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Rural Vet Crisis: Minnesota Vet Seeks To Give Away Clinic, Truck

Dr. Robert Bogan, 74, is sweetening the pot for any veterinarian who might consider working in rural Faribault County, MN, when he retires. He's giving away his practice, his clinic (equipment included) and his truck.

The 220-square mile county has 14,000 people and just one veterinarian — Bogan, who has been trying to retire for years. Bogan and a group of community leaders have been working together to try to find another veterinarian to care for the animals, which include everything from cattle and horses to dogs and cats.

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In addition to Bogan's practice, Faribault County is trying to make the job even bette. The county is enrolled in a federal program that forgives up to $150,000 in student loans for vets who work in the county for six years.

Still, not one person has come forward to take the deal. The issue facing Faribault County is not unusual, as large portions of rural United States are in a veterinary shortage. More lucrative clinics in urban and suburban areas with regular shifts and no emergency duty are a siren song to many graduating vets, many of whom don't want to launch their own small business right away.

Having no veterinarian in the county during emergencies, like a cow in distress during calving, can hurt the bottom line for farmers in the area whose livelihood depends on their animals. Currently, the county is hopeful that Leyton Becker, who has recently finished his first year of vet school at the University of Minnesota, will come home to help. Becker is currently interning with Bogan.

Becker is from the area and was raised on a hog farm, so he understands the pressures of the job and what it entails. When Becker graduates, Bogan will be 77.

Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: How Do Crushed Heels Happen?

Veterinarians at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital answer your questions about sales and healthcare of Thoroughbred auction yearlings, weanlings, 2-year-olds and breeding stock.

Question: How do crushed heels happen, and how might they impact an athletic horse (racehorse or sport horse)?

Dr. Scott Fleming: The modern Thoroughbred has been continuously refined for speed and this is reflected in the light, often thinner walled hooves they possess. A lighter hoof is more susceptible to forces acted on it at speed and can manifest itself in hoof deformation and eventual dysfunction of anatomical structures in the caudal or “back” part of the hoof. Crushed or significantly underrun heels are a hoof conformation fault encountered in all breeds, but very common in the Thoroughbred.

This condition typically develops over time and can be prevalent by early adulthood. There are varying degrees of crushed heels. Depending on the observer, you can describe the degree of heel dysfunction as “low heels” being milder and “crushed” being more severe. Crushed heels can be seen by the eye, but hidden within the hoof, there are often changes that take advanced imaging such as radiography, CT, or MRI to define. Often, crushed heels are accompanied by negative palmar (forelimb) or plantar (hindlimb) angles of the coffin bone, a broken back hoof-pastern axis, and degradation of the digital cushion which is the lifeblood of caudal hoof function.

A hoof is a functioning framework of bone, soft tissue and hoof wall/sole keratin all working together to support and provide traction for the horse. This highly specialized unit must endure tremendous load and stress whether at rest or speed. Proper development from an early age is critical to maintaining a healthy hoof into and throughout adulthood. Timely and attentive hoof care early in life along with activity providing impact/concussion while growing are very important factors for development. The wings of the coffin bone are very short in early life and grow caudally as the horse matures. Strong healthy wings are critical for maintaining health in the back of the hoof as they share load with the digital cushion. We often see underdeveloped or resorbing coffin bone wings with crushed/low heels.

Crushed heels can significantly impact performance through unsoundness or physical breakdown of the hoof with heel or quarter cracks. Often, these horses are heel sore and may have bruising or “corns” present. Low heels or negative palmar/plantar angles also increase stress that can lead to soft tissue injury further up the limb. A good physical exam of the hoof is an integral part of diagnosing a problem and formulating a treatment plan. While prevention is the best medicine, therapeutic shoeing/trimming protocols including bar shoes, sole support, and addressing mechanical needs of the hoof can all help with this problem. Unfortunately, the effects can often linger if severe.

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Scott Fleming, originally from Northeast Texas, grew up riding Western performance Quarter Horses and working with cattle. Upon graduating from high school, Fleming attended farrier school and maintained a quarter horse centric farrier business in Northeast and central Texas until moving to Lexington. He also served in the Marine Corps Infantry for four years.

Fleming graduated from veterinary school at Texas A&M University in 2013. He then completed an internship at Rood & Riddle in 2013-2014, continued at the hospital as a fellow, and is currently an associate veterinarian at Rood & Riddle.

Outside of Rood & Riddle, Fleming enjoys spending time on the farm with his wife, Tina and their two children, Callie and Case. A special interest for Dr. Fleming is participating in Equitarian Initiative trips to Central America to help working equids in the region.

Do you have a question for a veterinarian that you'd like to see in Ask Your Vet? Email natalie at paulickreport.com

The post Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: How Do Crushed Heels Happen? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Joint Care: Provide Support After Wounds, Infection

Viscous and transparent, synovial fluid acts as a biological lubricant within musculoskeletal mechanisms. Penetrating wounds to joints and tendon sheaths cause most infections, though pathogens carried in the bloodstream, as with foals diagnosed with joint ill, have been implicated, as has contamination at the time of intraarticular injection or surgery. Veterinarians refer to infection that sets up in any structure containing synovial fluid, namely joints, tendons, and bursas, as synovial sepsis.

Prompt diagnosis and aggressive treatment minimize damage to septic structures and often prevent career- and life-threatening consequences. To determine if infection is present, bacterial isolation through culture is the best diagnostic tool, yet low sensitivity and long laboratory turnaround time often preclude a definite diagnosis in the face of emergency situations and treatment decisions, which may include joint irrigation and surgery. Because of these limitations, researchers have sought alternative ways to quickly identify the presence of infection.

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Austrian researchers recently evaluated the presence of specific biomarkers, called antimicrobial proteins, in synovial fluid as a way to confirm infection.^* These proteins are activated by the immune system in response to a pathogenic challenge, so their existence in the fluid indicates sepsis. According to the researchers, “using enzyme activity as a biomarker of synovial sepsis enables the development of a point-of-care diagnostic test, which would allow veterinarians to perform, analyze, and act on test results stall-side, in a matter of minutes.”

In the study, researchers collected synovial fluid samples from three groups of horses: healthy controls, horses with aseptic synovitis (inflammation without infection), and horses with septic synovitis. Enzyme activity assays were compared with standard synovial fluid parameters and broad-range bacterial DNA extraction.

The researchers found enzyme activities were significantly different between septic synovial samples and aseptic and control samples, leading them to believe that measurement of enzyme activities would allow for reliable, rapid diagnosis of synovial sepsis and immediate therapeutic interventions.

Joint health depends largely on conscientious management of exercise, including frequency and intensity of athletic bouts, and the provision of high-quality nutritional supplements formulated specifically for joint support. While synovial sepsis typically develops from injuries that compromise the joint capsule, it can occur following routine intraarticular injection of hyaluronic acid and corticosteroids, though the incidence of infection is uncommon.^° The prophylactic use of joint supplements in high-performance horses and prospects can delay the need for joint injections, thus postponing any risk associated with invasive procedures.

^*Haralambus, R., A. Florczyk, E. Sigl, S. Gultekin, C. Vogl, S. Brandt, M. Schierer, C. Gamerith, and F. Jenner. 2021. Detection of synovial sepsis in horses using enzymes as biomarker. Equine Veterinary Journal. In press.

^°Steel, C.M., R.R. Pannirselvam, and G.A. Anderson. 2013. Risk of septic arthritis after intra-articular medication: A study of 16,624 injections in Thoroughbred racehorses. Australian Veterinary Journal 91(7):268-273.

Peat Moss Or Wood Shavings: Bedding For Asthmatic Horses

The natural dust and molds found in bedding material often intensify the clinical signs of horses with asthma. Bedding materials differ in the inhalable and respirable particles they release, just as they have variable absorptive qualities and aesthetic appeal. While horsemen the world over use straw and wood shavings extensively, the popularity of peat moss often coincides with where it is easily obtained, such as in Nordic and Baltic countries. Finnish researchers recently investigated if the use of wood shavings and peat moss as bedding had different effects on the respiratory health of horses.

Researchers chose 32 clinically healthy riding-school horses for this study. The daily schedule of the horses included 18 hours in a stall, 2 to 3 hours of exercise in an indoor arena, and 3 to 4 hours outside in sandy paddocks. Horses were stabled in identically sized stalls with a common airspace and with the same level of ventilation. Researchers maintained bedding at a depth of approximately 4 inches, with new bedding added each day after stall cleaning to keep the depth consistent. Horses stayed on each bedding material for 35 days. Diets consisted of haylage and pelleted concentrate. Horses ate the haylage off the stall floor. Researchers performed lower airway endoscopy and sampling (tracheal wash and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) for cytological examination at the end of each bedding period.

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While researchers found no differences in respiratory rate or tracheal mucus accumulation between treatments, horses bedded on wood shavings had more neutrophils in their tracheal washes and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The researchers concluded that “between the two bedding materials used in this study, peat caused less neutrophilic lower airway inflammation in horses.”

Asthmatic horses should be kept outside as much as possible, a management strategy that keeps many horses from having severe symptoms of asthma. High-performance horses must often be stabled to accommodate training and competition schedules. In these instances, medical management of asthma should be guided by a veterinarian well versed in the respiratory care of horses. Management decisions are often based on reducing inhalable dust and molds, which includes careful selection of bedding and forages.

Aside from forage type (haylage versus dry hay) or treatment (soaking versus high-temperature steaming), another nutritional consideration is the use of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In a consensus statement from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, experts recommend the use of omega-3 fatty acids as a way to control airway inflammation.^° The most potent sources of omega-3 fatty acids available for horses are marine-derived oils, such as EO-3.

^*Monki, J., M. Sasstamoinen, N. Karikoski, M. Rajamaki, M. Roaekallio, J. Junnila, S. Sarkjarvi, M. Norring, A. Valros, S. Oranen Ben Fatma, and A. Mykkanen. 2021. Effects of bedding material on equine lower airway inflammation: A crossover study comparing peat and wood shavings. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8:656814.