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Topic:Veterinary Care
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.
Monitoring equine anesthesia. In conclusion, monitoring the depth of anesthesia plays an integral role in the anesthetic regimen. Although the use of sophisticated monitoring equipment has replaced some of the art of anesthesia and made assessment of depth of anesthesia more precise, a vigilant clinician still needs to serve as the animal's advocate. He or she must gather the data that are generated by machines, acquire data that monitoring equipment cannot obtain, assimilate all the facts, and make appropriate changes in anesthetic management.
General anesthesia for horses with specific problems. We have discussed anesthetic techniques, special considerations, and expected complications involved in anesthetizing horses for abdominal, orthopedic, and head and neck surgery, and myelography and have described expected physiologic dysfunction that may require changes in anesthetic technique or supportive measures. The objective is high-quality patient care and reduction in anesthesia-related morbidity and death.
Supportive therapy in the anesthetized horse. In conclusion, vigilant supportive care is necessary to prevent morbidity and death in the anesthetized horse. Because some of the equipment and drugs are specialized and the consequences of some postanesthetic complications are severe, availability of those items must be confirmed prior to anesthesia. Proper positioning and padding will help to reduce the incidence of postanesthetic myopathy-neuropathy syndrome in these large patients. Adequate tissue perfusion is important and can be achieved by controlling anesthetic depth, increasing intravascular volume with fluid administration, and by a...
Local anesthetic techniques for diagnosis of lameness. Successful diagnostic local anesthesia is dependent upon a thorough knowledge of appendicular anatomy, application of correct technique, and accurate interpretation. Use of cadaver specimens to review anatomy and practice needle placement is strongly recommended. A marker solution, such as new methylene blue, can be injected into cadaver limbs, which can be subsequently dissected to verify accuracy. Detailed interpretation of local anesthetic blocks in the lame horse reaches beyond the scope of this article. Interpretive difficulties, however, can be responsible for the failure of a block to p...
[From Rumanian folk medicine: Non-specific stimulus therapy using transcutaneous implantation of hellebore (Helleborus purpurascens, Fam. Ranunculaceae) in agriculturally useful animals]. In the Rumanian traditional medicine a transcutaneous implantation of the root of Helleborus purpurascens is used to provoke leucocytosis and neutrophils with the aim to activate chronic diseases for better healing. The skin is perforated with a thick needle (in cattle and horses in the area of the thorax, in sheep and pigs in the ear flap), the transplant is introduced and after 24 hours removed. Though the method is more than 100 years old, it is not reported in the literature. The way of action is unknown. The investigation are performed to show the efficacy of this method of Helleborus-imp...
Antagonism of endotoxin-induced disruption of equine gastrointestinal motility with the platelet-activating factor antagonist WEB 2086. The effect of pre-treatment with a selective platelet-activating factor (PAF) antagonist, WEB 2086, on the actions of low-dose endotoxin was evaluated in ponies prepared with gastrointestinal strain gauges. Endotoxin (0.1 microgram/kg i.v.) produced a marked reduction in gastric contraction amplitude and rate, and an increased frequency and reduced duration of jejunal phase III activity fronts (AFs). WEB 2086 (6.6 mg/kg) administered i.v. 10 min before the endotoxin, produced significant antagonism (P less than 0.001) of the effect of endotoxin on gastric contraction amplitude and rate. The co...
Management of anesthesia in the foal. Several unique pharmacologic and physiologic factors must be considered when attempting to anesthetize premature or neonatal foals. Juvenile foals are similar to adults in their physiology and metabolism. Anesthetic drug and protocol selection should reflect the differences between these two age groups. Neonates are best anesthetized using an inhalation technique, whereas older foals can be safely anesthetized with either parenteral or inhalation anesthetic agents. Careful monitoring is absolutely essential when anesthetizing foals. The clinician should plan to routinely administer fluids and ...
General clinical considerations for anesthesia of the horse. The peculiarities of the equine species present a number of unique situations that must be addressed when horses are anesthetized. Perhaps the most troublesome situation is related to the horse's size. Though the horse's large lungs are responsible in part for its sustainable athletic ability, they are detrimental to effective ventilation when the horse is anesthetized and placed in a recumbent position. Of major concern is depression of ventilation and cardiovascular function. Hypercapnia and hypoxemia usually result from hypoventilation, and with time all anesthetized horses suffer from some...
[Etiology and occurrence of periodic eye inflammation of horses in the area of Berlin]. Over 130 cases of equine periodic ophthalmia (p.o.), which were treated as in-patients at the Equine Clinic of the Free University of Berlin in the last 35 years, were examined statistically in relation to the age and gender of the animals involved as well as to the development of the illness and the season in which it arose. As regards aetiology, the extraction of 71 affected Trotters was investigated. Antibodies to toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis and intestinal parasites were found only in some of the patients. Younger animals, aged between one and four years, and male animals (63.6%) were pred...
Ultrastructural observation on the response of equine hoof defects to dietary supplementation with Farrier’s Formula. Farrier's Formula feed supplement was added to the diet of 18 horses with two types of hoof horn defects. The first group of horses showed sand cracks and crumbling horn around the nail holes; the second group suffered frequent bruising and had flat feet with collapsed heels. Hoof clippings from both groups were studied in the transmission and scanning electron microscopes. All the horses showed a progressive improvement in the gross and microscopic structure of the hoof horn, starting six weeks after the supplementation began. Once good quality hoof horn had grown there was no relapse during ...
Bilateral arytenoid cartilage paralysis after inhalation anesthesia in a horse. An 8-year-old Quarter Horse gelding was anesthetized for surgical exploration and debridement of a chronic draining wound in the intermandibular space. Anesthesia was without complication other than persistently low PaO2. Severe airway obstruction was evident immediately after extubation, requiring tracheostomy. Endoscopic diagnosis was bilateral arytenoid paralysis, which gradually resolved over the next 7 days. Compression, trauma, or tension of the recurrent laryngeal nerves are the postulated causes of idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia in horses. The extremely extended position of the head a...
Cecocolic intussusception in horses: 11 cases (1979-1989). Over a 10-year period, cecocolic intussusception was diagnosed in 11 of 842 horses undergoing surgical treatment for colic at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine. Eight horses died or were euthanatized because of poor prognosis determined at surgery or because of postoperative complications. Three horses recovered without complication after manual reduction of the intussusception and partial typhlectomy, using an intestinal stapling device.
An outbreak of the equine rhabdomyolysis syndrome in a racing yard. An outbreak of muscle stiffness and poor performance among 59 thoroughbreds at a Newmarket flat racing yard was investigated between the beginning of May and the end of June 1986. Over a third of the horses showed signs of muscular stiffness, and 38 had, at one or more of the sampling times, creatine kinase (CK) activities above 200 iu/litre and, or, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities above 300 iu/litre when they were sampled six to eight hours after exercise. The following season, at a similar time and stage of training, only four of 39 horses sampled had CK activities between 200 an...
Morphologic and ultrastructural evaluation of effect of ischemia and dimethyl sulfoxide on equine jejunum. Morphologic changes in equine jejunal segments subjected to 1 hour of ischemia and 1 hour of reperfusion, and protective effects of systemic administration of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; 1 g/kg of body weight) were investigated in 18 ponies, using light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Ponies were allotted to 4 groups: group 1--control (n = 3); group 2--DMSO (n = 3); group 3--ischemia (n = 6); and group 4--ischemia and DMSO (n = 6). In each pony, 2 jejunal sections were evaluated. The first section was obtained prior to induction of ischemia, and the second was obtai...
An investigation of the second heart sound in the normal horse. The second heart sound was evaluated in conscious, normal horses using intracardiac and external sound detection devices and echocardiography. The second heart sound (S2) in the normal horse is single or split by a narrow interval, not usually detected by external phonocardiographic evaluation. Splitting of S2 was classified as normal (aortic [A2] preceding pulmonic [P2] components) in 66.7 per cent and reversed (P2 preceding A2) in 33.3 per cent of the horses studied. Normal splitting appears to result from lower impedance of the pulmonary vasculature delaying the onset of P2. Reverse splitti...
The distribution of ventilation-perfusion ratios in the lungs of a dysmature foal. The distribution of ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) ratios, before and after 100 per cent oxygen, was studied in an induced-premature foal at 4 h and again at eleven days of age, using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. The major finding was an absence of low VA/Q ratios when breathing air, indicating that low PaO2 in the neonatal period was totally attributable to the right-to-left shunt. At 4 h of age the PaO2 was 5.48 kPa and the right-to-left shunt represented 33.4 per cent of the cardiac output. At eleven days of age the PaO2 was 9.76 kPa and right-to-left shunt was 10.1 per cent ...
Condylar buttress plate fixation of femoral fracture in a colt. A Salter-Harris type-II fracture of the distal portion of the femur in a 1-year-old Pony of America was repaired by use of lateral plating combined with interfragmentary compression. The configuration of the fracture and the method of internal fixation with a condylar buttress plate were unique and resulted in primary bone healing, seen at the 5-month follow-up examination.
Mediastinal squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma in an aged horse. A mediastinal squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma were found in an aged horse. Clinical signs consisted of bilateral thyroid gland enlargement, chronic cough, and mild respiratory distress. The neoplasms were not treated. Squamous cell carcinoma is a common neoplasm in horses, but not in the cranial portion of the mediastinum. Thyroid carcinomas in horses are uncommon. This combination of neoplasms is rare and may have been associated with a defect in the immune system.
Scintigraphic evaluation of digital circulation during the developmental and acute phases of equine laminitis. Scintigraphy was used to evaluate digital circulation at 24 h intervals in 11 control horses and in nine horses affected with acute laminitis created by administration of a high-starch ration. Following intra-arterial injection of technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin into the brachiocephalic trunk, static images were acquired of the right front foot. Dynamic radionuclide angiograms and static blood pool images were also obtained after jugular vein injection of technetium-99m diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid. These procedures were performed on standing horses, using either minimal or no tr...
A comparison of inulin, para-aminohippuric acid, and endogenous creatinine clearances as measures of renal function in neonatal foals. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated in eight full-term neonatal foals by the single injection inulin plasma clearance method at two days of age, the continuous infusion plasma and urinary clearance methods at three days of age, and the 12-hour endogenous creatinine clearance method at four days of age. The effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) was estimated simultaneously by the single injection para-aminohippuric acid (PAH) plasma clearance method in the eight two-day old foals and the continuous PAH infusion plasma and urinary clearance method in the eight three-day old foals. Th...
A method of assessing auditory and brainstem function in horses. Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) waveforms were recorded as a means of objectively evaluating auditory and brainstem function in horses. BAEP recordings were readily and repeatably recorded from horses, under minimal restraint, using signal averaging equipment. Clearly identified BAEP waveforms were obtained with compression clicks of 30-100 dB (HHL) at 10 Hz applied in the external auditory meatus of one ear and masking white noise (10 dB lower) in the other ear. Vertex positive (upwards) waveforms I through V were obtained with an active, subdermal electrode over the ipsilateral an...
Effect of endotoxin administration on equine digital hemodynamics and starling forces. Using a pump-perfused extracorporeal isolated digital preparation, the effects of a 30-minute infusion of either saline solution (control) or endotoxin on equine digital hemodynamics and microvascular function were determined. Digital blood flow and arterial, venous, and capillary pressures were recorded at 15-minute intervals for 150 minutes. From these data, total vascular resistance and pre- and postcapillary resistances were calculated. Isogravimetric capillary filtration coefficient, vascular compliance, and the osmotic reflection coefficient were determined after the last hemodynamic mea...
Displacement of the large colon associated with nonsurgical correction of large-colon entrapment in the renosplenic space in a mare. Nonsurgical correction of a renosplenic entrapment of the large colon was attempted in a mare, using a rolling technique. After correction, the mare had initial improvement in clinical signs, but later developed signs of abdominal discomfort. A ventral midline celiotomy was performed, and a pelvic flexure impaction and large intestinal volvulus were found and corrected.
Vascular injury associated with naturally occurring strangulating obstructions of the equine large colon. Ten horses were euthanatized before, during, or after surgery to correct severe volvulus of the large colon. At surgery, the colonic serosa changed from blue-gray, blue or purple toward a more normal pink in seven horses after the volvulus was corrected. The mucosa consistently remained black or dark red. Results of postmortem colonic microangiography revealed perfusion of the serosa and the circular and longitudinal muscle layers, but mucosal perfusion was limited by thrombosis in the muscularis mucosae and submucosa. There was evidence of thrombosis of the mesenteric colic vessels in six hor...
Pleural effusion secondary to thoracic metastatic mammary adenocarcinoma in a mare. A 17-year-old Quarter Horse mare was examined nearly 3 years after excision and cryotherapy of a papillary mammary gland adenocarcinoma. The mare had been used for pleasure riding since surgery, but had recently developed progressive dyspnea. The mare had clinical evidence of pleural effusion, but died before further clinical examination and treatment were instituted. Necropsy revealed deep mammary masses with similar nodules in the deep inguinal, renal, and mediastinal lymph nodes and in the lungs, pericardium, visceral and parietal pleurae, and left ovary. The masses were identified as papil...
Treatment of equine leg wounds using skin grafts: Thirty-five cases, 1975-1988. A retrospective study was conducted on 35 equine patients with lower leg wounds that were managed utilizing skin graft procedures. Two pinch graft, five punch graft, seven tunnel graft, eight split-thickness mesh graft and thirteen full-thickness mesh expansion graft procedures were performed in the initial treatment. The average wound size was 188 cm(2). Twentyfour cases had pregrafting complications: 10 wounds developed sequestra; three wounds were grossly contaminated and infected; and 11 cases developed granulation tissue complications prior to grafting. Graft failure following the initial...
