COLIC
“Although barometric pressure changes were not found to be significantly associated with the diagnosis of colic in our analysis, seasons with changing weather in the mid-Atlantic region were,” said Ashley Boyle, DVM, an associate professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and leader of the study team. “We are extrapolating that human management changes may be playing a role in this, so minimizing disruptions in management of the horses is advised.” For the study, Dr. Boyle and her colleagues examined electronic veterinary records of 11,601 horses treated in the Penn system between January 2005 and January 2017. To look for an effect of barometric pressure on health outcomes, they matched pressure readings from weather stations located in the geographic region where Penn equine vets practice. Barometric pressure has been tied to certain medi-
cal problems for both people and animals, but in this study, it was not associated with the risk for colic or other health issues in horses, Dr. Boyle’s group found. But animals were significantly more likely to develop colic in the spring, fall and summer than in winter, they reported (odds ratios of 1.29, 1.72 and 1.85, and P=0.04, P<0.0001 and P<0.0001, respectively). Interestingly, the researchers found that every 1° increase in latitude was linked to a 2.4% increase in the risk for colic relative to other equine complaints, including esophageal choke, cuts, lameness and eye conditions. In the Northern Hemisphere, where the study was conducted, rising latitude generally means colder winters. Horses have been shown to drink less water during cold weather—potentially leading to dehydration, which is a known risk factor for colic, as well as reduced ileal contractility, Dr. Boyle’s group said. MeV
For more information: Cianci J et al. Lack of Association between barometric pressure and incidence of colic in equine academic ambulatory practice. J Equine Vet Sci 2021;97 February 2021, 103342 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103342 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080620304330
Can Probiotics Help Protect Against Gastric Ulcers? By Adam Marcus Fermented rice may not sound appealing, but Japanese researchers say the product could be an effective treatment for gastric ulcers in horses. Horses with ulcers that were fed an extract of fermented rice for a month experienced significant improvement in the lesions compared with animals given tap water, the researchers reported. For the study, researchers at Yamaguchi University and their colleagues tested the effects of the rice extract in 17 horses with gastric ulcers that had been confirmed by endoscopy. Of the animals, 8 received the extract orally once a day at a dose of 0.2 mL/kg, and 9 received plain tap water. After 1 month, the animals again underwent endoscopy, and their gastric lesions were assessed for signs of change. Among the untreated horses, the ul-
cers did not appear to resolve from their baseline severity. But in the horses that received the rice extract, the ulcers shrank substantially, from a score of 4 at baseline to 1 after treatment, the researchers reported. “In this study, the administration of a rice fermented extract improved gastric mucosal lesions in horses with gastric ulcers. This may be because the rice fermented extract improved the healing of gastric mucosal epithelial cells,” according to the researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of Equine Science. “Thus, a rice fermented extract, which is stable when boiled, might be a novel alternative anti-ulcer agent that protects cells and improves wound restoration through vanilloid receptor-mediated neural systems, synthesis of prostaglandins, induction of heat shock proteins, and suppression of gastric acid [secretion],” they added. MeV
For more information: Sasaki N, et al. Effect of a novel rice fermented extract on gastric ulcers in horses. J Equine Sci. 2021;32(2):27-30. doi: 10.1294/jes.32.27. Epub 2021 Jun 18. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jes/32/2/32_2101/_pdf/-char/en
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Issue 8/2021 | ModernEquineVet.com
