Arthroscopic surgery (arthroscopy) is minimally invasive surgery in which a rigid endoscope attached to a camera is inserted into the joint via a small incision. The surgeon can then view the inside of the joint on a video monitor. Arthroscopy has many advantages over traditional joint surgery (arthrotomy) primarily in that the joint does not have to be opened fully.

When it comes to deworming many horses owners believe more is better. For many years, horse owners have used the standard 4-6 weeks deworming protocol with an anthelmintic (dewormer) of choice. Most horse owners rotate anthelmintics while others find what seems to work and stick with it. Equine scientists have recently been cautioned that these current deworming strategies may cause parasite resistance for our horses.

Gastric ulceration is the most common disorder of the equine stomach. It is influenced by the management and use of the horse. The occurrence of ulcers has been reported as high as 60% in show horses and as high as 90% in racehorses. Horses turned out onto pasture and exercised lightly typically have normal stomachs or only very mild erosions. In contrast, horses kept in box stalls and trained intensively have a high occurrence of significant gastric lesions.

Sand colic is a potential problem for any horse that is turned out, no matter what time of year. Whether the horse is in a grass pasture or on a sand lot, sand ingestion is inevitable. The sand is ingested when the horse grazes or picks its hay/feed off of the ground.

Vaccinations are an important part of proper equine health care. When thinking of a vaccination program for horses, there is not a “standard” protocol that applies to all horses. Instead, the owner and veterinarian must consider several factors when deciding the best vaccination protocol for an individual horse.

Joint or tendon/ligament injuries comprise the majority of performance limiting conditions in the equine athlete Most competitive riders have experienced one or both of these problems at some point during their horse’s athletic career. Any rider who has dealt with either of these conditions has also experienced the frustration of trying to get their horse through the recovery process and back into competition.

In the last article about regenerative techniques, we discussed the use of stem cells in the horse. This month, the series on regenerative medicine continues with a short discussion on Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and Extra-cellular Matrix (“scaffolding”).

Over the past few years, we have been fortunate to witness the development of a new phase in therapeutics for equine orthopedic disorders.  Termed Regenerative Medicine, this aspect of equine orthopedics and sports medicine incorporates the use of autogenous factors (from the horse's own tissue) for the treatment of soft tissue as well as joint injuries.

Today horse owners have many options when deciding on castrating their horse. These options include castrating the horse on the farm while standing with sedation and local anesthesia, castrating the horse on the farm under short-acting general intravenous anesthesia, or referral to a surgical facility for castration under general inhalant anesthesia in a sterile surgical suite.

The key to surviving a natural disaster is to be prepared, especially if you own horses, pets and livestock. Having a plan before a hurricane bears down on us, or any other natural disaster for that matter will increase the probability that the casualties (animal and human) are kept to a minimum.