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.
Saulez MN, Dzikiti B, Voigt A.Two of 348 horses that underwent gastrointestinal surgery under general anaesthesia developed perforations in their tracheas caused by the endotracheal tube. In one case the damage was probably caused when the horse was being moved from the induction room for surgery and excessive traction was exerted on the tube when the anaesthetic machine was moved too far ahead of the horse. The trachea of the other horse may have been damaged when it was intubated.
You Y, Uboh CE, Soma LR, Guan F, Li X, Rudy JA, Liu Y, Chen J.An ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method for fast-throughput analysis of eight anabolic and androgenic steroids (AAS) in equine plasma is reported. Analytes were recovered by liquid-liquid extraction using methyl tert-butyl ether, separated on a 1.9 microm C(18) reversed-phase column, and analyzed in positive electrospray ionization mode on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with selected reaction monitoring (SRM) and full product ion scans. Two SRM ion transitions were monitored for each AAS during screening to obtain highly selective screenin...
Duffy CW, Morrison LJ, Black A, Pinchbeck GL, Christley RM, Schoenefeld A, Tait A, Turner CM, MacLeod A.African animal trypanosomiasis, or Nagana, is a debilitating and economically costly disease with a major impact on animal health in sub-Saharan Africa. Trypanosoma vivax, one of the principal trypanosome species responsible for the disease, infects a wide host range including cattle, goats, horses and donkeys and is transmitted both cyclically by tsetse flies and mechanically by other biting flies, resulting in a distribution covering large swathes of South America and much of sub-Saharan Africa. While there is evidence for mating in some of the related trypanosome species, Trypanosoma brucei...
Hanly BK, Stokes AM, Bell AM, Johnson JR, Keowen ML, Paulsen DB, Sod GA, Moore RM.To determine the feasibility of performing serial laminar and skin biopsies on sedated horses and whether sampling affected adjacent tissues. Methods: 6 horses. Methods: Laminar tissues were harvested via biopsy through the hoof wall from healthy conscious horses via sedation and regional anesthesia. Eight specimens were collected at 4 time points during 24 hours from a single foot. Laminar biopsy specimens were harvested with a 6-mm-diameter biopsy punch after burring through the horny corium to the stratum medium. Skin biopsy specimens were collected from an area proximal to the coronary ban...
Sanada Y, Senba H, Mochizuki R, Arakaki H, Gotoh T, Fukumoto S, Nagahata H.To establish a reliable diagnostic measure for equine Anoplocephala perfoliata infection, the impact of deworming was examined in 12 Thoroughbreds to which bithionol (5-10 mg/kg body weight) was administered and feces were examined by the modified Wisconsin method using sucrose solution. One day after the administration, cestode eggs were detected in previously fecal egg-negative 3 horses and increased in the other 9 horses. The optimum time for post-deworming egg detection was examined in following horses: 17 mares were administered bithionol and 10 mares were used as controls. The fecal egg ...
Ducharme NG, Fortier LA, Kraus MS, Hobo S, Mohammed HO, McHugh MP, Hackett RP, Soderholm LV, Mitchell LM.To evaluate whether administering a tart cherry juice blend (TCJB) prior to exercise would reduce skeletal and cardiac muscle damage by decreasing the inflammatory and oxidative stress response to exercise in horses. Methods: 6 horses. Methods: Horses were randomly allocated into 2 groups in a crossover study with a 2-week washout period and orally administered either TCJB or a placebo solution (1.42 L, twice daily) in a double-masked protocol for 2 weeks prior to a stepwise incremental exercise protocol. Horses were tested for serum activities of creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase...
Capponi L, Schmitz A, Thormann W, Theurillat R, Mevissen M.To investigate cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes involved in metabolism of racemic and S-ketamine in various species and to evaluate metabolic interactions of other analgesics with ketamine. Methods: Human, equine, and canine liver microsomes. Methods: An analgesic was concurrently incubated with luminogenic substrates specific for CYP 3A4 or CYP 2C9 and liver microsomes. The luminescence signal was detected and compared with the signal for negative control samples. Ketamine and norketamine enantiomers were determined by use of capillary electrophoresis. Results: A concentration-dependent decrease...
Stewart AA, Barrett JG, Byron CR, Yates AC, Durgam SS, Evans RB, Stewart MC.To compare viability and biosynthetic capacities of cells isolated from equine tendon, muscle, and bone marrow grown on autogenous tendon matrix. Methods: Cells from 4 young adult horses. Methods: Cells were isolated, expanded, and cultured on autogenous cell-free tendon matrix for 7 days. Samples were analyzed for cell viability, proteoglycan synthesis, collagen synthesis, and mRNA expression of collagen type I, collagen type III, and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). Results: Tendon- and muscle-derived cells required less time to reach confluence (approx 2 weeks) than did bone marr...
Nieto JE, Snyder JR, Vatistas NJ, Jones JH.To develop a protocol to induce and maintain gastric ulceration in horses and to determine whether gastric ulceration affects physiologic indices of performance during high-speed treadmill exercise. Methods: 20 healthy Thoroughbreds. Methods: Each horse was acclimatized to treadmill exercise during a 2-week period. Subsequently, baseline data were collected (day 0) and each horse began an incrementally increasing exercise training program (days 1 through 56). Beginning on day 14, horses were administered omeprazole (4 mg/kg, PO, q 24 h until day 56) or no drug (10 horses/group) and underwent a...
Dart AJ, Perkins NR, Dart CM, Jeffcott LB, Canfield P.To evaluate the effect of a non-occlusive dressing incorporated in a 3-layer bandage on second intention healing of wounds of the distal portion of the limb. Methods: Untreated wounds in 33 adult horses used in four studies using the same wound-healing model conducted over 5 years. Methods: Standardised, full-thickness wounds were made in the skin overlying the dorsomedial aspect of the mid-metacarpus; 17 horses were bandaged with a non-occlusive dressing covered by gauze-coated cotton wool that was compressed with adhesive tape; 16 horses were left unbandaged. Wounds were photographed weekly ...
Cilliers I, Williams J, Carstens A, Duncan NM.Four horses were presented to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital with histories of facial asymmetry, nasal discharge or obstruction of normal nasal passage airflow. Radiographic examination of the maxillary sinuses of 2 cases revealed well circumscribed, unilateral, mineralised masses; the other 2 cases showed less mineralisation. The masses were accessed for further investigation by surgically created frontonasal bone flaps or trephination of the maxillary sinuses. Diagnosis of osteoma was confirmed histopathologically in 3 of the cases and of ossifying fibroma in the 4th. Two hor...
Larenza MP, Ringer SK, Kutter AP, Conrot A, Theurillat R, Kummer M, Thormann W, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R.To compare anesthesia recovery quality after racemic (R-/S-) or S-ketamine infusions during isoflurane anesthesia in horses. Methods: 10 horses undergoing arthroscopy. Methods: After administration of xylazine for sedation, horses (n = 5/group) received R-/S-ketamine (2.2 mg/kg) or S-ketamine (1.1 mg/kg), IV, for anesthesia induction. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane in oxygen and R-/S-ketamine (1 mg/kg/h) or S-ketamine (0.5 mg/kg/h). Heart rate, invasive mean arterial pressure, and end-tidal isoflurane concentration were recorded before and during surgical stimulation. Arterial blood...
Bowers JR, Slocombe RF.A 4-year-old crossbred, Welsh Mountain Pony gelding was presented with multiple, thick, round, raised, 3 to 8 mm diameter nodular lesions on the medial aspects of both ears. The nodules did not involve the epidermis and were observed to develop over several months. Punch biopsies were taken and histopathological examination returned a diagnosis of auricular chondrosis. Neither auricular chondrosis nor auricular chondritis has been reported in horses, although it has been recorded in cats, dogs, laboratory animals and humans.
Groesel M, Gfoehler M, Peham C.In this paper, an alternative method is presented to convert computed tomography (CT)-scans into 3D biomodels. The CT-data of an equine spine was converted into TIF format to work with it in a 2D CAD program. Then the bony structure has been marked manually with closed splines and saved as IGS files for the next procedure with 3D CAD software to create virtual biomodels of every single bone. Therefore, the different layers of the CT-scans were positioned in correct distance and then a closed surface was created to cover all spline-curves. Finally, the cover was filled up with material to creat...
Cheetham J, Pigott JH, Hermanson JW, Campoy L, Soderholm LV, Thorson LM, Ducharme NG.The equine upper airway is highly adapted to provide the extremely high oxygen demand associated with strenuous aerobic exercise in this species. The tongue musculature, innervated by the hypoglossal nerve, plays an important role in airway stability in humans who also have a highly adapted upper airway to allow speech. The role of the hypoglossal nerve in stabilizing the equine upper airway has not been established. Isolated tongues from eight mature horses were dissected to determine the distal anatomy and branching of the equine hypoglossal nerve. Using this information, a peripheral nerve ...
de Graaf-Roelfsema E, Veldhuis PP, Keizer HA, van Ginneken MM, van Dam KG, Johnson ML, Barneveld A, Menheere PP, van Breda E, Wijnberg ID....The influence of intensified and reduced training on nocturnal growth hormone (GH) secretion and elimination dynamics was studied in young (1.5 yr) Standardbred geldings to detect potential markers indicative for early overtraining. Ten horses trained on a treadmill for 32 wk in age-, breed-, and gender-matched fixed pairs. Training was divided into four phases (4, 18, 6, and 4 wk, respectively): 1) habituation to high-speed treadmill trotting, 2) normal training, in which speed and duration of training sessions were gradually increased, 3) in this phase, the horses were divided into 2 groups:...
Lopes MS, Diesterbeck U, da Câmara Machado A, Distl O.Navicular disease or podotrochlosis is one of the main causes of progressive forelimb lameness in warmblood horses. The objective of this study was to refine a quantitative trait locus on horse chromosome 2 for radiological alterations in the contour of the navicular bone (RAC) in Hanoverian warmblood horses. Genotyping was performed in 192 Hanoverian warmblood horses from 17 paternal half-sib groups. The marker set was extended to 58 informative microsatellites including nine newly developed microsatellites. QTL for RAC could be delineated at 32.50-43.13 Mb and a further new QTL for RAC could...
Ginther OJ, Siddiqui MA, Beg MA.The hypotheses were tested that prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF) travels from the uterus to the ovaries via a systemic route in mares, as opposed to a local route in ruminants, and that one pulse of PGF produces only partial luteolysis. Intravenous (i.v.) and intrauterine (i.u.) infusions of PGF were performed 8 days after ovulation at a constant rate for 2 h. Plasma concentrations of PGF were assessed by assay of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-PGF2alpha (PGFM). Total doses administered were as follows: 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mg, i.v., PGF and 0 and 0.5 mg, i.u., PGF (n=4 mares per group). In addition, P...
De Santis T, Casavola V, Reshkin SJ, Guerra L, Ambruosi B, Fiandanese N, Dalbies-Tran R, Goudet G, Dell'Aquila ME.The extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) plays an important role in cells involved in calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis by directly sensing changes in the extracellular Ca2+ ion concentration. We previously reported the localization and quantitative expression of CASR protein in human oocytes. In this study, we examined the expression and the functional role of CASR during oocyte meiotic maturation in a large mammal animal model, the horse. As in humans, CASR protein was found to be expressed in equine oocytes and cumulus cells. Western-blot analysis revealed a single 130 kDa band in denuded...
Ginther OJ, Gastal EL, Gastal MO, Duarte LF, Beg MA.The effect of the ovarian follicles on plasma concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) before versus after the expected emergence of the ovulatory follicular wave was studied on Days 0 to 18 (Day 0=ovulation) in four groups of mares (n=6/group). In addition to a control group, all follicles >/=6mm in diameter were ablated on Days 0.5, 6.5, or 12.5 in a herd of mares with reported emergence at 6mm of the future ovulatory follicle on mean Day 10.5. Concentrations of FSH were not different between the Day-0.5 or Day-6.5 ablation groups and the correspon...
Chesen AB, Dabareiner RM, Chaffin MK, Carter GK.To determine clinical signs, ultrasonographic findings, and outcome of horses with tendinitis of the proximal portion of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT; group A horses) and to compare signalment, horse use, and outcome in these horses with that of horses with tendinitis of the midmetacarpal region of the SDFT (group B horses). Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 12 group A horses and 22 group B horses. Methods: Medical records were reviewed for signalment, horse use, and outcome information; data for group A horses also included severity of lameness, diagnostic results, a...
Bonneau S, Maynard L, Tomczuk K, Kok D, Eun HM.In this blinded randomized and controlled study, the anthelmintic efficacy of a tablet formula of ivermectin-praziquantel was evaluated in horses experimentally infected with three species of Strongylus larvae. Eighteen previously dewormed horses were inoculated on study day 0 with third-stage larvae of Strongylus vulgaris, Strongylus equinus, and Strongylus edentatus. The horses were randomly allocated to three groups (n = 6): test-drug (tablet formula), positive-control (reference gel), and negative-control (placebo tablet). On day 56, the horses were treated once with the respective drugs. ...
Schwarzwald CC, Schober KE, Berli AS, Bonagura JD.Noninvasive assessment of left-ventricular (LV) function is clinically relevant, but is incompletely studied in horses. Objective: To document the feasibility, describe the techniques, and determine the reliability of 2D speckle tracking (2DST) for characterization of LV radial and circumferential wall motion in horses. Methods: Three Standardbreds, 3 Thoroughbreds; age 8-14 years; body weight 517-606 kg. Methods: Observational study. Repeated 2-dimensional echocardiographic examinations were performed in unsedated horses by 2 observers and subsequently analyzed by 2DST. Test reliability was d...
Hart KA, Slovis NM, Barton MH.Transient hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction occurs frequently in critically ill humans and impacts survival. The prevalence and impact of HPA axis dysfunction in critically ill neonatal foals are not well characterized. Objective: (1) HPA axis dysfunction occurs in hospitalized neonatal foals, and is characterized by inappropriately low basal serum cortisol concentration or inadequate cortisol response to exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH); (2) hospitalized foals with HPA axis dysfunction have more severe disease and are less likely to survive than hospitalized fo...
Modrá H, Svobodová Z.This article reports the most frequent cases of poisoning in farm animals, horses, cats, dogs, wild animals, fish and honey-bees in the Czech Republic. At present, there are fewer cases of acute poisoning caused by high doses of toxic substances but there are more and more cases of chronic poisoning as a consequence of environmental pollution.
Tobari H, Yamagishi K, Noda H, Tanigawa T, Iso H.Prevention of horse-related injuries is considered difficult because horse behavior is unpredictable. Therefore, risk factors for injuries related to professional horse racing need to be investigated. We conducted a study to determine whether body mass index (BMI) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels are associated with professional horse racing-related injuries. Methods: A baseline healthy survey of 546 male grooms and exercise riders aged 40-70 yr working at Miho Training Center, the largest racing-horse training facility in Japan, was performed in May 2003. A total of 93 occupational ...
Dabareiner RM, Snyder JR, Sullins KE, White NA, Gardner IA.Intramural vascular patterns of the jejunum and colon were evaluated during ischemic strangulation obstruction (ISO, 70 minutes) and subsequent reperfusion (60 minutes) in 7 adult anesthetized horses. Microvasculature of experimental and control segments was described by comparison of results from microangiography, light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy of vascular replicas. Experimental and control segments with isolated vascular arcades were removed either immediately after the experimental period or after 60 minutes of reperfusion. Blood was flushed from the vascular system by u...
Thomas KC, Hamilton NA, North KN, Houweling PJ.The sarcomeric α-actinins, encoded by the genes ACTN2 and ACTN3, are major structural components of the Z-line and have high sequence similarity. α-Actinin-2 is present in all skeletal muscle fibres, while α-actinin-3 has developed specialized expression in only type 2 (fast, glycolytic) fibres. A common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the human ACTN3 gene (R577X) has been found to influence muscle performance in elite athletes and the normal population. For this reason, equine ACTN3 (eACTN3) is considered to be a possible candidate that may influence horse performance. In this stud...
Frank N, Andrews FM, Elliott SB, Lew J, Boston RC.Plasma lipid concentrations, lipoprotein composition, and glucose dynamics were measured and compared between mares fed diets containing added water, corn oil (CO), refined rice bran oil (RR), or crude rice bran oil (CR) to test the hypothesis that rice bran oil lowers plasma lipid concentrations, alters lipoprotein composition, and improves insulin sensitivity in mares. Eight healthy adult mares received a basal diet fed at 1.5 times the DE requirement for maintenance and each of the four treatments according to a repeated 4 x 4 Latin square design consisting of four 5-wk feeding periods. Blo...
Conwell RC, Hillyer MH, Mair TS, Pirie RS, Clegg PD.This retrospective study was conducted in the UK and identifies the most frequent causes, diagnoses, treatment and prognoses for short- and long-term survival in 54 cases of horses with haemoperitoneum. Clinical signs of haemorrhagic shock and colic were common, and abdominal ultrasound was very useful for the identification of haemoperitoneum. Causes of haemoperitoneum included uterine injury (22 per cent), involvement of specific blood vessels (20 per cent), splenic injury (19 per cent), neoplasia (13 per cent) and other (4 per cent). No source was identified in 22 per cent of cases. Fifty-s...
Sellke L, Patan-Zugaj B, Ludewig E, Cimrman R, Witter K.Different measuring techniques have been used to objectify the classification of hoof shape. The MicroScribe is a novel tool that might prove useful for measuring hooves without prior reconstruction or compensation of projection artefacts. The aim of this study was to compare biometric data of the equine hoof collected by the MicroScribe tool and measurements collected directly from hooves, scaled photographs and radiographs, from photogrammetry models and computed tomography datasets. The suitability of MicroScribe generated data to differentiate individual hoof conformations was tested. A to...
Ross MW, Bayha R.A 2-year-old Standardbred colt was examined because of signs of abdominal pain of 12 hours' duration. Clinical signs of disease, including tachycardia and abdominal distention, and rectal palpation findings of distention and thickening of the ventral colon, were consistent with displacement or early strangulation obstruction of the large colon. Surgical exploration revealed volvulus of the large colon around an axis formed by the dorsal mesenteric attachment of the transverse colon. The cecum could be completely exteriorized and lacked the cecocolic ligament and dorsal mesenteric attachments. ...
Reimer JM, Reef VB, Sweeney RW.Ventricular premature depolarizations (VPD) were identified in 21 horses in which unexplained tachycardia or an arrhythmia was detected on auscultation. Horses were categorized into 3 groups on the basis of ECG findings. Seven horses had uniform isolated VPD (group 1); 7 horses had repetitive uniform VPD at a rate or = 100 VPD/min (group 3). Concurrent systemic disease was identified in 12 horses, 7 of which had gastrointestinal tract disorders. Serum cardiac isoenzyme activities were high in 6 (2 from each group) of 13 horses in which they were measured. Serum electrolyte concentrations were...
Goudah A, Abo El-Sooud K, Shim JH, Shin HC, Abd El-Aty AM.The target of the present study was to investigate the plasma disposition kinetics of levofloxacin in stallions (n = 6) following a single intravenous (i.v.) bolus or intramuscular (i.m.) injection at a dose rate of 4 mg/kg bwt, using a two-phase crossover design with 15 days as an interval period. Plasma samples were collected at appropriate times during a 48-h administration interval, and were analyzed using a microbiological assay method. The plasma levofloxacin disposition was best fitted to a two-compartment open model after i.v. dosing. The half-lives of distribution and elimination were...
Varner DD, Vaughan SD, Johnson L.Three ejaculates from each of 3 stallions were used to evaluate a computerized system (Hamilton-Thorn motility analyzer; HTMA) for measuring equine spermatozoal motility. Variance components (ejaculate-within-stallion, chamber-within-ejaculate, and microscopic field-within-chamber) were determined for each stallion after diluting ejaculates to 25 x 10(6) spermatozoa/ml with a skim milk-glucose seminal extender. The HTMA was compared with frame-by-frame playback videomicrography (VIDEO) for determining: percentage of spermatozoal motility and spermatozoal number in microscopic fields; curviline...
Onzere CK, Fry LM, Bishop RP, Da Silva M, Madsen-Bouterse SA, Bastos RG, Knowles DP, Suarez CE.Theileria equi is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that causes severe hemolytic anaemia in most equid species. Similar to other apicomplexan parasites, T. equi contains rhoptries whose contents have been implicated in host cell invasion and formation of the parasitophorous vacuole that is crucial for survival of the species within cells. Despite their importance, the composition of T. equi rhoptries and their role(s) in host cell invasion remain unexplored. To gain insight into these issues, we evaluated the expression, immunogenicity, and functional roles of two T. equi rhoptry-as...
Chisu V, Serra E, Foxi C, Chessa G, Masala G.Piroplasmoses are tick-borne diseases caused by hemoprotozoan parasites of veterinary and public health significance. This study focuses on the molecular identification and characterization of species belonging to the genera in 152 blood samples, collected from 80 horses and 72 cattle from several farms in Sardinia, by targeting the 18S rRNA gene. The PCR results highlighted that 72% of the samples were positive for spp., with a rate of infection of 68% and 75% for the horses and cattle, respectively. Sequencing and the BLASTn analysis showed that the 18S rRNA generated in this study has 99-...
Matyjaszek SA, Morton AJ, Freeman DE, Grosche A, Polyak MM, Kuck H.To examine the effects of flunixin meglumine (FM) on recovery of colonic mucosa from experimentally induced ischemia in horses. Methods: 14 research horses. Methods: Ischemia was induced in the colons of anesthetized horses for 2 hours. Afterward, horses received saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (12 mL, IV, q 12 h; n = 7) or FM (1.1 mg/kg, IV, q 12 h; 7) and were allowed to recover for 18 hours after termination of the ischemic event. Postoperative pain scores were recorded every 4 hours throughout the recovery period. At the end of the recovery period, horses were anesthetized, and ischemic and no...
Benhajali H, Ezzaouia M, Lunel C, Charfi F, Hausberger M.Discomfort in farm animals may be induced by inappropriate types or timing of food supplies. Thus, time restriction of meals and lack of roughage have been shown to be one source of emergence of oral stereotypies and abnormal behaviour in horses which have evolved to eat high-fibre diets in small amounts over long periods of time. This feeding pattern is often altered in domestic environment where horses are often fed low fibre meals that can be rapidly consumed. This study aimed at determining the effect of the temporal pattern of feeding on reproductive efficiency of breeding mares, One hund...
Tesena P, Yingchutrakul Y, Roytrakul S, Wongtawan T, Angkanaporn K.Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD) is a common disease in sport horses. This disease might be associated with usage of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for treating inflammatory diseases. Although gastroscopy has been an effective method for diagnosis, but a less invasive, and inexpensive method is preferred. This study used proteomic technology to identify candidate serum proteins that might be used as markers of NSAIDs induced EGGD. Five Thoroughbred horses were given high doses of NSAID, phenylbutazone to treat lameness. The experiment was divided into three periods: (i) P...
Urubschurov V, Stroebel C, Günther E, Romanowski K, Büsing K, Zeyner A.Effects of probiotics on the intestinal microbiota of foals are yet insufficiently studied. The aim of this study was to investigate whether supplementation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (DSM 7133) and Enterococcus faecium (DSM 7134) influences the bacterial composition of the faecal microbiota of foals. A total of 34 newborn foals were randomly assigned to the placebo group (PG, n = 16) and the treatment group (TG, n = 18). From day 1 to day 14 of life, foals orally received 3 ml of either a probiotic preparation (1.05 × 10 CFU E. faecium and 4.50 × 10 CFU L. rhamnosus) or placebo (...
Quiñones Mateu ME, Finol HJ, Sucre LE, Torres SH.Skeletal muscle biopsy specimens were taken from 10 male horses naturally infected with Trypanosoma evansi and from 10 uninfected males. An indirect fluorescent antibody test was used to provide a rapid and reliable indication of infection. Histological, histochemical and transmission electron microscopical techniques were used to examine skeletal muscle. The ultrastructural features in muscle fibres were those usually seen in autoimmune disease, namely fibre and capillary necrosis and mononuclear cell infiltration, consisting of macrophages. Changes in fibre-type percentages did not occur in ...
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.
Sullins KE, Messer NT, Nelson L.Twenty-one adult horses were randomly assigned into 7 groups of 3 and were treated for 5 days with procaine penicillin G, benzathine penicillin , or phenylbutazone in various combinations and dosage schedules. Serum concentration of penicillin was measured serially over a 7-day period. The highest mean peak serum concentration was 2.06 micrograms/ml. Comparable peak values were seen 2 to 4 hours after administration of 22,000 IU of procaine penicillin G/kg of body weight given once or twice daily. A minimum serum concentration of 0.25 micrograms/ml was selected as adequate for efficacy against...
Enck KM, Lee KW, McKinney BH, Blankenship KD, Montesano C.It has been demonstrated that immunoglobulin (Ig)E specific for cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCD) is present in the serum of sensitized humans, dogs and cats, and that these CCD-specific antibodies might confound serological testing. Objective: The objective was to determine whether or not CCD-reactive antibodies occur in horses and to investigate the prevalence of CCD-reactive IgE antibodies in equine sera using a monoclonal cocktail-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay designed to detect allergen-specific IgE in horses, and to evaluate a means for successful inhibition of the...
Kinsley R, Pronost S, De Bock M, Temperton N, Daly JM, Paillot R, Scott S.Equine influenza is a major respiratory disease of horses that is largely controlled by vaccination in some equine populations. Virus-neutralising antibodies, the mainstay of the protective immune response, are problematic in assaying for equine influenza virus, as most strains do not replicate efficiently in cell culture. Surrogate measures of protective antibody responses include the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and single radial haemolysis (SRH) assay. For this study, a pseudotyped virus, bearing an envelope containing the haemagglutinin (HA) from the Florida clade 2 equine influe...
Carstens A, Kirberger RM, Dahlberg LE, Prozesky L, Fletcher L, Lammentausta E.The purpose of this study was to determine whether delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) and T2 mapping are accurate techniques for measuring cartilage thickness in the metacarpus3/metatarsus3 (Mc3/Mt3) of Thoroughbred racehorses. Twenty-four Mc3/Mt3 cadaver specimens were acquired from six healthy racehorses. Cartilage thickness was measured from postintra-articular Gd-DTPA(2-) images acquired using short tau inversion recovery (STIR), and proton density weighted (PDw) sequences, and compared with cartilage thickness measured from corresponding histolog...
McDonnell SM, Garcia MC, Kenney RM, Van Arsdalen KN.Imipramine hydrochloride was administered to five male horses (400-500 kg b.wt.): one experienced young stallion, two mature normal breeding stallions, one 5-year-old stallion with erection and ejaculatory dysfunction, and one long-term castrated male horse. Oral imipramine treatment (100 to 600 mg, twice daily) led to frequent erection and masturbation while at rest in the stall in a nonsexual context. Intravenous imipramine treatment over a range of doses (50 to 1000 mg) similarly induced erection and masturbation in all animals. Erection typically occurred within 10 minutes after injection,...
Péters F, Franck T, Pequito M, de la Rebière G, Grulke S, Salccicia A, Verwilghen D, Chiavaccini L, Deby-Dupont G, Serteyn D.The previous experiments have shown that some phenothiazines have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in vitro. In this study the inhibition of the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by neutrophils was studied in two groups of horses, which received a dose of 0.1 mg/kg of either acepromazine or promethazine intravenously. Blood samples were collected before (T0) and 0.5, 1, 3 and 5 h after drug administration. The chemiluminescence (CML) response of neutrophils was measured ex vivo in the presence of luminol for a period of 10 min and the maximum CML value (peak value) record...
Williams MM, Davis EG, KuKanich B.The objective of the study was to assess the pharmacokinetics of terbinafine administered orally to horses and Greyhound dogs. A secondary objective was to assess terbinafine metabolites. Six healthy horses and six healthy Greyhound dogs were included in the pharmacokinetic data. The targeted dose of terbinafine was 20 and 30 mg/kg for horses and dogs, respectively. Blood was collected at predetermined intervals for the quantification of terbinafine concentrations with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The half-life (geometric mean) was 8.1 and 8.6 h for horses and Greyhounds, respe...
Bustos CP, Dominguez JE, Garda D, Moroni M, Pallarols Molinari N, Herrera M, Chacana PA, Mesplet M.Salmonella spp. causes digestive clinical signs in horses. Foals and hospitalized animals are more susceptible to the disease. Nowadays, the report of multidrug-resistant Salmonella spp. producer of extended-spectrum β-lactamases, is more frequent. The aim of this work was to study the clonal relationship and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles among Salmonella ser. Typhimurium isolates, obtained during a salmonellosis outbreak in an Argentinian equine hospital. Thus, in 2017, we studied the genotypic profiles and the susceptibility to antimicrobials of the strains isolated from three anima...
Hanche-Olsen S, Kielland C, Ihler CF, Hultin Jäderlund K.Acquired equine polyneuropathy (AEP), a neurological disease clinically characterised by knuckling of metatarsophalangeal joints, has been described in numerous Nordic horses during the last 20 years. Although clinical recovery has been reported, large-scale data on long-term follow-up of survivors have been lacking. Objective: To describe long-term survival of AEP affected horses registered in Norway, with a focus on athletic performance and possible residual clinical signs connected to the disease. Methods: A retrospective cohort study. Methods: The study includes 143 horses recorded with A...
Byrne CA, Marshall JF, Voute LC.Investigation of image quality in clinical equine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may optimise diagnostic value. Objective: To assess the influence of field strength and anaesthesia on image quality in MR imaging of the equine foot in a clinical context. Methods: Analytical clinical study. Methods: Fifteen equine foot studies (five studies per system) were randomly selected from the clinical databases of three MR imaging systems: low-field standing (LF St), low-field anaesthetised (LF GA) and high-field anaesthetised (HF GA). Ten experienced observers graded image quality for entire studies an...
