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.
Patel JR, Heldens J.This review concentrates on the epidemiology, latency and pathogenesis of, and the approaches taken to control infection of horses by equine herpesvirus types 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4). Although both viruses may cause febrile rhinopneumonitis, EHV-1 is the main cause of abortions, paresis and neonatal foal deaths. The lesion central to these three conditions is necrotising vasculitis and thrombosis resulting from lytic infection of endothelial cells lining blood capillaries. The initiation of infection in these lesions is likely to be by reactivated EHV-1 from latently infected leukocytes. Howev...
van Veen L, de Greef RJ.A non-displaced radialfracture of a horse was,diagnosed. The horse had an open fracture resulting from external trauma. A diagnosis was made on radiographs taken 48h after trauma. The horse was treated conservatively by box rest and Robert-Jones bandages. After 7 days the wound was opened to let the wound drainage necrotic material and small sequesters and was washed every other day. After 7 weeks, radiographs showed complete consolidation. Four months after the injury the horse was back to work at his former level and is still working two years after the incident.
van Loon G, De Clercq D, Tavernier R, Amory H, Deprez P.Transvenous electrical cardioversion was attempted in a horse with drug refractory atrial fibrillation. A temporary pacing catheter and two defibrillation catheters were inserted transvenously into the right ventricular apex, the right atrium and the pulmonary artery, respectively. Under general anaesthesia 100, 200, 300 and 360 J monophasic shocks were delivered between both defibrillation catheters but sinus rhythm could not be restored. Immediately after the 200, 300 and 360 J shock, transient third-degree atrioventricular block occurred for a period of, respectively, 15, 40 and 55 s. These...
Weese JS, Rousseau J.To evaluate the efficacy of Lactobacillus pentosus WE7, an equine-origin organism with potentially beneficial in vitro properties, as a probiotic for prevention of neonatal diarrhea in foals. Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: 153 foals. Methods: Foals were enrolled at 24 to 48 hours of age and randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. The treatment group received approximately 2 x 10(11) CFU of freeze-dried L. pentosus WE7 orally once daily for 7 days, whereas the control group received a placebo. Clinical monitoring was performed for 14 days. Results: Probiotic a...
Norman TE, Chaffin MK, Johnson MC, Spangler EA, Weeks BR, Knight R.Five horses were evaluated because of severe cutaneous burn injuries following a barn fire. Gross hemolysis and morphologic changes in RBCs consistent with oxidative damage were detected in all of the horses. Of these horses, 4 became azotemic. The overall goals of treatment included wound care, correction of dehydration and provision of diuresis, control of inflammation, pain management, and prophylaxis against sepsis. After treatment, 2 horses survived and were discharged from the hospital. Red blood cell damage and hemolysis following cutaneous burn injury have been investigated in other sp...
McGuire TC, Fraser DG, Mealey RH.Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are associated with virus control in horses infected with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Early in infection, control of the initial viremia coincides with the appearance of CTL and occurs before the appearance of neutralizing antibody. In carrier horses, treatment with immunosuppressive drugs results in viremia before a change in serum neutralizing antibody occurs. Clearance of initial viremia caused by other lentiviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus, is also associated with CTL and not neutralizing antibody. ...
Macpherson ML.Equine placentitis, and resultant preterm labor, are important sources of fetal and neonatal loss. The primary cause of equine placentitis is infection of the placenta with Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus, which ascends through the caudal reproductive tract. Current treatment protocols for mares affected with placentitis are empirical. This paper reviews treatment approaches for resolving placentitis and preterm labor in both equine and non-equine species. Specific therapies reviewed include antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, tocolytic, and progestin agents.
Songer JG.Clostridium difficile causes pseudomembranous colitis in humans, usually after disruption of the bowel flora by antibiotic therapy. Factors mediating the frank disease include the dose and toxigenicity of the colonizing strain, its ability to adhere to colonic epithelium, the concurrent presence of organisms that affect multiplication and toxin production or activity, and the susceptibility of the host. Toxins A (an enterotoxin) and B (a cytotoxin) play the major role in pathogenesis and the detection of toxins in gut contents is the gold standard for diagnosis. Disease in horses takes the for...
Hetherington VJ, Kawalec JS, Dockery DS, Targoni OS, Lehmann PV, Nadler D.One means of treating osteoarthritis is with autologous or allogeneic osteochondral grafts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the innate immunological response in humans toward xeno-derived osteochondral grafts that have been partially or entirely treated by the photooxidation process. Methods: The antigens tested included bovine, porcine, ovine and equine osteochondral samples that have been treated in successive steps of photooxidation. ELISPOT assays were used to evaluate the production of IL-1, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and TNF-alpha by human monocytes in response to the antigens. R...
Card C.Endometritis has been reported to be the third most common medical condition of horses. Timely diagnosis and treatment of endometritis in mares increases the chance of pregnancy. Exfoliative endometrial cytology is often used as a clinical tool to evaluate endometrial inflammation through detection of neutrophils. There is a lack of information on the time frame for changes in endometrial cytologic parameters following breeding. The main objectives of this article are to use current information to describe systematic analysis of endometrial cytology using standardized methods for sample collec...
Begg LM, Hughes KJ, Kessell A, Krockenberger MB, Wigney DI, Malik R.A 20-year-old Welsh Mountain Pony (212 kg) mare was initially presented for a chronic cough, fever, weight loss and low grade abdominal pain. She later developed dyspnoea, tachypnoea and exercise intolerance. The presence of multiple masses (up to 17 cm diameter) in the pulmonary parenchyma was established using lateral thoracic radiography and transthoracic ultrasonography. Encapsulated, budding yeasts were observed in smears made from transtracheal washings and needle aspirates of the pulmonary lesions. Cryptococcus gattii (synonym: Cryptococcus neoformans variety gattii; Cryptococcus bacill...
Holm-Martin M, Levot GW, Dawson KL.A gel formulation containing moxidectin (20 g/kg) and praziquantel (125 g/kg) reduced the geometric mean faecal strongyle egg count in horses to below 100 eggs per gram of faeces (epg) for at least 12 weeks despite their being exposed continuously to reinfection from pasture grazed by treated and untreated horses. The geometric mean egg count of horses treated with a proprietary paste containing abamectin (3.7 g/kg) and praziquantel (46.2 g/kg) increased steadily from six weeks after the treatment, peaking at over 820 epg after 12 weeks. Relative to the efficacy of the abamectin/praziquantel t...
Kuzmina TA, Kharchenko VA, Starovir AI, Dvojnos GM.Communities of intestinal helminths in horses are commonly studied post mortem. The study objectives were here to examine the species composition of the strongylid community in brood horses in Ukraine after deworming with an aversectin drug Univerm. The site distribution of the strongylid species was analysed according to dynamics of their expulsion in faeces. Forty-four horses of different ages from Poltavska oblast (22 horses), Kyivska oblast (17 horses) and Sumska oblast (5 horses) of Ukraine were included in the study. Horses were treated with Univerm anthelmintic (0.2% aversectin) at a do...
Sykes BW, Furr MO.The pathophysiology of endotoxaemia, a leading cause of death in the horse, is beginning to be understood in greater detail. Endotoxin may be absorbed into the systemic circulation in a number of different ways: most commonly the body's normal defense mechanisms are disrupted or bypassed, or the normal clearance mechanisms overwhelmed. Following this wide-spread effects are observed, although the most significant are seen in the cardiovascular system. Fever, arterial hypoxaemia and signs of abdominal pain are also common. With increased understanding of the disease new therapeutic agents have ...
Wilson GJ, Walsh LJ.To quantify the temperature changes in the dental pulp associated with equine dental procedures using power grinding equipment. Methods: A matrix experimental design with replication on the same sample was followed to allow the following independent variables to be assessed: horse age (young or old), tooth type (premolar or molar), powered grinding instrument (rotating disc or die grinder), grinding time (15 or 20 seconds) and the presence or absence of water coolant. Methods: Sound premolar and molar teeth from a 6-year-old horse and a 15-year-old horse, which had been removed postmortem, wer...
Yanoviak SP, Aguilar PV, Lounibos LP, Weaver SC.Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) complex alphaviruses are serious health threats in the Americas and regularly infect humans living in or near Amazonian rain forests. As part of a larger surveillance program, we placed six hamster-baited mosquito traps in a disturbed white sand forest of northeastern Peru for 3 d. Virus isolations from hamster serum and trapped mosquito pools demonstrated that a VEE subtype IIIC alphavirus was transmitted to a hamster by the mosquito Culex (Melanoconion) gnomatos Sallum, Hutchings & Ferreira. This species, like the other seven proven VEE complex alphavirus...
Pusterla N, Fecteau ME, Madigan JE, Wilson WD, Magdesian KG.The medical records of 19 horses with acute hemoperitoneum were reviewed. The causes for the hemoperitoneum were idiopathic (8 horses), splenic hematoma with capsular tear (7), bleeding from the reproductive tract (3), multicentric hemangiosarcoma (1), and systemic amyloidosis (1). The affected horses were between 4 and 32 years of age (median 11.5 years). The most consistent findings on initial examination were depression, tachycardia, tachypnea, pale mucous membranes, prolonged capillary refill time, colic, and abdominal discomfort. Less common clinical signs included abdominal distention, p...
Quinlivan M, Zamarin D, García-Sastre A, Cullinane A, Chambers T, Palese P.Equine influenza is a common disease of the horse, causing significant morbidity worldwide. Here we describe the establishment of a plasmid-based reverse genetics system for equine influenza virus. Utilizing this system, we generated three mutant viruses encoding carboxy-terminally truncated NS1 proteins. We have previously shown that a recombinant human influenza virus lacking the NS1 gene (delNS1) could only replicate in interferon (IFN)-incompetent systems, suggesting that the NS1 protein is responsible for IFN antagonist activity. Contrary to previous findings with human influenza virus, w...
Derossi R, Miguel GL, Frazílio FO, Nunes DB, Kassab TA.Bupivacaine is available as a racemic mixture of its enantiomers, d-bupivacaine and l-bupivacaine (LB). The aim of this randomized, double-blind study was to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of S(-)-bupivacaine compared with standard racemic bupivacaine (RB) in horses under caudal epidural analgesia. Two treatments were administered to each horse, with a 2-week interval between subsequent treatments. Treatment 1 consisted of 0.5% LB at a dose of 0.06 mg/kg of body weight, and treatment 2 consisted of 0.5% RB at a dose of 0.06 mg/kg of body weight. Epidural injections were given in ...
Erkert RS, Macallister CG, Campbell G, Payton ME, Shawley R, Clarke CR.Local anesthesia and tissue inflammation associated with lidocaine infiltration and lidocaine/prilocaine topical anesthetic cream for episioplasty in mares were compared. Twenty-two mares were randomly assigned to lidocaine or lidocaine/prilocaine topical anesthetic cream treatment groups. Perineum and vulva were cleaned, 8-12 g (approximately 1 g/cm per side of vulva) of topical anesthetic cream was applied, and the area was covered by plastic wrap 30 min prior to beginning procedure. Alternately, lidocaine was injected (1 mL) every centimeter just prior to the procedure. Episioplasty was con...
Nagamine CM, Castro F, Buchanan B, Schumacher J, Craig LE.Spirochetes were identified histologically in canker (proliferative pododermatitis) in 3 horses. The data suggest that spirochetes may contribute to the pathology of equine chronic foot diseases similar to the manner in which they contribute to the pathology of bovine papillomatous digital dermatitis and contagious ovine digital dermatitis.
Gemensky-Metzler AJ, Wilkie DA, Kowalski JJ, Schmall LM, Willis AM, Yamagata M.To determine effects of topical antimicrobial and antimicrobial-corticosteroid preparations on the ocular flora of horses. animals: 40 horses. Methods: One eye was treated 3 times daily for 2 weeks with one of the following ointments: (1) neomycin-bacitracin-polymyxin B, (2) 0.6% prednisolone-0.3% gentamicin, (3) neomycin-polymyxin B-0.05% dexamethasone, or (4) treated (artificial tears) control. Contralateral eyes of treated control eyes served as untreated control eyes. Corneal and conjunctival specimens for bacterial and fungal cultures were collected prior to initiation of treatment, after...
Larsen KS, Eydal M, Mencke N, Sigurdsson H.Lice infestations on horses caused by the lice Werneckiella (Damalinia) equi and Haematopinus equi are observed worldwide. In this study, the distribution and clinical manifestations of lice on Icelandic horses were examined. Thirty-eight out of 93 animals (40.86%) were identified as infested with W. equi. Sixty-eight animals (73.12%) presented dermatological lesions associated with lice infestation, while only 32 of these animals presented lice. Six animals had no clinical signs although of being lice-positive, and 19 animals (20.43%) showed neither lice nor clinical manifestations. Lice burd...
Mencke N, Larsen KS, Eydal M, Sigurethsson H.Lice infestations in horses caused by the chewing louse Werneckiella (Damalinia) equi are observed worldwide. In the present study, the efficacy of 10% imidacloprid was tested on horses naturally infested with lice. Two groups of animals received a double application of 4 ml and 8 ml Advantage 10% spot-on on day 0 and 28 either. Horses, presenting dermatological signs with negative lice counts, were also included in this investigation. 40.86% of the horses presented positive lice counts and 84.21% of these animals showed clinical dermatologic signs. 65.45% of the lice-negative horses also show...
Vrins A, Carlson G, Feldman B.Warfarin or dicoumarol prevents the production of functional clotting factors II, VII, IX and X. Navicular disease and thrombophlebitis are examples of equine thrombotic diseases in which warfarin has been used therapeutically. The initiation of anticoagulant therapy is relatively simple but attending veterinarians must be aware of the potential risks in order to minimize them. These risks include epistaxis, bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract and at the venipuncture site, and increased susceptibility to hematoma formation following local trauma. Vitamin K, especially vitamin K(1) is a sw...
Piuko K, Bravo IG, Müller M.In the present study we describe the isolation and characterization of putative equine granzyme B for which we propose the designation 'eqGrzmB'. Sequence analysis revealed characteristic features of a GrzmB protease such as the presence of a signal (leader-) peptide and an activation di-peptide. The isolated eqGrzmB is functionally active when expressed in human or in insect cells. Furthermore, exchange of any of three putative active site amino acids, which are highly conserved along granzyme B enzymes, led to a complete loss of enzymatic activity in the newly identified eqGrzmB. Phylogeneti...
Pessoa CR, Pessoa AF, Maia LA, Medeiros RM, Colegate SM, Barros SS, Soares MP, Borges AS, Riet-Correa F.The effects and susceptibility of donkeys to Crotalaria juncea and Crotalaria retusa poisoning were determined at high and low doses. Seeds of C. juncea containing 0.074% of dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (DHPAs) (isohemijunceines 0.05%, trichodesmine 0.016%, and junceine 0.008%) were administered to three donkeys at 0.3, 0.6 and 1 g/kg body weight (g/kg) daily for 365 days. No clinical signs were observed and, on liver and lung biopsies, the only lesion was a mild liver megalocytosis in the donkeys ingesting 0.6 and 1 g/kg/day. Two other donkeys that received daily doses of 3 and 5 g seed/...
Sams AE, Weldon AD, Rakestraw P.Three horses were diagnosed as having esophageal inclusion cysts. Clinical signs included dysphagia, swelling of the cervical esophagus, and salivation. Surgical removal of the cyst was attempted in two horses. Both horses survived, but multiple complications occurred, including esophageal fistulation and neurovascular damage. Marsupialization of the cyst was performed in the third horse. The stoma closed 3 weeks after surgery without complications, and endoscopic examination revealed a grossly normal esophagus. Marsupialization may be preferable to surgical removal for treatment of selected e...
Davidson HJ, Pinard CL, Keil SM, Brightman AH, Sargeant JM.The ocular effects of latanoprost ophthalmic solution were evaluated in two studies, with eight horses in each study. One eye of each horse was treated with latanoprost ophthalmic solution once daily for 5 days, and the opposite eye received a control solution of sterile eyewash. Intraocular pressure and pupillary diameter were measured daily for 5 days after treatment. Latanoprost had no significant effect on intraocular pressure or pupillary diameter in normal horse eyes compared with control eyes in these studies. Placement of an eyelid nerve block resulted in significantly lower intraocula...
Popot MA, Ho ENM, Stojiljkovic N, Bagilet F, Remy P, Maciejewski P, Loup B, Chan GHM, Hargrave S, Arthur RM, Russo C, White J, Hincks P, Pearce C....Cobalt is an essential mineral micronutrient and is regularly present in equine nutritional and feed supplements. Therefore, cobalt is naturally present at low concentrations in biological samples. The administration of cobalt chloride is considered to be blood doping and is thus prohibited. To control the misuse of cobalt, it was mandatory to establish an international threshold for cobalt in plasma and/or in urine. To achieve this goal, an international collaboration, consisting of an interlaboratory comparison between 5 laboratories for the urine study and 8 laboratories for the plasma stud...
Owen R, Maxie LL.Quadriplegia of 4 days' duration in a 3-week-old foal was caused by displacement of the dens of the axis due to a fracture at the dens growth plate. The displacement was reduced and was immobilized surgically. Two months after surgery, the foal was able to rise, walk, and trot without apparent neurologic deficiencies. Three years later, the only defect was a mild gait disturbance in the left hindlimb seen at a canter and a gallop.
Rees WA, Harkins JD, Lu M, Holland RE, Lehner AF, Tobin T, Chambers TM.To determine pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses of rimantadine hydrochloride in horses and to evaluate prophylactic efficacy of rimantadine in influenza virus-infected horses. Methods: 5 clinically normal horses and 8 horses seronegative to influenza A. Methods: Horses were given rimantadine (7 mg/kg of body weight, i.v., once; 15 mg/kg, p.o., once; 30 mg/kg, p.o., once; and 30 mg/kg, p.o., q 12 h for 4 days) to determine disposition kinetics. Efficacy in induced infections was determined in horses seronegative to influenza virus A2. Rimantadine was administered (30 mg/kg, p.o., q 1...
Sandersen C, Mouithys-Mickalad A, de la Rebière G, Deby G, Serteyn D, Franck T.To investigate the effect of acepromazine (ACP) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by stimulated equine neutrophils. Methods: Ex vivo biochemical experiments. Methods: Isolated neutrophils from healthy untreated horses. Methods: Neutrophils were incubated with ACP at concentrations of 10(-4), 10(-5) or 10(-6) M and then stimulated with phorbol-myristate-acetate (PMA) before measurement of lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL). In a second experiment neutrophils were incubated in the presence of α-keto-γ methylthiobutyric acid (KMB) and treated with ACP at concentrations of 10(-4...
White SD.Donkeys (Equus asinus) are a species used throughout the world primarily as beasts of burden, but occasionally for other functions, as a meat source or as pets. Although closely related to other equids, they have some unique features of their own with regard to dermatologic disease. This article highlights some of the various dermatoses seen or reported in donkeys, as well as some comparisons with horses when prevalence, presentation, or treatment may differ.
Malhotra DV, Banerjee DP, Gautam OP.The prevalence of Babesia equi infection in north west India was assessed by means of the capillary tube agglutination (CA) test. The particulate antigen used in the test was potent and no cross reaction with other related haemaprotozoa was observed. The serological survey showed that from 323 horses from 3 localities there was an overall incidence of 50.1 per cent. In Haryana the incidence was 38.3 per cent in the 196 horses tested, in Uttar Pradesh it was 47.2 per cent from 72 animals and in Rajasthan it was 96.4 per cent from 55 horses.
Orsini JA, Kreuder C.Musculoskeletal disorders in newborn foals are complex, multifactorial, and associated with prematurity, dysmaturity, and twinning. They include incomplete ossification of cuboidal bones, tendon laxity, congenital angular limb deformities, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and septicemia. Other deformities associated with nutrition, large size, and rapid growth include osteochondrosis, physitis, ruptured tendons, acquired flexural deformities, and postnatal angular limb deformities. Optimal management of the complexly interrelated musculoskeletal disorders of the neonate also is discussed.
Derham AM, O'Leary JM, Connolly SE, Schumacher J, Kelly G.Racehorses may perform poorly because of impinging dorsal spinous processes (DSPs) of the thoracolumbar vertebrae. No study has looked objectively at the long-term outcome of racehorses undergoing desmotomy of the interspinous ligament as a treatment for horses with poor performance caused by impinging DSPs. The aim of this study was to examine objectively, by using pre-operative and post-operative racing records, the effectiveness of desmotomy of the interspinous ligament (DISL) in improving the performance of racehorses with impinging DSPs. Medical records of all horses undergoing desmotomy ...