guys understand that a lot of the time, horses aren’t just being naughty, and if you can treat the pain, he’ll be a lot happier to keep working.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Diagnosing Arthritis

Remember that vicious cycle of inflammation I told you about? It’s super important to get it under control so you can slow the progression of arthritis as much as possible. The key is to catch it early, since the longer you wait, the more damage will occur. Have one of my Springhill vets check out your horse for even mild stiffness or a change in behavior under saddle.

She’ll begin by talking with you about what you’ve noticed in your horse. Then, she’ll do a physical exam to feel for swelling and other joint abnormalities. She’ll watch your horse move and may flex his joints to help identify which area is bothering him. Depending on what she finds, she may need to perform “diagnostic analgesia” – temporary numbing of a joint to determine whether it’s the source of pain. Then, she may recommend an x-ray to look at what’s happening to the bone inside the joint.

X-rays are the most common type of imaging used to diagnose arthritis since they can be done either at your farm or here at the clinic. Occasionally, other types of imaging are needed, such as nuclear scintigraphy or arthroscopic surgery, but those cases aren’t very common. Getting an accurate diagnosis is the best way to manage your horse’s comfort.

Once the diagnosis is made, it’s time to make a treatment plan. But there are more options nowadays than there used to be, so I’m going to save that for my next blog on treating arthritis!

That’s it for this week!

~Whinny

P.S. If you want to really get to expert status on this, and you can’t wait for Part 2 of this blog, go check out our Podcast Episode on Equine Arthritis. You can listen to it right from that link, or from the Podcast Page on my website, or from whatever podcast app you use, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all those. If you’re searching for it, the name of the show is Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. Listening to that is the fastest way to become a horse health guru! Well, in combination with reading my blog, of course.

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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