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.
De Waal DT.Babesia caballi, isolated from a horse that originated from South West Africa/Namibia, was transmitted transovarially by adult Hyalomma truncatum. B. caballi proved to be highly infective for adult H. truncatum. Forty-five per cent of ticks feeding on a reacting animal with an extremely low parasitaemia became infected. In spite of a low parasitaemia, the ticks were severely affected by the parasite. Seventy per cent of the infected ticks either died during oviposition or after laying only a few eggs. The features of the infection in horses were: a prepatent period of 10 days, very low parasit...
Easley KJ, Stashak TS, Smith FW, Van Slyke G.Thirty-six superficial digital flexor tendons from nine fresh equine cadavers were transected and sutured with size 2 monofilament nylon. Nine tendons were repaired with each of four suture patterns: single-locking loop, double-locking loop, triple-locking loop, or three-loop pulley. The times required for application, tensile strengths, resistance to distraction (gap), and modes of failure were analyzed. The mean times required were: single-locking loop, 3 mins, 15 secs; double-locking loop, 4 mins, 15 secs; triple-locking loop, 10 mins, 50 secs; and three-loop pulley, 4 mins. The double-lock...
Pyörälä S, Kotilainen T, Silvennoinen P, Hänninen U, Mero M, Kaartinen L.Serum tinidazole concentrations were monitored in five clinically healthy adult horses after intravenous (i.v.) and oral administration of the drug (15 mg/kg and 25 mg/kg, respectively). After i.v. administration, the mean residence time was 7.0 h, the elimination half-life 5.2 h and the body clearance rate 1.6 ml/min/kg. The distribution volume was found to be 660 ml/kg. After oral administration, the mean residence time was 8.5 h, the absorption half-life 1.1 h and the bioavailability essentially 100%. In view of the in-vitro sensitivities of various anaerobic bacteria, a dosage of 10-15 mg/...
Freeman DE, Orsini PG, Ross MW, Madison JB.A large frontonasal bone flap was created to treat diseases of the paranasal sinuses in 14 horses. The bone flap was made as wide as possible within the confines of the nasolacrimal duct so the floor of the frontal sinus and the dorsal and ventral conchae could be opened. These openings exposed the nasal passages, maxillary sinuses, and ventral conchal sinus thereby facilitating removal of diffuse and localized lesions from these sites. Diseases treated were ethmoid hematomas (4 horses), sinus cysts (5 horses), cryptococcal granuloma, osteoma, hemangiosarcoma, pus in the ventral conchal sinus,...
Wood T, Weckman TJ, Henry PA, Chang SL, Blake JW, Tobin T.Our investigation of the urine of grazing horses at the University of Kentucky shows that the mean pH level is about 7.9, and if their diet is supplemented with grain, it is about 7.4. There appears to be no significant effect of time of day or year on urine pH levels in horses. However, horses taken from pasture and supplemented with grain in a stalled environment show a slight decrease in urine pH. Additionally, we investigated the effects of storage on pH levels. Equine urine samples appear to be quite stable with regard to pH for 48h, but then show a marked increase. Urine pH can have a gr...
Riggs C, Whitley RD.Intraocular silicone prostheses were implanted in the eyes of a horse and a dog with traumatic corneal lacerations and protrusion of intraocular contents. Several months after surgery, the horse and dog were tolerating the intraocular prostheses, and the appearance was cosmetically acceptable. This contradicts earlier reports that have cited corneal disease as a contraindication for implantation of intraocular silicone prostheses.
MacNamara B, Bauer S, Iafe J.Endoscopic examinations were performed on 965 Standardbred racehorses competing at Yonkers Raceway between June 16 and Aug 3, 1988, to demonstrate an association between exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and poor racing performance. Findings suggested that both exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease adversely affect performance, whereas a combination of the 2 conditions more severely affects racing performance than do either of the conditions individually.
Bernard W, Reef VB, Clark ES, Vaala W, Ehnen SJ.Records of 6 horses with pericarditis were reviewed. Septic pericarditis was suspected in all horses, based on historic and clinical findings. In horses 1, 2, and 4, cytologic examination of the pericardial effusion revealed acute inflammation with severe neutrophil degeneration. In horses 3 and 5, cytologic examination of pericardial fluid revealed subacute inflammation with degenerated neutrophils, and in horse 6, chronic active inflammation, with well preserved neutrophils. In horses 1 and 3, bacteria were identified on cytologic examination of pericardial fluid. Results of microbiologic cu...
Allison N, Gillis JP.Enteric pythiosis was diagnosed in a 2-year-old Quarter Horse gelding. The horse had signs of colic, which appeared to be alleviated by administration of mineral oil and analgesics, but only temporarily. Intestinal distention developed after initial examination. At surgery, a thick stenotic area was observed in the middle portion of the jejunum. The thick intestine and associated mesentery contained multiple firm nodules of gritty caseous material. Histopathologic findings included sclerosing eosinophilic granulomatous enteritis and peritonitis. Although the lesion resembled a response to migr...
Beard WL, Robertson JT, Leeth B.Congenital frontal sinus cysts were found bilaterally in the frontal sinuses of a one-year-old miniature horse. Diagnosis was based on radiography of the head and cytologic examination of tissue aspirated from the frontal sinuses. The cysts were surgically removed, using a hinged bone flap technique bilaterally over the frontal sinuses.
Francqueville M, Sabbah A.The responsibility of the artificial environment in the development of respiratory allergy in horses is well known as the most important factor for the development of asthma, chronic dry cough and pulmonary emphysema. One case of allergy to the natural environment could be observed. One allergic rhinitis with asthma could be explored. Pathology, cause, tests and specific immuno-therapy are presented.
de Loës M.A prospective study of acute injuries from sports and physical exercise was carried out during 1 year in a total population of a municipality with 31,620 inhabitants. The medical treatment and the services required for the injuries have been calculated and related to the total consumption of medical care in the municipality. A total of 571 injuries (17% of all injuries) occurred in 28 different sports: 65% of the injured were males. Sports injuries accounted for 3% of all acute visits and there were altogether 1,083 outpatient visits, which yields a mean of 1.9 visits per injury. Related to th...
May SA, Hooke RE, Lees P.Equine interleukin-1 has been produced from peripheral blood monocytes by stimulation with E. coli lipopolysaccharide. Sephacryl S200 gel filtration revealed a molecular weight of 17-18 kD. Chromatofocusing of the 17-18 kD peak identified four active fractions. Two major peaks were detected at pH 6.7 and pH 7, with smaller peaks at pH 6.3 and pH 5.9. The pI 7 molecule is probably the equine form of IL-1 beta.
Spurlock SL, Spurlock GH, Parker G, Ward MV.The use of soft catheter materials in large-bore veins has allowed safe long-term venous access in human patients. Similar principles were applied to groups of horses; the jugular vein was catheterized for 14 days (group 1) and for 30 days (group 2). Three catheter materials were compared, and the clinical and histologic findings indicated that the least reaction was associated with silastic, followed by polyurethane; polytetraflouroethylene caused marked reaction. Our results suggest that by using catheters made of materials (especially silastic) that are less stiff or rigid, the duration of ...
Rose RJ, Hodgson DR, Kelso TB, McCutcheon LJ, Bayly WM, Gollnick PD.Changes in blood gases, ions, lactate, pH, hemoglobin, blood temperature, total body metabolism, and muscle metabolites were measured before and during exercise (except muscle), at fatigue, and during recovery in normal and acetazolamide-treated horses to test the hypothesis that an acetazolamide-induced acidosis would compromise the metabolism of the horse exercising at maximal O2 uptake. Acetazolamide-treated horses had a 13-mmol/l base deficit at rest, higher arterial Po2 at rest and during exercise, higher arterial and mixed venous Pco2 during exercise, and a 48-s reduction in run time. Ar...
Goetz TE, Ogilvie GK, Keegan KG, Johnson PJ.Cimetidine, an H2 histamine antagonist, was used in the clinical management of progressive, multifocal melanomatosis in 3 adult gray horses. Prior to treatment, the tumors had increased rapidly in size and number in 2 horses (duration of 6 and 27 months, respectively) and slowly in the third horse (duration of 48 months). All 3 horses were treated with cimetidine (2.5 mg/kg of body weight, PO, q 8 h) for 2 months to 1 year. During treatment, the number and size of the melanomas decreased substantially (50 to 90%). The progression of the disease was halted in 2 horses and controlled in the thir...
Wilde H, Chutivongse S.Four hundred nineteen patients exposed to rabies in Thailand were treated with equine rabies immune globulin (ERIG) manufactured by Sclavo of Italy, a product also licensed in the United States of America. They were followed for a minimum of 1 month after ERIG injection and rabies vaccine administration. Adverse serum sickness-like reactions were noted in 15 patients (3.58%). These were clinically acceptable and only 1 of these patients required corticosteroid therapy and short term hospitalization for serum sickness. ERIG is approximately 1/10 of the cost of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG...
Watson ED.The mechanisms that permit maternal tolerance of the conceptus allograft during early pregnancy in the mare have not been investigated. Embryos and endometria were collected from mares 14 days after ovulation and cultured for 20.5 h. The effect of addition of culture supernatant on incorporation of [3H]thymidine by equine peripheral blood lymphocytes was studied. Culture supernatant from endometrium of nonpregnant mares did not affect lymphocyte blastogenesis, but supernatant from both embryos and endometrium of pregnant mares reduced concanavalin A (Con A)- and phytohemagglutinin-induced blas...
Mair TS, Taylor FG, Hillyer MH.Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia was diagnosed in eight horses on the basis of a positive Coomb's test. The disease was considered to be idiopathic in three cases and secondary to another condition in five. The clinical signs included dullness and depression, pyrexia, jaundice and haemoglobinuria. In addition to anaemia, haematological evaluation commonly revealed auto-agglutination of red cells and anisocytosis; reticulocytosis and an increased mean corpuscular volume were less commonly observed. Four horses were successfully treated with dexamethasone, but the other four were destroyed or died ...
Dixon PM, McGorum B.Two horses on separate farms developed severe obstructive pulmonary disease in successive years during the early summer months. In both cases clinical remission of the respiratory distress was achieved by moving the animals to different environments. The suggested aetiology for this outdoor chronic respiratory disease is a pulmonary allergy to pollen. Both animals were also shown to suffer from classical chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, i.e., obstructive pulmonary disease in the presence of hay and, or, straw.
Chaffin MK, Ruoff WW, Schmitz DG, Carter GK, Morris EL, Steyn P.The research paper documents a case of Hypertrophic Osteopathy (HO) in a young Arabian horse, where response to treatment and significant regression of the disease following management of an intrathoracic […]
Allen WE, Newcombe JR.The records of 200 pairs of consecutive pregnancies in mares showed that in 82 per cent of cases the second pregnancy was initially established in the opposite uterine horn to that of the first, irrespective of the parturition to conception interval. This relationship also occurred when the first pregnancy ended in abortion after 140 days but not if it terminated before this time.
Dwyer AE.Ophthalmic problems account for up to 20% of emergencies in equine practice. Presenting problems may involve the periocular region, adnexa, or globe. Practitioners must have the experience to restrain horses with painful ocular conditions and the knowledge of how to perform a thorough eye examination. A range of clinical skills is required for the necessary diagnostic tests such as corneal cytology, ultrasound and tonometry, and common standing surgical procedures such as eyelid repair or instillation of a subpalpebral lavage system. Therapy, which may involve frequent administration of multip...
Brommer H, Schipper P, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.Records of lame horses (2004-2007) with (peri-)synovial pain of the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ, n = 53), digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS, n = 20), and distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ, n = 31) were evaluated (n = 104). Cases were grouped according to the following treatments: (1) systemic administration of NSAIDs (n = 40); (2) intrasynovial administration of glucocorticosteroids (n = 30); (3) combination treatment (n = 34). Outcome was defined as successful when the owner reported that the horse had returned to its previous level of performance within a period of up to six months aft...
Sparks HD, Stick JA, Brakenhoff JE, Cramp PA, Spirito MA.3 foals were referred for treatment of tympany of the auditory tube diverticulum (guttural pouch). Results: Bilateral guttural pouch tympany was diagnosed in all 3 foals on the basis of clinical signs and results of radiographic and endoscopic evaluations and gutturocentesis. In each foal, previous medical or surgical interventions or both had failed to correct the problem. Results: Bilateral surgical resection of the plica salpingopharyngeus was performed. Follow-up telephone interviews with owners 8 months to 3 years after surgery revealed that long-term resolution of the tympany had been ac...
Matthews NS.This article briefly reviews physiologic changes that may occur with aging in equine patients. It summarizes anesthetic protocols and problems encountered in a group of older horses (> 20 years old) anesthetized over the previous 10 years in the teaching hospital and makes recommendations for appropriate management of these patients.
Bertone JJ.Often in emergency situations minimal data are collected, decisions are made, manipulations are performed, and therapeutics are administered without the collection of complete data sets that would indicate a detailed history and laboratory analysis. The incomplete clinical analysis may lead to occasional mistakes, but most often expediency is necessary and admirable. This article presents a clinical approach to emergency patients that requires minimal data collection in the face of the need for timely decision development. Medicolegal considerations are addressed briefly.