How One Of Our Colleagues Changed The Bovine WorldFebruary 6, 2013After stumbling upon the excellent movie “Secretariat,” I came across another amazing movie: “Temple Grandin.” Here are some highlights. In 1966, Temple spent the summer of her aunt’s farm in Arizona. She was rather distraught by the way cows were being guided toward a chute: they were beaten, yelled at, poked at. This obviously led to mightily stressed cows. But the second they were squeezed in a chute, they seemed to relax. “It gentles them," as a wrangler told Temple. So she built a "squeeze machine," also called a “hug machine.” It is believed that pressure soothes nervousness by releasing molecules, such as endorphins. Interestingly, swaddling babies, using pressure vests in kids with special needs or putting a Thundershirt on a pet, all stem from the same concept: constant, gentle pressure seems to have a calming effect. In 1970, when Temple Grandin observed cattle being treated for parasites in a “dip” at a feedlot in Arizona, she was horrified that one to two drowned out of every 300 animals treated. After researching the topic, she invented a new design with …
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Establishing Nutraceutical Safety And EfficacyJanuary 24, 2013 Scientific evidence that supports or counters claims to beneficial effects from nutraceuticals is vital to veterinarians. Documenting that evidence and funding those studies is never simple. “Controlled efficacy studies are difficult to document,” says Robert J. Van Saun, DVM, MS, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biological Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. “The reality is that finding two horses the same age, in the same physical condition, with exactly the same lameness issues creates its own difficulties. Then you give one a supplement and one a placebo. How can you be certain that the results are sound?” Determining which nutraceuticals benefit the horse’s health and which do not has long been an academic challenge, Van Saun says. Which Do As Promised? Products are marketed around specialized ingredients, specific horse activities, forage program and a plethora of other factors and anthropomorphized concepts, Van Saun says. An equine practitioner’s biggest challenge can be clarifying which nutraceuticals do what manufacturers say they will. “Most of these products have none to limited research validating their effect,” he says. “This is why they are marketed as ‘nutraceutical’ nutritional supplements. The manufacturer wants to sell the product, …
Laser Therapy Healed Equine Leg Wounds Faster In Oklahoma State StudyNovember 28, 2012 Proud flesh formation in equine distal limb wounds may finally have met its match in the form of low-level laser therapy, Oklahoma State University research veterinarians reported this year. In an eight-mare research study of full-thickness, mid-metacarpal leg wounds, those treated with the laser not only healed faster, but “A significant clinical observation was the absence of exuberant granulation tissue in the laser-treated wounds,” said its study published in the May issue of the journal Photonics & Lasers in Medicine. “This is potentially clinically relevant, because control of exuberant granulation tissue is a pivotal factor in management of equine wounds located in the distal limb,” states the paper written by Henry W. Jann, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, associate professor of equine surgery; Kenneth Bartels, DVM, MS, director of the Surgical Laser Laboratory; Jerry W. Ritchey, DVM, DACVP; et al. “Wound healing in the distal limbs of horses is an aspect of veterinary medicine that has made few advances, in spite of our expanding knowledge and technological progress,” the authors wrote. “In fact, treating distal leg wounds and the ensuing exuberant granulation tissue remains one of the most frustrating clinical …
Eye Scans For Spies...and Horses?November 28, 2012 Just as no two fingerprints are alike, no two irises of the eye are the same, not the right and left eye or even in a clone. The characteristics of connective tissue, cilia, contraction furrows, crypts, rings and corona are different enough to distinguish one iris from another, creating colors, textures and patterns that are never exactly alike in any human or animal. Calculating algorithms for the biometrics of the human iris first began in 1987. For dogs and horses, research began about 10 years ago, with equipment for iris scanning for identification purposes hitting the market starting about four years ago. Rochen C. Heers, DVM, believes that iris scanning will be the preferred form of equine identification in the near future. Dr. Heers will tell you: Iris recognition for biometric identification is not just speculative technology from spy films–it is being used now in horse barns, racetracks and veterinary hospitals across the country. As owner of Red Rock Equine Dentistry in Las Vegas, Nev., Heers encourages her clients to have their horses scanned for record-keeping and disaster preparation. She uses the eyeD, an equine identification system based on a digital infrared photo of …
Equine Vaccines Do Best When In Vets’ HandsNovember 28, 2012 Tom Judd, DVM, owner of Equine Veterinary Service in Freeport, Maine, says a small but growing portion of his client base insists on buying equine vaccines over the Internet. “Typically, we tell our clients that vaccinations not purchased though veterinarians can’t be assured of the quality and proper handling of the vaccine before the client gets it in his hand,” Dr. Judd says. “There are too many variables for quality and proper handling.” Judd continues to promote his “spring visits” as not only a farm call to vaccinate horses but also to build the valued relationship of veterinarian, client and patient. Veterinarians must convince equine owners that excising vaccines from their budgets can hurt, says Hoyt Cheramie, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS. Environmental pathogens—borne by mosquitoes, flies, rodents, air and feed sources—as well as infectious agents transmitted horse to horse can cause potentially fatal consequences. “Vaccinations are simple, cheap insurance relative to the potential consequences of having a horse get infected with the disease,” says Dr. Cheramie, a large animal veterinarian with Merial Ltd. of Duluth, Ga. “Discuss with owners and clients that it is possible to be financially prudent and still protect the horse.” …
Wendy Valla, VMD: Finding A Fit In PharmaceuticalsNovember 28, 2012 Wendy Vaala’s first vaccine research and development meeting made her realize that she was well prepared to work in pharmaceuticals. “I [thought], whoa, I have an opinion on this,” recalls Vaala, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, a senior equine technical services veterinarian for Merck Animal Health of Summit, N.J. “They would say, ‘What do you think?’ or ‘How important is this disease?’ I felt like I was raising my hand every 15 minutes with ‘Let me tell you.’” A Pennsylvania native now residing in Alma, Wis., Dr. Vaala says her nearly 25 years working in private practice and academia has made her the equine neonatology and perinatology specialist she is today. She has been with Merck since 2004. “Coming from the northeast, I think we had more infectious diseases so we probably vaccinated more than anywhere else in the country,” Vaala says, adding that diseases she saw ranged from rabies to botulism. “Maybe I was unknowingly super-prepared.” Companies are always looking to bring new things to market, Vaala says. But in order to sell the product, it must be successful. To be successful, the product needs to be developed with the right profile in mind and it …
Jump-starting The Healing With Manuka HoneyNovember 28, 2012 Who could have predicted that a pair of bickering bunnies would set off a chain of events that would heal a Kansas ranch horse’s mangled leg and save his career? Certainly not his owner, a registered veterinary technician who was working miles away at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Chances are, not even his veterinarian, Andrea Arbuckle, DVM, a mixed practitioner in Grenola, Kan. But today, they both believe that manuka honey worked a miracle in healing the horse’s horrific wound. “We think the horse kicked through a guard rail,” Dr. Arbuckle recalled. “In the process, he ripped a laceration right down to the cannon bone on the right hind leg. It was so severe; there was a small fracture, significant periosteal stripping and minor tendon damage.” Tradition First For more than two weeks, Arbuckle treated the leg with traditional mainstream products including Nitrofurazone Ointment, povidone-iodine (Betadine), Corona Ointment and tetracycline topical powder. “At that point, the horse’s wound had 11/2 to 2 inches of bone exposed, and proud flesh was becoming exuberant around the edges,” she said. “A small-animal colleague had told me about using honey, right out of …
Equine Wound Therapies: Negative Pressure And Biological GlassNovember 27, 2012 It’s been said that if there’s a way to get injured, a horse will find it. Thankfully, veterinary researchers continue to develop improved ways to heal hideously mutilated horse flesh. Vacuum Assisted Closure (V.A.C.) Therapy by KCI Animal Health in San Antonio works by providing negative pressure at the wound site through a patented system. Wound edges are drawn together, infectious materials are removed and granulation tissue is promoted at the cellular level. V.A.C. Therapy has been commercially available for about two years. RediHeal Wound Care by Avalon Medical Innovative Veterinary Surgical Products in Stillwater, Minn., is a borate-based biological glass material that imitates fibrin and traps blood platelets, forming a wound cover to support healing. Originally used in companion animals, the product is now marketed in a larger equine version. Avalon spokesman Todd P. Nelson said the company is testing a solubilized form of the material on corneal ulcers and deep fungal infections in equine eye cases. In V.A.C. Therapy, a reticulated open-cell foam (GranuFoam) dressing is placed directly into the wound bed, then covered with a drape and proprietary pad to seal the wound and connect it to a therapy unit. Patented technology uses …
Taking The 'Whole Animal Approach' In Treating Equine Diease Or InjurySeptember 24, 2012 California equine veterinarian Joanna L. Robson, DVM, knows she will never use acupuncture needles to fix a fracture. “But acupuncture, Chinese herbal therapy, nutritional support and other noninvasive modalities may provide a faster recovery, prevent or treat compensatory problems in other parts of the body, and improve quality of life during [a horse’s] rehabilitation,” says Dr. Robson the president of Inspiritus Equine Inc. in Napa, Calif. Known as integrative, complementary or holistic medicine, this segment of veterinary medicine considers a “whole animal approach” in treating equine disease or injury. Teamed with conventional veterinary treatments, these non-traditional modalities are providing good outcomes for equine practitioners throughout the globe, proponents say. Client demand is instrumental in holistic medicine’s growing popularity. “As people look for less invasive, more natural approaches to healing, are better educated about nutrition and food processing, and become aware of the potential negative side effects of particular medications—just listen to the latest ad on TV followed by a list of 20 potentially undesirable side effects—they seek the same alternatives for their horses and pets,” Robson says. Mixing It Up Andris J. Kaneps, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVS Dipl., Dipl. ACVSMR, treats horses in …
‘Eprinex Kills It’ Campaign Puts The Spotlight On ParasitesSeptember 21, 2012 EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated on Sept. 21, 2012, to reflect the most current rebate information from Merial. Merial of Duluth, Ga., launched its “Eprinex Kills It” campaign, which aims to help herd profitability by putting the spotlight on parasite control. Ivomec Eprinex (eprinomectin) is indicated to kill 39 species and stages of internal and external parasites in cattle, according to the company. “We understand parasite control is vitally important to producers, but also recognize they are inundated with product choices and information,” said Steve Vandeberg, director of Merial’s cattle endectocides. “By taking a creative and much more direct approach to our communication with producers, we can cut through some of the parasite control clutter and clearly demonstrate the proven efficacy and broad-spectrum coverage of Ivomec Eprinex. In today’s economy, producers require a product that is going to give them the results they need.” As part of the campaign, Merial is offering a rebate through EprinexKillsIt.com. Producers who purchase Ivomec Eprinex will receive a $30 rebate for every five-liter bottle purchased. The purchase of a 20-liter bottle qualifies …
