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.
Goldstein MA, Schwark WS, Short CE, White KK.Depression of the cardiopulmonary system of the horse during anesthesia is not an uncommon event. In many situations simple approaches for improving the function of the horse are necessary to avoid loss of life. This study has been completed utilizing an anesthetic approach frequently used in horses and a cardioresuscitative technique which can be utilized by the practicing veterinarian. Severe depression to arrest were produced experimentally and each animal was resuscitated through support of ventilation and circulation.
Divers TJ, Byars TD, Murch O, Sigel CW.Proteus mirabilis cystitis was induced in 9 ponies by chemically eroding the bladder mucosa before the organism was inoculated. Comparisons were made in the treatment of P mirabilis cystitis between ponies treated daily for 13 days with a trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (TMP-SDZ) paste and both positive and negative controls. Urine cultures from ponies treated with TMP-SDZ became negative for P mirabilis between days 3 and 9 after the start of the treatment, whereas positive controls remained infected until day 13. Urine cultures from all ponies were negative for P mirabilis on day 28. Urine concent...
Clayton HM, Trawford AF.A field study was designed to investigate the re-establishment of patent lungworm infections in donkeys following an anthelmintic treatment regime which was effective against Dictyocaulus arnfieldi. In April 1979 faecal samples from 259 donkeys were examined and each animal classified as a negative, low positive or high positive excretor of lungworm larvae. During the summer the control group of 126 donkeys showed an increase in the number of excretors from 80 per cent in April to 91 per cent in October. At the same time there was a rise in the faecal larval output of individual animals so tha...
Smith BP.The practical implications of equine salmonellosis in the light of present knowledge are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the various clinical forms which the disease may take. These include asymptomatic infections, signs of fever, anorexia and depression, severe acute diarrhoea and the septicaemic form. Diagnosis depends on recovery of the organism from the blood or faeces or, at necropsy, from tissues. In asymptomatic infections, it may be necessary to make serial faecal cultures over several days before a negative diagnosis may be made with any degree of certainty. Isolation of salmonellae i...
Hall LW, Taylor PM.One hundred anaesthetics were administered in a clinical trial to 95 equine patients, ranging in age from nine months to 19 years and in weight from 140 to 1270 kg, undergoing a variety of surgical procedures. Acepromazine maleate premedication (0.01 to 0.03 mg per kg intramuscularly) was given to seven animals, the remainder were not premedicated. Xylazine (1.1 mg per kg) was injected intravenously over a two minute period and after a pause of two minutes ketamine (2.2 mg per kg) was injected rapidly by the same route. For 30 procedures no other anaesthetic was given but in 59 cases anaesthes...
Slocombe JO, McCraw BM.Twelve pony foals were reared worm-free and inoculated with Strongylus vulgaris. On day 7 after inoculation, 6 ponies were given ivermectin IM at a dose of 200 micrograms/kg of body weight and on day 28 were necropsied. Ivermectin was effective in eliminating early 4th-stage S vulgaris larvae and reducing clinical signs associated with acute arteritis. After administrative ivermectin was effective against early 4th-stage Strongylus vulgaris larvae in ponies when administered at 100, 300, or 800 micrograms/kg of body weight. The purpose of the present study was to report on a more extensive tri...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Critical tests were conducted in 14 naturally infected equids (13 horses and 1 pony) to evaluate the antiparasitic activity of haloxon. Single doses were administered by stomach tube to 3 horses and 1 pony (60 mg/kg of body weight), by addition to the feed of 3 horses (60 mg/kg), and intraorally by powder gun to 7 horses (65 mg/kg). Haloxon was efficacious (99% to 100%) against infections of Parascaris equorum, Oxyuris equi (mature and immature), and Strongylus vulgaris at both dosage levels. Probstmayria vivipara parasites were removed in 1 horse treated at 60 mg/kg by stomach tube and S equi...
Kriek NP, Kellerman TS, Marasas WF.An isolate of Fusarium verticillioides (MRC826) that induced experimental leukoencephalomalacia, also caused acute toxicity when fed to pigs and administered per rumen fistula to sheep. Pigs developed severe pulmonary oedema while sheep manifested severe nephrosis and hepatosis. A less toxic isolate (F. verticillioides MRC602), fed to baboons, resulted in acute congestive heart failure or hepatic cirrhosis, depending on the dose. Both isolates were toxic to rats and caused similar lesions, namely, hepatic cirrhosis and intraventricular cardiac thrombosis.
Malan FS, Reinecke RK, Scialdo RC.A single oral dose of fenbendazole (FBZ) paste at 7,5 mg/kg body mass was given to 5 horses. It was highly effective against adults of the following genera: Cyathostomum, Cylicostephanus, Cylicondontophorus, Poteriostomum, Cylicocyclus, Triodontophorus, Oesophagodontus (and other genera belonging to the subfamily Cyathostominae). Similarly, high efficacy was obtained against the adults of the following species: Oxyuris equi, Strongylus vulgaris, Strongylus equinus and Probstmayria vivipara. These results were confirmed in 12 horses and in addition FBZ at 7,5 mg/kg was highly effective against ...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Antiparasitic activity of a micronized formulation of the benzothiazole compound, tioxidazole, at the dose rate of 11 mg/kg, was evaluated by the critical test method. Drug was given by stomach to 3 horses and on feed to 3 horses. Excellent removal activity was found for Strongylus vulgaris (100%) in 5 naturally infected horses, S edentatus (91% to 100%) in 5 horses, small strongyles (88% to 99%) in 6 horses, immature Oxyuris equi (100%) in 5 horses, and Parascaris equorum (100%) in 5 horses (a 6th horse had 10 small specimens present at necropsy). There was no measurable activity against bots...
Fackelman GE, von Rechenberg B, Fetter AW.The need for early postoperative weight bearing following fracture repair in the horse has led to investigation of various means of expediting the healing process. Bone grafting represents one means of accomplishing this, and the transplantation of autologous tissues has proven to be most useful in equine orthopedics. Acid-decalcified, frozen, allogeneic bone for grafting is easy to prepare, readily contoured, osteogenic, and elicits no obvious immune or rejection response. The most compelling reason for the use of the substance is the elimination of the need of a harvesting operation on a pat...
Tranquilli WJ, Manohar M, Thurmon JC, Benson GJ, Shawley RV, Feller DL.A technique was developed for the implantation of an electromagnetic flow probe and vascular occluder onto the right and left coronary arteries in the calf and pony. Surgical manipulation was well tolerated in the animals. The subcutaneous housing on the peripheral ends of these devices of the lateral thoracic wall served as a maintenance-free technique for chronic exteriorization of these devices. Implantation onto the coronary arteries required a surgical technique which accomplished the prerequisites for proper flow probe function. A reactive hyperemic response was elicited in each animal b...
Eysker M, Wemmenhove R.The epidemiology and control of helminth infections in the horse were studied in four small grazing experiments between 1981 and 1984 at the University of Utrecht. At autopsy in November or December negligible Strongylus vulgaris burdens were found in the cranial mesenteric artery of four groups of ponies, which had been treated with an anthelmintic in July and subsequently transferred to a clean pasture. Considerable arterial S. vulgaris burdens were seen in three groups of ponies which were treated with an anthelmintic in July without a move to clean pasture, and in another group of ponies i...
McIlwraith CW.The postoperative management of the surgical colic patient varies according to the complications experienced. Many of these complications can be related to the time at which surgery is performed
relative to commencement of the problem, the condition of the patient at the time of surgery, the particular condition, and, last but not
least, the surgeon's performance. Some of the points have been discussed elsewhere in the symposium. The maintenance of asepsis, attention to minimizing trauma to the bowel, and appropriate attention
to visceral and parietal closures are all important principles. ...
Abuja GA, Bubeck KA, Quinteros DD, García-López JM.The clinical signs, radiographic findings, surgical treatment, and outcome of three horses with luxation of the distal tarsal joints are reported. Two patients showed luxations of the tarsometatarsal joint whereas luxation of the proximal intertarsal joint was found in one case. Open reduction, followed by internal fixation was performed in two horses and closed reduction with a transfixation pin cast was performed in the third. The treatment in all three cases resulted in a satisfactory clinical outcome.
Yovich JV, Hilbert BJ, McGill CA.Nineteen cases of fracture of the distal phalanx in horses are reviewed. This represented 1.1% of the total number of horses seen at Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital (MUVH) over a 32-month period. All horses were managed conservatively. Eight horses made a complete recovery. Three are being trained again and are not lame. Four horses made a limited recovery. Two horses are still resting and one horse was killed humanely when it still showed lameness after 2 years. One horse was killed humanely after the fracture was first diagnosed.