Latest News – The Horse

In the treatment of horses suffering from West Nile virus (WNV), vets have only a few choices besides supportive care. A novel WNV serum antibody product received conditional approval from the USDA in November 2004. Colorado Serum Company (CSC) announced the product’s availability on Dec. 13, 2004.

Serum antibody products help animals that have been exposed to a disease by increasing the

At least two horses at Northville Downs Standardbred racetrack in Northville, Mich., contracted equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and were euthanatized in December. The first case was found Dec. 14, when a 6-year-old Standardbred gelding began exhibiting classic signs of the neurological form of EHV-1 myeloencephalopathy (EHM). After the horse was taken to the Diagnostic Center for Population

High incidences of leptospirosis-induced abortions in Central Kentucky mares could be caused by a tandem effect of temperature and precipitation in certain years, said Capt. David Hall of the U.S. Air Force, who defended his master’s thesis at the University of Kentucky’s (UK) Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington on Dec. 15.

Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonoses

At its recent meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI, the international governing body of equine sport) Bureau established a six-person task force to reassess policies necessary to eliminate abusive and illegal performance-enhancing drugs and to review the general medication control of horses.

The task force will examine the following:

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) was to begin testing for performance-enhancing medications at approximately 300 approved shows in January as a result of a recommendation made by the drug and medications task force.

The task force had met to discuss the increased cost of drug testing and the decreasing number of states voluntarily testing at their shows.

AQHA will spend

The creation of the long fiberoptic flexible endoscope opened a new world to equine veterinarians and researchers who for the first time were able to view a living horse’s stomach. What they found was that horses get gastric ulcers frequently associated with exercise and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use.

It is known in humans that long-term use of NSAIDs can cause small

In a study published in the Equine Veterinary Journal investigating the effects of long-term transport on horses, Carolyn Stull, DVM, showed measurable changes in immunological status. She also found the immune systems of transported horses took about 24 hours to recover, making travel-stressed horses more prone to problems upon arrival at their destinations.

According to Stull, a

Piroplasmosis is an infectious, tick-borne disease caused by one of two parasites, Babesia equi or Babesia caballi, which attack and destroy red blood cells in horses. The mortality rate can be as high as 20% among susceptible animals. Recovered horses become chronic carriers without clinical signs. The only treatment (a type of chemotherapy) is not always succesful, and it can

The exhumation of the body of champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed and Wicked from its resting place on Double D Ranch in Woodford County, Kentucky, is set to commence on Feb. 2.

Wicked was one of five horses injected with a necrotizing (tissue-killing) substance in their left forelegs in late June of 2003. He and two other horses were euthanatized when the brutal attacks left them too lame

A recent study at Colorado State University (CSU) found that your horse might have the ability to fight off West Nile virus (WNV) less than a month after receiving a single-dose vaccination against the disease. The challenge study tested Merial’s RECOMBITEK equine WNV vaccine 26 days after immunization and found that the treated horses resisted infection.

The results are particularly

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has promoted a longtime staff veterinarian to fill key positions responsible for protecting the health of the state’s livestock.

Mark Ernst, DVM, of Washington, Ill., has been named state veterinarian and bureau chief of Animal Health. The appointments are effective immediately.

Ernst worked in private practice for five years after earnin

A recent study conducted at the University of Berne Equine Clinic in Switzerland demonstrated that the prokinetic (promoting movement) drug tegaserod stimulated gut motility and accelerated gastrointestinal transit in healthy horses. The study findings, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, are consistent with those observed in large clinical trials involving human patients and

Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Dan Wyant announced the confirmation of a third case of equine herpes virus type-1 (EHV-1) at Northville Downs in Northville, Mich., on Jan. 20. One barn at Northville Downs has been placed under quarantine while the source of infection and extent of spread is investigated by regulators.

On Jan. 14, 2005, animal health surveillance

Probably the best-attended session at the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention, the Kester News Hour features brief reports of new research that was too new or brief for inclusion in the scientific program. The information is presented in a fun, rapid-fire format by two of the country’s top equine veterinary specialists–internal medicine guru John Madigan, DVM, MS,