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.
Fousse SL, Stern JA.There have been some advances in understanding the genetic contribution to ventricular septal defects in Arabians, sudden death in racehorses, and atrial fibrillation in racehorses. No genetic analyses have been published for aortic rupture in Friesians or atrioventricular block in donkeys despite strong evidence for a genetic cause. To date, no genetic mutation has been identified for any equid cardiac disease. With the advancement of genetic tools and resources, we are moving closer to discoveries that may explain the heritable basis of inherited equid cardiac disease.
Gerber V.Genetic factors influence the development of guttural pouch tympany, recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, severe equine asthma, exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, and possibly also some malformations and infectious diseases of the respiratory tract. The current data suggest that most of these diseases are complex, resulting from the interaction between several genes and environmental factors. To date, no specific genes or causative mutations have been identified that would allow the development of practical genetic tests. In the future, genetic profiling panels, based on multiple genetic marker...
Lindgren G, Naboulsi R, Frey R, Solé M.Equine skin diseases are common, causing increased costs and reduced welfare of affected horses.Genetic testing, if available, can complement early detection, disease diagnosis, and clinical treatment and offers horse breeders the possibility to rule out carrier status. The mechanisms of complex disease can be investigated by using the latest state-of-the-art genomic technologies. Genome-based strategies may also serve as an efficient and cost-effective strategy for the management of the disease severity levels, with particular interest in complex traits such as insect bite hypersensitivity, c...
Pearson G, Connor M, Keen J, Reardon R, Waran N.Working as an equine veterinarian carries a high risk of occupational injury, with the behavior of the horse frequently reported as a cause for these injuries. Risk of injury is one reason cited by undergraduate veterinary students that would prevent them from entering large animal practice, and newly graduated veterinarians have been shown to be at increased risk of sustaining an occupational injury compared with more experienced colleagues. A cohort of pre-final-year undergraduate veterinary students were given a 45-minute lecture on learning theory and its application in equine practice, co...
Steinmann M, Bezugley RJ, Bond SL, Pomrantz JS, Léguillette R.Capsule endoscopy offers a new method for visualization of the gastrointestinal mucosa in horses where other imaging technologies have diagnostic limitations. Objective: To (1) test the feasibility of using this novel endoscopy capsule to visualize intestinal mucosa in horses, including an objective assessment of image quality, (2) assess how changes in preadministration preparation affect the transit time and the amount of gastrointestinal mucosa visualized, and (3) describe intestinal mucosa lesions in healthy horses. Methods: Five healthy adult horses. Methods: Three protocols were used in ...
Marques-Smith P, Kallerud AS, Johansen GM, Boysen P, Jacobsen AM, Reitan KM, Henriksen MM, Löfgren M, Fjordbakk CT.Biologic' therapies, such as autologous conditioned serum (ACS), are gaining popularity in treating orthopaedic conditions in equine veterinary medicine. Evidence is scarce regarding ACS constituents, and large inter-individual differences in cytokine and growth factor content have been demonstrated. The objective of the current study was to investigate the potential association between cytokine and growth factor content of ACS and clinical effect in harness racehorses with spontaneously occurring low-grade articular lameness. Horses received 3 intra-articular injections of ACS administered at...
Varona L, Legarra A.(1) Background: Ranking traits are used commonly for breeding purposes in several equine populations; however, implementation is complex, because the position of a horse in a competition event is discontinuous and is influenced by the performance of its competitors. One approach to overcoming these limitations is to assume an underlying Gaussian liability that represents a horse's performance and dictates the observed classification in a competition event. That approach can be implemented using Montecarlo Markov Chain (McMC) techniques with a procedure known as the Thurstonian model. (2) Metho...
Klein DJ, Anthony TG, McKeever KH.metabolomics is the high-throughput, multiparametric identification and classification of hundreds of low molecular weight metabolites in a biological sample. Ultimately, metabolites are the downstream readouts of cellular signalling, transcriptomic and proteomic changes that can provide a comprehensive view of tissue and organismal phenotype. The popularity of metabolomics in human sport and exercise has been gaining over the past decade and has provided important insights into the energetic demands and mechanistic underpinnings of exercise and training. To the contrary, metabolomics in the f...
Larentis GR, Bastos HBA, Centeno LAM, Bueno VC, Bringel BA, Mattos RC.The present case report aimed to determine the responsiveness of the endometrium and the ovaries of an X0 mare after hormonal treatment. On transrectal palpation, the uterus was flaccid and smaller than normal, and the ovaries were small and smooth. The endometrium had normal histological architecture, with an atrophic glandular epithelium. A karyotype evaluation was performed, and 70 cells presented 63 chromosomes, lacking one sex chromosome. Circulating hormonal levels of total estrogens were 43.93 pg/mL; progesterone 0.01 ng/mL; testosterone 48 pg/mL; FSH 30.3 ng/mL; and LH 1.71 ng/mL. ...
Webb HJ, Weston JF, Norman EJ, Cogger N, Bolwell CF, Rogers CW.Training measures, particularly those that examine the interactions between training volume, speed, and recovery, can improve understanding of training practices that contribute to success and avoid adverse horse welfare outcomes in endurance competitions. This study describes the training of Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) 100-160 km level horses in New Zealand. A convenience sample of 16 participants and 25 horses were surveyed before commencement of training. Participants then reported daily data for an entire nine-month season of training and competition. Participants began the...
Henker LC, Lorenzett MP, Keller A, Siqueira FM, Driemeier D, Pavarini SP.Pantoea agglomerans, family Enterobacteriaceae, is a Gram-negative bacterium that may be isolated from soil and from plants. This bacterium has been associated with disease in plants, humans, and rarely in domestic animal species. We describe here a case of fibrinonecrotic placentitis and equine abortion associated with P. agglomerans infection in southern Brazil. A fetus with 10 months of gestation and its placenta were evaluated. Gross lesions were observed in the cervical star extending to the body of the chorioallantois and consisted of a focally extensive, transmural, severely thickened...
Albrizio M, Lacalandra GM, Volpe S, Nicassio M, Cinone M.Heat Shock Proteins are chaperones primary involved in the repair of cellular damages induced by temperature. The harmful effect of temperature on the male gonad is well known, on the contrary knowledge on the effects of the environment on semen quality are still insufficient. The aim of this paper was to learn more about the role of HSPs and the environment in modulating the physiology of equine male gonads. We showed a detailed analysis of equine semen characteristic and the expression level of three HSPs (60-70-90) over a one-year period analyzing the effects of temperature and humidity and...
Watson E, Davis A, Splan R, Porr CAS.With increasing public scrutiny on animal welfare, it behooves those involved in the equine industry to revisit best management practices to ensure these support healthy horses. There is little published research on how horses are used in the equine industry, particularly in therapeutic horseback riding (THR) programs. Although there is a large amount of information on the benefits of THR programs to the participants, there is little published information available about the horses. Therefore, the objective of this survey was to gather data regarding horse use and care in Professional Associat...
Limone LE, Baratt RM.An 8-year-old, 125 kg (275 lb) female miniature horse was evaluated for a persistently thickened left mandible and cutaneous fistula. Pulp horn defects were identified in pulp horns 1 and 3 of tooth 309 and occlusal pulp exposure was detected with a dental explorer. Radiography of the left mandibular dental quadrant revealed changes consistent with apical infection of tooth 309. Following the failure of oral extraction, a standing surgical approach was taken for transcutaneous lateral alveolar ostectomy and extraction. Roots were sectioned at the level of the furcation and elevated from the su...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Kos Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M....Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSAPanel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of essential oil, oleoresin and tincture from Roscoe when used as sensory additives in feed for all animal species. The FEEDAPPanel concludes that the additives under consideration are safe for the target species at the following use levels: (i) ginger essential oil up to the maximum proposed use level of 80 mg/kg for veal calves (milk replacer) and 20 mg/kg complete feed (or 20 mg/L water...
Rothers KL, Hackett ES, Mason GL, Nelson BB.A 17-year-old Quarter Horse mare was evaluated for colic of 24-hour duration. Clinical signs and diagnostic evaluation were consistent with duodenitis-proximal jejunitis. The horse's clinical condition deteriorated despite medical treatment and was euthanized. Aerobic culture collected from small intestinal ingesta was positive for subsp. serovar Hadar. sp. is commonly implicated in nosocomial infections in equine veterinary hospitals usually through feces containing the organism. Considering sp. was cultured from the jejunal luminal contents and the large volume of nasogastric reflux that...
Nemoto M, Niwa H, Kida H, Higuchi T, Orita Y, Sato S, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Ohta M.A rare genotype G13P[18] group A rotavirus (RVA/Horse-tc/JPN/MK9/2019/G13P[18]) was isolated from a diarrhoeic foal for the first time in 28 years. The genotype constellation of the virus was assigned to G13-P[18]-I6-R9-C9-M6-A6-N9-T12-E14-H11 and was the same as that of the first isolated strain, RVA/Horse-tc/GBR/L338/1991/G13P[18]. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the virus is related to RVA/Horse-tc/GBR/L338/1991/G13P[18] and is distant from typical equine rotaviruses of the G3P[12] and G14P[12] genotypes.
Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are widely recognized as causative agents of equine pirolasmosis (EP), an acute, sub-acute, and chronic disease of equines, with relevant economic impact on horse trade worldwide. Although several studies on EP prevalence from central Italy have been published, data on ticks responsible for its transmission are still lacking. In this study, we identified a potential competent vector, investigating main features of its ecology together with EP infection rates. A two-year sampling of questing ticks was carried out for the first time in Italy in an area known fo...
Navas de Solis C.Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are often incidental or coincidental with systemic disease. Ventricular arrhythmias are also the most likely cause of many sudden cardiac deaths in horses. This dichotomy creates challenges in the management of horses with VAs. This review presents current knowledge of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of VAs in horses.
Karasek I, Butler C, Baynes R, Werners A.Ectoparasites infestations are a growing concern to horse owners and equine veterinarians alike. Ectoparasites cause significant health and welfare issues and can potentially can serve as vectors for a variety of pathogens. The prevalence of ectoparasites increases around the world, and especially in horses information on the successful prevention and treatment of ectoparasite infestations in scarce and in many instances anecdotal. This poses a challenge to the equine veterinarian and off-label use of drugs can lead to detrimental effects in horses. In this review we describe the current avail...
Solís-Hernández D, Saucedo-Gutiérrez KL, Meza-Lucas A, Gómez-de-Anda FR, Medina-Lerena MS, García-Rodea R, Corona-Souza MT, Pérez-Ramírez MÁ....This work aimed to investigate the prevalence of Trichinella infection in horses (Equus ferus caballus) handled by rural slaughterhouses across five distinctive socioeconomic regions in Mexico. Serum samples were obtained by non-probabilistic convenience sampling in the Eastern, Southern Central and Western regions (100 samples of each). Additionally, muscle tissue samples were collected from the East (n=45), Southeastern (n=88), Southern Central (n=39) and Southwestern (n=11) regions. Antibodies were determined by Western blot and the muscle tissue was examined by artificial digestion. A glob...
Camino E, Schmid S, Weber F, Pozo P, de Juan L, König M, Cruz-Lopez F.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV) are two closely related zoonotic flaviviruses leading to neurological diseases and belonging to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex. Both viruses are transmitted by the same ixodid tick vector, Ixodes ricinus. Due to global warming affecting vector biology and pathogen transmission, the viruses pose an emerging threat for public health in Europe and Asia. These flaviviruses share some hosts, like sheep, goats and humans, although the main hosts for LIV and TBEV are sheep and small rodents, respectively. Whereas LIV has ...
Hunter CL, Bowser JE, Wills RW, Byars P, Moore JW, Wilson RM, Byrne R, Swiderski CE.The research article presents findings on the severity and persistence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in an equine model of neutrophilic asthma, which is relevant for understanding human asthma and its […]
Boorman S, Boone L, Weatherall K, Caldwell F.A 7-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding was referred to the JT Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital at Auburn University, College of Veterinary Medicine, for an investigation of a recurrent swelling of the nasofrontal region. Computed tomography examination of the skull was most consistent with a sequestrum of the left nasofrontal suture with associated focal osteomyelitis and left conchofrontal sinusitis. Surgery to remove the sequestrum, debride the devitalized bone, and flush the left conchofrontal sinus was performed. A microbial culture was obtained at the time of surgery, which yie...
Gabriel CR, Marta P.A two-month-old, Spanish breed, foal was referred with right hind limb lameness of two weeks duration. Clinical examinations confirmed a complex combination of lesions within the lateral femorotibial joint, including a subchondral bone cyst in the lateral femoral condyle, a severe popliteal tendonitis, and a delayed cartilage detachment of the lateral femoral condyle. Because of the complex association of these lesions, poor prognosis for an athletic career was given to the owner. Four years later, the filly is pasture sound. Lesions of the popliteal tendon in the horse are uncommon. The popli...
Zakari FO, Avazi DO, Ayo JO.The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the depth of insertion and environmental parameters on the rectal temperature (RT) in donkeys during the hot-dry season in a tropical savannah zone of Nigeria. The experimental subjects were comprised of thirty donkeys divided into three groups based on age: group I, 10 foals (40.67 ± 2.20 kg; 1.50 ± 0.02 months); group II, 10 yearlings (91.53 ± 0.54 kg; 1.51 ± 0.01 years); and group III, 10 adults (140 ± 0.71 kg; 8.03 ± 0.06 years). Each group was divided into 5 male and 5 female donkeys. Measurements of the RT were ...
Gao R, Liu J, Jing S, Mao W, He P, Liu B, Yang HD, Cao J.Many challenges are encountered in both teaching and learning veterinary obstetrics. This may be due to outdated teaching materials, as the main model of content transmission remains centred around text and images. Methods: Visualisation methods such as three-dimensional (3D) and Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) tools were applied in an attempt to improve obstetrics education outcomes in the third-year class. Traditional teaching methods were utilised in the fourth-year and fifth-year students. Results: These supplementary tools significantly increased the third-year students' final examinati...
Ivermectin (IVM) is an anthelmintic compound commonly used off-label in mules due to its broad-spectrum of activity. Despite the general use of IVM in mules with the same dose and route of administration licensed for horses, significant pharmacokinetic differences might exist between horses and mules, as already observed for donkeys. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile and anthelmintic efficacy of an oral paste of IVM in mules naturally infected with cyathostomins. Fifteen adult mules with fecal egg counts (FEC) ≥200 eggs per gram (EPG), with exclusive pr...
Littlewood KE, Beausoleil NJ, Stafford KJ, Stephens C, Collins T, Fawcett A, Hazel S, Lloyd J, Mallia C, Richards L, Wedler NK, Zito S.Veterinarians have an important role in supporting and understanding their clients' grief. Veterinary schools have a duty to teach students how best to manage grief - both that of the students/future veterinarians and the clients. This study explores how grief management, associated with ending the life of an animal, was taught to students in eight Australasian veterinary schools. Methods: A questionnaire-style interview guide was used by a representative at each university to conduct structured interviews with educators in a snowball sampling approach. Educators were interviewed about the tea...
Kinnison T, Cardwell JM.Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is a commonly diagnosed but variably defined syndrome of equine lower airway inflammation. The most recent American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) consensus statement, informed by research evidence, recommends a case definition based on clinical signs (poor performance or occasional coughing of at least 3 weeks duration), increased endoscopically-visible tracheal mucus, and bronchoalveolar lavage cytology, and proposes that the condition should be termed 'mild-moderate equine asthma' (mEA). In British Thoroughbred racehorses, research to date ...
Henry MM, Moore JN.Increasing evidence has demonstrated the importance of monocyte procoagulant activity (PCA) in the pathogenesis of coagulopathies in a variety of diseases. Because endotoxin precipitated coagulopathies are common sequelae to intestinal ischemia/endotoxemia in the equine species, we investigated the ability of equine peripheral blood monocytes to express PCA. Monocytes isolated from five healthy adult horses were incubated in vitro with Escherichia coli endotoxin (10 micrograms), and the PCA was measured by the ability of cellular lysates to accelerate the clotting times of equine plasma in a m...
Cuxson JL, Hartley CA, Ficorilli NP, Symes SJ, Devlin JM, Gilkerson JR.A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has been previously associated with EHV-1 neurological disease in several countries around the world. This disease is very uncommon in Australia and little information is available about the presence of this SNP in Australian EHV-1 isolates. The ORF30 sequence of 66 Australian EHV-1 isolates was determined and the genotype was compared to the disease manifestation of the case from which the virus was isolated. Of the 66 isolates, 61 were from cases of abortion and 5 were cases associated with equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). There was no asso...
Gozalo-Marcilla M, Luna SP, Crosignani N, Filho JNP, Possebon FS, Pelligand L, Taylor PM.To evaluate intravenous (IV) detomidine with methadone in horses to identify a combination which provides sedation and antinociception without adverse effects. Methods: Randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded, crossover. Methods: A group of eight adult healthy horses aged (mean ± standard deviation) 7 ± 2 years and 372 ± 27 kg. Methods: A total of six treatments were administered IV: saline (SAL); detomidine (5 μg kg; DET); methadone (0.2 mg kg; MET) alone or combined with detomidine [2.5 (MLD), 5 (MMD) or 10 (MHD) μg kg]. Thermal, mechanical and electrical nociceptive thresholds were mea...
Haberland AM, König von Borstel U, Simianer H, König S.Reliable selection criteria are required for young riding horses to increase genetic gain by increasing accuracy of selection and decreasing generation intervals. In this study, selection strategies incorporating genomic breeding values (GEBVs) were evaluated. Relevant stages of selection in sport horse breeding programs were analyzed by applying selection index theory. Results in terms of accuracies of indices (r(TI) ) and relative selection response indicated that information on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes considerably increases the accuracy of breeding values estimated fo...
Welsh CE, Duz M, Parkin TDH, Marshall JF.Electronic medical records from first opinion equine veterinary practice may represent a unique resource for epidemiologic research. The appropriateness of this resource for risk factor analyses was explored as part of an investigation into clinical and pharmacologic risk factors for laminitis. Amalgamated medical records from seven UK practices were subjected to text mining to identify laminitis episodes, systemic or intra-synovial corticosteroid prescription, diseases known to affect laminitis risk and clinical signs or syndromes likely to lead to corticosteroid use. Cox proportional hazard ...
Gari FR, Ashenafi H, Tola A, Goddeeris BM, Claes F.Study on comparative sensitivity of parasitological, serological, and molecular tests on 237 horses originating from two dourine-suspected districts of Arsi-Bale highlands of Ethiopia was conducted to determine the prevalence of the disease and degree of agreement of the diagnostic tests. Accordingly, the prevalence of the disease was found to be 4.6%, 36.7%, and 47.6% by parasitological Woo test, RoTat 1.2 and 18S PCR tests, respectively. The seroprevalence of the disease was 27.6% in CATT/Trypanosoma evansi test. In Ethiopia, it was for the first time that trypanosomes from dourine suspected...
Dobson A, Gleed RD, Meyer RE, Stewart BJ.The distribution of blood flow to the lungs was measured with labelled microspheres injected into horses before and during anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was induced with glycerol guaiacolate ether and ketamine, and maintained with the spontaneous breathing of halothane in oxygen. In a preliminary group of six horses, flow distribution was observed during anaesthesia in sternal, dorsal and right lateral recumbency. In two other groups, each of four horses, the flow distribution with time during either sternal or right lateral recumbency was observed. A small, constant proportion of the 15 micron dia...
Spaas JH, Broeckx S, Van de Walle GR, Polettini M.Stem-cell therapy represents a promising strategy for the treatment of challenging pathologies, such as large, infected wounds that are unresponsive to conventional therapies. The present study describes the clinical application of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) for the treatment of four adult Warmblood horses with naturally occurring wounds, which were unresponsive to conventional therapies for at least 3 months. A visual assessment was performed, and a number of wound-healing parameters (granulation tissue, crust formation and scar formation) were evaluated. In all cases, tissue overgro...
Ly HGT, Parac-Vogt TN.A recent study [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 7391-7394] has shown that horse heart myoglobin (HHM) is selectively hydrolyzed by a range of zirconium(IV)-substituted polyoxometalates (POMs) under mild conditions. In this study, the molecular interactions between the Zr-POM catalysts and HHM are investigated by using a range of complementary techniques, including circular dichroism (CD), UV/Vis spectroscopy, tryptophan fluorescence spectroscopy, and H and P NMR spectroscopy. A tryptophan fluorescence quenching study reveals that, among all examined Zr-POMs, the most reactive POM, 2:2 Zr -...
Hitchens PL, Hultgren J, Frössling J, Emanuelson U, Keeling LJ.There are Swedish animal welfare regulations concerning the body condition of horses and general advice on keeping horses including that horses should be fed so that they do not become over- or underweight relative to their use. Compliance is assessed by official animal welfare inspectors. The objective of this study was to determine whether the national animal welfare control database could be used to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for overweight horses in Sweden. The official animal welfare control checklist for horses contains 45 checkpoints (CP) of which CP-8 pertains to the acce...
Rüfenacht S, Roosje PJ, Sager H, Doherr MG, Straub R, Goldinger-Müller P, Gerber V.Chorioptes bovis infestation is a common cause of pastern dermatitis in the horse, with a predilection in draft horses and other horses with thick hair 'feathers' on the distal limbs. The treatment of this superficial mite is challenging; treatment failure and relapse are common. Furthermore, C. bovis infestation may affect the progression of chronic pastern dermatitis (also known as chronic proliferative pastern dermatitis, chronic progressive lymphoedema and dermatitis verrucosa) in draft horses, manifesting with oedema, lichenification and excessive skin folds that can progress to verruci...
Carfora V, Caprioli A, Grossi I, Pepe M, Alba P, Lorenzetti S, Amoruso R, Sorbara L, Franco A, Battisti A.A Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) was isolated in Italy from a pathological sample of a mare presenting chronic purulent sinusitis and that had undergone frontal-sinus surgery three months before. Humans, horses, dogs and environmental samples were subsequently collected at the mare's stable and at the Veterinary Hospital, where the mare was operated/hospitalized, and screened for the presence of MRSA that was detected from other horses and from the environment at both sites. All the MRSA isolates belonged to clonal complex (CC)8, ST8-t11469-SCCmec-IVa, and showed similar phen...
Archambault D, Wang ZM, Lacal JC, Gazit A, Yaniv A, Dahlberg JE, Tronick SR.To provide more sensitive and convenient methods for the detection of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing the EIAV gag precursor (Pr55gag) produced by using recombinant DNA techniques. The antigenic reactivity of the recombinant EIAV Pr55gag was found to be equivalent to that of the virion p24gag and elicited high-titered antiserum in rabbits. When a large number of horse sera were analyzed for the presence of antibodies to EIAV by this ELISA, a radioimmunoassay for EIAV p15gag, or the standard agar gel immunodiffusion test...
Clarke CN, Tsuei BJ, Butler KL.Morbidity and financial loss caused by equine-related injuries may be significant. The purposes of this study were to determine the patterns of equine-related injury and the impact on outcomes. Methods: A 10-year retrospective review of equine-related injuries was performed. Age, gender, mechanism, injury severity score, Glasgow Coma Score, length of stay, surgical interventions, and mortality were assessed. Results: Of 80 emergency department evaluations, 76 patients were admitted and form the basis of this study. The most frequent mechanism of injury was fall (68%), followed by crush injurie...
Cameron EZ, Stafford KJ, Linklater WL, Veltman CJ.Studies of parental investment in mammals have frequently used suckling behaviour to estimate energy transfer from mother to offspring, and consequently to measure maternal input. Such studies assume that the more an offspring sucks, the more milk it will receive. This assumption has been questioned, and a review of the literature found little support for it. To test if suckling behaviour provided an accurate index of milk or energy intake we used a radioactive isotope technique to label the milk of thoroughbred mares and to measure milk transfer to foals. We found no significant linear relati...
Smet A, Cools P, Krizova L, Maixnerova M, Sedo O, Haesebrouck F, Kempf M, Nemec A, Vaneechoutte M.We previously reported the presence of an OXA-23 carbapenemase in an undescribed species of the genus Acinetobacter isolated from horse dung at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium. Here we include six strains to corroborate the delineation of this taxon by phenotypic characterization, DNA-DNA hybridization, 16S rRNA gene and rpoB sequence analysis, % G+C determination, MALDI-TOF MS and fatty acid analysis. The nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain UG 60467(T) showed the highest similarities with those of the type strains of Acinetobacter bouvetii (98.4 %)...
Hubbell JA, Aarnes TK, Bednarski RM, Lerche P, Muir WW.The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 0.5 fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO₂) and >0.95 FiO₂ on pulmonary gas exchange, shunt fraction and oxygen delivery (DO₂) in dorsally recumbent horses during inhalant anesthesia. The use of 0.5 FiO₂ has the potential to reduce absorption atelectasis (compared to maximal FiO₂) and augment alveolar oxygen (O₂) tensions (compared to ambient air) thereby improving gas exchange and DO₂. Our hypothesis was that 0.5 FiO₂ would reduce ventilation-perfusion mismatching and increase the fraction of pulmonary blood flow that is ox...
Komáromy AM, Garg CD, Ying GS, Liu C.To evaluate the effect of head position on intraocular pressure (IOP) in horses. Methods: 30 horses. Methods: Horses were sedated with detomidine HCl (0.01 mg/kg, IV). Auriculopalpebral nerve blocks were applied bilaterally with 2% lidocaine HCl. The corneas of both eyes were anesthetized with ophthalmic 0.5% proparacaine solution. Intraocular pressures were measured with an applanation tonometer with the head positioned below and above heart level. The mean of 3 readings was taken for each eye at each position for data analysis. The effect of head position on IOP was assessed and generalized ...
Gomez A, Sharma AK, Grev A, Sheaffer C, Martinson K.Although contributions of the equine gut microbiome to forage utilization are well recognized, the impact of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) lignification on the equine gut microbiome remains unknown; thus, we characterized microbial communities in the equine gut when feeding reduced lignin (RL) and conventional (CON) alfalfa hays to adult stock-type horses. Dietary treatments were fed to six horses in a crossover study. Experimental periods consisted of a 9-day dietary adaptation phase followed by a 5-day total fecal collection phase, during which horses were housed in individual box stalls and ...
Saqib M, Hussain MH, Sajid MS, Mansoor MK, Asi MN, Fadya AA, Zohaib A, Sial AU, Muhammad G, Ullah I.Toxoplasmosis is a serious threat for livestock in addition to being of zoonotic significance. In this study, serodiagnosis of equine toxoplasmosis was conducted in a randomly selected population from the 3 metropolises of Punjab, Pakistan. To this end, 272 draught equines were screened using a commercial latex agglutination assay kit. Association of probable risk factors of equine toxoplasmosis was also documented. A total of 91 (33.5%) equines were found sero-positive for Toxoplama (T.) gondii having antibody titers ranging between 1:32 to 1:612. The highest rates of seropositive cases were ...
van Weeren PR, Jeffcott LB.Twenty years ago a supplement of Equine Veterinary Journal was devoted to equine osteochondrosis (OC) and recognised the importance of this developmental disease to the equine industry. In the accompanying editorial several controversial issues were identified and a number of areas for further research were highlighted. Today, equine OC is still a major clinical problem, but the on-going research has resulted in much improved knowledge and understanding of this highly complicated disease. There is still conflicting evidence on the prevalence of OC due to the dynamic character of the condition,...
Rose N, Toews L, Pang DS.Clinical audit is a quality improvement process with the goal of continuously improving quality of patient care as assessed by explicit criteria. In human medicine clinical audit has become an integral and required component of the standard of care. In contrast, in veterinary medicine there appear to have been a limited number of clinical audits published, indicating that while clinical audit is recognised, its adoption in veterinary medicine is still in its infancy. A systematic review was designed to report and evaluate the veterinary literature on clinical audit in companion animal species ...
Gallhoefer NS, Bentley E, Ruetten M, Grest P, Haessig M, Kircher PR, Dubielzig RR, Spiess BM, Pot SA.To compare ultrasonographic and histologic examination findings for eyes of animals with ocular diseases. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 116 eyes of 113 animals examined at 2 facilities. Methods: Diseased eyes of animals were examined by means of ultrasonography, removed via enucleation or exenteration, then histologically examined. Ultrasonographic images and histopathologic slides were evaluated, and diseases of eyes were identified with each of those methods and allocated to various categories. For each disease category, agreement between results of ultrasonography and those o...
Salem SE, Scantlebury CE, Ezzat E, Abdelaal AM, Archer DC.Colic is an important health problem in managed horse populations. Currently, there is limited information about colic prevalence and risk factors for colic in working horse populations. Objective: To determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, colic in a working horse population in Egypt and to describe management practices in this working horse population. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: Owners of 350 working horses were interviewed. Data about their horses, management and colic episodes in the preceding 12 months were collected. Dental examination was conducted on 342 horse...
Nielsen MK, Sauermann CW, Leathwick DM.Anthelmintic resistance is widespread in equine cyathostomin populations across the world, and with no new anthelmintic drug classes in the pharmaceutical pipeline, the equine industry is forced to abandon traditional parasite control regimens. Current recommendations aim at reducing treatment intensity and identifying high strongylid egg shedders in a targeted treatment approach. But, virtually nothing is known about the effectiveness of these recommendations, nor their applicability to different climatic regions, making it challenging to tailor sustainable recommendations for equine parasite...
Dolente BA, Beech J, Lindborg S, Smith G.To evaluate risk factors associated with development of catheter-associated jugular thrombophlebitis in hospitalized horses. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 50 horses with thrombophlebitis and 100 control horses. Methods: Medical records from 1993 through 1998 were searched for horses with thrombophlebitis. Horses that were hospitalized for at least 5 days, had an i.v. catheter placed in a jugular vein (other than for solely anesthetic purposes), and had no evidence of thrombophlebitis during admission or hospitalization were chosen as controls. Signalment, history, clinico...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Stevens KB, Sepulveda MF, Jarvis N, Marr CM.The aim of this study was to evaluate both the repeatability (intraobserver agreement) and reproducibility (interobserver agreement) of Obel grading, the most widely accepted method for describing the severity of equine laminitis. The study comprised two parts. In study A, to test intraobserver agreement, 25 ponies were graded twice by a single blinded experienced equine veterinary surgeon, on the first occasion via clinical examination and on the second occasion via a video recording of the initial clinical examination. In study B, to test interobserver agreement, video recordings of 13 ponie...
Evans GP, Behiri JC, Vaughan LC, Bonfield W.The behaviour of cortical bone under load is strain rate-dependent, i.e. it is dependent on the rate at which the load is applied. This is particularly relevant in the galloping horse since the strain rates experienced by the bone are far in excess of those recorded for any other species. In this study the effect of strain rates between 0.0001 and 1 sec-1 on the mechanical properties of equine cortical bone were assessed. Initially, increasing strain rates resulted in increased mechanical properties. Beyond a critical value, however, further increases in strain rate resulted in lower strain to...
Othman AA, Hiblu MA, Abbassi MS, Abouzeed YM, Ahmed MO.The present study investigated the colonization rates and antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus species isolated from the nostrils of healthy horses. A nonselective laboratory approach was applied, followed by confirmation using a Phoenix automated microbiological system. Among the 92 horses included in the study, 48.9% (45/92) carried Staphylococcus species of mostly the coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) type yielding 70 Staphylococcus strains. Of these strains, 37.1% (26/70; 24 CoNS and 2 coagulase-positive staphylococci; CoPS) were identified as methicillin-resistant staphylo...
Arkill KP, Winlove CP.Articular cartilage extracellular matrix imposes a significant transport barrier to albumin, the principal carrier of fatty acids. It has not been previously established whether it also influences the transport of fatty acids important for chondrocyte metabolism. Albumin was labelled with rhodamine-maleimide and bound to NBD-labelled lauric acid. Plugs of fresh equine metacarpal-phalangeal cartilage and subchondral bone were incubated with the complex at 4 degrees C for 2-160 h. The fluorophore distribution was quantified using quantitative microscopy in histological sections. The fluorescence...
