Health Topics

MYHM is a new term that is used to describe two muscle diseases caused by a mutation in the MYH1 gene; 1) Immune mediated myositis (IMM) and 2) Nonexertional rhabdomyolysis.

Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is one of a large group of DNA viruses that causes potentially serious disease in horses and other species. The neurological form can cause a condition known as Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), which attacks the spinal cord and brain and can be fatal.

Chiropractic is a manual (applying hands to the body) therapy concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the nervous system in general health. Chiropractic treatment consists of controlled force applied to a specific anatomic region, often along the spine, to cause a therapeutic response.

Acupuncture has been used to treat various medical conditions in humans and animals for more than 3,000 years. Equine acupuncture is commonly incorporated in the treatment of a number of conditions, especially musculoskeletal disorders and back pain.

Overriding (or impinging) dorsal spinous processes (ORDSP), or “kissing spines”, occur when vertebrae in the spine are too close together. This results in touching or overlapping of two or more of the bony projections at the top of each vertebrae (spinous processes) which can cause consistent, low-grade pain, although many horses do not exhibit any clinical signs.

Gastric, or stomach, ulcers are sores that form on the stomach lining. They are common in horses, with the prevalence estimated between 50 and 90%. They can affect any horse at any age but occur most frequently in horses that perform athletic activities such as racing, endurance, and showing.

Enteroliths are mineral accumulations of magnesium-ammonium-phosphate (struvite) around a foreign object (a piece of metal, pebble, bailing twine, hair, rubber) that form round, triangular, or flat stones inside the bowel usually over the course of multiple years. They form in the large colon of horses where they can remain for some time until they move and cause an obstruction in the large or small colon, resulting in colic.

Equine influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease of horses caused by subtypes of the influenza A virus. It spreads easily through contact with infected horses, clothing, equipment, brushes, tack, etc. Some horses do not show any outward signs of infection, but can shed the virus and infect susceptible horses.

HYPP is a muscular disease caused by a genetic mutation that disrupts the sodium ion channel and results in an excessive amount of potassium in the blood (hyperkalemia). This causes the muscles to contract more readily than normal. Horses with HYPP can experience unpredictable attacks of muscle tremors or paralysis.

Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis is caused by infection of the central nervous system with the protozoan parasites Sarcocystis neurona and, less commonly, Neospora hughesi. It is often a progressively debilitating disease and can affect any part of the nervous system, from the front of the cerebrum to the end of the spinal cord.