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Topic:Equine Diseases
Equine diseases encompass a wide range of health conditions that can affect horses, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic conditions. These diseases can impact the overall health, performance, and well-being of horses. Common equine diseases include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, laminitis, and equine metabolic syndrome. Diagnosis and management of these diseases often require a combination of clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, and appropriate treatment strategies. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for various equine diseases, providing valuable insights for veterinarians and researchers in the field.
Equine herpesvirus 2-associated granulomatous dermatitis in a horse. Granulomatous dermatitis in horses has been linked to many etiologies, including various parasites, fungi, and bacteria. Idiopathic forms of granulomatous inflammation-producing diseases, some of which are localized to the skin, also have been reported in horses. Herein we describe a case of recurrent equine granulomatous skin disease characterized by intranuclear viral inclusions within macrophages and giant cells. The histologic changes were primarily noted in the deep dermis and included multifocal to coalescing areas of necrosis marked by histiocytic cell infiltration and presence of giant...
Application of polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation techniques for the detection of viruses in aborted and newborn foals. The occurrence of two important pathogens, equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV1) and equine arteritis virus (EAV) causing abortions, perinatal foal mortality and respiratory disease, was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and virus isolation to demonstrate the presence of abortigenic viruses in samples from 248 horse fetuses in Hungary. We found 26 EHV1- and 4 EAV-positive aborted or prematurely born foals from 16 and 4 outbreaks, respectively, proving that despite the widely applied vaccination, EHV1 is a far more important cause of abortions in the studs than EAV. We compared the virus co...
Use of accelerating solvent extraction for detecting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in horse feces. Feces are a possible medium to be used for horse doping control. Efficient methods for detecting drugs in feces collected from various animals are routinely applied in institutes of food safety in Belgium. We have already tested whether they are applicable to horse feces. In this report, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), an efficient method for extracting compounds from solid material, has been tested. ASE has been used to replace the diethyl ether liquid-liquid extraction step present in the method initially set up. This technique has been optimized for detecting several non-steroidal ant...
Absence of hyaline cartilage in the tongue of ‘Caspian miniature horse’. Histology of the tongue, including apex, root and body, in four adult Caspian miniature horses was examined. Serial sections with 6 mum thickness were stained with haematoxylin-eosin and Masson trichrome and studied under light microscope. The tongue was covered by stratified squamous epithelium. It was thick and keratinized bearing numerous lingual papillae on the dorsum, mostly filiform with a very fine keratinized thread projecting above the surface and bending backward. The fungiform papillae were sparsely scattered among the filiform papillae and covered with keratinized squamous epitheli...
Climatic influences on development and survival of free-living stages of equine strongyles: implications for worm control strategies and managing anthelmintic resistance. Development of resistance to anthelmintic drugs by horse strongyles constitutes a growing threat to equine health because it is unknown when new drug classes can be expected on the market. Consequently, parasite control strategies should attempt to maintain drug efficacy for as long as possible. The proportion of a parasite population that is not exposed to anthelmintic treatment is described as being "in refugia" and although many factors affect the rate at which resistance develops, levels of refugia are considered the most important as these parasites are not selected by treatment and so pr...
Equine cutaneous fungal granuloma: a study of 44 lesions from 34 horses. Forty-four nodular and noninvasive cutaneous fungal granulomas were identified in 34 horses over a 14.5-year period. Cutaneous fungal granulomas were most common in young horses (mean age 6.1 +/- 4.2 years; range 1-19 years). There was no apparent breed or sex bias. Granulomas were either single or multiple, and most often occurred in the skin of the head and neck. The characteristic histological finding was a nodular dermal mass with a mean diameter of 7.3 mm (range 2.5-20 mm) and an intact overlying epithelium. Lesions most often exhibited intense lymphocytic inflammation, with admixed pyogr...
Efficacy of imiquimod 5% cream in the treatment of equine sarcoids: a pilot study. Imiquimod is an immune response modifier with potent antiviral and antitumour activity. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of an imiquimod 5% cream (Aldaratrade mark: 3M, Saint Paul, MN, USA) as a topical treatment for equine sarcoids. Fifteen horses with a total of 19 tumours were enrolled, including mixed (7), fibroblastic (5), flat (3), verrucous (2), and nodular (2) types. Baseline data included history, physical examination, tumour location, measurement and digital photography. Imiquimod was applied by the owners three times a week until complete resolution of ...
Collateral ligaments of the distal sesamoid bone in the digit of Equus: re-evaluating midstance function. The distal forelimb of the horse has a complex array of ligaments that play a critical role in determining function of the digit and are often associated with the initiation of foot pathologies. The collateral ligaments of the distal sesamoid bone (CLDS) play an important role in digit stabilization near the end of foot contact and there is also limited evidence to suggest that the CLDS stabilize the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) during weight bearing. By virtue of their anatomical attachments where the ligaments pass dorsal to the axis of rotation of the PIPJ, it is reasonable to assu...
Maggot debridement therapy for serious horse wounds – a survey of practitioners. Hoof disease and injuries are common and serious problems for equines. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) has been used to treat problematic wounds in humans, but has been used only rarely in other animals. US veterinarians who had employed MDT were surveyed to investigate their reasons for the choice of this treatment and their clinical experiences with it. Between 1997 and 2003, 13 horses were treated by eight veterinarians who used MDT to control infection or debride wounds, which could not easily be reached surgically or were not responding to conventional therapy. Seven animals were lame, a...
Pathogenesis and treatment of endometritis in the mare: a review. Inflammatory conditions of the uterus, collectively known as endometritis, can be classified as acute, chronic, active, or subclinical. This condition causes substantial reductions in mare fertility. To diagnose and treat mares with endometrial inflammation, it is imperative to identify predisposing factors and challenges to the reproductive tract of the mare in a chronological order; these factors change from those of the young maiden filly to the older, multiparous broodmare. This paper addresses predisposing factors, diagnostic procedures and therapy strategies for different mare groups.
Determination of zearalenone and its metabolites in urine, plasma and faeces of horses by HPLC-APCI-MS. The paper describes a method for the sensitive and selective determination of zearalenone and its metabolites in urine, plasma and faeces of horses by high performance liquid chromatography and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) mass spectrometry (MS). While only one step sample clean-up by an immunoaffinity column (IAC) was sufficient for plasma samples, urine and faeces samples had to be prepared by a combination of a solid-phase extraction (SPE) and an immunoaffinity column. The method allows the simultaneous determination of zearalenone and all of its metabolites; alpha-zearal...
In vitro inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase activity in tracheal epithelial lining fluid from horses with recurrent airway obstruction. To evaluate inhibitory effects of synthetic matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors in vitro on gelatinolytic and collagenolytic activities in tracheal epithelial lining fluid (TELF) of horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Methods: 10 horses with RAO and 5 healthy control horses. Methods: Substrate-based functional assays, collagen I and gelatin degradation, were used to measure endogenous collagenolytic and gelatinolytic activities in TELF. In vitro inhibition of MMP activity in TELF with 2 chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs; CMT-3 and CMT-8) and 2 bisphosphonates (BPs; zole...
Effects of an endothelin receptor antagonist and nitroglycerin on digital vascular function in horses during the prodromal stages of carbohydrate overload-induced laminitis. To evaluate changes in digital vascular function in horses with carbohydrate overload (CHO)-induced laminitis and determine the effects of an endothelin (ET) receptor antagonist and nitroglycerin on laminitis-associated vascular dysfunction. Methods: 20 adult horses without abnormalities of the digit. Methods: Hemodynamic variables were recorded before (baseline) and hourly after all horses were administered a CHO ration via nasogastric tube. In 4 groups of 5 horses each, saline (0.9% NaCl) solution or ET receptor antagonist (10(5)M in digital blood) was administered into the digital arterial ...
Nucleotide structure of equine platelet-derived growth factor-A and -B and expression in horses with induced acute tendinitis. To characterize the nucleotide sequence of equine platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-A and -B and analyze temporal expression of these genes in equine tendon after induced tendinitis injury. Animals-18 mature horses. Methods: Genes for equine PDGF-A and -B were reverse transcribed and sequenced from synovial tissue mRNA obtained from a 3-year-old horse. Collagenase-induced lesions were created in the tensile region of the superficial digital flexor tendon in 14 horses; 3 horses served as uninjured control animals. Tendons were harvested and total RNA was isolated from experimental horses 1,...
Evaluation of permissiveness and cytotoxic effects in equine chondrocytes, synovial cells, and stem cells in response to infection with adenovirus 5 vectors for gene delivery. To evaluate host cell permissiveness and cytotoxic effects of recombinant and modified adenoviral vectors in equine chondrocytes, synovial cells, and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMD-MSCs). Methods: Articular cartilage, synovium, and bone marrow from 15 adult horses. Methods: Equine chondrocytes, synovial cells, and BMD-MSCs and human carcinoma (HeLa) cells were cultured and infected with an E-1-deficient adenovirus vector encoding the beta-galactosidase gene or the green fluorescent protein gene (Ad-GFP) and with a modified E-1-deficient vector with the arg-gly-asp capsid pepti...
Cartilage-derived biomarkers and lipid mediators of inflammation in horses with osteochondritis dissecans of the distal intermediate ridge of the tibia. To assess whether reported alterations in metabolism of cartilage matrix in young (0 to 24 months old) horses with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) may also be found in older (24 to 48 months old) horses with clinical signs of OCD and to investigate the role of eicosanoids in initiating these clinical signs. Methods: Synovial fluid was collected from 38 tarsocrural joints of 24 warmblood horses with (22 joints of 16 horses) or without (16 joints of 8 horses) clinical signs and a radiographic diagnosis of OCD of the distal intermediate ridge of the tibia. Methods: Turnover of type II collagen wa...
Temporal relationship between proliferating and apoptotic hormone-producing and endothelial cells in the equine corpus luteum. The temporal relationship between endothelial cell death, vascular regression and the death of hormone-producing cells in the mare has not been established. To determine the dynamics of cell proliferation and death throughout the luteal phase, corpora lutea were studied at the early, mid- and late luteal phase, and after treatment with cloprostenol in the mid-luteal phase to induce premature luteolysis. Changes in cell proliferation and apoptosis were investigated utilising specific markers (phosphorylated histone-3 and activated caspase-3 respectively). Histone-3 positive cells were most abun...
Antinociceptive effects, metabolism and disposition of ketamine in ponies under target-controlled drug infusion. Ketamine is widely used as an anesthetic in a variety of drug combinations in human and veterinary medicine. Recently, it gained new interest for use in long-term pain therapy administered in sub-anesthetic doses in humans and animals. The purpose of this study was to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPk) model for ketamine in ponies and to investigate the effect of low-dose ketamine infusion on the amplitude and the duration of the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR). A target-controlled infusion (TCI) of ketamine with a target plasma level of 1 microg/ml S-ketamine over 120 ...
Sebaceous adenitis in a 7-year-old Arabian gelding. A 7-year-old Arabian gelding was presented with a 9-month history of progressive patches of nonpruritic scaling, crusting, alopecia, and leukoderma of the periocular areas and muzzle, becoming generalized over time. Sebaceous adenitis was diagnosed on histopathologic examination. Lesions resolved without treatment, coinciding with regression of a sarcoid on the neck. Un cheval Arabe castré âgé de 7 ans a été présenté pour une histoire de 9 mois de plaques de desquamation, de croutes, d’alopécie et de leucodermie sur les régions périoculaire et sur le nez, devenant généralisées ...
Ex vivo comparison of a novel tapered-sleeve and traditional full-limb transfixation pin cast for distal radial fracture stabilization in the horse. Distal radial fractures in adult horses are examples of long-bone fractures that are not always amenable to internal fixation. These fractures are often open, contaminated, severely comminuted, and located adjacent to the antebrachiocarpal joint. There have been few studies to improve upon the methods of stabilization of this type of fracture. External coaptation incorporating transfixation pins is one method that has been used to stabilize distal radial fractures in horses (1-3). The purpose of this preliminary study was to compare the load to failure in simulated weight-bearing of a novel ta...
Eastern equine encephalitis–New Hampshire and Massachusetts, August-September 2005. During August-September 2005, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services reported seven cases of human eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) disease, the first laboratory-confirmed, locally acquired cases of human EEEV disease reported from New Hampshire in 41 years of national surveillance. Also during August--September 2005, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported four cases of human EEEV disease, five times the annual average of 0.8 cases reported from Massachusetts during the preceding 10 years. Four of the 11 patients from New Hampshire and Massachusetts d...
Use of an in vitro culture system to detect Theileria equi strains from infected equids and/or reservoirs. A horse erythrocyte culture technique, partly modifying that originally developed by Holman, was used to detect the presence of Theileria equi strains in 12 horse and 2 mule blood samples. The animals were placed into four groups on the basis of their case history and laboratory test results: the mules and two horses were considered as infected and included in the 'recent infection' group, four horses with a history of past infection were included in the 'past infection' group and four animals subjected to anti-theileria treatment formed the 'treated animals' group. The final group consisted o...
Equine laminitis: bites by Bothrops spp cause hoof lamellar pathology in the contralateral as well as in the bitten limb. The envenoming caused by Bothrops snakebite includes local symptoms, such as pronounced edema, hemorrhage, intense pain, vesicles, blisters and myonecrosis. The principal systemic symptom consists in the alteration of blood clotting, due to fibrinogen consumption and platelet abnormalities. The horses involved in this study had this symptomatology and one of them exhibited symptoms consistent with laminitis in the bitten and in the contralateral limbs. Laminitis lesions were characterized by separation of the hoof lamellar basement membrane (BM) from basal cells of the epidermis. These results...
Identification of Taylorella equigenitalis responsible for contagious equine metritis in equine genital swabs by direct polymerase chain reaction. A direct-PCR assay was developed for the rapid detection of Taylorella equigenitalis, a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for contagious equine metritis (CEM) in Equidae. The bacteria may be detected in equine genital swabs without need for a preliminary step of DNA extraction or bacterial isolation. Specificity was determined with 125 isolates of T. equigenitalis, 24 isolates of Taylorella asinigenitalis, five commensal bacteria of the genital tract and a facultative intracellular pathogen of foals found in large concentration in soil. Our PCR is specific and amplified a 413-bp 16S ribosoma...
Equine insect bite hypersensitivity: immunoblot analysis of IgE and IgG subclass responses to Culicoides nubeculosus salivary gland extract. Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by IgE-mediated reactions to bites of Culicoides and sometimes Simulium spp. The allergens causing IBH are probably salivary gland proteins from these insects, but they have not yet been identified. The aim of our study was to identify the number and molecular weight of salivary gland extract (SGE) proteins derived from Culicoides nubeculosus which are able to bind IgE antibodies (ab) from the sera of IBH-affected horses. Additionally, we sought to investigate the IgG subclass (IgGa, IgGb and IgGT) reactivity to thes...
Inability of kaolin treatment to remove nonspecific inhibitors from equine serum for the hemagglutination inhibition test against equine H7N7 influenza virus. The hemagglutination inhibition test is used by many diagnostic and surveillance laboratories for detection of antibodies to influenza viruses. It is well known that the hemagglutination inhibition test is affected by nonspecific inhibitors present in equine serum. Several serum treatments are in use to remove these inhibitors, including treatment with kaolin. Discrepant results were observed in the authors' laboratories when using kaolin treatment before testing equine sera for antibodies against equine influenza virus (EIV) subtype-1 (H7N7). It is demonstrated here that kaolin treatment lead...
Molecular cross-sectional survey of gastric habronemosis in horses. Gastric habronemosis of horses caused by Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Nematoda, Spirurida) is characterized by catarrhal gastritis, diarrhoea, progressive weight loss and ulcers. Despite its importance in the equine industry and in clinical practice, knowledge of the epidemiology of this infection is still incomplete as diagnosis in live animals is challenging. A two-step semi-nested PCR assay using ribosomal DNA (rDNA) markers has recently been used for the molecular diagnosis in vivo of gastric habronemosis based on the detection of H. microstoma and/or H. muscae DNA in equine ...
Age-related expression of molecular regulators of hypertrophy and maturation in articular cartilage. The purpose of this study was to determine changes in the expression of regulatory molecules in normal equine articular cartilage throughout development up to 18 months of age. The hypothesis was that expression of these regulatory molecules would decrease from birth to postpubescence. Cartilage was harvested from normal femoropatellar or scapulohumeral joints from 34 fresh horse cadavers. Horses were placed in four age groups [prenatal (n = 5); prepubertal, 0-6 months (n = 11); pubertal, 7-14 months (n = 13); and postpubertal, 15-18 months (n = 5)]. Indian hedgehog (Ihh), Gli1, Gli3, Patched1...
Increased interleukin-1beta mRNA expression in skin biopsies of horses with Culicoides hypersensitivity following challenge with Culicoides nubeculosus extract. Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is a primary cytokine of the skin that has a pivotal role in keratinocyte differentiation, epidermal wound healing and host defense. Pathological increase of cutaneous IL-1beta is associated with edema formation, epidermal hyperproliferation and atopic dermatitis in humans. However, in horses the role of cutaneous IL-1beta in edema formation and allergic skin disease has not been characterised so far. Particularly in Culicoides hypersensitivity (CHS), intradermal injection of Culicoides extract may be associated with enhanced transcription of local IL-1beta. To exa...
