Veterinary medicine for horses encompasses the study and application of medical practices to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases in equine species. This field involves a comprehensive understanding of equine anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Veterinary practitioners employ a range of diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions to address health issues in horses, including lameness, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory conditions, and infectious diseases. Preventative care, such as vaccination and deworming programs, is also a significant aspect of equine veterinary medicine. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of veterinary medicine as it pertains to horses, including advancements in diagnostic techniques, treatment protocols, and preventive health strategies.
Nolan AM, Hall LW.The effects of four intravenous combinations, xylazine (0.7 mg/kg)/methadone (0.1 mg/kg), xylazine (0.7 mg/kg)/buprenorphine (0.004 and 0.006 mg/kg) and acepromazine (0.05 mg/kg)/buprenorphine (0.006 mg/kg) on arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood gases were studied in four experimental ponies. With xylazine/buprenorphine and xylazine/methadone onset of sedation was rapid and obvious and although no surgical or diagnostic procedures were carried out, sedation was judged to be satisfactory for the next 30 to 40 minutes. Onset of sedation after ...
Straub R, Isler R, Gysin J.The incremental three work loads test as a basis test, and the one work load test, in which one measures the heart rate and the serum lactic acid concentration, lead to the performance index values V4 and V150. These values are of great practical importance in judging the performance capacity, the ability to be trained, the trainings effectivity, and determining the optimal work load for interval training.
Bell K, Patterson S, Pollitt CC.The plasma protease inhibitor system (Pi) of Standardbred horses was studied by thin-layer, high-voltage, acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (pH 4.6) followed by protein staining and staining for trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibition. In addition to the eight Thoroughbred alleles (PiF, G, I, L, N, S1, S2, U), another 10 alleles, designated PiH, J, K, O, P, Q, R, V, X, Z, were postulated to account for the 98 Pi types which were observed in Standardbreds. Detailed inhibitory spectra of the 'new' alleles were determined and further exceptions to the Pi1, Pi2 classification of Juneja et al. (1...
Braun JP, Tainturier D, Bézille P, Raviart I, Rico AG.In goat and mare colostrum, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity is relatively low (mean values are, respectively, 900 and 350 U/l). In the serum of newborns before suckling, GGT is also low (less than or equal to 28 U/l in goats and less than or equal to U/l in foals); then in goats GGT is much increased on the 1st day (mean = 127 U/l), and it decreases during the following days. In foals, serum GGT slowly but regularly increases for the first 5 days, then decreases. Such differences can be attributed to intestinal protein absorption capabilities which are selective in newborn foals and u...
Martens J, Rosenbruch M.The paper presents the case-history of a 5-year-old pony suffering from an adenocarcinoma which proceeded from the pars intermedia of the pituitary gland. Neurological and patho-morphological findings are reported.
MacLean AA, Robertson-Smith RG.The upper respiratory tract of a pony mare with marked exercise intolerance and respiratory stridor was examined with a flexible fibreoptoscope. Both arytenoids were adducted and distorted. A diagnosis of bilateral chondritis of the arytenoids was made and confirmed at autopsy after surgery to enlarge the rima glottidis was unsuccessful. Other space occupying lesions of the rima glottidis are discussed and theories on the aetiology are postulated.
Holt C, Jenness R.Skim-milk samples from rat, rabbit, pig, sheep, goat, horse and man were analysed for lactose, casein and the total and ultrafilterable concentrations of the main salts. Results are compared with data for the cow. The ultrafiltrate concentrations of Ca and Mg were positively correlated with that of citrate and the colloidal concentrations of Ca, Mg and citrate were positively correlated with that of Pi, suggesting that common, general, principles determine the partition of salts in milks. Casein concentration in the skim-milks was inversely related to that of lactose in accordance with a recen...
Teilmann AM, Hansen JC.The content of cadmium and selenium in horse kidneys from Jutland , Denmark, in relation to age, local geographical variation and possible relationship between the two elements has been investigated. During the winter of 1982-1983 kidneys from 50 horses were sampled and analysed for cadmium and selenium. The cadmium content of the horse kidneys was recorded in connection with the age of the horses. The cadmium level increases until the animal has reached approximately 7 years of age. At this age the cadmium concentration levels off. A significant regional difference was shown. The cadmium cont...
Löscher W, Jaeschke G, Keller H.The pharmacokinetics of ascorbic acid were studied in 29 horses after intravenous (iv), subcutaneous, intramuscular (im) and oral administration. Following iv injection of 5 and 10 g ascorbic acid, respectively, a biphasic decline of ascorbic acid serum levels was found, indicating that the vitamin distributes in the body according to a two-compartment open model. The apparent volume of distribution (average value for Vd(ss) = 0.6 litre/kg) was approximately equivalent to the volume of total body water. The terminal half-life of the biexponential serum level-time curve (t1/2 beta) varied betwe...
Dolan M, Cargill C, Martin F, Davenport P, Franks D, Lightfoot J.A bacteriological and serological survey for evidence of contagious equine metritis (CEM) was made during the 1980 breeding season on 3 horse studs in South Australia with a history of previous infection. Swabs from the clitoral sinus and the cervix were cultured for Haemophilus equigenitalis and serum was screened for antibody using the complement fixation test (CFT) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The specificity of both tests was greater than 0.99 but the ELISA was more sensitive in detecting antibody in infected mares. On the evidence presented it was concluded that H. e...
Tranquilli WJ, Thurmon JC, Neff-Davis CA, Davis LE, Benson GJ, Hoffman W, Lock TF.Plasma glucose and serum insulin concentrations in Thoroughbreds administered xylazine hydrochloride (1.1 mg/kg; IV) and ketamine hydrochloride (2.2 mg/kg; IV) at dosages sufficient to induce short periods of recumbency and anesthesia were measured. Samples of blood were collected from 6 adult horses before, during, and after the anesthetic period. Plasma glucose (mg/dl) was significantly increased above control (-30 minute concentration) from 15 to 150 minutes after xylazine administration with the peak value occurring at 30 minutes. Serum insulin (microU/ml) was significantly decreased from ...
Weaver BM, Lunn CE, Staddon GE.Muscle perfusion was studied in conscious and anaesthetised horses by monitoring the clearance of a locally injected bolus of saline containing radioactive xenon (133Xe). The mean of all the measurements made from the brachiocephalicus and semimembranosus muscles in conscious subjects was 1.29 ml/min/100 g while in anaesthetised subjects it was 0.40 ml/min/100 g. The significance of these results is discussed in relation to the clinical occurrence of post anaesthetic myositis.
Flieger S, Sławomirski J, Boratyński Z, Jastrzebski M.Two medullae oblongatae of horses were cut into 15 microns cross-sections and stained according to the modified method of Nissel. The lateral motor nucleus lies in the lateral and median part of the ventral column of spinal cord grey matter. It adjoins medially nucleus motorius medialis of the spinal ventral column. Cells of this nucleus occur both along the whole lumbar and sacral segment of the spinal cord. In the lateral motor nucleus three cell groups are distinguished - median, basal and lateral. The latter is divided in some segments into subgroups - dorsal and ventral. Along the nucleus...
Williams IF, McCullagh KG, Silver IA.During tissue response to injury the glycoproteins fibronectin and Type III collagen are synthesized in increased amounts. We have studied the distribution of these molecules in the healing tendon at various times after injury by comparison with that of the major constituent of normal tendon, Type I collagen. Immunofluorescent localization demonstrated the presence of fibronectin throughout the tendon within one week after injury. Staining was found in the matrix, both around capillaries and around fibroblast-like cells. Fibronectin was still apparent in the healing tendon at one month after i...
Combarnous Y, Guillou F, Martinat N, Cahoreau C.The LH and FSH activities of equine choriogonadotropin (eCG) have been compared in several species with those of the highly purified homologous pituitary gonadotropins. The molar FSH/LH activity ratio of eCG determined by RRA is 0.20 in the pig, 0.25 in the rat and 0 in the horse. These data demonstrate the LH monospecificity of eCG in its own species as it is the case for hCG. We have also shown that equine LH exhibited a FSH-activity similar to that of eCG in the pig and in the rat but not in the horse. In the female rat, the binding activity to FSH receptors and the in vitro FSH activity of...
Williams S, Scott P.Meal contaminated by Datura stramonium seeds at the rate of 0.5% by weight was fed to two horses. Both horses showed clinical signs of depression, anorexia, weight loss, rapi heart and respiration rates, mydriasis, polyuria, polydipsia and diarrhoea. Both recovered with treatment. Maize screenings contaminated by the seeds had been used in the manufacture of the meal.
Perryman LE, Wyatt CR, Magnuson NS.Neoplastic lymphocytes from a horse with lymphosarcoma and IgM deficiency were analyzed for ability to grow in culture; surface and cytoplasmic IgM; functional activity in blastogenesis, cytoxicity, and suppressor assays; and activities of six enzymes involved in purine and pyrimidine metabolism. The cells lacked surface and cytoplasmic IgM. They had elevated activity of adenosine deaminase and reduced activity of purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Neoplastic cells were nonresponsive in blastogenesis assay and did not kill allogeneic lymphocyte target cells or YAC-1 targets in a lectin-dependent...
Mayhew IG, Brewer BD, Reinhard MK, Greiner EC.A fifth stage Strongylus vulgaris migrated through the spinal cord of a 2-year-old, male donkey resulting in progressive paraparesis and then tetraplegia. A profound neutrophilic pleocytosis was detected on analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. The parasite appeared to have entered the mid-lumbar spinal cord, migrated to the cranial thoracic segments, exited, then re-entered the spinal cord a few segments craniad. It then traveled further cranially and was found in the third cervical spinal cord segment. Some parts of the lesion were remarkably free from tissue necrosis, hemorrhage and inflammation...
Wilson CS, Brookes VJ, Hughes KJ, Trope GD, Ip H, Gunn AJ.In human subjects, arytenoid chondritis can be caused by chemical trauma of mucosa attributable to gastro-oesophageal reflux. Although a similar process may be involved in the aetiopathogenesis of arytenoid chondritis in horses, the oesophageal lumen pH in this species is poorly understood. Objective: To determine if gastro-oesophageal reflux occurs in horses by characterising oesophageal lumen pH. Methods: Blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover, experimental study. Methods: Luminal oesophageal pH in six yearling horses was recorded over four 24 h periods using an ambulatory pH rec...
López-Sanromán J, Cruz J, Santos M, Mazzini R, Tabanera A, Tendillo FJ.The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the alkalinization on the local analgesic efficacy of 1% ketamine in the abaxial sesamoid nerve block in horses. Thirty-six mature healthy horses were randomly assigned to four groups for the following treatments; an abaxial sesamoid block with 5 mL of saline solution (control saline); an abaxial sesamoid block with 5 mL of a solution containing 1% ketamine (KETs 1%); an abaxial sesamoid block with 5 mL of a solution containing saline solution and 0.5 mEq of sodium bicarbonate (control bicarbonate); and an abaxial sesamoid block with ...
Mishra PC, Leach DH.The venous organisation of the dermal lamellae of the equine hoof wall of 18 pairs of forelimb hooves from clinically healthy horses was studied using plastic vascular corrosion casts, and scanning electron microscopic and histological techniques. A consistent pattern of venous organisation was observed in the dermal lamella of the toe, quarter and heel regions. The lamellar corium had an extensive interconnecting capillary network which drained into axially located veins of the primary dermal lamella. Many of the capillaries had a proximodistal orientation and most of those located at the int...
Gerdes GH, Pieterse LM.Virus was isolated from the blood of horses (n = 5) showing fever and jaundice and was identified as equine encephalosis virus. In cross neutralisation tests, the isolates were shown to belong to a new serotype related to Gamil, one of the 6 known serotypes of equine encephalosis virus. The name Potchefstroom has been proposed for this new serotype.
Rakestraw PC, Snyder JR, Sanders KM, Shuttleworth WC.To evaluate electrical activity of jejunal circular muscle in horses and characterize electrical responses to stimulation by intrinsic inhibitory neurons. Methods: Portions of jejunum obtained from horses euthanatized for reasons other than gastrointestinal tract disease. Methods: Isolated circular muscle preparations were perfused with oxygenated modified Krebs solution. Glass microelectrodes were used for intracellular recording of membrane potentials from single smooth muscle cells. Electrical activity and responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) of intrinsic neurons in the presence ...
Darke PG, Holmes JR.The paper describes the use of a four-electrode cancellation technique, employing a bridge circuit to cancel mirror-image ECGs on the body surface of six horses. The axes joining points at which good cancellations were obtained were plotted on planar diagrams. Evidence is presented which suggests that a considerable proportion of cardiac activity could be regarded as though arising from the activity of a single resultant dipole although there is probably some mobility of the dipole centre during different parts of the cardiac cycle.
Verberne LR, Mirck MH.A scheme of combined anthelmintic treatment and vaccination is described. The seasonal veterinary activities are as follows: March (all horses); parasitological examination of faeces, anthelmintic treatment, immunization against influenza and tetanus (booster dose). June: parasitological faeces examination of foals, anthelmintic treatment of all horses, immunization of foals against tetanus (1st dose). August: anthelmintic treatment of all horses and immunization of foals against influenza (1st dose) and tetanus (2nd dose). October: parasitological faeces examination and anthelmintic treatment...
Maggi R, Mudimba D, Marruchella G.A 11-year-old, Haflinger breed mare developed a slowly growing mass, protruding on the ventral aspect of the mandible. On palpation, the lesion was pedunculated, very firm, cold and not painful. Radiographic examinations showed a radiopaque, multi-lobular, "mushroom-like" lesion, which arose from the mandibular cortex without involving the bone marrow cavity. Thereafter, the mass was excised for cosmetic purposes. Microscopically, the lesion mainly consisted of bone trabeculae, covered by a thick layer of connective tissue resembling the periosteum. History and clinical findings allowed the te...
Plata-Madrid H, Loch WE, Youngquist RS, Thompson DL, Bennett-Wimbush KG, Wilkerson C, Bouchard G, Smith MF, Braun WF, Aveiro JJ.Twenty-two pony mares were used in a project designed to determine the effectiveness of different treatments in controlling FSH, follicular development and synchronization of estrus and ovulation. Mares in Group 1 (n=8) received daily oral altrenogest (0.044 mg/kg); those in Group 2 (n=7) received daily altrenogest (0.044 g/kg) and, during the last 4 days of treatment they received steroid-free follicular fluid, (15 cc) intravenously (I.V.) two times a day; Mares in Group 3 (n=7) received daily intramuscular (I.M.) injections of progesterone (80 mg) and estradiol valerate (7 mg). All treatment...
Straub R, Isler R, Gysin J.The incremental three work loads test as a basis test, and the one work load test, in which one measures the heart rate and the serum lactic acid concentration, lead to the performance index values V4 and V150. These values are of great practical importance in judging the performance capacity, the ability to be trained, the trainings effectivity, and determining the optimal work load for interval training.
Terpstra C.The aetiology, symptoms, diagnosis and control of African horse sickness are described. Special attention is paid to the introduction and epizootiology of the disease in Spain and its consequences in respect to the international trade of horses.
Taylor NR.A case of balanoposthitis involving injury to a yearling colt's penis and prepuce is described. Details are given of the Vennerhalm or reefing operation which was used to relieve the penile prolapse and paraphimosis accompanying the condition.
Sherlock CE, Eggleston RB, Howerth EW.A 7-year-old Quarter Horse gelding was evaluated because of sudden onset of severe left forelimb lameness of 4 days' duration. Results: Clinical evaluation and diagnostic perineural analgesia localized the lameness to the distal portion of the left forelimb. Radiography revealed a transverse fracture of the distal phalanx of the left forelimb. Results: The horse was treated conservatively with stall rest and stabilization of the hoof with fiberglass cast material and an elevated heel support. These treatments improved the lameness considerably. Over the following 4 months, the horse was exerci...
Caron JP, Barber SM, Bailey JV, Fretz PB, Pharr JW.Periorbital skull fractures were diagnosed in 5 horses, and were associated with ophthalmic complications including corneal ulceration, uveitis, and entrapment of the eye by retrobulbar bone fragments. Physical examination was of greater diagnostic use than radiography. Surgical repair was performed on all horses and was associated with a more favorable postoperative appearance in horses treated acutely; however, the cosmetic results were considered acceptable in all horses. Major postoperative complications were not observed.