While genetic diseases exist in a number of horse breeds, many researchers have focused expressly on issues occurring in the Quarter Horse breed. Thanks to their efforts, genetic tests for several disorders specific to this breed are now commercially available for breeders and horse owners.

"The size of the Quarter Horse industry, the commitment of the American Quarter Hors

Bacteria such as Salmonella or Clostridium can wreak havoc on a horse's gastrointestinal tract, causing massive losses of water, electrolytes, and proteins. The result? Diarrhea. A smelly, watery, life-threatening mess.

"In more than 60% of diarrhea cases, we never actually discover the inciting cause and testing for all the possibilities can be

Tailored exercise programs involving habitual low-intensity loading during early development could reduce the prevalence of osteochondral injury later in life, said a group of veterinary orthopedic researchers.

According to the researchers, “The positive effect of exercise on bone mineral density has been documented extensively in several species, including the horse.”

The

Horses are cows, said veterinary researcher N. Edward Robinson, BVetMed, PhD, MRCVS, Matilda R. Wilson Chair in Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University.

Well, what Robinson actually said was that the “racehorse and modern dairy cow have several things in common.” Both have been genetically selected for performance via a small number of popular sires, performance relie

Diagnosing equine Cushing’s disease (pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, or PPID) requires accurate testing, on which there is a seasonal effect.

In contrast to a recently published study on EHV-1, the late George Allen, PhD, a University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center scientist, described a model to study equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and myeloencephalopathy and identified major risk factors critical to experimental reproduction of this syndrome.

In his

What do you get when you “scope” 1,005 horses after 230 races, each within 24 minutes of the race, with the cooperation of 97 trainers over 28 race meets? A great deal of valuable data about the equine throat and the impact disorders of the throat can have on racing.

“Considering that upper respiratory tract abnormalities are widely thought to be a leading cause of poor performance in

Weight gain and obesity in horses should be avoided to prevent insulin resistance, increased insulin and leptin blood levels, and laminitis, and to maintain a healthy metabolic state.

To date, “it is unknown whether obesity is the primary cause of or contributes to metabolic abnormalities or whether these abnormalities are inherent characteristics of the animal,” wrote a group of

Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is the most common cause of blindness in horses and is believed to affect approximately 10% of the equine population. The exact cause of ERU remains unclear, although researchers have shown that recurrent bouts of inflammation involving activated T-cells (cells largely responsible for cell-mediated immunity) lead to destruction of the retina.

In an

Curcumin, an extract of the spice turmeric, is a natural product with potent anti-inflammatory properties that also exerts beneficial effects on cartilage metabolism. Scientists believe curcumin inhibits degradative enzymes such as metalloproteinases and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and reduces cartilage cell apoptosis (programmed cell death).

To study the effect of curcumin on cartilage

Horses with persistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP), an important performance-limiting abnormality of the upper respiratory tract, have a different anatomic location of the larynx than horses with only intermittent DDSP, report Cornell University researchers.

DDSP affects approximately 10% to 20% of racehorses and is diagnosed by observing the caudal border of the soft

Horses fed a diet of only forage have greater bacterial stability and fewer “bad” fecal bacteria, such as Streptococcus spp, than horses that are also fed concentrates. This finding, reported by a group of Swedish researchers, provides opportunities for the industry to develop more targeted feeding strategies to support equine health and welfare. “Diets rich in readily

The bacterium Stenotrophomonas maltophilia can be associated with chronic lower airway disease in horses, reports a group of Danish researchers.

S. maltophilia is a Gram-negative bacterium that is causing disease more often in humans, particularly among the immunocompromised population, but it is only rarely reported as causing infection in animals.

The

Horse manure needs to be ‘cooked’ for a specific length of time and at high enough temperatures to result in sufficient reductions in viability of roundworm (Parascaris equorum) eggs and Rhodococcus equi populations, report French researchers.

Composting, a popular method of managing horse manure generated on both small and large acreage farms, must be closely controlle

Can you adequately treat your horse’s inflammatory airway disease if you have little control over his environment and face strict drug withdrawal times? Researchers have proven that anomalies of the equine upper respiratory tract, such as left laryngeal hemiplegia (roaring) and dorsal displacement of the soft palate, negatively impact performance. But

Abnormalities of the upper respiratory tract are second only to musculoskeletal disorders as leading causes of poor performance in athletic horses. While a small number of horses with mild upper airway issues can be managed medically, many horse owne