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Mustang
The Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west that descends from horses brought to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors beginning in the sixteenth century. The name derives from the Spanish word mesteno, meaning stray or ownerless livestock. Escaped and released horses from Spanish colonial settlements established free-ranging herds, which later incorporated…
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Steroid
Steroids are a broad class of naturally occurring and synthetic organic compounds characterized by a four-ring carbon skeleton. In equine veterinary medicine the term most commonly refers to corticosteroids, which are used to reduce inflammation and suppress overactive immune responses, and to anabolic-androgenic steroids, which influence muscle mass, red blood cell production, and secondary sexual…
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Estonian Draft
The Estonian Draft is a rare heavy draft horse breed developed in Estonia from the late nineteenth century onward. The breed was created by crossing the native Estonian horse, a small, cold-hardy pony type with ancient roots, with Finnish, Finnish Ardennes, and later Byelorussian Draft stallions to produce a larger animal capable of sustained agricultural…
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Erlunchun
The Erlunchun is a Mongolian-type horse breed native to the Greater Khingan (Xingan) mountain range in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang Province of northeastern China. The breed takes its name from the Erlunchun, known in Chinese as Oroqen (E Lun Chun), an indigenous people of the Xingan forests who depended on horses for…
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Mites
Mites are tiny arachnids belonging to the subclass Acari that, unlike ticks, typically complete their entire life cycle on or very near the host. Dozens of mite species can infest horses, with the most clinically significant being Chorioptes equi (chorioptic mange), Sarcoptes scabiei (sarcoptic mange), and Psoroptes equi (psoropic mange). Chorioptic mange, caused by C.…
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Metritis
Metritis is inflammation of the uterus, typically involving both the endometrium and the deeper myometrial layers. In horses, the condition most commonly occurs in the days immediately following foaling when bacteria gain access to the uterus through a traumatized or incompletely closed cervix. Common causative organisms include Escherichia coli, Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus, and Klebsiella…
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Epilepsy
Epilepsy in horses is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures arising from paroxysmal abnormal electrical discharges in the brain. A single seizure caused by a systemic event, hypoglycemia, endotoxemia, or hepatic encephalopathy, is not epilepsy; the diagnosis requires at least two seizures with no identifiable systemic trigger. The distinction matters because management, prognosis,…
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Colitis-X in Horses
Colitis-X is a peracute colitis syndrome in horses characterized by explosive watery diarrhea, rapid dehydration, endotoxemia, and cardiovascular collapse, often progressing to death within 3 to 24 hours of onset. The “X” designates an unknown cause: despite decades of investigation, no single causative agent has been consistently identified, and the condition is defined clinically by…
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Bruising in Horses
Bruising in horses occurs when blunt trauma ruptures small blood vessels beneath the skin or within tissue, allowing blood to pool without breaking the surface. The body responds to this hemorrhage with inflammation, the affected area becomes warm, swollen, and painful. External bruises on a horse are often invisible under the coat and must be…
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Diarrhea in Horses
Diarrhea is fecal material that is abnormally loose, watery, or more frequent than normal, indicating that the large intestine is not absorbing fluid at its usual rate. In horses, diarrhea is a symptom rather than a diagnosis; it signals gastrointestinal disturbance, and the cause determines severity and treatment. Normal equine normal defecation baseline produces well-formed…