Abstract

Background:
The equine larynx can be affected by a variety of diseases that might interfere with patency of the upper respiratory tract. Laryngeal hemiplegia is a well-known disease in large-sized equine breed and its occurrence in the Arabian horses is not thoroughly investigated.

Aim:
To endoscopically assess the arytenoid movements in pure Arabian horses.

Methods:
A total number of thirty eight pure Arabian horses were examined. With the horse being unsedated, the laryngeal arytenoid movement was assessed via using laryngoscope and a grading score was assigned accordingly.

Results:
Evidence of laryngeal movement abnormalities was found in twenty four horses (63.15%). The results of laryngoscopy grade were as follows:14 (36.84%) were found as grade 1, 18 were classified as grade 2 (47.36%), only 5 horses were assigned grade 3 (14.82%) one horse showed evidence of arytenoidectomy (2.63%), and none of the investigated horses had grade 4 (0%).

Conclusion:
Although laryngeal hemiplegia is highly prevalent in large-sized equine breeds, pure Arabians are also affected by this disorder despite their relative small size in comparison to other breeds like Thoroughbreds.

Key words: Equine, Larynx, Arytenoids, Laryngoscopy, Hemiplegia