Veterinary practice in relation to horses encompasses the medical care, management, and treatment of equine species. This field involves various aspects of equine health, including preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, surgical interventions, and emergency care. Equine veterinarians employ a range of diagnostic tools and techniques such as physical examinations, imaging, and laboratory tests to assess and monitor horse health. In addition to addressing physical ailments, veterinary practice also includes nutritional management, reproductive health, and performance-related issues. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, advancements, and outcomes in veterinary practices specific to equine health.
Lescun TB, Frank EA, Zacharias JR, Daggy JK, Moore GE.To compare the bone temperature and final hole dimensions associated with sequential overdrilling (SO) and single 6.2-mm drill bit (S6.2DB) methods used to create transcortical holes in the third metacarpal bones (MCIIIs) of horse cadavers. Methods: 60 MCIIIs from 30 horse cadavers. Methods: In phase 1, hole diameter, tap insertion torque, peak bone temperature, and postdrilling bit temperature for 6.2-mm-diameter holes drilled in the lateral or medial cortical region of 12 MCIIIs via each of three 2-bit SO methods with a single pilot hole (diameter, 3.2, 4.5, or 5.5 mm) and the S6.2DB method ...
Root Kustritz MV, Chenoweth PJ, Tibary A.To determine whether veterinarians perceive that theriogenology training at veterinary medical schools in North America and the Caribbean is adequate for achievement of theriogenology skills commonly used in private practice. Methods: A survey was mailed to members of the veterinary medical associations of Alabama, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Washington. With regard to reproductive procedures in bovine, equine, porcine, small ruminant, camelid, and small animal species, veterinarians (predominantly practitioners) were asked to rate the importance of that procedure in their job and to assess thei...
Johnson SA.Rehabilitation of the neurologic horse represents a unique challenge for the equine practitioner. Improving postural stability and balance control through improving the strength of the spinal stabilizer muscle multifidus remains one of the most promising rehabilitative targets. This muscle can be targeted through the use of physiotherapeutic exercises, various forms of perturbation, and even whole-body vibration. Neuroanatomic localization and diagnosis specificity enable the practitioner to determine suitability for such rehabilitative tasks, and with the advent of evolving strategies and com...
Han Y, Tang C, Liao Q, Li Z, Deng L.Serum and plasma are commonly used in clinical practice considering the widely accepted fact that the "normal" protein expression pattern of a healthy animal changes under disease conditions. We herein used a label-free mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics approach to characterize the serum proteome of donkeys. A total of 277 unique proteins were identified from 2,388 unique peptides. Gene ontology analyses showed that the most frequent processes were related to metabolic activities and biological regulation, response to stimulus, and immune system processes. The main annotated area...
Galey FD.In most competent veterinary diagnostic laboratories, analytical findings are interpreted by the veterinary toxicologist to determine the significance of the finding in view of historic, clinical, and pathologic findings. A veterinary toxicologist also will provide consultation about possible toxic rule-outs for a case, treatment of affected animals, and prevention of additional cases. Once all of the information is available, a complete summary of the findings can be provided to the client. When the procedures outlined are followed, including a systematic approach to collecting all the eviden...
Koneberg DG, Edinger J.The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the value of three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography for the diagnosis of equine meniscal and trochlear ridge lesions under in vitro conditions. Lesions were created in the isolated meniscus and femoral trochlea of 25 cadaver stifle joints. Cylindric, conic, and cuboid lesions were created on the trochlear ridge. Five different meniscal tear configurations were created. A total of 107 lesions of the trochlear ridge and 103 lesions of the meniscus were created. 3D ultrasonography was performed in a waterbath, using a 7.5 MHz 3D scanner. Trochlea...
Wang TJ, Ward T, Nguyen HT, Hurwitz EL.The purpose of this study was to describe the types of equestrian-related musculoskeletal injuries and their management. Unassigned: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 19 patients who presented with injuries from equestrian activities at a chiropractic practice from December 2000 to December 2020. Deidentified data were extracted from the charts and summarized. Unassigned: Of the 19 patients, 42.3% presented with acute trauma, 38.5% had overuse injuries, and 19.2% had chronic injuries as a result of previous trauma. We found that 90% of overuse injuries and 18.2% of acute injuries led t...
Bertone AL.Initial management of injuries includes safely gaining control of the animal and assessing and treating systemic shock. If hemorrhage is life threatening, it must be controlled. If the limb is nonfunctional it should be stabilized. Any open orthopedic injury should be treated by cleaning the tissues, protecting the exposed tissues, and administering systemic antibiotics. A commercial splint is available (Equine Regular Leg Saver Splint, Kimzey Welding Works, Woodland, CA) that can immobilize and relieve weightbearing for cases of phalangeal fracture, flexor tendon rupture, fetlock breakdown, a...
Vidović A, Jansen D.The first part of this case report describes the surgical treatment of a unilateral mandibular fracture in the standing horse by using a fixateur type I. By the time of implant removal, the fracture had completely healed. However, during implant removal, an implant failure of 2 of the 4 implants occurred with fragments remaining in the bone. The second part of the report focuses on the development of a special surgical instrument that was designed for removal of the implant fragments. Furthermore, the surgical method allowing the entire extirpation of the fragments within a second surgery is d...
Horbal A, Dixon PM.A 4-year-old thoroughbred cross mare was referred to the University of Edinburgh Veterinary School Equine Hospital for treatment of a soft tissue tumor on the buccal gingival margin of the rostral right maxillary cheek teeth. The lesion was initially surgically excised and diagnosed as a fibrosarcoma via histopathology. Adjunctive treatment with intralesional cisplatin chemotherapy was begun. The tumor recurred and was repeatedly treated with intralesional cisplatin injections and additional surgical resection over the course of 14 weeks. Despite the initial poor response to treatment, no furt...
Barba M, Groover ES, Bailey J, Cole R, Christopherson P, Cattley R.A 4-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding was evaluated for acute non-weight-bearing lameness of the right thoracic limb with swelling in the right shoulder region. Physical examination revealed radial nerve paralysis of unknown etiology. The primary differential diagnosis was musculoskeletal trauma. Ultrasonography of the right shoulder region identified a heterogeneous mass that extended from the point of the shoulder to the thoracic inlet. Cytologic analysis of fluid collected by fine needle aspirate of the mass was consistent with large cell lymphoma. Based on the cytological findings, l...
Schneider C, Müller FP, Bertschi I.We describe the utilization of the Abbott Vision system in a horse clinic and a comparison with the Compur M 2000 CS (Bayer Diagnostics and Electronics). Discrepancies were found in respect to precision and accuracy of results. Both systems showed good practicability during routine operation but different cost-effectiveness.
Aldrich ED, Goodrich LR, Contino EK, Kawcak CE, Barrett MF, King MR, Valdés-Martínez A.CASE DESCRIPTION A 12-year-old mixed-breed mare (horse 1) and 6-year-old Friesian gelding (horse 2) were examined for chronic lameness associated with the stifle joint. CLINICAL FINDINGS Lameness examination revealed effusion of the right (horse 1) or left (horse 2) femoropatellar and medial femorotibial joints and grade 3/5 (horse 1) or 4/5 (horse 2) lameness. A diagnosis of cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injury with associated mineralization and avulsion (horse 1) or mineralization alone (horse 2) was facilitated in both horses with a caudomedial-craniolateral oblique radiographic view obta...
van Schie HT.The ultrasonic examination of tendons and ligaments of the distal limb of the horse improves the diagnostic possibilities of these frequently injured structures. The successful application is based upon a reliable knowledge of the normal sonographic anatomy and upon a standardized, flawless technic of the examination. Practice and experience allow the recognition of minor alterations which enables a more precise diagnosis, a more reliable prognosis, and in follow-up examinations also more specific information about the further use of the horse.
McElligott EM, Sommardahl CS, Cox SK.OBJECTIVE To determine the pharmacokinetics of chloramphenicol base after PO administration at a dose of SO mg/kg (22.7 mg/lb) in adult horses from which food was not withheld. DESIGN Prospective crossover study. ANIMALS 5 adult mares. PROCEDURES Chloramphenicol base (SO mg/kg) was administered PO to each horse, and blood samples were collected prior to administration (0 minutes) and at 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes and 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 hours thereafter. Following a washout period, chloramphenicol sodium succinate (25 mg/kg [11.4 mg/lb]) was administered IV to each horse, and blood samples were ...
Ellis JS, Mama KR, Rao S, Sadler RA, Marinkovich M, Clancy MM, Howard LL, Lamberski N, Kinney ME.Przewalski's horses () are an endangered equid species. Anesthesia administered by remote delivery is often needed to provide medical care. Behavioral and physiologic parameters were prospectively compared in 14 horses (8 females and 6 males, 3-18 yr) after a single-dart or staged two-dart anesthesia induction protocol with intramuscular medetomidine (0.06 mg/kg), butorphanol (0.05 mg/kg), thiafentanil (0.02 mg/kg), and ketamine (1 mg/kg). Seven horses were randomly assigned to receive all drugs in a single dart, and the other seven to receive medetomidine and butorphanol 10 min prior to thiaf...
Gardner AK, Santschi EM, Mudge MC, Belknap JK, Metzler AG.To describe the repair of unstable facial fractures by using Foley catheter balloons as intrasinus bolsters. Methods: Case report ANIMALS: Two weanling foals with unilateral fractures of the sinus and orbit secondary to kick injuries. Preoperative imaging that included positive contrast dacrocystorhinography and computed tomography confirmed severe comminution of facial fractures and nasolacrimal duct disruption in both foals. Methods: Small bone fragments were surgically removed, and large fragments were retained even when denuded of periosteum. Repair procedures included nasolacrimal canalic...
Heath TJ.To give an account of the views held by Australian veterinarians who work with horses on the future of their professional field. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 866 veterinarians who had been identified as working with horses, and 87% were completed and returned. Data were entered onto an Excel spreadsheet, and analysed using the SAS System for Windows. Results: Their future prospects were believed to be very good or excellent by >60% of equine veterinarians but by only 30% of mixed practitioners seeing < 10% horses. The main factors believed likely to affect these prospects were ...
Müntener C, Kupper J, Naegeli H, Gassner B.A total of 306 reports of adverse reactions to veterinary medicinal products were received during the year 2017 representing an increase of 21% compared to the previous year. The majority of these reports described reactions concerning companion animals (180 dogs and 59 cats) as well as cattle (38 reports) and horses (14 reports). Most of the reported reactions were linked to the use of antiparasitics (158 reports), hormone products (30 reports) and anti-inflammatory products (25 reports). 40 reports were generated from consultations with Tox Info Suisse in Zürich and mainly involved the ex...
Weissman-Miller D, Miller RJ, Shotwell MP.Translational research is redefined in this paper using a combination of methods in statistics and data science to enhance the understanding of outcomes and practice in occupational therapy. These new methods are applied, using larger data and smaller single-subject data, to a study in hippotherapy for children with developmental disabilities (DD). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates DD affects nearly 10 million children, aged 2-19, where diagnoses may be comorbid. Hippotherapy is defined here as a treatment strategy in occupational therapy using equine movement to achieve...
Giusto G, Cerullo A, Gandini M.Transillumination has been described in human surgery to improve vessel visualization but has not been described in horses. Since the equine mesocolon contains a great amount of fat which restricts visualization of the vessels, this technique could be useful during small colon resection. To describe transillumination of the mesocolon to provide an improved vessel identification during resection and anastomosis of the small colon in horses. Data of horses that underwent resection and anastomosis of small colon were recorded. Two transillumination techniques were used during resection and anasto...
Sandersen C, Dmitrovic P, Dupont J, Cesarini C, Guyot H, Serteyn D, Kirsch K.Different blood gas analyzers are used in equine practice. Every machine needs to be validated, as they have not been designed for use in horses. The aim of this study was to compare the newly marketed GEM5000 machine to the formerly validated epoc machine for blood gas analysis in horses. In this prospective, non-blinded, comparative laboratory analyzer study, 43 equine blood samples were analyzed on both analyzers and values were compared between the two machines via Lin's concordance analysis, Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman plots. Duplicate measurements were conducted o...
Jimenez Rihuete P, Villarino N, Pelisiak A, Rubio-Martinez LM.Refractometric determination of total protein (TP) in synovial fluid (SF) is commonly used for diagnosis and monitoring of synovial sepsis in horses. Previous studies have shown that elevated concentrations of certain anticoagulants may overestimate refractometric determination of TP concentration. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of dipotassium EDTA (KEDTA) and lithium heparin (LH) on TP determination by using a hand-held refractometer in equine synovial fluid. Methods: Cross-section observational study. Methods: Thirty samples of synovial...
Sparks HD, Nixon AJ, Boening KJ, Pool RR.To describe the clinical symptoms, treatment, and outcome of meniscal cysts in horses. These structures have not been previously described in the literature as a potential cause of lameness in the horse. Objective: Meniscal cysts are an uncommon condition of the femorotibial joint but can be a significant cause of lameness. Symptoms can be resolved by arthroscopic excision. Methods: Records of horses diagnosed with meniscal cysts and treated by cyst excision and meniscal debridement at 2 surgical practices were reviewed. Clinical outcome was determined by repeat veterinary examination and cont...
Nemeth F.Within the framework of the series 'Papers of yesterday and today', two articles on neurotomy by Moubis (1876 and 1878) are used to evaluate the present status of neurectomy. In 1800 neurotomy was replaced by neurectomy because of the reinnervation which occurred after several weeks. On the basis of a literature review and clinical experience in the Department of Large Animal Surgery the indications, conditions, anatomy, operative techniques, complications and results of neurectomy are discussed. Post-operative neuroma formation is the most important complication following palmar digital neure...
Giusto G, Tramuta C, Caramello V, Comino F, Nebbia P, Robino P, Singer E, Grego E, Gandini M.The objective of this study was to investigate whether cleaning surgical materials used to close pelvic flexure enterotomies with a wet sterile gauze will reduce contamination and whether the use of a full thickness appositional suture pattern (F) or a partial thickness inverting (or Cushing) suture pattern (C) would make a difference in the level of contamination. Large colon specimens were assigned to group F or C and divided into subgroups N and G. In group G, a wet sterile gauze was passed over the suture material, another over the instruments, and another over the gloves. In group N, no t...
Heuerman J, Haiub H, Cull E, Lupatini R, Shrum B, Sidhu R.In this case report, we highlight the benefits of Medisca CopaSil application for scar healing in a horse having sustained second-degree burn injuries covering most of its back. The application of CopaSil started three months after sustaining the burn injury when silver sulfadiazine topical cream treatment showed no significant improvement. CopaSil is formulated with ingredients that may help in reducing inflammation and accelerate healing by modulating the immune response. After using CopaSil for six months, the horse's back was healed, and the hair began to regrow. The complete healing...
Gonzalez-Cantero JL, Del Valle Diéguez M, Monteserín Matesanz C, Saura Lorente J, Villoria Medina F, Fortea Gil F, Castro Reyes E.We report a case of traumatic intracranial carotid artery pseudoaneurysm treated with an equine pericardium-covered stent. The patient was admitted to the Emergency Department after sustaining severe polytrauma in a motor vehicle accident. A cavernous carotid pseudoaneurysm was detected after an episode of massive epistaxis that required emergent nasal packing. Treatment with parent vessel sacrifice was ruled out after an unfavourable balloon test occlusion. We opted for an equine pericardium-covered stent as a means to immediately seal the wall defect in the setting of massive bleeding second...
Boye JK, Bulkeley EA, Dujovne GA.To describe uterine prolapse, predispositions, and outcomes in mares treated between 1988 and 2019. 24 mares with uterine prolapse. Clinical records were retrospectively reviewed, and follow-up information was gathered. The Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher exact test were used to analyze results for history and outcome variables for potential association with mare survival to hospital discharge. The χ2 test was used to compare breed distribution. Age was known in 23 mares (median, 11.1 years). For 15 mares with exact known parity, the median parity was 3 births (range, 1 to 13 births). For 22 m...
Radvila P.The effect of heterologous and homologous antitoxin is the same if an equal amount of antitoxin is present in the organism. In man there are no circulating antibodies in the blood after the first injection of the toxoid because there is no natural immunity against the tetanus antigen. After the second injection, man develops the same immunity as animals. Large antitoxin doses protect people for a longer period than small doses. Normally 3,000 I. U. of the heterologous antitoxin protects people for 2 to 3 weeks. In man and sheep 2 ml of the adsorbed vaccine produces an earlier and longer-lastin...
