Omneity® Pellets
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Topic:Animal Health
Animal Health encompasses a broad range of topics focused on maintaining and improving the well-being of equine species. This field addresses various aspects of horse care, including disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. Key areas of interest include equine nutrition, vaccination protocols, parasite control, dental care, and the management of chronic conditions such as laminitis and colic. Additionally, animal health research in horses investigates the impact of exercise and training on physical health, the role of genetics in disease susceptibility, and the development of new therapeutic approaches. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the latest advancements, challenges, and best practices in preserving and enhancing the health of horses.
Gabapentin for the treatment of neuropathic pain in a pregnant horse. A 24-year-old 732-kg (1,610-lb) pregnant Belgian draft horse mare developed neuropathy and signs of intractable pain following colic surgery. Results: Following recovery from colic surgery to treat compression of the small and large intestines because of a large fetus, the mare was noticed to have signs of femoral neuropathy involving the left hind limb. Within 36 hours after recovery, the mare developed signs of severe pain that were unresponsive to conventional treatment. No gastrointestinal tract or muscular abnormalities were found, and the discomfort was attributed to neuropathic pain. Re...
Influence of fatty acid composition in mammalian erythrocytes on cellular aggregation. The rheologic properties of red blood cells (RBC) are determined by humoral and cellular factors. Fatty acid composition of the RBC phospholipid bilayer is one factor influencing membrane fluidity this could affect RBC aggregation because of a higher bias of RBC deformability. The present investigation was performed to investigate a possible relationship between fatty acid composition and erythrocyte aggregation using animals with high RBC aggregation (horse and pig) and animals with immeasurable RBC aggregation (sheep). Horse and pig showed similar distribution of the four major components pa...
A survey of horse owners in Great Britain regarding horses in their care. Part 1: Horse demographic characteristics and management. Information is scarce as to how horses are kept and managed in the general horse population of Great Britain. Objective: To characterise the demographics of horses in Great Britain and assess their care (with particular reference to the respiratory system). Methods: Horse owners were surveyed using a self-administered postal questionnaire. These owners were selected randomly, following geographical stratification, using 2-stage cluster sampling of veterinary practices and their clients. Results: The overall response proportion to the survey was 68.2%. An investigation of nonresponse bias detec...
Phylogeny of trichostome ciliates (Ciliophora, Litostomatea) endosymbiotic in the Yakut horse (Equus caballus). Ciliates of the subclass Trichostomatia inhabit the fermentative regions of the digestive tract of herbivores. Most available small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSrRNA) gene sequences of trichostomes are from species isolated from the rumen of cattle or sheep and from marsupials. No ciliate species endosymbiotic in horses has yet been analyzed. We have sequenced the SSrRNA genes of five ciliate species, isolated from the cecum and colon of four Yakut horses: Cycloposthium edentatum, Cycloposthium ishikawai, Tripalmaria dogieli, Cochliatoxum periachtum, and Paraisotricha colpoidea. Based on their mor...
Adenosine A2A receptor agonists inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha by equine monocytes. Adenosine is an endogenous nucleoside that regulates many physiological processes by activating one or more adenosine receptor subtypes, namely A1, A2A, A2B and A3. The results of previous studies indicate that adenosine analogues inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by equine neutrophils primarily through activation of A2A receptors. Because peripheral blood monocytes produce cytokines that are responsible for many of the deleterious effects of LPS, the current study was performed to evaluate the effects of an array of novel adenosine receptor a...
Rapid phase adjustment of melatonin and core body temperature rhythms following a 6-h advance of the light/dark cycle in the horse. Rapid displacement across multiple time zones results in a conflict between the new cycle of light and dark and the previously entrained program of the internal circadian clock, a phenomenon known as jet lag. In humans, jet lag is often characterized by malaise, appetite loss, fatigue, disturbed sleep and performance deficit, the consequences of which are of particular concern to athletes hoping to perform optimally at an international destination. As a species renowned for its capacity for athletic performance, the consequences of jet lag are also relevant for the horse. However, the duration...
Statistical approach to measure the efficacy of anthelmintic treatment on horse farms. Resistance to anthelmintics in gastrointestinal nematodes of livestock is a serious problem and appropriate methods are required to identify and quantify resistance. However, quantification and assessment of resistance depend on an accurate measure of treatment efficacy, and current methodologies fail to properly address the issue. The fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) is the practical gold standard for measuring anthelmintic efficacy on farms, but these types of data are fraught with high variability that greatly impacts the accuracy of inference on efficacy. This paper develops a statis...
Asymmetry of flight and escape turning responses in horses. We investigated whether horses display greater reactivity to a novel stimulus presented in the left compared to the right monocular visual field, and whether a population bias exists for escape turning when the same stimulus was presented binocularly. Domestic horses (N=30) were tested on three occasions by a person opening an umbrella five metres away and then approaching. The distance each horse moved away before stopping was measured. Distance was greatest for approach on the left side, indicating right hemisphere control of flight behaviour, and thus followed the same pattern found previou...
Treatment in the field of 27 horses with epiglottic entrapment. Twenty-seven horses were treated for epiglottic entrapment by using an oral, hand-assisted bistoury knife technique, under general anaesthesia; 26 of them returned successfully to racing, but one developed a permanently displaced soft palate. After the surgery 13 of the horses had an increased handicap rating and 13 had a decreased rating.
Transport of equine ovaries for assisted reproduction. Use of assisted reproduction to obtain foals from valuable mares post-mortem typically necessitates holding of ovaries during shipment to a laboratory. The present study evaluated whether holding ovaries briefly at a warm ( approximately 30 degrees C) temperature improves meiotic and developmental competence of oocytes, as determined after maturation in vitro and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Ovaries were packaged in pairs in insulated containers, and held either at 24 or 25-35 degrees C for 4h, followed by cooling. Ovaries in both treatments were held for either a short (mean, 7-7.4h) or ...
Colour perception in a dichromat. Most mammals have dichromatic colour vision based on two different types of cones: a short-wavelength-sensitive cone and a long-wavelength-sensitive cone. Comparing the signal from two cone types gives rise to a one-dimensional chromatic space when brightness is excluded. The so-called ;neutral point' refers to the wavelength that the animal cannot distinguish from achromatic light such as white or grey because it stimulates both cone types equally. The question is: how do dichromats perceive their chromatic space? Do they experience a continuous scale of colours or does the neutral point divi...
Repair of sinocutaneous fistulae in two horses. Chronic facial defects extending into the sinuses of two mares were repaired using periosteal flaps. Partial osseous bridging was established over the defects following repair. Previous attempts to close the defects with skin alone had failed. A periosteal flap is a simple surgical technique that provides the foundations for successful repair, despite the chronicity of some fistulae.
Laparoscopic hernioplasty in recumbent horses using transposition of a peritoneal flap. To evaluate the efficacy of a laparoscopic peritoneal flap hernioplasty (PFH) to close anatomically the vaginal ring and to evaluate its protective effect in horses with a history of strangulated inguinal hernia (SIH) against future herniation. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: A first group of 5 ponies, 3 horses and 1 donkey with no history of SIH and a second group of 4 horses 'clinical cases' with a history of SIH. Methods: A laparoscopic PFH was effected on all horses under general anaesthesia. Peritoneum ventro-lateral to the vaginal ring was elevated and cut on 3 sides, separated from...
Stem cells in veterinary medicine–attempts at regenerating equine tendon after injury. Stem cells have evoked considerable excitement in the animal-owning public because of the promise that stem cell technology could deliver tissue regeneration for injuries for which natural repair mechanisms do not deliver functional recovery and for which current therapeutic strategies have minimal effectiveness. This review focuses on the current use of stem cells within veterinary medicine, whose practitioners have used mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), recovered from either bone marrow or adipose tissue, in clinical cases primarily to treat strain-induced tendon injury in the horse. The backgr...
Some commonly fed herbs and other functional foods in equine nutrition: a review. Most herbs and functional foods have not been scientifically tested; this is especially true for the horse. This paper reviews some of the literature pertinent to herbal supplementation in horses and other species. Common supplements like Echinacea, garlic, ginger, ginseng, and yucca are not regulated, and few studies have investigated safe, efficacious doses. Ginseng has been found to exert an inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokines and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Equine studies have tested the anti-inflammatory effects of a single dose of ginger, post-exercise. Echinacea has been re...
Comparative efficacies of three commercially available vaccines against West Nile Virus (WNV) in a short-duration challenge trial involving an equine WNV encephalitis model. We used a severe challenge model that produces clinical West Nile virus (WNV) disease to test the efficacy of three commercially available equine WNV vaccines in horses. Twenty-four healthy, WNV-seronegative horses of varying ages and genders were placed, in random and blind manner, into three trial groups consisting of eight horses each; two horses in each group received (i) an inactivated WNV vaccine (K-WN), (ii) a modified-live vaccine (CP-WN) containing the WNV prM and E proteins expressed by a canarypox vector, (iii) a live-chimera vaccine (WN-FV) containing WNV prM and E proteins express...
Treatment of natural infestations of the biting louse (Werneckiella equi) on horses using triflumuron, a benzoylurea derivative insect growth regulator. The horse biting louse (Werneckiella equi) is a common global equine ectoparasite. To our knowledge, benzoyl(phenyl)urea insecticides (triflumuron, diflubenzuron) commonly used as sheep lousicides, have not been evaluated for efficacy against W. equi. The aim of this study was to determine louse control efficacy, general wellness and dermal safety following triflumuron application as a backline pour-on to horses. Two efficacy trials using 25 adult naturally infested lousy horses, and a dermal safety trial using 10 adult louse-free horses were conducted over a 14-month period. Lousy animals wer...
Effects of Rho-kinase and Src protein tyrosine kinase inhibition on agonist-induced vasoconstriction of arteries and veins of the equine laminar dermis. To determine the effects of inhibition of Rho-kinase or Src-family protein tyrosine kinases (srcPTK) on agonist-induced contractile responses in equine laminar arteries and veins. Methods: Laminar arteries and veins obtained from 13 adult mixed-breed horses. Methods: Laminar vessels were mounted on myographs and exposed to phenylephrine (PE), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), prostaglandin F(2) (PGF(2)), and endothelin-1 (ET-1) with or without the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632 (10 microM), srcPTK inhibitor PP2 (10 microM), or a negative control analogue for PP2 (PP3; 10 microM). Results: Responses to...
Estimation of heritability and genetic correlation for behavioural responses by Gibbs sampling in the Thoroughbred racehorse. Genetic variation of the behaviour of racehorses is one of the major concerns for racehorse breeders. In this study, the heritabilities of behavioural responses to the inspections of conjunctiva, auscultation and blood sampling and the genetic correlations among them were estimated in the Thoroughbred racehorse. The estimation was done with Bayesian analysis with Gibbs sampling based on the univariate or bivariate threshold animal models. The behavioural responses were scored with four categories at the first entrance quarantine in Miho Training Center of Japan Racing Association from 1993 to ...
Nickel seminal concentrations in various animals and correlation to spermatozoa quality. In this study, the concentration of nickel in stallion, bull, ram, boar and fox semen, and its relation with spermatozoa quality was analyzed. The concentration of nickel in semen was 0.20 mg kg(-1) in stallion, 0.12 mg kg(-1) in bull, 0.31 mg kg(-1) in ram, 0.06 mg kg(-1) in boar and 0.36 mg kg(-1) in fox. Seminal nickel concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in foxes than that in bulls and significantly higher (P < 0.01) in rams and foxes in comparison with boars. Evaluation of total pathological spermatozoa revealed the highest number in stallions followed by rams, bulls, boars a...
Thermographic evaluation of the lower critical temperature in weanling horses. Accommodating weanling horses in loose housing (sleeping hall with deep-litter bed and paddock) environments in winter at northern latitudes exposes the nonhuman animals to low ambient temperatures. We determined the heat loss of nine weanling horses in a cold environment by infrared thermography to assess their thermoregulatory capacity. The rate of heat loss was 73.5 to 98.7 W/m2 from the neck and 69.9 to 94.3 W/m2 from the trunk. The heat loss was higher at -16 degrees C than at 0 degrees C and -9 degrees C (p
VanA-type vancomycin-resistant enterococci in equine and swine rectal swabs and in human clinical samples. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in healthy people and in food-producing animals seems to be quite common in Europe. The existence of this community reservoir of VRE has been associated with the massive use of avoparcin in animal husbandry. Eight years after the avoparcin ban in Europe, we investigated the incidence of VanA enterococci, their resistance patterns, and the mobility of their glycopeptide-resistance determinants in a sampling of animal rectal swabs and clinical specimens. A total of 259 enterococci isolated from equine, swine, and clinical samples were subcultured on KF-stre...
XY sperm separation and use in artificial insemination and other ARTs. Many tens of thousands of calves resulting from artificial insemination (AI) have been born worldwide after XY sperm separation and commercial production is underway in several countries. Accuracy of sex selection is some 90% and can be achieved both in research facilities and at AI studs in rural locations. Most facilities sort X- sperm which have also be utilised for superovulation and embryo transfer projects and for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) as well as AI. Sort rates of some 15 x 10(6) sperm/h are currently achievable and are used for low dose insemination, generally at 2 x 10(6) frozen...
