Over the past year there has been considerable fear in the breeding industry –especially the Quarter Horse industry–about the spread of equine viral arteritis (EVA). Although the disease has been around for a long time, confirmed outbreaks of EVA
During hot weather, heat dissipation is primarily dependent on evaporation of sweat on the skin surface. Horses are capable of producing large quantities of sweat–sweating rates of 10-15 liters/hour have been reported during exercise in hot conditions.
Insulin resistance is a part of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). There are three criteria for identifying the horse with EMS: Insulin resistance, prior (founder lines) or current laminitis, and general obesity or regional adiposity (areas of abnormal
Oklahoma state veterinarians are encouraging horse owners to have their animals vaccinated against the potentially deadly West Nile virus.
The virus is carried by mosquitoes and officials say because of the rainy summer mosquitoes are
What’s the one word that strikes fear into the hearts of all horse owners? Colic. It can strike any horse at any age for a myriad of reasons–there’s impaction colic, gas/spasmodic colic, strangulating colic, and many other versions. At the
The United States Equestrian Federation announced a change to the horse-and-rider combinations it will be sending to Hong Kong for the test event at the Sha Tin race course in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. The test event will be held at the
More than half of all equine lameness is due to noninfectious joint disease and injury. It can happen from one bad step, but it’s most likely due to cyclic (repeated) trauma.
Researchers found that clinical signs of influenza and virus shedding were significantly reduced in horses vaccinated with a recombinant canarypox-vectored influenza vaccine and experimentally exposed to influenza compared to unvaccinated horses
Medication options for PPID include pergolide, cyproheptadine, trilostane, and chasteberry extract. One disadvantage is that no treatment is currently FDA-approved for PPID in horses.
Veterinarians at Oregon State University developed a method to get valuable calories into anorexic horses or those unable to eat normally. The process employs a couple of buckets, pelleted complete feed, water, tubing, and a bilge pump.
“I used to look at a beam of light with the motes of dust in it and think it was aesthetically pleasing,” said Melissa R. Mazan, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts. “Now that I know what’s in
A new option in equine pain relief marks progress in the development of safer non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for horses. Firocoxib (trade name Equioxx), manufactured by Merial, is the first equine NSAID specifically targeting the
What exactly does stored fat do to a horse’s body? It wreaks serious havoc on at least 11 vital body functions. Nat Messer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, an associate professor of equine medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri (UM), presented a
Horse people are always searching for new ways to learn about their passion: the horse. Perhaps it is because our relationship with the horse is just that–a passion–that we are continually looking for ways to expand our knowledge base. It can be
Tapeworms are becoming more of an issue in horses as we learn more about how they affect horse health. Some regions of the country have a greater risk of equine tapeworm problems. In the upper Midwest (Wisconsin and Minnesota), for instance, studie
My 17-year-old Half-Arabian gelding underwent colic surgery, recovered well, but his back has dropped.
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