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.
Anor S, Espadaler JM, Monreal L, Pumarola M.To reassess reference values for the components of the electrically induced blink reflex, document reference values for facial motor nerve conduction velocity, and demonstrate usefulness of the blink reflex as a diagnostic tool in peripheral facial and trigeminal nerve dysfunction in horses. Methods: 10 healthy adult horses (8 males, 2 females) without neurologic abnormalities. Methods: Blink reflex tests were performed by electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve and facial (auriculopalpebral) nerve. Reflex and direct muscle-evoked potentials of the orbicularis oculi muscles were recor...
Baskurt OK, Meiselman HJ.To evaluate the rheologic responses of equine versus human RBC to oxidant stress induced by superoxide anions. Methods: Equine blood samples were obtained from 8 healthy, 3- to 6-year-old various breed horses of either sex; human blood samples were obtained from 8 healthy adults. Methods: Washed RBC were exposed to superoxide anions generated by the xanthine oxidase (XO)-hypoxanthine system (XO activity of 0 to 0.1 U/ml). Deformability of RBC was assessed by ektacytometry, and RBC aggregation was measured in autologous plasma or 3% solution of dextran 70 via a defined-shear photometric techniq...
Skarda RT, Muir WW.To determine effects of i.v. administered yohimbine on perineal analgesia, cardiovascular and respiratory activity, and head and pelvic limb position in healthy mares following epidural administration of detomidine hydrochloride solution. Methods: 8 healthy mares. Methods: Each mare received detomidine hydrochloride (0.06 mg/kg of body weight), administered in the caudal epidural space, followed 61 minutes later by yohimbine (0.05 mg/kg; test) or sterile saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (control), administered i.v., in a randomized, crossover study design with > or = 2 weeks between treatments. ...
Kingston JK, McCutcheon LJ, Geor RJ.To quantify total fluid loss in sweat of Thoroughbreds during >3 hours of low-intensity exercise in controlled conditions and to calculate and compare estimated ion losses in sweat, according to 3 methods. Methods: 6 exercise-trained Thoroughbreds. Methods: Fluid and ion losses in sweat were measured in 6 horses exercising at 40% of the speed that elicited maximum oxygen consumption for 45 km. Horses were given a 15-minute rest period at the end of three 15-km exercise phases. Horses completed 2 exercise trials. Ion losses in sweat were calculated, using measurements of local sweating rate and...
Bailey CJ, Reid SW, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.To determine whether sex or foaling period were associated with time to first race start and whether sex, age at time of first race start, or inter-race period were associated with career duration for Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia. Methods: 553 Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Race records through to the end of the 6-year-old racing season were obtained for each horse. Product-limit survival analysis was used to determine whether sex or foaling period was associated with time to first race start and whether sex or age at first race was associated with career duration. A Cox proportiona...
van Maanen C, Vreeswijk J, Moonen P, Brinkhof J, de Boer-Luijtze E, Terpstra C.Ten monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV1). Two appeared type-specific, while the other eight were directed against epitopes common to both EHV1 and EHV4. Two MAbs directed against the glycoprotein gp2 recognized linear epitopes, as demonstrated by Western blotting. With pools of type-specific MAbs, 282 field isolates were typed in an immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (IPMA). From a total of 254 fetal or neonatal isolates, 244 (96%) were typed as EHV1, whereas 14 out of 15 (93%) respiratory tract isolates were typed as EHV4. Surprisingly, 3 out of 1...
Tencza SB, Islam KR, Kalia V, Nasir MS, Jolley ME, Montelaro RC.The control of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infections of horses has been over the past 20 years based primarily on the identification and elimination of seropositive horses, predominantly by a standardized agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay in centralized reference laboratories. This screening for EIAV-seropositive horses has been to date hindered by the lack of a rapid diagnostic format that can be easily employed in the field. We describe here the development of a rapid solution-phase assay for the presence of serum antibodies to EIAV based on fluorescence polarization (FP) (pat...
van Maanen C, Willink DL, Smeenk LA, Brinkhof J, Terpstra C.An outbreak of EHV1 abortions occurred at a riding school in The Netherlands in 1991. Seven of twelve pregnant mares aborted, and another foal died at 8 days of age. Six abortions occurred within 12 days in March after an initial abortion on 8 February. Four mares delivered live foals. Virological examination of four aborted foals revealed an EHV1 infection. Serological results for paired sera from 17 horses suggested, that the initial abortion on 8 February was the index case, and probably caused the other six abortions. The index case could well have been caused by reactivation of latent vir...
Kingsmill VJ, Gray C, Boyde A.To address possible differences in the resorbability of cranial and postcranial bone, slices of equine frontal bone and leg (first phalanx or third metacarpus) were seeded with embryonic chick bone cells and cultured for 20-24h. After removing the cells and drying the specimens, the areas and volumes of more than 800 resorption pits in each set were measured using a video-rate reflection confocal microscope system. Relative mineralization densities were determined by quantitative electron backscattering analysis. The mean mineralization density was greater in the leg bone, but the mean depths ...
Lloyd JW, Rook JS, Braselton E, Shea ME.A study was designed to model the fluctuations of nine specific element concentrations in mammary secretions from periparturient mares over time. During the 1992 foaling season, serial samples of mammary secretions were collected from all 18 pregnant Arabian mares at the Michigan State University equine teaching and research center. Non-linear regression techniques were used to model the relationship between element concentration in mammary secretions and days from foaling (which connected two separate sigmoid curves with a spline function); indicator variables were included for mare and mare ...
Uhlhorn H, Eksell P, Carlsten J.A longitudinal scintigraphic and radiographic study of distal radial physeal activity in 14 Standardbred trotters was conducted to quantify and visually evaluate physeal uptake around the time of physeal closure. Initial intense 99mTc-HDP uptake was seen, followed by a rapid decrease of activity starting at a mean age of 20 months. Mean physeal to distal diaphyseal ROI and line profile ratios compared to ratios of mature horses decreased from 2.8 to 1.4 at the time of radiographic closure at 24-32 months. Ratios then gradually decreased until values of mature horses were reached at the end of ...
Blaik MA, Hanson RR, Kincaid SA, Hathcock JT, Hudson JA, Baird DK.The objective of this study was to define the normal gross anatomic appearance of the adult equine tarsus on a low-field magnetic resonance (MR) image. Six radiographically normal, adult, equine tarsal cadavers were utilized. Using a scanner with a 0.064 Tesla magnet, images were acquired in the sagittal, transverse and dorsal planes for T1-weighted and the sagittal plane for T2-weighted imaging sequences. Anatomic structures on the MR images were identified and compared with cryosections of the imaged limbs. Optimal image planes were identified for the evaluation of articular cartilage, subch...
Kindig CA, Gallatin LL, Erickson HH, Fedde MR, Poole DC.To investigate the role of nitric oxide, NO, in facilitating cardiorespiratory function during exercise, five horses ran on a treadmill at speeds that yielded 50, 80 and 100% of peak pulmonary oxygen uptake (V(O(2)) peak) as determined on a maximal incremental test. Each horse underwent one control (C) and one (NO-synthase inhibitor; N(G)-L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), 20 mg/kg) trial in randomized order. Pulmonary gas exchange (open flow system), arterial and mixed-venous blood gases, cardiac output (Fick Principle), and pulmonary and systemic conductances were determined. L-NAME red...
Belin F, Goudet G, Duchamp G, Gérard N.The objective of the present study was to determine the changes in follicular fluid steroid concentrations and in granulosa cell steroidogenic enzyme expression during the follicular phase, in relation to follicular size and physiological status in the mare. Follicular fluid and follicular cells were recovered by ultrasound-guided follicular punctures either around the time of emergence of the dominant follicle, at the end of the dominant follicle growth, or at the preovulatory stage, after injection of gonadotropin to induce ovulation. Cellular relative amounts of steroidogenic acute regulato...
Schüle E.Because of the growing interest in animal health and welfare in breeding and sport--specially in the horse--the regulation of the German Riding Association (FN) was updated. The result--the LPO 2000--refer more functions to the veterinarian. At first the permanent presence of the vet is necessary, at second he controls the correct, new installed vaccination against influenza-virus. The functions of vet-check, general horse-control and doping are wide up in number and consultation. For this the veterinarian must decree about much experience and good preparation. The organisations of the veterin...
Löfstedt RM, Ireland WP.Sphere-like structures are commonly measured for clinical or research purposes. We measured two diameters, the circumference (perimeter) and cross sectional area of 113 equine ovarian follicles in a water bath then determined the relationships between those measurements and the actual volume of fluid in the follicles. Cross-sectional area, diameter3 and area2/3 were all highly correlated with the volume of the structures and superior (p 0.05) between cross-sectional area, diameter3, and area2/3. Because of the ease of measuring diameter, we suggest that diameter3 be used to estimate the actua...
Schmucker N, Schatzmann U, Budde K, Gundel M, Jäggin CE, Meier H.The aim of this study was to determine the blood flow in the carotid artery during halothane anaesthesia by means of duplex-sonography. Seventeen warm blood horses were evaluated in dorsal and lateral recumbency and the results were compared with the values of the same horses resting and under sedation. The cross sectional area of the vessels, the time-averaged maximal blood velocity, time-averaged maximal blood flow and the resistance index were determined and the flow profile was evaluated. During halothane anesthesia the total blood flow shows a significant increase which is not dependent o...
Grippa E, Santini L, Castellano G, Gatto MT, Leone MG, Saso L.Ethyl acetate extracts of equine serum, containing 0-5 microg/ml of hydrocortisone (HYD), dexamethasone (DEX), oxyphenbutazone (OPB), indomethacin (IND), phenylbutazone (PB) and probenecid as internal standard, were evaporated with nitrogen, resuspended in methanol and analyzed by HPLC, using a C-18 column equilibrated with 51:49 acetonitrile-water, 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid, at 1 ml/min. The eluate was monitored at 254 nm. The selectivity (inter-assay C.V.<4%), sensitivity (limits of quantitation of 0.25 microg/ml for HYD, DEX and IND, 0.5 microg/ml for PB and 1 microg/ml for OPB, despite ...
Widmer WR, Buckwalter KA, Fessler JF, Hill MA, VanSickle DC, Ivancevich S.Radiographic evaluation of navicular syndrome is problematic because of its inconsistent correlation with clinical signs. Scintigraphy often yields false positive and false negative results and diagnostic ultrasound is of limited value. Therefore, we assessed the use of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in a horse with clinical and radiographic signs of navicular syndrome. Cadaver specimens were examined with spiral computed tomographic and high-field magnetic resonance scanners and images were correlated with pathologic findings. Radiographic changes consisted of bony remodel...
de Vries AA, Glaser AL, Raamsman MJ, de Haan CA, Sarnataro S, Godeke GJ, Rottier PJ.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is an enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Arteriviridae of the order Nidovirales. The unsegmented, infectious genome of EAV is 12,704 nt in length [exclusive of the poly(A) tail] and contains eight overlapping genes that are expressed from a 3'-coterminal nested set of seven leader-containing mRNAs. To investigate the importance of the overlapping gene arrangement in the viral life-cycle and to facilitate the genetic manipulation of the viral genome, a series of mutant full-length cDNA clones was constructed in which either EAV open readi...
Hinrichs K, Schmidt AL.Horse oocytes were collected from an abattoir over a 15-mo period. After classification of follicle size and cumulus morphology, oocytes were either fixed immediately (0 h) or matured in vitro (24 h). There was no effect of season on the number of antral follicles present on the ovaries, or on oocyte maturation rate for any class of oocyte. The proportion of oocytes having condensed chromatin at 0 h increased with increasing follicle size. The oocyte maturation rate also increased with follicle size, and for follicles </= 20-mm diameter, was higher for oocytes initially having expanded cumu...
Steinman A, Kelmer G, Avni G, Johnston DE.An omphalocele was detected at birth in a male Arabian foal. The mass contained small intestine and after releasing a constricting band at the body wall, the contents slipped easily back into the abdomen. On the outside was the hairless pink membrane. The interior, now empty of small intestine, contained the umbilical arteries and vein, and a large urachus that extended from the bladder to the opening at the extremity of the mass. Six days after corrective surgery the foal was sent home and remained healthy.
Frisbie DD, Sandler EA, Trotter GW, McIlwraith CW.To determine response of interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha)-conditioned equine articular cartilage explants to insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Sample Population-Cartilage from the trochlea and condyles of the femur of a clinically normal 4-year-old horse. Methods: Effects of IGF-1 (0 to 500 ng/ml) after addition of IL-1alpha were evaluated by assessing matrix responses, using a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) assay, matrix 35SO4 GAG incorporation, and release of GAG. Mitogenic response was assessed by 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA and fluorometric assay of total DNA concentration. Res...
Roussel AJ, Hooper RN, Cohen ND, Bye AD, Hicks RJ, Bohl TW.To evaluate the effect of erythromycin on motility of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure of horses during the postoperative and post-recovery periods. Methods: 8 healthy adult horses. Methods: Horses were anesthetized and bipolar electrodes were implanted in smooth muscle of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure. Approximately 4, 16, and 24 hours (postoperative recording sessions) and at least 8 days (post-recovery recording session) after surgery, myoelectric activity was recorded before and after administration of erythromycin (0.5 mg/kg). Results: Following erythromycin administration, myo...
Nieto JE, Rakestraw PC, Snyder JR, Vatistas NJ.To evaluate effects of erythromycin, lidocaine, and metoclopramide on smooth muscle of the pyloric antrum (PA), proximal portion of the duodenum (PD), and middle portion of the jejunum (MJ) of horses. Sample Population-Strips of smooth muscle from 7 horses. Methods: Isolated muscle strips were suspended in a bath and attached to isometric force transducers. Once stable spontaneous contractions were observed, agents were added. Isometric stress responses were compared with the amplitude of spontaneous contractions. Results: A single dose of erythromycin to the PA increased contractile amplitude...
Mueller PO, Harmon BG, Hay WP, Amoroso LM.To evaluate the effect of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) or a hyaluronate-carboxymethylcellulose membrane (HA membrane) on healing of the small intestine in horses. Methods: 18 healthy adult horses. Methods: Midline celiotomy and 2 jejunal resection-and-anastomosis surgeries were performed. In treated horses, SCMC (n = 6) or a HA membrane (6) was applied to the jejunum to cover the anastomosis. There were 6 untreated control horses. Horses were euthanatized 10 days after surgery. For each horse, 1 anastomosis was used for histologic examination, and the second was used to determine intes...
Wilkerson MJ, Davis E, Shuman W, Harkin K, Cox J, Rush B.Classes of antibody bound to erythrocytes were determined using direct immunofluorescence (DIF) flow cytometry in 3 horses and 12 dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA). Background levels of antibody binding were determined in samples from 12 horses and 12 dogs that were free of clinical disease. The range of nonspecific binding of a fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated goat anti-equine immunoglobulin G (IgG) was 19.9-36.7%, but was eliminated by the use of the F(ab')2 fragment of FITC-conjugated goat anti-equine IgG. Background binding by other class-specific antibodies to ...
Bryans JT.The immunogenic potency and safety of a chemically inactivated equine herpesvirus 1 vaccine with added adjuvant was evaluated by testing serum-neutralizing and complement-fixation antibody responses of pregnant Thoroughbred mares. The vaccinated population comprised 321 pregnant mares on 7 farms; 3 in Normandy, France; 1 in Kildare, Ireland; and 3 in central Kentucky. The pattern of antibody response to vaccination was found qualitatively and quantitatively similar to that of pregnant mares previously vaccinated and determined by challenge exposure to be immune to abortigenic infection under e...
Hoffman LS, Adams TE, Evans JW.Blood samples were obtained from 5 mixed-breed, long-term castrated geldings during five 24-h periods between May 1984 and April 1985. Blood samples were collected, beginning at 09:00 h, at 15-min intervals for 8 h and hourly for the remaining 16 h. Plasma concentrations of LH and FSH were determined by RIA. Seasonal changes in hormone concentrations and frequency and amplitude of secretory pulses were evaluated. No diurnal variation in either LH or FSH secretion was observed: however, marked circhoral fluctuations in LH and FSH secretion were noted. Mean LH and FSH concentrations in these lon...
Jones DL.The effectiveness of detomidine with or without atropine sulfate premedication in producing sedation and analgesia for arthrocentesis was studied in 12 horses. The effects were evaluated by monitoring heart and respiratory rates, borborygmi, distance from the lower lip to the floor, systolic blood pressure, and response to needle insertion. Either atropine or saline (as a placebo) was administered immediately prior to detomidine. All drugs were administered intravenously. Measurements were taken prior to drug injection and at 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 120, 180 and 240 minutes posti...
Kalamanova A, Stringer AP, Freeman SL, Burford JH.Colic is a common reason for owners to seek veterinary treatment for their working equids in Morocco. There is no information available regarding cultural, religious or educational barriers to obtaining treatment or about the typical workload of these animals which may predispose them to colic. Objective: To characterise the typical workload and feeding regimens of working equids in Morocco; to characterise the ability of owners to recognise the clinical signs and causes of colic; and to identify specific barriers to the veterinary treatment of colic. Methods: Questionnaire-based survey. Metho...
Machin J, Childers T, Kudrimoti S, Eisenberg R, Fenger C, Hartmann P, Maylin G, Shults T, Tobin T.Aminorex is a US DEA Schedule 1 controlled substance occasionally detected in racing horses. A number of aminorex identifications in sport horses were thought to have been caused by exposure to plant sources of aminorex. Glucobarbarin, found in plants of the Brassicaceae family, has been suggested as a potential proximate chemical source by being metabolized in the plant or the horse to aminorex. In Brassicaceae, glucobarbarin is hydrolyzed by myrosinase to yield barbarin, which serves as an insect repellant and/or attractant and is structurally related to aminorex. The synthesis, purification...
Dennis VA, Klei TR, Chapman MR.Supernatants generated by stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from Strongylus vulgaris sensitized or immunized ponies were assayed in vitro for eosinophil chemotactic activity (ECA) using the filter system in blind well chambers. The supernatants from these cultures were chemotactic for eosinophils, but not for neutrophils. Supernates from cultures of unsensitized PBMC stimulated with S. vulgaris antigen were not chemotactic for eosinophils. ECA was first detected in culture supernatants after 1.5 h of incubation and was dependent on both antigen and PBMC concentrations, b...
Roy DN, Peyton DH, Spencer PS.Horses grazing for prolonged periods on yellow star thistle (YST), a plant which grows wild in western parts of the United States, develop an extrapyramidal disorder known as nigropallidal encephalomalacia (NPE). Attempts have been made to identify, isolate, and characterize the toxins responsible for the disease in animals. Using the organotypic tissue culture system on mouse cortical explants as a specific assay method for neurotoxicological evaluation, it has been possible to isolate and characterize two potent neuroexcitotoxic compounds, aspartic and glutamic acids, the former being the ma...
Lean NE, Bertin FR, Ahern BJ.To assess the effect of vocal cordectomy on airflow across equine larynges at different Rakestraw grades of arytenoid abduction using a unidirectional airflow model. Methods: Ex vivo, repeated measures. Methods: Twenty cadaveric equine larynges. Methods: The right arytenoid cartilage was maximally abducted in all larynges. Each larynx was assigned a Rakestraw grade A or B, and the left arytenoid was abducted accordingly. Each larynx was tested under 3 conditions: intact, left vocal cordectomy (LVC), and bilateral vocal cordectomy (BVC). Translaryngeal pressure and airflow were measured, and di...
Sedacca CD, Bright JM, Boon J.Univentricular atrioventricular (AV) connections are rare and complex congenital cardiac anomalies in which both AV valves communicate into a large, common (single) receiving chamber. The common chamber can be of left, right, or mixed ventricular morphology. Although well documented in people, reports of the double-inlet ventricle malformation are rare in the veterinary literature. This report provides description of an Arabian horse with a double-inlet univentricular connection of left ventricular type, a hypoplastic subpulmonary right ventricle, two muscular ventricular septal defects, and a...
Uhlinger C.Leukoencephalomalacia in horses is caused by fumonisins. These mycotoxins are produced by Fusarium spp. that contaminate corn and corn byproducts while in the field. The most common clinical presentation is a multifocal neurologic disease that affects multiple horses in a herd. Although the majority of affected horses die, treatment directed at decreasing inflammation and edema in the CNS may result in recovery in some animals.
van der Kolk JH.A 2-year-old Friesian mare was examined because she had been sluggish for a few weeks. Blood biochemistry showed that concentrations of creatinine (136 mumol.L-1) and urea nitrogen (6.1 mmol.L-1) in plasma were within their normal limits. Severe metabolic acidosis was apparent; the venous pH was 7.154 and the bicarbonate concentration was 13 mmol.L-1. The base excess amounted to -15.3 mmol.L-1 and the venous pCO2 measured 5.1 kPa. Plasma sodium was normal (135 mmol.L-1) and plasma chloride (113 mmol.L-1) was slightly elevated, but there was a hypokalaemia (2.9 mmol.L-1). The urine had a specif...
Pinn TL, Cushing T, Valentino LM, Koch SA.A 15-year-old gray Arabian gelding presented for evaluation of a lateral limbal mass extending across approximately 30% of the cornea. Grossly, the raised mass appeared nonpigmented, smooth, and irregular in shape, with an area of central necrosis and serosanguinous discharge. The mass was removed via lamellar keratectomy and histopathologic evaluation revealed features characteristic of hemangiosarcoma (HSA), including irregular vascular channels lined by a plump spindle cell population. Immunohistochemistry results showed that the neoplastic cells lining the vascular channels present diffuse...
Kask K, Odensvik K, Kindahl H.The pattern of the main metabolite of prostaglandin (PG) F2alpha was recorded following a nonsurgical embryo transfer technique in 9 mares under field conditions in Estonia. Three patterns were observed. Two of them were characterised by PG release, thereas the third was not. A tendency towards a shortened cycle was seen in 3 mares. Observations were made regarding the manipulation of the uterus as being normal or difficult to perform. In general, mares where the procedure was considered difficult were also found to have a PG release.
Duncan SG, Reed SM.In horses with large bowel disease, those with circulating endotoxins but no evidence of altered hemostasis had a good prognosis for survival. Those with circulating endotoxins and evidence of altered hemostasis (fibrin degradation products) had a poor prognosis. Portal vein infusion of endotoxins over 24 hours caused hoof discomfort, evidenced by shifting of weight and standing with all 4 feet together, and a decreased hoof temperature. Clinical signs appeared within 30 minutes of initiation of infusion and subsided within 4 hours despite continued infusion. Long-term heparin therapy results ...
Crawford KL, Finnane A, Greer RM, Phillips CJC, Bishop EL, Woldeyohannes SM, Perkins NR, Ahern BJ.Worldwide, musculoskeletal injuries remain a major problem for the Thoroughbred racing industry. There is a strong interest in developing training and management strategies to reduce the impact of musculoskeletal injuries, however, progress has been limited by studies reporting conflicting findings, and a limited understanding of the role of different training methods in preventing injury. There is little data on patterns of rest periods and exercise data and how these vary between trainers. This prospective study of two-year-old racehorses was conducted in Queensland, Australia and involved w...
Perkins NR, Robertson JT, Colon LA.A 15-year-old Standard-bred mare was examined because of signs of abdominal discomfort in late gestation. Palpation per rectum revealed tight broad ligaments above and below the uterus, with the right broad ligament running across the top of the uterine body down toward the left, ventral side of the abdomen. A diagnosis of counterclockwise uterine torsion was made and surgical correction was approached via a left, flank laparotomy with the horse standing. The uterus was repositioned and a uterine tear encompassing 180 degrees of the uterine surface was found in the lateral, uterine body just c...
Morris DD.This article reviews normal hemostasis in order to provide the reader with the basis for understanding the pathogenesis and manifestations (both clinical and laboratory) of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in horses. DIC is subsequently discussed. The diagnosis and treatment of DIC in horses are also described.
Butterfield RM, Matthews RG.Data from 937 Thoroughbred mares, when analysed as a single population, showed no significant difference between the activity of the right and left ovaries and the frequency of location of 35-day pregnancies in the right and left uterine horns. Nor were any differences shown when the data were analysed in years or sire groups. However, significantly more ovulations occurred in the right ovary in September and December and in the left ovary in October and November. Whereas the left and right ovulations were equal in lactating and dry mares, there was a highly significant increase in the number ...
Snow DH, Munro CD, Nimmo MA.The effects of 7 weekly injections of the anabolic steroid nandrolone phenylpropionate (400 mg) were investigated in 4 healthy, mature geldings. Measurement of body weight, nitrogen retention and plasma urea failed to demonstrate a consistent anabolic effects. Examination of biopsies from the semitendinosus and biceps femoris muscles showed no alteration in water content or glycogen concentration with treatment. Similarly no changes were found in the activities of 6 muscle enzymes. However, a significant increase in the proportion of fast twitch low oxidative fibres of the biceps femoris was o...
Russell EB, Courtman NF, Santos LL, Tennent-Brown BS.Fibrinogen heterogeneity has been observed in humans and can influence fibrinogen measurements when using the modified Clauss assay. We hypothesized that fibrinogen heterogeneity also exists in horses. Objective: To determine whether fibrinogen heterogeneity exists in horses. Methods: Five clinically healthy horses from the university equine teaching herd. Methods: Presumed fibrinogen was purified from pooled citrated plasma and electrophoresis performed. The purified protein was subjected to Western blotting using sheep antiserum against human fibrinogen, and liquid chromatography-tandem ma...
Parente EJ, Birks EK, Habecker P.To perform a modification to the standard laryngoplasty procedure in vivo that would result in ankylosis of the cricoarytenoid (CA) joint, and determine the stability provided to the abducted arytenoid in vitro. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Horses (n=8). Methods: Horses were assigned to either control laryngoplasty (n=3) or modified laryngoplasty (5) procedure. Endoscopic upper airway evaluations were used to measure right:left quotients 1 day and 3 months postoperatively to assess maintenance of abduction. Horses were euthanatized 3 months after surgery and larynges collected for mea...
Murray MJ, Crowell-Davis SL.A 4-year-old mixed-breed gelding was presented with colic-type behavior of 5 days' duration that included pawing, looking at the flank area, and kicking and biting at the abdomen and flank when it was eating hay or grain. Medical evaluation did not reveal the cause of the "colic." During its stay in the hospital, the horse improved as regarded the colic-type behavior while eating, but resumed this behavior when it was able to see hay that it was not allowed to eat. It was determined that the persistent colic-type behavior developed as a result of the horse having been repeatedly displaced from...
Knospe C.The aim of the study was to answer the open questions concerning the development of the horse's testis. This study revealed that the seminiferous tubules originate from the sex cords of the coelomic epithelium and Leydig cells from the proximal part of mesonephric nephrons, whereas the rete and the ductuli efferentes derive from intermediate and distal parts of the mesonephric tubules. During the development the Leydig cells undergo an enormous proliferation due to the PMSG secretion in the mare. The proliferation of these cells prevent the deep penetration of the rete into the medulla and is ...
Macpherson ML, Bailey CS.Placental infections in the mare are a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The following article will review techniques for identifying placental infections, approaches for treating placentitis, and methods for managing these mares after foaling.
de la Torre J, Crespo F, Arroyo F, Zabal-Aguirre M, Abdoon AS, Gosálvez J.Artificial insemination programs for horses usually involve ex vivo handling and transporting of sperm. The present experiment was designed to: (i) assess the effect of transportation on sperm DNA integrity at different time post semen collection, and (ii) evaluate if sperm DNA quality deteriorates rapidly beyond 24 h of cooled storage. After collection, the ejaculates were extended using INRA 96 and semen was prepared for prompt analysis (A0) or 24 h/48 h cooled-shipping (B24 and C48 respectively). Each sample was assessed for sperm DNA fragmentation index (SDFI) at time 0 and after inc...