THE Irish Equine Centre (IEC) in Co Kildare offers a range of different services, including various tests and laboratory work. One of the main services offered by the centre are post mortem exmainations.
A recent day organised by CAFRE gave a number of equine enthusiasts an opportunity to see what goes on at the IEC, get a guided tour around the facility and to stand in and watch a full post mortem examination.
Head of Pathology Dr Ursula Fogarty carries out all of the post mortem examinations at the centre. Annually she completes up to 600 equine post mortem examinations for the Irish equine industry. Fogarty is one of the most experienced veterinary surgeons in the field and her passion and determination to fully understand the cause of death of every animal which comes into the IEC for post mortem examinations is unquestionable.
Fogarty received her veterinary and PhD qualifications from University College Dublin in 1979 and 1984 respectively and her diploma in statistics from Trinity College Dublin in 1982. She went on to become assistant pathologist to Dr Brendan Farrelly in 1987. From here Fogarty progressed to her current position as head of pathology at the IEC in 1990.
She has been involved with the Equine Science Course in Limerick since its inception.
Carcasses or specimens for post mortem examination are accepted at the centre at any time, including out of hours and weekend drop off which can be arranged on request. All initial post mortem findings are relayed to the referring veterinary surgeon on completion of the examination within 24 hours of receipt.
The IEC dispose of all carcasses following each post mortem examination, this is included in the fee for the examination. Post mortem examinations for fetus/placental membranes and for foals under two weeks old are all carried out free of charge.
Importance of post mortem examinations
Post mortem examinations help to give owners and veterinary surgeons answers when an animal dies, especially if this is unexpected. However, for the IEC they perform another very important function.
Post mortem examinations offer a window into what is going on in the animal, primarily equine, population.
This window is vital because it helps to create and build a database of what the cause of death is and it helps monitor what diseases and issues are prominent and whether additional veterinary action is needed on the ground to prevent further deaths.
A small DNA sample is kept from every animal that comes into the IEC for a post mortem examination. Ideally teeth are the best form of sample to keep but skin, muscle and bone can also be used. DNA can become damaged and difficult to read, especially if the animal has decayed in wet conditions. A small blood sample from each animal is kept and a faecal worm egg count is carried out as part of the post mortem examination to determine what worms are present and to help monitor the overall national worm situation.
Fogarty monitors what problems are more prominent each year, she explained how this year she has seen a number of horses who are overweight, which is causing a number issues.
Fogarty recommends taking a slow approach when producing horses, however, she added that she understands that this isn’t always possible and can be very time consuming and expensive.
As well as taking the faecal worm egg count, Fogarty looks for signs of different worms. Over the last 10 years she has seen a rise in the number of parasites.
She put this rise down to increased stocking density and repeated use of the same pasture and wormer. According to Fogarty causes of death can be secondary to another problem which has been undetected and ongoing prior to death.
If you are looking to get a post mortem examinations completed, more information and a sample submission form can be found on the Irish Equine Centre’s website, as well as a full list of services offered by the centre.