Wendy Valla, VMD: Finding A Fit In PharmaceuticalsNovember 28, 2012 Wendy Vaala’s first vaccine research and development meeting made her realize that she was well prepared to work in pharmaceuticals. “I [thought], whoa, I have an opinion on this,” recalls Vaala, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, a senior equine technical services veterinarian for Merck Animal Health of Summit, N.J. “They would say, ‘What do you think?’ or ‘How important is this disease?’ I felt like I was raising my hand every 15 minutes with ‘Let me tell you.’” A Pennsylvania native now residing in Alma, Wis., Dr. Vaala says her nearly 25 years working in private practice and academia has made her the equine neonatology and perinatology specialist she is today. She has been with Merck since 2004. “Coming from the northeast, I think we had more infectious diseases so we probably vaccinated more than anywhere else in the country,” Vaala says, adding that diseases she saw ranged from rabies to botulism. “Maybe I was unknowingly super-prepared.” Companies are always looking to bring new things to market, Vaala says. But in order to sell the product, it must be successful. To be successful, the product needs to be developed with the right profile in mind and it …
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Jump-starting The Healing With Manuka HoneyNovember 28, 2012 Who could have predicted that a pair of bickering bunnies would set off a chain of events that would heal a Kansas ranch horse’s mangled leg and save his career? Certainly not his owner, a registered veterinary technician who was working miles away at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Chances are, not even his veterinarian, Andrea Arbuckle, DVM, a mixed practitioner in Grenola, Kan. But today, they both believe that manuka honey worked a miracle in healing the horse’s horrific wound. “We think the horse kicked through a guard rail,” Dr. Arbuckle recalled. “In the process, he ripped a laceration right down to the cannon bone on the right hind leg. It was so severe; there was a small fracture, significant periosteal stripping and minor tendon damage.” Tradition First For more than two weeks, Arbuckle treated the leg with traditional mainstream products including Nitrofurazone Ointment, povidone-iodine (Betadine), Corona Ointment and tetracycline topical powder. “At that point, the horse’s wound had 11/2 to 2 inches of bone exposed, and proud flesh was becoming exuberant around the edges,” she said. “A small-animal colleague had told me about using honey, right out of …
Equine Wound Therapies: Negative Pressure And Biological GlassNovember 27, 2012 It’s been said that if there’s a way to get injured, a horse will find it. Thankfully, veterinary researchers continue to develop improved ways to heal hideously mutilated horse flesh. Vacuum Assisted Closure (V.A.C.) Therapy by KCI Animal Health in San Antonio works by providing negative pressure at the wound site through a patented system. Wound edges are drawn together, infectious materials are removed and granulation tissue is promoted at the cellular level. V.A.C. Therapy has been commercially available for about two years. RediHeal Wound Care by Avalon Medical Innovative Veterinary Surgical Products in Stillwater, Minn., is a borate-based biological glass material that imitates fibrin and traps blood platelets, forming a wound cover to support healing. Originally used in companion animals, the product is now marketed in a larger equine version. Avalon spokesman Todd P. Nelson said the company is testing a solubilized form of the material on corneal ulcers and deep fungal infections in equine eye cases. In V.A.C. Therapy, a reticulated open-cell foam (GranuFoam) dressing is placed directly into the wound bed, then covered with a drape and proprietary pad to seal the wound and connect it to a therapy unit. Patented technology uses …
Taking The 'Whole Animal Approach' In Treating Equine Diease Or InjurySeptember 24, 2012 California equine veterinarian Joanna L. Robson, DVM, knows she will never use acupuncture needles to fix a fracture. “But acupuncture, Chinese herbal therapy, nutritional support and other noninvasive modalities may provide a faster recovery, prevent or treat compensatory problems in other parts of the body, and improve quality of life during [a horse’s] rehabilitation,” says Dr. Robson the president of Inspiritus Equine Inc. in Napa, Calif. Known as integrative, complementary or holistic medicine, this segment of veterinary medicine considers a “whole animal approach” in treating equine disease or injury. Teamed with conventional veterinary treatments, these non-traditional modalities are providing good outcomes for equine practitioners throughout the globe, proponents say. Client demand is instrumental in holistic medicine’s growing popularity. “As people look for less invasive, more natural approaches to healing, are better educated about nutrition and food processing, and become aware of the potential negative side effects of particular medications—just listen to the latest ad on TV followed by a list of 20 potentially undesirable side effects—they seek the same alternatives for their horses and pets,” Robson says. Mixing It Up Andris J. Kaneps, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVS Dipl., Dipl. ACVSMR, treats horses in …
Not Vaccinating Horses Carries High CostAugust 29, 2012 Robert E. Holland Jr., DVM, Ph.D., can’t help but wonder, “Why would you risk the death of your horse to save $20?” But horse owners indeed are doing just that by forgoing core vaccines in a struggling economy. “Times are tough in many places in the U.S.,” says Rob Keene, DVM, an equine professional services veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. of St. Joseph, Mo. “I would hope that the administration of core vaccines would not suffer due to the economy.” Tom R. Lenz, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, estimates that the cash crunch has led to a 15 to 20 percent decline in equine vaccinations over the last couple of years. “For instance, many people feel that West Nile Virus is no longer a threat, but they are wrong,” says Dr. Lenz, senior director of Equine Veterinary Services at Pfizer Animal Health of New York. “It still exists.” Dr. Holland, Pfizer’s associate director of outcomes research, says not vaccinating a horse is shortsighted, pointing to a surge in Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases in Florida, including seven reported in one day. “The majority of mosquito-borne infections can be prevented by proper vaccination,” Holland says. …
Equine Dentists See Portable Digital Radiography As Must-have ToolAugust 10, 2012 Today’s more practical and portable direct and computed radiography units top the must-have lists of equine dentists. “If you’re in the field and you see something else, or need to change an angle or get a different shot,” says K. Jack Easley, DVM, MS, “you can take retakes right then, rather than having to make a return trip to the farm.” Dr. Easley, Dipl. ABVP (Equine), has a special interest in equine dentistry. He is the owner of Equine Veterinary Practice LLC in Shelbyville, Ky., and is also on the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Dentistry Committee. Easley considers the technological advances in X-ray equipment over the past 10 years some of the greatest improvements to diagnosing and treating equine dental disease. He says the high quality of today’s radiographic images adds to this greater basic understanding. “Technology has put 80-90 kV portable units in the field,” he says. “Veterinarians have become even more efficient–we are finding more dental disease earlier, including under the gum, rather than waiting until problems become much worse. “In the past five years,” Easley says, “advances in equipment technology have allowed researchers to look at horse’s teeth and heads …
Feed Routines Play Role In Equine GI ProblemsJuly 10, 2012 It’s taken a lot of guts to become Dr. Frank Andrews, career-long student of equine gastroenterology and gastric ulcers. The director of the Equine Health Studies Program at Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine holds the titles DVM, MS and diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (large animal). After collaborating on more than 27 scientific articles, most of which seek to discover ways mankind interferes with the delicate workings of horse digestive components, Andrews has learned common-sense nutritional practices that could save clients and veterinarians a belly full of pain, anxiety and heartache. “There’s so much myth and tradition with horses, especially with feeding,” Andrews said. “Although we make our money on horses with colic, we’d like to see more preventive medicine out there.” Dietary Needs A diet high in nonstructural carbohydrates, particularly soluble sugar, combined with heavy training and stall confinement can predispose race and performance horses to gastric ulcers. Under normal conditions, horses spend about 10 to 12 hours daily eating, which allows them to maintain a full stomach and a continuous nutrient supply and the necessary microbes in the hindgut, Andrews said. Horses grazing at pasture are less …
Success In Deworming HorsesJuly 10, 2012 The most successful deworming programs for equine intestinal parasites begin with a fecal egg count for the individual horse and an anthelmintic schedule based on those results, says Frank Andrews, DVM, MS and ACVIM diplomate. A light parasite burden in a horse is preferable to a total kill, because it perpetuates the horse’s immunity, he said. A fecal egg analysis classifies a horse as a low, intermediate or high shedder of parasite eggs, said Andrews, director of the Equine Health Studies program at Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Then a strategic deworming schedule can be conceived, with products and frequency based on types of worms and the client’s geographical location. For example, in Louisiana and other southern states, summer heat generally kills off life stages of worms on pastures, Andrews said. He recommends deworming horses with a double dose (quantity, not repetition) of fenbendazole in the spring, and ivermectin in September or October. Depending on the patient, a third deworming might be warranted in January. Experts discourage giving anthelmintics to horses routinely every eight weeks because it is probably unnecessary and breeds resistance, Andrews said. …
Therapeutic Lasers For Elite Level Equine CompetitorsJuly 2, 2012 The United States equine competition season for three-day eventing reached its apex at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington, Ky. It is one of the pivotal international competitions which help determine who is to be selected for the Olympic teams competing in London this summer. The pressure on every athlete, human and horse, to stay healthy, focused and yet relaxed and comfortable is enormously challenging. The eventing season is an endurance trial that requires either avoiding or recovering from fatigue and injuries. Managing these conditions in both the human and equine athlete plays a big role in determining who advances and who goes home. Virginia is home to many of the top three-day eventing competitors, who mostly travel and compete in Florida and the Carolinas for the winter, then return North for the summer and fall events. As equine sports medicine veterinarians to elite competitors, my wife, Stephanie Davis, DVM, and I travel with our clients not just as their veterinarians, but also as participants. Dr. Stephanie is also an avid eventer at the preliminary level. We seek every advantage with technology to keep our sport horses at peak performance. Many …
Ultrasound Remains A Sound InvestmentJune 15, 2012The way Danny W. Dutton, DVM, sees it, “If precision is the placement of several darts on a dart board, and accuracy is the placement of those darts in the bull’s-eye, ultrasound is the nexus of accuracy and precision in diagnosis and treatment for a large number of equine veterinary problems.” Dr. Dutton, chief of staff for Frontera Division – Equine Sports Medicine & Surgery in Sunland Park, N.M., says ultrasound has allowed him to detect arthritis and osteochondromas missed on radiographs. He’s also able to follow up with increasing precision the recovery of horses from a variety of musculoskeletal injuries. “With improved detail and technique, we are now putting our finger right on the problem instead of addressing a ‘general area,’ ” Dutton says. “Having the ability to look under the skin greatly enhances success, perception of ability and accuracy of prognosis.” Carol Gillis, DVM, of Vacaville, Calif., says she was one of the first equine practitioner to use musculoskeletal ultrasound. Before 1984, Dr. Gillis says, ultrasound was used only in reproductive modalities. Today, practitioners use CT and MRI scans, but she still likes to use ultrasound for lame horses. “Ultrasound can evaluate damage from inflammation and swelling as …
