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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.
Dense microspheres in normal horse brain. Here were report eosinophilic globular bodies referred to as dense microspheres (DMS), in the brains of normal horse in relation to the ageing process. The characteristic structures of DMS found in the horse were in similar to those previously reported in the human. The DMS were found predominantly in the neuropil of the cerebral cortex, and were shown histochemically to have a proteinaceous content. Electron microscopy showed that the DMS consisted of homogeneous electron-dense material bound by a single membrane and that they were found within the neuronal processes. In addition, immature or...
Biomechanical effects of rocker-toed shoes in sound horses. In many Western European countries rocker-toed shoes are applied routinely in sound horses. This is in contrast to most Anglo-Saxon countries where rocker-toed shoes are used almost exclusively for corrective or orthopaedic shoeing. The purposes of rocker-toed shoes are to hasten or facilitate breakover, or to encourage breakover to occur at the centre of the toe. This study compares the biomechanical effects of rocker-toed shoes with standard flat shoes in twelve sound Dutch warmblood horses, using a modified CODA-3 gait analysis system and a force plate. The variables analysed were speed of ...
Total replacement of the metatarsophalangeal joint in the horse. A single pilot study. In this paper the successful replacement of an equine metatarsophalangeal joint by a human total condylar knee prosthesis is reported. In the period of observation following implantation of the endoprosthesis the experimental animal showed almost no lameness when exercised at walk, bearing weight on the operated limb. Flexion and extension of the joint were markedly reduced. The clinical and histological observations clearly support further investigation into the equine metatarsophalangeal joint replacement by an endoprosthesis.
Expression of major histocompatibility complex antigen and timing of invasion by equine chorionic girdle cells cultured on Matrigel. Chorionic girdle cells are a highly invasive subpopulation of trophoblastic cells of the horse conceptus that adhere to the uterine epithelium and begin to invade the endometrium on Days 34-36 (Day 0 = day of ovulation). Just prior to and during invasion (Days 32-36), chorionic girdle cells express high levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I, but expression of this antigen decreases by Days 40-45 and is lost by Day 55. The mechanisms involved in the control of chorionic girdle cell invasion and altered MHCI expression over time are not known. The objective of this study, therefore,...
Recovery rate and quality of embryos from mares inseminated at the first post-partum oestrus. The pregnancy rate is lower in mares inseminated at the first post-partum (p.p.) oestrus (40-50%) compared with pregnancy rates in subsequent oestrous cycles (55-65%). The causes of the lowered pregnancy rate are not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to examine if embryonic defects could be one of the reasons for lowered pregnancy rate. A total of 23 p.p. and 14 non-lactating control mares were flushed 7 days after detection of ovulation. Embryo recovery rate was 48% and 71% in p.p. and control mares, respectively (p = 0.16). Embryos were photographed, measured, graded and sta...
Tandem 1;30 translocation: a new structural abnormality in the horse (Equus caballus). A 1;30 tandem translocation was found in an 8-yr-old thoroughbred stallion referred because of reduced fertility. The diagnosis was confirmed by GTG and CBG staining. This is the first report of a tandem translocation in the horse.
Bioavailability of pivampicillin and ampicillin trihydrate administered as an oral paste in horses. Pivampicillin was administered as an oral paste to five healthy adult horses, and an oral paste with ampicillin trihydrate was administered to three horses. Pivampicillin was administered to both starved and fed horses, ampicillin trihydrate was administered to fed horses only. The dose of pivampicillin was 19.9 mg/kg, and the dose of ampicillin trihydrate was 17 mg/kg. Both doses are equivalent on a molecular basis to 15 mg/kg ampicillin. Ampicillin concentrations in plasma were determined up to 24 hours after administration. After administration of pivampicillin to starved and fed horses the...
Control of Karoo paralysis ticks through vegetation management. Karoo paralysis, caused by feeding Ixodes rubicundus females, is a major disease of small stock in South Africa. Control methods currently practised are almost exclusively chemical based. To limit overdependance on chemicals, vegetation management was investigated as a possible method for control, to be incorporated in an integrated tick management system. Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to determine, firstly, the extent of vertical migration and survival of ticks on long and short copper rods which simulated grasses as questing substrates; secondly, the infestation burdens of ...
[The history of neurectomy in horses with navicular disease]. The genetic predisposition to navicular disease is proven nowadays, but otherwise, etiology and pathogenesis are still unclear. Causal therapy isn't possible and because of the poor prognosis, neurectomy is still of bearing. This operation was performed already 200 years ago, but in the middle of the last century, critical voices have been raised in regard to the surgical procedure and its indication both for medical reasons and breeding. Clear instructions for exclusion of diseased animals from breeding are also older than one hundred years. These facts call for ethic considerations which con...
Effects of storage on serum ionized calcium and pH from horses with normal and abnormal ionized calcium concentrations. It has been previously shown that Ca(I) concentration is stable in serum collected from healthy horses for 10 days if stored at 40 degrees C. This may not be true for horses with abnormal Ca(I) concentrations. Thus the stability of ionized calcium (Ca(I)) concentration and pH measurement in serum from horses with both normal and abnormal Ca(I) concentrations stored for various times at 40 degrees C and -10 degrees C was evaluated. Our results indicated that serum Ca(I) concentration was stable throughout 7 days of cold or frozen storage, after being received by the Clinical Chemistry Laborator...
The effect of arthritis in the carpal joint on performance in Norwegian cold-blooded trotters. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of arthritis of the carpal joint on performance of Norwegian cold-blooded trotters. Two performance variables were used in the analyses. The first was the start status, for which horses that had started in one or more races within a certain age received the value 1, and horses that had not raced were correspondingly assigned the value 0. The second variable was the accumulated, transformed and standardized earnings (ATSE), which is the power transformation of earnings (earnings .2, with unraced horses assigned a value of zero) expressed as a...
Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) as a vector of Ehrlichia equi (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae). Ehrlichia equi, a rickettsia described from horses in California 30 yr ago, causes equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis throughout the Americas and possibly Europe. Here, we report experimental transmission of E. equi from infected to susceptible horses through bites of western blacklegged ticks, Ixodes pacificus (Cooley & Kohls). In preliminary field studies, only I. pacificus consistently infested horses and vegetation at 3 locations with contemporary cases of equine ehrlichosis, and in particular, I. pacificus was the only species found attached to all of the infected horses. Exposure to bites ...
An in vitro biomechanical study of a multiplanar circular external fixator applied to equine third metacarpal bones. The biomechanical characteristics of a 4-ring circular multiplanar fixator applied to equine third metacarpal bones with a 5 mm mid-diaphyseal osteotomy gap were studied. Smooth Steinmann pins, either 1/8 inch, 3/16 inch, or 1/4 inch, were driven through pilot holes in the bone in a crossed configuration and full pin fashion and fastened to the fixator rings using cannulated fixation bolts. The third metacarpal bone fixator constructs were tested in three different modes (cranial-caudal four-point bending, axial compression, and torsion). Loads of 2,000 N were applied in bending and axial comp...
Regulatory aspects of fumonisins with respect to animal feed. Animal derived residues in foods. The fumonisins are a recently discovered class of mycotoxins produced primarily by Fusarium (F.) moniliforme and F. proliferatum. Fumonisins present in mycotoxin-contaminated feed have been identified as the causative agent of equine leukoencephalomalacia and porcine pulmonary edema. To prevent these diseases, FDA has utilized informal guidance levels for fumonisins in feed and initiated a surveillance program for fumonisins in feed corn and corn by-products during FY 93 and 94. Natural contaminants present in animal feed can enter the human food supply as residues present in animal tissues an...
Neutron anatomy. The familiar extremes of crystalline material are single-crystals and random powders. In between these two extremes are polycrystalline aggregates, not randomly arranged but possessing some preferred orientation and this is the form taken by constructional materials, be they steel girders or the bones of a human or animal skeleton. The details of the preferred orientation determine the ability of the material to withstand stress in any direction. In the case of bone the crucial factor is the orientation of the c-axes of the mineral content-the crystals of the hexagonal hydroxyapatite- and this...
Head and trunk movement adaptations in horses with experimentally induced fore- or hindlimb lameness. The kinematic patterns of head and trunk were studied in horses during induced supporting limb lameness to understand the mechanisms horses use to compensate for lameness and to evaluate different symmetry indices for their significance as lameness indicators. Using the locomotion analysis system CODA-3 the kinematics of 11 clinically nonlame Dutch Warmblood horses were recorded while walking (1.6 m/s) and trotting (3.5 m/s) on a treadmill. A transient lameness model, evoking pressure induced pain on the hoof sole, was used to induce 3 degrees of fore- and hindlimb lameness. Peak vertical disp...
[Reproductive medicine in transition: new developments in embryo transfer]. Successful application of embryo transfer (ET) has become common practice in cattle, horses, sheep, goats and a variety of other species held in captivity. Yet in cattle only has the technique been established commercially. In 1994 more than 100,000 bovine embryos have been transferred in European countries. Important progress in transvaginal ovum pick up (OPU), in vitro production (IVP) and cryopreservation have further improved the applicability of ET. Direct transfer simplifies the procedure considerably allowing individual transfers and eliminating the need of synchronizing recipients. In ...
Leukoencephalomalacia and hemorrhage in the brain of rabbits gavaged with mycotoxin fumonisin B1. Two of five pregnant rabbits gavaged with purified fumonisin B1 at 1.75 mg/kg/day died, one after 9 and one after 13 doses. Microscopic examination revealed focal small hemorrhages in cerebral white matter in both animals, with malacia and hemorrhage also present in the hippocampus of one. The lesions were bilateral. Both animals also had marked degeneration of renal tubule epithelium and of hepatocytes. Apoptosis was the dominant degenerative change in kidney and liver. Fumonisin is known to cause leukoencephalomalacia and hemorrhage in equines, but CNS changes associated with exposure to fum...
The effect of the high palmar nerve block and the ulnar nerve block on lameness provoked by a collagenase-induced tendonitis of the lateral branch of the suspensory ligament. Controversy exists with respect to the innervation of the suspensory ligament (SL) in the fore limb of the horse. It is uncertain whether this structure is exclusively innervated by branches of the ulnar nerve or also to some extent by median nerve branches. Ground Reaction Forces (GRF) were determined in horses before and after the induction of a tendonitis in the lateral branch of the SL by the injection of collagenase, and before and after a high palmar and an ulnar block respectively. The high palmar block succeeded in bringing all GRF variables back to their original values which the ulna...
Lymphoid leukosis viruses, their recognition as ‘persistent’ viruses and comparisons with certain other retroviruses of veterinary importance. Diseases caused by lymphoid leukosis virus (LLV), a retrovirus, take a long time after infection to develop and have a wide variety of pathological manifestations. This long latent period is characteristic of 'persistent virus infections'. Disease produced by LLV infection and its underlying mechanisms is compared with 'persistent' infections caused by other retroviruses in birds and mammals of veterinary importance. The diseases considered for comparison are those caused by reticuloendotheliosis, feline leukaemia, bovine leukosis and equine infectious anaemia viruses. There are significant ch...
Oral ivermectin paste for the treatment of chorioptic mange in horses. A single blind controlled clinical trial of oral ivermectin paste at a dose rate of 0.1 mg/kg daily for seven days for the treatment of chorioptic mange in horses was carried out. There was a statistically significant reduction in the numbers of mites in the samples taken from the treated horses compared with the untreated horses, but the mites were not eliminated from all the treated animals. Two further groups of horses were treated, one at a dose rate of 0.1 mg/kg daily for 10 days and the other with two doses of 0.2 mg/kg given two weeks apart. There were no statistically significant diffe...
Recovery of horses from dysautonomia (grass sickness). The outcome for 35 horses with chronic dysautonomia which were kept in the hospital at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and subsequently returned to their owners is recorded. They constituted 42.7 per cent of the 82 chronic cases seen between 1991 and 1994; the other 47 horses were euthanased while in hospital. Of the 35 animals returned to their owners four died and 27 were available for follow up; of these 27, 12 were working competitively and six were being trained for future competitive work. It takes at least a year before it is clear whether a horse can compete successfully ...
Measurement of maximal oxygen consumption of thoroughbred horses at an altitude of 1250m using open-circuit flow-through calorimetry. This study determined the maximal O2 uptake (VO2max) of Thoroughbred horses acclimatised to mild hypobaric conditions using a standard exercise test on a treadmill inclined at a 7% slope. The O2 uptake (VO2) versus speed relationship was linear below the exercise intensity required to attain VO2max. The VO2max of individual horses ranged from 143.5 to 172.6 ml/kg/min. The proportion of total variance for the VO2 versus speed relationship was greater than 0.992, and the coefficients of variation in repeated tests in individual horses ranged between 0.07 and 1.54%. The VO2 versus speed relations...
