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.
Mollenhauer HH, Rowe LD, Cysewski SJ, Witzel DA.Ultrastructural studies were made of myocardium, diaphragm, appendicular muscle, liver, and kidney of 3 ponies acutely poisoned with a single oral dose of monensin (4 mg/kg of body weight). These ponies developed severe signs of toxicosis and were killed 28 to 72 hours after treatment. Severe mitochondrial damage (swelling) and lipoidosis in myocardial tissues were observed in 2 of the 3 ponies; similar, but less severe, changes were observed in the 3rd pony. The hepatocytes of the 3 ponies were characterized by increased amounts of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, large numbers of lipid droplets...
Fulka J, Okolski A.Oocytes were removed from follicles 5-30 mm in diameter. The germinal vesicle was present in 69.6% (23/33) of the oocytes at the start of culture, but after 20-24 and 40 h 70.5% (12/17) and 68.2% (43/63) of the oocytes were in metaphase I and metaphase II with first polar body extruded, respectively.
Ladds PW, Thomas AD, Pott B.A case of acute meningoencephalomyelitis caused by infection with Pseudomonas pseudomallei is described. Clinically there was inability to stand, opisthotonus, facial paralysis and nystagmus, rapidly progressing to violent struggling. Gross examination revealed malacia and haemorrhage in the medulla oblongata and adjacent spinal cord. Microscopically there were disseminated focal neutrophilic accumulations in affected areas, perivascular cuffing with mononuclear cells and lymphocytes and marked oedema. Intracellular bacteria were identified in sections stained by the Giemsa method.
Sahu SP.Pony mares were vaccinated with killed contagious equine metritis (CEM) bacteria by IV, subcutaneous, and intrauterine (IU) routes (or a combination of these routes). The serum agglutinating antibody titer varied from 1:64 to 1:1,024 after vaccination. In pony mares challenge exposed with 96-hour-old culture of CEM bacteria given by IU route, there were clinical signs of CEM, but these signs were less severe in vaccinated mares than in nonvaccinated mares. The bacterium was isolated for the exudate and from uterine samples collected from the mares after challenge exposure. A low titer of IU an...
Hussein KS, Jones BE.Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was determined in whole blood from cows, goats and horses using cumenehydroperoxide as substrate. Heparin was found to be the most suitable anticoagulant. The highest activities of GSH-Px were found with high concentrations of heparin in the blood samples (1000 and 1250 IU/ml of blood). Sodium fluoride and especially EDTA and sodium citrate gave lower activities of the enzyme. Storage of the blood samples at room temperature (~20°C) or in a refrigerator (~5°C) for 3 days resulted in significantly lower activities of the enzyme, especially in horse blood. Gluta...
Roberts MC, O'Boyle DA.Over a 3-year period, 1178 faecal samples were cultured from 462 horses admitted to the equine clinic of the University of Queensland; 185 samples were positive for salmonella yielding 213 isolations consisting of 21 serotypes. S. anatum was the predominant serotype isolated (54%) followed by S. ohio (11.27%) and S. typhimurium (9.4%). One hundred and ten horses (23.81%) were positive on one or more occasion, and 42 (9.09%) on more than one occasion. S. anatum was the most common serotype isolated (71.43%) from the main drains in the stable block (33.57% positive samples). The prevalence of sa...
Grădinaru DA, Stirbu C, Păltineanu D, Mironescu D, Manolescu N.The Wyoming strain of equine infectious anemia virus was adapted to cell cultures by 7 passages in horse leukocytes and 14 passages in fetal equine dermal and kidney cells. The virus was made evident by electron microscopy and immunodiffusion tests with antigens prepared from culture fluids.
Hwang YC, Held JP.A preliminary study using various acupuncture techniques to modify behavior of untamed ponies was attempted. In five of the seven tested parameters, the animals's behavioral responses were unaffected by acupuncture treatments. However, substantial improvement of general behavior of the nervous ponies was observed in animals treated with jaw and scutiform points. The results are not conclusive and further testing of acupuncture as a mean of modifying animal behavior is desirable.
Baker JR, Ellis CE.The causes of death recorded in 480 consecutive post mortem examinations of horses performed at the department of pathology, Veterinary Field Station, University of Liverpool, between February 1958 and February 1980, are reported. The alimentary, locomotor and nervous systems were those most frequently diseased. The most common specific entities were those associated with grass sickness, fractures and endoparasitism.
Pecheur M.A number of good anthelmintic drugs are currently available which eliminate gastrointestinal nematodes of equids with over 90% success. This is shown by comparing results of critical tests conducted with 9 anthelmintic agents on ponies using the following dosages: 19 mg/kg for Pyrantel embonate, 10 mg/kg for Oxfendazole, 10 mg/kg for Mebendazole, 5 mg/kg for Albendazole, 40 mg/kg for Dichlorvos, 44 mg/kg for Thiabendazole, 7.5 mg/kg, for Fenbendazole, 20 mg/kg for Cambendazole and 7 mg/kg for Parbendazole. From 6 to 9 ponies were treated with each of these anthelmintic agents. Based on total a...
Rose RJ.In this article a physiological approach to fluid therapy is discussed, commencing with examination of fluid distribution in the normal horse. The functions of individual plasma electrolyte concentrations are considered and practical causes of acid-base disturbances discussed. When fluid administration is necessary, selection of the route for fluid administration as well as the type of fluid are important considerations and these must be adjusted to the needs of the individual case. Balanced polyionic solutions appear to be most suitable for general use because normal saline can produce hypoka...
Baker JR, Ellis CE.Disease processes not directly related to the cause of death recorded in 480 consecutive post mortem examinations of horses performed at the department of pathology, Veterinary Field Station, University of Liverpool, between February 1958 and February 1980 are reported. The alimentary, cardiovascular, respiratory and locomotor systems were those most frequently diseased. The most common specific entities were those associated with endoparasitism and its associated vascular lesions, pneumonia and fractures.
Gilmour JS, Brown R, Johnson P.In an attempt to compare the equine grass sickness as reported in Europe with that described in the Republic of Colombia, sera from horses experiencing grass sickness in Scotland were used in neutralisation tests with Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin. The sera, from acute and chronic cases of the disease, failed to neutralise either crude or partially-purified enterotoxin. Neither were precipitin lines formed when the sera were treated against the toxin in immunoelectrophoresis. These results suggest that grass sickness in Europe and the equine disease in Colombia have a different ae...
Garma-Aviña A, Valli VE, Lumsden JH.Four cases of equine congenital cutaneous papillomatosis were found during a review of 555 cutaneous tumours received at the pathology department, Ontario Veterinary College, during a 10-year period. A fifth case received after that period was also included. Two of the tumours were found in Thoroughbreds, one in a Standardbred, one in an Arabian and in one case the breed was not specified. The anatomical locations were the rib cage, head, hind leg and 2 on the forehead.
Robertson JT, Muir WW, Sams R.The cardiopulmonary and behavioral effects of butorphanol were evaluated in pain-free adult horses. Butorphanol tartrate was administered IV in doses of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/kg to the same horses on 3 separate occasions. There were no significant (P less than 0.05) changes in heart rate, mean and diastolic arterial pressure, mean and diastolic pulmonary arterial blood pressure, or cardiac output recorded in the horses given these doses. Systolic arterial blood pressure was significantly (P less than 0.05) increased in only the horses given the 0.2 mg/kg dose. Significant (P greater than 0.05) ...
Caporale VP, Biancifiori F, Frescura F, Di Matteo A, Nannini D, Urbani G.Comparative tests such as FAT, ELISA, RIA, IEO and CF in the diagnosis of dourine in the horse have proved a satisfactory concordance ratio of the ELISA with CF, which seems to be the most reliable test. Discrepancies have been observed as to the other tests which appear less sensitive than CF test.
Sentsui H, Kono Y.Six strains of equine infectious anemia (EIA) virus propagated in equine leukocyte cultures were found to agglutinate horse erythrocytes. Concentrated virus material containing about 20 units of complement fixation (CF) titer showed hemagglutinating (HA) titers ranging from 4 to 8 units. The HA activity remained stable after ether treatment and was reduced by trypsin, formaldehyde and KIO4. Cesium chloride equilibrium density gradient centrifugation revealed two populations of hemagglutinin, one in the density range of 1.15-1.16 g/ml coinciding with a peak of CF antigen and the other at round ...
Love DN, Rose RJ, Martin IC, Bailey M.Amoxycillin trihydrate was administered orally to 6 foals at dose rates of 13 mg/kg (low), 20 mg/kg (medium) and 30 mg/kg (high) and serum concentrations determined at intervals up to 8 h. Therapeutic serum levels of 1 microgram/ml persisted for 268 mins at a dose rate of 13 mg/kg, for 339 mins at 20 mg/kg and for 381 mins at 30 mg/kg. A 2 micrograms/ml serum level persisted for 198 mins at a dose rate of 13 mg/kg, for 268 mins at 20 mg/kg and for 311 mins at 30 mg/kg. To determine the spectra of its antibacterial activity, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of amoxycillin against 8 genera ...
Reuber MD.Dichlorvos, 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, an organophosphate insecticide, is widely used for the control of agricultural, industrial, and domestic pests (Fig. 1) [1]. Dichlorvos is administered orally as an anthelmintic to swine, horses, cats, and dogs. It is applied by dermal application to cattle, goats, sheep, swine, and chickens to control fleas, flies, and mites. Cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, and tomatoes are treated with dichlorvos in greenhouses. Aerosols and strips are used for the control of ants, bedbugs, ticks, cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, silverfish, spiders, and wasps. ...
Joyner LP, Donnelly J, Huck RA.The results of complement fixation (CF) test for equine piroplasmosis on sera from horses destined for international movement from Great Britain and Ireland are presented and analysed. No horses born and continuously resident in the British Isles were found carrying CF antibodies to either Babesia equi or B caballi. Positive animals were found to have association with the following countries where known tick vectors occur: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, Poland, USSR and Arabian Gulf countries. Data on the persistence of CF antibodies in animals subjected to repeated testing showed that some...
Klugh DO.A 5-month-old quarter horse filly was presented for evaluation of a congenital overbite. The horse was diagnosed with a class 2 malocclusion. A non-removable, acrylic bite plane was constructed to provide a surface for the occlusal forces to be directed in a manner maintaining the normal anatomic position of the premaxilla. The preservation of normal anatomic relationships provided free range of motion of the mandible and maximized its growth potential, limiting the malocclusion. Although normal occlusion was not attained, partial incisor occlusion was present 20-months following initial treat...
Ferrer MS, Canisso IF, Podico G, Ellerbrock RE, Hurley DJ, Palomares R.Different stallions exhibit a high level of variation in the ability of their sperm to survive cryopreservation. A large fraction of stallions show poor post-thaw sperm motility, and their semen is not suitable for commercial freezing. In this study, we hypothesized that the presence of sperm-bound antisperm antibodies (ASAs) was associated with poor cryosurvival of stallion sperm. Our objective was to assess the level of ASA binding to stallion sperm, and determine if it was associated with good or poor sperm cryosurvival. In Experiment 1, cooled shipped semen from 27 stallions was frozen usi...
Lee J, Shin D, Kim H.Thoroughbred horses have been bred exclusively for racing in England for a long time. Additionally, because horse racing is a global sport, a healthy leisure activity for ordinary citizens, and a high-value business, systematic racehorse breeding at the population level is a requirement for continuous industrial development. Therefore, we established genomic evaluation system (using prize money as horse racing traits) to produce spirited, agile, and strong racing horse population. Methods: We used phenotypic data from 25,061 Thoroughbred horses (all registered individuals in Korea) that compet...
Hackett ES, Bruemmer J, Hendrickson DA, McCue PM.Description-An 11-year-old Quarter Horse stallion was admitted for intermittent hemospermia of 4 years' duration. Results: A linear vertical defect had been detected endoscopically following multiple episodes of hemospermia on the caudodorsal convex surface of the urethra at the level of the ischial arch. Results: When sexual rest alone did not result in complete healing of the urethral defect, a subischial urethrotomy and buccal mucosal urethroplasty were performed. The surgical site healed without complication. Four months of sexual rest was recommended after surgery. Repeat endoscopy at 4 m...
Warnock WR, Marsh CA, Hand DR.The purpose of this study was to report long-term outcome following arthroscopic debridement of articular cartilage lesions of the distal interphalangeal joint, diagnosed with high-field magnetic resonance imaging. Diagnosis was based on the results of diagnostic anesthesia, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and arthroscopy. Ten horses underwent arthroscopic evaluation for cartilage injury and received various intra-articular therapies after surgery. Three of ten horses had lesions that were surgically inaccessible. Four horses became sound and returned to their preoperative level of athletici...
Pruett HE, Thompson DL, Cartmill JA, Williams CC, Gentry LR.Light horse mares, stallions, and geldings were used to 1) extend our observations on the thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) inhibition of GH secretion in response to physiologic stimuli and 2) test the hypothesis that stimulation of endogenous TRH would decrease the normal rate of GH secretion. In Exp. 1 and 2, pretreatment of mares with TRH (10 microg/kg BW) decreased (P < 0.001) the GH response to exercise and aspartate infusion. Time analysis in Exp. 3 indicated that the TRH inhibition lasted at least 60 min but was absent by 120 min. Administration of a single injection of TRH to stal...
Hughes KJ, Rendle DI, Higgins S, Barron R, Cowling A, Love S, Durham AE.Delays between collection and laboratory analysis of equine body fluid samples are common in practice; however, the effects of delays on the accuracy of results and diagnostic interpretation are unknown. Objective: To assess the effects of storage time and temperature combination on protein and cell parameters of equine synovial and mesothelial cavity fluids and determine whether any changes affect clinicopathological interpretation. Methods: In vitro experiment. Methods: Body fluid samples obtained from horses during diagnostic investigation were divided into 7 aliquots and total protein conc...
Tennent-Brown BS, Morrice AV, Reed S.Neonatal encephalopathy is the most common neurologic condition affecting newborn foals and shares similarities with perinatal asphyxia syndrome of human infants. In many cases of neonatal encephalopathy there is no obvious episode of acute or chronic hypoxia and other mechanisms likely play a role in the pathogenesis. Increased concentrations of neuroactive progestagens are found in affected foals; whether these molecules are protective, as has been suggested, or play a role in the pathogenesis is unknown. Neurologic diseases other than neonatal encephalopathy affect foals occasionally and sh...
Caston SS, Reinertson EL.Musculoskeletal disorders comprise a large portion of the conditions treated by equine veterinarians. Surgical intervention is the treatment of choice in many cases. The body of literature describing and exploring surgical correction of musculoskeletal disorders in horses is steadily growing but still lacking. At this juncture, we can use what information we have with the understanding that as the quality of research advances, we should apply stricter standards to the evidence we use to answer our clinical questions.
Bester RC, Coetzer JA.A case of granulomatous enteritis in a 2 year-old Thoroughbred colt is reported. Clinically the horse showed chronic wasting and subcutaneous oedema of the ventral parts of the body and legs. Grossly the wall of the jejunum and ileum was uniformly thickened. Microscopically the lamina propria, submucosa and the tunica muscalaris of the small intestine were infiltrated with lymphocytes, plasma cells, epithelioid cells and occasional multinucleated giant cells. The granulomatous reaction was most marked in the muscular layers of the gut wall.
Braun J, Torres-Boggino F, Hochi S, Oguri N.The objective of this experiment was to examine the effect of seminal plasma on motion characteristics of epididymal and ejaculated equine spermatozoa during storage at 5 degrees C. Epididymal spermatozoa were flushed with either seminal plasma or a skim milk-glucose extender. Ejaculated spermatozoa were collected with extender added 10 minutes after semen collection and addition of extender during ejaculation by placing 50 ml extender in the collection bottle. Semen samples were centrifuged and resuspended with a skim milk-glucose extender containing seminal plasma (0, 5 and 25%; v/v), prepar...
Kane-Smyth J, Taylor SE, García EC, Reardon RJ.To evaluate the frequency of inadvertent penetration of the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) and/or distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) when using a direct endoscopic approach to the navicular bursa, and to evaluate an alternate direct approach to the navicular bursa. Methods: Cadaveric study. Methods: Equine cadaver limbs (n = 40 for direct; n = 12 for alternate approach). Methods: Four surgeons performed the direct endoscopic approach to the navicular bursa on 10 limbs each. Frequencies of inadvertent synovial penetration and iatrogenic damage were compared between surgeons. Use of an alt...
Chesnel MA, Aprea F, Clutton RE.A traumatic pneumothorax and severe hemorrhage were present in a mare with a large thoracic wall defect, lung perforation, and multiple rib fractures. General anesthesia was induced to allow surgical exploration. We describe the anesthetic technique, and discuss the management of the ventilatory, hemodynamic, and metabolic disturbances encountered. Gestion de l’anesthésie générale d’un cheval avec un pneumothorax d’origine traumatique. Nous décrivons le cas d’une jument présentée avec un important déficit de la paroi thoracique d’origine traumatique, une perforation pulmonaire...
Reeves MJ, Trotter GW.A 14-year-old Quarter Horse x Thoroughbred gelding was admitted to the teaching hospital because of inability to bear weight on its right hind limb, associated with a severe deviation of the tarsus. The provisional diagnosis was tarsal joint luxation or fracture. Radiography revealed complete luxation of the tarsocrural joint. The luxation was reduced, using minimal force. The horse was confined to a box stall and was maintained in a full-length hind-limb cast for 33 days. Box stall confinement was continued for 3 months after removal of the cast. On reexamination 18 months after the injury, t...
Kutter AP, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R, Schwarzwald CC, Portier KG, Ringer SK.To evaluate the non-calibrated, minimally invasive cardiac output (CO) monitor FloTrac/Vigileo (FloTrac) against thermodilution (TD) CO in standing horses. Methods: Prospective, experimental trial. Methods: Nine adult horses weighing a median (range) of 535 (470-602) kg. Methods: Catheters were placed in the right atrium, pulmonary artery and carotid artery under local anaesthesia. CO was measured 147 times by TD and FloTrac and indexed to body weight. Changes in CO were achieved with romifidine or xylazine and dobutamine constant rate infusions. Bland-Altman analysis, concordance and polar pl...
Lode A, Bernhardt A, Kroonen K, Springer M, Briest A, Gelinsky M.The application of bone graft substitutes with osteoinductive properties is of high importance for the repair of large bone defects. COLLOSS E, a protein lyophilizate extracted from equine long bones, exhibits an osteoinductive potential which has been proven in several studies. In this work, a mechanically stable, but biodegradable support for COLLOSS E has been developed aiming at a bone graft substitute that retains shape and size when coming in contact with body fluids. Mineralization of collagen type I, isolated from horse tendon, resulted in a stable collagen hydroxyapatite nanocomposite...
Laan TT, Spoorenberg JF, van der Kolk JH.Intake of Rumex, a plant genus of the Polygonaceae family, probably led through the assimilation of oxalic acid, to hypocalcaemia in a four-week old foal. This foal was presented with muscle rigidity and a stiff gait. Both the total and ionized calcium concentrations were low, 1.38 mmol/l and 0.54 mmol/l respectively. The foal was treated with a total of 150 ml of a 20% calcium solution IV. The foals neuromuscular signs resolved within a few hours after receiving calcium solution.
