A flurry of interest arose this week on an Internet message board started by individuals who think their sick horses’ fatal diseases are linked. As a result, veterinarians are cautioning horse owners not to jump to conclusions in diagnosing their own animals or linking past cases with the alleged disease, because at this time, no disease claims have been substantiated.

Since March 2,

“Our perennial topic this morning is West Nile virus (WNV),” began Rocky Bigbie, DVM, MS, director of field veterinary services with Fort Dodge Animal Health, at the 2005 Western Veterinary Conference held Feb. 20-24 in Las Vegas, Nev. He also focused on myriad hot topics in equine veterinary medicine, discussing WNV vaccination guidelines, influenza vaccination challenge, vaccine care and

When a pregnant mare develops a problem that puts her fetus at risk, what can be done? Some of these foals can be saved if the problem can be discovered early and the mare given proper treatment to reverse the condition.

Jon Palmer, VMD, associate professor of medicine and director of the neonatal and perinatal programs at the Connelly Intensive Care Unit at New Bolton Center (part of th

Numerous horse abuse cases have been reported during the month of January throughout the United States.

• Miami, Fla., humane officials are working with the unnamed owner of five malnourished horses removed from his property on Jan. 4. One of the horses was a 7-month-old foal that died from liver failure after eating a poisonous plant because it was so hungry, said Laine Hills, DVM, th

Infectious diarrhea in young foals can be fatal without prompt treatment, and the age of the foal can make a difference in his vulnerability to certain pathogens and how deadly they might be. In foals less than a week old, the cause is often salmonella or a clostridium bacteria.

Sam Jones, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of equine medicine at North Carolina State University,

A federal judge in Lexington, Ky., has ordered that the body of American Saddlebred champion Wild Eyed and Wicked be exhumed for additional forensic testing. The exhumation was set to begin on Feb. 2.

Wicked was one of five top Saddlebreds that were injected with an unknown, necrotizing (tissue-killing) substance on June 28-29, 2003, at Double D Ranch in Versailles, Ky. In the following

There are many scientists who have studied and theorized about how man and horses came to be together, but modern science has changed some of what we thought was fact.

Rapid intravenous administration of isotonic saline solution does not relieve airway obstruction in heaves-affected horses, says Daniel Jean, MedVet, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of clinical sciences at the University of Montreal.

“Massive administration of large volumes of saline has been recommended to achieve thinning of secretions and improve expectoration,” says Jean. Horses with