Kester News Hour

The Kester News Hour kicked off the scientific program of the AAEP Convention, held Nov. 24-28 in San Diego, Calif. Named for the late veterinarian General Wayne O. “Sage” Kester, the hour was designed to cover timely topics that are either too

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The Kester News Hour kicked off the scientific program of the AAEP Convention, held Nov. 24-28 in San Diego, Calif. Named for the late veterinarian General Wayne O. “Sage” Kester, the hour was designed to cover timely topics that are either too brief or too new to be included in the scientific portion of the convention. Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., and John Madigan, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of California, Davis, took turns reviewing what they thought were some of the most newsworthy topics in 2001. Seasoning their upbeat presentation with periodic doses of humor, the two kept practitioners in the packed session interested and entertained.


Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome


Bramlage began the news hour with the mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) that occurred in several states (including Kentucky) beginning in early May. Kentucky’s horse industry lost as many as 5.6% of 2001 Thoroughbred foals due to stillbirth or abortion (and 9.1% of all breeds of horses, based on a survey), and it has been estimated that there will be a 30.5% loss in the 2002 Thoroughbred foal crop due to losses of pregnancies this year (25.5% loss of all breeds). “There was a serious loss in stallion fees, lost production of horses to sell, and lost revenue,” explained Bramlage. “The most problematic (situation) was the early fetal losses,” said Bramlage, adding that any mare bred between Feb. 15 and the first of April was in danger of losing her pregnancy.


“Initially, no one knew what to call it. There were no firm conclusions,” said Bramlage. Leading investigators believe that the MRLS–and two other syndromes that affected hearts and eyes were–most likely were not caused by an infectious or contagious entity, and probably were environmentally related. The first theory suggested that a mycotoxin or mold was released in pasture grasses that had grown quickly during warm weather then were stressed by a hard freeze. Then cyanide was found during a few autopsies on foals which succumbed to MRLS. The blame then shifted to the large population of Eastern tent caterpillars when pasture samples yielded no conclusive results for mycotoxins. Scientists first thought that the caterpillars might have eaten wild cherry trees with high levels of cyanide and passed the cyanide in pastures, but an entomologist pointed out that the caterpillars detoxify cyanide in their gut. A current theory suggests that mold on caterpillar “frass,” or excrement, ingested by the grazing horses, might have caused the syndromes

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