RAO (Previously COPD ‘Heaves')
Picture the scene....cold, wet weather, coughing, snotty nosed horses....does any of this sound familiar? For some of you, stabling horses during the winter will no doubt bring on some of these clinical symptoms. In many cases these symptoms can be due to a condition known as　Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or more commonly Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO). These terms refer to the hypersensitivity of the small airways in the lungs to allergens and irritants found naturally in the horses environment. For example, dust from hay and straw is inhaled as the horse is eating, which causes an inflammatory response with the lungs and as a result the lungs produce thick mucus secretions in an attempt to get rid of it. Affected animals tend to cough frequently and will often present with thick yellow secretions in the nostrils. In longer standing cases a "heave line" may be present along the bottom of the abdomen, due to increased muscular effort as the horse attempts to breathe.

Fortunately, COPD is a reversible condition and although like hayfever can not be cured, can be managed will with good stable care. Firstly bedding is a major contributor and any horse presenting with the symptoms should be changed from straw to a dust free alternative i.e. Rubber matting, paper or dust extracted shavings.　Whilst soaking of good quality hay will help dampen down dust spores, the gold standard for affected horses would be the feeding of haylage.　Try to position affected animals away from dusty conditions, i.e. Surrounded by stables that are straw bedded and ensure that there is always plenty of ventilation within the stable. 

 For those cases where stable management is not enough to alleviate the symptoms there are veterinary drugs such as ‘ventipulmin' which can help to open the airways and make it easier for the horse to breathe.

Whilst this is a common problem with stabled horses, it is not always the cause of coughing or nasal discharge and any affected cases should be discussed with your vet who would be only too happy to give advice.

C. Arthur MRCVS

Lice

Clinical signs - Lice infestations are very common in late winter and early spring, particularly in horses and ponies with plenty of hair.　They are almost always associated with intense itchiness.　Affected horses often rub off large patches of hair and can traumatise the skin to leave sores.　The worst affected areas are usually the mane, forelock, lower neck and base of tail, although badly affected horses may have lice all over. 

Diagnosis - Any horses showing intense itchiness in winter and early spring are quite likely to have lice.　The lice are just big enough to be seen with the naked eye and can often be seen moving around. Louse eggs may also be seen as small white eggs attached to the hair shafts. There are different types of lice which can be identified by taking brushings.　

Treatment - We recommend using products containing permethrin which will kill the lice rather than just　repel them. Most louse powders are merely repellents and are rarely enough to cure a chronic infestation.　The easiest way to apply a permethrin product is in the form of ‘Switch pour-on'.　This should be applied weekly for4 weeks so any larvae hatching out of the eggs are killed as well. If there are several horses to treat, it may be easier using ‘Barricade spray'.　Powders can be applied to in contact horses to reduce the risk of infestation transferring to them.　Rugs should be washed or treated with powder or spray. Lice are contagious to other horses so try to keep affected horses isolated if possible and monitor other horses for signs of infestation.　The louse species affecting horses cannot be passed on to humans but it is not impossible for them to give an occasional bite!

Emerging Viral Threat's to UK's Horse Population

West Nile Virus (WNV) sounds like an exotic disease but is a real potential threat to the equine population in the UK. This virus has been shown considerably more interest recently as a result of the bluetongue virus outbreak (affecting sheep and cattle) that arrived in the UK in 2007.

As the weather gets warmer, so environmental conditions across northern Europe have become more favourable for the insect vector of these viral diseases. Though the chances of this virus reaching the UK imminently are very slim, many veterinary experts now believe it is not a case of 'if' this virus arrives but 'when'.

Mosquitoes transmit this virus by taking a blood meal from an infected bird.　Humans and horses can be incidentally infected but they do not transmit the virus themselves. Clinical cases have been reported in countries as close as France and Italy.

It was in 1999 that WNV really registered on the western world radar when it caused an outbreak of　Human encephalitis in New York city. It rapidly spread across North and South America, within 3 years there were more than 15,000 cases of WNV in horses.

Clinical Signs may include, Fever, Inappetance, Lethargy, Muscle Weakness, Impaired Vision, Head Pressing, Circling through to paralysis, Coma and Death.

Some cases are subclinical i.e. there are no visible clinical signs. Treatment is not curative, but relies on intensive　nursing. Mortality rate is 33.9% ,with older and unhealthy horse more likely to die.

Prevention of WNV involves limiting the horses exposure to mosquitoes (such as repellents, stabling), and the　vaccination of horses at risk. Fort Dodge has produced a vaccine,　Duvaxyn WNV, recently licensed for use in Europe. In the USA outbreak the odds of survival were significantly improved if a horse was vaccinated.

How worried should we be in the UK?　No clinical cases of WNV have been recorded to date! Horses with WNV are not infectious to other horses. However, migrating birds regularly visit the UK from WNV-affected countries, and susceptible native birds, such as sparrows, crows and magpies, are present in the UK. Mosquito vectors are also present in the UK. Large numbers of UK horses travel to WNV affected areas each year.　Care should be taken when taking UK horses to WNV-affected areas to minimise their risk of infection.. Vaccination is available in the UK for those animals travelling to endemic areas.areas each year. Vaccination is available in the UK for those animals travelling to endemic areas.

Zone Visits　

Please note our REDUCED CHARGE ZONE VISIT SCHEME is for　pre-booked　routine　work only　on your area's specified day of the week.　Visit charges for all zones will be £15　+VAT!　(up to a maximum distance, from your particular practice, of 25 miles).　

Zone days:
Tues - GALA
Wed- KELSO
Thurs- DUNS.

　When booking a visit please make sure we have accurate contact details so that if an emergency should arise and the vet be delayed we can contact you to advise of this. Please make sure we know of the exact location of your horse.

　Potsclose

Our new Equine only clinic at Potsclose (Near Kelso) is fully up and running. Horses can be　examined and treated here, saving on a visit charge.　

Please phone your surgery to make an appointment.

 

 

 

 

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