♘امیرحسین♞
♘ مدیریت انجمن اسب ایران ♞
At Easter Bush Veterinary Centre a full time Grass Sickness Nurse, funded by the International League for the Protection of Horses, cares for and monitors the grass sickness cases. Nurses spend a period of 12 months in this post, often as the sandwich year in an Equine Science degree course.
When chronic cases are admitted to the hospital they are fully assessed for their suitability for treatment by vets and those which are considered too ill are humanely euthanased.
Those which are admitted are stabled in boxes with deep warm beds where other horses can be seen, as this keeps them interested and helps to prevent depression. Much time is spent encouraging them to eat as most cases will suffer from a lack of appetite and go partially, or completely, off their food. This involves offering fresh food at least 4-5 times a day and making the feeds appetising.
Chronic cases are made as comfortable as possible. Keeping them warm, dry and clean is important as horses with this problem often sweat and their coats become sticky and scurfy. Horses are walked out to eat grass regularly as this helps to keep them stimulated and active but if cases are weak this is not advised so grass is picked and taken to them. Most importantly spending time and attention on each case keeps them interested and stimulated and seems to help their recovery.
As well as caring for the chronic cases the grass sickness nurse is also involved in helping with the research that is ongoing at EBVC to find the cause of this disease. This involves co-ordinating samples taken from cases to be sent to the various scientists who are continuously working to find out more about this awful disease. A database of cases that have been through the hospital has also been compiled to aid epidemiological studies and this is frequently updated. Much of this vital research would not be possible without the funding of the Equine Grass Sickness Fund.
More detailed information on aspects of management, including feeding/fluids, rugging using the Thermatex ® rug and drugs used in treatment can be found in the "Management of Chronic Grass Sickness Patients" section.
When chronic cases are admitted to the hospital they are fully assessed for their suitability for treatment by vets and those which are considered too ill are humanely euthanased.
Those which are admitted are stabled in boxes with deep warm beds where other horses can be seen, as this keeps them interested and helps to prevent depression. Much time is spent encouraging them to eat as most cases will suffer from a lack of appetite and go partially, or completely, off their food. This involves offering fresh food at least 4-5 times a day and making the feeds appetising.
Chronic cases are made as comfortable as possible. Keeping them warm, dry and clean is important as horses with this problem often sweat and their coats become sticky and scurfy. Horses are walked out to eat grass regularly as this helps to keep them stimulated and active but if cases are weak this is not advised so grass is picked and taken to them. Most importantly spending time and attention on each case keeps them interested and stimulated and seems to help their recovery.
As well as caring for the chronic cases the grass sickness nurse is also involved in helping with the research that is ongoing at EBVC to find the cause of this disease. This involves co-ordinating samples taken from cases to be sent to the various scientists who are continuously working to find out more about this awful disease. A database of cases that have been through the hospital has also been compiled to aid epidemiological studies and this is frequently updated. Much of this vital research would not be possible without the funding of the Equine Grass Sickness Fund.
More detailed information on aspects of management, including feeding/fluids, rugging using the Thermatex ® rug and drugs used in treatment can be found in the "Management of Chronic Grass Sickness Patients" section.