The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
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6 TheHorse.com THE HORSE September 2016 The Federal Drug Administration's approval of certain bisphos- phonate drugs for treating navicular syndrome has offered hope for those managing horses with this condition. TheHorse.com/ 37819. Sponsored by Dechra. WHAT'S ONLINE Listen: Building a Horse Arena at Home Read: Is It Okay to Ride an Ulcer-Prone Horse After She has Eaten? CURRENTLY on Our experts answer an audience member's question about how to build a riding arena at home. Learn about footing choices, dust, drain- age, and more in this audio clip. TheHorse. com/37838. Listen: How Can I Tell if My Horse has Vesicular Stomatitis? Vesicular stomatitis is a highly contagious disease spread by flies and contact between animals. In horses it causes mouth blisters, foot sores, lameness, and more. Learn about the clinical signs of this disease at TheHorse. com/37827. Old wisdom tells us not to feed horses before exercise. But this outdated belief might be hurting your horse. TheHorse.com/37893. Read: 12 Facts About Bisphosphonate Use in Horses This download may be reprinted and distributed in this exact form for educational purposes only in print or electronically. It may not be used for commercial purposes in print or electronically or republished on a website, forum, or blog. For more horse health information on this and other topics visit www.TheHorse.com . Published by The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care, © Copyright 2016 The Horse Media Group. Contact editorial@TheHorse.com . 1 2 F a c t s A b o u t B i s p h o s p h o n a t e U s e i n H o r s e s In 2014, the FDA approved two bisphosphonate drugs for treating horses with navicular syndrome, a condition that involves the navicular bone in the horse's foot. Bisphosphonates affect bone metabolism and are used in human medicine to treat osteoporosis. Not too long ago, a "navicular syndrome" diagnosis left owners with few options for their horses. Corrective shoeing might help, and non-steroidal anti-infl ammatories (NSAIDs) could possibly reduce the horse's pain (but not without side eff ects, such as gastric ulcers). Maybe the horse would return to light work or end up pasture-sound. On the other hand, maybe not. However, advances in MRI for assessing foot lameness have given veterinarians a better understanding of the podotrochlear apparatus, which includes the navicular bone and its supporting structures. at diagnostic tool, along with the Federal Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of certain bisphosphonate drugs for treating navicular syndrome have off ered hope for those managing horses with this condition. Special Report ISTOCK 1 European veterinarians have used bisphos- phonates to treat horses for since 2003. Use started in France. eHorse.com/37779 2 Bisphosphonates work by regulating the bone's metabolism and slowing osteoclastic activity. Osteoclasts are the bone cells responsible for bone absorption. TheHorse.com/36802 3 e drugs are primarily used in human medicine. Most commonly, they are used to treat postmenopausal women with vertebral compression fractures and/or osteoporo- sis; elderly men suff ering nontraumatic fractures; patients with Paget's disease (a disease that disrupts the replacement of old bone tissue with new bone tissue); and people with metastatic bone disease (bone cancer). eHorse.com/37779 4 Two bisphosphonates, clodronate disodium and tiludronate disodium, received FDA approval for use in horses over the age of 4 in 2014, making the drugs available for U.S. equine veterinarians to help manage navicular syndrome. TheHorse.com/37779 5 Human studies have shown that bisphos- phonates can remain in the body for fi ve years post-treatment; in horses they have been identifi ed in the body at least a year after treatment. eHorse.com/37779 6 In a study looking at tiludronate disodium use for treating horses with navicular syndrome, research- ers found that administration resulted in improve- ment in about 64% of the horses that received the drug along with corrective shoeing, compared to an improvement in approximately 43% of horses that received corrective shoeing alone. TheHorse.com/37779 PAG E 1 O F 2 S P O N S O R E D B Y S P O N S O R E D B Y Learn how tissue level events affect the devel- opment and control of immune responses to infection, vaccines, and tumors at TheHorse. com/UKLectures. Watch: Tissue-Level Events and Immune Response in Horses ISTOCK BRIAN MCCLUSKEY ISTOCK Managing the Fearful Horse Is your horse anxious, spooky, or difficult to manage? Are you ready to give up on him? Or may- be you just want to improve your relationship with your horse. Join world-renowned equine be- haviorist Dr. Sue McDonnell, of the University of Pennsylvania, and get your questions answered during this live event at TheHorse.com/AskTheHorseLive . Sponsored by Zylkene Equine. Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, at 8 p.m. EDT ISTOCK Behaviorist Dr. Sue McDonnell, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's New Bolton Center, explains how behavior- ists and vets can work together to identify the source of a horse's pain and disease. TheHorse.com/ 37848. Read: How Do Behaviorists Help Vets Diagnose Horse Health Issues? Research shows horses learn well when their trainers reward desired behaviors with treats. That's easy enough on the ground, but how do you practice treat training from the saddle? TheHorse.com/ 37844. Read: How to Treat-Train Horses While Riding ISTOCK