Recent content by Murphy88

There is a recent peer-reviewed study by the foremost specialist in equine neuromuscular disease (Stephanie Valberg at the MSU Neuromuscular lab) showing that the commercial genetic tests (CAG/EquiSeq) are not accurate. The variants they are looking for are present in >25% of normal horses and...

OP, I'm an equine vet and would be happy to answer questions re the drugs used to help put your mind at rest. I would standardly use 2 syringes for euthanasia, one with sedative (either one drug or a combo of 2-3) and one with euthanasia solution. There are a couple of main euthanasia drugs and...

The first author of that paper is the president of a company that sells supplements, amongst them a turmeric formulation.... Scrolling down to the author disclosures is always a quick way of assessing the validity of a paper. Not to mention 8 papers is pretty weak for a literature...

The placebo effect works on the owner - we perceive that there is improvement even though the animal may not actually be better. There is lots of evidence of this in veterinary medicine, and anyone that has run a randomized controlled trial can attest to that - it's why good research uses...

Prognosis depends on whether kidney failure is acute or chronic and the degree of increase in her kidney values, plus whether she still has the ability to concentrate her urine. Does she have any history of receiving bute or other medications, as these are the most common cause of kidney issues...

Great news that he has done so well! I would suspect that the notice of proceedings part is maybe included as standard on all emails regarding payment. Sadly, it is probably also a reflection of the issues vet hospitals face with unpaid bills - nowadays clients are so bad at paying bills that...

Excellent post Gamebird, I think summing up what many vets feel. I lost a close friend and colleague to suicide a few years ago, and it breaks my heart every time we lose another vet. I love my job, but of my close vet school friends I am in the minority of people who are able to still say...

Agree re vet examination for PUPD (polydipsia / polyuria) . Horses can get psychogenic polydipsia which is effectively boredom drinking, which after cushings is the most common cause of PUPD - but need to rule out cushings, kidney disease, and diabetes insipidus to reach a diagnosis of...

This. Nothing more frustrating than an owner changing their mind when you reach the point of PTS. The main thing with colic surgery is that the outcome is determined by the type of colic - which part of intestine is affected, and is the blood supply cut off. Simple large intestine problems...

It sounds like your horse had a strangulating small intestine lesion - the "tire" on rectal would have been a loop of distended small intestine, and the bile out the nose would be reflux (fluid build up in the stomach). Older horses can get little fatty lumps that wrap around the intestine and...

Sorry for your loss OP. If the leg was deformed to a degree that you could conclusively tell it was broken without x-rays (ie a complete, displaced fracture) then to me that easily meets BEVA guidelines and I would have no trouble writing that in an insurance report. However if not that...

I think you are mistaken on your MRI... as Rara says, the only standing equine MRIs are the Hallmarq machines. Human technology is designed for evaluation in lateral, as far as I'm aware the machine wouldn't tolerate the change of imaging plane. Also quick suggestion, if this is how you feel...

Unfortunately you really need the reference ranges to be able to interpret those results properly, and also the previous results to be able to compare. For example, the ranges for the lab where I work has AST and ALP in the low-mid 100's; so either they are low or the reference range is very...

From a vet's perspective - this all sounds like colic. Pawing and laying down are classic, the shivering was likely muscle fasciculations which are also common. The fact that it resolved with just sedation and pain relief also fits with a simple colic. If he has been fine since I would just give...

There was a paper published this year looking at a beta-blocker for potential long-term use in AF, but it's only in the early stages - ie we know it has an effect on heart rhythm, but not what long term use etc might do / whether it would work as a long term anti-arrhythmic. Currently, the only...