A utumn
2008
B ringing better health to your horses
TUMMY TROUBLES
Gastric ulcers in performance
horses: how common?
CAN FOALS
FIGHT BACK?
Using immunity to
fight R. equi infections
UNIQUE LOOK
Coat colour linked to eye
anomalies in breeds
WESTERN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE • EQUINE HEALTH RESEARCH FUND
D o u b l e Yo u r
Horse Health
I N S I D E
4 The Immunity Challenge
A three-year Rhodococcus equi study looks at how foals’ immune
responses can be used to better protect equine babies from the
bacterial infection.
6 Anna Sangster, Student Researcher
Third-year veterinary student Anna Sangster talks about her
summer experience as a member of a large-scale research project.
8 Tough to Stomach
Dr. Fernando Marqués and his WCVM colleagues take a closer look
at equine gastric ulcers in western Canadian horses.
10 Tummy Troubles
A horse owner’s guide to equine gastric ulcers: the disease’s causes,
clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management.
12 The Colour Coat Connection
A WCVM-based research team confirms that coat colour is linked to
ocular anomalies in Rocky and Kentucky Mountain Horses.
14 Our Contributors
The Equine Health Research Fund pays tribute to its generous
donors during the past 12 months.
FRONT COVER: Jockey Andy Scarlett balances on top of Axe
Em All, a six-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Joseph
Quewezance and trained by Henry Keshane. The pair raced at
Marquis Downs on August 30.
H O R S E
H E A L T H
L I N E S
Horse Health Lines is produced by the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s
Equine Health Research Fund. Visit www.ehrf.usask.ca for more information. Please
send comments to:
Dr. Hugh Townsend, Editor, Horse Health Lines
WCVM, University of Saskatchewan
52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4
Tel: 306-966-7453 • Fax: 306-966-7274
wcvm.research@usask.ca
For article reprint information, please contact sm.ridley@sasktel.net.
The Western College of Veterinary
Medicine begins Year 3 of the
five-year matching gift incentive
program for horse health!
Two years after the matching gift incentive program was
launched, the unique initiative has helped the WCVM raise more than
$300,000 in additional funding for the college’s equine health and
veterinary training programs.
In August 2006, the Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé Foundation
pledged to match any new donation dollars to the Equine Health
Research Fund and to larger equine health research projects. The fiveyear program, which annually provides up to $100,000 in matching
funding, gives WCVM the potential to raise up to $1 million for horse
health programs by 2011. With Year 3 now underway, WCVM needs your
help to maximize the matching gift incentive program’s annual payout.
How can you help? The possibilities are endless! Just like Bob and
Lois Brickley of Kennedy, Sask., demonstrate on the next page, you can
donate the sale proceeds of a foal to the EHRF and double your
donation to horse health. Or you can promote the Fund and the
WCVM’s matching gift incentive program during your next event
— something that Mary-Ann Olson of Sandcastle Farms helped to do
during her farm’s 2008 Summer Sun Show Series in Saskatoon, Sask.
Besides playing a vital role in improving health care for your horses,
your efforts will be recognized and promoted in Horse Health Lines and
in other publications.
Curious to find out how you can double your horse health power?
Contact Patti Tweed, WCVM’s development officer (306-966-7450;
patti.tweed@usask.ca) or visit www.ehrf.usask.ca to learn how to be
part of the equine health matching gift incentive program. H
W
hen Saskatchewan equine
ranchers Bob and Lois Brickley
began preparing for their 11th
annual production sale this fall, the couple
from Kennedy, Sask., decided to do more
than sell their annual crop of registered
Quarter horse foals.
To kick off their part of the September
Showcase Sale at Heartland Livestock in
Regina, Sask., on September 13, the Brickleys
donated the sale proceeds from one of their
60 foals to the Western College of Veterinary
Medicine’s Equine Health Research Fund
(EHRF).
What made their decision even more
exciting was the news that their contribution
to the Fund’s equine research and veterinary
training activities would double in size —
thanks to a five-year matching gift incentive
program that’s supported by the Heather
Ryan and L. David Dubé Foundation.
The longtime Saskatchewan equine
ranchers, who own Moose Mountain Ranch, have
donated to the veterinary college’s equine programs
as part of the North American Equine Ranching
She may be small and still months away from
Information Council’s (NAERIC) research checkoff
program for a number of years.
her first birthday, but a buckskin filly named
“But when I heard about the college’s new
MM Mito Skip has already helped to raise
matching program from our friend Jim Pollock (an
EHRF advisory board member), it sounded like a great
$1,050 for horse health in Western Canada.
idea that we should support even further as individuals.
The Brickleys, who have been part of the equine ranching industry
As equine producers, we really appreciate the work that has been done at the WCVM,
for
16
years, have 120 mares on their second-generation family farm
and we support more horse health research in the future,” explains Bob.
that’s
located
in the foothills of the Moose Mountains in southern
The Brickleys chose to highlight Lot #1 — a five-month-old buckskin filly
Saskatchewan.
Besides raising purebred horses, the Brickleys own a
named MM Mito Skip. “She’s an extremely quiet, very personable horse. We chose
commercial
herd
of 250 Black Angus cattle and grow high-quality forage
her because she’s a very nice filly and we knew that whoever bought her would
and
feed
grains
for
their livestock.
be very happy with her,” says Bob, who watched Rick and Shirley Szatkowski of
In
2000,
the
Brickleys
received the inaugural “Producer of the Year”
Findlater, Sask., purchase his filly for $525. The couple had previously purchased
award
from
the
Saskatchewan
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
another Moose Mountain Ranch foal in 2006.
Animals
(SSPCA)
in
recognition
of their operation’s superior animal care
Through the matching gift incentive program, the sale of MM Mito Skip
and
excellent
production
environment.
raised a grand total of $1,050 for WCVM’s equine health programs.
Maintaining a strong equine health program at the WCVM is
“We really admire Heather and David’s generosity. When people come forward
integral
to the entire horse industry in Western Canada, emphasizes Bob.
like that, it’s just encouraging and motivating for the rest of us, and I think it’s
“Equine
producers across Western Canada are expecting more and more
fabulous to have these types of people involved in the horse industry,” says Bob.
from
veterinarians.
Our demands are increasing, and I think we have to
MM Mito Skip’s sire is Majors Zanzabar, a six-year-old buckskin and one of
support
those
who
are
providing those equine health services. We need to
the Brickleys’ 12 registered Quarter horse stallions. The filly’s dam, a brown mare
give
them
the
background
and research capabilities to meet our requests
named MM Small Town Skips, is a descendant of one of Bob’s favourite horses: “Her
and
demands.”
grandmother (Small Town Zoe) was a very special horse in our program, and MM
As for the Brickleys’ unique way of donating to the Fund, Bob highly
Small Town Skips has proven to carry those good genetics forward to her own foals.”
recommends
the idea to other horse breeders across Western Canada: “It’s
While the Brickleys’ annual production sale mainly attracts purchasers from
just
a
good
thing
to do.”
across Saskatchewan and Alberta, one of their consistent buyers is Nancy Strong of
Visit
www.moosemountainranch.com
to learn more about the
Arnprior, Ont., who has purchased horses from Moose Mountain Ranch for the past
Brickleys’
farm
and
their
Quarter
horse
breeding
program. H
nine years. This year, Strong paid $3,000 — the sale’s top price — for a filly raised
on the Brickleys’ farm.
Above (from left to right): Lois Brickley stands in the
“People buy our horses for almost anything you can think of: ranching,
sales ring alongside MM Mito Skip’s new owners,
performance, pleasure, breeding. Our goal is to raise high-quality, all-round Quarter
Shirley and Rick Szatkowski of Findlater, Sask.
horses that have a lot of colour and are easy to work with,” says Bob.
A Mighty Gift for
Western College of Veterinar y Medicine
3
the immunity
Challenge
A team of researchers at the
University of Saskatchewan strives to
“outwit, outplay and outlast” a deadly
bacteria in the ultimate survival game
for young foals. By Tess Laidlaw
4
Horse Health Lines • Autumn 2008
Ask Dr. Marianela Lopez how long she has been studying
Rhodococcus bacteria and she says, laughing, “Since I was
born? Well, truthfully, since I began my PhD at Washington State
University in 1996 — it does seem a lifetime ago.”
Lopez is a member of a new team studying Rhodococcus
equi infection of foals, supported by an award from the Heather
Ryan and L. David Dubé at the Western College of Veterinary
Medicine (WCVM). Led by Dr. Hugh Townsend, the team is
plumbing the mysteries of the newborn foal’s immune response to
develop ways to protect neonates from infection.
A problem in eastern Canada, the United States and
internationally, R. equi is a soil bacterium that causes severe
pneumonia in foals. “Currently, the key to managing this disease
is early diagnosis, but this is time consuming and expensive,”
says Townsend, a professor in WCVM’s Department of Large
Animal Clinical Sciences.
“The problem is that foals don’t tend to show signs
of the disease until it has advanced to the point
where it’s difficult, or sometimes impossible,
to treat,” adds Lopez. “Catching foals at
an early stage of the disease requires
repeated examination along with
ultrasound, radiographs and
laboratory tests.”
In all species of
mammals, Lopez explains,
the immune system of
newborns has specific
characteristics that lead to
disease susceptibility. In the
case of R. equi, young foals
are vulnerable to disease
but become immune once
they’re four to five months
old. Adult horses don’t
become ill unless they have
an immunological deficiency.
“We’re interested in
these characteristics because
we want to see if we can change
them in order to protect [foals]
from disease,” says Lopez. She
adds that the knowledge gained
could potentially be applied to many
diseases affecting the young of other species,
including humans.
Team R. equi Revs Up
Lopez joined the U of S Vaccine and Infectious Disease
Organization (VIDO) after meeting Townsend at a Rhodococcus
conference in the United States. Before her arrival in 2002,
research scientists at the University of Saskatchewan were not
focusing on this particular problem in horses.
Projects were soon underway with grants and new
collaborations in Rhodococcus research. In 2004, Lopez received
a two-year postdoctoral fellowship from the Saskatchewan Health
Research Foundation to study the bacteria. A collaborative
partnership with Dr. Mary Hondalus at the Harvard
School of Public Health also allowed Townsend
and Lopez to develop an R. equi model in foals, to
undertake some limited work on developing a vaccine,
and to begin forming a larger research team.
“We needed to form an effective team of
investigators to gather as much information as
possible during our studies,” says Townsend. WCVM
team members include Drs. Katharina Lohmann,
Fernando Marqués, Steve Manning, Kristin Poirier,
Navjot Kaur and Baljit Singh along with VIDO
collaborators Drs. George Mutwiri and Volker Gerdts.
The team’s aim is to understand the immune
response of the foal as well as the genetic variations
that may affect immunity in individual foals. Ideally,
Townsend says the project will lead to a vaccine that
will protect foals early in their lives after a single
vaccination. However, it’s more likely that foals and
perhaps their dams will need to be vaccinated more
frequently.
The Type 2 Bias Factor
The crux of the problem is a characteristic of the
newborns’ immune systems that generate responses
with what is called a “Type 2 bias.” This bias, which is
replaced by a more balanced Type 1/Type 2 immune
response later in life, exists because the fetal immune
response must avoid rejection of maternal cells
— something that would harm the fetus.
“The Type 2 bias keeps the fetus from reacting adversely
to its environment — in this case, the mother’s womb – so
the fetus can develop normally until it’s born,” explains
Lopez.
But there’s a catch: the fetus, and therefore the newborn
foal’s immune system, tend not to react very vigorously to
foreign cells (including bacteria) that are capable of causing
infections. So, the Type 2 bias predisposes newborns to a
variety of infections, such as R. equi, that a more mature
immune system could battle effectively. For this reason, part
of the team’s strategy will be to try and formulate vaccines
that will stimulate an immune response in foals that’s more
like that of an adult horse’s response.
Once R. equi gain access to the lung, the bacteria
actually take up residence inside one of the cell types that
make up the host’s immune system. A key focus of the team’s
investigation, which is under Dr. Baljit Singh’s direction,
“is trying to understand why cells within the lung that are
Previous page: Drs. Hugh Townsend (far left)
and Marianela Lopez (centre) are two of the
research scientists involved in the investigation
of Rhodococcus bacteria. Top: A research team
conducts a bronchoalveolar lavage on an
anesthetized foal. Top right (from left to right):
VIDO laboratory technician Shirley Hauta, Dr.
Marianela Lopez and graduate student Navjot
Kaur. Dr. Katharina Lohmann and third-year
veterinary student Jill Tait tend to the foal. Bottom:
Dr. Steve Manning stands by one of the foals
involved in the R. equi research project.
Western College of Veterinar y Medicine
5
responsible for protecting against full-fledged
infection are unable to do so,” Townsend
says. These cells, called macrophages, should
“gobble up” the organism and digest it. But
in the foal, these cells have difficulty doing this task. Once R. equi get inside
these defending cells, the bacteria make the macrophages their hosts – not
only surviving, but multiplying.
Harnessing the Maternal Immunity
Another challenge the researchers face in vaccine development is a
phenomenon known as “maternal antibody interference.” Mares that have
been exposed to an infectious organism produce antibodies that are then
transferred to the foal in their colostrum. The antibodies, meant to protect the
baby early in life, can interfere with or block the vaccine’s ability to generate
an immune response in the foal.
Researchers have wondered whether they could capitalize on maternal
immunity by vaccinating the mare to protect the foal. “But so far, results
of various studies suggest that maternal immunity stimulated in this way
doesn’t fully protect foals against R. equi infection,” says Townsend.
What the team hopes to achieve is to develop a vaccine strategy that will
stimulate an effective immune response in the face of maternal antibodies,
effectively combining the two strategies of vaccinating mare and foal.
Solving this problem is a challenge that applies to many vaccines that
could be given to young animals. Currently, because maternal antibodies and
other characteristics of newborns’ immune systems limit immune responses
early in life, most vaccines aren’t generally given to foals until they’re six to
nine months old. However, because R. equi only affects foals early in life,
waiting to vaccinate isn’t an effective strategy.
Townsend points out another complexity: “A vaccine that would
only work in foals with no maternal antibodies … wouldn’t work in
environments in which this disease is common. This is because mares in
these environments are naturally exposed to the organism, likely resulting in
maternal antibody transfer to their foals.”
Anna Sangster, student researcher
Student: Anna Sangster, third-year student, WCVM.
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Background: BSc degree (zoology), University of Calgary.
Summer 2008: Interprovincial Undergraduate Student
Summer Research Award recipient.
Mentors: Drs. Fernando Marqués and Steve Manning.
Project: Fecal and nasal shedding of Rhodococcus equi in
foals.
Q. Can you describe your study? The 15 foals in our study were experimentally challenged
with R. equi as part of the larger project (see above story).
I took fecal and nasal swabs from the foals at several
time points before and after the bacteria challenge.
I conducted my own bacteriology work in one of the
laboratories at VIDO with the help and direction of Dr.
Marianela Lopez and Shirley Hauta who helped me
design the study and taught me how to do the work. I
plated the samples on a selective media, and then used
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and Western blot assays
on colonies with appropriate morphology to try and
confirm or rule out the presence of virulent R. equi.
6
Horse Health Lines • Autumn 2008
Q. What were your findings? For the most part, experimentally-challenged foals don’t
shed the bacteria via fecal or nasal routes in significant
numbers.
Q. Do these findings support your original hypothesis? Originally, I had expected to see shedding from the foals
as there’s evidence showing that naturally-infected foals
do shed bacteria. The foals in this study may not have
shed because of the route of infection. In our challenge
model, the bacteria were placed directly into the lungs of
foals, not inhaled and ingested as it would be in a natural
infection. As a result, the bacteria are less likely to be
colonizing in the gastrointestinal tract.
Q. How did your study fit in with overall research project?
I think it’s important to evaluate challenge models
of disease and to see how they compare to natural
infection. In the case of shedding, it appears that there
are differences between the two.
Shedding is important in understanding pathogenesis and
epidemiology of the disease. By knowing that even foals
Now midway through the project, the team has refined the R. equi
disease model and continues to carry out laboratory analyses. The researchers
are beginning to uncover the ways in which the immune system of the
newborn differs from the adult, particularly in the response of cells in the
lung. They hope to adjust these factors using specific compounds capable
of modifying the immune response that can be added to a vaccine. Team
members are analyzing these formulations in the lab to determine which
combination will generate the most protective immune response. Going
forward, the team will apply this knowledge to the development of vaccine
candidates.
Working with large animals such as horses means very expensive,
logistically challenging experiments. In addition to the grant from the Ryan
and Dubé fund, the project involves work funded by the federal Advancing
Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program and a pharmaceutical industry
partner. Townsend continues to seek additional funding: “Although our
studies are likely to inform us on many levels, this is going to be a long
road.”
He guesses that the R. equi problem likely has multi-faceted causes that
could be environmental, genetic — or both. However, Lopez and Townsend
both feel the collaborative nature of the project is what gives it its strength.
“People coming from different disciplines see the problem differently, and
that gives us a broader understanding,” he says. The team will also provide a
foundation for future collaborations.
A non-linear approach is at play on another level as well. Lopez recalls
how former VIDO director Dr. Lorne Babiuk used to say that researchers
investigating the workings of the immune system should try to think about
the “big picture” effect of anything they learned.
“You’re always trying to visualize the immune system in action versus
seeing things on paper, you’re always trying to make a movie in your mind
of how things work. Because there are several components to the cause of this
disease, it’s critical to have a multi-disciplinary team of people playing that
same movie from all different angles,” explains Lopez.
“Once we understand how all of those little ‘scenes’ or pieces work
together, the big picture will make sense.” H
A Saskatoon freelance writer and communication instructor, Tess
Laidlaw worked for six years in science communication and is pursuing
a degree exploring the
ways science is
presented
through the
media.
Left: Large animal resident Dr. Kristin Poirier conducts an
ultrasound examination on an anesthetized foal. The
team used ultrasonography (inset) to detect lesions in
the foals’ lungs. Right: WCVM student Anna Sangster.
with severe lung lesions may not shed the bacteria could
provide some insight into how the bacteria behaves
once it’s inside the body.
Q. What did you learn from your research experience? I definitely learned a lot about handling mares and
foals! I also learned that laboratory testing for bacteria
isn’t as simple as a yes or no answer. Although we have
advanced technology such as real-time PCR and
Western blots, sometimes the results aren’t black and
white: they still take interpretation to determine their
significance.
Q. What tops your list of experiences from this summer? Of course I enjoyed working with the mares and foals,
but I also enjoyed the great people! There were many
people involved in various aspects of this study, and
although it was hard work, it was a great team effort. We
had a lot of laughs, and I made some good friends!
Q. Why did you decide to take part in a summer of
research at WCVM? Has this experience changed your
perspective of animal health research? In case I decide to pursue a research career, I wanted
the challenge of designing, performing and analyzing
results of a
project from
start to finish. I
certainly learned that
animal health research is more difficult than I thought,
and I now greatly appreciate the amount of work that
goes into understanding diseases and producing safe,
effective vaccines and treatments.
Q. Would you recommend a research experience?
I definitely recommend applying for the research
program. Even if you don’t think you are going into
research as a career, I think the summer experience
gives you a much better understanding of the whole
process and improves your critical thinking of other
research — a skill that’s important for anyone in the
scientific field. Regardless of the project’s results, you’re
sure to learn a lot through the process itself and you
will certainly develop good relationships with your
supervisors and fellow researchers.
Western College of Veterinar y Medicine
7
Equine Gastric Ulcers
Tough to Stomach
As awareness grows, more people are
taking a closer look at equine gastric
ulcers and their potential impact on
horses’ performance and quality of life.
Out of sight, out of mind. For Dr. Fernando Marqués, that old saying
aptly describes the issue of equine gastric ulcers in today’s horse industry.
Studies conducted in other areas of North America and in other parts
of the world show that equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) affects
horses of all ages and all breeds. In particular, there’s a high prevalence
of EGUS among horses competing in racing, dressage, show jumping,
endurance and western performance events. For example, some veterinary
researchers estimate that between 80 and 90 per cent of racehorses in
training are affected by gastric ulcers.
However, no research team has determined yet the prevalence of
gastric ulcers among western Canadian horses. Without that important
information, Marqués says it’s still challenging to convince people of the
potential seriousness of equine gastric ulcers and their impact on horses’
performance.
“If a horse had a painful lesion on its leg, there would be no question
about providing the animal with some kind of treatment. But because we
can’t see the ulcers and nobody knows how much these lesions actually
affect the horse, there are still questions about whether we should treat them
or not,” points out Marqués, a specialist in large animal internal medicine
at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).
People’s perspectives usually change when they can see a gastric ulcer
with their own eyes. That can be done with the use of a gastroscope, a piece
of equipment that looks like an ordinary endoscope — only much longer.
By passing the device’s long tube into the horse’s stomach, veterinarians
can use the endoscopic camera to gain a clear view of the inner reaches of a
horse’s stomach and identify any lesions.
8
Horse Health Lines • Autumn 2008
“To me, it’s similar to the issue of whether horses feel pain: different
people have different perspectives on how horses show pain. The same
applies for gastric ulcers, because at this point, nobody knows how much
a gastric ulcer affects a horse. But if it’s there, and we can prove it’s there,
I don’t think we should ignore it and say they’ll be fine. I think we need to
take a closer look at how these lesions are affecting them.”
Right tool for the job
But for Marqués and his colleagues at WCVM’s Veterinary Teaching
Hospital, diagnosing gastric ulcers in equine patients has been challenging
with the hospital’s existing equipment.
The limitation? A short gastroscope. “Our older gastroscope is
classed as a three-metre gastroscope, but it’s actually only 2.1 metres in
length. It works well for ponies and small horses, but for an average-sized,
450-kilogram horse, we can’t do a full examination because we can barely
see into the animal’s stomach,” explains Marqués. “We could be missing
potential problems in the far end of the stomach and duodenum.”
That diagnostic challenge disappeared this summer when the
veterinary college gained ownership of a new gastroscope that’s a full three
metres in length and includes a portable digital recording and imaging
system. “This gastroscope gives us the complete picture: we no longer have
to be concerned about missing lesions in the far end of a horse’s stomach,”
says Marqués.
While the gastroscope is a huge diagnostic asset for WCVM’s large
animal clinicians and their equine patients, the new equipment is valuable
for several other key reasons at the veterinary college. Besides its use as a
teaching tool for WCVM’s undergraduate veterinary students, interns and
residents, Marqués will be taking the gastroscope on the road during the
Above: Thoroughbred racehorses come down the
stretch at Saskatoon’s Marquis Downs. Studies show that
80 to 90 per cent of racehorses in training are affected
by gastric ulcers.
next
few
months
for a
series of
eight continuing
education sessions
with western Canadian
veterinarians and their clients.
“The main goal is to create more awareness of equine
gastric ulcers and the potential impact they have on horses,” says
Marqués, who conducted his first session in mid-September at the
South West Animal Health Centre in Swift Current, Sask. “During
each session, I give a presentation about gastric ulcers for local
Above: Dr. Fernando Marqués conducts a gastroscopic examiveterinarians and their clients. Then I demonstrate how to use the
nation on an equine patient during a continuing education
gastroscope on some of the clinic’s own patients — horses that
session at the South West Animal Health Centre for local veteriare suspected of having gastric ulcers.”
narians in the Swift Current, Sask., area.
Photos courtesy of Dr. Fernando Marqués, WCVM.
In co-operation with Marqués, Merial Canada Inc. is
organizing and sponsoring the continuing education sessions
throughout Western Canada. The international animal health
company also contributed $15,000 toward the final purchase of WCVM’s new
that the team’s ultimate goal is to examine 100 horses by the end of next
gastroscope.
year’s racing season. “We’re also interested to see if there’s any link between
“These sessions will help to give veterinarians and horse owners more
horses with gastric ulcers and other issues such as poor performance,
insight into a disease that’s probably just as prevalent in this region as it is
lameness issues and other concurring diseases.”
in other areas,” says Marqués.
After veterinarians have a better idea about the prevalence of EGUS in
western Canadian horses, Marqués says other studies can be done to look at
Prevalence Pursuit
potential diagnostic options, treatment and management of the disease.
And that’s where the new gastroscope will fulfil another key purpose:
“For example, how you feed a horse can contribute to the development
research. With the technology now in place, Marqués says he and his
of gastric ulcers. Studies that look at how different feeding regimes and the
colleagues have the equipment they need to pursue the question of gastric
size of feed that people provide for their horses affect the prevalence of EGUS
ulcers’ prevalence in western Canadian horse populations.
in a group of horses are potential projects that would help us learn more
As a first step, a WCVM-based research team conducted gastroscopic
about managing this disease.”
examinations on 40 normal, healthy racehorses that were in active
Eventually, Marqués hopes that all of these activities — continuing
training and competition at Saskatoon’s Marquis Downs this summer. The
education, teaching, clinical services and research — will encourage more
examinations took place late in the 2008 racing season. The horses’ owners
western Canadian veterinarians and horse owners to consider equine gastric
also filled out questionnaires about their horses’ age, sex, performance and
ulcers as a legitimate health issue.
medical history, and WCVM researchers will now analyze these details in
And as awareness grows in people’s minds, so will the need for more
correlation with the gastroscopy findings.
specific research to help answer some of the unknowns about this “out of
“This ongoing study will show us how many animals in this
sight” disease. H
population of racehorses have gastric ulcers,” explains Marqués, adding
Western College of Veterinar y Medicine
9
Visit any show ring, riding
arena or racetrack in North
America and the odds are
good that many of the equine
athletes that you see have
equine gastric ulcer syndrome
(EGUS). But this condition isn’t
limited to performance horses:
EGUS also affects young foals
and many pleasure horses.
EGUS describes a variety
of clinical symptoms including
erosions and ulcers in the
lower portion of the esophagus, the glandular and
nonglandular portions of the
stomach, and the proximal
duodenum (the beginning of
the small intestine).
Gastric ulceration affects a
large number of horses of all
ages: it’s been shown to be
prevalent in 25 to 50 per cent
of foals up to two months old,
while another study reported
that between 80 and 90 per
cent of racehorses in training
have gastric ulceration.
The following article is a
condensed version of “Equine
Gastric Ulcer Syndrome” by
Dr. Fernando Marqués, a
specialist of internal medicine
at the Western College
of Veterinary Medicine’s
Department of Large Animal
Clinical Sciences. The original
article appeared in the
March 2007 issue of Large
Animal Veterinary Rounds
— a large animal veterinary
publication that’s produced
at WCVM. Visit www.larounds.
ca to read the original article
and to access other equinerelated health management
information.
10
Horse Health Lines • Autumn 2008
TUMMY TROUBLES
Equine gastric ulcer
syndrome (EGUS)
The equine stomach
Horses are natural grazers that are designed to continuously eat around the clock. In relation
to their size and overall feed consumption, horses have relatively small stomachs that consist of two
distinct regions. The proximal portion of the stomach is the non-glandular, squamous cell-lined
region while the distal portion of the stomach is the fundic glandular portion. A stepped edge called
the margo plicatus divides the non-glandular and glandular regions.
Ulcers form in horses’ stomachs when there’s an imbalance between the factors that incite
erosion and the factors that protect the stomach. The most common inciting factor is hydrochloric
acid while bile acids and pepsin may also play a contributing role in disease development.
Risk factors for the development of gastric erosion and ulceration include intermittent feeding,
increased exercise intensity, and dietary factors such as feeding high-concentrate, low roughage diets
to horses. For young horses, it’s possible that illness — and the stress associated with being sick —
cause ulcer development since the prevalence of gastric ulcers in critically ill foals is higher.
Clinical signs and diagnosis
While a horse’s history and a description of clinical signs are important in diagnosing EGUS,
veterinarians rely on an endoscopic examination to make a definitive diagnosis. Most practitioners
use a grading system that was developed by the Equine Gastric Ulcer Council
• Proton pump inhibitors (such as omeprazole) have been
to classify the gastric lesions: the system ranges from Grade 0 (normal) to
effective in healing NSAID-induced gastric ulcers as well as naturallyGrade 4 (severe ulceration).
occurring cases of EGUS. Omeprazole was effective in reducing or
• Adult horses: clinical signs of EGUS can include low-grade colic,
eliminating the severity of gastric ulcers in Thoroughbred racehorses
poor body condition and decreased performance. But signs can vary: some
undergoing intensive training. However, omeprazole is expensive and
adult horses with endoscopic evidence of gastric ulcers may show no signs
veterinarians have questioned the efficacy of compounded preparations.
or very subtle symptoms while other horses may show more typical clinical
• Sucralfate is effective in treating peptic ulcers in humans, but
signs.
its efficacy in treating ulcers in the equine gastric squamous mucosa is
In adult horses, veterinarians
most often find lesions in the gastric
squamous mucosa — especially
along the margo plicatus. Lesions in
the pyloric region (opening from the
stomach into the small intestine) are
also important.
• Neonatal foals with gastric
ulceration may suffer from colic and
diarrhea, grind their teeth or salivate
continuously, have little or no appetite,
and tend to lie on their backs. Since very
few foals with endoscopic evidence of
EGUS show symptoms, chances are the
ulceration is severe if you observe any of
these clinical signs.
The gastric squamous mucosa is
where veterinarians find most gastric
lesions in young foals. Physiologic stress
associated with illness has also been
linked with gastric ulcers in neonatal
foals: those lesions are found in the
glandular epithelium.
• Older foals: clinical signs
like diarrhea, poor appetite, poor growth
and poor body conditions are associated
with severe squamous epithelial lesions.
Foals with duodenal ulceration often
present similar clinical signs as the ones
associated with gastric ulceration such
as colic, teeth grinding, continuous
salivation and diarrhea. They may also
Risk factors for the development of gastric erosion
suffer from delayed emptying of their
stomachs and gastroesophageal reflux.
and ulceration include intermittent feeding, increased
exercise intensity, and dietary factors such as feeding
Treatment
Since excess acid exposure is
high-concentrate, low roughage diets to horses.
the main reason behind squamous
mucosal erosion and ulceration, most
veterinarians turn to anti-ulcer therapies
with the aim of suppressing or neutralizing gastric acid.
unknown. Sucralfate may be effective for treating stress-induced ulcers in
• H2 antagonists can successfully raise the gastric pH and resolve
neonatal foals, but so far, there’s no clinical evidence to support that theory.
gastric ulcers in foals and adult horses. But the degree and duration of
• Antacids can reduce gastric acidity in horses, but their effects
acid suppression by H2 antagonists varies from horse to horse. Practitioners
are short-lived (last for approximately two hours) and require large doses
routinely administer anti-ulcer drugs to critically ill neonatal foals as a
several times a day.
prophylactic measure, but its effectiveness remains controversial. Treatment
• Prokinetics can be part of a therapy plan when veterinarians
responses vary and there’s also a concern that the use of prophylactic antisuspect delayed gastric emptying without any physical obstruction in a
ulcer therapy may suppress the function of gastric acidity in preventing
patient. This treatment is also useful in treating foals with duodenal disease
bacterial translocation in neonatal foals.
and gastroesophageal reflux. H
Western College of Veterinar y Medicine
11
The Coat
Colour
Connection
H
orses come in a fantastic array of colours from black
to white, from bays to greys, and with or without
varying amounts of white. The glorious, spotted coats
of Appaloosas are a common sight for western Canadians and
so are golden palominos — thanks to Roy Rogers and Trigger.
On the other hand, silver dapple is a colour that’s still on the
unusual side. The colour occurs in several breeds — including the
gaited Rocky Mountain Horse — in which the typical, smoky chocolate
By Roberta Pattison
coat with flaxen mane and tail is often seen and highly admired.
Veterinarians aren’t usually concerned with the coat colour of their equine
patients, but when a particular colour or pattern is associated with disease conditions or
Findings from a new, abnormalities that can affect horse health, it becomes an issue.
Such is the case with congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) in Appaloosas. A few years
WCVM-based study
ago, a research team led by veterinary ophthalmologists at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine
confirm that coat colour (WCVM) confirmed that CSNB is linked with horses that are homozygous for the leopard spotting
is linked to the ocular gene (see the Summer 2008 issue of Horse Health Lines for the latest update, www.ehrf.usask.ca).
Members of that same team, headed by veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Bruce Grahn, have
anomalies that affect one also been
investigating eye anomalies in purebred and crossbred Rocky Mountain and Kentucky
of out every two Rocky Mountain Horses.
The study’s findings, which were published in the July 2008 issue of the Canadian Veterinary
and Kentucky Mountain Journal,
support the long-standing theory that these anomalies appear to be associated with
Horses in Canada and colour — specifically, silver dapple. However, the WCVM study’s results also question two previous
about the mode of inheritance and the precise nature of these anomalies.
the United States. The conclusions
Besides Grahn, the research team included Dr. Chantale Pinard of the Faculté de médecine
College’s researchers also vétérinaire at the Université de Montréal and WCVM veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Lynne Sandmeyer.
genetic aspects of the study were conducted by Dr. George Forsyth of WCVM’s Department of
question two long-standing The
Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Rebecca Bellone of the University of Tampa, and Sheila Archer,
conclusions about the a Saskatchewan-based phenotype researcher.
Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé Veterinary Health Research Fund, which was created in
mode of inheritance and 2006 toThesupport
multi-year equine health research projects at the WCVM, provided funding for the
the precise nature of the two-year research study.
eye abnormalities found in
these two breeds.
12
Horse Health Lines • Autumn 2008
Does colour indicate a problem?
Unlike the eyes of Appaloosas suffering from CSNB, which appear completely normal on
ophthalmic examination, the eyes of Rocky Mountain Horses show a variety of obvious lesions. While
veterinary ophthalmologists have identified defects of the iris, cornea, retina and eyelids, fluid-filled
cysts of the ciliary body (a muscular ring located in the front part of the eye)
is the most common condition.
In most cases, affected horses don’t suffer from significant visual
impairment but rupture of these cysts occasionally leads to retinal detachment
and affected vision. While this condition is congenital (present at birth) and
inherited, it isn’t progressive.
The association between the eye anomalies in Rocky Mountain Horses
and the silver dapple colour is undeniable. But the exact nature of the
association — whether or not the same gene is responsible for both the eye
abnormalities and the horse breed’s colour — has yet to be determined.
Tracking the expression of the dilution gene that produces silver dapple is
somewhat difficult since the gene only affects eumelanin (black pigment) and
not pheomelanin (red pigment). In other words, chestnut horses (whose coats
contain no black pigment) may carry the silver dapple mutation, yet they will
look no different from chestnut horses that do not carry the gene. Meanwhile,
a silver bay whose black points have been diluted but has a red body coat may
look very much like a flaxen-maned chestnut horse at first glance.
These kinds of situations require close study and analysis, points out
Grahn. “We have two coat colour experts on the team, but coat colour genetics
is still an imprecise science.”
Question of inheritance
The WCVM-based research study includes horses that come from two
herds — living on opposite sides of Canada — that are linebred within
their own ranks but unrelated to each other. One herd includes 97 purebred
and crossbred Rocky Mountain Horses, while the second herd consists of 37
Kentucky Mountain Horses. The incidence of ocular anomalies within this
population of horses is close to 50 per cent, consistent with the findings of
earlier research done elsewhere involving these two breeds.
During the project, veterinary ophthalmologists examined the eyes
of purebred or crossbred Rocky and Kentucky Mountain Horses as well
as the eyes of horses that were unrelated in breeding. The specialists used
a transilluminator, a biomicroscope and an indirect ophthalmoscope to
examine the horses’ eyes after their pupils were dilated.
Next, the team constructed a pedigree with related horses to investigate
the mode of inheritance of the multiple eye anomalies and their relationship to
coat colour. Coat colour experts assessed all of the horses, and photographs of
all animals involved in the study were archived.
After a detailed pedigree analysis, the research team was able to confirm
that the mode of inheritance of the ocular anomalies in Rocky Mountain
and Kentucky Mountain Horses is an incomplete penetrance of a dominant
inherited trait.
“Our conclusion is based on the fact that when mares with no relation
to Rocky or Kentucky Mountain Horses were bred to affected Rocky Mountain
stallions, there was a range of outcomes. Some offspring had complete,
multiple ocular anomalies, some had temporal ciliary cysts, while other foals
were completely normal,” explains Grahn. “These findings are inconsistent
with the codominant mode of inheritance.”
For many years, veterinarians and horse owners have described the
collection of eye anomalies associated with silver dapple colour as anterior
segment dysgenesis (ASD), because of the apparent similarities to anterior
segment lesions that are well-documented in other species — including
humans. Grahn says it’s certainly possible that Rocky Mountain horse eye
anomalies develop partially as ASD. However, after close examination of the
affected horses involved in this study, he and his colleagues found none of the
lens-related diseases or abnormalities that are usually associated with ASD.
The WCVM research team also observed that the corneas in affected
horses weren’t significantly different in shape from the corneas in non-affected
horses. This observation concurs with what other researchers have previously
found in earlier studies.
Work still needs to be done to determine whether the gene controlling
silver dapple colour, which has now been identified, is also responsible for the
ocular anomalies. While many researchers believe this will turn out to be the
case, Grahn is skeptical.
“We don’t think it’s the same gene, but another gene close by on the
same chromosome. We have a black horse with the condition that isn’t
considered silver dapple, although some people think this classification must
be a mistake. I don’t agree. We also have a silver dapple horse that’s clear [of
ocular abnormalies] and there may be others. We need to extend the pedigree.”
With most of the ophthalmic research completed, Grahn says the
investigation of ocular anomalies in Rocky and Kentucky Mountain Horses is
now in the hands of the geneticists on the research team: “The area where the
gene resides is known, and we’re getting close.” H
Roberta Pattison is a freelance writer who is a regular contributor
to the national publication, Dogs in Canada. Recently retired from grain
farming, she still lives on her farm near Delisle, Saskatchewan.
Previous page: Large temporal ciliary cysts — fluid-filled
cysts of the ciliary body — are the most common lesions
in Rocky and Kentucky Mountain horses. Above (left):
This image of a Rocky Mountain Horse’s eye shows retinal
degeneration secondary to previous cysts. Above (right):
This third image shows focal areas of retinal degeneration
related to previous cysts. Photos: Dr. Bruce Grahn, WCVM.
Western College of Veterinar y Medicine
13
Our Contributors
A list of contributors to the Equine Health Research Fund during the period between
September 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008. Visit www.ehrf.usask.ca for donor information.
$25,000 and up
$100 to $499
Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé Foundation Inc., Saskatoon, SK
American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), Saskatoon, SK
• Appaloosa Horse Club of Canada, Claresholm, AB • Burns, Beverley,
Edmonton, AB • Campbell, Kathleen, Calgary, AB • Canadian Pony
Club, Manitoba Region, Baldur, MB • Colchester & District Agricultural
Society, Sherwood Park, AB • Corbett, Bill, Calgary, AB • Critchley, Prue,
Hamiota, MB • Crouch, Katy, Saskatoon, SK • Crush, Ken, Langham, SK
• Delaney Veterinary Services Ltd., Sherwood Park, AB • Dorit De Bruyn,
Eva, Winfield, BC • Dowler, Leslie, Edmonton, AB • Elders Equine Clinic,
Cartier, MB • Fitzharris, Fern, Saskatoon, SK • Fulton, Tammie, Calgary,
AB • Greeno, Tanya, Maple Ridge, BC • Gregory, Marilyn, Langley, BC
• Horse Industry Association of Alberta, Airdrie, AB • Laing, Robert, Leader,
SK • Lloydminster Animal Hospital, Lloydminster, AB • McKague, Ross
and Brenda, Brandon, MB • Misra, Vikram, Saskatoon, SK • Okotoks
Animal Clinic, Okotoks, AB • Palese, Kathleen, Calgary, AB • Palouse
Holdings Ltd., Calgary, AB • Perron, Michael, Surrey, BC • Regina District
Dressage Association Inc., Regina, SK •
Roth, Melanie, Indian Head, SK
• Saskatchewan Regional
Pony Club, Saskatoon,
SK • Saskatchewan
Pleasure Driving
The Heather Ryan and L. David
Association,
Dubé Foundation will match
Saskatoon, SK
any new contributions to the
• Schaefer,
Equine Health Research Fund.
Maria, New
Learn how you can double your
Dundee, ON
horse health donation dollars by
$10,000 to $24,999
Anonymous • Horse Racing Alberta, Edmonton, AB • Saskatchewan
Liquor and Gaming Authority, Regina, SK.
$1,000 to $9,999
Alliance Energy Ltd., Regina, SK • British Columbia Standardbred
Breeders’ Society, Surrey, BC • Chouinard, Lynn, De Winton, AB
• Cymbaluk, Nadia, Carberry, MB • Du Mont, Mark and Patricia,
Aldergrove, BC • Leach, Rex and Beverley, Swan River, MB • MacEwen
Almon, Saskatoon, SK • Martin, Peter, Edmonton, AB • Moore & Co.
Veterinary Services Ltd., Balzac, AB • North American Equine Ranching
Information Council (NAERIC), Louisville, KY • Townsend, Hugh,
Saskatoon, SK • United Way of Calgary — Donor Choice Program,
Calgary, AB.
$500 to $999
Killeen, James, Sherwood Park, AB • Paton & Martin Veterinary Services
Ltd., Aldergrove, BC • Riddell, Betty (in memory of Murray Riddell),
Saskatoon, SK • Sask Valley Riding Club, Warman, SK • Saskatchewan
Horse Federation Inc., Regina, SK • Southern, Ron and Margaret, Calgary,
AB • Thomson, Thelma, Woodstock, ON • Urtasun, Frances, Edmonton,
AB.
Photos: A late summer sunset gilds Thoroughbred racehorses at Marquis Downs in Saskatoon, Sask.
14
Horse Health Lines • Autumn 2008
DID YOU KNOW?
visiting www.ehrf.usask.ca.
A Year in Review
• Schellhorn, Garcia, Saskatoon, SK • Scheppner, Melissa, Surrey,
BC • SED Systems Social Committee, Saskatoon, SK • Souris
Valley Trekkers, Estevan, SK • Story, Lionel, Netherhill, SK • Taylor,
Samuel and Nancey, Swift Current, SK • Thul, Lori, Moose Jaw, SK •
Townsend, Robert, Victoria, BC • West Wind Veterinary Hospital Ltd.,
Sherwood Park, AB • Wild Rose Arabian Horse Association, Stony
Plain, AB • Wilson, George, Saskatoon, SK • Wolf, Lori, Lumsden, SK.
Up to $99
Baller, F. Marion, Regina, SK • Boughen, Teresa, Calgary, AB •
Burford, Karen, Calgary, AB • Burlingame, Donna, Saskatoon, SK •
Cadman, Dorothy, Airdrie, AB • Callfas, Debbie, Lloydminster, SK •
Coulthard, Colleen, Castor, AB • Davies, Deanne, Chilliwack, BC •
Dobson, Yvonne, Kenosee Lake, SK • Duncan, Robert, Cut Knife, SK
• Eagle Butte Ranches Ltd., Calgary, AB • Elaschuk, Norm, Turin,
AB • Ellis, Betty, Cayley, AB • Feist, Dawn, Asquith, SK • Halina,
Karen, Saskatoon, SK • Hazelton, Janene, Burns Lake, BC • Komm,
Kenneth, Sherwood Park, AB • Lenz, Bernice, Calgary, AB • Lester,
Vance, Saskatoon, SK • Lower Island Equestrian Club, Saanichton,
BC • Quesnel & District Riding Club, Quesnel, BC • Robinson,
Brian, Lloydminster, AB • Rothwell, Janet, West Vancouver, BC
• Saskatchewan Peruvian Horse Club Inc., Saskatoon, SK • Seidlitz,
Robert, Comox, BC • Silver Spurs 4-H Club, Christopher Lake, SK
• Smith, Jeffrey and Hannelore, Saskatoon, SK • Theilman, Laura,
Saskatoon, SK • Thompson, Donald, Dalmeny, SK • Thomson, Helen,
London, ON • Townsend, Robert, Saskatoon, SK • Twidale, John,
Surrey, BC • Unger, Diane, Langley, BC • Walker, Diane, Okotoks, AB
• Wallace, Betty, Dauphin, MB • Zeilner, Catherine, Furdale, SK.
The Equine Health Research Fund’s statement of revenue, expenditures and
fund balances for the year ended, December 31, 2007.
EXPENDABLE fund
2007
Revenue
Donations
Private*
$180,702.48
Horsemen’s Association
40,000.00
Racing Commissions
33,970.00 NAERIC**
14,000.00
Miscellaneous
-
268,672.48 Expenditures
Fellowship program
$81,204.81
Grants
107,225.00
Recovery from previous grants
-
Summer student
8,100.00
Graduate student awards ($3,000 each)
6,000.00 Fundraising
27,443.32
Horse Health Lines
37,886.67
Administration - Advisory Board
4,142.96
Equipment
-
272,002.76
Deficiency of revenue over expenses
(3,330.28)
Transfer from restricted funds
3,330.28
Unrestricted funds, beginning of year
-
2006
$25,800.00 20,000.00
21,840.00 -
67,640.00
$63,881.14 59,141.55
(6,180.43)
7,200.00
6,000.00 19,570.27 49,216.29 3,993.42 -
202,822.24
(135,182.24)
135,182.24 - Fund balance, end of year
0.00 0.00
****************************************************************
RESTRICTED
FUND
2007
2006
Investment income
$19,551.15
$169,241.21 Transfer to unrestricted fund
(3,330.28)
(135,182.24)
Fund balance, beginning of year
1,795,003.47
1,778,782.60 Fund balance, end of year
$1,795,003.47
$1,778,782.60
*Private donations (2007) include the 2007 and 2008 donations of $25,000 per year from the Heather Ryan
and L. David Dubé Foundation. **The North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) donated $7,000 per year in 2006 and
2007. The 2007 total includes both donations.
Photo: Oktober Revolution Photograpy
GALLOPING GAZETTE
RUN FOR HORSE HEALTH: Delineator’s
Dream, a 10-year-old dark bay gelding, was the
winner of the Equine Health Research Fund Feature
on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Saskatoon’s Marquis Downs
racetrack (above).
Owned by Rivers North and trained by Sam
Neubuhr, the horse finished the six-furlong race
in 1:14.3 with Marquis Downs’ top jockey Tim
Moccasin astride.
As part of the race feature, WCVM’s Equine
Health Research Fund awarded an embroidered
cooler to the winning racehorse. The Fund
presented the cooler in recognition of the
Saskatchewan racing industry’s longtime support
of equine health and veterinary training programs
at the veterinary college.
WCVM representatives who came out to cheer
on the horses included Drs. Steve Manning, Sheryl
Gow, Sue Ashburner, Nathalie Tokateloff, Kristin
Poirier and Nora Chavarria. Second-year veterinary
students Dayne Tatariuk and Danyse Lewis were
also on hand to host the EHRF booth along with
WCVM development officer Patti Tweed.
Earlier in the evening, a 10-horse field
competed in the $25,000 Prairie Lily Stakes — one
of Marquis Downs’ main stakes races of its racing
season. The winner was J.C.’s Action, ridden by
Moccasin and owned by Jack Harasyn. The annual
race is open to two-year-old horses that participated
in the previous year’s Prairie Lily Yearling Sale.
As part of the day’s event, the Fund’s booth was
also on display at the 2008 Prairie Lily Sale that
was held at Prairieland Centre. Nearly 30 two-yearolds participated at this year’s sale that’s organized
by the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian
Thoroughbred Horse Society.
THE COACH OF CHAMPIONS: Firstyear WCVM veterinary student Erin Borrow from
Maple Ridge, B.C., was the proud coach of two
award-winning Canadian Pony Club (CPC) teams
in the Prince Philip Games’ National Masters and
National ‘A’ Division Championships this summer.
The teams, whose members are part of the East
Maple Ridge Pony Club, trained with Borrow from
February to August in preparation for the national
team competitions. The first triumph came in late
August when the five female members of Borrow’s
Masters team won the CPC’s National Finals after
competing against top teams from Alberta and
Ontario. The CPC Masters division consists of riders
ranging in age from 15 to 21 years old.
“My team had to go to Edmonton, Alta., for
their Nationals without me as the competition
was held on Wednesday, August 27 — the third
day of classes for me at WCVM,” explains Borrow.
“However, I did practice with them up until the
week before their competition, and evidently, the
practice paid off!” Ten days later, Borrow flew to Elora, Ont., to
help the five members of her ‘A’ team compete at
the National ‘A’ Division Championships. The three
boys and two girls ranged in age from 10 to 14
years.
On September 6, the East Maple Ridge team
competed against the top teams from Ontario,
Alberta and Nova Scotia. “After 20 races, they ended
up in a tie breaker for second place, and they just
lost by the skin of their teeth to come third,” says
Borrow.
“They were much younger than the other
competitors and this was their first National Final
so I was really proud of them.” She adds that when
Champions (cont’d)
the teams ride out of province, team members
ride on pooled ponies (supplied mounts) —
another challenge in the national competition.
The Prince Philip Games, named after His
Royal Highness Prince Philip, consist of team
gymkhanas in which four out of five team
members participate in each race.
“The races involve a lot of technical skill,”
explains Borrow, adding that almost all of the
skills are done at a gallop. “Some races see
riders picking tennis balls off cones, shooting
balls through a goal with a hockey stick, or
putting mugs on poles. Some races also involve
the riders getting off and vaulting back on
— also at a gallop!”
With a full year of veterinary courses ahead
of her, Borrow has appointed an assistant to
coach her national teams until she completes
exams next spring: “We’re looking forward to
doing even better next year.”
ALBERTA HORSE CONFERENCE:
Looking for high-quality information about
horse health, management, nutrition and
training? Mark January 9 to 11 on your 2009
calendar. Those are the dates for the Horse
Industry Association of Alberta’s 27th annual
Horse Breeders and Owners Conference at the
Capri Centre in Red Deer, Alta.
This year’s line up of topics includes equine
dentistry with Dr. Roxy Bell (WCVM ’75), new
concepts in parasite control with Dr. Ray Kaplan
of the University of Georgia and a presentation
on developing strength and flexibility with
the University of Michigan’s Dr. Hilary
Clayton, an internationally-known expert in
equine locomotion and a former WCVM faculty
member.
A team representing WCVM’s Equine Health
Research Fund will be part of the conference’s
trade show. Make sure to stop in at the EHRF
booth and find out what’s new in horse health
at the College! For more conference details, visit
www.albertahorseindustry.ca.
Visit Horse Health Lines online at www.ehrf.usask.ca
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