Because navicular problems might affect soft tissue as well as bone, MRI is a better diagnostic tool than X ray in these cases, said Robert K. Schneider, DVM, MS, professor at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and part
There is no “one-size-fits-all” non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy for horses; therapy should be tailored to the animal and situation, said Cornell University’s Thomas J. Divers, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, at the
Although antibiotic resistance is not as serious a problem for horses as it is for people, the equine industry should use antibiotics judiciously, so they will continue to work against bacteria that cause disease – not just for the benefit of h
Treatment with equine follicle-stimulating hormone (eFSH) does not increase healthy mares’ conception rates, researchers recently reported.
The hormone eFSH is used to stimulate donor mares’ ovaries to increase the number of
Adding a local analgesic to the systemic pain medications used during castration relieved pain in colts, researchers recently reported.
The researchers observed three groups of 12 colts. All of the horses received pain medication before and after surgery. One group received butorphanol, a morphine derivative; one received phenylbutazone, an anti-inflammatory; and the third receive
The time to pull out the thermometer and stethoscope to check your horse’s temperature, pulse (heart rate), and respiration (TPR) for the first time is not when he’s looking a little puny and you and the veterinarian are on the phone trying to decide whether it’s an emergency. Instead, these baseline measurements should be part of a horse’s routine care.
Whether transporting a horse across an ocean or across state lines, there are legal requirements that you need to meet. Your paperwork must be complete or you face the possibility of fines, quarantine, or even your horse being rejected and refused entry into a state or country.
Theriogenologists typically recommend low centrifugation speeds for separating equine semen from seminal plasma in ejaculate, as it was unknown whether higher speeds would damage the cells. However, higher forces did not damage sperm in a new study.
“There are some stallions that have low sperm concentration in their ejaculates and need to be centrifuged to concentrate the ce
Public health authorities are looking into how equine influenza spread among 5,000 horses during an outbreak in Australia in 2007. Although the team identified a few possible methods for spreading the virus, including spread by birds and other animals, they reported in a recent review that they were unable to prove whether these potential transmission scenarios occurred.
“The
Make sure you meet paperwork requirements before shipping horses, whether across oceans or state lines.
About 30% of lameness in horses is associated with foot problems, yet little research focuses on the biomechanics and function of the equine hoof. Researchers recently found slight differences in horses’ hooves following exercise.
They believed the exercise would increase blood flow to the hoof, which would accelerate growth and change the hoof wall and shape.
Diagnostic pathologists at the Animal Health Trust (AHT), Newmarket recently published the first report of equine abortions in England caused by leptospirosis.
Although horses in the UK have been exposed to Leptospira organisms, veterinarians there have not seen a lot of illness caused by the bacterium, explained report co-author Katherine Whitwell, BVSc, Dipl. ECVP, FRCVS.
Once a horse is infected with equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), the dormant virus resides in the horse’s nervous system, where it can reactivate when the horse’s immune system is compromised by stress or illness. Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, and his colleagues at the University of California, Davis, wondered if stress caused by transporting horses would reactivate a latent infection.
Veterinarians in Argentina recently tried to use versions of the topical NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) diclofenac made for human pain management on horses, but found horses' skin does not absorb those formulations of the drug as well as human skin does. M. Fabiana Landoni, DVM, PhD, of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, and colleagues, published their findings in a ne
Low-intensity exercise over long periods was an effective approach to conditioning horses, as indicated by blood lactate levels measured in a new study. Blood lactate, the ionized form of lactic acid, which is a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism, can provide an indication of a horse’s fitness, but there was previously little information about whether these levels could be use
A lot of things can happen over the many miles of an endurance event. California veterinarians recently tracked the incidence and resolution of equine medical issues encountered during endurance competition.
C. Langdon Fielding, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC, of the Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center in California, and colleagues, looked at the records of 30 horses that required emergency
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