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Help with Interview

3K views 17 replies 4 participants last post by  Dave Singleton 
#1 ·
Hi,

It's been a while since I've been on this forum - darn A-levels!

Anyway, I have an interview for Veterinary Science at Cambridge on monday (only found out today) and I would really appreciate it if someone could go over a bit of common horse knowledge with me e.g. common ailments & causes, average fee ratios etc. to make sure that I have a knowledge of everything 'normal' so i don't make a chump out of myself in the interview. It doesn't have to be a big detailed thing - just a quick check to make sure that there isn't a fundamental gap in my knowledge.
Dave
 
#4 ·
Than you both very much! :D

Probably the easiest way is just to fire off any questions you can think of on this thread - it really can be on anything animal related whether it is an ethical question or a factual question. A few odd questions would be nice too; Cambridge has a reputation for it's off-the-wall and contentious comments!
Thanks again!
 
#6 ·
Sarcoids are wart-like growths that can be found on the skin of horses. It is unknown what exactly causes them but it is thought to be either yeast infecitons or the actual papilloma virus. They are relatively common, particularly on white skinned horses (sun thought to have an influence) where the small ones are literally warts. These aren't usually anything to worry about. They can however grow quite considerably (like cancer) and depending on the location can be very serious in deed - around the anus and nose particularly where it can actaully effectively 'seal' up the passages causing the horse to not be able to breathe or pass faeces.

Apart from the typical signs of an ill horse (temp. change, sweating) the characteristic signs are the swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck. These can abscess and if they do not burst can crush the airpipe, causing strangulation. Lets hope that vaccine comes soon.

The gestation period is around 11 months.

Tetanus; Equine Encophalomyelitis (W, E or V); influenza and Herpesvirus (Rhinopneumonitis).
If applicable - West Nile Virus; Potomac Horse Fever and Rabies.
Admittedly I did have to check up the spellings of these vaccines!
 
#7 ·
I wouldn't say "wart-like" when discussing sarcoids as there are several different types, including flat plaques. And they aren't thought to be caused by yeast infections, but related to viral papilloma virus.
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/sarcoid/Index.ssi

On strangles, you missed the most important first symptom--fever and mucopurulent nasal discharge are the first symptoms followed by the enlargement and abcessation of the lymph nodes of the head and neck.

Good job!
 
#8 ·
So should I just stuck to growths? I wasn't sure about whether yeast has been known to be involved so I put it in there just to see - thanks for clarifying that.

Lol, good point! Gladly I have never seen Strangles myself; one thing I am trying to work out is if there is a vaccine as I have read there is but at the sametime the BHS are running a fundraising campaign to get one...

Thank you very much! If you feel like asking any more questions then please fire away.
 
#9 ·
I'm not sure if the Strangles vaccines are approved in the UK.
There are 2 on the market in the US--one intramuscular and on intranasal. Both are only about 50% effective and don't actually prevent the disease but rather reduce the severity. Side effects with Strangles vaccines can be mild including abcessation at injection sites or severe autoimmune reaction called purpura hemmorhagica.

For sarcoids, I would stick with "growths".
 
#10 ·
What are symptoms of each of the diseases you vaccinate against?


What is the most important GI parasite in adult horses? And what drugs are effective against it?


What are the two most important GI parasites in foals? What drugs are effective against them?
 
#12 ·
Tetanus - probably the most likely considering that horses do have a tendency to get themselves injured. This disease can be deadly if not seen to quickly and originates from a wound in which a bacteria (clostridium tetani) enters and circulates in the blood stream. This bacteria releases a toxin (I've heard the most powerful known) that basically paralyses the muscles particularly legs, lungs and jaw (hence the common name lock jaw). The tail is also held out rigid. This will eventually cause collapse and death due to complete paralysis of the lungs.

WEE - virus carried by mosquitos. Affects brain and spinal cord. At first symptoms can be quite mild with relatively minor behavioural changes e.g depression and a mild fever. This, however, can progress to more major neuroligical problems such as being off-food, aggressiveness, head-banging, blindness, twitching and facial paralysis. The end is convulsions and death.

Influenza - Finally a relatively mild disease! This disease is rarely fatal amongst adults but mortality is greatly increased in the new-born and young. This shares many of the symptoms of the human form with discharge from eyes and nose, maybe coughing to clear excess phlegm, anorexia, depression and a general stiffness. Care must be taken to give antibiotics to prevent further infection i.e. pneumonia. As it is a virus only symptoms can be treated through good, old TLC! It should clear up in about 3 weeks.

Herpesvirus - This has two types; one that causes respiratory problems, abortion and paralysis (potentially) and another which just causes respiratory problems.

WNV - This is very similar to WEE in that it is caused by a mosquito and it has very similar symptoms; the only difference being a lack of fever.

Rabies - This is another disease which affects the brain. This disease typically has three parts - melancholy, excitement, dumb. IN horses melancholy is apparently quite rare as horses are more likely to become over-exicted, aggressive, sensitive to loud noises and other neuroligical changes. However, once the disease has progressed the horse is quite quickly completely paralysed which results in death.

You can see why we vaccinate... :shock:

Well for both the strongyles are what could definitely be classed as *nasty* although I would argue that all worms have the potential to be deadly whether the worms are young or old. Saying that though the round worms in the young. I would take a good guess at ivermectin as everything which contains it says 'we are the best'.

Thanks for the good luck! I'm off tomorrow morning to be in Cam. for the interview on monday so thank you very much Ryle for your questions. :D
 
#13 ·
Does my horse need to have all available shots?

What about rhinoflu shots for pregnant mares?

My mare has been bagged and waxing for an entire month, should I be concerned?

When should I call my vet during labor? What are the "warning signs" that something is going wrong?

My mare has delivered and it has been 3 hours but the placenta hasn't delivered. What should I do?

What is thrush?

I have heard that pregnant horses don't founder because of hormone levels. Is this true? Why or why not?

At what age should you geld a colt? Why?

Is it hard on an older stallion to be gelded?

When do a horses knees "close"?

Is navicular hereditary?
 
#14 ·
It is advisable to have all done. Rabies is optional in some areas where it is not endemic e.g UK. Such diseases as influenza also need to be adapted to suit lifestyle as a horse 'on the road' going to shows etc. is more likely to catch it and therefore needs a booster more frequently.

An entire month is worrying I think as the teats only usually fill-up when the mare is close to full-term. If she is known to be pregnant then there could be something very wrong with the foal (and in turn the mother) and if she is not then there could be a hormonal imbalance or a phantom pregnancy. Alternatively she could just be in a good mood for a long time though this is quite rare.

If you notice your mare in labour i.e contractions then a vet should be called. If a birthing is normal then it usually occurs during the night and it is quick in comparison to other births - you should be checking regularly in the night though around term. If you see contractions then it is probably nothing to worry about but if it continues for over 2 hours then a vet should be called.

Call a vet!

Thrush is a nasty bacterial infection that affects the frog, basically rotting it. It is nasty therefore and can result in permanent lameness.

I've never heard this before... I would have thought that risk of laminitis is less due to the extra body which should indirectly help to control blood sugar levels. However, I wouldn't have thought that it would cause no laminitis at all; indeed it could be worse given the extra weight of the foal excerting extra pressure on the feet.

I personally think as a yearling as earlier can stunt growth and later risks retaining a sex drive.

Have to catch train! Thanks!
 
#15 ·
WNV does present with fever, followed generally by weakness, loss of balance and coordination, tremors/twitching, flaccid paralysis of the lower lip, etc.

Herpes virus--can also cause neurological disease.


Good luck tomorrow. And don't worry, they won't expect you to know it all--just have a general knowledge of things.
 
#16 ·
Interview done and now back home... predictably the questions were not what I was expecting. It was basically all academic with a couple of related ethics questions thrown in and I wasn't asked any of the classic 'why vet?, why cambridge?' questions.
On the bright side I didn't get any of the mythical questions that you hear of but I did get the famous 'Here is a bone, where does it come from and what is wrong with it?' In this I received an asymetrical vertebrae which wasn't too bad to work out and then a bone which I think was the navicular bone which I had to shrink to human size and then work out which part of the body it would be placed. That was a bit odd. I also had to work out why a horse is quicker than an elephant if they were both the same size - I went complex but the answer they were looking for was simply longer, thinner legs.
The other interviewers questioned over possibly causes for testicular cancer which was quite awkward as I had to imply to someone around the age of 60 that impotency is more likely at an older age :oops: . I was then questioned over the importance of genome sequencing, wildlife preservation, glucose-insulin abnormalities in dogs, cytology and objective experiments to determine protein release.
Quite a lot in 40 minutes! :shock: Thanks for all your questions though - it certainly helped to calm the nerves.
 
#18 ·
Early January - I can either be accepted and given an offer; rejected; pooled - I am then available to other colleges in Cambridge and I may/may not get an offer or I can get an offer for entry next year. I hope I did well... it just depends on how well everyone else did really.
 
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