How we have moved on in Veterinary Science

[Birker2020]

Moving my old bed at Mums as the electrician needs the floor boards up and emptied the divan of clothes and books.

Stumbled across this old vet book, explaining about blistering, holding a naked flame to the eye to see three images (upright, sideways and upside diwn) to show how the lens of the eyes are working, explaining about Fistolous Withers, Poll Evil, Quittor, Transit Tetany, Purpura Hemmorhagia and Angleberries.

I love the section covering colic. If a horse sits like a dog during colic it indicates a fatal colic. And how arthritis and navicular have a very bad prognosis.

And cutting the Cunean tendon fixes bone spavin! Wow, how backward thinking these things are now.

All those horses could have probably been saved if you roll on three decades.

How times have changed.

 

[Kunoichi73]

Wow! What an interesting find. I find things like this fascinating. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Cherryblossom]

fascinating! I’ve got a vet manual for horse owners book from the 90s, and it’s full of tips on getting a piece of foam and cutting out a hole to set over the saddle sore before putting on the numnah- it made me realise how far we’re come. for all the talk you hear about people not learning true horsemanship these days, I can’t remember the last time I saw a saddle sore, and certainly can’t imagine vets giving advice on how to keep riding on through it!

 

[Birker2020]

Interesting about sitting like a dog during a colic episode indicating a nearly always fatal colic.

The one I saw with a fatal colic at one point sat like a dog and I remember telling someone at the time I thought because of that it wouldn't make it. Sure enough it was pts within an hour.

 

[Widgeon]

I have a set of old veterinary manuals from about 1870 (a friend saw them at an auction and bought them for me!) and they are similarly fascinating. It looks to me like veterinary science didn't change much for a very long time, then started to storm forwards about sixty years ago. If you think about some of the remedies used by Alf Wight (James Heriot) in the 30s, they're not so different from what was being done in the previous century. But obviously now....it's a different world. A much more expensive and effective one!

ETA - just looking at that arthritis page @Birker2020 and musing on management...."the horse comes out of the box lame". My horse has arthritis and that's one of the reasons I never actually put him IN a box. I totally agree with @Cherryblossom that despite what people say about the good old days of horsemanship, there is more understanding of the horse now, and that can translate to better management of medical problems.

 

[Highmileagecob]

When I was about nine years old, my instructor's father gave me the house copy of Mayhew's Book of Horse Doctoring, printed in the 1800s. Complete with gory line drawings, references to measuring medicines in drachms and grains, drawings of wild, rabid horses etc.. Most of the treatments today would be thought of as little more than tradition, but the scale of the ailments covered is enormous and comprehensive. I still have the book, and a lot of the old horsemen's cures are hair raising to say the least.

 

[Horseysheepy]

It's so fascinating watching really old episodes of All creatures great and small.

The Vanner cob that was cured of laminitis by letting blood out of its neck and that magical cure for an abscess applied to the sole and sending out a puff of smoke with the owner looking amazed!

I've an old copy of Peter Rossdales A-Z of horse health on the bookcase, I don't think I've ever referred to it to be honest, but it's interesting to see how things have moved on

You don't get white rub marks around the withers anymore from saddles and canvas rugs.

 

[Nicnac]

Oh Fistulous Withers - always such a horrible term. Some of those old cures were the best though. I always say nowadays, just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

Fascinating about the colic/dog sit parallel.

 

[Lexi 123]

we have moved on a lot like back then 15 was considered old and most horse were retired. This opinion hasn’t changed for some people there is a very very popular YouTuber who has a 17 year old Connemara and she always saying her old boy. she thinks every horse passed 15 is old because she being Calling him a veteran Since he turned 15 years old. she Has been making out like he is ancient on her social media. I think a lot of conditions are just better treated like arthritis we have better treatment options to keep horses living longer and more comfortable life’s it does eventually end in death when a horse is very old but it does prolong there life. The only thing what hasn’t changed is probably colic it still very deadly even with surgery . we have learned about behaviours that are a sign of pain in the past these behaviours would have been ignored.

 

[Birker2020]

Oh Fistulous Withers - always such a horrible term. Some of those old cures were the best though. I always say nowadays, just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

Fascinating about the colic/dog sit parallel.

I agree. And the old remedies like Slippery Elm which my vet used to tease me about and call Sticky Oak.

 

[tristar]

i have a book by eddie straiton, he was my vet years ago, the book is 50 years old.

it is the first thing i refer to, he was a brilliant vet

 

[Cortez]

we have moved on a lot like back then 15 was considered old and most horse were retired. This opinion hasn’t changed for some people there is a very very popular YouTuber who has a 17 year old Connemara and she always saying her old boy. she thinks every horse passed 15 is old because she being Calling him a veteran Since he turned 15 years old. she Has been making out like he is ancient on her social media. I think a lot of conditions are just better treated like arthritis we have better treatment options to keep horses living longer and more comfortable life’s it does eventually end in death when a horse is very old but it does prolong there life. The only thing what hasn’t changed is probably colic it still very deadly even with surgery . we have learned about behaviours that are a sign of pain in the past these behaviours would have been ignored.

The natural lifespan of a horse is 20 - 25 years, by any metric 15 is an elderly horse. If you believe that old horses don't deserve at least a few years of well-earned rest, then riding a geriatric won't bother you, but I like to retire mine if I possibly can.

 

[Lexi 123]

The natural lifespan of a horse is 20 - 25 years, by any metric 15 is an elderly horse. If you believe that old horses don't deserve at least a few years of well-earned rest, then riding a geriatric won't bother you, but I like to retire mine if I possibly can.

The nature lifespan for today’s horses is 25-30 years a lot of horses are living well into 30s now thanks to feed and vet care. I don’t agree with calling 15 year old horse old it like calling a 50-60 year old human old . It’s getting on a bit like you’re not as good as when you’re in your 20s but it’s not old. Yeah giving a horse retirement is a lovely thing to do if you horse is healthy enough.

 

[rextherobber]

i have a book by eddie straiton, he was my vet years ago, the book is 50 years old.

it is the first thing i refer to, he was a brilliant vet

I remember he did an article every month in one of the horsey magazines too.

 

[tristar]

blxxdy hell 15 old!

 

[equinerebel]

My horse has not got the memo that she should be elderly now! Just turned 17 and still prances around and spooks at air like she did at 4

Very interesting post, especially the sitting like a dog during colic part.

 

[Orangehorse]

Good worming has helped towards longer lives for horses. Also pain killers like bute.

Horses worked harder too, in most cases. Like hacking to a show or a meet and working all day and then hacking home again, if there was no treatment for arthritis then there was little to be done.

In most cases horses are now regularly wormed, well fed and not worked very hard. Generally people think that TBs don't have such a long lifespan, but then they often have had hard working lives when they had to exert maximum effort and energy.

 

[Birker2020]

Oh Fistulous Withers - always such a horrible term. Some of those old cures were the best though. I always say nowadays, just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

Fascinating about the colic/dog sit parallel.

Yes, it really interests me. I know horses can sit like dogs but not whilst colicking.