New Pulmonary Test Improves Health and Performance of Horses

The North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently began offering a new non-invasive test to detect pulmonary problems in horses.

NC State is one of only two sites in the United States able to perform this test.

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

The North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently began offering a new non-invasive test to detect pulmonary problems in horses.


NC State is one of only two sites in the United States able to perform this test. Tufts University in Boston is the other location. Veterinarians use the procedure to detect recurrent airway obstruction.


“Recurrent airway obstruction is similar to asthma in humans. It’s a pretty big problem with horses. Between 22 and 50 percent of thoroughbred and standardbred horses have inflammatory airway disease,” said Dr. Sarah Gardner, assistant professor of clinical sciences and head of the new testing service. Recurrent airway obstruction includes inflammatory airway disease, heaves and summer pasture-associated obstructive pulmonary disease.


The test, which involves placing a breathing mask over the horse’s mouth and nostrils, works on the principles of forced oscillatory mechanics as a way of measuring the airflow and lung function of the horse. The new test is non-invasive, unlike older tests that required the horse to wear a mask, as well as to swallow a small balloon-like catheter

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care is an equine publication providing the latest news and information on the health, care, welfare, and management of all equids.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
287 votes · 287 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!