Vets notes

HEALTH CARE
Let’s look at a few of the easily overlooked items that can
make all the difference to a greyhound’s race performance,
and post-race recovery.
THE FEET
Nails should be filed just to the level of the pink “quicks”.
Avoid clippers close to race day as it is so easy to cut into
the “quick” and cause pain bleeding, or infection.
Nails that tend to split or break can be reinforced by
painting with “Hard As Nails”, or clear nail polish.
Either will protect the nail surface, but neither will swab.
Protect the pads from cracking or excessive wear by
massaging with Lanolin, Neatsfoot Oil, or Lard.
These are animal fats that will soak deep into the pads to
make them supple and pliable.
ANAL GLANDS
These can cause the greyhound to miss the jump from the
boxes if they are impacted.
This is equivalent to infected haemorrhoids in people, so
trainers can understand that any pressure on the tail area
when boxing, will cause discomfort and could well result
in loss of speed when leaving the boxes.
Gently express the Anal Glands each race day.
If unsure how to do this, see your vet or veterinary nurse
for a brief tutorial on raising the tail and using your thumb
and finger to “milk” the anus with a gentle squeezing
action.
SKIN PINCH TESTING
Should be conducted on every greyhound upon arrival at
the track.
Gently take the skin over the middle of the back, in your
thumb and finger, and lift it up.
The skin should snap back like elastic.
If it stays in a folded position, or, returns very slowly, then
the greyhound must be dehydrated from travel, and/or, is
suffering from anaemia.
Either way, performance will be reduced.
Try supplying a drink of water or electrolyte mixture and
walking around for ten minutes before kennelling to allow
absorption of the fluid, and an empty out to void any
excess.
Also, have a simple PCV blood test, but no sooner than
48-72 hours after the race, to check out any degree of
anaemia after the post-race blood changes have returned to
a normal resting level.
POST-RACE COOLING
This is important to prevent that eye disease Focal
Multifocal Acquired Retinopathy (FMAR) which leads to
night blindness and degeneration of vision.
So, cool the whole head area when washing the face and
eyes to remove the sand.
There is also some misunderstanding about cool hosing
along the back and general body area with the belief that
this can “cook” the greyhound in some way.
This is not correct, but any greyhound that has developed
a full or partial bout of Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
( A c i d o s i s ) during the race will have heat, pain,
and discomfort when the muscles along the backline are
touched or pressed. It is not the hosing that has caused the
problem, but rather the trainer becomes aware of the
symptoms when applying the hose, rubbing down, or
drying the patient, and tends to incorrectly relate the
hosing to the cause of these concerns along the back.
The application of cool water to any section of the body
after the race can only lead to minimisation of heat stress
and a return to normal body comfort with less chance of
kidney, lung, or muscle damage.
MUSCLE TEARS
These are a constant problem with the racing greyhound,
but your very first action upon returning the greyhound to
the wash area is to apply cold hosing to the swollen,
reddened section of muscle.
This is important both to minimise the bleeding and
swelling by constricting the damaged blood vessels, and,
to aid recovery by reducing the subsequent scar tissue
formation within the injured muscle. After receiving
advice and possible emergency treatment by the track
veterinarian, purchase some ice from the local cafT or
garage and ice-pack the injury for another 30-60 minutes.
This will be time and money well spent in the long road to
a good recovery.
FLY WORRIES
Can be a problem around the ear tips and any abrasion or
wound on the body, but now, at last, a new product called
Septicide has been developed by Virbac for treating these
areas.
It contains an efficient antiseptic, plus anti-parasitic
compounds that will repel flies and insects while
promoting healing of superficial wounds.
It should be a good adjunct to any greyhound medicine kit.
By Jim gannon