Tag Archives: Lameness

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – IRAP Joint Treatment for Your Horse

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Degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis is one of the main causes of lameness in horses.  DJD occurs when the joint cartilage is destroyed producing pain and inflammation.  Typically therapy involves a combination of intra-articular medications such as hyaluronic acid and/or steroids, rest, oral pain medications, shockwave therapy, polysulfated glycosaminoglycans, intravenous hyaluronic acid, and oral supplements that contain glucosamine, avocado soy extracts, MSM and/or chondrotin sulfate.

Joint treatments with IRAP (Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein) utilize progressive gene therapy to combat osteoarthritis. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a cellular protein that is secreted by many types of inflamed cells. These proteins signal the immune system to attack infected, damaged or dying cells. In the arthritic joint IL-1 plays an important role and accelerates the deterioration of tissues like joint cartilage.  IRAP blocks IL-1 from binding to tissues and inhibits the damaging consequences of IL-1.

The process begins with 60 cc of blood from your horse in a special syringe. The syringe is specially prepared with glass beads that stimulate production of the antagonist protein (Il-1a) and an anticoagulant. The process of harvesting, incubating and centrifuging the blood to separate the IRAP abundant plasma from blood takes 24 hours.  Thereafter, IRAP joint treatments are administered every 8-10 days for three treatments depending on the condition being treated.

This tip was brought to you by Chuck Maker, DVM (www.alpinehospital.com) and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” FREE webinars, which take place monthly.  These webinars are an expansion of KAM’s weekly tips.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for the next webinar.  The FREE webinars will conclude with a question and answer session, so be ready with your nutrition questions.

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – Equine Lameness

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Trying to Find the Needle in the Haystack

Whether your horse competes in FEI level dressage or national working cow horse competitions, few problems can be more worrisome as a sudden lameness of unknown origin.  While a clinical exam and hoof tester application is often all that is needed to diagnose a routine sub solar abscess, many of today’s athletes are affected by more serious injuries.

Oftentimes with today’s equine athlete, multiple soft tissue conditions present affecting different limbs simultaneously, thereby confounding the diagnosis.  Sequential regional anesthesia or nerve blocks and repeated gait analysis are often required to define and “un-couple” these conditions.

Once localized to a region or regions, the imagining methods used today to define the cause of lameness range from digital X-ray and ultrasound to nuclear medicine, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Unequivocally defining the exact location and nature of your horse’s lameness issues with advanced imaging techniques better enables veterinarians to design the best treatment plan and quickest route back to the show ring.

This tip was brought to you by Chuck Maker DVM (www.alpinehospital.com) and KAM Animal Services, home of KAM’s “Equine Learning Circle” FREE webinars, which take place monthly.  These webinars are an expansion of KAM’s weekly tips.  Go to www.kamanimalservices.com to sign up for the next webinar.  The FREE webinars will conclude with a question and answer session, so be ready with your nutrition questions.

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – Your Horse Has Been Diagnosed with Founder – Call 911 Now!

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If you have ever owned a horse diagnosed with laminitis, founder, navicular syndrome or any other type of hoof problem you know how devastating it can be.  Even with advances in modern technology some horses are still diagnosed incorrectly and inadequately leaving the owner helpless and the horse in pain.

Most diagnosed cases start out with strict regimens of prescription medications including steroids, pain killers and other anti-inflammatory medications.  This is then followed by costly farrier bills, stall rest, more vet bills and a horse still in pain.

Preventing hoof problems in a horse is a great stress on a horse owner and with all of the different variables to consider from footing, shoeing, conditioning, diet and nutrition, to genetics, even the best cared for equines on the planet could still be plagued.

So what do you do if your horse is having lameness issues or has been diagnosed with a hoof condition such as navicular?   Get your facts and know your options.  Prescription medications have long lists of side effects. Prescribing a medication like a steroid to “see how your horse looks” after a certain period may do more harm than good.  This is not a good way to try to diagnose a hoof condition and could even make the situation worse.

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Contributors/Press, Dressage, Events, JRPR, Seminars

Everglades Dressage Hosts Successful Lameness Seminar with French Olympic Team Veterinarian Philippe Benoit, DVM

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Dr Benoit and the gathered veterinarians and vet students manually diagnose lameness issues before using advanced imaging technology to back up the diagnosis. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Wellington, FL (January 21, 2011) – Accomplished dressage rider and trainer Bethany Peslar, who operates a training and competition facility at her Everglades Dressage Farm in Wellington, recently hosted a lameness seminar for veterinarians. The seminar, which focused on diagnosing lameness, featured Philippe Benoit, DVM, the veterinarian for the French Olympic team at the 2004 Games, and was attended by veterinarians and veterinarian students from around the country.

“This seminar was a great success and I was really pleased to host it at Everglades Dressage,” Peslar said. “We have hosted these seminars before and really enjoy the fact that we are able to contribute to the industry and give back to the veterinarians who work so hard to keep our horses healthy and sound.”

Dr. Benoit, one of the top international horse show veterinarians in the world, taught an in-depth approach to diagnosing lameness during the seminar. “His approach is much more biomechanical than we traditionally learn in the United States,” said Diane Isbell, DVM, who has her own practice in California. “I have attended these seminars before at Everglades, which is a fantastic facility, and it has totally changed my practice and enabled me to help horses and owners in ways I never had before.”

Continue reading Everglades Dressage Hosts Successful Lameness Seminar with French Olympic Team Veterinarian Philippe Benoit, DVM →