Hoof Prints
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Hoof Prints is a publication of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences’ Equine Field Service
Greetings from the Equine Field
Service (EFS) group. We hope you
enjoy this issue of “Hoof Prints.”
Our intent is to provide you with
information about “hot topics” in
the news, services we offer, success
stories about cases, and additional
information about EFS.
Mission statement of EFS:
Our mission is to provide our patients
with state of the art equine veterinary care both on the farm and in
the clinic. By utilizing advanced
training and technologies, we will
provide care and expertise ranging
from preventive health to specialty
services. Our equine patients and
their owners are considered foremost
in our treatment plan. We also
understand the importance of
training the next generation of
dedicated and compassionate
professionals and as such we are
committed to the education of
our students.
Services we offer:
Our goal is to provide state-of-the-art
equine veterinary care for your horse on
your farm or, in some cases, in the clinic.
We routinely schedule calls from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and
provide 24-hour emergency service.
Services include:
• Preventive health care (Wellness
Program, vaccinations, deworming,
nutrition, dentistry)
• Podiatry
• Reproductive care (Theriogenology)
• Chiropractic care
• Acupuncture
• Lameness/performance care/
prepurchase exams
• Neurology
• Foal care (Neonatology)
• Geriatric care
We also have the ability to perform
ultrasound exams, take radiographs,
give shockwave treatment, and perform
endoscopy on your horse, all on the farm.
Please visit our website for additional
information about these services.
January, 2011
Winter Feeding Tips
Winter is officially here, and the New River
Valley has already received an early dose of
frigid weather. For Blacksburg, the average
temperature in December 2010 was 26
degrees Fahrenheit - - making it the 4th
coldest December on record! During cold
weather, horses burn extra calories (energy)
to stay warm. For many horses, this is a
natural mechanism for loss of excessive body
condition that they have accumulated through
the spring, summer, and fall (use of excess
calorie reserves = use of excess fat). However,
at times, horses will require additional energy
in their diet in order to maintain appropriate body condition (BCS 4-6/9, BCS Charts:
http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/vth/la/equine.asp.
Please see Winter Feeding Tips: page 2
Dr. Rebecca Funk Will be Joining the EFS Team
While Dr. Dascanio is irreplaceable, Dr. Rebecca Funk has
recently committed to joining the
EFS group! Dr. Funk completed
her veterinary degree (2006)
followed by a theriogenology
internship at Oklahoma State
University (2006-07). She most
recently completed her internal
medicine residency at Auburn
University (2007-10), and has
passed her internal medicine
board examinations and completed her Master’s degree.
Dr. Funk will be joining us early
this spring. We are looking
forward to having her with our
group, and we hope that you will
have a chance to meet her soon.
Please call EFS at 540-231-9042 or visit our website: http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/vth/la/equine.asp
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WINTER FEEDING TIPS: continued from page 1
The temperature below which a particular
horse starts to expend additional energy
to maintain core body temperature is
referred to as the lower critical temperature (LCT). The LCT temperature for
horses ranges from 5 – 41 degrees
Fahrenheit (F). The LCT for an individual
horse is affected by several factors
including body condition (fat cover),
thickness of hair coat, ambient temperature, wind, and moisture. Therefore,
the best value to use for LCT in pasture
based horses is wind chill temperature,
as this combines the effect of temperature and wind.
(5% more hay; 2.1% of body weight) in
order to maintain core body temperature and its current body condition. In
contrast, a 1000 lb. horse in good body
condition with a dry moderate hair coat
would have an estimated LCT of 25° F.
If the wind chill temperature is 0° F, the
horse would have an increased energy
requirement of 25 %. This 1,000 lb.
horse should already be consuming
approximately 20 lbs. of hay per day
for its maintenance energy requirements (2% of body weight) and now
should consume approximately 25 lbs.
of hay per day (25% more hay; 2.5% of
body weight) in order to maintain core
body temperature and prevent excess
loss of body condition.
As an example, a pasture-kept horse
with short hair, exposed to wet conditions, would likely use additional energy
General Tips for Feeding Horses
to maintain core body temperature
During Cold Weather:
when the wind chill temperature drops
below 41° F. Whereas, a pasture kept
1. Monitor your horse’s body condition
horse with a thick winter hair coat and
(by sight and touch) frequently during
adequate fat cover, may not expend
cold weather and use this as the
appreciably more energy to maintain its
basis for dietary plans. Adjust feeding
core body temperature until the wind
to maintain/achieve an ideal body
chill temperature drops below 5° F.
condition (Body Condition Score
4-6/9). Do not over feed horses that
Estimated Lower Critical Temperature
are overweight/obese!
for Horses in Moderate Body Condition
(BCS 5/9)
2. Use hay to meet increased energy
Hair Coat
wet or short
moderate
heavy Lower Critical Temperature (F)
41
25
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As a general rule of thumb, for each
1° F decrease below the lower critical
temperature, the horse uses 1% more
energy to maintain core body temperature. This increased energy demand
can be supplied by fat stores in horses
with excess body condition (BCS 7-9/9)
or from added dietary energy in horses
with ideal body condition (BCS 4-6/9).
For example, a 1000 lb. horse in good
body condition with a dry, heavy winter
hair coat has an estimated lower critical
temperature of 5° F. If the wind chill
temperature is 0° F, the horse would
have an increased energy requirement
of 5 %. This 1,000 lb. horse should
already be consuming approximately
20 lbs. of hay per day for its maintenance energy requirements (2% of
body weight), and now should consume
approximately 21 lbs. of hay per day
demands for horses in good body
condition. The heat generated from
digestion of hay is greater than that for
concentrates!
3. Increase both the hay and concentrate
intake for horses that are below average body condition. These horses
need both the extra heat from forage
digestion and extra calories from
concentrates in order to gain weight
and improve body condition. Horses
in especially poor condition may need
even more calories in the form of
added dietary fats and oils. Increase
levels of concentrate slowly!
4. Provide 10-12 gallons of 45-65° F water
to each adult horse per day. Many
horses will not drink sufficient water
to allow for adequate feed intake and
for normal digestive function if the
water becomes too cold. Impaction
colic may result when horses consume dry feeds and do not consume
sufficient water.
Virginia Horse Council
2011 Annual Meeting
and Educational Seminar
Blue Ridge Community College,
Weyers Cave, February 26, 2011
The Virginia Horse Council(VHC) 2011
Annual Meeting and Educational Seminar
will take place Saturday, February 26,
from 8 am to 3:30 pm at Blue Ridge
Community College in Weyers Cave, VA.
Leeanne Ladin, co-author of Secretariat’s Meadow: The Land, The Family,
The Legend, will be the morning keynote
speaker. Also in the morning sessions,
Deb Baillet with the Equine Land Conservation Resource will discuss equestrian
participation in land use planning and
Kate Norris with the Prince William
Soil and Water Conservation District
will focus on how the Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Act affects farm owners
and horse trails.
In the afternoon, concurrent sessions
will tackle equine health issues such as
equine parasites, equine obesity, and
emergency horseshoe removal (laboratory).
Updates on trail projects throughout
Virginia will also be covered. Attendees
can “mix and match” topics according to
their individual interests. In addition, the
popular youth track offers “hands on”
educational learning opportunities.
The VHC will hold it’s annual meeting
and election of officers for 2011 during
lunch; VHC Awards for service to the
Virginia equine industry will be presented.
Silent auction items will be available
for bidding during the course of the
meeting/seminar, and drawings for three
$100 gas cards will be offered to new/
renewing VHC members.
Advance registration is $25 for VHC
members; $35 for non-members; and
$15 for youth/students. Registration at
the door is $10 additional. Overnight
accommodations are available at the
Ramada Inn and Conference Center in
Harrisonburg, 540/434-9981. Ask for
the special VHC Conference rate.
Questions? Contact Dr. Shea Porr,
Seminar Coordinator, at cporr@vt.edu
Form can be found on website
www.virginiahorsecouncil.org
Please call EFS at 540-231-9042 or visit our website: http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/vth/la/equine.asp
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Success Story: Little Fox
Little Fox was brought into the barn one
morning for breakfast. When the owner
removed the fly mask, Little Fox was
squinting the right eye, and the owner
was able to see a large white area of
ulceration on the cornea. His owner
recognized immediately that this abnormal
finding in a horse can potentially be very
Little Fox, a few
serious. She decided to medicate Little
days after surgery,
Fox with antibacterial and antifungal
with both a
ophthalmic ointments to prevent infection
conjunctival graft
and also with atropine, to help reduce
and subpalpebral
pain in the eye. She also gave him some lavage system in
place.
Banamine to further increase his comfort
level. She then called
Equine Field Services
to examine Little Fox.
Little Fox developed a deep corneal ulcer. He
When clinicians from EFS
did not respond to the initial treatment on the
examined the eye, Little
farm. He was admitted to the VTH for surgery,
Fox was holding the eye
and a conjunctival graft was placed. Little Fox
open but did not readily
allow closer inspection.
made a complete recovery.
After receiving some
intravenous sedation, a
thorough ophthalmic examination was
was called back to the farm due to a lack
performed. Upon close inspection, it
of improvement in Little Fox’s condition.
was noticed that Little Fox had a 1 cm
Little Fox had become difficult to admindiameter ulcer on his cornea. Directly
ister ophthalmic medications to so a
beneath the superficial ulcer, an area
special administration system was
deeper within the surface of the eye apinstalled. This is called a sub-palpebral
peared to contain an encapsulated area
lavage system. It is a specially designed
of white material. This finding is consisplastic device that is placed into the
tent with a stromal abscess and can be
corner of the eyelid and has a long tubing
a serious problem. If a stromal abscess
attached to it. This system allowed his
extends too deeply into the eye, it can acowner to more easily administer the
tually enter the liquid part of the eye and
medications. A few days later, EFS percause the entire globe to rupture, spilling
formed a recheck examination of Little Fox.
its contents. Another potential result of a
At this examination, when the stain was
stromal abscess can be anterior uveitis,
applied to his eye, it was noted that the
which can be a source of significant ocular
discomfort and possibly blindness long term. center of the ulcer no longer took up the
stain. This was extremely worrisome,
An important tool that equine veterinarbecause the very last layer of the eye
ians possess to assess the extent of
before entering the liquid portion will
corneal ulceration is fluorescein stain.
not bind this stain. This level, known as
This non-reactive dye binds to areas of
Descmet’s membrane, is only a single
the cornea that are not covered with
cell layer thick. This was very bad news,
epithelium (the clear outer surface of
as this meant that Little Fox’s eye could
the cornea) and helps demonstrate how
potentially rupture at any time. Little Fox
deep an ulcer penetrates into the stroma
was referred to the Veterinary Teaching
(the part of the eye just below the
Hospital for ophthalmic surgery.
epithelium). When this stain was
Once at the VTH, Little Fox was immeapplied to Little Fox’s eye, and as
diately taken to surgery, where a piece
expected, the entire ulcer retained stain.
of his conjunctiva (the red membrane
Little Fox’s medications were continued
surrounding the eye) was sutured to the
for another four days, at which time EFS
surface of his eye directly over the deep
ulcer to encourage healing. This is referred to as a conjuctival graft. The surgery went very well, and Little Fox recovered without complication. He remained
in the VTH for a few days for monitoring
and was sent home with instructions
for his owner to continue applying the
ophthalmic medications through the
sub-palpebral lavage system.
Little Fox continued to receive the medications for approximately two weeks
after discharge from the VTH until EFS
performed a follow-up examination.
Upon close examination, the conjuctival
graft appeared to be receding appropriately, and there was no stain uptake on
the surface of the eye. It was determined that Little Fox no longer required
any medications, and the lavage system
was removed. Little Fox’s eye has continued to heal, and now all that remains is
a small scar where the ulcer and graft
had once been.
Little Fox was lucky, as deep corneal
ulcerations can often result in significant
complications. Painful uveitis, infection
of the deep layers of the cornea, and
rupture of the eye itself are some of the
potential problems that can result from
a situation like that experienced by Little
Fox. Though many horses wear fly masks
and derive much benefit from them, it
is important to remember to remove
your horse’s fly mask each day so that
you have an opportunity to inspect your
horse’s eyes for any abnormalities.
Please see Little Fox: page 5
Please call EFS at 540-231-9042 or visit our website: http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/vth/la/equine.asp
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Update from the World Equestrian Games
Dr. Pleasant spoke at World
Equestrian Games Veterinary
Sport Horse Symposium
Promoting peak performance in the
equine athlete was the focus of the
2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian
Games Veterinary Sport Horse Symposium, held Sept. 22-24, 2010. More than
250 veterinarians from around the world
attended the symposium, sponsored
by Alltech, the American Association of
Equine Practitioners, and Rood & Riddle
Equine Hospital.
Travis Burns served as an
official farrier at World
Equestrian Games
Travis Burns served as an official farrier
at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in
Lexington, Ky., from Sept. 30 through
Oct. 3. Burns was chosen to participate
after being selected by the American
Farriers Association (AFA).
The selection process included a rigorous
application to ensure that the farriers
were qualified and capable of maintaining
the hooves of the world-class horses
participating in the international event.
Please see Pleasant: page 5
Farrier Travis Burns shoes a horse at
the VTH.
At WEG, Burns was part of an onsite team
that provided services to the world’s best
eventing riders. He also spent time promoting the AFA to the public while educating
them on the duties of a farrier.
During the games, he had the opportunity
to work with farriers from all over the world.
In observing and communicating with other
farriers, Burns said he experienced differences in shoeing strategies and learned
new techniques. “It really pushed me to
become a better farrier every day,” he said.
“It was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity,” he added.
Burns began working at the veterinary
college last February. Dr. David R. Hodgson,
Department Head of the Large Animal
Clinical Sciences, said, “It has been an
honor having Travis join us as the inaugural
farrier for our podiatry service. His unique
skill set was highlighted by him being
chosen for the prestigious position as
an onsite farrier for the World Equestrian Games.”
Written by Rachel McDonnell of Virginia
Beach, Va., a graduate student in the Department of Communication in the College of
Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.
Please call EFS at 540-231-9042 or visit our website: http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/vth/la/equine.asp
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Many people had the opportunity to attend and watch the World Equestrian Games, held in Lexington,
Kentucky in September/October 2010. Some faculty/staff, as well as clients and their horses, were
fortunate enough to work, lecture and ride at the WEG. We want to highlight some of their experiences.
Bent Tree Farm’s Moud, ridden by Lynn Jendrowski, performed at WEG opening ceremonies
Lynn Jendrowski performed with Moud for the Friesian parade during the opening ceremonies on
September 25. Following is Lynn’s account of her experiences.
“There are many memorable moments in my equestrian career, but the most recent one was riding
Karen Waldron’s Friesian, Moud, in the Opening Ceremonies’ “Friesian Train” of the 2010 World
Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. I was invited to ride by the Dutch Friesian Studbook
(KFPS) based on Moud’s competition results throughout the years I have trained and competed him.
The KFPS spent 18 months preparing for the exhibition. Directing the “Train” was Christa Laarakkers
from the Netherlands. Six Friesian horses came from the Netherlands to join four from the United
States plus one alternate. The group practiced together for one week prior to the Opening Ceremonies. We all had received the choreography via e-mail so we could study the patterns and positions.
At the Kentucky Horse Park, we got to know each other and practiced, not only in the arena, but also
in the barn on foot. Sometimes, we even trotted and cantered which usually made us all laugh. We
also had a full dress rehearsal – a most exciting and memorable occasion. But the night of the Opening Ceremonies, with the live orchestra, crowds, and the lights will never be forgotten.”
Lavinia Kingery from BreezKrest farm performs with Fancy at WEG.
The Rocky Mountain Horse Association performed a demonstration at the WEG
September 24 through September 28, 2010. The demonstration included an eight
horse quadrille to music with all chocolate horses, a show demonstration with stallions
of a different color, a sidesaddle demonstration and a western pleasure demonstration.
Fancy owned by BreezKrest Farm and ridden by Lavinia Kingery kicked off the presentation of the Rocky Mountain Horse showing all three gaits and the famous chocolate
color. Fancy and Lavinia were selected from a large number of horses to perform at the
WEG and they both were very honored to represent the Rocky Mountain Horse.
Pleasant: continued from page 4
Little Fox: continued from page 3
The three-day education meeting
was designed for veterinarians who
treat horses involved in sport horse
disciplines, such as eventing, reining,
endurance, show jumping, driving, and
dressage. Dr. Scott Pleasant was part
of an international roster of veterinary
experts who presented the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment
of conditions commonly affecting the
sport horse. Dr. Pleasant’s presentation
was entitled “Management of Hoof Wall
Cracks and Defects in Sport Horses”.
The presentation reviewed hoof wall
problems commonly encountered in
sport horses and provided strategies
for managing these problems in horses
that need to remain in work. Session
topics included orthopedics, diagnostic
imaging, nutrition, upper respiratory
disease, podiatry, and muscle disease.
Prompt identification and proper treatment of a corneal ulcer is very important.
It is very dangerous to administer an
ophthalmic medication that contains a
corticosteroid to a horse with corneal ulceration. Administration of a corticosteroid delays healing and suppresses the
ocular immune system, making infection
with bacterial or fungal organisms much
more likely. Common corticosteroids in
ophthalmic medications include Dexamethasone and Prednisolone. If your
horse experiences ocular trauma, please
feel free to contact EFS before commencing any medical therapy.
Please call EFS at 540-231-9042 or visit our website: http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/vth/la/equine.asp
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