Newsletter 2008

     For those of our clients who have not heard the news yet, we have two new doctors at the clinic.  Please help us in welcoming Dr. Amanda Murdock and Dr. Will Sims we are very excited that they have joined us.  They are both looking forward to meeting you and your pets. 

Equine Vaccinations

     It is that time of the year again.  We need to get all of our equine friends ready for the summer months.  Whether you have breeding horses or a great trail horse, it is very important to proctect our horses from all of the dangers out there.  To find out what the recommended vaccination protocol is for your adult horse, visit the American Association of Equine Practitioners website.  http://www.aaep.org/images/files/Adultvaccinationtablerevised108.pdf

     The recommended vaccinations for foals vary some from the adult horse protocol.  The AAEP also has great information for your baby.  You can find the foal protocol at http://www.aaep.org/images/files/FoalVaccinationfinal108.pdf

     Springtime is a great time to bring your horse to the vet for a physical, all of their vaccinations and to be checked to see if they need to be dewormed.  If you are unable to bring your horse in, or would prefer to give your own vaccinations, you can purchase your vaccinations over the counter here at Montezuma Vet.

     With the proper vaccinations you and your horse will have a great summer to look forward too. 

Pigeon Fever

     Dryland strangles/distemper, pigeon breast, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a bacterial infection that commonly manifests as external abscesses in the pectoral and ventral abdominal regions. The organism lives in the soil and enters horses through wounds or broken skin and may be transmitted by flies. The disease is usually highly contagious as the pus from the draining abscesses can survive in the environement for up to 55 days. The increased number of organisms create a more infective environement. The infections usually appear in late fall but can sporadically erupt at any time of the year. Horses can become infected and not develop abscesses for weeks.

     There are 3 general disease forms: external abscesses, internal abscesses, or limb infection(ulcerative lymphangitis). The limb infection rarely involves more than one limb at a time, usually small draining sores develop above the fetlock.

     The most common form in the western united states is external abscesses in the pectoral region, the ventral abdomen, or groin area. After spontaneous rupture, the wound will exude a liquid, light tan, malodorous pus. Internal abscesses can occur and are very difficult to treat. The recovery time can range from 2 weeks to 77 days.

     Treatment depends on the form of disease contracted. Pain medication such as bute or banamine in the case of lameness due to deep abscesses. The use of antibiotics are controversial as their use has been associated with chronic abscessastion and may actually contribute to abscesses. If a horse develops internal abscesses there is an approximate 40% mortality rate and prolonged penicillin therapy is required.

     Owners of infected horses should isolate them and thoroughly clean and disinfect stalls, utensils, and tack. Consistent and careful disposal of infected bedding, hay, straw, or other material is also very important. The prognosis for an infected horse is usually good with complete recovery but some horses may experience recurrence. There is currently only two ways to diagnose an infection and one is a swab of infected drainage and two is a blood test to determine antibody levels. If you suspect your horse has pigeon fever please contact your veterinarian for a diagnosis and a treatment protocol.

Equine Viral Arteritis(EVA)

     Equine viral arteritis is an infectious viral disease of horses that causes a variety of clinical signs from flu-like symptoms to abortions. The virus is spread by direct horse to horse contact via coughing or by breeding to an infected stallion with live cover, cooled or frozen semen. Mares geldings and sexually immature stallions do not become persistent carriers.

     A recent outbreak in New Mexico has brought this disease to the forefront of the media recently as several states have now been affected due to export of infected semen and horses. This disease, while not lethal to mature horses is economically important as it causes abortions and if a foal is born with the disease it will die within a few days. There is no specific treatment for EVA.

     The current American Association of Equine Practitioners guidelines for the vaccination of colts intended to be breeding stallions at under 9 months of age. It further calls for vaccination of negatively tested mares prior to breeding with known infected stallions and isolation of the mare for 21 days postbreeding. Current blood tests can not distinguish between an infected or a vaccinated horse. Therefore only known negative mares should be bred to known negative stallions as once a vaccination program is started it must be maintaned because the test will now show positive if the mare is infected or not.

     If you have any further questions regarding EVA please contact us to discuss testing and vaccination programs for your herd.

DENTAL DISEASE AND YOUR PET

Dental disease can affect our dogs and cats at any stage of life, but it is most common as our pets enter middle age. Studies at the Veterinary Colleges of Ohio State and Cornell University have found that 85% of dogs and cats over 6 years old have some form of dental disease.

Dental disease can be put into three categories: gingivitis, tartar and pyorrhea. Gingivitis is inflammation of the gums. You can easily see this by the increase in the pinkness of your pet's gums, especially at the gumline. Tartar is the accumulation of plaque on the teeth, usually starting at the gumline in conjunction with gingivitis. Pyorrhea is the most serious of the three conditions. It is pus in the mouth, usually between teeth and gums.

All three of these conditions require treatment. Therapy can range from antibiotics to anesthesia, and a complete dental scaling and polishing. The appropriate type of treatment is decided upon after oral examination. We treat these conditions because they are actual infections. Dental disease can lead to heart, lung, liver, kidney, skin and prostate infections.

All of these conditions are caused by one of two reasons. The first reason is feeding canned or soft foods. These foods give little to no benefits to the teeth and gums because they require little to no chewing. The second reason is genetics. As with our teeth - some people get cavities or excessive tartar due to genetics - some animals have more dental problems than others due to genetics. Since we cannot change our genetics, dry food and hard biscuits are our recommendations.

So the next time you complain of dog breath or cat breath, look into your pet's mouth and then call us for an examination. Let's cure any problems and prevent more serious ones before they start.