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.
Moorthy AR, Spradbrow PB.
Summary:
During a survey in Queensland in 1974—77 four strains of rickettsia-like organisms were isolated from the respiratory tract of horses, of which two, NS7 and NS68 were isolated from nasal swabs of clinically normal horses and two, KSDH 91 and NSDH 100, from lung samples of slaughtered horses showing gross pathological lesions in the form of acute bronchiolitis and subacute interstitial pneumonia, respectively. The isolates are characterised as rickettsia-like organisms on the basis of their morphology, tinctorial property, growth in chicken embryos, inability to grow on bacteria...
Tschudi P.The cardiac arrhythmias, classified in disturbances of impulse formation and conduction disturbances, their genesis and clinical significance are described and illustrated with electrocardiograms, registered with the bipolar chest leads.
Knezevic PF, Fessl L.Thrombosis of the aorta as the cause of intermittent claudication in the horse appears to be rare. Two cases out of about 10 000 horses 1973-1984 are discussed. There are various views on its aetiology, whereby haemodynamic factors and disturbances of coagulation have been mentioned as well as parasites. For treatment surgical methods should be explored in addition to medical procedures. History, diagnosis and the attempt of an aortic thrombectomy in a 12 year old thoroughbred mare are described in this paper. A standardbred stallion was left untreated on owners wish.
Grabner A, Kraft W, Essich G, Hänichen T.Cases of enzootic calcinosis in breeding mares in a Southwest German highland area are reported. The symptoms increased in the latter part of summer and existed in disturbances of movement, moderate kyphosis, sensitivity to palpation in the flexor tendons and, especially, the suspensory ligament, weight loss in spite of good food intake during summer-time and painful costal percussion; less clinical signs of renal and cardiac disorders were established. The sickness was caused by a high percentage of Trisetum flavescens in the feeding plants.
Tschudi P.The physiological and technical basis of the electrocardiography are shortly explained. The electrodes used for the recording of bipolare thoracal leads, their fixation on the horse, the practical procedure of a ECG-recording, its appearance and variation are described and illustrated. A recommendation for a systematic evaluation and interpretation is being proposed.
Diehl M, Gerber H, Schifferli D, Nicolet J.A systemic investigation of wound infection in the horse after operative treatment of large wounds reveals that the age of the wound is of critical importance. The limit for an uncomplicated healing process lies around four hours. The duration of the operation itself is of little significance, the location of the lesion on the body of the horse, however, plays a major role. The pattern of isolated bacterial organisms is discussed in relation to the duration of hospital treatment. It is concluded that a systemic antibiotic therapy is of no value and that a local antibiotic therapy is only indic...
Becker M, Breuer D.The results of the ileus surgery in horses by a consistent performing of a known and standardised clinical and operative procedure are very good, provided that there are surgeons who have experience in abdominal surgery and that there is a co-operating team for the pre- and post-operative care.
Montgomery TC, McNaughton SD.A histological study of plantar digital nerve sections cut with a carbon dioxide laser in horses was conducted. A series of nerve cuts were made with variable power densities to determine the appropriate theoretical level which would yield the most desired tissue effects. Power densities in the lower ranges used appeared to provide tissue effects judged most likely to prevent neuroma formation through increased thermal sealing of the proximal stump at the axon level. Clinical observation and follow-up of horses subjected to laser neurectomy tend to support the reported concept that the laser i...
Collier MA, Lowe JE, Rendano VT.Materials fatigue and gross biocompatability of an implantable bone growth stimulator (BGS) were assessed in a 6-month trial using 6 ponies. The forelegs of each pony were implanted with a BGS; the right leg implant had the cathode and cathode lead preconnected by the manufacturer, and the left leg implant was connected at surgery. Evaluation was by radiographic and clinical examination at the beginning and end of the experimental period. Six of the 12 cathode leads (50%) and 7 of the 12 cathodes (58%) were broken at 6 months. All of the implanted preconnected cathode and insulated cathode lea...
Crowell-Davis SL, Houpt KA.In colts and fillies observed from birth to 24 weeks old, coprophagy occurred from Weeks 1 to 19. Its frequency was greatest during the first two months. Coprophagy was rarely observed in mares and stallions. Foals usually ate the faeces of their mother but were observed to eat their own and those of a stallion and another unrelated mare. Urination by the foal occurred before, during or after 26 per cent of the coprophagy incidents. It is hypothesised that foals may consume faeces in response to a maternal pheromone which signals the presence of deoxycholic acid or other acids which the foal m...
Taylor PM, Hall LW.Anaesthesia was induced in 24 horses with xylazine and ketamine and maintained with halothane (12 cases) or enflurane (12 cases) in oxygen. Pulse rate, arterial blood pressure, arterial blood gas values, respiratory rate and tidal volume were measured at regular intervals during anaesthesia. Serial venous blood samples were taken for assay of glucose, urea, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and creatine kinase. Operating conditions and the horses' behaviour in the recovery period were also recorded. In the case ...
Wolfers H, Böhm D.Etiology and therapy of equine esophageal obstipation are described in 79 cases seen at the Veterinary Surgery Clinic of the University of Munich.
Becker M.During the last 10 years 268 laparotomies by a midline incision were performed. A high incidence of seromas, fistulas caused by suturing material and wound ruptures were observed. After finding only a small number of publications in the veterinary medicine about wound healing disturbances an analysis of the human medical literature was done. This induced the change of our surgical procedure and suturing technique: The midline incision and surgical management during the laparotomies in 14 horses suffering from colic were performed by a minimized trauma. The abdominal wall was closed layer by la...
Bain AM.In the Hunter Valley of Australia, it is the practice to examine mares for pregnancy 25 days after service. These examinations are carried out without the operator having prior knowledge of the reason for the mare's presentation—i.e., whether for pregnancy, anoestrus, oestrus or follicle examination. This ensures a thorough examination and is a very critical check on the accuracy of the operator.
de Souza AF, Paretsis NF, De Zoppa ALDV.The aim of this study was to determine the clinical outcomes reported in retrospective studies of proximal interphalangeal arthrodesis (PIA) in horses through a meta-analysis of retrospective studies. CAB Abstracts, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched. The primary outcomes included survival and surgical site infection (SSI) rates, return to activities, and time of hospital stay and casting. Subgroups were formed for fractures and other conditions. Meta-analyses were performed with fixed and random effects models to estimate proportions, mean values, and effect size ...
Hunyadi L, Chigerwe M, Sundman E.SAA is a commonly used biomarker for measuring acute inflammation in equine practice, and the administration of prophylactic plasma to foals is a routine practice in large breeding farms. Despite this, limited information is available on the values of SAA in healthy or sick neonatal foals following this common procedure. A prospective study was conducted with 31 foals from a veterinary hospital in Texas in one year. Enrolled foals were part of a foaling program, where a prophylactic hyperimmunized plasma was administered 12 h after birth. Blood was collected for SAA measurements at birth and ...
Oster M, Paufler S.The paper analyses different parameters of fertility in mares of different breeds. Totally 2794 cycles of the years 1973 to 1985 have been investigated.
Cercone M.This article provides a comprehensive review of imaging techniques used to evaluate the equine urinary tract. This overview includes officially recognized modalities and new applications reported in the most current literature. Technical aspects and indications for use of endoscopy and ultrasonography are highlighted. Normal endoscopic and ultrasonographic appearance of the upper and lower urinary tract is described, with characterization of common abnormalities found in patients with hematuria, stranguria, and renal failure. Visual examples of several pathologic conditions from clinical cases...
James O, Payne R, Bathe A, Greet T, Wylie C.To describe the clinical details and pathology within the dorsal and plantar pouches of the tarsocrural joint of a population of horses that underwent arthroscopic surgery for tarsocrural osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Horses referred for arthroscopic treatment of tarsocrural OCD between 2005 and 2013 (102 horses; 144 joints). Methods: Case records of all horses that had tarsocrural arthroscopy for OCD at Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket, United Kingdom were included. Cases from 3 ECVS Diplomates were included, 1 of whom routinely examined 70...
Wright IM.This article contains a short introduction to the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of ligaments associated with diarthrodial joints. Individual ligaments are discussed on a regional basis as forelimb, distal limb, and hindlimb. Emphasis is placed on the anatomy of the ligaments because this is the key to sound clinical application of their involvement in joint disease. There are few conditions of diarthrodial joints that do not involve their associated ligaments, and this role may be in causative, diagnostic, and therapeutic or convalescent considerations.
Hoffer RE, Barber SM, Kallfelz FA, Petro SP.Esophageal patch grafting, using the sternocephalicus muscle, was used for treatment of cervical esophageal stricture in a mare. The mare was maintained during the initial healing phase by total parenteral nutrition.