Disease etiology in horses refers to the study of the causes and development of diseases within equine populations. It encompasses various factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental influences, infectious agents, and nutritional imbalances, that contribute to the onset and progression of diseases in horses. Understanding disease etiology is essential for identifying risk factors and implementing preventative measures in equine health management. This topic includes research on pathogen-host interactions, the impact of management practices on disease incidence, and the role of genetic and environmental factors in disease susceptibility. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, contributing factors, and implications of disease etiology in horses.
Mirck MH.A form of strongyle infection in young horses and ponies, observed during the period from November to May, is described. Large numbers of larvae of Cyathostominae in the fourth or early fifth stage of development are found to be present in the (often watery) faeces. This excretion of larvae is not affected by treatment with anthelmintics. A large number of these patients die from the sequelae of verminous enteritis.
Gleeson LJ, Studdert MJ.Intrauterine infection of pregnant mare with equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV 2) did not result in foetal abortion, stillbirth or recognisable disease. Collection of uterine fluid by allantocentesis or amniocentesis 107 days after inoculation confirmed that intrauterine infection was established. EHV 2 was isolated from both allantoic and amniotic fluid separately collected at the time of elective Caesarean section 156 days after inoculation and virus neutralising antibody to EHV 2 was present in the foal's presuckle serum at birth. A very mild clinical disease, characterised by a scant, mucous ...
Gebhart W, Niebauer GW.The morphological substrates of pigmented and depigmented skin as well as the structural characteristics of spontaneously developing melanomas were revealed by clinical, light- and electron microscopic methods in gray horses (Lipizzaner breed) from the Vienna Spanish Riding School. On clinical investigations in a group of 31 older horses (more than 10 years old) 20 exhibited melanomas, whereas 23 younger animals (less than 10 years of age) had no evidence for visuable melanotic tumors. Concomitantly with the progressive graying of the hair a depigmentation of the skin was frequently observed. ...
Moore JN, Traver DS, Turner MF, White FJ, Huesgen JG, Butera TS.Peritoneal fluid from each of 15 clinically healthy horses and five horses with acute abdominal disease was evaluated for lactic acid concentration. The normal range was 2-7--13-4 mg/dl. Simultaneous blood and peritoneal fluid samples from healthy horses revealed consistently lower lactic acid concentrations in the peritoneal fluid than in the blood, whereas peritoneal fluid lactic acid levels were consistently greater than blood levels in the diseased horses. The diseased horses had highly significant (P less than 0-005) increases in both blood and peritoneal fluid lactic acid concentrations ...
Clayton HM, Duncan JL.Six worm-free pony foals, two to four months old, were infected with parascaris equorum eggs using three different dosage regimes and killed at either 40 or 95-100 days after infection. Coughing and a circulating eosinophilia were features of large infections from which only a small number of worms developed to maturity. In small infections a high percentage of the parasites matured in the small intestine and this was associated with unthriftiness. Pre-patent periods of 80 and 83 days were recorded.
Platt H.From a perinatal survey carried out on Thoroughbred studs, information was obtained on the incidence, mortality and long-term effects of joint-ill and other bacterial infections. Many of these infections occurred in foals with a history of other perinatal abnormalities, and in foals in which receipt of colostrum was delayed. There was no direct relationship between the incidence of infection and maternal age, but prenatal lactation and loss of colostrum were more frequent in older mares. There was a significant reduction in the incidence of infections in foals given neomycin and framomycin dur...
Colles CM, Hickman J.Macroscopic, microscopic and radiological examinations of the navicular bones of 83 horses and ponies showed that the navicular bone in the adult horse has 2 principal routes of blood supply. One supply is present at birth, the other develops within the first 2 to 3 years of life, in response to increasing activity. The size of the nutrient foramina, as seen on radiographs, is related to the type, frequency and regularity of work done by the horse. These foramina are normally conical in shape, alteration to a circular, or mushroom-shape being evidence of occlusive vascular disease in the navic...
Martin CJ, Chihara S, Chang DB.Alveolar wall from the lung of aging humans shows a progressive decrease in maximal extensibility, which should follow an increase in resting tissue length rather than a reduction in maximal length. An increase in resting tissue length is compatible with the change in lung volumes and reduction in elastic recoil that occurs with time. A model of the lung was used to compare the effects of a change in resting tissue length in diminishing elastic recoil with that of a reduction in the volume density of the elastic elements (emphysema). Such differentiation is important in selecting an animal tha...
McGuire TC, Crawford TB, Hallowell AL, Macomber LE.Failure in colostral immunoglobulin G (IgG) transfer was found in 9 of 87 Thoroughbred foals. Seven (78%) of these 9 foals acquired infections requiring therapy. Twelve of the foals had partial failure in colostral IgG transfer, and 3 of these had infections requiring therapy. The remaining 66 foals had normal transfer of colostral IgG, and only 2 had detectable infections. The failure of colostral IgG transfer was attributable to nursing problems in only one case. When presuckle postpartum colostrum was collected, 2 of 4 failures of colostral IgG transfer and 4 of 6 partial failures of colost...
Garner HE, Hahn AW, Salem C, Coffman JR, Hutcheson DP, Johnson JH.Acute laminitis-hypertension was produced experimentally by carbohydrate overloading of the gastrointestinal tract in 8 horses, and the resulting hemodynamic changes were measured. Statistically significant (P less than 0.01) increases in cardiac output, left ventricular ejection rate, heart rate, and arterial pressure were related to statistically nonsignificant changes in peripheral resistance and a delayed (Obel grade 3 plus 24 hours) decrease in plasma volume. When compared with control values, the doubling of cardiac output and left ventricular ejection rate simultaneous with little or no...
Thomson GR, Mumford JA, Spooner PR, Burrows R, Powell DG.Equine influenza type 2 infections occurred in the Newmarket areas in January 1976. The disease did not spread to any extent and while this may have been due to recent vaccination it was found that not all vaccinated horses were fully protected. The virus involved showed some antigenic drift from the prototype strain A/equine/Miami/1/63 (Heq 2 Neq 2).
Dixon PM, McGorum BC, Long KJ, Else RW.An outdoor pony which developed severe respiratory distress in February was shown to have acute interstitial pulmonary disease (alveolitis), which was characterised by a massive exudation of eosinophil rich fluid into the airways. While antibiotic treatment before referral was ineffective, the condition rapidly responded to corticosteroid therapy. No evidence of lungworm was present and it appears that this interstitial pulmonary disease had an immune-mediated aetiology. Bronchoalveolar lavage cytology was of great value in the diagnosis and monitoring of this case.
Campbell-Beggs CL, Johnson PJ, Wilson DA, Miller MA.A 12-hour-old female standardbred foal developed signs of abdominal pain, tachycardia, tachypnoea and fever associated with chylous ascites. Small intestinal obstruction was due to segmental, mid-jejunal lymphangiectasia. Post mortem examination revealed a lack of communication between afferent and efferent lymphatic vessels in the mesenteric lymphocentre, a defect which was suspected to be congenital.
Okladnikov GI.The main clinical varieties of spinal cord and equine tail tumors are reviewed. Of 221 cases, the progressive course of the disease was recorded in 76,9%, slow-progressive course was observed in 68,1% and rapid-progressive in 8,8% of cases. It is stressed that in the presence of the progressive course of the disease there may occur different manifestations of the tumorous process of the spinal cord, the examination of which makes it possible to improve the diagnosis, particularly in the early stage of the spinal oncological process.