Learning Curve in Equine Medicine

Communication is a necessary _____

Skill

(T/F) Communication can be learned and practiced

True

What is one of the most challenging aspects of equine veterinary medicine?

Communication

_______ skills influence horse owner’s trust in their equine veterinarians

Communication

(Credibility + Reliability + Empathy)/Self-Orientation = _________

Trustworthiness

What is credibility?

How believable something is

What is reliability?

Derived from past experience and kept promises

What is empathy?

How much someone shows that they care

What is self-orientation in veterinary medicine?

How much they are acting on their own interests rather than putting client’s/patient’s interest first

What is one way that we can show that we care in veterinary medicine?

Checking back in on patients

Interacting with the horse, using the horse’s name, knowing the horse’s sex, and knowing the history/repeating the history are tips for showing that…

You care

Veterinarians must understand the _____ of the horse and client

Expectations

Veterinary medicine is a _____ oriented profession

People

Who is the client?

An owner, trainer, and/or rider

Who is the horse owner?

Pays the bills and communicates information about the horse

Who is the trainer?

Cost is not typically a big factor, wants horse performing regularly, can communicate valuable information

What is a bleeder?

Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage

What is a roarer?

Laryngeal hemiplegia

What are the domains of communication?

Content, nonverbal, and perception

What percentage of diagnostics information comes from history taking?

76%

What percentage of missed primary care diagnosis is due to a gap in history taking?

56%

Where is the poll of the horse?

Area between the ears

Where is the muzzle of the horse?

Refers to the nose

Where is the canon bone of the horse?

Refers to the horses ‘wrist’

Where is the gaskin of the horse?

On the horse’s thigh

Where is the croup of the horse?

On the horse’s rump

Where is the dock of the horse?

Above the horse’s tailhead

What is a whorlbone?

Bursa between the greater trochanter of femur and middle gluteal (trochanteric bursitis)

What is a splint?

Bump associated with splint bone caused by fracture or periosteal proliferation/tearing of interosseous ligament

Which equipment may be useful in protecting the splint bone?

Splint boots

What is bog spavin?

Effusion of the tibiotarsal joint

(T/F) Bog spavin is always associated with lameness

False (bog spavin is not always associated with lameness)

What is DJD?

Degenerative joint disease of the lower hock joints

What is bone spavin?

Deenerative joint disease of the lower hock (tarsometatarsal and distal intertarsal)

What is wind puff or windgall?

Effusion of the deep digital flexor tendon sheath at the fetlock

What is capped hock?

Seroma over point of hock (calcaneous)

What is thoroughpin?

Effusion of the tarsal sheath above the hock

What is curb?

Swelling over the plantar aspect of the hock (long plantar ligament desmitis)

What is bowed tendon?

Tendinitis of the superficial flexor tendon

What is meant when a stallion is “proud cut”?

A gelding that still shows stallion-like behavior

What is a knocked down hip?

Fracture of the tuber coxa of the ilium

What is a jumpers bump?

Subluxation of the sacroiliac joint

What is pin fire/freeze fire/internal blister?

Therapies used to treat lower leg injuries

What is a bleeder?

Exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage

What is a roarer?

Left laryngeal hemiplegia (coughing)

What does it mean if a horse has a “flipped palate”?

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate

How do we treat bleeders?

Lasix

What does it mean if a horse is “tied up”?

Exertional rhabdomyolysis

What is founder?

Laminitis

What is a wobber/true wobbler?

Cervical vertebral malformation

What are heaves/severe asthma?

Recurrent airway obstruction/respiratory distress

What is quidding?

Dropping of food during eating

Canker, gravel, and quittor are common ____ problems

Foot

What are bell boots used for?

Overreaching

What are egg bar shoes used for?

Stabilizing the heel and supporting the back of the hoof

What are heart bar shoes used for?

Shifts horses weight away from the back of hoof and toward the central frog

What is the web of the shoe?

The width of the shoe

Why might a horse be lame because of a hot nail?

Nail in sensitive laminae

Which side do we mount, saddle, and lead the horse from?

Left side

Do all horses tie?

No

What are hobbles?

Slows horses down and teaches them not to overreact in situations where they are stuck/injured

Cross-ties, twitches, hand twitch, chains, and lead ropes are common ______ tools

Restraint

What shoes should we wear when working around horses?

Steel toed, closed toed, boots

What is the purpose of polos/quilted leg wraps?

Protecting tendons and ligaments

What are lunge lines used for?

Lame horses and warming-up horses

What is a cribbing collar used for?

To stop horses from finding comfort in cribbing

Why is it important for veterinarians to know normal equine behavior?

To promote safety and diagnose medicial/behavioral problems

What percentage of large animal veterinarians reported work-related injuries?

60-65%

What motivates equine behavior?

Horses are a prey animal and are avoidant of pain/danger

Horses display _______ evidence of disease

Minimal

Can horses see more or less than humans?

Horses can see more than humans but have limited vision closer to the front of their face

Why are horses handled on their left side?

Increased human interaction allows for more habituation to lateralized stimuli

What are the signs of pain or illness in horses?

Overt signs of pain, physical examination findings, activity level, and facial expression

Reluctance to move, staying in the same position in the stall, agitation/anxiety, lack of normal interaction with people, and lack of appetite contribute to a horse’s _____ level

Activity

What is the nasogastric tube used for?

A tube passed through the nostril, down the esophagus, and into the stomach

NGT placement, opthalmic exams, farriery, and rectal palpation are all tasks that equine _______ do

Veterinarians

When _______ a horse, it is important that the handler is experienced, additional equipment/techniques are applied when necessary, and facilities are appropriate

Restraining

An appropriately fitting halter and lead rope, stud chain, twitch, and sedation are all ______ techniques

Restraint

What are the e primary types of twitch techniques?

Neck twitch/shoulder twitch, ear twitch, and nose twitch

(T/F) Sedation can be a substitute for restraint

False (sedation is not a substitute for restraint)

Weaving, craving, stall walking/pawing are called _______

Vices

What are vices?

Repetitive behavior with no apparent purpose or function

Why might vices arise in horses?

Due to confinement or environment with inadequate opportunities for satisfying specific needs

What is horse cribbing?

Biting into a solid object by arching their neck and pulling back to draw air in

Why do horses crib?

To relieve stress, boredom, or physical discomfort like stomach ulcers

What is the primary consequence of cribbing?

Colic

Why is it important for veterinarians to know about housing and feeding horses?

So that they can make the best recommendations based on scientific evidence, know what to expect on farm calls, know what diseases/injuries are associated with type of housing or feed, and know what care or feeding recommendations are needed for treatment or control of diseases/injuries

A stall, a 3-sided run-in shed, or a grove of trees can be ______ options for horses

Housing

What is the minimum acreage per house?

1-2 acres/horse

How much forage does a horse consume per day?

1-2% of their body weights

How much concentrate does a horse consume a day?

<0.5% body weight

When feeding horses, we should feed them ______ meals throughout the day

Frequent

When _____ horses, we should keep them on a structured schedule and make gradual changes

Feeding

What are the forage options commonly fed to horses?

Grass and hays (prairie, brome, legumes, alfalfa, grass hay)

What are the primary oat types fed to horses?

Oats, corn, and sweet feed

Why do we feed concentrations?

Provide additional calories to forage diet (contributes to metabolism, activity level, and quality of forage)

Commercial pelleted/extruded products are ________

Concentrates

_________ products are designed for various life stages and various metabolic needs

Commercial

We must provide horses with constant access to fresh, clean _______

Water