Equine Flashcards
List the main equine disciplines.
Dressage Show jumping Eventing Racing Polo Endurance Driving Showing Vaulting Western riding Pleasure horses
Describe the basics of field management.
- Water is continually available
- Some fields may need to be rested, as horses patchily graze in order to eat separately from where they defecate
- Droppings should be picked up to prevent spread of disease
- Natural shelter from trees and hedges and man-made shelter for shelter from bad weather and flies.
- Posts, rails and hedge fencing are ideal but not wire netting, barbed wire or ditches, as horses can injure themselves or get stuck. Electric fences often subdivide fields for grazing but they are expensive.
- Try to prevent injury from fencing or bites and kicks from other horses.
Describe the basics of stable management.
- Fed a combination of forage and concentrate.
- Fed from floor to encourage mucus to drain from the respiratory tract, so pollen and dust are left at floor level while chewing.
- Haynets must have air outflow but not air inflow.
- Stables mucked out to remove droppings, urine and wet bedding.
- Stables skipped out by removing droppings.
- Stables can be littered but they wet bedding is left to leave a deep base layer.
What are stereotypies?
Stylised, repetitive and apparently functionless motions and actions, oral and locomotor. 5-10% prevalence. Diet, stress and opportunities for social contact can affect stereotypy devellopment.
Crib biting - biting doors and windows
Wind sucking - gulping air
Weaving - rocking left to right (antiweaves to discourage this)
Box walking - horse walks around the stable
How can management cause equine respiratory diseases?
- Dust and fungal spores from hay, bedding and poor ventilation is irritant to the respiratory system.
- Ammonia is a direct irritant to mucous membranes, skin and respiratory tract, and inhibits airway defence for clearing particles from the lungs.
- Equine asthama is pulmonary hypersensitivity to inhaled antigens. Can be managed by pasture shelter against adverse weather conditions, no supplementary hay, soaking/steaming hay, switching to haylage or dust-free beddings, such as rubber mattings, dust extracted shavings and shredded paper.
How can management cause equine abdominal diseases?
Colic - abdominal discomfort caused by sudden changes in feeding or management. Impact reduced by increasing water intake when changes occur. Feeding more than 2kg of concentrate per meal can increase the risk of large intestinal displacement colic.
Gastric ulceration - particular to horses with high intensity exercise. Feed little and often, reduce exercise, pasture turn out, increase forage and decrease concentrate.
How can management cause equine disease in the limbs?
Laminitis - inflammation of hoof laminae. Linked to overgrazing and high fructan levels in grass, so restrict grazing. (More common in ponies.)
Myopathies - tying up affects muscles of hind limbs, developing stiff gaits and refusal to move. Due to underlying predisposition. Sporadic form is associated with overtraining/exertion. Seen when some horses are laid off for a few days without concomitant reduction in feeding.
How can management cause general equine diseases?
Injury and trauma - good maintenance of stable and fencing and removing any sharp objects frim stable should reduce this.
Obesity - multifactoral but overfeeding and lack of exercise are the main factors. Can be insulin resistance, which would lead to laminitis and metabolic syndrome.
Skin conditions - rain scald from wet weather lead to warm, crusty lesions on the back. Mud fever causes sores and scabs on pastern and lower limbs particular to non-pigmented skin.
List the common diseases routinely vaccinated for in horses.
Tetanus
Equine influenza
Equine herpes virus
(Strangles, but not routine)
List the vaccination schedules for tetanus, equine influenza and equine herpes virus.
Tetanus: 1st after 6 months old, 2nd 4 weeks later, booster a year later and then boosters every 2 years. For pregnant mares, booster 4-6 weeks before foaling.
EI: 1st on day 0, 2nd on day 21-92, 3rd on day 150-215, annual booster/6 monthly booster for competing horses.
EHV: vaccines for EHV 1 and 4 only. 1st on day 0, 2nd 4-6 weeks after, boosters at 5, 7 and 9 months of gestation in pregnancy.
Describe the indications, vaccination risks and benefits of tetanus (clostridium tanani.
Bacteria enter through a deep wound and has an endotoxin causing spastic paralysis and muscles that are unable to relax.
Few risks of vaccination.
Vaccination is very effective.
Describe the indications and risks of vaccination of equine influenza.
Very contagious viral disease of the upper respiratory tract, with high morbidity and low morality. Can result in severe complications.
Risk of antigenic drift and antigenic shift.
Describe the indications and vaccination risks and benefits of equine herpes virus.
3 forms: respiratory, reproductive and neurologic.
Respiratory - problem in performance stables.
Reproductive - causes abortion storms. Vaccination reduces storms but not for individual mares.
Neurologic - causes ataxia, inability to urinate, recumbency and permanent ataxia.
Vaccinated horses have severe signs of neurologic form, so never vaccinate this form, only respiratory and reproductive.
Describe the indications, vaccination risks and benefits of strangles.
Highly contagious bacterial infection of the upper respiratory tract. Fever, pus and abscessation of lymph nodes.
Need muscosal immunity so submucosal injection into lip. Not routinely given so advise biosecurity for new arrivals instead.
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with cyathostomes - small redworms?
Can encyst in large intestinal mucosa for 2-3 years. larval cyathostomosis is a mass emergence of hyperbiosed larvae, causing a massive inflammatory reaction with severe diarrhoea that is often fatal.
Eggs hatch into larvae on pasture > larvae invade large intestine wall > adult worms in large intestine > eggs passed in faeces
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with strongles - large redworms?
Larvae migrate from GI tract to cranial mesenteric artery and back again, causing blocking in arteries, causing ischaemic areas in large intestine, which can be fatal.
Eggs hatch in pasture > moult through L1 and L2 > L3 larvae ingested from pasture > L4 larvae migrate into arteries supplying intestine > L5 migrate to gut > adults in large intestine
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with strongyloids westeri?
Infects foal through through dam’s milk or via skin penetration. Induces diarrhoea 6 months after.
L3 ingested/penetrates > L4 via lung and trachea, then swallowed > adult females in the small intestine > lay unfertilised eggs > L1 > egg > adult > L5 > L4 > L3
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with ascarids?
6 months - 2 years old greatest risk. Small intestinal obstructions, leading to surgical colic.
Eggs passed in faeces to pasture > moult in L1 and L2 > L2 ingested > migrate through intestinal wall to liver and moult to L3 > migrate to lung and enter bronchi > coughed up, then swallowed > moult to L4 > adults in small intestine
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with dictyocaulus arnfield - lung worm?
Severe anal pruritis/itching.
Life cycle not completed in horse, as adults do not maintain sexual maturity here. Female worms migrate GI tract and deposit eggs around anus, cemented to the skin with a thick, sticky substance.
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with tapeworm?
Incidence of spasmodic colic increases with burden. Can cause intussusception/ileo-caecal and caeco-caecal and thickened small intestine wall at ileo-caecal junction.
Egg passed in faeces to pasture > egg ingested by oribatid mite > develops on cysticercoid in mite > mite ingested in grazing > adults in small intestine and caecum
What is the life cycle and health conditions associated with gasterophilus - bot fly?
Not proven to cause any problem.
Adult lays eggs on horse > eggs ingested upon grooming > L1 and L2 moults in tongue and gums > L3 moult in stomach before passed in faeces > pupa in soil, then hatches
Describe basic parasite control.
- Targeted worming - only for those that need it
- Weekly poo-picking in fields
- Not overgrazing
- Rotating other livestock
- Consider needs of adults, foals and pregnant mares
- Certain parasites at different times of the year
- Have planned procedure for when a new horse arrives
Why do horses require routine dentistry?
Teeth are continually erupting and being worn down, meaning sharp points can develop if not worn down correctly.
- Maxillary teeth can develop sharp edges on buccal side
- Mandibular teeth on lingual side
- Hooks and overgrowths on areas without an opposite tooth
- Ulceration
- Pain
- Difficulties eating
How is routine dentistry carried out?
- Recommended to sedate horses and always use a mouth gag
- Flush out mouth to remove any food materials
- Use head light and mirror
- Headstand for comfort pf horse’s head if sedated
- Sharp edges rasped to prevent pain or ulceration using hand or power rasp, being careful not to take too much
- Annual checkups or 6 monthly if geriatic
Identify the basic anatomy of the equine digit.
3rd metacarpal with 2nd and 4th splint bones on either side. This articulates with P1/proximal phalanx/long pastern bone. This articulates with P2/middle phalanx/short pastern bone. This articulates with P3/pedal bone.
Which features of the hoof reduce concussion in the limb?
Digital cushion between P3 and sole Bulbar cushion in heel bulbs P3 suspended in hoof Hoof capsule is elastic Tendons further up the limb store energy for elastic recoil
What features are assessed in static examination of the equine foot?
Hoof quality - cracks, fissures, wall loss, if solar surface is waxy or flaky that might require shoeing, any deterioration in coronary band.
Hoof balance - symmetrical walls, parallel sole and coronary band to floor and to each other, perpendicular sole and coronary band to limb axis in dorsal view.
Shod or not Limb conformation Digital pulses Hoof testers may be used Are they a pair?
What features are assessed in dynamic examination?
Walk or trot on hard, flat surface. Evaluate:
- Foot balance and landing - normal feet or heels first, medial and lateral land synchronously
- Placement of foot relative to limb
What are the indications for shoeing a horse?
- If horse needs additional protection, support, traction or gait alteration
- If hoof growth is 3-4 months at the back where it is shorter and 12 months at the toe
- When rate of attrition is greater than the rate of growth
- If horn quality is poor
- If balance or conformation is poor
Describe the basics of hoof care.
- Pick out hoof daily with hoof pick to remove all packed dirt, faeces and bedding from frog clefts, central sulcus, bars and solar surface.
- Routine trimming or shoeing every 6-8 weeks
- Emergency visits for acutely lame horse or to replace shoe
- Only quality horn, good conformation. good hoof growth and with growth rate being greater than attrition rate can be unshod.
Describe the purposes of basic farriery tools.
Buffer - lift clenches
Pullers - elevate shoe heel first
Nail puller - pull nails
Hood knives - paring to remove dead, flaky horn, sole, frog and bars
Nippers - pull nail heads down and manage flares
Rasp - level foot and create a bed
Describe some different shoes and boots and when they would be used.
Poultice boots - short term for turn out and to keep poultice on.
Riding and turnout boots - both have minimum daily resets and must be good fits to avoid rubbing.
List the costs associated with vaccinations and worming.
Tetanus = £10-20
Equine influenza = £30
Worming count = £10
De-wormer = £10-25
Endoparaite tests = £20
List the costs associated with dentistry and farriery.
Dentistry exam = £40-60 depending on if sedation included.
Trim = £20-40 Front shoes = £40-60 Full set = £65-100 Refits = £5 Therapeutic shoes = £100 each
Emergency vet visit for foot abscess = £175 including consumables.
What is the purpose of a stable bandage?
- Lower limb protection when travelling or being stabled
- Provision of warmth and dryness to leg
- Support limb when it is taking more weight than usual (if horse is lame on the other leg)
- Prevention or reduction of swelling (such as oedema)
Describe how to apply a stable bandage.
- Large gamgee from coronary band to the carpus.
- Begin bandaging just beneath the carpus, wrapping so that the top overlapping layer is on the outside with the overlapping flap facing left , with 50% overlay. Bandage in the same direction as the gamgee, anticlockwise, starting from the front.
- Bandage to beneath the fetlock joint.
- Bandage back up limb, finishing mid cannon or just below carpus.
- Finish with Velcro at the end of the bandage. Should be over the lateral aspect of the limb, not over tendons.
- Change every 12 hours and check for heat, swelling or discomfort.
How is an exercise bandage applied?
- Small gamgee from top of carpus to fetlock. If there is gamgee overlap, place this over tendons for extra protection.
- Wrap around anticlockwise with 50% overlay, starting from the front. Elastic band is stretchier so ensure wrap is not too tight.
- Seal by putting Velcro through metal ring and sealing it back.
Name and describe the types of padding that can be used in bandaging.
Fibregee - synthetic gamgee, similar to thick felt, cut to size and washable.
Cotton wool - versatile, inexpensive but not washable.
Gamgee - cotton wool with a muslin cover, cut to size and not washable.
What are the risks and indicators of excess tension in a bandage?
Swelling above or below the bandage
Discomfort shown by biting at dressing or lifting the limb
Skin is sore to touch after bandage is removed
Redness or even serum oozing if excess tension is used long term
When can you approach a horse by its body language?
Relaxed posture, resting one hind leg, ears up and forward, open eyes and showing no white, muzzle relaxed with nostrils and mouth closed.
How do you safely approach a horse?
- Do not enter stable if horse is facing away from you
- Only enter after observing body language to see if horse is happy for you to approach
- Announce yourself as to not startle the horse and always approach on the left of the horse
- Pat the horse and verbally assure the horse, being careful to not make any sudden movements or loud noises
Describe restraining a horse with a headcollar and lead rope.
- Put hand around the head and over the bridge of the nose, you have restraint.
- Catch horse by putting lead rope around its neck so free end is on the left too.
- Place nose in the head collar and pull it up.
- Pull ears through headpiece and fasten headcollar around the head.
- Make sure cheek pieces are on either side of the face and that the nose band is over the nose.
What is a tiffany?
Used if additional restraint is required. Put a finger into the bar of the mouth between the incisors and molar, then slide tiffany in and attach the 2 pieces. Cab be used to hold in still position or for trotting but never for tying up.
Describe how to tie a quick release knot in tying up.
Never to metal bars but to a breakable bit of string, as horses are flight animals and may want to run away if scared.
- Thread lead rope through loop.
- with free end, create a loop that goes over both the free end and the end attached to the horse.
- Wrap free end around the end attached to the horse.
- Create a 2nd loop and pull this through the 1st.
- Move knot upwards to tighten.
Describe how to apply a bridle.
- Orientate bridle first
- Take off headcollar and either leave horse tied up or restrained.
- Ensure the nose band goes over the nose and slide the bit in the horse’s mouth.
- Pass headpiece over the head and tuck ears between headpiece and browband.
- Nose band must be tucked under cheek pieces.
- Fasten under chin so that 2 fingers fit under easily.
- Throat band done up so that 4 fingers can fit under.
- Flash noseband done up rostral to nose band and is done tighter than others so horse does not open mouth.
- Pull reigns back over head for control.
- Pull pieces of forelock through from browband and check everything is symmetrical.
Describe how to pick up a forelimb.
- Horse is appropriately restrained.
- Face caudally and run hand over shoulder and down caudal aspect of leg.
- Continue down leg with hand cupped around palmar aspect/over tendons.
- Catch hoof and lean into the horse to shift weight on to the other limb.
Describe how to pick up a hindlimb.
- Horse is appropriately restrained.
- Stand side on to the horse, facing caudally.
- Run hand over quadriceps and down cranial aspect of the leg with hand over dorsal aspect of cannon bone.
- Catch hoof and lean into the horse to shift weight to other limb.
Describe how to pick out a hoof.
- Hold dorsal aspect of hoof in hand closest to horse.
- Hold pick in the palm of your hand with the hook closest to little finger.
- Pick from heel to toe and remove dirt and faeces from sole and clefts. Never apply too much pressure or take too much off, being particularly gentle and picking the soft frog.
Describe how to replace a hoof to the ground.
Gently lower foot until toe is close to or touching the ground and let go.
Describe how to fold a rug for rugging.
- Select a stable rug and fold in half so that the outer surface of the rug is on the outside.
- Orientate the rug so that cranial end is left and caudal end is right.
- Lie out rug and tie surcingles together to prevent them hitting or spooking the horse in rugging.
- Pick up rug along midline.
- Pass tail end to meet end so rug is quartered.
- Still holding both ends, pass right hand under left so rug lays across right forearm.
- Midline of rug lays across right forearm. Quarter of rug facing outwards should be on the inside left shoulder portion of the rug.
Describe how to apply folded rug in rugging.
- Horse is restrained appropriately.
- Gently place quarter of rug that corresponds to left should against horse.
- Gently and quietly pass quarter over horse’s withers is that the front half is now unfolded.
- Fasten breast straps under the neck and unfold the bottom half.
- Walk in front of the horse to the right side and untie the surcingles so that they hang loosely.
- Return to the left side and fasten the right cranial clasp to the left caudal clasp and the right caudal clasp to the left cranial clasp.
- Fasten without twisted straps and by standing next to flank of horse, with it being aware of your presence. Insert end of strap vertically into clip and rotate 90 degrees so it is horizontal and secured in clip.
- Pull tail through fillet string by standing at the left flank.
Describe how to remove a rug.
- Under all straps, starting with fillet string (and leg straps if necessary).
- Undo surcingles and breast straps, with horse aware of your presence and standing at left flank.
- Gently lift front of rug up and fold backwards.
- Stand at left flank and reach under rug and gently remove rug over the bottom, not making any sudden movements.
Describe how to a lead a horse for a walk and trot.
- Stand on left and hold lead rope with fingers closest to headcollar at 6-8 inches and hold free rope with right hand in a loop (not with hand wrapped around).
- Walk purposefully and look where you’re going and not at the horse.
- Do not walk on the inside of the turn, as you increase risk of being trodden on.
- To initiate turn, cross hand under the neck, causing head and path to turn.
- To trot, double the amount of lead rope given to the horse and give verbal encouragement. Jog and horse will follow.
Identify intramuscular injection sites.
Gluteals
Neck muscles
Pectorals
Needle inserted at 90 degrees to skin surface.
Identify the subcutaneous injection sites.
Neck (and sometimes over the shoulder)
Needle at 45 degrees to skin surface with a skin tent.
Identify the intravenous injection sites.
Jugular groove
