Tabla de contenidos para Summer 2024 en Equus

Horses with asthma aren’t the only ones that can benefit from soaked hay. Those with insulin resistance and other metabolic conditions do, too, because soaking can leach potentially harmful sugars from the hay into the water. For horses with metabolic conditions, experts generally recommend submerging hay in warm water for at least 30 minutes, or for 60 minutes when cool or cold water is used. Once soaking is done, the hay is removed from the water and fed, while the water is discarded. But, just as with soaking hay for asthmatic horses, it’s important to stick to the protocol: Submerging hay in water longer than the specified times risks leaching beneficial nutrients.…

Over decades of conducting wellness examinations, I identified a variety of conditions that might have progressed or worsened had they gone undetected. Early intervention, in many of these cases, was the key to successful treatment. Here’s a list of the conditions that my wellness examinations detected: pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (equine Cushing’s disease) insulin resistance sarcoids squamous cell carcinoma (ocularlar & penile) small airway inflammation and equine asthma melanoma atrial fibrillation ventricular septal defect poor farriery body condition score extremes districhisasis (eyelash malformation) nasolacrimal duct occlusion dermatophytosis (ringworm) umbilical hernia degenerative suspensory ligament disease recurrent uveitis dermatophilosis (rain rot) angular limb deformities idiopathic fever (fever of unknown origin) penile papilloma equine metabolic syndrome pinworm infestation culicoides hypersensitivity (sweet itch) plant photosensitization…

Research is underway that may one day yield additional or improved treatments for colitis in horses. Currently, there are three primary areas of focus: Fecal transfaunation, also known as fecal transplant, is a technique developed to restore populations of beneficial gut bacteria. In the procedure, feces are collected from a healthy horse and introduced into the colon of an ailing horse. Fecal transfaunation shows promise for horses, with positive effects reported anecdotally. But, says Gary Magdesian, DVM, DACVIM, DAVECC, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, more needs to be learned through research. “We hope to learn more about whether the procedure helps the survival rates and shortens the course of the disease,” he says, “Also, how long do the effects of the procedure last?”…

Social creatures communicate their emotional state through facial expressions, body language, voice and overall energy. Horses are keenly aware of all these signals for emotional communication. Mares are usually the best teachers for equine “language skills” as foals mimic their mother’s conversations from ear positions to head and facial expressions, much like humans and other primates have been shown to do in studies. But with domestic horses forms of communication may also be learned from humans. Humans typically want to communicate with horses to “make them do something”—such as standing still for grooming, accepting a rider or learning discipline-specific movements. Horses, on the other hand, usually want to communicate with people because it is simply in their nature to try to make friends and talk. The horse who sticks his…

E. Gus Cothran, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He received his Bachelor of Science and master’s degrees from North Texas State University, and earned his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma. His primary research interests include the heredity basis of equine congenital defects; interrelationships of inbreeding, genetic polymorphism, and reproductive performance in horses; and population genetics of feral horses. Jack Easley, DVM, MS, Emeritus DABVP, DAVDC (Equine), operates Equine Veterinary Practice LLC, in Shelbyville, Kentucky, an all-inclusive practice with an emphasis on dentistry. Easley received his veterinary degree from Tuskegee University, and he is a founding diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College’s Equine Specialty. Easley has lectured on equine dentistry around the world and has written numerous articles for professional and lay equine journals, textbooks and…

Nearly 50 years ago, Jeanetta Sturgeon’s life changed in an instant. When a fire erupted in her home, the then-28-year-old mother of two sustained burns over 80 percent of her body. For the next two years she was in and out of the hospital, enduring multiple surgeries and painful skin grafts. Most of her fingers were so badly burned that they could not be saved. Surgeons did manage to graft a thumb back onto her dominant hand, but the rest of her fingers ended at the top end of the metacarpals. Jeanetta’s recovery was long and painful, but she refused to stop riding. The daughter of a trick rider, she had been raised with horses, and she was determined to keep them in her life. Jeanetta learned how to care…

Harry Werner, VMD, practiced equine medicine and surgery in New England after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. His time at UPenn emphasized the importance of keeping horses healthy and active through wellness care, plus timely and appropriate client education and communications. These factors guided the Werners during their 47 years of delivering successful veterinary care for their equine patients. Werner served as 2009 President of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. In 2020, he received the AVMA Animal Welfare Award, which recognizes achievement in advancing the welfare of animals via leadership, public service, education, research/product development and/or advocacy. Susan Werner is her husband’s business and writing partner. In addition to managing Werner Equine, she designed marketing and business management/communication tools for veterinary practices and worked…

A Canadian study shows that soaking hay can help control equine asthma, but suggests that an exacting protocol is necessary to achieve the best results. For the study, University of Montreal researchers selected 10 horses with severe asthma, commonly called heaves. An inflammatory condition characterized by labored breathing, coughing and increased mucus production, equine asthma is exacerbated by dust. Hay and bedding are primary sources of airborne particles in horse barns. To prevent dust particles from becoming airborne, soaking hay prior to feeding has long been recommended for horses with asthma. However, the clinical efficacy of this approach in reducing respiratory inflammation and improving lung function in horses had not been previously studied in a prospective study. At the beginning of the Canadian experiment, the study horses were housed indoors…

Vaccines, deworming protocols, good nutrition, joint care—all of these are important facets of equine care. But the cornerstone of your horse’s wellness isn’t a product or procedure, it’s an event: the physical examination. Many veterinary practices refer to this type of appointment as a wellness visit, for others it’s a health check. Whatever they’re called, these visits and their physical examinations tend to have similar goals and results. When Susan and I established our veterinary practice, Werner Equine, back in 1979, the term “wellness” wasn’t as widely used as it is today. But that concept was firmly at the center of our mission. Wellness is a whole-horse approach to equine care that aims to prevent illness, injury and poor performance, rather than simply reacting to problems as they come up.…