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Ulcerative stomatitis associated with ingestion of broomsedge hay in a horse
Author(s) -
Graves Meggan T,
Ivey Jennie L
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
veterinary record case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 2052-6121
DOI - 10.1136/vetreccr-2018-000660
Subject(s) - medicine , ingestion , horse , pasture , hay , capillary refill , physical examination , gastrointestinal tract , histopathological examination , physiology , veterinary medicine , surgery , zoology , pathology , agronomy , biology , blood pressure , paleontology
An adult mare presented acutely down in the pasture on January 21, 2018. On arrival at the farm, the mare was found recumbent with a heart rate of 60 beats per minute, evidence of struggle and profuse watery diarrhoea. An oral examination revealed a capillary refill time of three seconds and severe gingival and glossal ulcers. The ulcers were filled with seed heads with evidence of chronicity. The mare was determined to have a gas‐distended colon on rectal examination and was humanely euthanised due to financial constraints. The mare was submitted for postmortem examination. No ulcers or grass awns were found in any other area of the gastrointestinal tract. Histopathological examination revealed embedded plant material in the oral lesions, with plant features similar to that reported with foxtail species. Hay samples were submitted for wet chemistry analysis and species identification, and determined to be an inadequate nutritional source for horses.