I'm a horse vet- ask me anything.

[stripeyronnie]

I'm a vet and exclusively deal with horses (and the odd donkey)- ask me anything!

Are there any procedures/operations do you see being done that you wouldn't put a horse of your own through?

Is it normal for a pony to get thinner as it gets older(30 years old)she was always chunkyish when younger.

Yes, colic surgery in an older horse or where the prognosis isn't good- it is a huge deal to do open abdominal surgery in a horse and the complication rate is high. I would do colic surgery in specific circumstances but I'm a strong believer in not causing any unnecessary suffering- if the reason for surgery is because the owner isn't ready to let the animal go I will talk to them at length about my thoughts on this- however ultimately it is the owners decision and I would only override that if the prognosis was hopeless.

Have you ever been injured while treating horses?

Absolutely agree with you on that, colic surgery on older horses very rarely seems in the horses best interest

Just going to ride mine - I'll be back with some questions.

What are your thoughts on box rest. It sometimes feels almost counter intuitive- though I've not found any alternatives.

Loss of top line- yes- as they use their epaxial muscles less as they age due to less work. However if there was a general weight loss I would be looking to rule out Cushings disease and also doing a full blood profile to check liver function, whether they absorbing protein appropriately (indicator of gut function) and for signs of inflammation. If weight loss was significant and rapid in an older horse I would also do an ultrasound of their abdomen to look for any signs of a tumour unfortunately. Steady weight loss is more likely to be one of the above/ dental or parasite related.

Too much grass, not enough grass, now it’s rained and too much grass again.
My horsey friends and I all say we never worried about laminitis as a child. Our parents definitely didn’t. The yard owner didn’t. Ponies just lived out and were a bit fat in the spring and a bit thinner in the winter so we gave them hay.

so, Why do ponies seem to get laminitis more, or is it just the awareness?

It rules my life juggling the grass. The Shetland and Dartmoor are perpetually fat and the tb never is and drives me crazy trying to meet everyone’s need for friends and food and diets.

I have had two injuries which have resulted in me being hospitalised- a kick to the head when I was a recent graduate and was standing in a silly position- I was concussed and needed a ct scan but was fine. Another kick while stitching up a racehorse that I had been warned was exceptionally nasty- he was well sedated and I was stitching his shoulder, I hadn't even put a needle in him yet and he threw me across the stable with a very powerful kick from behind. I sometimes relive that one and wonder what would have become of me if I had been standing further back.
Equine vets have recently been found to have the highest injury rate of all civilian professions, so it is sadly something that is all too common.

There are some injuries that will never recover without box rest. However significant periods of box rest have a severe impact on (some, not all) horses mental well-being. If I had a horse that was exceptionally stressed by being in I would consider a stable sized paddock where they could see their friends. Sometimes you need to compromise on optimal rest vs the horses welfare. For fractures and laminitis though there is no alternative- if the clients won't box rest they need to consider euthanasia.

Sorry one more:

My old pony, about twenty.
has a hay cough. Wont eat Haylage (gives runny poos) or wet or steamed hay. She’d go all night with no food rather than touch either. Dry hay makes her cough. Can’t eat chaff (teeth issue). However if she goes too long without roughage she colic’s. Obviously grass is the best. And she’s out as much as possible. When in at night she’ll have a mash and fibre cubes. She looks very well and is full of beans.

But does the colic and loose poo thing indicate an underlying issue. Or is it just her body not being as efficient as it used to me as she ages (like mine ☺️).

I believe this is due to people no longer being comfortable with the natural cycle of weight loss and gain over the year. If you look at wild ponies in the uk- they will have free access to grass in the spring and summer, they get fat, they get no supplementary food over winter so they come out of winter a bit lean. There is no laminitis. We need to accept that horses have an annual cycle of weight loss and gain- but people feel peer pressure to give enormous quantities of food.
Over rugging is another issue- native types do not need rugs as long as they are not clipped. This makes the biggest difference to their weight.

Would you do a zebra if you had to?

I would be looking to put her on a fibre replacement diet like I would for a horse with no teeth. High fibre mashes- no hay. It's very expensive though. A 'hay cough' is almost certainly equine asthma and would probably benefit from an inhaler but you would want to do a scope to rule out infection first.

No- I would leave that to the zoo vets these days. I have dealt with a giraffe and a rhino in a past job though. Now I stay firmly within my comfort zone.

Thank you OP.
really interesting about the fluctuation of weight. Like our ponies had when we were children. And yes I’m very guilty of over rugging the old pony. I hate her getting wet. Although the Shetland is out all winter and I marvel at his amazing coat. Even in the wettest weather he’s dry underneath.

Old pony has been scoped twice. No infection and issue goes away in summer when do hay fed and she’s 24/7 outside. I’ll explore equine asthma with my vet. Thank you again

Thanks for the answer! Always interests me how these things get categorised out. As an outsider, my assumption would be that a zebra is biologically more like a horse or a donkey than it is like any other zoo animal, so they'd be better off with a horse vet, but presumably there are other factors.

What training do you have outside of the usual veterinary qualifications? My daughter would love to be an equine vet.

Also what does your typical week look like?

I have a couple of post graduate qualifications specific to equine, this doesn't deem me a specialist though- this is a protected term which is reserved for diploma holders who have undertaken residency training, but is wrongly used by many.

The hours are long and unpredictable. I am on call every third night and weekend, in addition to working a full working week. On a weekend I will see 3-6 horses typically. It's very hard on family life. I get called out during the night occasionally- I still have to work a full day the next day. I wish we could change this, we are struggling to attract vets to equine work for this reason as they can do small animal and do no on call.

I love my equine vets and have the utmost respect for them. I always wonder what they would say to me if they were being 100% honest though.

What are your top 3 complaints about owners (ie over feeding, over rugging etc)?

And actually my vets all work 7 days then off for 7 days on a rota - would that be better for you?

When I will get over the unexpected death of my young horse? It was some time ago but it all happened so quickly that the shock is still reverberating.

Also a big thank you to you and horse vets everywhere, I imagine it’s very unpleasant for you too in these colic cases when there’s nothing to be done.

Oh wait, I thought of some more questions. Who is better for foot health, you or the farrier? And do you do teeth or is it best to use the horse dentist if no sedation is required?