Welcome to EquiManagement’s podcast Disease Du Jour, sponsored in 2020 by Merck Animal Health. Each podcast will delve into the research and current best practices for a variety of equine health problems with industry experts.
This episode’s guest is Rick Mitchell, DVM, MRCVS, DACVSMR, Certified ISELP member, of Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown, Connecticut. He practices equine medicine and surgery with an emphasis on lameness and imaging. In this episode, Mitchell discusses Proper Techniques for Equine Joint Injections in Ambulatory Environment.
You can also listen to or download episodes of Disease Du Jour on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast platform.
Mitchell grew up on his family’s working horse farm in North Carolina. He began participating in hunter/jumper and fox hunting events as a child and continued to compete as an adult. He graduated from the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1974. He served on active duty in the USAF Veterinary Corps for two years following graduation. He then began private practice in Connecticut with his mentor, Dr. Howard Raven, in 1976.
Mitchell has been internationally certified in veterinary acupuncture and equine locomotor pathology as well as completing requirements for diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2015.
He has been involved in national and international equine competitions as both a rider and veterinarian. As a rider, he has won two national championships and one world championship in various disciplines. Mitchell served at six Olympic Games as an attending veterinarian for the US Equestrian Team.
He has authored multiple nationally and internationally published articles and textbook chapters on equine health care. He has been an invited speaker on sport horse medicine in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Africa, India and Mexico.
Mitchell has served on multiple Boards of Directors including the United States Equestrian Federation, Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Mitchell is a current Trustee for the American Horse Council and chairman of the Health and Regulatory Committee. He was also a founding member of the International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology, serving on the society’s board of directors.
Topics included in this discussion include:
- Establish the need for therapy
- Joint injections in the field doesn’t mean you are not careful and aseptic
- Proper prep of the horse—clipping is optional
- Good planning for prep of items to be used
- Proper prep of injection site
- Rapid and efficient procedure—don’t leave time between joint prep and injection
- Handling techniques
Previous Episodes of Disease Du Jour
If you missed any of the previous episodes of Disease Du Jour, feel free to go back and catch up!
Episode 19 – Duncan Peters, DVM, DACVSMR, Certified ISELP Member and co-owner of East-West Equine Sports Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky, talks about equine tendon and ligament injuries and treatments.
Episode 18 – Tracy Turner, DVM, MS, ACVS, ACVSMR, Fellow American Academy of Thermology, owner of Turner Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery, talks about the Equitarian Initiative.
Episode 17 – Robert Holland, DVM PhD, who is in private practice in Kentucky, talks about equine strangles.
Episode 16 – Craig Barnett, DVM, Director of the Equine Veterinary Professional Services segment at Merck Animal Health, talks about the Merck Equine Respiratory Biosurveillance program and what it means to veterinarians, researchers and the horse industry.
Episode 15 – Raul Bras, Raul Bras, DVM, CJF (Certified Journeyman Farrier), a shareholder in Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, talks about veterinarian-farrier relationships. Bras’ professional focus is on equine podiatry, and he travels from his home base in Lexington throughout the country and the world. He is the 2019 president of the Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners.
Episode 14 – Angela Pelzel-McCluskey, DVM, MS, is a National Equine Epidemiologist for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services. She discussed equine infectious anemia (EIA).
Episode 13 – Michele L. Frazer, DVM, DACVIM, DACVECC, is an Associate veterinarian at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Kentucky. She discussed diarrhea in adult horses and foals.
Episode 12 – Jack Easley, DVM, MS, DABVP, DAVDC (Eq), is the owner of Easley Equine Dentistry based in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Easley talks about how much has changed in equine dentistry, the wide variety of dental diseases horses can have, the need for a good dental exam with the right tools, the use of radiographs, and what horse owners expect today in equine dental care.
Episode 11 – This episode—featuring Drs. Ernie Bailey of the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky, and Samantha Brooks of the University of Florida—covers the topic of Genes as Management Tools. We discuss how genetics touches equine veterinarians on a day-to-day basis; adaptation and evolution; fragile foal syndrome; OCD; roaring; reproduction; and infectious disease.
Episode 10 – Angela Pelzel-McCluskey, DVM, MS, who is a National Equine Epidemiologist for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services, discusses vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).
Episode 9 – Kent Allen, DVM, owner of Virginia Equine Imaging in Middleburg, Virginia, and co-founder of ISELP, discusses lameness diagnosis and ISELP.
Episode 8 – Roberta Dwyer, DVM, MS, DACVPM (epidemiology specialty), discusses biosecurity factors that equine veterinarians need to understand in order to best prevent and control disease spread on client farms.
Episode 7 – Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, DipEVPC, DACVM, one of the world’s leading equine parasitology researchers who is an associate professor at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center. Nielsen discusses equine parasites and the value of checking the efficacy of dewormers; the evolution of parasites and the science surrounding them; recent papers on parasite modeling; evaluating parasite control programs, combination deworming practices and the science behind them—good and bad.
Episode 6 – Peter Timoney, MVB, MS, PhD, FRCVS, the Frederick Van Lennep Chair in Equine Veterinary Science and a Professor at the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky. Timoney discusses equine infectious diseases, with a focus on factors that compromise normal pregnancy and the adolescent horse.
Episode 5 – Robert Holland, DVM, PhD, a private practice veterinarian in the Central Kentucky area focusing on respiratory problems and infectious diseases, talks about Respiratory Tips from the Field.
Episode 4 – Bonnie Barr, VMD, DACVIM, an internal medicine specialist at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky, talks about common neonatal problems in this podcast.
Episode 3 – Tom Chambers, PhD, who heads the OIE Reference Laboratory for equine influenza at the University of Kentucky, discusses equine influenza.
Episode 2 – Tom Riddle, DVM, DACT (hon), a founding partner of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, discusses breeding season procedures that he has developed over his decades-long practice.
Episode 1 – Steve Reed, DVM, DACVIM, of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, discusses equine herpesvirus and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy.
You can also listen to or download episodes of Disease Du Jour on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast platform.
