Contact
Dawes Farm, Bognor Road,
Warnham, Horsham,
Sussex RH12 3SH
Tel: 01306 628222
Fax: 01306 628379
office@equinevetpractice.co.uk
info@equinevetpractice.co.uk
FAQ
My grey horse in his late teens had Fly Strike in his sheath. Is this common?
Fly strike is relatively uncommon, but it is on the increase in horses/ponies in this area. We see less than ten cases a year. The most common site is inside a gelding’s sheath. The owner who asked the question has a grey and she was concerned that melanomas inside the sheath may attract the flies. This is certainly possible, although a predisposition to greys is not borne out in my experience of cases: the flies are normally attracted to dried blood/infected wounds/necrotic (dead) tissue.
For example, several days old wounds or thrush in the frog as well as up the sheath. Fly strike of the sheath should be considered in any older horse or pony showing itching, restlessness, out of character behaviour and even colic (kicking belly/swishing tail, but not rolling/sweating or blowing). Veterinary treatment is required. Regular sheath cleaning of an average gelding is not usually necessary. If you must clean up the sheath use a simple soap, not a disinfectant. Frequent cleaning will destroy the normal bacteria. Over-cleaning may lead to us having to use a gelding bacterial sheath broth to repopulate the area with the “good” bacteria.
What is Equine Thrush?
Thrush is an anaerobic bacterial footrot infection affecting the soft part of hooved feet, e.g. the frog. It thrives in cracks and crevices. In bad cases it can lead to ymphangitis, lameness and sheared heels. It is so common that some yards consider it normal and often, in winter, it can only be controlled, not eliminated. The bugs can live in the soil and affects horses that stand around in wet mud. Wet bedding doesn’t help, but is not the cause. Pick the feet out daily: twice daily in intensive management. Make sure the farrier trims the frogs well. Use of Keratex Thrush Buster or 1% hydrogen peroxide a couple of times a week is usually adequate for control. This can be bought as 6% from us (£4.14/500ml) or a chemist, apply with a small syringe and/or an old toothbrush. Sometimes we need to provide antibiotic sprays (over the counter purple spray does not have antibiotic in it) or recommend dressing with “sugardine” (sugar soaked with Betadine). Obviously, in bad cases veterinary advice should be sort.
How do VET’s keep up-to-date?
Equine Veterinary Medicine is a young and rapidly growing science. All the vets are members of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA). We receive (and read) several equine veterinary journals e.g. EVJ and EVE, as well as general veterinary journals – the “Vet Record” and the “Vet Times”. The practice has its own library of up-to-date books. There are also secure on-line journals and discussion services. Each vet attends a minimum of one week’s courses a year: and all of us usually do a lot more. For example, Anna and Judy went on a Ophthalmology course in November, whilst Laurence and Ben went on a Breeding/AI update course in the same month and Anna and Ben went on a frozen semen AI day in February.
Anna regularly attends European College of Equine Medicine seminars. Rarely a month goes by without one of the vets attending a day meeting, evening meeting or conference. Claire, our lay nurse, also attends courses: this year she has attended a course on lab work and will be going on an AI nursing day. If a client has a query about something they have read e.g. in the press or on the web, we will endeavour to investigate it and give an informed opinion. For the benefit of all our patients and clients we are always seeking to extend our knowledge.
Can I give my horse Piriton?
Occasionally horses get sudden and severe allergic reactions on the skin. They come up in “bumps” or raised flat areas from one to several centimetres across.
These may be all over, on both sides or localised. This is called Urticaria or Nettle Rash. This usually occurs for no obvious reason, but can occur when changing field or hay, after drug administration or a fly bite.
If ignored, or treated by cold hosing, the lumps may go down after a few days, but commonly burst to leave suppurative sores. Treatment by a vet with an injectable corticosteroid is a very effective treatment. Antihistamines are useful at preventing allergic reactions, at least in humans, but are not so useful once the reaction has occurred. When first exposed to an allergen, e.g. a fly bite, histamine is released at the start of the reaction.
This histamine attracts the body’s inflammatory chemicals, causes the itching and sets everything off. Once this process has started it is too late for antihistamines, only corticosteroids will do. The drowsiness effects of antihistamines are very powerful in the horse. The dose of Piriton is 20 tablets for an average 500kg horse, but this normally makes them very sleepy. Other antihistamines, such as Atarax, are less sedative, but generally antihistamines are rarely used in horses.