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.
Johnson CB, Bloomfield M, Taylor PM.The electroencephalographic (EEG) effects of a rapid infusion of midazolam and sarmazenil following a bolus of midazolam were investigated in eight Welsh mountain ponies anaesthetized with 0.8% halothane in oxygen. The peak plasma concentration of midazolam was 2.13 +/- 0.34 ng/mL (mean +/- SD) occurring 5 min after the start of the infusion. Sarmazenil concentrations were not measured. The 95% spectral edge frequency of the EEG decreased by a maximum of 39.8 +/- 15.8%, 10 min after the start of the midazolam infusion. No changes were seen in median frequency of the EEG or the second different...
Bartmann CP, Schiemann V.Diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy have offered an advance in equine fertility diagnostic and equine fertility surgery. A distension of the uterine cavity and an establishment of a continuous intrauterine pressure are basic requirements for complete visualisation of intrauterine structures and safe and efficient surgical procedures. Superelevated pressure and resorption of distension media may result in fatal complications. Intrauterine pressure was monitored in 28 healthy di- or anestrus mares during hysteroscopy via a transcervically inserted catheter. Mares were sedated with xylazine and...
Matthee S, Dreyer FH, Hoffmann WA, van Niekerk FE.Fifty-one per cent of 110 questionnaires, designed for obtaining information on helminth control practices and management on Thoroughbred stud farms in South Africa, were completed by farmers during 2000. The number of horses per farm included in the questionnaire survey ranged from 15 to 410. Foals, yearlings and adult horses were treated with anthelmintics at a mean of 7.3 +/- 3.0, 6.6 +/- 2.7 and 5.3 +/- 2.3 times per year, respectively. An average of 3.4 different drugs were used annually, with ivermectin being used bymost farmers during 1997-2000. On 43% of farms the weights of horses wer...
Hunter RP.Inflammation is a process consisting of a complex of cytological and chemical reactions which occur in and around affected blood vessels and adjacent tissues in response to an injury caused by a physical, chemical or biological insult. Much work has been performed in the past several years investigating inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS, EC 1.14.13.39) and nitric oxide in inflammation. This has resulted in a rapid increase in knowledge about iNOS and nitric oxide. Nitric oxide formation from inducible NOS is regulated by numerous inflammatory mediators, often with contradictory effects, dep...
Naidoo V, Gehring R.An overview of reports of suspected adverse drug reactions received by the Veterinary Pharmacovigilance and Medicines Information Centre during the period March 2001 to February 2002 is given. A total of 77 reports were received. The majority of reports involved suspected adverse reactions that occurred in dogs and cats. Most products implicated in the reports were Stock Remedies. The products were predominantly administered either by veterinarians or trained paraveterinary professionals. Although the majority of reports were received from veterinary pharmaceutical companies, the proportion of...
McKenzie EC, Valberg SJ, Godden SM, Pagan JD, Carlson GP, MacLeay JM, DeLaCorte FD.To determine daily variation in urinary clearance and fractional excretion (FE) of electrolytes and minerals within and between horses and to compare volumetric and single-sample urine collection for determining FE values of diets with a range of dietary cation-anion balance (DCAB). Methods: 5 Thoroughbred and 6 mixed-breed mares. Methods: 3 isocaloric diets with low, medium, and high DCAB values (85, 190, and 380 mEq/kg of dry matter, respectively) were each fed for 14 days. Daily blood samples, single urine samples collected by using a urinary catheter (5 mares), and volumetric urine collect...
Hill AE, Carpenter TE, Gardner IA, Stover SM.To evaluate a Markov-chain model for the development of forelimb injuries in Thoroughbreds and to use the model to determine effects of reducing sprint distance on incidence of metacarpal condylar fracture (CDY) and severe suspensory apparatus injury (SSAI). Methods: Weekly exercise and injury data for 122 Thoroughbreds during racing or training. Methods: Weekly data were used to construct a Markov-chain model with 5 states (uninjured [UNINJ], palpable suspensory apparatus injury [PSAII, SSAI, CDY, and lost to follow-up [LOST]). Transition probabilities between UNINJ and PSAI were estimated as...
Brown NA, Pandy MG, Buford WL, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW.To determine whether muscle moment arms at the carpal and metacarpophalangeal joints can be modeled as fixed-radius pulleys for the range of motion associated with the stance phase of the gait in equine forelimbs. Methods: 4 cadaveric forelimbs from 2 healthy Thoroughbreds. Methods: Thin wire cables were sutured at the musculotendinous junction of 9 forelimb muscles. The cables passed through eyelets at each muscle's origin, wrapped around single-turn potentiometers, and were loaded. Tendon excursions, measured as the changes in lengths of the cables, were recorded during manual rotation of th...
van Schie HT, Bakker EM, Jonker AM, van Weeren PR.To describe a method of computerized ultrasonographic tissue characterization that includes structures below the size limits of resolution in equine superficial digital flexor tendons. Methods: 2 damaged and 2 structurally normal superficial digital flexor tendons. Methods: Transverse ultrasonographic images were collected along the tendon long axis. Stability of echo pattern was quantified by means of variation in gray levels of each pixel in contiguous images and expressed as correlation, entropy, and waviness ratios. Results: Normal young and normal old tissues were characterized by high co...
Wagner IP, Rees CA, Dunstan RW, Credille KM, Hood DM.To determine whether systemic immunologic hyperreactivity exists in horses with chronic laminitis, compared with responses for nonlaminitic horses. Methods: 7 nonlaminitic horses and 7 CL horses. Methods: In experiment 1, intradermal testing (IDT) was performed on 7 nonlaminitic and 7 CL horses to evaluate the response to a combination of 70 allergens at 15 and 30 minutes and 4 and 24 hours after injection. Three nonlaminitic and 3 CL horses used in experiment 1 were used in experiment 2 to determine whether histologic differences existed between the 2 groups. The H&E-stained tissue sectio...
Lillich JD, Rakestraw PC, Roussel AJ, Finley MR, Ganta S, Freeman LC.To determine whether ether-a-go-go (ERG) potassium channels are expressed in equine gastrointestinal smooth muscle, whether ERG channel antagonists affect jejunal muscle contraction in vitro, and whether plasma cisapride concentrations in horses administered treatment for postoperative ileus (POI) are consistent with ERG channels as drug targets. Methods: Samples of intestinal smooth muscle obtained from 8 horses free of gastrointestinal tract disease and plasma samples obtained from 3 horses administered cisapride for treatment of POI. Methods: Membranes were prepared from the seromuscular la...
Herholz CP, Gerber V, Tschudi P, Straub R, Imhof A, Busato A.To investigate whether volumetric capnography indices could be used to differentiate between horses without recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and horses with RAO that were in clinical remission or that had clinically apparent RAO. Methods: 70 adult Swiss Warmblood horses (20 used for pleasure riding and 50 used for dressage or show jumping). Methods: Horses were allocated to 4 groups on the basis of history, clinical signs, results of endoscopy, and cytologic findings (group 1, 21 healthy horses; group 2, 22 horses with RAO that were in remission; group 3, 16 horses with mild RAO; group 4, 11...
Westcott DG, King DP, Drew TW, Nowotny N, Kindermann J, Hannant D, Belák S, Paton DJ.Routine detection of equine arteritis virus (EAV) can be achieved by virus isolation (VI) in cell culture, or by the amplification of viral genome by molecular methods. To simplify molecular diagnosis, a number of different Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and RT-nested PCR (RT-nPCR) assays were compared, and a one-tube method was developed and optimised utilizing a fluorogenic probe (TaqMan). An artificial RNA template (Mimic) and associated probe were also constructed to provide in-tube validation of the RT-PCR system. To assess the utility of the RT-PCR TaqMan assay,...
Sinowatz F, Wessa E, Neumüller C, Palma G.Sperm binding and sperm penetration of the zona pellucida (zp) are regarded as species-specific. In this investigation, the interactions between bovine oocytes and porcine, respectively, equine spermatozoa have been studied under in vitro conditions and compared with the normal in vitro fertilization of bovine oocytes by bovine sperm. Surprisingly, many of the heterologous spermatozoa adhered firmly to the bovine oocytes and could not be removed by intense washing. On average, more than 100 boar or equine spermatozoa were bound to the zp of bovine oocytes. Electron microscopic studies clearly ...
Oke RA.A 5-year-old quarter horse mare presented with unilateral, severe, chronic forelimb lameness. Radiographs revealed extensive hoof wall separation and capsular rotation of the distal phalanx. Treatment included dorsal hoof wall resection, phenylbutazone, a bar shoe, and stall rest. Whether white line disease or laminitis was the primary lesion remains unclear.
Herholz C, Straub R, Braendlin C, Imhof A, Lüthi S, Busato A.Tidal breathing flow-volume loop (TBFVL) indices in healthy horses and in horses suffering from mild and moderate to severe recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) were measured. In addition, the ability of these indices to differentiate healthy controls from horses with mild RAO by separating the horses according to their usage was investigated. The horses were assigned to three sporting categories: 1 Leisure horses; 2 Horses competing at events with a duration of more than five minutes (eventing, coaching and endurance); and 3 Horses competing at events with a duration of less than five minutes (...
Sieme H, Martinsson G, Rauterberg H, Walter K, Aurich C, Petzoldt R, Klug E.The objective of this research was to improve the techniques in processing chilled and frozen-thawed horse semen. In a preliminary experiment (Exp. I), different techniques for sperm selection and preparation [Swim-up, Glass wool (GW) filtration, Glass wool Sephadex (GWS) filtration; Percoll] were tested for their suitability for equine spermatozoa and results were compared with the routine procedure by dilution (Exp. I). In the main experiment (Exp. II), two sperm preparation techniques (GWS, Leucosorb) refering to the results of Exp. I and a previous study of our group (Pferdcheilkunde 1996 ...
Weiss DJ, Moritz A.Previous studies have suggested an association between equine immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and clostridial infections or neck abscesses. Objective: The purpose of this report was to describe and characterize the hematologic abnormalities in a horse with Clostridium-associated immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. We also retrospectively evaluated hematologic abnormalities in 8 horses with clostridial myositis or subcutaneous emphysema. Methods: A 7-year-old Foreign Warm-Blood gelding was evaluated for anemia and a cervical abscess. CBCs and reticulocyte counts were obtained using an Advia 120 ...
Carstanjen B, Duboeuf F, Detilleux J, Lepage OM.The purpose of this ex vivo study was to analyse two commonly established methods of mechanical bone property assessment for application in horses: Quantitative ultrasound (QUS), which depends on the bone's density and Young's modulus, and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which depends on the areal bone mineral density (BMD). The third metacarpal bone (MC III) of horses was selected as examination region for practical reasons. An interrelationship between QUS- and DXA-values was examined. Both MC III of eleven randomly selected equine cadavers were divided in nine regions of interest (R...
Dekker R, Groothoff JW, Eisma WH, ten Duis HJ.To determine whether equestrian injuries result in long-term residual symptoms and to establish the risk factors for these outcomes. Methods: Retrospective, descriptive. Methods: A total of 88 patients older than 17 years of age who had been admitted to the Department of Surgery, University Hospital Groningen during the period 1990-1998 because of an equestrian injury were included in the study. After an average period of five years an inventory was made using the Sickness Impact Profile 68 (SIP68), if absenteeism from work or sport and disabilities or handicaps were experienced. Following thi...
Van Eenoo P, Delbeke FT, Roels K, Baert K.Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are prohibited by the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities but are commonly used in veterinary practice. Plasma and urinary concentrations of the NSAID tolmetin were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure with UV detection following oral administration of a dose of 1 g to six fasted untrained standard bred mares. With a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.05 microg/ml tolmetin was present in plasma for 9-12 h post-administration. Maximum concentrations of 2.1+/-0.89 microg/ml were found after 0.7+/-0.25 h. T...
Haffner JC, Fecteau KA, Eiler H.To determine whether tetanus antitoxin, equine serum, and acetylcysteine, which are currently used in the treatment of equine corneal ulcer, inhibit the digestion of equine corneal collagen when exposed to collagenase in vitro. Methods: Corneas from 40 adult horses. Methods: Sections of equine corneas were incubated with saline, a solution of bacterial collagenase in saline, bacterial collagenase in saline plus equine tetanus antitoxin, bacterial collagenase in saline plus equine serum, or bacterial collagenase in saline plus acetylcysteine. Each one of the collagenase inhibitors was tested at...
Rosa M, Cardozo LM, da Silva Pereira J, Brooks DE, Martins AL, Florido PS, Stussi JS.The conjunctival fungal flora of 32 adult horses with normal eyes (n = 64) from the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was identified in the fall of 2000 using horses of different breeds, both genders and aged 5-19 years old. The culture samples were taken from the conjunctival sac of both eyes with a sterile cotton swab wetted with saline solution, seeded in Sabouraud's dextrose agar with chloramphenicol, and incubated for 5 days at an average temperature of 25 degrees C. The number of fungal colonies per eye varied between 0 and 250 colony forming units (CFUs). There were often differences in...
Turell MJ, O'Guinn ML, Parker MD.Specific mutations associated with attenuation of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus in rodent models were identified during efforts to develop an improved VEE vaccine. Analogous mutations were produced in full-length cDNA clones of the Cba 87 strain of western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus by site-directed mutagenesis in an attempt to develop an improved WEE vaccine. Isogenic viral strains with these mutations were recovered after transfection of baby hamster kidney cells with infectious RNA. We evaluated two of these strains (WE2102 and WE2130) for their ability to replicate in and...
Benamou AE, Marlin DJ, Callingham BC, Hiley RC, Lekeux R.There is currently little published information about the effects of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent endogenous spasmogen of vascular and airway smooth muscle, on pulmonary vasculature and airways or which ET receptor subtypes mediate ET-1-induced vasoconstrictive and bronchoconstrictive action in the horse. Objective: To investigate the effect of endothelin-1 (ET-1) on smooth muscle from isolated equine pulmonary artery and bronchus. In addition, the roles of ETA and ETB receptors in ET-1 mediated contraction in these tissues were assessed. Methods: The force generation of ring segments from pu...
Robson PJ, Alston TD, Myburgh KH.An increased susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections of the respiratory tract, which results in a loss of performance, has been reported in racehorses. Much research has focused on the influence of high-intensity exercise of a short duration on immune system function in horses, but scant attention has been given to prolonged endurance exercise as an immune modulator. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an 80 km endurance race on the monocyte and neutrophil oxidative burst, serum cortisol, glutamine and plasma glucose concentrations in 8 endurance-train...
Abreu RA, Weiss RR, Thomaz-Soccol V, Locatelli-Dittrich R, Laskoski LM, Bertol MA, Koch MO, Alban SM, Green KT.Sera from 112 mares from 5 horse-breeding farms was examined for the presence of antibodies to Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), as well as from dogs and cattle present on these properties for the presence of antibodies to N. caninum. Among the 112 mares, 35 had a history of reproductive problems in the last breeding season and 77 had no reproductive problems. The rates of seroprevalence of N. caninum in mares with and without a history of reproductive problems were 25.71% and 6.49% and from T. gondii 2.85% and 1.29%, respectively. In dogs ...
Saeidi E, Mansoori Yarahmadi H, Fakhraei J, Mojahedi S.The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of dietary prebiotic fructooligosaccharides (FOS) from inulin and Enterococcus faecium on nutrient digestibility, fecal pH, and some blood parameters. In this experiment, twelve adult Kurdish horses with average bogy weight of 416 ± 43.3 kg and age averaging 6 ± 1.8 year were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin Square experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial design during 4 periods of 28 days, including 21 days for dietary adaptation and 7 days for sampling. Horses were offered 1 of 4 treatments: (1) no FOS or 2.5 × 10 colony forming ...
Hoque S, Derar RI, Senba H, Osawa T, Kano K, Taya K, Miyake Y.To clarify the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics in mares with granulosa theca cell tumor (GTCT), the localization of inhibin subunits (alpha, betaA, betaB) and aromatase in the granulosa cell layers and theca layers in the ovarian follicles were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The follicles were obtained from the ovaries of 6 mares with GTCT and 4 normal mares as controls. Immunohistochemically, inhibin alpha-subunit was localized in the granulosa cells of all follicles showing different sizes in all GTCT cases and betaA- subunit was localized in two GTCT cases...
Wong KS, Chan GHM, Ho ENM, Wan TSM.Growth hormone (GH), or somatotropin, is a protein that may enhance physical performance and facilitate growth and wound healing. For this reason, growth hormones and their recombinant analogues are prohibited in human sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and in horseracing under Article 6 of the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering published by the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA). Identifying the illicit use of GHs in both human athletes and racehorses is challenging, especially when differentiating between endogenous and exogenous GHs,...
Carver DA, Ball BA.Previous studies have demonstrated a detrimental effect of seminal plasma on the maintenance of motility of cooled equine spermatozoa; however, the mechanism for the adverse effect of seminal plasma during cooled storage remains undetermined. In goats, a glycoprotein component of bulbourethral gland secretion contains lipase activity that is detrimental to sperm motility when stored in skim milk-based extenders. The objective of the current study was to determine the amount of lipase activity in stallion seminal plasma and to determine the effect of added lipase on spermatozoal motility during...
Souza EAR, Araujo AC, Pires LCSR, Freschi CR, Azevedo SS, Machado RZ, Horta MC.Equine piroplasmosis, an economically important disease in horses, has so far not been reported in Pernambuco state, Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-Babesia caballi and anti-Theileria equi antibodies based on the detection of these agents in equine blood and in ticks on horses in the municipality of Petrolina, Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Blood samples were drawn from 393 horses and sera were examined by ELISA. The presence of tick infestations was evaluated, and 101 ticks were subjected to DNA amplification for the detection of Babesia spp. by polymerase ch...
White SD, Rosychuk RA, Outerbridge CA, Fieseler KV, Spier S, Ihrke PJ, Chapman PL.Our objective was to determine if thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT), the enzyme important in the metabolism of azathioprine in human beings, is detectable in red blood cell lysates (RBCL) of healthy dogs, cats, and horses. Values for TPMT activity were determined from blood collected from 20 healthy dogs, cats, and horses. The TPMT activity in each animal's RBCL was determined using a radioenzymatic end point involving TPMT-facilitated metabolism of 6-mercaptopurine to 6-methylmercaptopurine (6-MMP). One unit of TPMT activity represents the formation of 1 nmol of 6-MMP per milliliter of pack...
Walters M, Skovgaard K, Andersen PH, Heegaard PMH, Jacobsen S.The role of resident cells such a synoviocytes and chondrocytes in intra-articular inflammation is well-characterized, however the in vivo gene expression patterns of cells (predominantly leukocytes) in the synovial fluid (SF) of an inflamed joint have never previously been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate gene expression in SF leukocytes from the inflamed joint cavity after intra-articular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection in horses to improve our understanding of the temporal regulation of the intra-articular inflammatory response. Gene expression was investigated in S...
Dierberger H, Pieper L, Jung M, Schulze M.Appropriate stallion semen handling is of great importance in equine artificial insemination (AI) industry. Optimal treatment of AI doses is aiming for best sperm preservation by excluding strong environmental influences and adding media that favour sperm survival. One method widely used in stallion sperm handling is the rotation of liquid-preserved semen samples on roller benches during storage. As previous studies in boars give rise to the fact that rotation should not be considered beneficial for spermatozoa anymore, the present study investigated the influence of continuous rotation of dil...
Pesko B, Habershon-Butcher J, Muir T, Gray B, Taylor P, Fenwick S, Hincks P, Scarth J, Paine S.Paracetamol is a widely used, non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic drug. Scientific evidence suggests that it is an effective pain treatment in equine medicine. However, there is very little published information about the pharmacokinetics of the drug in the horse. The aim of the research was to determine the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol in equine plasma and urine to inform treatment of Thoroughbred racehorses. In this multi-dose study, paracetamol was administered orally at 20 mg/kg to six Thoroughbred horses. Pre- and post-administration urine and plasma samples were collected and analys...
Lorenzo-Figueras M, Pusterla N, Byrne BA, Samitz EM.To evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial conventional blood culture system (BCS), a commercial resin-containing BCS, and a commercial lysis-centrifugation-based BCS for the recovery of Escherichia coli from equine blood samples inoculated with that organism. Methods: Samples of blood obtained from a clinically normal horse that were inoculated with E coli. Methods: Blood samples were aseptically collected and inoculated with an E coli specimen (50 CFUs/mL) that had been previously isolated from a foal with sepsis. Subsequently, samples were spiked with gentamicin at a concentration of 30 ...
Rose PL, Bradley WM.Strangulating volvulus of the large colon was treated by resection and anastomosis of the colon in 9 horses. Tissue specimens were obtained at the site of the resection for histologic evaluation. An attempt was made to correlate the appearance of the colon at the time of surgery to the histologic evaluation and the eventual outcome. Six of the 9 horses (66%) survived. This is in contrast to a reported survival of 34.7 to 36% after decompression and reduction of colonic volvulus. Survival after surgery could not be predicted on the basis of visual assessment or histologic examination.
Popot MA, Jacobs M, Garcia P, Loup B, Guyonnet J, Toutain PL, Bailly-Chouriberry L, Bonnaire Y.Tiludronate is a bisphosphonate drug marketed to treat different bone conditions in horses. Objective: The goal of this study was to measure the plasma concentrations of tiludronate in a population of race and sport horses under field conditions, and using pharmacokinetic population modelling, to estimate detection times for doping control. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: This study was conducted under field conditions on 39 race or sport horses diagnosed with bone conditions based on a lameness examination and treated with tiludronate. Each horse received 1 mg/kg of tiludronate (Tildren...
Creton B, Pageat P, Robejean M, Lafont-Lecuelle C, Cozzi A.Hematophagous insects can be vectors of pathogens and cause significant economic loss in zootechnical production. Among biting insects, many dipteran species feed on horse blood. The black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) group, is responsible for several disorders in horses and inflicts painful bites that lead to undesirable behaviours in horses, particularly when bites occur in sensitive areas such as the inner ear. A field study was conducted in a French equestrian center during which a semiochemical was applied on horses' ears to assess repellent efficacy against simulid infestation. During the f...
Bertone AL, Reisbig NA, Kilborne AH, Kaido M, Salmanzadeh N, Lovasz R, Sizemore JL, Scheuermann L, Kopp RJ, Zekas LJ, Brokken MT.To assess if injection of allogeneic dental pulp tissue particles would improve lameness in horses with naturally occurring osteoarthritis (OA) or soft tissue (ST) injury. Methods: Prospective, randomized, blinded, and controlled clinical trial and client survey assessment. Methods: Forty lame client-owned horses. Methods: Sterile dental pulp, recovered from otherwise healthy foals that perish during dystocia, was processed under good manufacturing processing to produce mechanically manipulated, unexpanded pulp tissue particles containing viable cells surrounded in extracellular matrix. Forty ...
Posta J, Rudiné Mezei A, Mihók S, Mészáros G.The aim of this study was to analyse the duration of the competitive life of jumping horses in Hungary to assess the potential for genetic evaluation and to get information about the risk factors affecting jumping performance of sport horses. The data set included lifetime performance in jumping competitions for 8475 horses born from 1992 onwards with records between 1996 and 2011 (32.7% were right-censored). Longevity was measured as the number of years spent in the competition. Discrete time survival model included fixed effects of gender, age at first competition, and the time-dependent eff...
DeBenedette V.Horseback riding carries several risks, some of which can be minimized if riders take riding lessons, wear proper headgear and footgear, and remember that they are on top of a large, willful animal.
Köllmann M, Rötting A, Heberling A, Sieme H.The diagnostic and therapeutic options for oviduct disorders in the mare are limited. The current best techniques require exploratory surgery under general anaesthesia or flank laparotomy. Objective: The orthograde flushing of the oviduct for diagnostic or therapeutic options is possible using laparoscopic techniques in the standing sedated mare. Methods: Development of a laparoscopic technique for catheterisation of the infundibulum and flushing of the oviduct (sterile methylene blue solution) in the standing sedated mare was examined in 2 experiments. The first involved a transvaginal laparo...
Cummings JF, de Lahunta A, Timoney JF.Four cases of neuritis of the cauda equina (NCE) were studied by light and electron microscopy. Examination of sacral intradural rootlets revealed inflammatory cell infiltrates and an array of myelinated fiber changes which included myelin stripping by invading mononuclear cells and macrophages, as well as splitting and vesiculation of myelin lamellae without obvious participation by leukocytes. More distally in the extradural roots, there was marked granulomatous inflammation, and demyelinative changes were overshadowed by widespread evidence of irreversible axon damage. In all cases, unusual...
Furr M.Diagnosis of neuro-inflammatory conditions in the horse can be challenging. Current methods include evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for inflammation and determination of specific antibody status. The antibody index (AI) and Goldman-Witmer coefficient (C-value) can be used to aid in the interpretation. Objective: The null hypothesis to be tested was that the Al and C-values do not change in horses with neuroinflammation. Methods: Twelve horses of various ages (3-17 years) and breeds (Thoroughbred, Thoroughbred cross, draft, and Arabian) were included in the study. Methods: The study was...
Rebhun WC.Corneal squamous cell carcinomas with surface areas of more than 2.0 cm were diagnosed in 26 eyes of 25 horses. The depth of the lesion into the corneal stroma and involvement of the ocular adnexa were important determinants for surgical treatment. Corneal tumors that extended into adjacent palpebral conjunctiva, eyelid, or orbit were not amenable to complete excision, while those that involved only cornea and bulbar conjunctiva were treated surgically by keratectomy and beta radiation. Initial treatment was keratectomy followed by beta radiation on 24 eyes and enucleation of two eyes. Twenty ...
Grant DC, Westropp JL, Shiraki R, Ruby AL.Laser lithotripsy has been used as an alternative to surgical removal of uroliths. Objective: To describe the procedure and efficacy of laser lithotripsy for removal of lower urinary tract uroliths in horses. Additionally, the ultrastructure and the differences in mineralogy and microstructure from 1 successful and 1 unsuccessful laser lithotripsy case are described. Methods: Six client-owned horses with 7 episodes of naturally occurring urocystoliths, urethroliths, or both. Methods: Retrospective study of all horses treated between 2006 and 2008 by laser lithotripsy. All horses were sedated f...
Parker RA, Bladon BM, McGovern K, Smith KC.To describe and discuss previously unreported complications associated with intraosseous perfusion with gentamicin in horses. Methods: Case report. Methods: Ten-year-old Warmblood gelding. Methods: Intraosseous perfusion with gentamicin into the proximal phalanx (P1) was used as part of the treatment regimen for distal interphalangeal joint and navicular bursa synovial sepsis. Although the sepsis responded favorably complications developed at the perfusion site, including persistent osteomyelitis, progressive osteonecrosis, and ultimately pathologic fracture of P1. Results: The progression of ...
Ganjam VK, McLeod C, Klesius PH, Washburn SM, Kwapien R, Brown B, Fazeli MH.The reaction between ovarian hormones and experimental uterine infection (Streptococcus zooepidemicus) was investigated in 3 groups, each containing 6 ovariectomized mares. Group 1 served as controls ('anoestrus'), Group 2 mares were injected with oestrogen ('oestrus') and Group 3 with progesterone ('dioestrus') over a period of 5 weeks. All mares received an intrauterine inoculation of the bacteria 1 week after the start of hormonal treatment, and the results of the challenge were examined by endometrial biopsy and swabs once weekly. At the end of Week 1 no bacteria were recovered from the ma...
Mosichuk AP, Smith JS, Tatarniuk DM, Troy JR, Kreuder AJ.Septic synovitis is a critical orthopedic condition in horses. Early intervention is key, with antibiotic therapy typically initiated prior to culture and susceptibility reports becoming available. The pharmacokinetics of several antibiotics have been studied in horses for use in intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) for septic synovitis, including the carbapenem antibiotic, meropenem. For a variety of factors, some veterinary clinicians may select IVRLP meropenem as therapy for these cases. Meropenem is a vital antibiotic in human medicine, making veterinary use divisive. However, verif...
Infectious causes of myositis are reported relatively uncommonly in horses. Among them, bacterial causes include subsp. , , spp. spp, and . Infection can be spread to muscles via haematogenous or extension from skin lesions. Parasitic myositis has also been documented. In this report, a 12 year-old Italian Quarter Horse mare presented with diffuse subcutaneous nodules and masses ranging from 2 × 3 to 5 × 20 cm in size, and adherent to subcutis and muscles that were first macroscopically and cytologically diagnosed as pyogranulomas. Subsequently, histological, molecular, bacteriological, a...
Tomlinson JE, Sage AM, Turner TA, Feeney DA.To map the equine pelvis using ultrasonography, validated by use of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and measurements of frozen cadaver slices. Methods: 6 ponies and 6 horses. Methods: Ultrasonographic examination of the pelvis was performed on 6 clinically normal ponies. Measurements were obtained for imaged structures. Computed tomography, MRI, and measurements of frozen sections were performed after death and used to verify measurements. Linear regression determined the degree of correlation between measurements obtained ultrasonographically and the other modaliti...
Ruggles AJ, Ross MW.Medical records of 28 horses with impaction of the small colon were reviewed; 20 horses were admitted during the winter months. Diagnosis of small-colon impaction was made in 21 horses by rectal examination, and in 7 horses at exploratory celiotomy. Ten horses were treated medically, and 18 were treated surgically. Horses that were treated surgically were more likely to have abdominal distention than were those that responded to medical treatment (P less than 0.025). Signs of greater degree of abdominal pain and higher heart rate were seen in horses treated surgically, but these values were no...
Panzani D, Quaresma M, Fanelli D, Camillo F, Moroni R, Rota A, Martins-Bessa A, Nóvoa M, Catalán J, Canisso IF, Conte G, Mirò J.Due to the long courtship needed to attain excitation and erection, donkey semen collection can take up to 90 min. ProstaglandinF2α (PGF2α) has been reported to hasten the onset of erection and ejaculation in domesticated mammals, presumably by inducing smooth muscle contractions in the internal genitalia. However, while it has been anecdotally used in donkeys, it has yet to be critically evaluated. This study aimed to compare behavioral and semen parameters in Catalan, Balearic, Amiata, and Miranda jacks treated with the PGF2α analogue cloprostenol sodium immediately prior to exposure to a...
