Rood & Riddle Client Newsletter-Spring 2016

News from Your Equine Health Care Provider | Vol. 1 | Spring 2016

Rood & Riddle Expands Veterinary Services in Florida IN THIS ISSUE EQUINE HEALTH

Reproduction Developments in Mares Laminitis Rhodococcus equi NEWS

Rood & Riddle Client Education Seminar Thoroughbred Sport Horse Divisional Winners Announced Rood & Riddle Updates

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital has expanded its veterinary services in Wellington by purchasing an equine hospital and adjacent property on South Shore Blvd. formerly used by Wellington Equine Associates.

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington is Rood & Riddle’s second clinical venture outside the state of Kentucky. It established a practice in Saratoga, NY in 2013.

Rood & Riddle has also acquired one-third of Advanced Equine Imaging, located on the Wellington property in a partnership with Brendan Furlong, MVB, MRCVS, and John Steele, DVM. Advanced Equine Imaging offers services in MRI and nuclear scintigraphy.

Board-certified surgeons Jose Bras, DVM, MS, Dipl.

ACVS, and Jen Jordan, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, will be the surgeons on-call at the clinic. Ashley Embly, DVM, and Jen Jordan, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, are currently providing ambulatory services in Wellington. Raul Bras, DVM, CJF and Scott Morrison, DVM will be offering podiatry and shoeing services on a monthly basis. Steve Reed, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, will provide internal medicine services bimonthly. Future plans call for the addition of more veterinarians and technicians to staff the hospital.

Rood & Riddle CEO Bill Rood said, “Rood & Riddle is very pleased to establish a hospital presence in Wellington, which is a major center for sport horse activities. Our mission has always been to provide the best care for our clients and patients wherever they are. Wellington is a focal point for sport horse activities and in addition, is conveniently located to major Thoroughbred and Standardbred training centers and racetracks. The addition of the Wellington property will allow us to better serve our many clients who compete in Florida every year, both with sport horses and in racing.”

In recent years, Florida has seen large increases in the sport horse disciplines and continues to maintain a strong race horse industry. In response to an increase of Kentucky clients showing and racing horses in Florida, Rood & Riddle acquired the surgery center, which will be open year-round and will provide ambulatory services during the show season months.

“We are excited to expand our services to the Wellington area. This will allow us to better serve our sport horse and racing clients in South Florida,” said managing partner Scott Pierce, DVM. For more information about Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington, please visit http://www.roodandriddle.com/roodriddleinwellington.html.

To schedule an appointment, please call 561-383-5437.

Reproduction Developments in Mares “This study helped reassure us that in cases where cyst removal is deemed appropriate, the procedure itself does not appear to decrease fertility, and likely improves it in some cases.”

“This highlights the importance of evaluating mares before short-cycling as mares with larger follicles may have lower pregnancy rates and it may make sense to wait until follicles are smaller to short-cycle.”

By: Maria Schnobrich, VMD, Dipl. ACT At Rood and Riddle’s 2016 Reproduction-Internal Medicine Seminar for referring veterinarians Dr. Maria Schnobrich discussed several recent papers concerning routine breeding management and treatment of mares. The studies reviewed were selected from research presented in the past 2 years.

The first paper that was reviewed looked at intra-uterine fluid after breeding in mares and the associated findings as they relate to pregnancy rates. The study was by M. Cristofferson from 2016 and evaluated a group of 146 Thoroughbred mares bred by live cover. This study found that mares older than 12 years of age were more likely to have fluid after breeding and that stallion or number of previous foals did not affect likelihood of having fluid after breeding. Interestingly, mares with uterine fluid that were treated with post-breeding lavage, antibiotics and oxytocin had no decrease in pregnancy rates compared to mares with no fluid after breeding. Also this study showed that 55% of mares that had fluid after breeding had bacterial growth on culture of the fluid, but if treated aggressively postbreeding there was no difference in pregnancy rates compared to mares with no fluid.

This study highlights the importance of surveillance and appropriate management after breeding to optimize fertility in our mares.

Maria Schnobrich, VMD, Dipl. ACT

The second study that was discussed came from Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and evaluated the fertility of mares that had uterine cysts removed. This study, presented by N. Sherrer at the AAEP annual convention in 2015, was based on mares treated by our surgeons for uterine cyst ablation. This study looked at Thoroughbred mares that had cysts removed and the effect of cyst removal on fertility following the procedure. This study showed that the live foal rate in the first year after cyst removal was normal (73%) and that the location and number of cysts removed had no effect on live foal rate or pregnancy rate after the procedure. While uterine cysts are an uncommon cause of infertility, there are cases when the size and location of the cyst might prevent normal pregnancy establishment or decrease the ability of the uterus to clear an infection. This study helped reassure us that in cases where cyst removal is deemed appropriate, the procedure itself does not appear to decrease fertility, and likely improves it in some cases.

The third study reviewed came again from Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and evaluated the effect of follicle size at the time a mare is short-cycled on subsequent pregnancy rates. This study was presented by M. Agnew at the 2015 Annual Theriogenology Conference, and was based on ambulatory work in her and Dr. Riddle’s practice. The study evaluated records of 522 Thoroughbred mares and looked at the pregnancy rates following short-cycling (giving prostaglandin) when mares had large (≥30mm) or smaller (<30mm). The pregnancy rates in these two groups were compared to mares that came into heat naturally. The study found that at approximately 42 days the mares bred with larger follicles had a lower (40%) pregnancy rate than mares that had smaller follicles (65%) or were allowed to come into heat naturally. This highlights the importance of evaluating mares before short-cycling as mares with larger follicles may have lower pregnancy rates and it may make sense to wait until follicles are smaller to short-cycle.

These three studies that were reviewed by Dr. Schnobrich are excellent examples of the value that is gained from analysis of the veterinary records of mares in private practices.

Laminitis By: Scott Morrison, DVM Laminitis is an all too common disease. Domestication of the horse has changed the natural lifestyle of the horse. We have control over our horse’s exercise level, terrain, diet and foot care. Many cases of laminitis can be blamed on management/human intervention, but how much? Did horses suffer from this disease before they were domesticated? Do horses in the wild get laminitis?

To answer this question we can look at fossil records of horses before Scott Morrison, DVM domestication, which was about 3500 BC. The earliest horses appear in North America in the Eocene, approximately 55 million years ago, and continue on this continent until roughly 12,000 years ago; because of this, our equine fossil record is very rich. The last native North American horses belong to the genus Equus, which spans from 3.5 million years ago all the way to the modern horse, E. caballus.

Through access to the vertebrate paleontology collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Lane A. Wallett from the University of Florida examined more than a thousand fossilized Equus specimens for signs of laminitis. Since the pedal bones of horses suffering from laminitis undergo characteristic changes, the fossils of these bones can be examined for signs of laminitis. Dr. Wallet discovered that about 75% of the bones examined showed evidence of laminitis and just over 6% of the cases had evidence of severe laminitis. This is much higher than the rates of laminitis currently seen in the modern era. In the United States a USDA survey in 2000 showed the incidence of laminitis to be estimated at 2.1%, in the United Kingdom in 2003 the incidence was estimated to be about 7.1%. Although there were signs of laminits in the prehistoric horse, it was most likely a different type of laminitis such as traumatic, like road founder from excessive concussion or over use. Most domesticated horses suffer from diet related laminitis (Equine metabolic syndrome, pasture associated laminitis and obesity).

Another way to answer this question is to look at the wild horse population. A study by B.A. Hampson looked at the feral horse populations of Australia. Feral horses of Australia live in three different geographical regions (rocky terrain, sandy desert and prime grazing terrain).

The incidence of laminitis in the 3 different regions are as follows: • 67% of 15 rocky terrain horses were laminitic • 40% of 15 sandy desert horses were laminitic • 93% of 15 prime grazing terrain horses were laminitic I would assume the types of laminitis were different for each region. During seasons of lush grass, feral horses probably suffered from carbohydrate overload laminitis where as in the rough rocky terrain it is plausible to assume the laminitis was likely of traumatic origin.

The last topic covered was looking at a paper which evaluated different methods to cool the horse’s foot. Studies by Van Eps and Pollitt have shown that using cryotherapy at the onset of laminitis can prevent the disease or lessen the severity. They showed that the foot needs to be cooled to 5-10o C for 48-72 hours. Various methods are used to cool the foot: 1) bags of ice taped to the coronet (coronet ice bracelets), 2) hoof ice pack boots, 3) distal limb + hoof ice pack boots, 4) distal limb ice pack boots (hoof not included), 5) ice boot (distal limb and hoof), 6) bag of ice placed over hoof and a 7) continuously perfused cuff. Of all the cooling methods studied, only the ice boot (hoof and distal limb are submerged in ice water boot), hoof ice bag and the continuously perfused cuff kept the hoof cold enough (5-10oC) to prevent or lessen the impact of laminitis.

Dr. Morrison thanks Fran Jurga for supplying the articles for this paper. For more information, please visit http:// hoofcare.blogspot.com.

“We have learned that

“Although there signs manywere infected of laminits in foals actually the prehistoric horse, it was completely most likely a different type recover and of laminitis such as never get traumatic, like roadsick.” founder from excessive concussion or over use. Most domesticated horses suffer from diet related laminitis (Equine metabolic syndrome, pasture “Antimicrobial associated resistance laminitis and is becoming aobesity).” limiting

factor in controlling “Studies by Van the disease, Eps and Pollitt so tests such have shown as these are that using going to cryotherapy at the onset become very of laminitis important in can prevent helping all the disease of us identify or lessen the which foals severity. They require showed that treatment the foot needs the to to with be cooled earliest 5-10O C for 48-72 intervention hours.” possible.”

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Rhodococcus equi “We have learned that many infected foals actually completely recover and never get sick.

Other foals do not clear the disease and pneumonia

By: William Gilsenan, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM Rhodococcus equi is a common cause of bacterial pneumonia in foals with which many of us are all too familiar. Due to its ability to cause severe disease and even death, R. equi has been a topic of ongoing research. While R. equi typically causes disease in foals that are 1-6 months of age, we have learned that foals typically become infected with the bacteria very early in life. The infection can fester over weeks to months without any outward sign of disease from the foal.

We have learned that many infected foals actually completely William Gilsenan, VMD, recover and never get sick. Other foals do not clear the disease Dipl. ACVIM and pneumonia continues to worsen until it is well-established and severe. It is these foals that typically challenge us through the spring and summer because their infection has become long-standing and difficult to treat.

continues to worsen until it is wellestablished and severe.”

“Rhodococcus equi disease in foals remains a major challenge in central Kentucky and across the world.”

Recent R. equi research efforts have been focused on accurately diagnosing foals with pneumonia before they get sick. Moreover, if we could create diagnostic tests that could differentiate foals that will clear the infection on their own from foals that will not, we could minimize the number of foals that get treated unnecessarily. Unnecessary antimicrobial treatment is costly and also contributes to antimicrobial resistance.

In a 2016 Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine publication titled: Use of Serial Quantitative PCR of the vapA gene of Rhodococcus equi in Feces for Early Detection of R. equi Pneumonia in Foals by RG Madrigal et al., the authors examined the ability of a fecal R. equi PCR test to predict if a foal will develop clinical signs of R. equi pneumonia. The study indicated that while foals with R. equi pneumonia will shed virulent R. equi in their feces, this PCR test unfortunately does not appear to predict ahead of time which foals will become sick from R. equi.

In a 2016 Equine Veterinary Journal publication titled: Validation and evaluation of VapA-specific IgG and IgG subclass enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to identify foals with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia by MG Sanz et al., the authors examined the ability of blood antibody (ELISA) tests to identify foals that are infected with virulent strains of R. equi and have disease associated with it.

One specific test, the IgG(T) ELISA, appeared to discriminate well between foals that had disease caused by R. equi and horses that had been exposed to R. equi and did not have disease. Further studies will be necessary to determine whether this test will become a major tool in the management of R. equi. However, this approach to diagnosing foals with R. equi seems like a good one to look out for in the future.

Rhodococcus equi disease in foals remains a major challenge in central Kentucky and across the world. Antimicrobial resistance is becoming a limiting factor in controlling the disease, so tests such as these are going to become very important in helping all of us identify which foals require treatment with the earliest intervention possible.

Rood & Riddle Thoroughbred Sport Horse Divisional Award Winners Announced

“We have learned that many infected “These awards

The Rood & Riddle Thoroughbred Sport Horse Awards, co-sponsored by Rood & Riddle, United States Equine Federation and TOBA, are given each year to Thoroughbreds participating in their second careers as performance horses in jumper, hunter, eventing and dressage competitions throughout the year. Thoroughbreds are bred to be superior athletes and, therefore, excel in all disciplines. These awards were created to celebrate the horses that best represent their breed in these four disciplines.

foals actually were created

Last year’s Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year Award was presented to Mensa G

Competitors earn points toward the Rood & Riddle Thoroughbred Sport Horse Awards at USEF-sanctioned events during the show season, and the open divisional awards go to the highest point earners. Rookie awards in each division ensure that newcomers are recognized as well. A Horse of the Year is chosen among the open winners by a panel of celebrities. This award is presented at the annual Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association awards banquet held in September.

When asked about these awards, Sarah Coleman, New Vocations Director of Education and Development said, “Thoroughbred horses have so much left to give once they retire from the track. It is very exciting to see Rood & Riddle, USEF and TOBA supporting the second careers of these great athletes. Their support helps solidify that these animals are still valued and viable even as their racing careers end, with many going on to competitive show careers.”

2015 Rookie Winners: • Hunter Division: Brightly Shining (Jockey Club Name: Brightly Shining), by Posse, out of Bright Shining. Owned by Mike Keech of MD. • Jumper Division: Just Jake (Jockey Club Name: Demis Bold Ruler), by Demidoff, out of Tighthold. Owned by Nick Novak of Minn.

• Dressage Division: Let the Cat Out (Jockey Club Name: Let the Cat Out), by Flatter out of Our Magic Cat. Owned by Patricia Weston of NJ. • Eventing Division: Icabad Crane (Jockey Club Name: Icabad Crane), by Jump Start out of Adorahy. Owned by Herringswell Stable INC of PA. 2015 Open Winners: • Hunter Division: Top Cat (Jockey Club Name: Business as Usual), by The Daddy out of Hacienda De Mar. Owned by Jo Jo White of TX. • Jumper Division: Panache (Jockey Club Name: Quarter Circle), by Victorious out of Soirted Change. Owned by Chris Falewitch of NE. • Dressage Division: Raphael (Jockey Club Name: Red Phase), by Montreal Red out of Joyful Pat. Owned by Rebecca Sturdy of IL. • Eventing Division: Sound Prospect (Jockey Club Name: Sound Prospect), by Eastern Echo out of Miner’s Girl. Owned by Sound Prospect LLC of KY.

to celebrate completely the horses that recover and best represent their neverbreed get in these four sick.” disciplines.”

“Thoroughbred horses have so much left to give once they retire from the track. It is very exciting to see Rood & Riddle, “Antimicrobial USEF and TOBA resistance supporting the is becoming second careers a limiting offactor these great in athletes.

Their controlling support helps the disease, solidify that so tests such as these are these animals going to are still valued become very and viable important in even as their helping all racing careers of uswith identify end, many which foals going on to require competitive treatment show careers.”

with the earliest intervention possible.”

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Rood & Riddle Report Live hosted on February 25 “Since our inception in 1986, Rood & Riddle has committed to offering an annual client education event.

The Rood & Riddle Report Live is a great opportunity for people engaged in the equine industry to learn about the newest developments in veterinary care.”

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital hosted the Rood & Riddle Report Live, an educational seminar for people engaged in the equine industry, on February 25 at Embassy Suites in Lexington.

The Rood & Riddle Report Live featured 60 minutes of reporting on the latest news published in veterinary journals and developments impacting equine health followed by 20 questions which had been submitted previously.

“Since our inception in 1986, Rood & Riddle has committed to offering an annual client education event. The Rood & Riddle Report Live is a great opportunity for people engaged in the equine industry to learn about the newest developments in veterinary care,” said Dr. Tom Riddle of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital.

The 60 minute news program was anchored by Dr. Steve Reed and featured surgeon Dr. Brett Woodie, internal medicine specialist Dr. Peter Morresey, reproduction specialist Dr. Maria Schnobrich and podiatrist Dr. Scott Morrison.

“The 60 minute news program was anchored by Dr. Steve Reed and featured surgeon Dr. Brett Woodie, internal medicine specialist Dr. Peter Morresey, reproduction specialist Dr. Maria Schnobrich and podiatrist Dr. Scott Morrison.”

After the news program, multiple Rood & Riddle veterinarians answered questions that had been submitted prior to the seminar by clients. The following veterinarians answered question(s): Drs. Bonnie Barr, Etta Bradecamp, Larry Bramlage, Dale Brown, Bill Gilsenan, John Hubbell, Laurie Metcalfe, Scott Morrison, Scott Pierce, Charlie Scoggin, Debbie Spike-Pierce, Steve Reed, Brad Tanner, and Brett Woodie.

We had the largest attendance ever at the Rood & Riddle Report Live.

A video of the event can viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=LbzXxJfAbgM

Rood & Riddle in the News

Dr. Woodrow Friend became certified by the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA).

Dr. Friend attended veterinary school at Michigan State University and graduated in 2002. He completed a year-long internship at Rood & Riddle and following the internship, he became an Associate for the practice. In 2012, Dr. Friend became a shareholder at Rood & Riddle. Areas of interest for Dr. Friend are theriogenology and equine chiropractic.

Dr. Steve Reed spoke at the International Equine Infectious Disease Symposium held in Buenos Aires.

Dr. Reed earned his DVM at The Ohio State University, followed by a residency at Michigan State University. He started his academic teaching career at Washington State University from 1979-1983, and then returned to The Ohio State University where he spent 26 years as a professor and mentor in the Equine Medicine department. Dr. Reed is a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and is a noted author and editor of numerous scientific articles and textbooks.

Drs. Raul and Jose Bras spoke at the at the 11th annual Equine Practitionerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Winter Meeting held at the New England Medical and Surgical Center in NH.

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