Practitioners need to quickly assess an acutely recumbent (unable to stand) horse’s prognosis, and that can be difficult. Putting a horse in the Andersen Sling Support Device (ASSD), the gold standard for equine slings, requires at least six
The University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center has the only Office International des Epizooties (OIE, or World Organization for Animal Health) reference laboratory for equine herpesvirus in the Western hemisphere. Samples from most of the outbreaks are sent there so George Allen, PhD, professor in the department of veterinary science and head of the OIE laboratory, can type these
Colorado State University (CSU) researchers have found significant patterns of six different signals of damage or “biomarkers” in the serum of racehorses with certain musculoskeletal diseases.
Biomarkers are indicators of abnormal
An Australian survey found that euthanasia for catastrophic forelimb injury was the most common Thoroughbred racehorse fatality. Also, sudden death (not as the result of euthanasia) contributed more to racing fatalities than previously thought.
University of Wisconsin researchers found certain forelimb characteristics in growing Thoroughbreds are associated with higher birth weights, and their carpal (knee) conformation is associated with the parents’. Both genetics and environment
T he neurologic form of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has been diagnosed in at least five different states in January and February (The Horse learned of a fifth state with herpes after the cover went to press). While many of the
Salty water drowned pastures in Louisiana and Mississippi months ago, but the needs of horses in areas left incapacitated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita remain critical, say area veterinarians and residents. Most Gulf Coast horse owners need
An Australian researcher says he’s found a reliable way for trainers to monitor Thoroughbred racehorse fitness using global positioning system (GPS) technology measurements of velocity and heart rate during fast gallop training routines. He
By March 1, the Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) season in Florida was already underway, and Florida veterinarians remind horse owners to make sure their horses are vaccinated against the disease, which can have a mortality rate of up to
A 24-year-old pleasure mare in Brunswick, Ga., was recently diagnosed with concurrent infections of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) and equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1), both of which can cause clinical signs of neurologic disease
ID numbers should be in a searchable database
While microchips were helpful in reuniting horses with owners after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it was generally because owners had proof of horses’ microchip numbers. Since 1994,
“Prevention of contagious diseases is dependent on an effective vaccination program and a carefully developed and strictly enforced management program,” said Steve Conboy, DVM, a Central Kentucky equine practitioner, at the 2005 American
“We’re meant to be advocates for the welfare of the horse,” said Rick Mitchell, DVM, of Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown, Conn., moderator of the Dec. 3, 2005 Performance Horse Forum at the American Association of Equine Practitioners
“Anywhere between 25-92% of stabled horses have some form of airway inflammation,” said Melissa R. Mazan, DVM, of Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, at the 2005 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in
Sometimes subtle and often dramatic, infectious neurologic disease cases are things veterinarians never want to see, although most would like to understand them better and more easily recognize them when they appear in clients’ horses. From
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