Veterinary procedures in horses encompass a range of medical and surgical interventions performed to diagnose, treat, and manage equine health conditions. These procedures are designed to address various health issues, from routine care to emergency interventions. Common veterinary procedures include vaccinations, dental care, lameness evaluations, reproductive services, and surgical interventions such as colic surgery or fracture repair. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, outcomes, and advancements in veterinary procedures for horses, providing insights into their application and efficacy in equine medicine.
Lumsden JM, Stick JA, Caron JP, Nickels FA.Medical records of 51 horses with epiglottic entrapment were reviewed, and the outcome after surgical treatment was evaluated by use of results from a survey of owners and from race records. Horses with epiglottic entrapment and no additional problem (uncomplicated) of the nares, nasal passages, pharynx, or larynx (upper airway) that were treated by transoral axial division (group 1) or resection via laryngotomy (group 2), and horses with epiglottic entrapment complicated by an additional upper airway abnormality (group 3) were compared. The cost of treatment, duration of hospitalization, time...
McClure SR, Watkins JP, Ashman RB.Breaking strength (torque at failure) of equine third metacarpal bones, with transfixation pins placed parallel in the frontal plane and 30 degrees divergent from the frontal plane, was determined in vitro. Two transfixation pins were placed through the distal metaphysis, using a jig designed to drill the holes in the assigned configuration. Paired metacarpal bones II through IV from 12 horses were tested in torsion. The torsional moment of the force applied through the transfixation pins at failure was compared for each limb. Metacarpal bones with divergent pins were significantly (P = 0.030)...
Nixon AJ.Arthroscopic examination of the hip joint was performed in mature and juvenile horses, using a lateral approach and standard or long instruments depending on body weight. Nine hip joints were examined in three cadavers and four anesthetized horses. The lateral, cranial, and caudal regions of the femoral head and acetabulum were accessible, and, after distraction of the limb, the ligament of the head of the femur and the acetabular notch were also visible. In small horses, the medial regions of the hip joint were visible but were inaccessible in larger horses. Iatrogenic injury to the sciatic n...
Yarbrough TB, Langer DL, Snyder JR, Gardner IA, O'Brien TR.Medical records of 245 horses that had been evaluated by use of abdominal radiography between January 1990 and December 1992 were reviewed. One hundred forty-one horses subsequently had a postmortem examination or surgical exploration performed for definitive lesion diagnosis. The signalment, diagnosis, site, and number of enteroliths were obtained from the medical records. Radiographs were evaluated individually by 3 reviewers for the presence of enteroliths, preferred diagnostic view, evidence of large colon tympany, and film quality. Of the 141 cases reviewed, 66.7% (94/141) had confirmed e...
Amory H, Lomba F, Lekeux PM, Solal AN, Jauniaux TP, Desmecht DJ.An adult pony had a 1-month history of severe respiratory distress that was resistant to treatment and environmental changes. Results of blood gas analysis were indicative of alveolar hypoventilation. Simultaneous recordings of thoracic and abdominal wall motion by inductance plethysmography, together with complete pulmonary mechanics evaluation that included transdiaphragmatic pressure monitoring, revealed complete passive behavior of the diaphragm during breathing. Because radiography, necropsy, and histologic examination did not reveal any major lesion to explain the clinical and functional...
McClure SR, Schumacher J, Snyder JR.Three horses were found to have an extensive nasopharyngeal cicatrix that was responsible for respiratory impairment. The cicatrization was diagnosed by use of endoscopy during evaluations of the horses for inspiratory stridor. All 3 horses were treated by endoscope-guided transnasal incision of the cicatrix and were able to resume their previous activities.
Denoix JM.Conventional clinical examination remains of medical and economic value for diagnosis of soft tissue injuries in the equine athlete. This procedure requires concentration and rigor to establish the diagnosis, and, if possible, some experience to better evaluate the prognosis. None of the new imaging techniques can replace the physical examination, but each may provide additional information. These sophisticated methods are bringing considerable progress in the knowledge of locomotor injuries in the horse and a tremendous improvement in our ability to diagnose precisely lamenesses and limitatio...
Embertson RM.Congenital deformities of tendons and ligaments are not uncommon in foals. The vast majority of hyperextension deformities are treated successfully with exercise management and extended heel shoes. Successful treatment of contractural deformities depend on the site and severity of the deformity and on the appropriate use of medical, physical, and, possibly, surgical therapy.
Fulton IC, MacLean AA, O'Rielly JL, Church S.Bilateral superior check ligament desmotomy was performed on 31 Thoroughbred and 17 Standardbred horses as the sole method of treatment for superficial digital flexor tendonitis. Horses resumed racing between 6 and 19 months after surgery. Horses that were able to compete in 5 or more races without injury to the tendon again were considered to have had a successful return to racing. Twenty-five Thoroughbreds were suitable for later study and 13 of these (52%) raced on 5 or more occasions. Fifteen Standardbreds were suitable for later study and 10 of these (66%) raced on 5 or more occasions. Wi...
Palmer SE, Genovese R, Longo KL, Goodman N, Dyson S.The authors of this section represent a broad range of practice experience with horses that perform in rigorous and varied sport competitions. Each breed and performance application represent unique challenges of diagnosis and uncompromising demands on rehabilitated tendon injuries. This article will serve to guide, stimulate, and encourage veterinarians to apply scientific criteria to the evaluation of tendinitis therapy in the years to come so that we can arrive at a more valid consensus as to the "best" means of tendon and ligament injury management.
Purcell KL, Johnson PJ, Kreeger JM, Wilson DA.An 8-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare was examined because of intermittent, low-grade abdominal pain and weight loss for 3 months. Incomplete jejunal obstruction, caused by a granulomatous mass in the wall of the jejunum, was identified during exploratory celiotomy. Pythium insidiosum was identified as the cause of the granuloma. This case suggests that enteric pythiosis may develop in horses that are geographically distant from the Gulf Coast.
Ward JL, Fubini SL.Cecocolic intussusception was detected in a 2-year-old male Standardbred horse with a 3-day history of signs of intermittent colic. The entire cecum, which was located within the lumen of the right ventral colon, was edematous and necrotic, and could not be manually reduced. A colotomy was made, and partial typhlectomy was performed. An ileocolostomy also was performed. To prevent eversion of the cecal base, the site of invagination into the colon was oversewn. Several postoperative complications were treated, including peritonitis, thrombophlebitis, anemia, and hypoproteinemia, and 1 year aft...
Smith BL, Aguilera-Tejero E, Tyler WS, Jones JH, Hornof WJ, Pascoe JR.To develop a bronchoscopic map of the equine respiratory tree, the major airways of the lungs of 6 healthy Thoroughbred horses were systematically explored with a flexible fibreoptic endoscope through a tracheostomy while the horses were sedated in stocks. With the carina as the reference point, measurements were made of distances to the branches of the major airways using markers on the shaft of the endoscope. All branches were explored until the narrowing of their diameters prevented further advancement of the endoscope. Positions of origins of branches from the parent bronchus were recorded...
Schneider RK, Ragle CA, Carter BG, Davis WE.Osteochondral fragments detected in the proximal interphalangeal joint in the pelvic limbs of 3 horses (2 Standardbreds and 1 Thoroughbred) caused joint enlargement and lameness. Fragments were removed by use of arthroscopy. Accurate placement of the arthroscope into the dorsal joint space was necessary to obtain an adequate view of the fragments. After surgery, 2 of the horses resumed racing without joint problems, and the third was in training to race. High-detail radiographs are necessary to detect osteochondral fragments in horses with joint enlargement or lameness localized to the proxima...
Rich FR, Glisson RR.In vitro failure modes and mechanical properties of the equine cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) were evaluated in 15 stifle joints from 10 ponies. Ponies were from 3 to 25 years of age and weighed from 122 to 208 kg. Femur-CCL-tibia specimens were mounted in 48 degrees of flexion, distracted until a 500-g tensile preload was achieved, and then tested by tensile loading to failure. Specimens failed by complete midsubstance CCL rupture (n = 9), combined tibial insertion avulsion fracture and midsubstance CCL rupture (n = 4), and combined femoral origin avulsion fracture and midsubstance CCL ruptu...
Peloso JG, Schumacher J, McClure SR, Crabill MR, Hanselka DV, Householder DD, Potter GD.A T-cannula was fitted permanently into the ileum of ten mature ponies to quantify the role of the prececal and postileal segments of the digestive tract in equine nutrition studies. The ponies were anesthetized, positioned in left lateral recumbency, and the distal small intestine was exteriorized through a right paralumbar incision. A silastic T-cannula was inserted through a 2-cm longitudinal incision into the lumen of the ileum, on the antimesenteric surface, and sutured to the ileum. The stem of the cannula was exteriorized through a 2-cm circular skin incision, 6 cm caudal to the 16th ri...
McD○ LA, Stover SM, Taylor KT, Les CM.The compressive, bending and torsional mechanical properties of osteotomized adult equine tibiae stabilized with an interlocking intramedullary nail (nail-tibia composite) were compared with those of intact tibiae to determine the clinical applicability of the the nail for repair of tibial fractures in adult horses. The mean yield load, failure load, and stiffness for the nail-tibia composites were significantly less (P < .05) than those for the intact tibiae in all loading configurations. The mean compressive yield load for the nail-tibia composites was greater than the compressive load ca...
Jones DL, Barber SM, Jack SW, Doige CE.Gross and microscopic effects of arthroscopic partial synovectomy on synovium and articular cartilage of middle carpal joints were studied in 15 horses. A 7-mm diameter motorized synovial resector was inserted into each middle carpal joint and arthroscopic partial synovectomy and lavage or arthroscopic lavage alone was performed. Study periods were 0 (three horses), 16 (three horses), and 30 days (six horses). No gross evidence of degenerative joint disease was observed at day 16 or 30. At 30 days, resected areas lacked villi and there was deposition of fibrin on the synovial surface with vary...
Barr AR.An objective radiological method of assessing the degree to which horses are conformationally 'back at the knee' (hyper-extended) is described. The effects on the measurements of variations in the direction of the incident X-ray beam and variations in weight bearing by the horse were assessed. A change from a lateromedial projection towards a plamaro-lateral-dorsomedial oblique projection consistently tended to reduce the observed degree of hyperextension of the carpus. Raising the contralateral limb to increase the load on the carpus had little effect on the measurements. The carpi of 21 thor...
Tetens J, Tulleners EP, Ross MW, Orsini PG, Martin BB.Tympany of the auditory tube diverticulum was treated in 2 Standardbred foals by fenestrating the median septum, using an endoscopically placed Nd:YAG laser. Recurrence in 1 foal was treated by enlarging the fenestration, using a modified Whitehouse approach, and the pharyngeal opening of the auditory tube. Use of the Nd:YAG laser eliminates the risk of inadvertent cranial nerve damage associated with incisions into the auditory tube diverticulum. The procedure can be performed with the horse sedated or anesthetized. Clinical signs can recur in the fenestration heals closed or if the condition...
Blendinger C, Müller G, Bostedt H.The lethal white foal syndrome (congenital intestinal aganglionosis) was diagnosed by history, clinical signs and pathological findings in a female foal, born in March 1992, that was an offspring of two overo-spotted paint horses. The syndrome is a congenital innervation defect of the gastrointestinal tract. A literature review of this condition, relatively unknown in Germany, is given.
Young SS, Tesarowski D.Respiratory mechanics were compared using conventional and forced oscillation techniques in six conscious horses and a mechanical model of the equine respiratory system. The parameters calculated from conventional airflow and esophageal pressure measurements were pulmonary resistance and dynamic compliance. The impedance of the respiratory system was measured at 1, 2, and 3 Hz with the forced oscillation technique, and respiratory system resistance, compliance, inertance, and resonant frequency were calculated. Pulmonary resistance was 1.0 +/- 0.3 cmH2O.l-1.s, and pulmonary dynamic compliance ...
Snyder JR, Pascoe JR, Meagher DM, Thurmond MC.Surface oximetry was used to evaluate viability of the ascending colon in 60 horses with naturally occurring colonic volvulus or displacement. Tissue surface oxygen tension (PsO2) was measured on the serosal surface of the pelvic flexure after anatomic correction of the colonic obstruction. Horses with PsO2 > 20 mm of Hg were predicted to have viable colon; whereas, horses with PsO2 < or = 20 mm of Hg were predicted to have nonviable colon. Results of surface oximetry were compared with final outcome. For surface oximetry, sensitivity (ability to accurately identify colon that was nonvia...
Mueller PO, Allen D, Watson E, Hay C.A 2-year-old Standardbred colt was admitted because of lameness of the left hind limb. Physical examination revealed marked effusion of the left femoropatellar and femorotibial joints and grade IV/V lameness of the left hind limb. Radiography of the left stifle revealed a complete fracture of the medial tubercle of the intercondylar eminence of the tibia. Arthroscopy was used to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic information. A cranial approach to the medial compartment of the femorotibial joint was performed. Manipulation of the medial tubercle revealed it to be unstable, but a d...
Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, van der Velden MA.A review of displacements and surgery of the large colon is given on the basis of two cases. A four-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare was referred, one week before foaling, for colic of twelve hours duration. At rectal palpation a large uterus was found, but no cause for the colic. Laparotomy revealed a colonic volvulus and resection of about 75% of the large colon was necessary. A dead foal was born five days postoperatively, but the mare recovered well. A nine year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion with a history of frequent colic had been treated for nephrosplenic entrapment three times. Resection o...
Kudlac E, Grygar J.The frequency of double ovulation and the chances of twin pregnancy in the mare are presented with reference to the relevant literature. A novel manual technique for reducing the embryo number from two to one is introduced and illustrated by ultrasonographic images.
Johnson JH.Surgical access to the abdomen of the horse is commonly required to treat disorders of the alimentary tract, for surgery of abdominally placed genital organs such as in cryptorchidectomy, caesarean section, and ovariectomy, and for surgery of the urinary bladder. The choice of the operative approach is determined by the likely location and nature of the surgical problem, the nature of the patient, facilities available, economic considerations, and the familiarity of the surgeon with the different techniques.
The abdominal cavity is the largest body cavity in the horse, which means that expo...
Illera JC, Hamlin RL, Illera M.Bipolar and unipolar limb leads and unipolar thoracic lead ECG were obtained from 100 male crossbred horses. P-wave morphologic features were classified according to positivity negativity and monopolarity dipolarity, and the percentage of horses that had P waves of a given morphologic class in each lead was calculated. P-Wave morphologic features of 4 precordial leads were most uniform, with greater than 80% of the horses having a single configuration.
Schatzmann U, Girard P.The paper describes the problems of injection anaesthesia in the horse. Different commonly used methods, drugs and drug combinations are explained. Their actions and side-effects are compared and discussed.
Sayers E, Tabor G.Clinical reasoning has not been studied in veterinary physiotherapy and so the methods used and factors involved are unknown. Similarly, the practices of veterinary physiotherapists within a certain rehabilitation programme have not been documented. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical reasoning and practices of veterinary physiotherapists during rehabilitation of horses following interspinous ligament desmotomy surgery. Unassigned: A qualitative approach was taken and six members of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy were interviewed using a semi-stru...
Zamos DT, Ford TS, Cohen ND, Crossland LE.Two mares developed segmental ischemic necrosis of the small intestine after parturition. In one mare, the mesentery of the small intestine apparently tore during parturition, after which necrosis developed in a 52-cm segment of the distal portion of jejunum. In the other mare, a 52-cm segment of the proximal portion of ileum tore during parturition. Three weeks later, a 40-cm segment of the distal portion of jejunum became incarcerated in the mesenteric rent and twisted 360 degrees on its mesentery. Both mares recovered after resection of affected intestine and are functioning as broodmares.