Mesotherapy

Back pain can be a frustrating thing for horses, riders, and veterinarians! Clinical signs, while sometimes obvious, are often vague and misunderstood. For this reason we often see horses in the chronic stages of back pain, and treating this kind of discomfort can be tricky due to the nervous system’s response to chronic discomfort.  This is why quick fixes such as time off, saddle/tack changes, and using common pain relieving medications are often unsuccessful. Once the nervous system becomes sensitized to the chronic pain messages being sent to the brain,  those pain messages will continue even if the original cause for the pain is remedied.  We call this ‘wind up pain’ or the ‘pain cycle’. Treatments therefore need to be focused on both addressing the primary issue if one is identified, and interrupting the pain cycle to stop those chronic messages. 

Thankfully we have a few tools up our sleeves that do just that!   One such tool is mesotherapy.   Mesotherapy involves the use of tiny needles to inject medications into the mesoderm, a layer of the skin where many of these inappropriately firing nerves are found.   The science behind mesotherapy suggests that these medications help ‘block’ the pain messages from travelling to the spinal cord, thereby interrupting the pain cycle. It’s a quick and easy procedure, and although it looks like a lot of needles, the needles are tiny and not terribly uncomfortable.  The tiny bumps that result are the medication under the skin which resolve within a few hours.  Mesotherapy is effective at addressing back pain due to old injuries, saddle issues, poor core development, mild forms of kissing spines (not requiring surgery), facet joint arthritis, muscle soreness etc.   Mesotherapy alone won’t solve all the problems though.  Once the horse is more comfortable an appropriate rehab program is a must to condition the topline and help prevent the discomfort from happening again.  Questions about mesotherapy? Feel free to reach out to our team!

What’s that noise? Pt. 2

There are many types of respiratory noise that can cause performance problems for your horse.

The most common noises that affect performance are located in the upper airways.

We all love physics, so for simplicity let me explain one little fact. When an airway narrows by 1/4 of its normal diameter, the resistance to air flow in the upper airways is 16 times greater. Anything therefore that affects the normal anatomy of the upper airways will affect resistance to airflow and reduce performance.

I wanted to mention one of the commonest upper respiratory problems we hear in our sport horses. It is caused by paralysis of the left side of the larynx and due to the type of sounds produced from obstruction of air flow, horses are referred to as a ‘Roarer’.

The laryngeal structure has two curtains which act like a trap door. When the curtains are open they allow  air to flow from the nasal cavities to the lungs, but when the curtains are closed they allow food to pass and be swallowed. This prevents food and fluids from entering the airways which would be very dangerous.

In some horses, the nerve that opens the left curtain becomes damaged so that it is remains closed and obstructing the airways during breathing. As mentioned above, the resistance to air flow is then dramatically increased.

At low levels of exercise this doesn’t affect performance because horses are such amazing athletes. However, during strenuous exercise, or during higher level dressage when the horse is on the bit doing collected work, it can affect performance.

Can laryngeal paralysis be fixed?

The paralysed curtain can be surgically fixed open like a curtain tie. This fixes the problem of the obstructed airway, but isn’t without potential long term problems. When the curtain is fixed back, small amounts of food particles can end up in the respiratory tract causing lower airway inflammation and again can affect performance . Therefore following this surgery there are strict management requirements for the horse going forwards.

What causes laryngeal paralysis?

Horses can be born with this condition. It can be a low grade where the curtain is mostly open, or progress to high grade where it is completely obstructed.

In addition to being born with the problem, any neck trauma, or intravenous injections that come out of the neck vein, can damage this nerve as it runs along the jugular groove of the neck.

Important tip: Any injections given in the neck should be done by a qualified or experienced person to prevent this issue from occurring.

I hope none of you experience this issue with your horses. Please ask if you have any questions.

Foals immune system

Foals need to get their immune system in the colostrum they drink from the mare. The colostrum is the first milk filled with immunoglobulins (IGG’s). IGG’s  are antibodies that move around the foals blood and tissues looking for bacteria or viruses to destroy.

The IGG’s are proteins and amazingly they are not digested when the milk is drunk. Instead for the first 18 hours of a foals life, they can be absorbed in the intestines.

Note, please remember as well as absorbing these IGG’s, they can also absorb bacteria and viruses that enter their mouths. Therefore hygiene and a clean environment for foals is extremely important.

After 18 hours, this magic window of absorbing these antibodies closes. After this time, if the foal has not received enough good quality colostrum, we can improve the foals immune system by giving plasma.

Plasma is purchased especially for this purpose, and it is made from blood from healthy horses. These horses are donors like people can be.

We had to help out a little foal this week so that she could fight of all the bad pathogens she is likely to meet in the next 12 weeks before she has made her own immune system.

Have a great weekend!

Wounds to the face: What’s best to treat with?

Happy new year everyone. I hope 2022 is a great year for you and your beautiful 4 legged friends.

This week we have seen a high number of traumatic skin injuries. A few due to the presence of hay contractors and a few bad luck incidents.

Several have been to the face and I have been contacted by clients to ask about ointments and creams that can be applied to this region.

Here are my tips:

Any ointment that is applied to the face needs to be assessed for its safety to the eyes. This is because due to rain, sweat and rubbing, these treatments can end up in the eyes and we have seen nasty caustic burns to the cornea as a result.

Use creams that are safe to the cornea.

Avoid sprays as they can easily enter the eyes.

Use fly repellant as needed but apply with a sponge to the area below the eye and to the muzzle only: Be careful over the forehead.

Flamazine cream is a long standing favourite of mine for injuries to the face and this would be my preferred recommendation. It is safe if it enters the eye.

You can also use eye ointments as a topical antibiotic to face injuries.

Just a reminder, injuries to horse eyes are a scary thing, so let’s be extra careful and cautious.

Equine Uveitis; the painful eye

I hope you enjoy todays little bit of horsey knowledge!

Equine Recurrent Uveitis

Uveitis is a nasty and painful disease which affects the horses eye. The eye is very clever and the bodies immune system has no idea that the eyes even exist. If the eye becomes traumatised from injury or disease, then immune system cells can enter the eye and the body starts to attack the internal anatomy slowly. If the body’s attack of the eye is not controlled, then eventually structures are damaged enough to result in an end stage, non-functional, painful eye. The eye must then be removed, but care as it can effect both eyes!!

This post is to inform you that a relatively new treatment option is being used around the world with very promising effects. An antibiotic is injected into the back of the eye which is believed to have an immunosuppressive effect, it is not due to destruction of any bacteria!

The technique is called an IntraVitreal Injection.

Pretty cool hey!!

What’s that noise?

Many of you will have heard a blowing/puffing noise when a horse canters. It is called high blowing, and is caused by vibration of the nostrils or false nostril. The air moving when the horse breathes out causes these structures to vibrate and make a sound. It is one of the only noises your horse will make when exercising that is considered as normal!

What is the false nostril?

It’s is a blind ending skin sac approximately 5-7cm long positioned on the inside of the normal nostrils along the outer wall. It is lined by mostly hairless skin.

Ask me next time I see your horse and I can show you how to feel it.

What other noises are heard?

There are other respiratory noises that are pathological/abnormal. The most common is a condition called ‘roaring’. This is a very different sound and in contrast to high blowing, it is heard when your horse breathes in. I’ll post on this one next week.

If you are at all concerned about a noise your horse if making, or if they are having breathing or performance issues then it is important to ask for help.

Good Morning Central Otago

Have you ever wondered why horses see better than us at night? It’s the same reason that at night time, with a spot light, their eyes shine back at you with a yellow-greenish colour!

Horses have a specialised area of the retina. The retina is the structure at the back of the eye which is filled with nerve endings to collect light and information about what your horses see.

The top half of the horses retina has a specialised structure called a Tapetum Lucidum. It lies just behind the retina and reflects any light that comes into the eye, back through the retina again. This gives the nerve endings in the retina, a second chance to catch the light and information it receives.

For this reason, horses have great vision at low light intensities! Under moonlight, horses can see just as well as we see in the daytime

Hind Gut Ulceration

The horses hind gut is full of a stable mix of organisms. During conditions of change, this delicately balanced population can become disturbed. This change in environment can promote the growth of bacteria that produce acid. This acid damages the lining of the hind gut and causes ulceration.

Hind gut ulceration causes pain and irritability and also mild colic signs. It often presents as a negative behavioural change at times when grass growth is at its peak. Rarely, this condition can become severe and your horse can develop diarrhoea, and severe sickness.

The most common causes:

A change in diet which is often associated with the changing grass each season

Breaking into a feed room and over-eating, especially grain based feeds

A primary bacterial infection but this is most commonly associated with stress or dietary change and is less common but more life threatening

Emergence of worm larvae causing physical damage to the lining of the hind gut

Prevention:

Ensure dietary change is SLOW, this includes changes in grass. Be proactive!!

Using ‘Equishure’ to help minimise the change in acidity to the hind gut

Treatment:

Management/nutritional change which would be assessed at the time

Sucralfate: EXCITING NEWS!! We have a licensed horse product now which makes it more affordable. As well as helping to heal gastric ulceration, it is hopeful that it will coat the ulcer bed in the hind gut and promote a better environment for ulcer healing.

Medications: There are other medications however many are not available in NZ currently

Oil: The addition of some oils such as Rice Bran oil may have a positive effect on hind gut healing

If your horse may be suffering some of these signs, get in touch so we can help. Look out for next weeks post. Please comment if you have any requests for topics!!

Can my horse graze sprayed pastures??

Ok so this is the million dollar question that needs to be answered with a million questions.

Which herbicide has been used?

How old is your horse, is it a pregnant mare?

How much grass did your horse eat?

When was the exposure?

There are many herbicides on the market, but each herbicide will have instructions for grazing withholding.

My first point is, that these studies are mostly done on farm animals, and we group horses into this catergory. There are not many studies specifically performed for horses. This potentially means it affects them differently.

In addition, the active drug can be researched but once the drug is compounded into a product, it can have different effects on the horses system.

The next important point to make, is that most acute toxicities are found from incorrect use of the product or expose directly to the product either from spillage or access to a storage shed. Less commonly from grazing the pasture during the withholding time.

Acute signs of toxicity commonly involve gastrointestinal disturbance such as colic or diarrhoea, however the clinical signs are very similar to other diseases. This means the history of exposure is very important.

Chronic exposure can also cause disease. This means, over a period of time the horse is exposed to consistently low levels. There is research currently being performed into some of the potential long term effects. One of the diseases highlighted is equine metabolic syndrome. I fine this particularly interesting as many of our patients with this disease commonly live on permanently sprayed paddocks. I have no answer here, other than to say, currently we don’t have a lot of information. Important point: Access to grass for an EMS patient is much more life threatening due to laminitis risk than the concern of chronic exposure.

I would also like to make the point that chronic exposure for horses is still being investigated, but a whole list of diseases related to poor performance have been hypothesised.

Conclusion;

I would recommend looking after paddocks to ensure weeds don’t take over. This would include avoiding drought and flooding where possible, avoid over-grazing the grass, and fertilise where possible which natural products.

If you do need to graze paddocks that have been sprayed, then stick to the manufactures recommended withholding, and provide suitable drinking water rather than run-off water from heavily farmed blocks.

If your horse has had access to a recently sprayed paddock, then remove them straight away, provide them with a product to promote good gastrointestinal microbial balance, and monitor for any signs that are concerning.

I hope one day to be able to provide you with more scientific research. For now please continue to ponder my thoughts

Corpora Nigra In Horse Eyes

A translation for Corpora Nigra is ‘black body’.

These are small dark enlargements most commonly found on the dorsal pupillary border (top bit of the pupil).

Their job is considered to be shading the retina from sunlight when the pupil is small on bright sunny days. We simply wear sunglasses ☺️

Occasionally these can become enlarged due to fluid production inside. We then call them iris cysts. Mostly these are of no concern. The Corora Nigra can occasionally be large in size or number and affect vision. They are an uncommon cause of ‘spookiness’ or behavioural changes.

 An important growth to rule out however, is ocular (eye) melanoma. These tend to occur on an area of the iris which is not the pupil border. These are dangerous as they can be invasive and cause detrimental damage to the eye resulting in vision loss and pain.

 If you are concerned, an ocular examination by the vet should help with the initial diagnosis, but ultrasound can also be used to help determine which structure is present. Ultrasound of the eye is a relatively simple process and can provide vital information to assist a diagnosis.

 Next time you go to see your horse, have a look at these amazing structures. If you get to know what is normal for your horse, you will quickly be alerted when something changes.

Are flies a nuisance or a help?

I am writing a very brief post this week, but also a very important one. My clients regular comment that maggots are a good thing for wounds as they only eat the unhealthy tissue. This is not true.

The modern flies have a life cycle of egg-maggot-fly-egg. The modern species of maggot will eat healthy tissue as well as dead flesh. This is really important to know, as wounds must be covered from fly attack.

We can purchase sterile maggots that are a special species and they only eat healthy tissue. They can be ordered from a company and arrive wriggling in the post he he These maggots can be really helpful in chronically infected wounds. However, please note, they are a species specifically bred for this purpose and are not the maggot of the common fly!!

Two ways to protect wounds from fly attacks is to bandage, or to use a fly repellant that can be used adjacent to wounds, or some can be used on wounds. In addition, keeping wounds clean and free from infection also helps!

Buying or Selling a Horse/Pony?

A Pre-Purchase examination is a complete health assessment including a lameness evaluation to ensure the horse or pony that you are wanting to purchase will SUIT YOUR athletic requirements. This should be a personalised examination tailored to your requirements following a consultation with the performing Veterinarian

I do hear many clients and experienced horse people say ‘I DO NOT NEED ONE’, mostly because they have brought many horses and never had an issue. I would like to give my professional opinion on this and comment, ‘YOU HAVE SIMPLY BEEN LUCKY’.

In my every day work I see my clients spend a lot of money of treating problems that horses arrived with. Some of these issues cannot be fixed, only managed at marked cost to the new owner. Without a Pre-Purchase examination, you are also unlikely to be able to get your money back during a disputes tribunal (I have seen them go both ways).

This article is a little guide as to the pro’s of having a pre-purchase examination:

It is a legally binding document that owners sign to declare any previous known health history: TIP If you are purchasing the horse through an agent, you MUST also request the owner to sign the disclosure

It protects the SELLER: Many sellers are taken to the disputes court because the pony arrived and it wasn’t behaving as advertised or is lame. A Pre-Purchase Examination protects the seller here.

It is NOT a PASS OR FAIL examination: It simply highlights any abnormalities, and provides the purchaser with a risk profile of purchasing the horse for likely future veterinary intervention or clinical disease

FLEXION TESTS: Can be positive or negative and the horse is still suitable for purchase. It is about taking into account the whole picture including age, riding history, flexion test symmetry and clinical examination.

Purchase Price: Buying a cheaper horse should not be a reason to avoid a pre-purchase examination. Many horses purchased for $1000 have cost 2-3 times in veterinary bills.

Veterinarian: They should be LICENSED TO PERFORM pre-purchase examinations. They should also as mentioned above, tailor the pre-purchase based on your individual needs!! Not all vets are licensed for this procedure.

Corpora Nigra In Horse Eyes

A translation for Corpora Nigra is ‘black body’.

These are small dark enlargements most commonly found on the dorsal pupillary border (top bit of the pupil).

Their job is considered to be shading the retina from sunlight when the pupil is small on bright sunny days. We simply wear sunglasses ☺️

Occasionally these can become enlarged due to fluid production inside. We then call them iris cysts. Mostly these are of no concern. The Corora Nigra can occasionally be large in size or number and affect vision. They are an uncommon cause of ‘spookiness’ or behavioural changes.

An important growth to rule out however, is ocular (eye) melanoma. These tend to occur on an area of the iris which is not the pupil border. These are dangerous as they can be invasive and cause detrimental damage to the eye resulting in vision loss and pain.

 If you are concerned, an ocular examination by the vet should help with the initial diagnosis, but ultrasound can also be used to help determine which structure is present. Ultrasound of the eye is a relatively simple process and can provide vital information to assist a diagnosis.

Next time you go to see your horse, have a look at these amazing structures. If you get to know what is normal for your horse, you will quickly be alerted when something changes.

Eyes….a common reason for a call out.

Winter is finally over. The grass is growing and a lot of horse owners are starting to cut back on hay to ensure our horses do not put on too much weight in the spring.

This time of year we need to be mindful that horses are starting to push fences for new grass. Recently for this reason, we have seen a higher incidence of eye emergencies.

Trauma to a horses eye is often an emergency. Corneal trauma is slow to heal and is at high risk of infection. Always have the eye checked and start required treatment as soon as possible.

This little pony had a puncture wound to the soft tissues of the eye. They were so inflamed they were protruding outside of the eye lids.

To treat this we used the eye lids as a bandage for a short period by stitching the eye closed. This allowed the soft tissue inflammation to reduce, and once the sutures were removed. The eye was healed perfectly.

Why horses cannot vomit

Horses have 3 anatomical mechanisms designed to assist in continual movement of food through the digestive tract. These mechanisms prevent the back flow of food from the stomach to the mouth, hence they cannot vomit.

1: The waves that move the food through the oesophagus (food pipe) from the mouth to the stomach move in one direction only unlike other species such as humans

2: The junction at the opening of the stomach is called the cardiac sphincter. This is a very strong band which closes after food is pushed into the stomach. This acts as a very efficient one way valve.

3: Lastly, the food pipe enters the stomach at a very steep angle so if the stomach becomes full/distended, it pushes back on this sphincter and closes it tighter.

 Why are these facts important. Because horses cannot vomit, if the stomach becomes distended when the horse is unwell, normally during a colic episode, the stomach is at serious risk from rupture/popping. This is why when a horse shows signs of colic, it is very common to pass a tube to ensure the stomach isn’t over-full with gas or liquid.

During a choking episode (when food gets stuck in the food pipe), food can be seen being expelled from both nostrils along with mucous and foam. This is not vomiting.

If you believe your horse is vomiting then this is very serious and you need a vets assistance immediately!!

Don’t eat too much this weekend, we have a 2 way system

Bleeding wounds

How much blood does a horse have?

It is breed dependant but approx 6-10% of their body weight (30-50L)

How much blood can a horse lose before it is damaging to their health?

A horse can lose approx 6L of blood safely.

If 6-12L is lost, horses can often manage without blood transfusion if appropriate care is given.

Beware of the small wound:

Last week we saw a healthy 450kg mare that had a very small cut on her RH leg. Unfortunately it had lacerated a small artery approx 5mm in diameter. The amount of blood loss had not been apparent until the next day.

She presented with signs of shock due to her marked blood loss. She needed immediate help.

She had an elevated heart rate which was compensating her reduced blood pressure to allow her vital organs to stay healthy.

This mare was lucky that her reduced blood pressure had stopped her bleeding otherwise she may not be with us today. If the artery had been larger it would likely have continued to bleed.

Her normal blood concentration with red blood cells is approx 40%. This mare lost so much blood that it was only 22%.

She received fluids to expand her blood volume artificially, these are called colloids. The leg was bandaged to prevent further bleeding, and she is now recovering really well and should make a full recovery.

Please see my photos attached for an insight into calculating blood cells in the body.

Hot or Cold therapy? Which one to pick…

There are many ways we can assist our horses either following an injury or on a daily basis to make them feel better or to enhance performance. But what is the science behind the hot and cold therapy options we have?

Here are some simple facts:

Cryotherapy (cold therapy):

Reduced pain, swelling and inflammation after initial injury and it is useful for chronic conditions.

It can penetrate tissues 1-4cm deep.

Aim is to reduce tissue temperatures to 15-19 degrees.

It must NOT be lower than 10 degrees otherwise you can get tissue damage.

Temperature to 0 degrees can act to block feeling in legs and is prohibited at FEI events.

Dose:

15-20 minutes every 2-3 hours, especially helpful in the first 3 days

In more chronic conditions, treat for 15 minutes post exercise

Heat therapy:

The aim is to increase the joint range of motion and the extensibility of joints

It reduces muscles spasms, pain and muscle tension

Dose:

10-15 minutes prior to stretching

Have a lovely weekend

Show Hood Disasters

Here is a little post to warn you all of the risks with the full hoods to protect the hair coat and the mane pre-show.

I have seen many disasters with show hoods. Yes they are used commonly without a problem... BUT... they do go wrong. So please be mindful if you are using them.

This poor pony’s hood slipped and sat on the cornea to rub it raw overnight, causing a large ulcer. The pony also then became caught up in the fence, luckily with no skin trauma.

Attached is a photo of a lavage system which was surgically placed in the eye to allow administration of antibiotics safely from the level of the wither. We do this when ponies refuse to allow topical medications to the eye. This poor pony needed 8 weeks of treatment to allow this eye to heal.

Hay Shortage This Winter

Many of my clients are concerned that they are short of hay this winter. I have put together a little summary to help if you need to ration your hay this winter.

Our horses would naturally eat 1.5-2% of their body weight (10kg for a 500kg horse) in long fibre (hay or grass)per day.

However for health and maintenance of the teeth and gastro intestinal tract, our horses can cope with 1%. 1% would be 5Kg for a 500kg horse which equates to 2.5-3 slices of a normal bale of hay. Weighing it is a great idea so that you can be sure to meet this very MINIMUM requirement.

If you do need do reduce hay intake temporarily, you MUST replace the rest of their dietary requirements in the short term until we have some grass to graze or access to more hay.

For a 500kg horse we are looking at replacing 3-5Kg dry weight of fibre.

Replacement fibre sources for your hay in the short term:

Chaff (but be mindful it doesnt weigh very much)

Haylage products such as fibre fresh range

Then additional fibre can be found in:

Speedybeet

Maxisoy

Fibre pellets

And many other options.

Always monitor for weight loss or weight gain when replacing your hay with alternative sources.

Other hard feed options are suitable for replacing some of the hay, however please remember most feeds you buy in a bag from the store have very minimal fibre content.

Good luck with your hay hunting 🥰

Why is Horse Sweat Foamy?

Most mammals sweat to allow evaporative heat loss. 

Horses are extra special!!

When horses sweat you can often see a lather or foamy consistency to it. This is due to a product called ‘LATHERIN’ which horses produce unlike humans (thank heavens!!).

The latherin reduces the surface tension of the water in the sweat and assists the moisture in moving away from the skin to the surface of the horses coat. This improves evaporation and cooling. This is extremely important in horses as they need to lose a large amount of heat which is produced during exercise from their large muscles.