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.
Hildebrand SV, Howitt GA.Succinylcholine was administered by infusion to halothane-anesthetized ponies to determine dosage requirements for surgical relaxation up to 3 hours' duration. This was not possible to do, since 4 of 6 ponies studied developed severe reactions characterized by prolonged muscle fasciculations after the initial succinylcholine dose, muscle rigidity, hyperthermia, hypercapnia, tachycardia, increasing pulse pressure, and metabolic acidosis. The reactions resembled those associated with malignant hyperthermia, a disease recognized in persons and swine. Two ponies showed signs of the phase II or des...
Slocombe JO, McCraw BM, Pennock PW, Baird JD.Twelve pony foals (reared worm-free) were inoculated with Strongylus vulgaris. Approximately 8 weeks later, 4 of the foals were given fenbendazole (10% suspension) at a dosage rate of 10 mg/kg of body weight daily for 5 days and 4 foals were given the suspension at a dosage rate of 50 mg/kg daily for 3 days; the remaining foals were given a placebo. All treatments were administered by stomach tube. Fenbendazole was 99.6 and 97.9% effective in the 2 treatment groups, respectively, in eliminating later 4th-stage S vulgaris larvae located near the origin of major intestinal arteries. On microscop...
Colles CM, Cook WR.Carotid and cerebral angiography has been found to be a relatively simple technique to carry out in the horse. At most it involves a cutdown approach to the carotid artery, followed by catheterisation of the artery and selective catheterisation, if necessary, of one of its three branches. The technique can be carried out with standard equipment normally available within equine hospital facilities. The authors have employed angiography as a routine aid to diagnosis over the past nine years, without encountering any serious complications or adverse reactions. Carotid angiography has been especia...
Read WK.Thirty-five cases of renal medullary crest necrosis morphologically similar to the renal papillary necrosis of analgesic nephropathy as described in man and rats are reported in horses receiving maintenance dosages of phenylbutazone. The primary lesion is a well-demarcated focal medullary necrosis resulting in sequestration of fragments of the renal crest. Renal cortical lesions are considered secondary to the medullary necrosis and consist of segmental pallor as a result of tubular dilatation, filtrate retention, and interstitial edema. Ischemia in concert with phenylbutazone is suggested as ...
Suann CJ, Horney FD.Circumcision (or reefing operation) was performed on an aged pony stallion to remove excessive granulation tissue involving the preputial integument following an injury and subsequent paraphimosis. Postoperative swelling of the penis and prepuce was reduced daily with gentle massage. Initially, an improvised suspensory was used to support the penis postoperatively. The pony was able to voluntarily retract its penis six months following surgery.
Parry BW.The clinical, surgical and/or necropsy diagnosis of 79 horses admitted to a referral clinic for evaluation of colic are reported. Twenty-one horses were presented with conditions amenable to medical treatment and all were subsequently discharged. Exploratory laparotomies were performed on 44 horses during the present study, in some cases as a diagnostic procedure preceding euthanasia. In general, in surgical cases the mortality rate was highest for problems involving the small intestine, followed by those affecting the large colon and then the small colon. Postoperative sequelae included perit...
Parry BW, Anderson GA, Gay CC.The individual merit of the use of 43 variables to assess the prognosis of equine colic cases was examined. The following variables revealed highly significant (P less than 0.001) differences between cases which survived and those which died: blood pressure; heart rate; oral mucosal capillary refill time; degree of mental depression; venous haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, erythrocyte count, urea concentration and lactate concentration; peritoneal fluid lactate concentration; and haematocrit/plasma protein and serum protein concentration ratios. Thus, in general, variables which assesse...
Kold SE, Hickman J.The clinical features, diagnosis and radiological findings of eight cases of a subchondral bone cyst involving the medial condyle of the femur are described. Surgical treatment, which comprised performing an arthrotomy of the femorotibial joint, curetting and packing the cystic cavity with an autogenous cancellous bone graft, is described.
Render JA, Harrington DD, Wells RE, Dunstan RW, Turek JJ, Boosinger TR.Giant cell tumor of soft parts was diagnosed in 6 horses 3 to 12 years old (mean, 6.8 +/- 3.5 years): 3 Quarter Horse geldings, 2 Standardbred mares, and 1 Standardbred stallion. The neoplasms developed as raised, solitary masses, approximately 1 to 4 cm in diameter, which were firmly attached to subcutaneous tissue of the neck (1 horse), shoulder (1 horse), thigh (2 horses), or stifle (2 horses). Excision was followed by local recurrence in 3 horses within 1 to 1 1/2 months. The neoplasms were firm and cut with resistance. On cut surface, they were white, with mottled red hemorrhagic areas.
Ellis WA, Bryson DG, O'Brien JJ, Neill SD.During an investigation of equine abortion, leptospiral infection was demonstrated in nine out of 22 foetuses examined by immunofluorescence and culture. Strains belonging to four serogroups (Australis, Pomona, Hebdomadis and Icterohaemorrhagiae) were isolated. The age of leptospira infected foetuses ranged from six months to term.
Hofing GL, Bennett DG.Patent infections with Strongylus vulgaris were established in 6 of 8 helminth-free ponies given 41 to 101 adult worms via nasogastric tube. The parasites were removed from the cecum and ventral colon and transferred within 1 to 2 hours of the death of the donor horses. Eggs were found in the feces of the recipients in 2 or 3 days; egg counts reached maximum, 28 eggs per gram of feces, at 4 weeks after ponies were inoculated. In 6 ponies euthanatized 3 to 7 weeks after parasitic transfers were done, 28% of the inoculated worms were found alive at necropsy. A 7th pony was maintained as a donor ...
Bertram TA, Coignoul FL, Jensen AE.Equine neutrophils were combined with contagious equine metritis organism (CEMO) or Escherichia coli in vitro in the presence of seminal plasma, uterine flushings, or Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS). Phagocytosis and intracellular killing were estimated by bacterial culture and light and electron microscopy. With lysed neutrophils, the numbers of colony-forming units of CEMO and E coli increased in seminal plasma and uterine flushings. Numbers of CEMO decreased in HBSS. The numbers of CEMO increased more in the presence of seminal plasma than the other media. When neutrophils were in the ...
Eysker M, Jansen J, Wemmenhove R, Mirck MH.Gastro-intestinal helminth infections of a group of three yearling mare Shetland ponies, which were set-stocked on a small pasture from February until September, were compared with those of a similar group of ponies, which grazed a similar pasture from February to July and subsequently was removed to a pasture which had been grazed by sheep from April to July. In addition both groups were treated with cambendazole when the latter group was removed to the sheep pasture. Pasture larval counts and worm counts demonstrated that the group grazed after the sheep acquired considerably smaller burdens...
Kowalski KA, McConnell LA, Sadoff DA, Leid RW.Equine platelets, when treated with the anthelmintic drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC), gave a dose-dependent release of radiolabeled serotonin without concomitant aggregation. At levels of the drug that gave only minimal release of radiolabel, marked dose-dependent inhibition of platelet aggregation to three of four platelet agonists tested--adenosine diphosphate (ADP), collagen, and arachidonic acid--was observed. With ADP, inhibition was observed to be reversed by removal of DEC prior to agonist challenge. However, with collagen, inhibition was only partially reduced by prior removal of DEC; wh...
Ducharme NG, Dill SG, Shin SJ, Schwark WS, Ducharme GR, Beilman WW.This preliminary study evaluated phenoxymethyl penicillin (Penicillin V) as an alternative to parenteral administration of penicillin in horses. Penicillin V was administered orally to five horses at two different doses and plasma levels of the drug were determined at timed intervals. The results were evaluated by regression analysis. Following the administration of penicillin V at a dose of 66,000 IU/kg or 110,000 IU/kg, the mean peak plasma levels obtained were 1.55 micrograms/mL and 2.34 micrograms/mL respectively. A plasma level two to four times above the minimal inhibitory concentration ...
Speirs VC, Bourke JM, Anderson GA.Four variations of abductor muscle prosthesis for treating laryngeal hemiplegia were evaluated in 153 horses by questionnaire, and in the 100 Thoroughbred racehorses in this group survival analysis was used to compare their racing performances and earnings with those of 400 control horses. The questionnaire indicated that the technique which included a ventriculectomy and 2 prostheses was regarded as being the most successful (P less than 0.01) and resulted in the least residual stertor (P less than 0.001). Survival analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the treated g...
Wyn-Jones G.The treatment of equine cutaneous tumours by conventional or cryosurgical techniques can be limited where the position of the tumour makes radical excision or freezing impractical or dangerous. Radiotherapy provides an effective and practical alternative. The use of iridium pins with guide needles allows accurate positioning of sources and uniform radiation fields to be achieved. The subsequent removal of the pins reduces the period of incapacity and reduces the radiation risk when compared to permanently implanted sources. Twenty-seven tumours on 26 horses were treated by this method with a 1...
Skarda RT, Muir WW.Six adult horses were used to compare the effects of segmental epidural analgesia (SEA) and segmental subarachnoid analgesia (SSA). A 17-gauge Huber point directional needle was used to place a catheter with stylet into the epidural space or the subarachnoid space at the lumbosacral intervertebral junction and to catheterize the thoracolumbar epidural or subarachnoid space. The position of the catheter was confirmed radiographically. A 2% solution of mepivacaine hydrochloride was used at average doses of 80 mg (4 ml) to produce SEA and 30 mg (1.5 ml) to produce SSA. Onset of analgesia in respo...
Rutgers LJ, Merkens HW.The half-closed method of castration involves ligation of the spermatic cord enclosed in the vaginal tunic, the testicle itself lying outside the opened vaginal tunic. Of 497 horses and ponies admitted to the Department of Large Animal Surgery and castrated using this technique, 68.6 per cent recovered without complications. Although the most serious postoperative complications such as intestinal eventration and haemorrhage of the spermatic cord may be reduced to a minimum by this approach, normal healing cannot be guaranteed under the circumstances in which this method was used.
Treupel E, Czerwonka N, Schröder S, Böhm J, Wehrend A.Retained fetal membranes in mares is a relative frequent disease which can lead to severe complications. Two case studies are described in which mares died acutely despite intensive care. Pathological examination confirmed severe hemorrhage as the cause of death in both animals.
Iglesias-García M, Roquet I, Jiménez J, Martín-Cuervo M, Fuentes-Romero B, Ezquerra-Calvo LJ.To describe the history, clinical signs, and management of six horses in which subtendinous bursitis of the long digital extensor tendon (LDET) in the hind limb fetlock had been diagnosed. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Six privately owned horses. Methods: The medical records of horses presented at the hospital with similar sypmtoms were evaluated and collected. Finally 6 horses met the inclusion criteria and the relevant data were compiled and analysed. In three of the six cases a surgical treatment was carried out. Results: All horses had similar clinical signs, mainly distenti...
Charman RE, Vasey JR.Chronic facial defects extending into the sinuses of two mares were repaired using periosteal flaps. Partial osseous bridging was established over the defects following repair. Previous attempts to close the defects with skin alone had failed. A periosteal flap is a simple surgical technique that provides the foundations for successful repair, despite the chronicity of some fistulae.
Specht TE, Colahan PT.Eleven horses with acute or chronic incomplete cortical fractures of the left or right third metacarpal bone (McIII) were treated with surgical puncture (osteostixis). The fractures were diagnosed by physical examination and radiography. Four to eight holes, 2.7 or 3.5 mm in diameter, were drilled in the fractured bone. Radiographically, the fractures were healed by month 3, and the drill holes were inapparent by month 7. Nine horses (82%) returned to race competition, and two horses were retired, one the result of a surgical complication. The mean time between surgery and the first race was 9...
Smith RD.In this article, I have discussed the principles and methods of outbreak investigation, reinforcing important concepts with examples from the veterinary literature. The approach presented is applicable to outbreaks caused by any agent whether it is infectious versus noninfectious or contagious versus noncontagious. The solutions vary. The experience of others presented with similar situations may be especially helpful. Because of their nature, outbreaks are difficult to prepare for. When faced with a potential outbreak, the best strategy is to approach it scientifically, systematically, and wi...