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.
Simoneit C, McKay-Demeler J, Merle R.Deworming management is important for a good herd health status in horses. The aim of this study was to present differences between farms using a regular deworming management and a selective anthelmintic therapy approach (SAT), respectively. Methods: An online survey was conducted to identify deworming practices on horse farms. The questionnaire included questions on the number of animals kept on the farm, housing, hygiene, and deworming practices. Results: In total, 283 questionnaires were analyzed. A total of 155 farms used a regular deworming management (RD) and 77 farms used a SAT approach...
Manna G, Cersini A, Nardini R, Bartolomé Del Pino LE, Antognetti V, Zini M, Conti R, Lorenzetti R, Veneziano V, Autorino GL, Scicluna MT.Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are tick-borne pathogens causing equine piroplasmosis infecting the Equidae family in which they cause significant sanitary and economic losses. Furthermore, equine piroplasmosis is included in the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) notifiable diseases list with possible movement restrictions for positive horses. Thirty-nine EDTA and whole-blood samples collected during 2013 and 2014 from symptomatic and asymptomatic horses of Central-Southern Italy were included in the present study either because of their strongly positive results in Real Time (RT) PCRs...
Urie NJ, Lombard JE, Marshall KL, Digianantonio R, Pelzel-McCluskey AM, McCluskey BJ, Traub-Dargatz JL, Kopral CA, Swenson SL, Schiltz JJ.Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is caused by a contagious rhabdovirus that affects horses, cattle, and swine. Clinical signs of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection in pigs and cattle are indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a foreign animal disease and reportable disease in the United States (Rodriguez et al., 2000). A VS epidemic occurred in the Rocky Mountain region in 2014-15. A study was conducted in Colorado to evaluate horse- and management-level factors associated with VS. For a horse to be considered a clinical VS horse, there were two requirements. First, clinical VS ...
Sallé G, Kornaś S, Basiaga M.Equine strongyles are a major health issue. Large strongyles can cause death of horses while cyathostomins (small strongyles) have shown increased resistance to anthelmintics worldwide. Description of strongyle communities have accumulated but little is known about the diversity of these communities and underpinning environmental factors. Strongyles were recovered after ivermectin treatment from 48 horses located in six premises in Poland. Correlation between previously published species fecundity and the observed relative abundance and prevalence were estimated. Significance of horse sex was ...
Parashar R, Singla LD, Batra K, Kumar R, Kashyap N, Kaur P, Bal MS.To unravel equid trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma evansi in Punjab state of India, a cross sectional study was designed by utilizing parasitological and sero-molecular tools with objective to assess the prevalence of T. evansi in association with various risk factors in all agroclimatic zones of Punjab state of India. Parasitological Romanowksy stained thin blood smears (RSTBS) to detect patent infection, molecular techniques polymerase chain reaction I (PCR I; TBR 1/2 primers; targeting minichromosomal satellite DNA of T. evansi), polymerase chain reaction II (PCR II; TR 3/4 primers; targ...
Yadav PD, Albariño CG, Nyayanit DA, Guerrero L, Jenks MH, Sarkale P, Nichol ST, Mourya DT.A virus isolated from a sick horse from India in 2008 was confirmed by next-generation sequencing analysis to be equine encephalosis virus (EEV). EEV in India is concerning because several species of Culicoides midge, which play a major role in EEV natural maintenance and transmission, are present in this country.
Gildea S, Garvey M, Lyons P, Lyons R, Gahan J, Walsh C, Cullinane A.Equine influenza (EI) outbreaks occurred on 19 premises in Ireland during 2014. Disease affected thoroughbred (TB) and non-TB horses/ponies on a variety of premises including four racing yards. Initial clinical signs presented on 16 premises within a two-month period. Extensive field investigations were undertaken, and the diagnostic effectiveness of a TaqMan RT-PCR assay was demonstrated in regularly-vaccinated and sub-clinically-affected horses. Epidemiological data and repeat clinical samples were collected from 305 horses, of which 40% were reported as clinically affected, 39% were identif...
Losinno SJ, Aguilar J, Carbonetti L, Ferniot E, San Esteban F, Flores Suares CM.Strategies for parasite control have undergone major changes in recent years, especially in Europe and the United States, replacing traditional approaches by schemes based on surveillance and selective therapy. A first step in helminth control planning is to understand and demonstrate how horse owners or trainers currently control nematodes. The aim of this study was to collect information, through a survey, about important aspects of routine anthelmintic strategies in sport horses in Argentina and other regional countries. A total of 100 surveys were sent. Sixty nine were responded, 53% of th...
López-Ruiz N, Montaño-Remacha MDC, Durán-Pla E, Pérez-Ruiz M, Navarro-Marí JM, Salamanca-Rivera C, Miranda B, Oyonarte-Gómez S....In Andalusia, Spain, West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance takes place from April to November, during the active vector period. Within this area seroconversion to this virus was evidenced in wild birds in 2004, affecting horses and two humans for the first time in 2010. Since 2010, the virus has been isolated every year in horses, and national and regional surveillance plans have been updated with the epidemiological changes found. WNV is spreading rapidly throughout southern Europe and has caused outbreaks in humans. Here we describe the second WNV outbreak in humans in Andalusia, with three con...
Saleem S, Ijaz M, Farooqi SH, Ghaffar A, Ali A, Iqbal K, Mehmood K, Zhang H.Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) is an important tick borne disease of equines that is caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum). The etiological agent has veterinary as well as public health importance because of its zoonotic nature. A. phagocytophilum causes an acute illness in equines with loss of appetite, lethargy, hemorrhages and lameness. Clinically, EGA is diagnosed upon examination of morulae within neutrophils especially granulocytes in the blood. The best diagnostic tool for the detection of EGA is Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Previous studies suggested that...
Carslake HB, Argo CM, Pinchbeck GL, Dugdale AHA, McGowan CM.Reduction of the hyperinsulinaemic response to feeding is central to the management of insulin dysregulation (ID). The aim of this study was to compare insulinaemic and glycaemic responses to soaked hay, dry hay and haylage in ponies. Twelve ponies of mixed breeds were maintained under identical management conditions. A randomised four-way crossover trial was conducted, in which fasted animals were fed a meal of 0.25% body weight as dry matter intake soaked hay, dry hay or haylage, or administered an oral glucose test (OGT). Blood glucose and serum insulin concentrations were measured before a...
Hicks J, Stuber T, Lantz K, Erdman M, Robbe-Austerman S, Huang X.Contagious equine metritis is a disease of worldwide concern in equids. The United States is considered to be free of the disease although sporadic outbreaks have occurred over the last few decades that were thought to be associated with the importation of horses. The objective of this study was to create finished, reference quality genomes that characterize the diversity of Taylorella equigenitalis isolates introduced into the USA, and identify their differences. Five isolates of T. equigenitalis associated with introductions into the USA from unique sources were sequenced using both short an...
Wong DM, Ruby RE, Dembek KA, Barr BS, Reuss SM, Magdesian KG, Olsen E, Burns T, Slovis NM, Wilkins PA.The original equine sepsis score provided a method of identifying foals with sepsis. New variables associated with sepsis have been evaluated, but the sepsis score has not been updated. Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of 2 updated sepsis scores and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria in regard to detecting sepsis in foals. Methods: Two-hundred and seventy-three ill foals and 25 healthy control foals. Methods: Historical, physical examination, and clinicopathologic findings were used to calculate the original sepsis score and 2 updated sepsis score...
Burgess BA, Bauknecht K, Slovis NM, Morley PS.Salmonella enterica is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections in veterinary hospitals - with outbreaks of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Salmonella among equine cases resulting in high case fatality rates and substantial financial cost. Objective: Study objectives were to 1) investigate factors associated with shedding of MDR-Salmonella enterica and 2) evaluate the effect shedding may have on health outcomes of previously hospitalised horses and their stablemates. Methods: Retrospective case-control study with prospective cohort study. Methods: Analysis of medical records (N = 37...
Hardefeldt LY, Gilkerson JR, Billman-Jacobe H, Stevenson MA, Thursky K, Bailey KE, Browning GF.Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are yet to be widely implemented in veterinary practice and medical programs are unlikely to be directly applicable to veterinary settings. Objective: To gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence effective AMS in veterinary practices in Australia. Methods: A concurrent explanatory mixed methods design was used. The quantitative phase of the study consisted of an online questionnaire to assess veterinarians' attitudes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use in animals, and the extent to which AMS currently is implemente...
Jacob SI, Murray KJ, Rendahl AK, Geor RJ, Schultz NE, McCue ME.Metabolomics, the study of small-molecule metabolites, has increased understanding of human metabolic diseases, but has not been used to study equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Objective: (1) To examine the serum metabolome of Welsh Ponies with and without insulin dysregulation before and during an oral sugar test (OST). (2) To identify differences in metabolites in ponies with insulin dysregulation, obesity, or history of laminitis. Methods: Twenty Welsh Ponies (mean ± SD; 13.8 ± 9.0 years) classified as non-insulin dysregulated [CON] (n = 10, insulin 60 mU/L) at 75 minutes ...
Fielding CL.With advances in technology and owner education, field management in equine veterinary medicine continues to evolve. Equine gastrointestinal disease is one of the most common types of emergencies evaluated by equine practitioners, and many of these patients can be effectively managed in the field. Although the equine veterinarian must make numerous decisions, fluid therapy, pain management, and antimicrobial use are 3 of the major choices that must be addressed when initiating field treatment of equine gastrointestinal disease. This article addresses the practical use of these 3 treatment cate...
Rivera-Páez FA, Martins TF, Ossa-López PA, Sampieri BR, Camargo-Mathias MI.Rickettsiosis are emerging or re-emerging diseases, with a worldwide distribution associated to transmission by arthropod vectors. Rickettsia species belong to the spotted fever group (SFG) and are transmitted by hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) that may act as vectors and reservoirs. This study carried out a molecular detection of Rickettsia from 7 species of the family Ixodidae collected from domestic hosts by PCR amplification of fragments of the citrate synthase "gltA" gene and outer membrane protein "ompA" gene. Of the 204 samples analyzed, 11.3% (23) were positive for rickettsial infection. ...
Ceriotti S, Consiglio AL, Casati L, Cremonesi F, Sibilia V, Ferrucci F.Increasing evidence suggests a role for ghrelin in the control of articular inflammatory diseases like osteoarthritis (OA). In the present study we examined the ability of ghrelin to counteract LPS-induced necrosis and apoptosis of chondrocytes and the involvement of GH secretagogue receptor (GHS-R)1a in the protective action of ghrelin. The effects of ghrelin (10-10 mol/L) on equine primary cultured chondrocytes viability and necrosis in basal conditions and under LPS treatment (100 ng/ml) were detected by using both acridine orange/propidium iodide staining and annexin-5/propidium iodide...
Borges IA, Reynolds MG, McCollum AM, Figueiredo PO, Ambrosio LLD, Vieira FN, Costa GB, Matos ACD, de Andrade Almeida VM, Ferreira PCP, Lobato ZIP....Since 1999 (VACV) outbreaks involving bovines and humans have been reported in Brazil; this zoonosis is known as Bovine Vaccinia (BV) and is mainly an occupational disease of milkers. It was only in 2008 (and then again in 2011 and 2014) however, that VACV was found causing natural infections in Brazilian equids. These reports involved only equids, no infected humans or bovines were identified, and the sources of infections remain unknown up to date. The peculiarities of Equine Vaccinia outbreaks (e.g., absence of human infection), the frequently shared environments, and fomites by equids and...
Donati B, Fürst AE, Hässig M, Jackson MA.Fractures occur commonly in equids and often are associated with complications and a poor outcome. There are no reports on the epidemiology of fractures in a heterogeneous equine population. Objective: To study the epidemiology of fractures in a heterogeneous equine population, focusing on differences between fractures resulting from a kick and fractures, resulting from other causes and investigating predictors for recovery. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Data of all equids presented to the Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich between 1990 and 2014 and diagn...
Lisowski ZM, Pirie RS, Blikslager AT, Lefebvre D, Hume DA, Hudson NPH.Post-operative ileus (POI) is a serious condition which any horse undergoing abdominal surgery is at risk of developing, leading to increased hospitalisation time and resulting costs. Advances in the understanding of the development of equine POI are mainly based on human and rodent literature, where manipulation-induced inflammation has been identified as a trigger, with activation of resident muscularis externa macrophages playing a crucial role in the pathophysiology. Despite many pharmacological trials in all species, there is no single completely successful treatment for POI, highlighting...
Van Erck E, Votion D, Art T, Lekeux P.The long-established conventional reference technique (CRT) for measuring respiratory mechanics in horses lacks sensitivity and there is a need for further refinement in new technology, such as the impulse oscillometry system (IOS). Objective: To evaluate the potential use of the IOS as a clinical respiratory function test and compare it to the current CRT in horses suffering from common upper and lower airway dysfunctions. Methods: Six healthy horses were tested before and after induction of a unilateral nasal obstruction (UNO) or transient left laryngeal hemiplegia (LLH). Six heaves-affected...
Macdonald SL, Abbas G, Ghafar A, Gauci CG, Bauquier J, El-Hage C, Tennent-Brown B, Wilkes EJA, Beasley A, Jacobson C, Cudmore L, Carrigan P, Hurley J....Cyathostomins are the most common and highly prevalent parasites of horses worldwide. Historically, the control of cyathostomins has mainly relied on the routine use of anthelmintic products. Increasing reports on anthelmintic resistance (AR) in cyathostomins are concerning. A potential method proposed for detecting emerging AR in cyathostomins has been estimating the egg reappearance period (ERP). This paper reviews the data available for the ERP of cyathostomins against the three major classes of anthelmintics, macrocyclic lactones, tetrahydropyrimidines, and benzimidazoles. Published peer-r...
Allison K, Taylor NM, Wilsmore AJ, Garforth C.An online survey was conducted to establish horse owners' beliefs, attitudes and practices relating to the use of anthelmintic drugs. Out of a total of 574 respondents, 89 per cent described themselves as 'leisure riders', most of whom took part in a variety of activities including eventing, show jumping, dressage, hunter trials, hunting, driving, endurance and showing. Overall, respondents were generally aware and concerned about the issue of anthelmintic resistance. Less than 60 per cent of all respondents were comfortable with their existing anthelmintic programme, and 25 per cent would lik...
Marshall AE, Byars TD, Whitlock RH, George LW.Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing was done to evaluate inner ear/VIIIth cranial nerve (CN8) function in the horse. The BAER test consisted of stimulating the auditory system with clicks and recording far-field responses of the brainstem auditory components via cutaneous electrodes and a signal averaging system. The normal response was shown to be a series of waves occurring within the first 10 msec after the stimulus click. Functional loss of the auditory receptor organ (cochlea) or CN8 results in loss of the entire response on the side of the injury. Because of the anatomic re...
Leathwick DM, Sauermann CW, Reinemeyer CR, Nielsen MK.A model was developed to reproduce the dynamics of the parasitic stages of equine cyathostomins. Based on a detailed review of published literature, a deterministic simulation model was constructed using the escalator boxcar-train approach, which allows for fully-overlapping cohorts of worms and approximately normally distributed variations in age/size classes. Key biological features include a declining establishment of ingested infective stage larvae as horses age. Development rates are constant for all the parasitic stages except the encysted early third stage larvae, for which development ...
Awosile BB, Heider LC, Saab ME, McClure JT.This study determined the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and trends for selected bacteria isolated from horses using diagnostic data from the Atlantic Veterinary College Diagnostic Services Bacteriology Laboratory, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island over a 20-year period. subsp. and were the most commonly isolated bacteria over the study period. Clinical samples were most frequently submitted from respiratory and reproductive systems. Most bacterial isolates were susceptible to ceftiofur. Resistance was most common in Gram-negative enteric bacteria, while streptococci were frequentl...
Nielsen MK.Formulating and disseminating recommendations for parasite control is a dynamic process that requires constant interaction between parasitology researchers and the end-users in the field. Any set of guidelines requires continuous evaluation of efficacy and possible adverse effects, and adjustments are invariably needed along the way. Experience with formulating guidelines for equine parasite control illustrates that end-users struggle with striking the balance between treating too little and too much.
Whitwell KE.An autopsy study of one dead and two sick hares from an East Anglian estate on which two mares had died of grass sickness revealed that two of the hares were suffering from a polyganglionopathy and alimentary tract changes, remarkably similar to those seen in grass sickness in horses. No such abnormalities were found in two healthy hares from the same locality.
An outbreak of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) that began in northwestern Venezuela in April 1995 has spread westward to the Guajira peninsula and to Colombia (Figure 1), resulting in an estimated minimum of 13,000 cases in humans and an undetermined number of equine deaths. Governments of both countries have initiated efforts to control the spread of this outbreak by quarantining and vaccinating equines and applying insecticides. This report summarizes the ongoing investigation of the outbreak in Colombia.
Heldens JG, van Loon AA, van de Zande S.Conventional equine influenza vaccination schedules consist of a primary course of two vaccinations given 4-6 weeks apart followed by a third vaccination (booster) given approximately 5 months later. In between the primary course and the third vaccination, horses are generally considered not to be adequately protected against influenza. This study aimed to investigate whether Thoroughbred foals would benefit from a vaccination schedule in which the third vaccination was given earlier than in conventional vaccination schedules. The vaccines used were an inactivated whole virus equine influenza ...
Niedźwiedź A, Borowicz H, Nicpoń JM.A survey to determine current prevalence of Gasterophilus spp. (bot flies) in equids (n=400) at necropsy in slaughtered horses was conducted at the abattoir in Rawicz. The evaluation was performed according to sex, age, larval stages, severity of infestation and localization, respectively. Only Gasterophilus intestinalis and Gasterophilus nasalis were detected. The prevalence determined in the eastern part of Poland was of 47%. The high prevalence of this parasite infection in the Polish horse population confirms that Gasterophilosis spp. has to be taken into serious consideration and prophyla...
Vesicular stomatitis is an infrequent yet important vesicular disease of cattle, horses, and swine. Periodic outbreaks of this disease in the United States have caused economic losses in cattle herds because of decreased production, movement restrictions, and trade embargoes. Vesicular stomatitis causes clinical signs indistinguishable from those of foot-and-mouth disease. It is of utmost importance that appropriate samples are collected from clinical cases of vesicular disease in cattle and swine so a rapid laboratory diagnosis can be made.
Platt H, Atherton JG, Simpson DJ.Four pony mares were readily infected with the organism of contagious equine metritis by intracervical inoculation and one by coitus with an infected stallion. Infected mares developed an acute endometritis with local destruction of the endometrial epithelium. In 2 experimentally infected mares, infection appeared to have been spontaneously eliminated from the genital tract within 3 to 4 weeks. A third mare however remained persistently infected in the clitoral fossa over a long period and was a symptomless carrier. Four pony stallions were readily infected in the urethral fossa and the organi...
Brister H, Barnum SM, Reedy S, Chambers TM, Pusterla N.We validated 2 multiplex real-time PCR (rtPCR) assays based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the hemagglutinin-1 ( HA1) gene of H3N8 equine influenza A virus (EIV) to determine clade affiliation of prototype and field isolates. Initial validation of the 2 multiplex rtPCR assays (SNP1 and SNP2) was performed using nucleic acid from 14 EIV Florida sublineage clade 1 and 2 prototype strains. We included in our study previously banked EIV rtPCR-positive nasal secretions from 341 horses collected across the United States in 2012-2017 to determine their clade affiliation. All 14 EIV prot...
Hesselkilde E, Linz D, Saljic A, Carstensen H, Kutieleh R, Jespersen T, Sanders P, Buhl R.Three-dimensional electroanatomical mapping is of potential interest in equine cardiology to identify arrhythmia mechanisms, characterise electroanatomical substrates and guide ablation strategies. Objective: To describe three-dimensional electroanatomical mapping in standing horses. Methods: Research methodology, proof of concept study. Methods: Four Standardbred horses (2 geldings, 2 mares, median age 4.5 [4-9] years, mean bodyweight 485 [440-550] kg) were sedated and placed in stocks. Via the jugular vein, a high-density multipolar grid catheter (Advisor™ HD Grid Mapping Catheter with E...
Clarke DL.Chondromalacia of the tracheal and bronchial cartilages and redundancy of the dorsal tracheal membrane result in collapse of the large airways, leading to coughing and airway obstruction. It most commonly affects small-breed dogs, although larger-breed dogs, cats, and miniature horses are also sporadically reported. Dynamic airway imaging is used to confirm the diagnosis. The primary goal of medical management is to control clinical signs attributable to coughing and airway inflammation. When this is no longer effective, tracheal stents provide a minimally invasive, rapid way to restore airway...
Jelocnik M, Nyari S, Anstey S, Playford N, Fraser TA, Mitchell K, Blishen A, Pollak NM, Carrick J, Chicken C, Jenkins C.C. psittaci has recently emerged as an equine abortigenic pathogen causing significant losses to the Australian Thoroughbred industry, while Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a well-recognized abortigenic agent. Diagnosis of these agents is based on molecular assays in diagnostic laboratories. In this study, we validated C. psittaci and newly developed EHV-1 Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assays performed in a real-time fluorometer (rtLAMP) against the reference diagnostic assays. We also evaluated isothermal amplification using commercially available colorimetric mix (cLAMP), and...
