Disease Du Jour: Equine Muscle Disorders

Episode 42 of the Disease Du Jour podcast features Dr. Stephanie Valberg updating veterinarians about equine muscle disorders.

You can’t tell by looking which horses have genetic predispositions for some genetic-based equine muscle disorders. iStock/Somogyvari

In Episode 42 of the Disease Du Jour podcast, we speak on equine muscle disorders with Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, a Diplomate of ACVIM and ACVSMR. She is the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine and a Professor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University.

EquiManagement’s Disease Du Jour podcast is focused on equine research and current best practices. Disease Du Jour is brought to you in 2020 by Merck Animal Health.

Valberg helps veterinarians understand her diagnostic approach to equine muscle disorders, especially tying-up or exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER). 

“If you don’t have documentation that there was muscle damage (at times owners thought horses were tying-up), there could be horses having muscle cramping and muscle fasciculations as opposed to horses that are actually tying-up,” said Valberg.

In this podcast she discussed diagnosing muscle disease in horses, including recent “Research on PSSM 2 and MFM Commercial Tests vs. Histopathological Diagnosis in Horses.” She discussed the tools that are available to diagnose muscle disorders and when to use them, as well as focused on polysaccharide storage myopathy type 1 (PSSM-1; polysaccharide storage myopathy type 2 (PSSM-2); and myofibrillar myopathy. She also discussed some recent research she is participating in.

Valberg also discussed some newer muscle disorders and ongoing research into testing and management, including changing some recommendations for diet and exercise for specific types of muscle disorders. 

Valberg has worked with Kentucky Equine Research to create MFM Pellet that was launched in October of this year to provide targeted nutritional support for horses with the muscle disorder myofibrillar myopathy (MFM). Valberg has also changed her nutritional and exercise management recommendations for horses with MFM.

Valberg said she continues to see an increase of horses with vitamin E deficiencies that become chronic over time and develop equine motor neuron disease (EMND).

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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 41 – Earl Gaughan, DVM, DACVS, an equine professional veterinary services team member at Merck Animal Health, discussed Acute vs. Chronic Pain Management in Horses.

Episode 40 – Rick Mitchell, Rick Mitchell, DVM, MRCVS, DACVSMR, Certified ISELP member, talked about AAEP’s The Foundation for the Horse, what it does, and how you can help.

Episode 39 – Maureen Long, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, a professor of virology/microbiology at the University of Florida, gave a podcast and bonus webinar on Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

Episode 38 – Amy Grice, DVM, MBA, owner of Veterinary Business Consulting, focused on Results from the COVID-19 survey of equine veterinarians

Episode 37 – Marcio Costa, DVM, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences at the University of Montreal, talked about the Equine Microbiome.

Episode 36 – Maureen Long, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, talks about West Nile Virus in Horses and has a bonus webinar.

Episode 35 – Wendy Vaala, VMD, DACVIM, a senior technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, discusses Equine Influenza.

Episode 34 – Chrissie Schneider, DVM, MS, DABVP, gives some tips and opinions about How to Talk to Horse Owners About Vaccination and how to reclaim vaccinations from the do-it-yourselfers.

Episode 33 – Tom Divers, DVM, DACVIM, DACVECC, talks about Tick-Borne Diseases in Horses while focusing on Lyme disease.

Episode 32 – Alan Dorton, DVM, talks about Thermochips for Horses, which are microchips that read body temperature through a smartphone app.

Episode 31 – Earl Gaughan, DVM, DACVS, of Merck Animal Health, talks about Equine Wounds from a Veterinarian’s Perspective.

Episode 30 – Duane Chappell, DVM, of Merck Animal Health, talks about the Unwanted Horse Veterinary Relief Campaign (UHVRC).

Episode 29 – Louise Southwood, BSc (Vet), BVSc, MS, PhD, talks about Equine Colic from a Veterinarian’s Perspective. Southwood is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Episode 28 – Wendy Vaala, VMD, DACVIM, a senior technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, discusses parasite control in young horses.

Episode 27 – Nicola Pusterla,DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DAVDC-Equine. He is a professor of equine internal medicine and dentistry at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, talks about The Latest on EPM.

Episode 26 – Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc (Guelph), DACVIM, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, talks about veterinarian biosecurity and the COVID-10 pandemic.

Episode 25 – Christine Royal, DVM, DDJ, Director of Professional Services for Merck Animal Health’s companion animal and equine business, talks about veterinarian wellness from the joint Merck/AVMA survey results.

Episode 23 – Nicholas Pusterla, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DAVDC-Equine, from the University of California, Davis, on Equine Coronavirus.

Episode 22 – Nathaniel A. White II, DVM, MS, DACVS, on the Equine Disease Communication Center.

Episode 21 – Steve O’Grady, DVM, MRCVS, a farrier with 40 years of experience who owns Virginia Therapeutic Farriery, on White Line Disease.

Episode 20 Rick Mitchell, DVM, MRCVS, DACVSMR, Certified ISELP member, of Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown, Connecticut, on Joint Injections.

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.

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EquiManagement’s Disease Du Jour podcast is focused on equine research and current best practices. Disease Du Jour is brought to you in 2020 by Merck Animal Health.

You can’t tell by looking which horses have genetic predispositions for some genetic-based equine muscle disorders. iStock/Somogyvari

In Episode 42 of the Disease Du Jour podcast, we speak on equine muscle disorders with Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, a Diplomate of ACVIM and ACVSMR. She is the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine and a Professor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University.

EquiManagement’s Disease Du Jour podcast is focused on equine research and current best practices. Disease Du Jour is brought to you in 2020 by Merck Animal Health.

Valberg helps veterinarians understand her diagnostic approach to equine muscle disorders, especially tying-up or exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER). 

“If you don’t have documentation that there was muscle damage (at times owners thought horses were tying-up), there could be horses having muscle cramping and muscle fasciculations as opposed to horses that are actually tying-up,” said Valberg.

In this podcast she discussed diagnosing muscle disease in horses, including recent “Research on PSSM 2 and MFM Commercial Tests vs. Histopathological Diagnosis in Horses.” She discussed the tools that are available to diagnose muscle disorders and when to use them, as well as focused on polysaccharide storage myopathy type 1 (PSSM-1; polysaccharide storage myopathy type 2 (PSSM-2); and myofibrillar myopathy. She also discussed some recent research she is participating in.

Valberg also discussed some newer muscle disorders and ongoing research into testing and management, including changing some recommendations for diet and exercise for specific types of muscle disorders. 

Valberg has worked with Kentucky Equine Research to create MFM Pellet that was launched in October of this year to provide targeted nutritional support for horses with the muscle disorder myofibrillar myopathy (MFM). Valberg has also changed her nutritional and exercise management recommendations for horses with MFM.

Valberg said she continues to see an increase of horses with vitamin E deficiencies that become chronic over time and develop equine motor neuron disease (EMND).

undefined

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 41 – Earl Gaughan, DVM, DACVS, an equine professional veterinary services team member at Merck Animal Health, discussed Acute vs. Chronic Pain Management in Horses.

Episode 40 – Rick Mitchell, Rick Mitchell, DVM, MRCVS, DACVSMR, Certified ISELP member, talked about AAEP’s The Foundation for the Horse, what it does, and how you can help.

Episode 39 – Maureen Long, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, a professor of virology/microbiology at the University of Florida, gave a podcast and bonus webinar on Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

Episode 38 – Amy Grice, DVM, MBA, owner of Veterinary Business Consulting, focused on Results from the COVID-19 survey of equine veterinarians

Episode 37 – Marcio Costa, DVM, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences at the University of Montreal, talked about the Equine Microbiome.

Episode 36 – Maureen Long, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, talks about West Nile Virus in Horses and has a bonus webinar.

Episode 35 – Wendy Vaala, VMD, DACVIM, a senior technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, discusses Equine Influenza.

Episode 34 – Chrissie Schneider, DVM, MS, DABVP, gives some tips and opinions about How to Talk to Horse Owners About Vaccination and how to reclaim vaccinations from the do-it-yourselfers.

Episode 33 – Tom Divers, DVM, DACVIM, DACVECC, talks about Tick-Borne Diseases in Horses while focusing on Lyme disease.

Episode 32 – Alan Dorton, DVM, talks about Thermochips for Horses, which are microchips that read body temperature through a smartphone app.

Episode 31 – Earl Gaughan, DVM, DACVS, of Merck Animal Health, talks about Equine Wounds from a Veterinarian’s Perspective.

Episode 30 – Duane Chappell, DVM, of Merck Animal Health, talks about the Unwanted Horse Veterinary Relief Campaign (UHVRC).

Episode 29 – Louise Southwood, BSc (Vet), BVSc, MS, PhD, talks about Equine Colic from a Veterinarian’s Perspective. Southwood is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Episode 28 – Wendy Vaala, VMD, DACVIM, a senior technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, discusses parasite control in young horses.

Episode 27 – Nicola Pusterla,DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DAVDC-Equine. He is a professor of equine internal medicine and dentistry at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, talks about The Latest on EPM.

Episode 26 – Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc (Guelph), DACVIM, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, talks about veterinarian biosecurity and the COVID-10 pandemic.

Episode 25 – Christine Royal, DVM, DDJ, Director of Professional Services for Merck Animal Health’s companion animal and equine business, talks about veterinarian wellness from the joint Merck/AVMA survey results.

Episode 23 – Nicholas Pusterla, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DAVDC-Equine, from the University of California, Davis, on Equine Coronavirus.

Episode 22 – Nathaniel A. White II, DVM, MS, DACVS, on the Equine Disease Communication Center.

Episode 21 – Steve O’Grady, DVM, MRCVS, a farrier with 40 years of experience who owns Virginia Therapeutic Farriery, on White Line Disease.

Episode 20 Rick Mitchell, DVM, MRCVS, DACVSMR, Certified ISELP member, of Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown, Connecticut, on Joint Injections.

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.

undefined
undefined

EquiManagement’s Disease Du Jour podcast is focused on equine research and current best practices. Disease Du Jour is brought to you in 2020 by Merck Animal Health.

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