Category: EQUINE

Sarcoids are a relatively common skin complaint and can affect horses of all ages. Sarcoids come in multiple forms (6 types in fact!), ranging from flat (occult) sarcoids to a rapid proliferate type (fibroblastic). All areas of skin may be affected; however, the most common locations include the inside of the back legs, sheath, armpits and face.

As sarcoids are a form of skin tumour, they should be treated promptly and with respect. Fortunately, sarcoids do not spread to internal organs and what you see externally is what you get. There are many over-the-counter products people often try before consulting their vet but such measures delay the correct treatment of these tumours giving them a chance to increase in size and for more lesions to develop. This in turn, makes them more difficult to treat.

The two most common treatment options involve surgical removal through the use of a laser or the application of a chemotherapy cream. The best therapeutic option ultimately depends on the type and location of the sarcoid and this will be determined following veterinary examination.

We are fortunate to have been able to offer laser treatment of sarcoids at Oakhill for many years. Depending on the location, the sarcoids are removed by laser either under standing sedation or under general anaesthesia. We have certain cases in which laser surgery is combined with adjunctive treatments including chemotherapy creams or injectable chemotherapeutic agents.

The laser site generally heals rapidly following surgery and horses resume small paddock turn out within days of the procedure.

If you are concerned about any skin lesion on your horse, please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of our team.

For many of us, the thought of having our very own foal from our own mare is a recurring dream – but what does it take for that to become reality? And is it something we should be considering, for both our mare’s sake and our own?

PRE-BREEDING CONSIDERATIONS

Breeding a foal can be risky – normally, everything goes to plan, and the foal arrives safely and healthily, and mother is also well and suffers no ill effects from this. However, when it goes wrong, it can really go wrong, and in the worst-case scenario we may lose both mare and foal. Thankfully, this is rare, but it is a risk that should be seriously considered before deciding to breed.

Other considerations should include:

• • Is the mare a good candidate to be bred from? Look objectively at her conformation and temperament. Often mares are put into foal due to lameness or other ridden issues, but if these are due to physical abnormalities then these may be passed on to their offspring.
  • What am I looking to breed? This will influence your choice of stallion, and whether you breed at all.
  • Am I in a position to have a mare and foal, both in terms of finances, and practicalities (e.g. yard set up, other youngstock etc.)?

Choosing a stallion
This is one of the fun parts! Try to choose a stallion that will complement your mare’s conformation and type. Looking at a stallion’s offspring already on the ground may give an idea of temperament.

Bear in mind health testing for certain genetic conditions – this is especially important in certain breeds. If you have any specific questions regarding these please ask one of our vets.

Embryo transfer is becoming more established within the UK and involves flushing an embryo from one mare and implanting it into a recipient mare. This is a useful technique for mares who are currently competing or cannot carry a foal themselves for health reasons. This is not something we currently offer at Oakhill (yet), but we can advise you on those who can help if this is something you are considering.

A newer emerging technique is one called ‘ovum pick-up’ where eggs are collected directly from the mare’s ovary, and ‘intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection’, where these eggs are injected with sperm. Once these develop into embryos they can be frozen, stored, and then placed into recipient mares when required. This technique is still in its infancy in this country but is likely to become more common in years to come.

We are often asked ‘what is considered a veterinary emergency?’ Most people will automatically think colic, difficulties in breathing, severe lameness, bleeding, a wound located near a joint or in pregnant mares, dystocia (difficulties giving birth).

Problems with a horse’s eye often don’t feature, with a lot of owners opting to try an over-the counter product in the first instance prior to involving their vet. Whilst, for very minor ocular disease cases, this may be sufficient, if your horse has a more serious complaint such as corneal ulceration, incorrect treatment will not only delay healing but in severe cases, may be detrimental and result in the loss of an affected eye. Therefore, we advise that you contact your vet immediately should you notice any ocular abnormalities in your horse.

Impaction colic is a relatively common medical colic we diagnose during winter months. However, we can see cases throughout the year. Clinical signs consistent with an impaction include signs of colic, reduced gut sounds and reduced droppings. An impaction is confirmed on rectal examination by your vet.

The horses intestinal system, although very large, is not capable of coping with sudden changes to the diet. Alterations in feed type, quantity and hydration can all lead to signs of colic.

Poor weather conditions necessitating stabling are a common reason for impaction development, as horses are fed an increased amount of dry forage compared to the usual grass-based diet. In addition reduced movement will slow gut transit times. Freezing conditions also contribute to impaction development due to reduced water intake as a result of the water source being frozen or the water being cold and unappealing to drink. This leads to the ingesta within the gastrointestinal tract becoming dehydrated with resulting signs of colic and impaction development.

Prevention

• Add warm water to your horse’s water buckets when temperatures drop. This will encourage water intake and keep your horse’s colonic contents hydrated.
• Add warm water to bucket feeds.
• Supplement a second bucket of water with electrolytes or add salt to your horse’s feed – this will stimulate thirst and water intake. Ensure your horse is also offered plain water.
• Manage forage intake. Sudden changes in management are sometimes unavoidable. Feeding forage little and often is helpful in preventing impactions. Soaking forage can also be beneficial but remember not to do this if temperatures are below freezing!
• Maintain a level of exercise if possible and safe to do so. This can be difficult during freezing temperatures but movement, even turnout, will help to keep your horse’s guts moving and therefore reduce the risk of impaction colic.
• Regular dentistry is crucial year-round, but especially during winter months as an inability to properly chew hay could result in impaction colic due to an increased quantity of long fibre reaching the colon. All horses should receive at least one dental check per annum. It is often worth an additional pre-winter check in older horses and ponies.

At least once a year (as part of your horse’s annual health check), a thorough dental examination should be performed. This is particularly important for the winter months and for our older equine patients.

Dental disease can be very painful. Early detection and treatment of dental problems is vitally important in maintaining good oral health- we all know that prevention is better than cure! This will also enable is to advise with regards to feed types that will best suit your horse.

Common dental problems that we encounter when horses are struggling include:

• Diastemata: these are gaps between the teeth where food can get trapped resulting in painful gum disease. This is the most common cause of quidding during the winter months.
• Loose teeth: longer forage like hay requires more chewing therefore teeth which are slightly mobile can become problematic with these changes in feedstuffs.
• Sharp points: these sharp points can cause ulceration of the gums and mucosa resulting in pain when eating or when ridden.
• EOTRH (Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis): this is a disease of the incisors resulting in severe pain. Horses can use their lips to graze during the summer months however struggle to pull hay out of haynets with these painful teeth.

If you have any concerns regarding your horse’s dental health or would like to arrange an examination with one of our vets, please give the practice a ring to book an appointment.

This 6-year-old WB mare first presented to vet Nikki in May, with a short history of bucking, napping and increasing resistance to going forward.

On examination, severe pain and spasm was noted over the back. No lameness was observed, but there was no transfer of energy from the hind limbs through the back, which was lacking in flexion. The horse tended to strike off incorrectly into canter or become disunited in this gait.

Gastroscopy revealed mild ulceration. Radiography revealed the presence of significant impingement of the dorsal spinous processes (colloquially known as ‘kissing spines’) of the vertebrae in the region under the seat of the saddle.

Given the potential for both gastric ulcers and kissing spines to cause the symptoms exhibited, the gastric ulcers were initially treated with Omeprazole and confirmed to be resolved one month later. This meant that treatment of the kissing spines could commence.

The X-ray findings in this horse can be present in clinically normal horses and in horses where kissing spines have been found to be the cause of pain, treatment can unfortunately fail to resolve an established pattern of evasive behaviour. Therefore, to be certain that this was the cause of the performance issues in this particular horse and that resolving the pain did indeed result in the horse performing normally, medical management was initially opted for.

This involved injecting the affected region of the back with steroid followed by a rehabilitative exercise programme and physiotherapy. Sometimes, medical management alone is enough to return horse to – and maintain them in comfort for their intended use.

Conversely, as was the case with this mare, the improvement is only short lived, and the performance issues return as the effects of the steroid start to wear off. ECVS surgeon Rosie therefore proceeded to surgically reduce the dorsal spinous processes, so they were no longer in contact. This procedure is known as a dorsal wedge ostectomy – amazingly, it can be carried out under standing sedation!

Once surgery was completed, the mare returned home to allow time for the surgical site to heal before an intensive non-ridden rehabilitative exercise programme was instigated (promoting correct muscling over the back).

Meet Mr T, who earlier this year developed a slight swelling on the left hand side of his back, under the saddle region. He didn’t seem overly bothered about this swelling, but his owner asked Sarah to check it out as they were concerned that it was steadily growing bigger.

Sarah was a bit perplexed – the swelling felt to be a solid lump under the skin attached to one of Mr T’s ribs. The lump was therefore ultrasound scanned, which showed it was a soft tissue mass and was spreading between the ribs and expanding down towards his chest cavity. Given its location and the fact that it was growing bigger and likely to be causing Mr T some discomfort, it was decided that it was best off being removed. A biopsy was taken to determine what the mass was and the degree of malignancy as this would determine the ‘margin’ required at surgery.

Melanomas are typically found in the perianal region, under the tail, inside the sheath, around the vagina or inside the mouth, although some horses will develop them under the skin elsewhere or internally.

Melanomas themselves are not generally too much of an issue if located externally, unless they become very large and ulcerated and therefore sore, but removal is most straightforward whilst they are small. Also, there is some evidence that the fewer melanomas a horse has present, the less they will go on to develop, so early removal is now generally recommended.

Many of you may have noticed the characteristic helicopter seeds present in sycamore trees as of late, so we thought it would be a good time to remind you about sycamore poisoning, also known as atypical myopathy.

WHAT IS IT? A highly fatal muscle disorder that occurs following the ingestion of sycamore seeds or leaves in autumn, or seedlings in spring, that contain the hypoglycin A toxin.

SEVERITY: There is sadly a 75% fatality rate with most non-survivors succumbing within 72 hours of the development of clinical signs.

PREVELANCE: The toxin is not present in all sycamores and toxin levels may differ at different times of year and under different climatic conditions. Cases often follow an adverse change in weather conditions such as frost or rain.

CLINICAL SIGNS: Weakness, stiffness, muscle tremors, a fast (sometimes irregular) heartbeat, difficulties in breathing and dark red/brown coloured urine. Other clinical signs include depression and signs of colic. Severely affected horses become recumbent and others may be found already deceased.

Time is of the essence and rapid initiation of treatment is essential to improve prognosis. Suspected cases are generally hospitalised to facilitate intensive medical management.

Treatment is predominantly based on supportive care including administration of large volumes of intravenous fluid therapy. The provision of adequate pain relief is vitally important and the administration of vitamins can be advantageous.