Colquhoun Equine Health & Performance

08/21/2023

Determining a horse's cause of neck pain can help ensure he receives the correct treatment.

08/07/2023

We will be closed from August 8 - 15, but will still be available by phone for urgent medical problems!!

08/06/2023

Origin of the word VETERINARY

The word "veterinarian" originates from Latin. In ancient Rome, horses used in the army (loading beasts) that were very old would gather in a place where they could enjoy and rest. These animals were called "veterinus".

The people who cared for these animals were called VETERINARII (veterinarius), which was a derivative of the word VETUS / VETERIS, "old", because of this the profession of animal care was called that.

259 years after the creation of the first school of veterinary medicine the first two veterinary schools, Lyon, on August 4, 1761, and the École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort (Paris), were created by French Claude Bourgelat, lawyer and lover of horses, who did not accept inefficiency in the empirical treatment of his breed horses, and used his influence to convince King Louis XV to create the School of Veterinary of Lyon, which began operating in 1762, with its students recruited among horsemen, specialists in the care of the helmets of the horses, horsemanship being one of the subjects studied.

The second country was Austria in 1768, followed by Italy in 1769, Denmark in 1773, Sweden in 1775, Germany in 1778, Hungary in 1781, England in 1791 and Spain in 1792. At the end of the 18th century, there were 19 schools of veterinary medicine across Europe.

The first recognized veterinarians graduated from major veterinary schools founded between 1762 and 1821, such as the Royal Veterinary College in 1791 in London, and Lyon School became a symbol of modernity.

Source: Dr. Oscar Brogna.

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07/20/2023

Sedating horses that are unruly or in pain has its place in the industry. It benefits both the horse and the farrier. What doesn’t have a place, though, are farriers administering intravenous sedatives.

05/18/2023

Today’s venue.
Great NAEP continuing ed!!

05/17/2023

Louie says “Thank you!”

05/06/2023

LOL

Too true!

02/06/2023

Dr. C is thrilled to be starting the year with an updated cordless digital ultrasound. With 3 probes it can do legs, feet and organs!!!….
And that’s not all. Stay tuned!!

02/03/2023

The equine veterinarians at the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital at World Equestrian Center – Ocala (WEC) are board-certified in equine sports medicine and rehabilitation, are well-versed in the demands of each individual sport horse and can provide a range of rehabilitative treatments an...

02/03/2023

A 13-year study showed this PPID treatment improves horses’ clinical signs and quality of life over prolonged periods.

01/22/2023

The best winter weight management practice could be consistent monitoring of your horse’s body condition.

11/18/2022

10/07/2022

Have you considered providing your farrier with foot X-rays to more exactly evaluate trimming and shoeing? This can be very important and should be done on a routine basis!!!

09/29/2022

September 28 is . While the number of confirmed equine cases every year is low, talking about this disease remains important because of the potential for human exposure—which does NOT have to involve a bite from an infected horses, as contact of skin or mucosa with the horse’s saliva could be enough to transmit the disease.

Rabies has many faces but they are all deadly—once a horse shows clinical signs, the animal invariably dies within a few days as there is no treatment.
The good news is that modern vaccines are highly effective and current AAEP recommendations list rabies as one of the “core vaccines” that should be given to all horses annually to maintain immunity (read the full AAEP vaccination guidelines here: https://aaep.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines)

Equine rabies is a real risk for all horses, and a public health concern as well. Be sure to set up a regular vaccination schedule with your veterinarian if you haven’t already done so, and remember that strange behavior on behalf of your equine friend is always a valid reason to check in with your horse doctor!

Read more about rabies on our website at https://aaep.org/horsehealth/rabies-has-many-faces

09/24/2022

Back from the meeting with some great new ideas to incorporate into practice.
Some exciting new news is on the way….stand by!!!

09/22/2022

Great first day: Foot x-rays, trimming/shoeing and gait abnormalities!!

09/21/2022

Off to some great combined veterinarian/farrier CE in Saratoga!!!

09/14/2022

Fall visit season is upon us.
Vaccines
Metabolic testing
Lyme testing
Getting in shape for Winter!!!

09/09/2022

Brave bikers!

08/23/2022

Drought causes the carbs in grass to be stored in the roots. After a rain like we had yesterday in NJ it will travel back up into the leaf.
Be careful grazing your metabolic and Cushing’s horses and those with laminitis over the next several days!!

06/27/2022

Why do ‘cresty’ necks suddenly go rock hard?

This information is relevant and useful to people who own horses with Equine Metabolic Syndrome and are in danger of laminitis or whose horses are intermittently ‘footy’. Understanding this has helped with rehabilitating, not only all the ponies at Jen Heperi’s Mini-HaHa Rescue Haven but many more horses and ponies all around the world.

We learned from Dr Deb Bennett PhD (who has conducted many dissections), that “the horse's "crest" is made of fibro-fatty sub-cutaneous (adipose) tissue similar in texture to high-density foam”.

Have you ever wondered how it is that the ‘crest’ of the neck can harden so rapidly? Sometimes overnight?

The actual reason is because it goes ‘turgid’ (it fills with fluid). Like foam, the crest tissue can take up water like a sponge; so it swells and hardens because fluid ‘leaks’ into it, filling the interstitial spaces until it is hard as a rock, and ‘softens’ when electrolyte balances are corrected thereby allowing fluid to be resorbed.

When the crest swells with edema, other parts of the horse's body like the abdomen and the hooves (significantly the digital cushion is made of similar material, it is a thick wedge of fibro-fatty subcutaneous tissue) -- are liable to be in trouble, too.

Hardening of the ‘crest’ coincides with not only spring and autumn growth spurts but also potassium and nitrogen spikes in autumn and winter grasses. It coincides with early signs of laminitis which are ‘stiffening’ of gait and being ‘footy’.

It is a sure indication that one cause of ‘pasture related laminitis’ is as much to do with mineral imbalances, (particularly potassium and nitrogen excesses concurrent with salt deficit) as sugars and starches. It explains why short Autumn grass can cause laminitis when analysis shows soluble sugars + starch content is only 7.5% while potassium is 3.4%, sodium only 0.154%, nitrogen 5.8%, nitrates 2290mgs/kg (far too high, in mature grass/hay they are undetectable).
It is one of the many reasons clover is such a ‘no-no’ for EMS/laminitis equines and a likely explanation why there are some insulin resistant/elevated insulin horses that can't tolerate Lucerne (alfalfa) and is why Lucerne can perpetuate laminitis when everything else is being done ‘right’.

People who own horses with EMS are aware they need to pay attention to this vital sign: that just before a horse has a bout of laminitis, the normally soft and spongy crest stands up firm and hard. Then they can immediately reduce potassium/nitrogen intake by eliminating short, green grass replacing it with soaked hay and make sure they add salt to feeds and not rely on a salt lick. If action is taken quickly enough in these early stages, laminitis can be averted, you can ‘dodge a bullet’.

Soaking hay for about an hour not only reduces sugars but also reduces potassium levels by 50%.

Therefore a very important aspect of EMS and laminitis is that identifying and addressing mineral imbalances (particularly high potassium/nitrogen & low salt) are equally as important as sugar and starch content when rehabilitating individuals and assessing suitability of forage for these compromised equines.

03/02/2022

Tis the season!
Herpes outbreak in California affecting 54 horses.
Keep your rhino shots up to date!!!

02/10/2022

Red winged blackbird showed up today. Spring barn visits starting soon😁!!!

12/08/2021

In a recent Equus article Denny Emerson talked about 7 scary things horses do and how to handle them. #1 - Rearing. He wrote "Fear of this behavior is fully justified...I can offer only one simple solution: Do not ride a horse that rears."
I could not agree with him more!!!

09/22/2021

Don’t forget to schedule your fall visit! Give us a call at 973-644-3211!

08/12/2021

Back from Vacation!!!
Give us a call!!

07/30/2021

Dr. C's annual vacation is coming up. He will be out of town from 8/4 - 8/11. He will still take phone calls for urgent matters and Town and Country Veterinary Services will cover emergencies.

06/20/2021

Euthanasia follow up!!!!

Great News! The shortage is caused by difficulty getting the chemical from overseas and is expected to be short term.

CEHP (SSEP) currently has enough to last a little while and we will be continuing to try to obtain an adequate supply.

06/10/2021

Attended a Zoom meeting on alternatives to our present euthanasia solution for euthanizing horses as we are going to lose pentobarbital.

Fi****ms and injection of lidocaine into the central nervous system seem to be the best. Intravenous magnesium sulfate injection into a horse inducted with Rompun/Ketamine is also an option.

I realize this is a big change over decades of a very good technique, but it is one we have to deal with. We always keep the best interest of our patients at heart and will provide the quickest and most physically and physiologically humane methods possible.