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.
Aubert MF.The author describes a method for evaluating the minimal number of diagnosis failures for each animal species (this diagnosis uses the Fluorescent Rabies Antibodies Test and mouse inoculation simultaneously). The percentage of well diagnosed rabid animals on total rabid ones is called sensibility of the diagnosis: it varies according to the species of animal examined: from 99.98% for the fox, to 98.61% for the horse. The percentage of errored negative diagnosis on total negative diagnosis is called infidelity of negative responses: it varies for each species according to the sensibility of the...
Borges LM, Ferreira LA, da Silva LS, de Oliveira RA, Mussi SV, Faria KA, Melo LS, Abud LJ, Costa GL, Soares SF.This study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the efficacy of a 2,6-dichlorophenol (2,6-DCP) lure to control Dermacentor nitens (Acari: Ixodidae). Slow-release formulations of the pheromone formulated with and without cypermethrin were prepared. Olfactometer bioassays were used to define the best dose of the pheromone and to evaluate the effect of cypermethrin with 2,6-DCP attractiveness. Sexually active males were released 15 cm from 2 cmx1 cm pieces of polypropylene treated with different odors: 2,6-DCP in a liposphere system (1.5, 30 and 300 microg--without cypermethrin and 30...
Esterl-Byrne LL, Huseman CJ, Haynes C, Kinman LA, Jones TN.The welfare of unwanted horses presents a significant concern for the equine industry. However, there is a lack of research on how unwanted horses are affected by major crises. The drastic changes that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic presented ample opportunity to investigate how unwanted horses are impacted by challenging circumstances. Study objectives were to evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the unwanted horse population and determine the current perceptions of horses in-transition. A 23-question online survey designed using Qualtrics was administered electronically to adults ...
Al-Modhefer AK, Atherton JC, Garland HO, Singh HJ, Walker J.Single-nephron and whole-kidney function were studied in female rats with corticomedullary nephrocalcinosis, and in animals where the lesion had been prevented either by a dietary magnesium supplement or by using a diet with a calcium:phosphorus ratio in excess of 1. At the single-nephron level, rats with nephrocalcinosis had prolonged tubular fluid transit times. Proximal transit time was 19.42 +/- 1.98 (mean +/- S.E. of mean) vs. 11.58 +/- 0.19 s for controls; distal transit time was 62.64 +/- 9.16 vs. 31.50 +/- 1.03 s for controls. Although single-nephron function is altered in nephrocalcin...
Rasmussen N, Karlsen P, Otten ND, Fjeldborg J, Hansen S.Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology results from 1 lung might not be representative of both lungs. Objective: To determine whether the lung site sampled would influence the horse's BAL cytology profile, and if a pooled BAL sample would be superior with regard to BAL cytology diagnosis in a cohort of healthy and subclinical asthmatic warmblood horses. Methods: Fifty-nine horses in 2021 and 70 horses in 2022, the follow-up included 53 of the same in each year. Methods: A cross-sectional study with follow-up included BAL cytology samples from individual lungs and from pooled BAL samples. The BA...
Mullen KR, Felippe MJB.Equine common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a rare, late-onset, nonfamilial humoral deficiency characterized by B-cell depletion and/or dysfunction resulting in inadequate antibody production and predisposition to recurrent infections. Serum immunoglobulin concentration and peripheral blood lymphocyte immunophenotyping are required to diagnose and characterize CVID in horses. Early recognition of the disease by the equine practitioner is paramount to managing the quality of life for these patients, for whom specific treatment is not yet available and long-term prognosis remains poor. An ...
Bozorgmanesh R.Immune-mediated vasculopathies occur secondary to infection or another noninfectious stimulus. Potential triggers include heterologous antigens including viruses, injected proteins and drugs; or auto-antigens including immunoglobulins or other endogenous proteins. Although these conditions are rare in horses, immune-mediated vasculopathies can cause considerable morbidity, with variable clinical signs depending on severity and organ system affected. Examples include purpura hemorrhagica, systemic lupus erythematosus, drug-induced vasculitis, paraneoplastic vasculitis, and idiopathic immune-med...
Ferreira JD, Méndez-Angulo JL.Several tooth extraction techniques are described in equine literature, and oral extraction techniques in standing sedated horses are popular among equine practitioners. The objectives of this study were to develop the corkscrew technique for cheek tooth extraction (CSET) in equine cadaver heads and evaluate this technique in clinical cases. We hypothesized that the CSET could be performed safely to extract cheek teeth in standing sedated horses. First, the CSET was attempted and developed in eight equine cadaver heads. Second, the CSET was performed in clinical cases between 2016 and 2020, an...
Collins EN, Barr EM, Westermeyer H, Gilger BC, Oh A.To determine the predictive value of corneal ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) findings for the outcome of equine corneal disease. Methods: 46 horses with a clinical diagnosis of either infectious ulcerative keratitis or stromal abscess. Methods: Corneal UBM (VevoMD; UHF70; VisualSonics) of horses with infectious corneal disease presenting to the North Carolina State University Equine Ophthalmology Service from 2019 to 2023 were evaluated. Size and depth of lesion, presence of Descemet membrane disruption (DMD), corneal thickness, and aqueous humor cell counts (AHCC) were assessed. Comparisons of...
Hart KA, Kimura S.Immunomodulators can stimulate, suppress, or regulate one or many aspects of the immune response. Use of a variety of immunostimulants, immunosuppressors, and anti-inflammatory drugs are described in horses, but the evidence supporting their efficacy is variable. Corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the best characterized immunomodulators in horses, but further study is needed to fully define their ideal dosing protocols and indications and to characterize the efficacy of other immunomodulators in equine medicine.
Seguí Pedrosa B, Dujardin C, Moses B, Thompson C, Sarasola P, Gattacceca F, Loup B, Garcia P, Popot MA, Bailly-Chouriberry L.Clodronic acid is designated as a controlled medication for competition horses by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports and, according to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, clodronic acid is not to be administered to racehorses younger than 3.5 years or within 30 days prior to a race. In this study, 35 horses involved in competition were treated with a single dose of 1.53 mg clodronic acid/kg bodyweight intramuscularly. Plasma samples were obtained before treatment and 10, 20, 30, and 40 days post-administration. Clodronic acid concentrations were mea...
Martínez-Boví R, Gaber JTH, Sala-Ayala L, Plaza-Dávila M, Cuervo-Arango J.The effect of embryo reinsertion immediately after embryo flushing was studied. In Experiment 1, eight mares were used during 32 cycles (8 cycles in each group). For the first two groups, inseminated mares were flushed 8 days after ovulation and prostaglandin F2α was not administered: in group EF-ET (embryo flushing and embryo transfer) the embryo was reinserted in the same donor mare, while in the EF group, no further procedure was performed. In the third group (ET), non-inseminated mares (recipients) received a Day 8 embryo. Progesterone concentration was measured before EF/ET and 72 h afte...
Grob AJ, Delarocque J, Feige K, Warnken T.In insulin dysregulation, hyperinsulinemia (HI) can be accompanied by peripheral insulin resistance (IR) in horses, which can be diagnosed with an insulin-tolerance test (ITT). The administration of 0.1 IU/kg body weight of recombinant regular human insulin (RHI) should elicit a 50 % reduction of the initial blood glucose concentration at 30 min after insulin administration in insulin sensitive horses. Compared to RHI, porcine zinc insulin (PZI) is veterinary-approved and therefore easier accessible for many practitioners. The aim of this study was to compare the insulin and glucose dynami...
Lindinger H, Wehrend A.In horses, parturition is characterized by the fact that any delays may rapidly result in the death of the foal. Therefore, birth monitoring and the rapid detection of dystocia are of great importance. For this purpose, the differentiation between behavior associated with physiological parturition and activities related to difficult parturition is important. The aim of this publication is to present the physiological behavior of mares during parturition on the basis of a literature review. The behavior of mares in the opening phase of parturition is highly individual. In general, it is charact...
Dubuc J, Schneider MJ, Dubuc V, Richard H, Pinsard M, Bancelin S, Legare F, Girard C, Laverty S.Investigate meniscal extracellular matrix degradation. Equine menisci ( = 34 from 17 horses) were studied. Site-matched sections were cut and scored from three regions (ROIs; = 102) and stained for histology, proteoglycan (safranin O and fast green), aggrecan, and collagen cleavage (NITEGE, DIPEN, and C1,2C antibodies, respectively). Picrosirius red and second harmonic generation microscopy were performed to investigate collagen ultrastructure. A total of 42 ROIs met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The median (range) ROI histological score was 3 (0-9), providin...
Silva GF, Ribeiro TE, Cunha R, Salas PB, Guimarães T, Ribeiro MR, Barros G, Carvalho F, Mesquita JR, Amorim I.Although relatively uncommon, lymphoma is the most prevalent haematopoietic neoplasia in horses, and multicentric lymphoma remains the most common presentation of the disease. The pathogenesis of equine lymphoma is still poorly understood and the diagnosis is usually confirmed at an advanced stage of the disease, compromising the prognosis. This study investigated the clinical, pathological, and molecular features of a case of equine multicentric lymphoma. Unassigned: An apparently healthy 5-year-old crossbreed mare hospitalized at the Centre of Animal Reproduction of Vairão, Portugal, sudden...
Medina B AL, Faleiros RR, Martínez A JR.Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) occurs with variable prevalence in horses, donkeys, and mules. Due to the particularities of the mucous membranes, the syndrome is made up of Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD). Given the multifactorial nature and multiple classification systems of the syndrome, significant differences have been reported between prevalence studies performed ante mortem, which are even more remarkable when compared with postmortem evaluations. This study aimed to determine the presence and grade of squamous gastric disease in horses, donkeys...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Knowles EJ.Laminitis is a common and painful condition of the equine foot and approximately 90% of cases are associated with insulin dysregulation (ID) that is a central feature of the common endocrine disorder equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and occurs in a subset of animals with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. Additional features of EMS include obesity, altered circulating concentrations of adipokines (particularly adiponectin and leptin) and hypertriglyceridaemia. Obesity, ID, hypoadiponectinaemia, hyperleptinaemia and an altered plasma lipid profile are also features of human metabolic syndrom...
Roberts DM, Gilger BC.Equine fungal keratitis represents a substantial portion of keratitis cases in horses, with fungal involvement identified in approximately half of all infectious keratitis cases. Despite its prevalence, more comprehensive retrospective analyses are needed to better understand this condition. Outcomes vary, with approximately two-thirds of cases achieving complete healing with retained vision, although enucleation is often necessary. Predominant pathogens include Aspergillus and Fusarium, with yeast reported in a minority of cases. Resistance to common antifungal agents among filamentous fungi ...
Campbell MLH, Sykes BW.Prioritising equine welfare, making evidenced-based policy, and consistent decision-making across sports are crucial to maintaining the social licence for equestrian sport. Regulations on the use of omeprazole during competition differ; all regulators argue that their rules prioritise welfare. This discrepancy is a matter of concern to the public and equestrian stakeholders. Objective: To apply Campbell's Ethical Framework for the use of Horses in Sport to the question: 'Should the use of omeprazole be allowed during equestrian competition?' Methods: A desk-based ethico-legal study. Methods: C...
Kuwano A, Ueno T, Katsurashima Y, Tateno O, Saitoh S.From summer 2018 to summer 2019, several Thoroughbred racehorses held at the Miho Training Centre of the Japan Racing Association inadvertently ingested excessive amounts of sodium selenite, resulting in typical chronic selenium (Se) poisoning - the so-called alkali disease. The typical abnormality was a hoof wall disorder with a circumferentially deep ring and/or transverse hoof wall cracks parallel to the coronet on all feet and appearing after excessive ingestion. One affected Thoroughbred male was unique in that all the hooves had a rough surface with a very fragile hoof wall, but no wall ...
Winther MF, Johnsson J, Madsen PK, Pihl TH, Paltrinieri S, Cerón JJ, Scavone D, Pardo-Marin L, Jacobsen S.Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) has been suggested as a marker of inflammation and oxidative stress in horses and could potentially be used for prognostication in horses with colitis. Objective: Assessment of PON-1 in horses with colitis and comparison of two methods. Methods: Serum PON-1 was measured by two methods (paraoxon and p-nitrophenyl acetate) in 161 horses with colitis and 57 controls. Follow-up samples obtained during hospitalization were available from 106 horses with colitis. The two methods were compared. Results: Serum PON-1 was significantly lower in horses with colitis than in healthy h...
Koziy RV, Bracamonte JL, Katselis GS, Udenze D, Hayat S, Hammond SA, Simko E.Septic arthritis (SA) in horses has long-term health implications. The success of its resolution hinges on the implementation of early, aggressive treatment, which is often sustained over a prolonged period. Common diagnostic methods do not allow for the reliable detection of the eradication of joint infection. A potential alternative is the discovery and characterization of mRNA biomarkers. The purpose of this study was to identify potential mRNA biomarkers for the eradication of joint infection in equine SA and to compare their expression with our previously published proteomics data. In add...
Symoens A, Westerfeld R, Vives BM, André V, Moulon L, Collomb M, Richard H, Juette T, Bédard C, Leclère M.Steaming hay significantly reduces respirable particles and provides a palatable alternative to dry hay for horses with asthma, but there are few prospective studies demonstrating the clinical efficacy of steamed hay. Objective: To compare the efficacy of alfalfa pellets and steamed hay in improving lung function and inflammation of horses with severe asthma (SEA). Methods: Controlled crossover study. Methods: Ten horses with SEA were enrolled and nine completed the study. Horses were housed indoors and fed hay. Once in exacerbation, they were fed pellets and steamed hay for 4 weeks, in a cr...
Tahir AM, Guo L, Ward RK, Yu X, Rideout A, Hore M, Wang ZJ.Laryngeal hemiplegia (LH) is a major upper respiratory tract (URT) complication in racehorses. Endoscopy imaging of horse throat is a gold standard for URT assessment. However, current manual assessment faces several challenges, stemming from the poor quality of endoscopy videos and subjectivity of manual grading. To overcome such limitations, we propose an explainable machine learning (ML)-based solution for efficient URT assessment. Specifically, a cascaded YOLOv8 architecture is utilized to segment the key semantic regions and landmarks per frame. Several spatiotemporal features are then ex...
Mann DN, Hobert KT, Biddle AS, Crossley MS.Cyathostomins are common digestive tract parasites of grazing horses that spread through contact with horse feces. Horse feces are colonized by a variety of organisms, some of which could serve to reduce parasite loads in horse pastures. Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae (BSFL) could be an ideal candidate for biological control of cyathostomins, due to their near-global distribution, low risk of pathogen transmission, ability to develop on a variety of nutrient-poor substrates (including horse manure), and dramatic effect on microbial communities that cyat...
Haase L, Sedlmayr B, Jung IC, Sedlmayr M, Monett D, Winter J.Existing research agrees that a well-thought design of the user interface is a key point for an mHealth application for animal owners, supporting them obtain information and make decisions regarding their pet's specific situation. However, there is currently a lack of specific advice on the design of such an application. Methods: As part of a user-centered design (UCD) process, a formative, explorative usability test with n = 5 users was conducted for collecting design ideas. The test was conducted for two applications that were already available on the market. Results: The need of supporting ...
Samuels A, Burns TA.Lymphoma and myeloproliferative diseases in horses are relatively uncommon. The clinical signs, prognosis, and treatment options depend upon the anatomic location and subtype. Significant gaps in knowledge remain regarding prevalence, pathogenesis of different subtypes, antemortem diagnostic tests, response to treatment, and standardized treatment protocols. However, treatment options are available, accessible on the farm, and could improve quality of life and prolong survival.
Bulnes F, Argüelles D, Buzón A, García-Álamo K, Rodríguez-Gómez IM, Hernández E, Mozos E.This case report details a long-term follow-up of a hoof melanoma with dermo-epidermal activity (resembling Spreading Superficial Melanoma (SSM)) in a bay horse with a history of a right front hoof keratoma. Melanomas involving the horse's foot are seldom reported and usually diagnosed as anaplastic melanomas based on signalment and post-mortem examination. The clinical-pathological characteristics of the foot melanoma in this bay horse are consistent with SSM-like described in humans, which is considered an intermediate malignant tumour attending their biological behaviour. However, a definit...
Kopec EK, Stevens M, Crowe O, Wright C, Suthers J.The aim of the present study was to investigate the long-term survival and postoperative complications in horses that had undergone small intestinal resection and a modified anastomosis technique using a partially stapled, functional end-to-end anastomosis. Methods: Observational retrospective case series. Methods: A total of 25 horses underwent small intestinal resection and a partially stapled, functional end-to-end anastomosis. Methods: A modified technique to create a partially stapled, functional end-to-end anastomosis is described. The clinical case records of all horses that fulfilled t...
