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Study: Prednisolone Does Not Increase Susceptibility To Laminitis

Veterinarians at Liphook Equine Hospital in Hampshire reviewed the records of horses admitted to the hospital between January 2001 and November 2001 which had been administered oral prednisolone. The horses that were given the drug were matched with two horses treated at the clinic which had not received the drug and thus acted as controls, EQUUS reports.

Prednisolone is a glucocorticoid, an anti-inflammatory that offers relief to horses suffering from traumatic injuries, respiratory issues and allergies. Though incredibly beneficial, these drugs can cause laminitis, a painful condition in which the sensitive layers of tissue inside horses' hooves become inflamed.

The vets collected data on each horse's age, breed, condition, dose and duration of prednisolone administration, as well as whether the horse had Cushing's, equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), or any previous history of laminitis.

When deciphering the data, the vets found that the use of prednisolone in the frequency and dosage given at the clinic did not increase the patient's risk of laminitis. In horses with metabolic or endocrine disease, which are already more susceptible to laminitis, prednisolone use did not increase laminitis incidence.

The vets noted that precautions should still be taken when using prednisolone and that these findings may not apply to other glucocorticoids like dexamethasone.

One Shedrow Under Quarantine After Strangles Positives At Horseshoe Indianapolis

One shedrow is under quarantine at Horseshoe Indianapolis after two horses were removed from the property earlier this week with symptoms of strangles. The two horses later tested positive for strangles, which is a highly contagious bacterial infection impacting a horse's respiratory system.

A text message alert from the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association indicated late Wednesday that Hawthorne would not be accepting any runners from Horseshoe until further notice. Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing at the track, confirmed that Kentucky animal health officials do not have any shipping restrictions on Indiana horses at the present time.

The positive tests triggered a 14-day quarantine, which began on Monday. Halstrom could not identify the trainer or trainers stabled in the impacted barn, but said that three days in, there are no more horses showing symptoms of illness. Horses in the quarantined barn will not be permitted to train or race for the duration of the quarantine, but all other training and racing activity at the track is continuing as normal with biosecurity protocols in place to minimize chance of disease spread.

Any horses shipping in to race at Horseshoe will be permitted to go to the receiving barn only. Shippers may sometimes be housed in a trainer's barn if requested by their connections, but that has been temporarily suspended.

Strangles is characterized by fever, nasal discharge, and swollen lymph nodes around a horse's head and jaws, hence the name.

Strangles can be passed between horses through nose-to-nose contact but also inanimate objects that are shared between horses.

Most horses recover well from strangles but young horses or those with compromised immune systems can be especially vulnerable.

Colorado State Studies Effects Of Gelding On Wild Horse Herds

While wild horses on the nation's public lands often elicit a romantic image of the West, these quickly growing herds have long faced problems associated with overpopulation. But results of a recent study offer a promising tool to help address those challenges.

Some effects of the situation have been seen this spring in Colorado and other areas. The recent death of more than 140 wild horses due to an equine influenza outbreak at a Bureau of Land Management facility in Cañon City prompted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to call for further evaluation to prevent a similar situation in the future.

And BLM officials recently launched a $20 million effort to increase the use of fertility control to slow the growth of wild horse and burro herds, which they say has expanded to three times the appropriate size for the public lands on which they live.

Now, a research study released this spring by the U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado State University explores one way to help manage herds humanely.

The USGS collaborated with Sarah King, a research scientist in the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at CSU, to test the effects of gelding wild horses in the Conger Herd Management Area in Utah.

Gelding, or castrating, horses is a common practice seen for domesticated horses. The study sought to determine if gelding could reduce population growth and if it changed important social behaviors.

In the study, titled “Effect of adult male sterilization on the behavior and social associations of a feral polygynous ungulate: the horse,” and published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, King and USGS scientist and CSU Affiliate Kate Schoenecker and NREL Research Associate Mary Cole examined how gelding stallions might affect the behavior and mare retention patterns within the herd.

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“These horses are not native to the United States,” said King, who also serves as an associate faculty member within the Ecosystem Science and Sustainability department at Warner College of Natural Resources. “The populations have increased dramatically over the past 10 to 20 years. More recently, it's just been an exponential increase, so the Bureau of Land Management is looking for different ways of managing the horses to control population growth.”

Although castration for domesticated animals like cats and dogs, as well as feral animal “catch and release programs” are common practice, studying how gelding affects behavior within these animals' herd dynamics is an understudied area.

“From an animal behavior aspect, it was really interesting to explore this topic given the lack of literature,” King said. “A major goal was to see if gelding would reduce the population growth of the herd for the sake of land management.”

Exploring Behavioral Ecology And Managing Wild Geldings

The execution of the study involved gathering the population and gelding 27 of the 34 male horses caught. Over the course of four years, King and her colleagues reviewed changes in behavior such as aggression, social group size and the ability for a gelded male to attract and keep mares.

“It was actually really interesting to find that gelding had minimal effects on male behavior,” King said. “It seemed a really positive thing that although the males were castrated, they were continuing to maintain their associations with mares.”

The findings from the study also highlighted the capacity for gelding to be a safe population control tool for wild horse populations. Moving forward, King and colleagues will use the results of this study to explore female behavior, social networks, group changes and resource selection in relation to the movement of wild horse herds.

“Understanding the behavior of animals is often undervalued in how it can be used to manage animals and also to conserve them,” King said. “Once we understand how and why animals are using the landscape, it can really affect management decisions and what will affect fertility and reproductive behavior.”

Report: Lack Of Staff Contributed To Equine Deaths At BLM Holding Facility

A recently released Bureau of Land Management (BLM) report indicates that staffing shortages contributed to the deaths of 145 horses at a facility in Cañon City, Colorado.

The shortages are affecting both equine and facility maintenance, the report noted after a team of experts toured and assessed the facility. The Cañon City facility is run by the BLM and the Colorado Department of Corrections' (DOC) Correctional Industries program, which teaches inmates how to care for and train BLM horses and burros.

The report suggests that multiple positions need to be filled, including wrangler positions for both the BLM and the DOC. Additionally, contracting out labor for tasks like feeding, hoof trimming and facilities maintenance should be considered as inmate populations are fluid.

It was determined that a bronchopneumonia influenza virus and a strep zooepidemicus bacterial infection caused the horses to die. Most of the deaths were among the 435 horses rounded up last fall from the West Douglas area, where wildfire burned the mustang's grazing areas.

The report stated that the facility follows 83 percent of issued standards, but that review of the roles and responsibilities of the two agencies that oversee the facility would be beneficial for operations.

Facility quarantine remains in place until at least July 1 and enhanced monitoring by veterinarians continues.