Symbols and Asterisks--Arabian Horses

From time to time, I get asked about the symbols that often appear next to Arabian and Half-Arabian names. They symbolize one of two things: either importation or award achievements.

The asterisk was used to denote horses imported into the US from other countries. In-utero foals bred in other countries also carried the asterisks. The official use of the asterisk was discontinued by the Arabian Horse Association, however, it is not uncommon to see people still use it to promote that their horse is imported into the US. The asterisks were always used before the horse's name.

*Bask+ was imported from Poland to the US in 1963.

Now onto the achievement awards, which are made up of the plus and slash symbols seen after the names. *Bask+ as seen above, has one plus symbol after the name.

There are six achievement awards:

Legion of Honor
Legion of Merit

Legion of Supreme Merit
Legion of Supreme Honor
Legion of Excellence
Legion of Masters

The awards are given based on points earned from Arabian shows, along with rated non Arabian show events including dressage, driving, eventing, racing, working cow, jumping shows, and many mor.

The way points are earned varies in rated non-Arabian events and it's best to just look at the AHA handbook chapter.

In Arabian shows, the "Class A" shows can be difficult to earn points. For example, winning a 4-7 horse class earns one point. Compare this to winning a regional level class, where regardless of the number of horses entered, 12 points are earned. A national championship gains 30 points.

It is certainly easier to accrue points on the regional and national level.

Back when the achievement award program was created, there were more purebred Arabians than half Arabians and it was easier for purebred Arabians to have competition and to gain points, so the number of points a Half-Arabian needed for an achievement award was set at a lower level.

Awards start at 75 points for purebreds and 60 for half-Arabians.

The other way the awards are broken down are different symbols for horses that earned points from a combination of in-hand and performance points with a minimum of each or just cumulative number of points (ie could be all performance or all in-hand). I'm choosing just to list the purebred number of points below.

Any combination of points:
Legion of Honor: + 75 points
Legion of Supreme Honor: +/ 150 points

Legion of Excellence: +// 300 points

Performance and In-Hand requirements
Legion of Merit: ++ 75 points (minimum 30 in-hand and 30 in performance)

Legion of Supreme Merit: +++ 150 points (minimum 60 in-hand and 60 in performance)

Legion of Masters: ++++ 300 points (minimum 120 in-hand and 120 in performance)

The other thing is that the awards can also be combined, so some horses will have a lot of punctuation!

The one downside of this program is that it is a yearly nomination. There are plenty of excellent Arabian and half-Arabian horses that are not nominated and don't earn achievement awards. The points can be purchased back after the show years for a higher fee if people are interested.

After several years of showing and training on my own, I was stoked that Chili earned enough points for this! The achievement awards become a permanent part of their name and are listed on their registration papers. I love the idea that years from now, someone could look Chili up and know instantly from her name that she achieved success in the show ring.

What they won't know of course, is that it took so much blood, sweat, and tears with her amateur owner-breeder-trainer.

Any questions about Arabian horse symbols?

Thanks for reading such a long post, but I wanted the chance to share an often confusing aspect of Arabian horses that are shared.

What's the Scoop: Blood Type & Horses

What’s the Scoop?

Blood type and Horses

I have always been vaguely interested in equine genetics of all different sorts.  I have a more than basic understanding of equine color genetics and am always fascinated about the newest testing coming out for various inherited equine genetic disorders.  From this general line of thought, I started looking into equine blood types.  I understand human blood typing as I have worked as a blood banker, but horses are an entirely different situation!

I decided to do a friendly little post with some of the basic overviews in case anyone else out there enjoys a good read!

From my general research there are seven accepted red blood cell systems A, C, D, K, P, Q, and U.  It also appears that there may be an 8^th system that is not universally accepted yet.

Within each system, are multiple antigenic sites known as factors.  Think of the A, C, D, K, P, Q, and U as houses and the factors are different rooms within the house.  The factors are listed in parentheses after the systems so it ends up looking like this: A (a,b,c), Ca, Ka, P (a,b), Q (a,b,c), and Ua. 

The most common blood type for a horse is Aa Ca+.  Here is a fun chart taken from UC Davis with the breakdown between breeds and blood type.




So it looks like the breeds most commonly being AaCa+ include Thoroughbreds and Arabians.  How fun!

Humans naturally form antibodies to other blood types so a blood type and antibody screen is imperative before attempting a transfusion.  There is of course, the universal donor type (O negative), which is compatible as it has a lack of antigens more than anything else.  However, horses apparently don’t naturally develop antibodies to other blood types, so usually the first blood transfusion, even if with a different blood type isn’t of consequence.  The exception of this are broodmares that may have been sensitized from previous pregnancies.

Some people may have heard of women having issues with their pregnancy from different blood types.  Rhogam is a product commonly issued to RH negative women who have RH positive babies.  Humans are a little bit different than horses in that RH antibodies (as well as others!) generated by the mother against her child can cross the placental barrier and can cause Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn. 

In horses, this is a little bit different in the fact that while a mare may in fact have antibodies against her foal’s red blood cells, until that foal actually ingests colostrum containing these antibodies, they are generally healthy and safe.  Neonatal isoerythrolysis is what develops if this foal would consume colostrum containing these antibodies.  This results in anemia, jaundice, destruction of red cells, increased heart rate and all around bad things.  This is somewhat more common in certain breeds, including Friesians.  It is also common in mare to donkey breedings. 

The likelihood of this disease can be screened for by taking blood samples from both the sire and dam.  If likely, the foal should be muzzled after birth. 

So if anyone else is a happy nerd, hope you enjoyed this scoop and just look at your horse and marvel at how many potential blood types they have! 

Insight: Laminitis in Ancient Horses

Laminitis.

Often a word that invokes fear for the average horse owner.  Or at least it does in my area, where there is ample lush grass in the spring and summer.

But is it always improper management that leads to laminitis?  What about self managing horses?  Or better yet, ancient equids.

Lane Wallett, a DVM from Florida state wanted to know if laminitis was an issue in ancient horses.  An earlier study had shown that feral horses certainly suffer from laminitis, so it seems to make sense to see if this is a historical or a relatively recent event.

Amazingly enough 75.25% demonstrated some aspect of laminitis and 6.08% appeared to have chronic laminitis.

I find this incredible.  Obviously as horses evolved from browsers eating mostly leaves and rough material to more nutrient dense material, there would be consequences, as well as the evolution of the multi toed hoof into a single digit, but still pretty amazing I think.

 I look forward to most laminitis related research in both feral, truly wild, and ancient populations.  Hopefully examining this data may help yield more insight into why some horses are more prone than others for developing laminitis.

Interested in Dr Wallet's full article?  Click here to read it.

Snap Crackle & Pop: Clostridial myonecrosis

Graphic warning:  If you don't like graphic images, please don't watch the video.

Like many horsemen, I have banamine on hand.  I have both paste and the liquid form.  As a young adult, I watched more than one person give the liquid form intramuscularly, often in the neck.

I have been fortunate to have not seen clostridial myonecrosis in person.  But what is it?

Does the term Clostridial seem familiar?  When people talk about C. diff, C. perf, tetanus, these are all members of the Clostridial genus.  C. perfringens can cause foodborne illness in people.  C. difficile is often a secondary infection for people in the hospital after receiving antibiotics.  Tetanus of course, has been known by many names such as lockjaw where it causes spasms and contractions of the muscles, hence "locking" the jaw.

Back to Clostridial myonecrosis.  Clostridial is the genus name of the bacteria that causes the condition.  Myo refers to muscle and necrosis refers to cellular death and destruction.  So in short, a bacteria from the Clostridial genus causes massive muscle death and destruction.

When talking about tetanus, people often think about rusty nails.  Which in a sense, is a bit misleading as Clostridial organsisms can live in the soil, gut, or even deep in muscle tissue in spore forms.  Think of spores simplistically as a method of survival for these tricky bacteria.  They can resist heat, dryness, and even boiling.  Under the right conditions, the bacteria emerge and proliferate.

And what does the Clostridial bacteria want?

It wants an anaerobic environment, devoid of oxygen. 

So if stepping on the nail drove it deep into a foot, then a spore on the nail could germinate and live in the new warm, anaerobic environment of a foot.

But what does this have to do with horses?

Well, of course, people generally vaccinate horses for tetanus and after injury, it is common to give an antitoxin to try and reduce any potential damage for germinating Clostridial organisms.

But I wanted to talk about Banamine today.  

When those individuals in my past gave banamine in the neck muscles and not IV (or even orally), they were taking a risk. 

But why don't vaccines and other injections cause myonecrosis?  They can, but it is more rare.  Some of it is the volume of the agent being delivered.  Vaccines aren't usually being pushed in 10mL or higher doses.  Part of it is the fact that banamine is irritating to the muscle tissue and causes tissue destruction.  Upon destruction of local capillaries and blood vessels, there is less oxygen in the reason, causing the anaerobic bacteria to survive and proliferate.

But in short, why take the risk?  If you have a strong stomach, watch the video.  Survival of Clostridial myonecrosis isn't guaranteed.  It takes months and sometimes years to recover from the cellular and skin damage. 

So in my case, if I cannot give the liquid banamine IV, I know I just give it orally. Horses are quite adept at finding ways to injure themselves.  I'd prefer not to add more risk when it's not necessary.

How about you?  Do you give banamine in paste form or IV or IM? 

Post by Park Equine Hospital.

Genetic Disorders

I am a bit of a nerd.  I have always enjoyed reading and learning and as a young teenager, I began stumbling upon the building blocks of genetics in science.  I immediately delved into equine color genetics and genetic disorders.

As I familiarized myself with such studies, I was asked time and time again by fellow equine hobbyists why it was worth my time or effort as I wasn't a breeder.

Color genetics perhaps, but I think all horse people should have a basic idea of equine genetic disorders, how they occur, what it means, how it is genetically transferred, and so forth.

But if you just have a performance horse or a pasture pet why should it matter?

Sadly, I have seen horses with genetic disorders stripped of papers and sold.  HYPP +/- stallions bred to grade horses with no information to the mare owners on what can occur.

Even the best intentioned person could be enjoying their young horse and then notice something isn't quite right later on.

There are quite a few well known genetic disorders:
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis

Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia

Overo Lethal White Syndrome

Some not as well known

Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency

Hoof Wall Separation Syndrome

Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome

Fell Foal Syndrome

And so forth.

One recent genetic disorder that came across my lap recently was hoof wall separation syndrome (HWSS).  It is believed to be an autosomal recessive trait. 

What does "autosomal recessive" mean?

Autosomal means a gene that is located on an autosome, which is a chromosome that doesn't determine gender.  In a simplistic view of things, there are two parking "spots" for genes at each location (loci).  

A dominant autosomal gene would be on the autosome, but you would only need one "defective" copy of the gene in that loci to be afflicted with the disorder.  An autosomal recessive requires both loci to have defective copies.

So with HWSS, perfectly normal Connemara ponies were having offspring with these tragic feet.

But I have to give kudos to Connemara people.  It has been acknowledged that this is a genetic issue.  Funding is being done for further research at UC Davis.  

A blog for people communicating about HWSS is set up with information and stories from breeders.

Be warned that some of the stories are quite sad though.

But still why should someone care?  

I guarantee you that this is just not limited to Connemara horses.  Connemara crossbreds are popular, handy little horses.  This crossbreds, if excellent examples, are often bred on which is fine by me.

However, for that person buying that young event prospect out of the field and there is a little toe chipping off on that nice pony cross, it may be worth keeping this in mind.  Possibly nothing, but with education, additional heartbreak can be prevented.

For the breeder that doesn't know why so many young horses have "white line disease", perhaps the knowledgeable barn friend or farrier could pass this along.

They are looking for more examples of unaffected and affected Connemara ponies to pinpoint down the exact location of this genetic defect in the genome.  Once this is done, a test can be developed.  

Knowledge is key.  I think knowing a basis of equine genetic disorders is a good piece of knowledge to have, right next to saddle fitting and nutrition. How about you?  Any genetic disorders that you are familiar with?  Any personal stories?

Streptococcus Equi ssp equi

Streptococci.  Sounds like an impressive word. 

Most people recognize it by it's layman term of the disease of which it is associated in equines: strangles.

But what about it?  Many of us have seen horses with strangles and know the ideas behind quarantining new horses, bastard strangles, the debate on the vaccines...

But let's talk about the bacteria itself.  Why not learn more about the basics and then sound really clever when talking with other horsefolks? 

First, it's a bacteria.  This is cool because it means that it can be susceptible to antibiotics.

I think it's kind of a cool bacteria because it forms chains or these cute little pairs.  It is a gram positive bacteria, so it takes up crystal violet, that purple stain that many people remember from their biology lab days...

Positively adorable

That purple dye is taken up by the thick peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall.  This layer helps hold the cell together, so to speak.  This link has an awesome way of explaining it and its function.

So, awesome.  It's gram positive, likes to hang out in chains, and now what. 

Different antibiotics target different elements of bacteria.  Some antibiotics are bacteriocidal, as in they actively kill targeted bacteria.  Sounds great, but sometimes killing too many bacteria at once is a negative.  Some antibiotics are bacteriostatic, where they just prevent the bacteria from replicated.  A little slower way to go about things, but good to help prevent shock from overwhelming the immune system with dead bacteria.  Some antibiotics work better on gram positive bacteria; other are more successful on gram negative.

So let's say we are looking at this Streptococcus and all it's gram positive glory with its peptidoglycan layer.  Perhaps we should look at a way to interfere with this protective shielding.

This of course is the basis of an antibiotic which is very commonly (and excessively) used: Penicillin.

Penicillin binds to an enzyme used by the bacteria to try and rebuild/regrow their cell wall.  They cannot successfully do so and subsequently, the cell wall is shed and the bacteria will die.  

Not to evolve this into the treatment of Strangles, but typically, healthy horses do fine without jumping the gun and running for antibiotics.

Interestingly, I was reading a study talking about trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (SMZ), where it did not indicate one way or another that it efficiently or effectively worked against S. equi spp equi.  Just food for thought.

But in case someone wanted to know a little more about the bug behind the Strangles name, here you go.  There's obviously a lot of literature and a lifetime could be spent thinking about it, but I think it's worthwhile learning a little bit more about common bacteria, viruses, antibiotics, and vaccines used in the equine world. 

Then again I'm wearing a shirt that says "I heart Nerds" so that pretty much defines my position.

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html#IF8uZEjuyDwuk6tL.99

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html#IF8uZEjuyDwuk6tL.99

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html#IF8uZEjuyDwuk6tL.99"

What's the Deal with Biotin?

In a world filled with glossy magazines and internet ads promising miracle solutions to all the problems in our lives...and our horses, biotin is often an additive touted to "fix" things.

But what exactly is biotin?

Biotin is a water soluble B vitamin (specificially it is B7).  Other B vitamins which may be familiar include B9 (folic acid) and B1 (thiamine).  There are several more as well.  Vitamins are organic materials required in small amounts. 

So, what exactly is the deal with biotin?  

In horses, it is touted to help with hooves specifically.  Out of curiosity, I decided to go crawl PubMed to check it out.  So many supplements suggest they do something useful without purported research, so off I went.

One interesting study I found was "Hoof horn abnormalities in Lipizzaner horses and the effect of dietary biotin on macroscopic aspects of hoof horn quality" which was published in 1995 in the Equine Vet Journal.  It basically is a study where they visually inspected hooves of 152 Lippizanners where they discovered that the majority had soft white lines and crumbling fissures.  Sounds a little troubling indeed.  The researchers then went to the Spanish Riding School and created a double blind study (where neither researcher nor person feeding the horse exactly knew if they had biotin or the placebo) and created a regime where some of the horses received 20mg of biotin daily and some did not.

Cool to find that the stallions receiving the biotin had "significant improvement".  However, this was nine months later.  Positively though, the good effects were seen after the study was ceased as the positive hoof growth continued down the hoof wall.

Cool, I think!

There are a plethora of other studies out there regarding the positive effects of biotin.  It seems that most suggest between 10-30mg a day to be effective with a longer period of time before the positive hoof growth can be seen. 

So if anyone is on the fence about adding biotin to the diet for a horse with slightly troubling feet, then why not? 

How Does That Work?

I am a big fan of trying to look into how traditional and commonly suggested treatments work.

Today's thought process was on Blu-Kote.  Once again, on a local horse group on facebook someone was asking for suggestions on how to treat a medical condition without actually asking a veterinarian for advice.  Blu-Kote was one suggestion.

Now I've actually used Blu-Kote in the past, so today's homework was to go look and see what's in it.  The manufacturer's website wasn't particularly helpful, so off to search some of the databases.

VETERINARY USE ONLY

Active Ingredients	% W/W
Isopropyl Alcohol	37.5%
Urea	9.1%
Sodium Propionate	9.1%
Gentian Violet	1.0%
Acriflavine	0.15%

How does this work?  Isopropyl alcohol denatures proteins and destabilizes cell walls via destroying lipids [for the non geeks: it destroys building blocks of various germs.  Not 100% though].  Useful for application involving fungi, bacteria, and viruses.  However, it's not bullet proof.  Generally, it's used in concentrations around 70% in a microbiological application.  The surface needs to be allowed to air dry and it can be harsh on the skin.  Probably a good reason why we don't go rolling around in rubbing alcohol each day.  But also think on how that loving phlebotomist wipes your arm with rubbing alcohol [isopropanol] before pulling blood.  The idea behind this is to remove the bacteria living on your skin before injecting a needle through the skin into the bloodstream. 

Urea is a waste byproduct in urine typically, but is often used in fertilizer applications.  I am assuming, but not certain that in this situation that is used to try and pull protons from bacteria present to disrupt activity. 

Sodium Propionate is a common food additive.  Just check out your packaged bread products or lunch meat.  It's effective against molds and some bacteria.  

Genetian violet also kills some fungi and bacteria and is a historic treatment for issues.  Anyone ever stain bacteria in a science class?  It's that purple stuff that stains all over yourself.  Occasionally useful, but primarily considered outdated.

Acriflavine is another antiseptic that kills some fungi/bacteria like genetian violet.  It's orange in color and was also used historically. 

So there you go.  Ever wonder what's in Blu-Kote?  

Mostly a mix of alcohol with a very low dosage of antiseptics.  So while it may work in some circumstances, I am leaning towards the opinion of directly treating with an antibacterial/antifungal mixture which can be done cheaply and easily through picking up items OTC at a drug store after a thorough scrub with chlorhexidine or betadine. 

What's the Itch on Rain Rot?

Rain Rot

The bane of many people's existence in the late fall or late wet spring in my area, it is known by a few different names such as rain scald or even greasy heel.

But what is it? 

I see people offering up advice continuously on how to approach and treat rain rot and while there are multiple ways to approach a problem, sometimes a little education and understanding is a good foundation upon which to stand.

Rain rot is caused by a bacteria called dermatophilus congolensis.  It is a gram positive bacteria.  But more simply, it often exists already on the skin of our horses.

But then why do horses have an issue when chronically wet, especially with a long winter coat?  This bacteria is a faculative anaerobe, which means it can exist in the presence of oxygen, but prefers carbon dioxide.  Most bacteria prefer a dark, moist area to reproduce.  It already exists in the skin (epidermis) of the horse.  When the horse's coat is wet for long periods of time, it can be drawn upwards through the epidermis externally to spread and begin to reproduce rapidly in a dense carbon dioxide pocket just on the outside of the horse's coat at the bottom of the long winter fur. 

Know those nasty little scabs?  Simplistically, that's a little pocket of the nasty bacteria.

So how do we approach the itch and why should we bother? 

Quite simply, secondary infections are a possibility for the horse.  When one bacteria begins to rapidly proliferate and stress an animal, another native bug like Staph or Strep (yep, they exist naturally on the skin as well) can overgrow and cause a much more serious infection.  Number two, it's painful to the horse and the hair loss is unsightly.  It can be contagious to other horses and animal species, including humans, so be warned.

So how can we treat this? 

The easiest way is something that will kill the offending bacteria.  But realize that the bacteria is often in tight little pockets and those icky scabs.  That's why the first step is to gently remove the scabs.  If possible, the long fur should be aerated too, ie if clipping is possible.  Keep the horse out of prolonged moist conditions.  Then treat the affected area with some specific method to kill it.  Some people use Listerine or other mouthwashes which can contain antiseptic or antibacterial agents, or just alcohol.  This can work too.

But from a microbiological standpoint, scrubbing the horse with betadine or chlorhexidine will also work and then you know which antiseptic you are treating your horse with.  A benefit of betadine/chlorhexidine is that they don't induce excess scar formation/delay healing time that some antiseptic agents do like hydrogen peroxide.  

If a horse is badly infected, then a veterinarian may need to look at treating a horse with antibiotics, especially if there is a secondary bacterial infection or it is on a joint like the pastern.  Good thing is that gram positive bacteria (like dermatophilus!) have a thinner outer wall and are susceptible to penicillin (unless resistant which of course is a whole other idea).  :)  So, if you are concerned that the horse's case of rainrot isn't healing, despite treatment, then there are other options.

So what do you think?  What do you use to treat rain rot?