Lavaging a hoof abscess
Yes! We can put calves on the table. This little guy had a hoof abscess that came out the heel bulb. We put a block on the good claw to elevate the sore claw. We were able to open the abscess at two locations to lavage necrotic debris. Antibiotics and antiinflammatory medication included. He should make a full recovery.
Laser therapy in Horses
Cold lasers are a great treatment option for soft tissue injuries and post traumatic or surgical healing. What exactly is a cold laser?
Cold lasers are not cold. The cold refers to the fact that they’re not a cutting laser; a type of laser that’s used for surgeries as it literally cuts through tissues. Cold laser are less intense. They deliver heat and healing through wave lengths into soft tissue and muscles.
They rapidly aid in healing. They CANNOT be used for cancer though. Most animals I’ve treated enjoy the process. My wife is the biggest fan though. She used it daily when she was pregnant.
Successful twin calf pull
Calf pulling all week and weekend. Keep an eye on your cattle folks. Fast intervention means live calves and healthier cow. If you haven’t met Karen yet give her a warm welcome please. She’s a 4th year vet student riding along with me this week. She pulled a calf this weekend.
Fun Fact Friday:
Inflammation is the bodies way of trying to manage issues. It can be too robust though. Severe swelling can lead to compartment syndrome, where certain areas are blocked off from receiving blood supply. Which is a very bad thing. This is Severe swelling of a coronet/coffin/pastern. I’m draining the pus and taking samples. Top concerns or infection, cancer, or immune mediated disease.
Face off....
Guess who won?
Calves suddenly dying off is an emergency. Infectious outbreaks can wipe out a new generation of animals.
These calves went from being healthy to showing respiratory and neurological signs, and died within 24 hours on onset. The foamy secretions from their lungs is caused by the infection and secondary severe inflammation.
QUIZ TIME:
Many diseases can be prevented, and many more can be lessened in severity by vaccinations. When should pregnant cows and new calves get vaccines?
When you’re clean you can’t touch the horse. So you steady her with your legs and core.
Trimming up that proud flesh wound we saw the other day. Under normal circumstamces, I would prefer to do these procedures under general anesthesia. Unfortunately, this filly had pneumonia also and couldnt be layed down due to anesthetic recovery risks. With the right sedation, good handlers, and steady hands, we got her trimmed.
I want to start this post with some important information: This horse was not injured by this. He is quite wild and difficult to manage. For his safety and ours he was darted with a tranquilizer.
Animal husbandry and care are our right and responsibility. Some animals require more cautious handling. When that’s needed a dart gun comes in handy. It’s used in many aspect of veterinary medicine; and is used with great success and minimal stress and duress to both the humans and the animals involved.
This guy is back up and kicking. He managed his way through a fence actually; which goes to show how well he is doing.
Not everyone appreciates their medications.....
Sodium iodide is a great antimicrobial for Actinomyces and Actinobacillus bacteria. This bacteria species is prevalent in all large animal species. It can be considered normal flora for small production animals, it can cause a plethora of severe diseases if it gets out of hand.
Dr Pimple Popper ain’t got nothing on this bull and I.
Make sure you always stand out of the line of Fire when lancing an abscess.
Someone’s feeling much better. After a few set backs and changes in management he’s about 75% recovered, and I expect a full recovery by the end of the summer.
Great news for this lucky horse.
Slow and Steady makes for a good recovery.
Muscle breakdown is a normal process. Excessive breakdown though can not only be hard on the muscles, but can potentially shut down the kidneys. Excessive Creatinine, a byproduct of muscle metabolism, is excreted through the kidneys. Too much pressure and kidney failure can occur.
Diuresis is helping this gelding not only stay hydrated and relax his musculoskeletal system, but ease the burden on his overtaxed kidneys. We’re watching these values closely.
Someone got loose and tore it up. And exerted themselves too much. Stall rest and aggressive fluid therapy, along with aggressive medications, are all in order for this gelding.
Allowing an animal to cut loose can hurt them. We’ll stay updated on his recovery.
Training and positive reinforcement go a long way in helping mitigate stress and additional
Work.
Whether in pigs, dogs, horses, or pigs!
Hooves are all Trimmed up and this pigs ready for the show.
Spring time is the best time of year.
Fun Fact Friday:
Heaves in horses is very similar to our asthma. Chronic immune stimulation in the lungs leads to wheezing, shortness of breath, and can make life miserable.
It can also be allergy induced, exercise induced, and blood testing may determine the underlying cause for treatment options.
While disbudding and dehorning are important, they must be done carefully to avoid trauma to the animal. Dehorning kids has certain inherent risks: too hot or too long and you can cause brain trauma and an abscess to form. Neurological issues are a common sign of this.
Another day, another drunk goat.
This guys fighting hard to go down for his castration. Some bucks want to stay bucks.
Now that’s a good Mama cow.
Notice how wet her nose is? She’s being very attentive to her newborn. Lots of stimulating, nudging to get it on its feet, and licking. She’s ready to get the calf moving, cuz moving means living.
She’s also ready to charge me. Thankfully she was managing the calf just fine, and he was up and moving in no time.
C-Section
This calf was 120 pounds. No way he was coming out any other way.
Knowing a bulls calving ease can have a huge impact of production. Having bulls with good calving ease makes calving much easier on the cow, the calf, and anyone else involved. It also helps with production efficiency. Large calves often cannot be born vaginally. That means an emergency visit by the vet and a surgery.
