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Objective: To determine the required rate of a detomidine infusion (loading dose 5 μg kg -1 ; initial rate 12.5 μg kg -1 hour -1 ) added to a constant infusion of methadone (0.2 mg kg -1 ; 0.05 mg kg -1 hour -1 ) for sedation in standing horses and ponies undergoing elective surgeries with appropriate local anaesthetic techniques., Study Design: Prospective, clinical study., Animals: Adult, healthy, client-owned, non-food-producing horses or ponies sedated for elective standing surgeries longer than 45 minutes., Methods: At baseline (in the stables before administration of sedative agents), at 10 minutes after sedation and every 5 minutes thereafter, ataxia, sedation and surgical condition were evaluated; each scored 0-3. These scores were used to adjust the detomidine administration rate using the Ghent Sedation Algorithm. A 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS) was used by the main surgeon at the end of the procedure to evaluate the surgical conditions. Heart rate, systolic arterial pressure and respiratory frequency were also recorded at each time point. For statistical analysis, anova for normal, Kruskal-Wallis H-test for non-normal variables, and Mann-Whitney U test for VAS were used., Results: From the 42 horses/ponies included in this study, 28 underwent dental procedures and 14 other types of procedures. Overall, dental procedures required higher mean detomidine rates compared with other types of surgeries (16.9 ± 4.5 versus 9.0 ± 1.9 μg kg -1 hour -1 ) (p < 0.001). Dental procedures were assigned similar VAS scores, median (range), of 7.8 (5.8-10) with other procedures, 8.7 (2.8-10). Cardiovascular changes were not clinically significant. No signs or behavioural changes of abdominal pain were observed postoperatively., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Satisfactory surgical conditions were achieved using a combination of detomidine and methadone infusions with locoregional anaesthesia, with no adverse effects. Dental procedures required higher detomidine dose rates compared with other surgeries., (Copyright © 2019 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Conventional shoeing restricts heel movement, which may have a negative effect on the orthopaedic health of the horse. A randomised crossover experimental study using noninvasive techniques was performed to compare the mediolateral heel movement in barefoot horses, horses shod with a conventional toe clipped shoe and with a new type of shoe with a split toe. In eight horses, 16 forelimbs were tested barefoot, shod with a conventional shoe and with the split-toe (ST) shoe, in random order. A displacement sensor was secured on the heels and measurements were collected continuously at a frequency of 679Hz while horses were exercised on a treadmill at the walk (1.8m/s), trot (3.5m/s) and canter (8m/s). Differences in heel movement between the conditions were analysed using a generalised estimating equations approach. The conventional shoe was associated with significantly less heel expansion compared with the ST shoe and barefoot situation in all gaits (P≤0.001). Heel expansion with the ST shoe was not significantly different from the barefoot condition. For all gaits, shoeing was associated with a significant reduction in heel contraction compared with the barefoot situation (P≤0.038), except for the heel contraction at the canter using a conventional shoe. In conclusion, the heel expansion with the ST shoe did not differ significantly from when the horse was barefoot, in contrast with the significant restriction of the heel movement when a conventional shoe was used., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe the anatomy of the entry to the equine esophagus (vestibulum esophagi) and to assess the risk of penetrating its adventitia and/or lumen during laryngoplasty., Study Design: Ex vivo cadaveric study., Sample Population: Five isolated equine larynges and 39 equine head and neck specimens., Methods: The anatomy of the vestibulum esophagi was studied by dissection of 5 cadaver specimens. Then, a bilateral laryngoplasty was performed, including 5 suture placements through the muscular processes, caudal, rostral, and sagittal, with straight and curved needles. Two of the 3 surgeons performing the implantations were unaware of the goals of the study. Suture positions and iatrogenic trauma to the lumen and/or adventitia of the vestibulum esophagi were identified during dissection of the specimens. Risk factors for penetrating the adventitia were evaluated with a multivariate regression model., Results: The vestibulum esophagi spans between both wings of the thyroid cartilage over the entire width of the larynx, covering the rostral spine (arcuate crest) of the arytenoid cartilages. It is covered by the thyropharyngeus and cricopharyngeus muscles. Masked surgeons were associated with a significantly higher number of adventitia penetrations (72%) compared to the nonmasked surgeon (9%). The lumen of the vestibulum esophagi was penetrated in 4.6% of suture placements and only by the 2 masked surgeons., Conclusion: Penetration of the adventitia was more common when surgeons were unaware of the anatomical extent of the vestibulum esophagi., Clinical Significance: Anatomical knowledge of the extent of the vestibulum esophagi reduces the risk of penetrating its lumen or adventitia during suture placement on the muscular process of the arytenoid cartilage., (© 2018 The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.)

The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy, precision, inter- and intra-operator reliability of a new laser beam (LB) wound camera and a digital photoplanimetry-based (DPB) method for measuring the dimensions of equine wounds. Forty-one wounds were created on equine cadavers. The area, circumference, maximum depth and volume of each wound were measured four times with both techniques by two operators. A silicone cast was made of each wound and served as the reference standard to measure the wound dimensions. The DPB method had a higher accuracy and precision in determining the wound volume compared with the LB camera, which had a higher accuracy in determining the wound area and maximum depth and better precision in determining the area and circumference. The LB camera also had a significantly higher overall inter-operator reliability for measuring the wound area, circumference and volume. In contrast, the DPB method had poor intra-operator reliability for the wound circumference. The LB camera was more user-friendly than the DPB method. The LB wound camera is recommended as the better objective method to assess the dimensions of wounds in horses, despite its poorer performance for the measurement of wound volume. However, if the wound measurements are performed by one operator on cadavers or animals under general anaesthesia, the DPB method is a less expensive and valid alternative., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Summary: A horse with an open medial luxation of the left metatarsophalangeal joint with extensive cartilage and soft tissue damage and severe contamination of the wound was treated with a two‐stage approach. In the first stage, the lesion was cleaned, the luxation was reduced, the wound was sutured and the limb was kept in a cast for a total time of 56 days. In the second stage, an arthrodesis of the affected joint was carried out, using a 13‐hole broad 4.5 LCP plate. The limb was then kept in a cast for an additional total time of 56 days. At 70 days after the arthrodesis, the horse was brought in for a final check‐up, and only a mechanical lameness remained at that time. No significant complications occurred. Previous case reports on the treatment of metatarso‐/metacarpophalangeal luxations include neither cases as severe as the one presented here nor treatment by fetlock arthrodesis. This case illustrates that horses with a complicated, open luxation of the fetlock can be salvaged for breeding purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Palmar digital neurectomy (PDN) is used in horses for treating chronic foot pain refractory to other treatments and is most often performed using the guillotine technique or the pull‐through technique. This study was performed to compare the outcome of the guillotine technique and the pull‐through technique for PDN. Medical records of horses undergoing PDN (January 2008–February 2017) were reviewed (guillotine technique: n = 25, pull‐through technique: n = 15). Outcome was obtained by telephone questionnaire. There was no significant difference between treatment groups for the return to athletic activity, presence of residual/recurrent lameness, occurrence of post‐operative complications and owner satisfaction. Outcome was similar for both techniques, albeit with highly variable individual responses. Establishing realistic client expectations is very important because only a proportion of horses remain sound following PDN as time progresses. Adequate case selection is warranted with either technique and should involve accurate localisation of pain with diagnostic anaesthesia and definitive diagnostic imaging techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection with bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2 results in the most common skin tumor of horses, termed equine sarcoid. The persistent and recurrent nature of this tumor stands in contrast to the regressive nature of BPV-1/− 2 induced cutaneous papillomas in cattle. The circulation of horse-specific BPV-1/− 2 variants within equine populations has been suggested as a possible explanation for the difference in clinical presentation of BPV-1/− 2 infection between horses and cattle. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we identified 98 complete BPV-1/− 2 genomes using a Nanopore sequencing approach. Separate BPV-1/− 2 alignments were used to infer Bayesian phylogenetic trees. Phylogeny-trait association concerning host species was investigated using Bayesian Tip-association Significance software (BaTS) Overall, 179 unique BPV-1 and 128 BPV-2 substitutions were found. The E2 coding region in the viral genome exhibited an exceptionally high rate of non-synonymous mutations (81 %, n = 13/16). Interestingly, extensive deletions in the L1/L2 region (up to 1.5 kb) were found exclusively in horse-derived samples. Nevertheless, the most frequently detected single nucleotide polymorphisms were shared between equine and bovine hosts, which is in agreement with BaTS results indicating no phylogeny-host correlation. We found indications that horse-specific mutations might exist in subpopulations of equine derived BPV-1/− 2, but these did not result in horse-adapted genetic variants. Based on these observations, cross-species transmission from cattle to horses seems to be an ongoing process, rather than an ancient occurrence that has been followed by the circulation of horse-adapted BPV variants in the horse population.. • Host-specific bovine papillomavirus (BPV) lineages were not detected. • Matching BPV sequence variants were retrieved from equine and bovine lesions. • Existence of host-specific mutations in sample subsets could not be ruled out. • Major deletions in the BPV late genomic region were exclusively in sarcoid samples. • Cross-species transmission from cattle to horses seems to be an ongoing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]