Equine medicine, therapeutics and surgery

Orthopaedic surgery in the horse dentals and aging the horse

Orthopaedic surgery

• Usually performed at referral practices• Arthroscopic techniques are a common procedure • Fracture repair less frequently done to salvage valuable

breeding animals or foals• Other orthopaedic surgery• Nurses role

– Knowledge of specialised equipment and strict aseptic techniques required of support staff

– Intraoperative radiography may be required in specialised surgery

• Closure of equine orthopaedic surgical wounds

task

• research the aetiology, diagnostic techniques and surgery for chipped knees or angular limb deformities

Case Study – limb fracture

• Task: Explore the case study on the website and look at the diagnostic tests that are used (a thorough knowledge of your anatomy of the limb is required to move through this quickly )

• http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/lameness/case3/history3/questions3.html

Diagnostic tests

•

1. Utilize the hoof testers2. Do a flexion test then jog the horse again

3. Perform an anesthetic block • 4. Do a flexion test then jog the horse again

Aging the horse-approximately!

• General body condition• Teeth• Brand

Aging the horse-approximately!

• Use the readings to answer the following questions

• Which tooth shows Galvane’s groove• When does it first appear/disappear• How do you recognise a horse of 6 years, 16

years, 26 years old from teeth• What tooth has the seven year hook and why

is it no good for aging the horse

Equine dentistry

• Horses teeth grow continuously until old age approximately 25-30years old

• Natural diet – grasses & forage are abrasive and wear down tooth surfaces evenly

• Pastures and supplementary feeds less so and uneven wear can create edges that restrict jaw movement, damage the mouth and reduce ability to chew

Problems of uneven wear

• Points• Hooks • Ramps• Wave mouth

• Use the reading to define these toothwear problems

Signs of teeth wear problems

• Horses with points may prefer hay to concentrates,

• Quidding • Head tossing• Resisting the bit and refusal to “give” when

asked to collect by the rider

Floating

• Restraint- sedation, stocks• Safe access to the mouth-

speculum/hausmanns gag• Handheld tools: rasps • Power tools

Wolf teeth

• Vestigial remnants of the first upper premolar• May interfere with the action of the bit-

especially racehorses• Often removed prophlactically

dental surgery

• Fractured and impacted teeth may require extraction

• Facial nerve blocks and sedation give safety and access – Infraorbital– Mental– Mandibular