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

Stopping Equine Aggression With An Electronic Collar

“Aggressive behavior in horses is expensive,” said Michelle A. Kennedy, DVM, a private practitioner in Delta, Colo. Veterinary expense, property damage, loss of use of affected horses, and the emotional cost associated with the death of an animal if injured severely during an aggressive act all demand a reliable way to change

Aminoglycosides, including amikacin, are known for their potent activity against bacteria that cause sepsis in newborn foals. Dosage protocols for aminoglycosides have been extensively studied in humans, and conventional dosing at eight- to 12-hour intervals is now giving way to high-dose, once-daily administration. Human studies have shown that amikacin is more effective and less toxic to th

Horseman’s Day, as part of the annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, just keeps getting better and better. And attendance is strong no matter where the convention is held. Most recently, the locale was Denver, Colo., on Dec. 8, and nearly 275 horse enthusiasts showed up for the day-long session. In addition to presentations that ranged from dentistry to Cushing’s

Diseases transmitted by ticks are becoming more widespread. Recently, a case report was published detailing a common tick-borne illness in horses called equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA), once called equine ehrlichiosis. An 11-year old Hanoverian-cross gelding had recently been imported from Canada in good health and appeared normal when ridden one morning. That afternoon, however, he

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,

When you’re feeling under the weather, sometimes all you want is a nice, hot bowl of chicken soup. Other times, you might hunger for a full-course meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and steaming green beans. Even a mild injury that keeps you planted on the couch instead of sweating at the gym might change the way you think about food, urging you to cut back those desserts to hold your

We all need protection from the elements. That goes for your horse’s hooves as well. Millennia ago, when humans first vaulted aboard equine backs and guided them over terrain they probably would not otherwise have traversed, the value of providing protection for hooves became clear–as the leather “hipposandals” and early iron shoes unearthed by archaeologists attest.

These days, of

Bands march past with trumpets blaring and drums banging, and the horse hardly twitches an ear. A mother pushes her baby stroller under the neck of the horse unknowingly while asking for directions, and the horse merely glances down, never moving his feet. Trucks whiz past the horse, inches from his hindquarters, and he appears uninterested. Protestors yell and throw anything handy at the

Keegan said most equine practitioners use head movement to determine forelimb lameness and pelvis movement to clarify hind limb lameness. He added that multiple lamenesses can certainly complicate the issue.

Twenty-four, seven–that’s what caring for horses entails. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, horses are the responsibility of someone. And that’s if they are young and healthy, turned out, and don’t need special care. If they have physical or psychological problems, or if there are special needs that must be seen to, care can become time-consuming and expensive. Then multiply that b

Equine Malignant Hyperthermia

We’ve all heard of people and animals that are “sensitive” to anesthesia. Monica Aleman, MVZ, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, head of the neuromuscular disease lab at the University of California, Davis, reported on a genetic problem called equine malignant hyperthermia (EMH) that can make simple anesthesia deadly for some horses. Malignant hyperthermia-like

Ten years after a deadly virus was first discovered in Australia, it has reared its ugly head once again. A horse near the Townsville area of Australia was diagnosed with Hendra virus, a deadly equine morbillivirus, on Dec. 14, 2004, and it was later euthanatized. A short time earlier, a veterinarian in the Cairns area was diagnosed with a mild case of the Hendra virus, but that individual

The Frank J. Milne Lecture was presented by Peter Rossdale, OBE, MA, PhD, Dr. (h.c.) Berne, Dr. (h.c.) Edinburgh, DESM, FACVSc, FRCVS. The title of his talk was “The Maladjusted Foal: Influences of Intrauterine Growth Retardation and Birth Trauma.”

Rossdale’s primary area of research is equine reproduction, and he has won many awards and honors for his work in this field. He is a past

Illinois agriculture and health officials reported in early January that a LaSalle County horse tested positive for rabies at the Illinois Department of Agriculture laboratory in Galesburg on Dec. 10, 2004. Eleven people received preventive rabies treatment following exposure to the horse. Another domestic animal rabies case–a cow–was confirmed in eastern Bureau County on Jan. 13.

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