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.
Clemmons RM, Dorsey-Lee MR, Gorman NT, Sturtevant FC.Whole blood platelet counts, coagulation profiles and in vitro platelet function tests were monitored in newborn foals during the first week of life. Platelet counts, mean platelet volumes and thrombin-induced malondialdehyde production were not different from adult mares. Prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times were slightly, but not significantly, longer for neonatal blood samples than for mare samples. Platelet aggregation responses to serotonin, arachidonic acid or adrenaline did not change during the study. On the other hand, adenosine diphosphate-induced aggregation and collagen-ind...
Updike SJ.Tendons of insertion of the equine tibialis cranialis muscle and peroneus tertius muscle (PT) were dissected grossly. Precise areas of tendon attachment and fiber arrangements within the tendons were described for the dorsal and medial tendons of the tibialis cranialis, and for the superficial lateral, deep lateral, dorsal, and medial tendons of the PT. Direct attachment of the dorsal and medial tendons of the PT into the periosteum of the central and 3rd tarsal bones and the 3rd metatarsal bone indicates that the PT may be involved in the pathogenesis of hock lamenesses.
Stewart JH, Rose RJ, Barko AM.Respiratory measurements and blood-gas and acid-base values are reported in nine term induced foals. Measurements were performed at 2, 15, 30 and 60 mins, 4, 12, 24 and 48 h, and four and seven days after birth. Minute respiratory volume was significantly lower at birth than values from 12 h old. Tidal volume peaked at 60 mins old, while respiration rate decreased significantly at 15 mins after birth. Oxygen consumption was high at birth and decreased to its lowest values at 24 and 48 h. The respiratory exchange ratio and ventilatory equivalent showed few significant changes to seven days, as ...
Webb AI, Coons TJ, Koterba AM, Kosch PC.New developments in therapy for foals in respiratory distress are discussed. Therapy is based on preservation of the foal's life by maintenance of a patent airway, resuscitation with fluids and warmth, provision of humidified oxygen to raise the fractional concentration of inspired oxygen sufficient to avoid hypoxia and provision of ventilatory support when hypercapnia becomes critical. Ventilatory support described includes assisted and controlled ventilation, positive end expiratory pressure, continuous positive airway pressure and intermittent mandatory ventilation. The aims of these techni...
Sweeney CR, Soma LR, Bucan CA, Ray SG.Thoroughbreds with a confirmed history of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) were treated pre-exercise with atropine sulfate, cromolyn, ipratropium or furosemide. Atropine prevented EIPH in 3 of 3 trials in 1 horse, while having no significant effect on bleeding status in the other 2 horses. Pre-exercise treatment with cromolyn had no significant effects in the 3 horses. Pre-exercise treatment of ipratropium was apparently responsible for preventing EIPH in 17 out of 18 trials in 2 horses. The pharmacologic properties of ipratropium in the horse have not been studied, but based on hu...
Rossdale PD, Ousey JC, Dudan FE, Leadon DP, Cash RS, Reddy R, Silver M, Fowden A, Broughton Pipkin F, Jeffcott LB.This paper describes the general management of mares and foals during the perinatal period and the methodology used in a collaborative research project on equine prematurity. Sixteen mares with dated pregnancies delivered 45 foals over three breeding seasons (1981 to 1983). In the majority, parturition was induced with oxytocin and/or fluprostenol; the remainder were allowed to foal spontaneously. Pre-colostral milk analysis provided a means of assessing the pre-foaling status of the mare. All were observed and monitored before, during and after parturition and the sampling protocol for both m...
Kosch PC, Koterba AM, Coons TJ, Webb AI.Developments in evaluation of newborn foals with respiratory distress are discussed. Major causes of respiratory distress are outlined and discussed in terms of the similar respiratory signs exhibited by foals with this clinical syndrome. History, physical examination, clinical pathology, chest radiography and blood gas analyses are discussed as important elements of the evaluation of the condition of these foals. Foals with respiratory disease are grouped into three major categories on the basis of clinical signs and arterial blood gas profiles. The evaluation of foals with respiratory distre...
Brown MP, Gronwall R, Kroll WR, Beal C.Five foals from two to three days old were given a single oral dose of ampicillin trihydrate (20 mg/kg bodyweight [bwt]). Serum ampicillin concentrations were measured serially over a 24 h period. The study was repeated in the same foals at 16 to 21 days old. The mean peak serum ampicillin concentration at two to three days old was 5.0 micrograms/ml at 1 h after treatment; the mean peak serum concentration at 16 to 21 days old was 2.7 micrograms/ml at 2 h. The concentrations steadily declined and ampicillin was not detected in the serum from any of the foals by 24 h. Serum clearance averaged 1...
Olson KN, Klein LV, Nann LE, Soma LR.Six horses were administered isoflurane anesthesia by liquid injection into a closed breathing circuit according to the square root of time model. The unit dose (UD) was calculated using Lowe's formula to provide an end-tidal concentration of 1.3%, or the minimum alveolar concentration of isoflurane. The mean UD was 4.2 +/- 0.2 mL. The mean end-tidal isoflurane concentration (ETiso) for each interval after injection, and the peak and minimum concentrations for each injection interval, did not change beginning with the second injection, indicating that the square root of time model accurately p...
Guay P, Rondeau M, Boucher S.The effect of different glycerol concentrations (0 to 5.3 per cent) on motility, viability and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) release of stallion spermatozoa was studied before and after deep-freezing. Addition of glycerol to a TRIS-fructose-egg yolk diluent used to extend stallion semen had no effect on motility and viability of spermatozoa and it did not increase AST release. Inclusion of glycerol in the extender only partially preserved the motility and viability of stallion semen during deep-freezing. A fertility trial revealed that concentrating stallion semen by centrifugation, followe...
Valentine BA, Rousselle SD, Sams AE, Edwards RB 3drd .Three horses with fibrotic myopathy were examined for neuromuscular disease. In 2 horses, concentric needle electromyography was performed. Dense spontaneous activity suggestive of denervation, was found in multiple thigh muscles of 1 of the 2 horses. All 3 horses were euthanatized. Histochemical and histologic examination of tissue specimens was performed. All horses had degenerative lesions in peripheral and intramuscular nerves. Angular atrophy of type-1 and type-2 muscle fibers, indicative of denervation atrophy, was seen in multiple muscle specimens from all 3 horses. One horse was found ...