Equine Disease/Management Midterm

MSU, Dr. Eddy, Ms. Poole

four components of large animal’s history

owner’s/agent info, signalment, medication/treatment history on herd health and individual

signalment includes

breed, sex, age, color/markings, and repro status

another part of signalment can include

intended use

after getting chief complaint, what five things do you need to know?

duration, progression, severity, frequency, and response to previous medications

what other things should you ask about for herd health history?

what the herd shares, what’s the water source, and hay quality

when starting a physical you should start…?

by watching respiratory then starting at the head and ending at the tail

if you see petechial on the mucous membranes, it could indicate what?

clotting disorder

blue tint gums is called

cyanosis

brick red coloration of gums indicates?

septic shock

heart rate for an adult horse is

28-44 bpm

most common cause of irregular heart rate in horses

second degree AV

arterial pulses can be palpated where?

facial artery, transverse facial artery, and over proximal sesamoid bones

adult horse respiratory rate

8-16 bpm

normal motility sounds of horse abdomen are heard how often?

1-3 motility/bpm

4 quadrants of abdomen to auscultate

upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right

reasons to weigh horse

medication/dosage, dietary formula, discover weight loss due to disease

reasons to measure height of horse

purchase purposes and breed registration

what routes are commonly used for horses?

IV and IM

where are the IM injections given on a horse?

neck, semitendinosus/semimembranosus, pectoral, and gluteal

new additions to horse facility should have a negative what test?

coggins

how long do you quarantine a new horse?

1 month

only type of vaccine that can be used in pregnant animals

killed

vaccine schedules are based on

age, anticipated exposure, and duration of immunity

initial time between vaccines

4 weeks

core vaccines

tetanus, rabies, eastern/western equine encephalitis, and west nile

* persistent viral disease
* causes anemia, fever, and weight loss
* infected horses are lifetime carriers
* quarantined for life
* coggins test should be negative for 6-12 months if traveling

equine infectious anemia

* lockjaw
* caused by Clostridium tetani
* toxoid - given yearly
* antitoxin - give to unvaccinated and will last 2 weeks
* give antitoxin first and then toxoid two weeks later

tetanus

* viral neurological disease
* found in nature by birds and animal reservoir
* transmitted by biting insects
* give vaccine before biting season

EEE/WEE

* viral, neurological disease
* only one dose

rabies

* caused by flavivirus that infects birds and mosquitoes
* give vaccine annually before biting season
* give semiannually if you have a mild winter

west nile

heavy parasite burdens (especially roundworms) can cause

colic

good deworming program should target

ascarids, small/large strongyles, tapeworms, and bots

how often do we deworm?

every 8-12 weeks

what anthelmintics target bots?

moxidectin and ivermectin

which anthelmintic targets tapeworms?

praziquantel

what anthelmintics target small strongyles?

moxidectin and fenbendazole

continuous growth or eruption

hypsodont

sharp points on upper cheek teeth

hooks

sharp points on lower cheek teeth

rampsw

wolf teeth are removed at what age?

12-18 months

how often do we do dental exams on mature horses?

yearly

how often do we do dental exams on young horses until permanent teeth come in?

twice yearly

how much do horses’ hooves grow per month?

one-quarter of an inch

how often do we trim hooves?

6-8 weeks

we clean hooves to prevent this

thrush

what do we use to treat thrush?

copper or iodine-based solution

main foods needed

quality grass/legume hay, free-choice water, and salt/minerals as needed

three types of lameness

pain, mechanical, neurologic

what can be given to anxious or naughty horses during lameness exam?

10-15 mg of acepromazine IV

lameness not perceptible under any circumstances

grade 0

lameness is difficult to observe and is not consistent regardless of circumstance

grade 1

lameness is difficult to observe at walk/trot in straight line but consistently apparent when weight bearing, circling, inclines, etc.

grade 2

lameness consistent at trot under all circumstances

grade 3

lameness obvious at walk

grade 4

lameness produces minimal weight bearing in motion or at rest or inability to move

grade 5

down on…?

sound

majority of hindlimb lameness occurs in the

hock or stifle

lame limb has a hip (what) when in stance

hike

how long do you flex joints for flexion test?

30-90 seconds

grade positive response of flexion test as

mild, moderate, or severe

two types of diagnostic anesthesia

perineural and intrasynovial

does it matter where you start for intrasynovial?

no

method for perineural blocks

start at bottom and work up

what should you do before performing intrasynovial?

sterile prep

method of choice for soft tissue injury of tendons and ligaments, and bone surface in large muscle groups

ultrasound

gives the best detail of bone and soft tissue and shows inflammation or fluid accumulation

MRI

to see far away, a horse will

raise its head

to see close up, a horse will

lower its head

do horses have more or less acuity than humans?

less

horses only have 2 types of cones

blue and green

repeated inflammation of the uveal tract

equine recurrent uveitis

assess function of eyes by testing

pupillary light reflex, menace response, and palpebral response

tearing

epiphora

squinting

blephorospasm

motor nerve blocks of eye

auriculopalpebral

sensory nerve blocks of eye

supraorbital

how many teeth do mature horses have?

44

wolf teeth numbers (top left to right and bottom left to right)

105 and 205; 405 and 305

incisors numbers

01-03

canine number

04

premolar numbers

05-08

molar numbers

09-11

common dental problems

sharp points, hooks, wave mouth, and fractured teeth

fractured teeth are more common in

cheek teeth

dental exam requires sedation, so what drugs are used?

alpha-2 agonist and butorphanol

shortening point, hooks, and correcting wave mouth is done by

floating

wolf teeth can interfere with

bit

most common esophagela abnormality

esophageal obstruction; choke

why do we use oxytocin when relieving choke?

relaxes striated esophageal muscles

what do we use with lavage for choke?

water

risk factors for colic

rapid feed change, abrupt reduction in activity, change in weather, stabling, poor dental care, and stress

what percent of colic cases respond to basic field treatment?

90%

* prevent stomach rupture
* can be used to treat
* pass via ventral meatus of nasal passage
* ask horse to swallow
* flex horse’s head

nasogastric tube

how much water do we put in the stomach to reflux it?

2 L

what pain reliever is given for simple colic?

banamine IV

collection of the peritoneal fluid for visual inspection and lab analysis

abdomincentesis

this type of local/regional anesthesia controls pain in hind limbs and prevents straining to defecate

caudal epidural anesthesia

* rapid onset
* less potent
* 1-1.5 hr duration
* can be irritating

lidocaine

* more potent than lidocaine but similar onset
* 1.5-2 hr
* less irritating

mepivacaine

* slow onset
* more potent than mepivacaine
* duration 4-6 hr

bupivacaine