Topic:Age Factors
Age factors in horses encompass a range of physiological and developmental changes that occur as horses mature from foals to adults and eventually into their senior years. These factors include variations in metabolic rate, immune function, and musculoskeletal development, which can influence a horse's health, performance, and nutritional needs. Age-related changes can also affect how horses respond to medications, recover from injuries, and maintain overall vitality. Researchers study these aspects to understand better how age impacts equine health and management. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the effects of age on equine physiology, health management, and disease susceptibility.
Why wait to mark? Possible reasons behind latency from olfactory exploration to overmarking in four African equid species. Whereas most studies on overmarking in mammals analysed the rate of overmarking, that those investigate time between exploration of an olfactory stimulus and the response to it remain less common, with inconsistent results. We examined the latency in time between elimination by the sender and sniffing by the receiver, and from sniffing and overmarking, in four captive African equid species to explore differences among species, and among age and sex classes. We investigated these latency time periods in light of three potential hypotheses explaining overmarking behaviour in equids: social bonds...
Predicting return to racing after repair of fractures of the metacarpal/metatarsal condyles in Thoroughbred racehorses. To identify prognostic factors for return to racing after lag screw repair of condylar fractures and develop a predictive model for return to racing. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 356 horses referred to a single referral hospital in the UK with a third metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fracture between January 1999 and December 2018. Methods: Age, sex, fracture site, fracture characteristics, surgery related variables and complications were retrieved from case records. Data were divided into two sets for model training and model validation. Univariable analyses were per...
Electrocardiographic characteristics of trained and untrained standardbred racehorses. Long-term exercise induces cardiac remodeling that potentially influences the electrical properties of the heart. Objective: We assessed whether training alters cardiac conduction in Standardbred racehorses. Methods: Two hundred one trained and 52 untrained Standardbred horses. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Resting ECG recordings were analyzed to assess heart rate (HR) along with standard ECG parameters and for identification of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. An electrophysiological study was performed in 13 horses assessing the effect of training on sinoatrial (SA) and atrioventricular...
Colombian Creole Horse: Frequency of oral and motor stereotypies. The current stable housing of Colombian Creole Horses severely restricts the animals' locomotion and natural behaviors. In addition, their feed consists of a combination of high-energy concentrates with considerably little forage which potentially leads to locomotor or oral stereotypies. This study aimed to report the frequency of locomotor and oral stereotypies in Colombian Creole Horses in Girardota (Antioquia, Colombia) and associated risk factors. Unassigned: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 2019 to 2020, in which 102 stabled horses aged 28 months and older participat...
Injury patterns of equine-related trauma: A fifteen-year review of hospital admissions to a level 1 trauma center. Little information exists about horse-related injury admissions to Level 1 trauma centers in the Western United States. This study describes injury patterns in this population, to reveal potential areas for injury prevention initiatives. A retrospective database review of 512 non-fatal equine-related injuries over a 15-year period was conducted, using a Level 1 hospital trauma registry. To determine patterns of injury, patients injured by riding or being near a horse were classified according to age, sex, helmet use, abbreviated injury score, anatomical region injured, and length of stay. Equi...
Preantral follicle population and distribution in the horse ovary. Characterization of the ovarian preantral follicle population is a necessary step to improve understanding of folliculogenesis and ovarian physiology. Therefore, in the present study, the preantral follicle population in the equine ovary in young and old mares was investigated according to follicular morphology, follicular class, distance from the geometric center using ovarian maps, and follicular density within ovarian portions (lateral vs intermediary) and regions (dorsal vs ventral). Ovaries were collected from an abattoir and histologically processed for evaluation, and the follicle popul...
Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Horses from communities of the Mapuche native people, Araucanía Region, Chile. There are no studies of potential zoonotic diseases in Mapuche communities' horses. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in horses of the Mapuche communities. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Methods: Faecal samples from 100 randomly selected horses (n = 100) were taken from rural Mapuche communities from four municipalities from the Araucanía Region. These samples were processed with the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique and grouped by sex, age and municipality. Results: The general prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. wa...
Early incisor lesions and Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis: Reliability of radiographic findings. In clinical practice, early diagnosis of Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH) and other resorptive incisor diseases is difficult to achieve. The radiographic appearance of subtle pathological changes has not been described in detail and might be confused with age-related changes. Objective: The study was performed to define typical radiographic signs of early incisor lesions and to evaluate the reliability of the radiographic findings. Methods: Descriptive and comparative study using post mortem clinical, radiographic, macroscopic and µCT examination. Methods: The...
Serum Cortisol and Its Correlation with Leucocyte Profile and Circulating Lipids in Donkeys (Equus asinus). The values for basal serum cortisol concentrations of horses are available in many studies. However, there are limited data about serum cortisol in donkeys. The present study aimed to determine the baseline values for serum cortisol, to evaluate the influence of age and pregnancy on its levels, and to correlate its values with leucocyte profile, serum cholesterol, and triglycerides. Serum samples were collected from 97 healthy donkeys. Cortisol was analyzed by chemo-luminescent assay. The median and the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of serum cortisol measured and calculated in all donkeys were ...
An analysis of skin thickness in the Dezhou donkey population and identification of candidate genes by RNA-seq. The aim of the present study was to analyze the main factors that have a significant impact on skin thickness, and to further identify the genes and signaling pathways regulating skin growth by RNA-seq in Dezhou donkeys. Skin samples from different body regions of 15 slaughtered donkeys were obtained to study variations in skin thickness over the bodies. Skin thickness data for another 514 donkeys was obtained by minimally invasive skin sampling from the back, and measurements of the donkeys' body size traits and pedigree data were also collected. These data were used to analyze changes in ski...
Equine enterocytes actively oxidize l-glutamine, but do not synthesize l-citrulline or l-arginine from l-glutamine or l-proline in vitro. In livestock species, the enterocytes of the small intestine are responsible for the synthesis of citrulline and arginine from glutamine and proline. At present, little is known about de novo synthesis of citrulline and arginine in horses. To test the hypothesis that horses of different age groups can utilize glutamine and proline for the de novo synthesis of citrulline and arginine, jejunal enterocytes from 19 horses of three different age groups: neonates (n = 4; 7.54 ± 2.36 d of age), adults (n = 9; 6.4 ± 0.35 yr), and aged (n = 6; 22.9 ± 1.0 yr) with healthy gastrointestinal tracts were...
Preliminary Study on the Connection Between the Mineral Profile of Horse Hooves and Tensile Strength Based on Body Weight, Sex, Age, Sampling Location, and Riding Disciplines. Hoof mineral profile is important as it could affect locomotion. Factors such as body weight, sex, age, and riding disciplines affect hoof mineral profile. In Mexico and globally, studies are needed on the characterization of mineral profile of hooves and tensile strength, as this could help to prevent overgrowth or microfractures. Therefore, in the present survey, 165 samples of equine hoof cuttings from different sex, ages, breeds, and riding disciplines from different regions of Mexico were analyzed for their mineral composition, and a universal testing machine was used to measure tensile s...
Retrospective analysis of post-mortem findings in Thoroughbreds aged from birth to 18 months presented to a UK pathology laboratory. Enhanced understanding of reasons for, and timings of, mortality in Thoroughbreds prior to entering race training is warranted to provide insight into this population's health status. The aims of this study were to describe pathologies diagnosed at post-mortem (PM) examination in Thoroughbreds aged from birth to 18 months and investigate associations between age and pathology. Reports from a pathology laboratory in Newmarket, UK, were used to identify eligible cases examined between January 2006 and December 2020. Reported pathologies were extracted and categorised where appropriate. Comorbidi...
Female age and parity in horses: how and why does it matter? Although puberty can occur as early as 14-15months of age, depending on breed and use, the reproductive career of mares may continue to advanced ages. Once mares are used as broodmares, they will usually produce foals once a year until they become unfertile, and their productivity can be enhanced and/or prolonged through embryo technologies. There is a general consensus that old mares are less fertile, but maternal age and parity are confounding factors because nulliparous mares are usually younger and older mares are multiparous in most studies. This review shows that age critically affects c...
An Analysis of Risk Factors for a Fracture or Luxation in Recovery From General Anesthesia in Horses: A Single Centre Study☆. Catastrophic fractures or luxations (FoL) sustained during recovery from general anesthesia are a significant cause of mortality during equine anesthesia. There is a lack of evidence regarding potential risk factors for a FoL occurring in the immediate anesthetic recovery period. A single center, retrospective, case-matched study was performed to identify risk factors for sustaining a catastrophic FoL during recovery from general anesthesia. Clinical data were obtained for horses which sustained a catastrophic FoL when recovering from general anesthesia from January 2011 to June 2020 in a sing...
Associations between styloid process sheath CT sizes and age, body weight, and breed in horses. The styloid process sheath (SPS) is a part of the tympanic temporal bone and an incomplete bony sleeve surrounding the styloid process, tympanohyoid cartilage, and dorsal part of the stylohyoid bone. In horses undergoing head CT, we observed a range of SPS sizes and questioned whether differences were early features of temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) or normal anatomic variations associated with age, body weight, sex, or breed. We hypothesized that SPS sizes were positively correlated with age and body weight, but not with sex or breed. Using a convenience population of horses that underwe...
Analysis of peripheral blood chemiluminescence in horses. The aim of this study was to analyze the chemiluminescence (CL) of peripheral blood in clinically healthy horses of different sexes and ages. The tests were carried out on 119 half- -breed horses, representing various forms of use (66 recreational horses and 53 sport horses). The test material was peripheral blood, which was collected under resting conditions, i.e. before physical activity related to the use of these animals. In the blood samples, spontaneous and stimulated CL with zymosan and phorbol myristate acetate were determined. It has been found that regular training effort increases t...
Studies on Age-Related Changes in Equine Cheek Teeth Angulation and Dental Drift. Cheek teeth (second through fourth premolars and first through third molars) diastema is a common and painful equine disorder caused by the absence of effective tight interdental contact between these teeth. Limited objective information is available on the angulation of equine cheek teeth that control dental drift or on mesial or distal equine cheek teeth drift that should normally prevent this disorder. Objective: To measure the angulation of the mesial and distal cheek teeth in horses of different ages, quantify age-related cheek teeth mesial and distal dental drift, and measure the cheek t...
Morphological Characteristics of a Horse Discovered in an Avar-Period Grave from Sâncraiu de Mureș (Alba County, Romania). Archeozoological studies provide an insight into human-environment relations, bringing important information on the morphology of the animal and the role of the animal and its functions. The purpose of this study was to reveal the morphological characteristics of the horse identified in an 8th century BC Avar cemetery dated, as it resulted from the investigation carried out on the materials presented to the Anatomy Lab of Department of Comparative Anatomy. The cleaning and conditioning of the materials were performed in the lab, followed by anatomical and osteometrical study. The identificatio...
On the Description of Equine Somatic Growth Using Nonlinear Functions. A better knowledge of the growth of horses can facilitate sounder intervention in their health control, nutrition and management. This study compared five growth functions with either diminishing returns (monomolecular and Michaelis-Menten) or asymptotic sigmoidal (Gompertz, Richards and Lopez) behavior for describing the growth curves of horses, based on the relationship between a given somatic growth trait (body weight, withers height, or body weight to withers height ratio) and age. Data used in this study were those available in the literature for quarter horse males and thoroughbred foals...
Streptococcus equi culture prevalence, associated risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility in a horse population from Colombia. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of S. equi in a horse population in Colombia, to determine the risk factors associated with its detection in the guttural pouches and to report the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. Fifteen farms and 137 horses >6 months of age were enrolled. Sampling was randomly, stratified and proportional to the population size of each farm. The guttural pouch (GP) was swabbed via endoscopic guidance and culture was performed. DNA extraction and conventional PCR were performed in colonies compatibles with S. equi, the PCR products we...
Oocyte metabolic function, lipid composition, and developmental potential are altered by diet in older mares. Dietary supplementation is the most feasible method to improve oocyte function and developmental potential . During three experiments, oocytes were collected from maturing, dominant follicles of older mares to determine whether short-term dietary supplements can alter oocyte metabolic function, lipid composition, and developmental potential. Over approximately 8 weeks, control mares were fed hay (CON) or hay and grain products (COB). Treated mares received supplements designed for equine wellness and gastrointestinal health, flaxseed oil, and a proprietary blend of fatty acid and antioxidant s...
The Gingiva of Horses With Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction: A Macroscopic Anatomical Evaluation. Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a common neurodegenerative disease mainly in horses older than 15 years. The domestic equine population is following the same demographic change as that seen in humans; it is aging and veterinarians are asked to attend to geriatric horses more frequently. Common problems seen regularly in older equines are dental disorders and especially periodontal disease. As a systemic and endocrine disease, associated with delayed wound healing and impaired immune function, PPID should be considered before major dental treatment in aged equines is started. Po...
Effects of age, disease and anastomosis on short- and long-term survival after surgical correction of small intestinal strangulating diseases in 89 horses. Although survival rates have been reported after small intestinal surgery for strangulating diseases in horses, none have followed survival for periods relevant to the long lifespan of horses and none have described effect of age, disease and surgical treatments over such long survival periods. Objective: To examine effects of age, disease and type of surgery on long-term survival in horses after surgical treatment of small intestinal strangulating diseases over periods relevant to the expected lifespan of a horse. Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Methods: Post-operative data were gather...
Application of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as a Healing Aid after Extraction of Incisors in the Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis Syndrome. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a stress-free, relatively safe method supporting the treatment of many different diseases. Although it is widely used in human medicine (including dentistry), in veterinary medicine, especially in the treatment of horses, there are not many scientifically described and documented cases of its use. Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis syndrome is a disease that affects older horses and significantly reduces their quality of life. The only effective treatment for this condition is extraction of the incisors. The described case compares the...
Monitoring Performance in Show Jumping Horses: Validity of Non-specific and Discipline-specific Field Exercise Tests for a Practicable Assessment of Aerobic Performance. Show jumping is a highly specialized equestrian discipline that requires technical skill but also power and fitness. Monitoring the horses' aerobic performance is therefore essential in order to verify whether the training has induced the desired cardiovascular and muscular adaptations. This study therefore aimed at evaluating the validity of non-specific and discipline-specific field exercise tests for objective evaluation of aerobic performance in show jumpers. For this purpose, data obtained from horses competing at Junior and Young Rider level during show jumping competitions as well as fi...
DNA methylation aging and transcriptomic studies in horses. Cytosine methylation patterns have not yet been thoroughly studied in horses. Here, we profile n = 333 samples from 42 horse tissue types at loci that are highly conserved between mammalian species using a custom array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). Using the blood and liver tissues from horses, we develop five epigenetic aging clocks: a multi-tissue clock, a blood clock, a liver clock and two dual-species clocks that apply to both horses and humans. In addition, using blood methylation data from three additional equid species (plains zebra, Grevy's zebras and Somali asses), we develop anoth...
Demographic survey of private veterinary practices in western Canada. A workforce survey of private veterinary practices in western Canada was conducted in 2020. Data were obtained on 526 practices (response rate = 39.5%) and 1445 individual veterinary practitioners. Overall, 68.4% of practitioners identified as female, with 4 times as many females as males comprising the youngest age cohorts (26 to 35 y) of the profession. The majority of practices (67.9%) were companion animal, followed by mixed animal (21.9%) and food animal (10.2%). Most females (77.2%) and males (57.8%) were engaged in companion animal practice, whereas 23.5% of males and 6.0% of females we...
Collagen and Microvascularization in Placentas From Young and Older Mares. In older mares, increasing collagen fibers (fibrosis) in the endometrium and oviduct predisposes to sub-fertility and infertility. In this study, (i) gene transcription of collagen (qPCR: COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL5A1); (ii) total collagen protein (hydroxyproline); (iii) collagen distribution (Picrosirius red staining; polarized light microscopy); and (iv) microvascular density (Periodic acid-Schiff staining), were evaluated in mares' placenta, and related to mares age, and placenta and neonate weights. Samples were collected from the gravid horn, non-gravid horn, and body of the placenta fro...