The study of diseases in horses encompasses a wide range of conditions affecting equine health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic abnormalities. These diseases can impact various systems within the horse, such as respiratory, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal systems, and can lead to significant health challenges. Research in this area focuses on understanding the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of equine diseases. Common diseases studied include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, and laminitis. This page provides access to peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, clinical presentation, and management strategies of diseases in horses, contributing to the advancement of equine veterinary medicine.
Youngquist RS, Blanchard TL, Lapin D, Klein W.Four groups of five pony mares each were used to determine if the intrauterine infusion of EDTA-Tris solution caused adverse effects on the endometrium. The uteri of mares were infused with either saline or EDTA-Tris solution or biopsied or sham-biopsied without infusion. Acute endometritis developed in one (20%) to three (60%) mares in each group during the seven days following treatment, but there were no differences (P > 0.05) in the incidence of endometritis among the groups. Endometrial fibrosis was not evident in biopsies taken on days 14, 30 and 60 following infusion of saline or EDT...
Eysker M, Jansen J, Mirck MH.Inhibited early third stage larvae of Cyathostominae were found in the digested mucosa of the large intestine of 12 yearling, female Shetland ponies, which were used in two grazing experiments. The ponies were killed in late autumn. In some ponies the inhibited larvae were very abundant and in most animals the majority of the Cyathostominae populations consisted of these early third stage larvae, suggesting that the phenomenon has an epidemiological significance.
van Wuijckhuise-Sjouke LA.Determination of the plasma fibrinogen concentration was found to be particularly useful in detecting inflammatory diseases. The highest levels were observed in inflammatory lesions of serous surfaces and in endocarditis. Plasma fibrinogen levels correlated with the severity of the disease: levels of 1,000 mg per 100 ml or more reflected a prognosis ranging from poor to bad.
Kelly AP, Jones RT, Gillick JC, Sims LD.An outbreak of nervous disease in Standardbred horses occurred near Bendigo, in south-eastern Australia, in October 1980. Over a two week period 11 horses in four training stables were affected with gait abnormalities, depression and recumbency. Eight of the 11 died. The results of an investigation implicated Clostridium botulinum toxin as the cause. The toxin was food-borne as a contaminant of oaten chaff.
Ellenberger MA, Kaeberle ML, Roth JA.A lymphocyte blastogenic assay was developed to serve as an in vitro correlate of cell-mediated immunity to Rhodococcus (Corynebacterium) equi (R equi) in the equine species. Lymphocytes obtained from a group of experimental ponies showed no response in cell culture to R equi heat extract or lysozyme extract antigens. Ponies were assigned to groups for experimental inoculation. Three ponies were inoculated subcutaneously with live R equi, 3 were given live R equi by intranasal and intratracheal routes, and 4 ponies were left untreated. Lymphocytes from all inoculated ponies had a mitogenic res...
Magnuson NS, Perryman LE, Wyatt CR, Ishizaka T, Mason PH, Namen AE, Banks KL, Magnuson JA.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 14 foals with hereditary severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) were studied to determine the extent of lymphocyte differentiation that occurs in this disorder. PBMC from all 14 horses had the morphologic characteristics of large granular lymphocytes (LGL). Cells from only one of 14 horses were responsive to phytolectin stimulation in a standard blastogenesis assay; however, PBMC from all 14 horses proliferated in continuous culture in the presence of partially purified interleukin 2. Furthermore, there were differences in the growth patterns of ...
Cordy DR.Bacterial meningoventriculitis was studied in 26 neonatal ungulates. Preceded by a substantial bacteremia, usually due to Escherichia coli, the fibrinopurulent inflammation involved leptomeninges, choroid plexuses, and ventricle walls, but largely spared the neuraxial parenchyma. It is proposed that this surface-relatedness results from the transport of bacteria by monocytes of low bactericidal power, migrating by normal pathways to maintain significant surface populations of macrophages. The neuraxial parenchyma is spared because of its normal lack of a macrophage population. A similar pathog...
Morris DD, Bloom JC, Roby KA, Woods K, Tablin F.An eosinophilic myeloproliferative disorder resulted in edema and hemorrhagic diathesis in a 10-month-old Standardbred colt. Laboratory abnormalities included severe thrombocytopenia, anemia, mild hypoproteinemia, and marked eosinophilia. Circulating eosinophils were immature or atypical with variation in granule size, disproportionate nuclear to cytoplasmic maturation, and abnormal nuclear size and shape. Bone marrow aspirate had mainly atypical eosinophil precursors, few erythroid precursors, and no megakaryocytes. A blood transfusion and dexamethasone therapy resulted in some improvement; h...
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.
O'Niell FD, Issel CJ, Henk WG.Organ cultures of equine fetal tracheal and nasal turbinate epithelium were inoculated with equine influenza virus-A1 (EIV-A1), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), or equine rhinovirus-1 (ERV-1). Infected organ cultures were processed for scanning and transmission electron microscopy at various intervals and were compared with noninfected controls. Organ cultures inoculated with ERV-1 appeared normal with the exception of rare island-like lesions in infected nasal turbinate. Virus particles were not seen in thin sections of organ cultures infected with ERV-1. The EHV-1 caused extensive loss of the e...
Todhunter RJ, Stick JA, Trotter GW, Boles C.Esophageal strictures developed in 7 horses that were treated for esophageal obstruction. A soft diet was fed to all horses, with intermittent nasogastric tube feeding in one, and medication included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Maximal reduction in esophageal lumen diameter was evident by 30 days following circumferential esophageal ulceration, after which lumen diameter increased rapidly. Five horses were clinically normal by 60 days after the esophageal injury. Two horses were euthanatized at the owner's request, 16 and 17 days after the original insult.
Coignoul FL, Bertram TA, Cheville NF.Three pony mares and 4 pony foals were inoculated with a subtype 2 strain of equine herpesvirus 1. Foals had periods of fever 12 h and 2.5 days after inoculation and leukopenia, involving both neutrophils and lymphocytes, followed by leukocytosis. Mares had transient fever and leukopenia 24 hours after inoculation that were less severe than in foals. An increase in circulating virus-neutralizing antibody was seen in 2 of 3 inoculated mares, but not in foals. Attempts to isolate virus from blood were unsuccessful. These studies show that equine herpesvirus 1 subtype 2 is a mild pathogen for pon...
Blue MG, Hannwacker MA.Persistent purulent endometritis in a mare was attributed to an unclassified species of Corynebacterium. Following intrauterine infusions of 20% betadine for 5 days the purulent vulval discharge ceased and the mare appeared clinically normal. Based on histological examination of endometrial biopsy samples, the severe acute inflammatory reaction had largely resolved 2 days after therapy. Three maiden mares considered resistant to bacterial endometritis received single intrauterine inoculations of 1.8 X 10(9) colony-forming units of the Corynebacterium species. The uterine response was followed ...
Sweeney RW, Sweeney CR.Horner's syndrome developed in 2 horses after routine jugular venipuncture. Signs included unilateral sweating of the face in both horses and ptosis in 1 horse. The signs resolved within 14 hours. Signs of a perivascular injection did not develop in either horse. Although Horner's syndrome has been reported after perivascular jugular injections these cases illustrate that the syndrome may develop following routine intravenous injections.
Manneveau GB, Robert MP, Tessier C, Bizon-Mercier C.This report describes a rare case of gastric impaction caused by a trichophytobezoar in a foal. This case highlights the difficulty in diagnosing this condition and reports surgical removal via a gastrotomy after failure of medical treatment. Ablation chirurgicale d’un trichophytobézoar gastrique chez un poulain. Ce rapport décrit un rare cas d’obstruction gastrique causé par un trichophytobézoar chez un poulain. Ce cas souligne la difficulté à diagnostiquer cette affection et fait rapport sur l’ablation chirurgicale lors d’une gastrotomie après l’échec du traitement médical...
Breukink HJ, Németh F, van Dieten JS.The clinical examination, anaesthesia and surgery in a gelding with an incarcerated scrotal hernia are described. The results of examination of the blood at regular intervals are shown in a table. Surgery was performed without enterectomy. The postoperation course was uneventful. It is concluded that the possibility of scrotal hernia should be borne in mind, even in geldings with colic. The incarcerated portion of the small intestine is usually found to be the jejuno-ileal junction. The anaesthesiological and surgical features of equine scrotal hernia are discussed.
Goulden BE.Any condition which leads to a diminution in the size or alteration of the shape of the lumen of the respiratory tract in the horse may result in the production of abnormal respiratory noises at exercise.
Sonmez K, Gurel A, Takai S.The aim of the present study was to develop an immunocytochemical procedure for the early detection and demonstration of Rhodococcus equi in smears of tracheal aspirates taken from live foals in field conditions. Tracheal wash samples were collected from thoroughbred foals, aged 1-5 months and located in studs around Bursa and Istanbul, Turkey. Some foals were suspected of having R. equi infection on the basis of clinical examination (n=56) and others were unaffected control animals (n=54). Serum samples were also collected from each foal for testing for the presence of R. equi-specific antibo...