Topic:Animal Species
The topic "Animal Species and Horses" explores the interactions and relationships between horses and various other animal species. This includes understanding the ecological roles horses play within their environments, as well as their interactions with domestic and wild animals. Research in this area may cover aspects such as competition for resources, symbiotic relationships, and behavioral influences between horses and other species. Studies may also investigate the impact of horses on biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that examine these interspecies relationships, focusing on the ecological, behavioral, and environmental implications of horses interacting with other animals.
Spatial transcriptomics defines the cell-specific RNA landscape of equine dorsal root ganglia. Equine spinal neurodegenerative conditions are frequently encountered in sport and racing horses and may be career-ending diagnoses. To further define the spatial transcriptomic landscape of equine dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in healthy adult horses, we investigated gene expression differences in distinct DRG regions using the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling from NanoString. Four human cell markers demonstrated high fidelity for equine cells; microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2), myelin basic protein (MBP), allograft inflammatory 104 factor 1/ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (IBA1/A...
Estimation of genetic parameters of body conformation and racing performance traits in Yili horses. The Yili horse is a riding-type breed that has been continuously bred independently in China. The genetics of body conformation and racing performance traits need to be comprehensively considered in making breeding decisions. This study is the first to estimate the genetic parameters of 13 body conformation and racing performance traits in Yili horses using a linear model. In total, 9937 body conformation and 2576 race records of 9100 Yili horses obtained from 1993 to 2022 were reviewed. The results showed that heritability estimates of body measurement traits were medium to high, ranging from...
Molecular Diagnosis and Identification of Equine Piroplasms: Challenges and Insights from a Study in Northern Italy. Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by and species. Despite its presence in Europe, no laboratory testing is required for animal movement, even though some countries remain free of this disease. Differentiating between species and genotypes is crucial to determine the most effective treatment, as dosage, active compounds, and duration vary. However, diagnosis is often challenging due to genetic variability and the limited sensitivity of molecular methods. The aims of this study were to compare the performances of different molecular diagnostic tests to identify the most effec...
The value of using multilevel performances (from recreational to international) to the genetic evaluation for show jumping performance in Warmblood horses. Show jumping is a popular equestrian sport that requires a unique combination of jumping capacity and rideability. It has been shown that genetics play an important role in show jumping performance that has significant implications for horse breeding programmes. This gives an important opportunity for studbooks to breed horses with the potential to perform at the highest level in show jumping competitions. However, show jumping competitions are performed at various levels (from recreational to international level) but only national competition results are used by Warmblood studbooks in most ge...
Detection of Salmonella spp. in pooled environmental samples from an equine veterinary hospital using a novel point-of-care PCR assay. The objective of this study was to evaluate a point-of-care (POC) PCR assay for the detection of Salmonella spp. in pooled environmental samples collected at an equine veterinary hospital. A total of 945 environmental samples were collected from high-risk areas, including ICU and isolation stalls, high-traffic areas, treatment rooms, and surgical suites. The environmental samples were collected using drag swabs placed in selenite broth and individually incubated at 35 °C for 20 h. Following the incubation period, 1 mL of up to 10 individual environmental samples were pooled together. Each poo...
The inability of spectral Doppler ultrasonography to identify stallions with testicular dysfunction. This retrospective study aimed to validate the usefulness of spectral Doppler ultrasonography in diagnosing testicular dysfunction in stallions. The first part of the study included a pony stallion with age-related testicular degeneration (18 - 21 yrs. old). Testicular dimensions, spectral Doppler parameters of testicular blood flow, and semen parameters were obtained numerous times from this pony over four consecutive years. While testicular volume decreased dramatically, and the stallion became azoospermic, there were no changes in any of the spectral Doppler parameters of testicular blood f...
Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH) in Icelandic Horses in Germany: A Correlation Between Clinical and Radiographic Findings. Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a widespread dental disease with an unknown aetiology, mainly affecting the incisors and canine teeth of senior horses. Being clinically asymptomatic in early stages but progressively destructive and painful in many cases highlights the need for improvements in early diagnosis of EOTRH. This study describes how clinical and radiological findings correlate with distinguishing EOTRH-specific symptoms from non-specific findings. Clinical and radiographic examinations of the rostral oral cavity were performed in 154 Icelandic hor...
Antipredator behaviour in semi-feral horses: innate response and the influence of external factors. Rewilding can play a vital role in safeguarding biodiversity, with the grazing pressure exerted by large ungulates and controlled by their predators being a significant factor, particularly in European contexts. Domestic horses are becoming integral to such ungulates' biomass, but they may differ from truly wild species due to their domesticated origin. This raises concerns about whether feral horses retain adequate antipredator behaviours, especially in the presence of expanding, large predators like wolves. The field of antipredator behaviour research is hampered by inconsistent results and ...
Evaluation of Bacterial Cellulose/Alginate-Based Hydrogel and Frog Skin Dressings in Equine Skin Wound Healing. This study evaluates the wound-healing process in horses following the application of two treatment modalities: bacterial cellulose hydrogel with alginate (BCAW) and frog skin (FSW) dressings on experimentally induced skin wounds. Throughout the experiment, no clinical abnormalities were noted in the horses, although initial wound assessments indicated edema and sensitivity. Local hemorrhage was observed in some cases on Day 0, with granulation tissue formation evident by Day 14. Epithelialization began around Day 14 but did not reach complete healing in any group by Day 28. The analysis showe...
Identifying Novel Emotions and Wellbeing of Horses from Videos Through Unsupervised Learning. This research applies unsupervised learning on a large original dataset of horses in the wild to identify previously unidentified horse emotions. We construct a novel, high-quality, diverse dataset of 3929 images consisting of five wild horse breeds worldwide at different geographical locations. We base our analysis on the seven Panksepp emotions of mammals "Exploring", "Sadness", "Playing", "Rage", "Fear", "Affectionate" and "Lust", along with one additional emotion "Pain" which has been shown to be highly relevant for horses. We apply the contrastive learning framework MoCo (Momentum Contras...
No More Evasion: Redefining Conflict Behaviour in Human-Horse Interactions. Euphemisms, anthropomorphisms, and equivocation are established characteristics of traditional equestrian language. 'Evasion', 'resistance', and 'disobedience' are common labels assigned to unwelcome equine behaviours, implying that the horse is at fault for not complying with the human's cues and expectations. These terms appear to overlook multiple motivations that may directly result in the horse offering unwelcome responses, which may then inadvertently be reinforced. This article revisits some of the anthropocentric inferences in these terms and explores the harmful consequences of such c...
Effect of an adjustable ceiling to prevent premature rising attempts after general anesthesia in healthy ponies and horses: A pilot study. This study aimed to assess and compare the recovery of ponies and horses following general anesthesia in two different settings: a recovery box with an inflexible, adjustable ceiling, and free recovery without restraints. Our primary objective was to evaluate the effect of adjustable ceilings on the prevention of premature attempts to rise during recovery. The secondary aim was to compare the physiological stress indicators during recovery. Methods: Prospective, randomized, experimental study. Methods: Six healthy ponies and 10 healthy horses. Methods: This study used a crossover design with t...
A comprehensive allele specific expression resource for the equine transcriptome. Allele-specific expression (ASE) analysis provides a nuanced view of cis-regulatory mechanisms affecting gene expression. Results: An equine ASE analysis was performed, using integrated Iso-seq and short-read RNA sequencing data from four healthy Thoroughbreds (2 mares and 2 stallions) across 9 tissues from the Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes (FAANG) project. Allele expression was quantified by haplotypes from long-read data, with 42,900 allele expression events compared. Within these events, 635 (1.48%) demonstrated ASE, with liver tissue containing the highest proportion. Genetic var...
Effect of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the growth and development of young foals under subtropical conditions of Pakistan. This study was designed to explore the impact of intrinsic (breed of foal, age of dam, and age of foal at weaning) and extrinsic (season of birth and housing type) factors on the growth and survival of foals in the subtropical conditions of Pakistan. For the growth study, retrospective data analysis of foals (n = 150) born from purebred brood mares of Thoroughbred, Arabs, and Percheron breeds (n1, n2, and n3 = 50 each) was made. Six hundred and twenty-four (n = 624) foals born between 2020 to 2022 were observed for the study of foal survival rate. The survival of these foals till the age of on...
Genome sequence of Equine Erythroparvovirus 1, identified in the United States. is a parvovirus that was identified in the blood of four horses in the United States. Here, we report one genome from a horse in New York State. This genome may represent a new species within the genus .
The HTIRDB: A resource containing a transcriptional atlas for 105 different tissues from each of seven species of domestic herbivore. Here, we describe the Herbivore Transcriptome Integrated Resource Database (HTIRDB, https://yanglab.hzau.edu.cn/HTIRDB#/). The HTIRDB comprises the self-generated transcriptomic data from 100 to 105 tissues from two female domestic herbivores from six species (cattle, donkey, goat, horse, rabbit, and sika deer) and two breeds of sheep, and an extra 28,710 related published datasets. The HTIRDB user-friendly interface provides tools and functionalities that facilitate the exploration of gene expression between tissues and species. The tools for comparative transcriptomics can be used to identif...
Use of full-thickness mesh grafts and full-thickness meek micrografts in five horses with ear skin defects caused by trauma or neoplasm resection. To report the management and outcomes of five horses with ear skin defects treated with the use of full-thickness mesh grafts and full-thickness Meek micrografts. Methods: Five horses with acute or granulating pinna skin wounds. Methods: Short case series. Methods: A full-thickness graft was harvested from the pectoral region under general anesthesia. The sheet graft was stretched on a sterile plastic board with the epidermal side facing down. The subcutaneous fat and fascia were removed by sharp dissection. The skin graft was then meshed by hand or using a block mesher, or manually cut into m...
Assessment of tree-associated atypical myopathy risk factors in Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore) seeds and leaves. Sycamore tree-derived hypoglycin A (HGA) toxin causes atypical myopathy (AM), an acute, equine pasture-associated rhabdomyolysis but incidence fluctuates. Objective: Investigate whether tree or environmental factors influence HGA concentration in sycamore material and are associated with AM relative risk. Methods: Retrospective and experimental prospective study. Methods: UK sycamore population, seed production and AM incidence data were obtained. HGA concentration was measured in seeds from trees from 10 different central UK locations. The effect of tar spot infection, seed maturity, tree tru...
Insect-specific Alphamesonivirus-1 (Mesoniviridae) in lymph node and lung tissues from two horses with acute respiratory syndrome. Members of the RNA virus order infect hosts ranging from marine invertebrates to terrestrial mammals. As such, understanding the determinants of host range in this group of viruses, as well as their patterns of emergence and disease potential, is of clear importance. The are a recently documented family within the . To date, mesoniviruses have only been associated with the infection of arthropod species, particularly mosquitoes, and hence are regarded as insect-specific viruses (ISVs). Herein, we report the first detection of a mesonivirus-Alphamesonivirus-1 -in mammals. Specifically, we uti...
Estimating Total-Tract Digestibility of Nutrients and Their Contribution to Digestible Energy Supplies in Equine Diets. Our objectives were to use a quantitative literature review to explore dietary and feed factors influencing apparent total-tract digestibility of dry matter (DMD), crude protein (CPD), neutral detergent fiber (NDFD), ether extract (EED), non-structural carbohydrates (NSCD), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFCD), and residual organic matter (rOMD) in equine diets, and to assess their contributions to digestible energy (DE) supplies. Data from 54 studies were modeled using linear mixed-effect regressions, with publication as a random effect to account for study variability. For each nutrient, five mode...
Pulse oximetry at two sensor placement sites in conscious foals. Pulse oximetry has not been thoroughly evaluated for assessment of oxygenation in conscious foals. Compared with invasive arterial blood sampling, it is a painless and non-invasive method for real-time monitoring of blood oxygen saturation. The aim of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the usability, validity, and reliability of pulse oximetry at two measuring sites (lip and caudal abdominal skin fold) for blood oxygen saturation measurement in conscious foals with and without respiratory compromise. Thirty-two foals under one month of age were used. Nineteen foals had normal resp...
Fecal microbiota changes associated with pathogenic and non-pathogenic diarrheas in foals. Diarrhea is a common disease that could threaten the welfare of newborn foals. While there are several forms of foal diarrhea, the etiologies can be considered known pathogenic or non-pathogenic in nature. Moreover, there are likely differences in the composition of microbial populations in the gastrointestinal tracts of foals depending upon the etiology of diarrhea. Our study aims to examine the microbial population in the feces of foals with both pathogenic and non-pathogenic diarrheas to discern differences in their microbial compositions. Results: Foal diarrhea samples tested positive or n...
Unraveling the distinctive gut microbiome of khulans (Equus hemionus hemionus) in comparison to their drinking water and closely related equids. The microbial composition of host-associated microbiomes is influenced by co-evolutionary interactions, host genetics, domestication, and the environment. This study investigates the contribution of environmental microbiota from freshwater bodies to the gastrointestinal microbiomes of wild khulans (Equus hemionus hemionus, n = 21) and compares them with those of captive khulans (n = 12) and other equids-Przewalski's horse (n = 82) and domestic horse (n = 26). Using PacBio technology and the LotuS pipeline for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we analyze microbial diversity and conduct ...
Rhythmic categories in horse gait kinematics. Anecdotally, horses' gaits sound rhythmic. Are they really? In this study, we quantified the motor rhythmicity of horses across three different gaits (walk, trot, and canter). For the first time, we adopted quantitative tools from bioacoustics and music cognition to quantify locomotor rhythmicity. Specifically, we tested whether kinematics data contained rhythmic categories; these occur when adjacent temporal intervals are categorically, rather than randomly, distributed. We extracted the motion cycle duration (t) of two ipsilateral hooves from motion data of 13 ridden horses and calculated th...
Description and Analysis of Horse Swimming Strategies in a U-Shaped Pool. Aquatic training has been integrated into equine rehabilitation and training programs for several decades. While the cardiovascular effects of this training have been explored in previous studies, limited research exists on the locomotor patterns exhibited during the swimming cycle. This study aimed to analyze three distinct swimming strategies, identified by veterinarians, based on the propulsion phases of each limb: (S1) two-beat cycle with lateral overlap, (S2) two-beat cycle with diagonal overlap, and (S3) four-beat cycle. 125 underwater videos from eleven horses accustomed to swimming wer...
Genome wide landscaping of copy number variations for horse inter-breed variability. Copy number variations (CNVs) have become widely acknowledged as a significant source of genomic variability and phenotypic variance. To understand the genetic variants in horses, CNVs from six Indian horse breeds, namely, Manipuri, Zanskari, Bhutia, Spiti, Kathiawari and Marwari were discovered using Axiom™ Equine Genotyping Array. These breeds differed in agro-climatic adaptation with distinct phenotypic characters. A total of 2668 autosomal CNVs and 381 CNV regions (CNVRs) were identified with PennCNV tool. DeepCNV was employed to re-validate to get 883 autosomal CNVs, of which 9.06% were...
Companion animal and equine clinical research: a Nordic perspective. The societal value of cats, dogs and horses is high, and the companion and sport animal health care sector is growing. Clinical research concerning cats, dogs and horses is crucial for the development of evidence-based medical care that benefits animals and their owners, and has implications for human and environmental health from a One Health perspective. Basic information on companion animal and equine research enables more directed measures to improve conditions for research within the area. The aim of the present study was to describe Nordic companion animal and equine clinical research fr...
Molecular Characterization of Bovine Deltapapillomavirus in Equine Sarcoids in Egypt. Bovine papillomaviruses (BPVs) commonly cause sarcoids in equines worldwide. Equine sarcoids (ESs) reduce the working ability of draft animals and produce untoward cosmetic changes in racing and dancing equine. In this study, nine horses and 16 donkeys with sarcoids were presented to Zagazig University Veterinary Clinic, Zagazig, Egypt. Of these, eight horses and six donkeys were found to be infected with BPV. On sequencing, all 14 viruses were found to be BPV1, which were distributed in two clades without specific differentiation among papillomaviruses (PVs) of donkeys, horses, and cattle. Co...