The splint bones are the small bones attached to the cannon bone by interosseous ligaments. They are metacarpal II and IV on the forelimbs, and metatarsal II and IV on the hindlimbs.  The theory is that these little bones may be remnants from when prehistoric horses had multiple toes.

 

"My Horse Popped A Splint" - so said because a periosteal reaction in a splint bone can often manifest almost overnight as a large protruberance on the inside or outside of the lower limb.  Splints on the outside of the legs are almost always from blunt trauma - a horse kicking a fence, being kicked by another horse, etc. Splints on the inside of the legs are often from self-interference (knocking one leg on the other) or from strenuous training on poor footing or hard ground. Base narrow horses, or horses that toe-out are more prone to hitting themselves.

 

"Hot" splints are acute and new. They are often painful to the touch, cause lameness, and have the potential to get bigger without proper care. Cold splints are those that are old, chronic, and no longer cause pain to the horse. Over time, cold splints can remodel so that they almost disappear.  Splints bones can also be fractured, and sometimes require surgical removal. The dangers of a large spint are that they can adhere to the suspensory ligament and cause long-term mechanical lameness.

 

Cold splints typically do not require any treatment, but a new, acute splint should be treated aggressively. Rest, ice, cold water hosing, DMSO, supportive wraps, and anti-inflammatories such as topical Surpass, Jing Tang Relief Salve, or Traumeel, or oral Bute, may ne necessary. Jing Tang Herbal Bone Stasis is particularly effective at reducing and treating splints. Though splints aren't necessarily medical emergencies, they should not be ignored, as they can have a long-lasting effect on your horse's performance - particularly if they adhere to the suspensory ligament. Likewise, if your horse pops a splint, it may tell you a lot about his way of going, the current training methods or footing, his shoeing and trimming.  Some injuries are unavoidable, but the best prevention is to use splint boots or protective wraps, and use common sense when training, especially young horses new to work and under less than ideal footing conditions.

Chinese medicine and Western medicine may outwardly look as opposite as Yin and Yang; however, closer inspection reveals that the goals of treatment are the same, and only the language to describe them differs. An old proverb says, "It matters not whether medicine is old or new, so long as it brings about a cure. It matters not whether medicine is eastern or western so long as it proves to be true."

 

To understand traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, we must first examine the 5 Element Theory. In all of chinese medical philosophy, there is a system of checks and balances based on the interrelationships of nature.  The 5 elements are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.  These elements are then paired with organ systems (Liver, Heart, Spleen/Stomach, Lung, Kidney respectively).  Additionally, each element is associated with a sound, season, color, emotion, personality constitution, taste, and more.

 

The beauty of the system is the natural support and cross-checking that occurs within the cycle.  Example: Wood is needed to build Fire. Fire creates ash which becomes Earth. Earth contains elements of metal ore. Metal can hold water. This is the KI or nurturing cycle.  Alternatively, Wood controls Earth (erosion), Earth dams water, water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts metal, metal chops wood. Everything must be in perfect harmony for homeostasis in the body.  If any one of these elements becomes out of balance, then disease may occur in the body or the mind.

 

In this system of thinking, disease is merely an imbalance within the cycle. Family is important in Eastern culture, thus the parents nurture the children, children can drain the parents, and the grandparents are the disciplinarians or controllers. The basics are quite simple once you get the hang of it. For instance: If you are angry all the time, then you are likely to get stomach ulcers or diarrhea.  ie: Wood (anger, Liver) is the grandparent and disciplinarian of Earth (stomach). If the child (Earth) is overdisciplined (chronic diarrhea or ulcers), this may also tax the parent (Fire, heart/mind) and lead to depression.

 

Want to know more about which personality type you might be? Read On...

This month I'd like to discuss probiotics.

 

Antibiotics are just that: "anti-bios" which means "against life." Note, it doesn't translate "kill just the bad bugs." There are many specific categories of antibiotics, which is way more than I can explain here, but the different classes have different effects on varying types of bacteria. More often than not the antibiotic medication doesn't know the difference between what is a good bacteria, and what isn't - meaning, all the bacteria in that category die - the good AND the bad.  And those that don't die, often mutate to become stronger, which means they become resistant.

 

Horses in particular rely on their bacteria populations to help them digest cellulose and feedstuffs as hind-gut fermentors. Horses can be particularly affected by antibiotics, especially long-term, and can even colic from lengthy administration. When we kill off the good bugs with the bad, we must replace their population. How can we do this? The definition of a probiotic was refined in 1998 to:

 

"living microorganisms, which upon digestion in certain number, exert health benefit beyond inherent basic nutrition". Regardless of the definition, certain criteria have been developed to evaluate the potential of microorganisms to function as probiotics. Probiotic organisms must:
" survive the acidic environment of the stomach and resist bile digestion,
" adhere to the intestinal lining,
" colonize the intestinal tract,
" produce an antimicrobial factor and inhibit enteric pathogens (disease-causing bacteria).
These beneficial microorganisms are most effective to use during periods of disease or stress and following parasitic prevention programs or antibiotic treatment when no lactic acid bacteria are present. The probiotics must be "microencapsulated" so that they aren't broken down by the stomach acid, and must be LIVE to be considered a probiotic.

 

Buyer Beware: studies have shown that probiotics are delicate creatures....they should be LIVE to make a difference to the gut. One study showed that (unnamed product...but it's a paste) was 100% dead after sitting on the tack store shelf.  Even when purchasing a human product, you should look in the fridge section of your health food store rather than buying the powdered stuff...

This month's case comes to us from Woodland, CA.  Iskren is a gorgeous almost 3 year-old Thoroughbred from the racetrack who was rescued before being sent to slaughter.

 

His new owners have requested an evaluation as he's just arrived in his new home, and his medical history is sketchy. He was purchased as a sport horse prospect, is not currently on any medications or supplements, and will be turned out to pasture to grow up and have playtime before starting his new career.

 

Iskren is a friendly, Fire-Earth type, with no outward abnormalities except a shaved left cannon bone, and overdeveloped tight gluteal muscles. However, his tongue is very purple, and he has weak jugular pulses on the left side. He also seems to have fever rings on his front feet. What does this all mean? And how should he be treated?  Can acupuncture help diagnose any health issues not available because of his history?

 

 Read on...