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.
Burgess BA.Managing Salmonella in equine populations can be challenging due to the epidemiology of this disease. In particular, due to the range of clinical outcomes, the occurrence of subclinical infections, and intermittent shedding. This greatly affects the ability to detect shedding and can lead to widespread environmental contamination and transmission. The veterinary profession can reduce the risk to stablemates and their caretakers, while meeting their ethical obligation, by appropriately managing these risks within animal populations and environments.
Köhne M, Hofbauer L, Böttcher D, Tönissen A, Hegger A, Görgens A, Ulrich R, Sieme H.Bacterial endometritis is one of the major problems in equine reproduction and usually treated with antimicrobial drugs. The study aimed to compare the effects of intrauterine ozone application and systemic antibiotic treatment (trimethoprim-sulfadimethoxine) on intrauterine bacterial growth and possible side effects on the endometrium in a clinical setting. Mares ( = 30) with signs of endometritis (positive uterine bacterial culture and cytological findings) were assigned randomly to different treatments: intrauterine insufflation of an ozone-air-mix (240 ml, 80 μg ozone/ml) twice at a 48 h-...
Sánchez de Medina A, Serrano-Rodríguez JM, Díez de Castro E, García-Valverde MT, Saitua A, Becero M, Muñoz A, Ferreiro-Vera C....Intravenous pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of cannabidiol (CBD) with different formulations have not been investigated in horses and may represent a starting point for clinical studies. Objective: To describe pharmacokinetics after intravenous and oral administrations with oil and micellar formulations and simulate different treatments. Methods: Single intravenous experiment and two-way randomised oral experiments, Latin-square design. Methods: Eight healthy horses received intravenous CBD at 1.00 mg/kg dose, oral CBD in sesame oil and in micellar formulation, both at 10.00 mg/k...
Vázquez FJ, Vitoria A, Gómez-Arrue J, Fuente S, Barrachina L, de Blas I, Romero A.First cannulation is a critical manoeuvre in equine laparoscopy. This retrospective study aimed at the comparison of the frequency and type of complications detected when using different human laparoscopy devices for laparoscopic access in standing horses, and the influence of body condition in such complications. Forty-four procedures were included, and retrieved data comprised cannula insertion technique, body condition, and type and frequency of complications. Laparoscopic access techniques were classified into five groups: P: pneumoperitoneum created using Veress needle prior to cannulatio...
de Souza AF, Paretsis NF, De Zoppa ALDV.The aim of this study was to determine the clinical outcomes reported in retrospective studies of proximal interphalangeal arthrodesis (PIA) in horses through a meta-analysis of retrospective studies. CAB Abstracts, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched. The primary outcomes included survival and surgical site infection (SSI) rates, return to activities, and time of hospital stay and casting. Subgroups were formed for fractures and other conditions. Meta-analyses were performed with fixed and random effects models to estimate proportions, mean values, and effect size ...
Christiansen MS, Rosenmeier JG, Jensen DB, Lindegaard C.Commonly, cheek tooth extraction performed in standing horses using perioperative prophylactic antibiotics, results in low post-operative complication rates. However, no studies have documented the relevance of perioperative antibiotics to the risk of post-operative complications. Objective: To examine the association between perioperative antibiotics and post-operative complications after standing cheek tooth extraction. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Information from clinical records and follow-up questionnaires relating to horses subjected to cheek tooth extractions between S...
Booth AD, Hidalgo FL, Bellezzo F, Young JM, Bianco AW, Hughes LE, Maher M, Trumble TN, Ernst N.To describe outcomes of horses with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) treated with partial ceratohyoidectomy. 10 client-owned horses. Medical records from 2 institutions were examined for records of horses with THO treated with partial ceratohyoidectomy between 2010 and 2021. History, signalment, clinical signs, diagnostics, medications, and surgery-related details were recorded. Horses with a minimum of 6 months follow-up were recruited for neurologic and imaging examinations in the hospital or field where radiography of the basihyoid-ceratohyoid articulation were performed along with CT, w...
Pezzanite LM, Griffenhagen GM, Bass L, Okudaira M, Larson B, Hendrickson DA.Liposomal local anaesthetic solutions may provide extended-duration analgesia postoperatively but have not been assessed following intra-peritoneal local infiltration in any species. Objective: To evaluate two doses of 1.33% liposomal bupivacaine (LB) versus 0.75% bupivacaine HCL (BHCl) for analgesia following laparoscopic ovariectomy in mares. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Fifteen healthy Quarter Horse mares (age 2-20 years) with normal bilateral ovarian palpation and appearance were enrolled. Horses were restrained in standing stocks and administered an α-2 agonist, butorpha...
Ludewig E, Rowan C, Schieder K, Frank B.The aim of this review is to describe the steps of constructing exposure tables for use of digital detector systems (DRx) in equine practice. Introductory, selected underlying technical aspects of digital radiography are illustrated. Unlike screen-film radiography (SFR), DRx have a uniform signal response of the detector over a large dose range. This enables generation of diagnostic images from exposures that were previously nondiagnostic on SFR, thus reducing retakes. However, with decreasing detector entrance dose, image noise increasingly hampers the image quality. Conversely, unlike the bl...
Kolding SA, Sørensen JN, Kramer J, McCracken MJ, Reed SK, Keegan KG.Some horses increase in forelimb lameness, measured as vertical head height asymmetry, or differences in maximums and minimums of head heights (HDmax, HDmin), after a palmar digital nerve (PDN) block. The prevalence of this finding, or what it means clinically, has not been reported in peer-reviewed literature. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of increasing head height asymmetry after a PDN block and determine if this is associated with cause of forelimb lameness. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Head height asymmetry, normalised to expected vertical head displacement, from in...
Johnson SA, Frisbie DD, Griffenhagen GM, King MR.Blood flow restriction (BFR) has become a key rehabilitative tool for human orthopaedic conditions. With modernised technology and evolution of clinical application, patient-specific delivery of occlusion percentages is now considered the standard of care in human patients due to improved therapeutic outcomes and minimised safety risks. Safety validation and limb occlusion pressure (LOP) data for horses, however, are lacking. Objective: (1) To determine if BFR exposure resulted in forelimb biomechanical gait dysfunction as safety validation and (2) to investigate inter-horse and inter-limb LOP...
Urayama S, Tanaka A, Kusano K, Sato H, Muranaka M, Mita H, Nagashima T, Matsuda H.Flunixin meglumine (FM), a nonselective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, is most frequently selected for the treatment of equine systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/endotoxemia. However, FM has considerable adverse effects on gastrointestinal function. The aims of this study were to compare the effect of meloxicam (MX), a COX-2 selective inhibitor commonly used in equine clinical practice, with FM, and to investigate the potential for clinical application in horses with SIRS/endotoxemia. Fifteen horses were divided into three groups of five and orally administered MX (0.6 mg/kg), FM ...
Granello ME, Weatherall KM, Lutter JD, Beard WL. The aim of this study was to compare the deflection distance, deflection angle and pre-loading sub-bandage pressure of a transverse, mid-metacarpal fracture in an equine cadaver limb when loaded in bending while stabilized with either a Robert Jones Bandage (RJB) or a single-stack bandage (SS), each containing two orthogonal splints. Methods: In an ex vivo experimental study, forelimb pairs from eight horses were collected, and one forelimb from each pair was assigned to either the SS or RJB groups. A transverse osteotomy was performed at the midpoint of the metacarpus. After bandaging, ...
Hyytiäinen HK, Boström A, Asplund K, Bergh A.Electrotherapy modalities are currently used in the treatment of animals, but the evidence base supporting their use has not yet been systematically reviewed. Cochrane guidelines, as adapted by the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services, were followed for this systematic review. A literature search regarding all currently known electrotherapy modalities applied to horses, dogs, and cats was conducted for the years 1980-2020 using three databases: CABI, PubMed, and Web of Science Core Collection. Of the 5385 references found, 41 articles were included ...
Marzok M, Almubarak AI, Kandeel M, El-Khodery S.Epidural analgesia using the alpha-2 agonist detomidine (DE), alone or in combination with lidocaine (LD), is frequently employed for standing surgical procedures in horses, but its use has not been evaluated in donkeys. Methods: In a randomised controlled prospective trial, 24 healthy adult donkeys were assigned to four groups (n = 6), each receiving 40 μg/kg of DE, 0.22 mg/kg of LD, combined DE and LD (DELD) or 0.9% sterile normal saline epidurally. After epidural injection of each treatment, the onset, degree and duration of sedation and anatomical extension of anti-nociception were obse...
Thieme K, Mesquita L, Lieberth S, Dancker C, Doherr MG, Eule JC.There is limited knowledge regarding the safety and accuracy of ultrasound-guided retrobulbar nerve blocks in horses. The aim of this study was to compare these parameters between blind and ultrasound-guided injection techniques for the dorsal retrobulbar nerve block in horses. Methods: Equine cadaver heads were used to inject the retrobulbar space with contrast medium (CM). Injections were performed either blindly based on anatomic landmarks (blind group, n = 44) or under ultrasonographic guidance (US-group, n = 44), equally divided between an experienced and unexperienced operator. Needl...
Marchand WR, Smith J, Hoopes KH, Osborne M, Andersen SJ, Bell K, Nazarenko E, Macneill R, Joubert K.Pilot assessment of an equine-assisted services intervention for Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: A large Veterans Administration healthcare system. Methods: Two sessions of instruction in horsemanship skills and two sessions of trail rides. Methods: Safety and feasibility of recruitment, retention, providing the intervention, and measuring outcomes, as well as acceptability of the intervention to the population studied were the main outcome measures. Results: There were no injuries among the 18 participants, 6 staff, or 11 equines over the 3 m...
Radiography and ultrasonography are the most used techniques in veterinary clinical practice, due to organizational, managerial and, mostly, economic reasons. However, in the last decades, Computed tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and, to a lesser extent, Nuclear Medicine (MN) are increasingly used. As we said in the previous article, all the Diagnostic Imaging techniques are actually "indispensable" in Veterinary Medicine, where many patients do not show any symptoms.This second part describes Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance (MRI) and Nuclear Medicine techniques ...
Macaire C, Hanne-Poujade S, De Azevedo E, Denoix JM, Coudry V, Jacquet S, Bertoni L, Tallaj A, Audigié F, Hatrisse C, Hébert C, Martin P, Marin F....Defining whether a gait asymmetry should be considered as lameness is challenging. Gait analysis systems now provide relatively accurate objective data, but their interpretation remains complex. Thresholds for discriminating between horses that are visually assessed as being lame or sound, as well as thresholds for locating the lame limb with precise sensitivity and specificity are essential for accurate interpretation of asymmetry measures. The goal of this study was to establish the thresholds of asymmetry indices having the best sensitivity and specificity to represent the visual single-lim...
DrugCentral monitors new drug approvals and standardizes drug information. The current update contains 285 drugs (131 for human use). New additions include: (i) the integration of veterinary drugs (154 for animal use only), (ii) the addition of 66 documented off-label uses and iii) the identification of adverse drug events from pharmacovigilance data for pediatric and geriatric patients. Additional enhancements include chemical substructure searching using SMILES and 'Target Cards' based on UniProt accession codes. Statistics of interests include the following: (i) 60% of the covered drugs are...
Berryhill EH, Urbina NS, Marton S, Vernau W, Alonso FH.The Wellness Ready Test (WRT) is a lateral flow, stall-side assay that measures equine insulin in whole blood and requires validation before recommending clinical use. We evaluated intra- and inter-assay precision and linearity and compared the WRT with a radioimmunoassay (RIA). Tested concentrations ranged from 695 pmol/L (100 μIU/mL). For 20 replicates at each insulin level, intra-assay CVs of the WRT for insulin were 13.3%, 12.9%, and 15.3% at low (139-278 pmol/L; 20-40 μIU/mL), intermediate (278-417 pmol/L; 40-60 μIU/mL), and high (>417 >60 μIU/mL) concentrations...
Wallace J.With concerns growing globally about anthelmintic resistance in equine endoparasites, James Wallace's practice undertook some research among its horse-owning clients and introduced a fixed-fee parasite management programme to help ensure the most effective use of these valuable medicines.
Byrne CA, Hotchkiss JW, Barakzai SZ.To document variations in the application of equine prosthetic laryngoplasty among equine surgeons. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: Six hundred and seventy-eight equine surgeons performing prosthetic laryngoplasty. Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to equine surgeons, including diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and European College of Veterinary Surgeons. Questions focused on participant profile, surgical technique, antimicrobial therapy, and concurrent procedures. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the survey output. Results: Complete r...
Dória RGS, Reginato GM, Hayasaka YB, Fantinato Neto P, Passarelli D, Arantes JA.Percutaneous decompression of the cecum is a procedure that could be considered for horses with cecal gas distension. The aim of this study was to identify complications such as peritonitis and clinically relevant peritonitis (CRP) after transabdominal cecal trocarization in healthy horses using a cattle trocar and a cecal needle. Mixed breed horses were assigned to three groups (n = 6): horses that underwent trocarization with a cecal needle (G1) or a cattle trocar (G2), and a control group (CG) without cecal trocarization. The same horses were used in each group, respecting a three-month was...
Koh RB, Harrison TM.Over the past years, the concept of pain management in veterinary medicine has evolved and led to the establishment of a new concept of multimodal approach to pain management, as the current standard of care. The use of multimodal analgesia combining pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic techniques not only helps optimize the quality and efficacy of analgesia but also may prevent the development of chronic or persistent pain. During the past decade, acupuncture has become more popular and evolved into one of the most used forms of integrative medicine interventions and nonpharmacologic therapeuti...
Kloock T, Hellige M, Kloock A, Feige K, Niebuhr T.Most horses affected by headshaking (HS) are diagnosed with idiopathic trigeminal-mediated headshaking (i-TMHS) when no underlying disease is found. Diagnosis is made by the exclusion of differentials considering history, clinical signs, and diagnostic investigations. Therefore, in horses presented with headshaking, many diagnostic procedures and therapies are conducted. Retrospectively, the digital patient records of 240 horses with HS were analysed regarding the impact of diagnostic procedures on diagnosis, therapy, and outcome. Horses were extensively examined using a standardised protocol ...
Cummings CO, Krucik DDR, Price E.Clinical predictive models use a patient's baseline demographic and clinical data to make predictions about patient outcomes and have the potential to aid clinical decision making. The extent of equine clinical predictive models is unknown in the literature. Using PubMed and Google Scholar, we systematically reviewed the predictive models currently described for use in equine patients. Models were eligible for inclusion if they were published in a peer-reviewed article as a multivariable model used to predict a clinical/laboratory/imaging outcome in an individual horse or herd. The agreement o...
Veen I, de Grauw JC.Endotracheal intubation is a routine procedure in veterinary anaesthesia, yet no consensus guidelines exist for endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff inflation and pressure measurement. The aim of this study was to assess current practice of ETT cuff inflation and seal verification in veterinary medicine. An online questionnaire was distributed among veterinary professionals who administer anaesthesia, comprising six demographic and twelve ETT cuff-related questions per species. N = 348 questionnaires were completed. Cuff pressure was measured by 30% of respondents in cats, 32% in dogs and 9% in both f...
Bouhali O, Bensmail H, Sheharyar A, David F, Johnson JP.Great advances have been made in human health care in the application of radiomics and artificial intelligence (AI) in a variety of areas, ranging from hospital management and virtual assistants to remote patient monitoring and medical diagnostics and imaging. To improve accuracy and reproducibility, there has been a recent move to integrate radiomics and AI as tools to assist clinical decision making and to incorporate it into routine clinical workflows and diagnosis. Although lagging behind human medicine, the use of radiomics and AI in veterinary diagnostic imaging is becoming more frequent...
Martin BB, Klide AM.The diagnosis of back pain is often a diagnosis of exclusion of other problems in the face of poor performance. It requires careful observation, thought, an open mind, and experience. The signs of back pain can be extremely variable and range from subtle to obvious. Obvious forelimb or hind limb lameness is not usually a sign of back pain. The most common differential diagnosis may be back pain secondary to degenerative joint disease of the hocks, fetlocks, or stifle. These diseases can mimic signs of back pain including lack of impulsion, shortening of the stride length, and change in the str...
Love EJ, Murrell J, Whay HR.This review evaluates the thermal and mechanical nociceptive threshold testing techniques that have been used in horses and discusses them with reference to their applications, limitations and the factors which can influence both the testing procedure itself and the animal's responses. Methods to optimise the reliability and repeatability of the testing procedures are suggested and the potential clinical applications discussed. Methods: Web of Science and Medline. Conclusions: Thermal and mechanical nociceptive threshold testing techniques have valuable roles in both the identification of alte...
Taylor PM, Pascoe PJ, Mama KR.This chapter begins by providing an overview of current philosophies relevant to equine pain management. Objective and subjective techniques for assessing pain and the limitations of these are then described in depth. The conclusion emphasizes the need for an evidence based approach to managing pain in the horse and sets the stage for subsequent chapters in this edition.
Haussler KK.The clinical assessment of pain is subjective; therefore, variations exist between practitioners in their ability to identify and localize pain. Due to differing interpretations of the signs or severity of pain equine practitioners may assign varying levels of clinical significance and treatment options. There is a critical need to develop better tools to qualify and quantify pain in horses. Palpation is the most common method to detect local tenderness or sensitivity. To quantify this applied pressure, pressure algometry has been used to gradually apply pressure over specified landmarks until...
Carslake HB, Pinchbeck GL, McGowan CM.Many diagnostic tests for insulin dysregulation use reference intervals established with an insulin radioimmunoassay (RIA) that is no longer available. A chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) is commonly used for the measurement of serum insulin concentration in clinical practice but requires further validation, especially at clinically relevant reference intervals. Objective: To evaluate the CLIA for measurement of equine insulin and compare it to the previously validated, but now unavailable RIA. Methods: Equine serum samples (n = 78) from clinical and experimental studies. Methods: In this ex...
Evans CH, Chevalier X, Wehling P.Autologous conditioned serum was developed in the mid 1990s as an expeditious, practical, and relatively inexpensive means of generating the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, a naturally occurring inhibitor of the cytokine interleukin-1. The latter is thought to be an important mediator of inflammation, pain, and tissue destruction in musculoskeletal conditions. ACS has been widely and successfully used in the local treatment of human and equine osteoarthritis and radicular compression; it has also shown promise in treating tendinopathies, muscle injuries, and tunnel widening after reconstruc...
Garcia-Villar R, Toutain PL, Alvinerie M, Ruckebusch Y.The pharmacokinetic disposition of xylazine hydrochloride is described after both intravenous and intramuscular injection of a single dose, in four domestic species: horse, cattle, sheep and dog, by an original high performance liquid chromatographic technique. Remarkably small interspecific differences are reported. After intravenous administration, systemic half-life (t1/2 beta) ranged between 22 min (sheep) and 50 min (horse) while the distribution phase is transient with half-life (t1/2 alpha) ranging from 1.2 min (cattle) to 5.9 min (horse). The peak level of drug concentration in the pla...
Wright IM, Smith MR, Humphrey DJ, Eaton-Evans TC, Hillyer MH.Contamination and infection of synovial cavities are a common occurrence in clinical practice and, if inadequately treated, may have career or life threatening consequences for affected horses. Objective: The objectives in treating contamination and infection of joints, tendon sheaths and bursae are most effectively met by endoscopic surgery. Methods: Over a 6 year period, cases of synovial contamination and infection admitted to a referral clinic were evaluated and treated endoscopically. The horses received local and systemic antimicrobial drugs with minimal nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory me...
Sutton GA, Dahan R, Turner D, Paltiel O.A validated tool for assessing the severity of acute abdominal pain is needed for the effective management of colic in horses. Two behaviour-based colic pain scales were constructed by combining together mathematical and judgemental approaches. The mathematical approach identified easily-recognised pain behaviours to select as items. The judgemental approach further modified the items and weighted them based on expert-opinion. Thirty equine practitioners assessed the level of pain demonstrated in 23 film clips of clinical cases exhibiting signs of acute abdominal pain prospectively using a 10c...
Anestis MD, Anestis JC, Zawilinski LL, Hopkins TA, Lilienfeld SO.Equine-related treatments (ERT) for mental disorders are becoming increasingly popular for a variety of diagnoses; however, they have been subjected only to limited systematic investigation. Objective: To examine the quality of and results from peer-reviewed research on ERT for mental disorders and related outcomes. Methods: Peer-reviewed studies (k = 14) examining treatments for mental disorders or closely related outcomes were identified from databases and article reference sections. Results: All studies were compromised by a substantial number of threats to validity, calling into question t...
Hammer A, Nilsagård Y, Forsberg A, Pepa H, Skargren E, Oberg B.The aim of this study was to investigate whether therapeutic riding (TR, Sweden) hippotherapy (HT, United States) may affect balance, gait, spasticity, functional strength, coordination, pain, self-rated level of muscle tension (SRLMT), activities of daily living (ADL), and health-related quality of life. Eleven patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were studied in a single-subject experimental design iSSED) study, type A-B-A. The intervention comprised ten weekly TR/HT sessions of 30 minutes each. The subjects were measured a maximum of 13 times. Physical tests were: the Berg balance scale, t...
Camargo Garbin L, Lopez C, Carmona JU.In the 1990s, the role of platelets in inflammation and tissue healing was finally recognized. Since then, the clinical use of platelet-derived products (hemocomponents), such as, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), markedly increased. The promise of a more economical option of a disease-modifying treatment led to the intensive and continuous research of PRP products and to its widespread clinical use. A number of protocols and commercial kits have been developed with the intention of creating a more practical and reliable option for clinical use in equine patients. Still, the direct comparison betwee...
Long A, Nolen-Walston R.Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a marker of inflammation and infection in the horse that can be assessed in the field, with rapid and marked changes seen following initiation of an inflammatory stimulus. This quality of SAA also makes its clinical use challenging, because even small inflammatory conditions can cause large changes in SAA levels. Review of the current literature provides guidelines for responses of SAA to various conditions, which can be applied to specific clinical cases. The practitioner is encouraged to use SAA in conjunction with physical examination and other diagnostic modalities...
Sullivan KA, Hill AE, Haussler KK.Common methods used to treat back problems in horses need to be assessed objectively. Objective: To measure spinal mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNTs) and evaluate the effects of chiropractic, massage and phenylbutazone, compared with active and inactive control groups. Methods: Baseline MNTs at 7 sites within the thoracolumbar and sacral regions were measured in 38 healthy mature horses exhibiting no clinical signs of lumbar pain. Horses were assigned to one of 3 treatment groups: instrument-assisted chiropractic treatment, therapeutic massage and phenylbutazone; or 2 control groups: rid...
Furr MO, Lessard P, White NA.Thirty-two physical examination and laboratory variables were recorded during examination of 165 horses admitted for acute abdominal disease. Univariate analyses were performed to determine which of the variables were significantly different between horses that lived or died. Stepwise logistic regression was performed to identify variables with the best predictive value. Four variables (heart rate, peritoneal fluid total protein concentration, blood lactate concentration, and abnormal mucous membrane) remained significant when entered into the model. Histograms for each significant variable we...
Starke SD, Oosterlinck M.Visual equine lameness assessment is often unreliable, yet the full understanding of this issue is missing. Here, we investigate visual lameness assessment using near-realistic, three-dimensional horse animations presenting with 0-60 per cent movement asymmetry. Animations were scored at an equine veterinary seminar by attendees with various expertise levels. Results showed that years of experience and exposure to a low, medium or high case load had no significant effect on correct assessment of lame (P>0.149) or sound horses (P≥0.412), with the exception of a significant effect of case l...
Lees P, Higgins AJ.Weak organic acids possessing anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties--commonly known as aspirin-like drugs--have been used in equine medicine for almost 100 years. These non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be classified chemically into two groups; the enolic acids such as phenylbutazone and carboxylic acids like flunixin, meclofenamate and naproxen. All NSAIDs have similar and possibly identical modes of action accounting for both their therapeutic and their toxic effects. They block some part of the cyclo-oxygenase enzyme pathway and thereby suppress the synthe...
van Loon JPAM, Van Dierendonck MC.Objective pain assessment is important to guide and tailor therapy in clinical practice. This study describes the clinical applicability and validity of two pain scales, the Composite Pain Scale (CPS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP) in horses with orthopaedic trauma or after orthopaedic surgery. A cohort follow-up study was performed using 77 adult horses (n=43 with orthopaedic trauma or injury; n=34 controls). Composite and facial expression-based pain scores were assessed by direct observations of pairs of two independent observers. All horse...
Ferris DJ, Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW, Kawcak CE.Medications are frequently employed to treat intra-articular (IA) problems in the performance horse. Actual usage of the different IA medications in horses is not available. Objective: To determine the most common usage of these medications, members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) were surveyed. Methods: An email link to an online survey was electronically sent to 6305 AAEP members and the responses tabulated and analysed with a logistic regression model. Results: A total of 831 survey responses were submitted and tabulated. Eighty per cent of the respondents indicat...
Giguère S, Gaskin JM, Miller C, Bowman JL.To determine efficacy of a commercially available hyperimmune plasma product for prevention of naturally acquired pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi in foals. Methods: Randomized clinical trial. Methods: 165 foals. Methods: Foals were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups (hyperimmune plasma or nontreated controls). Foals with failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunity were treated with hyperimmune plasma and evaluated as a third group. Foals that received plasma were given 950 ml between 1 and 10 days of age and between 30 and 50 days of age. A tracheobronchial aspirate was obtained from fo...
Davidson EJ.Lameness examination is commonly performed in the athletic horse. A skilled lameness diagnostician must have keen clinical and observational skills. Evaluation starts with a detailed history and thorough physical examination. Next, gait evaluation in the moving horse is performed. Lame horses have asymmetrical body movement due to unconscious shift of body weight. Recognition of the resultant head nod and pelvic hike is the basis for lameness diagnosis. Lameness identification is enhanced by circling, limb flexions, and riding. Most lame horses do not exhibit pathognomonic gait characteristics...
Wilmink JM, van Weeren PR, Stolk PW, Van Mil FN, Barneveld A.The histological aspects of second-intention healing were studied in 5 horses and 5 ponies. Biopsies were taken weekly from standardised wounds on the metatarsus and femoral biceps muscle of one horse and one pony. Sections were stained to enable cell counting and the detection of DNA synthesis, fibrin, smooth muscle actin (SMA), collagen, and bacteria. In the ponies, the number of polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) was high during the first 3 weeks and subsequently decreased rapidly. In the horses, the initial number of PMNs was lower, but remained persistently elevated during the evaluation...
Leadon D, Waran N, Herholz C, Klay M.Enormous numbers of horses are transported locally, nationally and internationally every year. National legislation and international guidelines set standards for the health and welfare of animals during transport. As a consequence, equine clinicians have major responsibilities in safeguarding the horse industry against the spread of disease and in being aware of the problems inherent in horse transport. The authors explore road, sea and air transport and their effect on horses. Various types of road transport are available and there are various sources of impact on horses. These include loadi...
Loomis PR.Clinical reproduction in the horse more closely parallels human clinical reproduction than in other domestic farm animals. Horse breeders rarely include fertility as a selection criterion when making mating decisions; in most breeds, there is no licensing or approval of stallions. This has led to a significant number of stallions in the breeding pool that possess desirable performance traits but are subfertile for a variety of reasons, some of them genetically transmitted between generations. Therefore, semen characteristics can vary greatly among stallions within the breeding population. A ch...
Martens A, De Moor A, Vlaminck L, Pille F, Steenhaut M.Ninety-five horses with sarcoids were subjected to three types of treatment: surgical excision (conventional or carbon dioxide laser), cryotherapy or local BCG vaccination. The type of treatment was selected on the basis of the size, location and clinical appearance of the tumours. The choice between conventional and laser excision was empirical. A successful outcome was obtained in 11 of 14 (79 per cent) of the horses treated by cryosurgery, 18 of 27 (67 per cent) treated by BCG vaccination, 18 of 22 (82 per cent) treated by conventional excision, and 20 of 28 (71 per cent) treated with a car...
Spiess BM.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) has always been and still is an important disease with a significant impact on the horse industry in Europe, with a prevalence of 8-10%. The need to understand and manage the disease has spurred the development of veterinary ophthalmology in general, although the aetiology of the disease remains the subject of intense discussion. It is most probably an autoimmune disease triggered, at least in Europe, in the majority of cases by Leptospira spp. The therapy of ERU has evolved over the centuries from various methods of bloodletting to rational medical therapy using...
Lorena SE, Luna SP, Lascelles BD, Corrente JE.The objective of this study was to assess the use of analgesics, describe the attitudes of Brazilian veterinarians towards pain relief in horses and cattle and evaluate the differences due to gender, year of graduation and type of practice. Methods: Prospective survey. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to 1000 large animal veterinarians by mail, internet and delivered in person during national meetings. The survey investigated the attitudes of Brazilian veterinarians to the recognition and treatment of pain in large animals and consisted of sections asking about demographic data, use of analge...
de Loës M.A prospective study of acute injuries from sports and physical exercise was carried out during 1 year in a total population of a municipality with 31,620 inhabitants. The medical treatment and the services required for the injuries have been calculated and related to the total consumption of medical care in the municipality. A total of 571 injuries (17% of all injuries) occurred in 28 different sports: 65% of the injured were males. Sports injuries accounted for 3% of all acute visits and there were altogether 1,083 outpatient visits, which yields a mean of 1.9 visits per injury. Related to th...
Lesimple C, Fureix C, Biquand V, Hausberger M.Questionnaires are a common tool to assess people's opinion on a large scale or to sound them out about their subjective views. The caretakers' opinion about animals' "personality" has been used in many studies. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the owners' subjective evaluation was effective to detect back disorders. Back disorders have been shown to have a high prevalence in working horses. Caretakers from 17 riding schools (1 caretaker/school, 161 horses) were given a questionnaire about their horses' health status, including back disorders. Out of these 161 horses, 59 were...
