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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.
Every man his own farrier in Australia: the origins and growth of a veterinary business in colonial New South Wales. The life and work is told of John Pottie (1832-1908), a Scotsman who graduated from Edinburgh Veterinary College in 1858. A year later, he contracted to provide veterinary care to a consignment of horses bound for Australia. Once there, he founded a firm that has survived to the present day, still marketing products that originated in his own veterinary remedies. John Pottie brought with him a European tradition of livestock care and treatment that was epitomised in Clater's title and book, Every man his own farrier. His career is of interest for several reasons. Firstly it is because he used ...
The influence of age and gender on haematological parameters in Lipizzan horses. Haematological parameters [red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration, mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC)] in resting Lipizzan horses were determined for 143 stallions, 104 mares and 25 foals. The mean RBC and WBC values in Lipizzans were in the lower part of the normal range for warm-blooded horses. The mean PCV, MCV and MCH values were higher, but the mean haemoglobin concentration and MCHC values were lower than reported for other warm-blooded horses. In foals, ...
Serum keratan sulphate as a cartilage metabolic marker in horses: the effect of exercise. Keratan sulphate (KS) concentration in sera from resting horses and horses training daily on a racetrack was measured by an inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using anti-equine KS antibody 1/14/16H9. For the in-training horses, serum KS concentrations in 2-year-old-horses was significantly higher than 3- or 4-year-old-horses. A higher concentration of serum KS was found in the in-training group than in the long-term resting group in 2-year-old-horses. Serum KS concentration increased remarkably immediately after training in healthy horses, and at 1, 5, 9 and 24 h after traini...
The role of complementary techniques in managing musculoskeletal pain in performance horses. The locomotor system requires normal movement for normal function. Movement restrictions of soft tissues and joints stimulate nociceptive pathways in the corresponding vertebral segment. Reflex-induced alterations of sensory and motor neuron activity within the segment lead to detrimental changes within many of the tissues associated with and distant from the area. Manual therapy is utilized in both diagnosis and treatment of tissue and joint movement restrictions. Early recognition and treatment of dysfunction in the equine athlete prevents permanent pathology and facilitates performance exce...
Traditional and non-traditional uses of anesthetic drugs–an update. Many new or modified injectable anesthetic techniques are available for use in horses. This increased availability allows the clinician to select the technique most appropriate for the patient and clinical circumstance. The use of sedative and anesthetic drugs in managing a variety of anesthesia-related and unrelated aspects of patient care is also increasing. As we begin to use these techniques in the clinical management of our patients, it is important to remember that, while there are more options, no single anesthetic agent or combination of agents is devoid of undesirable effects. Knowled...
Diagnosing and treating pain in the horse. Where are we today? This chapter begins by providing an overview of current philosophies relevant to equine pain management. Objective and subjective techniques for assessing pain and the limitations of these are then described in depth. The conclusion emphasizes the need for an evidence based approach to managing pain in the horse and sets the stage for subsequent chapters in this edition.
Management of equine orthopedic pain. Pain management is an extremely vital part of equine orthopedic surgery. Providing optimum analgesia for the patient will decrease recovery time, decrease physiologic stress on the animal, and provide maximum comfort during the post-operative period. The major analgesic drug categories and routes covered are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, local anesthetics, intra-articular drugs, and epidurals.
Use of opioids for pain and anesthetic management in horses. REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION: There is limited, but convincing, evidence that epidural administration of morphine and some other mu-agonist opioids consistently relieves regional pain in horses. In addition, this effect is not accompanied by notable undesirable effects. On the other hand, a clinically important analgesic action has not been demonstrated for similarly administered kappa-agonist opioids. There has been little objective data presented to support the analgesic effectiveness of intra-articularly administered opioids in horses. However, the evidence of local opioid receptors legitimately...
Effect of holding at room temperature on initial chromatin configuration and in vitro maturation rate of equine oocytes. The relationship of holding time in media at room temperature (approximately 22 degrees C) to initial chromatin configuration and rate of in vitro maturation (IVM) of equine oocytes was determined. Only oocytes having a complete, compact cumulus were used in this study. Oocytes were removed from ovaries 3.5-8 h after slaughter and were put into one of four treatment groups: (1) immediate/fix (IF) = immediate fixation following removal from the ovary; (2) delay/fix (DF) = fixation after oocytes were held 1-4 h in medium at room temperature; (3) immediate/mature (IM) = immediate placement into m...
Nontraditional approaches to pain management. The word nontraditional in the context of this article implies those modalities not normally taught in veterinary medical schools. This word has the same definition of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) as put forth by the Harvard medical school. CAM is a field of medicine that has enjoyed a recent increase in popularity in both human and equine medicine, particularly in regard to pain management. Some of the more recognized modalities include acupuncture, herbalism, and homeopathy. A brief discussion regarding the theory, scientific evidence and use of these therapies in the treatme...
Expression and coassociation of ERG1, KCNQ1, and KCNE1 potassium channel proteins in horse heart. In dogs and in humans, potassium channels formed by ether-a-go-go-related gene 1 protein ERG1 (KCNH2) and KCNQ1 alpha-subunits, in association with KCNE beta-subunits, play a role in normal repolarization and may contribute to abnormal repolarization associated with long QT syndrome (LQTS). The molecular basis of repolarization in horse heart is unknown, although horses exhibit common cardiac arrhythmias and may receive drugs that induce LQTS. In horse heart, we have used immunoblotting and immunostaining to demonstrate the expression of ERG1, KCNQ1, KCNE1, and KCNE3 proteins and RT-PCR to det...
High-avidity human serum antibodies recognizing linear epitopes of Borna disease virus proteins. The recent observation that Borna disease virus (BDV)-reactive antibodies from psychiatric patients exhibit only low avidity for BDV antigen called into question their diagnostic value and raised the possibility that antigenically related microorganisms or self antigens caused the production of these antibodies. We further characterized the specificity of these antibodies. Methods: We established a peptide array-based screening test that allows the identification of antibodies directed against linear epitopes of the two major BDV proteins, the nucleoprotein (N) and the phosphoprotein (P). Resu...
[Implantation of transponders at the bottom of the ear in equines]. In the present work transponders of 2 identification systems have been implanted on an exactly defined site at the bottom of the ear on 28 horses. The Backhome system is easier to handle and less complicated than the trovan system since it is smaller and handier. The hemorrhages that had occurred after the injection were mild at 17 animals and moderate at 4 animals. Inflame changes at the injection site post application were limited to minor swellings (n = 3) and minor pain (n = 6). The interrogator's scope of the two transponder systems is different. The interrogator's scope of the trovan tra...
Description of Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii sp. nov., Methanobrevibacter thaueri sp. nov., Methanobrevibacter woesei sp. nov. and Methanobrevibacter wolinii sp. nov. Formal nomenclature is proposed for five methanogens, isolated from horse, pig, cow, goose and sheep faeces, that represent four novel species of the genus Methanobrevibacter. The four species, Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii sp. nov., Methanobrevibacter thaueri sp. nov., Methanobrevibacter woesei sp. nov. and Methanobrevibacter wolinii sp. nov., are distinguished from each other by a lack of genomic DNA reassociation and from previously described members of the genus on the basis of differences in the sequences of the 16S rRNA genes.
Effect of topical ophthalmic latanoprost on intraocular pressure in normal horses. The ocular effects of latanoprost ophthalmic solution were evaluated in two studies, with eight horses in each study. One eye of each horse was treated with latanoprost ophthalmic solution once daily for 5 days, and the opposite eye received a control solution of sterile eyewash. Intraocular pressure and pupillary diameter were measured daily for 5 days after treatment. Latanoprost had no significant effect on intraocular pressure or pupillary diameter in normal horse eyes compared with control eyes in these studies. Placement of an eyelid nerve block resulted in significantly lower intraocula...
Effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on gonadotropins, prolactin and serum glucose concentrations in the mare. In a variety of species, glucoprivation results in the suppression of the reproductive axis. Two experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that blockade of glucose metabolism via administration of the glucose inhibitor 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) to mares would cause a modification in gonadotropin and prolactin secretion. Long-term ovariectomized mares (Experiment 1, n=4) or ovary-intact mares during the follicular phase of a synchronized estrous cycle (Experiment 2, n=4 per dose) were treated with 2DG. The dose of 2DG used in Experiment 1 was 100mg 2DG/kg BW, but because severe behavioral...
Use of height-specific weigh tapes to estimate the bodyweight of horses. Two thousand horses of different ages, heights and breeds were divided into two height groups of up to 14.2 hands high (hh) and more than 14.2 hh, and weighed on a weighbridge; each horse then had its weight estimated by three weigh tapes, one height specific (tape 1 or 2, depending on the animal's height) and two for general use (tapes 3 and 4). For horses up to 14.2 hh, weigh tape 1 provided the most accurate estimate of mean (sd) bodyweight (100.5 [6.2] per cent), and weigh tapes 3 and 4 were 112 (6.8) and 97-0 (6.1) per cent accurate, respectively. For horses more than 14.2 hh, weigh tape ...
Generation of reactive oxygen species by equine neutrophils and their effect on motility of equine spermatozoa. Contaminating leukocytes in the ejaculate are an important source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human semen. When present in sufficient numbers, they can have a detrimental influence on sperm function in humans. Unfortunately, there is little published information regarding the importance of leukocytes in stallion semen. The objectives of this study were to determine the production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by activated equine neutrophils and to examine the effect of this ROS production on equine sperm motility in vitro. Motile equine spermatozoa (two ejaculates each from four stallion...
Matching by horses on several concurrent variable-interval schedules. Using three horses we imvestigated responding on several concurrent variable-interval schedules. Each horse was first trained, using the method of successive approximations, to press a response lever with its upper lip. Following successful acquisition of the lip-press response, horses spent several days on pretraining schedules. These included a continuous reinforcement schedule and three variable-interval concurrent schedules: VI 15-sec VI 15-sec, VI 30-sec VI 30-sec, and VI 45-sec VI 45-sec. Horses were then exposed to the experimental sessions; sessions were conducted daily in the horse's ...
Species differences in GnRH activation of the LHbeta promoter: role of Egr1 and Sp1. Activation of the luteinizing hormone beta (LHbeta) promoter by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) via the transcription factor early growth response protein-1 (Egr1) has been well characterized. To determine the mechanisms affecting Egr1 regulation of LHbeta, we analyzed five different species of LHbeta promoters (equine, mouse, rat, bovine and human). Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) identified multiple transcription factors binding to the Egr regions on the LHbeta promoter. Species-specific differences existed in the binding affinity for Sp1, Sp3, steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-...
Mechanisms responsible for increase in circulating inhibin levels at the time of ovulation in mares. In female mammals, inhibin is secreted by the granulosa cells and selectively inhibits secretion of FSH. Although circulating immunoreactive (ir)-inhibin levels decrease after ovulation as a result of the disappearance of its main source, they abruptly increase at the time of ovulation in mares. To investigate the mechanisms responsible for this increase, 50 ml of equine follicular fluid (eFF) was administered into the abdominal cavity of mares during the luteal phase (eFF, n = 4). One hour after treatment, plasma levels of ir-inhibin and inhibin pro-alphaC (but not estradiol-17beta) were sign...
Cardiovascular effects of romifidine in the standing horse. The cardiovascular effects of romifidine, an alpha-2 adrenoreceptor agonist, were investigated in six horses using two doses (80 and 120 microg kg(-1)) in a cross-over study design. Cardiac index and mixed venous oxygenation were significantly decreased at 15 and 30 minutes after both doses of romifidine. Systemic vascular resistance was significantly increased with romifidine (120 microg kg(-1)). Arterial blood pressure increased initially and then gradually decreased; the doses of decrease was significant at 90 and 120 minutes with romifidine 80 and 120 microg kg(-1). There were minimal diff...
