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.
Mackey VS, Pool RR.Fracture of the lateral wing of the third phalanx with secondary infection of the distal interphalangeal joint occurred in a neurectomized mare. Puncture of the sole may have been the inciting cause, emphasizing the need for careful daily foot care in neurectomized horses.
Shawley RV, Rolf LL.Crystalline cantharidin in an alfalfa cake or in aqueous suspension was given to 8 horses at a dosage level of 450 to 489 micrograms/kg of body weight (group 1) and 2 horses at a dosage level of 720 micrograms/kg (group 2) via nasogastric tube. Both group 2 horses and 1 group 1 horse died. Horses were evaluated at 6-hour intervals for 36 hours and then again at postcantharidin hours 48. Data evaluation consisted of a comparison of the nonsurvival and survival data to one another and their respective base-line values at each sampling period, irrespective of the route of administration and dosag...
Kelly AP, Jones RT, Gillick JC, Sims LD.An outbreak of nervous disease in Standardbred horses occurred near Bendigo, in south-eastern Australia, in October 1980. Over a two week period 11 horses in four training stables were affected with gait abnormalities, depression and recumbency. Eight of the 11 died. The results of an investigation implicated Clostridium botulinum toxin as the cause. The toxin was food-borne as a contaminant of oaten chaff.
Kowalczyk DF, Beech J, Littlejohn D.The pharmacokinetics of theophylline were determined in 6 healthy horses after a single IV administration of 12 mg of aminophylline/kg of body weight (equivalent to 9.44 mg of theophylline/kg). Serum theophylline was measured after the IV dose at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 15 hours. Serum concentration plotted against time on semilogarithmic coordinates, indicated that theophylline in 5 horses was best described by a 2-compartment open model and in 1 horse by a 1-compartment open model. The following mean pharmacokinetic values were determined; elimination half-life = 11.9 hours, distri...
van Aarde MN, Littlejohn A, Van der Walt JJ.A method was developed for determining the ratio of cardiopulmonary blood volume to stroke volume, in horses. The radioisotope 99 Tc (technetium 99m pertechnetate) was injected into the jugular vein as a bolus, which was then detected in the right and left ventricles consecutively by a scanning device consisting of a Na I crystal, a collimator, an amplifier and a discriminator. The radiocardiogram (RCG) and the ECG were recorded simultaneously by a two-channel writing device. The ratio of cardiopulmonary blood volume to stroke volume (cardiopulmonary flow index = CPFI) was then determined from...
Hines MT.The continued study of immunology and its relationship to diseases of the eye will hopefully give some insight into the pathogenic mechanisms of certain ocular diseases of many species, including the horse. It may lead to a better understanding of equine recurrent uveitis, a disease that has remained an enigma for years and that now appears to be an immunologic hypersensitivity response to a number of varied antigens. The precise mechanism of the inflammation is still unclear, and the immunologic response may be variable or mixed depending upon the inciting antigen. Other ophthalmic diseases i...
Morris DD, Bloom JC, Roby KA, Woods K, Tablin F.An eosinophilic myeloproliferative disorder resulted in edema and hemorrhagic diathesis in a 10-month-old Standardbred colt. Laboratory abnormalities included severe thrombocytopenia, anemia, mild hypoproteinemia, and marked eosinophilia. Circulating eosinophils were immature or atypical with variation in granule size, disproportionate nuclear to cytoplasmic maturation, and abnormal nuclear size and shape. Bone marrow aspirate had mainly atypical eosinophil precursors, few erythroid precursors, and no megakaryocytes. A blood transfusion and dexamethasone therapy resulted in some improvement; h...
van der Velden MA, Verzijlenberg F.The surgical treatment of eighty-nine horses and ponies suffering from chronic empyema of the maxillary sinus is reported. Treatment consisted in trephination and drainage of the sinus involved in thirty-six animals; the affected teeth were removed at the same time in fifty-three animals in which sinusitis was caused by an alveolitis. The recovery rate was seventy-five per cent in group one and seventy per cent in group two. Postoperative treatment is also reported and attention is paid to complications which may occur during and after surgery.
Cox JE.A simple technique for castration of adult horses which results in first intention healing was devised. The technique involves a 'closed' castration with or without a transfixed ligature on the spermatic sac and suturing the scrotal skin with polyglycolic acid suture material. The postoperative course was characterised by mild oedema only and by rapid recovery. The results obtained during the course of removing 311 scrotal testes from horses and donkeys of all ages are described and discussed. The technique is readily applicable in the field.
O'Niell FD, Issel CJ, Henk WG.Organ cultures of equine fetal tracheal and nasal turbinate epithelium were inoculated with equine influenza virus-A1 (EIV-A1), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), or equine rhinovirus-1 (ERV-1). Infected organ cultures were processed for scanning and transmission electron microscopy at various intervals and were compared with noninfected controls. Organ cultures inoculated with ERV-1 appeared normal with the exception of rare island-like lesions in infected nasal turbinate. Virus particles were not seen in thin sections of organ cultures infected with ERV-1. The EHV-1 caused extensive loss of the e...
Todhunter RJ, Stick JA, Trotter GW, Boles C.Esophageal strictures developed in 7 horses that were treated for esophageal obstruction. A soft diet was fed to all horses, with intermittent nasogastric tube feeding in one, and medication included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Maximal reduction in esophageal lumen diameter was evident by 30 days following circumferential esophageal ulceration, after which lumen diameter increased rapidly. Five horses were clinically normal by 60 days after the esophageal injury. Two horses were euthanatized at the owner's request, 16 and 17 days after the original insult.
Richardson DW.Fifteen longitudinal fractures involving the medial condyle of the third metatarsal bone were diagnosed in racing Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. Twelve were repaired surgically with lag screws placed through stab incisions. Two of the horses suffered catastrophic fracture of the third metatarsal bone during recovery from anesthesia, and 3 more sustained complete fractures within 4 days of the repair. Of 3 horses with fractures treated without surgery, 2 healed without complication. Preoperative radiography did not demonstrate a nonlongitudinal fracture component in any of the horses that sus...
Bristol DG, Fubini SL.Lipomas involving the musculoskeletal system were seen in 3 horses. The lipomas were on the thorax of 2 horses and the stifle of the third horse. The thoracic lipomas were surgically removed. No recurrence has been noted by 8 months in either case. The lipoma on the stifle had invaded the surrounding tissue and the horse was euthanatized. Unlike mesenteric lipomas, which occur in older horses, these lipomas all occurred in horses less than 2 years of age.
Sweeney RW, Sweeney CR.Horner's syndrome developed in 2 horses after routine jugular venipuncture. Signs included unilateral sweating of the face in both horses and ptosis in 1 horse. The signs resolved within 14 hours. Signs of a perivascular injection did not develop in either horse. Although Horner's syndrome has been reported after perivascular jugular injections these cases illustrate that the syndrome may develop following routine intravenous injections.
Gomez-Villamandos R, Santisteban J, Ruiz I, Avila I.Two horses with fibrotic myopathy of the semitendinosus muscle are described. The report deals with the aetiology, clinical signs and diagnosis of the condition, and discusses the different surgical techniques described in the literature. Tenotomies were performed on both horses. Excellent results were obtained in the horse in which only the semitendinosus muscle was affected, but in the horse in which the semimembranosus and gracilis muscles were also involved the results were less satisfactory.
Rushton JO, Tichy A, Kolodziejek J, Nowotny N, Nell B.The prevalence of linear keratopathy with progressing age in a closed population of a single horse breed is reported. All Lipizzaners in three federal states in Austria underwent complete ophthalmic examination four times over a period of 18 months, with six-month intervals. Findings consistent with linear keratopathy were recorded, and associated with factors such as sex, location, boarding system and level of performance throughout the study period. Logistic regression was applied to determine the influence of age on ophthalmic findings. On the first, second, third and fourth examinations, 0...