Disease management in horses encompasses the strategies and practices employed to prevent, control, and treat diseases affecting equine populations. This field involves understanding the etiology, transmission, and clinical presentation of various equine diseases, as well as implementing biosecurity measures and therapeutic interventions. Common diseases in horses include equine influenza, strangles, and equine herpesvirus. Effective disease management relies on accurate diagnosis, vaccination protocols, and the use of antimicrobials and other treatments. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, challenges, and advancements in managing diseases in equine health.
Hirsh DC, Jang SS.Rational choice of an antimicrobial agent requires that the condition for which the drug is prescribed contain an infectious agent and, if so, knowledge of the susceptibility of the microorganism to antimicrobial drugs. Unfortunately, most infectious conditions necessitate the use of an antimicrobic drug before data from the microbiology laboratory are available. The data presented are meant to serve as a guide in the choice of antimicrobic drugs for treatment of infectious processes of the horse before knowledge of the nature of the microorganism isolated as well as its susceptibility to anti...
Berrocal A, van den Ingh TS.The pathological findings in three cases of equine phycomycosis in Costa Rica are described. Two cutaneous (Pythium sp) and one nasal lesion (Conidiobolus) were observed.
Baggot JD, Prescott JF.The success of antimicrobial therapy depends on administration of an agent to which the pathogenic microorganisms are susceptible at the concentrations attained at the site of infection. The route of administration, size of the dose and dosing interval must be appropriate for the drug preparation selected. With penicillins in particular, dosage can be tailored to the severity of the infection and quantitative susceptibility of the microorganism. This approach cannot be applied to aminoglycosides because their relatively narrow margin of safety limits the amount which can be administered. In se...
Mayhew IG, Brown CM, Stowe HD, Trapp AL, Derksen FJ, Clement SF.Two horse farms, on which there was a high incidence of proven and suspected equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM), were studied. Symmetric ataxia and paresis, along with laryngeal adductor, cervicofacial, local cervical, and cutaneous trunci hyporeflexia, characterized the syndrome. Serum vitamin E concentration reflected a deficient state in affected and unaffected horses on both farms when compared with selected reference groups and with published values. A high incidence of the disease was evident in offspring of two particular sires on one farm. Vitamin E supplementation resulted ...
Coombs SL, Webbon PM.The rate of movement up the mucociliary escalator of Technetium99m tagged to macroaggregated albumin was measured in 7 normal horses and 8 with respiratory disease. The activity at 2 sites in the neck, separated by 12-15 cm, was measured using a hand held scintillation counter and rate meter. In normal horses the Technetium complex moved as a bolus up the neck with a mean rate of 1.58 cm/min. In the horses with respiratory disease the Technetium complex was less likely to move as a discrete bolus and in three horses it was not possible to measure the transport rate. The remainder had a mean tr...
Soma LR, Beech J, Gerber NH.The effect of disodium cromoglycate (cromolyn) in preventing the pulmonary dysfunction caused by the inhalation of barn and hay dust was studied in 5 horses with confirmed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The horses were studied before (Con) and after exposure to hay and dust allergens (Expos) and after pretreatment with cromolyn followed by exposure (Cr-Expos). There was a significant reduction in PaO2 from 86.8 +/- 8.3 to 73.1 +/- 8.8 when the horses were exposed to hay and dust allergens. The PaO2 after pretreatment with cromolyn and exposures was 78.1 +/- 5.5. There were no si...
Johnston AM.Respiratory disease is one of the commonest medical reasons for referring a horse to the Royal Veterinary College, with coughing the main presenting sign. Investigation requires the taking of a detailed history, clinical examination, the use of appropriate diagnostic aids and noting response to medication and management changes. On arrival the horse is stabled in a minimal dust environment, remaining there until discharge. The use of a dust-free box frequently produces a favourable response without the use of medication which in itself is diagnostic. The problem of a horse which is asymptomati...
Eysker M, Wemmenhove R.The epidemiology and control of helminth infections in the horse were studied in four small grazing experiments between 1981 and 1984 at the University of Utrecht. At autopsy in November or December negligible Strongylus vulgaris burdens were found in the cranial mesenteric artery of four groups of ponies, which had been treated with an anthelmintic in July and subsequently transferred to a clean pasture. Considerable arterial S. vulgaris burdens were seen in three groups of ponies which were treated with an anthelmintic in July without a move to clean pasture, and in another group of ponies i...
Webb PA, Monath TP, Reif JS, Smith GC, Kemp GE, Lazuick JS, Walton TE.Epidemiologic evaluations were made of farm personnel on vesicular stomatitis-affected premises along the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado during the 1982 epizootic. A similar antibody prevalence was noted to that of veterinarians and research and regulatory personnel who were involved with the same epizootic. Risk of infection resulted from intimate physical contact with infected horses or cows. Incidence and infection rates in horses were 45%; rates in cows were much lower, only 5%. Some epidemiologic clues were gained by a detailed study of an equine ranch. The pasture was inc...
Sprouse RF, Garner HE, Green EM.Thirteen (65 per cent) of 20 horses subjected to carbohydrate overload developed Obel Grade 3 lameness within 56 h. Increases in plasma endotoxin from control levels of less than 0.1 ng/litre to values ranging from 2.4 to 81.53 ng/litre were measured in 11 (85 per cent) of 13 horses during the onset of Obel Grade 3 lameness. Obel Grade 3 lameness was associated with rises in plasma Gram-negative endotoxin levels in 11 (92 per cent) of 12 horses. Two peak increases separated by 16 h were verified in five (45 per cent) of 11 horses that exhibited both endotoxaemia and Obel Grade 3 lameness. The ...
Gomez-Villamandos R, Santisteban J, Ruiz I, Avila I.Two horses with fibrotic myopathy of the semitendinosus muscle are described. The report deals with the aetiology, clinical signs and diagnosis of the condition, and discusses the different surgical techniques described in the literature. Tenotomies were performed on both horses. Excellent results were obtained in the horse in which only the semitendinosus muscle was affected, but in the horse in which the semimembranosus and gracilis muscles were also involved the results were less satisfactory.
Pauli BU, Rossi Straub R.A trabecular adenoma of the pars intermedia of the hypophysis was seen in a 13-year-old half-bred mare that presented symptoms corresponding to Cushing's disease of man. The spindle-shaped tumor cells were for the most part ‘light’, seldom ‘dark’. Both of them were characterized by well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, small Golgi apparatus, and typical secretory granules with a diameter of about 200 μm. The pituitary tumor and the symptoms were accompanied by increased plasma adenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and by bilateral hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex. The tumor cells ...
DE SALES JF, JANSEN J.Xenodiagnosis for habronemosis was 96,6% positive in 87 stud horses at Instituto Oswaldo Cuz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July-November, 1944. The A A. were unable to identify the Habronema larvae obtained from parasitider fly maggots. Measurements and drawings of the larvae are presented.
of surveillance testing, April to June 2017International disease occurrence in the second quarter of 2017These are among matters discussed in the most recent quarterly equine disease surveillance report, prepared by Defra, the Animal Health Trust and the British Equine Veterinary Association.