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.
Friis NF, Bech J.Döhle bodies were observed in a horse suffering from a chronic pleurisy. The bodies were demonstrated in about 80 % of the neutro-phils in blood smears prepared during an acute flare-up of the disease. One to 4 bodies were found in each cell, situated in the periphery of the cytoplasm. The size of the bodies was 1–3 μ and the shape rodlike or oval. They stained blue with M-G-G. Blood smears were examined from 50 horses suffering from various diseases, but Döhle bodies could not be demonstrated in any of these cases. Döhle-Körperchen wurden bei einem Pferd mit chronischer Pleuritis beoba...
Sponseller ML, Binn LN, Wooding WL, Yager RH.Four field strains of western encephalitis virus were inoculated subcutaneously or intracranially (i/c) into recently weaned ponies. After s/c inoculation, 3 of the 4 strains produced an inapparent infection with a short period of viraemia. The 4th strain produced viraemia, fever, and signs of central nervous system disease. Viraemia occurred after intracranial inoculation with each strain; however, a variation in clinical response occurred, ranging from an inapparent infection to death. The disease pattern was characterized by three successive phases: viraemia, increased body temperature, and...
Madison JB, Ziemer EL.Purified streptococcal M protein was injected into one intercarpal joint in three horses hyperimmunised with Streptococcus equi M protein vaccine. The contralateral joints were injected with pH adjusted polyionic solution. All antigen-injected joints developed a severe suppurative synovitis (mean synovial fluid nucleated cell count = 102,200 x 10(6) cells litre-1). Eosinophils were found in the synovial fluid and in synovial membrane biopsy specimens of two of the horses. Immune complexes were not demonstrated in the synovial membrane. Two horses are described that developed synovial fluid eos...
Gelberg HB, McEntee K.Interstitial cell tumors from nine stallions were described. In all but one horse the tumors were found in undescended testes. Five animals had bilateral tumors. Two animals showed increased aggression. Tumors contained two cell types. The first type were large distinctly bordered eosinophilic cells interpreted to be hyperplastic and hypertrophic interstitial cells. They blended with pleomorphic often spindloid neoplastic cells which had fibrillar, vacuolated cytoplasm and indistinct cell borders. This latter cell population was arranged in nodules or broad sheets as endocrine-like packets or ...
Wilson AM, Pardoe CH.Studies on horseshoe materials have been limited to the analysis of kinematic data to determine slip times and distances, since equine force plate analysis is traditionally undertaken on a rubber-surfaced force plate. The purpose of this study was to modify a force plate for measuring ground reaction forces on a road surface and report preliminary data from the system. A steel-reinforced concrete top plate of 18 mm thickness and mass 23 kg, and a 12 mm thick top plate of 6 mm bituminous macadam wear coat (road surface) contained in a tray constructed of 2 mm thick steel, mass 21 kg, were const...
Melly V, Ortved KF, Manzi TJ, Richardson DW, Stefanovski D, Wulster KB.Increasing accessibility and advancements in computed tomographic (CT) imaging improve understanding of the contributors to poor performance in the Thoroughbred racehorse. Objective: To characterise an unreported site of tarsal subchondral bone injury (SBI) in Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional analytical study. Methods: Tarsal CT scans of 108 horses were reviewed for evidence of SBI in the dorsodistolateral calcaneus (DDLC). Signalment, including age, breed, sex, and discipline of horses, was recorded. The association of DDLC SBI with Thoroughbred racehorse compa...
Sirois J, Betteridge KJ, Brault A.Embryo transfer was used in an equestrian teaching center in order to produce as many foals as possible from their preferred mares during a single breeding season. Embryo collection by uterine lavage was attempted in five donor mares on 25 occasions 6.5 days after ovulation. Sixteen of the collection attempts (64%) yielded a total of 17 blastocysts. Of these 17 embryos, 13 were immediately transferred transcervically into recipient mares that had ovulated within two days of the time of ovulation in the donors, three were frozen for later transfer, and one was lost. Eight of the freshly transfe...
Puschner B, Galey FD.Poisoning in the horse can present a highly complex case. The practitioner, owner, toxicologist, and pathologist play important roles, and all contribute information that may be important to the case. Once all the information is available, all the evidence is collected (historical, clinical, pathologic, and analytic), and proper sampling of specimens has occurred, a complete summary of the findings can be provided to the client. Based on identification of a potential toxic source and, ultimately, the diagnosis, specific treatment of affected animals and prevention of additional cases can be in...
Koterba AM, Drummond WH.Provision of adequate nutritional support to the sick neonatal foal is a vital part of intensive care; frequently, however, it is very difficult to accomplish. In this article, current recommendations concerning both enteral and parenteral nutrition are discussed.
Soraci AL, Mestorino ON, Errecalde JO.The pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of cefoperazone (CPZ) were studied following intravenous (IV) and intramuscular (IM) administration of single doses (30 mg/kg) to horses. Concentrations in serum, urine and synovial fluid samples were measured following IV administration. CPZ concentrations in serum, synovial fluid and spongy bone samples were measured following IM administration. After IV administration a rapid distribution phase (t1/2 (alpha): 4.22 +/- 2.73 min) was followed by a slower elimination phase (t1/2(beta) 0.77 +/- 0.19 h). The apparent volume of distribution was 0.68 +/- 0....
Costa F, Brunsting J, Corrêa F.This case report describes a 16-year-old jumping stallion that had a marked swelling over the left antebrachial area along with substantial lameness after a fall. The horse was weight bearing but lame (4/5; AAEP scale) at the walk with marked enlargement in the caudal aspect of the antebrachial region. After a static musculoskeletal examination, radiography and ultrasonography the horse was diagnosed with flexor muscle myopathy and presumptive extremity compartment syndrome. Following medical treatment, the horse improved clinically over several days. Six-months post injury the horse showed fl...
Teigland MB.The role of the veterinarian at auction sales begins long before the consignment is assembled. A number of veterinarians are called upon by sales companies to evaluate the candidates before acceptance into the consignment. At sales time, the number of veterinarians involved grows to large numbers as the prospective buyers employ them to evaluate the animals to suit their individual needs. Professional ethics must be considered at all times when evaluating animals before auction. The findings must be kept confidential. The consignor allows veterinarians to examine his or her animals with the un...
Stoller N, Christen G, Graubner C.In the present study phone interviews on working hours, salary, professional satisfaction and other topics were carried out with 30 equine veterinarians. None of the participants had more than five years of work experience. The gross annual wages ranged from CHF 36'400 to CHF 91'500. The study participants worked 42 to 93 hours per week. Only 13% were moderately satisfied with the job, the remaining participants were satisfied to highly satisfied. Sixty percent of the study participants were dissatisfied with their wages and wished to be paid according to the Swiss Veterinary Association (GST...
Blake JW, Tobin T.Three gas-liquid chromatographic (G.L.C.) procedures discussed have been designed around the four "esses" of detection tests--speed, sensitivity, simplicity, and specificity. These techniques are admirably applicable to the very low plasma drug levels encountered in blood testing under pre-race conditions. The methods are equally applicable to post-race testing procedures, where both blood and urine samples are tested. Drugs can only rarely be detected by the electron capture detector (E.C.D.) without a prior derivatization step, which conveys to the drug(s) high electron affinity. Because of ...
Ekici S, Ozmen O.The active roles of microribonucleic acids (miRNAs) in gene regulation have made miRNAs a key point for the scientific world in the study of physiological processes. Although saliva includes the largest number of miRNAs, there is no miRNA study in saliva on horses has been found. Our study is the first study on miRNAs isolation from saliva in horses. In the present study, saliva was studied in Arabian racehorses to better understand the molecular mechanisms of expression levels that are effective in lipid metabolism of miRNAs and their target genes during the race. Identification of lipid meta...
Artz NL, Robbins J, Millman ST.Objectives of this study were to evaluate an equine assisted learning (EAL) curriculum designed for medical students and resident physicians, and to determine impacts of the curriculum on participant perceptions of burnout and well-being. The EAL curriculum incorporated evidence-based skills and concepts to increase happiness and/or resilience. A pre/post intervention design was used, with 18 EAL participants receiving the curriculum within their month-long community based primary care clerkship elective, and 10 control (CTL) participants who did not receive the curriculum within their clerksh...
Oxender WD, Noden PA, Bolenbaugh DL, Hafs HD.To determine the minimal effective dose of prostagiandin (PGF2alpha; tromethamine salt) given subcutaneously (SC), mares of mixed breeding (400 kg av body weight) were given 2-, 3-, 5-, and 10-mg doses from 7 to 9 days after ovulation. In some but not all mares given doses of 2 and 3 mg of PGF2alpha, luteolysis occurred, but doses of 5 or 10 mg of PGF2alpha were luteolytic in all mares. The 10-mg dose of PGF2alpha did not cause luteolysis in mares 1 day after ovulation, and caused luteolysis in only 2 of 5 mares on day 3 after ovulation. The same dose of PGF2alpha, however, caused luteolysis i...
Olusa TAO, Davies HMS.Finding an appropriate location for perpendicular positioning of the X-ray machine to produce zero lateromedial (ZLM) and zero dorsopalmar (ZDP) carpal images (views) and finding an acceptable range of rotational variations for measurement of carpal conformational parameters were two major challenges identified during field radiography of equine forelimbs. 16 cadaver forelimbs transacted at antebrachial midshaft from 10 horses (aged 9.13 ± 4.59 years) were axially mounted into a custom-built frame, and the radiographic machine and plate were perpendicularly aligned with the limb. Each limb...
Ginther OJ.After the cessation of equine embryo mobility (fixation) on mean Day 16, the embryonic vesicle is rotated or oriented so that the pole with the embryo proper is opposite to the mesometrial attachment. Orientation involves massage of the vesicle by contractions of the turgid uterine horn and greater thickening of the vesicle at the pole with the embryo proper. Thickening of the dorsal endometrium (encroachment) especially on each side of the mesometrial attachment accounts for a guitar-pick shape of the vesicle when viewed in cross section of the uterine horn. On Days 21-40, the allantoic sac e...
Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Foote AK, Verheyen KL.Enhanced understanding of reasons for, and timings of, mortality in Thoroughbreds prior to entering race training is warranted to provide insight into this population's health status. The aims of this study were to describe pathologies diagnosed at post-mortem (PM) examination in Thoroughbreds aged from birth to 18 months and investigate associations between age and pathology. Reports from a pathology laboratory in Newmarket, UK, were used to identify eligible cases examined between January 2006 and December 2020. Reported pathologies were extracted and categorised where appropriate. Comorbidi...
Lee J, Shin D, Kim H.Thoroughbred horses have been bred exclusively for racing in England for a long time. Additionally, because horse racing is a global sport, a healthy leisure activity for ordinary citizens, and a high-value business, systematic racehorse breeding at the population level is a requirement for continuous industrial development. Therefore, we established genomic evaluation system (using prize money as horse racing traits) to produce spirited, agile, and strong racing horse population. Methods: We used phenotypic data from 25,061 Thoroughbred horses (all registered individuals in Korea) that compet...
Hughes KJ, Rendle DI, Higgins S, Barron R, Cowling A, Love S, Durham AE.Delays between collection and laboratory analysis of equine body fluid samples are common in practice; however, the effects of delays on the accuracy of results and diagnostic interpretation are unknown. Objective: To assess the effects of storage time and temperature combination on protein and cell parameters of equine synovial and mesothelial cavity fluids and determine whether any changes affect clinicopathological interpretation. Methods: In vitro experiment. Methods: Body fluid samples obtained from horses during diagnostic investigation were divided into 7 aliquots and total protein conc...
Bester RC, Coetzer JA.A case of granulomatous enteritis in a 2 year-old Thoroughbred colt is reported. Clinically the horse showed chronic wasting and subcutaneous oedema of the ventral parts of the body and legs. Grossly the wall of the jejunum and ileum was uniformly thickened. Microscopically the lamina propria, submucosa and the tunica muscalaris of the small intestine were infiltrated with lymphocytes, plasma cells, epithelioid cells and occasional multinucleated giant cells. The granulomatous reaction was most marked in the muscular layers of the gut wall.
Braun J, Torres-Boggino F, Hochi S, Oguri N.The objective of this experiment was to examine the effect of seminal plasma on motion characteristics of epididymal and ejaculated equine spermatozoa during storage at 5 degrees C. Epididymal spermatozoa were flushed with either seminal plasma or a skim milk-glucose extender. Ejaculated spermatozoa were collected with extender added 10 minutes after semen collection and addition of extender during ejaculation by placing 50 ml extender in the collection bottle. Semen samples were centrifuged and resuspended with a skim milk-glucose extender containing seminal plasma (0, 5 and 25%; v/v), prepar...
Kane-Smyth J, Taylor SE, García EC, Reardon RJ.To evaluate the frequency of inadvertent penetration of the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) and/or distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) when using a direct endoscopic approach to the navicular bursa, and to evaluate an alternate direct approach to the navicular bursa. Methods: Cadaveric study. Methods: Equine cadaver limbs (n = 40 for direct; n = 12 for alternate approach). Methods: Four surgeons performed the direct endoscopic approach to the navicular bursa on 10 limbs each. Frequencies of inadvertent synovial penetration and iatrogenic damage were compared between surgeons. Use of an alt...
Chesnel MA, Aprea F, Clutton RE.A traumatic pneumothorax and severe hemorrhage were present in a mare with a large thoracic wall defect, lung perforation, and multiple rib fractures. General anesthesia was induced to allow surgical exploration. We describe the anesthetic technique, and discuss the management of the ventilatory, hemodynamic, and metabolic disturbances encountered. Gestion de l’anesthésie générale d’un cheval avec un pneumothorax d’origine traumatique. Nous décrivons le cas d’une jument présentée avec un important déficit de la paroi thoracique d’origine traumatique, une perforation pulmonaire...
Reeves MJ, Trotter GW.A 14-year-old Quarter Horse x Thoroughbred gelding was admitted to the teaching hospital because of inability to bear weight on its right hind limb, associated with a severe deviation of the tarsus. The provisional diagnosis was tarsal joint luxation or fracture. Radiography revealed complete luxation of the tarsocrural joint. The luxation was reduced, using minimal force. The horse was confined to a box stall and was maintained in a full-length hind-limb cast for 33 days. Box stall confinement was continued for 3 months after removal of the cast. On reexamination 18 months after the injury, t...
Hawkins JF, Andrews-Jones L.To develop a technique for neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser ventriculocordectomy in standing horses and document healing in horses undergoing laser ventriculocordectomy. Methods: 6 horses between 2 and 32 years old. Methods: Under endoscopic guidance, the left laryngeal ventricle was everted with grasping forceps and excised with an Nd:YAG laser, using 60 watts of power in a noncontact fashion (6,403 to 9,197 Joules). Following removal of the ventricle, the vocal cord was photoablated. Horses were examined endoscopically 2, 7, 14, 21, 30, and 47 days after ventriculocordectomy,...
Murray RC, Dyson SJ, Weekes JS, Short C, Branch MV.Distal tarsal pain is a common reason for hind limb lameness, but diagnosis cannot always be made on radiographic examination. Scintigraphy may allow detection of subtle changes undetected by other diagnostic methods. We hypothesized that (1) distal tarsal pain would be associated with a loss of the expected pattern of radiopharmaceutical uptake (RU) detected in normal horses, (2) distal tarsal RU would be greater in limbs with tarsal pain than without pain, (3) RU in painful tarsi with radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis (OA) would be greater than in distal tarsal pain with no radiographi...
Jackson RK.The structural differences in the spine of the horse and man are compared. These, together with the different uses to which the spine is put, explain the different patterns of disease. Impingement of the spinous processes is discussed in detail including surgical treatment. Comments are also made on sacroiliac strain and manipulation of the spine.
Boswinkel M, Neyens IJ, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.A 5-year old Tinker gelding was referred to the Department of Equine Sciences with a left eye uveitis and fever. At presentation the horse showed a mild lethargy, fever and decreased vision of the left eye. Rectal examination revealed an enlarged left kidney, with a hard and an irregular surface. The cranial mesentery artery had an enlarged and irregular aspect. Blood analysis showed anaemia, leucocytosis, increased blood urea nitrogen and creatinine and a hyperproteinemia. Urine analysis repeatedly showed a marked proteinuria and an increased gammaGT/creatinine ratio. The amount of abdominal ...
Nardelli M, Lanata A, Valenza G, Sgorbini M, Baragli P, Scilingo EP.This paper reports on a novel real time index designed to assess the quality of electrocardiographic (ECG) traces recorded in a group of five horses during a submaximal treadmill test procedure. During the experimental protocol two ECG monitoring systems were simultaneously applied to the animals. The first system was equipped with textile electrodes while the second one with standard red-dot electrodes. The procedure comprised four phases with an increased treadmill velocity, specifically, Walk 1, Trot 1, Trot 2 and Gallop. Three signal quality levels have been fixed according to the amount o...
