Disease prevention in horses encompasses strategies and practices aimed at minimizing the occurrence and spread of infectious and non-infectious diseases within equine populations. These practices include vaccination programs, biosecurity measures, and regular health monitoring. Vaccination helps to stimulate the horse's immune system to protect against specific pathogens, while biosecurity measures, such as quarantine and sanitation, reduce the risk of disease transmission. Regular health monitoring, including physical examinations and diagnostic testing, aids in early detection and management of potential health issues. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various methods and their effectiveness in preventing diseases in horses, as well as the development and implementation of prevention programs in different equine settings.
Baker EF, Sasso DR, Maness K, Prichard WD, Parker RL.In 1971, more than 370 horses in south Texas were studied with respect to their clinical, virologic, and neutralizing antibody responses to vaccination with Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) strain TC-83. This study confirms reported findings that the vaccine used in the 1971 epizootic in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas was safe and efficacious. Vaccinal virus viremia titers were generally below the postulated infection threshold of epizootic vectors. In general, reactions to the vaccine were minimal and transient, with no observed abortions or deaths attributable to use of the va...
Woode GN, Bew ME, Dennis MJ.Inoculation at birth with a live attenuated strain of a bovine rotavirus isolated in the USA (scourvax-reo) induced protection in five gnotobiotic calves seven to 21 days later against a UK isolate of pathogenic bovine rotavirus. However, no protection was induced in three calves challenged three to five days after vaccination. There was a close antigenic relationship demonstrated between the two bovine rotavirus isolates. In contrast only one of three gnotobiotic calves inoculated with foal rotavirus, and one of three with human rotavirus, were protected against bovine rotavirus challenge. Pr...
Shen DT, Gorham JR, Jones RH, Crawford TB.Laboratory-colonized mosquitoes, Culex tarsalis, aedes aegypti, Culiseta inornata, and Anopheles free-borni, and the biting gnat, Culicoides variipennis, were exposed to equine infectious anemia virus. Exposure to the virus was by intrathoracic inoculation for mosquitoes and by oral ingestion of an infective blood meal through a membrane for C variipennis. After various intervals, groups of 15 to 20 insects were homogenized and inoculated into susceptible ponies. Positive immunodiffusion test results were used as criterion for equine infectious anemia infection in ponies. Virus was not detecte...
Purdy CW, Porter RC, Ford SJ.Immunogenicity and safety of an equine herpesvirus 1 (ehv-1) vaccine were studied in 111 foals varying in age from 1 to 122 days. Each of 88 principals was given 1 im injection of vaccine. Five of the 88 foals were revaccinated; 69 of the vaccinated principals and 23 nonvaccinated foals (serving as controls) were challenge exposed intranasally with virulent ehv-1.
The vaccine failed to cause adverse local or systemic reaction in 88 principals with serunirneutralization (sn) titers against ehv-1 varying between 0 to 1:256 at time of vaccination. After vaccination, the foals' body temperature...
Barber TL, Walton TE, Lewis KJ.Twenty-nine horses were vaccinated with a trivalent (Venezuelan, eastern, and western) inactivated equine encephalomyelitis virus vaccine. The vaccine purchased for this study was the only one licensed and commercially available in May, 1975. Plaque-neutralizing and hemagglutinin-inhibiting antibodies in response to each of the 3 equine encephalomyelitis viruses were determined after vaccination. Horses had rising levels of plaque-neutralizing and hemagglutinin-inhibiting antibodies shortly after injection with the 1st and 2nd doses of the vaccine (given 3 weeks apart) and were refractory to c...
Ferguson JA, Reeves WC, Milby MM, Hardy JL.Of 359 horses vaccinated with attenuated Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) vaccine (strain TC-83), 87% developed hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibodies to VEE virus within 1 month. Blood from a subsample of 101 of the 359 horses was obtained over a 1-year period. Within 1 month after vaccination, 84% of the 101 horses had developed VEE HI antibodies, 87% had developed VEE-neutralizing (Nt) antibodies, and 78% had developed VEE complement-fixing (CF) antibodies. One year after vaccination, 58% of the horses had VEE HI antibodies and 73% had VEE Nt antibodies. The percentage of hors...
Boles CL, Raker CW, Wheat JF.An abnormality of the epiglottis and arytenoepiglottic folds that caused epiglottic entrapment was diagnosed in 21 horses. Until recently, this entrapment was poorly understood. Definitive diagnosis of epiglottic entrapment can be made only by endoscopic examination of the epiglottis, arytenoepiglottic folds, and soft palate to differentiate the abnormality from dorsal displacement of the soft palate. Dorsal displacement of the soft palate is often associated with entrapped epiglottis. Epiglottic deformity, especially hypoplasia, is often associated with the entrapment. The abnormality was det...
McBeath DG, Best JM, Preston NK, Duncan JL.Examination of faecal egg counts in horses and ponies has shown that after treatment with fenbendazole at dose levels of 7.5, 45 and 60 mg/kg, faeces remained free from strongyle eggs for periods of 6 to 18 weeks. The significance of these results is discussed in relation to routine anthelmintic treatment of horses. In particular, the activity of fenbendazole against mucosal stages of strongyle parasites allows for treatment to be recommended at less frequent intervals than when using other anthelmintics.
Short CR, Sams RA, Soma LR, Tobin T.The primary reason for developing the ARCI Uniform Classification of Foreign Substances was to give stewards and other racing regulators guidelines to assist them in understanding the relative performance effects and general offensiveness to the Rules of Racing of various drugs and medications. As such, these guidelines have been very useful in the world of racing regulation--officially or unofficially--because this classification system, for the first time, places a relative number on the inappropriateness of any one of more than 750 agents appearing in forensic samples taken from racing hors...
Van Hoogmoed L, Snyder JR.The medical management of postoperative abdominal disorders remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the equine clinician. Recent advances in the development of techniques and medications to offset or attenuate ischemia-reperfusion injury, endotoxemia, and ileus are encouraging and potentially will decrease the incidence of additional complications.
Hood DM, Brumbaugh GW, Wagner IP.To determine whether a unique dihydropyridine (BAYTG 1000) would be beneficial in preventing laminitis in horses. Methods: 16 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: 8 pairs of horses were used in a controlled double-blind study, using sex- and age-matched horses randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Horses were subjected to carbohydrate overload to induce laminitis. Treated horses were administered BAY TG 1000 (30 mg/kg, PO, q 24 h) for 3 days. Hoof wall surface temperature (HWST) and lameness were recorded at 4-hour intervals. The HWST was adjusted on the basis of time of onset ...
Farchati H, Merlin A, Saussac M, Dornier X, Dhollande M, Garon D, Tapprest J, Sala C.Identifying and tracking equines are key activities in equine health prevention. France is one of the few European countries with an operational centralized database that records information on equines, owners, and keepers but not on the location and keeping conditions of equines. The objective of our study was to collect information on keeping habits of equines and the relative location of a wide range of equines, owners, and keepers and discuss their implication for surveillance and control of outbreak improvement. A national email survey was conducted among the 1.9% of people registered as ...