Veterinary Vertex

• Draft Horse Colic Myths, Debunked

  Send us a textThink draft horses “do worse” with colic? We put that belief on trial and let the data speak. With equine practitioner and researcher Dr. Jennifer Burns as our guest, we unpack why survival isn’t about breed status—it’s about when the horse arrives and how quickly we act. Drafts are famously stoic, which can mask early pain and delay referral. By the time they reach the hospital, heart rate, lactate, and abdominal protein often paint a sicker picture. The takeaway is both practical and hopeful: intervene early, educate owners on subtle signs, and don’t let draft status stop a surgical plan when it’s indicated.We walk through the study’s design, the variables that could and couldn’t fit the model, and the nuance behind “more complications” without worse overall outcomes. Jennifer shares the conversations she has with clients who fear that surgery is a Hail Mary, and we spotlight a compelling number—60% of admitted horses were discharged—that reframes expectations. From clear displacement cases to managing two-thousand-pound athletes, we connect field realities with hospital strategy and discuss where targeted anesthesia, fluid plans, and postoperative monitoring might chip away at complication risks.You’ll also hear candid stories from the road, the lessons that stuck, and the research questions we’re chasing next: is delayed care driven by recognition, logistics, or cost, and how can we fix it? If you care for draft horses—or love one—this conversation offers a sharper lens for spotting trouble sooner and a stronger voice when advocating for timely referral. If this episode helps you rethink colic in stoic breeds, follow the show, share it with a fellow horse person, and leave a quick review to help others find us.JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.05.0320INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ? JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthorsFOLLOW US:JAVMA ® : Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | Facebook Instagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter AJVR ® : Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook Instagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter JAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

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• Feeding Before Surgery Helps Horses

  Send us a textWe sit down with award-winning equine researcher Dr. Charlie Barton to unpack a controlled randomized trial from Colorado State University that challenges the tradition of fasting horses before general anesthesia—and the results are hard to ignore. Horses allowed hay before anesthesia passed manure much sooner post-op, often within three hours, while fasted horses took up to eight. Even better, careful intraoperative monitoring showed no difference in oxygenation or other key anesthesia parameters.We walk through how the team designed the study and learn how the data point toward a protocol change with real-world benefits: faster GI recovery, shorter hospital stays, lower exposure to hospital pathogens, and calmer patients who aren’t fighting muzzles or playing in water buckets out of boredom. Along the way, Charlie shares surprises in the data, how behavior can skew water measurements, and why aligning practice with species biology can be helpful.This conversation also opens the curtain on collaborative research in a busy hospital—how a residency project became a catalyst for protocol change and sparked interest from other clinics reevaluating their feeding plans. We close with practical takeaways for veterinarians, clear guidance for horse owners, and a few personal notes about career pivots, coffee before rounds, mountain trails, and the joy of seeing horses munch hay on their way to safer, smoother recoveries.If you care about equine anesthesia, postoperative colic risk, and evidence-based protocols, you’ll want to hear this. Subscribe, share with your surgery and anesthesia teams, and leave a review to let us know your hospital’s approach—and whether you’re ready to feed before general anesthesia.JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.24.04.0235INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ? JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthorsFOLLOW US:JAVMA ® : Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | Facebook Instagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter AJVR ® : Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook Instagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter JAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

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• Sedating Horses Safely

  Send us a textHorses and anesthesia make for a high stakes mix, and the numbers prove it. We open the barn door on a new study of oral trazodone in healthy adult horses that boosted sedation but, at a low dose, unexpectedly increased xylazine requirements at induction. Our award-winning guest, Dr. Emmett Swanton, walks us through the why behind the work, what the data actually say, and how to turn mixed results into smarter, safer protocols.We dig into the global context first: equine perioperative mortality remains several times higher than in small animals, with most disasters happening during recovery. That’s where behavior, physiology, and pharmacology collide. Could a preoperative oral sedative soften the edges—calmer handling, smoother transitions, less panic? The study offers a nuanced yes: trazodone clearly increases calm, but clinicians shouldn’t assume an alpha-2 sparing effect at low dose. Instead, we talk practical use cases where trazodone shines today—pre-visit anxiolysis, postoperative stall rest—and where the next wave of research should go, especially recovery scoring and dose-timing strategies that might translate sedation into fewer complications.Along the way, Emmett shares candid career lessons from residency to journal recognition and makes a compelling case for bridging small animal best practices to equine medicine without copy-pasting expectations. If you manage anxious horses, plan elective procedures, or obsess over safer recoveries, you’ll find concrete takeaways to test in your own barn: when to reach for trazodone, how to think about xylazine titration, and why the recovery phase deserves as much design as induction.If this conversation helped you rethink your protocol, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review. Your feedback helps more veterinarians and horse owners find evidence-based strategies that keep horses safer.AJVR article: https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.24.07.0185INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ? JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthorsFOLLOW US:JAVMA ® : Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | Facebook Instagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter AJVR ® : Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook Instagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter JAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

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• How Veterinary Teams Use Agenda Setting to Boost Client Satisfaction and Efficiency

  Send us a textEver have a client drop a “by the way” just as their hand hits the doorknob? We tackle the fix: agenda setting that captures every concern upfront, keeps appointments on track, and strengthens trust without adding time. With guests Drs. Jane Shaw, Kat Sutherland, and Natasha Janke, we map the science and the steps behind a small change that delivers big wins for veterinary teams and clients alike.We walk through the practical anatomy of a better visit: start with a solid introduction, gather the client’s full list using open-ended questions, resist premature problem solving, summarize the agenda aloud, then triage together. You’ll hear how this approach anchors relationship-centered care, improves client satisfaction, and supports adherence—key predictors of better outcomes. Our guests explain how to insert the veterinary agenda transparently for topics like dental care, weight management, behavior, and nutrition, all without sidelining what the client values most.From classroom to clinic, we cover training that sticks: scripting that sounds natural, team roles that share the workload, and habits that prevent doorknob disclosures. We unpack common pitfalls—closed questions, one-and-done lists, and diving too deep too soon—and offer simple replacements you can try today. Plus, we spotlight current research, where the evidence is strong, and what’s next for measuring appointment efficiency, client and veterinarian satisfaction, and late-rising concerns.Ready to try it? Start every appointment with a complete agenda, confirm it, and choose what fits today. Subscribe for more conversations that sharpen clinical communication, share this episode with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.06.0377INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ? JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthorsFOLLOW US:JAVMA ® : Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | Facebook Instagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter AJVR ® : Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook Instagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter JAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

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• Inside The Bowl: What Home-Prepared Dog Diets Reveal

  Send us a textEver wondered what’s actually inside a “homemade” dog diet—and whether it truly keeps dogs healthy? We sat down with researchers Drs. Janice O'Brien and Audrey Ruple from the Dog Aging Project to pull back the curtain on what owners are really feeding, what the data reveals, and how to make home-prepared meals complete and balanced without guesswork. The conversation starts with a major survey upgrade: moving from simple checkboxes to detailed free-text responses that capture real ingredients, supplements, and routines. That shift exposes a surprising truth—most DIY bowls contain nine to ten ingredients, far beyond chicken and rice, yet many still miss key nutrients for maintenance.We walk through the practical and the personal: how to take a smarter diet history in the exam room, what owners should ask before they shop, and which tools can reliably build balanced recipes. Instead of fear or food wars, we focus on action. Consulting a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, using validated recipe platforms, and leveraging commercial base mixes can transform care and confidence. We also explore the long game. Do incomplete diets quietly shape future health risks? Which deficiencies matter most over time? Longitudinal data from the Dog Aging Project aims to turn those open questions into guidance that protects joints, skin, metabolism, and longevity.There’s another layer that deserves attention: diversity among human owners. While our canine cohorts are broad, our human samples often aren’t. Culture, income, education, and access influence feeding choices, shopping habits, and follow-up care. Broadening who participates in pet nutrition research makes our recommendations more realistic and more fair. By the end, you’ll have a clearer view of where homemade feeding succeeds, where it stumbles, and how to build a plan that meets your dog’s needs today and supports health tomorrow.If this conversation helped you think differently about dog nutrition, subscribe, share with a friend who home cooks, and leave a quick review—your feedback helps more pet owners find science they can use.AJVR article: https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.06.0216INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ? JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthorsFOLLOW US:JAVMA ® : Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | Facebook Instagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter AJVR ® : Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook Instagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter JAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

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