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.
Elvander M, Persson B, Sternberg Lewerin S.As in most European countries, anthrax was common in Swedish livestock during the centuries leading up to the mid-twentieth century. After 1957, the disease was regarded as practically extinct. However, in the past 7 years, three outbreaks have caused public alarm because of the risk of environmental contamination. Properly buried carcasses should present little risk of spore contamination, and instructions were in place to ensure this since the 1890s. However, as has been demonstrated in recent outbreaks, carcasses were not always adequately buried and viable spores may remain in some sites....
Mill G.Official Veterinarians (OVs) from across the U.K. came together recently at conference organised to provide targeted CPD for their particular roles. With the theme of 'Reducing the impact of notifiable diseases in the UK', the meeting considered a wide range of topics, spanning large animal, small animal and equine issues. Georgina Mills reports on some of the sessions.
Lee E, Kim EJ, Shin YK, Song JY.The avian influenza A virus causes respiratory infections in animal species. It can undergo genomic recombination with newly obtained genetic material through an interspecies transmission. However, the process is an unpredictable event, making it difficult to predict the emergence of a new pandemic virus and distinguish its origin, especially when the virus is the result of multiple infections. Therefore, identifying a novel influenza is entirely dependent on sequencing its whole genome. Occasionally, however, it can be time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive when sequencing many influenza...
Johnson AK, Hinrichs K.There are few reports on the birth of foals resulting from equine adult somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT). On evaluation of reports of 28 live-born adult somatic-cell NT (clone) foals, 3 died within 2 weeks of birth of complications. Approximately 50 % of all reported cloned foals had complications, some requiring aggressive supportive care. The most common abnormalities reported were neonatal maladjustment syndrome, enlarged umbilical remnant, and angular deformity of the forelimbs, similar to problems described in cloned cattle. In contrast, large offspring syndrome and gross abnormalities ...
Lefebvre D, Hudson NP, Elce YA, Blikslager A, Divers TJ, Handel IG, Tremaine WH, Pirie RS.A recent survey of European Colleges (European College of Equine Internal Medicine [ECEIM] and European College of Veterinary Surgeons [ECVS]) revealed the different strategies implemented by, and some of the challenges facing, European clinicians presented with cases of post operative ileus (POI). It was concluded that further comparative analysis of opinions, canvassed from additional colleges of equine veterinary specialism worldwide, would provide valuable additional insight into current POI knowledge on a more global scale. Objective: To report and compare the current strategies favoured ...
Fielding CL, Magdesian KG.Sepsis and septic shock represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in equine neonates and in all species. Early recognition of the condition is important, but definitive examination and laboratory variables to predict equine neonatal sepsis are lacking. Early and aggressive treatment should include broad-spectrum antimicrobial coverage, source control, and hemodynamic support. Field practitioners and intensive care clinicians work together in the management of this condition because the recognition and initial treatment should begin as early as possible.
Marr CM.The neonatal foal is in a transitional state from prenatal to postnatal circulation. Healthy newborn foals often have cardiac murmurs and dysrhythmias, which are usually transient and of little clinical significance. The neonatal foal is prone to infection and cardiac trauma. Echocardiography is the main tool used for valuation of the cardiovascular system. With prompt identification and appropriate action, dysrhythmias and other sequel to cardiac trauma can be corrected. With infection, the management and prognosis are driven by concurrent sepsis. Congenital disease represents an interesting ...
Fischer B, Clark-Price S.Anesthetizing the neonatal foal presents significant challenges as a result of physiologic differences from the adult equine. This article gives the reader an overview of these differences and the impact they have on anesthetic drug selection, monitoring, and support of the equine neonate. Special emphasis is directed to the sick neonate and appropriate preparation and maintenance of anesthesia in the face of commonly presented disease conditions.
Attoui H, Mohd Jaafar F.Many novel emerging orbiviruses have been isolated in the past 15 years. Important viruses include Peruvian horse sickness virus (PHSV) and Yunnan orbivirus (YUOV), pathogens of equids which were originally isolated almost simultaneously from 1997 to 1999 in the People's Republic of China, Australia and Peru. YUOV has also been isolated from cattle, sheep and a dog. The isolation of YUOVfrom a dog is not the first case of an orbivirus being isolated from a carnivore. Bluetongue virus and African horse sickness virus were earlier detected in carnivores which fed on contaminated meat. PHSV and Y...
Issel CJ, Foil LD.There is no credible evidence that the lentivirus that causes equine infectious anaemia (EIA) replicates in invertebrates. The virus persistently infects its equid hosts and is often present in blood in significant quantities. Blood-feeding arthropods thus have the potential to transfer the virus between hosts, especially if their feeding on the first host is interrupted and immediately continued on a second host. The general details and dynamics of mechanical transmission are included in this paper, as this agent presents an excellent model. Mechanical transmission can be effectively controll...
Silva MLCR, Auguste AJ, Terzian ACB, Vedovello D, Riet-Correa F, Macário VMK, Mourão MPG, Ullmann LS, Araújo JP, Weaver SC, Nogueira ML.Madariaga virus (MADV), the new species designation for the South American isolates of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), is genetically divergent and substantially different in ecology and pathogenesis from North American EEEV strains. We isolated and characterized a MADV isolate obtained from a horse in Brazil. Our results support previous phylogenetic studies showing there are three genetically distinct MADV lineages. The MADV isolate from Paraíba State belongs to the South American lineage III and is closely related to Peruvian, Colombian and Venezuelan isolates.
Guthrie AJ, Coetzee P, Martin DP, Lourens CW, Venter EH, Weyer CT, Joone C, le Grange M, Harper CK, Howell PG, MacLachlan NJ.This is a report of the complete genome sequences of plaque-selected isolates of each of the four virus strains included in a South African commercial tetravalent African horse sickness attenuated live virus vaccine.
Baker T, Carpenter S, Gubbins S, Newton R, Lo Iacono G, Wood J, Harrup LE.Biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) cause a significant biting nuisance to equines and are responsible for the biological transmission of African horse sickness virus (AHSV). While currently restricted in distribution to sub-Saharan Africa, AHSV has a history of emergence into southern Europe and causes one of the most lethal diseases of horses and other species of Equidae. In the event of an outbreak of AHSV, the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) to screen equine accomodation is recommended by competent authorities including the Office Interna...
van Niekerk S, Human S, Williams J, van Wilpe E, Pretorius M, Swanepoel R, Venter M.Old World alphaviruses were identified in 52 of 623 horses with febrile or neurologic disease in South Africa. Five of 8 Sindbis virus infections were mild; 2 of 3 fatal cases involved co-infections. Of 44 Middelburg virus infections, 28 caused neurologic disease; 12 were fatal. Middelburg virus likely has zoonotic potential.
Robson K, Cripps P, Bardell D.The aim of this retrospective study was to determine if there was an association between the lowest arterial blood oxygen tensions (PaO2) measured during anaesthesia and post-operative incisional complications in horses. Clinical records of 278 horses undergoing ventral midline coeliotomy from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2013 were examined. The frequency of incisional complications was 32.0% (n = 89). In a multivariable model, intra-operative arterial blood oxygen tensions (PaO2) were not significantly associated with development of an incisional complication (P = 0.351). Using hyper...
Abraham G.This review provides an overview of the early and current literature including contributions that highlight the parasympathetic cholinergic receptor systems in domestic animal tissues. Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) belong to the subfamily of G protein-coupled receptors and regulate many fundamental functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems and have been subject to research over at least 40 years. Nonetheless, there are few studies specifying mAChRs in domestic animal tissues. This review focuses on the pharmacology of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) system...
Boysen C, Davis EG, Beard LA, Lubbers BV, Raghavan RK.Kansas witnessed an unprecedented outbreak in Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection among horses, a disease commonly referred to as pigeon fever during fall 2012. Bayesian geostatistical models were developed to identify key environmental and climatic risk factors associated with C. pseudotuberculosis infection in horses. Positive infection status among horses (cases) was determined by positive test results for characteristic abscess formation, positive bacterial culture on purulent material obtained from a lanced abscess (n = 82), or positive serologic evidence of exposure to organism ...
Edson D, Field H, McMichael L, Vidgen M, Goldspink L, Broos A, Melville D, Kristoffersen J, de Jong C, McLaughlin A, Davis R, Kung N, Jordan D....Pteropid bats or flying-foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) are the natural host of Hendra virus (HeV) which sporadically causes fatal disease in horses and humans in eastern Australia. While there is strong evidence that urine is an important infectious medium that likely drives bat to bat transmission and bat to horse transmission, there is uncertainty about the relative importance of alternative routes of excretion such as nasal and oral secretions, and faeces. Identifying the potential routes of HeV excretion in flying-foxes is important to effectively mitigate equine exposure risk at the bat...
Curtis L, Burford JH, Thomas JS, Curran ML, Bayes TC, England GC, Freeman SL.The majority of research on the evaluation of horses with colic is focused on referral hospital populations. Early identification of critical cases is important to optimise outcome and welfare. The aim of this prospective study was to survey the primary evaluation of horses with clinical signs of abdominal pain by veterinary practitioners, and compare the initial presentation of critical and non-critical cases. Results: Data from 1016 primary evaluations of horses presenting with clinical signs of colic were submitted by 167 veterinary practitioners across the United Kingdom over a 13 month p...
Sole A, Nieto JE, Aristizabal FA, Snyder JR.Emptying the vasculature with an Esmarch bandage before i.v. regional anaesthesia is commonly performed in human patients to prevent leakage of the solution under the tourniquet but there is no evidence for its efficacy in horses for antimicrobial i.v. regional limb perfusion (IV-RLP). Objective: To determine the effect on synovial fluid concentration of amikacin of emptying the vasculature before performing IV-RLP. Methods: Crossover experiment. Methods: Eight clinically healthy horses underwent 2 IV-RLP with amikacin in a randomised, crossover design. Horses received an IV-RLP with amikacin ...
Smith MA, Nolan TJ, Rieger R, Aceto H, Levine DG, Nolen-Walston R, Smith BI.In the last decade there have been numerous reports of anthelmintic resistant cyathostomins in many parts of the world. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the commercially available anthelmintics against cyathostomin egg shedding in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A total of 989 horses from 67 different farms located in southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and northeastern Maryland were treated with fenbendazole, oxibendazole, pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin, or moxidectin at their recommended dosages. Fecal egg count reduction testing was us...
Sánchez-Matamoros A, Sánchez-Vizcaíno JM, Rodríguez-Prieto V, Iglesias E, Martínez-López B.African horse sickness (AHS) is one of the most important vector-borne viral infectious diseases of equines, transmitted mainly by Culicoides spp. The re-emergence of Culicoides-borne diseases in Europe, such as the recent bluetongue (BT) or Schmallenberg outbreaks, has raised concern about the potential re-introduction and further spread of AHS virus (AHSV) in Europe. Spain has one of the largest European equine populations. In addition, its geographical, environmental and entomological conditions favour AHSV infections, as shown by the historical outbreaks in the 1990s. The establishment of ...
You Y, Uboh CE, Soma LR, Guan F, Taylor D, Li X, Liu Y, Chen J.A method involving ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated for the analysis of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in equine plasma. The analytes were recovered from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction using methyl tert-butyl ether and separated on a sub-2 micron column. The mobile phase was composed of 2 mM ammonium formate and methanol. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was used to detect the analytes in positive electrospray ionization mode with selected reaction monitoring. The limits of detection, quantification and confirmation for ...
House JA.AHS is a noncontagious vector-borne disease of Equidae caused by Orbiviruses. Species susceptibility in decreasing order is horses, mules, donkeys, and zebras. The main vectors of AHS are culicoides. The disease is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, but epizootics have occurred outside of this area on several occasions. The most recent outbreaks outside of the endemic area were in Spain, Morocco, and Portugal between 1987 and 1990. AHS causes mortality up to 95% and is classically divided into four clinical forms: the pulmonary, cardiac, mixed, and horse fever forms. Pathologic changes are subcuta...
Parks AH, Doran RE, White NA, Allen D, Baxter GM.Records of 75 horses with ileal impactions were examined retrospectively. There was a sex predilection towards mares. Arabians were over-represented compared to the hospital population. The average age was 8.3 years. Abdominal pain was observed in 96% of horses. Nasogastric reflux was present in 56% of horses, small intestinal distention was found on rectal palpation in 96% and an ileal impaction in 25%. Exploratory celiotomy was performed in 69 horses, the mass was reduced by extramural massage in 67 horses, and ingesta was removed via enterotomy in 2. Jejunocecostomies were performed in 47 h...
Beelitz P, Göbel E, Gothe R.In this epidemiological study 37 foals and mares were included, which have been coproscopically examined in regular intervals over a period lasting up to 13 months. The animals derived from nine breeding farms. In three of these farms no anthelmintics were used before this investigation, whereas in six farms at least three years before regular prophylactic treatments with anthelmintics have been carried out. This investigation revealed no differences in the species spectrum of endoparasites as well as in the incidence of infections as regards to the breeding farms with and without anthelmintic...
Siwińska N, Żak A, Pasławska U.Diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in horses is difficult at the subclinical stage, due to nonspecific clinical signs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of selected serum and urinary biomarkers in healthy horses, horses at risk of AKI, and those with clinical AKI. Methods: Thirty healthy horses, 30 horses at risk of AKI and 11 horses with clinical AKI and azotaemia were included in the study. Serum and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C were measured using commercially available enzyme immunoassay tests. Results: The median and (...
Kohnen AB, Wiedenheft AM, Traub-Dargatz JL, Short DM, Cook KL, Lantz K, Morningstar-Shaw B, Lawrence JP, House S, Marshall KL, Rao S.Several studies have investigated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalized horses, but studies conducted on community-based populations of equids are limited. The factors associated with AMR in these bacteria in the general horse population are not well understood. The primary objective of our study was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella and describe antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella and E. coli from equids across the United States. The second objective was to identify associations between health management and biosecurity...
Dagnachew S, Mohammed S, Dessie B, Tilahun M, Ayele A, Kefyalew H.A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2016 to May 2017 in selected districts of Northwest Ethiopia (Jawi, South Achefer, Dembecha and Jabitehenan) with the aim of determining the prevalence of bovine and equine trypanosomosis, estimating the apparent density of vectors and assessing the effectiveness of control measures of the disease. A total of 1257 animals of which 803 bovine and 454 equine were examined for the determination of prevalence using blood sample collected from ear vein of animals. The buffy coat technique was employed to determine the prevalence and the packed c...
Seki Y, Seimiya YM, Yaegashi G, Kumagai S, Sentsui H, Nishimori T, Ishihara R.During the period from 2001 to the following year, progenital diseases had been epidemic among the draft stallions and mares pastured together in Iwate Prefecture, the northeastern district of Japan. A stallion and 8 of 31 mares were affected in 2001, and 1 of 2 stallions and 10 of 36 mares in 2002. The clinical symptoms consisted of the formation of papules, pustules, ulcers and scabs on the progenital skin and mucosa in stallions and mares. In 2002, Equine herpesvirus 3 (EHV3) was isolated from 2 mares and the glycoprotein G gene of the virus detected from a stallion and 4 mares by polymeras...
Allen LJ, Schwartz EJ.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus in the retrovirus family that infects horses and ponies. Two strains, referred to as the sensitive strain and the resistant strain, have been isolated from an experimentally-infected pony. The sensitive strain is vulnerable to neutralization by antibodies whereas the resistant strain is neutralization-insensitive. The sensitive strain mutates to the resistant strain. EIAV may infect healthy target cells via free virus or alternatively, directly from an infected target cell through cell-to-cell transfer. The proportion of transmission from f...
Di Azevedo MIN, Lilenbaum W.Leptospirosis may be associated with important syndromes in equines, including reproductive ones. Recently, our group demonstrated a reproductive syndrome of leptospirosis in ruminants (Bovine Genital Leptospirosis - BGL), that presents its own agent, particular diagnostic methods, and specific treatment and prevention, requiring special attention. We realized that the genital syndrome of leptospirosis may not be exclusive to ruminants and may also affect horses. The aim of the present study is to gather the available data on leptospirosis in equine reproduction and propose a new genital lepto...
Wyse CA, Skeldon K, Hotchkiss JW, Gibson G, Yam PS, Christley RM, Preston T, Cumming DR, Padgett M, Cooper JC, Love S.The aim of this study was to assess the effects of changes to the stable environment on exhaled markers of respiratory inflammation in six horses with clinical histories of recurrent airway obstruction. The horses were maintained for two weeks under conventional stable management (straw bedding and hay) and for two weeks on a reduced-dust regimen (paper bedding and ensiled grass), in a crossover study design. Exhaled ethane and carbon monoxide (CO) and exhaled breath condensate hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) were measured every three days under each regimen. The presence of clinical signs of air...
Nemoto M, Niwa H, Murakami S, Miki R, Higuchi T, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Kokado H.Equine group A rotaviruses (RVAs) cause diarrhoea in foals. We investigated the G genotypes of 360 RVA-positive samples obtained from diarrhoeic foals between 2012 and 2018 in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido, Japan, through sequence analysis of VP7. All samples were classified into genotypes G3A, G3B and G14. G3B RVAs were detected until 2016, and G3A RVAs were detected from 2016 to 2018. G14 RVAs were detected from 2012 to 2018. Although G3B RVAs had been circulating in Japan for a long time, G3A RVAs suddenly emerged in 2016, and have replaced G3B RVAs since 2017. Molecular analyses of VP7 a...
Zitterl-Eglseer K, Marschik T.Viruses have a high mutation rate, and, thus, there is a continual emergence of new antiviral-resistant strains. Therefore, it becomes imperative to explore and develop new antiviral compounds continually. The search for pharmacological substances of plant origin that are effective against animal viruses, which have a high mortality rate or cause large economic losses, has garnered interest in the last few decades. This systematic review compiles 130 plant species that exhibit antiviral activity on 37 different virus species causing serious diseases in animals. The kind of extract, fraction, o...
Warnakulasooriya DN, Marth CD, McLeod JA, Hanlon DW, Krekeler N.Retained fetal membranes (RFM) is a common post-partum problem in mares for which the treatment is highly variable. The aim of this study was (i) to investigate the different treatments used by equine practitioners for RFM and (ii) to determine if there is a difference between treatments used by reproductive specialists and general equine practitioners. Information regarding treatment of RFM was sought from veterinary practitioners via a survey and this was compared to recommendations in the current literature. The survey was sent out to equine veterinarians and mixed practitioners with a high...
Jeffcott L, Leung WM, Riggs C.This paper describes a 3 year project to investigate and manage the effects of the local weather conditions on horses competing in the 2008 Olympic Games. The first part of the investigation involved estimating the expected heat load on horses during competition and suggesting measures to ensure their safety based on data collected from dedicated weather monitoring at both Olympic venues during August 2006, 2007 and 2008. The aim of the second part was to establish a reliable system of point forecasting to monitor and predict inclement weather that might affect the competitions. This involved ...
Stange LM, Krieter J, Czycholl I.Equine headshaking syndrome is a problematic behavior that has been described in literature for more than 100 years. The signs of headshaking syndrome appear frequently and violently so that riding the horse can be dangerous. The aim of this research was to gain an overview of the underlying causes of equine headshaking syndrome to identify effective treatment options, reduce the distress of horses and, in a second step, potentially improve therapeutic possibilities for horse owners and veterinarians. Most studies on prevalence originate from Anglo-American countries, so this research was to ...
Seltzer KL, Byars TD.To determine the percentage of Thoroughbred racehorses that would be capable of racing performance after recovery from infectious pleuropneumonia. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 70 Thoroughbred horses that had recovered from pleuropneumonia. Only horses 5 years old known to be in race training at the time of illness were included in the study. Results: Forty-three of the 70 (61%) horses raced after recovery, and 24 of the 43 (56%) won at least 1 race. Horses that required placement of an indwelling thoracic drain apparently did not have a worse prognosis than did horses that did...
Goodman-Davis R, Figurska M, Cywinska A.Diarrhea in foals is a problem of significant clinical and economic consequence, and there are good reasons to believe microbiota manipulation can play an important role in its management. However, given the dynamic development of the foal microbiota and its importance in health and disease, any prophylactic or therapeutic efforts to alter its composition should be evidence based. The few clinical trials of probiotic preparations conducted in foals to date show underwhelming evidence of efficacy and a demonstrated potential to aggravate rather than mitigate diarrhea. Furthermore, recent studie...
Anyanwu MU, Jaja IF, Nwobi OC, Mgbeahuruike AC, Ikpendu CN, Okafor NA, Oguttu JW.Mobile colistin resistance () genes (-1 to -10) threaten the efficacy of colistin (COL), a polymyxin antibiotic that is used as a last-line agent for the treatment of deadly infections caused by multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant bacteria in humans and animals. COL has been used for more than 60 years for the prophylactic control and treatment of infections in livestock husbandry but not in horses. Polymyxin B is used for the prophylactic control and empirical treatment of infections in horses without conducting sensitivity tests. The lack of sensitivity testing exerts selectio...
Holcombe SJ, Rodriguez KM, Haupt JL, Campbell JO, Chaney KP, Sparks HD, Hauptman JG.To determine the incidence of postoperative ileus (POI) in a population of horses after small intestinal surgery and the effect of multiple variables on development of POI. Methods: Case series. Methods: Horses (n=233) aged > or =1 year that had exploratory celiotomy for small intestinal disease that recovered from surgery from 1995 to 2005. Methods: Sixty-eight variables were collected from medical records (1995-2005) for each horse. POI was defined as nasogastric reflux volume >20 L over 24 hours or >8 L at any single time after surgery. Results: Twenty-seven percent (64/233) of hor...
Thoefner MB, Ersbøll AK, Jensen AL, Hesselholt M.A prospective survey of horses with colic referred to the Large Animal Hospital at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen, Denmark, was undertaken between August 1994 and December 1997. The interrelationships between 17 clinical variables were analysed using factor analysis. Factor analysis uncovers the structure of the variability in data and therefore detects multicollinearity. A total of 528 horses were admitted in the study period. Of these, 16 were excluded from the analysis as a result of miscellaneous conditions. Only 205 horses had observations for all 17 variab...
Schulman ML, Becker A, van der Merwe BD, Guthrie AJ, Stout TA.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is one of the most common causes of infectious abortion in mares. Analysing the demography of outbreaks and detailing subsequent reproductive performance of affected mares will assist in the management of future (threatened) epizootics. Objective: To examine the epidemiology and reproductive outcomes of 2 EHV-1 abortion epizootics with very different patterns of morbidity. Methods: Epidemiological and reproductive data were analysed retrospectively following abortion epizootics associated with EHV-1, but initiated via different routes, among unvaccinated mares on 2...
Meier A, Hertzberg H.The occurrence of anthelmintic resistance in strongyles was investigated in 440 horses on 90 farms in Switzerland. The egg hatch assay suggested that benzimidazole (BZ)-resistance was present in 40 of 82 farms (49%). Faecal egg count reduction after pyrantel-treatment was above 96% in 14 of 15 farms. In the remaining farm the efficacy was only 80%. Ivermectin efficacy was investigated on 5 farms and the efficacy was recorded at 98-100%. Faecal cultures undertaken after treatment revealed almost exclusively larvae of the family Cyathostominae. Data about management practices, pasture hygiene an...
Beasley AM, Kotze AC, Allen K, Coleman GT.The macrocyclic lactone (ML) drugs are central to the control of equine strongyles but recent international reports raise concerns about reduced efficacy of these drugs against cyathostomins. The objectives of the present study were firstly, to evaluate the efficacy of ML drugs against cyathostomins on a cross-section of Australian horse farms, and secondly, to determine the egg reappearance period (ERP) following treatment of horses with MLs. A total of 419 horses on 43 properties were treated orally with ivermectin, abamectin or moxidectin, at recommended dose rates and drug efficacy was det...
Buhl R, Hesselkilde EM, Carstensen H, Fenner MF, Jespersen T, Tfelt-Hansen J, Michael Sattler S.Cardiac arrhythmias in horses are diagnosed by auscultation or electrocardiogram (ECG), which results in a low sensitivity for detecting arrhythmias that occur sporadically. Implantable loop recorders (ILRs) are small ECG devices placed subcutaneously, to automatically detect arrhythmias in human patients. Objective: To test ILRs ability to detect atrial fibrillation (AF) in horses. Furthermore, we hypothesised that anatomical location of the implant site might influence signal quality. Signal quality was evaluated both during exercise and over time. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: In fi...
Nielsen MK, Donoghue EM, Stephens ML, Stowe CJ, Donecker JM, Fenger CK.Parascaris spp. infections can lead to life-threatening small intestinal impactions in foals. Currently available diagnostic techniques cannot estimate the magnitude of an ascarid burden, and hence identify foals potentially at risk of developing impactions. Objective: To describe and evaluate an ultrasonographic transabdominal scoring technique for monitoring of ascarid burdens in foals and to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the application of this technique. Methods: A transabdominal ultrasonographic technique was validated against ascarid worm counts from 10 foals aged 162-294 days. In a...
Mendez D, Judd J, Speare R.To identify the perceived barriers to Hendra virus (HeV) management by private equine veterinarians in Queensland. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study of private equine veterinarians registered and working in coastal Queensland. Methods: A questionnaire that included eight open-ended questions about the management of HeV was used in face-to-face in-depth interviews with 21 veterinary personnel working in equine or mixed private practice between Far North and South-East Queensland in 2009-10. The qualitative data was entered and analysed thematically using QSR's International's Nvivo 9 qu...
Nieto JE, Snyder JR, Vatistas NJ, Spier SJ, Van Hoogmoed L.To describe the insertion technique, efficacy, and complications associated with the use of an active (closed-suction) abdominal drain in horses. Methods: Retrospective study. Animals-Sixty-seven horses with abdominal contamination treated by abdominal lavage and use of a closed-suction abdominal drain. Methods: Medical records of horses (1989-1996) that had a closed-suction abdominal drain were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained by telephone interviews with owners. Results: Sixty-eight closed-suction abdominal drains were used in 67 horses that had abdominal contamination, peritonit...
Macon EL, Harris P, Bailey S, Caldwell Barker A, Adams A.Identifying intake levels of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) that limit the postprandial insulinaemic response in the insulin dysregulated (ID) horse may help reduce hyperinsulinaemia-associated laminitis (HAL) risk. Objective: To determine if ID horses have thresholds for pure sources of starch and sugar, above which there is an augmented insulin response. Methods: Randomised crossover experiment. Methods: Fourteen adult horses (6 ID and 8 noninsulin dysregulated, NID; matched for bodyweight) were randomly fed eight dietary treatments. Dietary treatments were formulated using a base of low...
