The study and analysis of "Domestic Animals" and horses examines the historical domestication, breeding, and management practices that have shaped the role of horses in human society. It also explores the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral characteristics that differentiate horses from other domestic species. Comparative studies often focus on aspects such as nutrition, health management, and the economic and cultural importance of horses relative to other domesticated animals. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the various dimensions of equine domestication, including genetic studies, welfare considerations, and the impact of domestication on horse behavior and physiology.
Haghi MM, Etemadifar F, Fakhar M, Teshnizi SH, Soosaraei M, Shokri A, Hajihasani A, Mashhadi H.Babesiosis is a protozoal disease caused by Babesia spp. in mammals and humans worldwide. It is one of the most important tick-borne diseases, which affects livestock productions, reproductions, and accordingly failing economy. In this, systematic review and meta-analysis, study, the prevalence of babesiosis among domestic herbivores in Iran, between 1998 and 2015, was methodically reviewed. Nine databases including five English and four Persian databases were explored. A total of 49 articles, as regards the examination of 13,547 sheep, 1920 goats, 7167 cattle, and 940 horses, corresponding to...
Wutke S, Benecke N, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Döhle HJ, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hallsson JH, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Morales-Muniz A....Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became domina...
Sandra O, Charpigny G, Galio L, Hue I.In mammalian species, endometrial receptivity is driven by maternal factors independently of embryo signals. When pregnancy initiates, paracrine secretions of the preattachment embryo are essential both for maternal recognition and endometrium preparation for implantation and for coordinating development of embryonic and extraembryonic tissues of the conceptus. This review mainly focuses on domestic large animal species. We first illustrate the major steps of preattachment embryo development, including elongation in bovine, ovine, porcine, and equine species. We next highlight conceptus secret...
Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S.Some domestic animals are thought to be skilled at social communication with humans due to the process of domestication. Horses, being in close relationship with humans, similar to dogs, might be skilled at communication with humans. Previous studies have indicated that they are sensitive to bodily signals and the attentional state of humans; however, there are few studies that investigate communication with humans and responses to the knowledge state of humans. Our first question was whether and how horses send signals to their potentially helpful but ignorant caretakers in a problem-solving ...
Burnik Šturm M, Ganbaatar O, Voigt CC, Kaczensky P.1. Competition among sympatric wild herbivores is reduced by different physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits resulting in different dietary niches. Wild equids are a rather uniform group of large herbivores which have dramatically declined in numbers and range. Correlative evidence suggests that pasture competition with livestock is one of the key factors for this decline, and the situation may be aggravated in areas where different equid species overlap. 2. The Dzungarian Gobi is currently the only place where two wild equid species coexist and share the range with the domestica...
Librado P, Fages A, Gaunitz C, Leonardi M, Wagner S, Khan N, Hanghøj K, Alquraishi SA, Alfarhan AH, Al-Rasheid KA, Der Sarkissian C, Schubert M....The horse was domesticated only 5.5 KYA, thousands of years after dogs, cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. The horse nonetheless represents the domestic animal that most impacted human history; providing us with rapid transportation, which has considerably changed the speed and magnitude of the circulation of goods and people, as well as their cultures and diseases. By revolutionizing warfare and agriculture, horses also deeply influenced the politico-economic trajectory of human societies. Reciprocally, human activities have circled back on the recent evolution of the horse, by creating hundreds...
Basile RC, Yoshinari NH, Mantovani E, Bonoldi VN, Macoris DD, Queiroz-Neto A.Borreliosis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a cosmopolitan zoonosis studied worldwide; it is called Lyme disease in many countries of the Northern Hemisphere and Lyme-like or Baggio-Yoshinari Syndrome in Brazil. However, despite the increasing number of suspect cases, this disease is still neglected in Brazil by the medical and veterinary communities. Brazilian Lyme-like borreliosis likely involves capybaras as reservoirs and Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus ticks as vectors. Thus, domestic animals can serve as key carriers in pathogen dissemination. This zoonosis has been little studi...
Franco MM, Santos JB, Mendonça AS, Silva TC, Antunes RC, Melo EO.The domestication of the Equus genus 5000-6000 years ago has influenced the history of human civilization. As soon as horse and donkey species had been domesticated, they were crossbred, producing humanity's first documented attempt at animal genome manipulation. Since then, the mule (male donkey x female horse) and the reciprocal cross (the hinny, male horse x female donkey) have been the most common equine hybrids in the world. Due to their hybrid vigor, mules and hinnies have been intensively used for carrying loads and people and for tilling the land. Despite their importance, visual disti...
Adili N, Melizi M, Belabbas H.This investigation is placed in the context of continuity of a preliminary study already published; it was conducted in cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs; the main aim is to reveal and develop criteria for the animal species determination based on the morphometric parameters of red blood cells. Methods: Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein; and the smears were confectioned on slides immediately after the blood collection and stained according to the May-Gründwald Giemsa method. For the morphometric study, three parameters were considered which are: The diameter, the circumferen...
Huang H, Zhang B, Chu H, Zhang D, Li K.We investigated infections with Gasterophilus spp. in three equids within the Kalamaili Nature Reserve (northern China). We conducted necropsies on 6 Przewalski's horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) and 6 Mongolian wild asses (Equus hemionus) and administered ivermectin to 10 overwintering domestic horses to expel parasites during winter periods. All 22 equids studied (100%) were infested with Gasterophilus spp. and a total of 17,225 larvae were collected. These included six species: G. haemorrhoidalis, G. inermis, G. intestinalis, G. nasalis, G. nigricornis, and G. pecorum. The mean intensity of...
Górecka-Bruzda A, Fureix C, Ouvrard A, Bourjade M, Hausberger M.Yawning is rare in herbivores which therefore may be an interesting group to disentangle the potential function(s) of yawning behaviour. Horses provide the opportunity to compare not only animals living in different conditions but also wild versus domestic species. Here, we tested three hypotheses by observing both domestic and Przewalski horses living in semi-natural conditions: (i) that domestic horses may show an elevated rate of yawning as a result of the domestication process (or as a result of life conditions), (ii) that individuals experiencing a higher level of social stress would yawn...
Kantanen J.Domestic animal production in the arctic region is often thought to be based exclusively on reindeer herding. There are, however, regions in Northern Europe and Siberia having a long tradition in rearing breeds of cattle and horse adapted to the northers conditions also. The development of these arctic animal breeds has been largely founded on old tradition rather than on the programs of breeding organizations. As a result of the selection carried out by nature and man, the domestic animals of arctic regions express characteristics that are metabolic, structural, associated with reproductive p...
Zhou M, Cao S, Sevinc F, Sevinc M, Ceylan O, Liu M, Wang G, Moumouni PF, Jirapattharasate C, Suzuki H, Nishikawa Y, Xuan X.Considering the scarce information on occurrences of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in domestic animals from Turkey, the aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of these parasite infections in cattle, horses, sheep, goats and dogs in Turkey. The specific antibodies against T. gondii and N. caninum were detected by iELISAs based on the recombinant TgSAG2 or NcSAG1 in a total of 2,039 serum samples from eleven provinces. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infections was 46.3%, 4.0%, 20.0%, 12.9% and 19.8%, that of N. caninum infections was 0.3%, 7.4%, 2.1%, 3.2% and 16.6% in...
From working horses to dairy cows to dogs, animals are being pushed to their biological limits. But how far can we go before their health and welfare is compromised? This was one of the questions discussed at a recent meeting organised jointly by CABI and the Royal Veterinary College. Georgina Mills reports.
Han H, Mao C, Chen N, Lan X, Chen H, Lei C, Dang R.Kit gene is a genetic determinant of horse white coat color which has been a highly valued trait in horses for at least 2,000 years. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Kit are of importance due to their strong associations with melanoblast survival during embryonic development. In this study, a mutation analysis of all 21 Kit exons in 14 Chinese domestic horse breeds revealed six SNPs (g.91214T>G, g.143245T>G, g.164297C>T, g.170189C>T, g.171356C>G, and g.171471G>A), which located in 5'-UTR region, intron 6, exon 15, exon 20, intron 20, and exon 21 of the equine Kit gene, respectively. S...
Koolhaas JM, Van Reenen CG.This paper will argue that understanding animal welfare and the individual vulnerability to stress-related disease requires a fundamental understanding of functional individual variation as it occurs in nature as well as the underlying neurobiology and neuroendocrinology. Ecological studies in feral populations of mice, fish, and birds start to recognize the functional significance of phenotypes that individually differ in their behavioral and neuroendocrine response to environmental challenge. Recent studies indicate that the individual variation within a species may buffer the species for st...
Puig L, Castellá G, Cabañes FJ.Malassezia pachydermatis is part of the normal cutaneous microbiota of wild and domestic carnivores. However, under certain conditions this yeast can overproliferate and cause several diseases in its host, mainly otitis and dermatitis in dogs. The aim of this study was to conduct a molecular characterization of M. pachydermatis isolates from healthy and diseased domestic animals, in order to assess the molecular diversity and phylogenetic relationship within this species. The large subunit (LSU) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal RNA, chitin synthase 2 (CHS2) and β-tubulin...
Seo MG, Lee SH, VanBik D, Ouh IO, Yun SH, Choi E, Park YS, Lee SE, Kim JW, Cho GJ, Kwon OD, Kwak D.Coxiella burnetii and Coxiella-like bacteria (CLB) are genetically and ecologically distinct despite some genetic similarities. Furthermore, CLB are exceptionally diverse and widespread in ticks, but rarely detected in domestic animals. Since Coxiella bacteria can be transmitted from infected horses by inhalation or by coming in contact with ticks during activities such as horseback riding, it is necessary to study their prevalence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first large-scale nationwide investigation of the prevalence of C. burnetii and CLB among horses reared in South Korea. O...
Reissmann M, Musa L, Zakizadeh S, Ludwig A.Considering the hidden mode of inheritance of some coat-color-associated alleles, we investigated the presence/absence of coat-color-associated alleles in 1093 domestic horses of 55 breeds and 20 specimens of Przewalski's horse. For coat-color genotyping, allele specific PCR, pyrosequencing and Li-Cor analyses were conducted on 12 coat-color-associated alleles of five genes. Our data provide deep insight into the distribution of coat-color-associated alleles within breeds. We found that the alleles for the basic colorations (bay, black, and chestnut) are widely distributed and occur in nearly ...
Ballarin C, Povinelli M, Granato A, Panin M, Corain L, Peruffo A, Cozzi B.The domestic bovine Bos taurus is raised worldwide for meat and milk production, or even for field work. However the functional anatomy of its central nervous system has received limited attention and most of the reported data in textbooks and reviews are derived from single specimens or relatively old literature. Here we report information on the brain of Bos taurus obtained by sampling 158 individuals, 150 of which at local abattoirs and 8 in the dissecting room, these latter subsequently formalin-fixed. Using body weight and fresh brain weight we calculated the Encephalization Quotient (EQ)...
Yang Y, Zhu Q, Liu S, Zhao C, Wu C.The origin of domestic horses in China was a controversial issue and several hypotheses including autochthonous domestication, introduction from other areas, and multiple-origins from both introduction and local wild horse introgression have been proposed, but none of them have been fully supported by DNA data. In the present study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of 714 Chinese indigenous horses were analyzed. The results showed that Chinese domestic horses harbor some novel mtDNA haplogroups and suggested that local domestication events may have occurred, but they are not the dominant ha...
Lee JH, Song KD, Kim JM, Leem HK, Park KD.Jeju horse (Natural Monument number 347) is a breed of horse that has experienced long-term isolation and domestication in Jeju Island, South Korea. We evaluated genetic features of this breed, including SNP, by whole-genome resequencing using an Illumina HiSeq 2000. A total of 5,986,852 SNP were identified in 4 Jeju horses and were divided into homozygous and heterozygous SNP (2,357,099 and 3,629,753 SNP, respectively). It revealed that 63.8% of these SNP resided in intergenic regions. Immune response genes with nonsynonymous SNP were overrepresented in Jeju horses as evidenced by Gene Ontolo...
Brubaker L, Udell MA.Horses (Equus caballus) have a rich history in their relationship with humans. Across different cultures and eras they have been utilized for work, show, cultural rituals, consumption, therapy, and companionship and continue to serve in many of these roles today. As one of the most commonly trained domestic animals, understanding how horses learn and how their relationship with humans and other horses impacts their ability to learn has implications for horse welfare, training, husbandry and management. Given that unlike dogs and cats, domesticated horses have evolved from prey animals, the hor...
Davoust B, Maquart M, Roqueplo C, Gravier P, Sambou M, Mediannikov O, Leparc-Goffart I.In Africa, infection with West Nile virus (WNV) is frequent but almost always asymptomatic in humans and equids. The aim of this study was to identify whether any other domestic animal living in the same enzootic locality may be the sentinel of WNV circulation. In northwest Senegal, blood samples were collected from 283 adult domestic animals (136 sheep, 64 horses, 29 donkeys, 29 goats, 14 cattle, and 11 dogs), in three localities near Keur Momar Sarr. Each serum was tested for WNV immunoglobulin G using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The prevalence among donkeys, horses, dogs, goats, catt...
Raudsepp T, Chowdhary BP.The association between chromosomal abnormalities and reduced fertility in domestic animals is well recorded and has been studied for decades. Chromosome aberrations directly affect meiosis, gametogenesis, and the viability of zygotes and embryos. In some instances, balanced structural rearrangements can be transmitted, causing fertility problems in subsequent generations. Here, we aim to give a comprehensive overview of the current status and future prospects of clinical cytogenetics of animal reproduction by focusing on the advances in molecular cytogenetics during the genomics era. We descr...
Kusliy MA, Druzhkova AS, Popova KO, Vorobieva NV, Makunin AI, Yurlova AA, Tishkin AA, Minyaev SS, Trifonov , Graphodatsky AS, Dymova MA, Filipenko ML.From genetic point of view, differences between ancient and modern horses can be reconstructed by using the phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial genomes and by studying phenotypically important nuclear loci. The variety of modern horse coat colors resulted from artificial selection indicates a high degree of domestication. We have conducted the phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA extracted from bone samples of six ancient horses from Tsaramburial in the Republic of Buryatia, and established that they belong to a haplogroup E by Achilli’s classification. This haplogroup is found a...
André-Fontaine G.Leptospirosis is a common infection in domestic animals. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is used for serological diagnosis. From 1988 to 2007, the Leptospira Medical and Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory at the Nantes National College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering used the MAT to test serum samples from more than 40,000 cattle, 40,000 pigs, 20,000 horses and 9,500 dogs. Five Leptospira serogroups were prominent, with specific variations within the four animal species: Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis, Sejroë, Grippotyphosa and Autumnalis. The prevalence and incid...
Rochais C, Henry S, Fureix C, Hausberger M.Some captive/domestic animals respond to confinement by becoming inactive and unresponsive to external stimuli. Human inactivity is one of the behavioural markers of clinical depression, a mental disorder diagnosed by the co-occurrence of symptoms including deficit in selective attention. Some riding horses display 'withdrawn' states of inactivity and low responsiveness to stimuli that resemble the reduced engagement with their environment of some depressed patients. We hypothesized that 'withdrawn' horses experience a depressive-like state and evaluated their level of attention by confronting...
Silva RO, Rupnik M, Diniz AN, Vilela EG, Lobato FC.Clostridium difficile is an emerging enteropathogen responsible for pseudomembranous colitis in humans and diarrhoea in several domestic and wild animal species. Despite its known importance, there are few studies about C. difficile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotypes in Brazil and the actual knowledge is restricted to studies on human isolates. The aim of the study was therefore to compare C. difficile ribotypes isolated from humans and animals in Brazil. Seventy-six C. difficile strains isolated from humans (n = 25), dogs (n = 23), piglets (n = 12), foals (n = 7), calves (n = 7), one c...
Li Y, Zhang C, Taylor WTT, Chen L, Flad RK, Boivin N, Liu H, You Y, Wang J, Ren M, Xi T, Han Y, Wen R, Ma J.Horseback riding was a transformative force in the ancient world, prompting radical shifts in human mobility, warfare, trade, and interaction. In China, domestic horses laid the foundation for trade, communication, and state infrastructure along the ancient Silk Road, while also stimulating key military, social, and political changes in Chinese society. Nonetheless, the emergence and adoption of mounted horseback riding in China is still poorly understood, particularly due to a lack of direct archaeological data. Here we present a detailed osteological study of eight horse skeletons dated to c...
Espunyes J, Lurgi M, Büntgen U, Bartolomé J, Calleja JA, Gálvez-Cerón A, Peñuelas J, Claramunt-López B, Serrano E.Changes in land-use and climate affect the distribution and diversity of plant and animal species at different spatiotemporal scales. The extent to which species-specific phenotypic plasticity and biotic interactions mediate organismal adaptation to changing environments, however, remains poorly understood. Woody plant expansion is threatening the extent of alpine grasslands worldwide, and evaluating and predicting its effects on herbivores is of crucial importance. Here, we explore the impact of shrubification on the feeding efficiency of Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra p. pyrenaica), as well as ...
Klecel W, Martyniuk E.The domestication of the horse began about 5500 years ago in the Eurasian steppes. In the following millennia horses spread across the ancient world, and their role in transportation and warfare affected every ancient culture. Ownership of horses became an indicator of wealth and social status. The importance of horses led to a growing interest in their breeding and management. Many phenotypic traits, such as height, behavior, and speed potential, have been proven to be a subject of selection; however, the details of ancient breeding practices remain mostly unknown. From the fourth millennium ...
Uehlinger FD, Wilkins W, Godson DL, Drebot MA.Cache Valley virus, an orthobunyavirus, is an important cause of ovine neonatal malformations. Information on the seroprevalence of this virus in Saskatchewan livestock populations is lacking. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of Cache Valley virus and closely related viruses in sheep, cattle, goats, horses, and mule deer in Saskatchewan by performing a plaque-reduction neutralization test using Cache Valley virus. In total, sera from 130 sheep from 50 flocks were tested. Seroprevalence in sheep was 64.6% (84/130) and 94.0% (47/50) of flocks had 1 or more seropo...
Goodwin D.Domestication has provided the horse with food, shelter, veterinary care and protection, allowing individuals an increased chance of survival. However, the restriction of movement, limited breeding opportunities and a requirement to expend energy, for the benefit of another species, conflict with the evolutionary processes which shaped the behaviour of its predecessors. The behaviour of the horse is defined by its niche as a social prey species but many of the traits which ensured the survival of its ancestors are difficult to accommodate in the domestic environment. There has been a long asso...
Onder Z, Yildirim A, Pekmezci D, Duzlu O, Pekmezci GZ, Ciloglu A, Simsek E, Kokcu ND, Yetismis G, Ercan N, Inci A.A total of 1340 fresh fecal samples from farm and pet animals in Central Anatolia and the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey were investigated using a PCR assay targeting the SSU rRNA of Blastocystis sp. An overall Blastocystis sp. prevalence of 19.4% (183/940) was found in farm animals, including cattle, sheep, water buffaloes, and chickens. Fecal samples of dogs, cats, and horses were negative. The highest prevalence of Blastocystis sp. was found in sheep (38.2%) among the farm animals. The SSU rRNA sequence analysis revealed two animal-specific subtypes, including ST10 in cattle and sheep an...
Horak IG, Heyne H, Halajian A, Booysen S, Smit WJ.The aim of the study was to determine the species spectrum of ixodid ticks that infest horses and donkeys in South Africa and to identify those species that act as vectors of disease to domestic livestock. Ticks were collected opportunistically from 391 horses countrywide by their owners or grooms, or by veterinary students and staff at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria. Ticks were also collected from 76 donkeys in Limpopo Province, 2 in Gauteng Province and 1 in North West province. All the ticks were identified by means of a stereoscopic microscope. Horses were infest...
MacLachlan NJ.The histologic appearance of the ovaries and persistence of corpora lutea vary considerably among domestic animals, particularly between spontaneous and induced ovulators. The seasonally polyestrous mare has a variety of unique characteristics in ovarian structure and general reproductive function. Among the anomalies of ovarian development is the bovine freemartin with gonads containing a mixture of male and female elements. A variety of ovarian cysts occur in domestic animals, and persistent corpora lutea with associated reproductive perturbations occur in several species. Ovarian tumors are...
Lillini E, Macrì G, Proietti G, Scarpulla M.Ixodes ricinus (I. ricinus) is one of the vectors of Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum) in Europe, in which rates of infection range from 1.9% to 34%. In 1998, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis-like (HGE-like) Ehrlichia DNA was detected in Italy, by PCR technique in one I. ricinus nymph out of 55 ticks that were examined. In 1996, 6.3% of 310 human sera in high-risk subjects from Italy were found positive for antibodies to Ehrlichia phagocytophila (E. phagocytophila). In the same year, the authors reported the first case of equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis. In 1997, only 2 out of 563...
Bourjade M, Moulinot M, Henry S, Richard-Yris MA, Hausberger M.We investigated the effects of the introduction of foreign adults on the behavior of young horses. First, we observed the behavior of 1- and 2-year-old domestic horses housed in same-age and same-sex groups (a standard housing system, but different from a natural situation). Then, two same-sex adults were introduced into each experimental group. Observations made before, during and after an introduction indicated that young horses reared in homogeneous groups of young had different behaviors compared to other domestic horses reared under more socially natural conditions. After the introduction...
Baba C, Kawai M, Takimoto-Inose A.Emotions are important for social animals because animals' emotions function as beneficial cues to identify valuable resources such as food or to avoid danger by providing environmental information. Emotions also enable animals to predict individuals' behavior and determine how to behave in a specific context. Recently, several studies have reported that dogs are highly sensitive to not only conspecific but also human emotional cues. These studies suggest that domestication may have affected such sensitivity. However, there are still few studies that examine whether other domesticated animals,...
Guruge KS, Manage PM, Yamanaka N, Miyazaki S, Taniyasu S, Yamashita N.The persistent metabolites of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) which have been detected in the tissues of both humans and wildlife, and human contamination by PFCs suggest differences in the exposure patterns to these compounds. However, studies focused on identifying human exposure pathways to PFCs are scarce. To provide a preliminary assessment of PFCs in farm animals such as chicken, cattle, pigs, goats and horses, blood and liver samples were collected from various regions in Japan. Additionally, dog sera samples representing pet animals were also employed for analysis. Perfluorooctane sulf...
Li J, Kelly P, Zhang J, Xu C, Wang C.Babesia spp. are tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites and the second most common blood-borne parasites of mammals, in particular domestic animals. We used the Clustal Multiple Alignment program and 18S rRNA gene sequences of 22 Babesia species from GenBank to develop a PCR that could detect a wide variety of Babesia spp. in a single reaction. The pan-Babesia FRET-qPCR we developed reliably detected B. gibsoni, B. canis, B. vogeli, B. microti, B. bovis, and B. divergens under controlled conditions but did not react with closely related species, mainly Hepatozoon americanum, Theileria equi, and To...
Nouri-Sorkhabi MH, Agar NS, Sullivan DR, Gallagher C, Kuchel PW.The phospholipid classes of erythrocyte membranes and plasma from several domestic animals and marsupials were quantified by 31P NMR using detergents. Washed erythrocyte samples were thoroughly haemolysed by tip-sonication and dissolved in sodium cholate; plasma samples were dissolved in Triton X-100. The species studied were: common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), black-striped wallaby (Macropus dorsalis), bandicoot (Isoodon macrocarpus), Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), Tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii), sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), cattle (Bos taurus), horse (Equus caballu...
Haase B, Signer-Hasler H, Binns MM, Obexer-Ruff G, Hauswirth R, Bellone RR, Burger D, Rieder S, Wade CM, Leeb T.Coat color and pattern variations in domestic animals are frequently inherited as simple monogenic traits, but a number are known to have a complex genetic basis. While the analysis of complex trait data remains a challenge in all species, we can use the reduced haplotypic diversity in domestic animal populations to gain insight into the genomic interactions underlying complex phenotypes. White face and leg markings are examples of complex traits in horses where little is known of the underlying genetics. In this study, Franches-Montagnes (FM) horses were scored for the occurrence of white fac...
Waran NK.DELETE:
The last known ‘wild’ horse was the Przewalski (e.f. prezewalskii), which lived until fairly recently in its natural state in Mongolia. Although little is known of their social organisation in the wild, a number of studies have been carried out of their behaviour in captive conditions. Attempts are now being made to reintroduce them into more natural conditions than the zoos and private collections in which most of them are currently maintained (Keiper and Receveur 1992). Although there is a lack of information about truly wild horse behaviour, a number of studies, such as that d...
Ventresca Miller AR, Wilkin S, Hendy J, Turbat T, Batsukh D, Bayarkhuu N, Giscard PH, Bemmann J, Bayarsaikhan J, Miller BK, Clark J, Roberts P....The initial movement of herders and livestock into the eastern steppe is of great interest, as this region has long been home to pastoralist groups. Due to a paucity of faunal remains, however, it has been difficult to discern the timing of the adoption of domesticated ruminants and horses into the region, though recent research on ancient dairying has started to shed new light on this history. Here we present proteomic evidence for shifts in dairy consumption in the Altai Mountains, drawing on evidence from sites dating from the Early Bronze to the Late Iron Age. We compare these finds with e...
Littlewood KE, Beausoleil NJ, Stafford KJ, Stephens C, Collins T, Quain A, Hazel S, Lloyd JF, Mallia C, Richards L, Wedler NK, Zito S.This study set out to explore how euthanasia decision-making for animals was taught to students in eight Australasian veterinary schools. A questionnaire-style interview guide was used by a representative at each university to interview educators. Educators were interviewed about their teaching of euthanasia decision-making for four categories of animals: livestock, equine, companion and avian/wildlife. Using thematic analysis, the terms provided by participants to describe how (mode of teaching) and what (specific content) they taught to students were categorised. Information about content wa...
Salek Ardestani S, Aminafshar M, Zandi Baghche Maryam MB, Banabazi MH, Sargolzaei M, Miar Y.Natural selection and domestication have shaped modern horse populations, resulting in a vast range of phenotypically diverse breeds. Horse breeds are classified into three types (pony, light, and draft) generally based on their body type. Understanding the genetic basis of horse type variation and selective pressures related to the evolutionary trend can be particularly important for current selection strategies. Whole-genome sequences were generated for 14 pony and 32 light horses to investigate the genetic signatures of selection of the horse type in pony and light horses. In the overlappin...
Steyn J, Fourie I, Steyl J, Williams J, Stivaktas V, Botha E, van Niekerk S, Reininghaus B, Venter M.Alphaviruses from Africa, such as Middelburg virus (MIDV), and Sindbis virus (SINV), were detected in horses with neurologic disease in South Africa, but their host ranges remain unknown. We investigated the contribution of alphaviruses to neurologic infections and death in wildlife and domestic animals in this country. During 2010-2018, a total of 608 clinical samples from wildlife and nonequine domestic animals that had febrile, neurologic signs or unexplained deaths were tested for alphaviruses. We identified 32 (5.5%) of 608 alphavirus infections (9 SINV and 23 MIDV), mostly in neurotissue...
Baserisalehi M, Bahador N, Kapadnis BP.A total of 455 domestic animals (cow, horse and camel) and poultry from south of Iran were surveyed for fecal carriage of Campylobacter spp. Out of all collected fecal samples, the highest isolation rate of Campylobacter was recorded among poultry (35%), followed by horse (27%) and cow (21%) while, lowest isolation rate was recorded among camel. Of the 85 Campylobacter strains isolated, 76 were classified as catalase positive Campylobacter. Out of them, high frequency of occurrence was belonged to Campy. jejuni. Furthermore, catalase positive Campylobacter spp. were isolated from all the sourc...
Kozytska T, Bassiouny M, Chechet O, Ordynska D, Galante D, Neubauer H, Wareth G.Anthrax is an acute infectious zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis that mostly affects grazing livestock and wildlife. Furthermore, B. anthracis is considered one of the most important biological agents of bioterrorism that could also be potentially misused in biological weapons. The distribution of anthrax in domestic animals and wildlife in Europe with a particular focus on Ukraine as a country of war was analyzed. Between 2005 and 2022, 267 anthrax cases were registered at the World Organization of Animal Health (WOAH) in animals in Europe, including 251 cases in domestic animals ...
Hagiwara K, Asakawa M, Liao L, Jiang W, Yan S, Chai J, Oku Y, Ikuta K, Ito M.To investigate the animals infected with Borna disease virus (BDV) in Xinjiang, China, we examined for BDV antibodies in the sera from groups of 20 horses, sheep and cattle, and from 165 wild rodents (18 species) by ELISA and immunoblot. The serological study disclosed the presence of antibodies to both BDV-p24 and -p40 in the horses (20%) and sheep (25%), whereas no apparent positive reaction was detected either in cattle or rodents. The results suggested that BDV is prevalent in horses and sheep in the district investigated.
Reissmann M, Musa L, Zakizadeh S, Ludwig A.Considering the hidden mode of inheritance of some coat-color-associated alleles, we investigated the presence/absence of coat-color-associated alleles in 1093 domestic horses of 55 breeds and 20 specimens of Przewalski's horse. For coat-color genotyping, allele specific PCR, pyrosequencing and Li-Cor analyses were conducted on 12 coat-color-associated alleles of five genes. Our data provide deep insight into the distribution of coat-color-associated alleles within breeds. We found that the alleles for the basic colorations (bay, black, and chestnut) are widely distributed and occur in nearly ...
Todd ET, Thomson PC, Hamilton NA, Ang RA, Lindgren G, Viklund Å, Eriksson S, Mikko S, Strand E, Velie BD.Domestic animal populations are often characterised by high rates of inbreeding and low effective population sizes due to selective breeding practices. These practices can result in otherwise rare recessive deleterious alleles drifting to high frequencies, resulting in reduced fertility rates. This study aimed to identify potential recessive lethal haplotypes in the Thoroughbred horse breed, a closed population that has been selectively bred for racing performance. In this study, we identified a haplotype in the LY49B gene that shows strong evidence of being homozygous lethal, despite having h...
Ciani F, Maruccio L, Cocchia N, d'Angelo D, Carotenuto D, Avallone L, Namagerdi AA, Tafuri S.Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are widely used as a tool to improve reproductive performance in both humans and animals. In particular, in the veterinary field, ARTs are used to improve animal genetics, recover endangered animals, and produce offspring in the event of subfertility or infertility in males or females. However, the use of ARTs did not improve the fertilization rate in some animals due to various factors such as the difficulty in reproducing an anatomical and humoral substrate typical of the natural condition or due to the increase in catabolites and their difficult eli...
Naundrup PJ, Svenning JC.Megafaunas worldwide have been decimated during the late Quaternary. Many extirpated species were keystone species, and their loss likely has had large effects on ecosystems. Therefore, it is increasingly considered how megafaunas can be restored. The horse (Equus ferus) is highly relevant in this context as it was once extremely widespread and, despite severe range contraction, survives in the form of domestic, feral, and originally wild horses. Further, it is a functionally important species, notably due to its ability to graze coarse, abrasive grasses. Here, we used species distribution mod...
Elelu N.Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) caused by the bacteria Borrelia, is poorly documented in veterinary medicine. Given the widespread presence of the soft tick vectors - Ornithodoros and the recently discovered hard tick vectors, as well as their close association with animal hosts, it is highly likely that infection occurs, but is rarely reported to be of veterinary importance. Sporadic reports of canine infection, some being fatal through to probable cause of abortion in horses have been published. Some of these pathogens exist in regions where there are limited diagnostic facilities, hence, ...
