An alumnus of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Phillip Kapraun has practiced veterinary medicine for several decades. Since 1984, Dr. Phillip Kapraun has owned and managed a private practice in Harvard, Illinois, where he diagnoses and treats lameness in horses.

A neurologic disease caused by a virus, rabies is fatal and affects all mammals, including horses. Rabies in horses is rare in the United States. In 2018, only 13 cases of rabid horses were reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In horses, signs of rabies include lameness, muscle tremors, excessive sensitivity to touch, loss of sensory perception, and eating disorders (anorexia). Rabies in horses is also linked to behavioral changes like aggression and depression. Most rabies symptoms overlap with other diseases, so diagnosis based on physical evaluation alone is inconclusive. Postmortem evaluation of the salivary glands and brain is often required.

There is no treatment for rabies in horses. Once a horse has the disease, fatality will occur in two weeks. Most rabid horses die within two to five days. An ideal way to protect horses from rabies is to prevent exposure to the virus. Infected wildlife, commonly skunks, bats, raccoons, and foxes, can transmit rabies to horses. The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) also recommends an annual rabies vaccination.