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.
De Lahunta A.This is a review of the more common diseases of the spinal cord and various areas of the brain of horses. The results of a two and one-half year study of spinal cord disease are emphasized. After a description of the lesion the salient clinical signs are described and the features that differentiate them from other similar diseases. In the seminar, films of case and slides of lesions will be shown to document these diseases.
Malhotra DV, Banerjee DP, Gautam OP.The prevalence of Babesia equi infection in north west India was assessed by means of the capillary tube agglutination (CA) test. The particulate antigen used in the test was potent and no cross reaction with other related haemaprotozoa was observed. The serological survey showed that from 323 horses from 3 localities there was an overall incidence of 50.1 per cent. In Haryana the incidence was 38.3 per cent in the 196 horses tested, in Uttar Pradesh it was 47.2 per cent from 72 animals and in Rajasthan it was 96.4 per cent from 55 horses.
Tekerlekov P, Dilovski M, Enchev S, Peneva I.Coggins' immune diffusion test was modified, and was applied as a screening one in the study of the epizootic status. The positive reactions were characterized by the production of a precipitation line between the antigen and the respective serum that was tested. The appearance of such a line was associated with that formed with the use of the positive control serum, pointing to a reaction of identity. With the weakly positive reactions the ends of the precipitin lines, formed with the use of the positive control serum, were found to deviate slightly toward the site where the antigen had been ...
Sandberg K, Juneja RK.Evidence for close linkage between the structural loci for albumin and Gc protein in the horse was presented. A recombination frequency (c) of 0.009 +/- 0.006 (95% confidence limits: 0.001 less than c less than 0.032) was estimated. These results were based on a study of a large sire family comprising 223 offspring from informative matings. No evidence of linkage disequilibrium was observed in one horse population studied.
Attenburrow DP.The development of a radio-stethoscope for horses is described. The equipment consisted of a sound transducer applied to the skin adjacent to the trachea and a radio transmitter attached to the saddle. The signals emitted were detected by telemetry and recorded on a magnetic tape-recorder. The recorder incorporated a monitor earphone so that sounds could be reproduced at the time of recording. The frequency response obtainable ranged from a few Hz to 4 KHz. This technique provided an objective means of studying the respiratory sounds generated during exercise although absolute values could not...
Kaminski M, Metenier L, Sykiotis M, Ryder OA, Demontoy MC.1. Among several species of Equidae only E. przewalskii possesses a serum esterase identical with that of E. caballus. 2. The esterases of Hemionidae differ slightly from that of domestic horse by electrophoretic migration and by antigenic structure. 3. Zebras (grevyi, burchelli) appear devoid of this component but Z. hartmannae possesses an esterase of high enzymatic activity, differing notably from that of horse by electrophoretic and antigenic properties.
Gutekunst DE, Malmquist WA, Becvar CS.Antiserums prepared in specific pathogen free (SPF) ponies were used in direct and indirect immunofluorescence, immunodiffusion, complement fixation and serum neutralization procedures to study the interrelationships of the three types of equine herpes viruses (EHV-1, EHV-2, and EHV-3). Equine cell cultures infected with each type virus fluoresced when stained with homologous conjugated antiserum. In reciprocal tests EHV-1 and EHV-3 cross-fluoresced, but EHV-2 did not cross-fluoresce. Non-infected cell cultures did not fluoresce when stained with the 3 conjugates. EHV-1 and EHV-3 cross-fluores...
Powell DG.An outbreak of contagious equine metritis that occurred on stud farms in the Newmarket area during 1977 is described. A Gram-negative coccobacillus was isolated from field cases and the disease was reproduced experimentally by inoculating a pure culture of the organism through the cervix of clean pony mares. Natural spread of the disease occurred by venereal transmission and following the handling, examination or teasing of infected mares. Bacteriological screening of the genital tract of mares and stallions before covering plus stricter standards of hygiene on the stud farms have been recomme...
Plowright W.An account is presented of the development and use of herpesvirus vaccines in domestic animals, with particular reference to those viruses causing cytolytic rather than oncogenic infections. The chief infections covered are Aujeszky's disease (AD or pseudorabies), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and equine rhinopneumonitis (equine abortion; EHV-1). Others mentioned are feline viral rhinotracheitis and malignant catarrhal fever of cattle. Both live-modified and inactivated vaccines are widely used or under development for ADV, IBR and EHV-1. Live vaccines are generally regarded as succe...
Nyindo MB, Ristic M, Lewis GE, Huxsoll DL, Stephenson EH.Four ponies experimentally infected with Ehrlichia equi developed substantial cell-mediated immune responses, as measured by the leukocyte migration-inhibition test. Serum anti-E equi antibodies up to 1:1,280 were demonstrated by the indirect fluorescent antibody test. Cell-mediated immune responses returned to a base-line value by day 200 after primary inoculation, but serum antibody titers persisted for at least 300 days after inoculation. Two additional susceptible ponies, which were inoculated with convalescent blood or organ homogenates from ponies recovered from acute equine ehrlichiosis...
Allen WR.Fertilized eggs reach the uterus of the mare by the sixth day after ovulation whereas unfertilized eggs remain lodged in the fallopian tubes for many months. However, embryo removal studies indicate that the fetal message for luteal maintenance in the pregnant mare is not transmitted until Days 14-16. The equine endometrial cups comprise a series of small, ulcer-like endometrial outgrowths which are present in the pregnant horn of the uterus between 40 and 150 days of gestation. Each cup consists of a discrete colony of large, gonadotropin-secreting, trophoblast cells derived from a specialize...
Rejnö S, Strömberg B.An investigation was made of the pathology of osteochondritis dissecans of young foals and horses with clinical signs of the lesion. A randomly selected material of fetuses and young foals without clinical signs was also examined. It was demonstrated that osteochondritis dissecans is primarily a cartilaginous disease, as previously described in pigs and dogs. Thickening, disturbance of endochondral ossification, degeneration and necrosis of the cartilage were the four main features of osteochondritis dissecans. Cracks and fissures occurred in the degenerated and necrotic parts of the cartilage...
Kaminski M.The detection of the recessive null allele of horse serum esterase (Es) is possible in heterozygotes Es+/EsO which by starch gel electrophoresis appear like homozygotes Es+/Es+. Two methods are proposed, the titration of enzymatic activity of esterase and the immunochemical titration of esterase as antigen. These methods can be applied to solve the cases of suspect parentage or in population studies.
Allen GP, Cohen JC, Randall CC, O'Callaghan DJ.The replication of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 3 (EHV-3) was unimpeded in three different cell types-equine epithelial cells, equine fibroblasts, and mouse fibroblasts-which had been blocked in their capacity to synthesize host DNA by 2.5 mM hydroxyurea (HU) or 2 mM thymidine (TdR). The rate of DNA synthesis in uninfected or equine herpesvirus-infected cells in the presence of HU or TdR was measured by pulse-labeling cell samples with a labeled DNA precursor at different times after infection. DNA synthesis in uninfected cultures was completely inhibited by both compounds. Howev...
Jones RH, Hayes RO, Potter HW, Francy DB.A survey of biting flies in the southwestern United States resulted in the recovery of 34 species as they attacked equines. The geographic distribution of each species at 15 sites and the abundance of attacking flies were used to determine that 22 species commonly attack equines. Culicoides variipennis (Coquillett) was the most common species collected; it was recovered at 12 sites and comprised the highest percentage (29.8%) of the total survey catch for all species collected. The next 2 most common species were Psorophora columbiae (Dyar & Knab) and Aedes vexans (Meigen). C. variipennis was ...
Reinemeyer CR, Rohrbach BW.A weighted, random sample of 130 horse owners in Tennessee was selected from subscribers to an equine newsletter published by the Agricultural Extension Service. Data about the participants' farms, horses, parasite control practices, and sources of information regarding equine parasite control were obtained through a telephone survey. The response rate was 98%. The typical respondent kept 4 horses on 2 pastures totaling 15 acres, and did not rotate pastures as a parasite control measure. The majority (83%) of horse owners indicated that they administered anthelmintics according to a regular sc...
Kotzé SH, Soley JT.Spirally arranged bundles of sub-endothelial smooth muscle enfold the small to medium-sized submucosal veins in the equine ileocecal junction. The muscle bundles, accompanied by the endothelial lining, bulge into the lumen of the vessels, partly occluding the latter. Transmission electron microscopy of the muscle cells reveals features consistent with vascular smooth muscle ultrastructure. It is proposed that the throttling effect of the muscle bundles causes engorgement of the submucosal venous plexus, which then assists in the closing of the ileocecal orifice.
Goto I, Kamada M, Inaba M, Maede Y.A protein A-hemolytic plaque assay was applied to detect immunoglobulin (Ig)-producing cells in horse peripheral blood, using pokeweed mitogen as a B lymphocyte activator. A maximum number of Ig-secreting cells was obtained when horse peripheral blood lymphocytes were cultured in a medium containing horse serum. The number of Ig-secreting cells in young horses (2 years old) was lower than that in adult horses (6 to 23 years old). In addition, the plaque formation was unchanged from blood samples kept at 4 degrees C for 24 hours, while blood samples kept for 72 hours did not yield plaques. Thes...
Dowling BA, Dart AJ, Hodgson DR.A 2-week-old Miniature Horse foal was referred for evaluation and treatment of a luxated right tarsometatarsal joint. Treatment consisted of closed reduction and internal fixation using two partially threaded Steinmann pins placed in normograde fashion through the tuber calcis into the proximal third metatarsus. Traumatic luxation has been reported to occur in the tarsocrural, proximal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints within the equine tarsus. Treatment for luxation of the distal intertarsal joint has not been documented. The treatment method most commonly suggested for tarsal luxation i...
Saroglu M, Aktas M, Olgun D, Arun SS.A tumor-like tissue mass of lateral-limbal site in the right eye of a 12-year-old Cob Pony mare was presented for surgical removal. The mass, covering the lateral limbus, bulbar conjunctiva and part of the cornea, was surgically removed, and the corneal defect repaired with a pedicle bulbar conjunctival graft. The mass was inflammatory in nature containing mononuclear cells. No recurrence or complication occurred at 6- and 12-month follow-up examination.
Johnstone AC.Congenital vascular tumours in the skin of the legs of two horses showed histological features at biopsy which were consistent with capillary haemangioma but, at necropsy, one tumour had invaded the superficial digital flexor tendon and was therefore classified as a haemangiosarcoma.