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.
Hines LM.Excellent models exist for people-pet programs in institutions and in the community. Veterinarians should assess the needs of their local communities and adapt a model program to fit these needs.
Lindsay WA, Pascoe PJ, McDonell WN, Burgess ML.Wick catheters were used to measure intracompartmental muscle pressures (ICMP) within the long heads of the triceps brachii and extensor carpi radialis muscles of 8 horses maintained under halothane anesthesia while their breathing was controlled by intermittent positive-pressure ventilation. Blood gas, cardiac output, and blood pressure determinations were monitored to maintain a stable plane of anesthesia. The horses were positioned in left lateral recumbency and were placed sequentially on each of 4 contact surfaces for 1 hour. The 4 surfaces used for each horse were concrete, foam rubber, ...
Brouwer GJ.A total of 103 anaesthetic inductions were performed in horses for a variety of elective procedures. All cases were premedicated with acepromazine maleate (0.02 to 0.05 mg/kg body weight [bwt] intramuscularly [im]). In 50 cases (Group A) anaesthesia was induced by a single intravenous (iv) bolus of thiopentone sodium (11.1 mg/kg bwt or 1 g/90 kg bwt) followed immediately by a bolus of suxamethonium chloride (0.1 mg/kg bwt). In 53 cases (Group B) anaesthesia was induced using iv guaiacol glycerine ether (GGE) (approximately 50 mg/kg bwt) followed by a bolus of thiopentone at half the usual dose...
Meyer RE, Short CE.The correlation between end-tidal partial pressure of CO2 (PETCO2) and arterial (PaCO2) was determined for spontaneously breathing ponies under halothane or isoflurane anesthesia. The PETCO2 was useful as a trend indicator of PaCO2 during the first 60 minutes of halothane or isoflurane anesthesia when PaCO2 values were less than 60 to 70 mm of Hg. Halothane anesthesia lasting greater than 90 minutes was associated with PaCO2 values in excess of 60 to 70 mm of Hg, a large arterial- to end-tidal PCO2 difference (PaCO2-PETCO2) and a significant increase in alveolar dead space. These effects were ...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Drudge JH, Swerczek TW, Crowe MW.A total of 89 Thoroughbreds, 14 to 333 days old (born in 1982), were examined at necropsy for certain internal parasites during a 1-year-period, Mar 1, 1982, to Feb 28, 1983. The eyes of 73 of the horses and the cranial mesenteric arteries of 71 were examined. Specific interest was on prevalence of parasites according to month of the year and age of the horses at necropsy. Parasites recovered (first month-last month infected horse found) were as follows: Thelazia lacrymalis (eyes) immature and mature (June - February); Habronema/Draschia (lungs) immature (May - September); Habronema muscae (st...
Tulleners EP, Richardson DW, Reid BV.Three mares were treated for vaginal evisceration of a portion of the small intestine. Evisceration occurred in 2 mares shortly after breeding accidents in which the stallion's penis penetrated the vaginal fornix dorsal to the cervix. The affected bowel was replaced through the laceration, and the vaginal defects were sutured with the mares standing, utilizing epidural anesthesia. One mare recovered without complications, was subsequently bred, and delivered a foal with no difficulty. The other mare developed signs of a strangulating small intestinal obstruction 24 hours after the injury, nece...
Scott EA, Todhunter R.In 2 cases of chronic intestinal intussusception in horses, one involved jejunum and the other, ileum. The only clinical signs observed were intermittent colic. Surgery was performed on both horses, with successful outcomes.
Murray MJ, Crowell-Davis SL.A 4-year-old mixed-breed gelding was presented with colic-type behavior of 5 days' duration that included pawing, looking at the flank area, and kicking and biting at the abdomen and flank when it was eating hay or grain. Medical evaluation did not reveal the cause of the "colic." During its stay in the hospital, the horse improved as regarded the colic-type behavior while eating, but resumed this behavior when it was able to see hay that it was not allowed to eat. It was determined that the persistent colic-type behavior developed as a result of the horse having been repeatedly displaced from...
Hinrichs K, Gentile DG, Hurtgen JP, Richardson DW.A testicular prosthesis was removed from the scrotum of a 3-year-old Quarter Horse stallion. The prosthesis had been placed in the left side of the scrotum 10 months earlier, after an unsuccessful attempt to reposition the retained left testis. Because of a persistent draining fistula on the scrotum, first noted 5 months after placement of the prosthesis, surgery was performed to remove the prosthesis. At surgery, the left testis was found in a fibrous mass surrounding the prosthesis. The left testis had descended after placement of the prosthesis, and its involvement in the fibrous tissue sur...
Lynch JA, Binnington BD, Artsob H.A 4-fold or greater seroconversion to the snowshoe hare serotype of the California serogroup of viruses in a horse with acute encephalitis was demonstrated by hemagglutination-inhibition, complement-fixation, and neutralization tests. The horse had a mild fever, was ataxic, had a head tilt, and was observed to circle. Chloramphenicol, dexamethasone, and B complex vitamins were administered and the horse recovered. The snowshoe hare virus is a recognized human pathogen, but it has not been associated with disease in horses. It is unknown whether horses play a role as amplification hosts for the...
Hubbell JA, Muir WW.The rate of rise of arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) was determined in 49 apneic halothane-anesthetized horses following controlled ventilation. Drugs given for induction of anesthesia did not affect the rapid rate of rise of PaCO2 during the first minute after controlled ventilation, the PaCO2 at 1 minute after controlled ventilation, or the PaCO2 at which spontaneous ventilation began. Horses given xylazine-ketamine for induction of anesthesia had a significantly (P less than 0.05) faster rate of rise of PaCO2 after 1 minute following controlled ventilation than did horses...
Chiapetta JR, Baker JC, Feeney DA.An Arabian foal, which was recumbent for 4 days, had signs of extensor rigidity of the thoracic limbs and hypotonic paralysis of the pelvic limbs. Survey radiography revealed a lesion at T15, with radiographic impression of a compression fracture or a hemivertebra. Postmortem examination revealed a fracture at T15. Clinical and pathologic findings in this case were compatible with the Schiff-Sherrington syndrome, which is characterized by thoracic limb extensor hypertonia associated with paraplegia from acute thoracolumbar trauma.
Simmons HA, Cox JE, Edwards GB, Neal PA, Urquhart KA.This paper reports seven cases of penile paraphimosis which occurred in both entire and castrated horses in association with general debility. Two cases were discharged after treatment while still suffering from partial paralysis; one was discharged at the owner's request with complete paralysis; three were destroyed and one died during treatment. Identified causes of debility were malnutrition, severe parasitism, glucose malabsorption and salmonellosis.
Uehara N, Sawazaki H, Mochizuki K.The area of the largest transverse section and the number of muscle fibres in a unit sectional area (1 mm2) were examined in 8 trunk and 12 extremity muscles of young and adult 16 light horses and 8 ponies. It was found that the area of the largest transverse section was enlarged and the number of muscle fibres in a unit area was decreased, with the advance in age. This result suggests that the development of muscle volume does not depend on the increase in the number of fibres, but depends on the hypertrophy of each muscle fibre.
Rigg DL, Ramey DW, Reinertson EL.Respiratory distress and laryngeal paralysis were found to be caused by a Streptococcus equi abscess of cranial mediastinal lymph nodes, putting pressure on the trachea at the thoracic inlet. Surgical drainage was required to relieve the compression, and long-term antibiotic therapy was used to treat the bacterial infection. The trachea returned to normal diameter but left laryngeal hemiplegia persisted. Peritracheal abscesses should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inspiratory dyspnea of the horse.
Matsui K, Amada A, Sawazaki H.Electrocardiographic observation in 10 Thoroughbred horses has been carried out from fetal stages to 12 months after birth. In this observation a filly out of 10 foals at a resting state showed second-degree atrioventricular {A-V) block with sinus arrhythmia after 2.5 months of age. The number of dropped beats and the irregularity of sinus arrhythmia in these blocks were affected by the atrial rate, and several variations of Wenckebach phenomenon were shown under the influence of the artial rate. Electrocardiographic characteristics of second-degree A-V block in the present filly might be simi...
Bowling AT.Accuracy of assigning foal paternity to the second serving stallion for foals whose dams had been bred to two stallions within an interval of 1 to 45 days was investigated using breeding dates from 108 equine paternity cases solved by blood typing. One hundred two of the foals were sired by the second stallion but six foals (5.5%) were excluded as being by the second sires. Thus, breeding dates are not reliable as a sole source of information to assign equine paternity accurately.
Line SW, Hart BL, Sanders L.Males horses castrated prepubertally occasionally display stallion-like sexual and aggressive behavior as adults. A retrospective survey of 140 horse owners was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of prepubertal versus postpubertal castration on objectionable sexual and aggressive behavior. Of 94 geldings that had been castrated prepubertally (before 2 years of age), 20% to 30% displayed stallion-like sexual behavior and aggression toward horses, and 5% were aggressive toward people in a stallion-like manner. This occurrence of problem behavior was not significantly different from the occu...
Warren A.A 5-year-old Hanoverian horse was presented for a palpable and visible mass over the frontal and maxillary sinuses. Following endoscopy and radiography surgical excision was attempted. The horse was euthanized during surgery and samples of the mass were identified as malignant anaplastic sarcoma, a seldom reported sinonasal tumor in equids. Sarcome anaplasique naso-sinusien équin infecté par Escherichia coli multirésistant aux antibiotiques. Un cheval Hanovrien âgé de 5 ans a été présenté pour une masse palpable et visible sur les sinus frontal et maxillaire. Après une endoscopie et ...
Secor EJ, Gutierrez-Nibeyro SD, Clark-Price SC, Stewart MC, Kay AT.OBJECTIVE To report complication rates following elective arthroscopy in horses and determine whether postoperative complication rates are higher for outpatient procedures, compared with inpatient procedures. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. ANIMALS 357 client-owned horses that had undergone 366 elective arthroscopic procedures between January 2008 and February 2015. PROCEDURES Medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Data collected included signalment, travel time to the hospital, clinical signs, joints treated, lesions diagnosed, medications administered, anesthesia and surgery times...
Abigail McGlennon of the Animal Health Trust and Andrea Vilela of the Redwings Horse Sanctuary describe the creation and impact of a new initiative to tackle strangles in UK horses.
Oki Y, Miura K.In the recent years, various red cell auto-antibodies have been determined in someanimal diseases, including autoimmune hemolytic anemia and systemic lupus erythe-matosus in dogs, ") Aleutian disease in minks, 8) and equine infectious anemia."?">In this report, the red cell auto-antibodies were examined for symptomatiCchanges, serological characteristics, and immunopathological roles in 20 horses infectedwith equine infectious anemia virus (Table l).Pathologic cold hemagglutiuain and warm hemagglutinin were identified in theplasma of artificially infected horses. The direct antiglobulin tests ...