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.
Marois P, Pavilanis V, Boudreault A, Di Franco E.The clinical diagnosis of equine influenza was first based on the spectacular contagiousness of the disease, the general clinical resemblances to human influenza and the almost complete absence of complications usually observed in infectious viral arteritis, viral rhinopneumonitis or in other respiratory infections of the horses. The specific viral etiology of the epizootic was ascertained through the isolation of a type A influenza virus and further substantiated by evaluation of the immunological response of the sick horses, as demonstrated by complement fixation and hemagglutination-inhibit...
RANDALL CC, WALKER BM.Randall, Charles C. (University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson) and Barbara M. Walker. Degradation of deoxyribonucleic acid and alteration of nucleic acid metabolism in suspension cultures of L-M cells infected with equine abortion virus. J. Bacteriol. 86:138-146. 1963.-Metabolic alterations in log-phase suspension cultures infected with equine abortion virus (EAV) were determined in L-M cells simultaneously labeled or prelabeled with H(3)- or C(14)-thymidine. Although infection produced an early stimulation of the uptake of labeled thymidine (TdR) into the acid-soluble fraction of...
Murphy DJ, Nixon AJ.A new surgical technique for treatment of chronic metacarpophalangeal synovial pad proliferation in the horse and the findings and long-term follow-up from 11 clinical cases are described. The medical records of all equine lameness cases attributed to metacarpophalangeal synovial pad proliferation admitted to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University (1991-1996) were reviewed and all those treated surgically by laser extirpation were included in this study. Retrieved data included subject details, preoperative lameness, ultrasonography, radiography and synovial fluid evaluations...
McCormick JD, Watkins J.To report plate fixation for management of traumatic injuries resulting in plantar instability of the proximal intertarsal (PIT) and tarsometatarsal (TMT) joints. Methods: Case series. Methods: Medical records (October 1988 to August 2007) of horses that had internal fixation of the distal aspect of the tarsus were reviewed. Horses that had a broad dynamic compression plate (DCP) or broad locking compression plate (LCP) applied on the plantar-lateral aspect of the tarsus extending from the proximal calcaneus to the proximal one third of the metatarsus were included. Signalment, clinical signs,...
Kwiatkowski S, Sturma L, Dai MR, Tai HH, Watt DS, Tai CL, Woods WE, Weckman TJ, Yang JM, Wood T.We have developed and evaluated a one step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test and a particle concentration fluorescence immunoassay (PCFIA) test for acepromazine as part of a panel of pre- and post-race tests for illegal medications in racing horses. These tests are rapid, sensitive and economical and development of the tests occurred in less than seven months. The ELISA test detects acepromazine with an I-50 of about 150 pg/ml. In vivo, it readily detects the presence of acepromazine or its metabolites in equine blood and urine from 8 to 72 hours or longer, respectively, after adm...
Dyson S, Wright I, Kold S, Vatistas N.A sagittal fracture of the medial aspect of the patella was identified in 15 horses, 2 of which had been kicked and 12 of which had hit a fixed fence while jumping. Eight horses showed concurrent fragmentation of the base of the patella, and 2 had sustained a concurrent fracture of the distal end of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur. A cranioproximal-craniodistal oblique radiographic view was essential to identify the site of the medial patellar fracture and to determine its configuration. Fourteen horses were treated by surgical removal of the medial patellar fracture fragment(s). Of 1...
Sönmez C, Eroglu A.The present study was carried out to investigate the pregnancy rate after covering in the foal heat (Group I), in the subsequent spontaneous heat (Group II), and in the induced heat (Group III) after administration of 7.5 mg of the prostaglandin F2 alpha analogue Luprostiol (Reprodin, Bayer) between the 20th and 22nd day post partum. Breeding during foal heat resulted in a pregnancy rate of 43.9% compared to 48.6% in the subsequent spontaneous heat post partum. Of 18 mares in group III, 14 mares had a foal heat, whereas 4 others had not shown a foal heat. 1-8 days after treatment, 14 mares (77...
Gosai F, Gosai N.Strangles is a contagious upper respiratory tract infection primarily affecting equines. It is rare disease with zoonotic transmission. It is caused by the bacterium, . We present the rare case of strangles in an elderly patient complicated by bacteraemia, osteomyelitis and native valve endocarditis. The patient was treated successfully with appropriate antibiotics and no surgical intervention was needed. In an age of accelerated emerging zoonosis, this is an important entity clinicians should be aware of to prevent delay in diagnosis and poor outcome. Conclusions: Strangles is a disease of eq...
Sarnecky BA, Vanderwall DK, Mason HM, Kirschner SM, Ambrose B, Parker TL.Prolonging function of the corpus luteum (CL) is a method of suppressing estrus that relies on continued secretion of endogenous progesterone to keep mares out of heat naturally. The use of oxytocin treatment to prolong CL function is gaining increasing use, and the most common treatment protocol involves administration of 60 units of oxytocin intramuscularly (IM) once daily on days 7-14 after ovulation (eight daily treatments). Although that protocol induces prolonged CL function in ≥70% of treated mares, the need for daily administration is a drawback to its use. Therefore, the objective o...
Sivula NJ, Trent AM, Kobluk CN.Nonsurgical correction of a renosplenic entrapment of the large colon was attempted in a mare, using a rolling technique. After correction, the mare had initial improvement in clinical signs, but later developed signs of abdominal discomfort. A ventral midline celiotomy was performed, and a pelvic flexure impaction and large intestinal volvulus were found and corrected.
Bosch G, van Schie MJ, Back W.A keratoma is a rather uncommon disorder of the equine hoof that can lead to lameness. Few quantitative data exist about the prognosis of different treatment regimens. The outcome of 41 cases that were presented to the Department of Equine Sciences in the period 1995-2001 and that were treated according to different regimens was retrospectively evaluated. All horses showed lameness that could be attributed to the keratoma: 23 (56%) were treated surgically using a standardized procedure, while the other 18 (44%) were treated conservatively. Results were based upon 35 horses; 6 were lost to foll...
Klopfenstein Bregger MD, Fürst AE, Kircher PR, Kluge K, Kummer M.To describe minimally-invasive lag screw osteosynthesis combined with external coaptation for the treatment of Salter-Harris type II third metacarpal and third metatarsal bone fractures. Methods: Three foals aged two weeks to four months with a Salter-Harris type II third metacarpal or third metatarsal fracture. Surgery was carried out under general anaesthesia in lateral recumbency. After fracture reduction, the metaphyseal fragment was stabilized with two cortical screws placed in lag fashion under fluoroscopic control. A cast was applied for at least two weeks. Results: All foals had a good...
van Nieuwstadt RA, Kalsbeek HC.In a horse with chronic unilateral nasal discharge guttural pouch mycosis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus was diagnosed. A percutaneous indwelling catheter was surgically installed in the left guttural pouch. Initial treatment with a povidone iodine solution proved to be unsatisfactory. Treatment was continued by administering enilconazole by ways of an indwelling through-the-nose-catheter. The latter treatment resulted in complete recovery.
Kelly PG, Pollock PJ.To describe (1) diagnosis of dynamic collapse of the cricotracheal ligament in a group of horses and (2) treatment and outcome of affected horses. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Thoroughbred horses (n = 8). Methods: Of 600 over ground dynamic endoscopic examinations performed, 8 Thoroughbred horses had cricotracheal ligament collapse (CTLC); 5 were 2 years old and in early training and 2 were mature horses in full work. CTLC was diagnosed if circumferential collapse of the cricotracheal ligament was identified during exercise. Seven horses had repeat endoscopic examination. T...
Hamouzová P, Drábková Z, Stehlíková Š, Řeháková K, Čížek P, Dobešová O, Jahn P, Doubek J.This study determined Tregs and inflammatory cytokines in BALF and peripheral blood (PB) of adult horses with mild and severe asthma and different BALF cytological inflammation profiles. Horses of diverse breeds with asthma (age range: 2-20 years, n = 24) were divided into groups according to the number of points obtained in a standardized clinical scoring system (mild-moderate equine asthma - MEA, severe equine asthma - SEA) and according to the inflammation type based on cytological finding. Plasma levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17 and MMP-9 in the BALF were determined by ELISA. Tregs ...
Reschke C.The case report describes the surgical and photodynamic treatment (PDT) of an equine sarcoid in a 6-year-old gelding. A mass on the ventral prepuce, several tumours on the lateral aspect of the prepuce and one sarcoid on the front aspect of the chest were treated. For PDT, Temoporfin (Fospeg® Biolitec AG, Jena) at a concentration of 0.15mg/ml was injected locally. The subsequent irradiation was performed using a red-light laser (652nm) with an energy density of 10J/cm². The mass on the ventral aspect of the prepuce and some of the lateral tumours displayed total remission. The remaining tumo...
van Bergen T, Rötting A, Wiemer P, Schauvliege S, Vanderperren K, Ugahary F, Martens A.Preventive laparoscopic closure of the epiploic foramen (EF) has previously been described, but methods for EF closure during laparotomy for treatment of colic are lacking. Objective: To describe the foramen epiploicum mesh closure (FEMC) technique through a ventral midline laparotomy in horses under general anaesthesia and its outcome. Methods: Terminal surgical experiment and in vivo study. Methods: In a pilot study, a standard ventral midline laparotomy was performed under general anaesthesia in 10 experimental horses and a three-dimensional expandable diabolo-shaped mesh construct was manu...
Hanie EA, Sullins KE, Powers BE, Nelson PR.In 6 horses, bilateral metacarpal vertical series of three 4.0-mm unicortical drill holes were made. At random, one of each series of 3 holes was filled using a sternal 4.0-mm cancellous bone cylinder or a slurry of cancellous bone injected into the hole or left as an empty control. All horses had lateral metacarpal xeroradiographs at monthly intervals. Three horses (6 metacarpi) were examined post mortem after 4 months and 3 others after 6 months. Immediate through 4-month post-operative xeroradiographs demonstrated increased density in the holes with cancellous cylinders and no difference co...
Yudkowsky ML, Beech J, Fletcher JE.In equine hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperPP), there is evidence suggesting that the primary defect in the sodium channel is associated with a secondary alteration in triacylglycerol-associated fatty acid metabolism (TAFAM) in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, TAFAM may be involved in the therapeutic action of phenytoin. The effects of phenytoin treatment on the transcript levels of three key proteins in TAFAM, hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT), and fatty acid binding protein (FABP), were examined. These transcripts were quantitated by competitive reverse t...
White NA.Transection of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor muscle (distal check ligament desmotomy) was completed in 44 horses using an ultrasound-guided technique. The technique used real-time ultrasound with a 7.5 MHz transducer to observe the dissection and isolation of the check ligament through a 1 to 1.5 cm incision and to check for complete transection of the check ligament. The technique was effective in correcting flexural deformity of the distal interphalangeal joint and the metacarpophalangeal joint in all but three horses. Check ligament desmotomy at a young age (median, 6 mo...
Rose RJ.The case histories of four horses with osteomyelitis involving the metacarpal and metatarsal bones are reviewed and the surgical treatments discussed. The horses recovered after curettage of all infected tissue and post operative drainage. The role of antibiotics in treatment is considered and reference is made to the acute treatment of deep wounds to avoid osteomyelitis.
Gray BW, Engel HN, Rumph PF, LaFaver J, Brown BG, McKibbin JS.To determine the sensory nerve supply of the metacarpophalangeal joint, lameness was induced in eight horses by injecting the joint with a glycerin suspension of glass micropheres. When the medial and lateral palmar nerves were anesthetized in 4 horses, there was noticeable improvement in the gait, but each horse remained lame. When the medial and lateral palmar metacarpal nerves were also anesthetized, 3 of the 4 horses became sound. To confirm the results of local anesthesia, neurectomies were performed on a second group of four horses. The lameness was alleviated only upon resection of both...
Grapperon Mathis M, Ley C, Berger M, Hansson K.The current lack of a standardized protocol for positioning of the gamma camera relative to the horse limb in a lateral stifle scintigram, and thus the reliance on subjective positioning, may be a cause of diagnostic error and inter-operator variability due to variations of the view angle. The aims of this study were to develop a reliable method to obtain a lateral scintigram of the equine stifle based on fixed anatomical landmarks and measure the resulting foot to gamma camera angle on sequential measurements of the same horse and of different horses Methods: Technetium filled capsules were g...
Marr KA, Fairbairn SM, Page CP, Lees P, Cunningham FM.Antigen challenge involving exposure to straw and mouldy hay for 7 h produced lung function changes and neutrophil recruitment to the lungs in horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). During the challenge, an increase in radiolabelled neutrophils in the lungs occurred, together with increased respiratory rate and pleural pressure. The role of platelet activating factor (PAF) in antigen-induced neutrophil accumulation, and increased pleural pressure and respiratory rate was investigated by administering the PAF receptor antagonist WEB 2086 to asymptomatic COPD horses prior to a...
East LM, Steyn PF, Dickinson CE, Frank AA.A 5-year-old Arabian horse was admitted with a 5-day history of undulant pyrexia of unknown origin, inappetence, obtundation, and acute collapse. Physical examination results were unremarkable except for a grade II/VI left-sided systolic cardiac murmur and abdominal splinting. Mild chronic inflammatory changes were evident on clinicopathologic evaluation. Echocardiography revealed moderate aortic insufficiency. A solitary soft tissue opacity was found on thoracic radiography but not on ultrasonography. Palliative treatment was ineffective. Nuclear scintigraphy with WBC labeled with technetium ...
van der Velden MA, Verzijlenberg F.The surgical treatment of eighty-nine horses and ponies suffering from chronic empyema of the maxillary sinus is reported. Treatment consisted in trephination and drainage of the sinus involved in thirty-six animals; the affected teeth were removed at the same time in fifty-three animals in which sinusitis was caused by an alveolitis. The recovery rate was seventy-five per cent in group one and seventy per cent in group two. Postoperative treatment is also reported and attention is paid to complications which may occur during and after surgery.
Hawkes M, Richard A, Oldfield C, Toothaker A, Stokes M, Causey R.Postbreeding bacterial uterine infections inflict major losses on the equine industry. Microcurrents propelled by ciliated cells between the folds of the uterus and cervix have been proposed as a means by which contaminants are expelled. Previous data have shown possible ciliary microcurrents propelling carbon particles, occasionally rotating, through cervical folds. However, adherence to the epithelium may have interfered with movement of carbon in these studies. Therefore, we tested potentially nonadherent substances to reveal ciliary microcurrents on the equine cervix under high magnificati...
Rostang A, Desjardins I, Espana B, Panzuti P, Berny P, Prouillac C, Pin D.This study aimed to investigate both the pharmacokinetic behavior and tolerance of methotrexate (MTX) in horses to design a specific dosing regimen as a new immunomodulatory drug for long-term treatment. To determine the primary plasma pharmacokinetic variables after single intravenous, subcutaneous or oral administration, six horses were administered 0.3 mg/kg MTX in a crossover design study. After a 10-week washout, MTX was administered subcutaneously to three of the six previously treated horses at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg once per week for 3 months. In both studies, MTX and metabolite concen...
Müntener CR, Müntener C, Kupper J, Naegeli H, Gassner B.A total of 253 reports of adverse reactions to veterinary medicinal products were received during the year 2016 representing a decrease of 13% compared to the previous year (292 reports). The majority of the reports described reactions affecting companion animals (178 dogs and 32 cats) as well as cattle (17 reports) and horses (10 reports). Most of the reactions reported were linked to the use of antiparasitics (145 reports), hormone products (26 reports) and antiinfectives (10 reports). 32 reports were generated from consultations with Tox Info Suisse in Zürich and involved mainly the excess...
Crowe OM, Hepburn RJ, Kold SE, Smith RK.To report long-term outcome after arthroscopic removal of fragmentation of the extensor process of the distal phalanx in horses. Methods: Case series. Methods: Adult horses (n=13). Methods: Medical records (2003-2004) of horses that had arthroscopic debridement of fragmentation of the extensor process of the distal phalanx were reviewed. Inclusion criteria included: lameness localized to the foot, fragmentation of the extensor process of the distal phalanx debrided arthroscopically, and a follow-up period of > or = 4 years. Results: Of the 13 horses, lameness was resolved in 11 (85%) initia...
Morris DD.The medical records of 19 horses with cutaneous vasculitis were reviewed. Most (73.7%) affected horses were between 3 and 10 years old, and there were significantly more mares (14) than stallions or geldings (5) (P less than 0.01). Subcutaneous edema of the limbs, body, and/or head was the predominant clinical sign (18/19 horses; 94.7%). The single most prevalent laboratory abnormality was neutrophilia (greater than 7,000 neutrophils/microliter), which was detected in 10 horses (52.6%). Leukocytoclastic vasculitis was evident in skin biopsy specimens from 12 of 14 horses (85.7%). All horses we...
Gulick BA, Meagher DM.A commercially available polyvinyl chloride intravenous catheter was studied in 9 horses for 3 to 10 days to evaluate the catheter's suitability for use in the horse, to develop a new insertion technique, and to establish a protocol for catheter care. Seven of the animals were clinically normal horses receiving parenteral nutrition; one was a horse with hypocalcemia receiving frequent intravenous injections of calcium gluconate, and one was a clinically normal horse receiving no infusions. The catheter dressings were changed every 48 hours, and an aspirate from the catheter and the catheter ti...
