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Topic:Animal Science
Animal Science and horses encompass the study of equine biology, physiology, and management practices aimed at understanding and improving horse health, welfare, and performance. This field integrates various scientific disciplines, including genetics, nutrition, reproduction, and behavior, to address the needs of horses in diverse contexts such as sports, work, and companionship. Research in this area often focuses on optimizing feeding strategies, enhancing breeding programs, and developing effective health management protocols. Additionally, studies explore the genetic factors influencing traits such as athleticism and disease resistance, as well as the impact of environmental and management conditions on horse behavior and welfare. This page gathers peer-reviewed research and scholarly articles that investigate the scientific principles underpinning equine science and their practical applications in horse care and management.
Evaluation of the presence of house dust mites in horse rugs. A sample of fourteen horse rugs and two saddle blankets stored in south western Sydney, Australia, an area of known high dust mite prevalence in the human environment, were analysed for the presence of house dust mites. Dust samples from the rugs, blankets and 16 control sites were collected using a vacuum cleaner with a modified attachment and filter. Dust mites were extracted using an adapted floatation technique. Eight rugs and all control samples were positive for mites, which were confirmed to be house dust mites of the genus Dermatophagoides. This study confirms that exposure to house du...
Monitoring distances travelled by horses using GPS tracking collars. The aims of this work were to (1) develop a low-cost equine movement tracking collar based on readily available components, (2) conduct preliminary studies assessing the effects of both paddock size and internal fence design on the movements of domestic horses, with and without foals at foot, and (3) describe distances moved by mares and their foals. Additional monitoring of free-ranging feral horses was conducted to allow preliminary comparisons with the movement of confined domestic horses. Methods: A lightweight global positioning system (GPS) data logger modified from a personal/vehicle tr...
Carriage of Clostridium difficile and other enteric pathogens among a 4-H avocational cohort. Clostridium difficile (CD), Salmonella, Campylobacter and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) are major causes of morbidity in a variety of enteric diseases in humans and animals, but subclinical carriage in both is probably more common than are clinical cases. Little is known regarding the prevalence of these pathogens in animals raised for exhibit at Michigan county fairs or the frequency with which Michigan citizens raising these animals may have been subclinically colonized. To address these issues, 361 fecal specimens from 158 humans and 203 of their farm animals were cultured for C...
Exploring lay perceptions of the causes of crib-biting/windsucking behaviour in horses. Crib-biting/windsucking behaviour has important consequences for equine health and welfare. Lay perceptions of health and illness are of interest to medical sociologists, providing important information to medical practitioners, but have infrequently been applied in veterinary research. Objective: To demonstrate how lay epidemiology can be applied within veterinary research by exploring the lay perceptions regarding the causes of crib-biting/windsucking behaviour in horses. Methods: Informants were recruited from professional and amateur horse owners who had or had not owned/cared for a horse ...
Relationships between race earnings and horse age, sex, gait, track surface and number of race starts for Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses in North America. There is no consensus on objective outcome measures that can be used to determine if a medical or surgical treatment affects race performance. Objective: To determine the association between 2 commonly used outcome measures (total starts and total earnings) and age, sex, gait and race surface. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using the race performance data for all Thoroughbred horses age 2, 3, 4 and 5 years racing in the United States, and Standardbred horses of the same ages racing in the United States and Canada during the year 2006. Median earnings and starts were determined ...
Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Navarra (Iberian Peninsula). To collect, analyze and evaluate the ethnoveterinary knowledge about medicinal plants in a northern Iberian region (Navarra, 10,421 km(2), 620,377 inhabitants). Methods: Field work was conducted between 2003 and 2007, using semi-structured questionnaire and participant observation as well as transects walks in wild herbal plant collection areas. We performed semi-structured interviews with 667 informants (mean age 72; 55.47% women, 44.53% men) in 265 locations, identified the plant reported and analyzed the results, comparing them with those from other territories. Results: Out of 287 species ...
Genetic diversity in farm animals–a review. Domestication of livestock species and a long history of migrations, selection and adaptation have created an enormous variety of breeds. Conservation of these genetic resources relies on demographic characterization, recording of production environments and effective data management. In addition, molecular genetic studies allow a comparison of genetic diversity within and across breeds and a reconstruction of the history of breeds and ancestral populations. This has been summarized for cattle, yak, water buffalo, sheep, goats, camelids, pigs, horses, and chickens. Further progress is expected...
Veterinary and toxicological applications for the detection of cardiac injury using cardiac troponin. The use of cardiac troponin (cTn), the 'gold-standard' biomarker of myocardial injury in humans, is growing in veterinary medicine and in animal safety studies, although there are differences in its application in animals. In this study six new assays for the marker were assessed in 619 animals of six different species (dog, cat, horse, cattle, rat and rabbit), in clinical and drug-safety studies. Healthy animals and clinical cases without cardiac disease served as controls. Several of the tested assays had poor analytic or diagnostic sensitivity and only one test was effective in all species ...
Chronic equine wounds: what is the role of infection and biofilms?. Wound research is an evolving science in the equine species. In particular, interest is growing regarding the role that microorganisms play in delaying both acute and chronic wound healing. Equine wounds, particularly lower limb wounds, frequently display delayed healing and infection is commonly the underlying reason. This review will summarize the current research and knowledge surrounding equine wound healing and wound care. Particular focus is placed on the role that microbes play in chronic equine wounds and the significance of associated bacterial biofilms. .
Pedigree estimation of the (sub) population contribution to the total gene diversity: the horse coat colour case. A method to quantify the contribution of subpopulations to genetic diversity in the whole population was assessed using pedigree information. The standardization of between- and within-subpopulation mean coancestries was developed to account for the different coat colour subpopulation sizes in the Spanish Purebred (SPB) horse population. The data included 166264 horses registered in the SPB Studbook. Animals born in the past 11 years (1996 to 2006) were selected as the 'reference population' and were grouped according to coat colour into eight subpopulations: grey (64 836 animals), bay (33 633...
Identification of Y chromosome genetic variations in Chinese indigenous horse breeds. Y chromosome acts as a single nonrecombining unit that is male specific and in effect haploid, thus ensuring the preservation of mutational events as a single haplotype via male lines. In this study, 6 Y chromosome-specific microsatellites (SSR) were tested for the patrilineal genetic variations of 573 male samples from Chinese domestic horse (30 breeds), Przewalski's horse, and donkey. All the 6 loci appeared as a haplotype block in Przewalski's horse and the domestic donkey. There were notable differences, however, at Y chromosome markers between horse and donkey. There were 2 haplotypes of ...
Nutritional aspects of post exercise skeletal muscle glycogen synthesis in horses: a comparative review. Carbohydrate (CHO) stored in the form of skeletal muscle glycogen is the main energy source for glycolytic and oxidative ATP production during vigorous exercise in mammals. In man, horse and dog both short-term high intensity and prolonged submaximal exercise deplete muscle glycogen. In horses, however, muscle glycogen synthesis is 2-3-fold slower than in man and rat, even when a diet high in soluble CHO is fed. There appear to be significant differences in CHO and glycogen metabolism between horses and other mammals, and it is becoming increasingly clear that many conclusions drawn from human...
Modeling variance structure of body shape traits of Lipizzan horses. Heterogeneity of variance of growth traits over age is a common issue in estimating genetic parameters and is addressed in this study by selecting appropriate variance structure models for additive genetic and environmental variances. Modeling and partitioning those variances connected with analyzing small data sets were demonstrated on Lipizzan horses. The following traits were analyzed: withers height, chest girth, and cannon bone circumference. The measurements were taken at birth, and at approximately 6, 12, 24, and 36 mo of age of 660 Lipizzan horses born in Croatia between 1948 and 2000....
A comparative stereological study of the term placenta in the donkey, pony and Thoroughbred. The aim of the study was to compare horse and donkey placentae using stereological techniques. Term placentae were collected at spontaneous foaling from seven Thoroughbred mares, seven pony mares, and six jenny donkeys. Maternal and foal weights were recorded and the mass, volume, and gross area of each allantochorion was also recorded. Ten random biopsies were recovered and processed for light microscopy from which the surface density of the microcotyledons (S(v)) and the total microscopic area of fetomaternal contact were calculated stereologically. Gestation length was longer in the donkeys...
A secondary isotope effect study of equine serum butyrylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine. beta-Secondary deuterium isotope effects have been measured for equine serum butyrylcholinesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of acetyl-L(3)-thiocholine (L=H or (2)H). The dependencies of initial rates on isotopic substrate concentrations show close adherence to Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and yield the following isotope effects: (D3)k(cat)/K(m)=0.98+/-0.02 and (D3)k(cat)=1.10+/-0.02. The modestly inverse isotope effect on k(cat)/K(m) is consistent with partial rate limitation by a step that converts the sp(2)-hybridized ester carbonyl of the E+A reactant state into a quasi-tetrahedral transition sta...
Enhancing reproductive performance in mares. Reproductive performance in mares can be enhanced by various techniques. Protocols hastening the onset of follicular development help establish pregnancy in mares and ensure that foals are born early in the year. The time spent breeding mares can be reduced by synchronizing estrus and inducing ovulation. After successful fertilization of the oocyte, the developing embryo can survive in the uterus only if postbreeding endometritis, if present, is treated.
Animal and human rabies in Mongolia. The prevalence of animal rabies differs in each area of Mongolia. Wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758), foxes ( Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758), corsac foxes (Vulpes corsac Linnaeus, 1768) and manuls (Felis manul Pallas, 1778) are considered to be the infective wild animals in natural foci. Amongst livestock, cattle have had the most rabies cases, followed by camels, sheep, goats and horses. The peak prevalence of animal rabies occurred in the 1970s. Dundgovi Province had the highest incidence during that period. The number of rabies cases in animals decreased during the 1980s. This may have been...
Partial intravenous anaesthesia in 5 horses using ketamine, lidocaine, medetomidine and halothane. A partial intravenous protocol was used successfully to maintain anaesthesia in 5 healthy horses. Horses were premedicated with acepromazine, romifidine and butorphanol, induced with guaifenesin and ketamine and maintained on a constant rate infusion of lidocaine, ketamine and medetomidine together with halothane inhalation anaesthesia. Mean end-tidal halothane concentration to maintain a surgical plane of anaesthesia was 0.8 +/- 0.2%. Mean dobutamine requirement to maintain mean arterial pressure above 9.31 kPa was 0.42 +/- 0.3 microg/kg/min. The administration of relatively low doses of lido...
Autologous conditioned plasma as therapy of tendon and ligament lesions in seven horses. This case report describes the intralesional application of autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) in seven horses as treatment of severe tendinitis of the superficial digital flexor tendon, deep digital flexor tendon, or desmitis of the inferior check ligament. Follow-up data of the horses revealed a positive outcome in 10 to 13 months post injury. All horses treated with ACP were either performing in their previous work-load or were back in full training. Further studies with long-term follow-up will have to be performed to support these clinical intermediate-term observations.
Membrane lipids of the stallion spermatozoon in relation to sperm quality and susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. Lipids were extracted from ejaculated spermatozoa from seven individual stallions to distinguish neutral lipids (NL) and polar lipids (PL) and determine their variation among stallions and their relationship with sperm quality and sperm susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. The isolated fatty acids were correlated with sperm quality (membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and expression of active caspases) and the sensitivity of the sperm plasma membrane to LPO. The miristic (C14: 0), palmitic (C16: 0), stearic (C18: 0) and oleic (C18: 1n9) acids were predominant among th...
Selenium in blood, semen, seminal plasma and spermatozoa of stallions and its relationship to sperm quality. The essential trace element selenium is indispensable for male fertility in mammals. Until now, little data existed regarding the relationship between selenium and sperm quality in the stallion. Selenium, or selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity, was determined in red blood cells, semen, seminal plasma and spermatozoa, and the percentages of spermatozoa with progressive motility (PMS), intact membranes (PMI), altered (positive) acrosomal status (PAS) and detectable DNA damage, determined by the sperm chromatin structure assay, were evaluated in 41 healthy stallions (three samples ...
Isolation and partial sequencing of Equid herpesvirus 5 from a horse in Iceland. Horses are hosts to 2 types of gammaherpesviruses, Equid herpesvirus 2 and 5 (EHV-2 and EHV-5, respectively). Both EHV-2 and EHV-5 are common in horses in Iceland. An Icelandic EHV-5 isolate was recovered by sequential culture in primary fetal horse kidney and rabbit kidney cells. Glycoprotein B, glycoprotein H, and DNA terminase genes of the isolate were fully sequenced, and the DNA polymerase gene was partly sequenced. To date, the glycoprotein B gene of EHV-5 was the only gene that has been reported to be completely sequenced in addition to small parts of the glycoprotein H, DNA polymerase,...
