EQUINE NEWS FEBRUARY 2018 Equine News February 2018 A publication of the Office of Continuing Education, Extension & Community Engagement Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences FEBRUARY IS DENTAL HEALTH CARE MONTH! IN THIS ISSUE Resolution: Get Fit! Part 2 by Kris Hiney, PhD, Equine Extension Specialist, Oklahoma State University Last month we went through a list of items to consider before starting our horses in a conditioning program. This included their current BCS, soundness, hoof condition and tack fit. But where do you start from there? It is important to be realistic when beginning a conditioning program. How much time do you have to spend with your horse? How frequently will you be able to ride or exercise your horse? What is the time frame that you expect to see fitness changes in your horse? Do you have a competition goal or a prolonged trail ride in mind? Will your horse be working at faster speeds, over uneven terrain? All of these questions should help you develop a program that works for you and your horse. Even if your horse has not been receiving regular exercise, he may have some baseline fitness depending on his lifestyle. Horses housed in pastures with free access to exercise maintain fitness more so than horses housed in stalls or small paddocks. In fact, in some cases, pasture housed horses may show similar fitness to horses that are stalled and receive exercise! The size of the pasture and herd mate personalities will also affect baseline fitness. Obviously horses that live with more rambunctious partners will spend more time galloping about than a herd of lazy wanderers. In general, expect to see fitness changes in 2-3 weeks after beginning a new program. Intensity of exercise can be increased following that basic guideline, with increases in exercise intensity at regular intervals. Monitor your horse for signs of pain or attitude changes during this More New Year Fitness! Time to keep moving! Aww! Baby Horses! 1-2-3 s of Foaling Something to Chew On: February is Dental Health Care Month! See below for special savings!
EQUINE NEWS FEBRUARY 2018 2 Resolution: Get Fit! Part 2 (continued) process as well. Horses overusing muscles experience the same soreness that we do! Too often we are guilty of being week end warriors and over use an unconditioned horse when we have the opportunity. Look for even subtle signs of discomfort, such as pinning the ears or swishing of the tail during grooming/saddling/transitions, shortening stride, etc. It is important to monitor how your horse is adapting to a new exercise program to know if it is too strenuous or if it is time to step it up. Monitoring heart rates during exercise is the most accurate way to assess fitness, but many people don t own heart rate monitors. However, you can monitor your horse s progress by their heart rate recovery. Recovery rate evaluates how quickly your horse s heart rate returns to normal after ceasing exercise. In general, a horse s heart rate should be back to about 100 bpm two minutes after stopping work (obviously dependent on work load) and less than 60 bpm 10 minutes after even reasonably strenuous workloads. If your horse s heart rate is still high, than it was not conditioned adequately for that workload. As your horse becomes more fit, these recovery rates will improve, or essentially return to normal more quickly. At home, the most practical way to use heart rate recovery data is to check your horse at 2, 5 and 10 minutes after work. This is a great tool to track your progress. Be sure that you use a standardized work load to assess its fitness. For example, 5 minutes of loping versus 15 minutes will give different results! Begin your fitness program with intervals of walking and trotting. If truly starting from ground zero, 20-30 minutes several times a week is a great place to start. Walking intervals can still be great training time, working on bending, flexibility and responsiveness to aids. Monitor your horse s response over the first two weeks, and then begin adding intervals of loping or cantering if that fits your goals. You can also extend your total work time, or if available add hills or uneven (but safe) terrain. Alternatively, you will begin to lengthen the time spent trotting, or increasing the speed of your horses trot. Extended trotting is actually energetically more taxing for a horse than cantering at the same speed. Therefore long trotting is a great tool for fitness! Just like us, horses also need days off as well, to allow muscles to recover. If you do have access to a heart rate monitor, the following table will help provide guidelines for expected heart rates while working. Table 1. Range of heart rates for level of exercise/speed at which a horse is working. Activity Speed (miles/hour) Heart Rate (beats/min.) Standing 0 25-60 Walking 4 50-90 Jogging 9 80-130 Trotting 11 100-150 Cantering/loping 13 120-160 Galloping 19 150-200 Questions? Contact Dr. Kris Hiney Khiney@okstate.edu Graham-Thiers, P. and L.K. Bowen. 2013. Improved ability to Maintain Fitness in Horses during large pasture turnout. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 33(8):581-585.
EQUINE NEWS FEBRUARY 2018 3 1-2-3s of Foaling by Elisabeth Giedt, PhD, MBA, Director of Outreach & Extension, Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences The traditional springtime foaling season is nearly here, providing an opportunity to review some important milestones that both mare and foal typically achieve during the normal birth process. Because foals are especially susceptible to hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels) during foaling, attending the birth of your foal and keeping close track of time can help reduce the chance of things going wrong. Close monitoring of the mare s udder development, consideration of the length of gestation, and noting the degree of relaxation of the tail head and elongation and swelling of the vulva are all ways to attempt to predict when your mare will foal. Kits are available to monitor the level of milk electrolytes (calcium and potassium) to help assist prediction of the foaling date. Mares often foal under the cover of darkness, leading to many sleepless nights for foaling attendants. However, being present for the foaling is both rewarding and safest for the mare and foal. Taking note of these milestones will help you better assess whether or not your veterinarian should be called to assist with the foaling: 1. First stage labor typically lasts 1-3 hours. Mares often demonstrate sweating, restless behavior and signs analogous to colic: rolling, pawing, agitation, flank-watching, circling, getting up and down repeatedly, etc. Near the end of first stage labor, during the transition to second stage labor, the chorioallantoic membrane-the translucent white water bag ruptures, releasing a noticeably large amount of clear to light yellow fluid. 2. Second stage labor begins. The mare is more uncomfortable and most mares will lie down at this point to foal. It can be normal for a mare to get up and down a handful of times after she has started pushing as she tries to correctly orient the foal. Some people think once the mare goes down and pushes she shouldn t get back up again. They will try to force her down and then there s a bunch of interference that delays delivery; however, even with legs sticking out some mares get up and down once or twice. Uterine contractions begin and the foal ideally is delivered within 20-30 minutes after second stage labor is initiated. If the foal is not born within 30 minutes following the start of second stage labor, this is termed dystocia (difficult birth) and the foal is at a high risk of becoming hypoxemic (not receiving enough oxygen through the bloodstream) while waiting in the birth canal. Dystocias are true emergencies; a newborn foal starved of oxygen during birth often develops brain disease (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; Dummy Foal Syndrome ), becomes listless, may not be able to stand or suckle, and often requires intensive care at an equine hospital to survive and return to health. a. Within 1 hour of birth, the foal should be able to stand on its own despite coping with wobbliness and repeated falling. b. Within 2 hours of birth, the foal should have found both teats of the udder, latched onto them successfully (as evidenced by wrapping its tongue around the teat), and shown its ability to suckle and swallow colostrum. Colostrum is the mare s first milk that is thick, yellow, and fortified with necessary antibodies that the foal does not otherwise receive in utero.
EQUINE NEWS FEBRUARY 2018 4 (1-2-3s of Foaling, continued) 3. Third stage labor is a term referring to the passage of the placenta. The mare should completely pass her placenta by 3 hours post-foaling. She often stands up after foaling to lick and bond with the foal. The placenta will pass via gravity alone and should not be manually pulled out, as there is a great risk of tearing it and leaving placental remnants inside the uterus. If left inside the uterus these remnants will eventually undergo necrosis (tissue rotting), progressing to a disease called metritis, a severe inflammatory infection of the uterus that can be life-threatening for the mare. Save all parts of the placenta for your veterinarian to examine for abnormalities. Remember this simple 1-2-3 rule 1-One hour to stand The foal should be sternal within 1-5 minutes of birth 2-Two hours to nurse 3-Three hours to pass placenta If you have any questions or problems occur call your veterinarian Keep their number posted in the barn! Or contact the OSU Veterinary Medical Hospital at 405-744-7000, ext. 2 Meet members of our equine reproductive team and learn more about breeding and foaling at our upcoming Horse Owners Workshop, March 10. Register here: 2018 Horse Owners Workshop Something to Chew On by Elisabeth Giedt, PhD, MBA, Director of Outreach & Extension, Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences A horse should have its first dental exam at birth. Horses have both baby and permanent teeth. Ideally the baby teeth are shed as the permanent teeth erupt. Identifying dental problems early saves the horse considerable discomfort and may save the owner money as early diagnosed issues may be easier to resolve. Dental examinations are important in the health management of the horse and should be performed on a regular basis. This might be on a six to 12 month basis as indicated by the horse's age, use, expected level of performance, and overall condition of the teeth. Yearly exams are recommended. Dental disease can impact your horse s oral health and subsequent ability to efficiently digest feed. In addition, dental disease can affect performance. Horses with mouth pain may respond poorly to the bit and the pain may affect their ability to flex their head and move comfortably in circles. A horse normally chews in a circular motion. The teeth move both, backward and forward as well as side to side. Points (sharp edges) or hooks may develop that will prevent this normal chewing motion and possibly put abnormal stress on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) that can cause pain. Routine dental care can identify horses with poor alignments and tongue and cheek pain caused by sharp points in the edges of the molars. Signs that a horse may be suffering with dental problems can vary. A horse may exhibit abnormal behavior while eating, such as throwing its head to the side, dropping feed, and/or excessively salivating while chewing. Horses with severe dental disease may lose weight. Performance problems may include sensitivity to the bit, head tossing, bracing against the bit, trail wringing, poor head carriage, unwillingness to collect, and refusal to stop or turn. Our ability to identify dental issues has improved over the years with the advent of effective sedatives and speculums, which hold the mouth open for examination. Attend the Horse Owner Workshop on Saturday March 10 th to learn more about your horse s teeth. http://osuhorse.okstate.edu/upcoming-events/ To learn more information on equine dental health, contact your local veterinarian.
EQUINE NEWS FEBRUARY 2018 5 The OSU Veterinary Medical Hospital has been serving horse owners since 1948. We offer routine appointments Monday-Friday and 24 hour emergency service including holidays. The equine medicine and surgery service is staffed by board certified specialists, post-graduate veterinary residents, and senior veterinary students. The service is supported by board certified specialists in other areas of the hospital including anesthesiology, ophthalmology, radiology, cardiology and pathology. Licensed animal health technicians specifically trained in equine internal medicine and surgery assist our veterinarians and provide patient care during the day and after hours. All members of our team utilize state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic modalities with the common goal of delivering the highest possible standard of compassionate veterinary care to ill or injured horses, while training the equine practitioners and veterinary specialists of the future. Members of our faculty have special interests in internal medicine neurology equine surgery ophthalmology sports medicine cardiology rehabilitation anesthesiology and pain management We can perform endoscopy exams on horses at work on the treadmill. We can perform CT of the head and limbs and nuclear scintigraphy. Our imaging techniques also include digital fluoroscopy and ultrasound of limbs and chest and abdomen. We utilize complementary medicine such as acupuncture along with other therapeutic modalities to manage pain and help athletes perform to their potential. Veterinarians Committed to Excellence in Horse Health Care CVHS Equine Specialists Internal Medicine: Lyndi Gilliam, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Todd Holbrook, DVM, DACVIM, DACVSMR Surgery: Michael Schoonover, DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVSMR; Daniel J. Burba, DVM, DACVS; Megan Williams, DVM, DACVS Reproduction: Reed Holyoak, DVM, PhD, DACT; Candace Lyman, DVM, DACT Anesthesiology: Marjorie Gross, DVM, MS, DACVA; Kip Lemke, DVM, MS, DACVA Ophthalmology: Margi Gilmour, DVM, DACVO; Emily Sharpe, DVM, DACVO Cardiology: Ryan Baumwart, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) Radiology: Corey Wall, DVM, DACVR; Mackenzie Hallman, DVM; Carrie Kuzma, DVM radiology alternative medicine neonatology dentistry reproduction geriatric care