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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10 TheHorse.com THE HORSE September 2015 Foaling-Related Ailments Come in Twos and Threes Mares are most susceptible to developing puerperal (after birthing) diseases in the first 10 days of delivering a foal. "Stress, the beginning of lactation, and the regeneration and rebuilding of the uterus are all occurring at this time," which can contribute to the mare's increased risk of developing issues, said Axel Wehrend, DrMedVet, PhD, Dipl. ECAR, ECBHM, of Justus-Liebig University, in Giessen, Germany. Wehrend and colleagues recently sought to find out which problems are most common, so they could better advise veterinarians on what to watch for. In their study of 308 mares, the team identified 21 puerperal dis- eases. Retained placenta, lochiometra (an accumulation of fluid in the uterus after birthing and an ideal medium for bacterial growth, Wehrend said), and injuries to the perineum were most prevalent. In many cases, mares suffering from one disease suffered from multiple foaling-related ailments. "Mares with a retained placenta most commonly also presented with perineal ruptures," Wehrend said. And mares suffering from lochiometra were also likely to have a retained placenta and other birth-related injuries. Veterinarians should watch closely for multiple puerperal problems and implement treatment immediately to give the mare the best chance of recovery.—Katie Navarra "Laser resection is often a more practical treatment choice, and we believe it has advantages over other treatment options," said Claire Wylie, BVM&S;, MSc, PhD, MRCVS, of Rossdales Equine Hospital, in Suffolk, U.K. Compared to standard surgical removal, Wylie said, laser resection offers reduced postoperative scar tissue formation, pain, and swelling, along with a better prognosis. In their retrospective study of 99 horses treated with laser sarcoid resection, Wylie and her colleagues found that the removed sarcoid(s) did not recur in 83% of the horses, and sarcoids did not recur any- where on the body in 72%. "The heat produced from the laser creates an area of tissue death around the sarcoid, which reduces the opportunity for cells to be spread to the surrounding normal tissue," she said. Sarcoids were more likely to recur in horses that had them on the head and neck and those with verru- cose sarcoids (flat wartlike tumors) than those with sarcoids located elsewhere on the body and other types of sarcoids, respectively. "We think this is prob- ably because it has been difficult to ensure that all of the sarcoid tissue has been removed," Wylie said. "It is important to take a margin of healthy tissue along with the sarcoid to try to ensure all the diseased tissue has been removed." She also noted that, while laser resection invari- ably leaves a scar, the hair color in the area remains unchanged. As with any surgical pro- cedure, a precise veterinary diagnosis and treatment plan is critical for the best outcome, Wylie stressed, and it's important that the clinician have experience in handling the laser to remove the correct amount of tissue. While numerous treat- ments for sarcoids are available, Wylie encouraged veterinarians and owners to select a therapuetic option that's backed by evidence: "Inappropriate treatment is dangerous, as it can trigger aggressive local expansion of the sarcoid, severely im- pacting the use and value of the animal," she said. —Katie Navarra Infuenza Vaccine Failures Examined Scientists have learned that equine influenza virus (EIV) vaccination breakdowns are becoming more common, making even inoculated horses susceptible to the disease. Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, et al. saw widespread vaccine breakdown in a recent study; 239 of 2,605 horses with respiratory disease tested positive for EIV, 84 of which had flu vaccines on board. "The number of EIV- positive horses that had been vaccinated … in our current survey was statistically higher than previously reported in 2008, suggesting that the occurrence of vaccine break- down is increasing," he said. Pusterla said horse owners should continue to vaccinate against EIV, and manufactur- ers should continue to update vaccines regularly. Get more study findings at TheHorse.com/36059. —Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc Targeting Stubborn Sarcoids with Lasers N ow you see it, now you don't ... and now you see it again. Such is the complicated art of sarcoid removal. Laser resection is but one approach for removing these common tumors; however, until recently, long-term results or risk factor data for recurrence were limited. Sarcoids on the head were more likely to recur than those located elsewhere on the body. KEVIN THOMPSON/THE HORSE ANNE M. EBERHARDT/THE HORSE ISTOCK.COM NEWSFRONT Inquiries to: 859/276-6726 E-Mail: News@TheHorse.com ERICA LARSON, News Editor @TH_EricaLarson