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.
Friedhoff KT, Soulé C.A review of the distribution of Babesia equi and Babesia caballi, the
transmission of these protozoa by ticks and the immune response of infected
horses, in addition to a brief survey of diagnostic. tests and chemotherapy.
Milne EM, Doxey DL, Woodman MP, Cí·¯ord D, Pearson RA.A clinical trial was carried out to determine the effect of cisapride on rate of passage of digesta and clinical parameters in horses with chronic grass sickness. Sixteen horses were given intramuscular cisapride (0.1 mg kg-1 three times daily) (group I), and 15 received oral cisapride (0.8 mg kg-1 three times daily) (group O). A liquid-phase marker (cobalt-EDTA) and a solid-phase marker (polystyrene pellets) were given by stomach tube at the beginning of each of three consecutive 7 day periods, i.e., before, during and after cisapride therapy. Seven horses in each group completed the rate of ...
Almadhidi J, Moslemi S, Drosdowsky MA, Séralini GE.Aromatase (estrogen synthetase) is a steroidogenic enzyme complex which catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens (termed aromatization). This enzyme was purified from adult equine testis to homogeneity by five chromatographic steps. The ability of purified and reconstituted equine aromatase to exhibit an estrogen 2-hydroxylase activity was tested and compared to testosterone aromatization. Enzymatic activities were assessed by tritiated water release from labelled estradiol and testosterone. Kinetic analysis of estradiol 2-hydroxylation showed an apparent K(m) of 23 microM and a V(ma...
Simoens P, Muylle S, Lauwers H.Orbital and intrabulbar arteries were studied in 20 equine eyes by means of latex injections and methylmethacrylate casts. The orbital branches of the external ophthalmic artery arise far caudal to the posterior pole of the eyeball and present a variable topographic arrangement. The intrabulbar arteries are supplied by ciliary and choroidoretinal arteries. Dependent on their entrance into the eyeball, the ciliary arteries are subdivided into a posterior and an anterior group. The posterior ciliary arteries perforate the sclera post equatorially and consist of 4 major vessels that penetrate in ...
Murray MJ, Schusser GF, Pipers FS, Gross SJ.Gastroscopic examinations were performed on 67 Thoroughbred horses in training at a race track and repeat examinations performed in 35 horses, 2 to 3 months later. Horses were age 2-9 years and included 16 two-year-olds, 32 three-year-olds and 19 horses > or = 4-years-old. Forty-two of the 67 horses had raced within the 2 months before the initial examination and the remaining 25 horses were in training. Sixty-two of the 67 horses (93%) had one or more lesions present in the gastric mucosa and lesions were present in all of the 42 horses that had raced. Thirty-two of the 35 horses, examined...
Manohar M, Goetz TE, Griffin R, Sullivan E.To determine the effects of phenylbutazone administration on heart rate and right atrial and pulmonary vascular pressures in Thoroughbreds during rest and during exercise performed at maximal heart rate. Methods: 7 healthy, exercise-conditioned Thoroughbreds. Methods: Horses were studied on 3 occasions: without medication [control], after i.v. administration of phenylbutazone (4.4 mg/kg of body weight) at 12-hour intervals for 2 days and a final dose given 1 hour before exercise, and after i.v. administration of phenylbutazone for 2 days in the same manner, but with the final dose given 24 hou...
Barton MH, Collatos C, Moore JN.Peritoneal fluid was collected aseptically from 30 healthy adult horses and 115 horses with acute gastrointestinal disease and supernatant was separated from cells by centrifugation followed by freezing until assayed for endotoxin and tumour necrosis factor activity. Peritoneal macrophages obtained from healthy horses were incubated in vitro for 3, 6, 12 or 24 h in the absence (media control) or presence of Escherichia coli 055:B5 endotoxin (final concentrations of 1, 10, 100 or 1000 ng/ml). Macrophages obtained from horses with acute gastrointestinal disease were incubated for 12 h in the abs...
Evans DL, Golland LC.The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between lactate concentrations in equine whole blood and plasma measured with Accusport1 and Yellow Springs Instruments (YSI2) (2300) methods. The effect of packed cell volume (PCV) on the accuracy of Accusport was also investigated. Blood samples were collected from Thoroughbred horses at 5-10 min intervals after a treadmill exercise test. Blood was added to NaEDTA (for PCV measurement) and to 2 tubes containing lithium heparin anticoagulant (for lactate assays). At concentrations greater than 10 mmol/l, Accusport1 greatly underestimated t...
Bucknell D, Hoste H, Gasser RB, Beveridge I.The community structure exhibited by strongyloid nematodes from the large intestines of horses was examined using data from autopsies of 150 horses. Thirty-one species of nematodes were encountered, but they were not clearly divisible into core and satellite species. Multiple congeneric, consubfamilial and confamilial species were a prominent feature of the community and were more common than singleton infections. Multivariate analyses provided evidence of a stable community of helminths dominated by positive interactions but with few negative interactions, suggesting the absence of competitio...
Holcombe SJ, Derksen FJ, Stick JA, Robinson NE, Boehler DA.To compare tracheal and pharyngeal inspiratory and expiratory pressures achieved during 60 seconds of nasal occlusion in standing horses with pressures achieved in horses during intense exercise. Methods: 5 Standardbreds. Methods: Tracheal and pharyngeal inspiratory and expiratory pressures were obtained from 5 horses during 60 seconds of nasal occlusion and compared with tracheal and pharyngeal pressures achieved during incremental treadmill exercise tests in which horses ran at 50, 75, and 100% of the speed that resulted in maximal heart rate (HRmax). Results: Significant difference was not ...
Brommer H, Back W, Schamhardt HC, Rijkenhuizen AB, Barneveld A.To improve fracture treatment, in vitro experiments were performed to study the influence of a full limb cast and a walking cast on the loading regimen of bones in the distal portion of the equine forelimb. Methods: 6 forelimbs of 6 Shetland ponies. Methods: Loading of the third metacarpal bone was considered a representative measure for distal limb loading. Electrical resistance rosette strain gauges were attached to the dorsal, palmar, medial, and lateral surfaces of the midshaft of this bone in 6 forelimbs of 6 Shetland ponies. The limbs were tested in a pneumatic loading device to a maxima...
Weiss DJ, Monreal L, Angles AM, Monasterio J.Carbohydrate-induced laminitis has been associated with decreased platelet survival, decreased blood flow to the hoof wall and with the deposition of platelets and microthrombi within venules in the dermal laminae. To evaluate further the systemic prothrombotic events occurring in the prodromal stages of laminitis, plasma samples from control and laminitis-affected ponies and horses were tested for the presence of thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) complexes and fibrin fragment D (D-dimer). No statistically significant differences between the control and laminitis-affected animals were observed for e...
Gustafson MB, Martin RB, Gibson V, Storms DH, Stover SM, Gibeling J, Griffin L.This work determined whether mineral dissolution due to prolonged testing or storage of bone specimens in normal saline would alter their elastic modulus. In one experiment, small pieces of equine third metacarpal bone were soaked in normal saline supplemented with varying amounts of CaCl2. Changing Ca ion concentrations in the bath were monitored and the equilibrium concentration was determined. In a second experiment, the elastic moduli of twenty 4 x 10 x 100 mm equine third metacarpal beams were determined non-destructively in four-point bending. Half the beams were then soaked for 10 days ...
Klohnen A, Wilson DG.Nonstrangulating indirect scrotal hernias were corrected in two 4-week-old Percheron foals by a laparoscopic technique. After laparoscopic reduction of herniated nonstrangulated small intestine each testes was retracted through the vaginal ring. The ligament of the tail of the epididymis was transected by electrocautery. The testicular vessels and nerves were isolated by cautery of the mesenteric portion of the mesorchium and then ligated. Staples were used to close the opening of the inguinal canal by apposing the peritoneal edges of the vaginal ring. Resection of umbilical stalk remnants via...
Frazer GS, Bucci DM.The aims of this project were to document the protein profile of equine seminal plasma and determine the variability between stallions in the relative composition of proteins in the ejaculate. A single ejaculate was obtained from 14 stallions of varying breed and age. The gel fraction was removed by an in-line filter. The semen was centrifuged and the supernatant seminal plasma aspirated without disturbing the sperm pellet. The seminal plasma was recentrifuged and stored in cryovials at -70 degrees C. Samples were thawed, recentrifuged, assayed for protein concentration (BCA protein assay), di...
Lunn DP, Schram BR, Vagnoni KE, Schobert CS, Horohov DW, Ginther OJ.Lymphokine activated killing (LAK) is an example of natural cytotoxicity, and as such is a critical means of defense against diseases such as viral infection and neoplasia. Despite this important role, the specific molecular interactions involved in LAK or other forms of natural cytotoxicity are only partially understood. In some species, cells capable of mediating natural cytotoxicity express the CD8 molecule, although no specific role has been demonstrated for CD8 in non-MHC restricted cytotoxicity. In this study the role of the EqCD8 equine homolog of CD8 in LAK cell activity was examined. ...
Borgsteede FH, van Beek G.The prevalence of tapeworm infestations was investigated in 70 horses slaughtered in the period February 1994-July 1994. Most horses were half-breed, young (1.5-3 years), and in good condition. They were bought for slaughter by dealers on local markets, and their treatment history was therefore unknown. Tapeworm infestations were seen in 16 horses (23%). Fifteen (21%) had an infection with Anoplocephala perfoliata. One horse had a single specimen of Paranoplocephala mamillana. The average number of A. perfoliata was 45 and the highest number was 508.
Curran JM, Sutherland RJ, Peet RL.To evaluate various biochemical tests as indicators of subclinical liver disease in horses exposed to pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicosis. Methods: A clinical pathology field study. Methods: Twenty-two clinically normal horses from four properties in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Methods: Serum samples from each horse were assayed for gamma glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, and for serum bile acid concentration, albumin and total protein. Serum protein electrophoresis was performed and their amino acid profiles determined. Bromosulph...
Besognet B, Hansen BS, Daels PF.We have previously demonstrated that daily administration of the dopamine D2 antagonist, sulpiride, during seasonal anoestrus, effectively advances the mean time of onset of the breeding season in mares. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sulpiride administration on pulsatile FSH and LH secretion in seasonally anoestrous mares, follicular development, time of first ovulation and the fertility at the first ovulation. Fourteen anoestrous mares were selected based on progesterone concentrations < 1 ng ml-1 for 3 weeks and largest follicle diameter < 20 mm. Starting 30 Ja...
Bucher K, Szalai G, Marti E, Griot-Wenk ME, Lazary S, Pauli U.The tumour suppressor protein p53 enhances the genetic stability of the cell and plays a critical role in tumour suppression. Equine p53 was analysed by sequencing exons 5 to 9, a region which includes most known mutations and all the mutational hotspots in the species that have been investigated. The fragment was amplified, cloned and sequenced from genomic and complementary DNA. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences between the horse and other species resulted in identities between 66 per cent with the clawed frog and 92 per cent with the cat. Using the single strand conformatio...
Fricker C, Riek W, Hugelshofer J.The digital arteries of 10 horses suffering from navicular disease, and 7 horses from a control group, were examined angiographically. The horses from the disease group showed complete or partial occlusion of the digital arteries in all cases. In the control group of 7 healthy horses, isolated vessel obstructions were also found but these were limited to narrowing of part of an artery only. Histological investigations showed that total occlusion of a vessel involved an organised thrombus but that partial occlusion generally involved changes to the vascular wall, similar to those caused by enda...
Costa S, Sastre P, Pérez T, Tapia I, Barrandeguy M, Sánchez-Vizcaíno JM, Sánchez-Matamoros A, Wigdorovitz A, Sanz A, Rueda P.African horse sickness (AHS) and equine infectious anemia (EIA) are both notifiable equid specific diseases that may present similar clinical signs. Considering the increased global movement of horses and equine products over the past decades, together with the socio-economic impact of previous AHS and EIA outbreaks, there is a clear demand for an early discrimination and a strict control of their transmission between enzootic and AHS/EIA-free regions. Currently, the individual control and prevention of AHS or EIA relies on a series of measures, including the restriction of animal movements, v...
McFeely RA.The karyotype of the horse consists of 64 chromosomes; 18 pairs have a terminal centromere and 13 pairs a non-terminal centromere. Identification of individual chromosomes is enhanced by the use of band-staining techniques which allow recognition of minor structural rearrangements of chromatin material. Seven previously reported cases of male pseudohermaphroditism with chromosome studies are reviewed. Three were genetic females, one was basically an XX/XY chimaera, one was an XX/XXY chimaera, and one was an XXXY. Also reviewed is an infertile mare with 63 chromosomes and no distinguishable sex...
Imhof U.In 1968 a skeleton of a horse was found in Kiesen (Switzerland). This discovery could be dated by radiocarbon method: According to that this 13 years old gelding with a withers-height of 135 to 140 cm must have lived during the first third of the 17th century. Apparently it died by an accident. The bones are fully documented with pictures and scales and the findings described and discussed in detail.
Adeyefa CA.The precipitin response of the mitogen produced by Strongylus vulgaris arterial larvae was investigated. IgG (T) from the sera of horses naturally infected with S. vulgaris adults and arterial larvae recognised the presence of two antigenic components of the mitogenic fractions. The results obtained seem to confirm that these antigens are immunogenic in stimulating the production of increased levels of IgG(T) in infected animals, and showed that the procedures could be used as immunological tools in the diagnosis of S. vulgaris infection.
Lee CG, Ross AD.Klossiella equi in the kidney of a horse is described. Gametocytic and sporogonic stages were observed in the epithelium of the collecting tubules in association with schizonts in the glomeruli and proximal convoluted tubules. The condition was asymptomatic and caused only minor renal damage and inflammation.
Brooks DE.Many equine keratopathies primarily affect individual layers of the cornea. Targeted lamellar keratoplasty rather than full thickness penetrating keratoplasty (PK) seems most appropriate to the microsurgical management of many of these equine keratopathies. Despite the positive results with PK in the horse the author now suggests that this procedure should be rarely utilised in the treatment of equine keratitis. Selective lamellar surgical replacement of only the diseased corneal layers while retaining unaffected normal corneal layers represents a new paradigm shift in the field of corneal tra...
Meyer H.Colics are often initiated by mistakes in feeding inadequate feed quality or quantity or poor feeding technique. The consequences are obstruction, impaction or dysbiosis with increased production of organic acids, gas or toxins. Nutritional anamnesis in patients with colic may give information on the pathogenesis of the disease.
Herrler A, Stewart F, Crossett B, Pell JM, Ellis PD, Beier HM, Allen WR.An acellular embryonic capsule envelops equine conceptuses between day 6 and day 23 after ovulation. As all of the factors mediating embryo-mother signalling must pass through the capsule, it acts like a 'mailbox'. Therefore, we have started to map the proteins in this special extracellular matrix at the interface between mother and embryo. In the present study, one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis were used to examine a range of proteins. Use of western blotting identified three specific proteins in the capsules of equine conceptuses recovered on day 16 after ovulation: insulin-like g...
Pierson RE, Sahu SP, Dardiri AH, Wilder FW.Contagious equine metritis was reproduced experimentally in 6 pony mares. The disease was characterized by rapidly developing cervicitis and by varying amounts of exudate. The exudate, apparent as early as 48 hours after inoculation, drained from the cervix as a tenacious, mucopurulent discharge for several days, then rapidly disappeared. In all mares, the clinical disease cleared within several weeks of inoculation, without treatment.
Frazer G, Burba D, Paccamonti D, Blouin D, Leblanc M, Embertson R, Hance S.Abnormalities in peritoneal fluid are diagnostically useful for managing equine colic; however, their significance in post-dystocia mares is not known. This study was to determine what changes, if any, occurred following obstetrical manipulations. Peritoneal fluid samples were collected from 2 groups of foaling mares to establish control values, and from a third group that had developed clinical abnormalities (CAb,n = 14) or had made an uneventful recovery (CN,n = 36) following fetal extraction. In Group 1 mares, samples were collected before and after induced parturitions (n = 7), and althoug...
Seco Diaz O, Desrochers A, Hoffmann V, Reef VB.An 8-day-old Arabian-Morgan cross colt underwent cardiac evaluation. The foal was tachycardic, tachypneic, exercise intolerant and had a loud right-sided heart murmur and cyanotic mucous membranes. Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection was diagnosed with echocardiography and confirmed at postmortem examination. Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection is a very rare congenital cardiac abnormality that has not been reported before in the horse.
Kannegieter NJ, Colgan SA.The arthroscopic findings in 104 intercarpal joints in 76 horses were reviewed to determine the incidence and severity of changes in the medial intercarpal ligament. Damage to the intercarpal ligament was observed in 43 joints in 35 horses, ranging from mild fraying of the edges of the ligament to complete disruption of all fibres. This represented an incidence of 41% of joints being affected. In 9 joints examined arthroscopically primarily as a further diagnostic procedure, ligament damage was evident in all cases. In horses undergoing arthroscopic surgery primarily for the treatment of osteo...