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.
Lutz JE, Boersema JH, Németh F.Biopsies of the skin of the umbilical area were taken from ninety-nine horses and one donkey, all reared in the Netherlands. The biopsy specimens were examined for the presence of microfilariae by a recovery procedure. Microfilariae were identified in eight horses. These were microfilariae of the species Onchocerca cervicalis in each case.
Boles C.Emergency equine abdominal surgery is easiest and most efficiently carried out with a team of surgeons. The surgical site should be as protected as possible by the use of sterile drapes and wound protectors. A ventral midline laparotomy incision has been found to be the most convenient approach to most equine intestinal obstructions. A standing laparotomy through the left paralumbar fossa gives adequate exposure for exploration of the abdomen and is, therefore, useful as a diagnostic tool. Horses tolerate having both ventral midline and left paralumbar laparotomy incisions well. If the cause o...
Mackenzie CD.The basic components of the immune system, and the defence mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract, are briefly reviewed. Histological studies in 84 equine foetuses showed that lymphoid cells begin populating the thymic primordium at 11-12 weeks, the mesenteric lymph nodes at 13 weeks, the spleen at 25 weeks and the intestinal lamina propria at 13-14 weeks' gestation. Lymphocytes were seen in the intestinal epithelium very early in gestation. Histological signs of response to antigenic stimulation were seen in five foetuses, indicating that the horse is likely to be capable of mounting an imm...
Wheat JD.The migration of strongyle larvae is the most common or basic underlying cause of colic in the horse. Disease conditions producing symptoms of colic occur in all sections of the intestinal tract and consist of impactions, torsions, herniations and foreign bodies. Colic also occurs as a result of pre- and post-partum diseases such as torsion of the uterus, haemorrhage, rupture and inversion of the uterus. In general, lesions resulting in circulatory obstruction are the types requiring surgical intervention. There are six general types of small intestine obstruction that lend themselves to surgi...
Crowhurst RC, Simpson DJ, McEnery RJ, Greenwood RE.Intestinal surgery in the foal is seldom necessary but some conditions in which it is essential are well recognized. The foal is a good surgical subject but success depends mainly on operating promptly before irreversible degenerative changes take place. Exploratory laparatomy is recommended whenever mechanical obstruction is suspected. Indications fall broadly into two main categories: 1. Cases arising from congenital defects. These form a miscellaneous group and present considerable difficulties in diagnosis and effective treatment. 2. Cases related to acute onset of obstruction, mainly due ...
Dutta SK.An adenovirus was isolated from a foal with respiratory tract disease. The virus produced cytopathic effects (CPE) in equine embryo kidney (EEK) cell culture, contained deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), was resistant to chloroform and pH 3, and was moderately resistant to heat. The virus caused hemagglutination of human (type O) erythrocytes. Viral density was 1.34 g/cm,3 and diameter was 75 nm. An adenovirus-associated virus (AAV) isolated from the infected cell culture was 22 nm in diameter. These viruses are classified as equine adenovirus and equine AAV.
Banks KL, McGuire TC.Surface receptors on peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes from normal and immunodeficient horses have been studied. Sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) coated with IgG, IgM, and complement but not IgG(T), readily bound to normal equine monocytes and neutrophils. More than 4000 molecules of IgG were required to sensitize each SRBC for adherence to monocytes, and more than 12,000 molecules were required for adherence to neutrophils. Young horses with a severe combined immunodeficiency had an almost total absence of lymphocytes, but normal numbers of monocytes and neutrophils. The number of receptors...
Duncan JL, Dargie JD.The migratory route of infective Strongylus vulgaris larvae was determined: penetration of small and large intestine into the lumina of submucosal arteries, migration up the arterial tree, reaching the cranial mesenteric site by three weeks, where the larvae develop to the mature 4th stage. After 3-4 months they exsheath and the young adults migrate down the arteries towards the intestines, to the limit of arterial narrowing, from where they rupture from nodules into the lumen of the intestine. The prepatent period is about 6 months. The clinical syndrome was similar to, but less severe than t...
Thompson DB, Studdert MJ, Beilharz RG, Littlejohns IR.A fatal syndrome of certain Arabian foals which begins at about 25 days of age (range 14 to 46 days) and which runs a course of about 23 days (range 13 to 42 days) is described. The syndrome, which affected 17 foals on a single farm is further characterised by pneumonia, in some instances by dermatitis (dermatophilosis) and other infections, together with a progressive decline in health till death at about 49 days of age (range 34 to 77 days), despite intensive therapy. Four of the foals, on histopathological evidence, had adenviral pneumonia, in 2 foals there was histopathological evidence of...
Azzie MA.Contrary to common belief, Gastrodiscus aegyptiacus can be pathogenic to horses. History of cases of a particular stud, necropsy findings, diagnosis, and successful treatment with hexachlorophene and with dichlorvos are recorded. The presence of eggs can be established by a special flotation technique.
Coffman JR.Initial examination and therapy, and the avoidance of maltreatment are emphasized. Gastric decompression is of prime importance, after which no compound should be administered via stomach tube. Where large amounts of high starch grains are fed, primary acute gastric dilatation must be differentiated from that secondary to small bowel dilatation, by immediate gastric intubation and irrigation of the cardia with lidocaine. If cessation of pain and improvement of peristalsis and general attitude follow, the former state may be assumed. If pain persists and peristalsis does not improve markedly, o...
McMullen RJ, Gilger BC, Michau TM.To describe a surgical modification of deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty (DLEK) and posterior lamellar keratoplasty (PLK) procedures, to facilitate surgery on standing horses under-sedation. Methods: Four client-owned horses, for which the owners declined surgery under general anesthesia, underwent standing corneal lamellar keratoplasty procedures for the treatment of deep corneal stromal abscesses. Methods: All four horses were placed in stocks and sedated with detomidine. Local eyelid and retrobulbar blocks were performed to provide local analgesia and akinesia, and each horse's head wa...
Mercier P, Alves-Branco F, Sapper Mde F, White CR.To evaluate the safety of an orally administered ivermectin and praziquantel paste with regard to variables associated with clinical findings, parturition, lactation, maternal care, and neonate viability in pregnant mares. Methods: 40 pregnant mares. Methods: Mares were randomly allocated into treatment (n = 20) and control (20) groups and administered a placebo or 3 times the therapeutic dosage of ivermectin (0.6 mg/kg) and praziquantel (4.5 mg/kg) at 14-day intervals until parturition. Physical examinations were performed on mares and their foals after parturition (on postpartum days 30, 60,...
Owen M, Ferjak EN, Cavinder CA, McCarty KJ, Yankey KC, Hart CG, Burnett DD, Dinh T, Lemley CO.The objective of this study was to determine the activity of steroid- and eicosanoid-metabolizing enzymes in horses with varying BCSs. The BCSs of twenty non-pregnant, anoestrous mares were determined prior to euthanasia, and tissue samples were collected from the liver, kidney, adrenal gland, ovary and endometrium. Cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), 2C (CYP2C), 3A (CYP3A) and uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activities were determined using luminogenic substrates. The MIXED procedure of SAS was used to test the effect of BCS on enzyme activity and differences between tissues. Activ...
Palmer SE.Lameness of the Standardbred racehorse is a function of rigorous training programs, year-round racing schedules, hard racetrack surfaces, and the draft load. In this article, principles of lameness diagnosis and treatment are reviewed, with emphasis upon common or unique problems of the trotter and pacer. The role of physical therapy as an adjunct to medical and surgical treatment of lameness is described. Options for management of chronic pain are discussed, and a limited glossary of descriptive terms that are unique to harness racing is provided.
Duggan VE, MacAllister CG, Davis MS.An 18-month-old Quarter Horse filly was evaluated because of dorsal displacement of the soft palate associated with epiglottic dysfunction that caused exercise intolerance and an abnormal respiratory noise. The abnormality of the epiglottis was corrected by use of a sedative dose of xylazine hydrochloride. There was no familial predisposition to hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, which may cause similar laryngopharyngeal signs, and the horse did not respond to administration of acetazolamide. There was no known history of trauma that could have caused neuritis, which has also been suggested as a...
Trout DR, Hornof WJ, O'Brien TR.Radiography and soft tissue- and bone-phase scintigraphy were performed on 14 clinically normal horses and 35 horses in which definite, probable, or possible navicular disease had been diagnosed. The specificity of radiography and scintigraphy in revealing signs of navicular disease were nearly equal; however, the sensitivity of scintigraphy appeared to be greater than that of radiography. The greatest sensitivity and specificity were achieved when the results of radiography and scintigraphy were evaluated together. Differences in sensitivity were greatest when scintigraphy revealed lesions no...
Villa R, Cagnardi P, Belloli C, Zonca A, Zizzadoro C, Ferro E, Carli S.The selective COX-2-inhibitor nimesulide is used extra-label in equine veterinary practice as an anti-inflammatory agent. However, there are no data on which to base the rational use of the drug in this species. Objective: To determine the effective COX selectivity of nimesulide in the horse, and suggest a suitable dosing schedule. Methods: The pharmacokinetics of nimesulide in the horse after oral administration (1 mg/kg bwt), and oral and i.v. administration (1.5 mg/kg bwt) were investigated, effects of feeding status on bioavailability determined, and plasma protein binding of the drug and ...
Pham HC, Lasserre B, Tronche P, Couquelet J, Dossou-Gbete V, Palhares de Miranda AL.The effects of 3-dimethylamino 5-(2',6'-dichlorobenzylidene) 6-methyl (4H)-pyridazine (PC 89) on the biosynthesis of PG I2 and TX A2 using horse aorta and horse platelet microsomes as sources of enzymes and arachidonic acid as substrate, were investigated. PC 89 (1.10(-6) M- 1.10(-3) M) dose-dependently - enhanced the biosynthesis of PG I2: the AD50 was 6.8 X 10(-6) M +/- 1.2 X 10(-9) M, the Vmax did not vary significantly with concentrations: PC 89 increased the affinity of enzyme for substrate - but inhibited TX A2 biosynthesis (ID50 = 3.31 X 10(-3) M +/- 4.8 X 10(-7) M): this inhibiting act...
Katzman SA, Spriet MP, Beck BR, Barrett MF, Hendrickson DA.A 6-year-old Quarter Horse gelding used for barrel racing was evaluated for acute onset of non-weight-bearing lameness of the left hind limb following strenuous exercise. Nuclear scintigraphic imaging revealed focal increased radiopharmaceutical uptake centrally within the left talus. Subsequent standard radiographic and ultrasonographic examinations of the tarsus failed to identify the cause of the increased radiopharmaceutical uptake; however, the lameness was definitively localized to the tarsocrural joint by intra-articular anesthesia. Subsequent MRI sequences of the left tarsus revealed a...
Bowen JM, Gaboury C, Bousquet D.A case of uterine torsion is described and its correction under general anaesthesia by a method described by Schaffer for the cow. The degree of torsion was 180 degrees and in a clockwise direction. After correction the foal was found to be alive and in anterior presentation and ventral position; it was born normally 84 days later.
Bowling AT.Dead or deformed foals produced by purebred parents represent an economic and emotional loss to the horse breeder. In order to avoid producing such defective foals in the future, the breeder may seek guidance in determining whether their origin is environmental or genetic. Only a few genetic diseases of horses have been rigorously defined. Selected, rare genetic diseases that prevent reproduction, cause the natural death, or necessitate the humane destruction of a foal before it fulfills its intended purpose serve as examples for collecting evidence to define the genetics of other deleterious ...
