EPM is a protozoal disease that causes inflammation in the brain and spinal cord of the horse. In the late 1970s to early 1980s, Morgan said there was debate whether a toxoplasma or Sarcocystis organism was the cause.

“MRI has proven to be a valuable tool for making specific diagnoses in horses with performance-limiting lameness problems,” he stated. “Navicular disease is one of the most common causes of performance-limiting lameness in many types of athletic horses. Despite the high incidence of the disease, our understanding of the problem is relatively limited.

While some forum discussions at the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) annual convention are fairly small affairs, that wasn’t true of the 2003 podiatry forum. About 65 veterinarians and farriers filled the room to discuss diagnostic analgesia, pads, Strasser trimming, ultrasound, and much more.

Tracy Turner, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, a professor of equine surgery at the

A packed room during the AAEP’s Racing Forum held sometimes heated discussions about the facts and nuances of the on-going Racing Medication and Testing Consortium’s (RMTC) attempt to create a uniform medication policy for racing in the United States. Milton McClure, DVM, a racetrack practitioner from Bossier City, La., chaired the session that centered around information presented by Scott

Many options for treating equine ailments exist–some are more traditionally performed by veterinarians in some regions, and some are often labeled as alternative therapies and might tend to fall more to non-veterinarians. Who can legally handle the treatments that are not always performed by veterinarians can be a sticky problem, which is compounded by the fact that in the United

“The results of this study strongly support the use of ultrasound to diagnose soft tissue and bony abnormalities of the entire shoulder region,” Whitcomb stated. She also noted that lesions of the infraspinatus tendon and bursa had not previously been reported, but were found in this study.

“Ultrasound was the sole means of diagnosis (of pelvic fracture) in 13 horses and was corroborated by nuclear scintigraphy or radiography in the remaining 15 cases,” Almanza said. “Ultrasound was able to provide excellent detail of the bony contours of the fracture sites and was useful in identifying associated muscle tearing and hematoma formation.”

If you’ve had equine cases of West Nile virus (WNV) pop up in your county, most of the equids in the area probably were exposed to the disease or even infected by the time those infections occurred. That is why it’s extremely important to vaccinate horses at least two months before the WNV season.

Colorado State University’s Ed Squires, PhD, an honorary Diplomate in the American College of Theriogenology (reproduction), presented several lectures at the 2003 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention. One presentation was on using a new commercially available product called equine follicle-stimulating hormone (eFSH, from Bioniche Animal Health) to have mares superovulate

“We believe that this technique (MRI) could revolutionize the assessment of certain musculoskeletal lesions of the distal limb,” Mair said. “MRI has many advantages over other conventional imaging techniques. MRI does not use ionizing radiation and provides multiplanar, 3-D imaging capabilities.

When a newborn foal, for whatever reason, fails to obtain the antibodies he needs from his mother in his first hours of life, this often results in a very sick or even dead foal from septicemia. Quick identification of the problem (failure of passive transfer, or FPT) is key to his survival, but the “gold standard” test for the problem takes 18-24 hours to yield results and is best handled in a la

Squires said the perception in the industry is that mares must be examined four to six times per day to use frozen semen successfully. He said the reasons for frequent examination are because limited semen is made available and the desire to breed as close to ovulation as possible.

David Pugh, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, ACVN, a professor at Auburn University, spoke at the AAEP’s Horseman’s Day on Geriatric Nutrition. He said a geriatric is a horse over 20 years of age. “Just like us when we age, horses have problems,” said Pugh. “Horses’ intestines, eyes, and so on wear out. Because of the care people are providing, the potential exists for a horse to live into its 30s and 40s

Thankfully not a large part of a racetrack veterinarian’s job, severe injury of a racehorse nevertheless is one of the most visible and critical situations these practitioners must handle. Two experienced racetrack veterinarians, Mary Scollay, DVM, senior association veterinarian for Gulfstream Park and Calder Racecourses; and Celeste Kunz, VMD, chief examining veterinarian of the New York

Veterinary application of shock wave therapy has come a long way in five years, with many veterinarians now finding it helpful in the treatment of their patients. Rather than the “What is this all about, and does it work?” questions of past forums on the subject, the general consensus question at the 2003 AAEP Convention’s shock wave therapy table topic was, “How can I make this technology

He stressed that horse owners should begin to watch their horses’ eyes because the sooner you see something wrong, the sooner your vet can get there and the sooner the horse can be healed.