OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of and risk factors for complications associated with casts in horses. DESIGN Multicenter retrospective case series. ANIMALS 398 horses with a half-limb or full-limb cast treated at 1 of 4 hospitals. PROCEDURES Data collected from medical records included age, breed, sex, injury, limb affected, time from injury to hospital admission, surgical procedure...

Horses have an increased susceptibility to infection because of a decline in immune function with advancing age. Vitamin E has been found to play a key role in normal immune system function. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of vitamin E supplementation on immune function and response to vaccination in older horses. Predominantly older horses (18.9 +/- 1.3 yr, range 7 to 26 yr;...

Thirteen horses of Thoroughbred or Standardbred breeding were used to study the effect of dietary fish oil supplementation on blood lipid characteristics. Horses were assigned to either fish oil (n = 7) or corn oil (n = 6) treatment groups for 63 d. The fish oil contained 10.8% eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 8% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Each horse received timothy hay and a mixed-grain conce...

BACKGROUND The accuracy of the Lyme multiplex assay for the diagnosis of neuroborreliosis in horses is unknown. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To describe Lyme multiplex results in horses with a postmortem diagnosis of neuroborreliosis. The hypothesis was that paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) results and a CSF : serum ratio would allow differentiation of horses with neuroborreliosis from tho...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate nonsurgical management of type II fractures of the distal phalanx in Standardbred horses. DESIGN Retrospective study of 48 affected horses. RESULTS Most fractures occurred on the lateral palmar process of the left forelimb or the medial palmar process of the right forelimb; 81% of horses were considered sound enough to return to training and 63% raced. Of those returni...

BACKGROUND Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is recognized as a cause of nosocomial infections in both human and veterinary medicine. Studies that examine the nasopharynx and guttural pouches of the horse as carriage sites for MRSA have not been reported. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE MRSA colonizes the nasopharynx and guttural pouch of horses. To determine the prevalence of MRSA in e...

BACKGROUND Brainstem auditory evoked response has been an underused diagnostic modality in horses as evidenced by few reports on the subject. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To describe BAER findings, common clinical signs, and causes of hearing loss in adult horses. ANIMALS Study group, 76 horses; control group, 8 horses. METHODS Retrospective. BAER records from the Clinical Neurophysiology Labora...

Hendra virus infection is an emerging viral disease of horses and humans in Australia. Although this disease is uncommon, cases in horses have been reported with increasing frequency since it was first recognized in 1994. Hendra virus is maintained in asymptomatic flying foxes (pteropid fruit bats). Virus shedding from these bats appears to increase at unpredictable intervals, leading to spillo...

BACKGROUND Exertional rhabdomyolysis syndrome is recognised in many athletic horse breeds and in recent years specific forms of the syndrome have been identified. However, although Standardbred horses are used worldwide for racing, there is a paucity of information about the epidemiological and performance-related aspects of the syndrome in this breed. The objectives of this study therefore wer...

BACKGROUND In Ireland, horses may be protected against equine influenza virus (EIV) as a result of natural exposure or vaccination. Current mandatory vaccination programmes are targeted at highly mobile horses. A correlation between antibody levels as measured by single radial haemolysis (SRH) and protective immunity against EIV has been established. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was...