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.
Mifune H, Richter R, Forssmann WG.The distribution of immunoreactivity (IR) for cardiodilatin/atrial natriuretic peptide (CDD/ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) was examined immunohistochemically and immuno-electron-microscopically in the equine atrium, using specific antibodies. In the immunohistochemical studies, IR-CDD/ANP and IR-pBNP-26 (porcine BNP-26 immunoreactivity) was detected in the cytoplasm of the auricular cardiocytes, but IR-hBNP-32 (human BNP-32 immunoreactivity) was not. The double immunogold labelling method for IR-hBNP-28 and IR-pBNP-26 revealed that gold particles of different sizes were located in th...
Wakuri H, Mutoh K, Ichikawa H, Liu B.We have observed and re-evaluated the histology of the skin of the horse, using samples from four Thoroughbreds. The skin was composed of the usual three components: epidermis, dermis and subcutis. In particular, the dermis was found to have three fibrous components: a papillary layer, a reticular layer and a cordovan-leather tissue layer. The cordovan-leather tissue layer was subdivided into a superficial main layer and a deeper accessory layer. The superficial main layer was thick, and present in all of the skin samples. The deeper accessory layer was found in the dorsal and dorso-lateral pa...
Soma LR, Uboh CE, Rudy JA, Perkowski SZ.Naproxen (+6-methoxy-[alpha-methyl]-2-naphthalene acetic acid) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is used for the treatment of inflammatory conditions in horses. We developed a model that describes the drug's disposition and renal excretion, including synovial fluid disposition and elimination after IV administration in horses. The plasma disposition, after IV administration of 5 mg/kg of body weight, was described by a two-compartment model; mean +/- SD distribution and elimination half-lives were 1.42 +/- 0.42 and 8.26 +/- 2.56 hours, respectively. Plasma concentration of naproxen...
Batt RM, Burgess D, Edwards GB, van de Waal S, Sørensen SH, Hart CA.To examine the postnatal development of equine small intestine, biopsy specimens of jejunal mucosa from 8 ponies, between 6 and 28 weeks old, were subjected to analytical subcellular fractionation and assay of organelle marker enzymes. Fractionation revealed a reduction in the particulate brush border component of beta-galactosidase (lactase) activity between 6 and 28 weeks, and a corresponding increase in soluble activity, although the reduction in mean specific activity was not significant. There also was a decrease in the proportion of brush border to soluble aminopeptidase N activity, a re...
Church S.Three Quarter Horse stallions and 5 of their 11 tested progeny were diagnosed as affected with the inherited autosomal dominant defect hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis in Victoria in 1992. The diagnoses were based on the appearance of clinical signs and associated increased plasma potassium concentrations in response to oral potassium loading. All affected horses were descendants of the American Quarter Horse Impressive. Indirect evidence indicates that at least 3 other affected Quarter Horse stallions have stood or are standing at stud in Australia. The clinical details of the affected horses...
Thomas PG, Ignotz GG, Ball BA, Miller PG, Brinsko SP, Currie B.Oviduct epithelial cells (OEC) increasingly are used to support embryonic development and to study gamete interactions with the female reproductive tract in vitro. This series of experiments was designed to characterize monolayers derived from oviduct epithelium. Epithelial cells harvested from the isthmus and ampulla of the oviducts of five estrous mares were cultured with or without the basal lamina extract, Matrigel. Within each group OEC were cultured in the presence of either estradiol-17 beta or a carrier control. All groups were subcultured three times. Epithelial cell morphology and fu...
Guo Y, Wang M, Zheng GS, Li WK, Kawaoka Y, Webster RG.In May 1993, a severe epidemic of respiratory disease began in horses in Inner Mongolia and spread throughout horses in China. The disease affected mules and donkeys as well as horses but did not spread to other species, including humans. The severity of the disease raised the question of whether the outbreak might have been caused by the new avian-like influenza viruses detected in horses in China in 1989 or by current variants ofA/equine/Miami/1/63 (H3N8) (equine-2) or by a reassortant between these viruses. Antigenic and sequence analysis established that all gene segments of the influenza ...
Jöchle W.Ovuplant (deslorelin STI), when used in estrous mares with a follicle > or = 30 mm, reliably causes acceleration of ovulation and assurance that > 80% of the treated mares will ovulate within 48 hours. Time to ovulation is reduced by 30 hours or more. Treatment with Ovuplant had no adverse effects on pregnancy rates and did not increase the rate of early twin pregnancies. Treatment did not cause local or systemic side effects beyond short-term local irritation. Mares can be treated repeatedly without the development of tolerance or the loss of effectiveness. These studies have shown that...
Chirnside ED, de Vries AA, Mumford JA, Rottier PJ.Complementary DNAs encoding ORFs 2 to 7 equine arteritis virus (EAV) have been cloned into the expression vector pGEX to produce glutathione-S-transferase fusion proteins. Recombinant proteins were affinity purified and screened in ELISA with equine sera to identify immunoreactive polypeptides. The large envelope glycoprotein (GL) was identified as the most reactive to EAV-positive equine sera and an immuno-dominant epitope was mapped between amino acids 55 and 98 by subcloning and expression. A fusion protein covering this region and a GL-specific synthetic peptide (residues 75 through 97) in...
Lunn DP, Holmes MA, Schram B, Duffus WP.Equine immunoglobulin G is currently classified as consisting of five sub-isotypes: IgGa, b, and c, IgG(T), and IgG(B). The study of the role of these immunoglobulins in antigen-specific responses, and the examination of their functional properties would be greatly facilitated by the availability of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) that distinguish between them. The production and characterization of two Mabs that recognize an IgG sub-isotype with the characteristics of IgG(ab) is described. The immunoglobulin identified by these Mabs had a heavy chain weight of 53 kDa, was of rapid cathodal elect...
Richardson JD, Cripps PJ, Hillyer MH, O'Brien JK, Pinsent PJ, Lane JG.There is a widely held belief that a horse can be accurately aged by an examination of its teeth but this belief has recently been questioned. In this study photographs were taken of the dentition of 434 thoroughbreds of known age. Four experienced equine clinicians provided estimates of the ages of the horses from the photographs. A comparison of the estimated and true ages showed large discrepancies in many cases and the discrepancies increased as the horse's true age increased. The results show that the ageing of horses from their dentition is an imprecise science. It is suggested that writ...
Dillon AM, Heath MF.The effects of the protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors tyrphostins B42 and B46 on equine platelet function and protein tyrosine phosphorylation (PTP) were assessed. Tyrphostins B42 and B46 (both at 100 microM concentration) produced significant inhibition of thrombin-stimulated equine platelet aggregation. The effect of tyrphostin B46 was also time-dependent. The same concentration of these inhibitors produced very little or no inhibition of platelet-activating factor (PAF)-induced aggregation. The effects of tyrphostins B42 and B46 on thrombin- and PAF-stimulated PTP were generally similar, al...
Gliatto JM, Alroy J.A horse with malignant lymphoma (histiolymphocytic) and cutaneous amyloidosis is described. The lymphoma involved the dura mater of the spinal cord and some of the peripheral lymph nodes. Multifocal amyloid deposits were present in the skin and subcutis of the ventral abdomen but not within the lymphoma cell infiltrates or in the viscera.
Campagnolo ER, Trock SC, Hungerford LL, Shumaker TJ, Teclaw R, Miller RB, Nelson HA, Ross F, Reynolds DJ.Dermatitis consisting of blisters on the nose and other parts of the body was reported among horses at a Midwestern horse show. Some horses also had jaundice, hematuria and anorexia. An outbreak investigation was initiated, and of 239 horses for which information could be obtained, 58 (24%) were found to have been affected. Median duration of illness was 5 days, and all horses recovered. Age, sex, water source, grain source, and stabling location were not associated with illness. The use of wood shavings bedding obtained at the show grounds was the factor most strongly associated with the deve...
Steagall WK, Robek MD, Perry ST, Fuller FJ, Payne SL.The retrovirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) encodes a dUTPase situated between reverse transcriptase and integrase. We have described the inability of EIAV with a 270-bp dUTPase deletion, delta DU EIAV, to replicate to wild-type (WT) levels in equine macrophages (D. S. Threadgill, W. K. Steagall, M. T. Flaherty, F. J. Fuller, S. T. Perry, K. E. Rushlow, S. F. J. LeGrice, and S. L. Payne, J. Virol. 67, 2592-2600, 1993). Here we describe the construction of a second dUTPase-deficient virus (DUD71E) containing a single amino acid substitution in dUTPase. delta DU and DUD71E replicate to ...
Carter SD, Osborne AC, May SA, Bennett D.To consider the hypothesis that autoimmune mechanisms may contribute to the pathology of equine joint diseases, 3 autoimmune responses were assayed in sera and synovial fluids. IgM-rheumatoid factor and antibodies to heat shock protein 65 kDa were determined by ELISA; anti-nuclear antibodies were assayed by indirect immunofluorescence to whole cell nuclear components. All parameters showed only modest increases, if any and not in a pattern related to disease, although some statistically significant increases were detected. Group analysis showed significantly elevated synovial fluid IgM-rheumat...
Lavoie JP, Pascoe JR, Kupershoek CJ.The partitioning of total pulmonary resistance (RL) into upper airway resistance and lower airway resistance (RI) was studied in 8 Thoroughbred geldings. In addition, the phase shift and amplitude distortion of 3 catheters used for pressure measurements in this study were evaluated under static and dynamic conditions. Flow rate was obtained from a heated pneumotachograph attached to a tight-fitting mask placed over the nose. Electronic integration of the flow signal gave tidal volume. Transpulmonary pressure (PL) was obtained from calculation of the difference between the esophageal balloon ca...
Moore EH, Shelton DK, Wisner ER, Richardson ML, Bishop DM, Brock JM.To reexamine the blood patch technique in a laboratory model of lung biopsy free of confounding clinical variables. Methods: An equine model of lung biopsy was developed with an excised lobe connected to an insufflation bulb and pressure monitor. Patched and control unpatched punctures were made in the lung surface, and the pressure within the lung was raised to the maximum achievable. Whether air leakage from the puncture sites could be induced was determined and, if so, at what pressure it occurred. Results: At statistical analysis with the Kaplan-Meier test and the Cox proportional hazards ...
Wagner B, Radbruch A, Richards C, Leibold W.In order to define equine immunoglobulins (Igs) and to produce monoclonal reference Igs we fused equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells with X63-Ag8.653 non Ig producing murine myeloma cells. A total of 29 equine Ig producing equi-murine heterohybridomas were obtained, of which ten expressed equine Ig for more than 3 months. One of these heterohybridoma lines produced monoclonal IgM, an equine isotype which has not been available in monoclonal form before. Four lines secreted equine IgG of two distinct Ig heavy chain types as assessed by the molecular weight (MW), while the remaining five l...
Manohar M.Strenuously exercising Thoroughbreds exhibit a dramatic increase in pulmonary capillary blood pressure, which contributes to stress failure of pulmonary capillaries resulting in exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH). One strategy to prevent EIPH is, therefore, to lower the pulmonary capillary blood pressure of exercising horses. Recent work in several species suggests that nitric oxide plays a significant role in maintaining low vascular resistance in the pulmonary circulation; however, the effects of nitrovasodilators (which work via the same mechanism as nitric oxide) on equine pulmo...
Panu R, Bo Minelli L, Sanna L, Acone F, Zedda M, Gazza F, Palmieri G.Proprioceptive innervation of the external anal sphincter muscle and the organization of the vegetative and sensitive nerve components of the internal and sphincter muscle have been studied in different mammals. The findings of typical muscle spindles in the external anal sphincter muscle were constant in the pig, frequent in the goat and cow, rare in the sheep and horse and absent in the roe and rabbit. In the pig, muscle spindles were observed in the entire extension of the muscle, while in the sheep, goat, cow and horse, the receptors were found only in the cranial portion of the muscle. In...
Bergmann W, Vernooij JCM, Grinwis GCM, Gröne A.Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) of articular process joints (APJs) is involved in cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy (CVM). Biomechanical forces, important in development of OCD, depend on joint conformation. Oval and flat APJ surfaces are considered normal. Objective: To identify and grade gross shape variation of cervical and cranial thoracic APJ surfaces and determine association with histological evidence of osteochondrosis. Methods: Case series. Methods: Eight hundred and four cervical and cranial thoracic APJ surfaces of 30 foals were evaluated for shape(s) and grades, and were co...
Moore KH, Dunbar BS, Bousfield GR, Ward DN.Inhibin has been characterized from a number of mammals; however, it has not been extensively studied in horses. Western blot analysis was used to examine the size heterogeneity of equine inhibin alpha- and beta-subunits. The distribution of equine inhibin activity from the initial sizing column (S-200, 25 x 94 cm) indicated that the majority of equine inhibin activity was present as larger-molecular-size forms. When the large forms were analyzed by Western blot in nonreducing conditions, alpha-subunit bands were detected at 40,000 M(r), 56,000 M(r), 80,000 M(r), and 90,000 M(r); beta a reacti...
Silva ES, Frade SC, Ignácio FS, Pantoja JC, Puoli Filho JN, Meira C.The present study evaluated the effect of altrenogest treatment during 70 or 120 days of gestation on pregnancy maintenance in non-cyclic recipient mares and correlated the hormonal interruption findings with number, supplementary corpora lutea (SCL) formation period, and plasma progesterone (P4). Twenty five mares were used as recipients during anestrus, transitional or ovulatory phase and were assigned into groups according to altrenogest treatment period (70ALT, 120ALT or Control groups) or reproductive status at beginning of treatment (Anestrus, Transition or Cyclic/Control groups). Mares ...
Kent JE, Blackmore DJ.The turbidimetric analysis of IgG(T) in the serum of horses is described. Reference values are provided for 'worm-free' ponies (2.6 +/- 0.7 g/litre), stabled Thoroughbreds two years old and over (4.1 +/- 1.3 g/litre), grazing Thoroughbred broodmares (7.1 +/- 2.4 g/litre) and regularly wormed adult and young ponies grazing pasture contaminated with intestinal parasite eggs and larvae.
Rieder N, Beelitz P, Gothe R.In this epidemiological survey 30 foals and their mares from seven breeding farms were investigated. Six farms used wide spectrum anthelmintics strategically at least for three years, on one farm no anthelmintic prophylaxis was practiced. Excretion of P.-equorum-eggs occurred in all breeding farms and in 80% of the foals, but in only one mare. In foals infection with roundworms was detected at the earliest 85 days post partum. Before first shedding of P.-equorum-eggs wide spectrum anthelmintics had been administered to two and to one foal(s) one and two times, respectively, to four animals thr...
Norrie RD.The concept of regenerative healing has been used to manipulate the healing process in experimental animals and clinically to augment bone healing in people after orthopedic operation. An implanted electrical device was used in an attempt to produce regenerative healing in experimentally created equine tendon injury. The bimetallic electrical implant did not produce regenerative healing under the conditions of this experiment. The mechanism of implantation and discussion of the results are included.
Favro G, Habib H, Gennity I, Puschner B, Hales EN, Finno CJ, Moeller BC.Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is a hereditary, deteriorating central nervous disease in horses. Currently, the only way to confirm eNAD/EDM is through a postmortem histological evaluation of the central nervous system. Vitamin E, specifically the isoform alpha-tocopherol (α-TP), is known to protect eNAD/EDM susceptible horses from developing the clinical phenotype. While vitamin E is an essential nutrient in the diet of horses, there are no diagnostic tests able to quantitate vitamin E and its metabolites in urine. An ultra-performance liquid chromat...
Anor S, Espadaler JM, Monreal L, Pumarola M.To reassess reference values for the components of the electrically induced blink reflex, document reference values for facial motor nerve conduction velocity, and demonstrate usefulness of the blink reflex as a diagnostic tool in peripheral facial and trigeminal nerve dysfunction in horses. Methods: 10 healthy adult horses (8 males, 2 females) without neurologic abnormalities. Methods: Blink reflex tests were performed by electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve and facial (auriculopalpebral) nerve. Reflex and direct muscle-evoked potentials of the orbicularis oculi muscles were recor...
Townsend HG, Tabel H, Bristol FM.Parturition was induced in 11 mares, using a synthetic prostaglandin. Eight mares, not treated, were used as controls. There was no significant difference between the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations of the treated and control mares. The concentration of IgG in the colostrum of treated mares compared favorably with that reported for naturally foaling mares. Four foals from treated mares died or were euthanatized because of weakness during the 1st 24 hours after birth. The mean IgG concentration in the surviving foals from treated mares at 24 to 36 hours of age was 1,561 mg/100 ml, w...
Brown MP, MacCallum FJ.Observations were made which may be related to growth plate disorders. They included irregularity and thickening of the growth plate bridging of the plate by bony spicules, distortion of the plate adjacent to foci of fusion, and metaphyseal lipping. These observations are very similar to those found in "epiphysitis." The question had to be asked, where these normal foals or did they have sub-clinical "epiphysitis"?
Onmaz AC, Stoklas-Schmidt C, van den Hoven R.The aim of the study was to analyse the day-to-day variability of the respiratory resistance (R(rs)) and the reactance (X(rs)) in 5 horses in a status of remission of recurrent airway obstruction by forced oscillometry system (FOS). Furthermore, the effects of stabling, outdoor and room temperature and humidity on these parameters were determined. Mean R(rs) at oscillation frequencies 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 Hz were all significantly higher in the morning than in the afternoon, while X(rs) was not significantly affected by time of the day. R(rs) was significantly different on various sampling days at ...
Grosenbaugh DA, Morgan SJ, Hood DM.This review indicates that the patient-to-patient uniqueness commonly seen in chronic laminitis represents the variable presence of the digital pathologies. Although some degree of mechanical failure is always present, the secondary metabolic and growth dysplasias, vascular pathologies, and sepsis may or may not be evident. The presence and severity of these pathologies appear to have a more significant impact on the prognosis of individual cases than does the displacement of the distal phalanx. It should be reiterated that it is often the combined presence of these individual pathologies that...
Kaiser A, Meier HP, Straub R, Gerber V.Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) is a reportable, eradicable epizootic disease caused by the equine lentivirus of the retrovirus family which affects equids only and occurs worldwide. The virus is transmitted by blood, mainly by sanguivorous insects. The main symptoms of the disease are pyrexia, apathy, loss of body condition and weight, anemia, edema and petechia. However, infected horses can also be inapparent carriers without any overt signs. The disease is diagnosed by serological tests like the Coggins test and ELISA tests. Presently, Switzerland is offi cially free from EIA. However, Switz...