Internal Medicine

A diagnosis of cardiovascular disease can be determined by a veterinarian after a thorough review of your horse's medical history, a physical examination, and careful interpretation of diagnostic tests and images. 

Two common cardiac conditions that can affect equine performance are murmurs and arrhythmias. Murmurs can be diagnosed through physical examinations and X-rays and arrhythmias are diagnosed with echocardiography because it can show the appearance and function of the heart valves.

When diagnosing heart conditions, two crucial factors must be considered: the likelihood of abnormality affecting athletic performance and the risk to rider safety.

The immune system is made up of a network of white blood cells, antibodies, and other protective substances that fight off infections, reject foreign invaders, and begin defensive action to protect your horse's health.

When the immune system is not working properly, it can lead to immune-mediated disorders. These can be characterized as an immune system that is either overactive or underactive.

An underactive immune system will put your horses at an increased risk of developing infections. Alternatively, an overactive immune system can lead to the immune system attacking parts of its own body that it misidentifies as foreign, causing what is known as an autoimmune disorder.

Common immune-mediated disorders in horses include IBD, asthma, sweet itch, and equine sarcoids.

Neurology is a branch of veterinary internal medicine that looks at conditions of the brain and spinal cord, as well as neuromuscular dysfunction.

Neurologic issues can affect horses at any age, and clinical signs can result from infectious and non-infectious causes. Neurologic disease can often look like a lameness issue, especially when horses present with poor performance.

The diagnosis of neurologic disease always starts with a detailed clinical examination and should not be based on diagnostic imaging or antibody testing for common infections alone.

Some of the most common neurological disorders in horses include cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (Wobblers), equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM), equine motor neuron disease (EMND) and equine herpesvirus-1 myeloencephalopathy (EHM).

Cancer is a disease that can impact even the fittest horses. The most common form of cancer that horses can develop is skin cancer, with sarcoids, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma occurring most frequently.

Diagnosis of cancer often involves tissue biopsies and cytology. A biopsy is the removal of a small section of a tumor to be examined under a microscope. Cytology is the microscopic analysis of cells from a suspected tumor. It is commonly used as a screening tool to distinguish between cancerous and inflammatory lesions.

Treatment often consists of a combination of laser-assisted surgical excision and ablation, along with chemotherapy.

Your horse's respiratory system does the essential work of delivering oxygen to the body and eliminating waste gases such as carbon dioxide. 

Respiratory diseases in horses are very common and have a variety of different causes. Infectious respiratory diseases are caused by bacterial and viral infections in horses of all ages but are particularly common in young horses, especially those kept in larger groups or yards. Non-infectious respiratory diseases are also common and are frequently due to hypersensitivities to allergens in the stable or their environment.

There are several common respiratory disorders seen in horses, including strangles, equine influenza, and herpes viruses. Other infections, such as equine rhinitis viruses and equine adenoviruses, are also prevalent.