Stewart Equine Clinic

12/14/2022

DO YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN IN PLACE FOR YOUR HORSE?

If you own horses long enough, sooner or later you are likely to be confronted with a medical emergency. Are you prepared to act? Having a clear emergency action plan will help you stay focused and effective if a crisis strikes.

Below are some basic guidelines that can help you prepare for an equine emergency:
1. Know how to reach your regular veterinarian after hours. Ask about a back-up or referring veterinarian in case your regular horse doctor is not available for emergencies.
2. Have a plan for transporting the horse is necessary and know in advance the most direct route to an equine surgery center.
3. Prepare a first aid kit (see graphic for a short list of essential items) and store it in a clean, dry, readily accessible place. Keep a first aid kit in your horse trailer or towing vehicle as well, and be sure to check your supplies periodically and restock as needed. First-aid kits can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like; seek your horse doctor's advice on what to add, especially regarding any drugs that could be included and how they should be administered.

12/14/2022

Find out what might happen if your horse eats that wreath hanging on his stall door.

12/07/2022

12/07/2022

Shockwave therapy: the fundamentals of how it works and what it does.

Shockwave therapy is the use of focused sound waves that loosen and release tight and restricted tissue. This allows for greater range of motion, flexibility and thus strength.

Contrary to commonly held misconceptions, the therapy has no electricity or ionization entering the body. The benefits do not come from trauma or pounding to the tissue. The therapy is created by the directing of sound waves into a focal point, just as a magnifying glass does to light energy. The focal point creates an area of high pressure, which causes the tissue to expand on a cellular level.

This localized expansion of tissue gives shockwave the unique ability to loosen muscle fascia, break up scar tissue, loosen restricted joint capsules as well as for the realignment of tendon and ligament fibers.

05/01/2022

The diversity of Athletes is why I love my career/ vocation

04/29/2020

Quidding/spitballs "ci**rs"

A novel approach that is working very well. Quidding (spitballs) are due to the inability to chew up their hay correctly and move it to the back of their mouth to be swallowed. The normal, correct action of a horse's chewing process works very similar to an auger or a screw conveyor. A horse grinds its hay or forage with the molars and the rotation of their TMJ joint creates the auger like effect which moves the hay to the back of the throat to be swallowed.
Quidding is the inability to accomplish this task, and the spitballs or ci**rs fall out of their mouth. This is more commonly seen in older horses but not always. Good equine dentistry is a must, yet it is not uncommon to see the increase in quidding after dental work. Commonly these older horses are missing teeth which is often mentioned as the cause of the quidder.
The TMJ joint (temporal mandibular joint) is the key to managing this syndrome. In my mind, this is similar to the chicken and egg debate. Tmj arthritis and disfunction will create dental issues; and problems with the teeth will likewise create TMJ problems.

The novel approach to the quidding issue is the addition of shockwave therapy to the injection of the TMJ. The use of joint injections by themselves does not take into account that the soft tissue around the joint and the masseter muscle play as important of a role as the joint itself. Joint injections create a temporary benefit to pain relief. Lasting results come from improving the mechanics and strength to the entire chewing process.

If you don't believe me, just ask Jack.
Jack is a 25 year old retired Quarterhorse. He had some occasional quidding ci**rs outside his stall, let's say 5 a week. He had his normal dental maintenance and the dentist informed the owner that the quidding is to be expected because he is old and missing some teeth. After the mild dental work, Jack had 20 quidding ci**rs every morning and thus was unable to eat hay anymore; only chopped hay or wetted hay cubes.
You know how this is going to end but I will continue anyway. I injected his TMJ joints (which is crazy easy) and did shockwave work to his TMJ and masseter muscles including above both eyes. Now there is no quidding. I also feel that munching hay has a very mentally therapeutic effect on horses. Before you write off quidding as a given with older horses, tell your horse to call Jack and he will tell them "there is still hope for us old guys yet".

If there are any questions about any of my work or treatments, it is very easy to reach me. None of this stuff should be a mystery.

Please see the video in the comments.

10/18/2019

“Professor Stewart” guest appearing at UMASS for a lecture on the spine, for the small class of Management of the Equine Athlete!

10/17/2019

Insight on Quarter Cracks

The cause is due to the quarters expanding in one finite spot, rather than over a wide area like an arc. This focal expansion creates the weakness and crack, just like how you break a piece of wire. It's not caused by an up and down motion. This is due to a thinning in the hoof wall that isn't able to be ovserved. The hoof wall, like water, looks very level from the outside, yet is highly variable in thickness.

Apologies for not knowing how to really post more than one video at a time (and if anyone knows how to, please let us know!), but there are two more videos that go along with this topic in the comments

09/16/2019

In our ever-present efforts to expand our services, we are now offering mobile CAT scans! 😺