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.
Adams AP, Santschi EM, Mellencamp MA.A silver chloride-coated nylon wound dressing (Ag-WD) was evaluated in vitro for antimicrobial activity against five common equine wound pathogens. Methods: Bacterial susceptibility study. Methods: Equine wound pathogens: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus, and Staphylococcus aureus. Methods: An inoculum of each pathogen was incubated directly with Ag-WD and quantitated after 24 to 48 hours of incubation. To determine if bactericidal activity of Ag-WD was contact dependent, an inoculum of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureu...
Yarbrough TB, Voss E, Herrgesell EJ, Shaw M.To report the clinical signs and management of 4 foals with persistent frenulum of the epiglottis. Methods: Case report. Methods: Four newborn foals. Methods: Foals were admitted with a complaint of oronasal reflux after nursing. Variable systemic signs of aspiration pneumonia were evident. Nasal endoscopy confirmed persistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate. Persistent frenulum of the epiglottis, confirmed by oral endoscopic examination, was transected. Results: After surgery, all foals had the epiglottis positioned normally, dorsal to the soft palate. Clinical signs of oronasal reflux...
Bouré L, Marcoux M, Laverty S, Lepage OM.To develop a technique for arthroscopic excision of apical sesamoid fracture fragments using electrocautery probes. Methods: A total of 18 Standardbred horses. Methods: Arthroscopic removal of apical sesamoid fracture fragments using both hook and loop electrocautery probes was performed on 18 Standardbred horses. The fracture fragments were approached using either an ipsilateral (3) or contralateral (15) arthroscopic triangulation technique. Distension of the metacarpo- (metatarso)-phalangeal joints was achieved using a 1.5% glycine solution. Under arthroscopic guidance, both the suspensory a...
Hallebeek JM, van 't Klooster AT, Beynen AC.In various situations it is desirable to evaluate the diet of horses. Such situations occur when nutrition is considered as the cause of disease or symptoms or and when a diet or diet change raises concern about whether the animal is receiving sufficient nutrients. Ration evaluation consists of translating feed ingredients into nutrients supplied and comparing this with nutrient requirements. The basics of ration evaluation are illustrated by means of four examples of horse diets.
Goehring LS, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.A 2 day old foal was presented with central nervous depression (coma) after moxidectin overdose. Moxidectin belongs to the milbemycin anthelmintics which elicit their working mechanism through a GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)-stimulatory mode of action. The foal developed profound hypothermia, bradycardia and hypoventilation. Absence of urine voiding and mild abdominal distension suggested a ruptured bladder, which was confirmed by transabdominal ultrasound and clinical-pathologic parameters. Repeat auscultation of the ventral lung parts and the occurrence of gastric reflux were suggestive of ...
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...
Grubb TL, Constable PD, Benson GJ, Foreman JH, Olson WO, Thurmon JC, Tranquilli WJ, Davis LE.To determine the most repeatable method for evaluating right ventricular relaxation rate in horses and to determine and compare effects of isoflurane or halothane with and without the added influence of intravenously administered calcium gluconate on right ventricular relaxation rates in horses. Methods: 6 Thoroughbred horses from 2 to 4 years old. Methods: 6 models (2 for monoexponential decay with zero asymptote, 3 for monoexponential decay with variable asymptote, and 1 for biexponential decay) for determining right ventricular relaxation rate were assessed in conscious and anesthetized hor...
Hare JE, Viel L, Conlon PD, Marshall JS.To determine the capacity of pulmonary mast cells (PMC) to degranulate in response to various potential allergens and other secretagogues in horses with recurrent airway obstruction (heaves) and clinically normal horses before and after exposure to moldy hay. Methods: 5 horses with heaves and 5 clinically normal horses. Methods: Heaves was characterized as an increased clinical respiratory score and maximum change in transpulmonary pressure of > 20 cm H2O after exposure. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed during each period. Washed and resuspended cells were exposed for 20 minutes at 37 C wi...
Lunn DP, Soboll G, Schram BR, Quass J, McGregor MW, Drape RJ, Macklin MD, McCabe DE, Swain WF, Olsen CW.Equine influenza virus infection remains one of the most important infectious diseases of the horse, yet current vaccines offer only limited protection. The equine immune response to natural influenza virus infection results in long-term protective immunity, and is characterized by mucosal IgA and serum IgGa and IgGb antibody responses. DNA vaccination offers a radical alternative to conventional vaccines, with the potential to generate the same protective immune responses seen following viral infection. Antigen-specific antibody isotype responses in serum and mucosal secretions were studied i...
Cauvin ER, Tapprest J, Munroe GA, May SA, Schramme MC.This study was designed to develop a reliable technique for endoscopic examination of the tarsal sheath of the lateral digital flexor tendon of horses. The anatomy of the tendon sheath and associated structures was studied in detail in cadavers before determining portals for the insertion of an arthroscope into the sheath. Approaches into the sheath through the proximal pouch and through the flexor retinaculum, at the level of the sustentaculum tali, were performed and compared in cadavers. The proximal pouch portal permitted visualisation only of the proximal half of the sheath, while the app...
Brauer TS, Booth TS, Riedesel E.Retrospective analysis of the radiographs of horses with carpal valgus, presented to the Iowa State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital from 1987-1996, were used to compare 2 methods of geometric analysis for finding the total angle of deviation. The pivot point angle method and the individual joint angle method were found to be comparable for determining the total angle of deviation. The individual joint angle method was used to analyse individual carpal joint angles and physis angle in joints with carpal valgus, as well as the changes that occurred in response to surgical correction. Mul...
Petersen SL, Botes C, Olivier A, Guthrie AJ.Laser therapy is used in many countries, including South Africa, for the treatment of skin wounds. Low level galium aluminium arsenide (GaAlAs) laser was administered to full thickness skin wounds (3 x 3 cm) induced surgically on the dorsal aspect of the metacarpophalangeal joints of 6 crossbred horses in a randomised, blind, controlled study. Treated wounds that received a daily laser dosage of 2 J/cm2 were compared with nontreated control wounds on the opposite leg. There were no wound complications. Both groups of wounds were cleaned daily using tap water. Wound contraction and epithelialis...
Hutchens DE, Paul AJ, DiPietro JA, Lock TF, Jones CJ, Rowley DD, Wallace RW.A controlled test was conducted to assess the efficacy bioequivalence of a single dose of 0.5% fenbendazole (FBZ) top dress pellets to a 10% FBZ suspension formulation (Panacur suspension 10%, Hoechst Roussel Vet). Thirty horses with naturally-acquired parasite infections, in replicates of three, were used. Strongyle egg per gram counts were not significantly different (P>0.1) between groups pretreatment, but FBZ treated groups were significantly different from the control group post-treatment. At necropsy, which occurred seven to nine days post-treatment, two methods of nematode recovery were...
Raabe ML, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.We have previously demonstrated a high propensity for enhancement of virus replication and disease resulting from experimental immunization of ponies with a baculovirus recombinant envelope (rgp90) vaccine from equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). The current studies were undertaken to examine the correlation between the observed in vivo vaccine enhancement and in vitro assays for antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of EIAV replication. Toward this goal an optimized EIAV in vitro enhancement assay was developed using primary equine macrophage cells and used to evaluate the enhancement prope...
Ross WA, Kaneene JB, Caron JP, Gallagher KF, Gardiner JC.The objective of this study was to identify factors that may affect recovery from and duration of a case of lameness in a stratified random sample of Michigan horses. This was done using data from Phase-II of the Michigan equine monitoring system (MEMS Phase-II), the equine health-monitoring study [Kaneene et al., Prev. Vet. Med. 29 (1997b) 277-292; Ross and Kaneene, Prev. Vet. Med. 28 (1996a) 209-224; Ross and Kaneene, Prev. Vet. Med. 29 (1996b) 59-75; Ross et al., Am. J. Vet. Res. 59 (1997) 23-29]. In this study, statistical modelling was conducted to evaluate risk factors affecting recovery...
Kaiser B, Koene M, Swagemakers J, Bader H, Hoppen HO.During the 1997 breeding season persistent follicles were diagnosed in 17 mares. In 16 of these mares a total of 17 follicles were transabdominally punctured and the steroids oestradiol, progesterone and testosterone were measured in the follicular fluid and in blood serum. In ten mares serving as a control group preovulatory follicles were punctured. The follicular fluid of the persistent follicles revealed a very high variability of the steroid concentrations. Depending on the steroid ratio within the follicles, eight follicles were rated as being intact, three follicles were undergoing atre...
Fischer AT.A technique for laparoscopically assisted resection of umbilical structures in foals was developed. Eleven foals ranging from 8 to 42 days old underwent this procedure. Results of bacteriologic culture of umbilical structures were positive in 7 foals. Mean duration of anesthesia was 99 minutes, of which the initial 20 to 25 minutes were typically devoted to positioning and preparation of the foal for surgery. Major complications did not develop in any foal. Minor complications, such as slippage of the endoscopic ligating clip or laceration of the bladder during dissection, were dealt with succ...
Rush BR, Hoskinson JJ, Davis EG, Matson CJ, Hakala JE.To determine whether pulmonary distribution of aerosolized technetium Tc 99m pentetate is improved after inhalation of a single dose of albuterol sulfate in horses susceptible to recurrent airway obstruction (heaves). Methods: 6 horses with heaves and 4 horses with normal respiratory tract function. Methods: Images were obtained during ventilation of horses at baseline (maximal change in pleural pressure during tidal breathing [deltaPpImax] >15 cm H2O) and after aerosolized albuterol sulfate (360 microg) administration, with a 24-hour washout period between experiments. The deltaPpImax was ...
Derksen FJ, Olszewski MA, Robinson NE, Berney C, Hakala JE, Matson CJ, Ruth DT.To determine the dose of aerosolized albuterol sulfate required to cause bronchodilation in horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and duration of this effect. Methods: 19 horses with RAO (10 in experiment 1; 9 in experiment 2). Methods: Horses were moved from pasture to stables, and airway obstruction was induced. Pulmonary function was measured in 10 horses before and 5, 10, and 30 minutes after administration of vehicle or 120, 240, 360, or 720 microg of the drug. Nine horses received vehicle or 360 or 720 microg of albuterol, and pulmonary function was measured at baseline and 5 mi...
Muir WW, Gadawski JE, Grosenbaugh DA.To determine cardiorespiratory effects of a tiletamine/zolazepam-ketamine-detomidine (TZKD) combination in horses. Methods: 8 healthy adult horses. Methods: Horses were instrumented for measurement of cardiorespiratory, acid-base, and electrolyte values. Each horse was given xylazine (0.44 mg/kg of body weight, IV) 10 to 15 minutes prior to induction of recumbency by administration of the TZKD combination. Cardiorespiratory, acid-base, and electrolyte values were measured at 5-minute intervals for > or =30 minutes. Results: All horses became recumbent within 1 minute after IV administration of...
Hunter RP, Short CR, McClure JR, Koch CE, Keowen ML, VanSteenhouse JL, Dees AA.Cimetidine (CIM) is an H2-receptor antagonist that has been used in racehorses in an attempt to reduce the occurrence of stress-related gastric ulceration. It has also been shown to produce several useful effects other than its gastric acid suppression properties. Further, it is a well documented antagonist of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) mediated oxygenation reactions. Nitric oxide (NO), a recently discovered mediator or modifier of numerous physiological functions, is generated by several forms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), one of which is inducible (iNOS). Inducible NOS, expressed in neutrophil...
Cole SD, Stefanovski D, Towl S, Boyle AG.There is a lack of epidemiological studies about equine subsolar (hoof) abscesses even though they are among one of the most common causes of acute, severe lameness. The goals of this study were to (1) describe the equine subsolar abscess patient population of the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center's Field Service and (2) to determine the factors that are associated with increased veterinary visits, prolonged treatment and complications. Descriptive statistics were performed on data collected from 160 cases of equine subsolar abscess. Inferential statistics were performed on a subs...
Engelen M, Besche B, Lefay MP, Hare J, Vlaminck K.The objective of this multicentre, randomized, controlled field study was to determine the efficacy of ketanserin gel in preventing exuberant granulation tissue formation (hypergranulation) and infection in equine lower limb wounds. Horses and ponies (n = 481) with naturally occurring wounds were randomized to either topical treatment with ketanserin gel (n = 242) or a positive control (Belgium, Germany: ethacridin lactate solution, n = 120; France, United Kingdom: malic, benzoic, and salicylic acid [MBS] cream, n = 119). Treatment continued until the wound healed (success), formed hypergranul...
Bernardino PN, Pusterla N, Conrad PA, Packham AE, Tamez-Trevino E, Aleman M, James K, Smith WA.Among the recognized neurologic diseases in horses, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) has been reported around the world and still presents challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Horses can present with clinical neurologic signs consistent with EPM while testing negative for the two main causative agents, Sarcocystis neurona or Neospora hughesi, and may still be clinically responsive to anti-parasitic drug therapy. This context led to our hypothesis that another protozoal parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, which is known to cause toxoplasmosis in other mammalian species, is a potential pathog...
Heffner KA, White SD, Frevert CW, Jakowski R.A 7-year-old Thoroughbred was examined for evaluation of mildly pruritic multiple skin lesions that had progressed from nodules to alopecia and crusts. Folliculitis caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis was diagnosed by bacterial culture. Oral treatment with a trimethoprimsulfadiazine paste resulted in resolution of all lesions, with normal hair regrowth.
Bradbury LA, Archer DC, Dugdale AH, Senior JM, Edwards GB.A horse which had had a caecal impaction for 10 days was treated by means of an ileocolostomy [corrected] but failed to respond satisfactorily. Before a second laparotomy was performed it was observed to have dislodged the extension set from a jugular catheter and air was heard being sucked into the vein. It became very agitated but was anaesthetised again and the impaction was removed through an incision in the apex of the colon [corrected] After recovering from the anaesthesia it developed severe signs of pruritus which subsided only after 12 hours. These signs were considered most likely to...
Taylor EA, Beard WL, Douthit T, Pohlman L.Caecal acidosis is a central event in the metabolic cascade that occurs following grain overload. Buffering the caecal acidosis by enterally administered sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3 ) may be beneficial to affected horses. Objective: To determine the effect and duration of enterally administered NaHCO3 on caecal pH in healthy horses. Methods: Experimental study using horses with caecal cannulas. Methods: Nine horses had been previously fitted with a caecal cannula. Six horses received 1.0 g/kg bwt NaHCO3 and 3 control horses were given 3 l of water via nasogastric tube. Clinical parameters, ...
Schneider M, Fey K, Tellhelm B, Litzke LF, Sasse HH.This article reports a case of guttural pouch bleeding which was managed successfully by using intravascular embolisation systems to occlude the damaged vessels. Percutaneous catheterisation of the common carotid artery allowed angiographic visualisation of the main head arteries: A. carotis externa, A. carotis interna and A. occipitalis, which showed no abnormalities angiographically. Originating from the A. occipitalis, one artery sent smaller, extensively branching and tortuous vessels to the guttural pouch area. This branching was interpreted as a sign of inflammatory hypervascularization....
Pringle JK, Ducharme NG, Baird JD.Ureterovesicular anastomosis resulted in resolution of the clinical signs of urinary incontinence in three horses with unilateral ectopic ureter. Follow-up of two of the horses ten months and three years later indicated no further urinary tract problems; the third horse died four days after surgery from intestinal infarction.Diagnosis can be readily confirmed by antegrade or retrograde ureterography, or endoscopic visualization of the ectopic ureteral openings. Nephrectomy appears indicated in cases of unilateral ectopic ureter with associated ipsilateral urinary tract infection or hydronephro...
Watts AE, Fubini SL.This report describes a modification of the parainguinal approach for removal of cystic calculi: a ventral midline laparotomy-guided parainguinal laparocystotomy. The ventral midline approach to the abdomen is rapid and routinely used by equine surgeons. With an arm introduced to the abdomen via the ventral midline, the surgeon is able to select the ideal parainguinal laparotomy incision location that allows bladder exteriorisation with the minimum amount of tension. Because the surgeon's hand is introduced via the ventral midline incision, the parainguinal incision can be sized to just allow ...
Marriott MR, Dart AJ, Hodgson DR.Three Thoroughbred horses with unilateral progressive ethmoid haematomas were treated using intralesional injections of 10% formalin (4% formaldehyde solution). Injections were performed in the standing sedated horse through the nasal passages under endoscopic guidance and, when the ethmoid haematoma involved the paranasal sinuses, through holes trephined into the affected sinus. Regression of the lesions occurred in all cases after repeated injections. This technique appears to be a safe and effective treatment for progressive ethmoid haematomas in the horse.
Beech J.This article presents a brief description of what is known about the cause and pathogenesis of chronic intermittent rhabdomyolysis in horses. Clinically applicable diagnostic tests and published results in affected horses, prophylaxis, and treatment of the acute case are discussed.