Harold C. Schott II, DVM, PhD, DACVIM

A 5-year-old Oldenburg gelding used for dressage, was presented for evaluation of mild bouts of recurrent colic, more frequent over the past month. The colic signs included flank watching and intermittent sternal recumbency and were either self-limiting or responsive to a single dose of Banamine.

Management of Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), the most accepted term for a syndrome of middle-aged obesity accompanied insulin resistance (IR) and insidious-onset laminitis, can be challenging as it primarily involves client education and acceptance to comply with dietary recommendations to effect weight loss.

Management of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in equids consists of improved husbandry, including adequate nutrition and limiting competition for feed, body-clipping, dentistry, and appropriate treatment of concurrent medical problems. In addition, specific treatment with the dopamine agonist pergolide can improve quality of life and reverse many clinical signs of the disease in PPID-affected equids.

Although acute renal failure (ARF) remains a relatively uncommon problem in horses, it is a serious disorder that if not properly recognized and treated often has a poor outcome. Acute renal failure in the horse can develop as a complication of another disease process that causes hypovolemia (colic, colitis, hemorrhage, or exhaustion).

Hematuria can be a presenting complaint for a variety of disorders of the urinary tract. The problems causing hematuria can range from relatively minor disorders to more severe disease processes that may result in life-threatening hemorrhage.

Urinary incontinence is a frustrating disorder in horses because establishing a definitive diagnosis for the cause, in the absence of other lower urinary tract or neurological signs, is difficult and substantial nursing care by the client is required to minimize urine scalding of the hind limbs.