With more horses living to a ripe old age than in the past, veterinarians have become incredibly well-versed in managing senior equids. But there are still some points that researchers are working to understand. For instance, exactly what impact does aging have on the immune system?
If your horse is exhibiting signs of colic, weight loss, or diarrhea, your veterinarian might reach for an ultrasound probe to get a glimpse of what is going on inside the animal's abdomen. Some serious conditions, however, aren't easily visible on ultrasound.
Hoof sole penetration injuries are no small matter, though they might be nearly indiscernible to the eye and affect a small area. It’s more about what’s going on deep inside the hoof, where concealed damage to internal structures can be disastrous; the prognosis for horses injuring these structures to return to their prior athletic level is of...
Cribbing isn't just annoying for owners and destructive to property. It can also negatively impact your horse's health and is notoriously difficult to control. But there's a glimmer of hope for owners with cribbers: Researchers found that a surgical procedure intended to control cribbing is very effective.
The Jockey Club and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation will conduct the fifth "Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit" July 8-9 at the Keeneland sales pavilion in Lexington.
When it comes to healing horse wounds many owners will try any and everything to help the defect recover quickly—regardless of whether the product has scientific backing. Recently, researchers put some evidence behind one type of wound dressing: silver sodium zirconium phosphate polyurethane foam wound dressing, or, more simply, SPF dressing.
As if horses weren't prone to enough injuries and health issues, a new dental disease surfaced in 2004. It's literally a mouthful: equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH). And because it's so recently identified, Ann Pearson, MS, DVM, and her colleagues at Reata Equine Veterinary Group, in Tucson, Ariz., conducted a s...
The horse quarantined with a suspect case of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) at the Fair Hill Training Center, in Elkton, Md., will be retested next week, according to a statement from Kathleen Anderson, DVM, owner and manager of the Elkton-based Equine Veterinary Care, PC.
The early bird discounted registration rate ends Jan. 15 for the University of Kentucky Agriculture Equine Programs' Equine Showcase and the fifth annual Kentucky Breeders' Short Course.
The senior horse population is, and has been, on the rise. But with increasing age comes the potential for health problems. So what are the best ways to ensure senior horses stay healthy all through their golden years?
Las Vegas-based bookmaker CG Technology has tentatively agreed to pay the Nevada Gaming Control Board $5.5 million in what would be the state's largest settlement involving a gambling company.
Bone was once considered an inert material with its structure defined by genetics. But it turns out there’s a lot more at work, explained Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS: “Selective breeding dictates the initial skeleton, but adaptive training in response to exercise modifies it further.” He and other racehorse surgeons are striving ...
After an international search, the New York State Gaming Commission announced Jan. 13 that Dr. Scott Palmer has been appointed the equine medical director for the racing regulator.
A horse at the Fair Hill Training Center (FHTC) in Elkton, Md., is in quarantine with a suspected case of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1).
A prepurchase exam can provide valuable insight on a horse’s health status, equipping you to make an informed investment decision. And while veterinarians commonly assess copious qualities from soundness to suitability, if it’s a stunning gray you have you have in your sights, it’s also important to consider whether the horse has melanom...
Looking for a cut-and-dried formula for bringing all laminitic horses back to health? Good luck! Laminitis treatment is an ever-evolving art, the success of which depends on disease cause, type, severity, and many other factors.
Veterinarians who make farm calls to treat equids are one step closer to better protection from federal drug prosecution after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to amend the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
In the face of new racing medication rules, veterinarians are revisiting treatment approaches for injured animals on layup that trainers hope to send back to the track soon. At the American Association of Equine Practitioners' Convention, held Dec. 7-11 in Nashville, Tenn., Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, ACVSMR, described how these restricti...
Does your breeding stallion have a tinge of blood in his semen after a routine collection for artificial insemination? Or do you notice physical lesions on his genitalia during pre- or post-breeding washing? These are tell-tale signs of hemospermia—literally, blood in the semen—a condition that is not only detrimental to fertility, but can als...
A group of veterinarians have completed a set of guidelines for horse owners and practitioners to use when dealing with referral cases.
When it comes to getting shots, a single needle prick might seem like a better idea compared to multiple pokes. But when it comes to your horses' West Nile virus (WNV) vaccinations, multiple injections might be the way to go: Researchers recently tested horses' serologic (blood) response to six WNV vaccination regimens and found some significant d...
Horses’ tendons and ligaments, soft tissues structures connecting muscles to bone and bone to bone, facilitate a variety of athletic feats. Because these structures function close to their load limits, horses—especially racehorses and performance horses under work stress--are at risk for injury, or re-injury after rehabilitation. Veterinarians...
Researchers are successfully taking a page from human medicine when it comes to treating one common cause of pregnancy loss in mares: cervical incompetence. Recently, Stefania Bucca, DVM, of the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, in Doha, evaluated the efficacy of applying a cervical cerclage suture to affected mares and presented her results at the 2013 A...
While your veterinarian is stitching wounds, delivering foals, and monitoring colics, researchers from around the world are publishing research that often advances the collective of horse health care. So to bring busy practitioners up to speed on the top studies in a variety of fields, a panel of veterinarians presents a news-type program each year at the...
By the time a human infant reaches 4 months of age he or she has likely received a battery of vaccinations, starting shortly after birth. In contrast, four- to six-month-old foals whose dams were vaccinated properly are likely just starting to receive immunizations, as recommended by the American Association of Equine Practitioners' (AAEP) vaccination...
In the equine industry three simple letters, when said in order, can silent a room of horsemen, turn a showground into a ghost town, and send shockwaves through barns. They're E, H, and V, and they stand for equine herpesvirus-1, a contagious equine virus that can cause serious neurologic problems in affected horses. Fortunately for owners, veterinari...
Equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) put dozens of show horses at risk for infection after they were exposed to a sick horse at a single competitive event in Utah in 2011. Unaware of the exposures, owners of these horses dispersed the show animals to 19 states and several Canadian provinces, unleashing the potential to infect others in epidemic pr...
Racehorses must be healthy and at their peak fitness to be successful. One commonly combated health condition—exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, or EIPH—can be performance-limiting and even deadly among these athletes. And as racehorse medication reform has taken center stage in recent years, the racing world has been rife with controversy...
A $2.7 million gift from Centaur Gaming will help Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine build the Centaur Regional Equine Diagnostic and Surgical Center in Shelbyville, Ind.
Are you looking for a special treat to give your horses this holiday season? Look no further: The Horse staff members have compiled and made four homemade horse treat recipes just in time for Christmas. And to get the verdict on each straight from the horse's mouth, their own horses served as the treat testers.
One of the great mysteries surrounding the field of stem cell therapy is how the cells are distributed after being injected. Do they disperse evenly? Do they travel to the area where they’re needed? And how long do they stick around?
Your horse is itchy. You find patches of missing hair on his sides and shoulders. There are gaps in his mane, holes in his tail. Sweet itch? It could be. But then again, maybe not. Belgian researchers say the only way to be sure that your horse is affected by sweet itch is to evaluate him using a confirmed diagnostic test for the disease.
For years, the veterinarians and podiatrists at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, in Lexington, Ky., have been testing stem cell therapy's efficacy as an adjunctive treatment for the hoof disease laminitis. Their access to a large stem cell bank combined with a high caseload has created the ideal scenario for studying this cutting-edge treatment.
Soaking hay in water is a common practice used to reduce dust and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) levels for horses with respiratory or metabolic conditions. But soaking can leach essential nutrients, such as phosphorus and magnesium, from hay and be labor-intensive.
Veterinarians use casts to help stabilize and treat a variety of equine foot and leg disorders, from lower limb injuries to severe foot infections to chronic laminitis cases. The latter condition, however, is one of the most challenging to treat—when the leaflike laminar tissues that suspend the coffin bone inside the hoof wall detach, allowing the ...
Depending on the breed and breeder, white markings on horses might be something to strive for or against. Swiss and Australian researchers have recently tuned into the genetics of white leg and face markings, and they've learned that these features are the result of complex genetic processes—but not too complex for modern science.
Do you think your horse moves a bit unevenly after a trim? You might be right. Researchers recently showed that while routine farriery care had little influence overall on horses' movement, horses do show some movement asymmetry after being trimmed.
Managing a horse with chronic laminitis is hardly a one-man job. Both veterinarian and farrier expertise is required to rehabilitate and maintain these horses' feet for the best possible outcome.
When it comes to caring for insulin-resistant (IR) horses, diet plays a very important role in managing insulin levels and preventing associated diseases such laminitis. Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are key features of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and can also occur in horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (or equine Cushing'...
Could something as simple as hoof wall tubule (the keratin-based, tubelike structures that form the hoof wall) density provide veterinarians with clues as to a laminitic horse's prognosis? Not yet, but researchers are taking the first steps determine if it could be a possibility in the future.
Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has signed a lease-buy agreement with Racebrook Capital Advisors, LLC, for the former Ruffian Equine Medical Center to establish Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists, a referral and emergency care hospital.
Does longeing surface really make that big of a difference in how a horse moves? One research team believes so, and they recently worked to determine exactly how surface affects a horse's movement.
Does your otherwise healthy horse have trouble keeping pounds on? Here are some tips to consider when feeding the mature, healthy hard keeper.
When an owner makes the difficult decision to euthanize a horse with laminitis, it's often because the horse is simply in too much pain to justify prolonging treatment. For this reason, researchers are continually trying to come up with improved analgesic (pain relief) methods. Andrew van Eps, BVSc, PhD, MACVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, senior lecturer in Equine ...
In recent studies, researchers have confirmed the benefits of using cryotherapy (cold therapy, or digital hypothermia) to treat acute laminitis. The technique's anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects help prevent the laminar failure (when the laminae anchoring the coffin bone within the hoof fail to support the bone) characteristic of this devastatin...
Collapsed heels are a common problem in horses, particularly Thoroughbred racehorses, and can cause decreased performance and lameness. Because little is known about the mechanism behind this condition, a group of researchers from The Royal Veterinary College, in London, U.K., recently examined the relationship between collapsed heels and hoof deformation...
You know that nagging feeling when your performance horse is just not quite right, yet you can’t pinpoint the problem zone? Here's some good news: By using hoof kinematics, researchers at the Gail Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University (CSU) are developing a technique to aid in the diagnosis of mild or subclinical...
Whether your horse takes several short, quick trot steps into the canter or jumps right into that rocking-horse gait, the moment when his legs change sequence probably seems fleeting. To a group of researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) though, that moment of change is of great interest.
During pregnancy, a broodmare's body and hormones go through many changes: Her belly swells, and her insulin and glucose levels vary. When you consider the association between obesity, insulin resistance, and laminitis, this becomes a health concern beyond just delivering a healthy foal. The endocrine changes associated with pregnancy might actually i...
One reason laminitis is so challenging to study is that it can result from many different primary diseases—from metabolic disorders to black walnut exposure. Researchers might be able to make headway, however, if they take an epidemiological approach to studying the disease. Epidemiologist Noah Cohen, VMD, MPH, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, a professor in Texas...
