Biosecurity involves a series of management steps designed to reduce the risk of contagious diseases being introduced to, or spreading within, a horse property. All equine infectious diseases arise through the interaction between the horse, its environment, and disease-causing organisms such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites. The outcome depends on both the animal’s immune defense and the strength of the pathogen—providing key points where intervention can reduce risk.

Equine neurological examinations evaluate horses from head to tail. They are performed to evaluate signs consistent with neurologic disease or to establish that a horse is neurologically normal, such as during a pre-purchase exam. A neurological exam can be divided into two parts: static and dynamic.

The equine respiratory tract is responsible for many different functions and is, on a basic level, quite similar to the human respiratory tract. One of its primary functions is the exchange of oxygen between the lungs and the red blood cells, which allows oxygen to be delivered to tissues throughout the body and becomes especially important during exercise when the oxygen consumption of the tissues increases. Another important function is the clearance of irritants such as dust, ammonia, and bacteria, from the respiratory tract. This is done by filtering large dust particles in the nose, coughing, sneezing, and trapping irritants in the airway mucus. However, excess nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing, and mucus secretion are all signs that a horse may be suffering from respiratory problems.

For the first time, researchers have unveiled an intervention that appears to slow down the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). A clinical study conducted jointly by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and the University of Gothenburg (UGOT), Sweden, has yielded remarkable results. Horses afflicted with OA, treated with a novel drug combination, not only achieved freedom from lameness but also experienced a simultaneous inhibition of joint tissue degradation.