Latest News – The Horse
Retina and Optic Nerve Disease in Horses
Learn more about 10 conditions that can affect the horse’s retina and optic nerve.
Recovering from the Flu
There was recently a flu-like breakout at the barn where I board. How long do the horses need to stay isolated?
Keeping a Stallion With a Foaling Mare, or Mares
We have a mare and stallion together in a pasture. We borrowed a stallion in August just to breed this mare. They have been together since then, and we just had the mare checked for the first time since they were together and found out that
Your Partner in Horse Health
Articles, forums, and other information from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) have appeared in The Horse magazine for a number of years. I thought that for this Forum I might take the opportunity to let you know a
Predicting Muscle Problems
Competitive endurance riders know that horses lose fluids and electrolytes during strenuous rides. Calcium and magnesium are also lost during prolonged aerobic exercise. Low blood calcium (hypocalcemia) allows sodium to enter nerve cells, leadin
Antimicrobials in Colic Surgery
Colic surgery in horses is classified as a “clean contaminated” procedure because incisions into the intestine can allow bacteria to contaminate the sterile abdomen. Thus, prophylactic (preventive) antibiotic therapy is often administered prior
Exercise and Bone Development
Beneath the smooth surface of articular cartilage, subchondral bone gives structural support to joints. Normally, newborn foals have a lot of water in this layer, which is slowly replaced by calcium and collagen as the foal weights his joints.
Healing Hoof Cracks
Hoof cracks are a common occurrence in the feet of many domesticated horses, and they can range in severity from a minor blemish to a cause of serious lameness. Causative factors can vary widely, ranging from injury to imbalance of the foot.
Is His Heart In It?
Do you know why a Thoroughbred can deliver that great burst of speed to eat up a mile in 1 1/2 minutes, or how an endurance horse can maintain the strength and stamina to cover long distances at steady speeds? Of course you do: Conditioning.
What Do You See For 2003?
We’ve certainly had some tough moments in the past couple of years. And despite worry, the industry is strong, but changing. While some of the top-level owners of competition horses–those who own horses as business investments–might be jumping
West Nile Virus Still Spreading
As of Nov. 3, cases of equine illness caused this year by West Nile virus (WNV) confirmed at the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories had risen to 12,843; 12,105 cases more than the final case count for 2001. Vaccinating for WNV and
Diagnosing Problems Using Equine Hair
A horse’s hair can be used as a diagnostic tool in assessing nutritional status, environmental poisoning, and drug use and abuse, according to Mark Dunnett, BVSc, of the UK’s Royal Veterinary College. Dunnett presented this topic at the Kentucky
Unusual Fall Abortions in Kentucky
Pathologists at the Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) in Lexington noticed that a few more fetal losses were being seen than was usual during August, September, and October. That prompted increased surveillance and reporting,
Moyer Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award
William Moyer, DVM, head of the Department of Large Animal Medicine & Surgery at Texas A&M University and a member of The Horse‘s Editorial Advisory Board, recently was awarded a Distinguished Alumnus award by Mesa State College i
Frozen Feed?
Have you heard of horses getting colic from frozen sweet feeds?
Equine Salmonellosis
Salmonella spp. can cause diarrhea, abscesses, septicemia, and other ailments in horses. The October 2002 issue of Equine Disease Quarterly, published by the University of Kentucky (UK) and sponsored by underwriters at Lloyd’s of
