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Stem Cells From Umbilical Cords Can Help Ease Ache Of Equine Arthritis

Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is one of the most common issues equine veterinarians see. The progressive condition can lead to reduced athletic abilities and eventual retirement as the disease becomes more painful.

Slowing disease progression through management has been the main goal in treatment regimens. Working with their veterinarian, many owners of horses with osteoarthritis have utilized anti-inflammatories and pain-blocking medications to alleviate their horses' pain.

New treatment options have become available, including the use of umbilical-cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat osteoarthritis. Dr. Almudena Pradera-Munoz, chief scientific officer at EquiCord, in Madrid, Spain, gave a presentation on MSCs at the Equine Regenerative Medicine and Orthobiologics Summit, held Oct. 3-25, 2022.

MSCs are self-renewing stromal cells (cells that make up specific connective tissues) that can be isolated from fat, bone marrow, and the umbilical cord, to be placed in the affected joint. MSCs can stimulate the immune system and encourage healing in the cells of the animal into which they're injected.

According to Pradera-Munoz, the advantages to using umbilical-cord-derived MSCs are as follows:

Greater genetic stability: Umbilical-cord-derived MSCs are less likely to have chromosome mutations or abnormalities
Less chance of virus transmission: MSCs are collected at birth so are less likely to be contaminated by virus- and disease-causing bacteria
Less painful for the horse: Collecting umbilical-cord-derived MSCs is noninvasive
Greater proliferation during manufacturing

Pradera-Munoz recommends treating horses diagnosed with osteoarthritis as soon as possible with umbilical-cord-derived MSCs to encourage synovial regeneration. Though the MSCs will not regenerate tissue if the synovial cartilage is 50 percent or more destroyed, the horse may become less painful and have a better quality of life.

Ask Your Insurer Presented By Kiger Insurance: Keeping Your New Foal Covered

Equine insurance experts answer your questions about insuring Thoroughbreds for the breeding and auction realms.

Email us at info@paulickreport. com if you have a question for an insurer.

Question: How do I insure my new foal?

Olivia Lowe, Kiger Insurance: Congratulations! You've just welcomed an adorable, leggy foal into your stable with visions of roses or lilies dancing in your head. However, before popping the cork, you may want to consider insurance for your future superstar.

Foal mortality insurance is an important aspect of protecting your investment whether you bought a pregnant mare at auction or sent your mare on a date with a stallion. We are often asked – “If my mare is insured – does it cover my foal?” Know that simply having mortality insurance on your mare does not provide coverage on the foal – in utero or after birth – so consider your tolerance for risk and take advantage of foal insurance if you need that protection.

Normally, a healthy foal can be insured as early as 24 hours after birth. Specific foal vetting and bloodwork requirements are necessary on young foals. Notify your agent as soon as your foal is born and discuss when you want coverage to incept. If your foal presents with broken ribs, irregular bloodwork, contracted limbs, “dummy foal” syndrome, or other health issues this will impact when coverage can be incepted and on what terms.

Young foals are the most fragile members of the Thoroughbred family which results in the highest mortality rates. If you can stand to wait a month or more to insure your foal, the rate will be slightly lower. We advise our clients that if the foal is special, don't wait – go ahead and insure it as soon as it is eligible.

Most mares are bred on Guaranteed Live Foal contracts which gives you some protection in the event of abortion or birth of a dead foal. In those situations where you have a No Guarantee season, their may be other types of insurance available. This will depend on the age and breeding history of the mare and carries a high rate.

While the cutest, fuzziest time of year is upon us, it also comes with increased risks. Contact an agent with any further questions and to discuss your options and come up with the best plan for your breeding insurance needs and loss exposures.

Olivia Lowe is a Property and Casualty agent and Agribusiness Farm Insurance Specialist at Kiger Insurance, Inc.

A native of Lexington, Ky., she graduated from Lexington Catholic where she competed on their State-bound Cross Country Team. After graduation she spent several years on the Virginia coast in active duty service with the U.S. Navy. Thirty four countries later, Olivia returned home to Lexington where she graduated from the University of Kentucky Equine Science and Management program. She also served in the U.S. Navy Reserves and recently retired after twenty years of service.

Olivia grew up surrounded by equine insurance, even doing her homework in the Keeneland round room on many a September afternoon in her youth.

The post Ask Your Insurer Presented By Kiger Insurance: Keeping Your New Foal Covered appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Risk Of Laminitis After Corticosteroid Joint Injections May Have Been Overstated

Equine practitioners have cautioned about the possibility of inducing laminitis when giving a horse a corticosteroid joint injection, but a study performed by Dr. Paula Tokawa, with the University of San Paulo's School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, has shown that the possibility of laminitis may be overstated when administering joint injections to healthy horses, reports The Horse.

The scientists reviewed literature available that investigated the relationship between IA corticosteroids and laminitis. Two studies which used control groups showed that the overall incidence of laminitis occurrence with IA corticosteroid use was low and similar to that seen in the control group.

The team concluded that because the incidence of laminitis was low and similar to the control groups, other factors may be causing the occurrence of laminitis in the study horses, including the development of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), both of which might cause a horse to founder.

Additionally, they determined that the amount of corticosteroids administered does not directly correlate with laminitis occurrence.

They conclude that IA corticosteroid injections are only weakly associated with laminitis, so long as the horse doesn't have additional risk factors or a history of laminitis. The team reports that additional studies are needed.

Survey: Approximately 50 Percent Of North American Horse Owners Choose To Blanket

The majority of healthy horses can maintain their body temperature on their own in most weather conditions, including in colder weather. A horse will shiver and his hair will stand up in an effort to trap warm air close to the skin; he will also turn his hind end to the wind to buffer some of the cold. Offering a horse a continuous supply of hay will also help him generate enough heat to maintain body temperature.

Nonetheless, many horse owners opt to blanket their horses. Dr. Michelle DeBoer and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin created an online survey to better understand what factors horse owners considered when deciding whether or not to blanket, and where they were located in the United States.

Nearly 1,450 people completed the survey, with just over half opting to blanket their horses. Interestingly, the proportion of owners who blanketed were the same regardless of the geographic distribution. The scientists found that blanket use depended more on discipline, housing, and management, rather than location.

Horse owners who rode English tended to blanket their horses the most. Professionals (63 percent), owners of less than six horses, and those who have been in the equine industry for less than 15 years also blanketed their horses more than other owners.

Freezing was the most common temperature when owners blanketed, but the majority of owners (85 percent) chose to blanket when there was rain, sleet or snow in addition to wind (58 percent).

The team concluded that there is some consensus among horse owners on some blanketing topics, but that the management practice as a whole is less clear cut. They also noted that there was a comparable number of equine owners who chose not to blanket as those who opted to blanket.