EBOOK
The Horse Doctor Is In
A Kentucky Veterinarian's Advice and Wisdom on Horse Health Care
Brent Kelley, D.V.M.5
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About
This practical guide to equine health care is filled with sound advice that is presented in a warm and approachable tone. Experienced veterinarian Brent Kelley offers proven methods for dealing with a variety of medical situations every horse owner is likely to encounter, from pregnancy and foaling to fractures and infections. With examples drawn from real-life stories, Kelley helps you confidently and effectively manage common ailments and provide the necessary care to keep your horse healthy and happy. Brent Kelley, D.V.M., has been a practicing equine veterinarian for nearly 30 years in the heart of Kentucky's horse country. He has been a "Veterinary Topics" columnist for The Thoroughbred Times since 1994. Four of his articles have won awards, including the 1997 American Horse Publications' Personal Column award and two consecutive Chronicle of the Horse Best Personal Experience Story awards. Under the pseudonym Grant Kendall, Kelley has written two books on his experiences as a vet. He lives in Paris, Kentucky. Chapter 3 - Injuries to Muscles, Ligaments, and Tendons
Muscle Strains
The reader may get the idea from reading some of these pages that I was fairly unprepared for the real world when I was granted my release from veterinary school. I was, but no more so than 99 percent of my fellow graduates around the country each year. The fact is, we just don't see as much in school as we might, especially with horses. It's not the school's fault; we can only be shown the cases that are presented to the school's clinic.
Also, there are a whole lot of conditions that we are told about in class, but there are also many we aren't told about. One of my teachers said, "That diploma you guys have been working so hard for is only a license to learn. You'll learn more veterinary medicine in your first year out of school than you learned in your four years in school." He was right.
With that disclaimer, when I first got out of school I was really bad at diagnosing lameness. If it was broken or bleeding I could usually find where the problem was, but if it was sprained or strained I had a terrible time. To make matters worse, shortly after graduation I met a veterinarian of many years' experience who was unbelievably gifted at recognizing lameness. He would turn his back on the horse and close his eyes and ask the handler to walk and trot the animal on a hard surface; he could tell where the lameness was just by listening. I usually couldn't tell by looking, probing, squeezing, or any other method. "It's a function of time, Kelley," he told me. "Do it long enough and you'll get it."
He was right, but I'm still not anywhere as good as he was. It's very frustrating. Strains and sprains are still challenging, but I'm in good company. A whole lot of vets have trouble with strains and sprains.
Incidence and Predisposing Factors
Muscle strains can occur in any performance horse and usually occur in the hind limbs. The most common muscle groups involved are the longissimus and gluteal muscles (croup myopathy) and the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosis muscles (caudal thigh myopathy). Strains occur far less often in other muscle groups.
There are many potential factors influencing muscle strains; the main ones are fatigue, lack of sufficient training or conditioning, lack of proper warm-up, and low ambient temperature. Fatigued muscles lose elasticity and don't function efficiently, therefore increasing the possibility of strain. Insufficient training predisposes a horse to fatigue. Proper warming up is necessary to enhance circulation, thereby increasing the ability to eliminate the muscular waste products (lactic acid) that are produced during exercise. Cold temperatures decrease circulation and increase muscle tension; the combination leads to fatigue. Muscle strains are classified by severity, from first degree to third degree. A first-degree strain is, in essence, a pulled muscle, and occurs whe
Muscle Strains
The reader may get the idea from reading some of these pages that I was fairly unprepared for the real world when I was granted my release from veterinary school. I was, but no more so than 99 percent of my fellow graduates around the country each year. The fact is, we just don't see as much in school as we might, especially with horses. It's not the school's fault; we can only be shown the cases that are presented to the school's clinic.
Also, there are a whole lot of conditions that we are told about in class, but there are also many we aren't told about. One of my teachers said, "That diploma you guys have been working so hard for is only a license to learn. You'll learn more veterinary medicine in your first year out of school than you learned in your four years in school." He was right.
With that disclaimer, when I first got out of school I was really bad at diagnosing lameness. If it was broken or bleeding I could usually find where the problem was, but if it was sprained or strained I had a terrible time. To make matters worse, shortly after graduation I met a veterinarian of many years' experience who was unbelievably gifted at recognizing lameness. He would turn his back on the horse and close his eyes and ask the handler to walk and trot the animal on a hard surface; he could tell where the lameness was just by listening. I usually couldn't tell by looking, probing, squeezing, or any other method. "It's a function of time, Kelley," he told me. "Do it long enough and you'll get it."
He was right, but I'm still not anywhere as good as he was. It's very frustrating. Strains and sprains are still challenging, but I'm in good company. A whole lot of vets have trouble with strains and sprains.
Incidence and Predisposing Factors
Muscle strains can occur in any performance horse and usually occur in the hind limbs. The most common muscle groups involved are the longissimus and gluteal muscles (croup myopathy) and the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosis muscles (caudal thigh myopathy). Strains occur far less often in other muscle groups.
There are many potential factors influencing muscle strains; the main ones are fatigue, lack of sufficient training or conditioning, lack of proper warm-up, and low ambient temperature. Fatigued muscles lose elasticity and don't function efficiently, therefore increasing the possibility of strain. Insufficient training predisposes a horse to fatigue. Proper warming up is necessary to enhance circulation, thereby increasing the ability to eliminate the muscular waste products (lactic acid) that are produced during exercise. Cold temperatures decrease circulation and increase muscle tension; the combination leads to fatigue. Muscle strains are classified by severity, from first degree to third degree. A first-degree strain is, in essence, a pulled muscle, and occurs whe