Basic equine veterinary clinical skills guidelines

Basic Equine Veterinary Clinical Skills Guidelines, a valuable learning tool for veterinary students, as well as other students in the animal husbandry or animal health care related field of studies. Standardised clinical skills are clearly explained with aid of photographs so students could follow and practice the given guidelines of the most basic equine veterinary clinical practice that routinely performed by equine veterinary practitioners. Nurul Hayah Khairuddin (N.H. Khairuddin) joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia in November 2011 as a Senior Lecturer. She received her PhD in Veterinary Clinical Studies from University of Glasgow, United Kingdom in 2011. Prior to that, she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2007, and Diploma of Animal Health and Husbandry in 2002 from Universiti Putra Malaysia. In 2012, she was absorbed to the Department of Farm and Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery to support the clinical side of the faculty at the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UPM. Currently, Nurul Hayah is the Head of Department at the same department

Standing frontonasal flap and maxillary sinus trephination in a horse with sinusitis

This report describes use of a standing frontonasal bone flap (SFF) technique to treat a case of primary sinusitis affecting the right frontal and maxillary sinuses in a horse. The diagnosis was made based on a history of prolonged unilateral nasal discharge, endoscopy and radiographic findings. A frontonasal bone flap was created and maxillary sinus trephination was performed while the horse was standing and sedated. Standing sedation throughout the whole procedure was achieved through constant rate infusion (CRI) technique with detomidine hydrochloride. The outcome of this case confirmed that standing frontonasal flap surgery provides an effective method to specifically treat primary sinusitis in a horse and eliminates the risk of general anaesthesia in order to perform such invasive surgery

Management of lower urinary tract obstructive disease using bladder tube cystotomy in a Saanen buck

This report describes a procedure of bladder tube cystotomy to relieve progressing bladder distension in a goat diagnosed to have obstructive urolithiasis. This one-year old Saanen buck was presented with a complaint of not passing urine and being in discomfort for almost three days. On physical examination, pulsation of the urethra in the perineal region could be felt and swelling and pain along the prepuce and perineum were indicated on deep palpation. Amputation of the urethral orifice and attempt to catheterise the urethra failed to relieve bladder distension; thus, bladder tube cystotomy procedure was performed. Following this procedure, all vital parameters returned to normal and normograde cystourethrogram was performed to radiographically assess the lower urinary tract of the goat. The outcome of this case supports that the bladder tube cystotomy technique provides an effective method to allow immediate relief of a distended bladder, allowing the urethra to heal as the urine outflow is diverted through the catheter and allows normograde cystourethrography to be performed

Concentration of serum amyloid A in clinically normal endurance horses in Malaysia

Endurance horses continuously undergoing training. This will cause inflammation which leads to acute phase reaction with the production of acute phase protein, especially serum amyloid A (SAA). The purpose of this study was to establish concentration of SAA in normal endurance horses in the blood serum using two-site enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) technique. Horse sera were aliquoted from blood taken from jugular venipuncture. The highest concentration of SAA was observed in horses rested between 12 months and 24 months. The lowest concentration of SAA was noticed in horses rested more than 24 months. All the horses between 6 and 11 years old have high SAA concentration. When resting intervals were compared against gender of the horses, it was noted that all mares have high SAA concentration compared to gelding and stallion. Whereas SAA concentration in Thoroughbred horses were high compared to Arabian horses in all rest intervals. The SAA concentration in horses rested more than 24 months was low most probably because the horses recovered well from the inflammatory process happened during the endurance race

Urinary bladder rupture secondary to obstructive urolithiasisin a Jamnapari goat

This report describes the complications of obstructive urolithiasis in the lower urinary tract causing urinary bladder rupture in a Jamnapari buck. A 3-year-old Jamnapari buck was presented with the complaint of stranguria, subsequent anuria and a progressively distended abdomen for the past three days. Upon physical examination, body temperature, pulse rate and respiration rate were increased. Uroliths could be felt within the urethra in the ventral abdomen region. A urolith was removed via amputationof the urethral process, but the patency of the urethra could not be established. Transabdominal ultrasound revealed anechoic areas around the bladder, and the bladder was relatively small for a urinary obstructed goat. The bladder wall was thickened and shadow of sludge was observed within the bladder. Abdominocentesis was done and fluid analysis revealed that it was a haemorrhagic effusion. Blood results revealed renal disease, liver disease, muscle injury and haemoconcentration. Retrograde cystourethrogram revealed no urolithswithinthe urethra but there was leakage of the contrast agent from the bladder into the peritoneal cavity. The final diagnosis was complete blockage of the lower urinary tract leading to bladder rupture. Exploratory laparotomy was done and emergency cystorraphy was planned. Due to the poor condition of the urinary bladder with presence of septic peritonitis, the goat was euthanised

Sleeping patterns of horses in selected local horse stables in Malaysia

Horses typically spend between from 4 to 15 hours a day in standing rest and anywhere from minutes to several hours lying down. Horses that have less sleep due to prolonged activities will result in health deterioration and poor welfare. From the literature search and from the authors' knowledge, the study on the sleeping patterns of domesticated horses in stable management in the tropics has not yet been explored. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand the sleeping patterns of selected local stabled horses in Malaysia. This study was conducted in 3 different stables around Klang Valley, Malaysia. Five healthy adult gelding Thoroughbred horses with body condition score of 3 out of 5 were selected randomly from each stable. The horses experienced the same daily activities and exercised for approximately 4 hours every day where they were used for riding activity. An observational cohort study method was used in this study. Each horse's sleeping patterns were observed for 72 hours. The time frame was divided into 12 hours a day for 6 days, continuously. In the present study, horses tended to sleep only during the night. The stable horses spent about 57.00 ± 25.00 min/24 h in sternal recumbency; 8.00 ± 6.00 min/24 hours in lateral recumbency; and 3.40 ± 0.70 minutes in each stay apparatus position before shifting weight to the other hindlimb. The implication of these findings will allow equine practitioners to understand the different sleeping patterns of horses to maintain the horses' welfare and performance

A case of diaphragmatic rupture in a Criollo pony

This report describes a case of diaphragmatic rupture with migration of small and large intestines into the thoracic cavity of an 18-year-old Criollo pony. The pony was initially presented to the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), with mild colic and increased respiratory effort. A diagnosis of diaphragmatic rupture was made based on thoracic auscultation, radiographic and ultrasonographic findings. Due to financial constraints, surgical management was not an option and so the pony was managed medically. The pony was diagnosed with diaphragmatic rupture and concurrent bronchopneumonia and was observed closely. Mild colic was treated with analgesics while dyspnoea was managed symptomatically with bronchodilators and antibiotics. The pony remained clinically stable for more than eight (8) weeks. However, another episode of colic lead to a deterioration in its clinical condition and subsequent death. Post-mortem findings revealed migration of loops of small intestines and part of the large colon into the thoracic cavity. There was a linear tear (estimated to be about 15cm in length) in the right dorsal segment of the diaphragm at the border of the muscular and fibrous portion, which confirmed our clinical and diagnostic imaging findings of diaphragmatic rupture that had caused the pony to suffer from colic and dyspnoea

Atypical mycotic lesion in the guttural pouch of a Thoroughbred race horse

A six-year-old Thoroughbred race horse was presented with left unilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge. Endoscopic examination revealed atypical mycotic lesion within the guttural pouch in which the fungal mass was not located on any neurovascular structures. This case was successfully treated by the combination of manual debulking of fungal diphtheritic plaques and medical treatment that included daily local irrigation and systemic medication. There were no complications and the horse returned to race three weeks later

Physical measurement of the expansion rate of anisotropic tissue expander in the skin of the horse

Tissue expansion technique is one of the most important innovations in skin reconstructive surgery. In this study, anisotropic self-inflating hydrogel tissue expanders were implanted subcutaneously at different anatomical locations; frontal, right shoulder and right forelimb of horses. The resulting skin expansion were observed and recorded daily for the duration of 28 days by manual physical measurements. The rate of height growth and swelling that were recorded are 164.25% at the frontal region of the head, 189.13% at the shoulder region and 122.42% at the forelimb region. The growth of the tissue expander in the three sites could be summarized in three phases; biodegradable in week one, the peak of anisotropic expansion in week two and three, and final degree of swelling in week four