Clinical Equine Nutrition 2

Question 1

Will energy requirements for a horse increase or decrease in severe weather, hot and cold?

Answer 1

Increase

Question 2

Minimum of ____ % of feed should still be good quality roughage

Answer 2

35-40%

Question 3

Omega 6 is pro _________

Answer 3

inflammatory

*in large amounts

Question 4

How long does it typically take to see results after adding oil to a horses diet?

Answer 4

2 - 3 months

Want to start adding in oil slowly as well

Question 5

Besides water, what is lost in sweat?

Answer 5

Electrolytes

Question 6

T/F: Age is a disease

Answer 6

False

but with age, comes disease

Question 7

What are common health concerns for aged horses?

Answer 7

Dental issues
parasitism
arthritic conditions

Question 8

T/F: Protein, fiber, and phosphorus digestion and absorption decrease with age

Answer 8

TRUE

Question 9

What kind of diet is recommended for geriatric horses?

Answer 9

(whatever they’ll eat!)

Needs to be palatable and easily digested - often cubed or pelleted feeds with the addition of a fat supplements as needed

Question 10

Why should you avoid immediately starting a starving horse on a high quality diet?

Answer 10

Refeeding syndrome

can have a fatal increase in blood insulin
Cardiac and respiratory failure

**will be noted 3-5 days after new diet has begun

Question 11

What diet should you start a starved horse on?

Answer 11

Start on a low glycemic indez diet
Roughage only (alfalfa is ideal) 
introduce 50-75% of maintenance and gradually build up over 10 days to maintenance

Can increase to 125% maintenance

Question 12

Besides being malnourished, what other concerns should you have when dealing with a starved horse?

Answer 12

Parasites - most likely the horse also was not getting dewormed

Dental issues
hoof care
underlying dz

Question 13

What is equine metabolic dz? It what patients do you see it in?

Answer 13

It is a metabolic dysregulation: These horses are considered “easy keepers” bc they continue to put on weight, they are obese and often have intermittent laminitis

Can have persistent hyperinsulinemia –> leading to insulin resistance

*often in adults less than 15 years old who are obese: body score 7 or greater on a 9 scale

Question 14

How do you treat equine metabolic syndrome?

Answer 14

Low glycemic indes diet: avoid green lush pastures
Exercise
*somtimes levothyroxine sodium

Question 15

T/F: Equine metabolic syndrome patients will typically have PPID (equine Cushing’s)

Answer 15

FALSE

Question 16

What is hyperlipemia?

Answer 16

A life threatening condition that often affects ponies, donkeys, and miniature horses: it is a sudden severe breakdown of body fat stores

Question 17

What is the survival rate of hyperlipemia?

Answer 17

56%

Question 18

What are the predisposing factors of hyperlipemia?

Answer 18

Obesity
Insulin resistance
Females>males (especially if they are pregnant or lactating)

Question 19

What are some precipitating factors to hyperlipemia?

Answer 19

Inadequate feed intake
stress - from feed change, transport, etc
pain
disease

Question 20

What clinical signs will you see in a patient with hyperlipemia?

Answer 20

May present like colic
Anorexia
dysphagia
pyrexia
encephalopathy
depression
weakness
abortion
****rapid weight loss

Question 21

How do you treat hyperlipemia?

Answer 21

First, you need to get the patient to eat - feeding tube if necessary. Want to use fresh palatable feeds or liquefied pelleted complete feeds for tube feeding

Terminate stress, fluid therapy, tx hypoglycemia

Question 22

What are some key factors thought to be involved in developmental orthopedic diseases in horses?

Answer 22

Rapid growth
Diet imbalance (too much energy, poor calcium to phos ratio, copper and since deficiencies)
Biomechanical stress or trauma (too much exercise)
Hormonal factors
Genetic predisposition *

Question 23

Epiphysitis is most common in what horses? What is it?

Answer 23

Most common in the thoroughbred race horse

Inflammation of the physis

Question 24

Where is the most common location of epiphysitis?

Answer 24

Distal radius and distal metacarpal III/Metatarsal III

Question 25

What is the treatment for epiphysititis?

Answer 25

Decreased nutritional plane - feed roughage only +/- mineral supplements
Rest
+/- NSAIDs
*self limiting when growth plate closes

Question 26

In severe cases, epiphysitis can lead to _________

Answer 26

Angular limb deformities

Question 27

How do you treat angular limb deformities?

Answer 27

Trimming/shoeing
Stall confinement
Surgery: Periosteal stripping or transphyseal bridging

Question 28

what are the most common angular limb deformities?

Answer 28

Distal radius and distal MCIII/MTIII

Carpal valgus and fetlock varus are the most common

Question 29

What locations do you most often see flexural limb deformities?

Answer 29

Distal interphalangeal joint (DIT)
Metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP)
Metatarsalphalangeal joint (MTP)

Question 30

What are the treatments available for flexural limb deformities?

Answer 30

Exercise, shoeing
Tenotomy (tendon)
Desmotomy (ligament)
Oxytetracycline: binds to calcium to weaken the collagen (need to monitor renal values while on this drug)

Question 31

What horses are more prone to have Osteochondorsis and OCD?

Answer 31

Standardbred and warmblood breeds

*disturbances in endochondral differentiation, proliferation, maturation, and ossification of fast growing animals

Question 32

What clinical signs will you in a horse with Osteochondorsis or OCD?

Answer 32

+/- Lameness

Joint effusion

Question 33

Where is the number one site for Osteochondorsis and OCD? What are other common sites?

Answer 33

1 - Distal tibia (intermediate ridge)

Lateral trochlear ridge of the femur

medial femoral condyle

Question 34

What horses are more prone to cervical vertebral malformation?

Answer 34

Thoroughbred, quarterhorse, morgan

Male > female (3:1)

Question 35

What clinical signs will you see in a horse with cervical vertebral malformation? What is the tx?

Answer 35

Ataxia

Tx = surgery - spinal fusion

Question 36

What should you feed an orphan foal?

Answer 36

Mare’s milk = best
Goat’s milk = ok - close to mare but may note constipation
Cow’s milk - less fat and more sugar (add dextrose or jelly pectin)
Commercial mare’s milk is available in powder and pellet