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.
d'Abreu F.This research article discusses brain injuries in jockeys, particularly in horse racing. The author recounts the preventive measures taken by the Jockey Club and the Betting Levy Board to protect […]
Muir WW, Skarda RT, Milne DW.An evaluation and comparison of thermodilution technique with dye dilution technique was made in the computation of cardiac output in 39 conscious adult horses (av body wt, 450 kg). Estimation of cardiac output by thermodilution was found to compare favorably with values obtained from dye dilution when a volume of 30 to 40 ml at a temperature of 0 C was used. Difficulties in obtaining accurate thermodilution curves in the horse seem predominantly associated with errors in mixing and observation.
Barban PS, Minaeva VM, Pantiukhina AN, Startseva MG.A comparative study was made of the serological properties and virus-neutralizing activity of antiencephalitis gamma-globulin and Fab-fragments isolated from it by gel-filtration. Horse immunoglobulins against the autumno-summer tick-borne encephalitis virus could be disintegrated with the aid of papaine to monovalent Fab-fragments which (according to the complement fixation reaction, the test of suppression of the complement fixation, and the HAIT) retained the serological activity whose level was compared with that of the serological activity of gamma-globulin. Fab-fragments possessed a mark...
Poskus E, Zakin MM, Fernámdez HN, Paladini AC.Peptide fragments, obtained from equine growth hormone by cyanogen bromide cleavage and further chemical treatment, were isolated and identified. Their immunological reactivities were tested by hemagglutination and complement fixation methods using rabbit antisera against native hormone. Antigenic determinants were detected in the fragments comprising amino acid sequences 5-72 and 73-123, this last one being predominant. Fragment 124-178 had very low reactivity. Nitration of peptide 73-123 did not modify its immunological properties,but oxidation diminished them. Comparison of the antigenicity...
Sidhu GS, Brown MA, Johnson AR.Factors contributing to the initiation of lipid oxidation in cow's and mare's milk containing high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were studied. Addition of H2O2 just after milking, in slight excess of the stoichiometric amounts required to destroy ascorbic acid, delayed the development of oxidized flavours in cow's milk high in linoleic acid. Hydrogen peroxide treatment followed by the addition of alpha-or gamma-tocopherols prevented lipid oxidation in cow's milk even when 0.1 mg Cu/l milk was added. When used separately in the presence of Cu these treatments were ineffective as was but...
Glinsky MJ, Smith RM, Spires HR, Davis CL.Three experiments, each utilizing three ponies, were conducted using a mixed VFA solution of [1−14C] acetate, [1−14C] propionate and [2–33H] butyrate to determine VFA production rates in the cecum of the pony. Diet A used in experiment 1, contained a forage to grain ratio of 1:2, while diet B, used in experiments 2 and 3, contained a forage to grain ratio of 3:1. Experiment 1, in which a constant infusion technique was used, resulted in net VFA production rates (mmoles/min) of 3.667 to 3.977 (x̄=3.836) for acetate, .410 to 1.664 (x̄=1.213) for propionate and .342 to 1.124 (x̄=.629) fo...
Gopinath G, Ford EJ.The hepatotoxic effect of oral halothane in the horse is increased by pretreatment with phenobarbitone or DDT but not by chlorpromazine. Phenobarbitone and DDT increase the activity of hepatic amidopyrine N-demethylase but chlorpromazine does not. Carbon disulphide protects the liver of the horse against halothane.
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Experimentally induced infections of Parascaris equorum in worm-free pony foals required 14 to 17 days for migration of the larvae through the liver and lungs, and 79 to 110 days to become gametogenically functional. Treatment of experimentally infected or naturally exposed foals during the parenteral phase of development, using levamisole at 8 mg/kg, a mixture of levamisole at 8 mg/kg plus piperazine at 88 mg base equivalent/kg, or dl-tetramisole at 10 mg/kg, was quite efficacious in (1) reducing the number of P. equorum larvae recovered from the small intestines of the foals at necropsy, or ...
McKay AG, Milne FJ.A project to determine if intraarticular corticosteroid therapy was deleterious to the racing Thoroughbred was carried out in the 1971, 1972, and 1973 racing seasons. Of 22 horses available for follow-up examination, 6 had radiographic evidence of deterioration; 1 of these was destroyed because of probable corticosteroid-induced arthropathy. The remaining 16 horses did not have any evidence of deterioration. One of the 16, a stakes winner, had been given 12 injections into the left front fetlock during the 3-year period. It was concluded that if proper and careful aftercare is adhered to, intr...
Myers DM.Three pathogenic leptosipras and 12 saprophytic Leptospira biflexa strains were isolated from 72 apparently normal horse kidneys collected at an abattoir in Argentina. Cross-agglutination reaction patterns of the pathogens showed that they were antigenically homologous with members of the Hebdomadis group. When one of the strains was compared to Hebdomadis serotypes in reciprocal agglutination-absorption tests, it was found to be serologically homologous to serotype hardjo. This is the first known report of an isolation of this serotype from horses. Serological tests were also carried out on r...
Scherer WF, Anderson K, Pancake BA, Dickerman RW, Ordonez JV.Seventy-four strains of Venezuelan encephalitis (VE) virus recovered from sentinel hamsters or mosquitoes at enzootic habitats in Guatemala in the two years following the 1969 epidemic-equine epizootic were examined for ability to produce small plaques in Vero African green monkey kidney cell cultures, like isolates obtained during the epizootic. (a) One strain recovered from a sentinel hamster in late October 1969 at an enzootic habitat near the epicenter of the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) and equine-virulence properties like epizootic virus; this strain retained its small plaque charact...
Nickels FA, Grant BD, Lincoln SD.Villonodular synovitis was diagnosed as the cause of lameness in 14 horses. The diagnosis was based on the history, clinical signs, and arthrographic findings. Treatment consisted of surgical excision and radiation therapy. The response to treatment was favorable in 13 horses.
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Critical tests of the activity on large strongyles, ascarids, mature pinworms, and bots were carried out in 11 horses intraorally treated with a paste formulation of thiabendazole. The dose level of 44 mg/kg was administered to 3 horses, and the dose level of 88 mg/kg to 8 horses. Removals of Strongylus vulgaris and mature Oxyuris equi were 100% at the 2 dose levels, and efficacy against Strongylus edentatus varied from 95 to 99% and 89 to 100% for the 44- and the 88-mg/kg dose levels, respectively. Strongylus equinus was completely removed from the 1 infected horse treated at the dose level o...
Hutchens DE, Paul AJ, DiPietro JA, Lock TF, Jones CJ, Rowley DD, Wallace RW.A controlled test was conducted to assess the efficacy bioequivalence of a single dose of 0.5% fenbendazole (FBZ) top dress pellets to a 10% FBZ suspension formulation (Panacur suspension 10%, Hoechst Roussel Vet). Thirty horses with naturally-acquired parasite infections, in replicates of three, were used. Strongyle egg per gram counts were not significantly different (P>0.1) between groups pretreatment, but FBZ treated groups were significantly different from the control group post-treatment. At necropsy, which occurred seven to nine days post-treatment, two methods of nematode recovery were...
Brennvall HM, Bjune T, Sverdrup Ø, Ráki M, Abedini S.Zoonoses are important to consider when humans become ill after being in contact with animals. In such cases thorough patient history is crucial, especially when infections have an unclear cause. We present a patient with infection-associated glomerulonephritis, where a horse was the probable source of infection. A young woman was admitted to the district general hospital in Vestfold, Norway, with infection and acute kidney failure. Renal biopsy suggested glomerulonephritis, and nasopharyngeal culture taken at admission detected Streptococcus equi. It emerged that the patient had daily contact...
Hélie P, Ammann VJ, Kervern I.A 6-year-old, standardbred mare was presented for colic of 12 h duration. Transrectal palpation revealed intestinal distension of unknown cause. The mare was euthanized. At necropsy, segmental jejunoileal incarceration and strangulation through an opening in the spleen was observed. This opening was considered to be a congenital defect.
Allen JL, Herbert G, Muscatello G, Gilkerson JR.Bronchopneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi is an important disease of young horses throughout the world. Although early diagnosis and treatment improves the prognosis, this also increases the amount of antimicrobial usage and therefore increases the likelihood of resistance developing. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the level of resistance to commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents of 97 virulent Rhodococcus equi isolates. Methods: Analysis of archived samples. Methods: Virulent Rhodococcus equi isolates were collected between 1991 and 2014 from clinically affected horses ...
Lány P, Pospísil Z, Zendulková D, Cíhal P, Jahn P.A mild outbreak of acute respiratory infection was reported in racing horses in the fall of 1995. Four studs were investigated for the sources and routes of infection. In five horses from two herds, virus isolates were obtained which, in preliminary typing experiments, were identified as the influenza A/equi 2 virus. The presence of this illness in all the examined herds was confirmed by a rise in specific antibody titres. The affected animals included both older vaccinated horses and young horses not yet vaccinated. Epidemiological studies suggested that the spread of infection occurred in si...
Peremans K, Verschooten F, De Moor A, Desmet P.The clinical and radiographic findings in 21 ponies with laminitis and its treatment and results are described. All ponies received non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. All were fed hay and no concentrates. They were box rested for varying periods depending on clinical improvement. Dorsal hoof wall resection was performed in 11 ponies and all regained complete soundness. To shorten the period of non-activity, working ponies were shod and the hoof wall defect was packed with technovit or a combination of glue with cotton cuttings. Ten were treated conservatively; two recovered completely, fou...
Munro CD, Renton JP, Butcher R.Using a range of positive and negative sexual behaviour components, proceptivity of cycling, non-lactating mares and postpartum, lactating Pony mares was quantified around ovulation. Behavioural observations were compared to plasms concentrations of progesterone, total oestrogens and androstenedione. In addition, in cycling mares, comparison with plasma testosterone concentrations was carried out. Overall rejection behaviour by the mare was apparent both during dioestrus and during periods of basal plasma progesterone concentrations. Within cycling, non-lactating mares, and between postpartum ...
Ringeisen H, Pöschke A, Krähling B, Schröck C, Stoll M, Vogelsberg J, Failing K, Staszyk C.Therapy for equine periodontal disease can include filling of the periodontal pockets and widened interproximal spaces. Recommended dental materials are generally adopted from human dentistry. Objective: To evaluate the biocompatibility of dental materials for equine periodontal fillings in vitro. Methods: In vitro experiments. Methods: Four different dental materials (PeriCare , Provicol , Calxyl and Honigum) were tested on equine periodontal fibroblasts. Possible cytotoxic effects were assessed microscopically and by MTT assay, and the expression of inflammatory marker genes was measured by...
Ellerbrock RE, Canisso IF, Podico G, Roady PJ, Uhl E, Lima FS, Li Z.While recent work demonstrated that enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin reach the fetoplacental unit without causing obvious lesions in the 9-month-old equine fetus or resulting foal, many practitioners still hesitate to prescribe a fluoroquinolone during pregnancy. Since early gestation is a critical time for fetal skeletal development, if fluoroquinolones are chondrotoxic to the fetus at any point during gestation, this period would be important. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of 2 weeks' exposure to enrofloxacin on the equine fetus between 46 and 60 days gestation. Twelve pregna...
Hayes AM, Kastl B, Perry E, Moore AR, Springer NL.Myeloma-related disorders, including multiple myeloma, extramedullary plasmacytoma, and solid osseous plasmacytoma, are rare in horses. Clinical complaints for myeloma-related disorders are nonspecific, and when present, M-protein location is more variable on protein electrophoresis in horses relative to dogs and cats. Here, we describe a case of a 15-year-old Thoroughbred mare who presented with recurrent blepharitis. Marked hyperglobulinemia was an incidental finding on routine hematologic and biochemical testing. Bone marrow aspiration consisted of >30% plasma cells, and serum protein el...
Bischoff K, Moiseff J.Feed as a cause of poisoning in horses can occur on small or large scales. It is challenging to work up cases of suspected feed contamination, but there are resources available to veterinarians and owners. Feed contamination can be chemical or biological. This article focuses on and provides examples of chemical feed contamination including misformulation, adulteration, and natural contaminants. Additionally, recommendations for feed sampling and diagnostic submission, including legal documentation, are included.