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.
Gulick BA, Liu IK, Qualls CW, Gribble DH, Rogers QR.Plasma amino acid patterns were studied in 6 clinically normal adult horses during the course of hepatic disease induced by feeding them plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. At death, there were significant (P less than 0.01) increases in glutamine, proline, tyrosine, asparagine, lysine, histidine, alanine, phenylalanine, methionine, aspartic acid, and ornithine values. There were no significant changes in glycine, valine, isoleucine tryptophan, and arginine values. There were significant (P less than 0.01) decreases in citrulline. Ammonia increased 4-fold. Alpha-Aminoadipic acid and alp...
Roberts ED, Ochoa R, Haynes PF.Dermal and epidermal laminar lesions were correlated with acute intestinal, primary hepatic, septicemic, chronic laminar, and acute laminar diseases. Horses with acute intestinal disease had edema in the secondary dermal laminae. Those with hepatic disease had increased keratinization of the secondary epidermal laminae. Septicemia caused increased keratin formation in the primary and secondary epidermal laminae. Chronic laminitis caused architectural changes of the epidermal laminae characterized by hyperplasia and keratin formation of the basal epidermal layer. Horses with acute laminitis had...
Button C, Scrutchfield WL, Clark RG, Knauer KW, Schmitz DG.A variety of atrial dysrhythmias including paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, atrial tachycardia with 2nd-grade atrioventricular block, atrial fibrillation, and atrial flutter developed in a 5-year-old Quarter Horse gelding. Quinidine and propranolol were not successful in restoring normal sinus rhythm. Sinus rhythm was re-established during digoxin therapy, but later reverted to atrial dysrhythmia. At necropsy, multiple, discrete pale areas were found on both atria and the interatrial myocardium. Histologic examination of these lesions demonstrated myocytolysis and replacement by fibrous connecti...
Hillman RB, Olar TT, Squires EL, Pickett BW.Stallion semen was collected, using artificial vaginas at 44 to 46, 48 to 50, and 52 to 54 C, to study the effects of temperature on seminal quality and sexual behavior. The temperature of the artificial vagina had no significant effect on motility, gel volume, gel-free seminal volume, total seminal volume, pH, number of mounts per ejaculate, total time to ejaculation, or seminal temperature. Spermatozoa were collected, then exposed to water-bath temperatures of 38, 45, 49, or 53 C for 1 minute. Mean motility was similar after exposure to temperatures of 38 or 45 C, but exposure to temperature...
Owen RR.Physiologic features of the equine diarthrodial joint and the effects of intra-articular corticosteroid therapy were investigated. It was concluded that intra-articular injection of corticosteroids may be beneficial when lesions are confined to soft tissues of the joint, excluding injuries involving joint laxity. Rest following therapy is important.
Fillion G, Beaudoin D, Rousselle JC, Jacob J.Glial cell membrane fractions were prepared using glial cells preparations isolated from horse brain striatum. [3H]5-HT binding was measured by the filtration technique and the adenylate cyclase activity determined by measuring the cAMP production using a radioimmunoassay. Serotonin binds to glial membrane fractions with an affinity corresponding to a dissociation constant Kd = nM. The corresponding site is serotoninergic specific: [3H]5-HT binding is inhibited by 5-HT agonists (5 OH NM-DMT, 5-MeOHT, 5-MeOH-DMT, NN-DMT) or antagonists (cinanserine, cyproheptadine, methysergide, LSD) and not (o...
Mason TA.A case of bicipital bursitis in a six-year-old mare is described. The horse was presented with acute lameness, pyrexia and hot swelling over the right shoulder region. Although antibiotic treatment relieved these signs, a firm cold swelling remained which had to be removed by surgical resection and drainage.
Pandey VS.The lungs and livers of 429 adult donkeys from different parts of Morocco were examined for hydatid cysts; 4·2% of lungs were infected and 2·1% of livers. Most of the cysts were small and had very hard thick walls; 61% of the donkeys had only one hydatid cyst; 78·5% of them were sterile and 29% caseated or calcified.
Dodman NH.Drugs and drug combinations currently in use for chemical restraint of the horse are discussed with a view to establishing their likely usefulness to the practising veterinary surgeon. Acepromazine maleate and xylazine hydrochloride are considered to be the most useful tranquillisers in spite of their limitations. A xylazine-methadone sequence is described for more profound chemical restraint and the possible future role of ketamine and glyceryl guaiacolate in combination with other agents to produce recumbency is discussed.
Deem DA, Harrington DD.A 15 month-old Quarter Horse colt developed severe bacterial pneumonia and effusive pleuritis. A beta-hemolytic streptococcus was isolated from a tracheal wash specimen but the colt died despite conventional therapy. The gross post mortem and histologic lesions were characteristic of pulmonary nocardiosis. Nocardia brasiliensis was isolated from the lung and bronchial lymph node.
Conner ME, Darlington RW.Fecal samples from 86 foals with diarrhea were examined by electron microscopy during a 2.5 year period. Of these, 26 (30%) were positive for rotavirus. All of the cases were found in epizootic areas. The disease was produced in an experimental foal by inoculation via stomach tube of a bacteria-free fecal filtrate containing rotavirus. Examination of postmortem tissues from the duodenum and jejunum of 2 naturally infected foals and an experimentally infected foal revealed replicating virus in the intestinal epithelial cells. A limited survey of complement-fixing antibody to rotavirus in horses...
Pemberton DH, Thomas KW, Terry MJ.The prevalence of hypogammaglobulinaemia in 82 young foals was determined. Twelve foals were considered clinically abnormal at birth and ten died within two weeks. All of these foals were hypogammaglobulinaemic. Seven (10%) of the other 70 apparently normal foals were hypogammaglobulinaemic despite having suckled normally. Three of these foals developed significant disease and one died at one month of age. Rapid detection of foals with low serum immunoglobulin levels was achieved by adapting the zinc sulphate turbidity test to partially evacuated blood collection tubes. This permitted test to ...
Wingfield WE, Miller CW, Voss JL, Bennett DG, Breukels J.Echocardiography is a non-invasive, safe means of assessing intracardiac structures and their motion. In the normal motion of the mitral valve there is anterior motion noted during atrial systole. In 3 horses with atrial fibrillation the mitral valve motion had no anterior motion to correspond with atrial contractions. Quinidine returned the electrocardiogram of one horse to a sinus rhythm after which echocardiography demonstrated the reappearance of the anterior motion of the mitral valve.
Gleeson LJ, Coggins L.Twenty-one pregnant mares were inoculated with EHV1. Nineteen became infected as evidenced by clinical signs and/or viremia but only one mare aborted a virus-infected fetus. The viremias were leukocyte-associated and appeared to be non-productive, latent infections of these cells. Infectivity, detectable by cocultivation, persisted in the circulating leukocytes for as long as 9 days without resulting in abortion. The data suggest that it is extremely difficult to evaluate the efficacy of vaccines in preventing EHV1 (Rhinopneumonitis) abortion due to the paucity of non-exposed mares, lack of te...
Merkens HW.In view of the beneficial effect of Dermazellon on the healing of wounds healing poorly, reported in human patients, a number of wounds caused by wire in horses were treated with Dermazellon. Dermazellon gel was readily applicable and produced satisfactory results.
Benson TJ, Nerem RM, Pedley TJ.Time dependent wall shear rates cannot be directly or accurately measured in arteries using presently available techniques. Here a simple method is presented for calculating them from a single measured velocity waveform (either centreline or cross-sectionally averaged velocity). The method involves only Fourier analysis and the application of given formulae, and it is expected to be approximately valid in any segment of artery which has no branches or sharp curves for a distance of several diameters. It is shown, however, that a frequency response of 30 Hz is required in the velocity measuring...
Moore BR, Reed SM, Kowalski JJ, Bertone JJ.A National Show Horse with a mediastinal granuloma was presented with clinical signs which included fever, nasal discharge and cough. The mediastinal mass was identified radiographically and ultrasonographically. A presumptive diagnosis of aspergillosis was made following isolation of Aspergillus spp. from both transtracheal aspirate and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) identification of serum antibody to Aspergillus spp. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathologic examination of the mediastinal mass obtained at necropsy examination.
Hadlow WJ, Ward JK, Krinsky WL.Acute neurologic disease associated with intracranial migration of a first instar larva of a warble fly, Hypoderma bovis (Linnaeus), was observed in a 14-year-old Quarter Horse gelding in western Montana. The disease was characterized by incoordination of gait, circling to the left, head tilt to the right, partial paralysis of the right side of the face, and impaired vision in the right eye. Two and one-half hours after it was first noticed sick, the horse collapsed and was euthanized. Massive hemorrhage unaccompanied by necrosis or significant cellular response was present in the right side o...
Motton DD, Roser JF.Recent evidence in our laboratory suggests that the cause of idiopathic subfertility/infertility in breeding stallions may originate in the testes at the luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor or postreceptor level. The objective of this research was to determine if LH receptor binding activity is altered in subfertile and infertile stallions. Six fertile, three subfertile, and three infertile stallions, ages 11-23 years, were classified according to normal semen parameters and pregnancy rates and then castrated in the breeding season. Blood was collected prior to castration, and plasma was stored ...
Hurtgen JP, Ganjam VK.Endometrial biopsy or endometrial biopsy and uterine culture taken on Day 4 after oestrus induced lysis of the corpus luteum (CL), resulting in a sharp decline in serum progesterone concentration and shortened the interoestrous interval in 8/12 and 32/33 oestrous cycles, respectively, during 2 experiments. Cervical dilatation 4 days after oestrus shortened the interoestrus interval in 5/10 and 0/5 oestrous cycles. Endometrial biopsy and culture on Days 1 and 3 after oestrus also induced CL lysis during 4 of 7 cycles. Total oestrogen (oestrone plus oestradiol) concentrations increased at the on...
Gummow B, Herr S, Brett OL.A microtitration serum agglutination test, based on that used for brucellosis, has been developed to detect antibodies in the sera of horses exposed to the contagious equine metritis (CEM) organism. Two known positive sera were tested 100 times in 15 separate tests. The results were reproducible to within a twofold range. The test is capable of being carried out within 100 min.
Smanik LE, Stefanovski D, Reilly PT, Richardson DW.Type II distal phalanx (P3) fractures are a well-described cause of lameness in horses. Reports on outcome following internal fixation of type II P3 fractures are lacking, and with little emphasis on complications. Objective: To describe a technique for internal fixation of type II P3 fractures, and evaluate whether specific variables influenced post-operative complications or a horse's ability to return to work. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records of 51 horses with CT-guided internal fixation of type II P3 fractures were reviewed. Outcome data were acquired from race ...
Dodman NH, Lehr JL, Spaulding GL, Gavriely N.Three sheep, a foal, a pony, and a calf were anesthetized and ventilated for short periods, using a high-frequency oscillatory ventilator. The efficiency of CO2 elimination was characterized at various oscillatory frequencies (50 to 30 Hz) and various tidal volumes, although the tidal volume used was always less than the measured dead space of the animal. In general, increasing either the oscillatory frequency or tidal volume increased CO2 elimination, but increasing the tidal volume had more effect. The relationship between these 3 variables was best described by a power law equation. Ventila...
Luiz MA, Senna D, Padilha FGF, Nogueira WA, Fonseca AB, de Mello MFV, Ferreira AMR.The aim of this study was to perform linear measurements and assess morphometric indices of equines of the Pantanal race of different ages in the municipality of Poconé-Mato Grosso. Fifty-seven clinically healthy male and female horses between 1 and 19 years of age were selected and divided into groups by sex: 41 animals males and 17 animals femeles, and age groups: group 1 (nine animals up to 12 months of age), group 2 (eight animals from 12 to 24 months), group 3 (15 animals from 24 to 48 months), and group 4 (27 animals older than 48 months). With the aid of a hypometer, the following...
Yovich JV, Aanes WA.A fracture of the caudal portion of the greater tubercle of the humerus was diagnosed in a 16-month-old Thoroughbred filly. Initially the fracture caused severe lameness. Radiography of the affected shoulder revealed the fracture fragment to be extra-articular, with a surrounding bony callus and no evidence of joint disease. After 5 weeks rest in a stall and 11 months at pasture, the filly was trained and raced without lameness.