AMA February 1, 2023 – Rounds With Doc T
The following questions were submitted (copied and pasted from the Q&A section in Zoom or from emails), along with any posted under this discussion topic (see below in Replies). In addition, there may be subjects I cover that I have heard on my farm calls or topics I have found interesting from podcasts or books I have listened to (brief descriptions listed here).
4 minutes 10 seconds: Threshold of pain – Here, I start a discussion about the horses’ ability to tolerate pain. This is an individual concept and needs to be assessed for each horse worked on, where pain may become a limiting factor.
7 min 10 sec: Medication versus sedation – Most horse owners hear or use the word “sedation” without knowing the meaning of the word. Sedation is equivalent to getting drunk in that pain is not addressed. Where pain is the cause of a horse misbehaving, giving pain medications is more effective than a sedative or a tranquilizer.
9 min 10 sec: Cheek tooth fractures – I discuss a cheek tooth fracture in a 6-year-old horse I saw today. It is unusual to have one in such a young horse. The trainer/owner never realized there was a problem having such a drastic cause, but this horse was extremely sensitive in the upper left cheek area.
13 min 20 sec: 2 horses with different presentations but the same presumptive diagnosis – Both of these horses (2 different farms) had been seen by a vet who diagnosed a tooth root abscess. Horse 1 had a vomit-inducing smell from his mouth, a bloody nasal discharge and weight loss. X-rays showed a tooth root abscess, but the mouth was not examined, and the malodor’s cause was not determined. Horse 2 had a unilateral white nasal discharge with no odor, and the horse was eating/chewing normally. There is a history of 2 cheek tooth fractures.
I discuss how the owners are approaching treatment.
19 min 40 sec: Question 1 – “I’ve recently used Misoprostol for a horse to address hind gut ulcers. He did not respond to UlcerGard. Is this something that can be used preventable in high pressure scenarios?”
28 min 20 sec: Question 2 – “My donkey with laminitis has been very anxious lately and I’m wondering if it could be the Thyro L or Prascend. I cut his dose and don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. He has lost weight since his initial diagnosis so maybe a different dose is appropriate.”
RECORDING:
“Members can watch replays of “Rounds With Doc T” and get more details in the Forums and the AMAs, and can add comments anywhere (discover membership here).”Members can watch replays of “Rounds With Doc T” and get more details in the Forums and the AMAs and can add comments anywhere (discover membership here).
Responses