Botulism is a serious disease with high mortality that can affect horses. Due to this about 20-30 percent of the horses in Sweden are vaccinated against botulism. The purpose of this study was to see how common botulism is in the Swedish horse population and to se if a connection between feeding with haylage and botulism could be seen. In addition to this, the study aimed to find how common vaccination against botulism is among Swedish horses and on what grounds the diagnosis botulism is made. Medical records of horses being diagnosed with botulism at all the major large animal hospitals in Sweden between 1995-2005 were searched. In addition to this the database where general practitioners report their cases as well as the cases with botulism reported to the insurance companies were included. The results of this study show that only 0,03 percent of the Swedish horse population has been diagnosed with botulism during the time period this study covers. In all the cases included in this study the diagnosis was made based on clinical signs and in none of the cases verification by isolating the toxin was possible. In all cases where forage is noted in the journals the horse has been feed haylage which indicate that there is a connection between the use of haylage and botulism. Three horses died despite being partially vaccinated against botulism type B which indicate that a correct vaccination has to be done before the horse get any protection or that the correct diagnosis was not botulism type B..

Proliferative enteropathy (PE) caused by Lawsonia intracellularis has been reported in horses in the USA, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. Diarrhoea caused by Brachyspira antigen-containing spirochaetes has been diagnosed in a horse in Japan. The presence of Lawsonia intracellularis or Brachyspira spp. have neither been investigated in healthy nor in sick horses in Sweden. The purpose of this study was to survey the occurrence of the two bacteria in Swedish horses. Faecal samples were gathered from 108 foals without any clinical signs of illness in the age of four to eight months.

Mechanization of Swedish agriculture started in the beginning of the twentieth century, to be able to have more animals without raising the number of employers. The horse business has not by far kept up with these cost savings solutions. Cleaning out stables and feeding horses are the most time-consuming tasks in horse stables today. The most common way to clean out the stable is still by shovel and wheelbarrow. The clean out process can easily be mechanized through semi- permanently beds with movable walls between the boxes so that the litter can be removed by a tractor or a loader.

There is a need for correct and adequate pain assessment in horses. Methadone is used in pain management in horses but the full pharmacokinetic picture of methadone is not yet known. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a behaviour protocol and suggest a reliable recording method for use in a larger research project with an aim to potentially correlate behaviours to concentration of methadone in blood. In this study two coldblooded trotters were given methadone intravenously with doses of 0.1 mg/kg for horse 1 and 0.2 mg/kg for horse 2. The horses were videotaped pre and post methadone administration.

Lameness localized to the hoof is a common problem in horses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool is becoming more common and is well suited for examination of the distal limb and the hoof capsule. Today there are two different methods of MRI where in one the horse is under general anesthesia and in the other the horse is standing and only sedated. In this study we have compared the visualization of the distal interphalangeal joint using these two methods in two different groups of horses with unknown clinical problems referred to two different equine hospitals. The width of the joint structures including thickness of joint cartilage and joint fluid and also the width of the dorsal pouch of the distal interphalangeal joint were measured.

The discovered horse meat scandal has had great impact in the media and given many question marks as to how consumers should be facing meat labels. In the survey made lead consumers to ask themselves, whether they think about their consumption of reliable markings discovered at a risk and, if they have changed their consumption habits since discovered horse meat scandal. The survey was carried out in a grocery store in Karlstad city central, where the results show consistent numbers. People do not like change, and in this case, do not like to change their consumption patterns. The same patterns of consumption before and after the horse meat scandal reflects the results but with only three respondents exception.

Horse owner?s knowledge about horse feeding and nutrition is directly linked to the horse?s health and welfare. According to several studies, both Swedish and foreign, horse owners generally have inadequate knowledge about horse feeding. The housing systems and feeding routines of today differs in many ways from what horses have adapted to through evolution. Wild horses live in harem herds and roam on large open fields, spending about 60 % of the day grazing, mainly grass and herbs.

The horse is a homeothermic animal and to keep a constant body temperature in winter season is important. Acclimatisation is to provide means for a good thermal insulation consisting of skin, hair, and an outer air layer. The skin covers the horses body and it is composed of three main layers where the top layer of the epidermis consists of dead keratinized cells that are constantly being sheed. The dermis is composed of collagen connective tissue that give the skin its strength. The bottom layer with subcutaneous fat provides a thermal insulation and can be used as an energy reserve in cold weather.

The digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) is an important anatomical and functional structure in the horse. Disorders of the DFTS can result in devastating consequences for the horse. During the last decade, the possibilities to diagnose and treat disorders of the DFTS have been argumented. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the technique of tenoscopy and it's applications. The aim is also to review the anatomy of the fetlock canal, the differnet types of tenosynovitis, proximal annular ligament constriction and to describe the ultrasonographic examination of the DFTS..

The horse was domesticated about 6000 years ago. Since then humans have used the horse for different purposes, such as work force and in sports. Horses are social, group living animals that spend around 16-17 hours a day on grazing. Horses are often kept stabled in single boxes with a limited feeding time. The forage usually contains grain-based concentrates and roughage.

An interview study of horsemanship has been conducted in the community of Ängelholm. The study is part of a larger project, where a further four students who are writing their thesis? have conducted interviews in Lerum, Hässleholm, Nyköping and Enköping, a total of 52 horse holders in 5 different communities. The collective results are summarised in "Hur hålls hästarna i Sverige och vilka är motiven" by Catharina Svala. The purpose of this larger report has been to examine why Swedish horsemanship is the way it is today through communication with the various horse holders.

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.

En sammanfattning av uppsatsen på maximalt 8000 tecken..

Every spring you can see newborn foals running on fields among the mare. But some unfortunate end up visiting the equine hospital requiring surgery. This is a challenge for the anesthetist because of the neonatal foal?s unique physiology. Therefore you need to take these differences under consideration when you anesthetize foals.

It is important to ensure and develop the Swedish model for riding schools, since the pupils at a Swedish riding school learn both to ride and to handle horses. There is a pronounced problem of stagnation and in some cases a reduced demand in several of the equine industry sectors including breeding with decreased coverings. The aim of this study was to cast light on how representatives from the horse industry looks at riding schools and their recruitment of horses in the next five years. The research issue was ?Will there be difficulties regarding horse recruitment in 2020 and in that case, what are the consequences?? The results of this work consist mostly of material from a workshop on how the riding school will be affected by reduced breeding in the future.