Midwest Equine (2025)

06/07/2022

We get this question a lot, so here is a bit of information to help educate. Hope this helps at least one or two horse owners!

29/06/2022

If you are having unresolved chronic issues, performing diagnostics is critical. One modality may not give you an answer and a second or third may be needed. In this case radiographs were enough to determine the likely cause. This horse has a broken HPA axis and associates low palmar angle (negative 2 degrees). This was causing excessive loading of the heel region which led to radiographic changes in the navicular apparatus and pain.

09/04/2022

WOUNDS. Treating them does not need to be complicated. In fact, wound healing if a fairly simple process if you understand the way a horse’s tissue reacts to trauma and inflammation. This is a wound that was not seen by us until about 5-7 days after the initial injury. The first photo was the initial presentation to us, and the following two were taken within two weeks post treatment. If you have a wound that does not seem to be improving, please seek medical attention. A few simple things will likely make a large impact on how well the wound heals and re-epithelializes.

07/04/2022

Who knows what this is? If you said a Foal Alert device you are correct. These devices can be placed on broodmare as an alert system to notify an owner or barn staff that a baby is on the way. They are very simple to place and can provide a lot of comfort for owners worried about missing the birthing process. They also allow owners and/or staff to recognize any potential birthing problems (dystocias) early in the process, so that a physician can be notified promptly.

28/03/2022

Umbilical Infections: These are somewhat common in neonates. When should you be concerned about your foal? Is it solely based on the appearance? No. This is a rather obvious example of an infected belly button. What is the next step then? If your practitioner has an ultrasound machine, we would recommend scanning the umbilical structures to evaluate the extent of the affected/infected tissue. The belly button is made up of 4 structures internally: umbilical vein (travels toward liver), urachus (travels backward toward tip of bladder), and two umbilical arteries (travel backward on either side of bladder). All of these structures should be evaluated and measured to determine best course of action. If these are not treated in a timely fashion this problem can lead to systemic issues such as sepsis and/or infected joints. This foal’s belly button was surgically removed and he is currently on the recovery track. Always call if you have any questions or concerns about your horses!

25/03/2022

Having a mare in foal can be stressful, especially if it is the first time a baby will be born on your property. It is difficult for some owners to know what they should worry about and what they should not worry about. This mare began developing swelling on her lower abdomen in about the 9th month of her pregnancy. Although this is very normal for late term mares, it concerned her owner. Her mammary glands were also growing in size at this point with no evidence of early lactation. Dr Google’s diagnosis was placentitis. A transrectal ultrasound of the uterus was performed to evaluate the uterus and fetal membranes. One critical measurement we can take to help diagnose placentitis is a CTUP measurement (combined thickness of uterus and placenta-see yellow dotted line on second image). This mare had a normal CTUP measurement for her stage of gestation. All was good!

22/03/2022

What vaccines should your horse be getting? The answer to this question is generally simple-your horse should be getting the “core” vaccines once a year (reference left side of image) at minimum. What about the “risk” vaccines on the right hand side? These should be discussed with your veterinarian. Depending on your horses travel/competition schedule, immediate surrounding environment, and activity of other horses housed near yours he/she may recommend different vaccines. In the Ohio region a discussion of botulism, influenza, EHV, PHF, and strangles is usually warranted. Knowing when and why these should be considered (or not considered) is the key to owners making their own educated decisions about which vaccines are best for their horses. We will try touch on a few of these over the next week to help educate owners.

02/03/2022

This poor broodmare was the recipient of some v***ar trauma from a pasture mate. Dr Drew sutured her back together and she healed very nicely. Appropriate and adequate reconstruction is critical in maintaining a tight v***ar seal. This will help to keep bacteria from entering the vagina/uterus and creating any increased risk to the developing fetal membranes and/or fetus.

28/02/2022

EMERGENCIES are very common for our equine companions. We are here to help!

Acute non-weight bearing lamenesses should always be considered emergencies.

This was a young filly that injured her elbow during a training session. The owner was told by the trainer that a loud pop was heard followed by an acute non-weight bearing lameness. This filly was seen by Dr. Drew and was standing as depicted on arrival. This presentation can indicate a few different injuries, but palpation of the elbow revealed swelling, tenderness, as well as crepitus (bone rubbing against bone) on manipulation. Radiographs were taken to confirm a fracture of the point of the elbow or the olecranon (top portion of ulna).
These are relatively common fractures in horses, the good news is the majority of these are repairable with return to full function and work if they are operated on quickly enough after injury! If making the correct diagnosis is prolonged the triceps muscle can contract leading to suboptimal surgical fixation and possible failure.

Always call if you have any questions - especially in an emergency situation!

🚨www.midwestequinevet.com
🚨614-318-3360

16/02/2022

This is a great example of a deep corneal ulcer.

What is a corneal ulcer?

It is a scratch on the surface of the eye. In this photo you can really appreciate the depth of the area that is void of epithelium (think of the surface of the eye as clear skin that has a wound). This is a very painful process due to the rich amount of nerve endings within the “skin of the eye” that causes tearing and squinting. We will often use a stain call fluorescein stain that sticks to these defects. This stain helps us detect much smaller ulcers that can be hard to see with our regular instrumentation.

THESE ARE EMERGENCIES.

Please don’t wait to seek medical attention if your horse is squinting and tearing. A prompt diagnosis and comprehensive treatment plan are essential is saving the integrity and ultimately vision of these eyes.

www.midwestequinevet.com
614-318-3360

14/02/2022

Breeding season is here and picking up quickly. Call us with any questions or concerns regarding your broodmare, stallion, or new foal. We are here to help! (614) 318-3360

08/02/2022

Laceration repair of a lower eyelid. This is a somewhat common ocular emergency in our world. This dude tore about half of his lower lid from the corner (lateral canthus) downward. It was cleaned, debrided, and sutured back together using very small suture. You can see some conjunctival swelling (puffy pink tissue) in the post repair photo-this will go away in a couple of days! No damage was done to the eye when the lid was torn, so he is comfortably resting while his body heals the damaged tissue over the next 7-10 days!

29/01/2022

This is a 9yo OTTB mare that was recently purchased and has been competing at 1.10m on a consistent basis for about 3-4 months. She came up lame after a weekend show and Dr. Drew was asked to evaluate. This mare had an effusive intercarpal joint, decreased range of motion, and was very painful on static flexion. A dynamic lameness exam was not necessary due to the clinical signs demonstrated on palpation, static flexion, and history. Radiographs were taken and a distal radiocarpal bone fragment was noted. There were other degenerative radiographic findings related to her use history, but this was the issue that needed addressed immediately. She was put on the surgery schedule and was operated in 3 days later. After surgical removal of the fragment a combination of therapies were administered and/or prescribed. This mare was back to competing at the same level prior to her injury within 6 months due to a quick diagnosis, a good surgeon, and the administration of a couple of advanced therapeutics!

24/01/2022

More rads for the curious equine enthusiasts! This radiographic series is in honor of navicular awareness week that took place last week (we’re a little late, whoops) Here is an interesting case of a 14 year old WB gelding that has been losing his competitive edge, according to the owner, for about 2-3 months. There is quite a bit to talk about in this imaging series, but we will focus on the most interesting aspects. In the third image there is an osseous fragment distal to the lateral angle of the navicular bone (circled) with minimal reaction in adjacent bone. In the same image some mild enthesiopathic changes are noted on the proximal boarder where the collateral ligaments of the navicular bone attach, as well as some lucent zones along the distal boarder (ie synovial invaginations-shown by black arrows). In the last photo you can see several radiolucent zones or synovial invaginations of various shapes and sizes within the center of the bone or spongiosa (not all of them are highlighted but the black arrows are pointing to a couple) as well as increased endosteal opacity medial and lateral to the sagittal ridge (red arrows). This horse, in summary, has some significant degenerative changes in the podotrochlear apparatus (navicular apparatus). He was managed with intra and extra-articular therapies as well as a new shoeing prescription. He is continuing to perform at a slightly elevated level of performance from when he was first examined, but will inevitably need to be retired from jumping sometime in the near future.

20/01/2022

Check it out!!!! This is a sialolith or stone that forms in the salivary ducts. This horse had a small focal firm swelling in its cheek. X-rays were taken and confirmed a sialolith. We surgically removed it under standing sedation and a local anesthetic. When it was cut open a small piece of wood was discovered in the center! 😳 These stones are usually associated with salivary duct distention or swelling-this was a case where the stone was close enough to the opening of the mouth and saliva was getting past the stone so no swelling or distention was noted.

17/01/2022

This is the foot of a really cool little mare. She sliced her RF medial heel bulb area open after stepping on an arena tractor implement. We were called out to assess and provide care. On initial exam she was lame at the walk (no surprise) and her medial collateral cartilage was exposed (black arrow) with a mild/moderate amount of blood loss from trauma to the medial palmar digital vein (the savy owner got the bleeding under control by applying a pressure bandage before we arrived).
The traumatized portion of the medial collateral cartilage was removed after blocking/numbing the lower limb and the wound was thoroughly palpated. This mare got pretty lucky because the DIP (coffin) joint was not breached and the medial collateral ligament (red arrow) was spared from any trauma. Her foot was cleaned up and sutured back together (despite the freezing cold Ohio night’s best attempt to freeze Dr. Drew’s wimpy Arizona hands).
She is doing great now at home with no lameness issues! Although she is cleared to hit the road and do her job, she will take the year off from showing in the reining circuit to have a baby!

614-318-3360
www.midwestequinevet.com
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14/01/2022

This pregnant mama is feeling better today after getting an abscess dug out of her hind foot!

Typical signs of an abscess are moderate/severe lameness, heat in the foot (heat and swelling in the pastern region are not uncommon), increase in digital pulse, and sometimes vasodilation of vessels in the affected limb.

Note the enlarged or dilated vessel on the inside of this mare’s affected leg (second photo). Inflammation increases the amount of blood flow to the inflamed area in an effort to deliver more nutrients and white blood cells. The body does this by dilating vessels and this is why we see increased digital pulses and dilated vessels with foot abscesses.
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07/01/2022

Foaling season is here and breeding season is right around the corner!

If you are going to be a first time foal mom/dad please take a moment and make sure you are fully prepared for the journey ahead! New babies are always exciting, but for most first timers having a new foal on the ground can be a bit nerve wracking. If you are not familiar with the 3 stages of labor please continue reading. The first most critical part of the baby experience is getting the baby out safely. Recognizing when something is wrong is CRITICAL. So here we go...... lets review the 3 stages of labor so that you know what to look for.

Stage 1: Characterized by signs of abdominal discomfort and restlessness (can mimic a colic episode) caused by uterine contractions. Typically lasts 1-4 hours.

Stage 2: Begins when the "water breaks" (rupture of the chorioallantois at the cervical star). The fluid expelled is usually a weak tea color. This stage ends when the fetus is expelled. Typically lasts NO LONGER THAN 30 MINUTES.

Stage 3: Expulsion of remaining fetal membranes or placenta. Typically takes no more than 3 hours.

Call us immediately if stage 2 labor is lasting more than 30 minutes or if a red velvety tissue is protruding from the v***a at any time during stage 1 or 2 of labor. These situations are emergencies and will require intervention. If stage 3 is lasting longer than 3 hours please call as well. This is not as emergent as the scenarios above, but will likely require intervention as well.

If you have any questions please feel free to call so we can schedule an exam and consultation if it would provide a piece of mind prior to the big day!

www.midwestequinevet.com
614-318-3360

Midwest Equine