Skin masses in horses have historically been removed by surgical excision (cutting them out). Regardless of the type of mass, the surgeon’s goal is to remove all of the tissue, limit hemorrhage, and prevent infection while achieving the best possible cosmetic outcome. Equine surgeons at Purdue University have been using a carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser in place of a scalpel blade to

Peripheral Cushing’s syndrome (PCS) is a recently named problem seen in middle-aged horses and ponies with obesity-associated laminitis. These horses tend to accumulate fat in the crest of the neck, over the rump, and in the sheath of males. It was first proposed that classic Cushing’s disease–a pituitary gland disorder that leads to excessive cortisol levels in the blood–was causing the

The following responses to questions are from Rob Keene, DVM, a field technical consulting equine veterinarian with Fort Dodge Animal Health (FDAH), manufacturers of the West Nile virus vaccine.

 The West Nile virus (WNV) vaccine is probably one of the best-known vaccines on the market right now. How did you get it ready so quickly after WNV was found in the United States?

There is an uncommon type of shoulder lameness in horses that produces a dropped elbow and flexing of the carpus (knee) and pastern at rest. At work, affected horses are typically severely lame with a significantly decreased forward phase of the stride. Radiographs of the shoulder in these cases usually reveal a combination of biceps tendonitis, bursitis, and inflammation of the bone

The reproduction session was something of an A to Z seminar. It started with discussions on endometrial echotexture (ultrasound results) and using computer analysis to determine when a mare will ovulate, or has ovulated, and along the way included a French researcher describing how to turn an unbred mare which has previously given birth into a nurse mare capable of producing enough milk to

I read in a magazine that you can have braces put on a horse to correct an overbite. How can I learn about this? I have a super nice filly that is show quality except for the overbite. If I can get this corrected on my filly, I will show her.

Equine muscle injuries are often elusive, leading to frustration for the rider and a challenging diagnosis for the veterinarian. Since muscle injury can accompany and/or mimic skeletal problems, tendon or ligament injury, or neurological disease,

Many of us have seen the daring and exciting rescues of horses shown on television–such as rescuing a horse hanging from a bridge, or one trapped in a river. Then there’s the famous scene of a horse being rescued by helicopter. However, many of these rescues cause further injury or death of the horse.

Have you ever heard of a systemic allergy to fescue grass?

Equine chiropractic is a complementary modality that can be used in veterinary medicine for the diagnosis, treatment, and potential prevention of select musculoskeletal disorders in horses.

INFLUENZA

“Diseases like flu and herpesvirus are always going to be problems for horse owners, and they are not going away,” said Tom Chambers, PhD, of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center. “The secret to effective vaccines for flu is effective surveillance,” which allows researchers and vaccine manufactures to stay abreast of

I’ve had my yearling filly all of her life. I trained her from week one to trailer load, and she was fine with getting in and out. However, this was with a four-horse slant load trailer that steps up. Now I need to load her into a two-horse trailer with a ramp and a divider. When I tried to load her into the two-horse trailer, she would not load and tried many evasive tactics (rearing,