HOLLY THE HORSE BEATS LAMINITIS WITH 3D PRINTING .

Holly, a ten-year-old mare in Australia, suffered from laminitis, a crippling disease that is common among horses, ponies, and donkeys. Laminitis affects the hooves of these animals and Holly had been suffering from it for three years. The disease causes pain and inflammation between the hoof and bone (an attachment similar to that of our finger and nail) and if unattended, could have left Holly unable to walk. Her vet and farrier, Luke Wells-Smith from the Equine Podiatry and Lameness Centre, had heard of the work CSIRO (Australia’s national science agency) had done with a racehorse, aptly named “Titanium Prints”, using 3D printed titanium horse-shoes. CSIRO hadn’t previously used 3D printing to rehabilitate lame horses, but, with Holly, they had their first opportunity. Collaborating with horse podiatrists, they 3D scanned and designed a shoe that was a perfect fit for Holly’s hoof and 3D printed it in titanium. The custom shoe, a first of its kind ‘horse-thotic’ that can be made on-demand in less than a day, would equally redistribute the weight and stress on the hoof, encourage it to heal and give Holly a chance to recover. Story from 3dprintingindustry.com

HOW TO USE YEAST TO MAINTAIN RUMINAL HEALTH.

Wet weather can lead to low quality silage, in turn a potential cause of Sub Acute Ruminal Acidosis in dairy cows. Managing silage quality therefore is paramount. Good quality forage should always be the basis of any ration, and when quality and/or quantity of forage dry matter intake is reduced, then cows can struggle to perform.

Cows can also have a higher risk of Sub Acute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA), especially if the shortfall in forage energy intake is being met with higher levels of starchy cereals .

Studies have shown that SARA can be responsible for a loss in milk yield of up to 3 litres/cow/day. Paul Sloan, a nutritionist said "A ration done on a computer is no substitute for getting in among the cows."“It’s even more important to get the best out of the total ration and in particular producers need to make the best use of their silage.”

It is important to walk through the cows regularly and observe their behaviour at both feeding and resting times, as this can tell you a lot about how the ration is performing.

 Blends need to be correctly balanced with good levels of cereals to drive performance, and they should contain only quality raw materials with no filler type feeds.

Getting the right level of energy and starch is important, and maize meal is a key ingredient as it has lower starch degradability to help reduce acid loading in the rumen.

Good fiber sources such as soya hulls and sugar beet pulp should also be included to help balance the ration and maintain rumen health.

Sloan says, “Maintaining rumen health is the key and we have added live yeast to most of our rations this winter to help promote rumen function.

Live yeast improves fiber digestion and with the higher levels of fiber in this year’s silage the yeast is an important addition. The live yeast also helps reduce levels of lactic acid in the rumen, therefore helping to reduce the acid loading and maintain a healthier rumen environment.

 By taking this approach we have also seen significant reductions in laminitis-related feet problems.” Researchers Krause and Oetzel (2006) have shown that when frequent bouts of SARA occur, it can increase the risk of damage to the lining of the rumen wall.

 As pH drops, the normal balance of the rumen flora is disrupted and gram negative bacteria lyse, releasing endotoxins.


 As a result of the damaged rumen lining, bacteria and toxins from the rumen can then easily enter the blood stream which can lead to liver damage and an inflammatory response within the animal.

These toxins in the blood stream can also increase the risk of laminitis .Live yeast can help to reduce the risk of SARA occurring by helping to maintain the rumen pH at a higher level

.In addition to helping stabilize and raise rumen pH, live yeast will scavenge oxygen in the rumen, making the conditions more anaerobic, and certain nutrients are also produced by the yeast which helps to stimulate fiber digestion. story credit; all about feed.

Researchers seek cure for deadly laminitis hoof disease in horses.

team of ponies has been helping Australian researchers search for the cause and cure for the costly, common and incurable equine disease, laminitis.The disease is the second-biggest killer of horses, a painful and potentially deadly hoof condition that affects thousands of horses a year.The groundbreaking research triggered a joint multi-million-dollar project by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the University of Queensland, Melbourne University and Charles Sturt University in New South Wales.The science has returned positive results and researchers said a preventative treatment could be within reach. The cause of the disease was hotly debated,until 5 years ago when high insulin levels are to blame. Professor Sillence has headed the team that has proved that in most cases, high insulin levels are to blame.He said in horses prone to laminitis, or founder as it is more commonly known, sweet feed was shown to trigger toxic levels of the hormone.The most common form of laminitis that affects ponies and horses that are on rich pasture, is certainly down to excess levels of insulin in the blood - it's like human diabetes," he said. Professor Sillence said genetic predisposition, over-feeding and a lack of exercise also played a part. "The difference is the horses' pancreas never fails and pumps out massive amounts of insulin until it causes this devastating result, which is when the hooves start to come apart from the legs," he said. Case study; Horse owner Errol Maudsley said he always suspected his daughter's pony, Coco, might have been prone to founder because of his round stature.He said they had always managed him accordingly."We lock him up and restrict how much he eats, but after all the rain he caught us out and he actually foundered - it's just access to so much feed," he said. In Coco's case, it was caught early and treated, but Mr Maudsley said management would be ongoing."Forever - now that we know he's prone - we'll have to watch him all the time," he said. read more here;http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-14/researchers-hope-to-find-cure-to-laminitis-disease-in-horses/6471000

HORSES AND LAMINITIS.

Early detection gives better prognosis; watch out for these signs; http://www.thehorse.com/articles/35322/10-early-warning-signs-of-laminitis?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=lameness&utm_campaign=02-18-2015