Proceedings of a Workshop on - The Havemeyer Foundation

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Havemeyer Foundation Monograph Series No. 11 disorders such as branchial arch anomaly or palatal defects. However, their low incidence and, in a few cases <strong>of</strong> fourth branchial arch anomaly the difficulty <strong>of</strong> diagnosis, have persuaded them to leave the Conditions <strong>of</strong> Sale unchanged. Also, if other diseases were included, endoscopic examination <strong>of</strong> foals would increase significantly. As the trade in buying foals to sell on as yearlings is so important, widespread pre-sale scoping <strong>of</strong> foals would lead to misleading advice which would not be in the interests <strong>of</strong> the horse, purchasers or vendors (Lane et al. 1987). The panel also discussed the use <strong>of</strong> videoendoscopy but were dissuaded as it was believed that a recording would have to be made, which would then be used for intense discussion by lawyers. More recently this view has been relaxed and the panel are now able to see the endoscopic findings simultaneously and a better assessment is made in a shorter period <strong>of</strong> time. This task <strong>of</strong> adjudicating such a Condition <strong>of</strong> Sale is pragmatic at best and it is not in the interests <strong>of</strong> the auctioneers to have too many yearlings returned as was the case in 1984 (2.75%). The percentage <strong>of</strong> returns has thus rested at less than 1% in the 20 years that the authors have conducted this task. It has also reduced the number <strong>of</strong> unsound yearlings being submitted to the sales as vendors have been more careful in checking them beforehand. No major litigation has ensued and analysis <strong>of</strong> our results reassure us that we are diagnosing a performance-limiting disease. REFERENCES Lane, J.G., Ellis, D.R. and Greet, T.R.C. (1987) Observation on the examination <strong>of</strong> Thorooughbred yearlings for idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia. Equine vet. J. 19, 531–536. 41
Equine Recurrent Laryngeal Neuropathy SALES: PROBLEMS IN DIAGNOSIS OF RLN-USA PERSPECTIVE R. M. Embertson Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, P.O. Box 12070, Lexington, Kentucky 40580 USA INTRODUCTION Examination <strong>of</strong> the upper airway (UA) has become an important part <strong>of</strong> the purchase examination performed on horses intended for athletic endeavours. The examination is obviously done to avoid purchasing a horse with an abnormality that will adversely affect the ability <strong>of</strong> the horse to train or race. The focus <strong>of</strong> this paper is the problems encountered evaluating the UA <strong>of</strong> the immature racehorse (weanling, yearling, 2- year-old), particularly in reference to arytenoid function. The Thoroughbred (TB) sales are where most veterinarians have gained experience in evaluation <strong>of</strong> the UA <strong>of</strong> the immature horse. The UA examination <strong>of</strong> the yearling at the sales ground in the USA essentially consists <strong>of</strong> a quick visual examination <strong>of</strong> the head, an endoscopic examination <strong>of</strong> the UA (usually through one nasal passage), and infrequently external palpation <strong>of</strong> the larynx. The TB sales companies have placed conditions <strong>of</strong> sale in the sales catalogue that allow for the return <strong>of</strong> a horse to the seller if specific abnormalities <strong>of</strong> the UA are found immediately post sale. This provides the buyer with reasonable assurance that the UA is normal and theoretically lessens the need for pre-sale UA endoscopy. However, even though the UA <strong>of</strong> an individual may pass the conditions <strong>of</strong> sale, it may not pass the criteria the examining veterinarian considers acceptable. This has resulted in pre-sale UA examination <strong>of</strong> most horses at the yearling sales. The UA conditions <strong>of</strong> sale found in the sales catalogue, in addition to the pre-sale UA examination has led most vendors to have the UA <strong>of</strong> their horses evaluated prior to the sale. This avoids unwelcome surprises at the sale. The process has evolved to the point that relatively few horses arrive at the sale with one <strong>of</strong> the abnormalities listed in the conditions <strong>of</strong> sale. With the addition <strong>of</strong> pre sale scrutiny, it is now rare to encounter a post-sale dispute regarding the UA. The UA abnormalities listed in the conditions <strong>of</strong> sale are laryngeal hemiplegia, rostral displacement <strong>of</strong> the palatopharyngeal arch, epiglottic entrapment, permanent dorsal displacement <strong>of</strong> the s<strong>of</strong>t palate, severe arytenoid chondritis or chondroma, sub-epiglottic cyst, and cleft palate. The definition <strong>of</strong> laryngeal hemiplegia in the Keeneland catalogue is ‘consistent immobility or inability to fully abduct the arytenoid cartilage’. In the Fasig-Tipton catalog the definition is the same except the word ‘consistent’ is replaced by ‘complete’. Arytenoid movement is probably the area <strong>of</strong> most concern during the UA purchase examination. PERFORMING THE UPPER AIRWAY EXAMINATION Problems encountered in performing an examination <strong>of</strong> the UA can make diagnosis <strong>of</strong> recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) a difficult task. The vendor can be uncooperative and allow few or no UA examinations pre-sale. There has been some concern from vendors regarding the endoscopic procedure physically harming the horse, especially with popular yearlings that may be subjected to numerous UA exams. The possibility <strong>of</strong> physical damage to the UA is very low, but not zero. There has also been some concern about harm to the sales value <strong>of</strong> the yearling if a negative opinion <strong>of</strong> the UA is not kept confidential. A few yearlings are intolerant <strong>of</strong> the endoscopic procedure, making the examination 42
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