As many of you are aware, one of Dr. Butters’ special interests is equine dentistry. Knowing this, one of our fantastic clients generously provided us with a wonderful and very interesting skull specimen that we wanted to share.
This skull is from a stallion that lived in a wild/feral state west of Cochrane. Our client knew the stallion, and relayed that he died during the very cold, deep snow winter we experienced several years ago.
Dr. Butters believes she knows what may have contributed to this early death.
Euthanasia is a term that comes from the Greek language and translated into English means “good death.” The most common method of euthanasia is via a lethal injection of a barbituate drug, but other methods may also produce a “good death.” There are many reasons for an owner to choose euthanasia and the decision to euthanize a horse is often a difficult and deeply personal for the owner.
What is in a “3-Way” vaccine? A “4-Way?” “5-Way?” “6-Way?”
We get a lot of questions about these confusing terms! The “3-Way” vaccine has long been used to describe the combination vaccine containing Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis (EEE), Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (WEE), and Tetanus. For a “4-Way,” add influenza to those three vaccines just listed. A five way provides protection against EEE, WEE, Tetanus, Influenza and Equine Herpesvirus (“rhinopneumonitis”), and a “6-way” contains all 5 components of a 5-Way, plus West Nile. Although there is a combination vaccine that includes EEE, WEE, tetanus, and West Nile, the combination of EEE,WEE, tetanus, and influenza was on the market for years prior to the introduction of the combination with West Nile, so the “4-Way” term is usually reserved for the vaccine containing influenza and not West Nile. Clear as mud?
Contact the clinic and we can help you determine what vaccinations are appropriate for your horse. Stay tuned in the coming days for more information on these diseases and why we vaccinate against them, as well as more answers to your frequently asked vaccination questions.
Whether this is your first adventure into the world of mares and foals, or you have been down this road before, you may be wondering what happens between the time you say your farewells at the clinic and the time you get that wonderful news. Well, wonder no more! In this article I will explain all of the techniques, technologies, and tricks we have at our disposal to make the process as reliable and smooth as possible.
Wireless inertial sensor-based technology is at the forefront of lameness evaluation research today, and we are excited to now be incorporating this cutting edge diagnostic tool into our lameness examinations! The Equinosis Lameness Locator is the result of over twenty years of gait analysis research, and it allows objective quantification of lameness during a routine clinical exam.
Winter in this country is a beast. As I write this, we are into our 4th blast of snowy and cold weather already this fall (did I count right?), and it seems that winter is already well on its way to settling in. So a blogpost about proactive winter horse care may already seem a little past tense, but if you’re like me and living in denial that summer is already well past and fall quickly disappearing, you will have a few horse health care items to check off your list!
Wrangle your knowledge of Strangles
By: Dr. Tova Pinsky, DVM
Just as in humans, most vaccinations cause at most very mild outward symptoms after the vaccine is given. Some horses may be a little more lethargic than usual, have some mild tenderness at the injection site, or stiffness in the neck if that is where the vaccine was administered. Occasionally, the horse will develop a mild and transient fever, and this is usually noticed if the horse goes off his feed. These usually resolved uneventfully, although sometimes anti-inflammatories are given.
With several recent outbreaks of neurological herpesvirus infections in the US and Canada, much attention has been turned to this common disease. The virus is not new, and is considered endemic in most regions of the world. Although some aspects of the disease have been understood for decades, there is still much to be learned about the virus and its effects on horses.
Both horses and humans are very susceptible to tetanus, horses even more so than humans. In humans, there are many studies examining the duration of immunity following vaccination, so physicians can feel confident in their recommendations of extending the revaccination interval. In horses, a 6 month study comparing responses to commercial vaccines demonstrated significant antibody response for the duration of the study, but did not measure the response beyond 6 months. There have not been any studies in North America that have challenged vaccinated horses with tetanus toxoid, but antibodies alone can mediate protection. Conclusions about efficacy of the vaccine and duration of protection are based on antibody levels detected in laboratory studies combined with field experience, and the recommendation for yearly vaccination stems from this. There have been rare reports of horses with clinical cases of tetanus that had been vaccinated, however survival of horses with tetanus is strongly associated with previous vaccination.
The theory of an intranasal vaccine for Strangles is that the site of entry and infection with Strangles is via the tonsils located in the nose and mouth. If we stimulate immunity at these sites by introducing a vaccine directly to those tonsils, we can limit the propagation of the bacteria at its site of entry. The Strangles vaccine most commonly used is a modified live bacterial vaccine, which is unable to replicate but mimics the immunity stimulated by a natural infection. However, its efficacy is dependent on an adequate amount of the vaccine reaching the tonsils deep in the head, so it must be administered via the nasal passageways.
Alberta stands out as one of the few jurisdictions in North America in which horses are not routinely vaccinated against rabies. Arguments have always been that the incidence of rabies is much lower than in other regions, and there have been no reported equine cases of rabies in years, so the risk of infection would be so low as not to necessitate vaccination. The rabies vaccine must be administered by a veterinarian, another potential stumbling block to widespread vaccination of equines.
The rate of rabies in potential sources of infection within Alberta is the same whether we are considering a wildlife vector could infect a dog, a cat, or a horse. Yet rabies vaccination of our small animal companions is routine whereas vaccination of horses is almost non-existent. Although relatively rare, rabies is present in wildlife populations in Alberta, clinical disease should it occur is untreatable and (almost) invariably fatal, and a rabid companion animal or even horse can have very significant public health ramifications. Should we be revisiting this policy of non-vaccination of horses in Alberta?
Equine Influenza Virus (EIV) is often cited as the most commonly diagnosed and economically important causes of viral respiratory disease in horses. Therefore, the AAEP states that “all horses should be vaccinated against EIV unless they live in a closed and isolated facility.” Like many other respiratory viruses, it produces fever, nasal discharge, and coughing. So what sets this virus apart from other equine respiratory viruses?
