Pillar's bio-health solutions pvt ltd

01/08/2022

24/07/2021

Part 2...interview...India discovery...Pardeep Singh Chauhan

18/07/2021

horse product information

06/06/2021

Equine Gastric Ulcer
ਘੋੜੇਆਂ ਚ ਅੰਤੜੀ ਦੇ ਛਾਲੇ , ਮੋਕ ਤੇ ਲਿਸਾਪਨ
REASONS AND REMEDY
ਕਾਰ੍ਣ ਤੇ ਹੱਲ
The gelding that kicks the stall wall and acts aggressively toward his neighbors at feeding time. The show horse that’s increasingly more reluctant to perform under saddle. The angsty mare that’s always swishing her tail and grinding her teeth. Many owners observe these quirks in their horses and chalk them up to behavioral issues. But is it truly bad behavior or is it a sign of discomfort? As you’re about to find out, equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) might be to blame.
Stomach Anatomy Basics
The horse’s stomach has two regions: a non glandular (squamous mucosa) portion comprising the upper third, and a glandular lower portion. The squamous non glandular region doesn’t feature the thick, protective mucus and bicarbonate (a pH buffer) layer that the glandular region does, leaving it vulnerable to ulceration from gastric acid.
When the horse has an empty stomach or acid in the stomach due to stress, that acid may splash onto the non glandular mucosa, especially when exercising, that the hydrochloric acid the cells in the glandular mucosa produce might damage it.
While the stomach’s glandular region enjoys protective mechanisms such as prostaglandins that maintain mucus and blood flow, it’s not immune to ulcer issues, “The glandular mucosa is less susceptible to acid damage, but it is susceptible to stress, dehydration, and dietary issues”.
Those dietary issues include high-sugar diets, such as large amounts of sweet feed, which, when fermented by the stomach’s natural bacterial flora ( micro biota ), create short-chain fatty acids that can eat away at the stomach lining. Other factors can also contribute to glandular ulcers, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, which researchers have recently determined can have some deleterious effects on the glandular stomach.
Signs to Watch For
When horses exhibit attitude or performance changes, they often have gastric ulcers as a primary or a secondary problem.
“In my experience, at least 60-70% of horses that have gastric ulcers show some sort of behavior suggesting discomfort around the time of feeding or whenever they have not had something to eat for a few hours ,The signs a horse might show are highly variable between individuals and might even be different within an individual over time.”
These might include:
Looking back at or nosing the abdomen behind the shoulder, on both sides of the body. The coat might be ruffled where the horse nuzzles repeatedly;
Acting anxious or restless in combination with clusters of behaviors suggesting physical discomfort (weight-­shifting, rotational head shaking, kicking up at the abdomen, tail-­swishing or -slapping, lip-licking, tongue extension, and chewing motion when not eating);
Food-aggressive behaviors around feeding time, such as rushing to the feed bucket, pawing, threatening neighbors, and kicking the wall;
Reluctance to perform;
General grumpiness with herd mates and/or caretakers;
Rough hair coat;
Weight loss and poor body condition;
Girthiness;
Mild colic episodes;
Intermittent eating patterns (leaving feed for a time and then returning);
Teeth-grinding;
Lack of energy;
Decreased water intake;
Stretching out as if needing to urinate;
Lying down more than normal; and
“Just not looking or acting right.”
What we see are vague clinical signs, so we spend a lot of time talking with the owners, the trainers, and the people that handle the horse to see if they notice any of these things.
When comparing gastroscopy findings (those seen when the veterinarian views the horse’s stomach through an endoscope passed through his nostril and down the esophagus), some horses with minor ulceration might show dramatic behavioral changes, while horses with more extreme ulceration might exhibit only mild symptoms. “The message should be that individuals may have a varying response,
Arriving at a Diagnosis
“We know that if we are going to try to figure out the reason for a behavior change, we don’t want (the horse) to have ulcers on board at the time, A wise first step is to have gastroscopy performed to establish from the beginning if the horse does or does not have gastric ulcers. For those with ulcers, the usual recommendation is to treat and then confirm healing with follow-up gastroscopy. If behavior problems remain, you can then work on figuring out what else might be bothering the horse.”
While the only definitive method of diagnosis is gastroscopy, owners and veterinarians can, in his opinion, consider treatment first. “We obviously like to have a diagnosis, but I don’t think it’s wrong for a practitioner to give a seven-day trial treatment to again draw an analogy to human medicine, “People experiencing dyspepsia (indigestion) don’t typically get scoped on the first visit.
If the behavioral signs resolve with treatment, then you have your ulcer diagnosis, as medicine does not affect any other behavior-altering diseases, he says.
Recently introduced tests that measure blood in the manure to diagnose EGUS have not been fully validated yet in horses.
“The human card test, ‘guaiac test,’ was evaluated and found to be helpful when positive, but when negative, many of those horses had ulcers also,The test was developed for people as a colon cancer screening test, but it’s less reliable in horses as a diagnostic test for stomach ulcers,” because blood in manure could come from anywhere in the GI tract.
Some horses with ulcers might have mild anemia, who suggests owners have blood drawn during horses’ annual checkups to establish a blood work baseline. “While levels may be within the normal range, if you follow the horse throughout the years, you may see the red blood cell count decrease, which could signal the horse is having an issue with ulcers.”
Treatment Plans
Omeprazole and the lower-dose product are currently the only FDA-approved drugs for treating and preventing stomach ulcers in horses. While products contain the same active ingredient, is designated for gastric ulcer prevention and for treatment and prevention of recurrence.
Good Horse keeping
Certain management tactics can help ward off gastric ulcers and their accompanying negative behaviors.
“I don’t think horses should go more than about an hour without access to some sort of roughage, which appears to be quite protective against ulcers, When horses are without hay, they begin to rummage around and may lick walls and chew on wood.”
Horses evolved as trickle feeders, meaning they are meant to graze or browse almost continuously, punctuated with short 30-minute rest breaks.
After treatment owners try to mitigate ulcers by changing management strategies. “We recommend no more than 5 pounds (twice a day) of sweet feed , Owners might feed more grain if it’s a low-sugar (low-starch) grain. Studies show adding corn oil (4 to 8 ounces, twice daily) to the diet helps increase mucous production and might increase blood flow by increasing protective prostaglandins (lipid compounds that behave like hormones) in the glandular portion of the stomach. In addition, corn oil supplementation will add energy to the horses’ diet and produce a shiny hair coat.
He offers a few other general management strategies:
Take advantage of pasture turnout;
Minimize stress;
Get the horse out of the stall and into a social group
On the Road
Traveling, competing, and life on the road present their own set of challenges. taking a proactive approach to maintain stomach health in the face of travel stress.
Bringing hay from home or having hay shipped in for a consistent diet;
Considering feeding alfalfa, which increases stomach pH and neutralizes stomach acid, offering buffering effects;
Encouraging water consumption by acclimating the horse to flavored water at home or offering one bucket of fresh water and one bucket with flavored gelatin added. Find a flavor the horse likes, so he will turn to the familiar taste of flavored water and drink more on the road, maintaining hydration and reducing stress;
Administering preventive equine hydrate when shipping.
“equine hydrate supplement added to the grain prevented ulcers from becoming more severe compared to the horses fed the regular grain ,This product might be helpful for horses in stressful situations and periods at risk for gastric ulcers, especially during travel.”
The Whole Horse
When addressing ulcer issues, the more natural environment the horse lives in, the less stress he’ll experience as a whole. “We often see horses return to the clinic with a relapse of ulcers. You do need to address the horse’s environment if you expect them to remain ulcer-free for long, You have to look at the entire program, not just nutrition. Unfortunately, stressors of all types appear to contribute to ulcers, and ulcer discomfort itself is stressful, so there may be a downward spiral.”
While some horses are simply predisposed to ulcers, if you manage diet and stress, you can help minimize your horse’s possibility of getting them. And that makes for a happier horse and a happier you.
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT 9815024214 OR SEND YOUR ENQUIRY AT info@pillarshealth.com

11/02/2021

UNDERSTANDING FOALS
*** MY FOAL GRO***
10 POINTS TO REMEMBER
Several simple post-foaling management practices will help ensure the health of your mare and foal.
1. Make sure the foal is breathing.
2. Put iodine on the foal’s umbilical stump.
3. Make sure the foal (including orphan foals) receives colostrum soon after birth.
4. Make sure the foal is protected against teta**s, either through the colostrum or by a teta**s antitoxin injection.
5. Make sure the foal passes the meconium and treat constipation or diarrhea promptly.
6. Check the umbilical stump for several days for the presence of urine.
7. Check that the foal’s eyelids and lashes are turned outward.
8. Follow your veterinarian’s advice about any limb deformities and hernias.
9. Make sure the mare expels the afterbirth and check it for completeness.
10. Check the mare for several days after foaling for any sign of reproductive tract infection.
To horse owners unfamiliar with raising foals, this post-foaling checklist may seem like a large amount of work. However, it only takes a few minutes to perform these management procedures, and then you can relax and enjoy your new foal knowing that you have done your best to ensure its well-being
''MY FOAL GRO''
CARE OF A NEW BORN FOAL
'''FROM BIRTH UPTO WEANING'''
FEATURES
1 . BALANCED GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
2 . IDEAL FOR THE HEALTHY BONES AND JOINTS
3 . SUPPLEMENTATION OF NUTRITION SHORTAGES
4 . ENHANCING IMMUNITY AND
STRENGTHINGOF NERVOUS SYSTEM
5 . PROPER DIGESTION
USAGES : 5 GMS FROM 10TH DAY OF BIRTH
10GMS FROM 20TH DAY OF BIRTH
15 GMS FROM 30TH DAY OF BIRTH
10 GMS FROM 45TH DAY OF BIRTH TO 90 DAYS
PACK : 200 GMS
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT 9815024214
FOAL BEHAVIOR AFTER BIRTH
The foal will usually stand within 30 minutes, typically after several failed attempts. As soon as it is steady on its feet, often within an hour of birth, the foal will attempt to nurse. Teat-seeking behavior is persistent, even somewhat random, because the foal does not know exactly where the teat is located. However, with the gentle assistance of the mare, the foal will find the teat, quickly understand its purpose, and know how to suckle, a behavior that is instinctive in horses.
Within the first two hours, a foal starts breathing (within seconds), lifts its head (within 5 minutes), attempts to rise (within 10 minutes), stands (within 55 minutes), vocalizes (within 45 minutes), defecates meconium (within 30 minutes), suckles for the first time (within one hour), walks-runs for the first time (within 90 minutes), and takes its first nap (within two hours).
Understanding normal foaling behavior helps observers identify abnormal behavior or problems associated with foaling. Foals nurse frequently during the first few weeks of birth. Estimates range from one to two times per hour, with each session lasting about three minutes. As foals age, the frequency and duration of suckling decreases and they begin to eat other feedstuffs. Foals will remain close to their dams the first few weeks of life but will gradually explore their environment. By the end of the third month, foals will spend 60 percent of their time with other foals. When the foal is 5 to 7 months of age, 70 percent of their nutrients will come from non milk sources. This is one reason it is recommended to wean foals at about 5 to 7 months of age.
CARE OF A NEWBORN FOAL
If you are present during the birth of the foal, your first step after the delivery is to make sure the foal is breathing. Quietly approach the foaling area and remove the birth sack (amnion) from the foal’s head. If the foal is breathing, your job is complete and you should leave the foaling area and observe the mare and foal from a distance. This allows the mare and foal time alone to recover from the delivery and bond to each other socially. If the foal does not begin breathing on its own, tickle its nostril with a piece of grass or straw or blow into the foal’s mouth to stimulate the respiratory reflex. If the foal still does not breathe, try rubbing the foal vigorously, squeezing its ribs or lifting it about one foot off the ground and dropping it. These procedures usually shock the foal slightly and initiate respiration.
A normal, healthy foal lifts its head and neck and rolls onto its chest within several seconds after delivery. Then the foal begins to make creeping movements away from its dam. If the mare has not stood up yet, the foal’s movements usually break the naval (umbilical) cord. You should wait for either the mare or foal to break the umbilical cord. Do not cut the umbilical cord immediately after birth, because it is thought the foal receives blood from the placenta after birth. Cutting the cord before this blood transfer may result in circulatory problems in the foal. Foals with circulatory problems typically seem dumb and may have convulsions, leading to the common terms of “dummy” or “wanderer” foals for this condition.
Once the umbilical cord breaks, the stump should be dipped in a mild, 1 to 2 percent iodine solution. The iodine drys the umbilical stump and prevents bacteria from traveling up the stump and entering the foal’s body. Bacteria that enter the foal through the umbilical stump cause a systemic infection known by various names, such as shigellosis, naval ill, joint ill, or polyarthritis. This infection causes severe illness or death in foals and causes swelling and deformities in the foal’s joints.
You should examine the naval stump for several days after birth to make sure that it remains dry. Urine dripping from the stump indicates that the fetal urine passage from the bladder to the umbilical (the urachus) has not closed. Normally the urachus closes at birth. If it fails to close, in a condition called “persistent urachus,” the foal should be treated by a veterinarian.
Usually, foals stand within 1 hour after birth. During the first standing attempts, the foal is unsteady and constantly shifting its head, neck, and feet in an attempt to remain balanced. This unsteadiness is normal, and you should let the foal stand by itself. Lifting the foal onto its feet before its legs are strong enough to support it may strain tendons and ligaments, and it interferes with the bonding process between the mare and foal.
NURSING
When it stands, the foal should begin nursing attempts. The foal instinctively searches at the junction of the mare’s legs (both front and back) and body for the udder. The exploratory process involved with finding the udder is normal, and, again, you should resist the desire to “help” the foal. Human interference during initial nursing attempts actually may slow the foal’s progress in finding the udder, and it interferes with the mare-foal bond. However, if the foal has not nursed by 2 hours after birth or if the mare aggressively rejects the foal’s attempts to nurse, then it is time to interfere. Help the foal stand up and gently guide it to the mare’s udder. Hand milk a few drops of colostrum (the mare’s first milk) from the mare and coat your fingers and the mare’s teats with it. Get the foal to suck your finger coated with colostrum and gradually move your finger beside the mare’s teat. Then, slowly pull your finger out of the foal’s mouth so the foal will switch to the teat. This procedure may have to be repeated several times before the foal makes the switch to the teat. Occasionally a young mare or a mare with a swollen, sensitive udder will have to be restrained for several nursing sessions before she willingly lets the foal nurse. If the mare does not accept the foal after a few nursing bouts, you should call your veterinarian to tranquilize the mare. Keeping the mare tranquilized for a day or two solves most foal rejection problems. Remember to use extreme caution whenever you are working with a foal. Normally gentle, well-mannered mares can become very protective and aggressive if they think you are threatening their foal.
COLOSTRUM ''' COLOST M I G'''
It is important for the foal to receive colostrum soon after birth because it contains antibodies needed for disease protection during the first few months of the foal’s life. These antibodies can be absorbed by the foal’s intestinal tract for up to 36 hours after birth, but absorptive ability begins decreasing drastically at 12 hours after birth. Therefore it is important that the foal receive colostrum before this time has passed. Your veterinarian can perform a simple test to determine if the foal has received adequate protection from colostrum. This test should be done about 6 hours after birth. This gives you an opportunity to correct potential deficiencies in immunity during the time the foal can absorb antibodies from its intestinal tract.
To ensure that the mare has high amounts of antibodies in her colostrum, vaccinate her approximately 30 days before foaling. If you miss this vaccination time, make sure the foal is protected against teta**s by giving it a teta**s antitoxin injection at birth. The teta**s antitoxin is less efficient than immunity from colostrum because it protects the foal for only 2 to 3 weeks while its umbilical stump heals. Because the foal’s immune system is not mature enough to use a teta**s toxoid vaccination until it is 3 to 5 months old, the foal is unprotected for 2-1/2 to 3 months if it does not receive protection from the colostrum.
Colostrum has a laxative effect on the foal, which helps it pass the fetal excrement (meconium). Most foals pass the meconium within 4 hours after birth. If the meconium is not passed, the foal can become constipated. A constipated foal frequently stops moving, squats, and raises its tail trying to defecate. Constipation can be relieved easily by giving the foal a warm, soapy water e***a (1 to 2 cups) or a prepackaged human mineral oil e***a. You should observe the foal for several days for signs of constipation and correct any problems.
FOAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
Diarrhea in the newborn foal is not common and may indicate a serious illness in the foal. A squirting type of diarrhea can result in dehydration and death of a newborn foal in a few hours. Immediately consult your veterinarian if your newborn foal develops diarrhea. However, mild diarrhea is common in older foals (1 to 2 weeks of age). This diarrhea often occurs during the mare’s foal heat (a fertile heat beginning approximately 7 to 9 days after foaling) and is commonly termed “foal heat scours.” In the past, horse breeders thought hormonal changes in the mare’s milk during foal heat caused diarrhea in the foal. Recent research has implicated an internal parasite (Strongyloides westeri) as the true cause of foal heat scours. This parasite is transmitted from the dam to the foal through the mammary gland. Foals begin to shed eggs in their f***s 10 to 14 days after birth, resulting in scours that coincidentally occur with foal heat in the mare. If the foal is alert and nursing regularly, mild foal heat scours usually do not harm it. However if the foal stops nursing and becomes weak or dehydrated, consult your veterinarian immediately. You should keep the scoured areas around the foal’s buttocks clean to prevent scalding of the skin. Wash the area with mild soap and water and coat it with petroleum jelly to prevent scalding.
Many foals have limb weaknesses or angular deformities at birth. These include knuckling over at the fetlock joint, weak pasterns in which the back of the fetlock touches the ground, knock knees, and crooked legs. Many of these conditions correct themselves with exercise. If your foal is born with less than straight legs, your veterinarian can assess the situation and recommend a treatment.
Some foals may be born with hernias (defects in the body wall that allow part of the intestines to protrude under the skin). Hernias occur most frequently at the naval and scrotal areas. Small hernias often correct themselves with time, and larger hernias may require surgical correction. Again, this is a situation that your veterinarian should assess and treat.
Occasionally the newborn foal’s eyelids and lashes are turned in toward the eye rather than turned out as normal. This is a condition called “entropion” and causes tearing and irritation of the eye. If your foal has entropion, gently roll the eyelid out and consult your veterinarian for the proper eye ointment or treatment that you can perform.
Another infrequent problem in newborn foals is caused by an incompatibility between blood groups of the mare and foal. This condition is known as “neonatal isoerythrolysis” or “jaundice foal.” Antibodies to the foal’s red blood cells are formed by the mare and secreted in her colostrum. When the foal nurses and absorbs these antibodies, its red blood cells are destroyed. Without prompt veterinary treatment, the foal becomes anemic and dies. If you suspect neonatal isoerythrolysis, prevent the foal from consuming colostrum until you can get a veterinarian to test for the condition.
CARE OF ORPHAN FOALS
Orphan foals can result from death of the mare, inability of the mare to produce milk, or maternal rejection of the foal. Orphan foals can be raised successfully with some extra care. As with mothered foals, you should make sure the orphan receives colostrum soon after birth. If the foal cannot receive its mother’s colostrum, try to locate frozen colostrum (large breeding farms and your veterinarian are good sources). Thaw the frozen colostrum at room temperature. Microwaving or heating the colostrum can destroy the protective antibodies in it. In the absence of any colostrum, your veterinarian can give the foal a plasma transfusion or an oral colostrum replacer to get antibodies into its system.
The best and easiest solution for an orphan is to transfer it to a nurse mare. To transfer the foal, disguise its odor by rubbing whiskey, linseed oil, the foster mother’s milk, urine or f***s, or any other liquid with a strong odor on the foal. Rub the same odor around the mare’s nose. The nurse mare usually must be restrained or tranquilized for several days until she willingly lets the orphan nurse. Another solution is to let the foal nurse a milk goat. This is a good temporary solution, but most goats cannot produce enough milk daily to meet an older foal’s nutritional needs. You will need an elevated area for the goat to stand on during nursing (a few bales of hay make a good temporary platform), and you should pad the goat’s horns to prevent it from hurting the foal. If these options do not work you will have to bottle-feed or bucket-feed the foal with a mare’s milk replacer. There are several recipes for mare’s milk replacer; however, the commercially available formulas are nutritionally balanced for the foal and easy to mix and use. Whenever possible, teach the foal to drink from a bucket. This will save you many hours of lost sleep and time away from work. To teach the foal to drink from a bucket, coat your finger with milk and allow the foal to suck your finger. Gradually immerse your finger in the bucket of milk. Waiting several hours between feedings so the foal is hungry often speeds up the learning process. If the foal does have to be bottle-fed, hold the bottle at the approximate height of a mare’s udder so that the foal nurses in a natural position. If possible, use a bottle holder so that the foal does not assume you are its mother. You want the foal to learn it is a horse and to respect humans. You should quickly and consistently discipline the foal for inappropriate behavior (biting, kicking, shoving, rearing) directed toward you. Orphans that are bucket-fed or bottle-fed and those nursing a milk goat should be introduced to other horses as soon as possible so they will develop normal equine social behavior. Putting an old, quiet mare or gelding in the pen or stall next to the orphan promotes normal social behavior. If your older horse can be trusted not to hurt the foal, turn them out together as soon as possible.
A healthy foal nurses from its mother up to seven times an hour for 60 to 90 seconds each time. A newborn orphan should be fed at least every 1 to 2 hours during their first week of life. Free-choice milk intake is recommended for healthy foals. During the first 2 days of life, a foal should drink about 10 to 15 percent of its body weight daily. For the next 5 days the foal’s intake should increase to 25 percent of its body weight daily. When either bottle-feeding or bucket feeding foals, make sure that your feeding equipment is clean and that milk does not sour between feedings. Orphan foals always should have access to water and salt. Orphans should be offered grain, milk replacer pellets, and hay after a few days of life. However, the foal may not consume much solid food until it is about 1 month old.
WHAT WE SUGGEST
ALWAYS KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR VET YOUR BROODMARES ARE READY TO DELIVER . A MONTHLY VISIT OF YOUR VET AT FARM SHOULD BE ARRANGED FOR A SUCCESSFUL BREEDING

26/12/2020

Managing Horses With Colic EMERGENCY 911 TUBES
ਘੋੜੇਆਂ ਚ ਪੇਟ ਦਰਦ EMERGENCY 911 TUBE
ਹਰ ਵੇਲੇ ਤੇਯਾਰ ਰਿਹਣ ਦੀ ਜਰੂਰਤ
1.Unrelenting pain;
2.Failure to respond to treatment;
3.Signs of sepsis, such as elevated heart rate, extended
capillary refill time, and abnormal gum color; and
4.Signs incompatible with a simple colic, such as distention
or displacement on re**al palpation, abnormal
ultrasonographic findings, and nasogastric reflux.
When horses colic, time is not on your side. Minutes matter, and often both veterinarian and owner must make quick decisions—the veterinarian about treatment and the owner about the financial risk and reward of paying for those treatments. Moving from field management to referral hospital, and potentially surgery, can improve a horse’s chance of surviving but isn’t an option for all owners.

Fortunately, up to 90% of horses respond to on-farm treatment for colic.
I want you to think about those horses that may need more advanced care and to offer that to owners earlier and, therefore, get those horses to a referral center sooner in case more advanced techniques such as surgery are needed.

Help Clients Prepare for a Colic Emergency
Many horses live under the care of trainers or barn managers. For those horses, it’s important for owners to sign consent for care waivers and declare their intentions in case of a veterinary emergency, such as colic, and whether they want their horse referred or would consider surgery if necessary. The horse’s insurance paperwork should also be in order. This preparation can expedite care.

“It just makes it much simpler in case the owner is not available,”.

Additionally, farms must have pickups and trailers “just flat ready to go, So as soon a decision is made, it’s not in the middle of the night, and they’re looking for a truck separate from a trailer and trying to get that sorted out. Those things are just going to prolong the time it takes to get a horse to a referral center.”

Colic Care Starts With an Efficient Exam
Managing colic in the field centers on early recognition of clinical signs and treatment of pain, Vets recommend aiming for a rapid initial colic exam that takes 20-30 minutes or less.

The initial exam includes estimating abdominal distention and evaluating heart rate (an increased pulse is the most important indication of pain severity), gum color (pink is normal, pale or abnormal colored indicates shock), capillary refill time, and listening to the chest and taking the horse’s respiration rate. vets recommend moving quickly to listening for abdominal gut sounds to see if they are active. Vets also recommended taking the horse’s temperature—a fever might indicate a differential diagnosis, such as infection or enterocolitis. Skin tenting (the amount of time skin on the neck stands after being pinched—normal is 2-3 seconds) can also indicate dehydration. Vets mentioned that this can be misleading in older horses with less elastic skin.

The more severe the horse’s pain, the more quickly this exam should go.

Finally, vets passes a nasogastric (NG) tube to check stomach contents and for reflux. “Anything less than 2 liters of fluid (coming up the tube from the stomach) is normal,”. Vets added that the fluid’s pH and the amount of gas coming off the stomach isn’t as important as the amount of fluid expressed.

Additional history, such as diet and deworming, can be taken later after pain management is underway.
Managing the Horse’s Pain Is Key
For severely painful horses requiring care at a referral hospital, making that decision early increases the chance of survival. “Some things make that decision very easy, such as you can’t manage the horse’s pain, Sometimes the horse is going to make that quite difficult for you to figure out.”

Recent research resulting in the Equine Grimace Scale has offered a more nuanced understanding of signs horses are in pain. These include, but aren’t limited to, orbital (eye) tightening, tension above the eyes, and stiff, turned back ears.

Veterinarians have a variety of analgesic drugs to choose from in managing colic pain—some, such as flunixin meglumine , the farm might have on hand as well. For that reason, they emphasized, the veterinarian needs to find out if the horse has already received medication and, if so, what, how much, and at what time. For example, the horse presenting as painful after the owner has already given the horse flunixin or firocoxib could indicate the colic is more severe than if no drug had been administered. Additionally, excessive dosing can lead to other problems, such as renal (kidney) failure in the case of flunixin overdose.

“My preference would be to use EMERGENCY 911 TUBE FIRST then a short-duration analgesic, specifying the alpha 2 agonist xylaxine and the opioid butorphanol.

“The nice thing about these analgesics is that they’re only going to last 30 to 40 minutes, One of the key things you’re going to be looking for is how does the horse respond to analgesia, and in the time it takes you to do an exam and get the history, get the treatments administered, and get it all wrapped up, you’re going to know whether that horse has recurring pain or not.”

Recurring pain indicates the need to talk to the owner about referral, and if the pain is severe enough and continues to recur, a discussion about euthanasia if the owner does not want to or cannot refer.

Horses that present as severely painful might need a more potent and longer-acting painkiller. “This is the most potent analgesic you’re going to have on the truck, adding that horses exhibiting this level of pain probably need referral.

Continued Field Treatments and Examinations
Beyond the initial exam and pain management, treatment and exam options for the field that help the veterinarian resolve the colic or gather information to prompt referral. Those include:

Administering laxatives via NG tube. The most commonly used laxatives are mineral oil , or Epsom salts mixed with water (higher doses can cause hypermagnesemia, or excess magnesium in the bloodstream). Beyond potentially moving material through the gastrointestinal tract, the expelling of mineral oil on the a**s or tail can give the veterinarian an idea of GI transit time (which should take about 18 hours), that the gastrocolic reflex (a physiological response to stomach filling that stimulates intestinal motility) might be the most important effect of administrating any of these laxatives.

Re**al palpation. This is the most useful diagnostic for localizing lesions . Veterinarians should know landmarks so they can identify any abnormalities or impactions.

Ultrasound. “I would encourage you to use it in the field for those cases where we are on the fence about what to do or the owner is indecisive and you feel like you need more evidence as to what’s going on (to convince the owner for referral)”.

Abdominocentesis. This puncture of the abdomen by a needle allows the vet to withdraw fluid and evaluate its color (yellow is normal), total protein, and lactate amount.

Fluid therapy. Administering intravenous fluids is possible in the field . However, most veterinarians will refer the animal to a clinic for this treatment.

Decisions Continue for Referred Cases
For those horses that do get referred to a clinic or hospital, care decisions continue for the veterinarian. For example, some might require medical care, such as hydration or continued pain management. Others might need surgery. “At our University, for example, only about 50% of the horses that come in need surgery,” but we are always happy to take all referrals, realizing that the more horses that are referred, the less we will miss horses that are in need of advanced medical or surgical care.”

WHAT WE SUGGEST

For veterinarians, communicating with owners before and during a colic is important to providing prompt and often life-saving care. Vets should develop an efficient field colic exam they are comfortable performing, which enables them to move to indicated treatment quickly. Pain management is key to resolving colic cases on the farm, and owners are urged to involved their veterinarians as soon as possible in treatment and decision-making for horses with colic. When necessary, making referral decisions quickly increases horse survival rates. Time to referral is the one factor that has been the hardest to manage over the years.

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT 9815024214