RESULTS OF QUANTITATIVE CULTURES OF URINE BY FREE CATCH AND CATHETERIZATION FROM HEALTHY ADULT HORSES

Quantitative urine cultures were performed on ii male and II female he althy adult horses. Urine was collected by free catch and catheterizat ion using standard methods. Results showed that all samples collected by free catch contained less than 20,000 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL . All samples collected by catheterization contained 500 CFU/mL or les s. A significant difference was found between collection methods (P <. 005), with catheterization having less contamination. In samples colle cted by free catch, females had significantly greater contamination th an did males (P <.03). Predominant bacterial species isolated included Streptococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus spp., Diptheroids sp., Proteus spp., and Enterococcus sp. Many samples contained multiple bacterial species. Bacterial isola tes were representative of the normal bacterial flora of the equine ur ogenital tract. This paper establishes reference values for quantitati ve urine culture results in healthy adult horses to aid in the diagnos is of urinary tract infections.