ADVICE FROM THE VET
EXPLORING WINTER ISSUES
By Emily Douglas-Osborn BVSc MRCVS of Avonvale Equine Practice
horses. Here are Avonvale Equine Practice’s top veterinary issues to look out for this winter.
W COLIC:
Colic is amust-know for all horse owners at any time of year, however often during winter frosty grass and increased rations of dry hay mean it is an even more common occurrence. Impaction colics typically occur when food matter blocks the narrowest part of the large colon, known as the pelvic flexure. Further food and gas back up behind the impaction, causing discomfort. This often occurs due to horses not drinking as much, or having their diets switched to drier roughage such as hay and haylage as opposed to grass. The other type of colic commonly seen at this time of year is spasmodic colic, which is usually down to eating frozen grass.
THE BEST WAY TO AVOID
COLICS THIS WINTER ARE: • Ensure aconstant supply of water, check water drinkers are functioning daily and break ice on water buckets. Adding hot water to make acold bucket of water luke-warm can encourage horses to drink.
• Making any changes in diet slowly. Before aday of turnout, give asmall amount of hay after your horse’s breakfast to reduce the sudden introduction of cold grass to the gut.
• Ensure that you are up to date on your worm egg counts –the encysted larval stage of the small redworm bury themselves in the large colon and caecum, and often choose this time of year to emerge en-masse, causing abdominal discomfort. We often advise worming at this time of year, but you should always contact your vet for the best worming advice tailored to your horse and yard.
WEIGHT LOSS
Following on from the colic theme, weight loss around winter, especially for the older horse can be aconcern. The two most common causes of weight loss are dental problems, and worms. In addition
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to making sure your worm control is up to date, getting your horse’s teeth checked by avet or aqualified equine dental technician (BAEDT) is the next step in investigating weight loss. Poor chewing means that larger pieces of fibre are entering the digestive tract, which are harder to digest. Alternatively, a painful mouth may be causing the horse to drop food (quidding) as opposed to swallowing it. This can contribute to weight loss, as well as incidences of impaction colic and choke. If your horse’s mouth is healthy, and they are still losing weight, further investigations such as blood tests and ultrasonography of the abdomen can be done to determine the cause and best course of treatment.
WEIGHT GAIN:
At the other end of the spectrum, it is important that during the winter months we don’t over-indulge our equine friends. Horses with thick coats can live out happily without rugs, however if your horse is rugged, we advise checking regularly to see that they aren’t too hot underneath. Feeding rations should be sensible, based on your horse’s individual requirements. Using body condition score chart can give arough idea of whether a horse may be under- or overweight.
For the latest
newsvisitwww.centralhorsenews.co.uk
inter time can pose all sorts of challenges when it comes to keeping
LAMINITIS:
Ablood sample being taken: New PPID tests qualify for free laboratory fees at certain times of year, ask your vet for more details.
Flare-ups of laminitis are particularly common in frosty weather, usually a few days after the cold weather starts. Horses affected by laminitis show atypical laminitic stance, leaning backwards and rocking back on their heels. Regular visits from afarrier can help keep your horse’s feet in tip-top shape, but sometimes further intervention is needed. The two most common causes of laminitis are Cushings disease, otherwise known as PPID (pars pituitary intermedia dysfunction), and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). PPID: PPID is abenign enlargement of the pars intermedia of the pituitary gland, which causes the pituitary gland to produce more of the hormone ACTH, which in turn causes the adrenal glands to produce more of the body’s own corticosteroids. Typical signs include: excessive drinking and urinating, excess sweating, failure to lose winter coat or a long curly coat, fat pads over the eyes and crest, and laminitis itself. PPID can result in laminitis at any time of the year, it is not just aSpring and Summer condition. Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is the equine equivalent of type-2 diabetes, and means that due to persistently high blood glucose, the body becomes resistant to insulin. This condition is seen in horses and ponies of all ages but primarily in those who are overweight. The quickest and best treatment is atargeted weight-loss programme, but some horses need alittle extra help from Metformin, amedication used in human diabetics. Horse and ponies with EMS are particularly at risk of developing laminitis in the winter when they may do less exercise than normal. Some horses may have PPID and EMS
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