Free Species Specific Examination: Equine Medicine Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Species Specific Examination: Equine Medicine practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A veterinarian is separating routine core vaccines from risk-based vaccines for a horse. Which vaccine belongs in the AAEP core group?

   1. A. Equine influenza
   2. B. West Nile virus
   3. C. Equine herpesvirus
   4. D. Strangles

   Answer: B

   Explanation: AAEP identifies these vaccines as "‘core’ in these guidelines" and includes "West Nile Virus (WNV)" in the list.

   Reference: AAEP Equine Vaccination Guidelines — Core Vaccination Guidelines and Risk-Based Vaccination Guidelines

2. 2A horse with a puncture wound received its last tetanus booster several months ago. What is the shortest elapsed interval that calls for immediate tetanus toxoid revaccination at injury?

   1. A. 3 months
   2. B. 4 months
   3. C. 6 months
   4. D. 12 months

   Answer: C

   Explanation: AAEP says horses wounded "≥ 6 months after their previous tetanus booster should be revaccinated with tetanus toxoid immediately"; six months is the minimum interval specified.

   Reference: AAEP Tetanus Vaccination Guidelines — Vaccination Schedules, adult previously vaccinated horses

3. 3An equine infectious anemia screening ELISA is positive. Which test is designated to confirm the serologic result?

   1. A. Agar gel immunodiffusion
   2. B. Another screening ELISA
   3. C. Serum polymerase chain reaction
   4. D. Serum antigen immunoassay

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The AAEP guideline states, "the confirmatory test for EIA is the AGID test." Agar gel immunodiffusion is AGID.

   Reference: AAEP Equine Infectious Anemia Disease Guidelines — p. 2, Diagnostic Sampling, Testing, and Handling

4. 4A veterinarian assesses insect-mediated spread of equine infectious anemia among horses. Which vector group is the most effective?

   1. A. Mosquitoes and biting midges
   2. B. Horse flies and deer flies
   3. C. House flies and stable flies
   4. D. Hard ticks and soft ticks

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The guideline identifies "horse flies and deer flies" as the most effective EIA vectors within the Tabanidae family.

   Reference: AAEP Equine Infectious Anemia Disease Guidelines — p. 1, Transmission, Vector Transmission

5. 5A horse has a positive fecal Salmonella PCR, and the veterinarian needs antimicrobial susceptibility results. Which laboratory step is required?

   1. A. Grow a Salmonella isolate in culture
   2. B. Repeat the fecal PCR on a second sample
   3. C. Measure serum Salmonella antibodies
   4. D. Perform a fecal antigen immunoassay

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The AAEP guideline states, "Antimicrobial susceptibility testing is only possible after a Salmonella isolate has been grown in culture." A positive PCR alone does not provide the isolate.

   Reference: AAEP Salmonellosis Disease Guidelines — p. 3, Diagnostic Sampling, Testing, and Handling, PCR testing

6. 6A horse with clinical Potomac horse fever needs an antimicrobial alongside supportive fluid care. Which antimicrobial family does the AAEP guideline favor?

   1. A. Penicillins
   2. B. Macrolides
   3. C. Sulfonamides
   4. D. Tetracyclines

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The guideline says, "The antimicrobial family of choice for PHF are tetracycline antibiotics." The other options are different antimicrobial families.

   Reference: AAEP Potomac Horse Fever Disease Guidelines — p. 2, Treatment

7. 7A horse has suspected internal pigeon fever but no external abscess. Which serologic test can support the diagnosis?

   1. A. Agar gel immunodiffusion antibody assay
   2. B. Synergistic hemolysis inhibition assay
   3. C. Microscopic agglutination antibody test
   4. D. Indirect fluorescent antibody assay

   Answer: B

   Explanation: AAEP states that "The Synergistic Hemolysis Inhibition (SHI) test detects IgG antibody to C. pseudotuberculosis and can support a diagnosis of internal abscesses in horses that do not have concurrent external abscesses."

   Reference: AAEP Pigeon Fever Disease Guidelines — p. 4, Diagnostic Sampling, Testing and Handling

8. 8An older horse has a persistent long hair coat and other signs suggestive of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction. Which hormone measurement is the practical diagnostic test?

   1. A. Plasma ACTH at rest or after TRH stimulation
   2. B. Serum insulin at rest or after an oral sugar test
   3. C. Serum thyroxine at rest or after TSH stimulation
   4. D. Plasma cortisol at rest or after ACTH stimulation

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Equine Endocrinology Group states, "Documentation of increased plasma ACTH concentrations at rest and/or after TRH stimulation testing is currently the most practical diagnostic test for PPID." The other tests evaluate different endocrine axes.

   Reference: EEG Recommendations for Diagnosis and Management of PPID — p. 2, Summary

9. 9A veterinarian is evaluating a horse for equine metabolic syndrome. Which feature is a consistent component of the syndrome rather than an optional associated finding?

   1. A. Regional adiposity
   2. B. Hypertriglyceridemia
   3. C. Insulin dysregulation
   4. D. Generalized obesity

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The EEG definition says EMS features "include insulin dysregulation (ID) as a consistent component" while obesity and hypertriglyceridemia are described as inconsistent additional factors.

   Reference: EEG Recommendations for Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Insulin Dysregulation — PDF page 2, Table 1, EMS definition

10. 10An adult horse has low total T3 and T4 on a screening profile. What finding is required before diagnosing primary hypothyroidism?

    1. A. Persistently low total T4 on a second basal sample
    2. B. Low free T4 on a single resting serum sample
    3. C. High serum TSH on a single resting blood sample
    4. D. Inadequate thyroid response on a function test

    Answer: D

    Explanation: The EEG guidance states, "A diagnosis of hypothyroidism is only appropriate when results of a thyroid function test confirm that the thyroid gland cannot respond adequately to stimulation." Low basal concentrations alone are insufficient.

    Reference: EEG Recommendations on Thyroid Disease and Thyroxine Use in Horses — PDF page 3, Interpretation of low thyroid hormone concentrations in adult horses