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