Contagious equine metritis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis. Unless you are importing horses or semen from other countries, Contagious equine metritis (CEM) shouldn’t be a concern. CEM does not exist in the United States, but preventing its entry is important and requires some stringent rules to be enforced. All …
You can find a lot of misleading, incorrect or opinion tainted information searching on the internet. Have you thought about where you might look on the internet to find factual data or information? When you have agriculture or equine disease questions, visit the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website, FreshFromFlorida.com. For horse lovers, …
HORSES NATURALLY grow hair in response to reducing daylight as the weather cools in the fall and winter. These hairs are various lengths and trap in warm air to keep the horse warm. A healthy, unclipped horse in pasture with appropriate shelter from the elements, free choice forage and water should not require blanketing in …
TRUST IS ESSENTIAL in a relationship between you and your horse and is something that needs to be developed and encouraged when you are asking your horse to do something that they are unsure or afraid of, such as being caught or vaccinated. Working with a nervous horse takes time and effort, and there will …
Preparing your horse for a vet visit — ‘catching’ and needle-shy issues Read More »
SUMMER SORE is a common term for a skin wound (dermatitis) caused by the Habronema worm larvae. The adult Habronema live and lay eggs in the stomach of infected horses. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae are then passed into the manure of the horse, where they are ingested by fly maggots. Once the maggots …
WHITE LINE DISEASE (seedy toe, hoof wall disease) is a common disease seen in the equine foot that may or may not result in lameness. This disease occurs with separation of the hoof wall from the underlying tissue and then colonization with bacteria. Separation is caused by environmental conditions, mineral toxicity or mechanical stresses on …
EQUINE PROTOZOAL myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a neurological disease in horses and is caused by the protozoan Sarcocystis neurona, which affects the brain and spinal cord. The protozoan requires two hosts to complete its life cycle, a definitive and an intermediate host. Opossums are the definitive hosts and cats, raccoons, armadillos, and skunks are intermediate hosts. …
IF YOU OWN HORSES, then you have probably heard of a Coggins test, but what is it and why do you need to have one?
YOUR HORSE is an important member of your family, so it is important to be prepared in case of an emergency. Emergencies are stressful, emotional, and can happen at any time. Being prepared and ready to handle different emergency situations can improve the outcome of the emergency. Make sure to have important phone numbers (i.e., …
STRANGLES is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the upper respiratory tract of horses. The infection is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subspecies equi. The term “strangles” arose from the occasional suffocation of horses with the disease due to lymph nodes of the head and obstruction of the airway.
