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.
Takai S, Iimori S, Tsubaki S.Quantitative culture of Corynebacterium (Rhodococcus) equi from feces of 17 foals on a farm (A) with an endemic C. equi infection problem and 26 foals on a farm (B) without the disease in the past decade was done with a selective medium at weekly or monthly intervals from April to August of 1984. Corynebacterium equi was observed in the feces of 16 of 17 foals on farm A, and 19 of 26 foals on farm B. The mean viable count of C. equi in one gram of feces was 4.1 +/- 3.7 (log10) on farm A, and 3.9 +/- 3.4 (log10) on farm B. Corynebacterium equi was recovered from feces of foals as young as two w...
Sojka JE, Brown SA.Serum gentamicin concentrations were measured and pharmacokinetic values were calculated for 12 equine patients receiving parenteral gentamicin therapy. Horses were selected for monitoring of gentamicin pharmacokinetics if they met several criteria of high risk for gentamicin-induced toxicosis. Two blood samples were obtained, one immediately before gentamicin dosing and one at 1 hour after dosing. Gentamicin serum concentrations were analyzed and dosage adjustments were made on the basis of calculated one-compartment pharmacokinetic values. Nine of the 12 horses required dosage adjustment to ...
Pan LG, Forster HV, Kaminski RP.We assessed in ponies the adequacy of using rectal (Tre) rather than arterial temperature (Tar) under conditions common to ventilatory control experiments, i.e., CO2 breathing, thermal stress, and particularly exercise. We were interested in whether, and to what extent, Tar-Tre differences could lead to errors in arterial blood gas corrections. At control environmental temperatures (Ta) of 5 degrees C in the winter and 21 degrees C in the summer, Tar and Tre (37.1 degrees C) did not differ (P greater than 0.05). Elevating winter or summer Ta by 10-18 degrees C for 2-days or lowering summer Ta ...
Owen RA, Haywood S, Kelly DF.A four-year-old shire mare with haematuria, colic, terminal weight loss and an abdominal mass had a large unilateral renal adenocarcinoma. Clinical signs were monitored for 11 months. Increased serum copper concentrations were measured on two occasions. Hypercupraemia is discussed as a possible paraneoplastic change.
Bauer C, Bürger HJ.A paste formulation containing 14.3 per cent of oxibendazole and 44 per cent of trichlorfon was administered to 33 ponies and horses. The dose rate used was equivalent to 10 mg and 30 mg/kg bodyweight, of oxibendazole and trichlorfon respectively. After treatment 25 animals passed between one and 82 third stage larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis in their faeces. Dosing with 0.2 mg ivermectin/kg bodyweight three weeks later resulted in six animals expelling between one and four bots. The efficacy of the oxibendazole-trichlorfon paste was on average 96.2 per cent. This drug combination given t...
Levine RA, Hart AH, Wardlaw SC.Using quantitative buffy coat analysis (QBCA), rapid and accurate measurements can be made of the erythrocyte PCV, total WBC count, and platelet count, and the leukocyte population can be differentiated into total granulocytes (including quantitation of eosinophils), and lymphocytes and monocytes. The QBCA is performed by placing a blood sample (50 to 111 microliters) into a high-precision-bore microhematocrit tube that contains a freely moving, closely fitting, cylindrical plastic float. After centrifugation for 5 minutes, the buffy coat components separate by density. The plastic cylinder fl...
Hillidge CJ.Corynebacterium (Rhodococcus) equi is becoming increasingly significant as a cause of bronchopneumonia and lung abscessation in foals. The organism can survive within macrophages and may thus escape normal pulmonary defence mechanisms, particularly in immunocompromised animals. The disease has hitherto been associated with mortality rates as high as 80 per cent, partly as a result of inappropriate therapy. The selection of lipid-soluble antibiotics capable of intracellular penetration is critical for the successful treatment of C equi lung abscesses. A combination of two such antibiotics, eryt...
Van Mol KA, Fransen JL.A poorly performing nine-year-old thoroughbred mare was presented because of chronic weight loss. On rectal examination an abdominal mass was palpated and, on percussion of the right flank from the 11th to 13th intercostal space, a large area of dullness was delineated. Biopsies taken from the liver region and through the rectum revealed a malignant metastasising tumour of the urinary system. After euthanasia, the post mortem findings confirmed the presence of a papillary renal carcinoma with multiple metastases into the omentum and peritoneum.
Frauenfelder HC, Rossdale PD, Ricketts SW, Allen WR.Blood samples were collected twice weekly over a nine month period from 24 Thoroughbred racehorses in training at Newmarket to study the effects of daily training schedules and stage of oestrous cycle on serum enzyme levels and clinical signs of equine exertional myopathy. The sampling period extended from November to July and was performed between 16:00 h and 18:00 h so as to be at least 6 h after exercise. Serum creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase and plasma progestogen concentrations were measured. All horses were subjected to a similar traditional training programme. The study demo...
Spier S, Carlson GP, Nyland TG, Snyder JR, Fischer PE.An 8-year-old gelding with a 3-month history of anorexia and weight loss was found to have a massive subcapsular splenic hematoma. At flank laparotomy, 36 L of fluid was removed from the hematoma. The horse's condition improved after drainage. Fifteen months later, the horse became depressed and febrile. A splenic abscess containing Bacteroides ruminicola and Clostridium sporogenes was found at necropsy.
Clarke KW, Taylor PM.Detomidine, given intravenously at doses of 5 to 30 (mean 13) micrograms/kg bodyweight (bwt), provided adequate sedation for a variety of clinical procedures in 93 per cent of administrations, and improved the ease of handling in the remaining animals. Side effects of ataxia and bradycardia were minimal at the lower dose rates. Higher doses were required for intramuscular use. In experimental trials 10 and 20 micrograms/kg bwt resulted in deep sedation and also significant hypertension and bradycardia of over 15 mins duration. Current literature on the use of detomidine in horses is reviewed.
Pagan JD, Hintz HF.Energy balance studies using indirect calorimetry were conducted with four mature equids ranging in weight from 125 to 856 kg. Each animal was fed three different levels of intake of the same diet. The amounts of digestible and metabolizable energy required for zero energy balance were determined by calculating regression equations for energy balance against energy intake. It was concluded that the maintenance requirements of equids vary linearly with body weight. No advantage was found for the use of weight for the comparison of equids within the range studied. The digestible energy (DE) requ...
Trotter GW, Auer JA, Arden W, Parks A.Two foals wearing hindlimb casts developed coxofemoral luxations 6 days and 9 days after the casts were applied. One foal had a cast on one hindlimb up to the proximal portion of the tibia and the other foal had tube casts on all 4 limbs. Although the incidents that resulted in the luxations were not observed, they probably occurred during awkward attempts to stand or from being pushed by the mare, with the affected limb being caught under the body in a forward extended and adducted position.
Campbell-Thompson ML, Brown MP, Slone DE, Merritt AM, Moll HD, Levy M.Gastroenterostomy was performed in 14 foals to treat gastric outflow obstruction caused by advanced gastroduodenal ulcer disease. The onset of excessive salivation and teeth grinding, without response to medical treatment, combined with endoscopic and radiographic evidence of gastric outflow obstruction, were indications for surgical intervention. Successful outcome in 5 foals was attributed to early diagnosis, patient stabilization, early surgical correction, and postoperative management including antibiotics and antiulcer medication.
Kelly AB, Steffey EP, McNeal D, Willits N.The acute and long-term quantitative and qualitative effects of halothane anesthesia on equine platelet performance were studied in fourteen horses. Horses were anesthetized with only halothane in O2 for about 8.0 MAC hours. Platelet numbers declined during the anesthetic period but returned to normal within 24 h. Platelet aggregation was significantly diminished during the anesthetic period and for up to 4 days after anesthesia. A period of hyperaggregability occurred at the 7th day.
Kravets ID, Garin NS, Krutovskikh AV, Volkovoĭ KI, Fedorov VL.The authors present the results of studies on obtaining and comparative assessment of experimental anthrax diagnostic sera in experiments on various animals. Donkeys, sheep, horses, rabbits and monkeys (Papio hamadryas) were immunized with the STI-I vaccine by a single scheme. The activity of the obtained sera was tested in the diffuse precipitation reaction by the amount of the detected antibodies and the titre. The most active sera were obtained from donkeys and sheep: their titre was 5.5 and 4 times greater and amount of the detected antibodies 2.6--2 times greater than in the sera of horse...
Sekhar V, Wong E, Elhassan HA, Singh N.Mules and other equine species have been used in warfare for thousands of years to transport goods and supplies. Mules are known for 'braying', which is disadvantageous in warfare operations. This article explores the fascinating development of surgical techniques to stop military mules from braying, with particular emphasis on the key role played by the otolaryngologist Arthur James Moffett in devoicing the mules of the second Chindit expedition of World War II. Methods: The PubMed database (1900-2017) and Google search engine were used to identify articles related to devoicing mules in the m...
Milne FJ.FOR MANY YEARS, concern has been expressed at the wastage of young Thoroughbreds at the racetrack. This concern even manifested itself in the publication of a book (1) which referred to the prevailing practice of prematurely start-ing the racing career of the Thoroughbred long before it had attained sufficient maturity to engage in stiff, damaging competition. This is not a fault of the Thoroughbred industry alone, because in certain parts of the U.S.A., Quarter Horses less than two years of age are already racing. We could swing to the opposite extreme, of course, to the pleasure horse world ...
Baird AN, Taylor TS, Watkins JP.Grade 3 rectal tears were created in 14 horses. Epidural anaesthesia was maintained in all horses for 8 h post injury. In seven horses with cotton filled stockinette packing the rectum, neither gross faecal contamination nor progression of the rectal tear occurred. Seven horses without rectal packing developed faecal contamination of the rectal tear with formation of a faeces filled serosal or mesorectal diverticulum.
Harrison SM, Whitton RC, Stover SM, Symons JE, Cleary PW.Distal limb injuries are common in racing horses and track surface properties have been associated with injury risk. To better understand how track surfaces may contribute to equine limb injury, we developed the first 3D computational model of the equine hoof interacting with a racetrack and simulated interactions with model representations of 1) a dirt surface and 2) an all-weather synthetic track. First, a computational track model using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method with a Drucker-Prager (D-P) elastoplastic material model was developed. It was validated against analytical...