Veterinary research in horses encompasses the study of diseases, health management, and medical treatments specific to equine species. This field investigates various aspects of horse health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Researchers focus on understanding the pathophysiology of equine ailments, developing diagnostic tools, and evaluating therapeutic interventions. The study of horse health also involves examining preventive measures such as vaccination protocols and nutritional management to promote overall well-being. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse areas of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into disease mechanisms, treatment strategies, and advancements in equine healthcare.
Woods WE, Chay S, Houston T, Blake JW, Tobin T.Interference or 'masking' in thin layer chromatography occurs when the presence of one drug on a thin layer plate physically obscures or interferes with the detection of another drug. We investigated the ability of phenylbutazone and oxyphenbutazone to mask or interfere with the detection by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) of basic drugs used illegally in horse racing. Of fifty-five basic drugs called 'positive' since 1981 by laboratories affiliated with the Association of Official Racing Chemists (AORC), forty did not comigrate with phenylbutazone or oxyphenbutazone and cou...
Halnan CR.From the standpoint that cytogenetic screening in mares is seldom necessary as an aid to diagnosis of the gonadal dysgenesis syndrome, a series of double-blind trials were conducted to test the proposal that present practice failed to explore the potential for cytogenetics in clinical practice. It was demonstrated that diagnoses of infertility might be made where mares were found to be of normal phenotype by clinical examination. Such mares were found to be gonosmic mosaics. One stallion had a polymorphism of the X chromosome and had poor conception rates. It was demonstrated that the true val...
Sohrabi Haghdoost I, Zakarian B.THE results of a 20 year retrospective study of the tumours diagnosed in all equine cases referred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teheran, for surgical treatment or post mortem examination are reported here.
Chan CW, Collins EA.An angiosarcoma involving the right frontal and maxillary sinuses in a nine-year-old Thoroughbred mare was studied post mortem by light and electron microscopy. Important diagnostic features included malignant endothelial cells lining ill-defined vascular spaces, supported by other vasoformative elements. Rhabdomyoblasts were also found. The tumour is apparently rarely seen in the nasal passages of the horse.
Halnan CR.The prognostic use of karyotyping in equine breeding has been recommended since 1976. Specimens used and laboratory methods are described. The system of karyotype evaluation is explained together with a glossary of terms. The principal aberrations in horses are defined. The present state of knowledge in cytogenetics in horses is reviewed dealing with infertility in the mare, where sex chromosomes give clear indication of problems; the situation with respect to anomalies found in stallions and hermaphroditism is explained coupled with recent concepts of chromosomal roles in reproduction. The fu...
Miller PJ, Holmes JR.Observations on seven cases of mitral insufficiency are described. Three of the horses had recent histories of cardiac failure and formed a separate group in which there were marked haemodynamic changes which varied in relation to heart rate but were associated with pulmonary hypertension, elevated right ventricular pressure and low peak left ventricular pressure. In the other four horses the heart appeared to be compensating at rest but to be unable to cope with severe exertion. On auscultation, a widespread pansystolic murmur and a prominent third heart sound were characteristic of the left ...
Gronwall R, Price G.To determine the rate of urine flow and thus urinary excretion in the horse from untimed urine samples alone, the flow rate, creatinine concentration, osmolarity, and refractive index of 228 quantitatively collected urine samples were determined in 53 experiments on 12 healthy Thoroughbred mares. Forty samples were collected after water-induced diuresis; 11 samples were collected after furosemide-induced diuresis. Flow rates, which ranged from 1.2 to 84.5 ml/min, could be predicted from the urinary creatinine concentration. Correlation of urinary flow with urinary creatinine concentration acco...
Goulden BE, Anderson LJ, Cahill JI.An endoscopic survey was performed to assess arytenoid cartilage movement during quiet respiration in 48 Clydesdale horses. Physical characteristics which could influence the length of the recurrent laryngeal nerves were also recorded from these horses and the relationship of these characteristics to the presence of abnormal left arytenoid cartilage movements was assessed statistically. Some degree of abnormal arytenoid movement was observed in 50% of the animals over one year of age. No significant correlation between sex, age, estimated weight, height, or neck length could be found although ...
Johnson P.An unusual compound of small molecular weight has been detected in serum from horses with acute grass sickness by solvent extractions and thin-layer chromatography. The substance has not been detected in the serum of normal horses or cases of equine colic and apparently disappears from grass sickness serum after two to three days of clinical illness. Although this compound is found in sera which are known to possess in vivo neurotoxicity, this property could not be demonstrated in either the total chloroform extract which contains the compound or in the hydrophilic serum components remaining a...
Leid RW, Coley SC, Blanchard DP, Perryman LE.The equine alternative complement pathway has been partially characterized and compared to the equine classical activation pathway. A dose-dependent lysis of RbRBC was observed with peak lytic values noted within 10 minutes at 37 degrees C when rabbit red blood cells (RbRBC) were used as an alternative pathway activator. Sheep red blood cells (SRBC) sensitized with rabbit hemolysin or partially purified equine IgM antibodies were equally sensitive to lysis. Dilution of the commercial hemolysin by 1/5 reduced lysis from 90% to 38% in the presence of constant cell numbers. Hemolysis of SRBC peak...
Clarke AF.Exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) is a condition of uncertain aetiology. This article reviews the evidence relating to its incidence, clinical findings, radiological observations, histopathology and certain aspects of respiratory physiology. It is proposed that EIPH is primarily caused by mechanical stress in the dorsocaudal region of the lung.
de Oliveira AC, Rosenbruch M, Schulz LC.The morphology of asteroid bodies in equine arteries is demonstrated by light microscopy as well as by scanning and transmission electron microscopy combined with chemical analysis. Asteroid bodies first occur in horses at four weeks of age in all investigated tissues except the esophagus and always are located in the subendothelial space. The number, shape, ultrastructure and chemical composition of asteroid bodies differ markedly--depending on the age of the horse. Asteroid bodies are round and smooth in foals, but are shaped irregularly and have several projections and marked stratified cal...
Pedersoli WM, Fazeli MH, Haddad NS, Ravis WR, Carson RL.Endometrial tissue and blood serum gentamicin (GT) concentrations were determined in 6 ovariectomized pony mares given intrauterine infusions (50 ml of a 5% commercial aqueous solution of GT) each day for 5 consecutive days. The mares were subjected to the following 3 treatments: (1) GT infusion only (trial A, control); (2) progesterone plus GT (trial B, P + G); and (3) estradiol plus GT (trial C, E + G). Endometrial tissue concentrations of GT (micrograms/g) at 24 and 120 hours were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in trials B (65.54 +/- 15.57 and 100.33 +/- 19.27) and C (73.33 +/- 22....
Spurlock GH, Landry SL, Sams R, McGuirk S, Muir WW.Plasma volume, extracellular fluid volume (ECFV), and total body water (TBW) were measured before and after endotoxin (Escherichia coli) administration in 6 conscious adult horses. Evan's blue dye, sodium thiocyanate, and antipyrine were the test substances used to estimate plasma volume, ECFV, and TBW, respectively. Pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma concentration vs time was used to determine changes in body fluid compartments. The pathophysiologic effects of endotoxin were monitored by clinical evaluation, blood chemical changes, and blood gas determinations. All horses became dyspneic with...
Brockschmidt LD, Loch WE, Sikes JD.An experiment was conducted to test the effect of repeated transcervical (non-surgical) uterine flushing and a prostaglandin analogue (PG) on the estrous cycle of pony mares. Uteri in group A were trancervically flushed for embryos 7 to 9 days post ovulation. In addition, group B mares were given 5 ml of PG by intramuscular injection on the day of flushing. Group C served as controls and were not flushed or given PG but were allowed to cycle normally. All mares (except controls) were bred A.I. every other day during estrus. There was no effect on embryo recovery rate from repeated flushing or ...
Davies JV, Gerring EL.Small intestinal ischaemia is a cause of pain in man and horses. Occlusion of the vascular supply to Thiry loops in experimental ponies caused severe discomfort and loss of motility within a few minutes but these effects could not be reproduced by a similar procedure in intact gut preparations. However, embolisation of the mural vascular network produced ischaemia of the small intestine of anaesthetised ponies which led to a cessation of motility in the affected segments, though unaffected segments became hypermotile with a characteristic motility pattern. These results suggest the need for re...
Skarda RT, Muir WW, Ibrahim AI.The CSF concentrations of mepivacaine in 10 Standardbred horses and of procaine in 10 Holstein cows given the drugs by thoracolumbar subarachnoid injection were determined. Mepivacaine hydrochloride was injected into the horses (502 +/- 60.5 kg) at an average dosage of 30 mg (1.5 ml of 20 mg/ml solution). Analgesia was produced 7.5 +/- 4.3 minutes after injection, extended between spinal cord segments T13 and L3 on both sides of the spinal column, and lasted 47 +/- 18.7 minutes at the T18 dermatome. Procaine hydrochloride was injected into cows (614 +/- 51.5 kg) at a dosage ranging between 75 ...
Prescott JF.A proposal for the development of Canadian veterinary education and of the organization of the profession is described. There should be one veterinary school with four branches (the current colleges). A student would train at any college in comparative medicine for two and one-half years and then train for 12 months or more in a specialty taught at one or more colleges. These specialties are general veterinary practice, poultry practice, public health and regulatory medicine, ruminant practice, swine practice, equine practice, small animal practice, fish medicine, fur-bearing and exotic animal...
Heath E, Aire T, Fujiwara K.A microtubular mass (MM) defect was found in the spermatozoa of 7 Standardbred stallions; 3 stallions were sons of the same sire. Two of these 3 stallions and 2 other stallions (for a total of 4 out of the 7 stallions) were considered subfertile when the defect was first observed. Fertility improved with time, either during the first breeding season or when a given stallion was used less frequently; however, the MM defect persisted, consisting of tortuous arrays of small abnormal microtubules visible only by transmission electron microscopy. The MM probably contained the protein tubulin as ind...
Leaper DJ, Foster ME, Brennan SS, Davies PW.Magnetic fields have been considered for treating many ailments over man's history. There have been many anecdotal unsupported claims for successful treatment of soft tissue injury although reports have been more substantive in the orthopaedic field. The widespread clinical and veterinary use of a light self-adhesive magnetic foil in Europe prompted this trial of experimental wound healing. One hundred and sixty Sprague-Dawley rats had a linear 2.5 cm incision or a circular 1 cm skin defect made over the mid-dorsal spine. Equal numbers were randomised to receive either a magnetic foil or a dum...
Widders PR, Stokes CR, Newby TJ, Bourne FJ.This study identifies nonimmune binding of equine immunoglobulin by the causative organism of contagious equine metritis. Immunoglobulin binding to the bacterium was strongest for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and less for IgM; IgA was not bound. Binding of equine IgG was inhibited by human IgG, but not by IgG of domestic animals. Immunoglobulin binding by the bacterium appeared to be directed towards an epitope in the hinge region of the immunoglobulin molecule.
Kozlov DP.The problem of dissimilation of larvae of strongylates of ruminants in pasture biocoenosis is discussed. A new form of their migration in horizontal direction on the basis of negative geotaxis is suggested. As a result of alternation of vertical migration of larvae on the tilting leaves of the grass and their subsequent washing off with rain or dew down on the ground proceeds their distribution on the pasture. The description of corresponding experiments is given.
Martens J, Rosenbruch M.The paper presents the case-history of a 5-year-old pony suffering from an adenocarcinoma which proceeded from the pars intermedia of the pituitary gland. Neurological and patho-morphological findings are reported.
Weaver MP, Jeffcott LB, Nowak M.Radiology and, more recently, scintigraphy are important ancillary diagnostic aids in the diagnosis of a horse with suspected back pain. Although the image quality is restricted by the size of the patient, radiographs have been used for several decades. With the introduction of modern fast-screen film systems, the quality of the images has greatly improved. These imaging techniques allow assessment of the anatomy and physiology of structures in the spine that are difficult or impossible to palpate. This article reviews the techniques and limitations of imaging the equine back, in addition to c...
al-Timimi I, Gaillard JL, Amri H, Silberzahn P.Whereas mare corpus luteum does not produce androgens or estrogens in vivo, the incubation of mare corpus luteum microsomes with progesterone and NADPH resulted in 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and estrogen production with a small yield of androstenedione. In the presence of an aromatase inhibitor (4-hydroxyandrostenedione), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and androstenedione were accumulated. Aromatization of testosterone and androstenedione occurred via stereospecific loss of the 1 beta, 2 beta hydrogen atoms and was inhibited by MgCl2, KCl, and EDTA. The Km of estrogen synthetase from equine co...
Staszyk C, Gasse H.In order to display the collagen-fiber arrangement in the equine periodontal ligament an inexpensive and easy staining procedure with fluorescein was applied to paraffin sections. After fluorescein labeling a section was suitable for successful examination with three special microscopical systems: a) fluorescence microscopy b) phase contrast microscopy and c) polarized light microscopy. Collagen fibers were clearly displayed as compact structures in the fluorescence microscope. This distinct feature of the fluorescent image generated an almost three-dimensional impression of the fiber arrangem...
McChesney AE.Since the advent of cell culture techniques, numerous viruses have been shown to be related to respiratory diseases in horses. Although the viruses differ in many ways, they cause disease with some common characteristics. This report is a summary of some of the available material from written sources and from personal observations. It is intended to help explain some of the changes observed in viral-induced respiratory disease.
Obuch-Woszczatyński P, Pituch H, Martirosian G, Silva J, Meisel-Mikołajczyk F, Łuczak M.Seven Bacteroides fragilis strains were cultured from samples collected from horses. From all the tested strains, as well as from the reference B. fragilis strains: enterotoxigenic NCTC 11925 and nonenterotoxigenic IPL 323 strain, DNA was isolated using Genomic DNA PREP PLUS isolation kit manufactured by A&A Biotechnology (Poland). To detect the enterotoxin (fragilysin) gene, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied, using the following starters: 404 (GAG CCG AAG ACG GTG TAT GTG ATT TGT) and 407 (TGC TCA GCG CCC AGT ATA TGA CCT AGT). DNA obtained from bacterial cells was amplified in a ...
Viana GF, Midon M, Fonseca MW, Hataka A, Carandina L, Bueno LMC, Puoli Filho JNP, Machado VMV.In humans and pets, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides important adjunctive anatomic information about the thyroid and its adjacent structures. To the best of our knowledge, however, no studies have been reported regarding the use of MRI for thyroid evaluation in horses. The aim of this study was to obtain qualitative and quantitative parameters of healthy thyroid gland in adult horses by MRI. Eleven horses were submitted to thyroid MRI evaluation. The healthy thyroid of these animals was ensured by normal examinations performed before (free thyroxine and ultrasound) and after (cytology...