Look how far we've come

I stumbled across this video that I think you would enjoy. It's really just a quick overview of some of the advances in equine veterinary medicine in recent years. Click here for the link, or go to http://www.myvnn.com/page.asp?id=39&media_type=11&story_id=127

Along the way...

I realize it has been a while since I've made time for a post. This is my best attempt at playing catchup. These are some images I've acquired in my recent travels, that I hope you will enjoy.

Further evidence that veterinarians never know what they will encounter in the course of the day.

This was a large ulcer in the cornea, as demonstrated by the large green area in the center of the cornea. The green area is a stain that we put in the eye that gets taken up by the cornea when the superficial layers of the cornea have been disrupted. You can tell this has been going on for quite a while because of the blood vessels that you can see starting to migrate from the margin of the cornea. The blue haze on the left side of the eye is the result of edema within the cornea. This horse has an unstable tear film which made this a very difficult case to manage.

This is a pair of ultrasound images from a fetal gender determination. This is an incredibly reliable method of determining the gender of a fetus, in utero. It is best done between 60 and 70 days of pregnancy. At this stage of pregnancy gender can be determined by the location of the genital tubercle (labled as GT in these images). In this case the GT is immediately behind the umbilical cord. It can also be seen in the image all the way to the left between the hind legs. This fetus is a colt. If it were a filly the GT would be up under the base of the tail.

The owner of this establishment is presumably is an Appaloosa breeder.

One of the joys of getting up early in the morning is the ability to appreciate the handiwork of God. Note the symmetry in the clouds.

This was a case of cellulitis I saw the other day. The skin was leaking serum, giving the leg a wet, shiny appearance. What looks like wounds are actually areas where the skin is trying to die. This horse responded well to therapy, and is well on his way to a full recovery.

This is an image of a horse's hoof 2 weeks after a hoof wall resection. The severity of this case required that a portion of hoof wall be removed. After removal of the hoof wall, the tissue will fairly quickly keratinize, which is what you see now at the site of the resection. This is a very interesting case that is ongoing. At some point in the future this case will be worthy of its own post. Stay tuned.

"I'm the king of the mountain."

Further evidence of the limitless creativity of horses to incessantly find new and exciting ways to injure themselves.

This is what the wound above looked like after it was put back together.

I love this picture. Count the number of locks on the door. A couple of days before I was at this farm, I was out at another farm at 10:PM treating 5 horses for grain overload. A well secured feed room door represents a significant cost saving over seeing me at 10:PM.

What is your diagnosis? When I arrived at this farm the pony was out on pasture. This was the first thing I saw when I looked in the stall. Notice all of the saliva mixed with chewed up feed. Horses produce an incredible amount of saliva. When the esophagus (the tube that goes from the mouth to the stomach) becomes obstructed, as in a 'choke,' feed and saliva are no longer able to be swallowed. As a result large amounts of saliva and feed will pour out of the mouth. In such cases, a veterinarian should be called immediately.

One of the challenges of dealing with wounds in the summer months is baby flies (otherwise known as maggots).

Baby horses are a lot cuter than baby flies.