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.
Rusnak JM, Glass PJ, Weaver SC, Sabourin CL, Glenn AM, Klimstra W, Badorrek CS, Nasar F, Ward LA.Licensure of a vaccine to protect against aerosolized Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) requires use of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Animal Rule to assess vaccine efficacy as human studies are not feasible or ethical. An approach to selecting VEEV challenge strains for use under the Animal Rule was developed, taking into account Department of Defense (DOD) vaccine requirements, FDA Animal Rule guidelines, strain availability, and lessons learned from the generation of filovirus challenge agents within the Filovirus Animal Nonclinical Group (FANG). Initial down-selectio...
Orlando L, Librado P.Domestication has changed the natural evolutionary trajectory of horses by favoring the reproduction of a limited number of animals showing traits of interest. Reduced breeding stocks hampered the elimination of deleterious variants by means of negative selection, ultimately inflating mutational loads. However, ancient genomics revealed that mutational loads remained steady during most of the domestication history until a sudden burst took place some 250 years ago. To identify the factors underlying this trajectory, we gather an extensive dataset consisting of 175 modern and 153 ancient genome...
Paim WP, Weber MN, Cibulski SP, da Silva MS, Puhl DE, Budaszewski RF, Varela APM, Mayer FQ, Canal CW.Horses are often used as blood donors for commercial horse serum (HS) production and to manufacture biologicals. HS is an alternative for fetal bovine serum (FBS) used as a supplement for cell culture and vaccine production. Furthermore, HS is also frequently obtained in order to produce antisera toxins and pathogens. The advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has promoted changes in virus detection, since previous knowledge of targets is not required. Thus, the present study aimed to describe the virome of five different batches of commercial HS from New Zealand (three batches) and Brazil...
With outbreaks of equine influenza continuing to be reported in the UK, Richard Newton and Fleur Whitlock of the Animal Health Trust discusses practical steps that vets can promote and practise to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
Hertzsch R, Richter A.Based on their performance-enhancing potential, caffeine and theophylline are prohibited substances in equine sports. Residues in horses can be caused by wilful application or by unintended uptake of contaminated feed. The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities recently introduced international residue limits (IRLs) to facilitate the discrimination between pharmacological relevant and irrelevant concentrations in doping samples. The objective of this study was to investigate the scientific validity of these IRLs. A systematic analysis was performed to assess the IRLs by different ...
Rosanowski S, Verheyen K.The number of unwanted horses in the UK has increased in recent years. It is therefore important to identify factors that indicate whether a horse can be rehomed and how long it takes to be rehomed. Data from 1 January 2013 until 30 March 2014 were extracted from an equine rehoming charity's database. Exposure variables were examined using multivariable logistic and Cox regression. In total, 791 horses were included in the study and 410 (51.8%) were rehomed during the study period. Median time until rehomed was 39 days (IQR 24-75). Horses whose owner was prepared to transfer ownership were nea...
Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Nemoto M, Ohta M, Yamanaka T, Kokado H, Matsumura T.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection is a major cause of pyrexias in winter among Japanese racehorses. In 2014-2015, the Japan Racing Association (JRA) changed the EHV-1 vaccine from an inactivated vaccine to a live vaccine (both produced by Nisseiken). To evaluate the effect of changing the vaccines, the capacities of these vaccines to induce virus-neutralizing (VN) antibodies were compared, and an epizootiological investigation of EHV-1 was performed at the JRA Ritto Training Center during epizootic periods from 2010-2011 to 2016-2017. Results: Three-year-old horses that received the ...
Acton AS, Gaw CE, Chounthirath T, Smith GA.Horse-related injuries can cause severe morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to investigate the epidemiological features of horse-related injuries treated in emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. A retrospective analysis of horse-related injuries from 1990 through 2017 was conducted utilizing the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Cases were identified using the NEISS code 1239 (Horseback Riding: Activity, Apparel, or Equipment). Analyses performed included calculation of national injury estimates, relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence int...
Di Battista C, Conte M, Pepe M, Petrizzi L, Beccati F.There is limited information on risk factors for elimination from endurance rides and changes over the years. The objectives of this study were to describe elimination for irregular gait and metabolic reasons from Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) endurance rides in Italy (2004-2015) and to assess risk factors and to investigate changes in elimination rates and speed over the long term. Data for FEI endurance rides were collected from three websites. Year, month, day, location, class (Concours de Raid d'Endurance International [CEI]*/**/***), restriction to young riders, distance (km)...
Curtis L, Burford JH, England GCW, Freeman SL.Acute abdominal pain (colic) is the most common reason for emergency veterinary treatment in the horse. Consolidation of data through a systematic review is important to inform evidence-based medicine and clinical guidelines, but there are currently no published systematic reviews on colic in the horse. The aim of this study was to identify, categorize and appraise the evidence on factors associated with increased risk of developing abdominal pain (colic) due to gastrointestinal disease in the adult horse. A scoping review was performed to identify and categorize evidence on all risk factors f...
Kim NY, Park KE, Lee YJ, Kim YM, Hong SH, Son WR, Hong S, Lee S, Ahn HB, Yang J, Seo JP, Lim YK, Yu CH, Hur GH, Jeong ST, Lee HS, Song K, Kang TJ....Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), produced by , are the most toxic substances known. However, the number of currently approved medical countermeasures for these toxins is very limited. Therefore, studies on therapeutic antitoxins are essential to prepare for toxin-related emergencies. Currently, more than 10,000 Halla horses, a crossbreed between the native Jeju and Thoroughbred horses, are being raised in Jeju Island of Korea. They can be used for equine antitoxin experiments and production of hyperimmune serum against BoNT/A1. Instead of the inactivated BoNT/A1 toxoid, Halla horse was immunized...
Doyle AJ, Saab ME, Lewis K, McClure JT.Alcohol-based antisepsis has been extensively studied in human health care, but only little information is available regarding efficacy and tolerance in other species. The purpose of this study was to determine if an alcohol-based antiseptic is effective at reducing bacterial counts on equine skin and the appropriate contact time to do so, without causing any adverse skin reactions. Samples were collected before and after preparation from clipped sites over both jugular veins of horses and were plated on 3M Petrifilm Aerobic Count Plates in duplicate. Trial 1 tested an alcohol-based product (E...
Hitchens PL, Ryan K, Koch SI, Scollay MC, Peterson ML.Jockey injuries in North American racing are not well understood. The types and severity of injuries as well as exposure need to be better characterized in order to reduce risk. We consider existing data sources and the opportunity to combine this data with a new data collection effort to better understand and potentially reduce risk to riders. Using a two-phase approach, data appears to be available which would allow useful information on jockey injuries that could inform efforts for risk reduction quickly and with modest resources. Initial successes can help to develop support for a more com...
Hernández-Avilés C, Love CC, Serafini R, Teague SR, Varner DD.Commonly marketed semen extenders contain various antibiotic types and concentrations to control bacterial growth from stallion's external genitalia. An experiment was conducted to test the effects of supplemental amikacin disulfate (1,000 μg/mL) + potassium penicillin G (1,000 IU/ML: INRA-AP), or ticarcillin-clavulanate (1,000 μg/mL: INRA-TIM) in the INRA 96 extender, on sperm function and antimicrobial activity, compared with extender without supplemental antibiotics (INRA-C). In freshly extended semen (Time 30m), no differences were observed among the three treatment groups for sperm m...
Moeller S, Patan-Zugaj B, Däullary T, Tichy A, Licka TF.Laminitis is associated with failure of the suspensory apparatus of the distal phalanx (SADP) connecting the distal phalanx to the hoof wall. The specific aim of this study was to examine in vitro whether thinning of the hoof wall leading to increased deformability influences the damage of the laminar tissue created by loading of the hoof. Paired cadaver forelimbs from twelve horses were used. For each pair, the hoof wall from one hoof was thinned by 25%; this was ascertained by radiography. The contralateral hooves were used as controls. In a material testing machine, hooves were loaded in a ...
Nomura M, Shiose T, Ishikawa Y, Mizobe F, Sakai S, Kusano K.Despite growing recognition of post-race exertional heat illness (EHI) in the horse racing industry, reports on its prevalence are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of post-race EHI and climate conditions at racecourses in Japan. The overall prevalence of EHI from 1999 to 2018 was 0.04% (387 cases for 975,247 starters) in races operated by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). The yearly prevalence has been increasing, exceeding 0.07% in the last four years of the studied period. The overall prevalence in summer (May-September) was 0.086% (352 cases for 409,908...
Raidal SL.Antimicrobial stewardship involves the judicious use of antimicrobials balanced against the requirement to treat the presenting clinical condition. The same mandate and principles as discussed in human medicine and other veterinary disciplines are relevant to equine practice. This brief review will focus on available resources for equine practitioners, emerging perspectives on antimicrobial use and stewardship, and opportunities for more effective antimicrobial use in equine practice. There is a need for improved client education, availability of faster and more accurate techniques for identif...
Tam TL, Hogsette J, TenBroeck S.The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), is a bloodsucking ectoparasite that causes irritation and distress to livestock, wildlife, and humans. Both sexes are vicious blood-feeders that feed on a variety of animals. Optically attractive sticky traps have been used to capture stable flies, and some companies claim that sticky traps can protect animals from the bites of stable flies. To further investigate the protective ability of sticky traps, Home and Garden Mosquito (HGM) traps were selected for evaluations at the University of Florida Horse Teaching Unit (HTU). Broodmares coated with fluor...
Maisonpierre IN, Sutton MA, Harris P, Menzies-Gow N, Weller R, Pfau T.Accelerometry is an accepted means of quantifying human physical activity. Quantitative physical activity tracking could be beneficial for studies into equine health and disease prevention, for example in relation to obesity management. Objective: Validate accelerometer use in grazing horses, determine between-day repeatability, and assess the effects of pasture size on time budget (i.e. duration in each activity category). Methods: Proof of concept. Methods: Accelerometers (ActiGraph) were positioned at the poll. Horses underwent 5 min of observed activity in three categories: standing, graz...
Bortolami A, Zendri F, Maciuca EI, Wattret A, Ellis C, Schmidt V, Pinchbeck G, Timofte D. are opportunistic pathogens with the potential to cause a variety of infections in both humans and animals and in many cases have developed antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we characterized extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistant (ESCR) isolates from diseased companion animals (dogs, cats, and horses) and related the results to clinical findings. ESCR clinical isolates obtained over a 6-year period were screened for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and/or plasmid mediated AmpC (pAmpC) and virulence markers likely to be associated with extraintestinal pathogenic (ExPEC). ESBL...
Spence KL, Slater J, Rosanowski SM, Cardwell JM.The international nature of the equine industry provides opportunities for the spread of infectious diseases between countries. While incursions of exotic diseases into the United Kingdom (UK) equine population have been rare, the potential socioeconomic and welfare impacts are a significant concern. However, little is known about leisure horse owners' ability or willingness to prepare for an exotic disease incursion. The objectives of this study were to describe UK leisure horse owners' awareness and perceptions of exotic diseases, and to identify clusters of horse owners characterised by the...
Alnaeem AA, Hemida MG.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is one of the most important threats to the equine industry globally. This is due to the poor performance of the affected horses, which requires euthanization of the infected animals upon the infection confirmation. Infected animals remain carriers throughout their life. EIAV infection has been reported in many parts of the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. However, the EIAV status is never assessed in horses in the Gulf area, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Objective: This study aimed to perform molecular and serol...
van Eps AW, Burns TA.Laminitis is a consequence of primary disease processes elsewhere in the body. The key pathophysiologic events are insulin dysregulation in endocrinopathic laminitis, ischemia in supporting limb laminitis, and inflammation in sepsis-related laminitis. These apparently disparate mechanisms converge to cause lamellar attachment failure through epithelial cell adhesion loss and stretch, possibly mediated by common growth factor signaling pathways. Tissue damage through mechanical distraction, inflammation, pain, and a proliferative epithelial healing response are features of acute laminitis regar...
Wang X, Wise JC, Stewart AJ.Hendra virus (HeV) emerged as a zoonotic pathogen in the 1990s, causing low morbidity but high mortality in humans and horses. Pteropid bats are the natural reservoir of HeV and other important zoonotic viruses such as Nipah and Ebola viruses. Equivac HeV, manufactured by Zoetis (Parkville, Victoria, Australia), is the only commercially available vaccine for horses. There is no commercial vaccine for humans. The epidemiology, clinical features, pathology, diagnosis, management, and prevention of HeV will be reviewed.
Sadet-Bourgeteau S, Philippeau C, Julliand V.Feeding a diet with a small amount of hay and a high proportion of concentrate given in large meals entails a risk of colic to horses as this can impact the hindgut microbial ecosystem. To counteract this potential negative effect, one feeding strategy is to modify the distribution sequence of concentrate and hay. The purpose of the present study was to assess the impact of feeding the concentrate meal before or with the hay meal on fermentative parameters postprandial variations in caecum and right ventral colon contents and faeces. We focused on the comparison of pH value and volatile fatty ...
Cullinane A, Gahan J, Walsh C, Nemoto M, Entenfellner J, Olguin-Perglione C, Garvey M, Huang Fu TQ, Venner M, Yamanaka T, Barrandeguy M, Fernandez CJ.To facilitate the temporary importation of horses for competition and racing purposes, with a minimum risk of transmitting equine influenza, the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties, or OIE), formally engaged in a public-private partnership with the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) and the International Federation for Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) to establish, within the context of existing OIE standards, a science-based rationale to identify the ideal time period for equine influenza vaccination prior to shipment. Field trials using vaccines base...
Bender JB, Tsukayama DT.Infectious agents are insidious, often changing to adapt to host defenses or treatment advances. Because these challenges will continue, the need to apply standard and transmission-based precautions is important not only in the human hospital setting but in the veterinary clinic setting. In addition, to prevent human infection and potential liability, clinics need to establish program algorithms to prevent disease spread for specific agents or planned procedures to respond to potential nosocomial and zoonotic disease events. These need to be done proactively. Furthermore, more money needs to b...
Stromberg B.There appears to be an increasing incidence of osteochondrosis in young fast-growing horses in Europe and the USA. The disease is thought to be congenital in type and affects endochondral ossification in growing bones. It can be localised to one joint or may be a generalised condition. The clinical manifestations of the disease lead to a secondary chronic degenerative joint disease in adult animals. There is a genetic predisposition to the condition which is associated with rapid growth and excessive high energy feeding. The careful genetic selection of bloodstock and restricted intake in earl...
Burgess BA, Morley PS.Infection control is achieved through all efforts used to prevent the introduction and limit the spread of contagious pathogens within a facility or population, with the goal of eliminating sources of potentially pathogenic microorganisms and to disrupt infectious disease transmission. Congregating animals from multiple sources, as occurs at veterinary hospitals, racetracks, equestrian events, and boarding and training facilities, increases the risk for transmission of infectious diseases such as salmonella. There is a recognizable standard of practice for infection control and due effort must...
Hilderbran AC, Breuhaus BA, Refsal KR.This study was performed to determine whether sick horses have thyroid hormone (TH) alterations similar to those observed in nonthyroidal illness syndrome in other species. Objective: Horses suffering from systemic diseases have decreased THs and inappropriately low thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Methods: Seventy-one clinically normal horses; 380 hospitalized horses. Methods: Total thyroxine (TT4), free thyroxine by equilibrium dialysis (fT4D), total triiodothyronine (TT3), free triiodothyronine (fT3), and TSH were measured in normal and hospitalized horses. Disease severity was categorize...
Ludwig KG, Craig TM, Bowen JM, Ansari MM, Ley WB.Twenty-eight foals whose dams were treated IM with ivermectin (200 micrograms/kg of body weight) on the day of parturition were compared with 35 foals whose dams were administered only the vehicle. The effect of ivermectin on the vertical transmission of Strongyloides westeri and foal heat diarrhea was determined by a comparison of results obtained in the 2 groups. Foals from treated mares had significantly fewer S westeri eggs per gram of feces from 17 to 28 days postpartum. There were no differences observed in the frequencies of severity of foal heat diarrhea between the treated and control...
Potter ME, Currier RW, Pearson JE, Harris JC, Parker RL.In mid-July, 1975, western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) virus was isolated from mosquitoes collected in flooded areas of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. Inasmuch as clinical manifestations of WEE are usually observed in horses before human cases of encephalitis are recognized, surveillance of equine disease was initiated. Sixty-one practicing veterinarians from the are under surveillance reported 281 cases of WEE in horses from June through September, with peak incidence in late July. The high percentage of sero-positive, clinically normal, unvaccinated horses in one region sugge...
Love S.Since 1917, only 11 new endoparasiticides have been developed for the horse, of which five chemical classes are in common use. The selection pressure of frequent administration of deworming doses for parasite control programs has been associated with the development of resistance of small strongyle parasites to the effects of benzimidazoles and pyrantel salts. Against the background of the inevitability of the occurrence of ivermectin/moxidectin resistance, responsible use of equine anthelmintics based on the clinical pharmacology of the compounds and the biology/epidemiology of intestinal par...
Soboll G, Nelson KM, Leuthner ES, Clark RJ, Drape R, Macklin MD, Swain WF, Olsen CW, Lunn DP.We have previously demonstrated that equine influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) DNA vaccination protects ponies from challenge infection, and induces protective IgGa and IgGb responses. However, this approach does not induce a nasal IgA response. The objective of this study was to examine the value of cholera toxin (CT) administration as an adjuvant for intranasal HA DNA vaccination, and to measure protection 3 months after DNA vaccination. After an immunogenic dose of CT was determined, ponies were immunized on two occasions by intranasal administration of HA DNA and cholera toxin, or HA DNA a...
Vissani MA, Tordoya MS, Tsai YL, Lee PA, Shen YH, Lee FC, Wang HT, Parreño V, Barrandeguy M.Equine coital exanthema (ECE) is an infectious, venereally transmitted muco-cutaneous disease affecting mares and stallions, caused by equid alphaherpesvirus 3 (EHV3). Diagnostic tools for rapid identification of EHV3 are of primary importance to diminish the risk of EHV3 dissemination at the time of breeding. In the last years, it has been shown that the performance of the insulated-isothermal polymerase chain reaction (iiPCR) is comparable to virus isolation, nested PCR and real-time PCR (qPCR) in detecting pathogens of various animal species. Analytical sensitivity and specificity of the ii...
Walther B, Janssen T, Gehlen H, Vincze S, Borchers K, Wieler LH, Barton AK, Lübke-Becker A.With the rising importance of nosocomial infections in equine hospitals, increased efforts with regard to biosecurity and infection control are necessary. This even more since nosocomial infections are often associated with multi-drug resistant pathogens. Consequently, the implementation of targeted prevention programs is essential. Since nosocomial infections are usually multifactorial events, realization of only a single measure is rarely effective to overcome nosocomial spread in clinical practice. Equine patients may be colonized at admission with multi-drug resistant pathogens such as met...
Kang H, Zsoldos RR, Woldeyohannes SM, Gaughan JB, Sole Guitart A.Accurately measuring body temperature in horses will improve the management of horses suffering from or being at risk of developing postrace exertional heat illness. PTSM has the potential for measuring body temperature accurately, safely, rapidly, and noninvasively. This study was undertaken to investigate the relation between the core body temperature and PTSM temperatures prior to, during, and immediately after exercise. The microchips were implanted into the nuchal ligament, the right splenius, gluteal, and pectoral muscles, and these locations were then compared with the central venous te...
Coultous RM, Sutton DGM, Boden LA.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is currently not endemic in the UK, despite a lack of formal surveillance and the presence of carrier horses in the equine population. Pathogen establishment would have significant welfare and economic impacts on the national equine industry, but the disease is often overlooked by UK practitioners. Objective: To assess the risk of disease entry, exposure and consequences to the UK equine population. Methods: Qualitative risk assessment. Methods: A qualitative risk assessment was constructed utilising the current World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) published fra...
Denys M, Léon A, Robert C, Saulnier N, Josson-Schramme A, Legrand L, Wimel L, Maddens S, Pronost S. The growing interest in mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in equine medicine, together with the development of MSC biobanking for allogeneic use, raises concerns about biosafety of such products. MSCs derived from umbilical cord (UC) carry an inherent risk of contamination by environmental conditions and vertical transmission of pathogens from broodmares. There is yet no report in the scientific literature about horses being contaminated by infected MSC products, and no consensus about systematic infectious screening of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (UC-MSCs) to ensure micro...
Pearson RA, Krecek RC.Problems have been identified in the delivery of extension messages about the maintenance of healthy and well-fed working animals. The different factors that need to be considered in developing effective disease control and prevention programmes for working oxen and equids including vector-borne diseases, helminth disease, and vaccination programmes have been reported and discussed and experiences in improving husbandry including footcare, harness, and worm management reported. Most draught animals are owned by people who lack the financial means to pay for or to access the information needed ...
Toro M, León E, López R, Pallota F, Garcia JA, Ruíz A.Assays dealing with the therapeutic and prophylactic activity of isometamidium on experimental infections by Trypanosoma vivax and T. evansi were carried out. The drug was found to be highly effective against T. vivax infection in sheep and cattle in which periods of protection ranging from 118 to 195 days were achieved. No complete effects against infection by T. evansi were observed. The drug was well tolerated in sheep and cattle while side-effects were noted in treated mares. It was concluded that isometamidium could be used to prevent damage and economical losses caused by T. vivax in Ven...
Shepherd M, Harris P, Martinson KL.Equine obesity is common, reducing quality of life and requiring dietary energy restriction. Equine obesity is identified using subjective body condition scoring. Considerations are given for life stage and health status when managing obese equines. Every effort should be made to maximize feeding duration, and minimize time spent without feed while meeting all essential nutrient requirements. Limiting total daily dry matter intake to 2% of current bodyweight per day of a low caloric, forage-based diet may result in adequate body weight loss. Weight loss and weight management plans should be mo...
McCarthy HE, French NP, Edwards GB, Poxton IR, Kelly DF, Payne-Johnson CE, Miller K, Proudman CJ.Equine grass sickness is a high mortality disease which, despite many years of investigation, is of unknown aetiology. Recent findings indicating that the disease is associated with Clostridium botulinum require support from an epidemiological study that recognises and controls for potential confounders, e.g. age, time of year and premises. Objective: EGS is associated with low antibody levels to C. botulinum antigens. Methods: A matched case-control study was conducted. Data were collected from 66 histologically confirmed cases of EGS and 132 premises-matched control horses. The probability o...
Lavoie JP, Spensley MS, Smith BP, Mihalyi J.The uptake of colostral IgG and IgM, their serum half-lives, and the rates of endogenous synthesis of IgG and IgM were evaluated in 6 newborn foals fed bovine colostrum (principals) and 6 foals allowed to suckle their dams (controls). The principal foals were fed 400 ml of bovine colostrum (IgG, 10,000 mg/dl and IgM, 200 mg/dl) at 2-hour intervals, from 2 to 20 hours after foaling (total dose, 4 L). Serum IgG and IgM concentrations were determined by single radial immunodiffusion from birth to 98 days of age. At foaling, principal foals had no detectable serum equine IgG, but 1 control foal ha...
