Neurologic Conditions Affecting the Equine Athlete

Daniela Bedenice; Amy L Johnson

doi:10.1016/j.cveq.2018.04.006

Neurologic Conditions Affecting the Equine Athlete

Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2018 Aug;34(2):277-297. doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2018.04.006.

Authors

Daniela Bedenice¹, Amy L Johnson²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA. Electronic address: daniela.bedenice@tufts.edu.
² Department of Clinical Studies, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, New Bolton Center, 382 West Street Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348, USA.

PMID: 30007448
DOI: 10.1016/j.cveq.2018.04.006

Abstract

EPM, CVSM, and EDM are currently recognized as the 3 most common neurologic diseases in US horses, with the latter 2 conditions being most prevalent in young animals. Moreover, horses competing at shows and performance events are at greater risk for exposure to highly contagious, neurologic EHV-1 outbreaks. A clinical diagnosis of any neurologic disease should be based on a careful history, complete neurologic examination, and appropriate diagnostic testing and interpretation. However, mild or early neurologic signs can often mimic or be mistaken for an orthopedic condition when horses present for performance-related concerns.

Keywords: Cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM); Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM); Equine herpes virus (EHV-1) myeloencephalopathy (EHM); Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM).

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Central Nervous System Diseases / diagnosis
Central Nervous System Diseases / pathology
Central Nervous System Diseases / veterinary*
Gait
Horse Diseases / pathology*
Horses
Lameness, Animal