Manual of Clinical Procedures in the Horse

Lais R.R. Costa, Mary Rose Paradis, Lais R.R. Costa, Mary Rose Paradis

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781118701010
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Equine Veterinary Science

Manual of Clinical Procedures in the Horse is a detailed step-by-step guide to clinical skills in equine practice. With information on techniques ranging from physical examination and blood sampling to lameness and neurologic exams and other specialized procedures, the book is an aid to confidently and effectively performing procedures used in daily equine practice. Well illustrated with clinical photographs throughout, the book's focus is on providing thorough, easy-to-understand descriptions of 80 techniques necessary for examining and treating horses.

Each topic includes a summary of the purpose, potential complications, equipment and proper restraint for each procedure, with a detailed description of each action for the technique and the rationale behind it. More than 1, 100 full-colour clinical photographs demonstrate the techniques. Manual of Clinical Procedures in the Horse is an essential purchase for any veterinary practice seeing equine patients.

Key features

• Details each step for 80 common procedures for veterinary care of the horse
• Supports veterinarians and technicians in performing techniques in daily equine practice
• Presents more than 1, 100 images depicting the steps described in the text
• Covers the purpose, potential complications, equipment, restraint, actions and rationale for each procedure
• Offers a practical patient-side reference to essential techniques in clinical practice, ranging from basic assessment to specialized procedures

Part I

General Clinical Examinations and Routine Procedures

1
Principles of Horse Handling for Veterinarians: Horse Handling Versus Horse Restraint

Kerry Ridgway and Christine Heraud-Ridgway

We should recognize and think of good handling as psychological restraint, in contrast to our tendency to think of the term “restraint” as a means of physical application of force or chemicals to control the horse. Without question, restraint in order to accomplish a procedure, as well as for the safety of the veterinarian and the person holding the horse, is of utmost importance. However, the very least amount of physical restraint required is always the best level of physical restraint, and this will vary from no restraint to full chemical restraint.

Think of physical and chemical restraint as your second option. Good horse handling and psychological restraint starts before we even touch the horse. Start with things in your favor. Make it easy for the horse to do the right thing. For example, select an examination site where the horse will not be tempted by grass and other distractions.

Realize that we reach out to the world with our hands, that we may examine and evaluate what we see. The horse reaches out to the world with its nose and sense of smell to evaluate and check out its world. With this in mind, stand near the horse while taking the history and let it check you out. Pause periodically to give the horse a gentle scratch or stroke on its forehead or in the hollow behind the withers. When turning your attention to the horse, maintain a soft eye, do not stare it in the eye with a hard-focused look.

There is a contrasting principle for humans vs. horses in their behavior when they come very close to each other. If you walk up to a person and place your face about six inches from them, he or she becomes very tense or embarrassed and wants to back away from you. The horse has just the opposite, hard-wired, behavior. For the horse, your, or the handler’s, closeness, or the closeness of another horse, is an invitation to examine and nuzzle or play.

Use this to your advantage, but also realize its disadvantages. When your handler stands right at the horse’s face and is trying to help you by having a short and tight hold on the halter, the horse wants to push, be mouthy and play with the handler, or may attempt to free itself of the tight restraint. This can certainly make your examination more difficult. You want the horse be focused so that you can see its responses to palpation and handling.

Horses are very in tune with the body language of predators (humans are often seen as predators by the horse) and so they are in tune ...