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.
Citek J, Vostry L, Vostra-Vydrova H, Brzakova M, Prantlova V.The objective of this study was to assess the genetic parameters of insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) in the Old Grey Kladruber horse, an original Czech warmblood horse breed. Insect bite hypersensitivity is a recurrent allergic skin disease affecting horses worldwide. Its etiology is multifactorial. The defect is genetically controlled, and the starting impulse is a bite by midges of the spp. and less frequently spp. Knowledge about the associated genes is limited. Horses were kept by the National Stud in Kladruby (1,146 measurements) and by 10 private breeders (63 measurements). The horses ...
Seyoum Z, Zewdu A, Dagnachew S, Bogale B.A study was conducted from November 2015 to April 2016 to determine fenbendazole and ivermectin resistance status of intestinal nematodes of cart horses in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Forty-five strongyle infected animals were used for this study. The animals were randomly allocated into three groups (15 horses per group). Group I was treated with fenbendazole and Group II with ivermectin and Group III was left untreated. Faecal samples were collected from each cart horse before and after treatment. Accordingly, the reduction in the mean fecal egg count at fourteen days of treatment for iverme...
Rosanowski SM, Bolwell CF, Scott I, Sells PD, Rogers CW.Against a global background of increasing anthelmintic resistance in parasites and a domestic over-reliance on anthelmintics to control gastrointestinal parasites, little is currently known about the resistance status of equine parasites in New Zealand. The objective of the study was to investigate the efficacy of ivermectin in yearling Thoroughbreds. Data were collected from six stud farms from November 2014 to January 2015. Yearlings were selected based on not being treated with anthelmintics for a minimum of six weeks previously and on having a preliminary screening strongyle faecal egg cou...
The goal of the current study was to evaluate the comparative efficacy of ivermectin (IVM) against small strongyles (cyathostomins) following its oral and intramuscular (IM) administration, in naturally parasitized horses. The parasitological data were complemented with the assessment of the plasma disposition kinetics of IVM. The trial included two different experiments. In experiment I, 40 horses naturally infected with small strongyles were randomly allocated into four experimental groups (n=10) and treated with IVM (0.2mg/kg) as follows: IVM oral paste, animals were orally treated with Eqv...
Kim HS, Moon HW, Sung HW, Kwon HM.Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV) corresponds a group of isolates recently characterized in horses and dogs that present similar genomic organization and are closely related to hepatitis C virus. Since canine hapacivirus, NPHV identified in dogs, was first discovered in dogs in the United States, equine hepacivirus (EqHV, NPHV identified in horses) has been identified in horses in several countries. However, no epidemiological studies have investigated EqHV in horses in Korea. In this study, a total of 74 (n=74) serum samples collected from horses in four regions of Korea were tested for EqHV RNA...
Ishii JB, Arenal A, Felix A, Yoshitani U, Beech R, Molento MB.Anthelmintic resistance is a serious problem for the control of equine gastrointestinal nematodes. In the present survey, 173 third stage larvae of cyathostomins were investigated from three different locations for the presence of the resistant genotype at codon 167 of the beta-tubulin gene, as this is the most prevalent mutation. The larvae from the state of Parana (n=67), Sao Paulo (n=54) and Santa Catarina (n=52), showed 61.2; 31.5 and 38.5% of the heterozygous resistant genotype - TTC/TAC, respectively. An unpublished mutation at codon 172 that results in a serine (S) to threonine (T) subs...
Eggensperger BH, Schwarzwald CC.To assess the influence of 2nd-degree AV blocks (AVB) on RR interval-based heart rate variability (HRV) variables; to investigate the effect of using PP interval time series and of artifact filtering on HRV analyses; to investigate the influence of electrocardiogram (ECG) recording length and time of recording; and to calculate day-to-day variability and reference intervals of HRV variables. Methods: Thirty healthy adult horses. Methods: RR and PP interval time series were extracted from 10-h Holter ECGs and an automated filter was applied to the RR time series (RR). Time-domain HRV variables...
Qin H, Xiao J, Gao X, Wang H.In contrast to the rapid development of the horse husbandry in China, the ability of horse veterinarians to diagnose diseases has not been improved and only a few domain experts have considerable expertise. At present, many expert systems have been developed for diseases diagnosis, but few for horse diseases diagnosis have been studied in depth. This paper presents the design and development of a computer-aided expert system for diagnosing horse diseases. We suggest an approach for diagnosis of horse diseases based on the analysis of diagnostic characteristics and the experiential knowledge of...
Zanet S, Bassano M, Trisciuoglio A, Taricco I, Ferroglio E.Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi is a disease affecting the health and the international movement of horses. In order to assess prevalence of Piroplasmid infection in the Northwestern part of Italy and to evaluate the associated risk factors, whole blood was collected from 135 horses from 7 different stables across the study area. PCR and sequencing were used to assess prevalence of infection and to identify detected Piroplasms to species level. A total of 23 horses (P=17.04%; CI95%: 10.70-23.38%) was found to be infected with Piroplasms and T. equi was th...
of surveillance testing, July to September 2016International disease occurrence in the third quarter of 2016These 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.
Manyweathers J, Field H, Jordan D, Longnecker N, Agho K, Smith C, Taylor M.Hendra virus was identified in horses and humans in 1994, in Queensland, Australia. Flying foxes are the natural host. Horses are thought to acquire infection by direct or indirect contact with infected flying fox urine. Humans are infected from close contact with infected horses. To reduce risk of infection in horses and humans, Australian horse owners are encouraged to vaccinate horses against the virus and adopt property risk mitigation practices that focus on reducing flying fox horse contact and contamination of horses' environment with flying fox bodily fluids. This study investigates up...
Rocha T.Contagious equine metritis (CEM), a highly contagious bacterial venereal infection of equids, caused by Taylorella equigenitalis, is of major international concern, causing short-term infertility in mares. Portugal has a long tradition of horse breeding and exportation and until recently was considered CEM-free. However, in 2008, T. equigenitalis was isolated at our laboratory from a recently imported stallion and 2 mares from the same stud. Following this first reported outbreak, the Portuguese Veterinary Authority (DGVA) performed mandatory testing on all remaining equines at the stud (n=30)...
Mizen K, Woodman J, Boysen SR, Wagg C, Greco-Otto P, Léguillette R, Roy MF.Blood lactate concentration is a marker of tissue perfusion and helps guide therapeutic interventions in critically ill horses. In both humans and dogs, administration of corticosteroids can increase blood lactate concentration, leading to type B hyperlactatemia. This effect could be a consequence of the impact of corticosteroids on glucose metabolism. Objective: To investigate the effects of daily IM dexamethasone administration on blood lactate and glucose concentrations in horses. Methods: Nine healthy adult horses. Methods: A randomized, blinded, controlled, cross-over study design was use...
Roczo-Farkas S, Kirkwood CD, Bines JE.The Australian Rotavirus Surveillance Program, together with collaborating laboratories Australia-wide, reports the rotavirus genotypes responsible for the hospitalisation of children with acute gastroenteritis during the period 1 January to 31 December 2015. During the survey period, 1,383 faecal samples were referred for rotavirus G and P genotype analysis, and of these, 1,031 were confirmed as rotavirus positive. A total of 634 specimens had been collected from children under 5 years of age, while 397 were from older children and adults. Genotype analysis of samples from both children an...
Muellner P, Muellner U, Gates MC, Pearce T, Ahlstrom C, O'Neill D, Brodbelt D, Cave NJ.Veterinary practitioners have extensive knowledge of animal health from their day-to-day observations of clinical patients. There have been several recent initiatives to capture these data from electronic medical records for use in national surveillance systems and clinical research. In response, an approach to surveillance has been evolving that leverages existing computerized veterinary practice management systems to capture animal health data recorded by veterinarians. Work in the United Kingdom within the VetCompass program utilizes routinely recorded clinical data with the addition of fur...
Ayala-Valdovinos MA, Galindo-García J, Sánchez-Chiprés D, Duifhuis-Rivera T.Hydrocephalus in Friesian horses is an autosomal recessive hereditary disease that can result in an abortion, a stillbirth, or euthanization of a newborn foal. Here, the hydrocephalus-associated c.1423C > T mutation in B3GALNT2 gene was detected with PCR-RFLP and PCR-PIRA methods for horse genotyping. A preliminary genotyping survey was performed on 83 randomly selected Friesian stallion horses to determine the current allele frequency in Mexico. The frequency of the mutant T allele was 9.6%.
Faverjon C, Vial F, Andersson MG, Lecollinet S, Leblond A.West Nile virus (WNV) is a growing public health concern in Europe and there is a need to develop more efficient early detection systems. Nervous signs in horses are considered to be an early indicator of WNV and, using them in a syndromic surveillance system, might be relevant. In our study, we assessed whether or not data collected by the passive French surveillance system for the surveillance of equine diseases can be used routinely for the detection of WNV. We tested several pre-processing methods and detection algorithms based on regression. We evaluated system performances using simulate...
Koenig JB, Silveira A, Cribb NC, Piat P, Laverty S, Sorge US.The main objective of this retrospective study was to describe clinical findings, management, and short- and long-term outcome in 27 horses that underwent various surgical techniques for esophageal disease. Surgical techniques (sometimes concurrently) performed were: esophagostomy ( = 14), esophagotomy with primary closure ( = 6), esophagomyotomy ( = 3), and esophagoplasty ( = 2). Esophageal perforation in 5 horses was treated by ventral drainage; 3 horses had the esophageal defect sutured ( = 3). Feeding tubes were placed in 15 horses. Postoperative complications occurred in 52% (14/27) with ...
Goodman LB, Anderson RR, Slater M, Ortenberg E, Renshaw RW, Chilson BD, Laverack MA, Beeby JS, Dubovi EJ, Glaser AL.Nanoliter scale real-time PCR uses spatial multiplexing to allow multiple assays to be run in parallel on a single plate without the typical drawbacks of combining reactions together. We designed and evaluated a panel based on this principle to rapidly identify the presence of common disease agents in dogs and horses with acute respiratory illness. This manuscript describes a nanoscale diagnostic PCR workflow for sample preparation, amplification, and analysis of target pathogen sequences, focusing on procedures that are different from microliter scale reactions. In the respiratory panel prese...
Yarnell K, Le Bon M, Turton N, Savova M, McGlennon A, Forsythe S.To compare the rate of growth of four microbial strains that cause disease in the horse, on four commonly used types of bedding. The moisture-holding capacity of each bedding type was also tested. Results: Microbial strains included Streptococcus equi, Streptococcus zooepidemicus, Fusobacterium necrophorum, Dichelobacter nodosus and Dermatophilus congolensis. The bedding types tested were Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine shavings), Pinus nigra (Corsican pine shavings), Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce shavings), Cannabis sativa (hemp) and chopped wheat straw. A suspension of each microbial strain wa...
Welsh CE, Duz M, Parkin TDH, Marshall JF.Electronic medical records from first opinion equine veterinary practice may represent a unique resource for epidemiologic research. The appropriateness of this resource for risk factor analyses was explored as part of an investigation into clinical and pharmacologic risk factors for laminitis. Amalgamated medical records from seven UK practices were subjected to text mining to identify laminitis episodes, systemic or intra-synovial corticosteroid prescription, diseases known to affect laminitis risk and clinical signs or syndromes likely to lead to corticosteroid use. Cox proportional hazard ...
Poole DC, Erickson HH.As the Thoroughbreds race for the final stretch, 44 hooves flash and thunder creating a cacophony of tortured air and turf. Orchestrated by selective breeding for physiology and biomechanics, expressed as speed, the millennia-old symphony of man and beast reaches its climax. At nearly 73 kilometers per hour (45 mph) over half a ton of flesh and bone dwarfs its limpet-like jockey as, eyes wild and nostrils flaring, their necks stretch for glory. Beneath each resplendent livery-adorned, latherin-splattered coat hides a monstrous heart trilling at 4 beats per second, and each minute, driving over...
Diyes GCP, Rajakaruna RS.Otobius megnini infests mainly domesticated and wild animals and occasionally humans. It has been identified as an agent of human and horse otoacariasis in Sri Lanka. The number of nymphal stages in the life cycle of O. megnini varies from one to three in different geographic regions. The present study determined the life cycle of O. megnini infesting the racehorses in Nuwara Eliya. A tick colony was initiated from fully engorged nymphs collected from horses and maintained at 10°C, 22°C and 28°C. Immature stages were reared on New Zealand rabbits. Only the larvae weighing more than 0.9mg (8...
Steinbach F, Westcott DG, McGowan SL, Grierson SS, Frossard JP, Choudhury B.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory and reproductive disease of equids, which is notifiable in some countries including the Great Britain (GB) and to the OIE. Herein, we present the case of a persistently infected stallion and the phylogenetic tracing of the virus strain isolated. Discussing EAV occurrence and phylogenetic analysis we review features, which may aid to harmonise and enhance the classification of EAV.
Larsen AB, Moon HW, Merkal RS.The susceptibility of horses to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis was studied. A total of 8 colts was used: 2 colts were exposed intravenously and 1 colt used as a contact control was placed with them; 2 colts were exposed intragastrically; 1 colt was administered killed M. paratuberculosis intravenously; and the remaining 2 colts were used as normal controls and were housed separately. Colts administered live bacilli intravenously began losing weight 84 days after exposure, and shortly thereafter they had clinical signs of disease, consisting of loss of body weight and rough coat. The exposed co...
Lewis BD, Penzhorn BL, Volkmann DH.Treatment of pregnant mares to prevent abortions due to equine piroplasmosis is a novel idea practised empirically at some Thoroughbred studs in South Africa. This paper presents the results of an investigation to ascertain whether imidocarb dipropionate crosses the equine placenta. Three pregnant mares were injected intramuscularly with imidocarb and their foetuses were mechanically aborted at varying time intervals thereafter. Imidocarb was found in foetal blood at a level similar to that in the dam's blood, suggesting that imidocarb administered to the dam would be available for anti-parasi...
van der Kolk JH, Nachreiner RF, Refsal KR, Brouillet D, Wensing T.Our objectives were to 1) establish ionised calcium (ICa), C-terminal PTH and biologically active PTH (intact molecule) concentrations in blood from normal horses, 2) examine the stability of ionised calcium and acid-base values in stored equine heparinised blood and serum and 3) check the applicability of the formulas based on these parameters in certain disease states. Mean +/- s.d. % ionised calcium in heparinised blood of normal Warmbloods was 51 +/- 2.7 (n = 20) of total calcium, range 1.45-1.75 mmol/l (n = 15) at Michigan State University and 1.43-1.69 mmol/l (n = 20) at Utrecht Universi...
Ragle CA, Meagher DM, Lacroix CA, Honnas CM.A retrospective study of 40 horses that underwent surgical treatment for sand colic was performed. Three horses were euthanatized and one died during surgery. Of the 36 horses that recovered from anesthesia, five died before discharge from the hospital and seven died after discharge. Twenty-four horses survived at least 12 months. Sand impaction of the right dorsal colon was present in 26 horses. In addition to sand impaction, 10 horses also had colonic displacement or volvulus.
Bellone RR.Horses perform in a variety of disciplines that are visually demanding, and any disease impacting the eye has the potential to threaten vision and thus the utility of the horse. Advances in equine genetics have enabled the understanding of some inherited ocular disorders and ocular manifestations and are enabling cross-species comparisons. Genetic testing for multiple congenital ocular anomalies, congenital stationary night blindness, equine recurrent uveitis, and squamous cell carcinoma can identify horses with or at risk for disease and thus can assist in clinical management and breeding dec...
Parks A, O'Grady SE.Laminitis is divided into four different phases: developmental, acute, subacute, and chronic. The focus of this article is on treating the laminitic horse after the cessation of therapy for the acute phase, that is, usually 2 to 4 weeks after the onset of clinical signs.
Falcão MVD, Silveira PPM, Santana VLA, da Rocha LO, Chaves KP, Mota RA.Burkholderia (B.) mallei is the causative agent of glanders in Equidae. This study describes the first record of the Turkey 10 strain of B. mallei in glanderous horses in Northeastern of Brazil. This description should contribute to the future actions of diagnosis, control, and eradication of this disease in Brazil.
Bedenice D, Johnson AL.EPM, CVSM, and EDM are currently recognized as the 3 most common neurologic diseases in US horses, with the latter 2 conditions being most prevalent in young animals. Moreover, horses competing at shows and performance events are at greater risk for exposure to highly contagious, neurologic EHV-1 outbreaks. A clinical diagnosis of any neurologic disease should be based on a careful history, complete neurologic examination, and appropriate diagnostic testing and interpretation. However, mild or early neurologic signs can often mimic or be mistaken for an orthopedic condition when horses present...
Platt JP, Simon BT, Coleman M, Martinez EA, Lepiz MA, Watts AE.Although rare, 70% of equine fatalities during recovery from general anaesthesia (GA) are due to catastrophic fractures from poor recovery quality. Objective: To determine the effect of repeated GA recovery on GA recovery quality. Methods: Experimental blinded trial. Methods: Eight adult horses underwent six GA events on sevoflurane for distal limb MRI examination over a 14-week period. Prior to GA recovery, xylazine was administered. Randomly ordered video-recorded GA recoveries were scored by three blinded board certified veterinary anaesthesiologists, unaware of patient identity or GA event...
Reeves MJ, Curtis CR, Salman MD, Stashak TS, Reif JS.A survey of 1,965 equine colic cases was conducted from August 1985 to July 1986 at 10 equine referral centers located throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a multivariable model for the need for surgery. Two-thirds of the cases were randomly selected for model development (1,336), whereas the remaining cases (629) were used only for subsequent validation of the model. If a lesion requiring surgical correction was found at either surgery or necropsy, the case for the horse was classified as surgical, otherwise the case was classified as medical. On...
Ledbetter EC.Fungi are clinically important causes of ocular infections in the horse. Keratomycosis is the most common; however, a diverse range of mycotic infections, affecting numerous ocular tissues, may be encountered. Many equine mycoses are diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Prompt and appropriate treatment is essential to minimize morbidity and reduce the likelihood of vision loss. Knowledge of the characteristics and properties of equine ophthalmology antifungal medications is essential to selecting an optimal treatment strategy, including selection of appropriate medication and effective admin...
Divers TJ, Kraus MS, Jesty SA, Miller AD, Mohammed HO, Gelzer AR, Mitchell LM, Soderholm LV, Ducharme NG.Six adult horses were administered sodium monensin, 1.0-1.5 mg/kg, via gastric gavage. Anorexia and/or diarrhea occurred within 24 hr after monensin administration in all 6 horses. Cardiac disease and dysfunction were evaluated by both elevations in heart rate, echocardiography, and an increase in serum concentrations of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), occurred in 4 horses. The development and severity of cardiac disease was likely affected by the monensin dose, vehicle (water or corn oil) mixed with monensin, and/or whether the monensin was administered to fed or fasted horses. Initial increases i...
Clode AB.The following article briefly discusses the pathogenesis of infectious keratitis in the horse, followed by discussion of management and pharmacological aspects to be considered when devising a therapeutic protocol for affected patients.
McKenzie HC, Geor RJ.Nutritional support of the foal can be challenging because of the constant changes in nutritional requirements and dietary composition during the transition from neonate to weanling. Additional complexity arises because of dilemmas regarding the means and route of delivery of nutrition to the foal, and the possibility that metabolic dysfunction may impair the ability of the foal to use nutrients appropriately. This article provides practical information on enteral and parenteral nutritional support of sick neonatal foals. The potential benefits of a conservative, hypocaloric feeding strategy, ...
Shettko DL.As laparoscopic surgery gains popularity, it becomes crucial to understand complications associated with the procedure. The potential complications of laparoscopy include those related to laparoscopy and those related to the surgical procedure. As new applications for laparoscopic surgery emerge, it is important for the surgeon to become familiar with potential complications.
Machado G, Corbellini LG, Frias-De-Diego A, Dieh GN, Dos Santos DV, Jara M, de Freitas Costa E.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a transboundary disease affecting a large number of equines worldwide. In this study, we assessed the transmission risk of EIAV in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Serum samples from 1010 animals from 341 farms were initially analyzed using agar gel immunodiffusion to detect viral antibodies, and no antibody-positive animals were found. A risk assessment stochastic model was applied to generate the expected number of potential infections per month and to estimate the time to new infections. Our results estimated 6.5 months as the interval for new infections i...
Toribio RE.Knowledge of urinary tract anatomy and the numerous functions of the kidney in regulating fluids, electrolytes, acid-base balance, and waste products improves the ability of the clinician to diagnose, treat, and make appropriate recommendations for the management of the horse with renal disease. Several conditions can directly or indirectly affect renal function on a temporary or permanent basis. Endogenous and exogenous compounds (eg, drugs, toxins, hemoglobin) alone or in combination with inappropriate renal blood flow can promote or exacerbate renal disease.
Dumoulin M, Pille F, Van den Abeele AM, Haesebrouck F, Oosterlinck M, Gasthuys F, Martens A.The objective of this study was to evaluate an automated blood culture system for the isolation of microorganisms from infected equine synovial fluid (SF). Samples were collected from 220 severely inflamed synovial joints and classified as either presumably infected (group A: n=149) or not infected (group B: n=71), based on a combination of clinical history, clinical signs and cytological analysis of the SF. Samples were inoculated into blood culture bottles and after incubation were subcultured onto agar media to confirm the results and to facilitate full bacterial identification. Microorgani...