Opportunities For Vets Seen In ID RolloutJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Being able to identify and track large animals during a potential health threat is the propelling force behind the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Identification System, currently being refined and rolled out on a voluntary basis. Program officials said that veterinarians should prepare themselves for client questions and concerns by becoming educated on the topic. Opportunity On the Rise This new program could open up huge barn doors to the veterinary profession, said Mark Spire, DVM, past president of the American Assn. of Bovine Practitioners and professor of diagnostic medicine/pathobiology at Kansas State University. “Veterinarians can become proactive and work with producers,” he said. Also, they could investigate becoming a “tagger” and then meet new clients, suggesting ways to work with the animals’ health issues, nutrition, vaccination schedules and recording. “That’s a value market base for a veterinary practice,” Dr. Spire said. “This is the biggest opportunity the veterinary profession has had in years,” Spire said. Spire took part in the U.S. Animal Identification Plan, now the NAIS, which laid out framework and defined standards for implementing an identification …
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Good To GoJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Busy ambulatory equine practitioners know that carrying the right equipment can save money and lives in the long run. And having state-of-the art equipment on board helps them expand their businesses—patients that would otherwise be referred to an equine clinic or hospital can often be diagnosed and treated on the farm. We asked four mobile equine practitioners who practice in areas with high concentrations of horses about the most important equipment or technological investments they’ve made in recent years. Pacific Crest Equine Hospital Exeter, Calif. Helen Christian, DVM, practices in an area of the Central Valley populated by 3,000 to 4,000 horses. The hospital, which employs five equine practitioners, has expanded its ambulatory service. The newest truck is outfitted with all the technology a thriving and competitive equine practice might need, including digital X-ray and digital ultrasound. Dr. Christian says this equipment is paramount to the business. Not only do these technologies provide on-the-spot diagnostics, they save time. “We can make an immediate diagnosis without making a second trip to the client,” Christian explains. “We also burn images onto CDs for clients …
Helping Horses Breathe EasierJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Veterinarians operating a large racehorse or sport horse practice should consider investing in an open plethysmography system to help diagnose inflammatory airway disease (IAD) and other pulmonary and respiratory problems, says Rose Nolen-Walston, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM. New Products on Market for Treating IAD Animal health companies have developed products and services to help equine practitioners diagnose and treat inflammatory airway disease and other respiratory ailments. Idexx Laboratories of Westbrook, Maine, came up the Equine Respiratory RealPCR Panel so practitioners can submit one sample to test for four respiratory diseases. “Equine respiratory disease is one of the most common and most challenging medical conditions that equine practitioners face day to day,” says Scott Moffitt, senior manager of equine sales and marketing. “Customers who have used this test have been very impressed with the fact that they can submit a single nasal swab as a sample and receive results on four different respiratory diseases within 48 hours.” The panel encompasses four real-time PCR tests: • EHV-1 and EHV-4 RealPCR • Sequi RealPCR (includes culture ID) • Equine Influenza Virus …
Rehab Experts Emphasize TeamworkJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Assuring that horses receive the utmost in quality care is critical as the equine industry’s interest and capability in rehabilitation grow. “We have to give a lot of credit to those who work day in and day out to help an injured horse get better,” says Lois K. Hild, DVM. “Veterinarians working hand in hand with equine therapists and experienced professionals for the full recovery of the horse is the best combination.” Dr. Hild specializes in rehabilitation of Western performance horses at horse shows and at her Hemet, Calif., Rein Dance Farms. She provides post-injury and post-surgical care, including bandaging and wound care, hot- and hand-walking, and administering medications. Preventive treatment is emphasized foremost; Hild uses an underwater treadmill, microcurrent stimulation and cryotherapy with intermittent compression to that end. Hild commends the successful treatment provided at lay-up and rehabilitation barns for thoroughbred and quarter horse race horses. Their trainers and therapists may not necessarily hold certificates in equine rehabilitation, but their methods and techniques have helped numerous animals, she says. “You can’t say they’ve done a bad job on the …
If One Dewormer Works, Try AnotherJune 9, 2011 Deworming drugs designed to combat equine parasitic infection may no longer be working as they should. Research has shown that the overuse of oral dewormers is fueling parasite resistance to tried-and-true drugs, some that have been in use for 40 years. “If horse owners and veterinarians continue to use drugs that are no longer effective against certain parasite populations,” says Wendy E. Vaala, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, “resistant worms will have an advantage and will slowly become the predominant population on a farm and in the horse.” Dr. Vaala is senior equine technical service veterinarian with Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. “Drug resistance is the result of random mutations that occur naturally within a parasite population,” Vaala says. “Drugs do not cause resistance but rather select for those parasites that have developed the resistance mutation. “Using more than one drug class during the year is encouraged since there is no one class of drug or single dewormer that can or should be used exclusively for a prolonged period of time.” Researchers are examining the mutations that are occurring to learn more about specific mechanisms of resistance. “Tests are being developed to help identify the actual …
Quality Counts With Joint SupplementsJune 9, 2011 Practitioners and supplement manufacturers alike are concerned about the quality, efficacy and safety of equine joint supplements. “The biggest problem,” says Paul Bryant Jr., DVM, of Okeechobee, Fla., Veterinary Hospital, “is that joint supplements aren’t FDA-regulated.” In treating performance horses—racing, reining, speed events and hunter/jumper—Dr. Bryant says: “It’s trial and error to find a joint supplement that works. I want to see the company’s research to make sure the product is legitimate. “The market is out of control with so many supplements available. It is hard for a veterinarian to read all the available research, and almost impossible for horse owners to read and understand before they make a choice.” Bryant prefers injectable supplements and uses Bayer Animal Health’s Legend (hyaluronate sodium), the only FDA-regulated product to treat joint dysfunction, and Luitpold Animal Health’s Adequan IM (polysulfated glycoaminoglycan). He says those two supplements “have years of research behind them, and I go with the gold standards.” He has seen research on the efficacy of glucosamine and HA, but he says quality research is provided for very few products. “Show me a double-blinded study,” he says. “I want to see valid research.”
Imprint Training Can Enhance PerformanceJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Since equine imprint training was introduced to the veterinary profession and equine industry about 50 years ago, it has come into widespread use throughout the world. We have come to know that imprinting does not interfere with the future performance of an equine athlete but does enhance it. I am a veterinarian and also a trainer and breeder of Standardbreds. I use imprinting with my horses and know from my experience that it makes a difference in horses’ performance and attitude toward humans. The imprinting period should begin immediately postpartum for best results. The training of neonatal foals during their critical learning time in the hours and days after birth is not a new idea. The practice has been performed by various horse cultures throughout history, especially by nomadic tribes that lived in constant contact with their horses. What is relatively new is modern trainers and veterinarians have found that the method enhances a horse’s attitude toward humans and training throughout its life. A half century ago, observing foals that had been handled extensively at birth due to dystocia, one of our colleagues, …
Digital Technology And The Equine VetJune 9, 2011 Portable digital diagnostic equipment has revolutionized the way mobile equine practitioners work. With diagnostic equipment onboard, veterinarians no longer need to rely on outside clinics for diagnostic tests. Tiffany Marr, DVM, of Mid Atlantic Equine Medical in Ringoes, N.J., counts herself fortunate to be in a generation of equine practitioners who can find immediate answers for themselves and their clients in the field. “Portable ultrasound in particular has given ambulatory vets a light at the end of the tunnel,” she says. “Did the horse really incur a suspensory injury, have suspensory desmitis, and how bad is it? Does this foal have an infected umbilicus, does it need surgery or can it be managed medically? “We can now gather and exchange important information today, not next week when we get [the horse] referred. And if the practitioner is not associated with a clinic, then they are not passing up the income.” Because digital veterinary technology draws from the same improvements in the computer and camera world, equipment becomes smaller, more efficient and more affordable every year. Here are four developments in digital diagnostic equipment: Smaller Endoscopes In 2005, BioVision Technologies developed for the human …
Supplements And Herbs For The Equine PracticeJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. While not all supplements are popular in traditional veterinary medicine practices, some are trusted as much as prescription drugs. Medical herbs, however, are a separate entity entirely, according to veterinarians practicing holistic medicine. “If we talk about medical herbs, then you are giving medicine that is an extract of plants or minerals and it should be tailored to a diagnosis in an individual patient,” says Stewart Beckett, DVM, of Beckett & Associates Veterinary Services LLC in Glastonbury, Conn. “The argument about herbs is that they are bioactive, but have precursors and metabolites that all have activity and potentially less toxicity (greater therapeutic safety margin) than a synthesized drug. It is the same principle as triple sulfas vs. a single sulfa in treating animals.” Sometimes holistic veterinarians recommend Chinese food therapy in chorus with specific herbs. “After determining the proper traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) diagnosis, I prescribe specific Chinese herbal combinations,” says Patricia Baley, DVM, PhD, CVA, CVH, FAAVA, of TCVM for Animals in Hockley, Texas. “There are also specific foods that I recommend for conditions. For example, fresh celery is a …
Comments Due On Petition To Amend Horse Protection ActJune 9, 2011 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Comments on a petition requesting changes to the Horse Protection Act are due June 13. The petition requests that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service change its regulations and policies regarding the protection of horses from the practice of soring. The petitioners’ requests include permanently disqualifying horses that have been scarred from soring from competitions, permanently disqualifying repeat violators of the Horse Protection Act, requiring horse industry organizations to impose minimum penalties for violations and decertifying noncompliant horse industry organizations. APHIS, which is part of the United States Department of Agriculture, noted that the Horse Protection Act does not give it the authority to implement certain requests in the petition. For instance, APHIS does not have the authority under the act to permanently disqualify horses that have been scarred from soring from competitions. APHIS also does not have the authority to permanently disqualify repeat violators of the act. “The disqualification provisions and penalty provisions are clearly enumerated in the [Horse Protection Act],” according to APHIS. The petition was sent to APHIS on Aug. 4, 2010, by the American Society for the Prevention …
