pain | Horse Racing Free Tips

Laminitic Horses May Benefit From Hoof Casts And Heel Wedges

New research from shows that elevating a laminitic horse's heel using a wedge and hoof cast can help alleviate some of the pain associated with the condition.

The breakover phase of a horse's stride is the most painful part for horses suffering from acute laminitis. This is when the heaviest load is placed on the toe and middle region of the hoof. The goal of the new therapy was to try to shift the load from the most-painful area of the hoof onto undamaged areas.

Drs. Al Naem, Lutz-Ferdinand Litzke, Klaus Failing, Johanna Hoffmann, Michael Röcken and Florian Geburek medically treated eight horses with acute laminitis and also applied a hoof cast with a heel wedge.

Measurements were taken with the cast in place and when the cast was removed, when the horse was barefoot. The hoof print was divided into toe, middle hoof and heel region, and measurements were taken that included vertical force, stance duration, contact area while standing, duration of breakover, vertical force on the toe during breakover, and location of the center of force.

The scientists determined that both the vertical force and contact area were higher in the heel region when the horse was wearing both the wedge and the cast, but that decreased once each was removed. The breakover phase lasted just 2 percent of the stance phase when the horse had the cast and wedge in place; it was 6 percent of the stance phase when the horse was barefoot.

The team concluded that heel elevation significantly shortened the breakover phase and decreased the vertical force in the toe region. They suggest that the application of a wedge and a cast to the affected hooves of a horse with laminitis will decreases the stress on the lamellae and reduce pain. The researchers did note that long-term application of a wedge and cast may result in crushed heels, cracks or misplaced bulbs, so they suggest that these tools be limited to two to three weeks of use.

Read the full article here.

New App Helps Owners Determine If Horses In Pain

A new smartphone app can help horse owners and caretakers determine if their horse is in pain. A joint project between the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University and Stichting De Paardenkamp, the Equine Pain and Welfare App (EPWA) uses scientific pain measurement to help determine if a call to a veterinarian is warranted.

The app asks for user input on physiological variables, like heart and respiration rate; behaviors like lying down or rolling; and facial expressions that include the movement of the mouth, ears, eyes and nostrils. It then calculates a pain score between 0 and 18; users are advised to contact a vet if the score is above a 5.

The app also has a checklist to see if a horse is showing signs of Cushing's disease. A journal feature allows owners to input how much a horse eats, medications he may take and how often he exercises. It also includes 10 recommendations for equine welfare, and a place to record medical information and appointments.

The app is free from the App Store and Google Play.

For more details, click here (language can be changed through Google translate).

A Pain In The Neck Isn’t Necessarily Equine Osteoarthritis

A new study from the Ontario Veterinary College has found that X-rays alone do not provide sufficient evidence for diagnosing Cervical Facet disease, a form of osteoarthritis.

Dr. Judith Koenig notes that osteoarthritis is common in many athletes, especially as they age. Bone spurs may develop and cause the facets to grow larger, and inflammation around the facet joints can affect nerve roots and soft tissue. Overuse or neck instability can also cause the joint to remodel.

Clinical signs of osteoarthritis in the neck include stiff neck with a limited range of motion and atrophy in the lower neck. Some horses with osteoarthritis of the neck may show front-end lameness that does not respond to leg nerve blocks.

Prior studies had shown that X-rays indicated osteoarthritic changes of the neck in nearly 50 percent of horses that were between 6 and 8 years old who had no other clinical signs of osteoarthritis. This finding caused many horses to fail pre-purchase exams. Koenig created a study to explore the significance of these changes that seem to affect so many horses.

Koenig's study showed that there are differing opinions among veterinarians on how to classify the stage of osteoarthritis the X-rays show. Koenig noted that this was a reason why veterinarians should not rely solely on information the X-rays provide, but should take the X-rays in context with other clinical signs.

Learn more at Equine Guelph.

The post A Pain In The Neck Isn’t Necessarily Equine Osteoarthritis appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Majority Of Equine Owners Cannot Detect Lameness

A new study shows that the vast majority of horse owners cannot determine if a horse is lame under saddle. However, scientists note that owners who pay close attention to equine behavior may pick up on clues that the horse is in pain even if they can't determine if it's lame while being ridden, reports The Horse.

The ridden horse pain ethogram (RHpE) is a list of 24 behaviors that have been scientifically confirmed to relate to pain; when the pain is removed, the behaviors disappear. The behaviors include things like pain-related facial expressions and pinning of the ears for at least five seconds. Lame horses showed at least one-third of the behaviors included in the ethogram.

Dr. Sue Dyson and a team of scientists applied the ethogram to 60 riding horses in the United Kingdom. The horses were given lameness exams and checked for saddle fit. They were then assessed for the presence of absence of the 24 behaviors listed in the ethogram while being ridden by their regular riders; all riders believed their horses were sound.

The study showed that 73 percent of the horses showed subtle, intermittent lameness in one or more legs; more than 50 percent of horses demonstrated a gait abnormality like bunny hopping or not stepping underneath themselves at the canter.

Lameness was strongly linked to a RHpE score of eight or more. The most-common behaviors included pinning the ears for at least five seconds, staring intently for at least five seconds, dragging the back feet or stumbling repeatedly.

Dyson says that riders missing lameness in their horses is not indicative of lack of attention, but more reflective of their lack of training in recognizing pain-related behaviors. Riders who learned to ride in lesson programs may have always ridden horses that were exhibiting pain-related behaviors, but were not taught that the behaviors indicated discomfort.

Dyson says owners and riders must become more educated to recognize pain-related behaviors and understand that the demonstration of eight or more of the behaviors indicated that the horse is in pain.