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.
Suter M, Fey H.Horse IgE was isolated from a serum pool collected from foals naturally infected with endoparasites. The serum was precipitated with ammonium sulfate, delipidated with dextran sulfate and further purified by gel filtration, anionic exchange, immunosorption or preparative polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis. By these methods IgE could be isolated at a purity of 81%. The sera from rabbits immunized with the purified horse serum fractions were tested using reversed passive cutaneous anaphylaxis and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). By the ELISA method cross reaction of rabbit anti horse...
Coffman JR, Colles CM.Sensitivity to insulin was assessed in ponies episodically affected with chronic laminitis by measurement of blood glucose and arterial blood pressure during insulin tolerance tests. In terms of blood glucose values, laminitic ponies were significantly less sensitive to insulin than controls. Conversely, a post-insulin decline in diastolic, systolic and mean blood pressure values was significantly greater in laminitic ponies than in controls.
Kern JR, Cardellina JH.Anemonin, the dilactone of cyclobutane-1,2-diol-1,2-diacrylic acid derived from the cyclodimerization of protoanemonin, a known blistering agent, was isolated from Clematis hirsutissima, a plant used by the Nez Perce and Teton Sioux nations as a horse stimulant.
George JL, Reif JS, Shideler RK, Small CJ, Ellis RP, Snyder SP, McChesney AE.During an outbreak of strangles in a population of research horses, 4 mares were identified as carriers of Streptococcus equi. Three of the mares had typical signs of strangles (severe regional lymphadenitis with or without rupture of abscessed lymph nodes). The 4th mare experienced episodes of serous to mucopurulent nasal discharge, but never had more than a mild degree of lymph node enlargement. Streptococcus equi was isolated from the abscessed lymph nodes and from nasopharyngeal swab specimens from the first 3 mares from 6 to 19 weeks after rupture of involved nodes. Streptococcus equi was...
McPherson EA, Thomson JR.The aetiology, pathophysiological changes, pathology and clinical signs of the disease as presently understood are discussed. The condition appears to be a hypersensitivity of the respiratory system in some horses to poor quality hay and straw. Micropolyspora faeni is the chief agent identified in the northern part of the United Kingdom. In other locations, the chief agent is probably different. The principal changes are spasm of the airways and bronchiolitis of the small airways. Onset may be acute or insidious. The chief clinical signs are well known but the disease process is reversible if ...
Dumasia MC, Houghton E, Bradley CV, Williams DH.The metabolism and urinary excretion of 1,2(n)-3H-1-dehydrotestosterone were studied in cross-bred gelded horses. Approximately 40% of the dose was excreted in 24 h. The steroid metabolites were extracted by Amberlite XAD-2 resin and fractionated into glucuronides and sulphoconjugates. Unchanged 1-dehydrotestosterone was the only component identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry after solvolysis of the sulphoconjugates. Positive and negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectra were obtained on the purified 1-dehydrotestosterone sulphoconjugate isolated from horse urine and on the...
Vrins A, Carlson G, Feldman B.Warfarin or dicoumarol prevents the production of functional clotting factors II, VII, IX and X. Navicular disease and thrombophlebitis are examples of equine thrombotic diseases in which warfarin has been used therapeutically. The initiation of anticoagulant therapy is relatively simple but attending veterinarians must be aware of the potential risks in order to minimize them. These risks include epistaxis, bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract and at the venipuncture site, and increased susceptibility to hematoma formation following local trauma. Vitamin K, especially vitamin K(1) is a sw...
Freundt EA.A total of 29 Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma antiserum reagents produced in mules and horses by the Baltimore Biological Laboratory and by Huntingdon Research Centre, under the auspices of National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA, were tested for potency and specificity, by a great variety of serological techniques, at the FAO/WHO Collaborating centre for Animal Mycoplasmas, University of Aarhus, Denmark. Subsequently, the antisera were subjected to a collaborative assay in which 20 workers from 15 different laboratories participated under the auspices of the International Research Programme ...
Bossut DF, Leshin LS, Malven PV.Radioimmunoassay procedures were developed and validated for the quantification of beta-endorphin (beta-EP)-like immunoreactivity in equine plasma. beta-EP could be quantitatively extracted from plasma with silicic acid powder and subsequently assayed, however, valid estimates of this hormone could also be obtained on unextracted plasma. Although beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) cross-reacted in the assay, it was not necessary to correct for beta-LPH activity when assaying unextracted plasma because chromatographic analyses showed that 92% of the immunoreactivity in plasma extracts was similar in mo...
Peyton LC, Connelly MB.Bacterial quantification was evaluated in 15 cases as a means of wound assessment. This study suggests that bacterial quantification may be used as an aid in the evaluation of treatment procedures and wound preparation in veterinary surgery.
Acland HM, Allen PZ, Kenney RM.After contagious equine metritis bacteria were inoculated into the uterus of mares, genital tract tissues were examined for presence of the organism by bacteriologic cultural technique and an indirect immunofluorescent staining technique. Up to 14 days after mares were inoculated, the organism was frequently in the lumen of the uterus and in the cervix and, less frequently, in the vagina, vestibule, clitoral fossa, clitoral sinus, and uterine tubes. After 21 to 116 days, the organism was occasionally found on the ovarian surface, in the uterine tubes, uterus, cervix, and vagina and more freque...
Bailey JV, Fretz PB.Two incidents of penetrating wounds into the abdominal cavity of horses are presented. In both events these had resulted in penetraton of the intestinal tract. Both animals had received only minimal veterinary attention in the acute stage and had survived with the formation of intestinal fistulae.Attempts at surgical repair resulted in failure in one animal and in closure of the fistula in the second with some subsequent cosmetic defect.
Dik KJ, Nemeth F.Six cases of patella fractures are reported. Three horses presented an avulsion fracture of the medial patellar angle. For a precise diagnosis of this fracture a radiographic skyline view was indispensable; lateral views were not diagnostic. One of these horses recovered after three months' rest but radiographically the fracture remained visible. One horse with a comminuted fracture recovered after five months' rest. A case with a contaminated longitudinal patella fracture was destroyed. The sixth horse had a chip fracture of the dorsomedial part of the patella. The outcome of this case is unk...
Campbell TM, Studdert MJ, Ellis WM, Paton CM.A foal with primary severe combined immunodeficiency, diagnosed within the first two weeks of life, was maintained with its dam in semi-isolation. The foal received continuous prophylactic antibiotic therapy, plasma from a sibling hyperimmunised with equine adenovirus vaccine, and intensive general nursing care. A full sibling female was selected as a bone marrow donor on the basis of red blood cell cross-matching and mixed lymphocyte reactions. Cyclophosphamide was given before two bone marrow transfusions at 35 and 73 days of age. To prevent graft versus host disease graft versus host diseas...
Blanchard TL, Elmore RG, Youngquist RS, Loch WE, Hardin DK, Bierschwal CJ, Ganjam VK, Balke JM, Ellersieck MR, Dawson LJ, Miner WS.Fifty mature pony stallions were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: Group 1- controls (no treatment), Group 2 - 0.55 mg/kg stanozolol weekly for 13 treatments, Group 3 - 1.1 mg/kg stanozolol every 3 weeks for 5 treatments, Group 4 - 1.1 mg/kg boldenone undecylenate every 3 weeks for 5 treatments, and Group 5 - 0.55 mg/kg boldenone undecylenate weekly for 13 treatments. Scrotal widths (SW), combined testis weights (CTW), and daily sperm productions (DSP) were not different between Groups 1 and 2. Ponies in Group 5 had smaller SW (P<0.01), smaller CTW and decreased DSP compare...
Devriese LA, Vlaminck K, Nuytten J, De Keersmaecker P.Staphylococcus hyicus (subspecies hyicus) was isolated as the only pathogenic organism from two independent cases of dermatitis of the lower parts of the limbs (grease heel) in horses. The organism was recovered together with other pathogenic staphylococci from similar conditions in two other horses of different origins. These conditions were characterised by epidermolysis, alopecia and crust formation. They responded quickly to antibiotic treatment. The organism was also isolated from a long standing case of "summer eczema" which healed without antibiotic treatment, and from a horse with derm...
Spurlock GH, Gabel AA.One-hundred and nine apical fractures of the proximal sesamoid bones were diagnosed in Standardbred racehorses at the Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital during a 5-year period ending December 1978. Lateral sesamoids of the hindlimbs accounted for 61 of the 109 fractures, which was a significantly (P less than 0.05) greater proportion than that for fractures in all other sesamoid bones. Two- and three-year-old horses accounted for 73 of the 109 apical sesamoid fractures. The remaining 36 apical sesamoid fractures were in horses 4 to 9 years old. The apical fragment was removed in 80 of t...
Berger J, Kock M, Cunningham C, Dodson N.Twenty-three (9 male, 14 female) wild horses (Equus caballus) in the Great Basin Desert were immobilized by ground techniques with succinylcholine chloride during 1,950 person-hr. Induction (means = 2.09 +/- 0.59 min) and recovery (means = 12.4 +/- 5.0 min) were rapid and most animals were returned in less than 10 min to original bands. Dosages ranged from 0.66-0.77 mg/kg body weight and neither abortions nor band changes in group membership resulted. However, a few concerted efforts up to 24 hr were needed to return some animals to original bands and three non-drug related mortalities occurre...
Thomson JR, McPherson EA.The therapy of equine chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) essentially entails minimising the horse's exposure to the aetiological antigens which are predominantly thermophilic actinomycetes and moulds occurring in hay and straw. This can be achieved, for example, by keeping affected horses permanently out of doors, or when stabled, using shredded paper, wood shavings or peat moss as bedding and feeding a complete cubed diet. There should be no supplementary hay feeding apart from dust-free vacuum-packed hay. Applying such measures generally allows horses to become asymptomatic in seve...
Stubley D, Campbell C, Dant C, Blackmore DJ, Pierce A.The concentration of copper and zinc in the blood and sera of over 300 Thoroughbreds in training was determined by atomic absorption between February 1979 and July 1981. The mean (+/- sd) concentration of copper in the serum of stabled Thoroughbreds (79 +/- 16 micrograms/dl) was significantly (P less than 0.0001) lower than that of those at grass (101 +/- 26 micrograms/dl), whereas the mean serum zinc concentration of stabled Thoroughbreds (170 +/- 54 micrograms/dl) was higher than that of those at grass (111 +/- 45 micrograms/dl). No such differences were observed in whole blood. There were m...
Lynch JA.A Staphylococcus aureus infection in a mature horse, resulting from trauma, is described, which proved refractory to antibiotic therapy directed by the results of antibiotic sensitivity testing. After a prolonged course, rapid resolution of the infection was achieved with the administration of an autogenous formalized bacterin.
Quinn PJ, Baker KP, Morrow AN.In a study of the skin reactivity of horses with lesions of sweet itch, six clinically normal horses and seven affected horses were challenged intradermally with extracts of Culicoides, Stomoxys, Tabanidae and Culex species. All the affected horses and three of the normal horses responded strongly to the culicoides extract. The skin reactions in the affected horses reached their maxima within 4 h in the majority of animals. Skin reactivity to culicoides was transferred to normal horses with serum from affected animals confirming that the reaction was an immediate hypersensitivity reaction. Thr...
Baba AI, Gaboreanu M, Rotaru O, Kwieczinsky R.Malignant melanomas in 5 horses, 1 calf, 1 cow and 2 pigs were described. The disease, in white or gray horses, was tegumentally located and generalized in the organs of the abdominal cavity. Microscopically, dendritic and fusiform pigment cells and multinucleated cells were identified. In the hypophysis there microcysts and in one case a hypophyseal adenoma were encountered. Electronmicroscopically, differentiated melanophores and melanophages were also found. The mature melanosomes were intensely black and the elementary granules concentrically and lamellarly arranged. In cattle, the general...
Kimpfler S, Pospischil A, Rüsch P, Sydler T.One of the essential tasks of veterinary pathology is the gross and microscopic examination of animals post mortem. Frequently requests are made for the cause of disease or death in the absence of a precise history or an otherwise specific assignment e.g. whether a notifiable disease is involved. The general examination is supplemented by a spectrum of additional examinations depending on the case whereas attempts are made to keep the costs within limits and to answer the client's request with justifiable effort. 36,365 necropsy cases and 9192 organs submitted between 1988 and 2004 were analys...
Mobarak MS, Ryan MF.The ultrastructure of the dorsal oesophageal gland ampulla and its relationship with the oesophagus, oesophageal ultrastructure, and control mechanisms in oesophageal activity were studied. Terminal ducts of the sub-ventral glands open through the oesophageal crown at the base of the buccal cavity. The terminal duct of the dorsal oesophageal gland running through the dorsal gutter opens to the exterior at the rim 'groove' of the buccal capsule. The posterior oesophageal region is clavate and the cuticle of the lumen folds to form outlet valves, 'valvulae'. An inconspicuous oesophago-intestinal...
Burn JB.The aim of this study was to describe placement of a nictitating membrane flap as a treatment for corneal ulceration and bullous keratopathy in two horses. Methods: A 13-year-old American Saddlebred mare presented for severe corneal edema, superficial stromal ulceration, and a central bulla of the left eye. A 4-year-old Trakhener stallion also presented with a large axial bulla of the left eye with concurrent severe corneal edema and a deep stromal ulcer. Methods: A complete ophthalmic examination was performed. Samples were obtained for corneal cytology, and both horses were started on aggres...
Kakas R, Stockdale S, Carr A.The research article discusses a case study of a young boxer diagnosed with septic physitis of the humerus, and the MRI findings observed which assisted in identifying the condition. Introduction […]
Geisert RD.Establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in a number of mammalian species depends upon a tightly regulated interaction between the semiallogeneic conceptus and the maternal uterine endometrium.The term "Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy" is attributed to Roger V. Short's paper titled "Implantation and the Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy" which was published in proceedings from the 1969 Symposium on Foetal Autonomy.Professor Short's landmark paper stimulated increased interest in elucidating how the conceptus signals its presence to assure maintenance of the corpus luteum beyond the normal ...
Lopes MA, Salter CE, Vandenplas ML, Berghaus R, Hurley DJ, Moore JN.To investigate the effect of ex vivo exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the expression of inflammatory genes in leukocytes from horses with gastrointestinal (Gl) disease and determine whether the pattern or magnitude of the response to LPS correlated with the type of disease and outcome. Methods: 49 horses with Gl disease and 10 healthy horses Methods: Leukocytes were isolated from blood samples and submitted to 3 protocols: immediate freezing, freezing after 4-hour incubation in medium, and freezing after 4-hour incubation in medium containing LPS. Expression of 14 genes associated with ...
Balun J, Sutta J, Janda J.In this paper the haemocoagulative effect of the Vasolamin preparation was examined after intravenous application in cattle, sheep, and horses by means of tests. After a laboratory confirmation of the coagulative effect of the tested preparation we used it for the purpose of haemostasis in the clinical practice. After an administration of the preparation faster coagulation of the blood was observed in all examined animals. The setting in of the effect could be observed already after 5 minutes, the maximum effect was recorded between the 15th and 30th minutes after application, and the effect l...
Kim Y, Seo C, Oh S, Kwak J, Jung S, Sin E, Kim H, Ji M, Lee HS, Park HJ, Lee G, Yu J, Kim M, Lee W, Paik MJ.Loxoprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug of the 2-arylpropionic acid type, which has used to treat musculoskeletal disorders in the horse racing industry. However, it has also used illicitly to mask clinical signs of inflammation and pain in racehorses. Thus, its accurate analysis has become an important issue in horse doping laboratories. In this study, an analytical method of loxoprofen was developed as tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) derivative by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Characteristic fragment ions of [M-15], [M-57], and [M-139] permitted the accurate and ...
MacDonald MH, Benton HP.To determine the influence of activated equine neutrophils on sulfated glycosaminoglycan metabolism of equine articular cartilage in vitro. Methods: Articular cartilage explants harvested from the metacarpophalangeal joints of 7 horses. Methods: Proteoglycan degradation and synthesis were measured by release of glycosaminoglycan from the explants, and incorporation of [35S]sulfate into newly synthesized glycosaminoglycan. Results: Activated equine neutrophils significantly increased the release of glycosaminoglycan from explant matrix and the magnitude of that response was influenced by durati...