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Although equine dentists cannot have their patients lie down in a reclining chair for easy access to those hard to reach molars, the field has progressed greatly in the past 20 years. It is now possible to perform a root canal or a tooth extraction on a horse, just as in humans. In 1988, the American Veterinary Dental College was formed, allowing veterinarians who have already completed their degree to train further to become a board certified veterinary dentist. Dr. Carol Akers is a...
Many people think of farriers as blacksmiths, or someone who molds metal shoes for a horse's foot. With the advent of items like specially-made shoes, digital x-rays, and epoxy cushioning, modern day farriers are much more than someone who works over hot coals. Travis Finn is the farrier for the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. He has been around horses and, more specifically, their feet, since birth. His father, Michael Finn, recently retired from the position...
Human sports medicine has made tremendous advances in the last half century, with athletes setting new records while enjoying longer careers and faster recoveries from injury. Equine veterinary medicine is now keeping pace with these advances. Rehabilitative services offered at the U of M Equine Center focus on aiding your horse to gain strength and mobility and return to performance as quickly as possible after an injury, as well as preventing injuries from reoccurring. A thorough...
Mammary neoplasia (tumors) in the mare is exceedingly rare. To date, published cases consist of reports of six single cases and one report each for two, three, and four mares. Of published cases, all tumors were malignant except one report of a benign (non-cancerous) adenoma. Previous abattoir studies report an incidence of 0.11% to 1.99% for equine mammary tumors. Published reports of mammary neoplasia in mares have several characteristics in common. Mares presented with unilaterally...
Researchers at Wageningen University and Utrecht University are starting a large-scale joint project on one of the most prevalent skin afflictions in horses and ponies: insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH). The study will involve both genetics and immunology, and the interaction between these fields, in order to develop diagnostics, intervention strategies and treatments for reducing the number of affected horses and ponies. The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about the immunological,...
One of the best known cures for relieving someone of the hiccups is a good, old-fashioned scare. However, what do you do when it seems that your horse has a case of the hiccups? Sneaking up behind a 1,000 pound Thoroughbred and yelling "Boo!," is not advisable for several reasons. For one, you might just get a surprise of your own. The medical term for the noise we commonly refer to as hiccups is synchronous diaphragmatic flutter or singultus. But in...
Often unpredictable and frequently not preventable, colic is a continual concern for all horse owners and is a frightening concept when it is your horse that is colicking. In the horse, “colic” officially refers to any type of abdominal pain. Luckily, most types of colic (over 80%) respond well to medical therapy on the farm. This article will cover some of the basic types of colic, what your veterinarian is doing when dealing with a colic episode, standard treatments for colic, and some of the...
Gastric ulcer disease is common in foals and horses and the term Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) has been used to describe this disease because of its multifactorial and complicated nature. Prevalence (disease in the population) estimates have been reported to range from 25% to 50% in foals and 60% to 90% in adult horses, depending on age, performance, and evaluated populations. Gastric ulcers have been identified in all regions of the equine stomach and two age related clinical syndromes...
First results of osteochondrosis study in Dutch warmblood horses. The first results of an important joint research project the prevalence and heritability of osteochondrosis (OC) are now available. The participants in the project, which began in 2005, are the Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre (ABGC) and the Dutch warmblood studbook KWPN. In this study, 800 offspring of 32 representative stallions were scored using radiology for OC in the stifle joint, the hock...
Researchers are developing a monitoring system similar to those used by earthquake seismologists to detect tiny cracks in bones, a technology that could help prevent fractures in humans and racehorses. The new monitoring system records "acoustic emission data," or sound waves created by the tiny bone fissures. The same sorts of acoustic emissions are used to monitor the integrity of bridges, other structures and mechanical parts like helicopter turbine blades, said Ozan Akkus, an...
Competitions bring together people and horses from different corners of the country, but they also can bring disease. Ensuring horses are properly vaccinated before show season can help protect competing horses and prevent loss of performance. “Horses can be exposed to disease in the stable, during the trip or through contact with other horses,” said Dr. Frank Hurtig, Director, Veterinary Services, Merial. “There is a good chance of illness any time animals from...
"Many of the dental diseases in horses, as in people, could be categorized as silent diseases," says Dr. Gordon Baker, equine veterinarian retired from the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, and author of the first-ever book written on equine dentistry. "It is incorrect to assume that if a horse's body condition is normal, his teeth are okay. If you don't look in the mouth, you won't see the problems," says Dr. Baker. Clues to...
Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center is has added an ophthalmology service through an alliance with Scottsdale, Ariz., based Eye Care for Animals. The new offering, which became available on March 4, is provided by Dr. Gwendolyn Lynch, a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist and associate doctor at Eye Care for Animals Leesburg, Va., location. A broad range of ophthalmic diagnostic services for horses, as a result, are now being offered, including: full...
Horse owners want their foals to grow into big strong horses. That's pretty normal for anyone caring for a growing animal. However, there are problems associated with fast growth that owners should understand. Developmental orthopedic disease, or DOD, has many possible causes, but the major factors are rapid growth rate, a high-calorie diet, nutritional imbalances, genetics, hormones, and trauma to growing bones. "All breeds are prone to DOD, but Standardbreds, Thoroughbreds,...
Limiting values or safe concentrations of specific mycotoxins are, for the most part, unknown for the horse. A unique challenge is presented when attempting to use non-equine data to effectively define mycotoxin effects on horses, since the horse is comparable to the ruminant in that it is a forage-grazing animal but has a gastrointestinal tract more closely similar to a pig with the addition of a hindgut fermentation process. The nature of the horse also makes the equine quite different...
The fulminant growth in minimally invasive surgery in people has paid dividends for the horse. “Not only are laparoscopic procedures in horses less invasive and associated with less postoperative pain and inflammation, in some instances they provide a better alternative to conventional open surgery.” said Dr. John Caron, an equine orthopedic and soft tissue surgeon with an avid interest in the area of minimally invasive surgery. “A good example of the...
Dr. Lara Maxwell, Assistant Professor of Physiological Sciences at the Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, is conducting research to determine the efficacy of an antiviral drug to fight Equine Herpes Virus type I (EHV-1). Funded by a Grayson Jockey Club grant, this study on the protection of horses from the devastating neurological effects of viral disease is of national interest. “This study is important for the horse industry,” explains...
A variety of "stable vices" exhibited by horses drive horse owners to distraction! These vices are often called "diseases of domestication" and are also seen in domestic livestock. One common stable vice is cribbing, and it may be more of a danger than once thought. "Cribbing is a behavior seen in up to 10 percent of horses, making it a fairly common sight on equine farms. When a horse cribs, it grasps a surface with its incisors, flexes its neck in an arch, and draws air into the...
Pasture grasses, hay, grain, straw and stubble can all support the growth of various fungi. The fungi can exist as saprophytes, living on the outside of the plant and obtaining nutrients from the plant with no benefit to the plant, or exist as endophytes within the plant in a symbiotic relationship, providing benefits to the plant while obtaining nutrients from the plant. The saprophytes include the more common genera Aspergillus, Claviceps, Stachybotrys, Fusarium and...
Ten to fifteen percent of equine lameness problems can be traced to problems in the back, according to Dr. Rob van Wessum, sport horse lameness clinician at the McPhail Equine Performance Center. “If we did more research, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the percentage is actually higher,” he says. And yet, very few veterinarians are equipped to comprehensively diagnose and treat these problems. Van Wessum is using advanced technology at the McPhail Equine Performance...