Your primary care veterinarian calls in a specialist for your sick horse; you didn’t know there were veterinary specialists. You are familiar with the specialty system in human medicine. Most of us have been to an ophthalmologist, some to an internist, a cardiologist, or a dermatologist. Since about 1972, specialty organizations have become more prominent in veterinary medicine. These

All of us believe we’re responsible horse owners. We provide adequate care and nutrition, call the veterinarian when our horses don’t seem quite right or need an annual examination, and in many cases treat them like members of our own families. Putting our horses first is a priority for everyone, right?

Unfortunately, not all horses’ owners feel this way, and some horses don’t even

If you’re like most horse owners, the idea of surgery performed on your beloved animal is unpleasant at best, terrifying at worst. Those fears are not unfounded. Because of the species’ size and weight, their physiological reactions to many anesthetic drugs, and the difficulties of recovery, horses are trickier to safely anesthetize than most other species. Yet through the years, veterinarian

My husband and I run a business of shipping semen from a few stallions that we board. We have some started ourselves, and some have started elsewhere. Most of them do really well with our simple collection routine. We bring them to the breeding barn, tease a little, wash them, tease a little more, then mount a dummy. Over the years, we have had a couple of stallions that we have had difficult

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) celebrated its 50th anniversary with its 2004 convention in Denver, Colo. A record crowd of nearly 6,300 veterinary professionals, exhibitors, and guests enjoyed the educational event and festivities. The convention featured nearly 100 scientific presentations, a sold-out trade show, and successful Horseman’s Day seminars for owners.

In October 2002, I was called out to a ranch to examine wounds on a mare that had been run through a barbed wire fence by stray dogs sometime the day before. The rancher was concerned that she might not recover past being pasture sound. He was unable to bring the mare into the hospital for emergency care and because of financial considerations would have to be able to treat the mare at the

To most people, the aging process seems cruel. Your body becomes less dependable, you can’t do things as quickly as you used to, and you take a long time to recover from illness and injury. For horses, all of this applies and, in many cases, to a greater extent. Young horses are useful for sport, while old horses are often too fragile for the show ring. The same goes for younger horses that

Three Standardbred racehorses in Nova Scotia have been euthanatized due to the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus type-1, and at least one other horse was suspected to have the illness. Two of the horses that were euthanatized and the suspected case were detected at the Truro Raceway in central Nova Scotia. The third horse that was euthanatized was at a Nova Scotia breeding farm and

The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) recently released its consensus statement on guidelines for treatment, control, and prevention of strangles, which is caused by Streptococcus equi. The 12-page paper took about a year to complete and reflects the input of researchers and veterinary clinicians across the country. The document was published in the January

The American Quarter Horse Association has Surpass, a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. The AQHA Executive Committee approved the medication during their January meeting to keep in line with the rules of the United States Equestrian Federation Inc., which permitted therapeutic use of Surpass late last year.

Surpass (diclofenac) is a topical cream used for the contro

A Standardbred mare euthanatized last Friday (Feb. 18) at the Meadows racetrack in Meadowlands, Pa., had the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus type-1 infection, according to University of Pennsylvania veterinarians. The barn where the mare was stabled has been placed under quarantine and veterinarians and trainers are watching other horses at the track for signs of illness.

This i

The Drug Compounding Task Force of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has released guidelines regarding the responsible use of compounded medications by veterinarians. The guidelines are the result of the association’s commitment to educating its members on this increasingly important topic within the animal health industry.

Issues addressed in the guidelines

Influenza, equine herpesvirus, and strangles were the diseases highlighted by Bonnie Rush, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, professor and section head of equine internal medicine at Kansas State University, at a seminar on infectious respiratory diseases sponsored by Fort Dodge Animal Health in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 4. Rush emphasized the importance of vaccinating against these

Selection of Thoroughbred horses for racing and breeding is based primarily on equine performance, pedigree, and phenotype (physical characteristics). Although conformation plays a critical role in the evaluation of horses, current methods of analyzing equine conformation are largely subjective and vary according to personal opinion and individual experience.

To develop practical,

Central Kentucky equine abortion accessions so far in 2005 do not indicate mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). The University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) is posting the number of abortion accessions of all breeds weekly along with comparisons to totals from 2004. MRLS struck horses in several states (including Kentucky) and Canada in 2001 and 2002. The problem