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Winter 2019 is providing continual nutritional challenges for winter calving herds.

With the relentless dry conditions we urge our clients to be mindful of the energy needs of cows in late pregnancy & early lactation - a topic we covered in our June 2018 newsletter.

Proactive management and feeding strategies are important to prevent issues such as cows going down due to low energy/calcium, increased calving difficulty and increased incidence of retained membranes. Please ring and talk to any of our veterinarians at OVH for advice and concerns on herd health issues - 63618388.

Horse owners check our Winter Equine Dental deals - details below. This offer is always very popular so please book early to ensure a time that best suits you. 

Contents of this newsletter

01  Equine Dental Special - a preventative health focus

02  Cattle lice

03  60 days on the shelf for fresh milk

04  Horses with narcolepsy

05  Top tips for travelling with your horse

06  Lame lambs

01 Equine Dental Special - a preventative health focus
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Open wide!

Winter Dental Deals 

As discussed last newsletter regular dentistry is an important part of your horse health care plan. 

Our winter specials are a fantastic opportunity to help your horse be at its best! Book in with one of our equine dental vets for a thorough dental procedure.

Option 1. Gold Horse Health Package - $275 single or $250 each for two or more horses - includes physical exam, routine dentistry with sedation, tetanus/strangles booster, worming, faecal worm egg floatation and horse health summary report. 

Option 2. Silver Horse Health Package - $175 single or $160 each for two or more horses - includes physical examination, routine dentistry with sedation, faecal worm egg floatation.

With any dental package you also have access to the following additional discounts for your horse

  • Hendra vaccination - 1st vaccination plus microchip $125 or a booster vaccination for horses $75. Vaccinating your horse is the single most effective way to prevent Hendra Virus infection in horses and people. 
  • Full horse health blood profile - $175 Blood testing allows us to more thoroughly assess vital organ function such as the liver and kidneys. 
The fine print - all prices exclude travel to and from your property. Alternatively horses may be brought in to our equine facility at Orange Vet Hospital. Drop off for the day or 'horse day care' also available if you have to go to work!
These special rates only available for payment on the day of service. Please call 63618388 for more information from our team and to make a booking. 

 

02 Cattle lice

Lousy cattle
Lice irritate cattle, causing them to scratch, bite and rub themselves. This constant irritation is a welfare problem, especially in severe infestations. They may also damage fencing, gates, trees or anything they can find to rub themselves against.

There are two types of lice:

  1. Biting lice feed on skin debris and can cause severe irritation.
  2. Sucking lice pierce the skin and suck blood. In large numbers they can cause anaemia.

The lifecycle & spread
Adults glue eggs to the hair shaft. When they hatch, they then take 8-19 days to go through several growth stages before becoming adults. The entire lifecycle takes 3-6 weeks. Lice are spread by direct contact between cattle. Adult lice and their eggs only survive a few days once removed from cattle. Cattle lice only live on cattle and do not spread to other farm animals. Infestations are worst during winter.

What else influences the burden on the cattle?
Lice numbers seem to increase on cattle in poorer condition, yet they don’t seem to be the cause of poor condition. Cattle with chronic disease also carry heavier infestations.

Treating lice, why and how?
Treating light to moderate infestations is generally not economically viable from a production and body condition standpoint. However, if hide quality is important, it may be as hide damage occurs with scratching. It is also necessary for some QA programs. There are four treatment types available – spray and pour on are frequently used, but there are also ear tags and injectable options. Cattle need to be treated twice about a month apart so all stages of the life cycle are killed.

Eradication
Eradication is possible as lice do not live in soil or on fence posts for long. Your biosecurity must be in order to prevent re-introduction.

03 60 days on the shelf for fresh milk

A new technology developed by Naturo is enabling fresh milk to have a shelf life of 60 days in the fridge. According to Dairy Food Safety Victoria, the process has been validated and the research shows "it's equivalent to or actually better than pasteurisation". A very long life milk product means it can be shipped internationally rather than exported via air freight at greater cost.

CEO Jeff Hastings was interviewed by the ABC and said “Pasteurisation is a fairly aggressive process — 72 degrees [Celsius] it is heated to, held there for 15 seconds — and for homogenised milk it's then further roughly handled, if you like, through a process called homogenisation. We don't do those things”. "It provides a far more gentle and minimal processing technique that does not rely on heat to kill the bugs, if you like, in the milk that is at the core of pasteurisation," Mr Hastings said.

Naturo says the end product tastes just like milk from the vat, not UHT (ultra heat treated) milk. They also claim that “there is massive potential for the development of a wide range of dairy products and use by industries where unpasteurised milk is desired — such as cheesemaking."

04 Horses with narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a rare sleep disorder that has been recognised in many species. The condition affects around 1 in every 2000 humans, however the true incidence of narcolepsy in horses is unknown.

Narcolepsy in horses, and many other mammals, is characterised by periodic episodes of “cataplexy”. Muscle function is temporarily affected resulting in mild weakness to complete collapse. During most attacks horses will regain strength and stand without falling, but occasionally horses may fall completely.

Horses suffering from narcolepsy may show unexplained abrasions or injuries associated with weakness or collapse, especially over the fetlocks and hocks.

In humans, emotions can be triggers for narcoleptic attacks. However, in horses, attacks can occur during routine activities such as leading a horse out of their stable, hosing off after exercise, or during the first mouthful of water or feed. There is even the potential for a horse to suffer a narcoleptic attack during riding.

The exact cause of narcolepsy is not known. Diagnosis can be challenging as episodes can be difficult to observe, although video recording of a horse in his stall can be helpful. It is very important to rule out other conditions that may cause sudden collapse, such as heart conditions, seizures and other neurological diseases.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for narcolepsy in horses or humans. One of the more common drugs used in human patients, imipramine, has been used in horses with inconsistent results. The negative side effects of such medications should also be considered.

05 Top tips for travelling with your horse

Travelling can be a stressful activity for horses, both mentally and physically. Common travel-related health issues can include dehydration, muscle soreness, traumatic injury, and colic. Long distance travel also risks the development of respiratory conditions such as “shipping fever”. So, what can you do to help prevent some of these problems for your horse?

Check your float: Ensure your float is regularly serviced and is safe and roadworthy. Be sure to carefully inspect the float flooring, as this is what is separating your horse from the bitumen below.

Hydration: Provide constant access to good clean water in the lead up to travel. Drinking can be encouraged by giving some electrolyte paste or by adding a small amount of salt to the feed. For horses which are fussy drinkers, try taking some familiar tasting water from home away with you. Remember, horses normally drink between 20-55 litres of water each day.

Ventilation:
Make sure your float is well ventilated and free of dust and irritants which can wreak havoc on your horse’s airways. Be wary of ambient temperature during travel. On warm days, ensure good airflow and avoid rugging. Check the temperature inside the float regularly to avoid chilling or overheating your horse, and consider avoiding travel all together in extreme temperatures.

Take regular breaks:
Keep trip length to a 12 hour maximum. Stop every 3-4 hours to offer water, and ideally allow your horse to stretch their legs. At these breaks, offer grass or feed at ground level to enable your horse to lower their head and clear the airways.

06 Lame lambs

Rain, beautiful rain, (we wish right now but it will come!) leads to wet pastures. Wet pastures lead to wet feet, which can lead to sore feet, that leads to lameness. And lameness is the bane of all sheep farmers in the southern climes! Lameness is one of the most significant and widespread welfare problems in the southern states and is a major source of economic loss to the sheep industry. An animal suffering from lameness is less able to graze and compete for feed.

The consequences of lameness include:

  1. Loss of weight and condition 
  2. Lower lambing percentages
  3. Lower birth weight and hence reduced lamb viability
  4. Reduced growth rate in lambs
  5. Reduced milk production
  6. Lower fertility in rams
  7. Reduced wool growth
  8. Costs associated with the treatment and control of the disease 

Lameness at this time of year can progress into spring as warmth adds a complicating and accelerating factor to the equation. Lame rams develop poor testicular tone and lowered fertility rates, hampering successful conception. Ewes that are suffering from lameness can and will limp away from their lambs, furthering the cycle of illness. Lame sheep need to be examined to exclude footrot.

Luckily most lameness is due to foot abscesses, either toe or heel and the ubiquitous scald. Foot abscess can be confused with footrot as both develop from scald (or interdigital dermatitis) and both can cause severe lameness; and both conditions are exacerbated when the environment is wet.

If you are concerned about lameness in your own flock, give us a call and we can help you determine the cause, and the best course of treatment.