Research News
Switching ‘off’ equine herpsesvirus
September 01st, 2024
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The Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) has awarded US$99,846 over three years to University of Saskatchewan virologist Dr. Kristen Conn in support of foundational research targeting equine herpesvirus (EHV). One of the most common EHV species is EHV-1, a highly infectious virus that can cause serious illness including respiratory disease, neurological disease, abortions and neonatal death. Current vaccines don’t prevent EHV-1 …
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Pumping up equine health
Imagine being able to diagnose equine myocardial disease — diseases that affect horses’ heart muscles — quickly, accurately and right at the barn. That’s the goal of new research at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), where researchers will explore the value of implementing blood test that can produce results in just 10 minutes. Dr. Vanessa Cowan (DVM, PhD), …
September 01st, 2024 Full story »
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Horse health recharged
This spring, researchers and graduate students based at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) received over $132,000 in support of equine health studies and student training. The funding supports three equine health research projects, a summer research student award, two graduate tuition awards and a graduate research fellowship. While the bulk of the funding stems from the college’s Townsend …
September 01st, 2024 Full story »
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Curing cuts with cod
Dr. Alannah Friedlund (DVM) has gained firsthand experience treating all kinds of bloody, nasty cuts, gashes and slices on horses’ legs during her time at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). “We see a lot of horses with leg wounds coming into our clinic [WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre]. Owners can spend a lot of time cleaning wounds, bandaging wounds …
September 01st, 2024 Full story »
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Reisbig earns top research prize
Dr. Nathalie Reisbig’s research work on an often-overlooked part of the equine anatomy earned the Western College of Veterinary Medicine veterinarian a top prize of $10,000 at the Calgary International Equine Symposium in September 2023. The annual event, which is hosted by the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, showcases equine sports medicine research from around the world and …
February 03rd, 2024 Full story »
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Research funds fuel horse health
The Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) has invested over $140,000 in support of equine health-related research and graduate students for 2023. About $60,500 of funding comes from the Townsend Equine Health Research Fund (TEHRF). While part of the money supports equine research, the remainder of the contribution supports tuition awards for five WCVM-based graduate students whose research focuses on …
August 30th, 2023 Full story »
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Bone formation scoring 2.0
Equine veterinarian Dr. Claire Card (DVM, PhD) at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and members of her research team are re-evaluating a decades-old bone formation (ossification) scoring system used to assess newborn foals. The skeletal ossification index (SOI) is a four-point grading system that generations of veterinarians have used to assess bony development in newborn foals and to …
August 29th, 2023 Full story »
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Equine abortions and Chlamydia: link?
When Dr. Madison Ricard (DVM) set out to see if the bacterium Chlamydia is potentially linked to equine abortions among western Canadian horses, the PhD student wasn’t expecting to find much evidence of chlamydial infection based on the lack of research in the area. Instead, the study’s findings came as a shock to Ricard and her colleagues: more than a …
July 13th, 2023 Full story »
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Exploring protein’s link to herpesviruses
Herpesviruses are nothing new, but what’s surprising are their sheer number: 130 species of herpesviruses infect and cause disease in a wide variety of species — including people. Scientists still have a lot to learn about herpesviruses and how they establish infection. Host cells naturally have antiviral defence strategies to prevent infection, and viruses must counteract these cellular defences in …
February 18th, 2023 Full story »
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Hormone baseline takes shape
As the percentage of older horses in Western Canada grows, so does the number of animals that are diagnosed with endocrine disorders such as pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). That’s why establishing a hormone baseline for diagnosing these diseases in western Canadian horses has become essential, says Dr. Julia Montgomery, an associate professor at the …
February 18th, 2023 Full story »
