Disease treatment in horses encompasses a range of medical interventions and management strategies aimed at addressing various health conditions affecting equine species. These treatments can include pharmacological approaches, such as the administration of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and antiparasitic medications, as well as non-pharmacological methods like physical therapy, dietary adjustments, and surgical procedures. The selection of appropriate treatments depends on the specific disease, its severity, and the individual needs of the horse. This topic brings together peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the efficacy, safety, and advancements in therapeutic options for equine diseases, providing insights into best practices and emerging trends in equine veterinary medicine.
Khan A, Khan MS, Avais M, Ijaz M, Ali MM, Abbas T.The prevalence of Balantidium coli among donkeys in Lahore and adjoining areas was surveyed and a trial conducted to determine the efficacy of two antiprotozoal drugs: secnidazole (Dysen Forte) and Kalonji (Nigella sativa). Four-hundred donkeys were examined, and 73 (18.3%) were found positive for Balantidium coli. A slight decrease in PCV and an increase in Hb values of infected donkeys were found after antiprotozoal treatment. Secnidazole was 89.5% effective for the treatment of equine balantidiasis compared to 40.0% for Nigella sativa. This is the first report of balantidiasis in equines fr...
Cafarchia C, Figueredo LA, Otranto D.Among diseases of horses caused by fungi (=mycoses), dermatophytosis, cryptococcosis and aspergillosis are of particular concern, due their worldwide diffusion and, for some of them, zoonotic potential. Conversely, other mycoses such as subcutaneous (i.e., pythiosis and mycetoma) or deep mycoses (i.e., blastomycosis and coccidioidomycosis) are rare, and/or limited to restricted geographical areas. Generally, subcutaneous and deep mycoses are chronic and progressive diseases; clinical signs include extensive, painful lesions (not pathognomonic), which resemble to other microbial infections. In ...
Romantsov MG, Galimzianov KhM, Lokteva OM, Kovalenko AL, Stepanov AV.Search for drugs efficient in prophylaxis and treatment of dangerous infections (especially arboviral ones) is rather actual, since no specific therapy is available. Many-year investigations of interferon inductors showed that they had immunomodulating, antiviral and antiinflammatory effects and were low toxic. The present study demonstrated that the protective effect was the following: Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE)--cycloferon > amixin = ridostin, Rift Valley fever (RVF)--cycloferon > amixin > ridostin, predator pox (PP)--cycloferon > amixin = ridostin, that was obvious tha...
Burton AJ, Giguère S, Sturgill TL, Berghaus LJ, Slovis NM, Whitman JL, Levering C, Kuskie KR, Cohen ND.Macrolide and rifampin resistance developed on a horse breeding farm after widespread use was instituted for treatment of subclinical pulmonary lesions in foals. Resistance occurred in 6 (24%) of 25 pretreatment and 8 (62%) of 13 (62%) posttreatment isolates from affected foals. Drug-resistant isolates formed 2 distinct genotypic clusters.
Winfield LD, White SD, Affolter VK, Renier AC, Dawson D, Olivry T, Outerbridge CA, Wang YH, Iyori K, Nishifuji K.To describe the clinical, histological and immunological findings of an equine case of pemphigus vulgaris, including the demonstration of antidesmoglein (anti-Dsg) autoantibodies. Methods: The diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris was confirmed in a 9-year-old Welsh pony stallion with both direct and indirect immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation studies, the latter identifying circulating anti-Dsg3 IgG. Treatment with immunosuppressive medications was initiated. Lesions were seen in the perineal area, sheath, mane, tail, eyelids, coronary bands and mucosa of the mouth and oesophagus. Initial c...
Bergström K, Bengtsson B, Nyman A, Grönlund Andersson U.An outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in horses in Sweden raised questions concerning the risk posed by horses to their surroundings following MRSA infections. This initiated a longitudinal study to investigate how long MRSA-infected horses remained positive and to test the sensitivity of different anatomical sampling sites for detection of MRSA. Between October 2008 and June 2010, 9 of 15 horses notified as having MRSA-infected wounds fitted the case criteria for the study. The cases were sampled at five anatomical sites (nostrils, corner of mouth, paste...
Payne SE, Kotze AC, Durmic Z, Vercoe PE.Anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal parasites of horses is an increasing problem, particularly in cyathostomins, and there is a need to find alternative means for the control of these parasites. We screened crude extracts from 37 species of Australian native plants for their anthelmintic activity in vitro against cyathostomin larvae (development from egg to third larval stage), with the aim of identifying those species that may be suitable for incorporation into sustainable parasite management programs. Water extracts from seven species, namely Acacia baileyana, Acacia melanoxylon, Aca...
Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Grinwis GC.Equine sarcoidosis may present as a generalized or localized exfoliative dermatitis and/or as a granulomatous inflammation of multiple organs. Objective: To report the clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and outcome for 22 horses with histologically confirmed sarcoidosis. Methods: Twenty-two horses of different breeds, between 3 and 17 years of age. Methods: Diagnosis was based on clinical signs and histopathological findings. Results: The following three forms of equine sarcoidosis were identified: generalized (13.6%), partially generalized (18.2%) and localized (68.2%). High-dose systemic c...
Innerå M, Petersen AD, Desjardins DR, Steficek BA, Rosser EJ, Schott HC.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in older equids is commonly recognized by a long hair coat that fails to shed. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare hair follicle stages in PPID-affected horses with excessively long hair coats with the stages of normal aged horses (controls) and to compare hair follicle stages in PPID-affected horses after 6 months of treatment with pergolide mesylate with those of control horses. Methods: Eight PPID-affected horses and four normal, age-matched, control horses. Methods: Skin biopsies were collected from the neck and rump of PPID-affected...
Labelle AL, Clark-Price SC.Effective delivery of local anesthesia is essential for successful standing surgical procedures in the horse. Local anesthesia can be used to facilitate examination of the eye, diagnostic procedures, therapeutic techniques, and surgical procedures. Understanding the relevant clinical anatomy and techniques for performing local anesthesia is critical to delivering successful local and regional anesthesia and analgesia.
Brosnan RJ.Inhaled agents represent an important and useful class of drugs for equine anesthesia. This article reviews the ether-type anesthetics in contemporary use, their uptake and elimination, their mechanisms of action, and their desirable and undesirable effects in horses.
Clark-Price SC.Recovery from anesthesia can be one of the most dangerous and unpredictable elements of providing anesthesia to horses. Strategies to quiet, control, and improve the quality of recovery of horses can be implemented in most situations and circumstances. This article provides an overview of the recovery period and areas where interventions may be practical to clinicians to provide improved care for their equine patients.
Shih A.Cardiac output (CO) is the volume of blood pumped out by the heart in 1 minute. Monitoring of CO can guide therapy and improve clinical outcome in critically ill patients and during anesthesia. Although there is increasing research into clinically useful methods of monitoring CO in equine patients, there are limitations to the available methods. There are 4 basic methods of measuring CO: (1) indicator methods, (2) a derivation of the Fick principle, (3) arterial pulse wave analysis, and (4) imaging diagnostic techniques. This article discusses the importance of CO, available technology, and ch...
Martin-Flores M.This article briefly reviews the physiology of the neuromuscular junction and the pharmacologic mechanisms of neuromuscular blocking agents. The clinical use of modern agents is discussed. Monitoring techniques used to assess the level of neuromuscular block and to exclude residual paralysis at the end of an anesthetic procedure are reviewed.
Muňoz J, Bussy C.To report a standing hand-assisted laparoscopic technique for closure of the nephrosplenic space (NS), and short-term outcome in horses. Methods: Case series. Methods: Horses (n = 12) aged 5-14 years. Methods: Medical records (2007-2010) of horses treated for left dorsal displacement of the large colon (LDDLC) using a hand-assisted laparoscopic correction technique with closure of the NS in the same surgical procedure were reviewed. A modified grid laparotomy in the left paralumbar fossa was used with manual correction of LDDLC, after which the NS was closed with a laparoscopic technique. Foll...
Nürnberger S, Meyer C, Ponomarev I, Barnewitz D, Resinger C, Klepal W, Albrecht C, Marlovits S.Treatment of cartilage defects poses challenging problems in human and veterinary medicine, especially in horses. This study examines the suitability of applying scaffold materials similar to those used for human cartilage regeneration on equine chondrocytes. Chondrocytes gained from biopsies of the talocrural joint of three horses were propagated in 2D culture and grown on two different scaffold materials, hyaluronan (HYAFF®) and collagen (BioGide®), and evaluated by light and electron microscopy. The equine chondrocytes developed well in both types of materials. They were vital and physiol...
Equine infectious anaemia in Europe Equine herpesvirus in the UK Summary of surveillance testing, July to September 2012 These are among matters discussed in the quarterly equine disease surveillance report for July to September 2012, prepared by Defra, the Animal Health Trust and the British Equine Veterinary Association.
Shin SH, Yoon JH, Yahng SA, Lee SE, Cho BS, Eom KS, Kim YJ, Lee S, Min CK, Kim HJ, Cho SG, Kim DW, Min WS, Park CW, Lee JW.Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is the drug of choice for immunosuppressive therapy (IST) in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) ineligible for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Recently, rabbit ATG with cyclosporine A has been used as a first-line IST regimen in patients with SAA because of unavailability of horse ATG. We retrospectively analyzed adult SAA patients who were treated with horse ATG (n=46) or rabbit ATG (n=53) between Feb 2001 and May 2010 to compare hematologic response and survival. Overall response rates at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months were similar in both the horse and ra...
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 ...
Carmichael RJ, Whitfield C, Maxwell LK.Equine herpes myeloencephalopathy, resulting from equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1) infection, is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in the horse. As compared to other antiviral drugs, such as acyclovir, ganciclovir has enhanced potency against EHV-1. This study investigated the pharmacokinetics of ganciclovir and its oral prodrug, valganciclovir, in six adult horses in a randomized cross-over design. Ganciclovir sodium was administered intravenously as a slow bolus at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg, and valganciclovir was administered orally at a dose of 1800 mg per horse. Intravenousl...
Reed SA, Johnson SE.Recovery from tendon injury is based on long periods of rest, which results in sub-optimal repair, often replacing tendon with fibrocartilage scar tissue. Recently, the use of stem cells in equine tendon repair has been attempted with variable success. The objective of this work was to determine the expression of scleraxis (scx) and tenascin C (TnC), two markers of tenocytes, in adipose (AdMSC) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells during culture on various substrata and in response to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) treatment. Equine UCB and AdMSC were cultured on gelatin-coated plasticwar...
Poller C, Hopster K, Rohn K, Kästner SB.The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of contact heat thermal stimulation in horses at different body sites and under different environmental conditions and different test situations. Five warm-blood horses were equipped with the thermal probe located on the skin of nostril (N), withers (W) or coronary band (C). Skin temperature and reaction temperature (thermal threshold) at each location were measured and percent thermal excursion (% TE = 100 * (threshold temperature - skin temperature)/(cut-out temperature - skin temperature) was calculated. Environmental conditions were ...
Smith SE, Devine DV.To determine the feasibility of hand-assisted laparoscopic ovariectomy via colpotomy for bilateral ovariectomy in standing mares. Methods: Case series. Methods: Mares (n = 21) aged 2-21 years, weighing 312-582 kg. Methods: After a pilot study in 6 mares, the technique was used in 15 mares. Ovaries were identified and manipulated using 2 laparoscopic portals in the left paralumbar fossa. Transection and hemostasis of the ovarian pedicle was achieved using a LigaSure Atlas™ or chain écraseur. Ovaries were removed through a colpotomy by an assistant. Results: In 19 mares, both ovaries were suc...
Tnibar A, Grubbe Lin K, Thurøe Nielsen K, Christophersen MT, Lindegaard C, Martinussen T, Ekstrøm CT.Incisional infections are common in horses after colic surgery. There is a clinical impression that the use of a stent bandage reduces the prevalence of such infections. Objective: To determine the effect of a stent bandage on the likelihood of incisional infection after ventral midline exploratory coeliotomy. It was hypothesised that the use of a stent bandage would reduce the likelihood of incisional infection. Methods: Medical records of horses that underwent exploratory coeliotomy for colic between January 2005 and September 2011 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were animals that had one ...
Robin CA, Lo Iacono G, Gubbins S, Wood JL, Newton JR.The National Equine Database (NED) contains information on the size and distribution of the horse population, but the data quality remains unknown. These data could assist with surveillance, research and contingency planning for equine infectious disease outbreaks. Objective: 1) To assess the extent of obsolete and missing data from NED, 2) evaluate the extent of spatial separation between horse and owner location and 3) identify relationships between spatial separation and land use. Methods: Two questionnaires were used to assess data accuracy in NED utilising local authority passport inspect...
Skalka B, Svastová A.Two techniques were developed to detect antibodies against the exosubstance of C. equi called equi-factor. In the first technique serum samples are tested against native equi-factor produced by the growth of C. equi on agar medium. A positive result is manifested by the development of precipitation lines. The second test is based on neutralization of prepurified equi-factor by antibody, resulting in the inhibition of its hemolytic synergism with staphylococcal beta toxin. Sera (125 samples) from horses of different ages, kept in localities with a history of C. equi infections, were examined. T...
Frazer LL, Santschi EM, Ring SJ, Hewitt RE, Fischer KJ.Equine subchondral bone cysts (SBCs) develop most often in the medial femoral condyle (MFC) of yearlings intended for performance. SBCs often cause lameness and can cause secondary injuries to the meniscus and tibial cartilage. A novel surgical technique using a transcondylar lag screw (TLS) across an MFC SBC has shown success in lameness resolution and radiographic healing of MFC SBC. In a previous study using finite element analysis, our lab showed that a TLS stimulated bone formation on the inner surface of the SBC and altered third principal stress vectors to change the direction of surfac...
Rossdale PD, Pattle RE, Mahaffey LW.A SYNDROME in newborn thoroughbred foals, characterized by irregular respiration, convulsions, and lung pathology, has been described already1, and its resemblance to the respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn human noted. This latter condition is associated with the absence of the surface active lung lining complex, or lung surfactant2; this absence can be investigated by observation of bubbles obtained from the lung3. From normal lungs bubbles of very low surface tension which show great stability in air-saturated water can be obtained4,5. The present case demonstrates the common facto...
Hart SK, Southwood LL, Aceto HW.To determine the effect of colic surgery on return to function in Thoroughbred racehorses, identify clinical variables associated with successful return to racing, and compare racing performance between horses undergoing colic surgery and an untreated cohort. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: 59 Thoroughbred racehorses 2 to 5 years of age that underwent colic surgery and survived to hospital discharge and 90 untreated Thoroughbred racehorses equivalent in class. Methods: Medical records of patients evaluated for colic between January 1996 and July 2009 were reviewed, and horses wit...
Mair TS.The clinical features of 18 cases of summer pasture associated obstructive pulmonary disease were reviewed. The horses had signs of obstructive pulmonary disease (expiratory dyspnoea, wheezing and crackling lung sounds and coughing) during the spring, summer or autumn while they were kept permanently at grass with no access to hay or straw, for at least two consecutive years. In nine cases there was a seasonal incidence with the disease occurring during April and May. Eleven of the horses were affected by bouts of severe dyspnoea. Eleven of the horses also suffered from chronic obstructive pul...
Schumacher J, Vaughan JT.Treatments of penile and preputial injuries, anomalies, tumors, "summer sores," paraphimosis, phimosis, and priapism are presented. Surgical procedures described include preputiotomy, reefing, penile retraction, amputation, and relocation. Treatment of hemospermia by means of urethrotomy is discussed.
Anzai T, Wada R, Okuda T, Aoki T.The effectiveness of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a field application test for the eradication of contagious equine metritis (CEM) was evaluated. Seven-thousands five-hundred and thirty-four genital swabs were collected from 4,026 Thoroughbred broodmares and stallions in Japan to test "high risk" horses as well as for general surveillance testing from 1998 to 2001. Bacterial isolation as well as PCR testing of original specimens and cultured specimens was performed for detection of Taylorella equigenitalis from genital swabs. As a result, T. equigenitalis was detected in 12 mares and...
Jose-Cunilleras E, Hinchcliff KW.Listeria monocytogenes rarely causes disease in horses
(Emerson and Jarvis 1968; McCain and Robinson 1976; Clark et
al. 1978; Welsh 1983; Wallace and Hathcock 1995; Larochelle et
al. 1999; Wilkins et al. 2000). It is described as a cause of
abortion, septicaemia in equine neonates, mature horses and
ponies and neurological disease in a foal (Emerson and Jarvis
1968; McCain and Robinson 1976; Clark et al. 1978; Welsh
1983; Wallace and Hathcock 1995; Larochelle et al. 1999;
Wilkins et al. 2000). Most cases of listeriosis in other species
arise from the ingestion of contaminated food and...
Maylin G, Fenger C, Machin J, Kudrimoti S, Eisenberg R, Green J, Tobin T.Aminorex, (RS)-5- Phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-amine, is an amphetamine-like anorectic and in the United States a Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] Schedule 1 controlled substance. Aminorex in horse urine is usually present as a metabolite of Levamisole, an equine anthelmintic and immune stimulant. Recently, Aminorex identifications have been reported in horse urine with no history or evidence of Levamisole administration. Analysis of the urine samples suggested a botanical source, directing attention to the Brassicaceae plant family, with their contained GlucoBarbarin and Barbarin as p...
Urie NJ, Lombard JE, Marshall KL, Digianantonio R, Pelzel-McCluskey AM, McCluskey BJ, Traub-Dargatz JL, Kopral CA, Swenson SL, Schiltz JJ.Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is caused by a contagious rhabdovirus that affects horses, cattle, and swine. Clinical signs of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection in pigs and cattle are indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a foreign animal disease and reportable disease in the United States (Rodriguez et al., 2000). A VS epidemic occurred in the Rocky Mountain region in 2014-15. A study was conducted in Colorado to evaluate horse- and management-level factors associated with VS. For a horse to be considered a clinical VS horse, there were two requirements. First, clinical VS ...
Messer NT, Johnson PJ.The evidence-based literature pertaining to thyroid dysfunction and Cushing's syndrome is discussed in this article. Summaries of and recommendations for the treatment of these conditions are made. There is a need for reliable diagnostic tests for these conditions in horses.
Krista KM, Kuebelbeck KL.To determine how survival rates in geriatric horses (>or= 20 years old) undergoing abdominal exploratory surgery for colic compare with survival rates for younger (nongeriatric) horses. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 56 geriatric horses and 487 nongeriatric horses undergoing exploratory celiotomy for colic. Methods: Medical records of all horses undergoing emergency abdominal exploratory surgery for primary gastrointestinal tract lesions over a 10-year period were reviewed. Data retrieved included signalment, primary gastrointestinal tract lesion, whether the horse was ...
Himsworth CG, Argue CK.Clinical signs and carcass traits observed during the 2006 Saskatchewan anthrax outbreak were largely consistent with those previously published, except for cutaneous anthrax and anthrax mastitis in cows, and subcutaneous edema in bulls and horses. Failure of blood to clot was the most reliable indicator of anthrax in carcasses. Impressions cliniques de l’anthrax lors de l’éclosion de 2006 en Saskatchewan. Les signes cliniques et les caractéristiques des carcasses observés durant l’éclosion d’anthrax en Saskatchewan en 2006 étaient généralement similaires à ceux déjà publiés...
Hjertner B, Olofsson KM, Lindberg R, Fuxler L, Fossum C.There is accumulating evidence for the involvement of pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with a T helper 17 response in intestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans. The involvement of interleukin (IL)-17 or IL-23 in equine IBD has not been studied and most gene expression studies in the equine intestine have been limited to the use of a single non-validated reference gene. In this study, expression of the reference gene candidates β2 microglobulin (β2M), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), histone H2A type 1, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltra...
Owen RA, Fullerton J, Barnum DA.Seventeen ponies were infected with Salmonella typhimurium and then 15 were variously stressed by transportation and/or surgery and 9 were given oxytetracycline. Indications of Salmonella reactivation occurred in all the stressed ponies. Diarrhea due to a reactivation of the Salmonella infection did not develop until greater than 3 days after stress, although maximal shedding of organisms occurred within 24 hours. A neutropenia generally occurred within 24 hours after stress and lasted about 5 days. A rectal temperature greater than 39 C usually did not occur. An increase in serologic titer wa...
Rose PL, Seeherman H, O'Callaghan M.Comminuted fractures of the middle phalanx have been well described in the horse. Choice of treatment, surgical planning and prognosis have traditionally been based upon evaluation of radiographs. However, the complex nature of comminuted fractures makes radiographic interpretation difficult. Computed tomography (CT) allows the production of cross-sectional images with spatial separation of structures which are superimposed on survey radiographs. This allows accurate assessment of the number and direction of fracture lines within the bone. In this paper we report the use of CT in the evaluatio...
Mukaratirwa S, Munjere IF, Takawira M, Chingwena G.Gastrodiscosis outbreaks due to Gastrodiscus aegyptiacus were recorded in horses in the vicinity of Harare, Zimbabwe, in the absence of Bulinus forskalii, B. senegalensis and Cleopatra sp. which are considered to be the only intermediate host snails. This suggested the possibility of other snail species acting as intermediate hosts in the life cycle of the trematode. A study was carried out to determine the susceptibility of 7 freshwater snail species to infection with G. aegyptiacus. First generation (F-1) of 5 freshwater pulmonate snail species, Bulinus tropicus, Bulinus globosus, Biomphalar...
McConaghy FF, Davis RE, Reppas GP, Rawlinson R J, McClintock SA, Hutchins DR, Hodgson DR.Treatment options for equine sarcoids are briefly reviewed and the results of a retrospective study of 63 cases of equine sarcoid (66 lesions) treated by clinicians from the Rural Veterinary Centre, Camden, Australia from 1975 to 1993 presented. Five different treatments were employed in the management of these 66 lesions, including surgical excision alone or in combination with cryotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and tumour transfer to a subcutaneous site on the neck. The majority of cases were treated with surgical excision alone (18/66), excision followed by cryotherapy (31/66) and imm...