There’s been a lot of speculation about the analgesic effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and radial shock wave therapy (RSWT)–no one has identified the duration or mechanism of analgesia.

Very little scientific research has been done in the way of comparing the effectiveness of equine vaccines. However, several researchers have been hard at work over the past few years trying to determine if any particular U.S.-registered equine vaccines had advantages over others. It turns out that the serologic responses to–and protection given by–these vaccines varies significantly. Hugh

“For athletic horses, energy is the most important nutritional consideration,” said Geor. “Energy is not a nutrient per se, but rather a measure of a feed’s potential to fuel body functions.”

Junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) is an inherited disease that causes skin lesions over pressure points of the body in newborn Belgian foals and results in large areas of skin loss. The disease is a lethal condition and affected foals typically are euthanized shortly after birth.

With chronic laminitis, O’Grady explained that toe-downward rotation of P3 (the coffin bone) often occurs, which results in more pressure placed on the solar corium (the highly vascular tissue from which the sole grows) under the apex of P3. This pressure can disrupt blood flow, altering the rate and even the direction of sole growth.

Each year, we report more information on the AAEP 2003 Convention than can be covered in the pages of the AAEP Convention Wrap-Up, which mails with the March issue of The Horse. Click here to see the full versions of articles that were excerpted in the

Acyclovir is an anti-viral drug with a high activity and selectivity for herpesviruses. It has been used in equine outbreaks, even though past studies have not established a clear-cut benefit of using the drug.

White and 10 other veterinarians from private and university equine hospitals in the United States and Canada investigated whether a dose of 1 mg/kg/day would prevent occurrence and recurrence of gastric ulcers in racehorses.

Gordon Woods, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACT, the University of Idaho scientist who led the research team that successfully produced the first clone in the horse family, will be a featured speaker at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) annual meeting currently underway in Seattle, Wash.
          
Idaho Gem, the

Ellen Tinsley Hoots, DVM, MS, of Hoof Beats Veterinary Practice in Willow Spring, N.C., has been selected as the January honoree of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) My Vet Matters Contest. Hoots was nominated for the award by horse owner Denise Bricker of Clayton, N.C. Over 140 veterinarians were nominated during January.

In her nomination of Hoots, Bricker

Results of a study from the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center suggest that there is a high chance that a horse can return to racing after surgery for laryngeal hemiplegia (partial or complete paralysis of the larynx, also called roaring) or arytenoid chondritis (inflammation of the arytenoid cartilages resulting in paralysis).

If there are any two words that can cause a foaling operation’s manager to shudder, they are probably “Rhodococcus equi,” since the bacterium is considered the most common cause of severe pneumonia in foals.

“Indications to evaluate this area include respiratory noise and a persistent cough, often along with poor performance,” he said. “When the cough is observed while the horse is eating or when bitting up, this is pathognomonic (is indicative of a specific problem; in this case, subepiglottic ulceration).

The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) has adopted a position on medication and drug testing that states any changes in policies in each jurisdiction should be enacted only after there is scientific evidence that specific therapeutic drugs shouldn’t be used in racehorses.

The National HBPA supports efforts by the national Racing Medication and Testin

More than 3,000 veterinary specialists and veterinary health care professionals will convene in Minneapolis, Minn., June 9-12, to discuss and share the most recent advances in veterinary medicine. The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine’s (ACVIM) annual forum has become a premiere resource of information on the latest advances in veterinary research and care. The topics of the