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.
Osbaldiston GW, Coffman JR, Stowe EC.Clinical pathological investigations in a case of equine isoerythrolysis are reported. Plasma and milk from the dam strongly agglutinated the foal's red blood cells at fifth day post partum. Red blood cells from one liter of the mare's blood were separated from plasma and after three successive washings with saline were successfully transfused into the foal. Elevated plasma transaminase activity, hypoglycemia, hypogammaglobinemia, and renal embarrassment were observed in this foal. The changes in the various plasma constituents are discussed.
Kofler J, Kneissl S, Malleczek D.Clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) findings of acute desmopathy of the lateral collateral sesmoidean (navicular) ligament (CSL) in a 13-year-old Hanoverian mare are presented. On admission to the clinic the horse showed a grade 5/6 left front-limb lameness at the walk, pain on coffin joint manipulation, and coffin joint effusion. Despite a positive palmar digital nerve block, radiographs and ultrasonography did not indicate reasons for the severe clinical signs. However, MRI revealed damage to the CSL and bone marrow oedema of the navicular bone (NB), where...
Snyder LB, Wendt-Hornickle E.The purpose of this article is to update the community of veterinarians performing general anesthesia in horses on fluid therapy. The rationale behind intraoperative fluid therapy, fluid dynamics, and various fluid options (crystalloids, hypertonic saline, colloids) is discussed. Additionally, electrolytes (calcium, potassium, and sodium) are included in the discussion in relation to general anesthesia and intraoperative fluid management.
Burn JF, Franklin SH.The presence of abnormal respiratory sounds is commonly associated with obstructions of the upper respiratory tract. In order to establish their clinical significance measurements are required of both normal and abnormal respiratory sounds produced by horses exercising over-ground. Objective: To determine whether high quality recordings of respiratory sound can be made during over-ground exercise, and to develop a convenient measurement system that can be used to obtain respiratory sounds from horses exercising in field conditions. Methods: A range of prototypes was evaluated against the requi...
Biasutti S, Dart AJ, Dart CM, Uquillas E, Jeffcott LB.A newborn foal was referred for evaluation because it had not passed meconium, despite the administration of four enemas. Abdominal radiographs and ultrasound scans showed generalised gaseous distension of the intestine and there was no observable meconium in the colon. Positive contrast colography showed contrast medium extending to the transverse colon. An exploratory laparotomy confirmed the absence of the left and right dorsal colon and the pelvic and diaphragmatic flexures. An end-to-side anastomosis of the left ventral colon to the midpoint of the small colon was performed. The foal reco...
Greet TR, Bathe AP.This paper describes the use of a linear stapling device as an aid to unilateral ovariectomy in nine mares with granulosa thecal cell tumours. The intraoperative and postoperative complications are described and follow up details on each case are presented.
Sasaki N, Takakuwa J, Yamada H, Mori R.To evaluate effectiveness of allogeneic bone screws and pins for internal fixation of midbody transverse fractures of equine proximal sesamoid bones (PSBs) in vitro. Methods: 14 forelimbs from cadavers of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds. Methods: Allogeneic cortical bone fragments were collected from the limbs of a male Thoroughbred, and cortical bone screws were prepared from the tissue by use of a precision desktop microlathe programmed with the dimensions of a metal cortical bone screw. A midbody transverse osteotomy of each PSB was performed by use of a bone-shaping oscillating saw and repaired v...
Poh KC, Cole ZT, Smarsh DN, Springer HR, Kelly K, Kenny LB, Machtinger ET.To evaluate the safety of repeated applications of permethrin concentrations (0% control, 1.5%, 5%, and 10%) to the necks and faces of horses and assess the efficacy and longevity of permethrin as an equine tick repellent. Methods: 5 healthy adult Quarter Horses. Methods: Each treatment was applied to the neck of each horse (0.01 m2) 4 times a day, for up to 10 days. An 8-mm biopsy was taken to evaluate postexposure dermal responses. Any treatments that were not withdrawn were applied to a quadrant of the horse's face 4 times a day, for up to 5 days. For tick bioassays, a treatment was applied...
Quéré E, Chahory S.Painful eye conditions are a therapeutic challenge in horses. Subpalpebral lavage (SPL) treatment systems allow topical aqueous medications to be conveniently, safely, and frequently administered to the ocular surface. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the outcomes and the complications associated with the location of the SPL treatment systems, in the superior or inferior eyelid in horses in a university practice. Clinical records of all horses admitted to the National Veterinary School of Alfort between January 2004 and October 2021, in which a SPL treatment system was used ...
Terschuur JA, Coomer RPC, Handel I, Pressanto MC, McKane SA.Skin closure of laparotomy incisions using topical 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (2-OCA) mesh provides a secure bactericidal barrier in humans, which may reduce the risk of postoperative incisional complications. However, the benefits of using this mesh have not been objectively assessed in horses. Methods: From 2009 to 2020, three methods of skin closure were used following laparotomy for acute colic, including metallic staples (MS), suture (ST) and cyanoacrylate mesh (DP). The closure method was not randomised. Owners were contacted 3 months or more after the surgery to record any postop...
Dunsmore JD.An attempt was made to control or eliminate Strongylus vulgaris from a closed group of three horses at pasture near Perth, Western Australia, by dosing with ivermectin on four occasions during the time of year when it was believed that environmental conditions would eliminate all the non-parasitic stages of that species. At necropsy, five months after the last dose of anthelmintic and after continually grazing the same pastures, no S vulgaris or arterial lesions were found in those horses and S edentatus, Draschia megastoma and Habronema species were also almost completely eliminated.
Frank N, Hermida P, Sanchez-Londoño A, Singh R, Gradil CM, Uricchio CK.Octreotide is a somatostatin analog that suppresses insulin secretion. Objective: We hypothesized that octreotide would suppress insulin concentrations in horses and that normal (N) horses and those with insulin dysregulation (ID) would differ significantly in their plasma glucose and insulin responses to administration of octreotide. Methods: Twelve horses, N = 5, ID = 7. Methods: Prospective study. An oral sugar test was performed to assign horses to N and ID groups. Octreotide (1.0 μg/kg IV) was then administered, and blood was collected at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 minu...
Bailat AS, Soutullo AR, García MI, Veaute CM, Garcia L, Racca AL, Malan Borel IS.Gp90 and gp45 synthetic peptides, which mimic conserved sequences of native viral proteins, are recognized by antibodies to equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) in asymptomatic carrier horses and generate humoral and cellular responses in immunized mice. Cytokine mRNA levels were evaluated in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after in vitro stimulation with gp90 and gp45 with the aim of determining the cytokine profile associated with the proliferative response. Stimulation index (SI) values indicate that 100 and 60% of EIAV-infected horses recognized gp90 and gp45, respective...
Kopper JJ, Bolger ME, Kogan CJ et al. Outcome and complications in horses administered sterile or non-sterile fluids intravenously. J Vet Intern Med 2019; 33: 2739–2745 DIE INTRAVENöSE VERABREICHUNG VON LöSUNGEN DIENT ZUR ERHALTUNG ODER WIEDERHERSTELLUNG DES FLüSSIGKEITSVOLUMENS IN DEN GEFäßEN UND DER GEWEBEDURCHBLUTUNG. SIE IST ENTSCHEIDEND BEI DER BEHANDLUNG VON PFERDEN MIT ERKRANKUNGEN, DIE EINE HYPOVOLäMIE ZUR FOLGE HABEN. ZU DEN TYPISCHEN INDIKATIONEN GEHöREN EIN HOHER GASTROINTESTINALER WASSERVERLUST, EINE EINGESTELLTE WASSERAUFNAHME BZW. EINE NICHT TOLERIERTE ENTERALE FLüSSIGK...
Rosas CA, Alberio RH, Barañao JL, Agüero A, Chaves MG.The efficiency of superovulating mares with an enriched fraction of equine follicle-stimulating hormone (feFSH) and an equine pituitary extract (EPE) with similar FSH content but differing in the LH amount was compared. Mares were randomly assigned to an feFSH (n = 5) or EPE (n = 5) treatment. The experimental period was of 2 successive estrous cycles, with the first cycle as the control. At Days 6 and 7 of the estrous cycle, the mares received 250 micrograms i.m. cloprostenol. The treatments consisted of daily injections of 25 mg feFSH or EPE beginning on Day 6 post ovulation. Mares were inse...
Rasbech NO.Ejaculatory disorders of the stallion seem to occur more frequently than hitherto accepted. The condition is manifested differently in individual stallions from normal copulation without ejaculation to an abnormal pattern of copulation without or with occasional ejaculation. The condition is probably caused by a functional disturbance of the nervous mechanism which controls the ejaculatory process, and may be caused by environmental or other factors. Eleven cases of ejaculatory disorders in normal healthy stallions were investigated and three of these animals recovered after simple correction ...
Dik KJ, Merkens HW.Eleven horses with unilateral distension of the sheath are reported with emphasis on the use of plain and contrast radiography in diagnosis. Six had associated bony abnormalities of the sustentaculum tali, and two of these showed destructive or mixed destructive and proliferative lesions resulting from osteomyelitis. One horse had a fracture of the sustentaculum. In three horses proliferative changes were found. Bony changes were best demonstrated on a dorsomedial-plantarolateral oblique view. Contrast radiography of the tarsal sheath was performed in five cases without, and two horses with, a...
Malek G, Leclere M, Masseau I, Zur Linden A, Beauchamp G, Finck C.Published studies describing the effects of bilateral radiographic projections on the detection of equine pulmonary lesions are currently lacking. The objectives of this retrospective, single center, observational study were to compare unilateral and bilateral thoracic radiographic projections for the detection of pulmonary lesions in a group of horses. Based on their clinical diagnosis, 167 adults and foals with bilateral thoracic radiographs were classified as having pneumonia (n = 88), inflammatory or diffuse pulmonary disease (n = 72), and pulmonary masses (n = 7). After an initial i...
Rendano VT, Georgi JR, White KK, Sack WO, King JM, Bianchi DG, Theodorides VJ.Albendazole was an effective larvicidal anthelmintic against the fourth stage Strongylus vulgaris larvae as late as one month post-infection. The drug was administered at a dose rate of 25 mg/kg three times daily for 5 days. Diarrhoea occurred in 3 of 4 foals treated and of these one died during belated intravenous therapy for dehydration. Arteriography allowed for an in vivo assessment of the development and regression of lesions in infected-treated foals compared to the continued development of lesions in infected-untreated foals. The arteriographic findings were confirmed at necropsy.
Allen D, White NA.Twenty-five cases of fractures of the second and fourth metacarpal and metatarsal (splint) bones were reviewed. Fourteen fractures involved a thoracic limb and 11 involved a pelvic limb. Fractures of the proximal one-third of splint bones are reported in one of two forms: fractures that are closed, or fractures with a permanent or intermittent draining sinus. Thirteen of the fractures presented were closed fractures and the remaining 12 were open. All of the closed fractures were managed by surgical excision of the distal fragment and the exostosis at the fracture site, followed by primary sur...
Milnes EL, Skelding AM, Larouche CB, Ferro A, Delnatte P, Dutton C, Anderson NE.To compare ketamine-butorphanol-azaperone-medetomidine (KBAM) to detomidine-etorphine-acepromazine (DEA) for field anesthesia in captive Przewalski horses (Equus przewalskii). Methods: 10 adult Przewalski horses. Methods: A prospective randomized crossover trial was conducted. Each horse was immobilized once with KBAM (200 mg ketamine, 109.2 mg butorphanol, 36.4 mg azaperone, and 43.6 mg medetomidine) and once with DEA (40 mg detomidine premedication, followed 20 minutes later by 3.9 to 4.4 mg etorphine and 16 to 18 mg acepromazine). Both protocols were administered by IM remote dart injection...
Domange C, Casteignau A, Collignon G, Pumarola M, Priymenko N.Seventy horses with clinical evidence of Australian stringhalt were studied in France from 2003 to 2008. All horses but one had history of bilateral stringhalt and grazed pastures infested with Hypochoeris radicata (L.). They displayed hind limbs hyperflexion and an abnormal gait because of a distal axonopathy with a skeletal muscle denervation and atrophy. Fifty percentage of them recovered spontaneously in 8 months, and only the more affected horses were unable to recover even if they looked healthy on dry and hot days. Clinical troubles revealed also depression or aggressive behaviour, sugg...
Stemmet GP, Robert MP, Smit Y.Sinusitis is a common occurrence in horses and often develops secondary to dental disease. Extraction of cheek teeth in horses is associated with variable degrees of complications and although postoperative displacement and retention of alveolar plugs has been identified as one such potential complication, few cases of resulting sinusitis have been reported. This manuscript describes a four-year-old Thoroughbred mare that was presented for chronic unilateral left-sided mucopurulent nasal discharge after extraction of the left maxillary second molar tooth two months earlier. Radiographic and co...
Matthews NS, Hartsfield SM, Cornick JL, Jacobson JD, Williams JD.Measurements (n = 126) of end-tidal halothane concentrations were taken from 21 horses anesthetized for routine and emergency surgery. One hundred five paired values allowed comparison of gas samples taken near the oral end of the endotracheal tube (Y1) to samples obtained at the cuffed end of the endotracheal tube (Y2). Twenty-one paired readings were assessed to compare samples taken 25 cm beyond the cuffed end of the tube (Y3) to samples from Y1. Measurements were made at all locations at 15-minute intervals starting 30 minutes after beginning halothane. All measurements were made in tripli...
Biedrzycki AH, Grant BG, Nemke B, Morello SL, Markel MD.OBJECTIVE To evaluate the biomechanical properties of 4 methods for fusion of the centrodistal and tarsometatarsal joints in horses and compare them among each other and with control tarsi. SAMPLE 24 sets of paired tarsi without substantial signs of osteoarthritis harvested from equine cadavers. PROCEDURES Test constructs (n = 6/type) were prepared from 1 tarsus from each pair to represent surgical drilling; 2 medially to laterally placed kerf-cut cylinders (MLKCs); a single large, dorsally applied kerf-cut cylinder (DKC); and a dorsomedially applied locking compression plate (DMLCP). Construc...
Page AE, Partridge E, Erol E, Scoggin KE, Fedorka CE, Ruby RE, Ball BA, Horohov DW, Adam E.Cases of nocardioform placentitis are characterized by focal, mucoid placentitis resulting in late-term abortion, premature birth, or small, full-term foals, occur sporadically, and are most commonly associated with Crossiella equi and Amycolatopsis spp. infection. The goal of this project was to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantifying antibodies against Crossiella equi and Amycolatopsis spp. and utilize the ELISA to determine when exposure occurs. Serum samples collected during the 2020 foaling season from Crossiella equi (n = 8) and Amycolatopsis spp. (n = 32...
Cornelissen BP, Rijkenhuizen AB, Barneveld A.The sesamoidean nerve branches from the palmar nerve and runs towards the proximal sesamoid bone. To study the structures innervated by this nerve, a technique for blocking it was developed. The effect of this nerve block was determined in ponies with an induced lameness located in the lateral proximal sesamoid bone (5 ponies) or in the distal part of the lateral branch of the suspensory ligament (5 ponies), and in 10 horses with clinical sesamoidosis. A lameness provoked by the implantation of an expansion plug in the proximal sesamoid bone could, to a large extent, be anaesthetized by a sesa...
Gehlen H, Groner U, Rohn K, Stadler P.In 18 horses, the pulmonary artery wedge pressure and the heart rate were measured during pharmacological stress load. 12 horses were healthy (4 trained, 8 untrained) and 6 horses had a heart disease (3 trained, 3 untrained). Pharmacological stress induction was carried out with the sympathomimetic drug dobutamine at a dosage rate of 7.5 microg/kg/min over 10 minutes of infusion. At the fourth minute, the parasympatholytic drug atropine was administered (5 microg/kg bw), and the heart rate and the pulmonary artery wedge pressure were continuously measured over 26 minutes. During sole dobutamin...
Kegler K, Mundle K, Walliser U, Wohlsein P.Schwannomas arising in the parotid gland are rare in man and are not documented in domestic animals. This report describes the clinical, morphological and immunohistochemical findings of a benign schwannoma in the parotid gland of a 12-year-old warmblood gelding. A slow-growing mass was surgically excised from the parotid gland and did not recur within the following 6 months. The tumour was well circumscribed and was composed of densely packed spindle cells partly arranged in an Antoni A pattern and intermixed with hypocellular areas resembling the Antoni B pattern. Tumour cells expressed vime...
Tsujita H, Brennan AB, Plummer CE, Nakajima N, Hyon SH, Barrie KP, Sapp B, Jackson D, Brooks DE.Chemically defined bioadhesives (CDB) are "two-component reactive adhesives" made from antibiotic food additives. They contain no animal-derived ingredients and are characterized by a high level of self-degradability, low toxicity, and strong bonding properties. Amniotic membrane (AM) transplantation is used to repair severe ocular surface disease in humans and horses. AM requires meticulous suturing to the injured cornea. The purpose of this study is to determine whether CDB can facilitate the suture-less placement and adherence of equine AM to porcine cadaver cornea. Methods: Prospective stu...
Thakur BP, Sharma SK, Sharma A, Kumar A.Xylazine (1.1 mg/kg), butorphanol (0.02 mg/kg), guaifenesin 5% (20 mg/kg), and ketamine (2.2 mg/kg) combinations were able to induce short-term surgical anaesthesia for 23.33 ± 2.57 min in Spiti ponies with excellent to good muscle relaxation and analgesia. Urination and neighing was a constant feature during recovery period. Biphasic P wave, biphasic T wave, and depressed PR segment were common electrocardiographic findings. Biochemical attributes were within physiological limits except a significant increase in ALT values during anaesthesia. The values returned to normal during re...
