Category: Equids

Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) are both common, older horse conditions that veterinarians see daily. They can also cause a lot of the same clinical signs, despite being very different diseases. So what is the difference between them?

𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 is more accurately known as 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬. This is a big long term that basically means the dorsal spinous processes, the long bones sticking out of the top of the vertebrae, begin to contact each other. This can be very painful!

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 is a form of 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞, which is the initial tissue that fills in a wound during healing. With proud flesh, the granulation tissue is considered 𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭, with too much tissue being formed.

𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬 are a type of 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐦 that is considered to be one of the most significant parasites affecting horses. These roundworms are typically found in the cecum and colon of the horse.

CHD is a syndrome of foals primarily characterized by enlarged thyroid glands and deformities of the limbs. This syndrome was first described in Western Canada by one of my current professors. Small world!

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲, as the name suggests, is a toxicity that comes from eating the leaves of the red maple tree. Specifically, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 leaves like those found after a hard frost, or falling off of pruned or fallen tree limbs.

The 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 is a common weed that likes to grow in dry summer pastures. In some cases, this plant may be the only green thing left for animals to eat in the pasture!

𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐬 are a form of 𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚, which is a fancy term for an extra tooth or teeth in a location outside of the normal dental arcade. Ear teeth, as the name suggests, tend to be found close to the base of the ear!

𝐆𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐲𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬 is a fungal infection of the 𝐠𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡, which is a unique structure in equids. Basically, these pouches are an enlargement of the 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐞 (also known as the Eustachian tube in humans).

To put it simply, 𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 are tumours that produce teeth! They range in presentation from haphazard arrangements of tissue that normally make up teeth, to the presence of fully developed teeth within the tumour.