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Storage A Concern When Feeding Corn On The Cob

Question: A fellow boarder was feeding her horse ears of field corn one evening. The kernels were hard and a deep golden color. I asked her if this was from this year's planting, and she said it was from an old corncrib that was on a relative's farm. Is this a safe practice?

Kentucky Equine Research responds: Feeding corn to the horse is not an issue, as it is often an ingredient in high-quality, well-formulated feeds. The concern involves where the corn was stored and for what duration it was there.

Corncribs are relics on most farms these days. Usually fashioned from wood, they were once commonplace on farms. The walls of the corncribs were typically not entire, purposely left open to allow air to circulate throughout. While ventilating the corncribs was essential for keeping the corn dry, the openness often allowed rodents and other vermin to gain access.

If ear corn becomes wet during storage in a corncrib, there is a chance that mold will develop. Unlike cattle, horses are extremely sensitive to mold. This is evident in the difference in hay that can be fed to the two species; generally cattle can tolerate more dust and mold than horses can.

If a horse consumes corn contaminated with toxins produced by Fusarium spp., it might be at risk for moldy corn poisoning, also known as equine leukoencephalomalacia. This disease progresses quickly in most animals with death occurring within a few days. Clinical signs of the disease include anorexia, lethargy, and a roster of neurological deficits: staggering, circling, head-pressing, and inability to swallow.

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Though this is not a common disease, it is a deadly one and there have been numerous outbreaks recorded throughout the United States. Cases seem to pop up in late fall through early spring and are especially prevalent when a dry growing season is followed by a rainy fall.

While contaminated kernels might be off-colored, there is no definitive way to tell if corn is infected with the disease-causing fungus by visual inspection. Corn screenings, a by-product of corn handling and processing that contain, among other things, whole and partial kernels of corn, are another likely source of contamination.

The best way to prevent a case of moldy corn poisoning is to provide horses with a professionally formulated and manufactured concentrate that is appropriate for age and lifestyle. When fed by itself as a concentrate, corn does not supply adequate nutrients for optimal health.

The temptation to give horses treats is a great one, but I'd stick with more traditional ones: apples, carrots, or an occasional alfalfa cube.

Sore Back? Skip The Bute

Horse owners have been known to take medications prescribed to the animals in their care, despite the possible dangers. While some anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and dewormers may be the same in both human and equine medicine, but their formulations can be vastly different; because of this, human ingestion of equine drugs isn't recommended.

An American woman experiencing severe back pain attempted to take some phenylbutazone (Bute) that had been prescribed for one of the horses in her care. She took three doses of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), each suitable for a 400-pound horse, reports the journal Clinics and Practice.

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Three days later, the woman went to the hospital complaining of nausea, vomiting and weakness, which she said she had been experiencing for two weeks. She often had back pain that was controlled by use of over-the-counter naproxen, but reported that this episode was exceptionally painful, which is why she ingested the Bute.

She presented to the hospital with nearly low blood pressure, a high heart rate, and normal O2 levels, as well as dry mucous membranes. Blood work showed a low white blood count, low platelet levels, elevated liver enzymes, and acute kidney injury. Her urine blood screen showed use of amphetamines and marijuana.

Poison control and toxicology were engaged once it was discovered she had ingested the Bute, but no antidote was recommended. She was given an N-acetyl cysteine and sodium bicarbonate drip because of the suspected acute liver damage caused by the phenylbutazone.

After three days of in-hospital treatment, the woman was feeling better and checked herself out.

Though phenylbutazone was used in human medicine for the treatment of multiple forms of arthritis, it was removed from the human medicinal arsenal in 1970 because of an increased risk of agranulocytosis, a life-threatening blood disorder.

Kentucky Position On EHV Quarantine At Saratoga Race Course

E.S. “Rusty” Ford, equine operations consultant for the Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian, released the following update regarding a diagnosis of EHV-1 at Saratoga Race Course.

On Thursday evening (7/15) we received notification that Barn 86 at Saratoga Race Course had been placed under quarantine by NYRA Veterinary Officials and New York's Gaming Commission following a diagnosis of EHV1 in a horse that had been stabled on the grounds. Since that time, we have maintained open lines of communication with both NYRA and the NY Department Agriculture's State Veterinarians Office and have been working with the KY Horse Racing Commission and KY racetrack's management teams.

A description of the disease event can be viewed on the Equine Disease Communication Center's website.

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Additionally, we did reaffirm earlier this morning that the status is unchanged and there have been no new EHV cases reported.

Dr. Flynn and I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that mitigating risk of disease introduction and transmission is a shared responsibility with success dependent on multiple parties all working together to achieve the common goal of maintaining safe and healthy environments for our horses. Since Thursday, we have worked closely with our tracks and training facilities to establish procedures and protocols that continues to allow movement of horses originating from Saratoga Race Course onto Kentucky tracks. With that in mind, we want to ensure that other equine facilities receiving horses understand the importance of having strong biosecurity protocols in place and practiced daily when processing and managing new arrivals onto your facility. Your veterinarian is a valuable resource to review and give recommendations based on your individual premises and we, too, will be happy to review your plan and share our thoughts on best practices.

Kentucky's Position at This Point in Time: With horses in the affected barn remaining under quarantine, segregated from the general population, and being closely monitored for evidence of illness, we are satisfied horses residing in other barns at Saratoga can qualify and be permitted entry onto our Kentucky tracks and training facilities by fully meeting our established entry requirements. These requirements include a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) certifying examination and issuance of the certificate was made during the 72-hour period preceding the horses arrival at the Kentucky track/facility and includes certification of the horse meeting our established EHV1 vaccination requirement as well as EIA testing.

Additionally, I am encouraging tracks to have the shipping of horses from Saratoga onto the grounds be scheduled with the stable manager and that the arrival and stabling information be shared with the track's Equine Medical Director or his designee.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide factual information resulting from the open lines of communication with NYRA and NY Department of Agriculture veterinary officials. We will continue to monitor this developing event and provide updates as new information is learned or a change in the status occurs.

Visit the Kentucky Department of Agriculture here.

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Potential Biomarker Found For Ascending Placentitis

Ascending placentitis is an infection of a mare's placenta that commonly causes late-term abortions; it can have a devastating economic impact on the breeding industry.

A new study has helped to identify which mares might be at risk of developing this infection by focusing on one variant of an inflammation-related protein, reports The Horse. The study was led by Dr. Yatta Linhares-Boakari, who found that mares that developed ascending placentitis had more messenger RNA (mRNA) of serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) in their placental tissues than those mares who didn't. Yatta Linhares-Boakari says her research might allow scientists to determine the difference between placentitis and other causes of inflammation.

The study team bred 10 pony mares and introduced Streptococcus equi spp zooepidemicus into the cervixes of half of them to induce ascending placentitis. Three days later, the researchers took blood samples, sedated and euthanized all of the mares used in the study to investigate the tissues of the mares and the fetuses.

The scientists found that mares that had placentitis had significantly higher SAA values. They also discovered that haptoglobin (Hp, another protein associated with inflammation) values in the fetuses' blood was significantly higher in the placentitis group.

Additionally, the team found distinct patterns of proteins in the tissues of infected mares and a never-before-seen mRNA trend: Both SAA and Hp were found at increased levels in the mares with ascending placentitis. SAA1 and mRNA were found in greater numbers in the placental membranes of infected mares, as well.

The team concludes that their findings — specifically the elevation of SAA1 in blood – may eventually be able to assist in pinpointing ascending placentitis in its early stages when it might be treated more easily.