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A Shocking Situation: Show Jumper Accused Of Using Electrified Spurs

An accusation has been made alleging that show jumper Andy Kocher used electrified spurs in international competition. The governing body of horse sport, the Fédération Equestre Internationale, says they are looking into the matter, reports The Chronicle of the Horse.

The claim, which was brought by an unnamed source, alleges that Kocher used the spurs on Fashion V during the $36,000 Welcome Speed Stake at the 2019 National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park. In photos of the event, Kocher appears to be holding a device with a button.

The button is connected to a wire that runs up the sleeve of the rider's shirt and then down his back to a box that provides a charge; the wire then runs down the pant legs and out through a hole in each boot to the spur.

The U.S. Equestrian Federation is also investigating the claims. Both entities are tasked with protecting the welfare and safety of horses competing in sanctioned events.

Read more at The Chronicle of the Horse.

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FDA Issues Warning Letter To Rapid Equine Solutions After Finding Dirty Compounding Rooms, Potency Issues

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to Pennsylvania-based Rapid Equine Solutions following its inspection of the facility last summer, asking the pharmacy to provide more information about what its employees are doing to prevent serious problems at the facility.

The letter, dated June 12 of this year, describes observations made by federal inspectors between July 22 and Aug. 9, 2019 that include “insanitary conditions,” “potency issues,” and misbranding. Inspectors described “an unknown white film on the floor in the sterile production room and debris in the corners of the room” as well as several bugs lingering around the sterile and non-sterile preparation areas, while fly tape hung from the ceiling above the laboratory sink.

Further, the letter notes that a batch of toltrazuril/pyrimethamine paste compounded for the treatment of horses with Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) was found to have incorrect amounts of both ingredients in it per its labeling. There was only 3 percent of the declared amount of toltrazuril in the paste, but 2,122 percent the amount of pyrimethamine declared on the label. The investigation followed the deaths of three horses in Maine and Ohio who were given the paste.

The drug combination, which has proven a popular choice for treating EPM, is the same one that was formulated incorrectly in 2014 by a Kentucky compounder which released batches with too much pyrimethamine in them. At least four horses died and several more fell ill in that case.

Rapid Equine provided the FDA with responses outlining its plans for eliminating the problems identified by investigators, but the agency writes in its warning letter this month those responses don't include enough specific information about what the facility is doing to improve their processes.

In 2019, Maine regulators suspended Rapid Equine's license after they say they discovered the mail-order facility was acting as a wholesaler for compounded drugs and was selling large amounts of compounds to a harness veterinarian who sold them without a prescription. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved and are not intended to be produced and sold or stored in bulk; rather, they should be formulated to order for a specific patient to treat a diagnosed condition as prescribed by a veterinarian.

According to the online license verification system for the Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy, regulators there have taken no disciplinary action against Rapid Equine's license, which was renewed in August 2019 — on the same day FDA inspectors concluded their observation of the pharmacy's unsanitary conditions.

Read the June 2020 FDA warning letter here.

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Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: What To Do About ‘Parrot Mouth’

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: What is “parrot mouth” in a horse, and can it be resolved?

DR. BRAD TANNER: Horses come in all shapes and sizes and so do their mouths. A parrot mouth describes the upper lip that hangs forward and down ahead of the lower lip. This term is synonymous with overbite malocclusion of the incisors of a horse. As the top jaw grows, if it grows at a faster rate than the lower jaw, the front teeth will be extended forward and no longer make contact with the lower incisors. This is what gives the characteristic large, goofy lip of the top jaw that we so often call “parrot mouth.” When an owner raises the top and lower lips, you will notice that those front teeth often times barely contact or sometimes don't contact at all.

Dr. Brad Tanner

Is it a problem?

Yes and no. While it's cosmetically unpleasant to look at for some people, does it really affect performance? The answer is that it doesn't if managed correctly. These horses will continue to eat, they will continue to grow and they will not be skinny because of this malocclusion. However, this can be a problem for some horses. The question is whether the only malocclusions present impacting the incisors; if the front teeth that no longer contact, it's possible the entire top jaw could have shifted forward, which can create a ripple effect. This means that the first cheek tooth on top may no longer be grinding on the first cheek tooth on the bottom. Conversely, the last cheek tooth on the bottom may no longer be chewing in contact with the last cheek tooth on the top and the results of this will be large hooks and excessive growth of these teeth.

This image shows the “hooks” that can appear when the top and bottom jaws don't align properly and part of a tooth is not worn down as normal. Photo courtesy Dr. Brad Tanner

This can cause significant problems and pain for horses, as these large hooks cause collateral damage to the soft tissues, gums, and cheeks. This is compounded when a bit is applied to the horse's mouth and a rider asks the horse to put the head into a frame/collection, causing increased contact of these teeth overgrowths and the soft tissues surrounding them. In Thoroughbred racehorses the effects are less dramatic than in dressage and other disciplines. This is due to the fact that racehorses run largely on looser reins with an extended head and neck rather than in flexion of the poll.

Can it be corrected?

While this is a permanent deformity in adult horses, it can be corrected in young growing foals. Correction should take place between four to six months of age, ideally. As the maxilla (top jaw) is growing ahead of the mandible (lower jaw) at a higher rate, an orthodontic appliance can be applied with orthodontic wires to halt the growth of the maxilla allowing the mandible to catch up. Additionally, an inclined plane is applied in the form of an aluminum plate allowing the lower teeth to engage with it during each chewing motion.

Corrective devices can fix parrot mouth if it is caught early in a horse's life, before skeletal development is complete. Photo courtesy Dr. Brad Tanner

Corrective devices can fix parrot mouth if it is caught early in a horse's life, before skeletal development is complete. Photo courtesy Dr. Brad Tanner

Once the skeletal development of the horse is complete, there is no way to effectively correct the overbite/parrot mouth malocclusion.

How do you manage this problem long term?

Long term management of these malocclusions should be focused on effectively floating and reducing the large overgrowths. These are the overgrowths that form because some teeth are not in occlusion and chewing along one another. Normally, the teeth will grind and wear out at the same rate but when one tooth is not in contact it is allowed to continue to grow through the life of the horse at a rate of three to four millimeters per year. Left unchecked, this can wreak havoc on the horse's mouth and be a painful situation.

Long term management often will require routine floating examinations at six-month intervals on horses that have these types of malocclusions. So long as these are managed effectively the horse will be able to have normal dentition and perform at a normal level. Horses will not run faster or slower because of the parrot mouth. So long as they are managed effectively it should have no influence on performance.

The heritability of a parrot mouth has been called into question for some time. It's often viewed as a heritable trait that can be passed along from generation to generation and is therefore undesirable in breeding stock. Unfortunately, while much research has been done in this area, the heritability of overbites/parrot mouth is a very complex genetic trait. Recent studies have shown there are complex patterns of genetic alleles that are involved in the expression of the genes that lead to this defect. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly which foals could develop this trait and which sires are more or less prone to passing it along because of the complexity of alleles that are necessary to give this result and deformity.

In summary, parrot mouths are not really a big deal for a lot of horses. They have managed to survive for millennia this way and will continue to eat and graze. Proper management of a mature horse with parrot mouth will lead to decreased dental problems, decreased pain, and better performance in a show ring or racetrack. Recognition at an early age does allow for surgical correction and normal dentition for the rest of the horse's life.

Dr. Brad Tanner received his DVM from Auburn University in 2005 and completed an internship at Rood and Riddle thereafter. He is a shareholder in the clinic, where he focuses on advanced dentistry, primary care and reproduction. Tanner became board certified in equine dentistry in 2019.

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Care After Colic Surgery Should Be A Team Effort

Colic, a broad term that encompasses all forms of abdominal pain, is the No. 1 killer of horses. Mild cases can often be resolved with simple medical care, but some colic cases require surgical intervention to restore the horse to health. Horses that undergo colic surgery face additional risks, including anesthesia, the surgical procedure itself and the recovery time needed to get the horse back to the state of health he was in before the surgery.

Drs. Johannes van Loon, Emi Visser, Marjolein de Mik-van Mourik, Pieternel Kerbert, Tsjester Huppes and Eveline Menke, of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, reviewed clinical records of 283 horses that had colic surgery at the college's school of veterinary medicine. The team sought to determine survival and complication rates of horses that underwent surgery.

The scientists discovered that 59 percent of horses that had colic surgery at the college went home alive; 96 percent of those horses were alive one year later. However, more than half of the horses had one or two colic episodes in that year.

Nearly two-thirds of the horses regained their pre-colic surgery level of performance, but 46.2 percent of owners reported that the horses had gait-related issues or behaved differently than before they had the surgery.

The researchers suggest that improving the quality of care the horse received after surgery could drastically improve the horse's athletic performance and welfare. They also suggest collaboration with saddle fitters, physiotherapists and others who can work in together to return the horse to physical and mental health.