From our conversations with clients, atypical myopathy is either something that you have never heard of, or something that you and your horsey friends have been hugely worried about. Several cases have been reported the Hampshire area recently and vets are on the alert for any signs of it affecting more horses.
For those of you not in the know, atypical myopathy (AM) is a nasty condition affecting the postural, respiratory (breathing) and cardiac (heart) muscles of the horse. It is not known what causes AM (although we think it is a toxin of some sort) but it only occurs in horses that have access to grazing. It usually affects young or old horses that are in lean to poor body condition. and is more common in fields that have rivers or streams adjacent to them. It tends to occur in mild damp autumns like we are having now, but some cases are seen in spring. Cases are very uncommon once we have had several frosty nights.
Horses that develop AM are often found down in the field, unable to get up. It can look a little like colic but affected horses maintain a good appetitie,often grazing whilst lying down. The classic clinical sign is a dark red colouration to the urine. Early cases may be reluctant to move with a few showing odd behaviour (such as repeated vocalisation,difficulty swallowing and head tossing) for a day or two before. Treatment is difficult and unfortunately often inneffective - approximately 70% of affected horses die. Supportive treatment such as intravenous fluids and good nursing care may help. Any horse grazing in the same field as those affected should be stabled immediately.
Thankfully, atypical myopathy is still a rare condition. The only way that we can seem to prevent atypical myopathy is to reduce the amount of grazing that horses get either by stabling or by restricting the field size and supplementing with hay. Hay should be fed from a bucket or net, not from the floor and droppings should be collected rather than harrowed in. If a horse has suffered from the condition previously,all horses should be removed from that field during risk periods.
Lets keep our fingers crossed for a few frosty nights then we can stop worrying!
If you are thinking about buying a new horse, we would always recommend that you have the horse vetted before you part with your hard earned cash. Many of you may have read articles in the horsey press about how there have been changes to this pre-purchase examination in recent months. Basically the vetting procedure hasn't changed a great deal. A thorough examination of the horse at rest (including the eyes, heart, lungs, teeth, limbs, back etc) is followed by an examination of the horse moving in hand. At de Boer & Taylor we have always followed this with a series of flexion tests, where each limb is held up in flexion to try and provoke any low grade lameness. This area of the vetting procedure has always been a bit controversial as some perfectly sound horses will appear noticeably lame after flexion but it really is a good way of picking up subtle problems.
The only change to the pre-purchase exam is that we will now ask for the horse to be trotted in a circle on a hard surface either on a lunge or in hand. Trotting in hand seems little safer if the surface is a bit slippery but does require a fit handler as we will need to see the horse or pony on both reins. Again this is carried out to detect subtle lamness problems. During a five stage vetting, the horse will then be examined under saddle, allowed to rest and then re-examined in hand as previously.
The biggest change to the vetting procedure is in the paperwork! (Isn't it always?) There is a completely new layout to the cetificate with the aim of making it clearer to the purchaser, what has been done during the examination. It also emphasises whether the person selling the horse (the vendor) is a client of ours and if so, whether we have ever examined the horse. We will only examine a horse that is known to us if we are able to disclose its full medical history. This is no different to what we have always done but now we have to write it down!!
If you are selling a horse, you will need to be prepared to make things run as smoothly as possible. The horse must be stabled for several hours prior to the vetting. This stable needs to be able to be made quite dark (a top door will help) to enable a thorough eye exam and preferably nice and quiet to let us concentrate!! A flat level concrete or tarmac area is needed for the trot up and lungeing and then a school or flat level field is required for the exercise section. A fit handler also helps as it can be a pretty tiring and rather stressful few hours!!
Don't forget, everybody wants the horse to pass and it can be pretty upsetting if the vet doesn't think that the horse is suitable for purchase but do remember, we are only trying to avoid problems in the future. The right horse for you is out there somewhere!
The weather this year has been rather unusual leading to grass growth at funny times of the year. The very dry weather in spring meant little growth early on but it would seem that every time it rains a little, the grass grows furiously, the levels of sugar (fructans) in the grass shoot up, and we see a sudden rise in the number of cases of laminitis. Many of these poor horses and ponies have never suffered from the condition before so owners have been caught unawares. The recent rain is likely to lead to another burst of grass and another surge in the number of cases of laminitis so please be VERY CAREFUL! If you have a horse or pony that has ever suffered from laminitis before, or is a little on the plump side, think about restricting their access to grass as soon as it rains. If their feet have got a little long, give the farrier a call to get them trimmed. At the first sign of any foot soreness, bring them into a stable on a nice deep bed and give us a ring. Do whatever you can to avoid your horse or pony suffering from this nasty condition. Good luck!!
Welcome to our new blog! We're going to bring you news about the practice, information about veterinary topics and stories about the patients that keep us busy day to day. You can either follow us on Facebook (search for De Boer and Taylor Mobile Equine Vets) or log onto our website www.dbtvets.co.uk to keep up to date.
To start us off, here is a lovely photo of dartmoor foal 'Teagan' stretching her legs and enjoying the sunshine at only a few weeks old! Many thanks to local breeder Jackie Reeves for the fantastic action shot!
