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.
Lavach JD, Sullins KE, Roberts SM, Severin GA, Wheeler C, Lueker DC.Twenty-six horses and five mules with periocular sarcoids were treated with intralesional injections of a purified bacillus of Calmette and Guerin (BCG) cell walls in oil suspension. All sarcoids were cured and the horses and mules remained free from recurrence of sarcoid during the two-year follow-up period.
Brock KA.A pharyngeal performation, probably associated with endotracheal intubation, occurred in a healthy 4 1/2-month-old colt. Inhalation anesthesia was carried out for elective surgery, but acute cervical cellulitis, pleuritis, and pneumonia developed after the surgery. Antibacterial and supportive therapy was ineffective.
Woods WE, Chay S, Houston T, Blake JW, Tobin T.The efficacy of testing for illegal drugs in race horses was surveyed by evaluating 27 questionnaires received from 28 racing jurisdictions polled. Large variations in the number of samples tested and drugs detected were reported. Some jurisdictions reported only illegal medications, whereas others also reported permitted medications. To facilitate comparison, stimulants, depressants, local anesthetics, narcotic analgesics, and tranquilizers were classified as hard drugs. Other drugs, which are legal in some jurisdictions, were classified as soft. To evaluate the efficacy of testing, positive ...
Olson NC, Meyer RE, Anderson DL.The effects of endotoxemia on cardiopulmonary parameters, before and after cyclooxygenase blockade, were determined in anesthetized ponies spontaneously breathing a mixture of halothane and 100% O2. Escherichia coli endotoxin was infused intravenously at 20 micrograms/kg for 1 h followed by 10 micrograms X kg-1 X h-1 the subsequent 4 h. By 15 min endotoxin increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure (Ppa), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and alveolar dead space ventilation (VDA/VT), and these were followed by a return to base-line values by 30 min. A second increase in PVR occurred by 5 h ...
Derksen FJ, Scott JS, Miller DC, Slocombe RF, Robinson NE.We performed bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in 2 groups of ponies. Principal ponies had a history of heaves, a disease characterized by recurrent airway obstruction and airway hyperreactivity when ponies are housed in a barn and fed hay; control ponies had no history of airway obstruction. Ponies were paired (principal and control), and BAL was performed after 2 months of being pastured when principal ponies were in clinical remission (Period A), after barn housing when principal ponies had acute airway obstruction (Period B), and after a 1- and a 2-wk recovery phase of pasture grazing (Periods ...
Fubini SL, Cummings JF, Todhunter RJ.As a prelude to studies on retrograde axonal transport of neurotoxin (ie, so-called suicide transport) as a means to prevent post neurectomy neuroma formation, preliminary studies were conducted with an innocuous enzymatic marker, horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The proximal stumps of resected medial and lateral palmar digital nerves in six ponies were injected via a tuberculin syringe and needle with 50 micron 1 of a 30 per cent solution of HRP in order to assess long distance retrograde axonal transport. The dorsal root ganglion of the cervical spinal enlargement (ie, C6, C7, C8, T1, T2) were ...
Wagner PC, Shires GM, Watrous BJ, Kaneps AJ, Schmotzer WB, Riebold TW.Fifteen horses with flexural deformity of the metacarpophalangeal joint were evaluated and their conditions were designated as mild, moderate, or severe. Evaluations were made on the basis of clinical signs and lesions seen on radiography. Horses with mild deformities were treated with corrective trimming and shoeing; those with moderate deformities were treated with desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon and corrective shoeing. Desmotomies of the accessory ligaments of both deep and superficial digital flexor tendons were performed on horses severely affected, f...
McLean RG, Frier G, Parham GL, Francy DB, Monath TP, Campos EG, Therrien A, Kerschner J, Calisher CH.A study was undertaken to investigate an increase in reported cases of clinical encephalitis due to eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus in horses and to determine the natural vertebrate hosts of that virus. Horses, birds, and small mammals were sampled at sites in a contiguous area in St. Joseph and Kalamazoo counties, Michigan, from 25 August to 5 September 1980. Serum samples from four horses acutely ill with encephalitis and 16 of 39 pasture mates of ill horses had neutralizing (N) antibody against EEE virus (46.5%); no viruses were isolated from these 43 sera. None of 24 draft horses f...
Montagnier L.Recent data indicate that the lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV) is morphologically similar to animal lentiviruses, such as equine infectious anemia and visna viruses. This finding, together with the cross-reactivity of the core proteins of LAV with those of the equine infectious anemia virus and a similarity in genome structure and biological properties, allows LAV to be placed in the retroviral subfamily of Lentivirinae. Molecular data indicate a high degree of genetic variation of the virus, especially in the envelope gene, which have important implications for the origin of the virus (...
Watney GC, Watkins SB, Hall LW.The pressure flow characteristics of a demand valve which has been suggested to be suitable for use in anaesthetised horses were determined at a range of flow rates commonly encountered in equine anaesthesia. The resistance of the valve was found to be very much greater than the resistance of normal large animal anaesthetic apparatus or the equine lower respiratory tract. The effects of the valve on pulmonary ventilation were investigated in seven anaesthetised, intubated horses. Respiratory rate and dynamic compliance were unaffected by connection of the valve but mean tidal and minute volume...
Rebhun WC, Shin SJ, King JM, Baum KH, Patten V.Malignant edema (clostridial myositis) was diagnosed in 9 horses with signs of illness that included fever, depression, painful muscular swellings, and toxemia. The infection followed intramuscular injections in 8 horses and developed in a puncture wound in 1 horse. Treatment consisted of surgical fenestration of the involved muscle, high doses of penicillin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents and analgesics, and supportive fluid therapy. Five horses recovered and 4 died. Those that died had advanced signs of the disease at admission.
Juzwiak JS, Milton JL.A 4-day-old foal underwent repair of a proximal metaphyseal fracture of the tibia. After closed reduction, fixation was achieved by use of blind cross-pinning. Thirty-five days after surgery, radiography demonstrated complete healing. The foal was mildly lame 4 months after repair of the fracture. Blind cross-pinning may be considered as a method of repair for certain long bone fractures in small foals.
van der Velden MA, Schuitemaker EA.The aetiology, clinical symptoms and treatment of equine periodic ophthalmia are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the possible role in aetiology of Onchocerca cervicalis microfilariae. Corticosteroids and atropine are the most important therapeutic drugs.
Cremers HJ.The feet of horses, sheep, and goats of different breeds and from many different localities were examined for Chorioptes bovis. In horses, mites were mainly found in the Belgian and Frisian breeds (40% and 62% infected, respectively). In sheep and goats, respectively 63% and 86% were infected. In horses as well as in sheep and goats, mange-lesions were rarely seen. A number of sheep and goats were examined for mites and lesions quantitatively. In sheep all mites were restricted to the region close to the accessory digits and the claws. In goats the average number of mites was higher than in sh...
Sweeney CR, Divers TJ, Benson CE.Anaerobic bacteria are important and overlooked bacterial pathogens of the lower respiratory tract in horses. Twenty-one of 46 horses with pleuropneumonia had anaerobic bacteria isolated from pleural fluid or from tracheobronchial aspirate. Bacteroides oralis and B melaninogenicus were the anaerobes most frequently isolated. Survival was significantly less for horses from which anaerobes were isolated than for horses from which anaerobes were not isolated. Putrid odor was associated with the pleural fluid and/or breath in 62% of the horses from which anaerobes were isolated. In these horses, t...
Prescott JF, Sweeney CR.Combined antimicrobial drug treatment was recommended for foals with Corynebacterium equi pneumonia. The preferred combination is orally administered erythromycin estolate (25 mg/kg of body weight, QID) plus rifampin (10 mg/kg, BID). Erythromycin estolate also can be combined for synergistic effect with sodium benzyl penicillin given IV (100,000 IU/kg, QID) or with ampicillin given IV (11 to 15 mg/kg, QID). A third choice is sodium benzyl penicillin IV with gentamicin IM (2.2 mg/kg, TID) or with kanamycin IM (10 mg/kg, QID). Gentamicin should be combined with penicillin G or ampicillin and not...
Malinowski K, Johnson AL, Scanes CG.The ability of interrupted photoperiods to induce early estrus and ovulation was examined. Horse mares were exposed to long (16 h light) or short (10 h light), noninterrupted photoperiods, ambient light, or various interrupted photoperiod treatments from December 1 to April 15 (135 d). Follicular development was assessed by rectal palpation and estrous behavior was determined by teasing with a stallion. Serum concentrations of progesterone were used as an indicator of corpus luteum function. Differences among the light treatment groups were compared for the following behavioral and ovarian cha...
Watkins JP, Auer JA, Morgan SJ, Gay S.The effect of pulsing electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy on the healing of surgically created defects in equine superficial digital flexor tendons was evaluated. Defects were created in both front superficial digital flexor tendons of 20 horses. The defect in 1 limb was exposed to a PEMF for 2 hours daily. The other limb served as a control. Histologic and immunofluorescent evaluations were done in horse killed at postsurgical weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24. Therapy with the PEMF significantly (P less than 0.05) delayed the maturation of the tissue formed within the defect at postsurgical weeks 8...
Gerken DF, Sams RA.The effects of i.v. chloramphenicol sodium succinate on the pharmacokinetics of i.v. phenylbutazone in six healthy adult horses were investigated. Administration of chloramphenicol sodium succinate to mares reduced mean (+/- SD) phenylbutazone clearance from 0.600 +/- 0.222 to 0.339 +/- 0.123 ml/min per kg and increased mean (+/- SD) half life from 244 +/- 59.8 to 371 +/- 80.8 min and mean residence time from 333 +/- 86.2 to 533 +/- 124 min. The mean steady-state volume of distribution of phenylbutazone was unchanged, with mean (+/- SD) values of 187 +/- 28.9 ml/kg in control animals and 170 +...
Kaneps AJ, Shires GM, Watrous BJ.The use of real-time ultrasound for examination of the bladder was a useful diagnostic aid in 2 cases of cystic calculi. The ultrasound procedure revealed that a firm mass palpated per rectum in the bladder of one horse was a calculus. In the other horse, ultrasound revealed additional small uroliths. To remove the uroliths in both horses, laparocystidotomy via a ventral paramedian approach was chosen because it provided the best access to the bladder lumen. The calculi were analyzed by qualitative chemical analysis and quantitative crystallography. Results differed between analysis methods. C...
Schumacher J, Bratton GR, Williams JW.The pudendal and caudal rectal nerves in four male and five female adult crossbred horses were anesthetized with a local solution. The injection site was located at the foramen for the caudal gluteal artery and vein in the sacrosciatic ligament. Twenty milliliters of local anesthetic solution were injected via a 15-cm, 18-gauge needle. Quantitative data on anesthesia were determined from these injections. Dye was injected with the anesthetic in four additional horses so that accurate placement of the solution could be determined at postmortem examination. Satisfactory anesthesia of the anus, p...
Blanchard TL, Elmore RG, Kinden DA, Berg JN, Mollett TA, Garcia MC.Fifteen pony mares were assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups after foaling: Group 1, 35 ml of sterile saline solution was infused into the uterine lumen within 24 hours after parturition (6 mares); group 2, 300 mg of Escherichia coli endotoxin was infused into the uterine lumen within 24 hours after parturition (6 mares); and group 3, 300 mg of E coli endotoxin was infused into the uterine lumen between 72 and 96 hours after parturition (3 mares). Rectal temperatures were taken at -1, -0.5, 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5 hours after treatment. Venous blood samples were also taken at these times...
Srivastava SK, Barnum DA.The ability of either formalin-treated or heat-inactivated whole Streptococcus equi cell vaccines or partially purified M-protein of S. equi to give rise to protective antibody levels was studied in Standardbred foals by serological means. Two commercial preparations, i.e. a beta-propiolactone killed whole S. equi cell bacterin and a cell-free extract of S. equi cells were included in the study. The mean passive hemagglutination antibody titers (10 X log2) in sera of foals given either four doses of formalin-treated whole cell vaccine or an initial dose of formalin-treated followed by three do...
Whitlock RH.The equine practitioner often encounters serious diagnostic and therapeutic challenges regarding the specific origin of a disease. Such challenges may occur when horses become unaccountably ill after consuming what was thought to be acceptable feed but which in fact was contaminated or contained additives intended for other species. Examples of such additives and contaminants are monensin, lasalocid, salinomycin, blister beetles, and such antimicrobics as lincomycin and clindamycin.
Goetz TE, Manohar M.The heart rate (HR) induced by maximal beta-adrenergic activation, which was elicited by infusion of isoproterenol, was studied in 8 healthy horses before (control) and after hyperthermia was induced by IV administration of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP). Isoproterenol was administered IV at 1.0 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 for 3 minutes, and the HR was determined during the final 30 seconds of the infusion. As the rectal temperature increased (P less than 0.001) from 38.2 +/- 0.1 C (mean +/- SEM; normothermic control) to 40.1 +/- 0.1 C at 60 minutes after DNP administration, the isoproterenol-induced HR al...
Baker E, Geick A, Hines M, Gerhold R, Cordero-Aponte C.A 17-year-old female grade pony presented to University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center in May of 2021 for evaluation of multifocal, firm, sessile, circular lesions of various diameters on the ventrum and flank. The lesions had been present for two weeks at presentation. An excisional biopsy found numerous adult and larval rhabditid nematodes most consistent with Halicephalobus gingivalis. PCR targeting a portion of the large ribosomal subunit confirmed this diagnosis. The patient was treated with a high dose course of ivermectin followed by fenbendazole. The patient began showing neuro...
Barrett MF, Frisbie DD.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for excellent evaluation of many types of soft tissue and osseous lesions. Using MRI as a diagnostic modality can help in developing an individualized treatment protocol. Case management can include both surgical and medical intervention. Various MRI findings and associated treatment protocols are described.
van der Woerdt A, Gilger BC, Wilkie DA.Squamous cell carcinoma involving the cornea and conjunctiva of the left eye in a 14-year-old horse was treated by superficial keratectomy in combination with beta-radiation and radiofrequency hyperthermia. The tumor recurred 4 months later in the central cornea at the edge of the previous keratectomy site. Penetrating keratoplasty was performed in an effort to remove the tumor and retain a visual eye. The eye was visual 13 months after surgery. Mild fibrosis and vascularization were observed in the area of the penetrating keratoplasty.
van Dijk J.Jan van Dijk, RCVS specialist in veterinary parasitology, describes how data can be used to both increase understanding of trends in equine helminth abundance and drive better treatment of individual horses.
Irwin DH, Howell DW."Cube colic" is described and vain attempts to cause the problem on an experimental basis are recorded. It is concluded that not all horses are susceptible to cube colic and if colic occurs in horses being fed on cubes, it is not necessarily due to feeding of cubes. Nomenclature of bowel disorders is considered.