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.
Olson CT, Keller WC, Gerken DF, Reed SM.Of 10 horses in a heavily overgrazed pasture, 4 died within 1 week. Clinical signs included muscle tremors, ataxia, reluctance to walk, heavy sweating, and myoglobinuria. Serum creatine kinase, aspartate transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase activities were high. Histopathologic findings were nonspecific. On the basis of clinical signs, clinicopathologic findings, nonspecific histopathologic findings, the condition of the pasture, the identification of numerous white snakeroot plants from which trematone was extracted, and evidence that these plants had been heavily browsed, it was believed t...
Elata A, Galon EM, Moumouni PFA, Ybanez RHD, Mossaad E, Salces CB, Bajenting GP, Ybanez AP, Xuan X, Inoue N, Suganuma K.Animal trypanosomosis is one of the most important parasitic diseases significantly affecting the Philippine economy. It is considered by the government to be the second most important disease of livestock after fasciolosis. A PCR-based molecular survey for trypanosomes in different animals in Bohol, Philippines, was performed to assess the prevalence of trypanosomosis in the area during the rainy and dry season. Methods: A total of 269 blood samples were collected in two batches in rainy and dry season from different animal species in Ubay Stock Farm in Ubay, Bohol, the Philippines, including...
Kasapi MA, Gosline JM.Morphological and mechanical studies were conducted on samples of equine hoof wall to help elucidate the relationship between form and function of this complex, hierarchically organized structure. Morphological findings indicated a dependence of tubule size, shape and helical alignment of intermediate filaments (IFs) within the lamellae on the position through the wall thickness. The plane of the intertubular IFs changed from perpendicular to the tubule axis in the inner wall to almost parallel to the tubule axis in the outer wall. Morphological data predicted the existence of three crack dive...
Sprayberry KA, Madigan J, LeCouteur RA, Valentine BA.A Thoroughbred-Percheron crossbred gelding developed a fulminant cascade of sequelae following a severe episode of rhabdomyolysis. Complications may occur with rhabdomyolysis of any etiology. In warmblood horses with Percheron bloodlines, rhabdomyolysis may be secondary to polysaccharide storage disease, and aggressive therapy should be undertaken promptly to avoid the complications.
Sun L, Adams AA, Page AE, Betancourt A, Horohov DW.While interferon-gamma (IFNγ) plays an important role in protection against viral and intracellular bacterial infections, its production in neonates is deficient. Exposure to environmental antigens can promote the maturation of the immune system of neonatal humans and mice. We hypothesize that exposure to high level of microbial components would increase the production of IFNγ in neonatal foals. To test this hypothesis, one group of foals was placed into stalls three times a week for 8 weeks. A second group of foals remained on pasture. Air samples were collected from the barn and pasture fo...
Schwarzbach SV, Melo CF, Xavier PLP, Roballo KC, Cordeiro YG, Ambrósio CE, Fukumasu H, Carregaro AB.Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the main locomotor disorders in horses. Although nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the first-line treatment for OA, opioids could also be used. In previous studies, opioids showed promising anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of two opioids (morphine and methadone) against inflammation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated synoviocytes by analyzing microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) expression. Synoviocytes were obtained from the joints at...
Watson ED.Incubation of equine neutrophils with povidone-iodine solutions of greater than or equal to 0.2 per cent resulted in total inhibition of migration under agarose. This was caused by the cytotoxic effects of the solutions as shown by pyknosis and cell lysis. Lower concentrations of povidone-iodine, however, did not adversely affect neutrophil viability or locomotion.
Shivers CA, Liu IK.Sera and follicular fluid from mares previously determined as having antibodies to the zona pellucida were exposed to porcine ovarian oocytes before insemination with boar spermatozoa in vitro. There was a dramatic decline in the number of spermatozoa bound to zonae compared to treatments with sera and follicular fluid from mares negative for zona antibodies. These data suggest that antibodies reactive with the zona pellucida may be responsible for reduced or even complete infertility in some mares. In a group of 50 randomly selected mares tested for antizona antibodies, 2 pregnant mares were ...
Barrett RS, Wiethoelter A, Halpin K.To elucidate veterinarians' and horse owners' perceptions towards the use of Hendra virus (HeV) antibody titre testing and how it influences veterinary advice. Methods: Six semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with veterinarians who have submitted samples for HeV antibody titre testing. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed to identify and report common themes within the data. Results: Veterinarians are predominantly using the titre tests as an alternative to vaccination due to clients' fear of vaccine reactions. The high cost of titre testing, the difficul...
In this study, a new sandwich-type immunoenzymatic assay, based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as an artificial antibody (pseudo-ELISA), was developed for the determination of procalcitonin (PCT) in veterinary species. The quantification of PCT in human medicine represents the state of the art for the diagnosis of sepsis; instead the clinical studies on the relevance of PCT as a sepsis predictor in veterinary patients are few, likely due to the total absence of validated assays. MIPs have been widely used as antibody mimics for important applications, and MIP-based sandwich assays ha...
Timoney P.More than 800 premises in eight states in the USA have recently reported cases of vesicular stomatitis in their horses. Here, Peter Timoney, of the Gluck Equine Research Center in Kentucky, discusses this zoonotic disease in more detail.
Stout TA.Situations in which suppression or stimulation of reproductive activity in stallions has been attempted, or is desired, include resolution of the equine arteritis virus 'shedding' state, induction of testicular descent in inguinal cryptorchids, and the improvement of sperm production capacity and/or semen quality in sub-fertile stallions. However, the most common reason for wanting to modulate reproductive activity in a stallion is to alter the expression of sexual behaviour. In the case of intact stallions used for competitive or recreational purposes, the overt expression of sexual or aggres...
Macintyre AR, Dixon JB.To determine whether living hydatid tissue can, like hydatid fluid, regulate leukocyte growth, T-cell, B-cell, and macrophage lines were cocultured with protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus and their growth was compared with that of control cultures by thymidine uptake estimates and chemiluminescent assays of cell number. Protoscoleces supported mitosis of IL-1-deprived D10 T cells, but did not increase D10 count. The action of protoscoleces was affected by the species and organ of their origin and the length of time in culture. Unusually marked mitotic reaction, unaffected by parasite age...
Le Goff D, Hannan J, Maboundou JC, Ayrault-Jarrier M.Equine plasma lipoproteins were fractionated into VLDL, LDL-1, LDL-2 and HDL by density gradient ultracentrifugation. From each lipoprotein fraction, five apo C like peptides of approx. M(r) 1400, 10000, 9500, 9000 and 8000 were detected by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After partial purification by Sephadex G-75, one fraction, showing a strong activation of lipoprotein lipase, was further purified by Mono Q anion exchange column. Two of the apo C like peptides (M(r) 10000 and 8000) activated the bovine milk lipoprotein lipase in vitro; only one (M(r) 9500) inhibited the lipolytic ac...
Blackmore TM, Dugdale A, Argo CM, Curtis G, Pinloche E, Harris PA, Worgan HJ, Girdwood SE, Dougal K, Newbold CJ, McEwan NR.The horse, as a hindgut fermenter, is reliant on its intestinal bacterial population for efficient diet utilisation. However, sudden disturbance of this population can result in severe colic or laminitis, both of which may require euthanasia. This study therefore aimed to determine the temporal stability of the bacterial population of faecal samples from six ponies maintained on a formulated high fibre diet. Bacterial 16S rRNA terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) analyses of 10 faecal samples collected from 6 ponies at regular intervals over 72 hour trial periods identifie...
Barasa A, Dazia S, Canavese B, Modica R.The dental pulp of 34 horses aged between 4 months and 20 years has been studied on India ink injected and on paraffin embedded specimens. The pulp dimensions of the first and especially of the second dentition decrease with age. This reduction is accompanied by pronounced changes of structure; the mucous connective tissue becomes a dense, irregular connective tissue. The vessels are numerous and make a network particularly rich at the margins of the pulp; they diminish with advancing age. The reduction of the pulp volume and the regression of its vascular network are particularly pronounced a...
