Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital

Fall Newsletter 2007

Summer 2007

Embryo Transfer

In This Issue

Embryo Transfer

Normal Rates

Why God Gave Us Horses

Sport

Meet Laura Bailey

Signs of Laminitis

Continuing Education

Sapulpa Vet Home Page

 

 Embryo transfer has become an important reproductive tool in many equine breeding programs throughout the world today.

It is commonly utilized to produce multiple foals in a season from a particular mare, to produce foals from mares involved in some other activity such as showing or racing, and to produce foals from mares otherwise unable to successfully carry a foal to term.

This past breeding season Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital offered this service to our clients. We can perform the embryo flushing procedure at our hospital then transport the embryo to another hospital who has a large herd of recipient mares.

The embryo is then transferred to a recipient mare who carries the foal.

If your mare has had difficulty maintaining a pregnancy, or if you’re wanting to continue showing, riding, racing or keeping your mare at home, this procedure may be an option for your mare.

Contact the hospital for more information on embryo transfer.

Some information taken from the AAEP website.

What’s the Norm?
So your horse’s temperature is 101.5º...is this a fever or a normal temp? A temperature less than 102º is considered a normal temp.  What about the heart rate?
A normal heart rate in the horse is 30-44 heartbeats per minute. Your horse’s respiration rate is about 16 to 20 respirations per minute. Contact the hospital to purchase a thermometer for your horse.

 

Norms for Your Horse:

Normal Temp Less than 102º
Normal Heart Rate-30-44 heartbeats per minute.
Respiratory Rate-16-20 respirations per minute.
 

Newsletters:

Fall 2005

Winter 2006

Winter 2007

Spring 2007

Summer 2007

Fall 2007

 

 

Why God Gave Us Horses author unknown

Why does the horse, an animal with such a big heart, live such a short life? Perhaps it's because if our horses lived any longer, we wouldn't be able to bear losing them. To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short years, a horse can teach a human courage, if they choose to grab mane and hang on for dear life.

Even the smallest of ponies is mightier than the tallest of people. To conquer the fear of falling off, having one's toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated at a horse show is an admirable feat for any child. For that, we can be grateful.

Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle - or a computer - a horse needs regular care and most of it requires that you get dirty and smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to leave your cozy home to break the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink heartily, we know we've made the right choice.

Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are easy keepers, requiring little more than regular turn-out, a flake of hay, and a trough of clean water. Others will test you - you'll struggle to keep them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so accident-prone you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to injure themselves.

If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our lives, most of us have to squeeze riding into our over saturated schedules; balancing our need for things equine with those of our households and employers. There is never enough time to ride, or to ride as well as we'd like. Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures.

If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them.

Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are clear: a warm place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of regular meals.... Some of us need these reminders.

When you step back, it's not just about horses - it's about love, life, and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there is also loss: a broken limb, case of colic, or a decision to sustain a life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the accelerated life cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss, and death that caring for these animals brings us. When the horse partners die, it is more than a moment of sorrow.

We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe, and wonder, absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To see us in our muddy boots, who would guess such poetry lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of fields of battle.

Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made and challenges met. The best of horses rise to the challenges we set before them asking little in return. Those who know them understand how fully a horse can hold a human heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the lingering taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding when or whether to end the life of a true companion.

They give us, in the words of a young girl adopted into a family who gave this girl horses as well as love:
To ride a horse is to borrow freedom...
 

Sending Companions On...
Sadly, on June 12, 2007 Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital humanely euthanized Sport. Sport was an icon at the Hospital, and he lived at Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital nearly 30 of his 33 years.

Even though his hearing was limited, his back was hollowed and his teeth gone, he still had the heart of a champion.

Sport, you will be missed...
 

Laura Bailey Joins Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital
 

 

 Laura Bailey permanently came on board this past May. Laura has been working at the hospital while attending the Veterinary Technician Program at Tulsa Community College to become a Certified Veterinary Technician.

She graduated in May and passed the board exams in June. Sapulpa Veterinary Hospital employs three Veterinary Technicians who have all graduated from a two year program and are Certified Veterinary Technicians.

 Pictured left to right are Maureen Brown, Kelly Whitaker and Laura Bailey.
 
 


 

Learn to Recognize the Signs of Laminitis
Every day veterinarians across the country see hundreds of cases of laminitis, a painful disease that affects the feet of horses. Laminitis results from the disruption of blood flow to the sensitive and insensitive laminae within the foot, which secure the coffin bone to the hoof wall. Although laminitis occurs in the feet, the underlying cause is often a disturbance elsewhere in the horse’s body. As a horse owner, it is important to recognize the signs of laminitis and seek veterinary help immediately.

Signs of acute laminitis include the following:
· Lameness, especially when a horse is turning in circles; shifting lameness when standing.
· Heat in the feet.
· Increased digital pulse in the
feet.
· Pain in the toe region when pressure is applied with hoof
testers.
 · Reluctant or hesitant gait, as if “walking on eggshells.”· A “sawhorse stance,” with the front feet stretched out in front to alleviate pressure on the toes and the hind feet “camped out” or positioned farther back than nor mal to bear more weight. Signs of chronic laminitis may include the following:
· Rings in hoof wall that become wider as they are followed from toe to heel.
· Bruised soles or “stone bruises.”
· Widened white line, commonly called “seedy toe,” with
occurrence of blood pockets and/or abscesses.
· Dropped soles or flat feet.
· Thick, “cresty” neck.
· Dished hooves, which are the result of unequal rates of hoof
growth.

If you suspect laminitis, consider it a medical emergency and notify your veterinarian immediately. The sooner treatment begins, the better the chance for recovery.



Reprinted with permission from AAEP
 

Lameness & Imaging Continuing Education
  July 28-31st Dr. White will be attending a Lameness & Imaging Seminar in Ft. Collins, CO. Every year veterinarians are required to obtain a certain number of continuing education hours approved by AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners). This AAEP event will focus on new technologies and advances pertaining to computed and digital radiography, scintigraphy, CT, MRI and diagnostic ultrasonography. The second day will focus on lameness of the distal limb imaging protocols and relating imaging of the foot to the clinical diagnosis and well as therapeutic options. Additionally, lameness associated with the carpus, elbow and shoulder, as well as suspensory ligament andflexor tendons.
Day three concludes with lameness of the stifle and hock, as well as, diagnosis and treatment of problems of the hip, pelvis and thoracolumber region. This includes the back and sacroiliac areas.
We strive to continue to stay on the leading edge of science and technology to offer the best of care to your equine friends.
 
  A. Oblique extensor of knee
· B. Extensor of knee
· C. Annular ligament
· D. Common digital extensor (extends toe)
· E. Lateral digital extensor (extends pastern)
· F. Small metacarpal (splint) bone
· G. Branch of suspensory ligament
· H. Superficial flexor tendon (flexes pastern)
· I. Check ligament
· J. Deep flexor tendon (flexes toe)
· K. Suspensory ligament
· L. Large metacarpal (cannon) bone
· M. Coronet Band
· 1. Fetlock area
· 2. Sesamoid area


Anatomy Picture from Four Winds