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.
Shibata N, Tatsumi N, Tanaka K, Okamura Y, Senda N.The intracellular location of the binding site of antibody against purified myosin prepared from equine leucocytes was investigated in neutrophils and lymphocytes by electron microscopy using peroxidase-labelled antibody method. The myosin extracted from equine leucocytes could bind skeletal muscle F-actin and the formed complex showed the biophysical and biochemical properties and electron microscopic appearance of actomyosin. On immunodiffusion, the leucocyte myosin formed a single precipitin line with its antibody prepared in rabbits. The antibody also formed single precipitin lines with my...
Sack WO.The nerve distribution to the digit of the horse was studied with the compound microscope in serial transverse sections of fetal limbs and plotted on life-size outlines of the horse's foot. It was learned that there is much variation in the topography of the branches of the principal nerves. There is no mirror-image nerve distribution on the 2 sides of the foot. The dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve does not extend below the fetlock. The communication between the palmar metacarpal nerves and branches of the dorsal branch of the digital nerves is only a crossing of nerves without exchange of fib...
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.
Warme PK, Scheraga HA.The reported X-ray structure of horse-heart ferricytochrome c has been refined by conformational energy calculations, using a three-stage computational procedure. In stage I, the atomic positions are adjusted to conform to idealized bond lengths and bond angles characteristic of small amino acid derivatives, while yet remaining as close as possible to the X-ray coordinates. In stage II, atomic overlaps are eliminated by adjusting the backbone and side-chain dihedral angles to minimize the nonbonded energy, hydrogen-bonded energy, and rotational energy contributions. In the final stage of refin...
Warme PK.Conformational energies have been evaluated for each of the staggered side-chain conformations associated with the 261 amino acid substitutions known to occur among 60 eucaryotic species. At least 86% of these substitutions can be sterically accommodated (one at a time) within the structure of horse-heart cytochrome c resulting from conformational energy refinement. Simultaneous incorporation of all pertinent amino acid substitutions found in eight representative species into the refined horse-heart structure is also shown to be sterically possible, with few exceptions. In two cases (Pekin duc...
Drew B, Barber WP, Williams DG.On a thoroughbred stud four foals were born with greatly enlarged thyroids and leg weakness. Two foals died within 18 hours of birth, the others subsequently recovered. An enlarged thyroid was also evident in one of the resident mares. The thyroids from the dead foals were hyperplastic. Feed analyses showed that the mares had an iodine intake of about 83 mg daily, 8-8 ppm of the dietary dry matter, due almost entirely to the high iodine content of a proprietary compound horse nut which had been fed at the daily rate of 12 lb per head. It was concluded from the histology of the thyroids, the hi...
Hall LW, Trim CM.Horses breathing spontaneously under halothane anaesthesia were subjected to expiratory resistance by the introduction of a water-trap into the expiratory limb of a circle absorber. Resistances of 10 and 20 cm H2O produced no significant increase in PaO2 (P greater than 0.05) during halothane/air and halothane/oxygen anaesthesia. The imposition of resistance was associated with an increase in PaCO2 and a significant increase in mixed venous PCO2. In three animals subjected to 20 cm H2O resistance under halothane/air anaesthesia, the cardiac output was reduced (P less than 0.01). It was conclud...
Muylle E, Oyaert W.Summary
Epicardial potential measurements were made in 21 horses. Unipolar and bipolar electrograms were recorded from numerous sites on both the right and left ventricular surface. Unlike the situation in man and dog, the earliest epicardial breakthrough of excitation was present in two areas on the left ventricular surface.
Activation of the largest parts of the ventricular surfaces occurred in a very short period of time. No fronts of activation could be demonstrated. Only in some basal parts isochrones could be drawn: the extreme basal areas were the last to be depolarised. A possibl...
Pauli B, Althaus S, Von Tscharner C.Migrating fourth-stage larvae of Strongylus vulgaris, a parasite of equines, damage the intima of the anterior mesenteric artery and its larger branches and induce thrombus formation on the injured sites. As the time of larval passage through each of these branches has been exactly determined in earlier experiments, the aim of the present studies is to contribute to a more complete understanding of repair mechanisms in the process of time after thrombotic vascular injuries. Methods: five foals were separated individually to specially cleaned stables and given anthelmintic treatment till the ag...
Ogbourne CP.Studies on the epidemiology of Strongylus vulgaris infection of the
horse. International Journalfor Parasitology 5: 423426. Observations are reported on the size and age
structure of Stronglyus vulguris populations recovered from the anterior mesenteric artery and its
main branches of horses slaughtered at regular intervals throughout a year. Marked seasonal variations were found in the mean monthly numbers of worms present. During spring/early summer the
numbers were relatively low and a large proportion of the arteries had no worms in them at all.
Thereafter, the arterial worm burdens q...
Oxender WD, Noden PA, Bolenbaugh DL, Hafs HD.To determine the minimal effective dose of prostagiandin (PGF2alpha; tromethamine salt) given subcutaneously (SC), mares of mixed breeding (400 kg av body weight) were given 2-, 3-, 5-, and 10-mg doses from 7 to 9 days after ovulation. In some but not all mares given doses of 2 and 3 mg of PGF2alpha, luteolysis occurred, but doses of 5 or 10 mg of PGF2alpha were luteolytic in all mares. The 10-mg dose of PGF2alpha did not cause luteolysis in mares 1 day after ovulation, and caused luteolysis in only 2 of 5 mares on day 3 after ovulation. The same dose of PGF2alpha, however, caused luteolysis i...
Hall NP, Ragle CA, Farnsworth KD, Caffey SR, Sanclemente JL.To describe a technique for basihyoid-ceratohyoid disarticulation (BCD) in standing sedated horses affected by temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) and report outcomes for horses that underwent the procedure. Methods: 6 client-owned horses. Methods: Electronic medical records of a veterinary teaching hospital were searched to identify horses that underwent BCD for treatment of THO from 2018 to 2019. Signalment, clinical data, use of the horse, and complications were recorded. Follow-up data obtained by telephone interview with owners included the clinical outcome and time to improvement after s...
Sandusky GE, Wightman KA.Specific cell populations in the pituitary glands of the rat, cat, pig, and human being were positive for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). When reacted with prediluted rabbit anti-human TSH, LH, and FSH, antisera were not positive for the demonstration of these hormones in the horse, cow, or dog. Immunocytochemical staining was obtained in the horse, cow, and dog by the use of a primary antiserum against a specific beta-subunit of bovine TSH. The immunocytochemical staining of TSH, LH, FSH, adrenocorticotropic hormone, growth ...
Forster HV, Pan LG, Flynn C, Bisgard GE.The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was any recovery of the Hering-Breuer inflation reflex in ponies between 2-4 wk and 3-4 yr after hilar nerve denervation (HND). Under anesthesia and before HND, airway occlusion after a 3-liter lung inflation lengthened the subsequent occluded breath by nearly 10 times the control breath duration. Between 2 wk and 3-4 yr after HND, this maneuver increased the duration of the occluded breath by only 2.5 times the control breath duration. Also under anesthesia, the airway was occluded at end expiration. This maneuver increased the duration...
Hofing GL, Bennett DG.Shetland ponies (n = 4) were given diethylcarbamazine orally at a dose level of 22 mg/kg/day for 1 week before they were inoculated with 800 third-stage larvae of Strongylus vulgaris. Treatment was continued for 86 (1 pony) or 200 days (3 ponies) after the inoculation. As compared with the changes seen in a similarly inoculated group of ponies (group 2) which were not treated, diethylcarbamazine did not prevent the clinical or pathologic changes due to the migrating larvae. Fewer adult parasites were recovered at necropsy from treated ponies than from nontreated (group 2) ponies, even when tre...
Salinger A, Mochal-King C, Clinton K, Priddy LB, Elder S, Fontenot R, Eddy A, Wills R, Jaffe M.Frontal plane slab fractures account for the majority of third carpal bone (C3) fractures in racing and performance horses. Recommended treatment is stabilization with a lagged AO cortical screw. Associated complications are fragment splitting, fragment spinning, and irritation of dorsal soft tissue structures. A novel, headless, cannulated screw with interlocking threads the Headless Compression Screw Fastener (HCSF) has been developed to resist multidirectional forces and bending moments; however, it has not been applied in the horse. Simulated C3 frontal plane slab fractures were created in...
Madej A, Kindahl H, Nydahl C, Edqvist LE, Stewart DR.Two mares received PGF-2 alpha twice daily until abortion and 2 mares received a combined treatment with oestradiol benzoate and oxytocin. The mares were about 150 days pregnant. The PG-treated animals aborted after 37 and 61 h, respectively, and the fetuses were expelled in intact fetal membranes. The other 2 mares aborted 13 and 27 h after the first oxytocin injection, respectively, and showed strong uterine contractions and expelled the fetuses in disrupted fetal membranes. Concentrations of 15-ketodihydro-PGF-2 alpha increased both after PG and oxytocin injections and in association with t...
Mogg TD.Cardiac disease is often life-threatening and challenging to treat. Prolonged therapy is indicated in many cases, which can lead to problems with treatment costs, owner compliance, and potential drug toxicity. Many therapies are empirical or based on data from other species because of a lack of well-designed prospective clinical trials in horses. This article reviews the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics of heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial disease, endocarditis, and pericardial disease.
Ginther OJ, Cuervo-Arango J, Beg MA.The role of passage of follicular fluid into the peritoneal cavity during ovulation in the transient disruption in the periovulatory FSH and LH surges was studied in ovulatory mares (n=7) and in mares with blockage of ovulation by treatment with an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis (n=8). Mares were pretreated with hCG when the largest follicle was ≥32 mm (Hour 0). Ultrasonic scanning was done at Hours 24 and 30 and every 2h thereafter until ovulation or ultrasonic signs of anovulation. Blood samples were collected at Hours 24, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 48, and 60. Ovulation in the ovulatory gr...
Karasu GK, Krabbenborg R, Einspanier A, Vervuert I.This study aimed to investigate the effect of a second meal of a fibre- or starch-enriched compound feed on glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in healthy horses. In a cross-over design, horses were fed either a starch-enriched compound feed (SCF) or a fibre-enriched compound feed (FCF). On days of blood collection, test diets were fed in the morning (0800 h, first meal) and a second meal was fed 510 min after the first meal was finished (second meal). Significantly higher glycaemic and insulinaemic responses were associated with SCF compared with FCF. Feeding FCF for the second meal yiel...
Duvivier DH, Bayly WM, Votion D, Vandenput S, Art T, Farnir F, Lekeux P.The present study evaluated ventilatory, cardiovascular and metabolic parameters during recovery from strenuous exercise in horses suffering from a crisis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to determine whether ipratropium dry powder inhalation (DPI) before exercise has an effect on these parameters. When 6 saddle horses, affected with COPD, developed airway obstruction, they inhaled placebo and ipratropium (2400 microg/horse), the order being randomly chosen. Pulmonary function tests were then recorded 15 min after inhalation. Following these tests, the horses underwent a str...
Day WE, Bowen JA, Barhoumi R, Bazer FW, Burghardt RC.This investigation examines the relationship between implantation strategy and gap junction protein expression in uterine endometrium. The pattern of gap junction and connexin protein expression was analyzed in porcine and equine endometrium from cycling and pregnant animals using electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. Functional analysis of cell-cell communication was also monitored by laser cytometry in primary cultures of endometrial epithelial cells. Gap junctions were detected in endometrial stroma of cycling and pregnant animals, which was correlated with immunoreactive Cx43 within...
Sandoval C, True C.Clients want dependable veterinary care and to understand how the services will benefit and meet their horse’s needs. Wellness visits provide ambulatory practitioners with great opportunities to strengthen the doctor-client-patient bond; effective communication with clients during wellness visits, where new literature or facts can be presented, can offer opportunities for demonstrating the value of having the veterinarian maintain a primary role in disease control. The criteria for selecting vaccines, interpreting FECs, and diagnosing dental pathology require the continued need for veterinar...
Illera JC, Illera M, Hamlin RL.Electrocardiograms were obtained from 100 male crossbred horses. In addition to standard limb leads, leads were taken from 12 points on the thorax. The QRS complexes were categorized into 1 of 8 forms on the basis of configuration and amplitudes of component deflections. Relative uniformity of QRS was determined for each lead, using the percentage of horses that possess a particular configuration. All unipolar thoracic leads, except those coplanar with the frontal plane, and lead aVR had great uniformity, with greater than 80% of the horses with a QRS of similar contour.
Larsen EA, Lack AC, Wassack E.The use of poloxamer 407 gels have been reported in several studies to prolong the release of drugs at the injection site. Oral lesions unrelated to dental disease are rare but may result in ulceration and sequestration of bone. To date, there have been no reports on the use of penicillin G potassium poloxamer 407 gel and its effect on wound healing. The present case report describes the use of a penicillin G potassium poloxamer 407 gel for the treatment of a sublingual abscess involving the mandible in a 20 year old Arabian mare who initially presented with acute onset of dysphagia, hypersali...
Malan FS, Reinecke RK.A single oral dose of fenbendazole (FBZ) at 10mg/kg body mass was given to 5 donkeys. A further 5 donkeys were dosed with a medicated lick (1 mg FBZ/g lick) until the oral consumption was 10mg/kg body mass. In both trials FBZ was highly effective against adults of the following genera: Cyathostomum, Cylicocyelus, Cylicostephanus, Cylicodontophorus, Poteriostomum, Cabellonema, Craterostomum and Triodontophorus; similarly high efficiency was obtained against the following species: Habronema majus, Habronema musca, Strongylus vulgaris and Oxyuris equi and worms identified as belonging to the subf...
Hardee GE, Tshabalala MA, Moore JN, Gokhales RD.Separate high performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for thiabendazole (TBZ) and 5-hydroxy thiabendazole (5-OH-TBZ) determination in horse plasma using 1-methyl-2-phenyl benzimidazole (MPBZ) as an internal standard. In both methods TBZ and 5-OH-TBZ were extracted from plasma using organic solvents, injected on to a C-18 column, and eluents monitored by a fluorescence detector. However, mobile phase composition, extraction solvent as well as detector wavelength differed in the two methods. The linear range for TBZ was 0.02 to 0.77 microgram ml-1 while that for 5-OH-TBZ was 0....
