Veterinary

Figure 2. Photograph of a horse with hindlimb digital flexor tendon sheath effusion. Note the ‘notch’ created by the constrictive plantar annular ligament (green arrow), resulting in effusion bulging proximal and distal to this level.

Diagnosis of digital flexor tendon sheath conditions in the horse

The digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) is a synovial cavity occupying the distal third of the palmar metacarpus/plantar metatarsus and the palmar/plantar pastern, to the level of the middle phalanx....

Potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on horse behaviour in the UK between March and October 2020

When horses are handled by nervous humans their heart rate increases (Keeling et al, 2009). Horses also react differently to odours from nervous humans, they touch people more and spend more time with...

Figure 2. Dynamic mobilisation exercises: A Chin to knee; B Chin between fetlocks; C Chin to girth;and, D Chin to stifle. The horse is motivated, by using food bait, to move through a range of motion that results in cervical and thoracolumbar flexion (images A and B) and lateral flexion (images C and D). The intervertebral angles have been described by Clayton et al (2010 and 2012) and the effect on spinal muscle cross-sectional area by Stubb et al (2011) and de Oliveira et al (2015).

Physiotherapy for neck pain in the horse

Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function when an individual is affected by injury, illness or disability (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), 2020), with treatments structured around...

Figure 6. Vinyl polysiloxane in a 310/311 diastema.

Cheek teeth diastemata

There are two different types of diastemata classified. The first is a ‘valve’ type, where the gap at the occlusal surface is narrower than that at the level of the gum. This type is more likely to...

Figure 1. These foals are both demonstrating common neurological clinical signs: abnormal tongue position and poor suck reflex (a) and pronounced head tilt (b).

Neonatal maladjustment syndrome in foals

Historically, the syndrome has been attributed to hypoxic–ischaemic injury at foaling and the condition is seen in foals that have experienced a prolonged delivery as a result of dystocia or premature...

Figure 3. Chronic deep/mid-stromal immune-mediated keratopathy. Diffuse corneal oedema with grey cellular infiltration and stromal lacunae of green/orange tinged fluid.

Immune-mediated disorders of the equine eye: part 1 – the cornea

The immune-mediated keratopathies (IMMKs) are a group of poorly defined, non-ulcerative, inflammatory disorders of the cornea, where the aetiopathogenesis involves an abnormal, typically upregulated...

Figure 1. ‘Patient side’ preparation of platelet-rich plasma using a filtration system. PRP can be seen in the top syringe.

Platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of equine orthopaedic disease

Platelets consist of alpha granules, which contain a multitude of growth factors and cytokines that are released at sites of vascular injury to direct and promote healing (Pochini et al, 2016). Growth...

Figure 2. Horse working in a Pessoa training aid.

Equine training aids: can they really improve performance?

To be able to evaluate the impact of a training aid on a horse, we first need to define what constitutes a training aid and to understand the principles of training and rehabilitation, which underpin...

Figure 1. Aged pony with marked hypertrichosis, consistent with advanced pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, which is a common comorbidity in older animals affected by other chronic conditions.

Assessing quality of life in older horses

Quality of life assessment is well established in human medicine, with a large number of published generic and disease-specific measurement scales (Bowling, 2001). For example, different QoL...

Figure 1. Transverse computed tomography image of a horse with left-sided septic arthritis of the temporomandibular joint. There is a narrowed joint space (yellow arrow), irregular joint surface, moth-eaten appearance of the subchondral bone of the mandibular condyle and the temporal bone (yellow arrowhead). Mild periosteal reaction is visible at the ventral margin of the left mandibular condyle and the dorsal aspect of the temporal bone (red arrow).

CPD article: Arthropathy of the temporomandibular joint: a diagnostic challenge

The equine temporomandibular joint is a synovial incongruent condylar articulation of the zygomatic process of the squamous temporal bone and the condylar process of the mandible. A biconcave,...

Figure 1. a. Lateromedial, (b) upright pedal and (c) navicular skyline radiographs of a 14-year-old Quarter Horse gelding with a normal navicular bone. Note the artifactual two linear lucent lines superimposed with proximal P2 as a result of the central sulcus of the frog in b.

CPD article: Radiographic interpretation of the navicular bone: a review

The navicular bone, or distal sesamoid bone, is located on the palmar aspect of the distal interphalangeal joint suspended by the collateral sesamoidean ligament, which attaches to the distal abaxial...

Figure 1. How quality improvement tools are all linked together.

CPD article: Quality improvement, checklists and systems of work: why do we need them?

Clinical governance is a requirement of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Code of Professional Conduct for veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons (RCVS 2012). Scally and Donaldson...