Health Management of Horses Flashcards
What is the role of the equine vet?
- advice on horse husbandry & management
- biosecurity & disease prevention
- diagnosed & treat disease & injury
What is included in the vet-client -patient relationship?
- presumption of trust & responsibility: the vet has assumed responsibility for making medical judgements & the client has agreed to follow the instructions of the vet
- sufficient knowledge: vet has knowledge of the health, enviro, & need for care of the animal
- accessibility: the vet is available or has arranged for emergency coverage in case of adverse reactions or treatment failure
what is important about herd health visits?
- maintain good VCPR
- routine visits 1-2x per year
- opportunity to examine horse in their enviro when they are healthy
What do herd heath visits typically include?
- vaccines, parasite control, physical exam, oral exam & dental float, sheath clean, Coggins trust for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), routine bloodwork
What are the core horse vaccines?
- tetanus, eastern & western encephalitis, WNV, & rabies
What are the risk based vaccines?
equine influenza, Equine herpes virus -1 & -4, Streptococcus equi equi (Strangles)
How to manage internal parasites in mature horses > 3yr?
- small strongyles
- Fecal Egg Counts to determine high shedders (>500 epg feces)
- high shedders treated w/ anthelmintic (dewormer) 3-4x/year
- low shedders treated 1-2x/year
- macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, moxidectin)
How to manage internal parasites in immature horses < 3yr?
- ascarids
- treat anthelmintic at 2-3 months of age & every 2 months thereafter until 12 months old
- fenbendazole, pyrantel pamoate, macrocyclic lactones
- FEC to establish small strongyle burden at 10-12 months of age
- FECs 2-3x/yr from 1yr-3yr to help establish low vs high shedder & what tx currently required
- tx 2-4x/yr from 1-3yr
what are the most important external parasites of horses in western Canada?
biting flies/insects, lice, ticks, mites
How often should oral exams be performed in horses?
- at least once per year by a vet
What does an oral exam & dental float include in horses?
- loose teeth, gingivitis, diastemata, over growths, dental disease, & soft tissue abnormalities
- floating removes sharp points & overgrowths
What is included in a sheath clean?
- remove built up dirt & debris from the sheath & around the penis
- remove bean from urethral fossa
- examine for lesions & tumours (SCC & melanoma)
Why is the Coggins test important?
- EIA reportable disease in Canada
- western canada has the highest prevalence of of the disease worldwide
- many barns & competitions requires a negative test to board or participate
What routine bloodwork is done in horses?
- CBC & Chem (longterm NSAIDs, firocoxib)
- testing for resting insulin & ACTH
What does farrier care entail?
- every 6-8 wks
- start in 1st month of life & maintain regular care throughout life
- most horses only require trimming to maintain hoof health
What are the benefits of turnout for horses?
- increased bone density, more social, easier to train/handle, fewer undesirable behaviours, maintain level of fitness
What are the benefits of exercise?
- if turnout not possible (or in addition to!)
- increases level of fitness
- improves behaviour
What is beneficial about a pasture paradise?
- stimulates the horse’s natural instinct to roam
- best for easy keepers in a small space
What are stereotypies?
- abnormal behaviour that serves no apparent function & is performed in a repetitive, invariant way
- prevention more effective than treatment
- stereotypies can have negative effects on health
- stereotypies do not equate to welfare issues
common stereotypies?
head tossing & cribbing
What should be done to prevent sick/injured horses?
- caretakers need to be able to recognize abnormalities & apply basic first aid
- regular close inspection is key to detection
- vet info should be posted in the barn for ease of access
- make sure your clients are comfy calling - even w/ “silly” questions
What are common signs of illness?
- change in behaviour, inappetence, change in consistency of feces, unexplained (sudden) weight change, pain or discomfort, signs of colic, lameness, swellings, discharge from eyes, ear, nose, coughing or difficulty breathing, fever
What should be included in a horse owner first aid kit?
- chlorhex
- bandage material (non-stick pads, gauze, vet wrap, tape, pillows, & polo wraps)
- poultice material (sugar & iodine, aminalintex pads)
- scissors
- duct tape
What is biosecurity?
management practices that reduce the risk of spread of infectious disease
What does the risk of the spread of infectious disease depend on?
number of horses, age groups, housing, movement of horses, vaccination status, quarantine protocols, movement of people, protocols for sick horses
What is a closed herd?
- no movement of animals or introduction of new animals from external sources
- risk of disease comes from the environment or insects
What is an open herd (commingling)?
- new horses are routinely introduced to the herd or horses from different locations are brought together
- risk of disease spread from horse to horse
How do we decrease the exposure to pathogens on a farm?
- separation of new arrivals, separation of potentially higher risk horses, separation of susceptible horses, cleaning and disinfection, hand hygiene, PPE, access control (limit public access), traffic flow, pest management, pasture management
How do we decrease susceptibility to disease?
- nutrition, manage underlying disease, reduce stress, parasite control program, annual horse health
how do we increase resistance to disease?
vaccination
Examples of notifiable diseases?
strangles (Streptococcus Equi Equi), West Nile Virus, Equine herpes myeloencepalopathy, Anthrax, EIA, rabies, trichinellosis
