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.
Palmer AC, Leadon DP, Rossdale PD, Jeffcott LB.A neuropathological examination was carried out on the brains of 58 foals. Forty-two were pony foals induced at various periods of gestation from 200 days onwards. Two were pre-viable pony foals delivered by caesarean section and 14 were Thoroughbred foals (one set of twins, two stillborn, five premature, two dysmature, two convulsive and one induced). The only significant pathological change involved intracranial haemorrhage. Subarachnoid haemorrhage occurred in all of 10 pony foals induced before 301 days of gestation and in two pony foals born by caesarean section at 270 and 280 days gestat...
Prescott JF, Gannon VP, Kittler G, Hlywka G.Results are presented of antimicrobial disc diffusion susceptibility testing on commonly isolated bacterial pathogens made at the Ontario Veterinary College Diagnostic Bacteriology Laboratory in 1981 and 1982. Nearly 2 000 isolates from horses, cattle, dogs and cats were tested. Comparison of resistance in the same bacterial species isolated from different animal species showed significant differences between some of the same antibiotics.
Koterba AM, Brewer BD, Tarplee FA.In an effort to identify improved methods for diagnosis of infection in the neonatal foal, clinical records from 38 septicaemic foals of less than one week of age were examined for trends in history, physical examination and clinicopathological findings. The survival rate of septicaemic foals, 26 per cent, was markedly less than the rate for all other foal admissions. Blood cultures were valuable in diagnosis and treatment of septicaemia and identified a preponderance of Gram-negative infection. Zinc sulphate turbidity test results were abnormally low in all septicaemic foals tested. The clini...
Stewart JH, Rose RJ, Barko AM.The effect of oxygen administration on blood gas values was examined in six newborn foals from birth to seven days old. Three variables were studied: the effect of increasing age on the ability to elevate arterial oxygen tension (Pao2), the effect of duration of oxygen delivery on Pao2 and the effect of method of administration. The results demonstrated a significant effect of age on the ability to increase Pao2 values, with the highest Pao2 values being found at seven days old. The duration of oxygen administration caused little change in Pao2 values; peak values were reached after 2 mins of ...
Cranley JC.This research article investigates the varying challenges that have arisen in accurately diagnosing equine hydatidosis, a disease in horses, during post-mortem examinations. The paper focuses on the possible influence of […]
Van Amstel SR, Ross M, van den Bergh SS.A case of maduromycosis mycetoma caused by Madurella mycetomatis is reported. The horse presented with multiple subcutaneous swelling over the right scapula. There were no discharging fistulae present. Macroscopically the lesion contained a black granular material embedded in a granulomatous mass. Microscopically large numbers of microcolonies were present containing segmented hyphae. No typical chlamydospores were observed. Cultures yielded a fungus identified as Madurella mycetomatis. Treatment consisted of surgical excision and local treatment with thiabendazole powder.
Beech J, Aguirre G, Gross S.Nuclear cataracts were found in 2 groups of related Morgan horses. The cataracts were finely reticulated central spherical translucencies that sometimes extended to the region of the posterior "Y" suture. The cataracts were not associated with other ocular defects and did not impair vision. In 1 group of 8 horses, 5 were affected; in the other group, 6 of 8 were affected. Although a pattern of inheritance could not be determined, the familial distribution of the cataracts supported the conclusion that the defect was a heritable disorder.
The Journal of hygieneJune 1, 1984
Volume 92, Issue 3 365-375 doi: 10.1017/s0022172400064585
Gray SJ.Faecal samples from 110 horses, 115 pigs, 111 sheep and 123 cows were examined for the presence of Aeromonas hydrophila, which was also sought in the available drinking water. The overall faecal rate was 11.8%, but significantly more bovine than other samples were found to be positive. There was significant association between the isolation of A. hydrophila from all animal faeces and its presence in drinking water, but this was not found when individual animal groups were analysed separately. An enrichment technique increased the total number of isolates by 77.1%. Strains of differing origins ...
Strzemienski PJ, Benson CE, Acland HM, Kenney RM.Two groups of 3 mares were inoculated with Haemophilus equigenitalis or Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the 1st day of estrus. Uterine flushing samples were recovered on day 3 of estrus and day 8 after ovulation for each cycle. Mares were killed 22, 25, and 30 days after inoculation with P aeruginosa and 45, 46, and 49 days after inoculation with H equigenitalis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was recovered from the uterus of 2 mares 48 hours after inoculation. Although the initial flushing sample of 1 of these 2 mares had an increased total protein concentration, there appeared to be little difference betw...
Blue HB, Blue MG, Kenney RM, Merritt TL.Forty uterine fluid samples were obtained from 4 mares classified as resistant to uterine bacterial infection. The uterus of each mare was flushed with 50 ml of saline solution during estrus and diestrus of successive estrous cycles. Bacteria or fungi were isolated from 4 samples, and 7 additional samples were obtained from a mare with active intrauterine infection. Fluid volumes obtained during estrus (means = 40.3 +/- 11 ml) tended to be greater than those recovered during diestrus (means = 36.8 +/- 7.9 ml), but the difference was not significant. Concentrations and yields of protein in reco...
Rebhun WC, Tennant BC, Dill SG, King JM.Renal toxicosis attributable to vitamin K3 (menadione sodium bisulfite) was suspected in 5 young adult horses in which acute renal failure developed following parenteral administration of vitamin K3 at the manufacturers' recommended dosages. Renal disease was subsequently induced experimentally in 5 of 6 horses by administration of vitamin K3 at manufacturers' recommended dosages. Signs of renal disease in the clinical patients as well as in the horses treated experimentally included renal colic, hematuria, azotemia, and electrolyte abnormalities consistent with acute renal failure. Two clinic...
Munroe GA.PYLORIC stenosis occurs commonly in man and the dog but only rarely in the horse and cat. Two reports of pyloric stenosis in the horse have been published, both of these occurring in foals of less than two months of age (Barth, Barber and Mackenzie 1980; Crowhurst, Simpson, McEnery and Greenwood 1975). Surgery on the pylorus performed under general anaesthesia was successful in both cases. This report describes a case of pyloric stenosis in a Thoroughbred yearling.
Coignoul FL, Bertram TA, Roth JA, Cheville NF.Neutrophils from 4 pony foals, 3 lactating pony mares, and 3 nonlactating mares were evaluated ultrastructurally and by in vitro function tests. Neutrophils from foals had significantly (P = 0.05) less random migration than neutrophils from mares; values in tests for iodination and Staphylococcus aureus ingestion were also lower with foal neutrophils. Neutrophils from lactating mares had lower responses to iodination, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and random migration tests than did neutrophils from nonlactating mares. Ultrastructurally, granule concentration did not differ si...
Rousseaux CG, Futcher KG, Clark EG, Naylor JM.Two cases of cauda equina neuritis are compared and contrasted. Neurological deficits of the tail and perineum were noted and functional deficits were seen in gait, urination, defecation and cranial nerve function. Lesions consisted of nonsuppurative inflammation of the nerve trunks and proliferation of the perineurium of the cauda equina. Cranial nerve involvement in one case supported a diagnosis of polyneuritis equi rather than cauda equina neuritis. The possible etiologies and pathogenesis of this disease are discussed.
Gideon L.Esophageal anastomosis was performed on 2 foals after resecting a midcervical stricture. Nasogastric tube alimentation and antibiotic therapy allowed these foals to recover, and they matured to useful performing horses. These cases demonstrated a feasible and successful surgical management regimen for the strictured esophagus.
Zink MC, Johnson JA.Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed 5 times, sequentially, on 3 healthy foals when each was between 2 and 63 days of age. Total and differential counts were performed on recovered cells. The lungs of foals less than 19 days of age contained few alveolar macrophages recoverable by bronchoalveolar lavage. This number increased sharply during the first 2 to 3 weeks of life, but remained relatively constant subsequently. Approximately 86% of the alveolar cells in the lungs of foals up to 3 weeks of age were alveolar macrophages. During the first 2 months of life, this number decreased to approxim...
DiPietro JA, Todd KS, Reuter-Dallman V.Ivermectin given IM at 200 micrograms/kg, alone or in combination with procaine penicillin G at 600 IU/kg, to 20 randomly selected young horses of various breeds reduced fecal strongyle egg counts from 400-4100 epg (avg greater than 1000) pretreatment to zero 7 days posttreatment. There were no systemic or injection-site reactions, either immediate or delayed, in any of the horses.
Coignoul FL, Cheville NF.Six pregnant mares were given equine viral arteritis virus intravenously. Tissues from genital tracts, placentae, and fetuses were examined by light and electron microscopy to study the mechanism of abortion. Four mares which died with acute disease had diffuse vacuolation of endometrial epithelium and systemic necrotizing vasculitis. Two of these mares had dead fetuses and two had live fetuses; virus was isolated from tissues of one live fetus. Placentae of mares dying from acute disease did not have lesions attributable to infection; virus was isolated from two of these placentae. One of the...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC, Swerczek TW, Crowe MW.A total of 396 Thoroughbreds (86 males, 293 females, and 17 geldings) in Kentucky, 1 to 30 years of age, were examined at necropsy for presence of Anoplocephala perfoliata (2 female horses were not examined) in the cecum for lesions of Draschia megastoma in the stomach, during the 1-year period of Mar 1, 1982 through Feb 28, 1983. Prevalence of A perfoliata was 53% and of lesions of D megastoma was 63%. All lesions of D megastoma were partially or entirely in the glandular region of the stomach. Distances of the midpoint of these lesions from the margo plicatus varied from 0 to 290 mm. The cen...
Ribbeck R, Ilchmann G, Hiepe T.Research into the immunological diagnosis of gasterophilosis. So far there have been no reliable methods of diagnosing equine gasterophilosis intra vitam. Horses from the G.D.R. and the M.P.R. spontaneously infected with Gasterophilus spp. were tested for antibodies by the immunotechniques of counterimmunoelectrophoresis after Pesendorfer, passive haemagglutination and the intradermal test using antigen made from larvae of all 6 Gasterophilus spp. present in the palaearctis. All 3 techniques produced positive results. The intradermal injection produced an immediate reaction. A correlation betw...
Dik KJ.Radiographically, joint ill in foals is subdivided into four different types: Type P - osteomyelitis in the meta- and/or epiphysis adjacent to the physis. Type E - osteomyelitis in the epiphyseal subchondral bone. Type S - synovitis confined to the joint itself. Type T - osteomyelitis in the small tarsal bones. The radiographical features corresponding with the different types, the relationship between the radiological, pathological, bacterial and clinical findings, and the recommended radiographic procedure are discussed in detail.
Bouillant AM, Becker SA.The successive steps of maturation of seven retroviruses from five species of farm animals and one retrovirus from a mouse were compared in cell cultures. The viruses included three type C oncoviruses, one spumavirus, and three lentiviruses. Although members of the 3 subfamilies shared some gross morphologic features such as budding on plasma membranes, core, and surface projections, differences were noted in the ultrastructural detail of these features. Type C oncoviruses did not show any structural differentiation in identifiable form in the cytoplasm as opposed to characteristic features ob...
Acland HM, Mann PC, Robertson JL, Divers TJ, Lichtensteiger CA, Whitlock RH.Six foals of three different breeds, born to healthy mares, appeared normal at birth, and died at two to five days of age with icterus, ataxia, head pressing, and terminal hepatic coma. Their livers were less than one-half normal weight. Most of the liver was dark red-brown and slightly rubbery. Histologically, these areas were characterized by severe bile ductule proliferation, mild portal tract fibrosis, and massive hepatocellular necrosis and lobular collapse. A small proportion of the liver, usually on the peripheral part of the lobes, was grossly light brown and slightly raised. Histologi...
Spincemaille J, Bouters R, Vandeplassche M, Bonte P.Two females of heterosexual pairs of chimaeric horse twins were fertilized by their co-twin brother and PMSG production examined during gestation. Four pregnancies developed in one mare and two in the other. The levels of PMSG were high in both mares and remained detectable in the peripheral blood until 220 and 265 days of gestation. The fetal membranes of one mare contained remnants of cup secretion with PMSG activity at term. The findings support the thesis of Allen & Moor (1972) that the endometrial cups are of fetal origin and that they are destroyed by immunological mechanisms.
Marlow CH.Horse breeding in South Africa started in 1652, shortly after the 1st European settlement in the Cape. African horsesickness posed a serious problem and after a devastating outbreak of the disease in 1719, horses were largely replaced by oxen for agricultural and transport purposes but remained important from a sporting and military point of view. Examples of the latter are the export of horses for military use to India in the mid-19th century and for use in the Crimean War in 1854, reaching a zenith in the Anglo-Boer war in which an estimated 450 000 horses succumbed. Research and disease con...
de Bruijn CM, van den Ingh TS, Teske E, Rutten VP, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.In this case report we describe an atypical clinical manifestation of malignant lymphoma in a horse. The most obvious clinical symptoms were hyperaemic mucosae and skin lesions. The skin and mucosal lesions appeared to be caused by a leukemic form of malignant lymphoma. The lymphocytosis consisted mainly of different populations of T-lymphocytes. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry identified the malignant lymphoma as a T-cell rich B-cell lymphoma.
Daugschies A.Drug resistance of parasites is a worldwide problem of increasing importance in animal production. Considerable information is available on the development of resistance in chicken coccidia and in strongyles of horses, sheep, goats and pigs. A review is given of the development, incidence, and management of drug resistance with emphasis on the situation in Germany.