Exam 1 Flashcards
Halters
A) Flat Halter
B) Rope Halter
A) Traditional type
B) more control, thinner and has knots
The correct way to halter:
1) put lead line over neck
2) reach over with hand and grasp crown
3) place muzzle through halter
4) buckle crown piece
Make sure you tie the rope halter …
DOWN AND AWAY FROM FACE
Fitting the Halter
A) noseband
B) cheekbone
C) throatlatch
A) horse can’t put a foot through
B) D-ring on side should be two fingers below cheekbone
C) should be able to fit a fist between throat and strap
Halter Safety
- Do not leave halter on unattended horses, can cause injury or distress
- if a halter is required use leather because it breaks easily
Leading safety
1) lead on near side(left) of the horse
2) right side is off side
3) lead from shoulder to throatlatch
4) turn horse away from you
5) use two hands, never wrap lead line around parts of body
6) never hold onto halter
7) turn horse back towards gate before releasing
8) if narrow opening go through first
9) leading past people- person to person
Forms of tying
1) quick release safety knot
- untied quickly, won’t slip
- tie above the withers with a 2’-2.5’ rope
2) Cross ties
3) Tying from above
Tying Safety
1) do not tie on a sturdy object
2) must be clear of obstruction
3) NEVER step over or under tied lead rope
Working Around Horses
- do not sneak up on horse bc blind spots
- announce presence and approach shoulder
Halter and Lead
- mildest form of restraint
- always start here
Twitching
- use chain or rope on end of the handle
- one man twitch
- ear twitching (grab ear and twist)
Shoulder roll
- fold skin and roll
- very mild restraint and limited effectiveness
Lead chain/shank
1) under chin
2) over nose
3) in mouth
4) over gum
Hobbling
1) tie front legs together
2) tie same side hind and front leg together
3) sidelining
War bridle
- thin cord that passes over gum and behind back of ears
- relies on poll and gum pressure of the horse
- acupuncture points said to calm horse
- very controversial
Phenothiazine’s - Ace
1) decreases dopamine levels
2) causes hypotension -dilates small BV’s
- be careful if horse is dehydrated, anemic or I’m shock
3) lowers hematocrit
4) can change HR, RR and thermoregulation
5) intramuscular injection, IV, or orally takes 15-30 min to start lasts 1-4 hours
Xylazine Hydrochloride (rompun)
1) sedative and mild analgesic (pain reliever)
- muscle relaxant effect
- decreases RR AND HR
2) takes effect within 10-15 min
3) sedative lasts around 30 min (shortest acting)
4) analgesic lasts about 15-30 min
Dormosedan (detomidine hydrochloride)
1) heavy sedative and mild analgesia
- NOT FOR HORSES WITH RESPIRATORY DISEASE OR RENAL FAILURE
2) causes hypertension and sweating
- ataxia (loss of full control of body movements -> swaying)
3) oral dose now available
4) effect is within minutes and lasts between 90 min to 2 hours
5) analgesic effects for 30-75 min
Reserpine
1) releases neurotransmitters -> serotonin,norepinephrine, dopamine
- allows neurotransmitters to be degraded
- reduces brain metabolism and creates calming effect
2) Long term used during stall rest/rehabilitation for an injured horse
- 1-4mL weekly, up to 2-4 mL every other day until affect and then repeat in 4-8 day intervals
3) side effects include gastrointestinal(GI) upset, colic and ulcer risk
A) Temperature for horses and foals
B) what can affect their temperatures
A) 99-101 (100+-1)
- foals are higher (101.5-102)
- never over 102 for horse and 103 for foals
B) time of day, age, sex, weather, activity, sickness
Pulse (HR) for foals, yearlings, 2 yr olds, horse
- Foals: 70-120 bpm
- Yearlings: 45-60 bpm
- 2 year olds: 40-50
- horses: 36-42 (44) bpm
Where can you take a pulse?
1) inner surface of the groove under the jaw (external maxillary artery)
2) the back edge of the lower jaw (cheek), four inches below the eye (facial artery)
3) under the tail (medial coccygeal artery)
4) the heart with a stethoscope
5) inside left elbow, up and forward against the chest wall (heart)
6) the inside of foreleg (median artery)
7) behind the carpus, or knee (digital artery)
8) medial or lateral pastern (digital artery)
Respiration
- 8-16 breaths per minute
- foals have a higher respiratory rate
- watch the flank to count
A) fitness
B) inversion
A) determined by pulse and respiration and how quickly they return to “normal”
B) higher respiration than pulse
-PROBLEM
Mucous membranes
- where, correct color, issues?
1) inner eyelids, nostrils, lips and gums, vulva of mare
2) bright and moist, clear pink color
3) breath shouldn’t smell foul or sweet
4) if pale, bright red, grey/blue, or yellow
- PROBLEM
Capillary refill
- press on gum for several seconds area will appear white and return to pink in 2 seconds
Water Intake/Dehydration
A) minimum of 5 gallons, should be drinking 10 daily
B) Skin pliability/ turbidity test
- pinch skin on neck and hold for a few seconds
- skin should flatten in 3 seconds
C) Feces
- consistency and color, 28-50 times in 24 hrs
D) Urine
- usually pale, but reddish yellow is normal
- 5-7 times in 24 hours
- red, brownish-green, coffee color is PROBLEM can be kidney stones
E) tears, sweat(anhydrosis), saliva
Gut sounds
- four quadrants (left, right, high, low)
How do you know when something is wrong?
1) body language
2) feeding behaviors
3) postural changes/lameness
4) obvious signs of injury
5) change in performance
6) body condition
Causes of Colic
- feedstuff selection
- dehydration
- abrupt change in weather or routine
- overheated
- gorging on starchy or high sugar feeds
Signs of colic
- looking at flank, pawing, flehman response, postural changes
- off feed, kicking at belly, reduced feces production
- stretching out, lying down, rolling
- lying down and getting up, elevated vitals
Lameness
- injury, conformation, genetics, overuse, poor management/ housing, metabolic disorders (laminitis)
Ulcers
- cause and what it is
- wearing away at the stomach lining (pain, decreased performance and stomach perforations)
- caused by high grain content, riding after eating, too large of a meal, stress medications
Neurological Disorders
- injury
- diseases (Rabies)
- weeds (Australian stringhalt)
- ataxia, incoordination,breathing difficulties
Power of Observation
- check your horses twice a day
- check young horses every 1 to 2 hours
- check behavior and horse physically
Types of flies
1) house and stable flies (blood sucking)
2) face flies and horn flies
3) horse flies, deer flies, black flies, gnats , mosquitos
Mosquitos
- breed, carry and symptom
- breed in slow moving or standing water
- carry several encephalitides that can cause inflammation of the brain, or death
- horse will press head against the wall do to swelling
Fly control
- successful completion of life cycle requires:
- appropriate breeding material (water)
- optimum moisture
- adequate warmth
Ticks
- controlled using insecticides
- tend to be found in manes, forelock, under tail, ears and other warm areas
- spread Lyme disease
Lice and mites
- found under mane
Blister beetles
- irritating secretion causing fluid-filled eruptions on skin
- cantharidin poisonous when eaten
- feed on alfalfa
- 1/2 of blister beetle can be deadly to horse if ingested
- boils erupt on skin if come to external contact
Good sanitation
- removal of manure
- clean feeders, and corners in barn around water
- spread manure thinly on pastures, this exposes and kills eggs but have to wait a period of time before letting horses graze again
- horse manure composts in demand
Non-chemical control
1) screening (fly masks, fly sheet, boots)
2) fans directing blasts downward/outward
3) stick fly tapes
4) biological control
- parasitic wraps (consume larvae of external parasites, release on top of manure pile)
Insectides
1) residual insecticides
2) sprays/fogs/mists -> adult flies
- pyrethrins, permethrin
- little to no residual
3) fly baits -> granules
- only for house flies, not stable flies
Different type of fly sprays
- oil based (endure), water based, all natural, ointment, and spot treatments
External parasites
1) flies
2) Mosquitos
3) ticks
4) lice and mites
5) blister beetles
Internal parasites
1) Detrimental parasites
2) bot flies
3) ascarids (roundworms)
4) strongyles (bloodworms)
5) pinworms
6) strongyloides (threadworms)
7) tapeworm
Detrimental parasites
- lowers feed efficiency
- reduces performance
- affects digestion (inside GI tract)
- causes impaction (impaction colic) - can kill horse
Adult bot flies
A) where they lay eggs and why
A) females lay yellow-white eggs on forelegs, chest, necks, bellies, hind leg and flanks (all places where horses can lick)
BIGGEST ISSUE OF bot fly
1) biggest issue is within stomach itself, will burrow into stomach lining
- in severe infestations, perforations of stomach lining may happen
Controlling bot flies
A) break the cycle
B) internal medication
A) sponging areas will mimics horses tongue, will die in external environment
- removal with bot knife, or pumice stone
B) ivermectin (only one that targets bot flies)
- moxydectine
Ascarids (roundworms)
- damage
A) primarily affects young foals/growing horses
B) damages include
- larvae main problem during migration
- physical damage, inflammation and scarring liver and lung tissue (not only GI tract)
- adult worms (decreased feed absorption, intestinal blockage -> colic)
- if they end up in a lung horse will cough them up and reingest them
Controlling ascarids
- eggs are resilient and remain ineffective for years
- deworming at 8 weeks and at least every two months was the old method, but since they are becoming resistant to the dewormers must do a fecal analysis
- larvae must return to GI tract before dewormers works (damage already done)
Strongyles (Bloodworms)
- most significant and common
- most serious threat of all parasites
- larvae are resistant to most weathers (survive freezing, but killed by hot and dry summers)
Large strongyles
A) cycle
B) symptoms
- most significant (strongylus vulgaris)
A) - larvae burrow into small arteries into gut wall (burrow through GI tract into bv) - return to large intestines
B) loss of appetite, anemia, emaciation, incoordination/lameness in hind legs (resembles neurological issue), restricts vessels of muscles in hindquarters (blood flow blockage)
- often mistaken for EPM
Small strongyles
A) Cycle
B) damage
A) don’t migrate beyond intestinal lining
- damage less severe, don’t get into blood vessels
B) diarrhea and increases incidences of colic
Ways to eliminate risks of both types of strongyles
- they are susceptible to environmental breakdown (hot and dry)
- manure disposal
- deworming most effective elimination
Pinworms affects/location
- not terribly harmful, but causes lots of itching and discomfort
- found largely in colon and rectum
- lay sticky eggs around anus
- severe irritation around tail (tail rubbing)
Strongyloides (Threadworm)
A) infects ages ?
B) damage
C) prevent
A) infects young foals 4-47 days old - get it from dams milk and bedding B) migrate through lungs and SI - horses develop immunity by 60-90 days - causes diarrhea (dehydration) C) deworm dam to prevent in foal
Tapeworm
- very problematic in horses
- intermediate host is oribatid mites
- ulceration of large intestine and cecum
- colic and severe form of intestinal blockage
- telescopic secum colic: secum is pulled like a sock inside out and will stick together
- most problems in the hind gut
Prevention and Control of external Parasites
1) climate, season, humidity, rainfall, age and stocking density
2) interruption of life cycle
- manure disposal (composting and spreading)
- dragging pastures
- deworming
3) fecal analysis
- fecal egg re-emergence
- fecal egg count (deworm appropriately)
4) separate horses by class
5) pasture rotation
6) don’t feed horses on the ground
7) keep water sources free from fecal material
8) quarantine new horses; do fecals and turn out if necessary
Resistance to dewormers
- huge issue
- fecal egg count evaluates effectiveness of dewormer
- if egg count reduced by less than 80% ..resistance is probable
RESISTANCY CHART
Result FEC. Risk. Result
Low. 500. High risk. Treatment
Classes of dewormers
1) benzimidazoles
2) pyrimidines
3) avermectines
4) moxidectin
Benzimidazoles
- most common is fenbendazole or oxibendazole ( panacur, safeguard or anthelcide-eq)
- won’t control bots or tape worms
- Require high dosages to control ascarids
- safer for horses
- less affective bc resistance
- phenylguanidines -> natural in body
Avermectins
- very effective
- bots, strongyles, pinworms, threadworms, ascarids
- relatively safe
- ivermectins
- compounded with praziquantel (Equinox plus)
- praziquantel for tape worms
- double dose of pyrantel pamoate
Pyrimidines
- effective against ascarids, strongyles, threadworms and pinworms
- double dose controls tape worms
Moxidectin
- for bots strictly
- margin of safety much lower 5x versus 20-60x
- do not give to young or old
Signs/Symptoms of worm infestation
1) heavy fecal egg count
- low body weight, pot belly, rough hair coat, capillary refill low, lethargic and dull eyes
2) develop slowly
3) prone to colic, susceptible to diseases and lameness
