Survey of equine castration techniques,preferences and outcomes among Australian veterinarians

Objectives

(1) To collect the perceptions of veterinarians performing equine castrations in Australia on techniques, preferences and outcomes, (2) to investigate veterinarian use and experience with the Henderson castrating instrument and (3) to investigate potential associations between demographics, castration methods and techniques, and complications.

Design

Online survey of members of the Australian Veterinary Association’s Special Interest Group, Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA).

Methods

A link to the survey was included in the EVA e‐newsletter and practices on the EVA website were contacted by telephone and follow‐up email. Fisher’s exact test was used to determine associations between ligation and complications. A generalised linear model with a negative binomial family was used to determine associations between count response variables and categorical independent variables.

Results

Responses were obtained from 138 veterinarians (response rate, 13.1%) who performed 5330 castrations over 12 months. Castrations were most commonly performed in the field, on anaesthetised horses, using emasculators, via an open approach and without ligation of the spermatic cord. Estimated complications after use of emasculators were swelling (25%), haemorrhage (5%) and infection (5%). The Henderson instrument was used by approximately 10% of respondents and its use for castration was associated with fewer reports of postoperative swelling compared with emasculators (P = 0.002). Rates of evisceration with the Henderson and emasculator methods were comparable (0.43% and 0.9%, respectively).

Conclusion

Castration preferences varied widely among survey participants. Reported complication types and rates were comparable to those reported previously in other countries. Perceptions that the Henderson instrument was associated with less swelling should be investigated further via a prospective controlled investigation.     

Development of plant‐based diets and the evaluation of dietary attractants for juvenile Florida pompano,Trachinotus carolinus L.

Sustainable and profitable commercial aquaculture production of marine fish species is dependent on the development of sustainable protein sources as substitutes for expensive animal meals such as fishmeal (FM). Previous Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus studies have indicated that poultry by‐product meal (PBM) and meat and bone meal can be used to produce a FM‐free diet if suitable levels of nutrients (such as taurine) are included in the diets. In this study, we attempted to develop an all‐plant protein diet by removing the animal proteins in practical diets for pompano by substituting back select ingredients. A series of eight FM‐free diets were formulated, four systematically replaced soybean meal (SBM) with soy protein concentrate (SPC) and four replaced PBM with SPC. Based on the results, there is no clear disadvantage to the use of SPC as a replacement for SBM. However, the complete removal of PBM resulted in reduced performance. Two additional growth trials were conducted to supplement additional amino acids including glycine, valine and histidine, a proprietary chemical attractant mix, fish protein concentrate and squid hydrolysate to improve the growth of pompano when fed all‐plant protein diets. The only improvement in performance occurred with the squid hydrolysate. These results demonstrate that using soybean meal, soy protein concentrate and corn gluten meal as the primary protein sources, a plant‐based feed formulation can be developed, but the removal of all animal proteins is not yet feasible.     

Equine conidiobolomycosis: A review and case study

Conidiobolus coronatus is one of the most commonly identified upper respiratory fungal pathogens in horses. This article includes a review of clinical signs, diagnostics, treatment and outcomes in previously reported cases of equine conidiobolomycosis, as well as six additional cases seen at our hospital. Each of the six horses presented with a complaint of serosanguinous or haemorrhagic nasal discharge and conidiobolomycosis was confirmed by histopathology and fungal culture. Five horses recovered after administration of antifungal drugs alone (n = 4) or in combination with extensive nasal septum resection (n = 1). Surgical treatment alone was ineffective. One horse was euthanised without treatment because of the extent of the disease.