the-horse-blog

Dental Problems

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:12:08 +0100

Common Equine Dental Problems

Here’s how to recognize dental malformations and abnormal wear patterns in horses.

By Christine Barakat

When your veterinarian begins describing your horse’s oral anatomy--or what might be abnormal about it--you may feel as if you need an interpreter. Sure, some terms such as “overbite” and “underbite” correspond roughly with those in human dentistry and are easy enough to understand. But visualizing a “wave mouth” or a “step mouth” can be difficult. Even if your veterinarian helps you peer into your horse’s mouth, it can be tricky to recognize bite or wear abnormalities, particularly when they affect the teeth in the farthest reaches of the mouth. To help you become a better partner in your horse’s care, we’ve illustrated the most common equine dental abnormalities. If you review them now, the next time your veterinarian visits for a dental exam, you’ll know exactly what he’s talking about.

Malocclusions
Malocclusions that stem from jaw conformation are nearly always present at birth but are not necessarily inherited. Minor malformations may have no effect on a horse’s immediate ability to eat, but all misalignments eventually affect the wear pattern on other teeth, making regular dental care essential.

An overbite (parrot mouth, brachygnathism) is a congenital deformity in which the upper incisors overlap the lower incisors.

An underbite (monkey mouth, sow mouth, prognathism) is a deformity in which the lower incisors extend beyond the upper incisors.

Dorsal curvature (frown) occurs when the outer corner upper incisors grow longer than the opposing teeth below. In ventral curvature (smile), the outer corner lower incisors grow longer than the opposing teeth above. Both misalignments are usually caused by retained baby teeth or abnormal chewing.

A diagonal bite may result from a malocclusion or pain in the cheek teeth that causes a horse to grind feed primarily in one direction.

Abnormal Wear Patterns
The following dental problems and abnormal wear patterns require the attention of a veterinarian.

Hooks--sharp protrusions that develop on teeth when an overbite, underbite or other dental deformity causes an imperfect meeting of the top and bottom arcades. Most common on the upper first cheek tooth and lower last molar.

Ramps--typically premolars with a surface that slopes like a ski jump. Ramps can cut or scrape the tongue or cheek, especially when a horse is bitted.

Step mouth--a cheek teeth row with one molar that has grown unopposed so it juts above the rest of the arcade. A gap in the opposite molar lineup usually initiates the abnormality.

Wave mouth--a severely restricting abnormality that occurs when two or more teeth in an arcade are high, creating a series of ascending and declining grinding surfaces.

Shear mouth--a dental configuration in which the molars’ grinding surfaces are worn at a sharp 60- to 75-degree angle. Normally, the angle is 15 degrees.

This article originally appeared in the November 2006 issue of EQUUS magazine.

How to Cool an Overheated Horse

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:06:40 +0100

How to Cool an Overheated Horse

Cooling out your horse after a hard workout is a very important part of horse ownership. This article will teach you how to cool an overheated horse in the summer and in the winter, as the proper way to cool out a horse varies with the seasons.

In the summer: After a long summer ride, your horse may be breathing heavy and sweating profusely. Take the time to end your ride with 5-10 minutes of walking to let the horse begin to catch their breath.

After you have walked for several minutes, dismount and remove your tack. If at all possible, this is a great time to hose your horse down. Hosing after a hot sweaty ride not only helps cool out an overheated horse, but also helps wash away the sweat residue that can dry out or bleach your horse's coat.

Use lukewarm water if possible, begin spraying the legs and slowly spray the rest of the body. If you only have cold water, it's especially important to spray only the overheated horse's legs for 3-5 minutes. Hitting the large muscles with a blast of cold water can make a horse sick or sore, but blood vessels run close to the surface of the skin in the legs, so by spraying the legs of a hot horse, you can cool the blood, which then circulates to the rest of the body cooling in a safe manner.

Remember to scrape the water off your overheated horse after you hose them off. Heat will have transferred to the water in contact with the skin, and by scraping it off you can literally scrape some of the heat out of the horse's body. By the end of a 5-10 minute wash your horse should be breathing normally and be much more comfortable. If your horse is to be stalled you may want to hand graze the horse for 5-15 minutes to let them cool completely before being stalled.

In the Wintertime: Cooling out in the winter time can be frustrating, but it doesn't have to be! If you plan to ride your horse frequently through the winter, hard enough to work up a good sweat you may want to consider partially or fully clipping your horse. Clipping makes it easier to cool out your horse, but also means you will have to blanket according to the temperature all winter long.

To cool out a sweaty horse in temperatures 50 degrees F and below, finished your ride with 5-15 minutes of walking. This is an excellent time to practice dropping your reins and riding without them, or dropping your stirrups and guiding your horse with your legs. After cooling out under saddle, dismount and unsaddle. At this point you may want to use spare towels to towel dry your horse if he is excessively sweaty. Cover your horse with a cooler to help prevent them from getting a chill and lead them at a walk for a few more minutes until the horse is breathing evenly. If you have a slightly warmer spot in your barn, your horse can stand in crossties while you put away your tack and do barn chores. Remove the cooler a little at a time by folding down the front or flipping up the back. Your horse is ready to be turned back out or put into his stall when you can ruffle the fur and feel that the hair next to the skin is dry. Do not blanket a wet horse!

As you can see, the directions on how to cool a horse are not difficult. Cooling out an overheated horse can be a little time consuming, but proper cooling out practices will contribute to a healthier horse long term.

A hot humid day. One rider. One horse. Both are exercising at a moderate level. ...

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:37:39 +0100

by Teresa Pitman, University of Guelph

A hot humid day. One rider. One horse. Both are exercising at a moderate level. Who is more likely to overheat?

It might surprise you to know that your horse gets hotter, much faster than you and is more susceptible to the negative effects of heat stress.

Michael Lindinger, PhD, MSc, an animal and exercise physiologist at the University of Guelph, explains: "It only takes 17 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in hot, humid weather to raise a horse's temperature to dangerous levels. That's three to 10 times faster than in humans. Horses feel the heat much worse than we do."

And the effects can be serious. If a horse's body temperature shoots up from the normal 37 to 38°C to 41°C (98.6 - 105.8°F), temperatures within working muscles may be as high as 43°C (109.4°F), a temperature at which proteins in muscle begin to denature (cook). Horses suffering excessive heat stress may experience hypotension, colic, and renal failure.

Lindinger, a faculty member in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, became interested in the effects of heat on horses when he was a lead researcher on the Canadian research team that contributed information on the response of the horse to heat and humidity for the Atlanta Summer Olympics. He recently presented a workshop on the topic at Equine Guelph's outdoor Equine Expo held June 4 at U.G.'s Arkell Research Station.

Horses are more susceptible to heat for several reasons, explains Lindinger. First, they are larger and have a higher percentage of active muscle than people do during exercise. When muscles are being used, they produce a lot of heat.

Horses also rely to a significant extent on sweating to cool them off. They can sweat 15 to 20 liters per hour in cool, dry conditions and up to 30 liters per hour in hot, humid conditions, but only 25-30% of the sweat produced is effective in cooling the horse by evaporation.

"Because so much more sweat is produced than can be evaporated, the rest just drips off the horse's body," says Lindinger. "By comparison, up to 50% of the sweat people produce is evaporated from our bodies during exercise and helps to cool us."

The salts in horse sweat are also four times as concentrated as in human sweat. Lindinger refers to a photograph of an area where endurance horses had been standing while their sweaty bodies were repeatedly scraped and cooled with water. As the liquids evaporated from the ground, the soil surface was left white because of the salt in the horses' sweat.

"Those salts have to be replaced," he adds. "Just giving the horse water will not rehydrate a dehydrated horse. When horses drink plain water, it dilutes their body fluids, and their bodies respond by trying to get rid of more water and more electrolytes. "

Horses also pant to dissipate heat, but Lindinger says this is only effective if the air is at least five degrees cooler than the horse's body temperature.

His tips for protecting horses from the harmful effects of summer heat begin with teaching your horse to drink an electrolyte solution (water with the right proportion of salts dissolved in it) to replace sweat losses. "Start with a small amount in the water, allowing the horse to get used to the taste, and gradually increase it over days and weeks until you have reached the manufacturer' s recommendation. "Keeping your horse properly hydrated is the most important step in protecting it against the harmful effects of heat, he says.

If you're preparing for a competition, Lindinger recommends trying to acclimatize your horse to the heat by spending four hours daily, at least five days a week for three weeks, in hot conditions. For best results, exercise the horse for an hour during the second hour of each of those days.

"Many riders will train their horses in the mornings or evenings, when it's cool, then go to a competition held during the hottest part of the day. You need to get horses used to being ridden in the heat and allow them to develop the full spectrum of beneficial adaptations that come with heat acclimation. " Lindinger says that horses who have been through a process of heat acclimation will lose more heat through sweating and respiration and will be better able to stay hydrated because they are more likely to drink.

When your horse is hot, look for shade and breezes to help cool it down, but never use a blanket or "cooler" on a horse that is sweating, he adds, suggesting the best way to cool a horse quickly is to rinse the horse's body repeatedly with cold water and scrape off the excess water.

"You can cool the horse two degrees in 10 minutes this way: pour on the water, scrape it off, pour on more, and just keep repeating it," says Lindinger. "The scraping part is important because otherwise the water will be trapped in the horse's hair and will quickly warm up. By scraping and pouring on fresh, cold water you keep the cooling process going."

Just as equestrians pack a canteen of water, some sunscreen and a hat with a brim for summer riding adventures, Lindinger says they should also equip themselves with the tools needed to protect their horses from the heat and humidity. If you prepare your horse in advance and have a plan to cool him down if he becomes overheated, he says, even the hot, muggy days of summer can be great riding fun.

Lien for Texas Large Animal Vets to Take Effect September 1, 2009

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:40:08 +0100

I found the following blog entry at Equine Law Blog (click here to visit) by Alison Rowe in Waxahachie, Texas

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Beginning September 1, 2009, all large animal veterinarians in the state of Texas will have a lien on treated animals to secure payment of vet bills. This lien will be effective both before and after the animal is released to the owner.

Prior to the effective date of this legislation, veterinarians have no statutory lien on treated animals to secure veterinary services other than board. See "Liens for Veterinarians and Farriers in Texas" (February 18, 2008)

As of January 2009, twenty-eight other states provide veterinarians with a statutory lien. Texas's lien is unique in that it only applies to large animals (livestock) and is not purely possessory in nature (i.e. allows repossession after the animal is taken by its owner).

*The passage of this lien doesn't mean the vet "has" to take the treated animal as payment...it's just there as an alternative collections measure.*

The final bill (S.B. 1806, proposed by this firm and carried by Senator Judith Zaffirini) will be codified in Section 70.010 in the Texas Property Code.

This lien may give veterinarians some leverage in getting paid for their services, even if the lien is not ultimately enforced.

FACTS ABOUT THE NEW STATUTE:

1) The lien will only apply to amounts that become due to vets after September 1, 2009.

2) When the vet maintains possession of the animal, the vet's lien will have priority over all other liens.

3) Once the vet relinquishes possession of the animal, the vet's lien should be filed of record in the county where the services were rendered and with the Secretary of State. The vet's lien, post possession, takes priority in the order of filing the notice, per Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.