The seminar is tailored for veterinarians and farriers, aiming to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange in equine podiatry. The conference will explore key areas such as biomechanics, laminitis, and the latest innovations in the field. Distinguished speakers from the equine industry, including Andrew van Eps, BVSc., PhD., MACVSc., DACVIM, from the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, will lead lectures.

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The seminar will host third-year veterinary students (Class of 2025) with presentations by practitioners in various disciplines. The estimated 200 attendees will be able to engage in interactive discussions with industry partners, tour equine hospitals, local horse farms and Keeneland racetrack and participate in workshops.

“We are thrilled to announce the return of OEPS and welcome veterinary students, equine practitioners and industry partners to join us for an amazing educational and networking opportunity,” said lead organizer Dr. Craig Lesser. “With dwindling numbers of students pursuing careers in equine practice, we aim to inspire and equip students with knowledge about the vast opportunities within equine practice that make our careers uniquely gratifying.”

Click here for more information or contact LaTonna Wilson at (859) 233-0371 or sponsorships@oeps.com for more details.

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Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is pleased to announce the installation of an equine positron emission tomography (PET) scanner at the Lexington, Kentucky, hospital. This modality is used for diagnostic imaging in select lameness cases and can be used in standing, sedated horses. It does not require general anesthesia. The scans result in quantitative, three-dimensional, cross-sectional images that can help accurately pinpoint the location and severity of a problem. Any area on the limb from the foot to the carpus (knee) and tarsus (hock) can be imaged. Two different types of scans can be performed. One looks at areas of increased bone metabolism and is useful to identify sub-chondral bone disease, signs of impending fracture, suspensory ligament attachment disorders, and osteoarthritis. The other looks at the overall tissue metabolism and is useful in cases of soft tissue injury or laminitis. Rood & Riddle is the fourth location for this standing PET scanner for horses globally and is the site of the first installation at a private practice.

“We are excited to introduce this new technology for our patients,” said Dr. Katherine Garrett, Rood & Riddle's director of Imaging. “PET scans will increase our ability to detect bony injury in horses, which will hopefully lead to improved outcomes.”

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage added, “We started with radiographs alone, and they depended on celluloid and silver ions for an image. Then, digital radiographs moved us forward in the quality of what we could see. Nuclear scintigraphy was the next step because we could image physiology, not just anatomy. Then, the three-dimensional imaging with computed tomography (CAT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) further expanded our capabilities. We have now moved forward to another level with PET scanning, which combines the physiology of nuclear medicine and the three-dimensional capabilities of CAT and MRI into a three-dimensional image of bone physiology. It can also look at the three-dimensional activity of some soft tissues. PET adds significantly to our imaging and understanding of the true status of the equine athlete.”

In 2015, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation funded the first-ever research project that performed PET scans on equine athletes and followed that up with additional research funding in 2019. Now, this new cutting-edge research will assist vets coast to coast in identifying lameness problems that are hard to locate.

“Grayson has been a longtime supporter of research on the efficacy of PET scans in diagnosing injuries in horses, and we are pleased to see a PET scanner installed at one of the premier equine hospitals in the world,” said Jamie Haydon, president of Grayson. “We are proud to have contributed to the development of a technology that will help countless horses at Rood & Riddle for years to come.”

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Spike-Pierce presented some unsettling statistics at the clinic's annual client education seminar last month and shared her thoughts on why equine practice is in particular trouble. She cited a study by the American Veterinary Medical Association that found only about 1 percent of veterinary students are planning to go into equine practice – down from 4 percent in the mid-2000s. In the population of existing veterinarians, equine vets make up 5.6 percent of the total. Spike-Pierce also said that within five years post-graduate, 50 percent of equine veterinarians will leave equine practice.

There are lots of reasons for this, but they all boil down to burnout. Spike-Pierce said that veterinarians surveyed by the American Association for Equine Practitioners (AAEP) report their physical health as pretty good – impressive, considering how physical their jobs often are. They self-reported their mental health as much less favorable, with 18% of male equine veterinarians classifying their mental health as fair to poor, and 25% of female equine veterinarians saying the same.

The Paulick Report ran an open letter from Dr. Rebecca Mears about the mental health of veterinarians earlier this year, specifically focusing on the “Not One More Vet” or NOMV movement aimed at preventing veterinary suicide.

(You can read that letter here.)

As Mears explained, recent veterinary school graduates begin their careers under a mountain of debt, often taking low-paying jobs in their first years out of school as they work to get established. Those who go into mobile practice for themselves (like many equine veterinarians) have even greater start-up debt.

Veterinary practices of all sorts have taken to social media in recent months, expressing that they are dealing with shorter tempers than normal from clients, combined with smaller staffs to help manage nursing care and caseloads. Social media has also enabled a dissatisfied client to put a practice on blast, whether or not their criticisms feel true or fair to the veterinarian. After a long day dealing with sick animals and angst-ridden clients, finding a negative review on social media can often feel like the last straw.

Equine practice can be even more demanding, since as Spike-Pierce points out, it doesn't have set hours the way a dog or cat clinic would.

“We are seeing these same issues in equine practice as we are seeing in general veterinary practice, but we're also seeing people leave equine practice and go to small animal practice,” said Spike-Pierce.

Oftentimes, she said she hears people dismiss these issues by saying that equine practice is “a lifestyle” – which she agrees is true.

“It is a lifestyle,” she said. “Actually it's one I pretty much enjoyed. What I loved about equine practice was feeling like I could take my kids with me. I went on calls with my dad growing up. The equine industry as a whole is very open to having kids be there. Oftentimes I think the reason we're working with horses is because we were there when our parents were.”

But not everyone wants to buy into having that round-the-clock lifestyle for most of their lives, and telling young veterinarians that they should work seven days a week or get out of the business seems to result in many choosing the latter. Spike-Pierce said the culture around horses is your job is 24/7 because horses need care 24/7 – but that care doesn't always have to come from the same person.

One reason equine veterinarians may make the switch to small animal practice is that dog and cat clinics often share emergency duty, or allow clinicians to work a smaller number of longer days each week so they get some predictable off time. Spike-Pierce said there's some degree of client education involved in a set-up like that for horse veterinarians — clients need to know who's on duty for after-hours calls on a particular night, or they need to be ok with having their call forwarded to a different doctor sometimes. She has seen some smaller practices experiment with this, with some success.

“Our younger veterinarians are asking for time,” she said. “They want to have time away from work, but they're able and willing to work extra hard when they are working. They want that separation.”

Splitting up duties, especially emergency duties, by geographic region can be a game changer for veterinarians' stress levels, too —  and it can reduce the wait for a client who's dealing with an animal in distress.

“If you all have ideas, that's welcome,” Spike-Pierce told the audience. “It's something we're going to need to address in the future to be able to continue to serve animals.

“If you look at the numbers, it just doesn't work if it continues on the same trend. So please, thank your veterinarian, and please work with them to give them the time they need.”

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At its recent client education seminar, Rood + Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr. Maria Schnobrich gave the basics for those of us vaguely wondering whether or not we should be afraid of fescue.

Firstly, Schnobrich said, it's important to understand what it is about the grass that causes problems. The University of Kentucky's Horse Pasture Evaluation Program has yet to find a single pasture that doesn't contain tall fescue; the question is only how much of it shows up in a given field. On average, Schnobrich said UK's data finds it's about 20 percent of a given field, but that can swing wildly depending on the location and management.

“You may have a mixed seeding that you do initially but if the pasture is stressed, the fescue may outgrow the other grasses,” she said. “So while you think initially you may be doing a mixed proportion and have it under control, as you start to see some of the reproductive effects or other things … it's important to think that these pastures are dynamic.”

Fescue can become infected with a fungus called an endophyte which has proven a useful relationship for the grass over time. The presence of the endophyte helps the tall fescue become resistant to drought and pests. Unfortunately, the endophyte will also produce a toxin called ergovaline, which causes decreases in progestin and prolactin in mares. Much is still unknown about the way ergovaline impacts horses, but research indicates its levels are low between January and March in Central Kentucky and may rise astronomically between April and June. There can sometimes be a second spike in the fall. Somewhere between 80 and 100 percent of fescue in the wild is infected with this fungus, but having it on your property doesn't necessarily mean you've got the toxin in your horses' diet.

Most adult horses in work and breeding stallions seem unaffected by ergovaline. Yearlings may demonstrate inhibited growth and more problems with physitis, or growth plate swelling. The biggest problems seem to be in pregnant or nursing mares.

A pregnant mare encountering ergovaline may have a longer gestation (sometimes as long as 13 months – as if pregnancy isn't tough enough already) and then deliver larger than average foals who are not well-muscled. The mares can then produce smaller amounts of colostrum than average, and what they do produce may be of poor quality. The mares may also take longer to come back into heat after foaling than expected. Foals may show symptoms of hyperthyroidism and poor immunity, possibly due to the inferior colostrum quality.

“If you start going through the list and you have a few of these symptoms on your farm, I think it's important to think of fescue,” said Schnobrich.

Pastures can be so dynamic that Schnobrich says sometimes the symptoms may be limited to one field or one barn's worth of mares who happen to be ingesting more tall fescue than horses elsewhere on the same property.

Once a pasture has reached a tipping point with too much fescue, it's not practical to try removing all of it and starting over. Instead, pasture experts suggest trying to dilute the amount of dangerous fescue with something else. There are two varieties of fescue which cannot become infected with the fungus, or managers could add clover or alfalfa seed into their mix. Keeping pastures short and mowing before seed heads form can also help reduce the amount of ergovaline a mare might encounter.

Schnobrich also suggested managers feed extra grass or alfalfa hay during the times of the year when ergovaline is most likely to spike as a way to dilute how much fresh grass the horses will eat. If you can take a pregnant mare off a field with tall fescue and have her graze elsewhere, Schnobrich suggests doing it somewhere between 30 and 90 days prior to foaling.

If you're worried you're already stuck with too much tall fescue, Schnobrich also said administering domperidone beginning 30 days from foaling may also help combat the impacts of the ergovaline.

The post What’s The Deal With Tall Fescue And Broodmares? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Question: Why and when might a veterinarian decide to perform a C-section on a pregnant mare?

Dr. Rolf Embertson, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital: Most C-sections are performed as an emergency procedure in the horse. The procedure is usually performed when other methods to deliver a foal have failed. C-sections are infrequently performed during colic surgery on a term broodmare and infrequently performed as an elective procedure in the mare. Indications for the latter would include a compromised birth canal due to a previous pelvic fracture or soft tissue trauma, a compromised cervix, previous episodes of postpartum hemorrhage, and previous difficult dystocias.

Dr. Rolf Embertson

Before discussing success rates, a basic understanding of dystocia in the mare is warranted. Dystocia means difficult birth. In the mare, once the chorioallantoic membrane ruptures (the mare breaks water), a foal is usually delivered in about 20 minutes. If a foal is not delivered within about 45 minutes, the probability of foal survival starts to rapidly decrease. Thus, this can become a true emergency where minutes can make the difference in survival of the foal. Although less of an emergency for the mare, her reproductive future and even her life may also be at risk. The goal should be to deliver a live foal in a manner resulting in a live, reproductively sound mare.

There are essentially four procedures used to resolve dystocia in a mare. Assisted vaginal delivery (AVD) is when the mare is awake, possibly sedated, and is assisted in vaginal delivery of an intact foal. This is done primarily on the farm. Controlled vaginal delivery (CVD) is when the mare is anesthetized and the clinician is in complete control of delivering an intact foal vaginally. This is usually done in a hospital environment. Fetotomy is when a dead foal is reduced to more than one part to remove the foal vaginally from an awake or anesthetized mare. This can be done at the farm or in a hospital. C-section is when the foal is removed through an abdominal and uterine incision. This is best performed in a hospital. These procedures are used as needed to produce the most favorable result.

The success rate for live foals and live mares that go through a dystocia is significantly better when the farms are close to a hospital that can perform these procedures. This is primarily due to the duration of the dystocia prior to resolution, although this can be influenced by other factors. Realistic example: A mare breaks water and 15 to 20 minutes later, the foaling attendants realize they can't correct the head back posture of the foal. Within five to 10 minutes (now 20 to 30 minutes since the water broke) the mare is loaded on the trailer, the mare arrives at the hospital in 15 to 40 minutes (now 35 to 70 minutes into the foaling attempt). A brief exam, IV catheter placement, anesthetic induction within five to 10 minutes (now 40 to 80 minutes overall), attempt CVD for five to 15 minutes (now 45 to 95 minutes). If the attempt is not successful, the team will perform C-section, foal is delivered in 15 to 20 minutes from when the decision was made (now 60 to 115 minutes from when water broke).

Dystocia mares that are sent to our hospital go directly to a dedicated induction stall. The mare is anesthetized, her hind limbs hoisted so her pelvis is about three feet off the floor. The foal is examined, repositioned, the mare dropped to the floor, and the foal pulled out of the mare. This CVD procedure is successful in resolving about 75 percent of hospital dystocias. About 25 percent of the hospital dystocias are resolved by C-section.

Following CVD, about 39 percent of those foals survive to discharge from our hospital and about 94 percent of those mares survive to discharge from our hospital. Following C-section about 30 percent of those foals survive to discharge from our hospital and about 85 pecent of the mares survive to discharge from our hospital.

Elective C-sections have a better success rate. There is about a 95 percent survival to discharge rate for foals and about a 95 percent survival to discharge rate for mares.

Dr. Rolf Embertson graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1976. He also attended Michigan State where he graduated from Veterinary School in 1979 followed by an internship at Illinois Equine Hospital. Dr. Embertson completed a Large Animal Surgery Residency at the University of Florida, followed by an Equine Surgery Residency at The Ohio State University. In 1986, he became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Dr. Embertson is a surgeon and shareholder at Rood & Riddle.  

The post Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: When To Perform A C-Section On A Pregnant Mare appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“Sometimes I can't believe this happened for me,” Ison said reverently last week, leaning against a bale of straw in the quarantine barn at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. 

He looked down for a moment.

“It's different from anywhere else I've worked,” he continued. “They take care of me, no matter what, whatever I need. Like, when I got out, [my boss] came and got me and took me to get clothes and all that. I mean, who else is going to do all that?”

Ison, 40, is a graduate of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances program at Blackburn Correctional Facility. The eight-month program utilizes a herd of more than 50 retired racehorses to help inmates build life skills while participating in a vocational training program. Inmates learn to work with the horses one-on-one in a round pen, to trim their feet, and to provide daily care, as well as taking lessons on equine anatomy and physiology in a classroom. 

“The TRF Second Chances program at Blackburn taught me patience with horses, and people,” Ison said. “You're locked up, you know, and there's all kinds of different people. But when you get down there, it's a whole different story. You're not locked up anymore. It's freedom.”

Considering his role on the facilities maintenance team at Rood & Riddle, Ison acknowledges that his time in the Blackburn program helped him become the kind of man he wants to be. Now, it's the support of his boss and his coworkers at Rood & Riddle that are helping him to continue that growth.

“Why do I like working at Rood & Riddle? It's a family,” Ison said. “We're all together. If anybody needs help, anybody that needs anything, it's gonna be done for them. That's what I like about it. And the horses, I love it. That's why I show up every day.”

Ison grew up in the southeastern part of Kentucky, coal country.

“I worked in coal mines all my life, and you don't miss work there,” Ison explained. “I've always been used to production, and this [job at Rood & Riddle] is nothing about production. That's hard for me to comprehend sometimes, because I get caught up, and I want to do everything right then. But you have to slow down and take your time with it, because every horse is different.

“It's all about patient care, making sure everything's taken care of with the horses. The horses are first, no matter what. After that, I take care of some maintenance things; I do everything.”

Ison did have some experience with horses as a child, when his family would go for trail rides and picnics on horseback, but he had never been involved with them up close, every day. That all changed when he was able to enter the program at Blackburn.

“My favorite horse was Big Time Spender,” he said. “That's the one I fooled with every day. We'd lunge them, you know, learning how to train them in the round pen. But mostly I just liked to curry him off, getting to know him, developing a relationship. I loved that horse.”

Big Time Spender is a 21-year-old bay gelding who raced 97 times in his career, compiling a record of eight wins, 10 seconds, and seven thirds. He earned $73,045 on the track, last racing in 2008.

Working with Big Time Spender on the lunge line is about “getting his respect,” Ison explained. “He's a good horse, though. He knows everything. You have to show him you're not scared of him. You just have to get a feel for each other. It's something you can't really explain, or I can't, anyway.”

Ison's hands-on equine skills are one of the reasons Rood & Riddle's Facilities Manager Erin Mathes decided to hire him after his release, but it also came down to his personality.

“Josh has a great sense of humor,” Mathes said. “He's a good guy; I think he'd do anything for anyone, but the big thing is he's really smart and funny. I actually enjoy working with him, and we work together quite a bit.”

Ison had learned how to interview for the job thanks to Laurie Mays, the Equine Talent Pipeline Project Manager for the Kentucky Equine Education Project. Mays is the connection between Blackburn and Rood & Riddle.

“Rood & Riddle has definitely decided to become this kind of partner in the industry, because we are looking for people who want to work in it,” Mathes explained. “Josh is not my first Second Chances hire, but he is one of my first three.

“Josh came with the horse knowledge from the Blackburn project, but it's so different from the knowledge that we need him to have here. Those are horses that have been in the program for a long time, they're very broke, and here we see a lot of new horses every day, and you never know what you're going to get. It's something we are slowly building on with him, but Josh embraced every job here. He wanted to be involved as much as possible with anything and everything. 

“Josh came to us with a background in not just horses through the Blackburn project, but also in construction and landscaping — a little bit of everything. He wanted to do everything, so as facilities manager, I got him as involved as possible. 

“He comes across to me as an employee who wants to be challenged with different things every day. I know, with where he was, for the time he was in, it was a good thing for him to be continuously active and involved. With that, he gets to meet different people, and I think he's made some friends here, so he's part of a big team.”

Ison agreed that keeping himself busy has been the best way to keep moving forward since his release. Still, his favorite part of the job is being able to work with the youngest horses at the hospital.

“To go out in the pen and put my hands on them, to rub on them… I love it,” he said.

The post Blackburn Grad Grateful For Second Chance With The Rood & Riddle ‘Family’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The unnamed, unraced filly, who is trained by Jorge Abreu, was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Sunday, July 11, after developing a fever. She was then tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for EHV-1 was returned on Thursday, July 15.

Subsequently, the New York State Veterinarian and New York State Equine Medical Director implemented a 21-day quarantine of Barn 86 retroactive to Sunday, July 11. Should there be no additional cases in Barn 86, the quarantine will be lifted on Aug. 1.

The filly began treatment immediately at Rood & Riddle under the care of Dr. Luis Castro. As her condition continued to improve, she was sent to a private farm in Saratoga County on Friday, July 16, where she is currently recovering under veterinary supervision.

The 46 horses stabled in Barn 86, which is home to stalls for Abreu and trainer Kenny McPeek, will continue to be monitored daily for fever and other signs of illness. As of Tuesday, July 20, no horses in Barn 86 have developed a fever or displayed any symptoms of the illness.

During the length of the quarantine period, horses stabled in Barn 86 will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population.

Horses stabled in Barn 86 will have isolated training hours at the Oklahoma Training Track from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. following the conclusion of training for the general horse population.

Overseen by Dr. Anthony Verderosa, the director of NYRA's veterinary department, in consultation with the NYSGC, the quarantine of Barn 86 includes standard safety precautions and biosecurity measures to mitigate risk and prevent further spread of EHV-1.

The post No New Cases Of EHV-1 At Saratoga; Quarantine Of Barn 86 Continues Through Aug. 1 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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According to XBTV's Millie Ball, Life Is Good was diagnosed with a chip in his hind ankle. The colt has been scheduled for surgery under the renowned Dr. Larry Bramlage on Friday at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.

“He'll be fine, he'll be back,” Baffert told Thoroughbred LA Radio. “It wasn't anything serious, but it's enough that he'll need some time off.”

pdate on Life is Good …..
Baffert, “He has a very small chip in his left hind ankle. Dr. Bramlage will do the surgery on Friday in KY at Rood & Riddle.” @WatchXBTV @santaanitapark @1stbet

— camilla yakteen (@camillayakteen) March 21, 2021

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