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Strangulating Lipoma: Surgery The Only Option

Strangulating lipomas are a common cause of colic in horses older than 10. These fatty tumors take years to develop; they eventually wrap around the small intestine or small colon and block ingested feed and hay from moving. If left long enough, they will eventually cut off blood flow to the tissues as well.

Why these tumors occur isn't known, but they don't only occur in overweight equines. Colic from a strangulating lypoma cannot be managed with on-farm treatments like hand walking or medicating—surgical removal is the only remedy for this type of colic.

A horse with a strangulating lipoma may have only mild abdominal pain as the tumor grows. His pain will escalate as the tumor increases in weight, which causes the loop to tighten and block more ingested material. Eventually the blood supply to the tissue may be cut off, causing it to die.

The horse may initially appear restless, he may roll, paw or bite at his sides. Stretching out to ease the pull and sweating is not uncommon, nor is an elevated heart rate and depression. A horse with a strangulating lipoma most likely will not eat or pass manure. This form of colic may cause the horse to have a distended abdomen from the buildup of fluids.

This type of colic is diagnosed through observation of behavior, as well as through palpation of the small intestine, presence of abdominal distention and an increase in proteins and white blood cells in the peritoneal fluid.

The only treatment for a horse with a diagnosed strangulating lipoma is surgery, which will remove the tumor as well as any damaged intestine.

Accomplished Veterinarian Johnson Dies At The Age Of 81

Dr. Jerry H. Johnson, longtime veterinarian well known in academic and private practice, died Nov. 9 at the age of 81.

Born March 7, 1939 in Gough, Ga., to Julian and Martha Kitchens Johnson, Johnson was raised on his parents' working farm and attended the University of Georgia, where he received both his undergraduate and veterinary degrees. He went on to spend seven years in the U.S. Army Reserves before being discharged in 1963 with the rank of staff sergeant.

Johnson became a boarded equine surgeon and taught for 16 years at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Auburn University, and the University of Missouri.

After encouragement from well-known racetrack practitioner Dr. Alex Harthill, Johnson left academia to begin private practice in 1979 in the Central Kentucky area. He is credited with introducing the use of furosemide into racing to prevent incidence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), as well as being the first veterinarian to use an endoscope to examine the airway of horses at auction. Johnson was also well known as an advocate to end of the practice of soring and “Big Lick” movement in the Tennessee Walking Horse world.

Johnson's work also included field trial studies for pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Merial, and Schering-Plough. He scoped more than 2,000 horses as part of field trials for the omperazole treatment now commonly known by its trade name of GastroGard.

According to his obituary, Johnson's patients included many Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup winners, as well as grand prix jumpers, Paso Finos, Friesian carriage horses, the Budweiser Cydesdales, Belgian pulling drafts, and the occaisonal stable dog or cat.

Johnson was a published author in the American Association of Equine Practitioners Proceedings, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Journal of Equine Medicine and Surgery, and was a member of AVMA, AAEP, ACVS, NAARV, KVMA, KAEP, FAEP, The Thoroughbred Club, The Keeneland Club.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 30 years, Patricia White Johnson, and daughter Julee Johnson, longtime friend Jo Ann Johnson, daughter Kaitlyn Hildenbrand (Maury), sister-in-law Barbara White Crockett, nieces Jennifer Knight (Mark) and Elizabeth Erickson (Nils) (daughters of his late sister-in-law Jacqueline White), nephew Major Roy B. Crockett, USMC (Anais), adopted daughter Elizabeth Connolly (Jim), grandchildren Juel Johnson; Ty, Alexa, and Ashley Hildenbrand; Christopher and John Connolly.

A memorial will be held sometime in 2021. In lieu of flowers, the family has established a memorial fund in Johnson's honor at the University of Georgia, where friends may contribute to the UGA Foundation (note: The Jerry H. Johnson, DVM Memorial Fund) or online here.

Read an extended obituary of Johnson here.

The post Accomplished Veterinarian Johnson Dies At The Age Of 81 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Free Virtual Equine Industry Symposium Focuses On COVID-19 Response

Over the last eight months, the struggles of COVID-19 have affected our day-to-day lives. In the wake of the global pandemic, the theme of this year's Equine Industry Symposium will be RESILIENCE: Rethinking, Restructuring, Revaluating due to COVID-19. The event will be hosted as a live webinar via a zoom platform from November 16th through November 20th, 2020 each evening from 7 to 8 p.m. EST. This event is free upon advanced registration at the Eventbrite website.

How has COVID-19 affected you and your horse? Come find out at the 5th annual Equine Industry Symposium held virtually November 16-20, 2020.

Many of those in the equine industry have been impacted by the pandemic in multiple ways. Some of these challenges result from a lack of preparation, which can lead to insufficiencies both financial and of animal well-being. To address how to overcome these negative experiences and plan for a brighter future, each evening of this year's Equine Industry Symposium is focused on exploring the challenges presented by the pandemic, understanding its effects on the equine industry, discussing opportunities to re-evaluate and restructure, and proactively planning for situations similar to this that may occur in the years to come.

The symposium is hosted by students in the Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management Equine Management degree program at the University of Guelph, together with Ontario Equestrian and Equestrian Canada. Over the five evenings, live and pre-recorded speakers will discuss the effects of the pandemic in their areas of expertise followed by live question and answer sessions.

On Monday evening, Bronwynne Wilton from the Wilton Group will give a summary of the report provided to Equestrian Canada on the effects of COVID-19 on the equine industry. An open discussion with Danielle Glanc, farm policy analyst with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Jonathan Zammit, executive director of Ontario Racing, and Christine Reupke, director of Equestrian & Breed Sport at the Royal Horseshow in Toronto, Canada will provide insight on how they viewed and approached the pandemic from their respective equine communities.

On Tuesday evening, Melanie Barham will discuss farm and business planning. Sean Jones from Sunlife Financial will provide a five-step action list for designing a recession-proof financial plan. Catherine Willson, equine lawyer, and Mike King from Capri CMW insurance will discuss insurance implications and risk mitigation in light of COVID-19.

Wednesday evening will examine the effects of the pandemic on horse welfare. Gayle Ecker, director of Equine Guelph, will present the minimum standards of care as outlined in the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines. Roly Owers, CEO of World Horse Welfare, will analyze what welfare means and how to cope with pandemic restrictions without compromising welfare. Bettina Bobsien will discuss responsible decision-making for older and retiring horses.

On Thursday evening, Stewart Everett, UK Equine Register, and Nic de Brauwere, Redwings Sanctuary, will outline the traceability program in the UK. Kristy House from Equestrian Canada will give a summary of how traceability will be implemented in Canada and how it will assist with emergency situations like the pandemic.

Friday evening will begin with an address from Assistant Deputy Minister Frederic Seppey, Market and Industry Service Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, on how the equine industry is positioned and how the ministry can support the industry moving forward. Kristy House, Equestrian Canada and Tracey McCaugue-McElrea, Ontario Equestrian, will discuss how industry organizations are helping the industry as a whole. The symposium will conclude with highlights of some of the positives that have emerged from the pandemic.

While this event is free, attendees may wish to support “For the Herd”, an emergency fundraiser administered by Ontario Equestrian to assist riding schools that are struggling to provide for their horses due to the loss of revenue from lessons and camps due to COVID-19. All proceeds raised go toward riding school facilities and their school horses across the province. For more information and to donate visit the For the Herd Website.

Ancient Remedy Shows Promise As Antimicrobial

Antimicrobial resistance is of great concern to those involved in equine health; multidrug resistance is posing a massive challenge to managing microbial infections. Infections that cause biofilms are even harder to resolve; it's estimated that biofilms require 100 to 1,000 times higher antibiotic concentrations that non-biofilm-producing bacterial infections.

Drs. Jessica Furner-Pardoe, Blessing Anonye, Ricky Cain, John Moat, Catherine Ortori, Christina Lee, David Barrett, Christophe Corre and Freya Harrison investigated the efficacy of a 1,000-year-old herbal remedy found in a 10^th century Old English medical compendium. The remedy, called Bald's eye salve, consists of onion, garlic, dry white wine and bovine bile salts.

The team found that this topical remedy was useful against specific soft tissue wound pathogens. To create the salve, the scientists chopped and crushed the onions and garlic, and brewed them with wine and bile salts. They then stored the liquid in sterilized glass bottles at around 39 degrees Fahrenheit in the dark for nine days. The ingredients were then strained and centrifuged to obtain a liquid that was filtered and stored in the same sterilized glass bottles.

When tested against wounds that contained MRSA, Bald's eye salve obtained a 90 percent bacterial kill and was comparable to vancomycin. The medication didn't cause damage to either human cells in the laboratory or to mice.

The combination of all the ingredients is what makes it effective against biofilms. If any ingredient is left out, the preparation is not effective.

Read the full article here.