The Horse First: A Veterinary Sport Horse Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses the impact of stray voltage on livestock and its parallels with sciatica in sport horses. She highlights a 2023 study on stray voltage in cattle farms, noting its effects on animal behavior and productivity. Dr. DeClue emphasizes the lack of research on sciatica in horses compared to humans and other species, where it affects 40% of the population. She describes clinical signs of sciatica in horses, such as hind limb lameness and reluctance to move, and advocates for better recognition and management by veterinarians. 

Dr. Audrey DeClue and Dr. Daniella Vansteenkiste discuss recognizing and managing nerve pain and neuropathy in sport horses. Dr. Vansteenkiste emphasizes the importance of understanding subtle clinical signs like behavioral changes, sweat patterns, and postural alterations. She explains the complexities of nerve pain, including the concept of "wind-up" and the slow healing rate of nerves, which can take weeks to months. They highlight the need for multimodal treatment approaches such as pain management strategies and stress the importance of early detection and long-term management rather than quick fixes. The conversation underscores the necessity of veterinarians and horse owners being aware of the chronic nature of nerve pain and its impact on horse welfare.

Dr. Audrey DeClue, DVM and Dr. Kate Workman, DVM discuss the complexities of body lameness versus limb lameness in equine sports medicine. Dr. DeClue emphasizes the importance of understanding body lameness - a term she coined to describe issues not limited to limbs.

Dr. Workman shares her experience as a performance veterinarian, highlighting the basics of sports medicine and the challenges of diagnosing and treating body lameness. They discuss the interconnectedness of the body, the limitations of current veterinary practices, and the need for proper rehabilitation protocols.

This episode underscores the importance of a whole-horse approach to equine lameness and the role of veterinarians in advancing the field.

Watch the video here

Dr. Audrey DeClue, DVM and Dr. Kate Workman, DVM discuss the complexities of lameness in horses and the importance of simplifying veterinary medicine. Dr. DeClue shares her recent work with the US Army Caisson horses at Arlington National Cemetery, the deplorable conditions and mismanagement of these horses including wasteful spending of taxpayer money. They emphasize the need for veterinarians to understand biomechanics and anatomy to solve complex issues like shivers and stringhalt. Dr. DeClue plans to conduct seminars to teach these principles, starting with girthiness and equipment lameness, followed by iliopsoas injuries. They stress the importance of practical, results-based knowledge and the need for veterinarians to continuously learn and adapt.

You can also watch the podcast here. 

In part 2 of this series, Dr. DeClue continues her deep dive into kissing spine, including some eye-opening data regarding its prevalence across the world.

Some highlights in this episode include:

• The prevalence of back diseases in horses. 5:37
• Impingement of the dorsal spine. 10:55
• Kissing Spine Syndrome in thoroughbreds. 14:43 
• Kissing spine in horses in Malaysia. 21:45
• Radiographic findings supporting a developmental vs. acquired etiology. 33:05
• The 2023 paper from italy on kissing spine. 42:43
• Are kissing spine lesions painful? 47:16
• Stretching the dorsal spine. 52:43

Countless hours of research have culminated in today's episode on kissing spine in sport horses. Dr. Audrey DeClue pulls knowledge from decades, centuries, and millennia of data on kissing spine to learn more about this affliction that has impacted dogs, cats, humans, otters, horses, and even dinosaurs. 

If your horse seems stiff, uneven, and doesn't track straight, you're probably also having issues with lead changes. It's another long-thought mystery issue impacting performance and sometimes leading to anxiety in horses during drills. As always, Dr. Audrey DeClue brings a practical, common-sense aproach to examining your horse and getting to the bottom of lead change problems in sport horses.

Following a very popular episode previously (Episode 46), Dr. Audrey DeClue talks again with Dr. Kate Workman (Denali Equine in Southern Pines, NC) about cases cases they have treated. They discuss shivers, treatements, lameness, and more with the goal of helping you understand the expectations of performance horses and sport horses that have been significantly injured or have chronic lameness. After proper treatment and rehab, some horses went back into performance or competition. 

Dr. Audrey DeClue discusses a common complaint among riders and veterenarians - cantering issues. Though, historically, much attention has been paid to the limbs, Dr. DeClue brings it back to to the body of the horse, where many of the lameness issues actually originate. She discusses her experience addressing cantering issues and what to consider if this is a problem in your horse. 

In this episode, Dr. Audrey DeClue focuses specifically on the association of the cerebellum to shivers horses. She shines a light on the existing, published research on shivers and the trouble with conclusions based on a small sample size. She also includes an interview with longtime friend, Celeste, to provide a powerful story of what it is like to live with a degenerative cerebellar lesion.