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.
Melanie Catanchin CS, Bell J, Labens R, Quinn CT.Detomidine hydrochloride is an alpha adrenoceptor agonist that is commonly used in equine practice to provide sedation and analgesia for horses undergoing standing procedures. Reported effects following intravenous administration of detomidine in horses include bradycardia, bradyarrhythmias, transient hypertension, sweating, piloerection and dose-dependent sedation, ataxia and analgesia. This case report describes a novel response characterised by tachycardia and profound muscle tremors following the administration of intravenous detomidine to a horse undergoing a standing procedure.
Jula CA, Davis JL, McKenzie HC, Council-Troche M.To describe the pharmacokinetics of a single dose of pimobendan (Vetmedin) in healthy adult horses and provide preliminary evidence of the absorption of 2 compounded pimobendan formulations. Unassigned: From August 2022 through November 2022, 6 healthy adult horses were administered a single dose of 0.5 mg/kg pimobendan orally. A subset of 2 horses was also administered pimobendan, compounded as an oil-based suspension and a capsule formulation. Plasma was collected at times 0, 15, 30, and 45 minutes and 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after administration. The plasma concentrations of pimobendan...
White J, Thompson K, van den Berg D, O'Neill G, Mendez DH, Talwar J, Degeling C, Forsythe R, Durrheim DN.With more than 60% of emerging infectious diseases being zoonotic, we apply a One Health lens that connects human, animal, and environmental dimensions of the response to a Hendra virus (HeV) event. One Health promotes collaboration among health professionals, veterinarians, environmental scientists, and policymakers to strengthen health infrastructure and improve responses to complex health threats. HeV is an uncommon high-consequence and potentially fatal zoonotic disease endemic to parts of Australia. Previous research has largely focused on the uptake of preparedness measures by veterinari...
Rossi GAM, Sellera FP, Ferraz CM, Carvalho RS, Oliveira APL, Marques CA, Fávaro EBR, Rosa RDS, Silva LAM, Cardozo MV, Stehling EG, Furlan JPR. Infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat and increase the risk of death in animals. This report describes a fatal case of diarrhea in a horse that, despite intensive treatment including surgery and broad-spectrum antimicrobials (ceftiofur and amikacin), experienced a worsening of its condition and subsequent death. A fecal swab sample was subjected to microbiological culture for the identification of bacteria and assessment of their phenotypical antimicrobial susceptibility profiles using the disk-diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The double-disk ...
Stokes C, Natalini CC, Wills R, Eddy A, Mochal-King C, O'Shea C, Fontenot RL.To evaluate the analgesic properties and adverse effects of liposomal bupivacaine administered via caudal epidural in horses. Methods: Pharmacodynamic study. Methods: A total of 10 healthy adult horses. Methods: Liposomal bupivacaine (10 mL; 1.3%) was administered into the caudal epidural space via an indwelling epidural catheter inserted to a length of 15 cm. Mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) testing with pressure algometry was used to measure analgesia at four anatomic locations for 72 h following injection. Physical examinations (including rectal temperature, heart rate, respirat...
Lepage H, de Chaisemartin C, Spadaro Rosselo A, Leroy H, Lepage O.To describe and report clinical outcomes after transcutaneous guttural pouch (GP) catheterization (TGPC) in standing horses. Methods: Ex vivo study and case series. Methods: One cadaver head, records of 10 normal horses and 14 horses treated with TGPC. Methods: Relevant anatomical landmarks were determined through dissection of one cadaveric specimen and 10 normal radiographic studies. Records of horses diagnosed with empyema or mycosis and treated with standing TGPC were reviewed for complications that occurred during or after the operation. Results: Ex vivo and radiological studies identifie...
Martin-Pelaez S, Orsolini M, Verstraete M, de la Fuente A, Takahashi K, Meyers S, Dini P.Equine in vitro embryo production (IVP) offers a valuable opportunity to enhance the efficient utilization of genetically and economically valuable horses. In cases of subfertility, sudden death, emergency euthanasia, or limited sperm availability, IVP becomes the only viable option to produce offspring. Due to steadily improving success rates, IVP has become one of the most sought-after assisted reproductive techniques. The rising global demand has created a clear need for veterinarians and stallion owners to provide IVP-suitable sperm, where the selection of intact sperm for intracytoplasmic...
Ken-Dror G, Chua V, Sharma P.To determine the frequency of traumatic injuries in polo players in England. Methods: The survey included data on body location and reason for injury derived from accident reports using a retrospective cohort design from 26 participating English polo clubs between the years 2018 and 2024. Results: The study population included injuries in 236 polo players. The most common injury site was the limb (arm, hand, leg, wrist, shoulder) 47.9% (95% CI: 41.4-54.5), and face or head 38.6% (95% CI: 32.3-45.1), of which 12.1% (95% CI: 6.2-20.6) affected the eyes. The most common reason to require hospital...
McCrae P, Spong H, Moorehead J, Pearson W.A smart textile device has been developed for the recording of electrocardiograms (ECGs) in horses; however, the utility of this device for long-duration heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring and detection of physiological arrhythmias is unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate a smart textile device for HRV over long durations (6 h) in resting horses. ECGs were recorded simultaneously via the Myant Skiin Equine textile device and a reference device (Televet 100) in 12 horses. ECGs were evaluated by a blinded observer for arrhythmias, and HRV metrics were calculated. ...
Keller P, Vanwesenbeeck I, Hudders L, Decloedt A.To assess horse owners' behaviors and perceptions regarding communication about complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) with their veterinarian. Unassigned: A cross-sectional online survey was combined with a qualitative study in the form of in-depth interviews with Flemish horse owners. Unassigned: The study included 1,532 fully completed survey responses and 26 interviews. Overall, horse owners showed high trust in the veterinarian and were satisfied with veterinarian-client communication. While 61.7% of participants indicated that they had already talked about CAVM with the...
Saberinia A, Ozmaei S, Anoushepour A.Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva caused by infectious or non-infectious factors. Infectious conjunctivitis comes in two forms: viral and bacterial. Bacterial conjunctivitis is commonly caused by organisms such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, with the severity of the disease influenced by the specific bacterial species involved. Because both viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are highly contagious, preventive measures are essential to reduce transmission-especially to the unaffected eye. Objective: To evaluate the tear film osmolality in horses with bacterial conjunctiv...
McPeek JL, Menarim B, Sponseller B, McClendon M, Adam EN, Adams AA, Slone S, Page AE.Subjective lameness evaluations are critical components of equine musculoskeletal health assessments. Objective approaches can supplement diagnosis and may be preferred for specific cases and scientific purposes. Objective: Evaluate agreements between subjective evaluation of two veterinarians and standard clinical interpretations from outputs of an AI-based smartphone application (Sleip; AI-SPA), the inertial measurement unit (IMU) system Equinosis Q Lameness Locator (LL), and the IMU system Equisym (ES). Methods: In vivo experiment. Methods: Twenty-five research horses (10-30 years) were e...
Kyle-LaBell E, Andersson A, Baughman B.Fibrocartilaginous embolic myelopathy (FCE) was diagnosed in a 15-year-old pony mare by histopathologic examination of the spinal cord. The horse was euthanized and submitted for necropsy following focal seizures and lateral recumbency for approximately 12 h. Histopathology of spinal cord segments C5-C7 revealed severe ischemic myelomalacia with intravascular amorphous material that stained positive with Alcian Blue, consistent with cartilaginous matrix. These features in addition to the acute onset of clinical signs are characteristic for FCE. This case report describes the clinical and histo...
Racine J, Ungermann A, Blatter M, von Plato G, Rijkenhuizen ABM.To describe a modified two-portal tenoscopic technique for proximal manica flexoria (MF) resection designed to preserve the mesotendons (MTs) of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT). Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: Client-owned horses (n = 30). Methods: MF resection was performed in four steps: (1) Transection of the lateral attachment of the MF to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), staying abaxial to the lateral MT; (2) transection of the medial attachment of the MF to the SDFT between the flexor tendons from distal to proximal until reaching the level of the med...
Derar D, Ali A, Al-Sobayil F, Refaai W.Granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) represent the most common ovarian neoplasms in mares, yet data on their epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical outcomes in Arabian horses are limited. Understanding their prevalence and diagnostic features is crucial for improving fertility management in this breed. Unassigned: Clinical records from 807 Arabian mares housed on 35 stud farms in central Saudi Arabia were retrospectively reviewed to determine the prevalence of GCT and potential risk factors, including age, parity, and anabolic steroid use. Twenty-four confirmed cases were further investigated using ...
Barvelink M, Brok B, Djajadiningrat-Laanen SC, Vernooij JCM, Broens EM, Slenter IJM.To assess the antibacterial activity of manuka honey against bacterial isolates commonly associated with infected corneal ulcerations in horses, and to investigate possible combined effects of manuka honey and commonly prescribed topical antibiotics. Methods: Four Staphylococcus aureus, including three methicillin-resistant (MRSA), two methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (S. sciuri and S. haemolyticus), and two Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus isolates from horses with stromal ulcerative keratitis were selected. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimu...
Morales CJ, Costa LRR.The practice of medicine has always been associated with complications. In fact, in its early stages, these complications contributed to the understanding of certain diseases and advancement of the medical field. In equine practice, virtually every procedure carries an associated risk. In fact, even procedures that would have minimal risk in human medicine may pose significant risk in equine practice owing to the unique nature of the horse. For instance, a simple rectal palpation could result in a rectal tear following an unexpected movement of the patient. Thus, extrapolations of complication...
Woods T, Dixon J, Melvaine C, Fraser B.To determine the ideal location of a medial tenoscopic portal in the equine carpal flexor tendon sheath (CFTS) using contrast computed tomography (CT). Methods: Experimental cadaver study. Methods: A total of 20 entire forelimbs from adult Standardbred horses. Methods: Contrast media diluted in saline was injected into the CFTS from a lateral approach before manually flexing and extending the limb 20 times to disperse the contrast solution. The limbs were placed in lateral recumbency and a capped 21-gauge 1.5 inch needle was placed approximately 5 mm proximal and 32 mm caudal to the palpab...
Gernhardt J, Böttcher P, Eule JC, Mählmann K, Müller E, Lischer CJ.To describe surgical repair of an orbital wall fracture communicating with the caudal maxillary sinus using a three dimensional (3D)-printed, patient-specific implant (PSI). Methods: Case report. Methods: A 25-year-old Haflinger mare (370 kg). Methods: The mare presented with severe chemosis and emphysema of the left upper and lower eyelid of 2-weeks duration due to a fracture of the ventral floor and inner wall of the left orbit that communicated with the caudal maxillary sinus. Computed tomographic (CT) data were used to design a PSI replicating the inner surface of the unfractured orbit. ...
Brink P, Schumacher J, Ducharme NG, Caniglia CJ, Caruso MA, Ortved K.To describe the technique of and complications associated with excising the nasal septum of horses with the horse standing and to report the outcome of horses undergoing this procedure. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: A total of Twelve horses affected with disease of the nasal septum. Methods: The septum of each horse was excised with the horse sedated. All horses underwent rhinotomy, and six also underwent laryngotomy, to position three loops of obstetrical wire used to make three of four septal incisions. The sites of laryngotomy and rhinotomy were desensitized by infiltrating local a...
Miguel EL, Carneiro MFL, Griffo ALC, Baatsch Nascimento F, Dória RGS, Corrêa RR, Celeghini ECC.Vaginal varicosities in mares are rarely reported, although considered relatively common. Clinical recognition can be challenging, especially during early pregnancy, due to the intermittent nature of the bleeding. This report aims to describe the diagnostic approach, clinical evolution, and treatment of a case of vaginal varicosity in a pregnant mare, emphasizing a practical and minimally invasive method. A 9-year-old Brazilian Sport Horse mare with intermittent vaginal hemorrhage underwent clinical evaluation, showing no abnormalities. Vaginoscopy with a rigid endoscope revealed varicose vein...
Vainio KME, Määttänen MK, Mykkänen AK, Huupponen AK, Niinistö KE.Iatrogenic aspiration pneumonia is rarely reported in horses, with most cases involving lipoid pneumonia from accidental mineral oil administration. Objective: Our aim is to describe horses with iatrogenic aspiration, highlighting clinical findings, treatment, outcomes, and prognostic differences based on the aspirated material. Methods: Management of 6 horses treated at the University of Helsinki Equine hospital due to iatrogenic aspiration between 2018 and 2023 are reported. Results: Of the six horses, three survived, two of whom regained full athletic function. Survivors received water, or ...
Serrano-Rodríguez JM, Miraz R, Saitua A, Díez de Castro E, Ledesma-Escobar C, Ferreiro-Vera C, Priego-Capote F, Sánchez de Medina V....Cannabigerol (CBG) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid with growing interest in veterinary medicine; however, its pharmacokinetic profile in horses remains unknown. Understanding its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination is essential to optimizing dosing strategies and evaluating its potential for clinical use in equine patients. Unassigned: A prospective crossover study was conducted in eight healthy adult horses to assess the metabolism and the pharmacokinetics after intravenous (IV) administration at 1 mg/kg and oral administrations at 10 mg/kg with two formulations (mice...
Muresu Ibba GM, Poeta A, De Lorenzi G, Pupillo G, D'Annunzio G, Pezzarossi A, Bisceglia I, Mangone L.Melanomas are dermal-epidermal and subcutaneous tumors commonly found in horses, especially those with grey coats. This study aimed to characterize melanomas in slaughtered horses by analyzing their distribution according to sex, age, and nationality, and to describe the veterinary inspection interventions required at slaughterhouses based on lymph node involvement and distant metastases in a province of northern Italy. Between January and December 2024, 182 grey horses were examined, and 28 cases of melanoma were identified (15% of grey horses) with an average age of 14 years: 8 males (mean a...
A Mangalarga Marchador mare was referred to treatment with a history of poisoning with evident tachyarrhythmia detected on cardiac auscultation. The electrocardiogram was performed and detected occurrences of paroxysmal monomorphic ventricular bigeminy (pMVB), pMVB with pairs of premature ventricular contractions (PVC) (pMVBPC), and paroxysmal monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (pMVT). In all cases, incomplete atrioventricular dissociation and coupling variation are observed. These characteristics, associated with non-reduction of successive subsequent coupling intervals and the absence of ty...
Piecuch A, Szterk A.This review highlights the role of β-glucans-specifically β(1 → 3), β(1 → 6), and β(1 → 4)-glucans-as water-soluble dietary fibres in animal nutrition and health. Sourced from yeast, plants, seaweed, and mushrooms, β-glucans differ in structure depending on origin, which affects their solubility and biological activity. Recent studies emphasize their therapeutic potential in horses, particularly for managing gastric ulcers, viral infections, immune dysfunction, and poor performance. The review summarizes data on effective dosages, formulations, and sources of β-glucans tailor...
Micheau L, Jacquet-Guibon S, Tallaj A, Bertoni L, Denoix JM, Coudry V.To describe the type and distribution of carpal joint lesions causing lameness in show jumping horses and describe their 1-year performance outcomes. Unassigned: 15 show jumping horses (median age, 9 years; IQR, 8 to 11 years) of 3 different breeds, mostly Selle Français, evaluated at a referral center between 2013 and 2023. The inclusion criterion was forelimb lameness localized to the carpus, confirmed by perineural or IA analgesia and/or increased radiopharmaceutical uptake on scintigraphy. Horses with limb conformation abnormalities, a history of trauma, or extra-articular soft tissue les...
Thorn CA, Wilson DV, Wang S, Horne WA.Standing sedation is a safe and cost-effective alternative to general anesthesia in horses, but challenges include achieving adequate drug effect to block the stimulus response without inducing ataxia or recumbency. A benefit of midazolam has been reported in equine dental procedures. Seeking synergy, a combination of lower doses of several pharmacologic agents, including midazolam, may improve the quality of sedation while minimizing adverse effects. Bispectral index (BIS) correlates with sedation scores in human ICU patients, but the correlation between sedation scores and BIS has not been e...
Bosch S, Serra Bragança F, Marin-Perianu M, Marin-Perianu R, van der Zwaag BJ, Voskamp J, Back W, van Weeren R, Havinga P.In this paper, we describe and validate the EquiMoves system, which aims to support equine veterinarians in assessing lameness and gait performance in horses. The system works by capturing horse motion from up to eight synchronized wireless inertial measurement units. It can be used in various equine gait modes, and analyzes both upper-body and limb movements. The validation against an optical motion capture system is based on a Bland-Altman analysis that illustrates the agreement between the two systems. The sagittal kinematic results (protraction, retraction, and sagittal range of motion) sh...
von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Fritzen B, Demeler J, Schürmann S, Rohn K, Schnieder T, Epe C.In 2003 and 2004, on a total of 63 different German horse farms, a survey using the faecal egg count reduction (FECR) test was performed to investigate the efficacy of ivermectin (IVM, Ivomec) and pyrantel (PYR, Banminth) treatment against gastro-intestinal nematodes in a total of 767 horses. IVM treatment resulted in 100% reduction of the cyathostomin egg production 14 and 21 days post-treatment (d.p.t.) on 37 farms. On the remaining five farms, the mean faecal egg count reduction ranged between 97.7 and 99.9%. The mean cyathostomin FECR following PYR treatment ranged between 92.2 and 100% on...
Roth JA.Veterinary vaccines have had, and continue to have, a major role in protecting animal health and public health, reducing animal suffering, enabling efficient production of food animals to feed the burgeoning human population, and greatly reducing the need for antibiotics to treat food and companion animals. Prominent examples include rabies vaccines and rinderpest vaccines. Rabies vaccines for domestic animals and wildlife have nearly eliminated human rabies in developed countries. Thanks to the Global Rinderpest Eradication Program which involves vaccination, trade restrictions, and surveilla...
Richardson LE, Dudhia J, Clegg PD, Smith R.Stem cells have evoked considerable excitement in the animal-owning public because of the promise that stem cell technology could deliver tissue regeneration for injuries for which natural repair mechanisms do not deliver functional recovery and for which current therapeutic strategies have minimal effectiveness. This review focuses on the current use of stem cells within veterinary medicine, whose practitioners have used mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), recovered from either bone marrow or adipose tissue, in clinical cases primarily to treat strain-induced tendon injury in the horse. The backgr...
Divers TJ, Tennant BC, Kumar A, McDonough S, Cullen J, Bhuva N, Jain K, Chauhan LS, Scheel TKH, Lipkin WI, Laverack M, Trivedi S, Srinivasa S....Equine serum hepatitis (i.e., Theiler's disease) is a serious and often life-threatening disease of unknown etiology that affects horses. A horse in Nebraska, USA, with serum hepatitis died 65 days after treatment with equine-origin tetanus antitoxin. We identified an unknown parvovirus in serum and liver of the dead horse and in the administered antitoxin. The equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) shares <50% protein identity with its phylogenetic relatives of the genus Copiparvovirus. Next, we experimentally infected 2 horses using a tetanus antitoxin contaminated with EqPV-H. Viremia develop...
van Loon JP, Van Dierendonck MC.Although recognition of equine pain has been studied extensively over the past decades there is still need for improvement in objective identification of pain in horses with acute colic. This study describes scale construction and clinical applicability of the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP) in horses with acute colic. A cohort follow-up study was performed using 50 adult horses (n = 25 with acute colic, n = 25 controls). Composite pain scores were assessed by direct ...
Al Jassim RA, Andrews FM.The gastrointestinal tract of the horse has unique characteristics that make it well suited for the ingestion and utilization of roughage. The horse is considered a simple-stomached herbivore and is classed as a hindgut fermenter. The upper segments of the gastrointestinal tract resemble those of a typical simple-stomached animal. The lower have undergone modification to become voluminous and host to a large number of microbial populations similar to those of the compartmental stomach of ruminant animals. The main advantage of this arrangement is the ability of the horse to extract valuable nu...
Cuny C, Strommenger B, Witte W, Stanek C.During 2006 and 2007 small clusters of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in horses were recorded in different clinical departments of a veterinary university. The infections were caused by different MRSA clones (ST1, ST254, and ST398). In the same time, nasal colonization of veterinarians, veterinary personnel, and students was observed indicating transmission to humans.
de Grauw JC, van Loon JP.Accurate recognition and quantification of pain in horses is imperative for adequate pain management. The past decade has seen a much needed surge in formal development of systematic pain assessment tools for the objective monitoring of pain in equine patients. This narrative review describes parameters that can be used to detect pain in horses, provides an overview of the various pain scales developed (visual analogue scales, simple descriptive scales, numerical rating scales, time budget analysis, composite pain scales and grimace scales), and highlights their strengths and weaknesses for po...
Van den Eede A, Martens A, Lipinska U, Struelens M, Deplano A, Denis O, Haesebrouck F, Gasthuys F, Hermans K.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections do occur in equine patients. Little is known, however, about their origin and the general equine MRSA colonization status. In West European horses in particular, neither the colonization rate nor the present strains or their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns are known. In the present study, a sample of 110 (Belgian, French, Dutch and Luxemburg) horses presented at a Belgian equine clinic was screened for nasal MRSA carriage. An indirect culturing protocol using a 0.001% colistin and nalidixic acid containing broth was compared t...
Arnhold SJ, Goletz I, Klein H, Stumpf G, Beluche LA, Rohde C, Addicks K, Litzke LF.To isolate and characterize bone marrow-derived equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for possible future therapeutic applications in horses. Methods: Equine MSCs were isolated from bone marrow aspirates obtained from the sternum of 30 donor horses. Methods: Cells were cultured in medium (alpha-minimum essential medium) with a fetal calf serum content of 20%. Equine MSC features were analyzed to determine selfrenewing and differentiation capacity. For potential therapeutic applications, the migratory potential of equine MSCs was determined. An adenoviral vector was used to determine the transdu...
Nemoto M, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Kobayashi M, Kikuchi T, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.An outbreak of Getah virus infection occurred among racehorses in Japan during September and October 2014. Of 49 febrile horses tested by reverse transcription PCR, 25 were positive for Getah virus. Viruses detected in 2014 were phylogenetically different from the virus isolated in Japan in 1978.
Tinker MK, White NA, Lessard P, Thatcher CD, Pelzer KD, Davis B, Carmel DK.A prospective study of one year was conducted on 31 horse farms to obtain population based estimates of incidence, morbidity and mortality rates of equine colic. Farms with greater than 20 horses were enrolled by randomly selecting horse owners from 2 adjacent counties of Virginia and Maryland. Descriptive information for 1427 horses was collected at the initiation of the study and updated at 3 month intervals. Time on the farm during the study was tabulated for each horse. When colic was reported by the owner, investigators visited the farm to obtain information about the colic. The crude inc...
Hitchens PL, Morrice-West AV, Stevenson MA, Whitton RC.Studies of racehorse injury or fatality in various countries have identified common, and in some cases conflicting, risk factors. We conducted a systematic search of the relevant literature published from 1990 to 2017. Peer-reviewed articles were included if they reported the incidence of fatal or catastrophic musculoskeletal injury (CMI) in Thoroughbred flat races (n=21) or risk factors for CMI (n=65). Pooled effect sizes were estimated using the random-effects DerSimonian-Laird model. The pooled incidence of CMI was 1.17 (95% confidence interval 0.90, 1.44) per 1000 race starts. Almost 300 f...
Laatamna AE, Wagnerová P, Sak B, Květoňová D, Xiao L, Rost M, McEvoy J, Saadi AR, Aissi M, Kváč M.A total of 219 and 124 individual fecal samples of horses and donkeys, respectively, were screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp., Encephalitozoon spp., and Enterocytozoon bieneusi DNA by genus-specific nested PCR. Isolates were genotyped by sequence analysis of SSU rRNA, GP60, TRAP-C1, COWP, and HSP70 loci in Cryptosporidium, and the ITS region in microsporidia. Cryptosporidium spp. was detected on 3/18 horse farms and 1/15 farms where donkeys were kept. Overall, five (2.3%) horse and two (1.6%) donkey specimens were PCR positive for Cryptosporidium. Genotyping at SSU and GP60 loci ...
Jeffcott LB.The survey comprised 443 horses, referred to the clinical department of the Equine Research Station, with a history of a thoracolumbar (TL) complaint. A wide range of lesions were capable of producing back problems and more than one condition or site of injury was found in 75 animals (17 per cent). There were 103 horses (19.7 per cent) with no evidence of damage to the TL spine or its associated structures. In 66 of these cases, clinical signs were attributed to a variety of hindlimb lamenesses and, in 37, no specific diagnosis could be made. Soft tissue injury was diagnosed in 203 cases (38.8...
Wallner B, Vogl C, Shukla P, Burgstaller JP, Druml T, Brem G.The paternally inherited Y chromosome displays the population genetic history of males. While modern domestic horses (Equus caballus) exhibit abundant diversity within maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, no significant Y-chromosomal sequence diversity has been detected. We used high throughput sequencing technology to identify the first polymorphic Y-chromosomal markers useful for tracing paternal lines. The nucleotide variability of the modern horse Y chromosome is extremely low, resulting in six haplotypes (HT), all clearly distinct from the Przewalski horse (E. przewalskii). The most wi...
Park KD, Park J, Ko J, Kim BC, Kim HS, Ahn K, Do KT, Choi H, Kim HM, Song S, Lee S, Jho S, Kong HS, Yang YM, Jhun BH, Kim C, Kim TH, Hwang S, Bhak J....Thoroughbred horses are the most expensive domestic animals, and their running ability and knowledge about their muscle-related diseases are important in animal genetics. While the horse reference genome is available, there has been no large-scale functional annotation of the genome using expressed genes derived from transcriptomes. Results: We present a large-scale analysis of whole transcriptome data. We sequenced the whole mRNA from the blood and muscle tissues of six thoroughbred horses before and after exercise. By comparing current genome annotations, we identified 32,361 unigene cluster...
Traub-Dargatz JL, Salman MD, Voss JL.This paper reports the results of a survey conducted among members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, concerning medical problems of adult horses. A one-page questionnaire listing 36 medical problems grouped by body system was completed by 1,149 veterinarians. The top-ranked disease was colic, followed by viral respiratory tract disease, endometritis, dermatitis, and parasitism. When responses were evaluated by type of practice, location of practice, and number of veterinarians in the practice, ranking of the top 2 diseases was the same for the total respondents. Ranking of d...
Jacobsen S, Kjelgaard-Hansen M, Hagbard Petersen H, Jensen AL.The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether equine serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations could be measured reliably with a turbidometric immunoassay (TIA) developed for use with human serum. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision were evaluated by multiple measurements on equine serum pools. Assay inaccuracy was determined by linearity under dilution. The assay was subsequently used for measuring SAA concentrations in clinically healthy horses, horses with inflammatory diseases, horses with non-inflammatory diseases, and in horses before and after castration. In pools with low, intermediat...
Field H, Schaaf K, Kung N, Simon C, Waltisbuhl D, Hobert H, Moore F, Middleton D, Crook A, Smith G, Daniels P, Glanville R, Lovell D.To determine the epidemiologic and clinical features of a 2008 outbreak of Hendra virus infection in a veterinary clinic in Australia, we investigated the equine case-series. Four of 5 infected horses died, as did 1 of 2 infected staff members. Clinical manifestation in horses was predominantly neurologic. Preclinical transmission appears likely.
Ma G, Azab W, Osterrieder N.The equine herpesviruses type 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4) are ubiquitous pathogens that affect horse populations on all continents. Despite widespread vaccination, EHV-1 and EHV-4 infections remain a permanent risk. While the two viruses share a high degree of genetic and antigenic similarity, they differ significantly in host range and pathogenicity. Compared to EHV-4, which mainly infects horses and causes respiratory disease, EHV-1 has a broader host range and can result in respiratory disease, abortions, neonatal death, and equine herpesvirusmyeloencephalopathy (EHM). Recent studies have eluci...
Hidaka C, Goodrich LR, Chen CT, Warren RF, Crystal RG, Nixon AJ.Cartilage has a limited capacity to heal. Although chondrocyte transplantation is a useful therapeutic strategy, the repair process can be lengthy. Previously we have shown that over expression of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) in chondrocytes by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer leads to increased matrix synthesis and cartilage-like tissue formation in vitro. In this context we hypothesized that implantation of genetically modified chondrocytes expressing BMP-7 would accelerate the formation of hyaline-like repair tissue in an equine model of cartilage defect repair. Methods: Chondrocyt...
Giguère S, Prescott JF.Since the 1986 Rhodococcus equi workshop, there have been major breakthroughs in understanding the epidemiology of, the virulence of, and the immune response to, this intriguing pathogen. However, with the exception of the use of hyperimmune plasma for the prevention of the disease (Martens et al., 1989; Madigan et al., 1991) the clinical aspects of R. equi infections have essentially remained unchanged. This article reviews the various clinical manifestations and summarizes recent advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of R. equi infections in foals.
Weese JS, Rousseau J, Willey BM, Archambault M, McGeer A, Low DE.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging equine pathogen. To attempt to control nosocomial and zoonotic transmission, an MRSA screening program was established for all horses admitted to the Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital, whereby nasal screening swabs were collected at admission, weekly during hospitalization, and at discharge. MRSA was isolated from 120 (5.3%) of 2,283 horses: 61 (50.8%) at the time of admission, 53 (44.2%) during hospitalization, and 6 from which the origin was unclear because an admission swab had not been collected. Clinic...
