Twin Ports Equine, P.C.
Winter 2011 Newsletter
Infectious Disease Update
The fall of 2011 marked another outbreak of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). As of November 8th, 34 cases have been confirmed in Wisconsin. Most of these cases occurred in north central and north west Wisconsin, including several cases in Bayfield County. Cases were also reported again in Michigan, as well as other states.
EEE is a deadly disease affecting a horse's brain and spinal cord. The disease kills about 90% of infected horses. Since the disease is transmitted by mosquitoes all horses are at risk for being infected. There is no cure for the disease. Annual vaccination is the only way to prevent infection.
Study Shows Dental Work Improves Feed Digestibility
Many owners do not recognize dental problems in their horses until the horse begins showing obvious signs such as difficulty chewing, reduced appetite, weight loss, and dropping feed. At this point the horse may have significant dental disease. However, a new study shows even horses with mild dental disease benefit significantly from corrective dental work.
This study showed that even horses not showing obvious signs of dental disease had improved feed digestibility on chemical analysis after dental work was performed. A previous study had shown that fecal fiber length was significantly improved in horses with more severe dental problems after these problems were corrected.
It is recommended that all horses have an oral exam annually to check for dental problems. Dr. Stacy Garves recently attended a continuing education course on dental procedures and the most current treatments. Twin Ports Equine utilizes sedation, local anesthetics, and power dentistry tools, which is the current equine dental standard of care.
Has your horse had a dental exam recently? The time to have their teeth examined and floated may be sooner than you think.
Government Study on Cessation of Horse Slaughter
The government accountability office recently completed a study on the effects of the equine slaughter ban on horse welfare in the United States. The study concluded that the cessation of domestic horse slaughter has unintentionally led to a decline in horse welfare in the U.S., and has negatively impacted the value of lower- to- medium priced horses by 8 to 21%. It has also led to a gigantic increase in the number of horses transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.
Congress had directed this office to perform the study after horse slaughter in the United States was stopped in 2007. The study examined the effect of slaughter cessation on the U.S. horse market, and how these changes in the market affect the welfare of U.S. horses.
According to the study, nearly the same number of horses was transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter in 2010 as had been slaughtered each year in the U.S. prior to slaughter being stopped. Furthermore, horse prices in the U.S. have steadily declined since 2007. A large number of horses have been significantly and negatively affected by this decrease. The decrease has affected lower- to-medium priced horses much more than higher priced horses. The study also found that the economic downturn caused a 4-5% decline in prices of all horses.
In addition, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of investigations of horse neglect and horse abandonment being reported in the last 3 years. The government analysis showed that horses are now traveling greater distances to slaughter and are not protected by United States humane slaughter protection laws.
References: University of Minnesota Horse Newsletter November Issue
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-228 http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-228 Details on the full study can be found at this website.
