|
Registered Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys
Donkey, Mule, Horse Tack, Equipment, Gifts, and Supplies
|
Welcome to Our World....
|
|
Home - About Us - FAQS - Products - Classifieds - Contact Us - Picture Gallery - Donkey Info & Links - Donkey Rescues - Search |
|
|
Shadow Ridge Donkey, Mule & Horse Products
Bags and Tings by Annie Caswell:
Prints, Checkbooks Covers and Tote Bags
Books: Answers To Your Mule Questions
Confidence Training for the Western Saddle Mule
Opening Doors:
An equilog of poetry about Donkeys by Jenny L Bates
Pure Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth from:
and
Handmade Miniature Donkey & Donkey Fly Masks
Also Custom
Fly Protection Leggings
Donkey & Mule DVD's
& Figurines
Donkey & Miniature Donkey Puzzles
Donkey & Horse Signs Aluminum
Made by the Amish of Ohio Basic Nylon Halters
also
Lead Ropes
Miniature Donkey Rope Halters The Original Mini Donk™ & Mini Hoss™ Rope Halters
Donkey Tack: By the Amish of Pennsylvania: Miniature Donkeys, Miniature Horses, Standard Donkeys, Ponies, Horses-Donkey: Halters & Leads, Leather, Nylon, Headstalls, Reins
L ead Ropes: Made by the Amish of Ohio
Seat Cushions specially designed with a recessed area to take the pressure off the tailbone
Thanks so much to all of you who have visited our affiliates below.
Many more donkey and mule designs being offered by artist on Zazzle
Donkey & Mule Custom Designed T-shirts, Gifts and much more.
Thanks so much to all of you who have visited our affiliates. More: Affiliate Links Menu
Mail-in Order Form with a check, money order or credit card. NC residents please add 7.75% Sales Tax when ordering
We are shipping only to USA addresses at this time. International orders may contact us for additional shipping charges. [top of page] |
Judy Marteniuk, DVM, MS [Back to Article List]
Michigan State University
Just like humans, many of our animal friends are suffering from waistline expansion. As with
humans, being over weight increases the risk of health related concerns. Two of the most
common problems seen in donkeys are laminitis (founder) and hyperlipidemia (fatty liver). Also,
from a visual standpoint, when a donkey is grossly over weight, its neck becomes very wide and
heavy, its back becomes lumpy and it may seem to have lumps on its rear end. These are all
stores of excessive fat. If it becomes heavy enough, the neck crest will fall to one side and
despite a successful return to a normal weight, the crest will never return to normal.
So how does you donkey score? Similar to horses, a donkey’s body condition is scored on a 9-
point scale. The ideal score is about a 5. If your donkey is greater than a 6.5, it is overweight. If
it is less than a 4.0, it is underweight.
Using the following chart as a guideline to determine your donkeys score?
BODY CONDITION SCORING OF DONKEYS
Body condition scoring of donkeys can be done on a scale from 1-9.
Note: The spinous processes are the bony points rising from the spine (backbone). The superspinous muscle is the muscle along either side of the backbone.
If your donkey is overweight, it is important that weight reduction occurs gradually.
Sudden weight loss can cause your donkey to develop hyperlipidemia that even with
aggressive treatment has the potential for at least a 50% mortality. If you have questions
or concerns about how your donkey scores or an appropriate ration for your donkey, contact
your veterinarian.
The summer newsletter will continue the discussion of the risks of obesity in your
donkey
SCORE
DESCRIPTION OF THE DONKEY
1. Very thin
Animal markedly emaciated: bone structure easily seen over body; little muscle present; animal
weak, lethargic
2. Thin
Animal emaciated; individual spinous processes, ribs, hooks, pins, shoulder blades and spine all
prominent, sharply defined; some muscle development; neck thin; prominent withers; shoulders
sharply angular
3. Less thin
Vertebral column prominent and individual spinous processes can be felt; little fat, but
superspinous muscle over spinous processes apparent; ribs, pins and hooks prominent; loin area
and rump concave; little muscle or fat covering over withers and shoulders
4. Less than
moderate
Vertebral column visible; pins can be felt but not visible; hooks rounded but visible; rump flat
rather than concave; ribs can be felt but not obvious; withers, shoulders and neck have some
muscle and fat cover; shoulder blades less clearly defined
5. Moderate
Superspinous muscles developed and readily apparent; vertebral column can be felt; hooks
rounded; rump rounded, convex; pins not visible; some fat can be felt in shoulder are region and at
base of neck; can feel ribs, but not visible
6. More than moderate
Cannot feel spinous processes easily; back becoming flat well covered; rump convex and well
muscled; some fat can be felt on neck, base of neck and shoulder area; neck filled into shoulder;
hooks just visible
7. Less fat
Back flat; cannot feel spinous processes; hooks just visible; flat on neck and shoulder area
beginning to expand over ribs; flanks filling, neck thickening
8. Fat
Animal appears well covered with body rounded with fat and bones not discernible; flanks filled,
broad back
9. Very fat (obese)
Bones buried in fat; back broad or flat, in some cases crease along the backbone; large
accumulations of fat on neck, over shoulder area and ribs; flank filled with fat
This table and figure come from R. Anne Pearson & Mohammed Ouassat. 2000. A guide to live weight estimation and body condition scoring of donkeys: 15-16 Hyperlipidemia and Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver)
Judy Marteniuk, DVM, MS
Michigan State University
In the last newsletter, you were able to determine if your donkey was overweight. Although the risk of hyperlipidemia and “Fatty Liver” is present for all donkeys, ponies and miniature horses, those individuals that are obese are at the greatest risk of developing the problem. Other predisposing factors are: stress, concurrent disease, parasites, late gestation or early lactation. Concurrent diseases are often such conditions such as diarrhea, endotoxemia, kidney disease and neonatal septicemia, but any problem that causes the individual to stop or reduce their food intake puts the individual at risk of hyperlipidemia.
When hyperlipidemia occurs, the clinical signs may occur acutely and include jaundice, lack of appetite, weakness, depression that may range from mild to severe, incoordination, diarrhea, mild colic, fever, ventral swelling, and recumbency. In very severe cases, sudden death may occur due to severe fatty infiltration of the liver, rupture of the liver and fatal hemorrhage. However, one must remember that the primary predisposing problem may overshadow the hyperlipidemia.
Therefore, any time a donkey, miniature horse or pony has a reduced appetite, liperlipidemia must be considered, monitored and treated. To determine if hyperlipidemia is playing a part in the current medical problem, serum triglyceride levels need to be measured. Normal serum levels should be less than 85 mg/dl, but may be increased to up to 300 mg/dl in healthy pregnant animals. However, if these individuals become inappetent, they are at risk of developing hyperlipidemia. Once triglyceride levels exceed 500 mg/dl, the blood/serum takes on an opalescent appearance. Liver enzyme levels will be increased; while glucose, BUN and albumin will be decreased.
Treatment is aimed at early recognition of both the initiating cause and hyperlipidemia. The sooner both are recognized, the better the outcome. It is important to keep a positive energy balance in individuals at risk (donkeys, ponies, miniature horses) of developing hyperlipidemia. If they cannot be encouraged to consume adequate calories orally, they need to be hospitalized and placed on a constant infusion of IV dextrose along with close monitoring of blood glucose levels. If an individual is not eating at all, partial parenteral nutrition may be required. If the gastrointestinal tract is normal, but the individual is just not interested in eating, a stomach tube may be placed and some nutrition can be given orally. Insulin has also been used successfully to augment therapy.
However, despite aggressive treatment, the prognosis for individuals suffering from hyperlipidemia is
guarded to poor. Reports in the literature, range from 60% to 100%.mortality. Therefore, prevention is the best treatment. Provide adequate nutrition, but closely monitor your donkey’s body condition to prevent obesity. Provide good routine health care and promptly treat any medical problems. Finally, minimize stressful conditions whenever possible. Activity goes a long way to control weight gain. Allow your donkeys to enjoy exercise as a means to control weight gain and reduce the risk developing hyperlipidemia.
Note: The fall newsletter will discuss another complication of obesity - laminitis (founder)
Laminitis
Judy Marteniuk, DVM
Michigan State University
Laminitis is the last article in the series on “How does your donkey score?”. Laminitis, often called
founder, is an inflammation in the lamina in the foot. First, a review of anatomy of the equine foot will
facilitate an better understanding of laminitis. All equids walk on a single digit. For comparison, our
fingernail is equivalent to their hoof capsule and the connection of our fingernail to the deeper tissue is the lamina. During laminitis, the attachment (lamina) of the hoof wall (fingernail) is disrupted from a critical element of the underlying tissue, the coffin bone
(Figure1).
Imagine the pain that occurs when your fingernail is torn back into the sensitive
tissue or bent back, now imagine having to bear all your weight and walk on that
fingernail. This gives you an idea of the pain involved with the acute form of the
disease. Typically, only the front feet are involved, but in severe cases all four
feet may be involved. During the acute (active) stage of laminitis, the individual
feet are extremely painful. Depending upon the severity of the inflammation, the
pain may be short-lived without obvious changes in the foot; or so severe that the coffin bone alters its position within the hoof capsule. Two types of movement are possible. The one type that most people are aware of is “rotation of the coffin” within the hoof capsule (Figure 2). With rotation only, the lamina at the toe is disrupted. The other type is the breakdown of entire laminar connection between the coffin bone and the hoof wall that leads to the coffin bone sinking within the hoof capsule (Figure 3). If this form is severe enough, the hoof capsule may be left behind, ie the coffin bone comes out of the hoof capsule- just like stepping out of a shoe.
The severity of the disease and the commitment of the owner will determine the outcome, with euthanasia one of the scenarios. Studies reviewing long-term outcomes of laminitis in horses, report that 75% of those affected were euthanized. Since donkeys seem to be much more pain tolerant than horses, are not usually “athletes” and are more inclined to keep off their feet during the acute aspect of the inflammation, they seem to have a better outcome for long-term survival.
The form of laminitis most commonly seen by the Rescue is the chronic form. When the lamina of the foot is damaged by inflammation, hoof growth often changes. The heels grow faster than the toe, leading to the characteristic “elf slippered” appearance of the foot. In the absence of routine, regularly scheduled farriery, the hoof walls of affected donkeys may actually curl. As can be imagined, the donkeys become very painful on their feet and are very reluctant to walk. Also, due to inflammation, the white line area of the hoof is damaged, and becomes quite wide and spongy in consistency. This is most prevalent at the toe for those suffering rotation. White line damage can lead to an increased incidence of “gravel” or hoof abscesses involving the white line.
Treatment of laminitis involves removing/correcting the inciting cause, pain control and regular hoof care. If your donkey has foundered due to being overweight, then dietary changes are necessary. Other causes of laminitis include sudden feed changes, especially eating too much concentrate/grain; severe illness, especially if the intestinal tract is involved; and injuries to the opposite leg that require more weight to be placed on the supporting leg. Adequate pain control may be very difficult to achieve in severe cases. The simultaneous use of several methods is often necessary. Medications, such as phenylbutazone (Bute) and Banamine, are the most commonly used for pain control. These medications are non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) and are in the same group of drugs as aspirin and ibuprofen. It is important to remember that these drugs can have severe and even life-threatening side effects if not used correctly.
Other pain medications, such as detomidine, may also be used. In addition during the acute phase of the disease, it is important to keep the donkey confined to a stall or very small paddock, whether it is a new occurrence or a flare-up of chronic disease. This, along with a soft, well-bedded surface, will help relieve
Figure1. Normal
Coffin
Bone
Figure 2. Rotation Figure 3. Sinking
Coffin
Bone
Coffin
Bone
C. Band
C. Band C. Band pain by providing both support to the foot and encouraging the donkey to lie down and take weight off its feet. Stall confinement may be necessary for only a few days or may be required for months. It takes about a year for a hoof to re-grow fully. Finally, it is essential to have a close working relationship with a farrier who is experienced both in trimming donkey feet and dealing with laminitis. In contrast to the goal of routine trimming of horses’ hooves, donkeys are meant to have a normal more upright hoof wall. More heel should be left on a properly trimmed donkey hoof. This correct, more upright stance and trim becomes even more critical for donkeys affected by laminitis. A donkey-knowledgeable farrier or veterinarian may also elect to place pads on the hooves to provide extra sole support. Therefore, if faced with a severe case of laminitis
in your donkey, a successful outcome will be greatly enhanced by a strong working relationship between you, your veterinarian and your farrier, coupled with your willingness and dedication to follow their directions for care.
In closing, if your donkey founders, it is going to be a potentially long, involved, expensive, and most
importantly, an emotionally draining experience. It is extremely difficult to watch your donkey in pain during the healing process. Prevention of laminitis is preferable, but treatment should be considered and may be rewarded.
*********************
|
Your continuing support of our products and affiliate links throughout this site help us inform and promote the Miniature Donkey breed and Donkeys everywhere whether you are just starting out or have your loved one already. Thanks so much! Cheryl and Chris We are shipping only to USA addresses at this time. International orders may contact us for additional shipping charges. Home | About Us | Products | Contact Us | Donkey & Mule Information Donkey Rescues | Picture Gallery | FAQS | Privacy Policy | Site Map
Copyright ©2004-2011 Shadow Ridge. All Rights Reserved. Monday, October 17, 2011 For problems or questions regarding this web contact corlowski@windstream.net by The JavaScript Source
|
|
Visit our Product Page for links to more items
Annie Caswell Donkey Prints, Tote Bags and Checkbook Covers
Donkey Light Switch Cover or Wall Hanging
MINI-DONK & MINI-HORSE ROPE HALTERS
Designs moved to Zazzle by the Aritist.
Elijah, a Mammoth Jack, at his ranch in North Carolina.
|
