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.
Slatter DH, Hawkins CD.Serum samples were collected from 479 clinically normal horses from 11 different locations in Queensland. Using a microscopic agglutination test, 157 serums (33%) reacted to one or more serovars of Leptospira interrogans at a minimum serum dilution of 1/30. The prevalences of reactors among all horses to the serovars tested were pomona 30.5% icterohaemorrhagiae 23.9%, tarassovi 18.8%, hardjo 12.2%, canicola 8.6%, grippotyphosa 3.6%, and australis 2%. There was a significantly higher prevalence of reactors in tropical areas than in sub-tropical areas, but no difference in prevalence between coa...
Orrego A, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC, Adams WV.Five serial passages of a cell-adapted strain of equine infectious anemia (EIA) virus were conducted in Shetland ponies. The 13 recipient ponies became agar-gel immunodiffusion test-positive by 25 days after they were inoculated. The virulence of the cell-adapted strain of EIA virus markedly increased through 3 serial passages, although individual variation within passages was high. The 1st serial-passage recipient remained afebrile through 200 days, whereas a febrile episode occurred about every 185, 44, 35, and 33 days in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th serial-passage recipients, respectively. Se...
Blythe LL, Kitchell RL.The cutaneous innervation of the thoracic limb was investigated in 18 barbiturate-anesthetized horses, using electrophysiologic techniques. The cutaneous area (CA) innervated by each cutaneous nerve was delineated in at least 4 horses by stroking the hairs with a small watercolor brush while recording from the nerve. Mapping of adjacent CA revealed areas of considerable overlap. The part of a CA of a given nerve supplied only by that nerve is referred to as its autonomous zone (AZ). In contrast to the standard textbook illustrations cutaneous branches of the axillary, radial, musculocutaneous,...
Yilma T, Perryman LE, McGuire TC.The results of a study on the induction of IFN-alpha, IFN-beta, and IFN-gamma in normal and SCID foals showed a deficiency of IFN-gamma but not IFN-beta in SCID foals. The ability of SCID mononuclear cells to produce IFN-alpha in response to poly I:C but not to NDV may indicate a partial deficiency of IFN-alpha in SCID foals. The deficiency of IFN-gamma and presence of IFN-beta in SCID foals supports the classification of IFN-gamma and IFN-beta as immune and nonimmune interferons, respectively. Furthermore, the deficiency of IFN-gamma in SCID foals may in part explain the high susceptibility t...
Auer JA, Martens RJ, Williams EH.Seventeen foals with angular limb deformities of the distal end of the radius (valgus: 26 limbs), distal end of the tibia (valgus: 6 limbs), and distal end of the 3rd metacarpal bone/metatarsal bone (varus: 4 limbs) were treated surgically by means of hemicircumferential division of the periosteum proximal to the involved growth plate, at the concave side of the bone. There was some correction in all cases. The best results were seen in the radius, where 22 of 25 limbs were corrected to a deviation of 4 degrees or less. Satisfactory correction was obtained in the 6 tibias, the 2 third metacarp...
Anderson IG, Hasslinger MA.The faeces of 34 horses of the "Bavarian main and state studfarm Schwaiganger" (Group I) and 10 ponies (Group II) from various regions of the Federal Republic of Germany, were examined and 4 834 small strongyles were identified. Three species Cyathostomum catinatum, Cylicostephanus longibursatus and Cylicocylus nassatus, were found to be widely distributed. Although various modern anthelmintics with different effective components were used over the past 20 years, no remarkable change has been brought about in the composition of the parasitic species of the horses in the Federal Republic of Ger...
Pass DA, Bolton JR.Four cases of chronic eosinophilic gastroenteritis in horses are described. The disease was manifested clinically by weight loss, malabsorption and diarrhea of soft, formless feces. A chronic inflammatory reaction, with diffuse and focal eosinophilic infiltrates, was present in the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, and mesenteric lymph nodes. The cause of the lesion was not determined but was thought to the due to an ingested allergen, as the lesion is indicative of an on-going, immediate hypersensitivity reaction. One horse had generalized acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, and ulcerati...
Miller RI, Campbell RS.A survey of granulomatous and neoplastic diseases of the skin of horses of tropical north Queensland was carried out during the period 1970-1980. Of 338 horses affected, 46.4% suffered from equine fibrosarcoma (sarcoid), 30.2% from phycomycosis, 7.4% from squamous cell carcinoma, 6.8% from other tumours, 4.7% from cutaneous habronemiasis and 4.4% from exuberant granulation tissue. Most specimens were submitted during the first half of the year after the wet monsoonal season and significantly more diseases originated during the first quarter. There was minor variations with breed, age and sex s...
Schmidt GM, Krehbiel JD, Coley SC, Leid RW.Equine eyes (368) were examined clinically and histologically for abnormalities associated with the presence of ocular microfilariae of naturally occurring Onchocerca sp infection. Forty of the eyes had microfilariae in the conjunctiva, but distinguishing clinical abnormalities were not associated with their presence. In 1 horse with ocular microfilariae that was treated with diethylcarbamazine daily for 2 weeks, ocular tissue samples were obtained before, during, and after the horse was treated, and the samples were compared histologically. During treatment of the horse, microfilariae apparen...
Torbert BJ, Kramer BS, Klei TR.A controlled test was used in ponies to compare the antiparasitic efficacy of ivermectin (22,23-dihydro-avermectin B1) in an injectable micelle solution administered IM with the efficacy of the same drug in an oral paste formulation. Parasite infections were naturally acquired in southern Louisiana. The drug was tested in both formulations at a dosage level of 0.2 mg/kg of body weight. Ivermectin in both formulations tested had an efficacy greater than 98% against Gasterophilus intestinalis and G nasalis larvae. Trichostrongylus axei, Habronema spp, Strongylus vulgaris, S. edentatus, and speci...
Speirs VC, van Veenendaal JC, Harrison IW, Smyth GB, Anderson GA, Wilson DV, Gilbo B.Endoscopic examinations of the upper respiratory tract were done on 92 of 314 Standardbred horses that raced one or more times at 4 consecutive, weekly race meetings. Although participation was voluntary, the characteristics of the population of horses examined were not statistically different from those of all horses that raced. No horse showed epistaxis, but 34 (32.4%) examinations of the trachea revealed blood that ranged from a trace in the tracheal mucus to large amounts scattered over the tracheal walls. Forty-four horses exhibited minor degrees of pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia, 2 had ...
Orth DN, Nicholson WE.Equine Cushing's disease is caused by hypersecretion of ACTH by hyperplasia or adenomas of pars intermedia (PI) cells, in contrast to human Cushing's disease, which is caused by hyperplasia or adenomas of pars distalis (PD) ACTH-secreting cells. We assayed both bioactive and immunoreactive (IR) ACTH in two normal equine pituitary glands and in the PD, PI, and pars nervosa of four such glands, as well as in the PI adenomas of five horses with Cushing's disease. In normal horse pituitaries, as in those of other species, most of the bioactive and IR-ACTH was found in PD, much less in PI, and only...
Fletcher MA, Caldwell KE, Saez L, Latif Z.A sialoglycoprotein from horse erythrocytes was isolated in essentially homogeneous form and found to contain the neuraminidase-sensitive determinant of the horse erythrocyte for Paul-Bunnell heterophile antibodies of infectious mononucleosis. This reactivity was retained after covalent coupling of the antigen to latex particles. The latex reagent has greater stability (greater than 3 years) than either fresh or preserved horse erythrocytes. It can be used in a direct slide test; no absorption of the serum is necessary. The new test compared favorably with some standard tests for infectious mo...
O'Callaghan MW, Goulden BE.This paper describes the distinctive radiographic changes detected in the dorso-caudal lungfields of four racing thoroughbreds recently affected by exercise-induced epistaxis. A diffuse but localized increase in density was seen in all four cases, which demonstrated a variation from a predominantly alveolar density to an interstitial pattern and finally to increased bronchial markings. Evolution of the radiographic pattern of the pulmonary densities appeared to be related to the time that had elapsed since the bleeding incident. The implications of the changing pattern and site of the densitie...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Activity of ivermectin, administered IM at the dosage rate of 200 micrograms/kg of body weight, was evaluated in controlled tests against migrating larvae of Strongylus vulgaris and adult Trichostrongylus axei in experimental infections in 6 ponies raised worm-free. Ponies were given 2,190 or 2,400 infective 3rd-stage larvae of S vulgaris at 7 days before treatment and 22,000 or 22,750 infective 3rd-stage larvae of T axei at 42 or 45 days before treatment. Three ponies were given ivermectin plus vehicle, and 3 ponies were given the vehicle only; the ponies were euthanatized 7 or 9 days after t...
Hoffmann KL, Wood AK, Griffiths KA, Evans DL, Gill RW, Kirby AC.The effects of feeding on blood flow to the equine foot are poorly understood. In a temperature-controlled room, duplex Doppler ultrasonographic observations were made pre- and postprandially of the lateral proper palmar digital artery of 5 horses, randomly assigned to twice and 4 times daily feeding in an unbalanced 2 period crossover design. Arterial diameter and blood velocity were measured over 4 h and additional observations made of heart rate, blood pressure, total plasma protein, packed cell volume, plasma glucose and insulin. There was no effect of the feeding regimen on any variable. ...
Abalaka SE, Audu Z, Kolawole VO, Adeyemo BT, Idoko IS, Okafor ROS, Oyelowo-Abdulraheem FO, Tags SZ, Ogbe AO, Sanni S, Jegede OC, Sani NA, Tenuche OZ....Schistosomiasis is a worldwide snail-borne parasitic infestation of man and animals with acute or chronic phases having devastating sequelae. The present case report focused on post-mortem examination of a cachexic Dongola stallion ( Linnaeus, 1758) in Abuja, Nigeria, that failed to respond to treatment. Typical dense collagenous granulomatous lesions with marked inflammatory responses and fibrosis occurred in the liver and several visceral organs of the horse along with other lesions indicative of systemic collapse. Special Ziehl-Neelsen and Periodic Acid-Schiff staining as well as microbial ...
Wong SS, Ngan AH, Riggs CM, Teng JL, Choi GK, Poon RW, Hui JJ, Low FJ, Luk A, Yuen KY.The newly described brittle tail syndrome causes weakening and breakage of the tail hair of horses. Extensive mycological and molecular studies showed that a novel fungus Equicapillimyces hongkongensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is the most likely cause of this syndrome. It is a septate branching hyaline mould which grows optimally at 30°C, requires nicotinic acid but is inhibited by cycloheximide, and specifically infects horse hair. Hyphae fill the core of infected hair shafts with short-necked structures resembling ascomata containing banana-shaped septate ascospore-like structures perforating th...
Klinkhamer K, Menheere PP, van der Kolk JH.Glucocorticoids are suggested to precipitate laminitis and induce insulin resistance in horses. Objective: To assess insulin sensitivity and the basal amount of glucose metabolized in equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Methods: The euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp (EHC) technique was performed in seven horses with a diagnosis of PPID based on the presence of hypertrichosis and positive dexamethasone suppression-test results comprising one gelding and six mares with a mean age of 21.1 ± 5.8 (SD; range 15-34) years. Results were compared with those from five negative (h...
Kirker-Head CA, Jakob TP.An Arabian mare was referred with traumatically induced complete transection of the trachea. A temporary airway was established through the open wound at the site of the rupture. Resection of devitalized tissue including 3 tracheal ring segments, and anastomosis of the tracheal ends was subsequently performed under general anesthesia. Wound healing was complicated by a peritracheal abscess, which responded successfully to drainage and antibiotic administration.
Kútvölgyi G, Brabender K, Andersson M, Javkhlan A, Nagy S, Páble T, Egerszegi I, Hidas A, Soós I, Kovács A.The case of an 8-year-old, sexually active but infertile Przewalski's stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) was studied. Besides the infertility, the stallion also showed permanent problems with its body condition, being obviously weaker than all the other group members. The horse was kept in a separate place for two years with 12 mares in its harem group (six mares had foals earlier); however, none of the mares covered got pregnant. Andrological and cytogenetic investigations revealed underdeveloped testes, arrested spermatogenesis, azoospermia, and XY/XXY/X0 mosaicism. We classify the case as a...
Knoll U, Strauhs P, Schusser G, Ungemach FR.Olsalazine sodium (Dipentum*) has been used therapeutically against inflammatory bowel disease in human medicine as an alternative to sulphasalazine over the past 20 years. Bacteria in the colon split this prodrug into two molecules of the locally effective 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). Considering the potential therapeutic use in equine colitis, the pharmacokinetics of olsalazine (OLZ) after single oral administration to six horses at a dosage of 30 mg/kg was investigated. Plasma concentrations of OLZ, 5-ASA, and its main metabolite N-acetyl-5-aminosalicylic acid (Ac-5-ASA) were analysed by ...
Spirito S, Campi S, Boquet M, Fernández H, Ferrari M.The aims of this study were to estimate the ability of the Feulgen reaction to identify equine sperm nuclei with different ploidy levels, to determine the frequency of haploid, diploid and polyploid sperm nuclei in the semen of fertile equines and to evaluate the relationship between the nuclear DNA content and the nuclear area. Determination of the ploidy level of Feulgen-stained spermatozoa using a scanning microspectrophotometer was very similar to the subjective estimations made with a light microscope. This indicates that the Feulgen reaction is a simple, inexpensive and reliable techniqu...
Salamone D, Maserati M.Horse cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is an attractive scientific and commercial endeavor. Moreover, SCNT allows generating genetically identical animals from elite, aged, castrated, or deceased equine donors. Several variations in the horse SCNT method have been described, which may be useful for specific applications. This chapter describes a detailed protocol for horse cloning, thus including SCNT protocols using zona pellucida (ZP)-enclosed or ZP-free oocytes for enucleation. These SCNT protocols are under routine use for commercial equine cloning.
Stashak TS.The causes, clinical signs and various approaches to treatment of injuries involving the foot and pastern regions are reviewed, and the prognosis for each type of injury is discussed.
Poradowski D, Chrószcz A.The study consisted of the immunohistochemical analysis of fundic and pyloric mucosa in the equine stomach between the 4th and 11th month of gestation. The accessible material was classified into three age groups using the CRL method. The adult reference group was used to define potential differences between foetal and adult populations of gastric APUD cells. The samples were preserved, prepared, and stained according to the standard protocols. The immunohistochemical reaction was assessed using the semi-quantitative IRS method. The results were documented and statistically analysed. The most ...
Ecot P, Vidament M, de Mornac A, Perigault K, Clément F, Palmer E.In the present study, the interactions among stallions, semen extenders and cooling treatments before stallion semen samples were frozen were studied. In Expt 1, the effects of four cooling treatments and three semen extenders were investigated (11 stallions x four split ejaculates), whereas in Expt 2, the effects of two semen extenders, two egg yolk concentrations and two glycerol concentrations were investigated (six stallions x five split ejaculates). Sperm motility after thawing was evaluated. In Expt 1, the extender x cooling treatment interaction was significant. Centrifugation and addit...
Davies JV, Gerring EL.Motility patterns in the equine small intestine were investigated in eight ponies. Muscular activity was assessed by means of extramural strain gauge transducers, bi-polar electrodes and in three of the animals, fitted with Thiry-Vella loops, the transit of fluid. Circular muscle contractions were preceded by spiking superimposed on the slow wave and fluid transit in the loops correlated with both these events.
Escribano BM, Castejon FM, Santisteban R, Aguera EI, Rubio MD.A study has been made of the variations experienced by the hemogram and blood volume indices in 16 Andalusian horses after carrying out an exercise test of increasing intensity consisting of 3 sequences of 1000 m each, before and after being subjected to a daily exercise programme for two months. Samples were taken by external jugular vein puncture: while at rest, within the first minute of finalizing each exercise stage and at 10 and 15 minutes of recovery. Both the red blood cells and the hematocrit value showed a significant decrease in their mean values after two months training; conversel...
Gilbert RO.Luteolysis with subsequent shortening of diestrus has been reported to follow equine endometrial biopsy performed early in the luteal phase of the estrous cycle, but a comprehensive study of the effect of endometrial biopsy on cycle length at different times of the cycle has not been reported. In this study, endometrial biopsies were obtained from four different pony mares on each of Days 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 after ovulation as determined by serial palpation per rectum. Compared with control cycles in the same mares, the ovulatory interval was shortened in mares from which biopsies were obta...
Chopin JB, Wright JD, Melville L, Robinson WF.This report describes traumatic avulsion of the lateral collateral ligament of the humeroradial joint in a horse. The history and diagnostic procedures are included with relevant radiographs and ultrasonographs. The poor prognosis associated with this injury is due to degenerative joint disease.
