Pacific Crest Sporthorse Hot Topics
"The Most Up-To-Date Equine Medical Reference Available"
This guide for horse owners, veterinarians, and students of veterianry medicine covers every critical aspect of equine health management.
Written by our own Dr. Crabbe
- Step-by-step instructions for basic first aid techniques and preventative health care
- Exquisite, detailed color illistrations of the anatomy of the horse and hundreds of color photographs
- Thorough information on major equine diseases and health issues, including causes, symptoms, diagnostic tests, and treatment options addressed in an easy-to-read format
- Troubleshooting features such as When Things Go Wrong, When to Call the Vet, and Home Treatment Guides
- Special sections on performance horses, geriatrics, broodmares, foals and advice for the new horse owner
- A Guide to Drugs and Medications that includes dosage guidlines and toxicity warning
"Items in the News"
Do non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) cause stomach ulcers? Learn the truth
We’ve all been there. “Champ” has an injured leg, and you’ve been instructed to give him bute for the next several days. You want to do what’s right for his leg, but you’re concerned—he’s a sensitive horse, and you’ve heard that bute can cause stomach ulcers. Is this true? Should he get anti-ulcer medications too?
L.C. Fennell and R.P. Franklin have addressed this very issue in an article in the December 2009 Equine Veterinary Journal, titled “Evidence-based Clinical Question: Do nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs administered at therapeutic dosages induce gastric ulcers in horses?” This article reviews the frequency and appearance of stomach ulcers in horses, and whether NSAIDS like bute and Banamine put your horse at risk.
Stomach ulcers have been found in adult horses at frequencies varying from 80-93% of Thoroughbred racehorses to 40% of western performance horses. While ulcers often cause vague symptoms, warning signs include colic, weight loss, decreased appetite, altered attitude, and decreased performance. Stomach ulcers are diagnosed by passing a device called endoscope down the horse’s throat and into his/her stomach that allows us to see the stomach lining. Multiple studies have shown that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (including bute, banamine, ketofen, etc) can cause stomach ulceration in horses. NSAIDs can cause ulceration by altering blood flow to the mucosa lining the stomach. However, these studies all used excessive doses of bute or Banamine (doses much higher than ever prescribed by a veterinarian). What did studies that only use therapeutic doses (doses that your veterinarian would prescribe) find?
Fennell and Franklin review multiple studies that evaluate NSAID use and stomach ulceration in performance horses. All of these studies had the same conclusion: there was no connection between NSAID use and stomach ulcers when appropriate therapeutic dosages were used. Therefore, there is no reason to give your horse anti-ulcer medications when he’s being dosed appropriately with an NSAID.
What can we take from this article? Go ahead and follow our instructions regarding Champ’s bute. Be vigilant in following directions—ask if you have any questions! While NSAIDs are unlikely to cause stomach ulcers at therapeutic dosages, they are harmful if your horse is over-dosed. Lastly, save your money and don’t give anti-ulcer medications when they’re not needed. If you think your horse may have ulcers, discuss endoscopy with your veterinarian.
Rabies Vaccination Update
In 2008 the American Association of Equine Practitioners added Rabies vaccination to their list of core vaccines, meaning they recommend it be administered to all horses in the United States on an annual basis. There are a number of important facts supporting this decision.
- *Rabies is a 100% fatal disease.
- *Humans are at risk, and could contract rabies by handling a rabid horse.
- *The vaccine is inexpensive, safe and very effective.
Although rabies is rare in Oregon, and your horse is not at high risk, the virus is carried by bats throughout the state. Infection is possible. Given these facts, we are now recommending rabies vaccination be included in the basic annual vaccination program for all horses.
Please feel free to give our office a call if you have any questions.
Dr Barb Crabbe, DVM
Dr
Jennifer Posey, DVM
Dr Elizabeth Fortier, DVM
New Strategies for Parasite Control
Intestinal parasites are an important threat to your horse's health, and at Pacific Crest Sporthorse our goal is to insure your horse is well protected with an effective deworming program. Recent reports of parasite resistance to common deworming medications have captured our attention and caused us to rethink our strategies for parasite control.
The Basics
Over the years, a number of changes have occurred in the parasite populations that have changed the way they respond to medications. Different species of worms such as the small strongyle and tapeworm have become a more serious concern, while others such as the large strongyle have become less important. On top of that, widespread use of deworming drugs has led to resistance within some of these parasite populations. The battlefield has changed, and we need to make sure the weapons we employ to fight internal parasites are still effective. If we don't, the worms will win. Because of this, it's time to make some changes in our control strategies.
Our Goals
Our newly designed parasite control program is targeted to meet the following 3 goals:
**Minimize pressure on effective dewormers: Resistance to various deworming medications is widespread. However, ivermectin, moxidectin and fenbendazole administered in a larvicidal dosing (double dose daily for 5 days) all remain effective deworming strategies against most classes of parasites, with very little reported resistance to date. If we overuse these medications in our environment, however, we risk encouraging the development of resistance. The same is true for praziquantel, the medication that's most effective for treating tapeworms. By designing a strategic parasite control strategy that uses deworming medications only when needed, the pressure on these drugs is lessened, meaning they'll remain effective weapons for as long as possible.
**Identify resistant horses: Studies show that certain horses tend to harbor larger numbers of parasites than others and may be more resistant to deworming medications. These resistant horses may not only suffer health concerns of their own because of their heavier parasite loads, they'll also shed more eggs, putting others on your farm at higher risk. If we can identify these resistant horses, and target them for more aggressive treatment than their non-resistant herd-mates, everyone benefits.
**Monitor resistance on farms: No matter how hard we try, resistance will occur. As the final step in our control strategy we'll monitor the effectiveness of the dewormers we do administer to make sure they're still working.
The Strategy
The most reliable monitoring tool available is measurement of parasite eggs passed in your horses feces, called a fecal egg count. Although there are some factors that can cause inaccuracies in these measurements (such as parasites that can be present in larval forms without passing eggs), a high egg count is a solid indicator of a significant parasite load. In addition, a reduction in egg counts following deworming means the deworming drug is working. Our new program employs regular fecal egg counts as a critical monitoring tool.
The new schedule only calls for regular dewormings twice yearly in the spring and fall months. Prior to every deworming, fecal egg counts will be performed in order to identify potential resistant horses. Even if the egg count is zero at this time, however, a regular deworming is still recommended. This will help protect against possible false negative tests, account for larvae that may not be shedding eggs, and treat for bots. (It's interesting that large strongyle populations, virtually eliminated in the majority of horses in the United States, are on the rise in countries where deworming frequencies have dropped to less than twice a year. Therefore we feel a minimum of two annual dewormings should still be performed, regardless of egg counts). If egg counts are high (200 eggs per gram) at the time of the deworming, a follow up fecal check should be performed 7-14 days later to insure there's no resistance to the deworming medication. During summer and winter months, egg counts are recommended to identify resistant horses, but a dewormer is administered only when egg counts are high.
The recommended schedule for deworming mature horses is as follows:
Spring (March/April)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with moxidectin/praziquantel
Check fecal egg counts on all horses with EPG 200 prior to deworming
Summer (June/July)
Check fecal egg
Deworm all horses with EPG 200 (dewormer choice based on fecal exam)
Fall (September/October)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with ivermectin
Winter (December/January)
Check fecal egg counts
Deworm all horses with EPG 200 (dewormer choice based on fecal exam)
Questions
Isn't it expensive to do all of those fecal egg counts?
Managing your deworming program with fecal egg counts costs about the same amount of money each year as an interval deworming program. The cost of lab testing replaces the cost of administering unnecessary chemicals to your horse.
What about Strongid C?
In many situations, daily deworming with Strongid C is still a great strategy. Although there has been some resistance to pyrantel reported, it is not necessarily more likely to develop in horses receiving daily Strongid C. In fact, there is more resistance to pyrantel reported in European countries where daily dewormers are not in use than there is in the United States. The advantage to daily deworming is that it reduces the overall numbers of eggs shed by individual horses, and can help minimize pasture contamination.
Pacific Crest Sporthorse ~ Oregon City ~ OR ~ 503-632-6336