Visas inte innan 30 juni 2015.

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years in China. Written documents concerning veterinary acupuncture has been found dated around 650 B.C. Acupuncture has gained greater acceptance in the western world the last decades and many countries have established their own veterinary acupuncture organizations. Many studies report good results after acupuncture treatment and back pain in horses is considered a good indication for acupuncture treatment. In studies published, the results are subjectively evaluated. To get a qualitative, scientific evaluation of acupuncture treatment, objective measurements, control groups and statistical analysis are needed. This pilot study presents a case where acupuncture has been used for treatment in a horse that was diagnosed with back pain.

SUMMARYThis work consists of a review of the medical records of 142 horses that visited the Equine dermatology clinic, at the University Animal Hospital, UDS, at Ultuna, Uppsala, Sweden, between January 2007 and June 2010. The study answers certain main questions like clinical signs responsible for the visit, the most common diagnoses, their diagnostic procedures, treatment modalities and finally, the outcome of treatment.Among 50 diagnoses, four were predominant followed by additional 46 diagnoses, each presenting by few or, in many cases, only one horse. The most common dermatological problem diagnosed was Equine Sarcoid representing 18,3 % of the cases (26/142), which probably reflects the initiation of a Sarcoid treatment-trial in 2007, that resulted in an accumulation of sarcoid horses in the clinic .The second most common diagnosis was Atopy 12 % (17/142) followed by Allergy with skin affection 9,2 % (13/142) and Acute superficial pyodermia 4,9 % (7/142). If the horses were divided into diagnostic groups, the majority (34,5 %) belonged to HA5 group, (Immunological skin diseases), followed by group HA4, (Infectious and inflammatory conditions of the skin) (22,5 %) and HA6, (Neoplasia) (21,8 %). Traumatic skin injuries represented only 2,1 % of the cases, compared to 80 % of horses in the Agria insurance statistics for veterinary care.The most common clinical sign and reasons for veterinary consultation was pruritus (35,9 %), suspected sarcoids (17,6 %), alopecia (12,7 %), nodules (12 %), seborrea, scaling and crusts (9,2 %) and excoriations (5,6 %), respectively, followed by a scattered number of more uncommon symtoms.The diagnostic methods most frequently applied were cytology and biopsy, used in 41,5 % and 36,6 % of the cases, respectively.

In 1886 Hans Hildebrand received a Bronze Age hoard found in a field that belonged to Eskelhem´s rectory. A record was made where Hildebrand presented and documented the artifacts. The following year Oscar Montelius reviewed the artifacts, which he described as horse gears. He compared the horse gears with similar artifacts found in Europe that roughly had the same dating in order to trace the origin of the hoard.  Montelius conclusion was that the hoard was created on Gotland around 500 BC.

The modern veterinarian in horse practice is often consulted by horse owners concerning riding problems. These problems are more complex and show other characteristics than traditional lameness. For the diagnostic process and to give adequate advice the veterinarians need an understanding of riding terminology and problems related to riding. It is also of high importance that riders, trainers and veterinarians increase the knowledge of equine biomechanics and how these are influenced by the rider. Collection is an important concept in the riding terminology.

Injuries to the suspensory ligament represent a huge problem in equine veterinary medicine. As many of the affected horses are elite-competition athletes, there are high expectations on veterinarians to make these horses fully functional again. The suspensory ligament has several features which makes the healing process complicated. So far no treatment has shown to optimize the healing process. This has led to the testing of many new treatment methods, in order to find a consensus for the injury.

The aim of this study was to investigate if the botanical composition of haylage affects pH, dry matter content and microbial composition of the faeces in horse and pig and ileal environment in pigs. Two separate studies were conducted where pigs and horses were fed two diets containing haylages with different botanical composition. The first haylage was from a tilled land dominated by timothy and meadow fescue and the other haylage came from a meadowland with a large inclusion of dandelion, 25 % and common couch. The dry matter content (70.8 % and 73.0 % respectively) and the pH-value (5.7) were similar in both feeds. The first study was made as a three-periods switch-back study with 7 Standardbred horses. In the first and the third period, 7 and 9 days long respectively, the diet consisted of the haylage from the tilled land, oats, sugar beet pulp, soy bean oil meal, lucerne pellets and brewers yeast.

Laminitis is a common but devastating condition, and affected horses are often euthanized or influenced a very long time. Many horses never return to their original capacity. Laminitis is often associated with severe pain and a long time of convalescence. Symthoms includes lameness, hoof hyperthermia, strenghthened digital pulse and pain. The horse often tries to move the body weight away from the forelegs which are often more severly affected than the hindlimbs.

This study aims to investigate how value is constructed in horse business, in order to increase knowledge and contribute to development of theory in this field. This is important since the horse plays a significant role in the rural development in Sweden. The study assumes that value is something created through relationships in the social network. Therefore theories of sensemaking are combined with a discourse analytic method. By interviewing customers to two companies, one with orientation on trotting horses and one with orientation on showjumping horses, it was found that value is constructed through retrospective stories.

Back problems are well noticed in horses, especially in horses used for riding. Kissing spines (impingement of the dorsal spinous processes) are often found at radiographic examinations of the thoracic spine. Kissing spines is a radiological diagnosis, indicating that parts of at least two adjacent dorsal spinous processes are in contact with each other. It is not uncommon that horses without clinical signs of back problems have some degree of kissing spines. It is therefore not sufficient with a radiographic examination to say that the cause of pain is kissing spines.

Eventing is often called as the formula 1 in equestrian sports and comprises three disciplines: dressage, show jumping and cross-country. The sport provides excitement, challenge and joy and is the ultimate sport for intelligent riders and horses. Many are fascinated by the challenges the sport offers while other consider it foolhardy to ride a cross-country. Eventing is not a risk-free sport and has even been given the label of being one of the world´s most dangerous sports. What do those risks mean to the horse? And particularly, is it associated with good animal ethics to use the horse for eventing? Finding answers to these questions is not easy as it probably is not a clear and simple answer.

Respiratory disease with airway inflammation as main characteristic is common in the horse. It is a syndrome that is not yet fully understood. The etiology, pathogenesis and classification into different disease states are subjects for discussion and under continuous revision. Despite a number of modern techniques, the diagnostic procedure is challenging. There is no test considered to be gold standard when diagnosing these diseases.

Scintigraphic examination of the esophagus has for some time been the method of choice for the study of motility dysfunction in humans. The method has not yet been described for horses hence the lack of reference values for passage time for a bolus through the esophagus in healthy subjects. The purposes of this study were to measure passage velocity and time for a bolus to pass through the esophagus in healthy subjects, as well as to evaluate the reproducibility of the method. Eight warm-blooded trotters were used in the study. The horses were sedated with a low dose of Acepromazine prior to onset of the study.

Horse keeping is gaining an increasing interest in Sweden. During 2004 to 2010 the number of horses increased with 10 - 20 %, and was estimated to be 362 700 in 2010. Julmyra Horse Center (JHC), situated in Heby municipality, is a gated community for people sharing a large interest for horses and a vision of a sustainable horse management has been formulated. This study evaluates how the horse keeping of today at JHC, and how an expansion of the horse keeping may affect the risk of enhanced phosphorus load to the nearby lake system Vansjön ? Nordsjön.

The aim of this study was to determine the basic movements of the riders? pelvis and upper body when riding in trot seated. The study was preformed at a treadmill with seven high level dressage horses and their riders. The movements of the horse and rider were captured with a motion analysis system (ProReflex®) and also recorded on video. The horses were ridden in collected trot, 3.0 m/s.