Treatments for horses encompasses a range of medical and therapeutic interventions aimed at maintaining or restoring equine health. This field involves the use of pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, and alternative therapies to address various conditions affecting horses. Common treatments include the administration of anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and vaccines, as well as physical therapies and nutritional management. Research in this area focuses on evaluating the efficacy, safety, and outcomes of different treatment modalities. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methods, advancements, and clinical outcomes associated with equine treatment practices.
Vidrine M, Owen-Smith P, Faulkner P.In this day of high-tech, managed-care service delivery with an emphasis on medication and brief treatment, it is important for nurses to be aware of nontraditional treatment options that may be uniquely beneficial for some clients. Although it may still be considered a novelty, including animals in the healing milieu is not a new idea. Florence Nightingale herself suggested that "a small pet animal is often an excellent companion for the sick, for long chronic cases especially" (Nightingale, 1969, p. 102). Healing, according to one recent nursing article, can be seen as "a gradual awakening t...
McCue PM, Farquhar VJ, Carnevale EM, Squires EL.Deslorelin implants, approved for use in inducing ovulation in mares, have been associated with prolonged interovulatory intervals in some mares. Administration of prostaglandins in the diestrous period, following a deslorelin-induced ovulation, has been reported to increase the incidence of delayed ovulations. The goals of the present study were: (1) to determine the percentage of mares given deslorelin that experience delayed ovulations with or without subsequent prostaglandin treatment, and (2) to determine if removal of the implant 48 h after administration would effect the interval to sub...
van Duijkeren E, Ensink JM, Meijer LA.The distribution of trimethoprim (TMP) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) into subcutaneously implanted noninfected tissue chambers was studied in healthy adult ponies. Six ponies were given an oral TMP/SDZ paste formulation at a dose of 5 mg/kg TMP and 25 mg/kg SDZ at 12 h intervals for 2 days in order to reach steady-state concentrations. Plasma concentrations and tissue chamber fluid (TCF) concentrations of both drugs were measured at regular intervals during a period commencing 24 h after the last oral administration. The peak concentration of TMP (mean +/- SD) was 2.92 +/- 0.86 microg/mL for plasma a...
Loesch DA, Rodgerson DH, Haines GR, Watt BC.To report the postoperative outcome in horses undergoing jejunoileal anastomosis performed with a 2-layer simple continuous technique. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 7 horses. Methods: Information regarding signalment, clinical signs, findings at surgery, and postoperative complications was obtained from medical records of horses that underwent exploratory ventral midline celiotomy, small intestinal resection, and jejunoileal anastomosis to correct various small intestinal strangulating lesions. Follow-up information was obtained via telephone conversations with owners or trainers. Res...
Erkert RS, MacAllister CG, Higbee R, Moll HD, Reiners S, Crowson C, Bahr R, Bartels KE.Use of a neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser to remove exuberant granulation tissue from the esophagus of a horse A 4-year-old Quarter Horse mare was evaluated because of recurrent esophageal obstruction. Endoscopic examination revealed a proliferative mass in the esophagus approximately 55 cm aborad to the nares. Histologic examination of biopsy specimens revealed diffuse suppurative esophagitis and granulation tissue with no evidence of neoplasia. The mass was excisedand ablated transendoscopically with a neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. During a follow-up examination 2 weeks aft...
MacGillivray KC, Sweeney RW, Del Piero F.The clinical and pathologic findings are reviewed for 14 horses with metastatic melanoma. All were older gray horses, with an average age of 16 years. The most common sites of primary tumors were the ventral tail, perineum, and parotid salivary gland. Metastases were found in multiple locations and caused a variety of clinical syndromes. The most common sites for metastases were the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, lungs, and surrounding or within blood vessels throughout the body. Many of the horses had dermal melanomas for years (range 1-6 years) before succumbing to metastatic d...
Khan SA, Kuster DA, Hansen SR.Moxidectin is a macrolide endectocide available as a 2% equine oral gel in the US. This report presents clinical signs of moxidectin toxicosis and its treatment in equines as reported to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) from January 1998 to December 2000. Nine cases of moxidectin overdose in equines occurred: 5 had signs of toxicosis such as coma, dyspnea, depression, ataxia, tremors, seizures, or weakness. The approximate dose of moxidectin at which these signs were observed ranged from 1.0 to 5.1 mg/kg. The 4 equines that ingested moxidectin between 0.9 mg/kg to 1.7 mg/kg did no...
Semevolos SA, Ducharme NG, Hackett RP.To compare postoperative complications, short- and long-term survival, and surgical times for hand-sewn end-to-end (EE), stapled functional end-to-end (FEE), and stapled side-to-side (SS) anastomotic techniques for jejunal resection in horses. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 59 horses. Methods: Medical records were reviewed to obtain signalment, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome for horses that underwent jejunojejunostomy in our hospital. Only horses that recovered from anesthesia were included in the study. Results: Among the 59 horses, there were 33 EE, 15 FEE, and 11 SS anastomoses. ...
Little D, Keene BW, Bruton C, Smith LJ, Powell S, Jones SL.A 49-kg (107.8-lb) sexually intact male Arabian foal was evaluated at 3 days of age because of profuse watery diarrhea, anorexia, and signs of abdominal pain. Physical examination findings were unremarkable except for evidence of diarrhea. A catheter was placed in the right jugular vein for administration of antimicrobials and lactated Ringer's solution. The foal was discharged with instructions to the owner to continue antimicrobial administration and fluid therapy; at home, the owner inadvertently cut the catheter at the level of the hub during attempted removal, and the catheter fragment mi...
Farquhar VJ, McCue PM, Carnevale EM, Nett TM, Squires EL.Following induction of ovulation with deslorelin acetate (Ovuplant), gonadotrophin concentrations are reduced in the subsequent cycle, leading to increased interovulatory intervals in some mares. This study determined whether implant removal after 2 days prevented the decrease in gonadotrophin concentrations and follicular growth during the ensuing cycle. Twenty-four mares were randomised equally into 3 groups. Group 1 ovulated spontaneously, Groups 2 and 3 received the deslorelin implant to induce ovulation. Two days after treatment, the implant was removed from Group 3. On Day 10 postovulati...
Murray RC, Znaor N, Tanner KE, DeBowes RM, Gaughan EM, Goodship AE.Dorsal carpal osteochondral injury is a major cause of lameness in horses undergoing high intensity training. Intra-articular corticosteroid treatment is used commonly to manage exercise-associated articular pain, but its use remains highly controversial in the equine athlete. This project, therefore, aimed to compare the mechanical properties of intra-articular MPA and diluent-treated middle carpal subchondral and cancellous bone in horses undergoing a short-term treadmill exercise programme. It was hypothesised that subchondral and cancellous bone mechanical properties are influenced by intr...
Ohnesorge B, Gehlen H, Wohlsein P.Description of transendoscopic electrosurgical treatment of a pulmonary granular cell tumor in a horse. Methods: Case report. Methods: A 12-year-old Standardbred mare. Methods: After endoscopic examination and transendoscopic biopsy, a granular cell tumor nodule was removed transendoscopically from the right principal bronchus of the sedated horse (0.02 mg/kg detomide intravenous) with a monopolar electrosurgical wire snare. Two days later, the surgical area was irradiated transendoscopically using a Nd-YAG laser. Results: After surgery, the horse had no further signs of respiratory disease. C...
Dowling BA, Dart AJ, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ, Walsh WR.To evaluate the effect of recombinant equine growth hormone (rEGH) on the in vitro biomechanical properties of healing superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in horses. Methods: Completely randomized design. Methods: Twelve Standardbred horses, 3 to 7 years of age, with ultrasonographically normal forelimb SDFT. Methods: One week after induction of collagenase (2,000 U) induced superficial flexor tendonitis, horses were randomly divided into groups of 6. One group was administered intramuscular rEGH (10 microg/kg/day for 1 week, then 20 microg/kg/day for 5 weeks), whereas the other group (co...
Dart AJ, Cries L, Jeffcott LB, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.To evaluate the effect of a commercially available 25% propylene glycol hydrogel preparation (Solugel; Johnson and Johnson Medical, North Ryde, Australia) on healing of full-thickness skin wounds on the distal aspect of the limb in horses. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Eight Standardbred horses. Methods: Standardized (2.5 x 2.5 cm) full-thickness skin wounds were created over the mid-dorsomedial aspect of both metacarpi in 8 horses. One wound in each horse was dressed with saline solution (0.9% NaCl) soaked gauze, and one was treated with Solugel under dry regular gauze; wounds were then ban...
Spoormakers TJ, Klein WR, van Weeren PR.At the Department of Equine Sciences at Utrecht University a study was performed on the treatment of sarcoids with the cytostatic drug cisplatin. Fourteen horses with 23 sarcoids were treated in the period 2000-2001. Complete regression was seen in 78% of the tumours. No systemic side-effects were encountered. Although treatment was easy to perform, the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle should be followed when using cytostatics.
Lindholm AC, Swensson U, de Mitri N, Collinder E.The clinical effects of intra-articular betamethasone together with hyaluronan (betaM/HA) and treatment with a defocalized carbon dioxide laser on acute traumatic arthritis of the fetlock joint were assessed. The horses in these studies were selected using a thorough lameness examination, including intra-articular anaesthesia abolishing the lameness. This investigation comprised an observer-blind study, including 10 sport horses (10 joints), and a prospective study, including 180 sport horses (333 joints). In both studies, the material was divided into two groups treated with either betaM/HA o...
Robinson EP, Natalini CC.Intercoccygeal, or caudal, epidural injection of local anesthetics is a convenient method of producing analgesia and local anesthesia of the tail and perineal structures in conscious standing horses. This technique has been further developed to provide long duration analgesia and anesthesia by placement of catheters into the epidural space of horses. More recently, opioid, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, ketamine and other analgesic agents have been administered by caudal epidural injection, providing pain relief in both conscious, standing and anesthetized, recumbent horses. This chapter describ...
Mama KR.Many new or modified injectable anesthetic techniques are available for use in horses. This increased availability allows the clinician to select the technique most appropriate for the patient and clinical circumstance. The use of sedative and anesthetic drugs in managing a variety of anesthesia-related and unrelated aspects of patient care is also increasing. As we begin to use these techniques in the clinical management of our patients, it is important to remember that, while there are more options, no single anesthetic agent or combination of agents is devoid of undesirable effects. Knowled...
Colahan PT, Bailey JE, Johnson M, Rice BL, Chou CC, Cheeks JP, Jones GL, Yang M.Following the regimen used to treat equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, sulfadiazine (20 mg/kg) and pyrimethamine (1mg/kg) were administered orally once daily to 12 physically conditioned Thoroughbred horses for 4 consecutive days. The horses were randomly assigned to two test groups in a crossover design, with each horse serving as its own control. A stepwise exercise stress test was conducted to exhaustion. No effect on athletic performance was observed, and only marginal effects were noted in some hematologic and serochemical measurements, including decreased total white blood cell counts, ...
Alexander GR, Gibson KT.Two mares presented with life-threatening rectal tears were successfully treated with intensive medical management. Although surgery has been regarded as mandatory for grade 3 or 4 rectal tears in the past, recent reports have indicated the value of medical management alone. The case reports presented in this article detail the use of antibiotics, flunixin meglumine, laxative diets and faecal softeners in the medical management of two mares presented with grade 3 rectal tears.
Hoff TK, Hood DM, Wagner IP.To evaluate the clinical efficacy of topically administered glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) for inducing digital submural vasodilation in clinically normal horses. Methods: 7 adult horses without foot abnormalities. Methods: A concurrent-control crossover design was used to determine whether topical application of GTN ointment for prevention or treatment of laminitis would result in a detectable increase in digital perfusion. Heat-acclimated horses instumented for detection of wall surface temperature (HWST), mean systemic pressure, and heart rate were used. Horses were exposed to cold to induce dig...
Van Hoogmoed LM, Agnew DW, Whitcomb M, Hyde DW, MacDonald MH, Snyder JR.To describe the ultrasonographic and quantitative histologic effect of injecting 2% iodine in almond oil (IAO) and ethanolamine oleate (EO) in the medial and middle patellar ligaments of horses and to determine whether a difference in response exists between IAO and EO treatment. Methods: 10 healthy horses. Methods: In 5 horses, the medial and middle patellar ligaments of 1 limb were injected with EO, whereas IAO was injected in the medial and middle patellar ligaments of another 5 horses. Ultrasonographic evaluation was performed on the experimental and control limb before injection of IAO an...
Goodrich LR, Nixon AJ, Fubini SL, Ducharme NG, Fortier LA, Warnick LD, Ludders JW.To determine whether preoperative epidural administration of morphine and detomidine would decrease postoperative lameness after bilateral stifle arthroscopy in horses. Methods: Prospective clinical controlled study. Methods: Eight adult horses that had bilateral arthroscopic procedures, including drilling of cartilage and subchondral bone within the femoropatellar joints. Methods: Horses were randomly separated into 2 groups. Preoperatively, 4 horses were administered a combination of epidural morphine (0.2 mg/kg) and detomidine (30 microg/kg), and 4 horses were administered an equivalent vol...
Heinonen E, Nyman G, Meriläinen P, Högman M.Dependent atelectatic lung areas open towards the end of inspiration when the lung opening pressure increases, and recollapse during expiration. We hypothesized that inhaled nitric oxide (NO) counteracts hypoxic vasoconstriction in these collapsing lung areas, resulting in increased pulmonary shunt perfusion. Methods: We administered NO as a pulse and varied the pulse timing during inspiration in equine anaesthesia, where atelectasis develops regularly. Six spontaneously breathing standard breed trotters were studied under isoflurane anaesthesia in lateral recumbency. NO pulsed into the first ...
Breukink HJ, Németh F, van Dieten JS.The clinical examination, anaesthesia and surgery in a gelding with an incarcerated scrotal hernia are described. The results of examination of the blood at regular intervals are shown in a table. Surgery was performed without enterectomy. The postoperation course was uneventful. It is concluded that the possibility of scrotal hernia should be borne in mind, even in geldings with colic. The incarcerated portion of the small intestine is usually found to be the jejuno-ileal junction. The anaesthesiological and surgical features of equine scrotal hernia are discussed.
Tate LP, Sweeney CL, Cullen JM, Corbett WT, Newman HC, Brown TC, Ketner MT.A neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser was used to study effects of applying laser irradiation transendoscopically to the corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage in horses. Dosimetry was established initially in vitro in 10 corniculate cartilages that were irradiated and examined histologically to determine penetration depths at selected power settings. Eleven horses were given xylazine IV and butorphoral tartrate IV, and their left ventricle and corniculate process were irradiated. Six horses had left laryngeal hemiplegia and were euthanatized and necropsied 14 weeks after ...
Yoxall AT.This paper is an introduction to a series of commissioned articles on therapeutic medicine to be published in Equine Veterinary Journal under differing authorship, during the next 2 years. It presents an account of fundamental concepts common to the use of all drugs and introduces some pharmacokinetic principles to which reference will be made in later articles.
Orsini JA, Taylor JI.Enflurane, a new volatile anesthetic agent, was compared with halothane as components of a commonly used clinical anesthetic regime in the pony. Enflurane provides satisfactory general anesthesia when administered at a maintenance concentration of approximately 1.5-2.5%, in combination with a 1:1 nitrous oxide-oxygen mixture. With both agents cardiac rhythm and pulse were stable, however significant arterial hypotension occurred, especially during and following induction, being anesthetic concentration dependent. Hypoventilation was induced by both agents, there being no significant quantitati...
Wilson DG, Roquet I, Tucker ML, Carmalt JL.Evaluation of the strength of the novel suture technique by comparison with a 2-interrupted suture technique. Methods: 40 equine larynges. Methods: 40 larynges were used; 16 laryngoplasties were performed using the currently accepted 2-suture technique and 16 using the novel suture technique. These specimens were subjected to a single cycle to failure. Eight specimens were used to compare the rima glottidis area achieved with 2 different techniques. Results: The mean force to failure, as well as the rima glottidis area of both constructs, were not significantly different. The cricoid width did...
Derksen FJ, Robinson NE, Stick JA.A surgical technique is described for preparation of chronic cervical vagal loops in ponies. Vagal blockade was induced by circulating methanol (-2 C) through coils which enclosed the loops. Vagal blockade increased tidal volume, heart rate, and systemic blood pressure and decreased respiratory rate. Atropine, given at a dose of 0.04 mg/kg IV, increased heart rate and systemic pressure but did not alter respiratory variables, indicating that vagal cooling caused both afferent and efferent blockade. The effects of vagal blockade were rapidly reversed when refrigerated coils were removed.