Angiographic Studies of the Donkey Foot (Normal and Abnormal)

Nonselective computed tomography angiography for detecting arterial blood flow to the distal limb following trauma in two small equids

“…The most common modalities include radiographic arteriography (Ackerman et al . ; Bordalai and Nigam ; Rosenstein et al . ), nuclear scintigraphy (Galey et al .…”

“…Thus, the assessment of the distal limb vasculature is of primary importance in cases with severe distal limb lacerations. The arterial supply to the distal limb is thought to be consistent amongst the species of the Equidae family (Bordalai and Nigam 1977) and primarily courses down the palmar/plantar aspect of the metacarpus/metatarsus distally, therefore, lacerations to the dorsal aspect of the metacarpus/metatarsus do not typically result in vascular disruption to the distal limb. In contrast, the dorsal third metatarsal artery is a primary parent vessel to the hindlimb digital arterial plexus and courses from dorsal to plantar at the proximal third of the metatarsus (Ghoshal 1975).…”

“…Most studies have been designed to determine the effect of laminitis on distal limb vasculature leaving a paucity of information regarding post traumatic assessment of distal limb vasculature. The most common modalities include radiographic arteriography (Ackerman et al 1975;Bordalai and Nigam 1977;Rosenstein et al 2000), nuclear scintigraphy (Galey et al 1990;Trout et al 1990;Bell et al 1995;Ritmeester et al 1998), Doppler ultrasonography (Adair III et al 2000;Aguirre et al 2013), and CTA (Collins et al 2004). Contrast magnetic resonance imaging has also been used in order to determine distal extremity vascularity in man (Connell et al 2002); however, to our knowledge this has yet to be described in large mammals.…”

Using physical and emotional parameters to assess donkey welfare in Botswana

“…Donkeys’ emotional responses to the hand-sniff test was correlated with location, whereby those in urban locales were less responsive than their rural counterparts. Donkeys in urbanised areas may face particular challenges given the lack of grazing opportunities and risk of malnutrition ( Pearson and Oussat 2000 ), increased stimulation from noise and congestion, hazards such as vehicles and refuse, lack of social contact, exhaustion or habituation to people thus stifling curiosity and alertness ( Pritchard and others 2005 ), exposure to hard concrete roads that may cause cracking or uneven wear of donkey hooves, as well as joint damage caused by awkward stride ( Bordalai and Nigam 1977 , Morgan and others 2007 , Reix and others 2014 ). Thus, welfare assessments of working equines must take into account differential conditions within which work is conducted, as well as the locales in which this effort is exerted.…”