Horse diseases

Now the demand for sports horses is growing again, so horse breeding is starting to change its direction. Work horses are starting to fade into the background. Since animals are prone to diseases, the horse breeder needs to learn to recognize if his pet is sick or healthy. In this case, in no case should you prescribe treatment yourself. For this, there are specialists who should be contacted at the first sign of illness.

Classification of diseases

There are several types of contagious diseases and pathologies that affect the animal in a non-infectious way. Contagious diseases include:

• bacterial;
• fungal;
• viral;
• invasive.

Diseases of horses that are not transmitted from animal to animal are divided into:

• respiratory;
• associated with the alimentary tract;
• hoof diseases.
  

  Horse

Contagious diseases

Of the diseases caused by bacteria and fungi, it is worth highlighting:

• Anthrax,
• Glanders,
• Washed by horses
• Ringworm.

anthrax

This disease can hurt not only a horse, but also a person. It occurs in those areas where there are all conditions for the disease. In animals, the disease progresses very quickly, and in most cases there is no sign that the horse is not healthy. Sometimes the symptoms of an ulcer can be:

• colic in horses;
• constipation;
• bloody diarrhea.

It is almost impossible to stop the course of the disease. After some time, the animal will still die.

Horse diseases

Glanders

The causative agent of this disease is the bacterium pseudomonas. In addition to horses, it affects camels, donkeys, and felines. In addition, this disease can affect a person. Sap spread in Russia for the last time at the very beginning of the twentieth century. This bacterium can only be infected by contact with sick people. Pathology is expressed by the following symptoms:

• depressed state;
• cough;
• discharge from the nostrils;
• the formation of lymph nodes in the nose;
• swelling of the legs.

There are three forms of the course of the disease:

• sharp;
• permanent;
• asymptomatic.

Affects the surface of the skin, nose, or lungs. As soon as there are suspicions that an animal is sick with glanders, samples are immediately taken from it:

• eye,
• intradermal,
• hypodermal.
  

  Sick horse

Diagnosis is done with malleinization. If the suspicions are fully confirmed, then in this case it is very dangerous to treat the horse. Instead, he is killed and the corpse burned. In addition, the entire farm is completely quarantined to prevent an epidemic from breaking out.

Myt

The causative agent of this disease is streptococcus. It occurs in those cases when the animal is kept in poor conditions and at the same time receives an insufficient amount of food. Animals are infected through horse manure and by air. Most often foals are sick, adults are carriers of the pathogen. Pathology manifests itself in the following symptoms:

• fever;
• loss of appetite;
• discharge from the nostrils;
• cough;
• snorting;
• the appearance of lymphatic seals.

There are several forms of the disease:

1. Typical.
2. Abortive.The disease occurs in the form of rhinitis, which goes away on its own in a week. In this case, there are no abscesses.
3. Atypical. With this form of the disease, complications arise in the form of pneumonia.
4. Metastatic. Complications of this form of the disease are abscesses that occur on the surface, in the muscles, in the internal organs. The disease progresses slowly, cannot be treated. The animal dies.

During diagnosis of the disease, serological and bacteriological tests should be performed. Antibiotics should be used to treat the disease. The most commonly prescribed drugs are penicillin or cephalosporin. Physiotherapy is used to accelerate the maturation of the abscess. There is no vaccination against this disease yet. If an animal with a similar disease is found on the farm, quarantine is immediately announced, the quality of food improves, and the premises are disinfected.

Ringworm

In most cases, young foals are ill with this disease if they grow up in damp and mud. The baby begins to itch constantly, hair begins to fall out on the face, neck and sides, wounds appear on which a crust forms. This disease is transmitted to humans through contact with animals. Medicines for this disease are antimycotics, the most effective of which is Imaverol.

In case of dermatomycosis, it is best to use the Polivac tm vaccine for horses, the instruction of which recommends vaccinating animals as early as three months old.

Polivak tm for horses

Viral diseases

Horses often develop diseases that result from viruses. These pathologies include:

• Influenza in horses
• Rhinopneumonia in horses
• Viral anemia
• Equine leptospirosis,
• Myoglobinuria;
• Infectious encephalomyelitis.

Flu

Pathology occurs as a result of infection with a virus and secondary microflora. It manifests itself through the following signs:

• heat;
• cough;
• loss of appetite;
• discharge from the eyes and nostrils.

Sick animals should not be taken to work, they are given a lot to drink warm water and only eat warm food. Vitamin C is also introduced into the diet so that the horse does not have complications in the form of pneumonia, inflammation of the hooves and pericarditis, they are prescribed drug treatment. For treatment, antibiotics are used, among which Bicillin-5 or Cephalosporins are distinguished.

Since a horse is a fragile animal, not all antibacterial drugs are suitable for treatment. For this reason, only those medicines that are prescribed exclusively for horses should be strictly given.

Vaccination is recommended, but it does not guarantee that the pet will not get sick with this disease.

Rhinopneumonia

The causative agent of the disease is herpes. As a result of the disease, pregnant mares lose their fetus. The disease is manifested by the following symptoms:

• loss of appetite;
• runny nose;
• conjunctivitis;
• cough;
• abortion;
• at a later date, foals are born, which subsequently die;
• the placenta is not separated in due time;
• endometritis;
• infertility.

Viral anemia

The causative agent of the disease is RNA. It should be noted that horses can be carriers of the disease, while they themselves do not show symptoms or get sick.But due to blood-sucking insects, pathology is transmitted to other animals.

Symptoms of this disease:

• high body temperature of the horse;
• severe exhaustion;
• swelling;
• problems with heart;
• hidden hemorrhages.

A sick horse is killed and burned along with the equipment that was used to care for the animal. In addition, manure and bedding must be disposed of, the room requires disinfection.

There is also such a disease as inan horses, that is, infectious anemia, which can occur in both acute and chronic forms.

Animal health assessment

Infectious encephalomyelitis

The pathology results from infection with an unknown virus that affects the horse's brain. The disease is transmitted by contact or through insects that suck blood. It manifests itself in the following symptoms:

• heat;
• the horse looks tired;
• yawns;
• the horse becomes violent, inadequate and tries to break free.

After the first signs of the disease appear, death occurs in two days. Then the animal falls on its side and overturns its head.

If the disease proceeds without symptoms, then after recovery, the horse receives immunity for life from this disease. For treatment, drugs such as:

• Hexamethylenetetramine - 100-250 cm³.
• Glucose - 400 ml.
• Sodium chloride - 200 cm³.

Introduced intravenously. In addition, camphor is used to maintain heart function and sodium sulfate solution is used as a laxative. Urine is removed from the body using a catheter.

Veterinarian and horse

Invasive diseases

These diseases include:

• Accidental illness;
• Pyroplasmosis;
• Horse helminthiases and strongylate infections;
• Parascariasis;
• Gastrophilia;
• Scabies.

A modern drug against some of these diseases can be a repellent for horses, as an analogue, you can use a gel, with which you can fight against equestrian parasites. The use of these substances can be for the purpose of prevention.

Accidental illness

This disease occurs after mating a mare with a horse. It appears on the body of an animal in the form of round formations. Pathology can occur in both acute and permanent form. Moreover, after the appearance of the first symptoms, after several days, the animal cannot move, since its limbs are paralyzed, and it dies.

The development of the disease proceeds in several stages:

• The genitals are swollen, the ridge arches, and the horse is breathing heavily;
• Nodules begin to appear in the hips;
• The rear and croup atrophy. Begins to gradually paralyze the limbs, respiratory tract.

The horse stops eating. Treatment in this case is not carried out.

Accidental illness

Helminthiasis

Horses, like other animals, are not immune to worms. Signs of parasite formation are dull coat, lack of appetite, constant desire to itch. If parasites fill the airways, the animal can cough. For the treatment of this disease, a special paste is used, which is placed on the root of the tongue.

Non-communicable diseases

Such diseases include colds, diseases of the digestive system, the bone in a horse, podpruzhivanie and pathology of the hooves, among which Kozinets can be distinguished.

To save animals from diseases, they should be given Calformin for prophylaxis. Doses and norms of the substance must be found out from the veterinarian. To improve the appearance of horse wool, oil is added to the diet.

Respiratory diseases

This pathology affects the airways and can subsequently develop into asthma. Such diseases are treated with drugs that have expectorant properties. In addition, the horse should be inhaled. Hobl also belongs to respiratory diseases in horses. With a chronic cough of an animal, remember that dust, poor ventilation of the room and high humidity are often the pathogens.In such situations, first of all, you need to consult with a specialist; as an expectorant, Sputolysin for horses is best suited.

Sputolysin

Colic

This disease occurs when the animal is given poor quality feed. In this case, the horse suffers from intestinal pain as well as cramping.

Volvulus in a horse

As a result of the disease, the animal feels severe pain in the abdomen, which cannot be removed with drugs. Treatment is carried out by an operative method.

Hoof diseases

The most common diseases are:

• Laminitis,
• Horses

Laminitis

The disease occurs as a result of rheumatic inflammation of the horse's hoof. The disease can occur in both acute and permanent form. Causes can be either traumatic or metabolic. Traumatic include:

1. Obesity. More weight presses on the limbs with more force, resulting in changes in the shoe.
2. Maceration. In this case, the horse gets sick due to the fact that it is constantly on a dirty litter, where a large number of microorganisms live.
3. The horse is constantly on firm ground.
   

   Mokrets

Metabolic reasons are manifested in the following:

1. Overfeeding the animal;
2. Constant feeding with concentrated feed;
3. Permanent residence in manure;
4. Colic;
5. Spasm;
6. Poisoning a horse with food or medicine.

With laminitis, the horse feels sharp pain in the legs and begins to limp. To get rid of the problem, do the following:

• Lay dry bedding
• In the morning, the horses are fed dry food;
• The horse is not forced to go to work;
• The load on the horse is introduced gradually.

In addition, Ainil ointment is used from medications.

Mokrets

This disease manifests itself in the following symptoms:

• Cracking of the skin surface in the hoof area;
• Wounds become infected with pathogenic bacteria;
• Rot appears;
• The ulcers get bigger;
• The limb becomes inflamed;
• The horse starts to limp.

Alezan Equine Joint Treatment Cream should help the animal heal. This horse ointment for joint pain is excellent for treating animal limb diseases. Since this product should not be licked off, it is best to tie it with a linen bandage.

To have beautiful and healthy horses, you need to create good living conditions for them. If the pets have a clean room, they themselves will be clean and well-groomed, in addition, well-fed and not thirsty, only in this case the horses will not be sick. An essay was written about diseases of horses, the presentation of which was held at Penza University.