Many veterinarians agree that 90% of equine lamenesses originate in the foot. But if it’s not in the foot, there are many other areas where lameness can hide. One area practitioners should examine if a horse is hind-limb lame is where the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) attaches to the hock, suggests Sue Dyson, MA, Vet MB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, ...
Take a look around your barn, what do you see? Horses in their half-mucked stalls with straw or shavings and a wheelbarrow and pitchfork right outside; the tractor running at the barn door; hay bales piled outside stalls and at the end of the shedrow; a fan on the floor; piles of blankets, coolers, slinkies, bandages, and wraps; dusty shelves covered with...
A simple combination of psyllium and magnesium sulfate appears to be both safe and effective for helping horses evacuate sand from their colons, an international group of researchers recently reported.
As one calendar year draws to a close and another begins, many people resolve to take steps to improve their lives. And while the wisdom of some resolutions remains questionable—such as paying off your credit card in full every month … with another credit card—others likely do have a positive impact on peoples' lives.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive deterioration of joint health with no known cure. Not only does OA negatively affect athleticism and quality of life but it is also a major cause of economic loss throughout the equine industry.
While equine surgeons enjoy sharing the mantra “if in doubt, cut it out,” researchers recently reported that when it comes to some osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions, letting nature run its course might be the better option.
Early in 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tiludronate for intravenous administration in horses with navicular disease. Despite being a relatively new drug used in veterinary medicine, some equine practitioners are already prescribing tiludronate for “off-label” use in horses with other conditions, such as osteoarthritis by ...
If your horse is dealing with cataract-associated vision loss, researchers have some good news: Recent study results suggest that more than 25% of horses that undergo a certain type of cataract surgery are still visual two years later.
Beautiful hair is a widely sought-after commodity. Just look at the millions of dollars people spend on various hair treatments. Britney Spears alone reportedly spends more than $60,000 on personal grooming expenses every year! Horses are similarly pampered and preened, as evidenced by the fact that nutritional supplements marketed for skin and coat are t...
Approximately 20,000 mares are bred in Kentucky each year, which means that it is literally “raining foals” in the spring, as long as things go as planned. Unfortunately, late-term abortions and even abortion storms can occur, resulting in massive economic and emotional mayhem.
The coming of spring is, in some ways, a rebirth. It's the time when many horse owners dig out their grooming supplies and clippers and breathe fresh life into their furry charges (aka, the Spring Cleaning Frenzy). Some owners have "The Frenzy" down to a science, but others might forget to clean of one of the darkest—and possibly dirti...
Mid- and late-term foal abortions can be both economic and emotional burdens. While not all abortions can be prevented, researchers now believe that veterinarians might be able to determine if some mares are at risk of late-term abortion by conducting a simple blood test.
Wounds located on a horse’s lower (distal) limb can be extremely challenging to treat due to the small amount of “extra” soft tissue in the area (to suture, for example) and the propensity for excessive proud flesh to form, which prolongs rehabilitation. Over the years, veterinarians have tried multiple techniques to improve tissue heali...
Flu season for horses can be any season. And considering that even horses vaccinated against the equine influenza virus (EIV) can still “catch the flu,” this disease is cause for concern. A group of Japanese researchers, however, recently evaluated a flu inhibitor in horses and found that it could help EIV-infected animals recover more quickly.
One of the first steps to helping an obese horse drop a few pounds is recognizing that he's overweight in the first place. The next step? Implementing a diet program. But that hasn't always been as easy as it seems, as few tried and true weight loss programs for horses exist. British researchers recently tested a weight loss plan designed specific...
Did you know that ultrasound can be used for more than just diagnosing tendon and ligament injuries in horses? Indeed, veterinarians can also use it therapeutically to treat soft tissue injuries, but what settings they should use and how long they should treat an injured horse has, until now, been a bit of a "guesstimation" game.
When foaling complications arise, owners and veterinarians’ focus is often simply getting the precious cargo on the ground safely. But do not forget that the mare’s life might also be in peril during these scenarios.
Pregnancy loss in the early days of gestation perplex veterinarians and owners perpetually; after taking every measure to protect the embryo visible at Day 15 after ovulation, mares sometimes come up empty. And while scientists have learned volumes about getting mares in foal, there’s plenty left to decipher when it comes to keeping them there in th...
Getting a subfertile mare in foal usually often necessitates repeated veterinary examinations and treatments, such as medications and uterine flushes. Still, success is not always guaranteed. Researchers recently revealed that stem cells and other biologic therapies might also be useful in the quest to promote “sub” mares to fully fertile.
Ultrasound is a noninvasive tool veterinarians can use to diagnose myriad medical maladies, including those affecting either the lungs or the space around the lungs. Although practitioners perform thoracic ultrasound exams in referral settings routinely, they can also conduct these efficiently and effectively in an ambulatory setting, explained Virginia B...
Mares can make the entire birthing process look easy; some mares produce a healthy foal in as few as two hours, and most have a foal by their side within five to six hours. But Ahmed Tibary, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, from Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, warns that even though mare and foal might seem fine initially, complica...
Lower limb radiographs can help practitioners uncover valuable information about bones, joints, and joint balance in equine athletes, but Colorado State University (CSU) researchers have determined the usefulness and accuracy of this information depends largely on how the horse stands during X ray capture.
Many reproductive losses occur in the very early stages of pregnancy, but veterinarians emphasize that losses late in gestation can happen as well. A Louisiana State University (LSU) reproduction specialist recently described how practitioners can monitor pregnant mares to minimize such losses, particularly those mares difficult to get in foal in the firs...
Although a great deal of the literature on breeding pertains to fertility and pregnancy rates, the last month of gestation is equally (if not more) important. Even in seemingly healthy mares, pregnancy can change from heavenly to horrific in the wink of a vulva, as one researcher explained during the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners&rsquo...
Since its inception in the 1930s, the inaugural patent in 1974, and the successful construction of the world’s first whole-body scanner by 1977, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an indomitable tool in both human and equine medicine. Today, equine practitioners use MRI extensively to help diagnose even the most subtle lameness causes.
Joint infections are a serious occurrence in horses with the potential to end an athletic career or even a life. Although survival rates are as high as 62% in foals and 85% in adults, only 48-66% of horses return to previous athletic activity after a joint infection.
Veterinarians have identified stem cell therapies as potentially powerful weapons in the war on equine wounds and injuries. However, the exact stem cell types most beneficial for particular “battles” remain unclear.
Often mares have minds of their own, and their ovaries can be just as headstrong. Canadian researchers demonstrated this in a recent study when they showed that you can lead a mare to a stallion, but you can’t necessarily make her ovulate … even with the use of acupuncture.
Musculoskeletal injuries are an all-too common cause of lameness in horses. Thanks to the advent of biologic therapies, including stem cells, tendon injuries aren’t the “death sentence” they once were. Despite the positive results associated with stem cells in equine tendon injuries, however, the “best” way to obtain and use ...
Fungal infections of the uterus, due to either yeast or mold, are less common than bacterial infections, but it's important to consider them because untreated infections can lead to fertility problems. In such cases prompt diagnosis and treatment are necessary for a positive outcome. A veterinarian from The Ohio State University recently described app...
Proper and timely intervention can mean the difference between a live foal and a lost one. And while most equine pregnancies proceed without incident, an estimated 12.9% of mares lose their foals between 40 days of gestation and the estimated foaling date. These mares could potentially benefit from such intervention.
Occasionally veterinarians stumble across a drug side effect that's more useful than detrimental. Take, for example, the antispasmodic N-butylscopolammonium bromide (NBB), marketed in the United States as Buscopan (Boehringer Ingelheim) to treat horses with colic. As it turns out, this drug could be useful for helping veterinarians examine horses'...
The biblical saying, "two are better than one because they have a good return for their work," succinctly describes recommendations Natalie Zdimal, DVM, recently made regarding diagnostic imaging for suspensory-ligament-related injuries. Horses with such injuries generally have discomfort in the back the back of the fore- and hind-limbs near the...
Your foal has finally arrived, and he and mom appear healthy and happy. But don't let your guard down just yet: The mare's continued health dictates her milk production and whether the foal will not only grow but also thrive during his first few months. Supporting her overall and nutritional health becomes especially crucial.
Breeders spend a substantial amount of time contemplating the logistics of breeding, such as choosing the stallion and where and who will be performing the reproductive work. But once a mare is in foal, a number of things can derail the pregnancy if veterinarians and horse owners don't keep a close eye the mare's progress. Sometimes, simply knowin...
Having stem cells at our disposal for treating tendon and ligament injuries in horses but not knowing exactly how to administer them is like having a million dollars you can't spend. One researcher from Colorado State University (CSU) described stem cell preparation and delivery at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners' Convention,...
If your stallion needs to have a testicle removed due to disease, neoplasia (tumor), or severe trauma, don't worry: Stallions can still lead productive lives as studs with only one testis, assures a researcher from Texas A&M University.
Equine metabolic syndrome--defined as obesity, insulin resistance, and high insulin levels circulating in the bloodstream--is a dangerous condition for any horse, but it puts pregnant mares in an especially precarious in situation. Owners and veterinarians should address metabolic syndrome and related conditions (such as laminitis and insulin resistance) ...
Veterinarians and breeding farm managers regularly examine stallion semen samples under a microscope to check sperm motility, especially samples from horses with suspected fertility issues. But while they can check sperm for this common fertility measure on the farm or in the average veterinary clinic, evaluating sperm morphology--to ensure the head, midp...
If you think your job is stressful, consider the job of a broodmare--in most performance horse circles she's expected to have one foal per year for six out of seven years to be considered successful. This belief stirs up the perennial question, should you breed on the foal heat?
Veterinarians work with horse owners to provide the best possible care from snip to tail. This holiday season, consider the following "wishes" your equine experts made to help maximize your horses' quality of life.
For a Thoroughbred the road to the racetrack is sometimes a rocky one, wrought with physical challenges such as the musculoskeletal condition osteochondrosis (OC). But recently, English researchers have taken a step forward in understanding a potential genetic component of OC.
Is your mare behaving more (night)marish lately, or is your gelding acting studly? Before recruiting a behaviorist or administering medication, experts advise ruling out medical issues for any animal experiencing behavior problems.
It takes one egg, millions of sperm (but only one really lucky one), 11 months, and a host of normal physiologic events to make a mare a mom. Also, on the owner's part, "there is a lot invested, both financially and emotionally, in producing a healthy foal," explains Igor Canisso, DVM, MSc, Dipl. ACT, a theriogenologist PhD candidate in the ...
Laminitis is not only one of the leading causes of disability and death in horses, it's also an important cause of emotional and financial turmoil for owners. And for veterinarians, predicting which cases are likely to resolve or have the potential to become disastrous and how best to treat a given case remains a real challenge.
According to New Zealand equine researchers, 2-year-old Thoroughbreds that are "idle" during training have prolonged times from starting training to entering either a trial (i.e., a practice race with no betting) or a race, but caution must be used to ensure horses get breaks when needed.
A horse, mosquito, and snake walked into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, "Is this some kind of joke?" Turns out, the bartender knows those three animals shouldn't be fraternizing because he read a recent article by Thomas Unnasch, PhD, proving snakes can harbor Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and could play an important role...
Horses, like dogs and other domesticated animals, can be extremely affectionate and respond to many human cues, such as pointing and gaze directions. In the first study of its kind, French researchers have learned that horses that are too dependent on humans might have lower cognitive skills, leaving them incapable of solving their own problems.
Saskatchewan and other regions of Western Canada are in the midst of the largest equine infectious anemia (EIA) outbreak the area has seen in years, involving more than 70 horses and 22 different properties thus far in 2012. In response, two veterinarians discussed the importance of disease surveillance in controlling--and possibly even eradicating--the d...
According to recent study results, if an athletic horse is constantly exposed to microscopic airborne particles then he could experience enough inflammation and mucus to decrease his performance abilities, even if he doesn't exhibit any outward signs of respiratory distress.
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