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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.
Critical Evaluation of Whole-Body Cryostimulation Protocol in Race Horses. Cold therapy is commonly used to relieve pain and inflammation and to aid in muscle recovery after exercise in human medicine. A number of applications have also been observed in veterinary practice. In this article, a critical evaluation of equine protocol applied with a new commercial concept of equine whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) was made. With this new concept of WBC, the protocol usually utilized for relieving pain and discomfort in humans has been extended to horses. The investigations described herein focus on the reduction of horse skin temperature when applying human WBC protocols...
Inter- and intrabreed diversity of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in primitive and draft horse breeds. Polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes ensures effective immune responses against a wide array of pathogens. However, artificial selection, as performed in the case of domestic animals, may influence MHC diversity. Here, we investigate and compare the MHC diversity of three populations of horses, for which different breeding policies were applied, to evaluate the impact of artificial selection and the environment on MHC polymorphism. Samples of DNA were taken from 100 Polish draft horses, 38 stabled Konik Polski horses and 32 semiferal Konik Polski horses. MHC alleles and...
Histologic Comparison of the Dura Mater among Species. The biocompatibility, biodegradation, feasibility, and efficacy of medical devices like dural sealants and substitutes are often evaluated in various animal models. However, none of these studies explain the rationale for choosing a particular species, and a systematic interspecies comparison of the dura is not available. We hypothesized that histologic characteristics of the dura would differ among species. We systematically investigated basic characteristics of the dura, including thickness, composition, and fibroblast orientation of the dura mater, in 34 samples representing 10 animal speci...
Novel Variants in the HMGA2 Gene Are Associated With Withers Height in Debao Pony. The Debao pony is a well-known dwarf horse breed in China. High-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) gene is regarded as one of the important candidate genes regulating body height in horses. The aim of this study was to study the association between mutations in HMGA2 gene and withers height in Debao ponies. The polymorphisms in all exons and partial introns of the HMGA2 gene were screened with sequencing across 180 Debao ponies. And the association between the DNA variants and withers height was analyzed. Seven genetic variants were identified in HMGA2 gene, including six novel variants. Among t...
Preservation of Epididymal Stallion Sperm in Liquid and Frozen States: Effects of Seminal Plasma on Sperm Function and Fertility. Three separate experiments were conducted to improve preservation of stallion epididymal sperm. In the first one, two different cooling extenders (Kenney and Gent) were compared. Sperm viability and motility patterns were assessed in 10 different epididymal sperm samples after 0 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 96 hours of preservation at 4°C. No significant differences were observed in any of the evaluated parameters either between extenders or throughout the storage period. The second set of experiments was designed to determine whether supplementing thawing medium (INRA Freeze...
Sniff, look and loop excursions as the unit of “exploration” in the horse (Equus ferus caballis) when free or under saddle in an equestrian arena. Spontaneous locomotor behavior in a novel space reveals insights into an animal's world view or Umwelt. For example, in many animal species, spontaneous behavior in a novel environment is parsed into activities at a home base and excursions from the home base. Domestic horses (Equus ferus caballas) are frequently ridden for recreation or in performance events in an equestrian arena but there has been no description of horse behavior in an arena when they are unconstrained and "exploring" or when moving freely under saddle. The present examination of exploration provides insights into horse ada...
ASlive: a database for alternative splicing atlas in livestock animals. Alternative splicing is an important biological process whose precision must be tightly regulated during growth and development. Although there are species, disease (e.g. cancers), or study specific databases available in many organisms, no database exists in livestock animals specifically tailored for alternative splicing. Methods: We present in this study the development and implementation of a database for alternative splicing atlas in livestock animals (ASlive.org). Using publicly available RNASeq data sets across many tissues, cell types, and biological conditions totaling 28.6 T bases,...
Horses Failed to Learn from Humans by Observation. Animals can acquire new behavior through both individual and social learning. Several studies have investigated horses' ability to utilize inter-species (human demonstrator) social learning with conflicting results. In this study, we repeat a previous study, which found that horses had the ability to learn from observing humans performing an instrumental task, but we include a control for stimulus enhancement. One human demonstrator and thirty horses were included, and the horses were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: (A) full human demonstration, (B) partial human demonstration, a...
Massive Africanized honeybee stings in two hair sheep and a mare. The findings of massive Africanized honeybee stings in two hair sheep and a mare are reported. One sheep died 15 h after attack, and the survivors developed skin necrosis on the sting sites. Pathological evaluation revealed necrosis in the dermis, degeneration of the tubular epithelial cells, and multifocal hemorrhages in heart and spleen. The massive attack by Africanized honeybees induced lesions in the skin, heart, muscles, kidneys, and lungs.
In-Person Caretaker Visits Disrupt Ongoing Discomfort Behavior in Hospitalized Equine Orthopedic Surgical Patients. Horses have evolved to show little indication of discomfort or disability when in the presence of potential predators, including humans. This natural characteristic complicates the recognition of pain in equine patients. It has been our clinical impression that, whenever a person is present, horses tend to "perk up" and ongoing discomfort behavior (DB) more or less ceases. The objective of this study was to quantitatively evaluate and describe this effect. For each of 20 orthopedic surgical patients, continuous 24-h video was reviewed to record all occurrences of DB during a caretaker visit (3...
Centrifugation Force and Time Alter CASA Parameters and Oxidative Status of Cryopreserved Stallion Sperm. Conventional sperm selection techniques used in ARTs rely on centrifugation steps. To date, the different studies reported on the effects of centrifugation on stallion sperm motility provided contrasting results and do not include effects on mitochondrial functionality and different oxidative parameters. The effects of different centrifugation protocols (300 ×g for 5', 300 ×g for 10', 1500 ×g for 5' and 1500 ×g for 10' vs no centrifugation) on motility and oxidative status in cryopreserved stallion sperm, were analyzed. After centrifugation, almost all motility parameters were significantl...
Genetic diversity within and between British and Irish breeds: The maternal and paternal history of native ponies. The UK and Ireland have many native pony breeds with historical and cultural importance as well as being a source of uncharacterized genetic diversity. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research investigating their genetic diversity and phylogenetic interrelationships. Many studies contain a limited number of pony breeds or small sample sizes for these breeds. This may result in erroneous grouping of pony breeds that otherwise have intricate interrelationships with each other and are not evaluated correctly when placed as a token subset of a larger dataset. This is the first study that...
Drug Efficacy of Ivermectin Against Primary Nematodes Parasitizing Captive Przewalski’s Horse (Equus Ferus Przewalskii) after Ten Years of Annually Treatment. Reintroduction of endangered species to natural habitat is considered as an important tool for conservation. The effect of drug management on captive population of reintroduced species is largely neglected. Decreased drug efficacy could pose a substantial threat to health of animals. More importantly, captive population without proper drug administration could act as transmission medium of resistance nematodes to wild population, making it important to delay the occurrence of drug resistance in captive population. Ivermectin have been used in captive Przewalski's horse () to eradicate intestin...
Coagulation Assessment in the Equine Patient. Horses with clinical signs of unprovoked or excessive hemorrhage should be evaluated for underlying platelet defects or coagulopathies. This article provides an overview of preliminary screening and definitive tests to assess coagulation and identify hemostatic defects in horses, as well as a review of the hemostatic disorders most frequently encountered in clinical practice.
The role of seminal plasma in the liquid storage of spermatozoa. Ongoing progress in proteomic characterization of seminal plasma has stimulated research on the identification of biomarkers for male fertility and sperm preservability. So far, many studies have evaluated the benefits of reconstituting cryopreserved or sex-sorted semen with seminal plasma. Less information is available about the effect of remaining or added seminal plasma in liquid preserved semen. The interaction between seminal plasma and spermatozoa is species -specific, and within species often complex and ambiguous. This article aims to review the action of seminal plasma on sperm functi...
Overview of spatio-temporal distribution inferred by multi-locus sequence typing of Taylorella equigenitalis isolated worldwide from 1977 to 2018 in equidae. The accurate identification of Taylorella equigenitalis strains is essential to improve worldwide prevention and control strategies for contagious equine metritis (CEM). This study compared 367 worldwide equine strains using multilocus sequence typing according to the geographical origin, isolation year and equine breed. The strains were divided into 49 sequence types (STs), including 10 described for the first time. Three major and three minor clonal complexes (CCs), and 11 singletons, were identified. The genetic heterogeneity was low (0.13 STs/strain) despite the wide diversity of geographi...
Embryo survival in the oviduct not significantly influenced by major histocompatibility complex social signaling in the horse. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) influences sexual selection in various vertebrates. Recently, MHC-linked social signaling was also shown to influence female fertility in horses (Equus caballus) diagnosed 17 days after fertilization. However, it remained unclear at which stage the pregnancy was terminated. Here we test if MHC-linked cryptic female choice in horses happens during the first days of pregnancy, i.e., until shortly after embryonic entrance into the uterus and before fixation in the endometrium. We exposed estrous mares to one of several unrelated stallions, instrumentally...
Seminal plasma has limited counteracting effects following induction of oxidative stress in donkey spermatozoa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of donkey spermatozoa to oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide, and to determine whether the presence of seminal plasma modulates the sperm response to that stress. Nine ejaculates were collected, extended in skim milk extender and split into two aliquots. Seminal plasma was removed from the first but not second aliquot. Samples were subsequently split into four aliquots supplemented with different concentrations of commercial hydrogen peroxide (0, 100 and 250µM and 50mM). Aliquots were incubated at 37°C under aerobic conditions and ...
Should We Agree to Disagree? An Evaluation of the Inter-Rater Reliability of Gait Quality Traits in Franches-Montagnes Stallions. Gait quality, that is, the way horses move according to functional and aesthetic principles, englobes many traits that are scored by experts during breeding competitions. The experts can score a trait on a subjective valuating (SV) scale or on a linear profiling (LP) scale representing the biological extremes of the population. However, the reliability of the appraisal of gait quality traits has not been extensively evaluated. In this study, seven breed experts appraised the walk and trot quality of 24 Franches-Montagnes stallions presented in hand on a sand track. Inter-rater reliabilities of...
Mitochondrial Profiles of the East Bulgarian and the Pleven Horse Breeds. It is well known that horse breeding in Bulgaria is a cultural heritage in Bulgaria, dating from prehistoric and historic times. Until now, molecular data on Bulgarian horses from the plain regions of the country were not available. Therefore, for the first time, we have collected genetic information about some modern horse breeds from the plain regions in Bulgaria. A total of 50 horses originating from different families from two different breeds were investigated: the first one was the Pleven horse (n = 11, breeding in the Danubian Plain), and the second one was the East Bulgarian horse bre...
Structural insights into NS5B protein of novel equine hepaciviruses and pegiviruses complexed with polymerase inhibitors. Infections produced by hepaciviruses have been associated with liver disease in horses. Currently, at least three viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family are capable of producing a chronic infection in equines: non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV), Theiler's disease-associated virus (TDAV), and equine pegivirus (EPgV). The RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of viruses (RdRp) (NS5 protein), from the flavivirus family, use de novo RNA synthesis to initiate synthesis. The two antiviral drugs currently used to treat hepatitis C (HCV), sofosbuvir and dasabuvir, act on the viral NS5B polymerase as nucleos...
Social Referencing in the Domestic Horse. Dogs and cats use human emotional information directed to an unfamiliar situation to guide their behavior, known as social referencing. It is not clear whether other domestic species show similar socio-cognitive abilities in interacting with humans. We investigated whether horses ( = 46) use human emotional information to adjust their behavior to a novel object and whether the behavior of horses differed depending on breed type. Horses were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an experimenter positioned in the middle of a test arena directed gaze and voice towards the novel object with eith...
Effects of Transport Conditions on Behavioural and Physiological Responses of Horses. The regulations for minimal space and direction of travel for land transport in horses vary worldwide and there is currently no definitive guidance to promote equine health and welfare. This study evaluated the effects of bay size and direction of travel (forwards/backwards) in horses by comparing the behavioural, physiological, laboratory and gastroscopy parameters between transported and confined horses. A total of twenty-six mares took part in the study; 12 horses were confined for 12 h, and all mares underwent 12 hours' transportation, travelling in single (n = 18) or wide bays (n = 8), an...
A Method to Estimate Horse Speed per Stride from One IMU with a Machine Learning Method. With the emergence of numerical sensors in sports, there is an increasing need for tools and methods to compute objective motion parameters with great accuracy. In particular, inertial measurement units are increasingly used in the clinical domain or the sports one to estimate spatiotemporal parameters. The purpose of the present study was to develop a model that can be included in a smart device in order to estimate the horse speed per stride from accelerometric and gyroscopic data without the use of a global positioning system, enabling the use of such a tool in both indoor and outdoor condi...
A Farrier Making Every Contact Count: A Microlevel Analysis of Farrier-Client Interaction for Partnership Working in Managing a Horse With Laminitis. There is an evidence base in human and small animal veterinary health care contexts which understands how practitioners engage in partnership working with patients and owners to support adherence to treatment/care plans. However, as yet, it is believed there is no similar evidence base for how practitioners in equine health care contexts work with equine owners. It is argued that this is essential for understanding complex equine practitioner-owner interaction involving the prevention and management of laminitis. The aim of this study was to explore farrier-client interaction where risk manage...
Genomic inbreeding trends, influential sire lines and selection in the global Thoroughbred horse population. The Thoroughbred horse is a highly valued domestic animal population under strong selection for athletic phenotypes. Here we present a high resolution genomics-based analysis of inbreeding in the population that may form the basis for evidence-based discussion amid concerns in the breeding industry over the increasing use of small numbers of popular sire lines, which may accelerate a loss of genetic diversity. In the most comprehensive globally representative sample of Thoroughbreds to-date (n = 10,118), including prominent stallions (n = 305) from the major bloodstock regions of the w...
A Ten-Stage Protocol for Assessing the Welfare of Individual Non-Captive Wild Animals: Free-Roaming Horses (Equus Ferus Caballus) as an Example. Knowledge of the welfare status of wild animals is vital for informing debates about the ways in which we interact with wild animals and their habitats. Currently, there is no published information about how to scientifically assess the welfare of free-roaming wild animals during their normal day-to-day lives. Using free-roaming horses as an example, we describe a ten-stage protocol for systematically and scientifically assessing the welfare of individual non-captive wild animals. The protocol starts by emphasising the importance of readers having an understanding of animal welfare in a conser...
Reference Values and Repeatability of B-Mode and M-Mode Echocardiographic Parameters in Healthy Donkey (Equus asinus)-The Guide to Assess Healthy Heart. Donkey (Equus asinus), the cheapest form of agricultural power in Egypt, is used principally as draught or pack animals and may also be ridden, or used for threshing, raising water, milling, and other work. The aim of the present study was to provide B-mode and M-mode echocardiographic reference ranges from a sample of population of donkeys (E. asinus) based on the probability theory and statistics. In the present study, B-mode and 2-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography were performed on 44 clinically healthy donkeys (E. asinus) (22 males and 22 females), without any neither clinical nor...
