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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.
[35 leptospira isolated from the vitreous body of 32 horses with recurrent uveitis (ERU)]. 130 vitreous samples, systematically collected in 1998 from 117 horses during vitrectomy, were cultured for the presence of leptospires. All horses suffered from equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), also known as periodic ophthalmia or moon blindness, and were treated surgically to combat painful attacks, and to preserve vision. In 35 out of 130 vitreous samples (35/130 = 26.9%), leptospires could be isolated. These isolates belong to the grippotyphosa serogroup (n = 31) and to the australis serogroup (n = 4). So, for the first time, leptospires were recovered from eyes in vivo in a large number of...
A new isolate of the nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans a biological control agent against free-living larvae of horse strongyles. An experiment was carried out in 1997 to test the efficacy of an isolate of the microfungus Duddingtonia flagrans against free-living stages of horse strongyles under conditions in the field and to assess the eventual effect of the fungus on the normal degradation of faeces. Faecal pats were made from faeces of a naturally strongyle infected horse, which had been fed fungal material at a dose level of 106 fungal unit/kg bwt. Control pats without fungi were made from faeces collected from the same animal just before being fed fungi. Faecal cultures set up for both groups of faeces to monitor th...
Equine dental disease part 2: a long-term study of 400 cases: disorders of development and eruption and variations in position of the cheek teeth. Of 400 referred horses with dental disorders, 349 cases suffered from primary disorders of their cheek teeth, ninety of these from disorders of development or eruption, or displacements. These included 20 cases with rostral maxillary and caudal mandibular cheek teeth overgrowths, 16 with diastemata, 15 with grossly enlarged mandibular 'eruption cysts', 4 with grossly enlarged maxillary cheek teeth 'eruption cysts', 10 cases with supernumerary cheek teeth and 23 cases with displaced cheek teeth. These displacements were believed to be developmental in 16 cases and acquired in the remaining 7 ca...
Radiological study to evaluate suspected scapulohumeral joint dysplasia in Shetland ponies. A radiological study was performed to test the hypothesis that osteoarthritis of the scapulohumeral joint in Shetland ponies is secondary to shoulder dysplasia. Animals were selected into 3 groups: Group 1: Shetland ponies with a radiological and clinical diagnosis of scapulohumeral osteoarthritis (n = 8); Group 2: Shetland ponies without forelimb lameness (n = 12); Group 3: Horses/ponies without a history or clinical signs of forelimb lameness (n = 22). Anatomical indices were measured from mediolateral radiographs of a scapulohumeral joint from each animal. There was a significant difference...
The association of Clostridium botulinum type C with equine grass sickness: a toxicoinfection? The cause of grass sickness, an equine dysautonomia, is unknown. The disease usually results in death. Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction is a common clinical manifestation in all forms of the disease. It is generally thought that equine grass sickness (EGS) is caused by an ingested or enterically produced neurotoxin which is absorbed through the GI tract. Clostridium botulinum was first implicated as a causative agent when it was isolated from the GI tract of a horse with EGS in 1919. The aim of the present study was to investigate the hypothesis that EGS results from toxicoinfection with C. b...
Characterisation of lymphocyte subpopulations in the skin and circulation of horses with sweet itch (Culicoides hypersensitivity). Circulating lymphocyte numbers are elevated in horses with the allergic skin disease sweet itch and skin lesions are typified by an infiltrate of eosinophils and mononuclear cells, the latter of which have not been fully characterised. The aim of the present study was to characterise the lymphocyte subpopulations in the circulation and skin of ponies with sweet itch by flow cytometry and a newly developed modified alkaline phosphatase immunohistochemical technique. Sweet itch ponies were found to have significantly greater numbers of circulating CD5+ and CD4+ T-lymphocytes than normal animals....
A serological and clinical follow-up in horses with confirmed equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis. For diagnosis of equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis (EGE) serological testing of antibodies to Ehrlichia equi is frequently used. An elevated antibody level is often misinterpreted as confirmative of active infection and results in treatment with antibiotics. If only seropositivity is considered as the diagnostic criterium, many horses showing convalescence titres will be treated. This study was undertaken to obtain information about the kinetics of antibodies during the course of infection and, for this purpose, 45 horses with clinical signs of EGE and confirmed ehrlichiaemia were monitored ser...
Effects of Actinobacillus equuli culture supernatants on equine neutrophil functions and survival. After exposure of equine granulocytes from both foals and adult horses to culture supernatants from clinical isolates of Actinobacillus equuli, phagocytic capacity and respiratory burst was examined by flow-cytometry and a chemiluminescence assay, respectively. One haemolytic isolate of an equine Actinobacillus was also included in the study. An average decrease of 22% in total number of granulocytes, in the flow cytometric assay (P < 0.01), and an average decrease of 26% in light emission, in the chemiluminescence assay (P < 0.001), was seen after exposure to bacterial culture supernata...
In vitro mechanical properties of different equine hoof wall crack fixation techniques. Hoof wall cracks need mechanical stabilisation to allow healing. Common techniques are fixation with screws, wires and plates or bonding of a patch across the crack. An in vitro system to determine the shear properties of equine hoof crack repairs is described. The force and displacement at yield, stiffness and ultimate force were determined for 4 repair techniques based on an acrylic material, polyurethane patch attached with cyanoacrylate adhesive, steel plate attached with screws and a transverse metal bar cut into the hoof wall. The cyanoacrylate bonded patch repair had lower values for al...
Transabdominal ultrasonographic determination of fetal gender in the horse during mid-gestation. Gender determination of the equine fetus using transabdominal ultrasonography was studied in 20 mares. One group of 10 research mares was scanned repeatedly every 2 weeks from 100 days gestation to parturition, while the second group of 10 client mares was subjected to echography once during mid-gestation. In males, the penis and/or prepuce was observed on 71 occasions from 102 days to 258 days gestation. On cross-sectional views, the male external genitalia had a round shape with parallel linear echogenic foci up to approximately 140 days gestation and then appeared triangular. Fetal testes w...
Management factors affecting the risk for vesicular stomatitis in livestock operations in the western United States. To identify management factors affecting the risk of animals developing vesicular stomatitis (VS). Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Horses, cattle, and sheep with suspected vesicular stomatitis on 395 premises in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Methods: Data were collected during the VS outbreak of 1997. Diagnosticians interviewed livestock owners and completed a supplemental questionnaire. Cases were defined as those premises that had a completed questionnaire and had > or = 1 animal positive for VS. Control premises were all premises investigated that had a completed questio...
Methadone screening of racehorses. The misuse of opiates in racehorses relates to their effect of increasing locomotor activity. Because methadone, a narcotic analgesic, has been suspected of use as a doping compound in the past, it was added to the list of banned drugs and should be considered in doping control. Because the literature fails to provide information on detection of methadone in blood or urine of horses, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to monitor this narcotic in equine body fluids. Combined with high-performance liquid chromatography, the immunoassay also served to confirm positives indicated b...
Monensin poisoning in Brazilian horses. Three outbreaks of monensin poisoning caused 12 deaths in 16 horses. The illnesses were associated with the ingestion of the same batch of a commercial ration labeled for feeder calves which contained 180 +/- 20 ppm sodium monensin. The morbidity rate was 100% and lethality was 60%, 75%, and 100%. Clinical signs were tachycardia and cardiac arrythmia, groaning, incoordination, sudoresis, recumbency, and paddling movements with the limbs before death. Two horses had dark discolored urine (myoglobinuria). Serum levels of creatine phosphokinase activity were increased. Main necropsy findings were...
Equine reproductive pharmacology. This article reviews therapies and strategies commonly used to treat diseases of the mare's genital tract and modulate the reproductive cycle of the mare. Many reproductive treatments are based on historical use and empirical evidence rather than well controlled clinical studies. This article attempts to present practical information in a summary form while highlighting the need for continued research documenting the efficacy and safety of reproductive therapies.
Treatment and control of gastrointestinal parasites. Routine anthelmintic treatments are one of the most important components of an equine wellness program used by horse owners and veterinarians today. Thirteen different compounds are available in the United States in the treatment of gastrointestinal parasites, most of which are available over the counter. As a result, there is a decreased reliance on the veterinarian to perform routine tube dewormings. Therefore, the future of the veterinarian's role in the management of gastrointestinal parasites is likely to be in the consultation and design of parasite control programs. With this in mind, t...
Formulary of common equine drugs. This article presents in easily accessible form a collection of drug names and dose rates for the drugs recommended or referred to by the authors of the individual articles in this issue. Although the formulary provides recommendations for drug use, the reader is cautioned that the responsibility for the choice of agent, formulation, dose, and dose interval lies with the clinician. The author also addresses regulations that govern the use of drugs in competition horses.
Pharmacologic considerations in the treatment of neonatal septicemia and its complications. This article focuses on the pharmacologic properties of drugs commonly used in the treatment of neonatal septicemia and its complications. Rational therapy demands an awareness of not only the pharmacology of individual drugs but also the interactions and anticipated fate of such drugs in the rapidly changing physiologic environment of the neonate. Further research in the area of equine neonatal pharmacology should greatly assist our understanding of the impact of the disease state on the unique physiology of the newborn and should allow us to better predict the ultimate fate of drugs commonly...
Equine cardiac disease. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Cardiac disease is often life-threatening and challenging to treat. Prolonged therapy is indicated in many cases, which can lead to problems with treatment costs, owner compliance, and potential drug toxicity. Many therapies are empirical or based on data from other species because of a lack of well-designed prospective clinical trials in horses. This article reviews the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics of heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial disease, endocarditis, and pericardial disease.
Epizootic lymphangitis in horses: a review of the literature. Epizootic lymphangitis is a relatively common infectious disease of horses and other liquids in certain parts of the world. The infection rate varies according to the geographic area and the age of the animal. The disease is most commonly characterised by a cord-like appearance of the subcutaneous lymphatic and cutaneous pyogranulomas, the discharge from which contains spherical or pear-shaped bodies of the causal agent, Histoplasma farciminosum. Diagnosis can be made by the demonstration of typical organisms in stained smears, culture and tissue sections. Serological tests and a skin hypersen...
Sulfidoleukotriene generation from peripheral blood leukocytes of horses affected with insect bite dermal hypersensitivity. Sulfidoleukotrienes (sLT) generated in vitro after incubation of equine peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) with different inducing agents were determined in 18 healthy and 16 insect bite dermal hypersensitivity (IDH)-affected horses. PBL from these 32 horses were stimulated with Concanavalin A, Parascaris equorum, Culicoides nubeculosus and Simulium extracts, and with a six-Grass mix. The cells of all but four horses generated sLT after incubation with Concanavalin A; these four horses did also not produce sLT with the other inducing agents. Of the 28 remaining horses (12 affected with IDH and ...
The S2 gene of equine infectious anemia virus is a highly conserved determinant of viral replication and virulence properties in experimentally infected ponies. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is genetically one of the simplest lentiviruses in that the viral genome encodes only three accessory genes, tat, rev, and S2. Although serological analyses demonstrate the expression of the S2 protein in persistently infected horses, the role of this viral gene remains undefined. We recently reported that the S2 gene is not essential for EIAV replication in primary equine macrophages, as EIAV mutants lacking the S2 gene replicate to levels similar to those of the parental virus (F. Li, B. A. Puffer, and R. C. Montelaro, J. Virol. 72:8344-8348, 1998). We n...
Therapeutics of musculoskeletal disease in the horse. Therapeutic medications play a crucial role in the successful therapy of many musculoskeletal diseases that occur in horses. For example, appropriate antibiotic therapy is extremely important in the treatment of diseases caused by infections with microorganisms such as botulism, tetanus, osteomyelitis, and muscle abscesses. In addition, numerous prescription medications and nutritional supplements are available for the treatment of osteoarthritis in horses. Many of these agents currently on the market fall into a new class of drugs called SADMO agents. Unfortunately, the efficacy and mechanism...
Equine infectious keratitis. Corneal ulcers are one of the most common ocular disease presentations in the horse. With the use of correct diagnostic techniques and selection of an appropriate treatment regimen, most cases result in a satisfactory outcome. The eye does not respond well to inflammation, and in complicated ulcers, this should be managed aggressively using systemic NSAIDs with a high priority assigned to removing the infectious agent. Care needs to be taken to avoid topical or systemic corticosteroid use for the treatment of equine ocular disease, however, unless the clinician is completely sure that the corn...
Comparison of incisional bursting strength of simple continuous and inverted cruciate suture patterns in the equine linea alba. To determine the bursting strength of ventral median abdominal incisions closed by either simple continuous or inverted cruciate suture patterns. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Twelve equine cadavers. Methods: A 25 cm ventral median incision was made through the linea alba and a 200 L polyurethane bladder was placed within the abdomen. Either a simple continuous or an inverted cruciate pattern using 3 polyglactin 910 with a bite size and suture interval of 1.5 cm was used to close linea incisions. Closure time was recorded for each pattern. The bladder was inflated with air at 40 L/min, and t...
