Horse Diseases

PLS Cruising Suzy was advancing in her jumping career when her owner noticed a swollen hock. After a complicated but successful surgery, Suzy is back to jumping and winning.

Key Points The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) recommends that all horses be vaccinated for tetanus, encephalomyelitis, rabies, and West Nile virus. Individual vaccination programs should be developed and delivered by your veterinarian to ensure that your horse receives the right vaccines at the optimal time of year. Vaccination generally requires…

The UF Large Animal Surgery Service is informing horse owners about the dangers of cribbing, a stable vice that can lead to epiploic foramen entrapment, a type of colic that can cause death if not treated promptly by surgery.

Although certain illnesses and conditions will have obvious signs and indicators that a veterinarian should be called, others may not. It is critical to know the normal behavior, attitude, and gait of your horses, since changes that could require veterinary attention may be subtle at first. No one knows your…

Strangles is one of the most commonly diagnosed contagious diseases in horses worldwide, and was first reported in 1251. The bacteria typically infect the upper airway and lymphoid tissues of the head and neck, causing enlarged lymph nodes, nasal drainage, and abscess formation. Strangles is highly contagious in horse populations and can cause outbreaks when an infected horse is introduced into a new group or herd.

Although it’s the end of Florida’s rainy season, the rain has not stopped! Horse owners need to be aware of a persistent disease threat to horses called pythiosis. Pythiosis is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by the pathogen Pythium insidiosum, which can lead to painful and debilitating skin lesions.

Equine Reportable Disease Map Florida’s Equine Reportable Disease Map is an interactive way to look at disease occurrence within the state. Disease information can be viewed by county, with monthly and calendar year information available. The map uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology…

UF Large Animal Hospital What is Atrial Fibrillation in Horses? Atrial fibrillation (or “A-Fib”) is an abnormal rhythm of the heart and is one of the most common cardiac problems…

UF Large Animal Hospital Heart Murmurs in Horses: What You Need to Know Just like in humans, heart murmurs in horses can be a normal part of life—or a sign…