Lup-dup-

swoosh....lup-dup-swoosh....lup-dup-swoosh..... That's how Mr Horsey down at the barn sounds with his heart murmur. A very bad occurence for race horses as they obviously won't bring back the trophy, but as a keep-horse (if there is such a word), they can live pretty normally for many years.

We stetho 4 horses for normal and abnormal heart sounds down at the equine barn, and counted the heartbeat of Stanley the retired greyhound. At 90 beats per minute, Stanley was a tad excited in our company but oh so good on the examination as he willingly lay down on his side as we place the probes on for ECG. He knows exactly what he is there for.

These greyhounds are a blessing to vet students. Given up by their owners from the race tracks, either for being old or slow or injured, many of them have been such wonderful learning tools to give students the valuable hands-on knowledge that's worth tons over a textbook explanation. I have my reservations over the greyhound racing industry, as with the horse racing industry. For now, I am grateful for the value these greyhounds bring and I hope more of them get rehomed or conversely, less are bred for such a sport.

Hmm....but don't ask me about the ECG waves at this point in time - the PQRST, S1234....the systole, diastole, the whole interchange of sodium, potassium, calcium....The cardiovascular mechanics is quite up in the clouds at this moment, but YES, figure it out, I will!