Topic:Cortisol
Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands in horses, playing a significant role in the regulation of metabolism, immune response, and stress management. As a glucocorticoid, cortisol influences various physiological processes, including glucose metabolism, inflammation modulation, and the maintenance of homeostasis during stress. Its levels in horses can vary due to factors such as exercise, environmental changes, and psychological stressors. Cortisol is often measured to assess stress responses and overall well-being in equine health management. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the production, regulation, and implications of cortisol in equine physiology and health.
Training Effects on the Stress Predictors for Young Lusitano Horses Used in Dressage. The purpose of this study was to investigate stressful responses during a 6-week training protocol in young Lusitano horses used for dressage. The hypothesis was that the proposed training protocol would improve fitness and ensure the welfare of the animals by reducing stress predictors. Nine 4-year-old horses were evaluated before (M1) and six weeks after (M2) beginning a training protocol. The training program was performed six times per week and included 40−80 min of individually intensity-adjusted preparatory exercises for dressage. For both moments, the horses were examined before (T0) ...
Residual effects of intra-articular betamethasone and triamcinolone acetonide in an equine acute synovitis model. Intra-articular (IA) corticosteroids are regularly used in equine athletes for the control of joint inflammation. Objective: The goal of this study was to use an acute synovitis inflammation model to determine the residual effects of IA betamethasone and triamcinolone acetonide on various inflammatory parameters and lameness. Methods: Crossover randomised trial. Methods: Five mixed-breed, 2-year-old horses were randomly allocated to an IA treatment of the radiocarpal joint with 9 mg of either betamethasone or triamcinolone acetonide. Two weeks following treatment, horses were injected with 1...
[Heart rate and faecal cortisol metabolites measurements in horses at the Sechseläuten in Zurich]. The Zurich's Sechseläuten is a traditional festival of the Zurich guilds, in which around 500 horses take part. After a parade through the old town of Zurich, the riders gather at a big square to canter around a burning woodpile topped with an exploding effigy (the «Böögg»). The level of stress experienced by the horses partaking in this event is subjected to increasing scrutiny. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stress load of the horses participating in the Sechseläuten procession more objectively by measuring heart rate and faecal cortisol metabolites. Twenty-three horse-rider...
Limitations of Spatial Judgment Bias Test Application in Horses (Equus ferus caballus). Affective states are of increasing interest in the assessment of animal welfare. This research aimed to evaluate the possible limitations in the application of a spatial judgment bias test (JBT) in horses, considering the influence of stress level, personality traits, and the possible bias due to the test structure itself. The distinction between two positions, one rewarded (Positive) and the other not (Negative), was learned by 10 horses and 4 ponies,. Then, the latency to reach three unrewarded ambiguous positions (Near Positive, Middle, Near Negative) was measured. Furthermore, the validate...
Energy endocrine physiology, pathophysiology, and nutrition of the foal. Most homeostatic systems in the equine neonate should be functional during the transition from intra- to extrauterine life to ensure survival during this critical period. Endocrine maturation in the equine fetus occurs at different stages, with a majority taking place a few days prior to parturition and continuing after birth. Cortisol and thyroid hormones are good examples of endocrine and tissue interdependency. Cortisol promotes skeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, thyroid gland, adrenomedullary, and pancreatic differentiation. Thyroid hormones are essential for cardiovascular, respirator...
Blood Profile, Hormones, and Telomere Responses: Potential Biomarkers in Horses Exhibiting Abnormal Oral Behavior. The high prevalence of abnormal oral behavior (AOB) in working horses has been linked to management issues and the pathophysiology of this behavior remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the blood profile, hormones, and telomere length responses between low and high levels of AOB among different horse working groups. A total of 207 healthy horses from various breeds were initially selected from four working groups (leisure riding, equestrian, endurance, and patrolling) and observed for the time spent on AOB. Then, six horses each with higher and lower AOB than the population ...
Determination of hair cortisol in horses: comparison of immunoassay vs LC-HRMS/MS. The measure of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is becoming an emerging approach to monitor mid-/long-term stress in animals, so it is more and more important to develop accurate and reliable methods. In the light of this, the aim of the present study was to compare mane HCCs of 47 horses with different managements, by means of an immunoassay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). After the washing step, the ground hair was extracted with methanol. The extract was evaporated and redissolved in two different aqueous solutions, depend...
Reducing Anxiety and Stress among Youth in a CBT-Based Equine-Assisted Adaptive Riding Program. Reining in Anxiety (RiA) is a therapeutic program for youth with mild to moderate anxiety delivered in a therapeutic riding setting by Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. RiA was developed after a review of the evidence base for youth anxiety, is manualized, and includes five core CBT components: in vivo exposure, cognitive restructuring, youth psychoeducation, relaxation, and caregiver psychoeducation about anxiety. This study extended findings from a prior RCT that examined (1) the feasibility of collecting saliva samples from horses and children to measure stress (cortisol) and relaxa...
Longitudinal assessment of adrenocortical steroid and steroid precursor response to illness in hospitalized foals. Sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal foals. Relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI), defined as an inadequate cortisol response to stress, has been associated with sepsis, prematurity, and poor outcome in newborn foals. In addition to cortisol, the adrenal gland synthesizes several biologically important steroids and steroid precursors, including aldosterone, androgens, and progestogens. However, concentration of these hormones during hospitalization and their association with the severity of disease and mortality in critically ill foals have not been completely evaluate...
Single housing but not changes in group composition causes stress-related immunomodulations in horses. Domestic horses are currently often subject to management practices that can entail social stressors, which in turn can negatively influence immunocompetence and disease susceptibility. The present study therefore aimed to characterize the number of various blood leukocyte subsets in horses, focusing on two potentially stressful housing environments: changes in group composition and relocation to individual stabling. Immune measurements were conducted before as well as one and eight days after changes were made. They were complemented by an assessment of plasma cortisol concentrations as well ...
Seasonal variation of endogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone concentrations in healthy non-geriatric donkeys in Northern California. Elevated plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is often used to diagnose pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses. The hormone naturally increases in the fall in horses, and donkeys have been found to have higher ACTH concentrations than horses. However, circannual variation of ACTH has not been assessed in donkeys. The objective of the study was to establish seasonal variation of basal plasma ACTH concentrations over the course of a year in clinically healthy, non-geriatric donkeys. It was hypothesized that donkey ACTH concentrations would be higher than those reported in ho...
Assessment of Welfare in Groups of Horses with Different Management, Environments and Activities by Measuring Cortisol in Horsehair, Using Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Hybrid Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Horses have always been animals used for companionship, work, transportation, and performance purposes over the history of humanity; there are different ways of managing horses, but studies on how horse welfare is influenced by different activities and managements are scanty. Understanding how the management, the environment, and the different uses of horses can affect the level of stress and well-being is important not only for people associated with horses. Three groups of horses with different management, environments, and activities were selected: (1) stabled horses ridden frequently, (2) ...
Case-control exercise challenge study on the pathogenesis of high serum gamma-glutamyl transferase activity in racehorses. High serum γ-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) activity syndrome in racehorses has been associated with maladaption to exercise. Investigation of affected horses before and immediately after standard exercise may provide critical insight into the syndrome's pathophysiology. Objective: To investigate blood biomarker changes in actively competing racehorses with high GGT activity associated with an exercise challenge. Methods: Case-control study. Methods: High GGT case (age: 2-3 years) and normal GGT control (age: 2-7 years) pairs (3 Thoroughbred, 4 Standardbred pairs) at least 3 months into thei...
Hair Cortisol and DHEA-S in Foals and Mares as a Retrospective Picture of Feto-Maternal Relationship under Physiological and Pathological Conditions. Equine fetal hair starts to grow at around 270 days of pregnancy, and hair collected at birth reflects hormones of the last third of pregnancy. The study aimed to evaluate cortisol (CORT) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations and their ratio in the trichological matrix of foals and mares in relation to their clinical parameters; the clinical condition of the neonate (study 1); the housing place at parturition (study 2). In study 1, 107 mare-foal pairs were divided into healthy (group H; n = 56) and sick (group S; n = 51) foals, whereas in study 2, group H was divided into ...
Cortisol Concentration in Horsehair and its Relationship to Body Location, Coat Colour, and Gender. The determination of cortisol concentrations in animal hair appears to be a relatively simple and non-invasive method of assessing chronic stress. This method has advantages but it also has some drawbacks. We discovered that there are specific coat properties and individual factors in animlas that can affect corisol levels and skew the interpretation of results. We removed horsehair from 8 different areas of the body (chest, left saddle, right saddle, right thoracic fetlock, and left thoracic fetlock, the mane was also sampled at the withers, just behind the ears, and the tail strand) in 31 ho...
Immune Functions Alterations Due to Racing Stress in Thoroughbred Horses. Racehorses are constantly exposed to stress. Aiming to verify the state of blood components and cortisol alterations during their routine and after races, phagocytosis and oxidative neutrophil burst assays, serum cortisol determination, erythrocytes apoptosis evaluation, lymphoproliferation assays, and blood count tests were performed in thirty Thoroughbred racehorses, which were divided in two groups. The samples were taken right after races (moment 0 d), during rest periods (-11 d, +1 d, +3 d), and after training (-8, +2, +5). In both groups, the phagocytosis showed a decrease in percentage ...
Influence of Butorphanol, Buprenorphine and Levomethadone on Sedation Quality and Postoperative Analgesia in Horses Undergoing Cheek Tooth Extraction. The aim of this prospective clinical trial was to compare the influence of butorphanol, buprenorphine and levomethadone on sedation quality and postoperative analgesia in horses undergoing cheek tooth extraction. Fifty horses were assigned to three groups prior to oral cheek tooth extraction. Horses were treated with acepromazine, followed by a detomidine bolus, one of the three opioids and both a nerve block and gingival anaesthesia. During the surgery, sedation was maintained with a detomidine constant rate infusion. After surgery, the quality of sedation, surgical conditions and severity of...
Serum Cortisol and Its Correlation with Leucocyte Profile and Circulating Lipids in Donkeys (Equus asinus). The values for basal serum cortisol concentrations of horses are available in many studies. However, there are limited data about serum cortisol in donkeys. The present study aimed to determine the baseline values for serum cortisol, to evaluate the influence of age and pregnancy on its levels, and to correlate its values with leucocyte profile, serum cholesterol, and triglycerides. Serum samples were collected from 97 healthy donkeys. Cortisol was analyzed by chemo-luminescent assay. The median and the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of serum cortisol measured and calculated in all donkeys were ...
Fluctuations of Physiological Variables during Conditioning of Lipizzan Fillies before Starting under Saddle. Scientific studies on the physiological responses of young horses to workloads are limited. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine the basal values of some cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, hematological, and biochemical parameters in 10 purebred Lipizzan fillies aged 4 years in the initial phase of training, and their responses to a graded workload, i.e., by lunging for 15 min in four exercise tests at 2-week intervals. The basal values of the measured parameters were within a range for warm-blooded horses and mostly increased after exercise in all four exercise tests. Resting heart...
Muscular tension as an indicator of acute stress in horses. Horses' muscular tension during acute stress remains unexplored. Our aim was to assess muscular, behavioral, cortisol, and hematocrit responses to social isolation (ISO), novel object exposure (NOV), and sham clipping (CLIP). Altered stress responses were expected. Eight mature Standardbred horses (four mares and four geldings) were exposed to acute stressors and a control period (CON) in a balanced, replicated 4×4 Latin Square experimental design with 3 min treatment periods and 10 min washout periods. Surface electromyography collected from the masseter, brachiocephalas, cervical trapeziu...
Effect of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Seed Cakes by Horses Subjected to Physical Exertion. Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) provides several possible benefits for horses, namely anti-inflammatory, antioxidant effects, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective effects. Silybin exerts also pronounced effects on energy metabolism, that could be useful for sport horses. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of milk thistle seed cakes (in the form of a granulated mixture with barley) on blood biochemical parameters (total protein, albumin, bilirubin, urea, creatinine, ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, LDH, the total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, TAG, BHB, NEFA, creatine kinase, l...
Stress, Metabolic and Serum Muscle-Derived Enzymes Response of Horses Employed in Wooded Area and Field Trekking Courses. Horse trekking is a non-competitive sport that, as other kinds of exercise, involves skeletal muscle effort and may implicate significant energy expenditure leading to stress. The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of trekking on metabolic and stress response as well as muscle damage markers in clinically healthy horses. Thirty horses were equally divided in 3 groups according to trekking course: Group A (trekking course 15 km long), Group B (trekking course 35 km long starting;), Group C (three trekking courses for three consecutive days; during the first day the trekking cours...
Measurements of hydrocortisone and cortisone for longitudinal profiling of equine plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The conventional detection of exogenous drugs in equine doping samples has been used for confirmation and subsequent prosecution of participants responsible. In recent years, alternative methods using indirect detection have been investigated due to the expanding number of pharmaceutical agents available with the potential of misuse. The monitoring of endogenous biomarkers such as hydrocortisone (HC) has been studied in equine urine with an international threshold of 1 μg/ml established; however, there is no current threshold for equine plasma. The aim of this research was to investigate pl...
Influence of weaning management on gastritis incidence in foals. This study evaluated the incidence of gastritis in foals subjected to different weaning management methods. Sixteen crossbreed foals [230 ± 35 kg], were enrolled in an experiment with a randomized block design. After weaning, foals were housed in either individual pens or a group pen. Gastritis in the foals was evaluated through gastroscopy. Data were submitted to analysis of variance by the non-parametric Friedman test at 0.05 significance level. Before weaning, gastritis was observed in 87.5% of the foals, and the scores for the number of gastric lesions were 2.10 and 1.56 for foals housed ...
The effect of stress and exercise on the learning performance of horses. Domestic horses are widely used for physically demanding activities but the effect of exercise on their learning abilities has not been explored. Horses are also frequently exposed to stressors that may affect their learning. Stress and exercise result in the release of glucocorticoids, noradrenaline and other neurotransmitters that can influence learning. It is not currently possible to directly measure concentrations of neurotransmitters in the brains of behaving horses, however the inference of neurobiological processes from peripheral markers have been widely used in studies of human cogni...
Perinatal Stress in Immature Foals May Lead to Subclinical Adrenocortical Dysregulation in Adult Horses: Pilot Study. The persistent endocrinological effects of perinatal stress due to gestational immaturity in horses are unknown, although effects have been reported in other livestock species. This pilot study tested the hypothesis that persistent adrenocortical dysregulation is present in horses that were gestationally immature at birth by assessing the salivary cortisol response to exogenous ACTH. Case horses (n = 10) were recruited with histories of gestation length < 315 d or dysmaturity observable through neonatal signs. Positive controls (n = 7) and negative controls (n = 5) were recruited wher...
Serum cortisol in mules intended for agricultural work. Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that is stimulated by physiological and pathological factors and has been studied widely in equids, but not in mules. The objectives of this study were to obtain a reference value for serum cortisol in mules destined for agricultural activities and to identify age- and gender-related differences in the value. The concentration was obtained in blood samples using a commercial sandwich ELISA specific for cortisol. The concentration was 96.3 ± 40.6 ng/ml and similar between age groups and genders.
Comparison of β-endorphin, Lactate and Cortisol Concentrations in Winning and Losing Racehorses. Understanding the physiological and biochemical changes in racehorses can be invaluable. Accurate information in this area could result in better understanding of needs of sport horses. The aim of this study was to prove the hypothesis that biochemical changes could influence the outcome of competitions. In this study, β-endorphin was evaluated as an indicator of analgesia, lactate as an indicator of fatigue and cortisol as an indicator of stress in the first two horses and the last ones that cross the finish line. This study was performed on 44 horses participating in the 1000-meter national...
Interleukin-1Ra (Il-1Ra) and serum cortisol level relationship in horse as dynamic adaptive response during physical exercise. The monitoring of endocrine and immunologic markers during exercise is of paramount importance to assess and/or maintain the physical well-being of athletes as well as to optimize the athletic performance. This study aimed to investigate the linkage between acute stress response and immune status in Thoroughbred horses competing in an official 1300-m race. From 10 horses blood was collected 1 week before the day of the race (1W-BEFORE), before (REST) and immediately after the race to assess the cortisol, Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), total proteins, white blood cells (WBC), red b...
Does Experience Make Hucul Horses More Resistant to Stress? A Pilot Study. The aim of the study was to determine whether experience related to horse age and number of starts in championships influences stress level, measured by salivary cortisol concentration. The study involved 18 clinically healthy Hucul mares who participated in the Polish Championships for Hucul Horses. Evaluation of performance value was carried out in accordance with the guidelines specified in the breeding and genetic resources conservation program for this breed. The championship lasted two days, consisting of conformation evaluation, endurance, and Hucul path. Saliva was collected at baselin...