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Equine Enteroliths: A Difficult Diagnosis

A horse that ingests a foreign object like a pebble, baling twine or metal may not colic immediately upon eating the inedible item. Instead, his body may hold onto the object and coat it with minerals that form a flat, round or triangular stone inside the bowel. Called enteroliths, these are generally found in the large colon, where they can remain for years before potentially causing an issue.

Though it isn't clear why some horses develop enteroliths, breed disposition, management practices and certain diets (like those high in magnesium and protein) may contribute to enterolith formation. Geography does seem to play a role, with more cases in California and Florida than elsewhere in the United States. Though these stones can occur in all breeds, Morgans, Saddlebreds, Arabians and Arabian crosses are often affected.

Enterolith formation is believed to be affected by gut pH and motility, as well as by the availability of certain minerals. Horses can form both large and small stones; the small stones may be excreted with manure, but the large stones may create an obstruction that leads to colic.

Horses with enteroliths will present differently depending on how many enteroliths there are and where they are located. A horse with a big enterolith in the large colon may have chronic colic symptoms. Horses with smaller stones that move around may show signs of acute colic when something is obstructed. Before the horse exhibits any colic signs, he may have loose manure, weight loss, be reluctant to move or have an attitude change.

Diagnosing enteroliths can be challenging as many of the signs are not specific. X-rays are often used, but they are not always able to definitively diagnose stones not located in the large colon. Early diagnosis is important so that complete obstruction doesn't occur. The only treatment for horses that colic from enteroliths is surgery to remove the stones. Horses that have enteroliths removed should not have any alfalfa in their diets.

Enteroliths can be prevented by offering as much grazing time as possible, increasing the number of meals fed each day, exercising consistently and supplementing with psyllium.

Annual Bluebonnet Horse Expo Going Virtual In October

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society recently announced that they're taking their annual Bluebonnet Horse Expo virtual for 2020. The online event will be held October 10 through the 18.

“This will be our fourteenth Bluebonnet Horse Expo and while we look forward to seeing everyone each year, we also want to keep the public safe. We didn't want to cancel the Expo because of the pandemic, so we decided to go virtual instead,” says Bluebonnet's Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Williams.

The event, which is an educational event, fundraiser for Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society and adoption event for the rescue is normally held in the Austin, Texas, area. This year, however, the event will be online so horse lovers from anywhere in the world can participate!

Those who purchase a ticket will get access to video presentations by horse trainers and other equine professionals as well as live online Q&A sessions with some of the presenters. Topics will cover a wide range of themes including training, behavior and equine health.

There will also be an online auction, an online/virtual horse show, and video introductions to the horses living at the rescue's many foster homes. The rescue will also conduct a fundraiser during the Expo to help raise funds to care for formerly abused, abandoned and neglected horses.

Horses will be available for adoption to approved adopters throughout Texas for half-price during the entire month of October.

The Bluebonnet Rescue Horse Training Challenge, a competition in which professional trainers and amateur horsemen and women work with a rescue horse for four months, will still take place in person, but attendance will be limited to pre-approved adopters. The rescue plans to livestream the Challenge competition on its Facebook page on October 17.

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society is a non-profit organization that helps rescue horses, ponies, mules, and donkeys from negligent and abusive owners. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the rescue to cancel one fundraiser and donations are down for the rescue this year, so it is hopes that the Expo and donation drive will raise some of the funds necessary to help horses throughout the next year.

Tickets are available here.

There are still sponsorship opportunities available, and the organization needs donations of horse equipment and farm/ranch/western themed art-work, jewelry and home décor for the live auction. All donations are tax deductible.

For more information, click here or call 888-542-5163.

The post Annual Bluebonnet Horse Expo Going Virtual In October appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Horses Can Hide Signs Of Pain; A New Phone App Is Here To Help You Detect Them

Horses have evolved as prey animals, and that means some of them are resistant to showing outward signs of pain. For many, the subtle signs that a horse may be dealing with discomfort are especially difficult to spot.

According to The Horse, Dutch researchers recently completed a project to make it easier for owners to objectively assess whether a horse is in pain. Dr. Thijas van loon, faculty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht University, and his colleagues engineered a smartphone app for processing facial expressions ad body language, instructing an owner on what to look for and how to measure the signs they see.

The Equine Pain and Welfare App works for both horses and donkeys, and provides guidance for both facial and body expressions of discomfort. Users are instructed to observe facial expressions for two minutes and body language for five, making note of behaviors or expressions as they occur during that time. Ear position, head position, and eye appearance are all elements in a horse's pain score.

App users are advised to consult a veterinarian for horses scoring over a five on a scale of 0 to 18. It will also store information, allowing users to pinpoint changes to a horse's comfort level over time.

Love At First Photo: Shurrum Takes A Risk On An OTTB, Ends Up With Her ‘Black Beauty’

A lifelong horsewoman, Rebecca Shurrum couldn't resist stepping in to assist TAA-accredited Thoroughbred Athletes when the organization posted online about four pregnant Thoroughbred mares in a pen that needed urgent help.

She donated to the cause to help the mares, three of which were going to be helped by Thoroughbred Athletes, and decided to sleep on the decision to adopt one.

“I wouldn't have time to meet any of the three until pickup, so I had to make a choice from the three photos I was given,” Shurrum said. “I had convinced myself to sleep on the decision. In fact, I had originally talked myself out of adopting one of them before going to bed, but that would change once I had spent the night dreaming of foals.”

No stranger to navigating the unknown waters of horse shopping, Shurrum knew better than to make a decision off of a single photograph. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she got from one horse in particular.

“In all of my years my mom and I horse shopped across the state of California when I was a kid, we had come across a lot of charlatans,” she said. “However, all reason was brushed aside when I saw that black, thin, partially hairless, very pregnant mare. What horse crazy kid hasn't read Black Beauty?

“I had no idea what her name was, if she was going to be sound, but I just seemed to know everything was going to be OK. I try not to take a lot of risks in my personal life, but before I even met her, I just had 'the feeling.' Turns out, she was the only sound one of the three mares.”

That dark bay mare was Crank It Up Peggy, a Texas-bred daughter of Danotable. She raced for two seasons, making 16 starts in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and visiting the winner's circle twice.

As the mare settled into her new home with Shurrum, she seemed grateful to receive care while Shurrum and her vet were left wondering how far along the she was.

“Being so thin, it is hard to know since pregnancy challenges normal proportions. I fed her absolutely anything she would eat for 60 days to catch her up. She was grateful, and I was impressed at her willingness to let me poke and prod her as we bonded, and the baby continued to grow,” she said.

Crank It Up Peggy began to feel so good that one day she escaped from her paddock and took a journey up the road but was safely caught and returned.

“One afternoon I received a call from the sheriff's department that a black horse was located three miles up the road at an oil rig,” Shurrum recalled. “”Peggy” had decided to open her gate and go for a jaunt. I had just bought a new SUV and not only did I have to drive it on gravel, red dirt roads, but I had to escort this giant mare I really didn't know back to the property I boarded on with said SUV.

“She politely jogged beside my SUV back to the farm. It was fairly warm, so I hosed her off, got her cooled off, and secured her back into her paddock. I left that night grateful I had found her and that she had come back without injury,” she said.

And the next day brought a welcome surprise.

“The next morning, with the sun rising, I pulled up to find a long-legged red filly. So windswept, so giant,” Shurrum recalled, adding that the filly was named Tiffany.

Shurrum never swung a leg over “Peggy” until a few months after that, and she continued to build off the basics the mare already knew. Now, almost four years later, Shurrum says “Peggy” is much livelier and is learning to use her body more under saddle, while her daughter Tiffany will be started under saddle soon. Shurrum isn't in a rush with either and is enjoying spending time with them—and her seven other horses.

“Showing isn't really in my future, but I do enjoy going to clinics and expanding my knowledge base,” she said. “I mainly ride dressage, but I would like to get jumping again, possibly event a little here and there and at schooling shows. With ('Peggy') being 18, I am careful with her, but she has never been lame in the four years I have owned her.

“My biggest goal for her and my other seven is that they are safe, know they are safe, and they know how incredibly loved they are.”

This story has been reprinted with permission from the TAA. Find this and many other OTTB success stories at the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance's website.

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