Ask The Vet: General Health and the Pre-Purchase Examination - June 09

Laminitis can have several different causes. It can be caused by diet and the glucose/insulin metabolism, by excess trauma to the area, secondary to infections and a combination of those and other causes.

It is very unlikely that a yearling filly has insulin resistance. The other two causes are possible, although the excessive trauma is usually seen in older horses due to heavy work, work on hard surfaces or farrier error. When looking for a cause of your filly's laminitis, I'd be inclined to think an infection would be the most likely cause due to her age. Pneumonia, an abscessed navel, joint ill, Rhodococcus equi infection or even Strangles, could be sources of infection. I'd recommend a thorough evaluation of her health, including blood tests and possibily radiographs of her lungs and ultrasound of her navel area. I usually do not treat older foals with antibiotics for contracted tendons; if they are very contracted they could be the cause of the lamina rotation and the best treatment would be a deep digital flexor tenotomy. By now, you probably understand that this filly may never be able to perform as expected before her ilness.

If the horse is sound today, these findings may not mean much.
Unfortunately it is impossible for a purchase exam to predict future performance. But it is very good that the radiographs were normal.
This horse may have a ligament or muscle problem that only when flexed will show signs. In my opinion a 1+ positive is not really important.
More likely a second flexion a week or so later may be more rewarding in pinpointing a possible lameness issue. If you are concerned you can have the horse nerve blocked to try to find out where the problem is from, or even a nuclear scan. I do not routinely recommend either procedures on purchase exams and it would have to depend on the seller agreeing to both.

I'd give him at least one hour to rest, preferably in a box stall with some hay and plenty of fresh water. The dangers of transporting horses are mostly respiratory ailments ("shipping fever") due to having the head restrained up for so long in a dusty and/or stuffy environment. Make sure you stop once or twice and let him put his head down. I'd avoid any hay hanging up in the trailer, even if it is soaked hay.

Scientifically speaking, there is no difference between light and dark colored hooves. There are experiments to prove that they can withstand the same rigors. On the other hand, it is a common thought among horsemen that white hooves are weaker than dark hooves. Since this horse seems to be doing well, is not lame and is able to keep the shoes on, it should not be a problem just because the hooves are light. The biotin supplementation may be something he will need for the rest of his life though and you should keep that in mind before you buy him how it will be an extra monthly expense. There are several hoof supplements in the market and I'd recommend you use more than just plain biotin for his hooves. Methionine is very important too. If you are concerned, you may want to have the shoes pulled to look at the white lines and make sure there is no white line disease, a condition that can be very difficult to treat. Your veterinarian can help you determine that condition.

Anything done to repair the defect or scar is considered unethical and probably illegal on most breed associations. She should still be able to participate in performance classes instead of conformation, though, and if you want to breed her, the offspring should not have the defect.

If the shows are USEF, it is forbidden to give mood altering drugs to the horse and the USEF performs testing during the shows. If you are just now checking this horse, you can have the same tests privately done. It does require some blood and urine to check for specific substances. Your veterinarian can send the samples to a lab, obtained during the purchase exam. Or you can also try the horse for a few days at your own place knowing that the horse is not being given any drugs and observe how he goes.

This horse may be lame for so many reasons that I am not sure it is worth for you to worry about navicular syndrome at this point. It is now known that the navicular bone itself plays a very small role in the syndrome and horses with perfect radiographs of the navicular bones can have serious lameness. The injury can happen to the deep flexor tendon, to the impar ligament, to the navicular bursa, or to any structure inside the horse's heels and it is called navicular syndrome. It is not a disease entity but more likely a sign that the horse performs sound after a nerve block that anesthetizes the heel. It can be bilateral or in only one foot. To properly diagnose, it is necessary either a visual change on an ultrasound or better yet, an MRI of the foot. Some changes, noted on the radiographs, may not mean much, but if the horse is lame and there are alteration on the radiographs, it is warranted at least an ultrasound. Since there are no vets available in your area, you may need to trailer the horse to the vet and have the radiographs taken if the source of pain is the heel. He could be lame due to pain in other sites and not block sound on the heel anesthesia, your vet will be able to find out where but it may take several types of exams (radiographs, ultrasound, MRI, bone scans, etc).

It is not possible for me to find out what your horse has just by the description. I am glad you called your vet since your horse needs an exam, and only a description or picture won't be enough for a diagnosis. Quite often a cytology or biopsy is also necessary, where a specimen is taken and sent to a pathologist in the lab that will review the slide under the microscope trying to figure out what type of cells are in the mass. For what you describe, I have a hunch that it could be an abscess that popped open, but the horse will usually have a fever. Once again, it is hard to know without the examination.

I would recommend periodic ultrasound evaluations to be able to answer your question properly. The time will vary according to the size of the lesion and the horse healing properties. Most animals need full stall rest for 90 days followed by hand walking for another 30 days before they are able to trot or be turned out in a very small paddock. The final ultrasound exam will be very important in determining that the ligament has healed. Your horse may need less time off if the lesion is not extensive.

It sounds very likely that your pony had a mild founder episode. It could have been caused by the oats and fresh tender grass. Sometimes when a horse founders, all you notice is body soreness and very little resistance to hoof testers. An exam by your veterinarian may determine better if it is actually founder, but when in doubt, it is best to treat it as such. Older ponies are prone to pituitary disease (Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction, PPID for short) and it is exacerbated by simple carbohydrates such as sugar (oats are also high on sugars); it can often cause founder. You can have his blood tested for cortisol and insulin and a low dose dexamethasone test done to determine if he has PPID (there are other tests available too and your veterinarian may prefer a different test). If results are positive, your plan to reduce his carbs is a good idea. You can try WellSolve L/S for grain source if he starts to lose weight but make sure you get him low carb hay too.

This is a very difficult question to answer. It all depends on what exactly happened to the horse's feet when it foundered. Sometimes there are permanent damages that may affect future performance. It is best to have a veterinarian examine the animal first and take radiographs of the feet and, if not conclusive, an MRI may give more information. It also depends on what you are planning to do with the horse in regards to riding. Some broodmares founder often and are still able to deliver healthy foals, while for a hunter/jumper horse, even without any visible changes on the radiographs, the founder may end its career or shorten it considerably.

Actually, your veterinarian may be the best person to answer this question, as s/he may know other colleagues in the area where the horses are located and may refer you to them. Otherwise, you have two choices: as long as the seller agrees you can bring the horses to your area for your vet to examine them; or you can look up an AAEP member in the area online at:

www.aaep.org/dvmsearch

As much as you can, avoid using the buyer's veterinarian as it is very difficult for the veterinarian to perform a purchase exam for another person on a client's horse that you already know the history without being biased. Sometimes it is not possible though and you may want to have the buyer sign a contract agreeing to disclose all previous medical records to you first.

The best way is to each and every day feed about 10 to 20 percent more of the new hay and less of the old hay. It should take you around 5 to 7 days to completely switch foods. The same applies for grain.

The problem may go away when he gets older but it is difficult to tell. However, if it gets larger quickly as it seems, it is very likely he can get his intestines entrapped in it. I would recommend surgical repair as soon as possible in this case. Unfortunately, all you can do while you wait for your veterinarian is try to keep him as quiet as possible and avoid strenuous exercise, quite a difficult task for a young colt.

It sounds like your horse needs a thorough check up exam from your veterinarian. Make sure his teeth are in good shape and I would recommend a complete blood panel including CBC (to check for anemia and infections), complete chemistry (evaluate kidney, muscle and liver disease) and a fecal test for intestinal parasites. Very likely he has stomach ulcers too from being undernourished before you bought him. To check for ulcers he would need to undergo a gastroscopy exam or you can try to treat him for it and see if it works. There are too many different conditions that can affect your horse's weight and the ones mentioned are just some examples.

If the scar is over her cannon bone, right on the front part of her shin, and the wound is completely healed without anything oozing from it, it is very likely to be only a cosmetic defect. If it healed with hairless skin over it, it may predispose her to cut herself in the area again. Unfortunately, if she fractured the cannon bone during the fall, she may still have soundness issues over time as some of these fractures are very small and do not cause lameness all the time. Some will aggravate only when exercised to extremes such as in a race. Some will have a bump on the fractured area, but most are undetectable without x-rays.

It would be advisable to have a veterinarian examine her before you buy her, and possibily take some radiographs of the area questioned to make sure you don't have a saucer fracture, a crack or even a sequestrum, as those conditions may make your horse lame for a long time.

By short heels I understand you are referring to underun heels. This is a condition where the heels are not only short, but their angles are smaller than the toe angles. If the heel bulbs touch the ground, the animal will be in pain. Underun heels are very difficult to be fixed and it may take constant farrier work. Low heel angles predispose the horse to navicular syndrome, tendonitis and suspensory desmitis. Make sure you have a veterinarian examine the horse before you buy it to avoid later problems that may make your horse lame. The veterinarian should examine the hoof with testers and may also perform flexion tests if s/he thinks it is necessary.