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.
Dinter Z, Klingeborn B.Six cases of paresis occurred in a Swedish stud with 48 mares and a stallion. Complement-fixation tests revealed a recent infection with EHV-1 in most horses of the stud. Serumneutralisation tests showed rapid antibody-titre increases during the course of the disease. This type of antibody response was interpreted as induced by reinfection or, possibly, recurrent infection. Two diseased mares were sacrificed. No virus could be isolated from their central nervous system (CNS), liver or spleen, but there is a presumptive evidence for the presence of an antigen specific to EHV-1 in the CNS and li...
Saiatov MKh, Beĭsembaeva RU.Profiles of distribution of non-specific gamma-inhibitors of influenza A2/Victoria/35/72 in donkey and horse sera were established by gel chromatography in Sephadex G-200. High and low molecular inhibitors were found in 19S and 4S serum fractions. Highly purified preparations of a2-macroglobulin, transferrine and albumin were isolated by a combination of methods of salt precipitation, gel chromatography on Sephadex G-100, G-200 and ion exchange on DEAE-Sephadex A-50. Heating sera resulted in a considerable increase of the antiviral activity of a2-macroglobulin and transferrine and a reduction ...
Whitwell KE.A rodent pathogen, Bacillus piliformis, has been recognised as causing a rapidly fatal hepatitis in 4 foals in England. The disease in foals has been recognised in America since 1973. A clinico-pathological account of the 4 cases is given and the differential diagnosis discussed. The 4 foals' ages fell within a very narrow range (24-34 days). Some of the properties of this unusual intracellular pathogen are reviewed. For the first time in the equine the bacillus was seen in association with myocardial lesions. There are marked differences in the epidemiology of the disease in the mouse and in ...
Firth EC.A case of vesical calculus in which haematuria was not a presenting sign is described. Methods of removal of vesical calculi are discussed. In this case, urethral sphincterotomy facilitated delivery.
Kelly DF, Watson WJ.An aged Connemara mare had a neurological illness lasting 3 weeks and characterised by episodes of dullness, head-pressing, staggering gait and hyperexcitability. The signs recurred at intervals of 3 to 4 days, with intervening periods of apparent normality. Post-mortem examination revealed an epidermoid cyst on the dorsal surface of the occipital lobe of the left cerebral hemisphere. The cyst was lined by stratified squamous epithelium and contained desquamated keratinised material and blood. The lesion is considered to be a congenital malformation which enlarges and produces space-occupying ...
Verberne LR, Mirck MH.A scheme of combined anthelmintic treatment and vaccination is described. The seasonal veterinary activities are as follows: March (all horses); parasitological examination of faeces, anthelmintic treatment, immunization against influenza and tetanus (booster dose). June: parasitological faeces examination of foals, anthelmintic treatment of all horses, immunization of foals against tetanus (1st dose). August: anthelmintic treatment of all horses and immunization of foals against influenza (1st dose) and tetanus (2nd dose). October: parasitological faeces examination and anthelmintic treatment...
Palomba E, Martone F, Meduri A, Vaccaro A, Damiani N.A description is given of an outbreak of equine infectious anaemia (E.I.A.) in Campania [at Naples and Aversa (Caserta)]; it was diagnosed by clinical, pathological and serological examinations (Coggins test). Using the serum of 45 horses with E.I.A. and 11 healthy horses (controls), numerous investigations were carried out on: enzymes, intrinsic coagulation factors, lipids and other substances. The results obtained were very interesting and show that in this disease there are significant increases in many enzymes (LDH, LAP, gamma-GT, CPK, PK and ALD) and copper. Insignificant increases were f...
McGuire TC, Banks KL, Davis WC.Combined immunodeficiency (CID) is a significant disease in terms of prevalence in Arabian foals and is a useful animal for study of a similar condition in children. Thymuses from all CID foals examined were extremely hypoplastic. Light and electron microscopic examination of thymuses from CID foals, as well as a thymus from an aborted CID fetus, demonstrate that the basic thymic structure is intact, despite a number of dissimilar morphologic appearances. From these data, we inferred that the thymic hypoplasia was caused by a failure of committed lymphocytes from the bone marrow to populate th...
Faur YC, Weisburd MH, Wilson ME.NYC medium supplemented with cow blood (NYC-C) and sheep blood (NYC-S) were tested for the growth of N. gonorrhoeae and urogenital mycoplasma in comparison with standard NYC medium which contains horse blood. In situations where horse blood is not available, cow blood could be substituted in NYC standard medium, whereas the use of sheep blood was found unsuitable.
Haughey KG, Jones RT.A high frequency of meningeal lesions was found at autopsy in foals dying perinatally. Such lesions are considered an index of injury to the fetal central nervous system, from trauma and/or hypoxia during birth. Their incidence in the sample examined (26 foals) is similar to that observed in the perinatal mortality of lambs and calves.
Barban PS, Minaeva VM, Pantiukhina AN, Startseva MG.A comparative study was made of the serological properties and virus-neutralizing activity of antiencephalitis gamma-globulin and Fab-fragments isolated from it by gel-filtration. Horse immunoglobulins against the autumno-summer tick-borne encephalitis virus could be disintegrated with the aid of papaine to monovalent Fab-fragments which (according to the complement fixation reaction, the test of suppression of the complement fixation, and the HAIT) retained the serological activity whose level was compared with that of the serological activity of gamma-globulin. Fab-fragments possessed a mark...
Gopinath G, Ford EJ.The hepatotoxic effect of oral halothane in the horse is increased by pretreatment with phenobarbitone or DDT but not by chlorpromazine. Phenobarbitone and DDT increase the activity of hepatic amidopyrine N-demethylase but chlorpromazine does not. Carbon disulphide protects the liver of the horse against halothane.
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Experimentally induced infections of Parascaris equorum in worm-free pony foals required 14 to 17 days for migration of the larvae through the liver and lungs, and 79 to 110 days to become gametogenically functional. Treatment of experimentally infected or naturally exposed foals during the parenteral phase of development, using levamisole at 8 mg/kg, a mixture of levamisole at 8 mg/kg plus piperazine at 88 mg base equivalent/kg, or dl-tetramisole at 10 mg/kg, was quite efficacious in (1) reducing the number of P. equorum larvae recovered from the small intestines of the foals at necropsy, or ...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Critical tests of the activity on large strongyles, ascarids, mature pinworms, and bots were carried out in 11 horses intraorally treated with a paste formulation of thiabendazole. The dose level of 44 mg/kg was administered to 3 horses, and the dose level of 88 mg/kg to 8 horses. Removals of Strongylus vulgaris and mature Oxyuris equi were 100% at the 2 dose levels, and efficacy against Strongylus edentatus varied from 95 to 99% and 89 to 100% for the 44- and the 88-mg/kg dose levels, respectively. Strongylus equinus was completely removed from the 1 infected horse treated at the dose level o...
Sutton RH, Coleman GT.Abstract Extract A 15-year-old pony mare developed firm irregular bony swellings on all four legs. These were most severe around the carpal and fetlock joints of the forelegs, restricting both flexion and extension. Over about 6 months the horse had periodic bouts of coughing. She showed moderate weight loss and a depressed demeanour.
Furr MO, Tyler RD.The CSF creatine kinase (CK) activity was determined in 70 CSF samples from 69 horses with CNS disease. Abnormal values (greater than or equal to 1 IU/L) were determined from 32 CSF samples, and normal values (less than 1 IU/L) were found in 38 samples. Increased CK activity was most frequently associated with a diagnosis of equine protozoal myelitis; CK activity was not increased in 11 horses with cervical compressive myelopathy. Other diagnoses, in which CSF CK activity was increased included trauma (n = 1), idiopathic epilepsy (n = 2), botulism (n = 2), articular facet fracture (n = 1), int...
Rossdale PD, Ousey JC, Dudan FE, Leadon DP, Cash RS, Reddy R, Silver M, Fowden A, Broughton Pipkin F, Jeffcott LB.This paper describes the general management of mares and foals during the perinatal period and the methodology used in a collaborative research project on equine prematurity. Sixteen mares with dated pregnancies delivered 45 foals over three breeding seasons (1981 to 1983). In the majority, parturition was induced with oxytocin and/or fluprostenol; the remainder were allowed to foal spontaneously. Pre-colostral milk analysis provided a means of assessing the pre-foaling status of the mare. All were observed and monitored before, during and after parturition and the sampling protocol for both m...
Gautsch S, Beckmann G, Amtsberg G, Dieckmann M, Deegen E.100 faecal samples from clinically healthy horses of different age groups and feeding habits, 50 samples of faeces from horses suffering from enteropathy accompanied by diarrhoea and small and/or large intestine from 25 horses that had died after an intestinal disease were examined for the presence of Clostridium (Cl.) perfringens. The frequency with which Cl. perfringens was detected was 22% in clinically healthy horses, 32% in horses with diarrhoea and 52% in the dead horses. In two faecal samples from the horses with diarrhoea the microbial count of Cl. perfringens was ca. 10(6) cfu/g faece...
Watanabe R, Furuta H, Ueno Y, Nukada T, Niwa H, Shinyashiki N, Kano R.Trichophyton bullosum is a zoophilic dermatophyte that has been rarely isolated from horses and humans in Africa and Europe. This is the first reported isolation of T. bullosum from a horse with dermatophytosis in Japan. The isolate from a skin lesion formed a cream-colored and waxy colony that was slightly elevated in the center. Sequencing of the internal transcribe spacer region of the isolate revealed that it was 100% identical to that of T. bullosum.
Salazar I, Rodriguez JI, Cifuentes JM.In accordance with macroscopic and microscopic features of the tarsal joint degeneration in the greyhound dog, the possibility of establishing a direct relation between this process and spavin or bone spavin is proposed. To date this has been considered limited to equine and occasionally bovine stock. This investigation has been carried out on three different levels: macroscopic, radiological and histological and has been completed with the corresponding graphic documentation.
Gibson KT, Burbidge HM.Three horses were presented for treatment of chronic infections of the digital flexor tendon sheath. Clinical signs included severe lameness, and heat, pain and swelling of the digital flexor tendon sheath. The horses were treated with surgical lavage of the tendon sheath, systemic and local antibiotics, and analgesics. In each case, resolution of the lameness occurred over weeks to months. Only one horse returned to athletic activity, while the other two became comfortable at pasture. Response to treatment in cases of chronic tenosynovitis may not be as rapid or complete as that reported for ...