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.