Rupture of the gastrocnemius muscle is occasionally found in neonatal foals associated with dystocia and assisted delivery. In this report, 3 cases of gastrocnemius muscle disruption in newborn Thoroughbred foals (6, 5 and 2 days old) are reported. In all cases, the foals were presented with inability to rise unassisted postpartum, a dropped tarsus and swelling in the caudal aspect of the thigh...

Rhodococcus equi, a gram-positive facultative intracellular pathogen, is one of the most common causes of pneumonia in foals. Although R. equi can be cultured from the environment of virtually all horse farms, the clinical disease in foals is endemic at some farms, sporadic at others, and unrecognized at many. On farms where the disease is endemic, costs associated with morbidity and mortality ...

Two hundred and seven weaned foals aging 6 to 12 months from small farms in the Lublin region were examined in the years 2005 to 2007. The investigations were carried out using flotation and sedimentary flotation methods, and McMaster’s quantitative method modified by Wetzel. Eimeria leuckarti oocysts were found in 19 (9.18%) of the foals. The horses demonstrated occasionally clinical signs (fo...

Macrolide and rifampin resistance developed on a horse breeding farm after widespread use was instituted for treatment of subclinical pulmonary lesions in foals. Resistance occurred in 6 (24%) of 25 pretreatment and 8 (62%) of 13 (62%) posttreatment isolates from affected foals. Drug-resistant isolates formed 2 distinct genotypic clusters.

Osteochondrosis is a multifactorial pathology that affects up to 75% of equids and impacts their sports career. Feeding excess dietary concentrates, thus inducing increased blood glucose insulin peaks associated with meals, has been linked an incidence osteochondrosis in foals. The objective the study was analyze effects different concentrate distribution 2 or 8 meals throughout day night on me...

Aggression and social spacing were studied in 14 light horse mares and their foals living at pasture. Focal samples were collected on each mare–foal dyad for 6 to 10.5 h from 2 months of foal age until weaning at approximately 4 months of age. Observations on foals continued until approximately 6 months of age for 7.5 to 10.5 h per foal. Every 2 min the identities of all individuals within 5 m ...

OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of osteomyelitis lesions of the patella and to report short- and long-term outcome after treatment in 8 foals. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS Foals (n = 8). METHODS Medical records (2003-2007) and radiographs of foals that had osteomyelitis of the patella were reviewed. Inclusion criteria included clinical, radiographic, and surgi...

Environmental contamination and the egg excretion pattern of the ascarid Parascaris equorum (Nematoda) was investigated in relation to anthelmintic treatment on a Swedish stud farm. Faecal samples from 15 foals, dewormed every 8th-week with a paste formulation of ivermectin at the standard dose rate of 0.2 mg/kg bodyweight, were collected at five sampling occasions between August and November 2...

Thoroughbred foal body temperature data were collected from shortly after birth until shortly after weaning during the 2007/2008 season on a stud farm in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Equine encephalosis (EE) caused by EE virus (EEV) serotype 4 (EEV-4) occurred in the foal group during the first autumn after their birth (March and April 2008). A descriptive study was undertaken to ...

The value of prophylactic neonatal vaccination is challenged by the interference of passively transferred maternal antibodies and immune competence at birth. Taken our previous studies on equine B cell ontogeny, we hypothesized that the equine neonate generates a diverse immunoglobulin repertoire in response to vaccination, independently of circulating maternal antibodies. In this study, equine...