COMING TO THE RESCUE

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Dear Andrea:
Our 6-year-old Nubian goat started having difficulties standing about 2 months ago.
Our veterinarian told us she has an arthritis virus. What is this and how did she get it?

Mary Shepard
Wilmington, NC

Dear Mary:
Caprine arthritis encephalitis is a disease produced by a retrovirus. Retroviruses are slow viruses that infect animals early in life, yet they do not appear until months or years later. In fact, some infected animals develop virtually no signs of disease at all. Once an animal becomes infected, it remains infected for the rest of its life.

Kid goats may show signs of the disease when they are three to four months old. They may become uncoordinated or even paralyzed in their hind limbs and forelimbs. Older animals are more likely to be affected: they lose weight and simply become lame. One or more of their joints may become swollen and painful. The disease may progress gradually or rapidly and can become so severe that movement or standing is restricted. Certain goats may develop pneumonia as well.
There is no effective treatment for the virus. Adult goats can be treated symptomatically with aspirin or other pain relievers and should have their feet trimmed regularly. Affected animals should be housed separately and be fed a highly nutritious forage supplemented with vitamins. Mothers can pass the disease to their offspring, so feeding "safe" colostrum and pasteurized goat and sheep milk to the kids once they are born is the safest way to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the herd.

Dear Andrea:
Navicular disease was diagnosed in our horse a short time ago. Do you have any advice for us? I read about kelp being of some help to animals' health. What value would this have for horses?

Steve De Wilde
Perryville, MO

Dear Steve:
Navicular disease is a degenerative disease of the tendons of the lower foot and the bones beneath the hoof. Quarter horses and those horses that have small feet and upright legs seem to be more prone to the disease. Improper trimming and shoeing may also be a cause. There are many theories behind why this disease occurs. One of the most interesting is that trauma or concussion from hard work, improper conformation, and poor shoeing causes some of the arteries in the foot to clot. Once this occurs, blood has difficulty getting to the smaller bones of the foot. Without a decent blood supply, they start to degenerate. This causes a great deal of pain to the animal as the tendons that are responsible for supporting the leg rub on one degenerating bone in particular, known as the navicular bone. Hence, the name, navicular disease.

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