Hysteroscopy is a complementary tool to the traditional transrectal palpation and ultrasonography commonly performed by equine practitioners. Once mastered, it is a quick and useful diagnostic tool for the general and targeted evaluation of the endometrium and provides real time information about potential causes of subfertility. Samples of intrauterine fluid and the endometrium can be taken via transendoscopic catheters or infusion pipettes or via the use of traditional endometrial biopsy forceps. In addition to being a useful diagnostic tool, treatments can often be performed at the same time the pathologies are identified, providing mare owners with information and resolution of problems. With the development of additional technologies, hysteroscopy allows for optical biopsies to be performed, which will likely increase in use as the software moves from the research laboratories to clinical practice. Hysteroscopy is an easily learned, useful clinical skill for the identification of abnormalities in the mares' reproductive tract.

Septicemia can be a tragic illness in neonatal and young foals. Sick foals may manifest a variety of clinical symptoms all related to a common infection and its systemic effects. While the pathogenesis of this disease is the same as for adult equids, the clinical signs seen can be very different. The rapid changes seen in foal are reflective of their low endogenous reserves of glucose and innate immune mediators as well as the poor ability to self-regulate their metabolism. The neonatal immune system is reliant on maternal antibodies at birth and development of the foal's own system takes a significant amount of time. This non-competent immune system changes how the foal responds to infection when compared to the adult. Clinical signs in septic foals include tachycardia, tachypnea, depression, anorexia, colitis, and fever. Less commonly, foals may show petechiation, swollen joints, anterior uveitis, and coma. This article is the first of a two part series on neonatal sepsis and will present a review on the neonatal immune system, the pathophysiology of sepsis, and the range of clinical signs seen in foals.

Septic foals may present diagnostic conundrums as their clinical presentation can vary from normal to comatose. While the comatose, hypothermic foal with swollen joints is easy to identify as septic, bright foals may require additional diagnostics such as bloodwork, radiographs, or ultrasonography. Treatment of neonatal septicemia is led by the need for supportive care and selection of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Antimicrobial pharmacology in foals differs significantly from adult horses due to the lack of hindgut fermentation development. Foals respond to many medications similarly to other common domestic species, the cat and dog, until their adult gastrointestinal tract is developed. As such, care should be taken whenever administering antibiotics for a sick neonatal foal. The goal is to avoid medications that maybe damaging to a developing animal and consider their differences in medication absorption and pharmacology. The prognosis for septic foals varies extensively based on the cause of the disease, promptness in starting therapy, and complications. In most cases the prognosis is improved the more quickly treatment is initiated. Therefore, sick foals should be treated as emergencies.