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.
Srivastava SK, Barnum DA.Lymphocyte stimulation was observed in whole equine blood in the presence of phytohaemagglutinin and M protein extracted from a typical strain of Streptococcus equi. Blood samples were collected from several healthy horses and horse and pony foals and cultured in vitro with varying concentrations of phytohaemagglutinin and M protein for several days. Phytohaemagglutinin was found to induce lymphocyte stimulation in these animals. Highest mean stimulation indices in horse foals (49.3 +/- 24.4) and pony foals (54.7 +/- 32.0) were observed with 0.625 and 1.25 micrograms/mL phytohaemagglutinin, re...
Bosch G, van Schie MJ, Back W.A keratoma is a rather uncommon disorder of the equine hoof that can lead to lameness. Few quantitative data exist about the prognosis of different treatment regimens. The outcome of 41 cases that were presented to the Department of Equine Sciences in the period 1995-2001 and that were treated according to different regimens was retrospectively evaluated. All horses showed lameness that could be attributed to the keratoma: 23 (56%) were treated surgically using a standardized procedure, while the other 18 (44%) were treated conservatively. Results were based upon 35 horses; 6 were lost to foll...
Giacchi A, McMaster MA.To compare biomechanical characteristics of three-loop pulley (3LP) pattern versus Bunnell technique (BT) using polydioxanone (PDS) suture; to determine the influence of polyester tape (PT) versus PDS on the BT for equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) tenorrhaphy; to compare BT with PT versus 3LP with PDS. Methods: Ex vivo biomechanical study. Methods: Forty equine forelimb SDFT. Methods: Two experiments were performed: (1) 10 SDFT pairs were repaired with 3LP or BT using PDS; (2) 10 SDFT pairs were repaired with PDS or PT using BT. Load at failure, mode of failure, load at 2 mm g...
van Bergen T, Rötting A, Wiemer P, Schauvliege S, Vanderperren K, Ugahary F, Martens A.Preventive laparoscopic closure of the epiploic foramen (EF) has previously been described, but methods for EF closure during laparotomy for treatment of colic are lacking. Objective: To describe the foramen epiploicum mesh closure (FEMC) technique through a ventral midline laparotomy in horses under general anaesthesia and its outcome. Methods: Terminal surgical experiment and in vivo study. Methods: In a pilot study, a standard ventral midline laparotomy was performed under general anaesthesia in 10 experimental horses and a three-dimensional expandable diabolo-shaped mesh construct was manu...
Fanelli D, Tesi M, Rota A, Panzani D, Camillo F.In a veterinary medicine curriculum, students' hands-on practice is essential but is still considered one of the major deficiencies in veterinary schools in Europe. After theoretical and basic practical training, students, under the control of experienced veterinarians (supervisors), monitored the reproductive cycle of embryo recipients by transrectal palpation and ultrasound. To evaluate the skills of students, the question "Has she ovulated?" was posed when a dominant follicle ≥ 35 mm was recorded in the previous day's examination and a score of 1 or 0 was assigned in the case of a correct...
Yudkowsky ML, Beech J, Fletcher JE.In equine hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperPP), there is evidence suggesting that the primary defect in the sodium channel is associated with a secondary alteration in triacylglycerol-associated fatty acid metabolism (TAFAM) in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, TAFAM may be involved in the therapeutic action of phenytoin. The effects of phenytoin treatment on the transcript levels of three key proteins in TAFAM, hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT), and fatty acid binding protein (FABP), were examined. These transcripts were quantitated by competitive reverse t...
Beaudry F, Lavoie JP, Vachon P.A rapid and selective method has been developed for the determination of theophylline in horse serum by LC-ESI/MS/MS. The analytical method includes a protein precipitation extraction for sample preparation, liquid chromatography separation technique and ionspray tandem mass spectrometry. The drug was extracted from serum using a protein precipitation with acetonitrile and the supernatants were analyzed using an LC-ESI/MS/MS instrument. The chromatography was performed using a 50 x 2.1 mm C(8) analytical column and an isocratic mobile phase composes of 60:40 acetonitrile-0.5% formic acid in wa...
Ząbek T, Semik E, Szmatoła T, Oklejewicz B, Fornal A, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Methylation profiles across three CpG islands of the RNASEL gene were determined in blood leukocyte samples of Anglo-Arabian and Hucul horses. Bisulfite sequencing revealed hypomethylated state of the RNASEL promoter coinciding with methylated CpG island placed inside the gene. Several CpG sites were identified for which the methylation state was influenced by DNA polymorphism. Two of them showed monoallelic methylation. One of the CpG sites revealed functional polymorphism. A number of partially methylated CpG sites have been observed in the promoter area of RNASEL, which were used for the co...
Gray BW, Engel HN, Rumph PF, LaFaver J, Brown BG, McKibbin JS.To determine the sensory nerve supply of the metacarpophalangeal joint, lameness was induced in eight horses by injecting the joint with a glycerin suspension of glass micropheres. When the medial and lateral palmar nerves were anesthetized in 4 horses, there was noticeable improvement in the gait, but each horse remained lame. When the medial and lateral palmar metacarpal nerves were also anesthetized, 3 of the 4 horses became sound. To confirm the results of local anesthesia, neurectomies were performed on a second group of four horses. The lameness was alleviated only upon resection of both...
Watson JL, Jackson KA, King DP, Stott JL.Expression of the low-affinity IgE receptor (CD23) on the surface of mononuclear cells is a critical event in the development of IgE-mediated immunologic responses. Using PCR and cDNA library screening, a 2.7kb cDNA encoding equine CD23 and a 627bp PCR fragment of cattle CD23 were sequenced and characterized. The equine CD23 sequence encodes a complete and continuous open reading frame of 327 amino acids, while the shorter cattle fragment encodes 209 amino acids corresponding to nucleotides 325-1098 of the equine CD23 transcript. In addition to high identities in their nucleotides and translat...
Grapperon Mathis M, Ley C, Berger M, Hansson K.The current lack of a standardized protocol for positioning of the gamma camera relative to the horse limb in a lateral stifle scintigram, and thus the reliance on subjective positioning, may be a cause of diagnostic error and inter-operator variability due to variations of the view angle. The aims of this study were to develop a reliable method to obtain a lateral scintigram of the equine stifle based on fixed anatomical landmarks and measure the resulting foot to gamma camera angle on sequential measurements of the same horse and of different horses Methods: Technetium filled capsules were g...
Rossdale PD, White S.Forty-eight lungs from fetal and neonatal horses were examined for pressure-volume relationships between pressures of 0 and 40 cmH2O. The inflation-deflation curves obtained were analysed by four different methods and the stability of the lung assessed in terms of hysteresis, stability indices and volume of air retained at maximal pressure (Vmax). Differences in the shape of the deflation curve between ventilated and non-ventilated lungs were similar to findings in other species. It is postulated that breathing alters lung-tissue elasticity during the neonatal period, as demonstrated by a sign...
Marr KA, Fairbairn SM, Page CP, Lees P, Cunningham FM.Antigen challenge involving exposure to straw and mouldy hay for 7 h produced lung function changes and neutrophil recruitment to the lungs in horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). During the challenge, an increase in radiolabelled neutrophils in the lungs occurred, together with increased respiratory rate and pleural pressure. The role of platelet activating factor (PAF) in antigen-induced neutrophil accumulation, and increased pleural pressure and respiratory rate was investigated by administering the PAF receptor antagonist WEB 2086 to asymptomatic COPD horses prior to a...
East LM, Steyn PF, Dickinson CE, Frank AA.A 5-year-old Arabian horse was admitted with a 5-day history of undulant pyrexia of unknown origin, inappetence, obtundation, and acute collapse. Physical examination results were unremarkable except for a grade II/VI left-sided systolic cardiac murmur and abdominal splinting. Mild chronic inflammatory changes were evident on clinicopathologic evaluation. Echocardiography revealed moderate aortic insufficiency. A solitary soft tissue opacity was found on thoracic radiography but not on ultrasonography. Palliative treatment was ineffective. Nuclear scintigraphy with WBC labeled with technetium ...
Zsoldos RR, Khayatzadeh N, Soelkner J, Schroeder U, Hahn C, Licka TF.Type 1 polysaccharide storage myopathy caused by genetic mutation in the glycogen synthase 1 gene is present in many breeds including the Noriker and Haflinger horses. In humans, EMG has already been used to document changes in the muscle activity patterns of patients affected by human glycogen storage disorders. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe gluteus muscle activity with surface electromyography (sEMG) in Haflinger and Noriker horses with known GYS1 mutation status during walk and trot. Thirty-two horses (11 Haflinger and 21 Noriker horses) with homozygous non-affecte...
Crowson CL, Jann HW, Stein LE, Claypool LP, Moll HD, Blaik MA.To compare effects of the locking-loop suture pattern (LLP) and 3-loop pulley (3LP) suture pattern for tenorrhaphy on the intrinsic vasculature of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) of horses in vitro after surgery. Methods: 16 forelimbs obtained from 8 mature horses. Methods: Tenotomy and subsequent tenorrhaphy was performed in anesthetized horses. Following systemic administration of heparin, horses were euthanatized and the limbs were removed and placed under tension to load the flexor tendons. The intrinsic vasculature was then perfused with a mixture of barium sulfate and water....
du Toit N, McGorum BC, Pemberton AD, Brown J, Dacre KJ.Cyathostomins (Cyathostominae) are regarded as the most pathogenic equine nematode worldwide. These nematodes are difficult to control in equine populations due to emerging anthelmintic resistance and evasion of encysted larval cyathostomins to regular modern anthelmintics. Mast cells and their proteinases have been shown to play a role in the mammalian immune response to nematode infections. Involvement of mast cells and mast cell proteinases in the equine immune response to cyathostomin infection is proposed. A technique was established to perform immunohistochemical staining using polyclona...
Gulick BA, Meagher DM.A commercially available polyvinyl chloride intravenous catheter was studied in 9 horses for 3 to 10 days to evaluate the catheter's suitability for use in the horse, to develop a new insertion technique, and to establish a protocol for catheter care. Seven of the animals were clinically normal horses receiving parenteral nutrition; one was a horse with hypocalcemia receiving frequent intravenous injections of calcium gluconate, and one was a clinically normal horse receiving no infusions. The catheter dressings were changed every 48 hours, and an aspirate from the catheter and the catheter ti...
Sobiraj A, Warko G, Lehmann B, Bostedt H.This review of therapeutic results involved 115 foals with delayed viability syndrome (DVS). The foals were up to four days old. It could be shown that prognosis quoad vitam depended very much on the severity of illness, which could be determined primarily by the foals' ability to stand (SA) and secondly by the presence of the suckling reflex (SR). Those foals that were (still) able to stand--while the suckling reflex was/was not present (anymore) (SA+, SR+; SA+, SR-)--had good prospects of recovery regardless of the causal disease. The chances for survival were significantly poorer if the foa...
Singh AK, Ashraf M, Granley K, Mishra U, Rao MM, Gordon B.A simple and reproducible column (Clean Screen-DAU, copolymeric bonded-phase silica column) extraction procedure has been described for the screening and confirmation of drugs in horse urine. The recovery of drugs by the column extraction was better than or comparable to the recovery by the liquid-liquid extraction, which is commonly used in the equine analytical laboratories. The column extraction provided broad coverage of drugs, separated extracts into three fractions (acidic/neutral, steroids, basic), produced a cleaner extract, and eliminated the need for special liquid-liquid extraction ...
Tucker RL, Schneider RK, Sondhof AH, Ragle CA, Tyler JW.Nuclear bone scintigraphy was used to diagnose sacroiliac injury in 12 horses presented for nonspecific rear limb lameness. The most common history was decreased performance and/or a mild chronic rear limb lameness which could not be localised by routine lameness examination. The scintigraphic patterns of the 12 affected horses were compared to 5 normal horses and 10 horses with lameness not related to the pelvic region. Subjective and quantitative evaluation of the bone scans clearly separated the 12 affected horses from the 5 normal horses and the 10 horses with lameness from causes other th...
Keegan KG, Wilson DJ, Wilson DA, Frankeny RL, Loch WE, Smith B.To determine the effect of local anesthesia of the palmar digital nerves on forelimb kinematics in Quarter Horses with and without navicular disease. Methods: 12 adult Quarter Horses; 5 clinically normal (sound) and 7 with navicular disease. Methods: Kinematic measurements were made on adult horses trotting on a treadmill, before and after palmar digital nerve block (PDNB). Twenty-three displacement, joint angle, and temporal gait measurements of the right forelimb and head were made for 5 strides in each horse. Initial (before local anesthesia) right forelimb measurements were obtained after ...
Yeargan MR, Lyons ET, Kania SA, Patton S, Breathnach CC, Horohov DW, Howe DK.In the course of a vaccine experiment on horses, microfilariae were observed in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from eleven of fifteen study horses. The microfilariae were clearly viable as evidenced by their vigorous movements in the cultures, thus indicating that they had survived the Ficoll gradient purification and the cryopreservation method used for retaining the PBMCs. The microfilariae were identified as Setaria equina, which is a vector-borne filarial nematode that causes a relatively benign infection of equids in which the adult worms reside in the per...
Jasko DJ, Smith K, Little TV, Lein D, Foote RH.A spectrophotometric procedure was developed and evaluated for the objective measurement of equine spermatozoan motility. A 100 mul sample of a sperm suspension, prepared by the removal of seminal plasma, was layered under a column of optically clear medium in a specially designed spectrophotometric cuvette maintained at 37 degrees C. Changes in light transmittance above the interface of the sperm suspension and medium were recorded on chart paper. As sperm cells swam into the medium, a decrease in light transmittance was recorded as a deflection on the chart paper. Chart recordings were analy...
Uhlinger C.A herd of 15 mature riding horses with a history of anorexia, weight loss, and lethargy was examined. The animals had been fed a 50/50 mixture of commercial sweet feed and corn screenings contaminated with a heavy growth of Fusarium moniliforme. Thirteen of the horses had one or more neurologic signs. The most characteristic signs were profound depression and mild ataxia. Over the 19-day course of the epizootic, the horses had increasing severe neurologic deficits, including unilateral blindness and delirium. Despite the clinical appearance of dehydration, 12 horses had low PCV (16 to 27%), he...
Fletcher JE, Erwin K, Beech J.Previous studies have demonstrated that phenytoin decreases the levels of triacylglycerols in several tissues other than skeletal muscle. Since phenytoin is clinically effective in several skeletal muscle disorders, triacylglycerol metabolism in skeletal muscle from four normal Quarter horses and four Quarter horses with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis was examined. The horses with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis had low levels of 18:3 in the phospholipids, low levels of 16:0, 16:1 and 18:3 in the free fatty acids and low levels of 20:4 in triacylglycerols. Triacylglycerol levels were increase...
Huovilainen A, Ek-Kommonen C.A serological study for antibodies against equine arteritis virus (EAV) in Finland was performed during 1996. All equine sera delivered to the Virology Unit at the National Veterinary and Food Research Institute were tested with a micro-neutralization test, using the Arvac strain as antigen. The study also included imported horses to evaluate EAV circulation in the countries of origin. Nucleocapsid gene sequences of 2 Finnish equine semen isolates were amplified with RT-PCR and sequenced. The genetic relationships of those isolates with strains isolated elsewhere in the world were analyzed. Th...
Coutinho da Silva MA, Carnevale EM, Maclellan LJ, Seidel GE, Squires EL.The objective of the study was to compare embryo development rates after transfer of oocytes collected 22 or 33 h after hCG injection into recipients inseminated within the uterus or the oviduct. Oocytes were collected at approximately 22 or 33 h after hCG injections and incubated for approximately 16 or 1.5 h, respectively, before transfer. Intrauterine inseminations using 1 x 10(9) progressively motile sperm were done approximately 12 h before and 2 h after transfer. For intraoviductal inseminations (gamete intrafallopian transfer [GIFT]), semen was centrifuged through a Percoll gradient, an...
Rau J, Tiedemann D, Sielhorst J, Tönissen A, Burger D, Martinsson G, Rohn K, Oldenhof H, Sieme H.Transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration (TUA) is a procedure which can be used for the reduction of twins post-fixation in the mare. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the age of mares and the day of gestation on the outcome of TUA treatment. Methods: In 88 mares, diagnosed pregnant with twins, TUA of the yolk sac or allantoic fluid was performed between day 30 and 62 of gestation. Mares were aged 3-22 years. Ultrasonographic examination for a viable singleton pregnancy was performed by referring veterinarians 5-7 days and 4 weeks after TUA. Based on reported findings, effec...
Pomorska-Zniszczyńska A, Szczepanik M, Adamczyk N, Tarach M.Videodermoscopy is a method that enables the examination of many parameters of the skin and its structures. The aim of this study was to assess specific dermoscopic parameters in purebred Arabian horses during the summer. The study involved 21 clinically healthy purebred Arabian horses (18 mares and three stallions) that had not been used for breeding and were 1 to 25 years old. The videoderoscopic evaluation was performed on seven selected areas of the body: forehead, mane, neck, chest, flank, rump, and tail. The tests were carried out with Vidix and Olympus cellSens specialised software. Vid...
