The Land of Crimson Dreams

Trisomy7

November 3, 2009 Wednesday = Day 3 with Doc Dan.

The day was spend mostly in the car since we went to Batangas for the first half of the day and visited a lot of horse farms or ranches. In the afternoon, we went off to Calatagan and we had to take the long route since some of the roads were blocked.
I kept up a steady stream of chatter the entire day. Amazing. I had to keep Kuya Edy company while driving off to Calatagan since Doc Dan wanted to sleep in the back seat.
So these were the farms we went to:
• Raymond Puyat (across it was Mr. Herme Esguerra's farm)
• Albert Yam
• Mayor Dimacuja
• Putch Puyat
• Sandy Javier
• Eddy Gonzales
• Butch Mamon
• Hacienda Bigaa owned by the Zobel's.
• Ascendant Ranch owned by Mr. Crisostomo (its in front of Gourmet's!)

I also got to meet Dr. Alexander Kitma who was the resident vet in Hacienda Bigaa. Apparently, Lolo was the first vet there. I also met a stable hand who used to work in the Polo Club and he was asking me who my horse was. I didn't remember the name but I knew that my horse was white with black flecks.
Doc Dan also treated me for lunch in BJ's or BG's Lomi house. It tasted really good!

The new things I learned:
1. Feeds are classified as;
a. Matapang- all oats for high energy
i. High energy feeds will increase glycogen stores which becomes lactic acid (Cori Cycle)
ii. Ultimately causing muscle cramps and pain for the horse
b. Matabang/Matamis- less oats but more molasses for less energy
i. Give this when you don't want the horse to tie up
2. A horse in Mayor Dimacuja's farm had an abscess cause by a broken rib. So there were two holes visible. Doc Dan used a concoction of NaCl + DMSO + betadine and tubed it through the holes. He cleaned it out with peroxide first though.
a. He put SWAT on it to prevent myasis.
3. Brands or marks on the horse
50 50th foal
" "
brand
6 2006

4. Horse conformation
a. Longer body length = bigger lung capacity
b. Bigger chest width and size = bigger lung capacity
5. Blistering is a less severe form of firing and is always done before attempting firing. It is done by the use of chemicals (cantharidins) or irritants.
6. You have to wait for 3 days before giving lutalyse so you'll be sure that the corpus haemorrhagicum (secretes FSH or foliiculostatin ) has turned into a corpus luteum (which secretes progesterone to maintain pregnancy).
a. Wait another 3 days before you can mate the horse after the lutalyse
i. The horse will go into heat again since there's no more progesterone
b. Ant Pituitary Gland > FSH > Ovary > mature follicles > estrogen > heat > CH > CL
7. Caslick's Procedure
a. Can use horizontal mattress (usually) or
b. Ford Interlocking (especially if in frisky horses)
8. Dexamethasone is a GCC that can also be used for dermatologic problems.
a. It's also very good for shock treatment since it prevents the adverse effects of precursors (sometimes the inflammatory mediators cause more harm than good).
b. Triamcinolone is also an anti-inflammatory agent but works better on joints.
9. Heart Bar Shoe is usually used in flat footed horses to protect the pedal bone. The apex of the heart bar should be aligned with the tip of the frog. This feature pushes the pedal bone upward.
10. Ultrasound of tendons.
a. Usually done to check if there are lesions
b. A healthy tendon would appear solid white

11. Hoof needs to be cut off.
a. When it gets injured a the bottom (which is hard) it'll manifest as a crack or abscess at the top of the hoof (coronary band).
b. There'll be pus and it'll form a sinus tract beneath the hoof.
c. This needs to be cleaned out
12. Doc Dan placed the plastic of an in dwelling catheter into the hoof crack just before he took the X-ray. Why?

Trisomy7

October 30, 2009, Friday, 8:02 pm

Day 2 with Doc Dan.
Basically, we did the same things except I got to do more work. I was able to collect blood a lot of times for the Coggin's test and for Surra. When doing the collection for smears, they just use the needle separate from the syringe. I or Kuya Edy would go back to Doc and drop the blood on the slide so Doc could smear it.
As for actual blood collection using the syringe, the first time I did it was in front of a lot of people with Doc guiding me. Basically, you press on the jugular furrow and the vein will bulge then that's when you insert the needle.
I also learned a lot today such as:
1. MgSO¬¬4 is a saline laxative that absorbs water into the gut. Alkaline salts are also a type of laxative but is only used if MgSO4 doesn't work.
2. Degenerative joint disease
a. On the x-ray it looks hazy and rough
b. The bones continually rub against each other
i. Gets thin
ii. Erodes
3. Epiphyseal plate closes medial to lateral
a. It doesn't close at a specific age
b. When it closes it makes the horse less prone to chips
c. The EP is open on the xray when you see lines through it but if its closed then the bone is solid white all over

4. Firing both legs is done even when one leg is injured so that the horse wont shift its weight to the good leg.
a. If it does that then the good leg will get laminitis or shifting leg lameness
5. Exercise
a. When the horse tends to tilt its head to the side then it usually means that there's something wrong inside the mouth (sharp points that need to be floated)
b. Otherwise, it might be just fighting the bit or
c. Just being finicky
6. If Caslick's still doesn't work then it means that there's still much hormones influencing the filly's actions. So the best thing to do is suppress the hormones by giving synthetic hormones like progesterone or testosterone.
7. Pressure bandages are used in contralateral limb lameness so that the good leg is supported
a. Same concept as in firing both legs.
8. Racing or support bandages are used during racing or exercising.
9. Horses are reshoed every 3 weeks.
10. Gentian violet is used as a disinfectant.
11. When bandaging the fetlock joint, always avoid the 2 structures behind the joint (accessory carpal and medial or third carpal ). Those two structures need to be free so that the horse can still move without problems. You'll know what the 2 structures look like since they're the ones that bulge from the side.
12. Collection on joint fluid is done so that there will be no more enzymes in the joint. The enzymes try to destroy the chip in the joint but in the process they also destroy the normal structures (non specific).
a. Doc first injects lidocaine into the joint so it wont feel the pain of the big needle.
b. Then he collects the joint fluid.
c. Then he injects steroids which prevent enzymes from producing more enzymes.
13. Usually, when Doc injects stuff, he only puts the needle separately from the syringe so that in case the horse moves, the medicine in the syringe wont get wasted.
14. Pneumonia would have crackling lung sounds because of the mucus in the lungs. You'll also know that it has a hard time breathing because it does abdominal respiration. The hair coat was also dull since it came from a fever.
15. A solution of one bottle of NSS with 20cc betadine and 20cc DMSO is used to clean festering wounds.
16. Red top tubes are used when you want the blood to clot or separate from the serum. You want to collect the serum! If you want to get plasma then you'll have to used anticoagulants.
17. Ice is used when the area is hot or inflamed. Hot compress is used if you want to increase circulation in the area.

Trisomy7

Today was a very exciting, tiring and fulfilling day.
I got to go to San Lazaro and Sta. Ana Race parks in Carmona and Naic respectively. Doc Dan Arreola was so kind enough to bring me along and teach me about horses. He was very patient with me and answered all my questions as best as he could. I thought he'd think I was being so makulit since I kept asking him a lot of things but it was the opposite. He said that I was asking logical and intelligent questions so it's ok that I ask.

So in order:
1. Went to the race track to watch the horses exercise and to mingle with the trainers and stable hands. Doc Dan always carries a notebook to list down the appointments he has to make in one day.
a. He introduced me to a lot of people saying that I was "Boss Manoling Layug's anak" and more often than not they'd know who Tatang is and ask me questions. Usually about stuff in Arpilleda.
b. Asked me if I was going to be a vet too.
c. Doc Dan joked that whenever there's a student there's a lot of stable boys hanging around. Haha.
2. Did a lot of x-rays.
3. A lot of floating too
a. Doc Dan has this nifty gadget with a backpack motor. Its used to file the horses' sharp teeth.
b. He also used a hammer and screw driver to knock teeth out.
c. Used a hand file to smoothen out the edges
d. I got to put my mouth in the horses' mouth and feel for the teeth.
e. They use a Haussman or Swayle apparatus to keep the horses' mouth open.
4. Caslick's Procedure
a. It's cool. He injects local anesthesia into the vulva.
b. Does horizontal mattress suture.
c. Sprays it with aluminum silver paint for protection and healing.
d. Its for pneumovagina and for breeding.

5. Check for Colic
a. Doc Dan let me listen to the stomach sounds. It was slow and barely audible.
b. It sounded better after Doc gave it much water through the stomach tube.
i. HE also wanted to check what the stomach contents were so he allow some water to pass up back through the tube.
c. He added a lot of mineral oil so that it would lubricate the feces and push dead worms out
i. He used the really long gloves and stuck his hand into the rectum to check for fecal consistency
ii. Since it was dry it meant that it wasn't drinking right
iii. So he told the boys to give 4 NSS bottles at fast drip and 4 more later at slow drip
d. When we checked again later the stomach sounded better.
e. The heart was kind of arrhythmic too.
6. Firing
a. It's a cruel procedure wherein you intentionally injure the animal to cause inflammation to hasten healing.
b. A hot soldering iron is used and a pattern is made over the desired area (like the leg).
i. It takes about 6 weeks for it to entirely heal
ii. So the horse cant do anything then for that time

The things I learned:
1. Some steroids are injected into the biccipital bursa and a fanning technique is used to spread the drug. You inject one and partially dispense small amounts into the surrounding areas whenever you partially withdraw and insert.
2. Fibroscopes are used to look through the throat. Its inserted through the nose just like the stomach tube but it goes down a different path. But like the stomach tube, there is a certain way to insert it:
a. You need to have your elbow underneath the horse's eye just resting on the facial crest with the fingers holding the horse's nostrils. The other hand is the one that inserts the tube into the nostril with your middle finger guiding it medially and caudally.
3. Whorls should be noted of for identification of each horse.
4. A canal in the fetlock would mean that there is inflammation in that region.
5. There is a triangular area near the base of the neck where you can inject vaccines. Its not the Viborg's Traingle though. Doc Dan gave me a chance to inject anti-tetanus. He made pinch the skin cranial to the injection site to divert the horse's attention from the actual vaccination.
6. Ice tight it the white stuff that looks like paint that they put on the horses' legs for it to feel cool and for the skin to tighten. They usually put it after exercise to soothe the muscles.
7. Yellow lotion is composed a lot of things. It's used for wound contraction before surgery or in cases of wounds that don't need to be sutured.
8. Relaxing skin incisions cant be used on horses because they tend to get proud flesh!
9. Mr. Esguerra's stables is really cool. It has so much high tech stuff. I got to meet Doc Carlo who's the vet there and he showed me the digital X-ray! It costs P4 Million!!! They also have a CBC reader! Waaah! He also taught me how to use both! Coolness. Turns out he also knows Doc Ariel.

I also got to meet Mr. Omy Santos, who Doc Dan said is one of the pillars of the Philippine racing industry. Small world: I got to meet Migz' dad: Mr. Bobby Ungson. He was very nice. He's a trainer. IT turns out that MIgz has been telling his dad or family about me. Migz and I are close. Tito Bobby said that I should go to their farm one time so Migz and I can see what's up with the horses. I got to talk to Migz on Tito Bobby's phone. I think Migz was surprised. They're in Palawan right now. Hehe.

So tomorrow, another day with Doc Dan and next week we get to go to Batangas and Calatagan! Yay!

Update: I've been working on my thesis for the past few days and I'd say I just have to add the interview I need to conduct with a Philracom member. I also need to get the updated list of 2009 this Tuesday from their office. And I'll be able to get the 2010 list be early Feb. I just need to fix the methodology too.
Dilemma is that Doc Hope is offering me a thesis on Equine Metritis. Sample collection from different brood mares followed by bacterial isolation and culture. It takes two students to do this but I don't know if any of my batchmates will be interested in it because only Migz and I are really into horses. Its tempting because it can win best thesis too. But Doc Dan said its better if I focus on the CK and AST thesis. They're both important in their own field: CK and AST for racing, and Equine metritis for breeding.
Sigh.