Hearing loss may affect a horse’s quality of life and its ability to interact with riders, trainers and other horses. Current known causes of auditory loss in the horse include: temporohyoid osteopathy, otitis, brainstem disease, trauma, congenital sensorineural deafness (American Paint horses) and old age. In foals, congenital sensorineural deafness, prematurity, sepsis, brainstem disease, trauma and otitis can cause auditory loss. Gentamicin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, is commonly used in...

Elective synovial endoscopy is most often performed to remove osteochondral fragments within joints but can also be used to diagnose and treat a variety of problems in joints and soft tissues. Perioperative protocols for the use of antibiotics in equine synovial endoscopy are highly variable, and may be affected by physician preference and previous training. As resistance to antibiotics continues to rise, it is wise to continue to evaluate the risks and benefits of these protocols. The...

In their role as sporting, leisure and performance animals, horses often require high levels of specific training. Due to their nature, horses can often be stressed by exposure to novel objects or experiences. For young or inexperienced horses, training is often combined with exposure to stress such as movement to a show or training facility. While studies on equine learning and stress have taken place, there are few that have studied the effects of exercise on learning in horses. Exercise has...

You evaluate swelling in the hock of a yearling Andalusian stallion, and find marked effusion in the tarsocrural joint. The horse is sound on lameness evaluation. You take a full set of radiographs (see the oblique views above). Given the horse’s signalment, marked effusion and lack of lameness, the osseous fragments seen at the distal aspect of the tarsocrural joint are most likely osteochondral fragments that have broken loose from their original site (see images below; white arrows). On the...

You perform extracorporeal shockwave therapy on a young, energetic horse with proximal suspensory desmopathy. The owner wants to turn the horse out immediately after the treatment into a 40’ x 40’ paddock.

An 11-year-old Warmblood gelding presents for a six-month history of “not going forward” and “not rounding” over jumps. Currently, the horse is exercised in a training program from Wednesday to Sunday, with Monday and Tuesday off. This underperformance tends to occur after his days off. As his veterinarian, you examine his gait and notice no abnormalities. He is negative to all flexion testing. You perform an exercise test and note marked elevations in CK and AST 4 hours after 15 minutes of a...