How to give an Intramuscular Shot

Watch this video on how to give shots as it’s very informative.

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Antioxidants Beneficial if Not Overdone

Antioxidants like vitamins E and C are beneficial to exercising horses, but only at recommended levels, reported Carey Williams, PhD, equine extension specialist and associate director of the Rutgers University Equine Science Center. Williams presented this information in her talk titled “Antioxidant Research and Its Application to Feeding Horses” at the 2010 Kentucky Equine Research (KER) Nutrition Conference held April 26-27.

Oxidation is the biochemical process by which energy is created for cells to maintain both integrity and function. When not all of the oxygen is consumed during oxidation, damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced.

“These ROS damage DNA, lipids, and contribute to degenerative changes such as aging and cancer,” said Williams. “Antioxidants may prevent damage by scavenging ROS, decreasing the conversion of less reactive ROS to more reactive ROS, assisting the repair of damage caused by ROS, and providing a favorable environment for other antioxidants.”

The positive effects of both vitamin E and vitamin C in exercising horses have been reported in athletic horses.

“For example, horses supplemented with vitamin E had a more moderate degree of programmed cell death (apoptosis) in white blood cells, higher levels of other antioxidants in their systems like glutathione, and lower levels of the muscle enzyme creatine kinase, which can leak out of potentially damaged cells and into the blood if not protected,” summarized Williams.

Williams’ review of the literature on antioxidants also found that older horses also appear to have higher degrees of apoptosis in their white blood cells and may be able to reap the protective rewards of antioxidant supplementation, especially while exercising.

Williams did note, however, that caution should be taken when supplementing with high levels of vitamin E.

“Research studies conducted in my laboratory indicated that high levels of vitamin E (10 times the recommended 1000 UI/day) may be detrimental to the metabolism of beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A,” Williams explained. “High levels of vitamin E should be avoided.”

Tapeworm-Colic Link Discovered

At long last, evidence supporting a link between the equine tapeworm Anoplocephala perfoliata and colic in horses was identified by a group of Italian researchers from the Universita degli Studi di Perugia.

Earlier thought held that A. perfoliata did not actually cause disease in horses, but that the parasites were simply an incidental finding in horses’ guts.

According to the researchers, “since the 1980s, an increasing prevalence of case reports describing a close association between specific causes of equine colic, such as impaction, intestinal rupture, intussusception, volvulus, and large intestine obstructions and severe A. perfoliata infestations has increased the interest in the pathological effects of this parasite.”

The researchers therefore sought to investigate changes in the equine gut associated with tapeworms at the junction between the last part of the small intestine (ileum) and the first part of the large intestine (cecum), referred to as the ileocecal junction. The team randomly selected 31 horses (11 parasite-free and 20 horses with spontaneous A. perfoliata infections) and evaluated the ileocecal junctions.

A significant relationship between parasitic burden and microscopic grade of damage to multiple layers of the intestine (mucosa and submucosa) was noted. In addition, hypertrophy (abnormal enlargement) of circular muscular layer of the intestine was obvious. Finally, injury to intestinal nervous elements, referred to as the enteric nervous system, was noted in horses with moderate to high parasitism.

According to the study authors, “our results might support a close correlation between colic and A. perfoliata infestation in the horse.”

They also noted that the enteric nervous system lesions suggest that the use of “well-timed diagnostic tests and orderly preventative deworming programs” are indicated in horses with moderate infestations to “prevent or minimize the risk of colic caused by A. perfoliata.”

The study, “Pathological changes caused by Anoplocephala perfoliata in the equine ileocecal junction,” was published in the journal Veterinary Research Communications in May 2010.

Vets Assess Back Pain, Vertebral Lesions in Trotting Horses

In a retrospective study of 118 French Trotters, a team of veterinarians found that horses with back pain had more severe and localized lesions identifiable on X ray than horses with no evidence of back pain, but even pain-free horses had lesions of the vertebral column.

According to the researchers, back pain is a major cause of altered gait and performance in horses; however, only a few studies assessing the equine back using radiographs (X rays) have been performed, particularly in Standardbreds.

To investigate the frequency and location of the most common lesions from the 14th thoracic vertebrae (T14) to the third lumbar vertebrae (L3), veterinarians reviewed radiographs from 102 French trotters with back pain and 16 without. The two main anatomic structures of interest were the dorsal spinal processes (DSP, the bony part of the vertebrae extending up from the spinal column) and the synovial intervertebral articulations (SIA, the joints between each of the individual vertebrae along the spinal column).

Key findings reported by the veterinarians were:

• 10/16 (62%) of the horses in the control group had lesions noted on X ray;
• 98/102 (96%) horses with back pain had radiological lesions;
• The number of lesions per horse and the number of affected intervertebral spaces was higher in the horses with back pain;
• For the different types of DSP lesions, the grade (severity) of the lesions was higher in the horses with back pain compared to the control group;
• Impingement of the spinous processes was most commonly noted between the fifteenth and eighteenth thoracic vertebrae whereas DSP lesions were more commonly encountered between the seventeenth lumbar vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae.

The veterinarians noted that there was no significant difference in age, sex, activity, and mean number of race starts or mean earnings at the time of examination between the two groups of horses.

Based on this study, radiographic lesions of the back were less severe and more localized in the painful group than horses without back pain. According to the authors of the report, this survey might “improve the diagnosis and management of racing Standardbreds presented for investigation of back pain.”

The study, “Location of radiological lesions of the thoracolumbar column in French trotters with and without signs of back pain,” was published in the Jan. 9, 2010, edition of the Veterinary Record.