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.
Grindem CB, Fairley NM, Uhlinger CA, Crane SA.Peritoneal fluid was analysed from 17 foals, aged 13 to 134 days with a mean age of 68 days. Cytologically, the peritoneal fluid was characterised by a mean total cell count of 0.45 x 10(9)/litre (range 0.06 to 1.42 x 10(9)/litre), rare eosinophils, rare cytophagia and variable percentages of neutrophils and mononuclear cells. These data indicate that peritoneal fluid nucleated cell counts over 1.50 x 10(9)/litre in the foal should be interpreted as elevated. Biochemical evaluation revealed a mean biuret protein level of 12 g/litre, mean refractive index protein level of 16 g/litre and urea ni...
Dean PW, Cohen ND.A noncurrent prospective study of nonworking horses with arytenoid chondropathy was conducted to confirm a clinical impression that horses with unilateral chondropathy and accompanying lesions had a poorer prognosis after arytenoidectomy than horses with bilateral or uncomplicated unilateral chondropathy. Surgical failure was defined as death, euthanasia, permanent tracheostomy, or reoperation. Survival to surgical failure and clinical improvement data were compared between horses with and without accompanying lesions treated by arytenoidectomy. The probability of surgical failure was signific...
Prieto D, Benedito S, Rivera L, Hernández M, García-Sacristan A.The distribution and density of intrinsic autonomic nerve fibers and cells were studied in the equine urinary bladder by means of the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical method to localize tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH), and by means of a histochemical technique to detect acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. The results suggest that the equine urinary bladder, like that of other mammalian species, possesses a rich autonomic innervation which includes catecholaminergic and acetylcholinesterase positive nerves. At least a part of these nerve fibers have an intrinsic origin from ganglion ce...
Hodson N, Hunt J, Causon RC.The research article discusses an investigation into how exploratory diagnostic laparotomy affects the circulating histamine levels in acute, subacute, and chronic suspected equine grass sickness cases. The study utilized a […]
Pirie M, Pirie HM, Cranston S, Wright NG.The surface features of the lower respiratory tract of 20 clinically normal horses of different ages and types were studied with scanning electron microscopy. Parallel light microscopical and transmission electron microscopical studies were also carried out. The ciliary carpet was virtually complete from the trachea to the lobar bronchi. In small bronchi, ciliation was less complete allowing numerous non-ciliated mucous cells to become obvious. The terminal bronchioles, populated mainly by non-ciliated bronchiolar epithelial cells, had an abrupt junction with alveolar ducts. Interalveolar pore...
Burg JG, Roberts AW, Williams NM, Powell DG, Knapp FW.Experimental transmission of Ehrlichia risticii, the causal agent of Potomac horse fever, was attempted with adult stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, (L.) using two feeding schedules. In schedule A, a set of 140 flies was allowed to feed once on an experimentally infected donor pony and once 24 h later on a recipient pony. A different set of flies was used each day for a 12-d period. In schedule B, 240 flies were allowed to feed once daily for 12 consecutive d on the donor pony followed by five consecutive daily feedings on the recipient pony. E. risticii was isolated from the blood of the exp...
Ginther OJ.Individual follicles were monitored by ultrasonography in 15 mares during the transitional period preceding the first ovulation of the year and in 9 mares during the first interovulatory interval. During the transitional period, 7 mares developed 1-3 anovulatory follicular waves characterized by a dominant follicle (maximum diameter greater than or equal to 38 mm) that had growing, static, and regressing phases. The emergence of a subsequent wave (anovulatory or ovulatory) did not occur until the dominant follicle of the previous wave was in the static phase. After the emergence of the subsequ...
Matthews NS, Lindsay SL.Minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) for halothane was measured before and after administration of intravenous butorphanol (0.022 and 0.044 mg/kg in bodyweight in nine yearling Shetland ponies. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, expired CO2 and rectal temperature was also measured. Even though mean MAC values decreased 10 and 9 per cent after the low and high doses respectively, they were not statistically different from those measured prior to butorphanol. Halothane MAC values increased after butorphanol in two ponies, both animals increasing locomotor activity and demonst...
Dvoĭnos GM, Kharchenko VA.Parasitic larvae of 30 strongylid species of horses out of 53 species known for the fauna of the USSR are identified. The paper presents descriptions of 7 earlier unknown phenons of parasitic late 4th-stage larvae, the specific belonging of which in not yet ascertained. The possibility of their identification is discussed.
Held JP, Adair S, McGavin MD, Adams WH, Toal R, Henton J.Two stallions had unilateral bacterial epididymitis attributable to S zooepidemicus infection. Diagnosis was based on bacterial isolation, WBC in the semen, higher than normal blood fibrinogen concentration, and leukocytosis with regenerative left shift. One horse had high seminal pH. Ultrasonography of the involved epididymides revealed changes consistent with the appearance of abnormal accumulation of exudate in the tail of the epididymis. Treatment included unilateral orchiectomy and antibiotic administration. In stallion 1, the infection persisted despite treatment. Treatment result was no...
Simoens P, Lauwers H, De Muelenare C, Muylle E, Steenhaut M.A clinical case of Horner's syndrome is described in a Standardbred horse, and the various symptoms of cranial sympathetic denervation are studied in two ponies after experimental transection of the left cervical sympathetic trunk and vagosympathetic trunk, respectively. The most prominent symptoms of equine Horner's syndrome were ptosis, local sweating and increased cutaneous temperature in the denervated area. Enophthalmos, miosis and increased lacrimation were also observed but these symptoms were mild, variable and difficult to ascertain. Prolapse of the third eyelid was not noticed. Conco...
Lloyd KC, Stover SM, Pascoe JR, Adams P.Chemical and cytologic effects and bactericidal activity of gentamicin in septic synovial fluid were evaluated in an experimental model of infectious arthritis in horses. Septic arthritis was induced by inoculation of approximately 7.5 X 10(6) colony-forming units of Escherichia coli into 1 antebrachiocarpal joint in each of 16 clinically normal adult horses. Clinical signs of septic arthritis were evident 24 hours after inoculation. Horses were allotted to 3 groups: group-1 horses (n = 5) each were given 150 mg of gentamicin (50 mg/ml; 3 ml) intra-articularly (IA); group-2 horses (n = 5) each...
Floris B, Bini PP, Nuvole P, Di Meglio FG.The changes of some parameters in the blood serum of six Giara horses (3 males and 3 females) were checked weekly, in relation to the environmental temperature throughout a one winter and summer. T3, total lipids, triglycerides, urea nitrogen, creatinine, total protein, albumin, beta and gamma globulin showed significant difference between winter and summer and, with the exception of triglycerides, urea nitrogen and total protein were correlated to the environmental temperature. T4, glucose, uric acid and alpha globulin showed no difference between the two seasons and no correlation with the t...
Riley CB, Yovich JV, Huxtable CR.A fusion defect of the proximal and middle phalanges of both hindlimbs, osteochondrosis dissecans of the distal interphalangeal joints of the forelimbs, and subluxation of all 4 distal interphalangeal joints occurred in a Standardbred filly. Lameness was the first abnormality noted and was observed at one week of age in the left forelimb and progressed until all 4 limbs were affected by 5 weeks of age. On radiographs of both forelimbs, the distal interphalangeal joints were subluxated with irregularity and lucency of subchondral bone. On radiographs of the distal hindlimbs, there was a subluxa...
du Plessis DH, van Wyngaardt W, Bremer CW.African horsesickness virus (AHSV), an important disease of equines is caused by an orbivirus. Because of the need to contain the spread of the disease, it is often essential to make a rapid diagnosis. For this purpose, an ELISA capable of detecting viral antigen in animal tissue and in cell culture fluid was developed. Immobilised F(ab')2 fragments prepared by digestion of AHSV-specific IgG with pepsin were used to trap virus from tissue homogenates or cell culture supernatant. After addition of intact IgG as detecting antibody, Staphylococcus aureus protein A labelled with horseradish peroxi...
Guerriero V, Raynes DA.Cultured bovine, equine, ovine and chicken lymphocytes responded to heat stress by the increased synthesis of a specific set of proteins known as heat stress proteins (HSP). Proteins with molecular weights of 70 and 90 kDa were synthesized in all species. Additional proteins were found in bovine, ovine and chicken lymphocytes. A time course of induction showed an increased synthesis of some of these proteins with only 30 min of heat stress and of several proteins with 60 min of heat stress. A specific monoclonal antibody was used to identify HSP70 as one of the stress proteins in bovine lympho...
Farrall H, Handscombe MC.More work is necessary to establish corneal dimensions and retinal structure and neural organisation in the equine eye. This paper reports a case of surgical management of bilateral cataracts in a pony and the results of a survey of refractive error in normal horses. Aspects of accommodation are discussed. It is suggested that a difference in retinal receptor organisation between horse and human eyes could explain the good visual performance of the aphakic pony; and that the degree of blurring of vision in the aphakic situation is less, both in absolute terms and in proportion to presumed norm...
da Silva Curiel JM, Murphy CJ, Jang SS, Bellhorn RW.Nutritionally variant streptococci (NVS) are nutritionally deficient viridans streptococci that require pyridoxal for growth. Although NVS are pathogenic in human beings, they have not been considered to be pathogenic in domestic animals. In 1982 and 1983, 24 isolates of NVS were recovered from horses with ulcerative keratitis. A retrospective study was done to determine the incidence of NVS in horses with corneal disease. The medical records of 249 horses (259 eyes) examined for clinical signs of corneal disease were reviewed. Nutritionally variant streptococci were isolated from approximatel...
Nequin LG, King SS, Matt KS, Jurak RC.The transition from anoestrus to oestrus in mares is controlled by photoperiod. The present study examined whether additional daylength would accelerate the mares' response to gonadotrophin-releasing-hormone (GnRH). Nine anoestrous mares were placed under ambient or artificial long lighting on 7th January. The four month experimental period was divided into a three-day sequence which was repeated at 21 day intervals. Ovaries were palpated rectally on Day 1; saline was injected (1 ml intravenously [iv]) on Day 2; GnRH was administered (0.59 microgram/kg bodyweight iv) on Day 3. Blood was taken ...
Specht TE, Colahan PT, Nixon AJ, Brown MP, Turner TA, Peyton LC, Schneider RK.Ethmoidal hematoma was diagnosed in 9 horses by results of physical examination, endoscopy, radiography, and histologic examination of tissues. The horses had stertorous breathing (n = 4) or intermittently sanguineous nasal discharge (n = 7). All horses underwent sinusotomy and extirpation of the lesion. At reexamination 15 to 104 months after surgery (mean, 61 months), 3 horses had recurrence of ethmoidal hematoma, and 1 horse had ethmoidal hematoma involving the contralateral ethmoturbinates. One of the horses with recurrence of ethmoidal hematoma also developed a contralateral lesion; both ...
Thaker SR, Dutta SK, Adhya SL, Mattingly-Napier BL.A gene bank of Ehrlichia risticii was constructed in plasmid vector pUC13. Five clones representing discrete regions of the E. risticii genome were tested for their ability to hybridize specifically to E. risticii DNA. None of the clones cross-hybridized with Ehrlichia equi DNA, whereas four of these clones cross-hybridized with Ehrlichia canis and Ehrlichia sennetsu DNAs. However, one clone carrying a 1-kilobase HindIII fragment of E. risticii DNA failed to cross-react with the genomes of E. sennetsu, E. canis, and E. equi in dot blot hybridization assays. The sensitivity of this probe for th...
Daels PF, Shideler S, Lasley BL, Hughes JP, Stabenfeldt GH.Oestrogen secretion was determined by oestrogen conjugate (EC) analysis of urine in three groups of pregnant mares: Group I (N = 6), animals ovariectomized on Day 18-19 of gestation with pregnancy maintained by daily administration of an oral progestagen, altrenogest; Group II (N = 9), untreated, pregnant mares; Group III (N = 5) intact, pregnant mares treated daily with altrenogest. The mean EC concentrations in the ovariectomized mares in Group I increased in a constant linear manner from 17 ng/mg Cr on Day 20 to 291 ng/mg Cr on Day 70, with no apparent surge in oestrogen secretion around Da...
Levine JF, Levy MG, Nicholson WL, Gager RB.Larval Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (n = 327) were fed on Balb/C mice inoculated with Ehrlichia risticii, the etiologic agent of equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (Potomac horse fever). All mice displayed clinical signs of E. risticii infection at the time of feeding. After molting, resulting nymphs (n = 74) were fed on susceptible mice. No clinical signs were observed, and the mice remained seronegative for 6 wk after feeding.
Nyman G, Funkquist B, Kvart C, Frostell C, Tokics L, Strandberg A, Lundquist H, Lundh B, Brismar B, Hedenstierna G.The anatomical basis of gas exchange impairment in the anaesthetised horse was studied by computerised tomography (CT; three shetland ponies) and morphological analysis (one pony and three horses). By means of CT, densities were seen in dependent lung regions early during anaesthesia, both with spontaneous breathing and with mechanical ventilation. The densities remained for some time where they had initially been created when the animal was turned from dorsal to sternal recumbency. Deep insufflation of the lungs reduced the dense area. Gas exchange was impaired roughly in proportion to the de...
Stas E, Kranenburg L, Witt P, de Grauw J, van den Brand J, Ensink J, Brommer H.Meckel's diverticula are a rare cause of small intestinal strangulation, diagnosed at laparotomy or necropsy. This congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract originates from a remnant of the vitelline duct. In reported equine cases, they present as a full-thickness diverticulum on the antimesenteric border of the distal jejunum or proximal ileum. Methods: On laparotomy a Meckel's diverticulum positioned at the mesenteric side was found to be the cause of small intestinal strangulation. This position is very uncommon and to the best knowledge of the authors there is no unambiguous descrip...
Gollob E, Edinger H, Stanek C, Wurnig C.The purpose of this study was to evaluate ultrasonographic imaging as a means of easy and noninvasive diagnosis of articular and periarticular structures of the atlanto-occipital articulation in the horse; and to find a safe approach to the atlanto-occipital joint. Ultrasonographic investigations were performed on 6 healthy horses and 16 specimens from horses humanely destroyed age 2-17 years (mean 9.56 years). Preliminary examinations included anatomical studies and preparation of cross-sections. On 4 horse specimens, puncture of the atlanto-occipital joint under ultrasonographic guidance was...
Jaskólska M, Adamiak Z, Zhalniarovich Y, Przyborowska P, Peczyński Z.Deep digital flexor tendinopathy is a common problem in horses of different athletic disciplines. Nowadays, the use of magnetic resonance imaging is considered to be a noninvasive and superior choice for recognizing bone and soft tissue pathologies especially related to difficult to access structures within the hoof capsule.
HENNING MW.1. Two outbreaks of infectious equine abortions are reported; both
with a very high abortion incidence.
2. In the majority of the abortions studied the foetal organs were found
to be extensively invaded by S. abortus-equi but in others this organism
could not be recovered from the foetus or after-birth.
3. Both donkey and horse mares were found to be susceptible, donkeys
being on the whole more resistant than horses.
4. Abortion was successfully produced in both horse and donkey mares
by means of (a) the oral administration of minced abortus-equi infected
foetal organs (4 cas...
Skarbek A, Ramseyer A, Koch C, Van der Vekens E.An incidental osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesion was found in a left tarsus of a 3-year-old Freiberger stallion presented for a prepurchase examination. The lesion was best visualized on the dorsomedial-plantarolateral oblique and dorsoplantar projections. A standing computed tomographic examination confirmed a fragmentation of the dorsodistolateral aspect of the calcaneus. In suspected OCD lesions at the distal aspect of the talus or calcaneus, a dorsoplantar projection of the tarsus improves lesion localization and could be added to the standard radiographic protocol during OCD screening...
Serena A, Hanson RR, Kincaid SA.To evaluate the value of microarthroscopy in the equine midcarpal joint using the vital stains methylene blue, trypan blue, neutral red, and Janus green B to observe components of the synovial lamina propria, vascular architecture, and synoviocytes. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Ten horses. Methods: Microarthroscopy of left and right midcarpal joints was performed with and without vital staining of the synovium. Four vital stains (methylene blue, trypan blue, neutral red, and Janus green B) were evaluated, with each stain used in 5 joints. Synovial biopsy specimens were collected from the do...
Dwyer AE.Ophthalmic problems account for up to 20% of emergencies in equine practice. Presenting problems may involve the periocular region, adnexa, or globe. Practitioners must have the experience to restrain horses with painful ocular conditions and the knowledge of how to perform a thorough eye examination. A range of clinical skills is required for the necessary diagnostic tests such as corneal cytology, ultrasound and tonometry, and common standing surgical procedures such as eyelid repair or instillation of a subpalpebral lavage system. Therapy, which may involve frequent administration of multip...
Brommer H, Schipper P, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.Records of lame horses (2004-2007) with (peri-)synovial pain of the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ, n = 53), digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS, n = 20), and distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ, n = 31) were evaluated (n = 104). Cases were grouped according to the following treatments: (1) systemic administration of NSAIDs (n = 40); (2) intrasynovial administration of glucocorticosteroids (n = 30); (3) combination treatment (n = 34). Outcome was defined as successful when the owner reported that the horse had returned to its previous level of performance within a period of up to six months aft...
Sparks HD, Stick JA, Brakenhoff JE, Cramp PA, Spirito MA.3 foals were referred for treatment of tympany of the auditory tube diverticulum (guttural pouch). Results: Bilateral guttural pouch tympany was diagnosed in all 3 foals on the basis of clinical signs and results of radiographic and endoscopic evaluations and gutturocentesis. In each foal, previous medical or surgical interventions or both had failed to correct the problem. Results: Bilateral surgical resection of the plica salpingopharyngeus was performed. Follow-up telephone interviews with owners 8 months to 3 years after surgery revealed that long-term resolution of the tympany had been ac...
Lindsay WA.Topical medications and bandages play an important role in the management of equine wounds. Certain water-soluble antibacterial ointments (povidone-iodine, polymixin-neosporin-bacitracin) may be appropriate for use on contaminated wounds. A well-designed equine bandage is usually composed of primary, secondary, and tertiary layers. Because so many different products are available, the practitioner is advised to become familiar with the handling characteristics of a few. Because of the irregular contours of the equine limb, only products that stretch and conform should be used. Bandages should ...
Turk MA, Klei TR.Eighteen parasite-free pony foals were infected orally with 500 third stage larvae of Strongylus vulgaris. At 56 days after infection, six ponies were treated with intramuscular ivermectin (22, 23-dihydroavermectin B1); six were treated with oral ivermectin; and six were not treated. Necropsy was done 91 days after infection to study the pathologic effects of migrating S. vulgaris larvae and to determine the efficacy of ivermectin in attenuation of S. vulgaris-induced lesions. Larval migration induced eosinophilic inflammation of the liver, spleen, mesenteric, colic and cecal lymph nodes, and ...
Turner AS, Gabel AA.Avulsion fractures of the posteromedial eminence of the 2nd phalanx were repaired, using an ASIF cortex screw in 3 reining Quarter Horses. Within 9 and 11 months, respectively, 2 horses were sound and back in competition as reining horses. The other horse was sound for pleasure class showing at 7 months after surgery.
Modrakowski A, Siembieda J, Szymonis-Szymanowski W.Four horses manifesting locomotor incoordination were used in the research. Precise localization of the compression of cervical spinal cord due to malforming lesions or instability of the vertebral column was determined by means of radiography and myelography. The results, particularly those obtained by means of myelography, appeared to be of decisive diagnostic importance to planned surgical operation to remove the compression of the spinal cord.
Malinska M, Havlicek Z, Koru E, Rezac P.Little is known about factors influencing gestation length in heavier types of horses. The objective was to assess the effects of the weight and age of mares, weight and sex of foals, lactation, month and year of conception, month of foaling, stallion and mare on gestation length in the endangered Old Kladruber breed that once served as a heavy coach horse for ceremonies of the Imperial Court in Vienna. The study was performed at the stud farm Slatinany, Czech Republic and reports data from foaling seasons between 2001 and 2018. A total of 649 gestations were included in the study. Gestation i...
Gregory MW, Longstaff JA, Giles CJ.Ciliates resembling Polymorphella ampulla (Dogiel, 1929) were found in large numbers in the crypts and lamina propria of the caecum and colon of a one-year-old Thoroughbred gelding that had shown recurring bouts of chronic diarrhoea and weight loss over a 5-month period. A heavy burden of helminths, mainly cyathostomes (trichonemes) was present at post-mortem examination and no significant bacterial pathogens were recovered. It was considered that the Polymorphella (which is normally a commensal organism) had in this case assumed a secondary pathogenic role.
Munday JS, Grant K, Orbell G, Vaatstra BL.A 6-year-old Thoroughbred mare developed multiple flat plaques, < 1 cm in diameter, on the left front fetlock. These were treated topically using 5-fluorouracil and resolved after 4 weeks. However, additional similar plaques developed on the left front pastern 5 months later. These lesions resolved within 3 months without treatment. Unassigned: One plaque that developed initially and one plaque that developed later were examined histologically. Both consisted of well-demarcated foci of moderate epidermal hyperplasia. Scattered throughout both plaques were cells showing evidence of papillo...
Haluska GJ.Electromyographic (EMG) recordings were made during the last two weeks of pregnancy from two mares. Four bipolar EMG electrodes were implanted in the uteri of the mares; near the tubo-uterine junction and bifurcation of the pregnant horn, in the body of the uterus and near the cervix. Plasma samples were collected every 4 hours during the same period and more intensely during parturition. Estradiol 17 beta, progesterone, PGF2 alpha metabolite and oxytocin were measured by radioimmunoassay. During the last week preceding delivery, EMG activity was elevated and was greatest at night. EMG activit...
Thomson-Parker TL, Fikes KK, Anderson MJ, Wagner AL, Girard ID, Suagee-Bedore JK.Calming supplements are common in the equine industry. This study tested the hypothesis that Phytozen EQ, a blend of citrus botanical oils, magnesium, and yeast would reduce startle response as well as reduce behavioral and physiological signs of stress in young (1.5-6 years of age) horses (n = 14) when tied in isolation and when trailered in isolation. During the 59-day trial, horses were assigned to either the control (CON; n = 7) or treatment (PZEN; n = 7) group that received 56 g of Phytozen EQ daily. Horses underwent a 10-minute isolation test on d 30 and a 15 minute individual trai...
Brownlow MA.Cells in the peritoneal fluid from 179 horses were examined in Giemsa stained preparations using light microscopy. Neutrophils were found in all samples whether transudative or exudative although their proportions varied enormously. They were well preserved in "normal" or sterile effusions and hardly differed morphologically from those seen on a peripheral blood film although hypersegmentation was commonly observed. In purulent effusions a reliable correlation was found between degenerative changes in neutrophils such as karyolysis and karyorrhexsis and the presence of toxin-producing microorg...
Rietbroek NJ, Dingboom EG, Everts ME.REASONS OF PERFORMING STUDY: To obtain broader insight into the muscle of foals with different genetic background, muscle fibre composition, its post natal development and citrate synthase (CS) activity of the gluteus medius were investigated. Objective: Because muscle properties are influenced genetically and related directly to performace ability, muscle characteristics should be affected by selection and correspond with the requirement of ths sports selected for. Methods: The foals were divided into Group A, (n = 16), considered an average of the population, and Group B (n = 36), selected f...
Hallebeek JM, Beynen AC.The influence of dietary soybean oil versus palm oil on the plasma level of triacylglycerols was determined in a crossover experiment with four horses. Based on published data for humans and laboratory animals it was expected that a diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids in the form of soybean oil compared to saturated fatty acids in the form of palm oil would lower the plasma triacylglycerol level. The feeding of soybean oil versus palm oil for a period of four weeks did not change the level of plasma triacylglycerols in horses. Mean levels of triacylglycerol, free fatty acids and 3-hydroxybuty...
van Niekerk CH, Morgenthal JC, Gerneke WH.The histology of the growing, secreting and regressing CL of thirty-five cycling and early pregnant mares with known breeding histories was studied by light microscopy. Thecal cells are best developed a few days before ovulation. They regress very quickly and within 24 hr after ovulation all remaining thecal cells are in an advanced stage of degeneration. Hypertrophy and luteinization of the granulosa cells commences 10 hr after ovulation and maximum size (37-5 mum) is reached later. The luteal tissue enlarges mainly through hypertrophy of the lutein cells. Two types of lutein cells are found ...
Littlewood HF.A technique for implanting carbon fibre into sprained flexor tendons in horses is described. Insertion of the fibres through paravertebral needles which passed through the affected region of the tendon was considered to be preferable to direct implantation into the surgically opened tendon. The results of the eight cases treated to date are dealt with briefly, together with a discussion as to how this form of treatment could be further evaluated.
Goble DO.With recent advances in diagnostic techniques associated with equine lameness, there is a tendency to reduce our reliance on the most important part of purchase evaluation of the horse-the hands-on physical examination. This article stresses the importance of the physical examination and advises less dependence on involved diagnostic procedures.
Matsuda H, Matsuda K, Muko R, Oikawa MA, Tanaka A.Much is known regarding a good prognosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) is achieved with adequate, intensive, and early treatment, which leads to acceleration of the renal blood flow rate and associated urination. Low-dose dopamine (1 to 5 μg/kg bwt per min) is a treatment option for AKI in humans but remains controversial for use in horses because of the lack of extensive clinical trial data. A 19-year-old Westfalen horse gelding was referred to the Animal Medical Center with a 1-hour history of mild abdominal pain and anorexia after dressage exercise for 1 hour. Since elevated serum levels o...
Grandy JL, Hodgson DS.The physiologic changes that take place in horses presented for emergency abdominal surgery and the effects of these changes on the horse's anesthetic management are discussed.
Nishita T, Goto T, Kimura H, Asari M.1. In this study, carbonic anhydrase III (CA-III) content in 18 equine muscles was determined by enzyme immunoassay. 2. It was found to differ in several muscles. 3. That in external intercostal muscle, rectus abdominis muscle and splenius muscle from four horses was very high. 4. Although the masseter muscle had only type I fibers, CA-III content was similar to that in mixed-fiber type muscles such as the biceps femoris muscle. 5. It thus appear that equine type I fibers can be further subgrouped.
Revington M.Eight hundred and sixteen blood samples were collected from Thoroughbred racehorses at the race track, 1 to 3 h before racing, and subjected to routine haematological examination. Attempts were made to correlate the haemogram with subsequent performance. Races were classified according to age, class and distance, and performances were grouped according to distance from the winner. Intra- and interclass comparisons were made but no relationship emerged between racing performance and the haemogram. The haemograms of individual horses on different occasions were compared with subsequent performan...
Bonilla AG, Santschi EM.A 16-year-old American paint horse gelding was presented for evaluation of a left forelimb lameness grade III/V. Radiographs and computed tomography revealed a comminuted fracture of the accessory carpal bone involving the entire articulation with the distal radius and the proximal aspect of the articulation with the ulnar carpal bone. Multiple fragments were present in the palmar pouch of the antebrachiocarpal joint. An arthroscopic-assisted open approach was necessary to remove all fractured fragments. Subsequently the horse was re-admitted for lameness and was treated successfully with anti...
