👀 Time for the answer to this week’s question of the week 🤩
✅ Many of you were again correct on this one. This filly has tetanus! Tetanus is a potentially fatal condition caused by a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. The bacteria and their spores are present in the soil where they can survive for many years. Spores can enter open wounds, proliferate and release the tetanospasmin neurotoxin, leading to the observed clinical signs 🤧
👁️ Clinical signs usually include history of a wound (typically within the preceding month), stiffness, colic, prolapse of the third eyelid, trembling and muscle spasms. Horses may also be unable to open their mouths and be very sensitive to stimuli. This video shows this filly exhibiting several of these signs. Eventually horses can progress to severe muscle rigidity, making it difficult to stand and even breathe 🫁
🛑 Tetanus is an easily preventable disease. The tetanus vaccine is a CORE vaccine recommended by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) for all horses, and boosters should be administered annually. Horses that sustain a wound more than six months after vaccination should be revaccinated immediately. IT IS ALSO VITAL THAT ALL HORSES RECEIVE THEIR PRIMARY VACCINE SERIES! 💉
📝 Important historical questions to ask therefore include DETAILED tetanus vaccination status and if any wounds or abrasions have been sustained in the last few weeks 🤕
🙌🏻 This filly made a complete recovery and was discharged from the hospital 👏🏻
👀 Time for question of the week 🥳
🐴 A yearling Friesian filly develops signs of rigid gait, elevation of the tail head and prolapse of the third eyelid (shown in video). She also seems to be having difficulty eating and seems more sensitive to loud noises 🎧
❓What is the most likely diagnosis? And what information would help confirm your suspicion⁉️
Gotta love those horses that steal snacks from their neighbors and vacuum the shavings in their stall when they’re meant to be fasting 🤣🐴🙈
🤗 ¡Hola amigos! ¿Sabían que una de nuestras doctoras en Medicina Equina, la Dra. Emily Berryhill👩🏼⚕️ está registrada en USPRE? Si necesitan que su caballo Pura Raza Española 🐎 esté registrado en USPRE, llame para programar una cita de registro y enviaremos los documentos a la oficina de USPRE por aproximadamente $130. ¡Asegúrense de traer el paquete de registro de USPRE que incluye la tarjeta de muestra de sangre 💉, el microchip y los documentos oficiales 📄 a su cita de registro!
🤗 Hi friends! Did you know that one of our Equine Medicine doctors, Dr. Emily Berryhill👩🏼⚕️ is registered with USPRE? If you need your Pura Raza Española horse 🐎 to be registered with USPRE please call to schedule a registration appointment and we’ll send out the documents to the USPRE office for approximately $130! Please make sure to bring the registration packet from USPRE that includes the blood sample card 💉, microchip and official documents 📄 to your registry appointment!
Otoscopic Examination
This sweet boy, Finn, was presented to our service for some interesting headshaking behavior and possible irritation in his ear. A thorough examination and diagnostic work-up was performed including X-rays of the skull and guttural pouch endoscopy 🩻🎥
Check out this awesome video of his otoscopic evaluation with our dermatology team 😍
Check the comments to see a close-up of what we found deep inside his left ear, obscuring the ear drum 👂🏻😲. This abnormal discharge may indicate an ear infection that may be the cause of his signs. Culture results are pending 🦠🧫
Foal Umbilical Ultrasound
👀 Time for the answer to this week’s medicine question 🤩
✅ Many of you were correct in identifying this as a patent urachus. The urachus is one of the umbilical structures that connects to the bladder and usually closes at birth but may reopen in foals that have illness or spend more time than normal lying down, resulting in urine dripping or streaming from the umbilicus! This may increase the risk of bacteria ascending via the urachus to the internal umbilicus and leading to systemic infection or infection of the joints, lungs, liver etc. ⚠️
‼️It is vital to be aware that as well as the external remnants of the umbilicus that we can see and feel outside the body, there are actually larger and more extensive internal umbilical remnants just inside the foal’s abdomen (that extend to the bladder and liver) and are in close proximity to the external remnants. The internal remnants can become infected without obvious external signs. The infection may go unnoticed until the foal develops a serious infection elsewhere in the body as a result of the internal umbilical infection seeding the bloodstream. As such… it is vital to have the internal structures of the umbilicus ultrasounded in such situations 🖥️
This ultrasound clip performed by our amazing third year resident Dr. Lehman, shows some of the internal remnants nicely - the left umbilical artery (L), the right umbilical artery (R), the urachus and the bladder. (Sound on for full effect 🔊🤣)
A patent urachus should be evaluated by a veterinarian including ultrasound evaluation of the internal structures - please feel free to reach out with any questions 🐴💕
👀 Remember this filly from last week’s medicine question❓
She was diagnosed with botulism a condition known as “Shaker foal syndrome” 🦠
Botulism is caused by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and occurs in foals when spores germinate and produce toxins in their intestinal tracts. The toxin blocks the communication between nerves and muscles resulting in progressive flaccid paralysis and reduced muscle strength - look back to this filly in the previous video to see her signs of weakness and muscle flaccidity.
Lying down more than normal is frequently the chief complaint. When forced to rise, foals will stand for a few moments, develop muscle tremors (thus the term shaker foal), and then drop to the ground.
Botulism is rare but highly fatal unless treated aggressively, especially as horses are more susceptible than other species. This filly made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital 🐴🥰
👀 Apologies for being a little late on our weekly medicine question this week! 🤓
🩺 This filly presented at 4 days of age with a history of weakness and lethargy as illustrated in this video… what are some p👀 Apologies for being a little late on our weekly medicine question this week!❓
Lala and Gaia 😍
Happy Foal Friday ☀️
Introducing Lala (mare) and Gaia (foal) 😍
Gaia was born on St Patrick’s Day and just turned 6 weeks old! She spent the first week of her life in the UC Davis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit together with her mom Lala who was also in critical condition… as you can see, they both made a complete recovery and are enjoying life back home 🩷🌎
Stay tuned for more pics of these stunners and the fascinating full story coming soon… ✨
Follow up on "dummy " and septic foal!
Look who’s going home!! 😍
It’s another beautiful day at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital… The sun is shining and one of our previously critical neonatal foals is feeling so much better that he’s going home today 😍🙌🏻
This colt was admitted at 3 hours of age with signs of systemic infection and “dummy foal syndrome” (a condition that occurs when foals suffer a lack of oxygen before or during birth). He was stabilized and treated in our fully equipped Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 6 days and has made a full recovery 🐎💗
Check out the comments to see his progression from being so sick that he was unable to stand, to kicking up his heels enjoying some Davis sunshine☀️; also featuring some of our amazing internal medicine team who helped to save his life 🩺🐴
How to Check your horse's respiratory rate
Watch your horse's nostrils and count each nostril flare or opening and closing as one breath. Normal respiratory rate for an adult horse is 8-20 breaths per minute.
