The Hyperbaric Chamber at Fair Hill
I think everyone knows about the tragic fire at True Prospect Farm by now, that claimed the lives of six horses and left five severely injured. At Eventing Nation, we’ve been providing regular updates on the recovery of those five, and in the latest installment, Caitlin had mainly good news, as well as telling us that her horse, Hoku (Catch A Star), and Boyd’s WEG horse, Neville Bardos had been making daily visits to the Fair Hill Training Center to use the Hyperbaric Chamber there. Today in part 1 we speak with Dr Slovis from Hagyard about the therapy. Tomorrow we will hear from Caitlin about how the True Prospect horses are doing and from Bruce Jackson about his Fair Hill facility.
Hagyard Equine Medical Institute here in Lexington also has a Hyperbaric Chamber, and I’ve heard of quite a few eventers using it, a few more dressage horses, and plenty of foals and racehorses. I didn’t really know much about it except that it’s expensive, and the results are impressive, and once people have used it, they love it. Definitely a perfect excuse to find out more….!
Dr Nathan Slovis, a vet at Hagyard, is the Director of the Equine Emergency Response Team, and unfortunately has a wealth of experience in treating equine victims of barn fires and other catastrophes. He kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to explain hyperbaric oxygen therapy to me.
In a nutshell, the horse is taken in to the sealed chamber. Air pressure is gradually increased delivering oxygen into the floor and slowly removing normal air through the roof. Eventually the oxygen will be close to 100% and the pressure such that it can be delivered more effectively to affected tissues, speeding up the healing process.
At sea level, at normal atmospheric pressure, we are at “1 ATA” (Atmosphere Absolute). When diving, for each 33 feet you travel down beneath that, (10 metres) the pressure increases by one atmosphere, eg “2 ATA” at 33 feet. 2 ATA is the relative pressure most patients are exposed to during clinical Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Therapy. At 3 ATA, (the maximum allowed by law) as the patient breathes in 100 % oxygen, an incredible 14 times more oxygen is absorbed than at sea level.
As Dr Slovis told us, there is a long list of conditions that can be improved by Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment, and equally importantly, the horses seem to really enjoy it,
Thanks for speaking with us Dr Slovis. Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 2 and go eventing.
