Mobile Equine Diagnostics, Inc.

Give your horse a pat! Since I’m an equine vet I am always posting interesting cases and facts that horse owners may benefit from. But sometimes it important to share the little things. My 5 year old daughter and I try to ride together as much as we can, weather and work schedule permitting. I feel like I’m always multitasking. Ponying my daughter’s mare from my been-there-done-that gelding, texting my husband so he knows exactly what trail we are going on, thinking about ...my afternoon appointments, going through my mental checklist from my morning appointments. All of this while my daughter and I start our ride. I hear her behind me saying, Mom!! Give your horse a pat! They are being so good! Give him a pat on the neck! And she was absolutely right. I wasn’t living in the moment with my daughter and our fantastic horses and the beautiful day. So I gave my horse a pat. I focused on the moment and how lucky I was to be able to share this experience with my daughter. How lucky I am to love my job every single day. So remember to live in the moment and give your horse a pat

Notice the difference in height at the top of the rump on this horse? This is a unilateral or one sided hunters bump. A hunters bump is caused by a sacroiliac subluxation most commonly. It can also be caused by damage to one or more of the stabilizing ligaments of the pelvis or injury to one or more of the muscles acting on the pelvis. When injury or strain occurs, the adjacent muscles take up the slack for the injured one. Long periods of chronic and untreated sacroiliac stress causes the muscles over the tuber sacrale to atrophy making the classic looking hunters bump apparent. This particular case was a very mild SI strain and was treated appropriately before any lasting damage was done. No muscle atrophy occurred and the horse continues to successfully show the A level hunters.

Who else can spot this blood sucker!!!??? Ticks are very common in the wetter months of winter. You can see this tick’s head embedded in the horses skin. The tick excretes an anticoagulant in its saliva to better ingest blood. Unfortunately the bite of the tick causes local irritation and a patch of hair loss and crusted dried blood serum. You should check your horses daily for ticks if they are out in a pasture or if you trail ride. There are some diseases that can be transmitted via ticks such as Lyme disease (although it is very uncommon in Southern California) so it’s important to check yourself for ticks as well!

There are some AWESOME rebates going on for equioxx, prascend, ulcergard and gastrogard right now. You need to have purchased these products directly from your veterinarian in order to qualify. If you have purchased these products directly off of our truck or from our office you qualify for a rebate. I’d you have purchased one of these products from OUR ONLINE STORE/PHARMACY YOU ALSO QUALIFY FOR A REBATE!!

A normal text in the life of an equine veterinarian! We are always excited to get manure pictures after a successful colic treatment!

Saturday afternoon eye emergency!! This is an important reminder to always check your horses eyes every day. A small piece of hay became adhered to the cornea of this horse 2-3 days before it was brought to the clinic. The owner had noticed some blue discoloration of the eye but the horse never squinted, had any discharge from the eye or exhibited any eye pain. After the horse was slightly sedated, an anesthetic nerve block was placed at the site of the auriculopalpebral ne...rve to decrease the blink response and we were able to easily remove the piece of hay from the cornea. The piece of hay had created a shallow and uncomplicated ulceration (highlighted by the green stain) on the cornea that was successfully treated with antibiotic eye ointment and pain management. Eye injuries are always an emergency and can progress to vision loss and/or complicated treatment very quickly! See more

With all of the dry brush this time of year it’s very important to watch out for foxtails and grass awns in your pastures and hay. These are very typical oral lesions associated with horses eating grass awns and foxtails. They can migrate through soft tissue and cause extensive damage around the teeth and in the gums. Removal of the grass/source that’s causing the lesions will stop the damage and allow the ulcers to heal. Horses that have open sores such as theses should be put on a soft feed such as soaked pellets and started on antibiotics until the sores have healed.

Temporomandibular (TMJ) joint pain and inflammation is not as uncommon as many horse owners (and some veterinarians) believe. Symptoms of TMJ pain in horses include dropping feed, head shaking, sudden head shyness and fighting the bit. This mare had a sudden onset of fighting the bit, resistance to putting a halter on especially on the right side, holding her head to the side and yawning. We xrayed both TMJ joints (the right one is circles in red) and found that the right joint had mild to moderate boney changes compared to the left. She also had significant inflammation of the right TMJ. We injected both TMJ joints. We are very happy to report that this mare is 90% better after just one week and her clinical signs have almost completely resolved!

This is an example of a popped splint. When people say their horse has a splint it means that one of the splint bones, the small bones that lie on either side the cannon bone, have sustained micro fractures and a callous has formed on the bone as part of the healing process. Often times a firm lump is noted on the lower leg on the side of the cannon bone sometimes associated with lameness but most times not. With cold therapy (ice/cold hosing) and topical and systemic anti ...inflammatory medication most splints do not cause any lameness issues. Splints can cause lameness when they are higher up (closer to the knee) or when they are very large. The suspensory ligament lies between the splint bones and a large splint can press into the suspensory ligament causing inflammation and pain and subsequent lameness. Given enough time, most splints can remodel and shrink enough to relieve the pressure put on the suspensory ligament. There are some splints that require surgical removal (such as the one seen below) in order for the horse to return to soundness. See more

I’m issuing a challenge!!! So as an equine veterinarian whose practice focuses on lameness diagnostics and treatments I watch a TON of horses move. I watch them on a line and under saddle. But it’s also important to watch how they place their feet. This is a picture of my own geldings tracks in the dirt at a trot. You can clearly see the hind limb drag marks (right hind more marked than left). He happens to have arthritis in his stifles and it makes it difficult for him to ra...ise his hind limbs therefore drags his hind limbs a bit. You can tell a lot about your horses soundness by the way they place their feet. Do they abduct or adduct a limb? Do they reach evenly with each limb? Do they track forward evenly? I challenge all of you to watch your horses move. Like really watch them. Look at their tracks in the dirt. You can learn a lot about your horse by watching them move in different ways. Post your own pictures or video in the comments!!!!

For all of my clients who utilize our amazing online pharmacy (our prices are extremely competitive!!) it has undergone a makeover! The changes include a more streamlined site and easier ordering. The web address has changed so please update your browser! For those of you who don’t yet use our online pharmacy, there are many advantages. Super fast rx authorization and competitive pricing are just two of the advantages to having an account. https://mobileequinediag.myvetstoreonline.pharmacy/

What does it mean when you see rings on your horses feet? Some people call them fever rings. These rings on the feet represent inflammation in the body or feet. Inflammation can come in the form of something significant such as fever, colic, laminitis or systemic disease. Or it can be sub clinical and mild like stress, feed change or hoof angle change. It is important to note that by the time you see a ring like the one below it has been months since the inflammatory episode. The ring starts at her coronet band and grows down over time. Most times a ring on the foot is nothing to be concerned about. If, however, there are many rings or the hoof wall is becoming distorted or if lameness is associated with the development of a ring you should contact your veterinarian for an evaluation.

Puncture wounds are common in horses. It is important that these wounds be explored and flushed for the presence of foreign bodies (splinters, metal debris etc.) and examined closely to ensure that no vital structures are involved or damaged. This yearling had a run in with a metal fence post and was very lucky. The wound did not involve anything vital and he will heal well. It is important to ensure that a horse with a wound is up to date on tetanus toxoid vaccine within the last 6 months. Suturing these types of wounds is not recommended unless a drain is placed. If a non sterile wound is completely closed infection can be trapped and the wound is unable to drain. Antibiotics are often necessary in these situations as well.

Fractured thoracic vertebrae are not common but can occur when a horse flips over or is cast under a fence. In this case the horse fractured T2-T6 (the withers) after being caught in a fence. Each circled area is a fracture. The arrows represent where the top of the vertebrae SHOULD be but they have been fractured off and pushed down between the vertebral spaces. After surgical consultation, it was decided that it was in the best interest of the horse nor to operate due to th...e many pieces that were present. The surgery would be very invasive and may cause more problems then would cure. At this point we are providing her with different types of pain relief and hoping that time will allow the area to fibrose enough for her to be comfortable. The best outcome would be that this awesome little rope horse will be rideable again but time will tell! See more

We are definitely seeing a lot of colics lately it was a family affair Saturday morning ! Brooklyn was very happy that we were able to make this expectant momma mare feel better!

Hoof abscesses can be extremely painful and cause non weight bearing lameness in horses. They can brew slowly or seemingly appear overnight. One of the most common causes of severe and sudden lameness in horses is a hoof abscess. The presence of a hoof abscess can be confirmed by your veterinarian to rule out other issues that may cause sudden and severe lameness. Thankfully most hoof abscesses are simple to resolve with soaking the foot and packing it with a drawing agent or poultice pads until the abscess ruptures. A hoof abscess is accompanied by a bounding digital pulse which can be felt by lightly placing your index finger on the palmar digital artery as seen below.

I have some pretty amazing (and cute) ultrasound assistants! On a serious note, ultrasound is used to evaluate soft tissue structures in the body, fluid interfaces and bone/joint/cartilage surfaces among other things. It can be an invaluable tool when dealing with soft tissue injury and subsequent lameness. It can even be used to assess joint spaces and arthritic changes. Proper ultrasound evaluation takes practice, education and in depth knowledge of anatomy. Do you think your horse needs an ultrasound or more importantly, a lameness evaluation? Be sure to contact your vet for guidance!

In most cases corneal ulcers are uncomplicated and relatively simple to treat. There are times, however, when the ulcer is very deep, the infection is complicated and requires very frequent medicating with various medication, or if the horse is very difficult and or painful to treat and becomes a danger to the caregivers. In these cases a sub-palpebral lavage (SPL) system as shown here can be placed and used to more easily and effectively deliver medication to the injured or ...infected eye. An SPL is placed through the upper or lower eyelid and a a small footpad is put flush with the inside of eye eyelid. A tube is connected to the pad through the lid and medication can be administered through the tube to treat the eye. The tube is 3-4 feet long so the caregiver can stand at the side of the neck and administer medication from a safe place. It’s also much more comfortable for the horse! See more

Laminitis (founder) can be a devastating disease. Laminitis literally means inflammation of the laminae - the soft tissue structures that attach the coffin or pedal bone of the foot to the hoof wall. The inflammation and damage to the laminae causes extreme pain and leads to instability of the coffin bone in the hoof. This can lead to rotation and/or sinking of the coffin bone. This particular horse has had chronic and severe bouts of laminitis causing coffin bone rotation, hoof wall separation and coffin bone degeneration. She is currently being treated in conjunction with excellent owner, farrier and veterinary care.

Our new normal during appointments. Brooklyn, our 4 year old daughter, being an awesome helper and constant work companion until school is reopened.

I get told all the time, I could never be a vet. I couldn’t kill an animal. I want to say that I have never killed an animal. I allow them to pass peacefully, without pain, with dignity, and with love by humanely euthanizing them. It takes a piece of me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Like this morning when I looked this sweet 8 month old filly in the eye and stroked her face as I told her devastated owner that her fractured leg was beyond surgical repair. Gut wrenching and soul crushing. But I would do it again every single day if it meant that I could ease the suffering of another animal. So please don’t talk to me about killing animals. And just remember that it does take some days filled with dark storm clouds to make those beautiful rainbow bridges.