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.
Frost GE, du Preez HR.A 3 year old thoroughbred colt in full training pulled up
acutely lame during a training gallop on a dirt track.
According to the trainer no reason for the injury was
evident. The horse refused to bear weight on the leg
and when forced to walk back to the stables it would
only touch the affected toe to the ground. The fetlock
soon became swollen and was very painful. The trainer
treated the animal for a sprain with ice packs and
bandages. No improvement occurred in 72 hours and
veterinary advice was sought.
Examination revealed the horse to be in obvious
pain. He was unable to bear ...
Hughes JP, Trommershausen-Smith A.Reproductive failure was studied in 12 phenotypically normal mares (9 Arabian, 3 Quarter horses, 1 Appaloosa and 1 pony). Karyotyping was performed using lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood by density gradient procedures, followed by standard culture methods for karyotyping. Nine mares had karyotypes of 63,XO; 1 had 63,XO/64,XX; 1 had 63,XO/64,XY and 1 had 64,XY. All mares had small, firm ovaries that when removed and examined from 4 mares, lacked germ cells and consisted of undifferentiated ovarian stroma.
McMullan WC, Joyce JR, Hanselka DV, Heitmann JM.Amphotericin B was used systemically or locally, or both, in the treatment of localized subcutaneous phycomycosis in horses. In 8 of 10 cases, the results were satisfactory. Intravenous treatment was well tolerated at an average starting daily dosage of 0.38 mg/kg, increasing up to as high as 1.47 mg/kg. It was concluded that the ideal treatment regimen would include early surgical removal of the lesion followed by daily intravenous and topical administration of amphotericin B, with periodic extirpation of small necrotic tracts as necessary.
Burrows R, Spooner PR, Goodridge D.Ponies held in isolation for 40 months were vaccinated and revaccinated with four commercial equine influenza vaccines. Little or no HI antibody was detected after the first inoculation; second and subsequent annual revaccinations produced peak HI antibody titres between 7 and 14 days. Titres fell quickly between 14 and 28 days and less quickly thereafter. The decline of HI antibody appeared to be related more to the initial titre attained and to the period after vaccination than to the composition of the vaccine. The response to a first annual revaccination was superior to that produced by a ...
Hilbert BJ, Farrell RK, Grant BD.Squamous cell carcinoma around the eyes of 3 horses was treated with liquid nitrogen, using cryotherapy probes as the method of application. In 2 cases, there was complete regression of the tumor; in the 3rd case, remission and relief of discomfort were temporary.
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.In 1 experiment, a prepatent period of 8 or 9 days was recorded for Strongyloides westeri in 4 pony foals raised worm-free but infected with parasitic 3rd stage larvae in the postpartum milk of a mare via gastric intubation. This is about 2 to 6 days less than the usual age that eggs of S westeri appear in the feces of naturally infected suckling foals, in central Kentucky.
In other studies, mares were treated with cambendazole or thiabendazole at 0 to 2 days after parturition and continued for 7 to 16 days. Appearance of S westeri eggs in feces of foals nursing treated mares was prevented ...
Jackson TA, Osburn BI, Cordy DR, Kendrick JW.Experimental infection with equine herpesvirus 1 (rhinopneumonitis) resulted in neurologic disease in 8 of 15 inoculated horses. Nonpregnant animals did not develop clinical disease, and microscopic examination of tissues revealed no changes. In all mares between 3 and 9 months of gestation, a neurologic syndrome appeared 6 to 8 days after inoculation. Mares inoculated when 10 months pregnant did not develop neurologic disorders, but several aborted. The histopathologic change common to both sequelae was vasculitis, involving smaller arteries and veins. Although blood vessel changes were detec...
Dubey JP, Streitel RH, Stromberg PC, Toussant MJ.Hearts, diaphragms, esophagi, and spinal cords from 266 horses were obtained at slaughter in Creston, Ohio. Tissues were examined microscopically for Sarcocystis in sections, digested in trypsin to obtain bradyzoites, and fed to 10 dogs and 10 cats. Intramuscular cysts were found in selections of two hearts from 57 horses and four esophagi from 107 horses. The cysts were up to 900 micron long and up to 70 micron wide. The cyst wall was 1 to 2 micron thick and cross-striated. The enclosed bradyzoites were banana-shaped, 15 to 20 by 20 to 3 micron, and contained several PAS-positive granules. Br...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC.Thirteen critical tests were conducted in horses naturally infected with helminths and bots. Single doses of thiabendazole (44 mg/kg of body weight) and trichlorfon (40 mg/kg of body weight) powder formulations were administered as suspensions sequentially given via stomach tube to evaluate the efficacy of the combination against the large parasites of horses. Parasite removal efficacies were 100% against 2nd instar Gasterophilus intestinalis and 2nd and 3rd instar Gasterophilus nasalis and 82 to 100% against 3rd instar G intestinals. There were complete removals of mature and immature Parasca...
Lee CG, Ross AD.Klossiella equi in the kidney of a horse is described. Gametocytic and sporogonic stages were observed in the epithelium of the collecting tubules in association with schizonts in the glomeruli and proximal convoluted tubules. The condition was asymptomatic and caused only minor renal damage and inflammation.
Powell DG, Burrows R, Spooner P, Mumford J, Thomson G.The observations reported in this paper were obtained as part of a long term surveillance programme designed to monitor the efficacy of influenza vaccines and study the prevalence of influenza and other respiratory viruses among horses in Britain. Inactivated influenza vaccines were found to be effective in protecting horses from disease caused by influenza A/equine-1 but were less successful in protecting horses against influenza A/equine-2. The paper presents the clinical, epidemiological virological and serological findings obtained between 1971 and 1976.
Teruya JM, Santa Rosa CA, Giorgi W, Yanaguita RM.A serological examination was carried out for L. monocytogenes antibodies on 9,318 domestic animal--7,809 bovine, 838 horses and 671 swine--in São Paulo, Brazil. Serum agglutination in tubes was the method used. Only somatic antigens from serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4a and 4b were employed. It was considered reagent all sera reacting in a titer 1/20 while as positive only sera with 1/320 or above. According this criteria the results showed showed that in cattle 17.8% were reagent but only 8 sera were positive for types 1, 2 and 4b. Only type 1 was found in horses in a rate of 22.7% reagent, and 11 pos...
Thomson GR, Mumford JA, Spooner PR, Burrows R, Powell DG.Equine influenza type 2 infections occurred in the Newmarket areas in January 1976. The disease did not spread to any extent and while this may have been due to recent vaccination it was found that not all vaccinated horses were fully protected. The virus involved showed some antigenic drift from the prototype strain A/equine/Miami/1/63 (Heq 2 Neq 2).
Chapman DI, Whiteside J.A radioimmunoassay method has been developed that enables the administration of therapeutic doses of synthetic corticosteroids to be detected in horse urine. Fourteen proprietary preparations of these steroids have been given by intramuscular injection to ponies and thoroughbreds. The administration of some preperations could still be detected six days after a single intramuscular injection of a therapeutic dose. The route of injection of dexamethasone-21-sodium phosphate, whether intramuscular, intravenous or intra-articular, did not appear to alter the length of time over which the steroid o...
Sanders RK, Martyn B, Joseph R, Peacock ML.In a two-year study of 322 conservatively treated, consecutive cases of tetanus in a rural hospital (all over twelve months old), intrathecal administration of 200 units of antitetanus serum (A.T.S.) (horse) reduced the overall mortality of 4-5% (5/110) compared with 14-5% (16/111) in the control series. 200 units intrathecal A.T.S. (horse) gave better results than 1500 units A.T.S. (horse). The results with lumbar and cisternal administration did not differ. It is suggested that tetanus is a polysystemic condition requiring polysystemic therapy. A regimen in which intrathecal A.T.S. is given ...
Walker D.Rectal examination is a reliable method of diagnosing pregnancy in the mare. Also, test kits are available for the simple quick detection of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin. Nevertheless there is a considerable demand by practitioners for an independent laboratory service in equine pregnancy diagnosis, particularly during the gestational phase when placental gonadotrophin is concentrated in the blood. An initial attempt to provide a service by means of the agar gel diffusion test was disappointing and alternatives were sought. The primary requirements for an ideal alternative technique were ...
Kolm G, Gemeiner M, Deichsel K, Budik S, Aurich J, Aurich C.The failure of clearance mechanisms in the mare's uterus results in persistent inflammation and is considered a major cause of subfertility. Eighteen mares, of which three were susceptible to endometritis and four had been ovariectomised, underwent charcoal clearance testing to evaluate their clearance mechanisms. This consisted of installing 500 mg of charcoal (particle size 4 to 90 microm) added to 50 ml of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) into the uterus. Forty-eight hours later the uterus was flushed out with 0.0012 per cent methylene blue in 50 ml of PBS for determination of the diluting f...
Lambertini C, Bombardi C, Zannoni A, Bernardini C, Dondi F, Morini M, Rinnovati R, Spadari A, Romagnoli N.Proteinase activated receptor 4 (PAR) in the gastrointestinal tract is involved in the regulation of inflammation and pain pathways. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution and expression of PAR in the jejunum of healthy horses and in the pathologic tracts from horses undergoing surgery for herniation of the small intestine through the epiploic foramen. Eight healthy horses (Group H) and eight horses with epiploic hernia (Group EH) were included; the jejunum samples were collected at the slaughter or intraoperatively after enterectomy, respectively. To evaluate PAR expres...
Lépiz ML, Keegan RD, Bayly WM, Greene SA, McEwen MM.The Fick and thermodilution (TD) methods are two currently popular techniques for determination of cardiac output (CO) in adult horses. To our knowledge, a comparison of these two techniques has not been reported. Six healthy, resting, fit, adult horses of either sex and weighing 516.5+/-33.2 kg (mean+/-SD) were instrumented to enable measurement of cardiac output. Resting CO was determined by the Fick method and by thermodilution while the horses stood quietly in the stocks. Fick and thermodilution CO measurements were repeated under conditions of increased cardiac output achieved with the us...
van Duijkeren E, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Vulto AG, Kessels BG, van Miert AS, Breukink HJ.The pharmacokinetic parameters of a powder formulation of trimethoprim/sulphachlorpyridazine were studied in eight healthy horses which received 5 mg/kg trimethoprim and 25 mg/kg sulphachlorpyridazine 12-hourly with concentrate for five days. The intake of the medicated concentrate by the horses was variable during the first two days, but after they became accustomed to the taste the intake by all the horses during the last three days was good. Faecal samples taken before and on the last day of the drug administrations were negative when cultured for salmonella. Compared with the results of a ...
Kraft W, Gawlik A, Grabner A, Dämmer EM.In 183 cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COB, COPD) grades I to IV horses were treated with bronchospasmolytic and secretolytic drugs, corticosteroids, mass infusions of physiological saline solution and with combinations of these treatments. The long-term effects of the above described methods of treatment based on questionnaire with the owners will be discussed. The results are to be considered successful if there is no evidence of irreversible alterations of the lungs, and if the horse is kept away from dust as much as possible.
McDonnell SM.Despite the suboptimal aspects of domestic breeding conditions compared with the natural conditions under which their reproductive behavior evolved, most domestic stallions can adapt to management and breeding programs. Most respond adequately or quickly learn to safely abide the restraint and direction of a human handler, and can adapt to changes in methods of breeding for semen collection. If not, the problems can range from inadequate or variable sexual interest and response to overenthusiastic or aggressive response beyond the ability of the handlers to safely direct and control. This arti...
Norton JL, Nolen-Walston RD, Underwood C, Boston R, Slack J, Dallap BL.Central venous pressure (CVP) is a used as an estimation of intravascular volume status in various species. Techniques for measuring CVP in horses have been described, but the repeatability of these readings at a single time point or over time has not been established. Objective: That CVP measurements in healthy adult horses would be repeatable at each time point, that these readings would be reproducible over time, and that alteration in head position relative to the heart would alter CVP. Methods: Ten healthy adult research horses. Methods: In an experimental study, horses were instrumented ...
Johnson PJ, Allhands RV, Baker GJ, Boero MJ, Foreman JH, Hyyppa T, Huhn JC.Incomplete linear tibial fractures were identified in two horses with the aid of scintigraphy. Both horses were treated successfully by strict stall confinement, and both returned to normal athletic activity. Scintigraphy can be used to facilitate the generally difficult diagnosis of incomplete tibial fractures.
Brinsko SP, Ball BA.The equine oviduct is the site of fertilisation and location of embryonic development during the first 5 or 6 days. It therefore has an important influence on mare fertility. Although histopathological changes have been described previously, there is limited information regarding lymphocyte subtypes present in the mucosa of the normal equine oviduct. Objective: To characterise the distribution of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and B lymphocytes in the equine oviduct from inseminated mares during oestrus and dioestrus, and from noninseminated mares during the immediate post ovulatory period. Methods: Oviduct...
Staufenbiel L, Müller AE, Gehlen H.Objective measurements of the mineral supply in horses are rarely performed. As a result, incorrect elements or an improper amount of elements are provided. The analysis of feces could represent a novel method to evaluate the nutritive supply. The prerequisite is a knowledge of methodological factors influencing the mineral concentration in the fecal samples. Within the scope of this investigation, the effects of different kinds of mineral supply and the influence of the sampling location on the concentration of minerals in equine feces samples were analyzed. Additionally, the methodical error...
Hubbell JA, Hinchcliff KW, Muir WW, Robertson JT, Sams RA, Schmall LM.To determine the effects of walking, standing, or standing with a splint on 1 forelimb on rate of recuperation of horses after a brief, intense bout of exercise. Methods: 6 adult Thoroughbreds (435 to 542 kg). Methods: Horses were preconditioned by exercise on a treadmill to establish a uniform level of fitness. Once fit, the treadmill speed causing each horse to exercise at 120% of its maximal oxygen consumption was determined and was used in simulated races at 14-day intervals. Horses were instrumented for collection of arterial and mixed venous blood samples for measurement of acid-base sta...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M....Following a request from the European Commission, EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of a tincture from the roots of (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim. (taiga root tincture) when used as a sensory additive in feed for dogs, cats and horses. The Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) concluded that the additive is safe for dogs, cats and horses at the maximum proposed use level of 460.7, 489.5 and 140.7 mg/kg complete feed, respectively. The additive was considered safe for consumers when used at the proposed conditions of us...
Randleff-Rasmussen PK, Mosca M, Knoerr F, Pin D, Desjardins I.Mycetoma is a chronic, proliferative lesion of cutaneous/subcutaneous tissue characterized by draining tracts and granules in the discharge caused by actinomycetes (actinomycetoma) or filamentous fungi (eumycotic mycetoma). Objective: This case report describes the unusual finding of a cutaneous mycetoma of the lateral wing of the right nostril in a gelding. Methods: A 16-year-old Fjord gelding with suspected pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) was presented for evaluation of a nonpainful, firm and raised mass involving the lateral wing of the right nostril and the lip. Results: Cytol...
