Equus November 2017

Teaching without lecturing “The Power of Indirect Training” (EQUUS 478) was fantastic. As a corporate learning professional, I will say that most people don’t like the “direct” approach either---which I would call a lecture. If we are “lecturing” our horses, like people, they probably won’t retain any of the learning, as your article pointed out. When my horses get worried about an object, I’ve found that I get much better results by stopping, letting them look at it, making sure I’m conveying a relaxed energy and asking them to get curious about the object. My role is to persuade them the object is nonthreatening, not to force them to accept it. Carol Delisi Sheridan, Montana Fixing brittle hooves I read “Coping With Brittle Hooves” (Consultants, EQUUS 478) with interest. Bruce…

An Australian study suggests that veterinarians need to be cautious when interpreting the results of nerve blocks done with the drug lidocaine. Nerve blocks are used to pinpoint the source of pain in a lame horse’s limb. The veterinarian injects an anesthetic agent over nerve branches that supply a specific area, then trots the horse to see if the lameness disappears. If it does, this is evidence that the pain is originating from the numbed area. Recently, researchers at Murdoch University in Perth set out to determine whether the numbing agent used for nerve blocks influences the diagnostic efficacy of the lameness investigations. “We wanted to collect information in regard to the onset, duration and efficacy of the commonly used local anesthetic agents in equine practice to allow for informed…

A new study examining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and posttreatment performance in cutting horses with proximal suspensory ligament disease suggests that many recover and return to work. Researchers from Colorado State University reviewed the records of 32 cutting horses who underwent MRI of their proximal metacarpus (cannon region) at Animal Imaging, a dedicated veterinary imaging hospital in Irving, Texas, between 2009 and 2012. A common cause of lameness in cutting horses, proximal suspensory ligament pain often results from bone and/or ligament injury at the upper portion of the cannon bone, where the suspensory ligament attaches. The abnormal findings most often seen in the resulting MRI images were bone remodeling at the attachment point of the suspensory ligament, followed by fiber injury in the ligament itself and bruising on the bone.…

The first large-scale study of the physical compression procedure known as the “Madigan squeeze technique” confirms that it helps newborn foals with neonatal maladjustment syndrome (NMS) recover more quickly than those treated with only medication. The technique, which involves wrapping a foal’s upper torso with loops of soft rope and applying pressure for 20 minutes, replicates the compression a foal experiences during birth. NMS affects 1 to 3 percent of foals, most of whom require extensive and often expensive care. John Madigan, DVM, of the University of California—Davis developed the squeeze technique after years of research into how NMS develops. In an earlier study investigating the mechanism of the “flopping reaction” in newborn foals, Madigan’s group found that pressure across the chest area produced significant brain changes, induction of slow…

As feared as laminitis may be, research suggests that horse owners may easily confuse subtler signs of the disease with other common conditions. A painful inflammation of the soft tissues of the hoof, laminitis is characterized by lameness in the affected feet and a stance that relieves pressure on them. However, a study from England shows that other laminitis signs, which include a short, stilted gait, bounding digital pulses, difficulty making a tight turn, and reluctance to move forward, especially over hard or uneven surfaces, are sometimes overlooked. To determine how readily horse owners can identify laminitis, researchers at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, the Animal Health Trust and Rossdales Equine Hospital in Suffolk undertook a joint project, inviting 25 veterinary practices to submit laminitis reporting forms (LRFs) for…

After the veterinarian leaves, the task of monitoring a healing wound for signs of infection falls to you, your horse’s caretaker. But if you aren’t accustomed to it, the sight of an open wound can be alarming, even if it’s healthy and healing on schedule. How do you distinguish “ew” from “infected”? Here are a few tips: • All healing wounds produce exudate, a slimy discharge containing cellular debris that forms on the surface. Exudate alone isn’t a sign of infection. However, a dramatic increase in the amount or a change in color can be. • Healthy wounds typically don’t have an odor, but an infected wound will often smell rotten. At the same time, a healthy, moist wound under a bandage may emit an odor when first uncovered, and…