Page 1041 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

and Figure 23.6).

• A dental examination with a Haussman’s gag may be performed. Dental care of the
VetBooks.ir donkey is frequently neglected especially in older animals, leading to sharp edges and

large hooks causing soft tissue inflammation and infection which may predispose to
choke and colic.

• Rectal examination of most standard-sized donkeys can be achieved (Figure 23.4); this is
®
made easier by intravenous injection of an antispasmodic drug (Buscopan ). Even a
limited rectal examination will give information as to faecal consistency, mucosal quality,
excess gas etc. If the donkey is very small and rectal examination is not practical, then

abdominal ultrasound may be used as an alternative.
• External palpation (gentle pushing from the outside) of the ventral abdomen may be

useful to detect anterior abdominal pain, e.g. in cases of pancreatitis (see page 695).

• A stomach tube can be passed in colic cases using a pony- or foal-sized nasogastric tube
(Figure 23.5).

• Peritoneal taps may be difficult to obtain due to the very thick (up to 14 cm [5 – in]) mid-
line fat deposits.