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.
Science (New York, N.Y.)September 21, 1962
Volume 137, Issue 3534 979-980 doi: 10.1126/science.137.3534.979
STEINBERG S, BOTELHO S.Congenital myotonia, similar to that which has been reported in humans and in goats, is here reported for the first time in another species. Evidence is given to show (i) that the myotonic phenomenon is present despite complete block of neuromuscular transmission; (ii) prior to injection of curare, synchronous activity of muscle fibers may result not only from ephaptic stimulation of neighboring fibers but also from reflex firing; and (iii) water deprivation does not relieve the myotonia.
TURK RD, UECKERT BW, BELL RR.No signs of intoxication were seen in horses dosed with thiabendazole at either 200 mg. or 400 mg. per kg. body-weight. 17 horses were dosed with the drug at a level of 100 mg. per kg. These horses had a mean egg count of 1, 296 e.p.g. before treatment; all were negative for strongyle eggs by the 7th day after treatment. 3 of these horses were killed and few or no strongyles were found; an untreated control animal killed at the same time had many thousands of strongyle worms. Thiabendazole was effective when given either by stomach tube or when mixed in the feed.
Herd RP, Willardson KL, Gabel AA.An investigation of the spring rise in strongyle egg output of grazing horses on two commercial horse farms in northern USA in 1981 and 1982 revealed two distinct spring and summer rises in faecal egg counts, with peaks in May and August/September. There was a marked rise in the concentration of infective larvae on pasture two to four weeks after the peaks in egg output, so that grazing horses were at serious risk from June onwards and pasture larval counts on one farm did not fall to low levels until June of the following year. The spring and summer rises in faecal egg counts appeared to be s...
Norton JL, Nolen-Walston RD, Underwood C, Slack J, Boston R, Dallap BL.Central venous pressure (CVP) customarily has been measured in veterinary patients with water manometry. However, many institutions are now using stallside electronic monitors in both anesthesia and intensive care units for many aspects of patient monitoring. Objective: Electronic stall side monitoring devices will agree with water manometry for measurement of CVP in horses. Methods: Ten healthy adult horses from the university research herd. Methods: Central venous catheters were placed routinely, and measurements were obtained in triplicate with each of the 3 methods every 12 hours for 3 day...
Kotani H, Taura Y, Sakai A, Tsuka T, Kageyama Y, Nakaichi M.In this study antemortem evaluation of equine flexor tendons--the superficial digital flexor tendon and the deep digital flexor tendon--using magnetic resonance (MR) images was performed. Postmortem flexor tendons were used to prepare the slice positions, coil and body positions for MR imaging. It was possible by this method to take antemortem MR images of equine limbs that distinguished features as well as postmortem images described in previous studies. The total time of antemortem scanning was about 40 min. This study is the first to report antemortem MR images in horses.
Terpstra AH, Sanchez-Muniz FJ, West CE, Woodward CJ.1. By means of density gradient ultracentrifugation, the density profile of the serum lipoproteins was studied in 14 species of domestic and laboratory animals: the pig, chicken, rhesus monkey, rabbit, dog, horse, sheep, cat, mouse, goat, cow, guinea-pig, trout and rat. 2. The concentration of cholesterol in whole serum and the lipoprotein fractions of these animal species was also determined. 3. There were large differences in the density profile of the serum lipoproteins among the various animals studied and the results indicate that the density limits employed for human serum lipoproteins a...
Ladrón N, Fernández M, Agüero J, González Zörn B, Vázquez-Boland JA, Navas J.The actinomycete Rhodococcus equi is an important pathogen of horses and an emerging opportunistic pathogen of humans. Identification of R. equi by classical bacteriological techniques is sometimes difficult, and misclassification of an isolate is not uncommon. We report here on a specific PCR assay for the rapid and reliable identification of R. equi. It is based on the amplification of a fragment of the choE gene encoding cholesterol oxidase. The choE-based PCR was assessed by using a panel of strains comprising 132 isolates from different sources and of different geographical origins, all i...
Gillen A, Mudge M, Caldwell F, Munsterman A, Hanson R, Brawner W, Almond G, Green E, Stephens J, Walz J.The long-term outcomes of external beam radiotherapy for treatment of noncutaneous tumors of the head in horses is unknown. Objective: To report the long-term outcomes for treatment of noncutaneous tumors of the head of horses, and report short and long-term clinical adverse effects. Methods: Thirty-two horses treated in 2 referral hospitals. Methods: In this retrospective study, medical records of horses receiving radiation therapy for noncutaneous tumors between 1999 and 2015 were reviewed. Signalment, tumor type, treatment protocol, tumor control duration, and survival were recorded. Kaplan...
Lane JG, Bladon B, Little DR, Naylor JR, Franklin SH.To review the prevalence of single and complex forms of dynamic airway obstructions within a large group of Thoroughbred horses in training referred for investigation of poor performance. Methods: Video-endoscopic recordings of the upper respiratory tract made during a standardised treadmill exercise test of 600 Thoroughbred racehorses were reviewed and analysed in real time and slow motion to identify dynamic collapse by the tissues bordering onto the pharyngeal and laryngeal airways. Results: Dynamic collapse within the nasopharynx or larynx was confirmed in 471 of the 600 horses. Dorsal dis...
Savini G, Afonso A, Mellor P, Aradaib I, Yadin H, Sanaa M, Wilson W, Monaco F, Domingo M.Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) is an infectious non-contagious viral disease transmitted by insects of the genus Culicoides which affects wild and domestic ruminants. The causative agent, the epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), belongs to the family Reoviridae, genus Orbivirus and shares many morphological and structural characteristics with the other members of the genus such as bluetongue, African horse sickness and equine encephalosis viruses. In recent years EHD outbreaks have been reported in countries bordering the European Union. They caused disease in cattle and severe r...
Mantovani R, Sartori C, Pigozzi G.This study investigated some aspects of breeding management in the Italian Heavy Draught Horse breed, aiming at improving its efficiency at stud farm level. A first aim was to evaluate the risk of unsuccessful reproduction in mares after an early (3 years) or normal (4 years) age at first foaling, in interaction with different stud rearing systems. A second objective was the examination of the mean time length in which young 2-year-old stallions maintain a genetic superiority on older proven stallions, identifying a 'genetic lifespan' in which young stallions can be safely used for reducing th...
Heath MF, Evans RJ, Poole AW, Hayes LJ, McEvoy RJ, Littler RM.The responses of equine blood platelets in citrated platelet-rich plasma to arachidonic acid, U44069 (prostaglandin endoperoxide analogue), adenosine 5'-diphosphate, platelet-activating factor or collagen were investigated by turbidimetric aggregometry. Pre-treatment of the platelets with aspirin (1 mmol/l) or paracetamol (1.3 mmol/l) abolished shape change and aggregation in response to arachidonic acid; decreased the rate of aggregation in response to collagen, with no separate effect on shape change; had no marked effect on aggregation caused by the other agonists; but in no case transforme...
Heo EJ, Lee HS, Jeoung HY, Ko HR, Kweon CH, Ko YJ.A recombinant glycoprotein (R-GP) of vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSV-NJ) was expressed in insect cells by a baculovirus system. Its utility as a diagnostic antigen in a blocking ELISA was investigated as an alternative to the current native GP extracted from VSV-NJ. With the cut-off value of 73% inhibition, the R-GP ELISA exhibited 99.1% specificity for naive sera from cattle and horses. It did not cross-react with VSV-Indiana (VSV-IN) positive sera and differentiated from foot-and-mouth disease and swine vesicular disease. Taken together, this is the first report that the R-GP has ...
Foreman JH, Bergstrom BE, Golden KS, Roark JJ, Coren DS, Foreman CR, Schumacher SA.There are no refereed controlled documentations of the skeletal analgesic efficacy of different dosages of flunixin meglumine (FM). Objective: The objective of this experiment was to compare the efficacy of various dosages of FM with a negative control. The hypothesis was that higher doses would result in improved efficacy in a dose-dependent manner when tested in a reversible model of foot lameness. Methods: Ten horses shod with adjustable heart bar shoes had weekly modified AAEP grade 4.0/5.0 lameness induced by tightening a set screw against the heart bar. Heart rate (HR) and lameness score...
Wilde H, Thipkong P, Sitprija V, Chaiyabutr N.Active immunization against infectious disease is important. However, much of our world faces poverty, social injustice, and warfare, all of which cause universal immunization to remain a distant dream. Agents that provide passive immunity thus remain essential biologicals. The most important of these are human or equine antisera against rabies, tetanus, diphtheria, and snake antivenins. Homologous products are either unavailable or unaffordable in places where they are needed the most. Less expensive heterologous (equine) antisera can be purified and are safe to use, but these antisera are al...
Obregón AM, Fernández C, Rodríguez I, Balbis Y, Martínez B, Rodríguez J.To assess the sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and stability of five latex agglutination systems for detecting antibodies against leptospira in human and animal sera, by using the Leptospira serotypes that are most widely prevalent in Cuba. Methods: We performed an analytic and descriptive study with 706 human sera (65 tested positive for antibodies against leptospira with microagglutination (MAT) and hemagglutination (HA) techniques; 156 sera that tested negative with MAT and HA); 485 sera from 424 patients who had clinical or epidemiologic signs of leptospirosis; and 29 animal sera...
Vanderperren K, Raes E, Bree HV, Saunders JH.This is the second part of a two-part review of the structures and disorders of the equine tarsus. In this part the bones of the tarsal region are considered and the technical aspects of taking radiographic, ultrasonographic and scintigraphic images of the different lesions are addressed. The diagnostic use of arthroscopy, computed tomography and magnetic resonance are discussed. In current clinical practice the most frequently used combination to arrive at a diagnosis is still radiography and ultrasonography.
Darby S, Porter E, Beatty SSK, Dark MJ, Smith A, Toribio RE, Gomez DE.Primary hyperparathyroidism is rare in large animal species, and little is known regarding its pathophysiology, endocrine and electrolyte derangements, diagnosis, medical management, and prognosis. This report describes the clinicopathologic diagnosis of a parathyroid (PT) gland chief cell adenoma in a 12-year-old Quarter Horse mare, including PT hormone (PTH) and electrolyte disarrangements associated with the neoplasia, the surgical removal of the adenoma, and medical management of the case. This report also describes for the first time the use PTH immunohistochemistry to confirm the nature ...
Pessôa LVF, Pires PRL, Del Collado M, Pieri NCG, Recchia K, Souza AF, Perecin F, da Silveira JC, de Andrade AFC, Ambrosio CE, Bressan FF....Pluripotent stem cells are believed to have greater clinical potential than mesenchymal stem cells due to their ability to differentiate into almost any cell type of an organism, and since 2006, the generation of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has become possible in multiple species. Objective: We hypothesize that different cell types respond differently to the reprogramming process; thus, the goals of this study were to isolate and characterize equine adult and fetal cells and induce these cells to pluripotency for future regenerative and translational purposes. Metho...
McLean RG, Ubico SR, Bourne D, Komar N.WN virus is one of the most ubiquitous arboviruses occurring over a broad geographical range and in a wide diversity of vertebrate host and vector species. The virus appears to be maintained in endemic foci on the African continent and is transported annually to temperate climates to the north in Europe and to the south in South Africa. Reports of clinical disease due to natural WN virus infection in wild or domestic animals were much less common than reports of infection (virus isolation or antibody detection). Until recently, records of morbidity and mortality in wild birds were confined to ...
Binepal VS, Wariru BN, Davies FG, Soi R, Olubayo R.A survey was carried out in horse, zebra, elephant, camel, sheep and goat and wild carnivore sera for virus-serum neutralising antibody to the nine type strains of African horse sickness virus. Antibody was found amongst the horse, zebra and elephant sera to all nine different strains. No antibody was detected in any sera from camels, sheep and goats. None was found in sera from hyaena and jackals in this series but had been detected earlier.
Principato M.Comparative data collected over 4 years show the most frequent species of Gasterophilus infesting free-ranging horses in Umbria (Central Italy) to be G. intestinalis (93.8%), G. nasalis (76.5%) and G. inermis (71%). G. pecorum and G. haemorrhoidalis were less frequent and appeared in 39.3 and 10.8% of the animals, respectively. For each of the 5 species, the duration of gastric and enteric lesions, the average numbers of larvae isolated throughout the year and the probable duration of oral lesions were discussed.
Bauquier J, Stent A, Gibney J, Jerrett I, White J, Tennent-Brown B, Pearce A, Pitt J.Investigation of toxicosis caused by Malva parviflora was required after 4 horses from the same farm developed severe muscle fasciculations, tachycardia, sweating and periods of recumbency leading to death or euthanasia after ingesting the plant. Objective: To describe historical, clinical, clinicopathological and pathological findings of 4 horses with suspected M. parviflora toxicosis. The role of cyclopropene fatty acids (found in M. parviflora) and mechanism for toxicosis are proposed. Methods: Case series. Methods: Historical, physical examination, clinicopathological and pathological find...
Mirahmadi F, Koolstra JH, Fazaeli S, Lobbezoo F, van Lenthe GH, Snabel J, Stoop R, Everts V.Nutrition of articular cartilage relies mainly on diffusion and convection of solutes through the interstitial fluid due to the lack of blood vessels. The diffusion is controlled by two factors: steric hindrance and electrostatic interactions between the solutes and the matrix components. Aging comes with changes in the cartilage structure and composition, which can influence the diffusion. In this study, we treated fibrocartilage of mandibular condyle with ribose to induce an aging-like effect by accumulating collagen crosslinks. The effect of steric hindrance or electrostatic forces on the d...
Nett TM, Pickett BW.Two studies were conducted to determine the relationship between LH and progesterone and between PMSG and progesterone during pregnancy in mares. In the first, samples of jugular blood were collected daily from 7 mares from the first day of oestrus until Day 28 of pregnancy, and in the second, samples were collected weekly from 14 mares from Day 35 of gestation until parturition. In an attempt to prolong secretion of progesterone from accessory corpora lutea, 7 of these 14 mares were injected with increasing doses (2--10 mg) of diethylstilboestrol (DES) between Days 84 and 142 of gestation. Th...
Vorster DM, Wang W, Kemp KL, Bamford NJ, Bertin FR.The thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test is used to diagnose pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) using 10- or 30-min protocols. Imprecise sampling time for the 10-min protocol can lead to misdiagnoses. Objective: To determine the effect of imprecise sampling time for the 30-min protocol of the TRH stimulation test. Methods: In vivo experiment. Methods: Plasma immunoreactive adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) concentrations were measured 9, 10, 11, 29, 30 and 31 min after intravenous administration of 1 mg of TRH in 15 control and 12 PPID horses. Differences in ACTH concent...
