Horse-health-problem risk factors, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
Knowing how to identify abnormalities in your horse’s heart rate and rhythm will help you and your veterinarian treat him or her when illness strikes.
Unlike heart and respiratory rates, abdominal sounds do not punch a specific time clock for generating “gut sounds.” The rhythmic peristaltic churning of food mixed with fluids within the gut varies in slower waves depending on meal time, the meal itself, and the level of activity. You don’t actually “time” bowel sounds, but you do want to know if they are present.
Diagnostic assays for equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) developed under the leadership of Daniel Howe, PhD, a molecular parasitologist at the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center, are now available exclusively at Equine Diagnostic Solutions LLC (EDS).
The wet spring weather and abundant clover growth in Central Kentucky has made 2010 a bumper year for slaframine toxin, or “slobber toxin.”
Equine Insulin Resistance is a reduction in sensitivity to insulin that decreases the ability of glucose to be transported into the body’s cells from the bloodstream.
The University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center needs Lexington-area Thoroughbred farms to participate in a study to determine Thoroughbred weanlings’ seroprevalence (presence of positive serum antibodies) to Lawsonia intracellularis, the causative agent of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE).
Red maple trees are beautiful trees that grow extensively throughout eastern North America. However, horse owners should be aware these trees can pose a serious risk to horses.
Lyme disease is caused by a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi that is spread to some mammals via the bite of specific hard-bodied ticks. Also known as borreliosis, it is widely considered the most important insect-borne bacterial infection in North America. But it is unknown whether ticks transmit the bacterium to horses and cause disease or because the two coexist.
We’ve all heard the statistics about an aging America. The elderly represent the fastest growing-proportion of the U.S. population. In recent years horses have experienced a similar population shift.
A large portion of the equine population (about 15%) is composed of horses older than 20 and, even at this age, many remain actively involved in equestrian sports, reproduction, or as companion
Aside from routine dental conditions that occur in horses, owners might encounter a behavior that is referred to as cribbing or crib biting, which can have a negative effect on the incisor teeth.
Dr. Claire Latimer of the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital discusses veterinary ophthalmology, signs of eye problems, and treatment strategies.
Therapeutic drugs such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and pain relief medications, anesthetics, and antiparasitic drugs can dramatically improve the health and well-being of horses. However, many horse owners are unaware that virtually all drugs can cause unintended side effects, or adverse effects, that sometimes can be serious.
After passing a rigorous proficiency testing program, the UK Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratory to begin testing horses for Equine Piroplasmosis.
Rabies, an uncommon disease in Colorado, began a steep rise in the state starting in 2008. The first case in a horse was confirmed in Douglas county in 2009, and a sharp increase in the number of cases in skunks has been noted in 2010. Recently, rabies cases were reported in skunks in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, and Elbert counties.
Just because a horse is older does not mean he needs a special diet. However, many older horses with special physical or nutritional needs (geriatric horses) require specific diets and feed modifications to maintain good health and body condition.
The term “easy keepers” refers to horses and ponies that maintain or gain weight on a minimum amount of food.
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