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.
Blanchard TL, Orsini JA, Garcia MC, Elmore RG, Youngquist RS, Bierschwal CJ.A retrospective study was done on total white blood cell (WBC) and blood neutrophil counts of 41 mares referred to one of two veterinary hospitals for correction of dystocia. The mares were 2 to 19 years of age and included draft, light, and pony breeds. The WBC and neutrophil counts were performed at varying intervals from time of admission to 10 d after delivery of the feti. Retrospective analyses of WBC and neutrophil counts from 10 normal foaling mares from two Pennsylvania breeding farms (Thoroughbred and Trakehner) and from 14 normal foaling pony mares were done as controls. Mean WBC (10...
Caron JP, Barber SM, Bailey JV, Fretz PB, Pharr JW.Periorbital skull fractures were diagnosed in 5 horses, and were associated with ophthalmic complications including corneal ulceration, uveitis, and entrapment of the eye by retrobulbar bone fragments. Physical examination was of greater diagnostic use than radiography. Surgical repair was performed on all horses and was associated with a more favorable postoperative appearance in horses treated acutely; however, the cosmetic results were considered acceptable in all horses. Major postoperative complications were not observed.
Hornof WJ, Dunlop CI, Prestage R, Amis TC.Six horses were anesthetized and placed in lateral recumbency for 1 hour and then were turned to the opposite side for an additional hour. A short-lived radioactive gas, 81mKr, was used to determine the relative spatial distribution of ventilation (V) and perfusion (Q) in these horses. Effects of time, side down, and turning on the distribution were evaluated. A consistent gradient of V/Q was found at all times, with the highest V/Q values at the top (non-dependent) portion of the lung field and the lowest at the bottom (dependent). This gradient was also present within each lung, as well as b...
Richardson DW.Eikenella corrodens, a previously unrecognized pathogen in the horse, was isolated from the spinous process of the axis of a colt with signs of severe neck pain. Dorsal laminectomy (excising the infected spinous process and lamina) was performed and the colt was treated with antibiotics for 6 weeks. Recovery was uncomplicated.
Cooley PL, Wyman M.Three horses were admitted with indolent-like corneal ulcers. All horses were treated topically with antibiotics. Two horses had ulcers with redundant epithelial borders, which were debrided with cotton-tipped applicators after topical anesthesia was induced. One ulcer healed after 2 debridements. Of 2 horses treated surgically, one had complications.
Yovich JV, LeCouteur RA, Stashak TS, Grandy JL, Whalen LR.Acute hemorrhagic myelopathy developed in the sixth cervical to the eighth thoracic spinal cord segments of a 1-year-old Quarter Horse colt that was castrated under general anesthesia while in dorsal recumbency. Clinical signs were consistent with severe transverse myelopathy caudal to the brachial enlargement and cranial to the lumbosacral enlargement of the spinal cord. Histologic examination of the spinal cord revealed hemorrhage in the gray matter, with multiple blood-filled clefts in otherwise normal neuropil. Hemodynamic changes in the spinal cord associated with anesthesia and dorsal re...
Richardson DW.A technique involving internal fixation guided by arthroscopy was used to repair third carpal slab fractures in 23 horses. The technique allowed good reduction and compression of the fractures, with minimal surgical trauma. Ten of 17 horses with a 6-month or longer follow-up have returned to race successfully.
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Drudge JH, Swerczek TW, Crowe MW.From Mar 1, 1984, to Feb 28, 1985, both eyes from 189 one- to four-year-old Thoroughbreds (88 males, 90 females, and 11 geldings) in Kentucky were examined at necropsy for eyeworms. Thelazia lacrymalis was recovered from 45% of 1-year-old horses, 26% of 2-year-old horses, 45% of 3-year-old horses, and 50% of 4-year-old horses; overall, 43% of 1- to 4-year old horses were infected. Prevalence of eyeworms in horses in the present study was comparable with that in horses of similar ages examined at necropsy in Kentucky in 2 previous studies (1975 to 1976 and in 1979), except for the lower percent...
Nation PN, Klavano GG.This account describes two neonatal foals affected with osteopetrosis. One of these foals, a full term Peruvian Paso, was born alive, was bright and alert but was unable to stand and was euthanized at two days of age. The second foal, an Appaloosa, was also born alive at full term and was blind, weak, uncoordinated and unable to stand. Postmortem examination of both foals revealed generalized osteopetrosis and brachygnathia inferior. The osteopetrosis was characterized by failure of bone remodelling resulting in spicules of mineralized and nonmineralized cartilage covered by osteoid occupying ...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Two controlled tests (experiments D and E) were done to evaluate a fenbendazole (FBZ) paste dosage regimen (10 mg/kg once a day for 5 days) for activity against naturally occurring infections of migrating Strongylus vulgaris and S edentatus in the mesenteric arteries and ventral abdominal wall, respectively. Data were also obtained on other internal parasites of the gastrointestinal tract and eyes in experiment E. Eight pony yearlings were used in experiment D (4 treated and 4 nontreated) and 6 horse weanlings were used in experiment E (3 treated and 3 nontreated). Intervals, expressed as days...
Goetz TE, Manohar M.Pressures in the right side of the heart and esophagus (pleural) have not been determined in the exercising equine subjects. In the present study, 8 healthy ponies were examined to determine the changes in these variables caused by 2 degrees of exercise done on a treadmill (heart rate:183 +/- 5 beats/min [trot] and 220 +/- 6 beats/min [canter]). Measurements were also made during both degrees of exertion 10 minutes and 120 minutes after furosemide (1.0 mg/kg) administration. It was observed that both gaits resulted in significant increases in pulmonary artery, right ventricular, and right atri...
Gregory MW, Longstaff JA, Giles CJ.Ciliates resembling Polymorphella ampulla (Dogiel, 1929) were found in large numbers in the crypts and lamina propria of the caecum and colon of a one-year-old Thoroughbred gelding that had shown recurring bouts of chronic diarrhoea and weight loss over a 5-month period. A heavy burden of helminths, mainly cyathostomes (trichonemes) was present at post-mortem examination and no significant bacterial pathogens were recovered. It was considered that the Polymorphella (which is normally a commensal organism) had in this case assumed a secondary pathogenic role.
Hutchins DR, McClintock SA, Brownlow MA.THE technique of partially immersing a horse in a tank of normal saline was originally suggested by Smith (1978) and subsequently used in the management of clinical cases by Smith (1981) and J. R. Biffin (1980, personal communication) as a means of providing long term confinement and effective weight reduction. The term flotation is not strictly accurate because the patient is not made to float but is merely partially immersed to cause a predetermined reduction of its effective weight. The technique has potential clinical application in any situation where a conventional sling may have been us...
Motie A.An outbreak of suspected equine infectious anaemia (EIA) among a population of 678 horses from 16 farms occurred in the Rupununi Savannahs of Guyana. Clinical signs of EIA were detected in 110 horses. Agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) tests on 92 sera examined showed positive serological evidence of EIA in 67 (72·8%). The mean packed cell volume of 50 horses studied was 0·178
and the mean red blood cell count was 3·7 × 1012/l with the mean white blood cell count 4·1 × 109/l.
The morbidity rate of the disease was 14·0% and the mortality rate 11·1%. The majority (78%) of all seroposi...
Mäkinen A, Katila T, Kuokkanen MT.Only one X chromosome was found in each of the lymphocyte metaphases studied in an infertile mare. Karyotype analysis was made with the CBG and GTG banding techniques. The most obvious clinical abnormality was gonadal hypoplasia.
Harrison LJ, May SA, Richardson JD, Mills G, Dixon P.Four horses with an incomplete fracture of a hindlimb longbone were examined. In two, the tibia had been fractured by external trauma. In the other two horses proximal metatarsal 3 had fractured during normal activity. The diagnoses were made radiographically and the horses were treated conservatively by box rest. The fractures healed satisfactorily and the horses became sound.
Pigé C, Masseau I, Bonilla AG.The objective of this study was to determine if abdominal elevation could induce radiographically visible widening of the interspinous spaces in the thoracolumbar region of standing sedated horses and facilitate the surgical approach to the region. Radiographs centered on T13 and T18 were taken while applying different degrees of tension on a wide strap placed under the abdomen of 7 healthy horses. Then, the interspinous spaces between T11 and L2 were measured following a standardized method. The interspinous spaces widen radiographically between T11 to L2, except for T18-L1. Thus, the reporte...
White NA, Barrett JG.To determine the outcome of treating distal interphalangeal joint collateral ligament (DIJCL) desmopathy using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided ligament injection. Methods: Medical records of 13 adult horses diagnosed with DIJCL desmopathy using low-field MRI and treated by MRI-guided ligament injection of mesenchymal stem cells and/or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) were reviewed. Information collected included signalment, MRI diagnosis, treatment type, time to resolution of lameness, and level of exercise after treatment. Results: Collateral ligament inflammation was diagnosed as a cause o...
Logas D, Kunkle G, Calderwood-Mays M, Frank L.An 8-year-old gelding, with a 1-year history of intense pruritus only after exercise, was diagnosed as having cholinergic pruritus. Provocative testing, using exercise and hot-water baths to increase core body temperature, assisted in the diagnosis. Cholinergic pruritus in human beings is a variant of the more common syndrome, cholinergic urticaria, which is characterized by intense pruritus and pinpoint urticaria. With cholinergic pruritus, intense itching results without urticaria. Specific diagnostic laboratory tests have not been developed.
Argenzio RA, Hintz HF.Factors affecting glucose tolerance and the effect of volatile fatty acids on plasma glucose were studied with five ponies in two 5×5 latin square trials. The treatments were equimolar infusions of glucose, acetate, propionate, butyrate and isontonic saline in fed or fasted ponies.
Animals fasted for 72 hr. exhibited a markedly lower glucose tolerance than those fed ad libitum. Propionate appeared to be the only VFA stimulating a significant glucose response in the fasted animals, but no response was noted in the fed animals. The data suggest that length of fast is an important variable in...
Medeiros LO, Medeiros LF, Barcelos SR, Ferri S, Reiner UR.
Summary:
The authors studied glycolytic and non-glycolytic erythrocytic enzyme activities in 8 thoroughbred horses with equine infectious anemia (EIA) and 16 normal controls. Biochemical lesions were indicated, the most outstanding being a deficiency of pyruvatekinase. Adenvlatekinase could be considered as a “salvage pathway” for the formation of ATP.
Zusammenfassung:
Infektiöse Anemie bei Pferden Mangel an Pirovatokinase in Erythrocyten der Englischen Vollblutpferde
Die Autoren untersuchten die Aktivität der glykolytischen und der nichtglykolytischen Enzyme der Erythrocyt...
Moriarty KM, Brown MF, Sutton RH.Auto-immune, haemolytic anacmias (AHA) of man (Dacie, Citation1963) and domestiicated animals (Schalm, Citation1965; Farrelly et al., Citation1966; Lapras and Oudar, Citation1971) are classified either as idiopathic or secondary to an underlying disease process (Pirofsky, Citation1969). In both categories antibodies active against the indivual's own erythrocytes are formed. These auto-antibodies are of two types being either warm or cold-acting. Warm-acting antibodies are most effective at 37°C, belong to the IgG class of immunoglobulins, and are incomplete in that, generally, they do not cau...