Nancy S. Loving DVM

Local prophylactic treatment with medical grade honey gel in the abdominal incision during surgery is safe and may significantly decrease the prevalence of incisional infections in horses undergoing colic surgery.

“Overall, the use of MOX-OBZ combination treatment delayed the onset of resistance to MOX compared to when MOX single-active was used,” noted the researchers.

Researchers showed that calcium electroporation is considered safe for treatment of localized equine sarcoids, including those that are inoperable.

Using GnRH vaccination prior to castration reduced the size of the testes and their adnexa and had an apparently beneficial effect on both the incidence and degree of post-operative surgical complications.

Be proactive to prevent bullying in your workplace, and have a system in place where employees can easily report being bullied.

Future development of this R. equi vaccine holds promise for a number of intracellular bacterial pathogens.

The results demonstrate that a laminitic horse with a heel wedge has a shorter breakover period (2% of stance phase) than when barefoot (6% of stance phase).

The authors concluded that, “The extremely low incidence of iatrogenic septic arthritis argues against any benefit from prophylactic administration of amikacin.”

Just having a high ACTH level does not mean a horse will develop lamellar morphological pathology, which might, in fact, be more associated with increased circulating insulin.

We took the pulse of where veterinary education is and what the prospects are for future equine veterinarians.

One paper referenced at NEAEP discussed the use of per rectum fluid infusion (proctoclysis) as an inexpensive, safe alternative or adjunct to intravenous fluid administration.

While studying treatments for human melanoma, Brazilian researchers investigated a compound from a specific tick's saliva in horses.

Horses experiencing influenza or other respiratory crises do well with rest since it takes at least three weeks for healing of the respiratory epithelium and the mucociliary apparatus.

This research suggested that IL-1 inhibition from IRAP can provide therapeutic value in attenuating scar formation from wounds.

At the 2020 AAEP Convention, Dr. Lauren Schnabel described a new disease-modifying osteoarthritis treatment using platelet-rich plasma.

A retrospective study in the UK addressed concerns that joint injections using corticosteroids, and in particular triamcinolone (TA), have the potential to elicit laminitis.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a gold standard diagnostic tool for assessing injury within the equine foot.

This new information of a first-line, innate immune response might shed light to help develop future strategies against microbes.

A presentation from the 2020 AAEP Virtual Convention looks at this fatty acid to manage inflammatory effects of joint osteoarthritis.

“The dorsal lamellae should be considered as a possible source of lameness pain following lidocaine block of the coffin joint," noted the researchers.

This study identified that the type of recreational activity affects cortisol release in horses, and that age plays an effect.

In the United Kingdom, a survey showed that non-compliance with the manufacturers' datasheet guidelines is common, risking suboptimal immunity to equine influenza.

Early recognition through endocrine testing for PPID is important to identify horses at higher risk of contracting infectious disease so preventive measures and treatment can be implemented.

Contrast therapy alternates cold and heat with the objective of increasing blood circulation through cycles of vasodilation and vasoconstriction.

The research noted that post-operative surgical site infections created difficulties with recovery, increased duration of hospitalization, interfered with return to function, increased client costs, and caused increased morbidity and mortality of the horses.

A recent study at the University of Warwick has evaluated a 1,000-year old herbal remedy noted in a 10th century Old English medical compendium that is called 'Bald's eye salve.'

Equine practitioners are commonly faced with communicating to clients that their horse (or horses) are too fat.

Ongoing research into equine infectious diseases will mean better ways to protect and treat the problems.

This is an extended version of the one-page article on Joint Therapies that appeared in the Winter 2020 issue of EquiManagement magazine. Brought to you by Covetrus.

Dietary chromium propionate has been proposed as a supplement to help improve insulin sensitivity in horses suffering from insulin dysfunction, particularly in aging or obese individuals.

Bacterial infection with Clostridium spp. or Salmonella spp. were the predominant findings where a diagnosis was obtained in this review study.

Joint lavage with 10% DMSO in LRS has beneficial anti-inflammatory uses compared to LRS or 5% DMSO in LRS, but it does not exert chondroprotective effects.

This study's authors proposed that mane hair might be more useful for detecting minerals present in the diet in excessive amounts or heavy metals that are difficult to detect in blood.

The study concluded: “Misoprostol was found to be superior to combined omeprazole-sucralfate, both for improvement and healing of glandular lesions.”

Multiple research reports can help you better understand causes, treatments and potential sequela to insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH).

Research showed that a specific immunotherapeutic approach was applicable to any sarcoid, but it was particularly helpful for sarcoids not amenable to surgical excision.

This focus on recent research can help veterinarians help their patients.

Working up lameness can be difficult with a fractious horse, especially when hind-limb diagnostic nerve or joint blocks are involved.

While it might be a frustrating process, veterinarians have an obligation to report equine abuse or neglect.

A retrospective study showed an overall case fatality rate of 75%; for those treated successfully with surgery and medical intervention, the long-term survival rate was excellent.

Managing metabolic responses of horses to forage is an ongoing challenge for horse owners and veterinarians throughout the year.

Since clinical signs can be absent or very subtle, it is up to veterinarians to help horse owners get ahead of this problem and treat it appropriately when it arises.

A Belgian study compared medial-lateral heel movement of various shoe configurations to the barefoot hoof while horses were exercised on a treadmill at walk, trot and canter.

Use of salivary analytes has the potential to help in clinical diagnosis of acute abdominal crises.

The behavior of fibroblasts and stromal cells might have a lot to do with metastatic invasion by cancer cells, more so than the behavior of cancer cells themselves.

A retrospective study from the University of California, Davis, veterinary hospital reviewed long-term prognosis for comfort and return to athletic success following standing fibrotic myotomy,

This study illuminates the effects of IA treatment with TA on other organ systems.