Table of contents for November 2017 in Equus

Teaching without lecturing “The Power of Indirect Training” (EQUUS 478) was fantastic. As a corporate learning professional, I will say that most people don’t like the “direct” approach either---which I would call a lecture. If we are “lecturing” our horses, like people, they probably won’t retain any of the learning, as your article pointed out. When my horses get worried about an object, I’ve found that I get much better results by stopping, letting them look at it, making sure I’m conveying a relaxed energy and asking them to get curious about the object. My role is to persuade them the object is nonthreatening, not to force them to accept it. Carol Delisi Sheridan, Montana Fixing brittle hooves I read “Coping With Brittle Hooves” (Consultants, EQUUS 478) with interest. Bruce…

I take a photo of my horse’s feet after each farrier visit, from a variety of angles. This has proven very useful in tracking changes in his hoof angles and cracks over time. Otherwise, it’s hard to remember what things looked liked just a few weeks ago.—Denise Wilkinson, Laramie, Wyoming Send your suggestions for inexpensive horse-care substitutes as well as hints for saving effort and time to Hands On, EQUUS, P.O. Box 7510, Falls Church, Virginia 22040; email: EQLetters@aimmedia.com. Senders of published items will receive selected EQUUS merchandise.…

“So with the stretch of the white road before me, Shining snow crystals rainbowed by the sun, Fields that are white, stained with long, cool, blue shadows, Strong with the strength of my horse as we run. Joy in the touch of the wind and the sunlight! Joy! With the vigorous earth I am one.” ---Amy Lowell, “A Winter Ride” Filled with DuPont Sorona, a renewable insulation fiber, the Padova Waterproof Jacket (suggested retail, $230), from Horseware Ireland, is designed to be extra warm, with a breathable, anti-stain outer fabric that repels water and snow. The jacket has a full-zip closure, button-down snap collar, multiple pockets with lock-down sport zippers, an attached hood and zipped vents in the back. Available in stone gray, in sizes XS to XXL. Call 800-887-6688…

Epiphysis is the term for the ends of long bones, which develop from ossification centers separate from the shafts. Each long bone has at least one epiphysis at the proximal0 end and one at the distal0 end. Each of these is separated by a thin plate of hypertrophic (“growth”) cartilage, which is the actual growth plate; the epiphysis is not itself the growth plate. The table indicates the time when the cartilage comprising the growth plate is converted to bone; this marks the “time of fusion” when the epiphyses and diaphysis0 in that position become fused together. Vertebrae have a main body, called a centrum. The fore and aft surfaces of the centra have “caps” called physes; each physis in a skeletally immature horse is separated from the centrum by…

As we have just learned, the forensic scientist must take into consideration the state of preservation of body parts under examination. While the bones of Ethan Allen are in a rotted state, Rolf’s carcass has a different history. When he died in 1981, the policy of the Topeka Zoo was to donate the remains to the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas, where they would be studied and preserved. As a graduate student in the museum at the time, I had the privilege of collecting Rolf’s carcass, and I assisted the zoo’s veterinarian in performing the necropsy and taking the tissue samples which the state health department requires. After we finished, I degutted the carcass, quartered it, placed the remains in several 50-gallon drums, and loaded them…

Fractures have a distinctive appearance both in the skeleton and on x-rays, making them among the easiest of all lesions to detect. Rolf’s skeleton shows two: The first is a healed fracture of the 16th rib of the left side. Fractures of the rear ribs in horses are fairly common because ribs are thin bones that are, at the same time, exposed to kicks. Rolf was, of course, pasture-bred and lived with a herd yearround. This can be a pretty rough-andtumble experience for the stallion as he approaches, sniffs and licks each mare to determine whether she is in season. Far more surprising is the partiallyhealed fracture of Rolf’s left ischium (the ischium is the bone that structures the rear third of the pelvis). The photo below (A) shows Rolf’s…

Q: I will soon need to replace some wood board fencing in my horse paddocks. My brother is also planning to clear part of his property, and he offered me a deal on the lumber if I want it. I am concerned, though, because many of the bigger trees he wants to take down are maples. I know that the fallen leaves from red maple trees can be toxic to horses, and I’ve heard that other parts of the tree are toxic, too. Is the wood also dangerous? One of my ponies will chew on the fencing occasionally, and I don’t want him to come to any harm. Name withheld upon request A: Wilted and dried leaves from the red maple (Acer rubrum) are toxic to horses who eat them.…

An Australian study suggests that veterinarians need to be cautious when interpreting the results of nerve blocks done with the drug lidocaine. Nerve blocks are used to pinpoint the source of pain in a lame horse’s limb. The veterinarian injects an anesthetic agent over nerve branches that supply a specific area, then trots the horse to see if the lameness disappears. If it does, this is evidence that the pain is originating from the numbed area. Recently, researchers at Murdoch University in Perth set out to determine whether the numbing agent used for nerve blocks influences the diagnostic efficacy of the lameness investigations. “We wanted to collect information in regard to the onset, duration and efficacy of the commonly used local anesthetic agents in equine practice to allow for informed…

As feared as laminitis may be, research suggests that horse owners may easily confuse subtler signs of the disease with other common conditions. A painful inflammation of the soft tissues of the hoof, laminitis is characterized by lameness in the affected feet and a stance that relieves pressure on them. However, a study from England shows that other laminitis signs, which include a short, stilted gait, bounding digital pulses, difficulty making a tight turn, and reluctance to move forward, especially over hard or uneven surfaces, are sometimes overlooked. To determine how readily horse owners can identify laminitis, researchers at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, the Animal Health Trust and Rossdales Equine Hospital in Suffolk undertook a joint project, inviting 25 veterinary practices to submit laminitis reporting forms (LRFs) for…

In 40 years, seven Presidents have occupied the Oval Office, technology has progressed from clunky calculators to sleek smartphones— and one magazine dedicated to the care and keeping of horses that made its debut all those years ago is still going strong. Back then, you might have gone to the barn in your bell-bottom jeans and plaid shirt. You wouldn’t have heard of “natural horsemanship,” and the bins in your feed room may have held little more than unaltered grains, with no supplements in sight. You’ve come a long way, baby. Here’s a look back at some of the landmark events of 1977 in American culture as well as the horse world. JANUARY 20, 1977: Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States. JANUARY 23–30, 1977:…

NORMAL STRUCTURE OF BONE The first step in becoming good at CSI-style analysis is to learn not to overinterpret evidence—in short, not to make mountains out of molehills. The analyst must realize the difference between the normal appearance of bone (below) versus injuries, pathologies or developmental anomalies, and must also be able to distinguish pre-mortem from postmortem damage. The images at right are four views of Ethan Allen’s left carpal bones (the small bones that form the “knee” joint). The smooth, pinkish material visible between some of the bones is jeweler’s wax used to hold them together without harming them. Especially in the front and rear views, the bones appear rough, with a finely bubbly texture (yellow arrows). This is not an abnormality but the normal appearance of cancellous bone,…

Abnormal bony deposition in horses frequently involves the conversion of ligament tissue to bone, which may be accompanied by considerable thickening and prickly-looking proliferation that is technically called exostosis. Changes of this kind most commonly occur as a reaction to tensional stress—jerking— upon the ligament fibers that bind bones together. The most common example of this in horses is the condition called “splints,” the development of which is often attributed to poor conformation—offset or “bench” knees, bowlegs, knock-knees or lack of substance. While faulty limb conformation can certainly add to stress on forelimb ligaments, movement—especially torque or twisting force generated during fast turns—is the major cause. The tops of the splint bones form part of the base of the carpal joint in equines, so anytime pressure is differentially applied to…

What used to be called navicular “disease” is now known to be an array of different problems which cause pain in the posterior part of the hoof capsule. “Navicular” gets its name because pathological changes to the shape of the navicular bone—actually a sesamoid—are usually prominent. Prickly looking exostosis of the front and rear aspects of the navicular sesamoid is characteristic. Exostosis impinges the tendon of the deep digital flexor muscle where it passes over the navicular bone to its insertion upon the semilunar crest on the underside of the coffin bone. The tendon rubbing on bony prickles creates intense “ischemic” pain—pain that an experienced veterinarian once defined for me as “pain out of all proportion to the size of the lesion.” Rolf is the only horse among the four analyzed…

body condition score (BCS)---a designation, based on a nine-point numeric scale, indicating the amount of fat on a horse’s body. A BCS is assigned after a visual and hands-on appraisal. brucellosis---infection with brucella bacteria; in horses it may produce poll evil and fistula, abscessing infections of the ligament stretching from poll to withers. caudal---referring to a position near the tail. choke---in horses, obstruction of the esophagus; in people, obstruction of the windpipe (trachea). coffin bone (pedal bone)---major bone within the hoof, shaped like a miniature hoof. condyle---convex, pulley-like joint surface, as on the lower end of the cannon or thighbone. deep digital flexor tendon---tendon connecting the deep muscles at the back of the forearm and gaskin to the coffin bone in the foot. diaphysis---shaft of a long bone. distal---remote; farther…

After the veterinarian leaves, the task of monitoring a healing wound for signs of infection falls to you, your horse’s caretaker. But if you aren’t accustomed to it, the sight of an open wound can be alarming, even if it’s healthy and healing on schedule. How do you distinguish “ew” from “infected”? Here are a few tips: • All healing wounds produce exudate, a slimy discharge containing cellular debris that forms on the surface. Exudate alone isn’t a sign of infection. However, a dramatic increase in the amount or a change in color can be. • Healthy wounds typically don’t have an odor, but an infected wound will often smell rotten. At the same time, a healthy, moist wound under a bandage may emit an odor when first uncovered, and…

When a horse needs to stand still for a tricky procedure, a short-acting sedative can be a boon to the veterinarian, horse and owner alike. After the procedure, however, you’ll need to do what you can to keep your horse from hurting himself until the sedative wears off. As a general rule, the effects of sedation end about an hour after the drug is administered. The timing depends on many factors, however, and some horses will “come around” after 30 minutes, while other remain stupefied for an hour and a half. During that time, you’ll want to keep him from eating, moving around or interacting with other horses. A stall is the safest place for a sedated horse to recover. But eating while sedated can lead to choke, so remove…

• Considerations: A good blanket rack will keep the garment close at hand but out of the dirt and away from vermin, nibbling horses or other potential hazards. Consider the weight of the blankets you’ll be hanging, whether they’ll need to dry on the rack and how much space you have in your barn aisle or tack room for blanket storage. • Options: For thinner blankets that won’t need to be dried, a single, simple bar rack hung on a stall door or wall may be enough. Some models are collapsible so they don’t protrude when not in use. You can also purchase a portable hanging rack with multiple tiers to store several small blankets. To encourage drying or manage heavier blankets, consider a heavy-duty, arm-style rack that mounts high…

Developmental anomalies or variants are examples of abnormal form but are not pathologies. One such is evident in Lexington’s pelvis and sacrum in rear view (above). The arrows point to dorsal processes of Lexington’s sacrum, some of which are bifurcated. Though the condition is certainly heritable, it is not pathological and it neither detracted from nor added to Lexington’s racing ability. Without question the most exciting and potentially controversial anomaly came to light when I photographed Black Hawk’s spine (below). The angle is somewhat unusual; to get a clear image I had to lie on my back under the skeleton and point the camera upward, but the shot clearly reveals that Black Hawk possessed only five lumbar vertebrae. The normal number in both domestic and Przewalski horses is six, but…

Concussion does not cause ringbone; rather, it arises in a way similar to splints, that is, through tension or “jerk” affecting the fibers of ligaments and tendons investing the pastern area. In this body zone, “jerk” most commonly comes from unlevel mediolateral hoof strike, which in turn is due either to unlevel hoof trim, to use on hard, lumpy ground, or else in dry sand into which the edges of the hoofs can suddenly sink. Numerous fibrous tissues that invest the pastern bones can be affected, including the collateral ligaments as well as the branches of the suspensory ligament complex that insert below the ankle joints. The tendinous insertions of the superficial digital flexor and long extensor muscles are frequently also involved. Rolf’s skeleton shows evidence of severe ringbone, with obvious…

Equine coffin bones remodel over time to match the angle of trim applied to the keratinous hoof wall in which they are enclosed, so that a measurement of the angle of the fore face of the coffin bone can be assumed to be very close to the angle of the external hoof at the time of death. Ethan Allen presents quite low angles of 42.5 and 45 degrees, fore and hind respectively. This might have been due to neglect, i.e., letting the feet grow out and the heels run under through infrequent or improper trimming. I think it was more likely deliberate, however, as a well-known technique for increasing a trotter’s knee and hock “action” is to lower the hoof angles. The Schreiber & Sons photo which we have of…

As April 6 approaches each year---the anniversary of my horse’s birth---the memories return. Like snippets of a diorama I see flashes of a still-wet foal who on that day in 1970 formed a bond with me that was never broken. I recall how he stumbled first to me on wobbly legs and sucked on my fingers before I guided him to his mother and his first meal. My mare, J.J., had just gifted me not only with my first foal, but with my lifetime horse. I was a teenager when he was born. A full 40 years later, as I was on the verge of becoming a senior citizen, I was present as he took his last breath. He was with me for twothirds of my life, and now, seven…