Equine health encompasses the study and management of diseases, disorders, and overall well-being of horses. It involves understanding various physiological systems, preventive care, and treatment strategies to maintain optimal health in equine populations. Common areas of focus include nutrition, infectious diseases, orthopedic conditions, and reproductive health. Research in equine health aims to advance knowledge on diagnostic methods, therapeutic interventions, and management practices that improve horse welfare and performance. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse aspects of equine health, offering insights into current findings and advancements in the field.
Crowe OM, Dyson SJ, Wright IM, Schramme MC, Smith RK.Proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD) is diagnosed with increasing frequency in horses and radial pressure wave therapy (RPWT) is a widely used therapy for painful orthopaedic conditions in man and dogs. There are, however, few published data as to the outcome of its use in PSD. Objective: To evaluate the use of RPWT in the treatment of chronic or recurrent PSD in the horse, an injury which carries a poor prognosis for return to athletic function with conservative management alone. Objective: RPWT and controlled exercise improves the prognosis of chronic or recurrent PSD in the horse when compare...
Weese JS, Anderson ME, Lowe A, Penno R, da Costa TM, Button L, Goth KC.Probiotics have not been demonstrated to provide any beneficial health effects in horses, possibly because of improper selection of probiotic organisms. This study was designed to identify lactic acid bacteria of equine origin with predetermined beneficial properties which might make them useful as therapeutic probiotics. Objective: A small percentage of lactic acid bacteria that are native to the intestinal tract of horses possess properties that may be useful in the treatment and/or prevention of gastrointestinal disease in horses. Methods: Faecal samples were collected from healthy mature h...
Tunley BV, Henson FM.Thermographic imaging is an increasingly used diagnostic tool. When performing thermography, guidelines suggest that horses should be left for 10-20 mins to 'acclimatise' to the thermographic imaging environment, with no experimental data to substantiate this recommendation. In addition, little objective work has been published on the repeatability and reliability of the data obtained. Thermography has been widely used to identify areas of abnormal body surface temperature in horses with back pathology; however, no normal data is available on the thermographic 'map' of the thoracolumbar region...
Brommer H, Rijkenhuizen AB, Brama PA, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.There are many noninvasive diagnostic methods used for evaluating chronic progressive joint disease, but each has severe limitations in the detection of early articular cartilage damage. Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of arthroscopy as a diagnostic method for the assessment of the severity of cartilage surface damage on the proximal articular margin of the equine first phalanx (P1). Objective: That arthroscopic assessment of the visible cartilage provides 1) a good indication of the integrity of the cartilage surface and 2) a good estimation of the status of the cartilage surface of the e...
Engeli E, Haussler KK, Erb HN.Sacroiliac joint osteoarthritis has been recognised as a significant cause of poor performance in competition and racehorses. Reliable diagnostic tools are currently lacking. The diagnosis has been based typically on exclusion of other possible causes of poor performance, back pain and hindlimb lameness. Objective: To develop a safe, reliable and minimally invasive periarticular or intra-articular injection technique of potential use for diagnosis and therapy of sacroiliac joint disease in horses. Methods: Twenty-six horses were used to develop and assess a medial approach to the sacroiliac jo...
Shoemaker R, Bailey J, Janzen E, Wilson DG.Castration is one of the most common routine surgical procedures performed in the horse, from which a number of potential complications can arise. We undertook a prospective evaluation of short-term complications associated with castration of draught colts over a 3-year period (1998-2000). Objective: To compare castration complications in a large number of draught foals with previously published literature. Methods: Five hundred and sixty-eight draught colts, age 4 or 5 months, were castrated in field conditions. Foals were observed for complications for 24 h post operatively. Results: There w...
Kasashima Y, Takahashi T, Smith RK, Goodship AE, Kuwano A, Ueno T, Hirano S.Overstrain injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory ligament (SI) are among the most common musculoskeletal injuries which contribute to the considerable wastage of racing Thoroughbreds. Many epidemiological studies have demonstrated the prevalence of and risk factors for tendon injury when racing but have not included those injuries sustained during training. However, since tendon injury during training is seen commonly in clinical practice, it is appropriate to determine the overall prevalence of tendon injury sustained during both training and racing. Objectiv...
Tewari D, Kim H, Feria W, Russo B, Acland H.West Nile virus (WNV) RNA was quantified in WNV infected crows and horses with the help of a real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR assay. A 5' nuclease assay, based on NS5 gene detection with a fluorescent probe was used for quantifying WNV RNA using formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue specimens. Quantitative detection of WNV RNA showed the presence of a higher amount of the viral RNA in crow tissues compared to equine tissues and these results correlated well with the detection of WNV antigen by immunostaining. In crows, the highest amount of virus was seen in the intestine and in horses in...
Nogueira GP.Twelve female ponies were examined daily for 30 days and classified as ovulating (OV; N = 6; 197 +/- 6 kg) or prepubertal (PP; N = 6; 196 +/- 9 kg). Follicles were detected by ultrasound and gonadotropins quantified by radioimmunoassay. The mean diameter of the largest follicles was significantly larger in OV (38 +/- 1 mm) than in PP (26 +/- 2 mm) but there was no difference between groups in the size of the second largest follicle. There were more small follicles (29 mm than the OV fillies. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels did not differ between groups but PP fillies had lower lutein...
van der Velden MA, van der Harst MR.A literature review is given concerning the occurrence, clinical signs and possible treatment of the different types of inguinal herniation in foals. A six-week old filly with a reducible inguinal hernia is described in detail.
Lepage OM, Perron MF, Cadoré JL.Advances in the understanding of guttural pouch physiology and novel therapeutic approaches to mycotic infections in the horse are reviewed. It is suggested that the guttural pouches may contribute to the regulation of arterial blood temperature, cooling the circulation to the brain to below body temperature. Aspergillus spp. is the major organism found in a guttural pouch affected with mycosis but it is unclear why this agent becomes aggressive. Conventional therapy aims to prevent fatal haemorrhage and to treat any neurological lesions but it is desirable to try to prevent the disease. A tec...
Heninger NL, Staub C, Blanchard TL, Johnson L, Varner DD, Forrest DW.Apoptosis in testicular germ cells has been demonstrated in many mammalian species. However, little is known about the stallion (Equus caballus) and rates of apoptosis during spermatogenesis. Morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis reported in other species were used to confirm that the TdT-mediated dUTP Nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay is an acceptable method for identification and quantification of apoptotic germ cells in histological tissue sections from stallion testis. Seminiferous tubules from eight stallions with normal testis size and semen quality were evaluated according t...
Oleksiewicz MB, Snijder EJ, Normann P.A putative zinc finger (ZF) domain in the Equine arteritis virus (EAV) nsp1 protein was described recently to be required for viral transcription. The nsp1 ZF (50 aa) was expressed on the surface of M13KE gIII phage, fused to the N terminus of the phage pIII protein. To evaluate the functionality of the ZF domain, a binding assay was developed, based on the use of immobilized Ni(2+) ions (Ni-NTA). Phages displaying ZF bound significantly better to Ni-NTA than did phages displaying negative-control peptides, which also contained metal-coordinating residues. Also, binding of ZF-displaying phages...
Raeside JI, Christie HL, Renaud RL, Waelchli RO, Betteridge KJ.Because estradiol (E(2)) production by the early equine conceptus is considered crucial to the establishment of pregnancy, the amounts of E(2), estrone (E(1)), and their sulfates (E(2)S, E(1)S) were measured by RIA in yolk-sac fluid of 63 conceptuses collected by transcervical lavage over the period of 11-26 days after ovulation. Amounts increased significantly with age of conceptus, especially for E(1)S. Then, the metabolism of E(2), which may be highly relevant for its action, was examined in the conceptus and endometrium over the period when the conceptus ceases to migrate within the uterus...
Otranto D, Colwell DD, Milillo P, Di Marco V, Paradies P, Napoli C, Giannetto S.Two species of Rhinoestrus (i.e. Rhinoestrus purpureus (Brauer) and Rhinoestrus usbekistanicus Gan) cause nasal myiasis in horses, donkeys and zebras. In the past 15 years myiasis caused by R. purpureus has been reported in Egypt and by R. usbekistanicus in Senegal and Niger, both in horses and in donkeys. With the aim to investigate the presence of this myiasis in autochthonous horses and donkeys from southern Italy and to study the seasonal trend of larval infection, 212 native horses were necropsied in two slaughterhouses in the Apulia region (site A) from January to November 2003, and 120 ...
Glazar BS, McCue PM, Bruemmer JE, Squires EL.Practical estrus synchronization schemes are needed for mares. The Ovsynch synchronization protocol for cattle involves the administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to induce ovulation or luteinization of dominant follicles during the luteal phase and prostaglandin 7 days later to cause regression of any luteal tissue and development of a preovulatory follicle. An Ovsynch-type synchronization program potentially could be developed for horses if luteinization or ovulation of diestrous follicles occurred in response to GnRH treatment. The objective of this study was to determine i...
Deprez P, Vercruysse J.The results of the treatment with moxidectin or ivermectin of 20 horses with clinical cyathostominosis were studied during a 3-week observation period. Both treatments were effective in completely eliminating larvae from the faeces within 1 or 2 weeks, but no significant improvement in body weight or clinical parameters could be demonstrated over the observation period. The poor short time results of the treatment support the need for an adequate prevention of cyathostominosis in horses.
McCrory P, Turner M, Murray J.The case is reported of a retired professional jockey with progressive memory loss. The concern is that he may be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy or the "punch drunk syndrome".
Ramsey YH, Christley RM, Matthews JB, Hodgkinson JE, McGoldrick J, Love S.A study following the development of Cyathostominae from egg to the infective larval third stage was conducted from April to December 2001 in west central Scotland. Duplicate samples (1 kg) of naturally infected faeces were placed on a 78 cm2 plot each week on a cyathostomin-free pasture. Subsamples of the grass surrounding the faecal plot were collected weekly on four occasions and the number of larvae obtained determined. Few larvae were recovered in the first week of development of individual plots, followed by a rise in the numbers of larvae in second, third and fourth weeks of development...
Dabareiner RM, Schmitz DG, Honnas CM, Carter GK.Injury to the gracilis muscle can cause acute, severe lameness in horses. Two female Quarter Horses that were used for barrel racing sustained gracilis muscle tear injuries. The site of injury was localized by direct infiltration of the area with mepivacaine. The extent of muscle tearing and seroma formation was determined via ultrasonographic evaluation. One horse developed fibrotic myopathy approximately 3 months after the original injury and underwent surgery to transect a palpable fibrous band at the previous injury site. Both horses returned to barrel racing 5 to 6 months after the injury...
Stoica G, Cohen N, Mendes O, Kim HT.Mesotheliomas are rarely reported in animal species. In this report, the occurrence of a diffuse, metastatic mesothelioma in a 6-year-old gray Arabian mare is described. The mare was presented on clinical examination with ascites, bilateral pleural effusion, and pleural roughening. Necropsy revealed abundant fluid in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. The surface of all organs was thick and fibrosed with multiple raised nodules and hemorrhages. Histology was characteristic of a generalized, biphasic mesothelioma with vascular and lymph nodes metastases. It is believed that the primary tumor ...
Marsh AE, Lakritz J, Johnson PJ, Miller MA, Chiang YW, Chu HJ.Clinically normal horses developed cellular immunity to Sarcocystis neurona following IM vaccination with a commercial killed S. neurona vaccine, as indicated by the development of measurable anti-S. neurona IgG antibodies and additional intradermal skin testing. Large-scale independent assessments of the vaccine's performance and safety are in progress under field conditions. The next step in the evaluation of this vaccine would be to attempt experimental challenge after a reproducible reliable equine model of S. neurona encephalitis has been established that allows for reisolation of the pat...
Genzel Y, Behrendt I, König S, Sann H, Reichl U.The production of equine influenza in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells in large-scale microcarrier culture is described with detailed on- and off-line analytical data during cell growth and virus replication. Metabolite concentration profiles for glucose, glutamine, lactate and ammonium are shown. Lactate and ammonium concentrations were always below inhibiting levels. Concentration profiles for essential and non-essential amino acids of the cell culture medium are discussed. During cell growth proline was released into the medium with a significant rate while two amino acids, serine and...
Majewska AC, Solarczyk P, Tamang L, Graczyk TK.A total of 564 fecal specimens from 318 horses used for recreational riding, child hippotherapy, and racing at ten commercial and government-run stables in western Poland were tested for Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts by microscopic examination of Ziehl-Neelsen stained smears, enzyme immunoassay, and combined direct immunofluorescent antibody and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Also, seven stool specimens from five personnel who had repeated contact with these horses were tested for C. parvum oocysts. Eleven horses that shed C. parvum oocysts were found in five of ten stables (50%). The pre...
Alexander GR, Chester Z.To assess the effectiveness of free conjunctival grafts in the treatment of horses with a range of keratopathies. Methods: A retrospective clinical study of ten client-owned horses treated at Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital from May 1996 to September 2001. Methods: The suitability of patients for the surgical procedure was assessed using a slit lamp biomicroscope and by direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Surgery was performed with the aid of an operating microscope, under general anaesthesia. A subpalpebral ocular lavage catheter was used for administration of topical atropine and anti...
Pollitt CC, van Eps AW.The recommended duration of cryotherapy in horses is currently extrapolated from human medicine. Prolonged, continuous cryotherapy (days rather than minutes) may be of therapeutic value if it is safe and well tolerated. Objective: To evaluate the effect of prolonged, continuous application of ice and water to the equine distal limb. Methods: A slurry of ice and water was applied to the right forelimb of 4 Standardbred horses for 48 h. Hoof temperature, ambient temperature and ice boot temperature were logged continuously and clinical observations recorded every 2 h. Lameness examinations were ...
French KR, Pollitt CC.Acute laminitis is characterised by hoof lamellar dermal-epidermal separation at the basement membrane (BM) zone. Hoof lamellar explants cultured in vitro can also be made to separate at the basement membrane zone and investigating how this occurs may give insight into the poorly understood pathophysiology of laminitis. Objective: To investigate why glucose deprivation and metalloproteinase (MMP) activation in cultured lamellar explants leads to dermo-epidermal separation. Methods: Explants, cultured without glucose or with the MMP activator p-amino-phenol-mercuric acetate (APMA), were subject...
Boldur I, Cohen A, Tamarin-Landau R, Sompolinsky D.The lungs of 139 calves presented for autopsy and 29 healthy slaughtered calves were examined for Legionella by culture and by direct immunofluorescence (DIF) with fluorescein-conjugated antisera. About 17% of the cadaver lungs and 4% of lungs from slaughtered animals were positive by DIF. Legionella organisms were only isolated from the lungs of two cadavers (L. pneumophila, serogroup 1). In a prevalence study of antibodies to Legionella in domestic and wild animals of various species, titers of greater than or equal to 64 were demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence in sera of 10% of dai...
Sharkey LC, DeWitt S, Stockman C.A 23-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was referred for the evaluation of acute onset of ataxia and depression, and a 2-day history of fever. On physical examination, the gelding was profoundly depressed and 10-12% dehydrated. The horse appeared very unstable, with a wide-based stance in the hind limbs, severe symmetric ataxia in all 4 limbs, and proprioceptive deficits in both hind limbs. Nasogastric intubation produced 4 L of brown, fetid reflux, and rectal examination revealed mild small intestinal and cecal distention. Hematologic abnormalities included neutropenia with toxic change, compatibl...
Calisher CH, Mahmud MI, el-Kafrawi AO, Emerson JK, Muth DJ.Paired sera from 28 nonvaccinated horses with serologically confirmed western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus infections were evaluated for immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG directed against WEE virus, by use of enzyme immunoassay. Twenty-one of the horses developed greater than or equal to 4-fold increases or decreases in serum IgM titers in paired serum samples, confirming the diagnosis of WEE in these horses. Of the remaining 7 horses, 1 had stable IgM titers, 1 had a 2-fold increase in IgM titer between paired sera, 2 had 2-fold decreases in IgM titer, and for 3 horses adequate volumes were not...
Ginther OJ.The mechanism for selection of the future dominant or ovulatory follicle in mares involves a relatively abrupt separation in growth rates between the future dominant follicle and several subordinate follicles and is termed diameter deviation. The event is used to illustrate that a coordinated complex of many follicular, hormonal, and biochemical factors interact and interbalance during a single physiological mechanism. For example, a positive effect of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) on development of all follicles during the growing phase can later involve a positive effect of luteinizing ...
Rijkenhuizen AB, Németh F, Dik KJ, Goedegebuure SA.A macroscopic, arteriographic and histological study of the development and the arterial anatomy of the navicular bone of 33 foetuses and 55 young horses is described. After 125 days of gestation the blood supply consists of two routes: one situated in the superficial layer of the fibrocartilage and the other similar to the blood supply of the navicular bone of the normal mature horse. After 270 days gestation, the blood vessels in the fibrocartilage gradually regressed and retracted until they have disappeared at six months after birth. At two months after birth the first macroscopic thinning...
Swerczek TW, Donahue JM, Hunt RJ.Scedosporium prolificans was associated with arthritis and degenerative osteomyelitis in a 6-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse. The horse was suspected to have an inflammatory lesion of the interosseous tendon, but treatment had resulted in only a minimal response. Shortly after diagnostic arthrocentesis of the left metacarpophalangeal joint was performed, the joint became severely swollen, and radiography of the area revealed lysis of the distal end of the third metacarpal bone, the proximal sesamoid bones, and the proximal end of the proximal phalanx. The horse did not respond to treatment and...
Stover SM, Brown MP, Kelly RH, Farver TB, Knight HD.Six adult mares were given a single dose of aqueous suspension procaine penicillin G (300,000 IU/ml) IM at a dosage of 22,000 IU/kg of body weight (15.4 mg of penicillin G/kg). Serum, synovial fluid, peritoneal fluid, and urine penicillin concentrations were measured serially over a 48-hour period. The mean peak serum penicillin concentration was 1.42 microgram/ml at 3 hours. Penicillin was detected in synovial fluid and peritoneal fluid, which obtained mean peak penicillin concentrations of 0.62 microgram/ml and 0.58 microgram/ml, at 4 hours and 3 hours, respectively. These concentrations ste...
Parks C, Manohar M, Lundeen G.To examine the effects of tachycardia on coronary circulation, transmural distribution of myocardial blood flow (MBF, 15-micron diameter radionuclide-labeled microspheres) was studied in six healthy adult ponies at rest (heart rate = 60 +/- 7 beats . min-1), during ventricular pacing at 150 and 200 beats . min-1, as well as with ventricular pacing at 250 beats . min-1 before and during maximal coronary vasodilatation (iv adenosine infusion; 4 mumole . kg-1 . min-1). Mean aortic pressure and cardiac output were unchanged from control values with ventricular pacing. Whereas ventricular pacing at...
Dart AJ, Snyder JR, Pascoe JR, Farver TB, Galuppo LD.The signalment, clinical and laboratory findings of surgical conditions, treatment, and outcome of 102 cases of descending colon disease in horses were reviewed. Abnormal conditions were categorized as enteroliths, impactions, strangulating lipomas, fecaliths, foreign body obstruction, volvulus, nephrosplenic entrapment, and other conditions. Eleven breed categories of horses were seen during this period. Arabians, ponies, and American miniature horses were more predisposed to descending colon disease than other breeds (P less than 0.05). Female horses and animals greater than 15 years old wer...
Weiss DJ, Evanson OA, McClenahan D, Fagliari JJ, Dunnwiddie CT, Wells RE.To determining whether inhibition of platelet aggregation prevents development of carbohydrate overload-induced alimentary laminitis. Methods: 22 healthy adult ponies. Methods: Acute laminitis was induced by oral administration of corn starch/wood flour to 16 ponies, 8 of which were treated with a synthetic analogue of the platelet fibrinogen receptor antagonist peptide (RPR) RGDS (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine) 110885; 6 ponies served as negative controls. Blood was collected before and at 4, 8, 12, 24, 28, and 32 hours after administration of carbohydrate overload, and PCV, total pla...
Lucas Z, Raeside JI, Betteridge KJ.Field observations of 400 totally unmanaged feral horses on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, were complemented by oestrogen determinations in faecal samples from 154 identified females over a 4-year period (454 mare-years). Of mares that were sampled throughout the year and subsequently produced foals, 92.1% exhibited elevated faecal oestrogens between 15 October and 30 March. The results confirm that faecal oestrogens are a useful indicator of pregnancy after approximately 120 days gestation. Distribution of foaling resembled that seen in other feral populations, with 95% of births occurring from A...
Lumsden JM, Derksen FJ, Stick JA, Robinson NE.Flow-volume loops generated from 6 Standardbreds at rest and during treadmill exercise were evaluated for their use in detecting upper airway obstruction. Tidal breathing flow-volume loops (TBFVL) were obtained from horses at rest and exercising at speeds corresponding to 75% of maximal heart rate and at maximal heart rate. The TBFVL were evaluated, using a pulmonary function computer; calculated indices describing airflow rate and expiratory-to-inspiratory airflow ratio for individual loops were determined. In addition to TBFVL indices, standard variables of upper airway function also were me...
Di Febo T, Luciani M, Ciarelli A, Bortone G, Di Pancrazio C, Rodomonti D, Teodori L, Tittarelli M.Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against horse IgG were produced by immunizing Balb/c mice with purified horse IgG and were characterized in indirect ELISA versus purified immunoglobulins from donkey, cow, buffalo, sheep, pig, and chicken. Three MAbs (1B10B6C9, 1B10B6C10, 1B10B6E9) reacted only with horse and donkey IgG and IgM and, in western blotting, were specific for the Fc fragment of equine IgG. MAb 1B10B6E9 was used in chemiluminescent immunoblotting assay for the diagnosis of dourine and in indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for the diagnosis of African horse sickness and dourine.
Heaton K, Farnsworth KD, Souza CRS, Jones ARE. This report describes the use of a minimally invasive standing pastern arthrodesis technique for the treatment of osteoarthritis in horses and documents its clinical outcome in 12 horses. Methods: Medical records and radiographs of horses diagnosed with proximal interphalangeal joint osteoarthritis that underwent standing pastern arthrodesis using transarticular screws were reviewed. Follow-up information for determination of outcome was obtained via phone interview with the owners. Results: Twelve horses (15 limbs) were included in the study. Radiographical findings revealed severe o...
Puff C, Herder V, Philipp A, Baumgärtner W.A 15-year-old Haflinger gelding presented with a mass in the left nictitating membrane. Two biopsies and the excised nictitating membrane were taken at different time points as a result of reoccurrence of the mass and submitted for histopathologic evaluation. The horse was euthanized as a result of poor prognosis following the reoccurrence of the mass after surgical removal. Histologically, the mass consisted of dilated, thin-walled vascular clefts and channels, lined by flattened to cuboidal endothelial cells with moderate cellular pleomorphism. There was up to 1 mitotic figure per high power...
Cook RF, Cook SJ, Even DL, Schaffer C, Issel CJ.Horse IL-7 (HIL-7) cDNA was isolated from adult lymph node tissue by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using oligonucleotide primers based on horse genomic sequences (The Broad Institute). In addition, to the full-length (FL) 531bp reading frame encoding 176 amino acids, shorter open-reading frames of 477, 396 and 264bp were also amplified. Nucleotide sequence analysis of these RT-PCR products demonstrated they were homologous except the shorter species were missing internal sequences consistent with multiple RNA splicing events. Consequently, the shorter open-reading fr...
Brosnan RJ, LeCouteur RA, Steffey EP, Imai A, Farver TB.To determine whether high intracranial pressure (ICP) during spontaneous ventilation (SV) in anesthetized horses coincides with an increase in intracranial elastance (ie, change in ICP per unit change of intracranial volume). Methods: 6 adult horses. Methods: Anesthesia was induced and maintained in each horse for 5 hours with isoflurane at a constant dose equal to 1.2 times the minimum alveolar concentration. Direct ICP measurements were obtained by use of a strain gauge transducer inserted in the subarachnoid space, and arterial blood pressure was measured from a carotid artery. Physiologic ...
Freeman DE, Donawick WJ.A procedure developed to occlude the internal carotid artery of horses with guttural pouch mycosis was modified was modified and evaluated in nine clinically normal horses. The left internal carotid artery was ligated at its origin and occluded distally with an intraluminal balloon catheter. In four horses, the balloon-tipped catheters were left in place until these horses were euthanatized at 4 to 244 days after surgery. In the remaining horses, the catheters were removed after 10 to 14 days by a cutdown procedure, and these horses were euthanatized 1 to 60 days after catheter removal. In bot...
Méndez A, Martín de las Mulas J, Bautista MJ, Chacón F, Millán Y, Fondevila D, Pumarola M.The presence and distribution of S100 protein (alpha and beta subunits), cytokeratin polypeptides, glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilaments, vimentin, neuron specific enolase, synaptophysin, HLA class II DR antigen, and pituitary hormones (prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone and human chorionic gonadotrophin) in stellate cells were studied immunohistochemically in four normal canine pituitary glands, five canine pituitary adenomas, two canine pituitary carcinomas and two equine pituitary adenomas (with surrounding normal glandular tissue). Stellate cells of the pars distalis and pars...
Rand T, Bindeus T, Alton K, Voegele T, Kukla C, Stanek C, Imhof H.The authors evaluate the role of low-field strength magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared with sonography in the evaluation of degenerative changes of tendons, with histologic correlation, based on investigations of horse cadavers. Methods: Low-field MRI and sonography was performed in 42 hours specimens for the evaluation of tendons and ligaments. Magnetic resonance imaging included sagittal and axial T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and gradient echo images. Sonography and MR images were evaluated for degenerative changes or tears and the findings were correlated with the histologic results. Re...
Oesch S, Kaiser-Thom S, Vidondo B, Gerber V.Equine pastern dermatitis has a high prevalence in the equine population, especially in draft breeds. This skin condition is difficult to treat, and it is suspected that owners often decide on a treatment without consulting a veterinarian. The objectives of this study were to describe owner-reported clinical signs, severity, and reasons to consult a veterinarian. Moreover, we inquired about preventive measures and treatments, both instituted by owners without previous consultation or prescribed by their veterinarians. A total of 123 horses (owners recruited over social media) were included in ...
Virgin JE, Holcombe SJ, Caron JP, Cheetham J, Kurtz KA, Roessner HA, Ducharme NG, Hauptman JG, Nelson NC.Pharyngeal dysphagia is a debilitating, sometimes fatal condition in horses, with multiple aetiologies. The pathophysiology is complex and not fully understood. Treatment is largely supportive. Laryngeal advancement surgery may diminish symptoms of dysphagia and improve swallowing in affected horses. Objective: 1) to induce reversible moderate and marked pharyngeal dysphagia by regional anaesthesia of branches of the glossopharyngeal (IX), vagus (X) and hypoglossal (XII) nerves; 2) to characterise the dysphagia produced by each model; and 3) to determine whether laryngeal advancement surgery i...
Willbold D, Metzger AU, Sticht H, Gallert KC, Voit R, Dank N, Bayer P, Krauss G, Goody RS, Rösch P.Lentiviral transactivator (Tat) proteins are essential for viral replication. Tat proteins of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and bovine immunodeficiency virus form complexes with their respective RNA targets (Tat responsive element, TAR), and specific binding of the equine anemia virus (EIAV) Tat protein to a target TAR RNA is suggested by mutational analysis of the TAR RNA. Structural data on equine infectious anemia virus Tat protein reveal a helix-loop-helix-turn-helix limit structure very similar to homeobox domains that are known to bind specifically to DNA. Here we report results of...
Gerber V, Straub R, Frey J.In Switzerland, the incidence of equine botulism and acute pasture myodystrophy have remarkably increased in the last five years. Equine fodder-borne botulism in Europe is most likely caused by Clostridium botulinum types C and D that produce the toxins BoNT/C and BoNT/D. Horses showing signs suggestive of botulism (muscle weakness and tremors, reduced tongue tone, slow chewing, salivation and difficulties swallowing, drooping eyelids, mydriasis), especially patients that have fed on suspect fodder (mostly haylage), must be treated with anti-serum as soon as possible. They also need intensive ...
Anderson SL, Bracamonte JL, Hendrick S, Carmalt JL, Wilson DG.To compare bursting strength and failure mode between ventral median (VM) and right ventral paramedian (RVP) celiotomies closed with 1 section of USP 7 braided polydioxanone (7PD). Methods: Ex vivo experimental. Methods: Equine cadavers (n = 12). Methods: A 25 cm VM or RVP (positioned 5 cm lateral to the linea alba) celiotomy was created in fresh equine cadavers. A 200 L polyurethane bladder was inserted into the abdomen. Celiotomies were closed in a simple continuous pattern with 1 section of 7PD. The bladder was inflated with compressed air until construct failure. Horse signalment, body wei...
