Clinical

Figure 1. A schematic diagram of the composition of skeletal muscle.

Muscle hypertrophy and its relevance to horses

There are three types of muscle: smooth, cardiac and skeletal. Smooth and cardiac muscles are controlled by involuntary neural stimulation. Skeletal muscle is controlled by conscious, voluntary neural...

The role of nutrition and feeding in equine weight management

The prevalence of both obese and overweight horses is high (Giles et al, 2014; Potter et al, 2016). However, how this is categorised and reported could be clearer, as defining whether a horse is...

A nutritional review of polysaccharide storage myopathy

Type 1 PSSM was first described in detail by Valberg et al (1992) and is associated with a dominant mutation in the skeletal muscle glycogen synthase gene (GYS1). This gene mutation causes excessive...

Figure 7. Checking for iatrogenic ulcers if footplate becomes loose when the subpalpebral lavage system has been placed in the upper lid.

Nursing care of the hospitalised eye case

Ocular disease, particularly corneal diseases, can result in significant discomfort. While the pain level of the horse with his eye clamped shut who will not allow you anywhere near him is easy to...

Figure 3. Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) is a common weed and contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can cause liver damage.

Summer poisoning hazards

European adders (Vipera berus berus, Figure 1) are most active in the summer. Although relatively common in dogs, envenomation from an adder bite can also occur in large animals including horses....

Salmonellosis in adult horses

Horses have a greater susceptibility for salmonellosis while undergoing antibiotic treatment. Other risk factors are abdominal surgery, stress (for example as a result of transport or heat),...

Intra-operative hypotension in anaesthetised horses

Several factors can contribute to the development of intra-operative hypotension in horses. These may include administration of inhalational anaesthetic agents and some sedatives, controlled...

Figure 8. Typically ‘dropped elbow’ appearance of an olecranon fracture, the horse is unable to extend the elbow and carpus. There is moderate soft tissue swelling of the elbow.

Diagnosis and management of traumatic equine fractures: an update

Fractures of the distal phalanx (pedal bone) usually occur as a result of trauma such as kicking a solid object, standing on a stone or fast exercise on hard ground. Horses may present with similar...

Figure 1. BioBag contains around 75 tiny larvae of the Lucilia sericata species along with foam chips to maintain a moist environment while they work.

Maggot debridement therapy: from humans to horses

Medical maggots are the same species as those responsible for fly strike, but they are produced to be clinically sterile for use in hospitals and outpatient settings (Hinshaw, 2000)..

So you have heard a heart murmur – what next?

Heart murmurs are a common finding in horses. Physiological aortic flow murmurs are the most common murmur, found in 60-80% of horses. One of the key steps is to determine whether the murmur is...

Figure 1. Bracken in a fern and is one of the world's most abundant plants. It produces lush green growth, a) Courtesy of Elizabeth Dauncey), but is also toxic when dried (b).

Bracken and horsetail poisoning

As stated, poisoning only occurs after ingestion of bracken for several weeks (Hadwen and Bruce, 1917); with horsetail, clinical signs occur after grazing for 2-5 weeks (younger, growing animals...

Figure 1. Suggested algorithm for the diagnostic work-up of adult horses with weight loss.

A practical approach to weight loss in adult horses

A general history will provide vital information to help determine if weight loss is related to undernutrition or not. Obtaining detailed information should help determine whether the horse has an...