Equine Veterinary Nursing

Karen Coumbe

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780470656556
• eBook ISBN: 9781118336267
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Equine Veterinary Science

The breadth and depth of expertise essential for equine veterinary nursing today is provided in this definitive textbook.  Thoroughly revised and updated in its second edition, and now fully illustrated in colour.  This book covers the content of the ever-expanding equine nursing syllabus, while still succinctly covering all the basics that veterinary nurses specialising in other species need to know. The key subjects included are: basic equine management, medical and surgical equine nursing, nutrition, reproduction and foal care, emergency first aid, and the theory underpinning these and other important topics.

Equine Veterinary Nursing Second Edition is presented in a clear and user-friendly manner, appropriate for all those involved in equine nursing. A practical approach is used throughout and procedures are illustrated with a large number of line diagrams and clinical photographs. It is an essential manual for all student and qualified equine veterinary nurses and all those involved in the care of horses.

KEY FEATURES

• Includes a new chapter on the equine nurse's professional responsibilities
• Major revisions to the chapters on diagnostic imaging and surgical nursing to reflect advances in technology and techniques
• All information on health and safety management updated in keeping with new regulations
• Authors include both vets and experienced equine nurses
• Endorsed by the British Equine Veterinary Association

"With the increasing demands of equine practice has come the need for well trained and competent equine nurses. There have been significant improvements in and expansion of the equine Veterinary Nurse training syllabus over the past few years to meet these demands. This new and updated edition of Equine Veterinary Nursing covers all aspects of the new syllabus with well written and illustrated chapters from a wide range of knowledgable and experienced authors. The British Equine Veterinary Association is pleased to endorse this text as a 'must have' for all trainee equine veterinary nurses and their training practices." - Deidre M Carson BVSc(Syd) MRCVS
Immediate Past President, BEVA

1
Basic Equine Management

W. Linnenkohl¹ & D.C. Knottenbelt²

¹Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, New York, USA;

²Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital, Liverpool, UK

General Horse Behaviour

Horses have evolved as a flight species and therefore, whenever a horse is to be handled, it should be remembered that it will try to escape from any uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation by running away. In instances where a horse feels that it is unable to escape, it may resort to kicking or biting as a form of defence. When handling unfamiliar horses, or horses in an unfamiliar or stressful situation (i.e. in a hospital setting), knowledge of how horses might react and proper methods of restraint are imperative for everyone’s safety.

Most horses behave better if handled with confidence, firmness and kindness. Only deliberate bad behaviour should incur reprimand, and this should be immediate; hitting or kicking horses is com­pletely counterproductive. A firm verbal reprimand is usually enough to make a horse pay attention. When persuading horses to do something unfamiliar or frightening, their primitive instincts for food and companionship can be utilised. If a horse is objecting to a particular task it is being asked to perform, it is important to understand whether its actions are motivated by fear or bad behaviour, since punishing a fearful horse will often make the situation worse. When horses flatten their ears, bare their teeth and lunge towards other animals or people, this is usually a sign of aggression rather than fear. A frightened horse may flatten its ears, yet turn away.

As horses are instinctively creatures of flight, it is important to understand the concept of a flight zone (Fig. 1.1). The flight zone can be thought of as the horse’s personal space. The size of the flight zone is determined by the tameness of the horse; well-trained animals will usually have a small flight zone whilst wild horses invariably have a large one. The point of balance, which determines which direction a horse will flee from an approaching person, is at the shoulder. When the flight zone is entered from the head, the horse will move backward and vice versa. It is important to be aware that it is best to approach a horse from the left, if possible, in a slow and calm manner using your voice to let the animal know you are there.

Fig. 1.1 a&b. The flight zone of a horse is the distance at which the horse will choose to flee when approached by a human (or in the wild, a predator). See Box 1.1.

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Box 1.1 The Flight Zone

• The flight zone can be thought of as a horse’s ‘personal space’. Movement into this area is likely to make a horse move away.
• The size of the flight zone depends primarily on the familiarity of the horse with the handler. With frequent handling, the flight zone decreases in size and may even disappear.
• A horse that is approached head-on has a larger flight zone than if it is approached from the side. A head-on approach by another horse or human is considered threatening.
• The edge of the flight zone can be determined by slowly walking up to the horse. The point at which the horse begins to move away is the edge of the flight zone.
• When working with a horse, there is a point-of-balance for moving the horse backward or forward. The point-of-balance is at the shoulder, perpendicular to the length of the body. If you want the horse to move backwards, start in front of the point-of-balance and move into the horse’s flight zone. If you want the horse to move forward, move into the horse’s space from behind the point-of-balance.
• If a handler enters the flight zone suddenly, the horse will either bolt and run away or turn back and run over the person.
• It is important to be aware of the flight zone and the horse’s response to the handler within and near the flight zone. This will help to ensure safety at all times for the handler.

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Vices, Stereotypies and Redirected Behaviour

In the past, certain types of abnormal behaviour were known as vices. We now know that many ‘vices’ are the horse’s attempts to cope with a stressful environment. Their significance to equine health is widely disputed, e.g. the link between colic and crib-biting is a good example of the controversy. Whilst there is a proven correlation between crib-biting and colic caused by epiploic foramen entrapment, the link with flatulent (gassy) colic is much less convincing.

Stereotypies are invariant and repetitive behaviour patterns with no apparent function. Examples of stereotypies include weaving, box-walking, and wind-sucking or crib-biting (Fig. 1.2a,b&c). Redirected behaviour occurs when a certain type of motivational behaviour is prevented. The horse will perform another type of behaviour to replace the missing behaviour pattern. Self-mutilation is a compulsive behaviour that is seen occasionally, particularly in stallions. Psychogenic polydipisia (drinking water for no physiological reason) can be alarming and can result in significant renal physiological compromise.

Fig. 1.2 (a) Stereotypical behaviour: horse cribbing or crib-biting on a fence post, which is when a horse holds fixed objects with its teeth, arches the neck as shown and makes a grunting sound, usually as they gulp in air. Wind-sucking is when they do this without holding onto a fixed object. (b) Worn incisor teeth as a result of crib-biting (USA term ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• Foreword
• Preface to the second edition
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• 1 Basic equine management
• 2 Anatomy and physiology
• 3 Genetics
• 4 Reproduction
• 5 Nutrition
• 6 Clinical nutrition
• 7 Basic first aid
• 8 General nursing
• 9 Safety management in the practice
• 10 The equine nurse’s professional responsibilities
• 11 Medicines and their management
• 12 Laboratory diagnostics
• 13 Fluid therapy
• 14 Medical nursing
• 15 Foal nursing
• 16 Equine orthopaedic nursing
• 17 Diagnostic imaging
• 18 General surgical nursing
• 19 Theatre practice
• 20 Anaesthesia
• Index
• End User License Agreement