Veterinary care in horses encompasses the medical and preventive measures taken to maintain and improve the health and well-being of equine patients. It includes a wide range of practices such as routine health examinations, vaccinations, dental care, parasite control, and management of injuries and diseases. Veterinary care also involves diagnostic procedures, surgical interventions, and therapeutic treatments tailored to the specific needs of horses. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of equine veterinary care, including advancements in diagnostic techniques, treatment protocols, and health management strategies to support the well-being and performance of horses.
Hanson JA, Seeherman HJ, Kirker-Head CA, O'Callaghan MW.Seven horses with severe, persistent lameness of sudden onset were evaluated with scintigraphy and/or computed tomography. The lameness was localised to the front fetlock joint in 2 horses and to the tibiotarsal joint in 5 horses. Five of the horses had a history of intra-articular injections of the involved joint prior to presentation. All horses had effusion of the affected joint and were positive to flexion tests. Intraarticular anaesthesia eliminated or improved the lameness in 4 cases and a nerve conduction block proximal to the affected joint improved the lameness in another. Cytology ex...
Lyons ET, Swerczek TW, Tolliver SC, Drudge JH.At 4 days of age, an orphan horse foal born on a pasture was placed in a parasite-free stall. It was euthanized at 205 days of age and examination revealed numerous. Parascaris equorum specimens, ranging from 3.0 mm to adult size, indicating reinfections in the stall over an extended period of time. Initial infection of the foal was from stages on pasture. The foal had been observed repeatedly eating its own feces and the question is posed as to whether "recycling' of P. equorum eggs several times by coprophagy allowed time for embryonation and reinfection to occur.
Hinckley KA, Fearn S, Howard BR, Henderson IW.Laminitis, a microvascular disease of the equine hoof leads to severe lameness. Exogenous iv 1-arginine and transdermal nitric oxide donors, such as GTN, applied to the pasterns improve lameness during acute laminitis. Near Infrared spectroscopy in an earlier study showed haemostasis and ischaemia in the hoof during acute laminitis, both were alleviated by 1-arginine. Quantitative NIRS in the present study shows that transdermal GTN increases blood flow in the equine hoof. It is concluded that glyceryl trinitrate enhances nitric oxide mediated perfusion within the equine hoof in normal and chr...
Gupta AK, Singh BK, Yadav MP.Fifty aborted foetus samples were diagnosed for the presence of equine herpes virus-1 (EHV-1) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Specific primer pair for amplification of a particular segment of EHV-1 DNA in gc region having 3 Hae III restriction endonuclease sites was used. A 409 base pair segment obtained as PCR amplification product in 9 samples was digested with Hae III to confirm the presence of EHV-1 as the infectious agent in aborted tissues. It was observed that PCR technique was more sensitive, specific and rapid than the conventional virological diagnostic methods.
Ramos-Vara JA, Ortiz-Santiago B, Segalès J, Dunstan RW.This report contains the clinical, histologic, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic findings in two cases of equine cutaneous leishmaniasis. Nodular, sometimes crusty or ulcerated lesions were confined to the pinna and adjacent neck in both animals. The dermal inflammatory infiltrate was lymphohistiocytic in horse No. 1 and pyogranulomatous with formation of tuberculoid granulomas in horse No. 2. Numerous Leishmania organisms were found within macrophages in both animals. There was moderate to intense and specific reaction by immunoperoxidase using a polyclonal antiserum against Leish...
Kirchhof N, Scheidemann W, Baumgärtner W.Multiple neurofibromas, schwannomas, and hyperplastic enteric plexuses were observed in the distal jejunum and ileum of a 6-year-old pinto gelding. The animal was presented because of an acute episode of colic. Three meters of distal small intestine, partially incarcerated in the epiploic foramen, were surgically removed. Numerous tumor nodules up to 10 mm in diameter were found adjacent to a Meckel's diverticulum, predominantly located in the subserosa of a hypertrophic segment. Histologically, tumors were well demarcated and composed of interlacing fascicles formed by spindloid cells. Adjace...
England GC, Clarke KW.In recent years the usefulness of the alpha 2 adrenoceptor agonist drugs has been recognized in equine practice. Several agents have become available and are now licensed for use in a number of countries. The principle actions of all alpha 2 adrenoceptor agonists are similar, in that they produce a reduction in heart rate and alteration of heart rhythm, an initial hypertension followed by a prolonged hypotension, a decrease in the cardiac output and respiratory depression. For clinical purposes, these agents produce sedation and analgesia, they are useful for premedication and markedly potenti...
Estberg L, Stover SM, Gardner IA, Drake CM, Johnson B, Ardans A.To investigate the relation between several racing speed history characteristics and risk of fatal skeletal injury (FSI) in racing Thoroughbreds. Methods: 64 Thoroughbreds euthanatized during a 9-month period in 1991 at a California racemeet because of a catastrophic fracture incurred while racing (cases), identified retrospectively. For each race in which an FSI occurred, 1 control horse was randomly selected from the noncatastrophically injured participants. Methods: Racing and officially timed workout histories were obtained for each horse. Several history characteristics were calculated to...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Drudge JH, Stamper S, Swerczek TW, Granstrom DE.Critical tests (91) were done between 1977 and 1992 in Shetland ponies to evaluate drug susceptibility and population dynamics (present paper) of endoparasites. The test ponies, most less than 1 year old, were from a herd where older animals were treated every 8 weeks initially with cambendazole (CBZ) (1974-1978) and then with oxibendazole (OBZ) (1978-1992). Previous field test data (1974-1992) on older ponies in the breeding herd indicated the presence of benzimidazole (BZ) resistant small strongyles. Data on population dynamics from the present critical tests indicated that 28 species of sma...
Caron JP, Kaneene JB, Miller R.To determine the patterns of use and perceived efficacy of polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) for the treatment of degenerative joint disease in horses. Methods: Cross-sectional mail survey. Methods: 1,522 equine practitioners. Methods: Information was obtained on frequency and route of administration of PSGAG for the treatment of each of 4 forms of degenerative joint disease, the efficacy of PSGAG, and its efficacy compared with that of sodium hyaluronate. Data were analyzed by nonparametric and multivariate regression methods. Results: Response rate was 40.5%. Of practitioners responding...
de la Rúa-Domènech R, Wiedmann M, Mohammed HO, Cummings JF, Divers TJ, Batt CA.The cDNA encoding the equine copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) was cloned from leukocyte total RNA from healthy horses and its nucleotide (nt) sequence was determined. We further sequenced the SOD1 gene from 16 horses diagnosed with equine motor neuron disease (EMND) and eight unrelated, clinically normal horses to determine if this disease, similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in humans, is linked to SOD1 mutations. The 465-bp SOD1 coding region in the horse encodes 153 amino acid (aa) residues. Equine SOD1 exhibited 81.8 and 79.9% sequence identity to the human homolog at the...
Dow SM, Wilson AM, Goodship AE.Horses with acute injuries of the superficial digital flexor tendon were treated with a course of seven intramuscular injections of 500 mg of polysulphated glycosaminoglycan at four-day intervals. Clinical assessments of the lesions were made by a veterinary surgeon at the time of each injection and 14 and 28 days after the last injection. A total of 150 courses of the drug were administered and adequately completed assessment forms were returned for 80 cases. Long-term follow-up data were obtained for 19 cases. The subjective assessments by the veterinary surgeons showed that in 80 per cent o...
Van Hoogmoed L, Snyder JR.Four horses were evaluated for clinical signs consistent with small intestinal disease. During exploratory surgery, primary hematomas in the mesentery were found in 2 horses. The third horse developed a hematoma secondary to a mesenteric rent, whereas in the fourth horse, a hematoma developed secondary to strangulation of the bowel by a mesenteric lipoma. Two horses were euthanatized at surgery, because the extensive nature of the hematoma precluded ligation and there was substantial risk of continued hemorrhage postoperatively. The remaining horses recovered from surgery but developed complic...
Yamashita K, Yonezawa K, Izumisawa Y, Kotani T.The antagonistic effects of atipamezole (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 micrograms/kg i.v.) on medetomidine (10 micrograms/kg i.v.)-induced sedation were evaluated in horses. Although 20 and 40 micrograms/kg of atipamezole were not sufficient to reverse the sedation, 60 micrograms/kg did effectively reverse the sedation. Atipamezole at 80 micrograms/kg was more potent, and significantly shortened the duration of sedation without any apparent side effects, but a higher dose of 100 micrograms/kg was not more effective than 80 micrograms/kg. The possible use of atipamezole as a reversal agent may enhanc...
Devriese LA, Ieven M, Goossens H, Vandamme P, Pot B, Hommez J, Haesebrouck F.Enterococcus faecium strains with vanA-mediated glycopeptide resistance were isolated by enrichment culture from the intestines and feces of several animal species, mainly horses and dogs (8% positive), chickens (7% positive), and pigs (6% positive). Other vanA-positive enterococcal strains were identified as E. durans in gallinaceous birds, E. faecalis in a horse, and E. gallinarum in a pheasant. Samples from pigeons, cage birds, and ruminants were negative. It was concluded that vancomycin resistance is widespread among isolates from farm and pet animals.
Van Hoogmoed L, Snyder JR, Christopher M, Vatistas N.To characterize, in mares, changes in peritoneal fluid that occurred within the first 7 days after routine foaling. Methods: Prospective observational trial. Methods: 15 mares. Methods: Abdominocentesis was performed within 10 days before foaling and again 12 hours, 3 days, and 7 days after each horse foaled. Data recorded for each sample included total nucleated cell count, differential cell count, specific gravity, fibrinogen concentration, and total protein concentration. Smears of each sample were examined by a single clinical pathologist. Results: There were not any significant difference...
Borrow HA.The history, clinical signs, post mortem and histopathological findings from two foals with perforating gastroduodenal ulcers and one foal with a non-perforating gastric ulcer are compared with those of other species with similar lesions. Two of the foals had several erosions in the oesophageal mucosa and the condition had been associated with strictures in the duodenum. The cause of the disease remains obscure but a possible connection with stress has been suggested.
Orr KE, Baker WT, Lynch TM, Hughes FE, Clark CK, Slone DE, Fogle CA, Gonzalez LM.To determine the prognostic value of (1) colonic venous lactate or peripheral lactate values obtained before and after manual correction of a large colon volvulus and (2) a combination of variables including pelvic flexure biopsy. Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: Forty adult horses in which large colon volvulus was diagnosed intraoperatively. Methods: Colonic venous, peripheral venous, and arterial blood samples were collected to measure lactate values before and after manual correction. Mucosal biopsy samples were obtained in cases that underwent enterotomy or colonic resection a...
Peloso JG, Coatney RW, Caron JP, Steficek BA.An obstructive enterolith was diagnosed in an 11-month-old 68-kg miniature horse with a 24-hour history of mild, intermittent colic. Abdominal radiography revealed gas distention of the cecum and the right and left ascending colon, and a radiodense elliptical structure in the area of the left kidney. During exploratory laparotomy, the right dorsal colon was noticed to contain ecchymotic hemorrhage and generalized discoloration in the portion proximal to the location of the enterolith. While exteriorizing the ascending colon, it ruptured caudal to the diaphragmatic flexure in the right dorsal c...
Holcombe SJ, Robertson JT, Richardson L.A 4-year-old Thoroughbred filly was referred for evaluation of a soft palate defect that had been created several weeks earlier during surgical correction of epiglottic entrapment, performed transorally. Surgical correction of the defect was performed via mandibular symphysiotomy. At 85 days after repair, the horse raced successfully. A 2-year-old Thoroughbred filly was admitted for evaluation and treatment of epiglottic entrapment. The soft palate was lacerated during transnasal division of the entrapping membrane. A 2-cm full-thickness soft palate laceration was repaired transorally.
Glaser AL, de Vries AA, Rottier PJ, Horzinek MC, Colenbrander B.Sero-epidemiological surveys have revealed that equine arteritis virus (EAV) is prevalent in most European countries. The virus causes sporadic cases of respiratory disease and abortion in horses, the incidence of which has increased in recent years. Mares and geldings eliminate virus after acute infection, but 30% to 60% of stallions become persistently infected. In these animals, EAV is maintained within the reproductive tract and is shed continuously in the semen. Persistent infection with EAV in stallions has no negative consequences for fertility but mares inseminated with virus-contamina...
Wilson SJ, Taylor J, Gibson J, McKenzie R.A dense population of Pimelea trichostachya plants (Family Thymelaeaceae) in pasture poisoned a horse herd in southern inland Queensland in October-November 2005. Plant density was 2 to 45 g wet weight/m(2) (mean 16 g/m(2)) from 5 to 69 plants/m(2) (mean 38 plants/m(2)) representing 3 to 20% (mean 9%) of the volume of pasture on offer. Ten of 35 mares, fillies and geldings were affected. Clinical signs were loss of body weight, profound lethargy, serous nasal discharge, severe watery diarrhoea and subcutaneous oedema of the intermandibular space, chest and ventral midline. Pathological finding...
Blue MG.Four cases of enterolith obstruction in horses aged from six to 14 years are reported. All four cases had symptoms of persistent low grade abdominal pain and anorexia with an absence of defaecation. Examination revealed reduced gut motility and accumulation of gas, but heart and respiratory rates, rectal temperatures and complete blood counts were all within normal limits. Enteroliths of varying sizes were removed from the region of the transverse colon in all four horses.
Thamsborg SM, Leifsson PS, Grøndahl C, Larsen M, Nansen P.Twelve Standardbred foals (age 3-6 months), with little previous exposure to parasites, were allocated to 2 groups and put onto pasture with low (Group L) or high (Group H) levels of larval contamination of large strongyles and cyathostomes. After 4 weeks grazing in September, the foals were housed indoors until necropsy 15 weeks later. Foals in Group H became clinically more affected than those of Group L in that they showed loss of vigour, weight gain depression, intermittent soft faeces and inappetence. One foal of Group H had persistent diarrhoea and was subjected to euthanasia 12 weeks af...
Rajabi-Toustani R, Tsogtgerel M, Gao Y, Li C, Sakato M, Haneda S, Cheong SH, Nambo Y.Japanese native horses, which consists of 8 breeds, are threatened with extinction. Embryo transfer (ET) is used to reproduce endangered animals in various mammalian species. We aimed to perform ET using native ponies from Kiso and Hokkaido as donors and recipients, respectively. ET operation included long-distance transport of non-cryopreserved embryos from Nagano Prefecture to Hokkaido. Embryos were transported 1500 km over 9 h in a container maintained at 22°C. After transferring two embryos to two recipients, one mare delivered a healthy live foal. These results demonstrated that reciproc...
Grewar JD, Porphyre T, Sergeant ES, Theresa Weyer C, Thompson PN.An African horse sickness (AHS) outbreak occurred in March and April 2016 in the controlled area of South Africa. This extended an existing trade suspension of live equids from South Africa to the European Union. In the post-outbreak period ongoing passive and active surveillance, the latter in the form of monthly sentinel surveillance and a stand-alone freedom from disease survey in March 2017, took place. We describe a stochastic scenario tree analysis of these surveillance components for 24 months, starting July 2016, in three distinct geographic areas of the controlled area. Given that AH...
Akkmeteli MA.Although mycotoxicoses attract more and more attention, the epidemiology of these diseases is still not adequately studied. The author devotes his study to certain diseases. In addition to the diseases whose mycotoxic nature is in no doubt, he conditionally includes certain diseases whose mycotoxic causation needs further proof. The author has assigned stachybotryotoxicosis and alimentary toxic aleukia or fusariotoxicosis to the first category and endemic nephropathy and primary liver-cell carcinoma to the second. His intention in adopting this approach is to establish the common features and ...
Rose PL, Watkins JP, Auer JA.A comminuted, mid-diaphyseal femoral fracture was diagnosed radiographically in a 4-month-old Quarter Horse colt. Disruption of the distal blood supply was suspected, as evidenced by coolness and diminished pulses of the distal portion of the limb. The fracture was repaired by compression plating but the foal's condition continued to deteriorate. A femoral arteriogram of the affected limb was obtained. Positive contrast agent was visible only as far as the mid-shaft of the femur. The foal was euthanatized and the postmortem examination revealed a transected popliteal artery accounting for isch...
Tannus RJ, Thun R.A total of 259 normally fertile mares were examined gynecologically by means of rectal palpation and ultrasonography in order to record the presence of uterine cysts and pregnancy. The incidence of endometrial cysts was 22.4%. Of the 95 cysts observed during the trial, 87.4% were located in the middle and posterior segments of both uterine horns. The size of all endometrial cysts ranged between 3 and 48 mm. When all mares were assigned to three age groups, A 14 years (n = 26), a significant (P < 0.01) increase in the number of endometrial cysts was observed with advancing age (4.3%, 29.1% ...