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.
Science (New York, N.Y.)July 19, 1946
Volume 104, Issue 2690 53-54 doi: 10.1126/science.104.2690.53
Sulkin SE, Goth A, Zarafonetis C.Anesthesia, by ether, is effective in the treatment of western equine encephalomyelitis in mice. Of mice treated with deep ether anesthesia soon after the intracerebral injection of western equine virus, only 58 per cent developed the disease as compared with 92.4 per cent of control animals. When anesthesia was delayed the approximate length of the incubation period, 60 per cent of the animals developed the disease as compared with 92.4 per cent of the controls. In addition, ether anesthesia delays the development of central nervous system symptoms not only when administered soon after the in...
Albert E, Biksi I, Laczkó L, Miló L, Cseri K, Bőkényné Tóth R, Papp D, Halmay D, Bódai E, Bakos Z.Here we report the isolation of Streptococcus hillyeri from a thoracic sample from a horse. A 17-y-old Hungarian Sport Horse mare was referred to the equine clinic of the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Hungary, with suspected pleuritis. Upon arrival, the horse was febrile and had tachycardia, severe inspiratory dyspnea, and tachypnea. Thoracic ultrasonography revealed severe bilateral pleural effusion, and a large area of lung consolidation. After sampling of both hemithoraces, 66 L of turbid exudate were drained. Based on these findings, a tentative diagnosis of septic pleuritis ...
Shi Y, Maga EA, Mienaltowski MJ.Diarrhea is a common disease that could threaten the welfare of newborn foals. While there are several forms of foal diarrhea, the etiologies can be considered known pathogenic or non-pathogenic in nature. Moreover, there are likely differences in the composition of microbial populations in the gastrointestinal tracts of foals depending upon the etiology of diarrhea. Our study aims to examine the microbial population in the feces of foals with both pathogenic and non-pathogenic diarrheas to discern differences in their microbial compositions. Results: Foal diarrhea samples tested positive or n...
Chakraborty A, Dutta P, Amrit R, Dey P, Osborne WJ.Endosymbiotic bacteria are known to synthesize bioactive compounds which have biotechnological potentials that enhance immune responses by stimulating the production of immune cells. Horse milk is widely known to have nutraceutical and antimicrobial activities; however, there are no scientific reports on its inhibitory effects. VITAPRJS1, isolated from horse milk, showed non-hemolytic properties and was significantly tolerant to bile salt and NaCl. The isolate also exhibited potent antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Sta...
Jacob O, Hause B, Peters-Smith K, Adam EN, Page AE, Floyd C, Tucker C, Eertink LG, Wang D, Li F.Equine sarcoids are the most identified skin tumors of horses, which are highly associated with bovine papillomavirus infection. Sarcoids can impair the use of the horse and are difficult to treat, resulting in significant economic losses and a welfare concern. There is no vaccine available to protect global equines from sarcoids. We aimed to determine the safety and protective antibody response in horses immunized with a recombinant baculovirus vector vaccine expressing the L1 protein of bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV1). A group of 10 clinically healthy, sarcoid-free horses were immunized ...
Primo ALM, Assis DM, Santos VGS, de Melo LRB, da Nóbrega LD, Medeiros Dantas AF, Maciel TA.Cerebellar abiotrophy is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, resulting in premature neuronal death. In horses, its occurrence has been reported mainly in the Arabian breed as a congenital mutation inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. The objective of this study was to describe the case of cerebellar abiotrophy in a Quarter Horse foal. An 8-day-old foal was treated after presenting signs of ataxia, hypermetria, difficulty maintaining a standing position, and decreased menace response. The foal was hospitalized for 26 days, received treatment wit...
Campebell RC, Oliveira AB, Fagundes JLA, Fortes BNA, Veado HC, Macedo IL, Dallago BSL, Barud HS, Adorno J, Salvador PAV, Santos PS, Castro MB.This study evaluates the wound-healing process in horses following the application of two treatment modalities: bacterial cellulose hydrogel with alginate (BCAW) and frog skin (FSW) dressings on experimentally induced skin wounds. Throughout the experiment, no clinical abnormalities were noted in the horses, although initial wound assessments indicated edema and sensitivity. Local hemorrhage was observed in some cases on Day 0, with granulation tissue formation evident by Day 14. Epithelialization began around Day 14 but did not reach complete healing in any group by Day 28. The analysis showe...
Aldayarov N, Tulobaev A, Madumarov A, Risvanli A.While modern veterinary medicine offers effective treatments, traditional ethnoveterinary practices persist among many farming communities, reflecting centuries-old knowledge and cultural beliefs. This study aimed to document ethnoveterinary remedies and their methods of preparation and application, for treating various parasitic diseases in domestic animals used by Kyrgyz farmers. Data on plant, animal and mineral-based remedies, as well as chemicals used for these purposes, were collected through interviews with 173 dialogue partners (DPs). A total of 3403 use reports (URs) were recorded, in...
Bain ME, Alsop EJ, Knox CA, Tweedie MA, Knottenbelt DC.Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in horses is under-reported. Objective: To document the successful multimodal treatment of M. ulcerans and highlight the need for further investigation due to the zoonotic nature of M. ulcerans with its related potential public health concerns. Methods: Case report CASE DESCRIPTION: A 14-year-old gelding in the Southeastern region of Australia was diagnosed with M. ulcerans infection, initially presenting as a non-healing wound of the right flank progressing to extensive necrotic ulceration. Ziehl-Neelsen and Wade-Fite stained incisional biopsies revealed large...
Bihon A, Amognehegn D, Derbew G, Yirsa T.Working equines play a crucial role in human livelihoods globally, yet their management is often inadequate. Objective: To assess the welfare and management practices of working equines. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2022 to April 2023 in and around Debre Markos, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Physical examination and structured interviews were used as data collection tools. A total of 384 equines (186 donkeys, 144 horses, and 54 mules) and their owners were selected through a purposive sampling method. Results: The results showed that 60.4% of the equines were use...
Uprety T, Swan M, Kennedy L, Bryant U, Cassone L, Loynachan A, Janes J, Evely MM, Calvaruso FC, Quick M, Morgan J, Abdelrazek S, Lahmers K, Carter C....Clostridium piliforme is an obligate intracellular filamentous bacterium that causes Tyzzer disease (TD) in many animals. The disease manifests as severe, multifocal necrotizing hepatitis, with a high fatality rate in foals. Through retrospective investigation, we detected C. piliforme in 43 equine necropsy cases from 2012 to 2024. Positive cases were diagnosed from February to July, peaking in May. The age of affected foals ranged from 4 days to 2 months. Histologically, all cases had necrotizing hepatitis with multifocal, coalescing pinpoint, tan or reddish foci. Since only a partial 16S rRN...
Hefner EM, Stoppini R, McMullen RJ. This study is aimed at describing two unique case presentations of iris hypoplasia and the use of semiconductor diode laser for treatment in the horse. One 20-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding and one 11-year-old pony mare were studied. The presenting clinical signs, surgical technique, and postoperative results for two cases of iris hypoplasia treated with diode laser are described. Immediate postoperative complications-postoperative ocular hypertension (POH), corneal edema, and epithelial bullae-were possible anticipated effects but were controlled with topical medications in the fi...
Labens R, Saba C, Williams J, Hollis A, Ensink J, José-Cunilleras ELV, Jordana-Garcia M, Bergvall K, Ruppin M, Condon F, Spelta C, Elce Y....Intralesional chemotherapeutic administration represents an important treatment option for equine cutaneous neoplasia. Tigilanol-tiglate (TT), a novel molecule extracted from Fontainea picrosperma, an Australian rainforest plant, is registered for intratumoural treatment of canine MCT, leading to rapid oncosis and tumour slough. Evidence from horses is limited but suggests that efficacy may be similar. Objective: To evaluate the response to intratumoural TT treatment in horses with sarcoids (fibroblastic/nodular) and cutaneous melanomas. Methods: Two noncontrolled prospective multicentre clini...
Loppnow Z, Kersh K, Wang C, Spaethe S, Troy J.The clinical outcomes in horses diagnosed with established synovial sepsis (SS) or minimally contaminated synovial wounds (SW)/non-established sepsis, following intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) treatment, have not been reported since 2010. Additionally, previous reports on this subject were confined to just two clinical retrospective reports. This study aimed to provide an update on the short-term (hospital discharge) and long-term (≥1 year) survival rates in adult horses diagnosed with SS or SW treated with IVRLP at a single institution in the USA from 2010-2020. The study also...
Quatember H, Nell B, Richter B, Rigler D, Dolezal M, Sykora S, Wallner B.A missense mutation in damage-specific DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2 c.1013 C>T; p.Thr338Met) has been described as a risk factor for ocular squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Haflinger breed. Here, we examined the impact of DDB2 C>T allele status on the development of OSCC, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) at other localisations, or equine sarcoid (ES) in Haflingers and other breeds with a high incidence of these tumour types. We genotyped affected Haflinger, Noriker, Warmblood, and Icelandic horses. Results based on 56 Haflingers confirmed the significantly higher risk for OSCC in DDB2-TT Hafl...
Kamutzki CJ, Emmerich IU.In 2024, there was no release of a novel pharmaceutical agent for horses and food-producing animals or an extension of existing active ingredients to other animal species on the German veterinary medicinal products market. Formic acid is now available for a new form of treatment, the short-term treatment of honeybees, and clenbuterol is available in a new dosage form, as an oral solution for horses. In the field of immunological veterinary medicinal products, three new vaccines were launched on the German veterinary medicinal products market. For the first time, a vaccine against in cattle, a...
Albanese V, Straticò P, Fischer H, Petrizzi L.Injuries to the distal limb are common in horses. The clinical aspect of the lesions is variable based on the structures that are involved. Synovial structures as well as tendons and/or ligaments may be involved in such injuries, affecting treatment modalities and costs, and prognosis. This retrospective study compares wounds involving synovial structures to wounds without such involvement in terms of treatment duration and costs, and prognosis. Synovial wounds were much more expensive to treat and carried a lower prognosis. Involvement of tendons and/or ligaments in the wounds resulted in mor...
Kukhar Y, Bailina G, Smagulova A, Uakhit R, Kiyan V.Equine skin mycoses are a significant concern in Kazakhstan's livestock industry due to the country's historical livestock farming practices, the development of equestrian sports, and food traditions. Skin infections are among the most common fungal infections in horses. Emerging pathogens of equine dermatophytosis include keratinophilic Chrysosporium spp., which can degrade and metabolize keratin found in superficial tissues. This, combined with their thermotolerance, contributes to their pathogenicity. In this study, we investigated the biological properties and pathogenicity of two Chrysosp...
Gao T, Liu X, Qiu D, Li Y, Qiu Z, Qi J, Li S, Guo X, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Gao X, Ma Y, Ma T.Cefquinome is used to treat septicemia caused by () and respiratory infections caused by subsp. in foals. However, studies reporting the use of cefquinome to target as pathogens of sepsis are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the optimal dosage regimen for cefquinome against using a PK/PD model. After the administration of 1 mg/kg cefquinome (intramuscularly or intravenously), blood samples were collected at different time points to determine the serum concentration of cefquinome via HPLC. The pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated via NCA (WinNonlin 5.2.1 software). Th...
Gao X, Liu J, Xu K, Hu J, Xiao C, Wang D, Li C, Ji C, Yao X, Wang PG, Jing Y, He Y, Shen CK.Typically, the antigen-specific antibodies constitute a small fraction-often estimated to be around 2-10 %-of the total IgG in the serum after immunization. This low percentage necessitates the use of purification techniques to enrich the antigen-specific antibodies for therapeutic or research purposes. This study introduces an affinity chromatography column using NHS-activated Sepharose as a matrix and the tetanus toxin subunit C, TeNT-Hc-C869A, as a ligand, enabling the purification of polyclonal antibodies with high specificity. This process improves antitoxin purity to over 95 %, effecti...
Cardinaux EM, Oltmanns H, Beineke A, Meißner J, Geburek F.Flexural limb deformities are a widespread condition in foals. Oxytetracycline is a common conservative treatment option with relaxing effects on the muscle-tendon-unit, potentially mediated through a matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP)-inhibitor mechanism. Its high therapeutic dose for this indication, potential negative side effects, and the guidelines for prudent use of antimicrobials make investigating alternatives desirable. In this study, the influence of substances with potentially similar mechanisms of action, however without antimicrobial properties, on viability and proliferation of juven...
Birkmann K, Waldern N, Jucker S, Balaschitsch K, Zablotski Y, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A.Recurrent urticaria is common in horses. The pathophysiology is poorly understood and treatment options are limited. Often, only glucocorticoids are effective for controlling clinical signs, albeit with potential adverse effects. Studies investigating new treatments need a validated objective scoring system for the grading of skin lesions to assess response. Objective: The aims were to investigate inter- and intraobserver reliability of the Equine Urticaria Activity Score (EqUAS) for the grading of skin lesions in horses with recurrent urticaria, and to examine agreement between experienced an...
Stuart RB, Miles-Farrier F, Bard AM, Rees G.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly serious threat to human and animal health. Antimicrobial use (AMU) in horses is gathering research interest, although there remain significant evidence gaps. Currently, there is scant qualitative research into equine owners' use of antimicrobials, specifically antibiotics, hindering the design of evidence-based stewardship interventions and policies. Objective: To understand Welsh equine owners' views and behaviours relating to antimicrobial usage. Methods: Cross sectional survey and qualitative data collection and analysis. Methods: An online ...
Vinijkumthorn R, Prapaiwan N, Chotikaprakal T, Prompiram P, Phaonakrop N, Roytrakul S, Tesena P.Phenylbutazone (PBZ) can potentially induce gastrointestinal ulceration, and early detection of PBZ-induced gastroenteropathy will be useful for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of PBZ toxicity. Objective: To identify putative proteins associated with equine gastric ulcer syndrome after clinical dose (4.4 mg/kg) administration of PBZ by proteomic study. Methods: In vivo experiments. Methods: Proteomic analysis using LC-MS/MS compared protein expression in serum and faeces of seven PBZ-treated horses with seven placebo-treated controls, and a novel putative biomarker was validated via...
da Silveira BP, Kahn SK, Legere RM, Bray JM, Cole-Pfeiffer HM, Golding MC, Cohen ND, Bordin AI.Using a horse foal model, we show that enteral immunization of newborn foals with Rhodococcus equi overcomes neonatal vaccination challenges by reprogramming innate immune responses, inducing R. equi-specific adaptive humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and protecting foals against experimental pneumonia challenge. Foals were immunized twice via gavage of R. equi (immunized group) or saline (control group) at ages 1 and 3 days. At age 28 days, all foals were challenged intrabronchially with R. equi. Post-challenge, all 5 immunized foals remained healthy, whereas 67% (4/6) of control foa...
Bazzano M, Laus F, Cerquetella M, Spaterna A, Marchegiani A.Phytocannabinoids have the potential to lower intraocular pressure in both normal and glaucomatous eyes and they have been tested in different animal species, but not in the horse. The present paper describes the tonometric curve of healthy adult Italian Saddle horses after oral administration of cannabidiol oil (CBD). Methods: CBD 20% was administered orally (oily solution) at the dose of 1 mg/kg to 8 adult horses and intraocular pressure (IOP) was evaluated by tonometric curve. Data were then compared to those of the same horses obtained the day before (blank) CBD administration. Results: ...
Forni G, Ellero N, Mannini A, Scacco L, Freccero F.A 3-year-old Quarter Horse stallion was referred for headshaking (HS) syndrome of one month duration. The horse underwent complete HS workup. Physical examination revealed up-and-down head movements associated with nose snorting during lunging and riding, in the absence of other abnormalities at rest or in motion. Lameness, neurologic and behavioural evaluations were unremarkable. Endoscopic examination of the upper respiratory tract showed bilateral guttural pouches (GPs) inflammation. The mucosal surface was altered by the presence of areas of microbullous appearance coalescing into some bul...
Araújo IRDS, de Brito EL, de Melo UP, Mariz ALB, Cavalheiro MT, Ferreira C, de Morais LF, de Souza RF.This study aimed to evaluate the use of antimicrobials in horses, focusing on administration practices, adherence to veterinary prescriptions, and the impact on the development of antimicrobial resistance. The research was based on a questionnaire completed by 220 horse owners in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The data collected covered aspects including antibiotic use, prescription sources, the performance of culture and susceptibility tests, and the disposal of veterinary drug waste. The results indicated that 98.63% of horse owners administered antibiotics mainly to treat respira...
Donovan K, Torres J, Zhu D, Herrington WG, Staplin N.Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of disease progression are vulnerable to collider bias caused by selection of participants with disease at study entry. This bias introduces spurious associations between disease progression and genetic variants that are truly only associated with disease incidence. Methods of statistical adjustment to reduce this bias have been published, but rely on assumptions regarding the genetic correlation of disease incidence and disease progression which are likely to be violated in many human diseases. MR-Horse is a recently published Bayesian method to estimate...
Gamage C, Holl W, Parreño V, Thieulent CJ, Balasuriya UBR, Vissani MA, Barrandeguy ME, Carossino M.Group A rotavirus (RVA) infections are a leading cause of neonatal diarrhoea in foals. Neonatal mice could serve as a useful tool to study the pathogenesis of equine RVA (ERVA) as well as a preclinical model for assessment of vaccine efficacy. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the clinical, virological and pathological features of ERVA G3P[12] and G14P[12] infection in neonatal mice and compare them with porcine OSU G5P[7] and bovine UK G6P[5] RVA reference strains. Neonatal mice orally inoculated with equine, bovine and porcine RVA developed short-lived diarrhoea at variable rates, G...
Singh A, Johnson T, Wotman K, Leary D.Veterinary personnel exposure due to scattered x rays, when present during superficial radiation treatment (SRT), was evaluated. Veterinary personnel presence is needed during SRT to minimize the degree of required aesthesia to horses. Animal treatment was simulated, and exposure rates determined for 50, 70, and 100 kV x rays using eight different SRT applicators. Exposure rates at the surface of a solid water phantom (SWP) phantom ranged from 3.9 mR h-1 to 396 mR h-1 for 50 kV, from 41 mR h-1 to 2,880 mR h-1 for 70 kV, and from 235 mR h-1 to 7,500 mR h-1, for 100 kV, respectively. A horse pha...
