Draft horses are a type of horse bred primarily for heavy work, such as plowing and hauling, due to their large size and strength. They are characterized by their muscular build, calm temperament, and considerable pulling power. Common breeds of draft horses include the Belgian, Clydesdale, Percheron, and Shire. These horses have historically been used in agriculture, logging, and transportation before the advent of mechanized vehicles. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the breeding, physiology, and historical roles of draft horses, as well as their modern applications in various industries and recreational activities.
de Keyser K, Janssens S, Buys N.The objective of this review was to summarise and evaluate the current state of knowledge about chronic progressive lymphoedema in draught horses. Clinical signs of this multifactorial disorder are mainly restricted to the lower limbs, comprising progressively deteriorating skin, swelling and deformation. Although typical lesions were first reported at the beginning of the 20th century, chronic progressive lymphoedema was recognised as a specific syndrome only in 2003, and since then research has driven forward. Despite the high prevalence in some breeds and the serious economic impact, the pa...
De Keyser K, Janssens S, Peeters LM, Foqué N, Gasthuys F, Oosterlinck M, Buys N.Genetic parameters for chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL)-associated traits in Belgian Draught Horses were estimated, using a multitrait animal model. Clinical scores of CPL in the four limbs/horse (CPLclin ), skinfold thickness and hair samples (hair diameter) were studied. Due to CPLclin uncertainty in younger horses (progressive CPL character), a restricted data set (D_3+) was formed, excluding records from horses under 3 years from the complete data set (D_full). Age, gender, coat colour and limb hair pigmentation were included as fixed, permanent environment and date of recording as ra...
Raś A, Rapacz-Leonard A, Raś-Noryńska M, Barański W.Although fetotomy is recommended for all mares when the fetus is dead and difficult to extract, little has been written about fetotomy and heavy draft mares. This lack includes indications for fetotomy in heavy draft mares, differences in treatment and prognosis of heavy mares kept by farmers of low socioeconomic status, and how this procedure affects the mare's further fertility. The literature on mares, in general, also differs on the survival rate of mares that undergo fetotomy, the prevalence of postpartum complications, and further fertility. To answer these questions, we reviewed the me...
Sabbagh M, Danvy S, Ricard A.Genetic parameters and environmental factors were estimated for foaling ease (FE) and stillbirths (SBs) in four breeds of draft horses based on 11 229, 38 877, 35 764 and 13 274 FE and SB scores recorded between 1998 and 2010 for Ardennais (A), Breton (B), Comtois (C) and Percheron (P), respectively. Incidences for the three FE categories were: easy or without help 91.0% (A) to 95.4% (B), difficult 3.4% (B) to 7.1% (A) and intervention of a veterinarian 1.1% (B) to 1.9% (A). The frequency of SB ranged between 5.4% (B) and 9.4% (A). A multiple-trait threshold animal model was used that included...
Affolter VK.Chronic progressive lymphedema is a disorder of many draft horse breeds that presents with progressive swelling of the distal portions of the legs. This is associated with scaling, marked dermal fibrosis, and the development of skin folds and nodules. There seems to be a genetic predisposition to altered elastin metabolism and impaired function of the lymphatic system in the distal extremities. Management is palliative and involves keeping the feathers clipped short, treating secondary infections, daily exercise and skin care, hydrotherapy, manual lymph drainage and compression bandaging.
Ishii M, Aoki T, Yamakawa K, Magata F, Gojo C, Ito K, Kayano M, Nambo Y.The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between the placental retention time (PRT) and the reproductive performance following mating at the foal heat in Thoroughbreds. For this purpose, we interviewed 292 farmers over a period of 3 years with questionnaires evaluating foaling, expulsion of placenta and reproductive performance at the foal heat in 1,432 mares. The obtained data were later compared with a previous study of heavy draft mares. The average of the PRT of the 1,432 Thoroughbred mares was 58 ± 88 min (mean ± SD). The mean PRT of Thoroughbreds was significantly shorter ...
Crişan MI, Damian A, Gal A, Miclăuş V, Cernea CL, Denoix JM.The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed description of the vascular changes in the distal part of deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT). Eight isolated forelimbs were collected from 8 horses with DDF tendinopathy diagnosed post-mortem by ultrasound and gross anatomopathological examination. The samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, softened in 4% phenol and dehydrated with ethylic alcohol. Goldner's Trichrome staining method was used. The histopathological examination revealed vascular proliferation associated with structural disorders of blood vessels. Angiogenesis, fib...
Youssef MA, El-khodery SA, Ibrahim HM.Excess production of reactive oxygen species is involved in the pathogenesis of airway disorders in horses. Trace element antioxidants have a beneficial role in oxidant/antioxidant balance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a combination of sodium selenite and ascorbic acid on clinical outcome, antioxidant enzymes, and trace elements status in horses with lower airway disease. For this purpose, 40 draft horses with lower airway disease were randomly selected (acute, n = 20; chronic, n = 20). Both acute and chronic cases were randomly allocated into two subgroup...
Newcombe JR, Cuervo-Arango J.It is believed that during the spring transition, the developing follicle tends to grow more slowly, persist longer and grow to a larger diameter prior to ovulation than at subsequent oestrus periods. A general suspicion, that the first ovulation of the year is less fertile than subsequent ovulations could be explained by a slower growth rate of the ovulatory follicle during transition with the consequent production of a subfertile oocyte. By detailed serial examination of the same group of Irish Draught mares over three winter/spring periods, no significant difference was found in either grow...
Mantovani R, Sartori C, Pigozzi G.This study investigated some aspects of breeding management in the Italian Heavy Draught Horse breed, aiming at improving its efficiency at stud farm level. A first aim was to evaluate the risk of unsuccessful reproduction in mares after an early (3 years) or normal (4 years) age at first foaling, in interaction with different stud rearing systems. A second objective was the examination of the mean time length in which young 2-year-old stallions maintain a genetic superiority on older proven stallions, identifying a 'genetic lifespan' in which young stallions can be safely used for reducing th...
Petersen JL, Mickelson JR, Rendahl AK, Valberg SJ, Andersson LS, Axelsson J, Bailey E, Bannasch D, Binns MM, Borges AS, Brama P, da Câmara Machado A....Intense selective pressures applied over short evolutionary time have resulted in homogeneity within, but substantial variation among, horse breeds. Utilizing this population structure, 744 individuals from 33 breeds, and a 54,000 SNP genotyping array, breed-specific targets of selection were identified using an F(ST)-based statistic calculated in 500-kb windows across the genome. A 5.5-Mb region of ECA18, in which the myostatin (MSTN) gene was centered, contained the highest signature of selection in both the Paint and Quarter Horse. Gene sequencing and histological analysis of gluteal muscle...
Lange-Consiglio A, Arrighi S, Fiandanese N, Pocar P, Aralla M, Bosi G, Borromeo V, Berrini A, Meucci A, Dell'Aquila ME, Cremonesi F.There is no published information about follicular-fluid leptin concentrations or the presence of leptin and leptin receptor in the equine ovary or oocyte. Three groups of mares - adult draft mares, draft fillies and adult Standardbred mares - were included in the study. Leptin and leptin receptor were detected in all immature oocytes by immunofluorescence with higher intensity in oocytes from draft mares compared with draft fillies and Standardbred mares. After in vitro maturation a higher proportion of oocytes reached metaphase II in draft mares than in draft fillies and Standardbred mares, ...
Centoducati P, Maggiolino A, De Palo P, Tateo A.The aim of this work was to study, using Wood's model, the lactation curve in Italian Heavy Draft horse (IHDH) mares, both for milk yield and composition. Interest in mare's milk has grown for use in human nutrition, as a substitute for human and cow milk for premature newborns and allergic children. For this study, 7 IHDH mares were used. Milk yield was evaluated from d 15 to 180 postpartum (every 15 d). Wood's lactation model was used to describe milk yield, fat, protein, and lactose lactation curves in the first 180 d in milk (DIM), with a prediction to 210 DIM. Mean values recorded across ...
Makvandi-Nejad S, Hoffman GE, Allen JJ, Chu E, Gu E, Chandler AM, Loredo AI, Bellone RR, Mezey JG, Brooks SA, Sutter NB.Horse body size varies greatly due to intense selection within each breed. American Miniatures are less than one meter tall at the withers while Shires and Percherons can exceed two meters. The genetic basis for this variation is not known. We hypothesize that the breed population structure of the horse should simplify efforts to identify genes controlling size. In support of this, here we show with genome-wide association scans (GWAS) that genetic variation at just four loci can explain the great majority of horse size variation. Unlike humans, which are naturally reproducing and possess many...
Youssef MA, El-Khodery SA, Ibrahim HM.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the oxidative stress level and antioxidant trace elements status associated with lower airway disease in draft horses. For this purpose, venous blood samples were obtained from draft horses exhibiting signs of lower respiratory tract disorders (n = 83) and from control group (n = 20). Serum trace elements including selenium (Se), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) were assayed. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels as well as plasma hydrogen peroxides (H₂O₂) concentration and activity of ...
Ziska SM, Schumacher J, Duran SH, Brock KV.To develop a high-speed, continuous-flow, automated plasmapheresis procedure for the high-volume harvest of equine plasma in accordance with current good manufacturing practice. Methods: 143 horses (predominantly draft breeds) between 3 and 10 years of age at the time of purchase. Methods: Adaptations were made to automated plasmapheresis instruments and sterile disposable collection sets, which allowed for dual-instrument, continuous-flow operation. Donor horses were connected to the apparatus via 2 catheters (1 inserted in each jugular vein). The instruments removed whole blood from donors, ...
The Journal of heredityDecember 14, 2011
Volume 103, Issue 1 134-139 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esr121
Bigi D, Perrotta G.Catria is 1 of the 22 native Italian horse breeds that now survive from a larger number. Thirty individuals, representative of the Catria horse, were analyzed for 11 microsatellites and compared with data of 10 breeds reared in Italy. Three different approaches, genetic distances, correspondence analysis, and clustering methods, were considered to study genetic relationships among Catria and the other horse populations. Genetic differentiation among breeds was highly significant (P < 0.01) for all loci. Average F(ST) values indicate that around 10% of the total genetic variation was explain...
Mykkänen AK, Hyytiäinen HK, McGowan CM.A 2-week-old Estonian Draft foal presented with signs of severe generalised tetanus, recumbency and inability to drink. The suspected source of infection was the umbilicus. Medical treatment was administered, including tetanus antitoxin, antimicrobial therapy and phenobarbital to control tetanic spasms. In addition, an intensive physiotherapy program was carried out during the recovery period. Techniques designed for syndromes involving upper motor neuron spasticity in humans were applied. Exercises aimed at weight-bearing and mobility were executed with the help of a walking-frame. The foal m...
Poore LA, Else RW, Licka TL.Verrucous pastern dermatitis is a progressive inflammatory skin disease commonly involving the palmar or plantar aspects of the pasterns of horses. There are no reports of successful surgical treatment for multifocal circumscribed verrucous masses in the chronic stages of verrucous pastern dermatitis. A combination of sharp dissection and electrocautery was used to resect numerous multifocal circumscribed verrucous masses from the distal hindlimb of an 11-year-old gelding draught horse. There was no evidence of significant regrowth or complications at a 24 month postoperative examination.
Micera E, Moramarco AM, Zarrilli A.As horses may perceive several odour signals of danger at slaughter, application of mentholated ointment to their nostrils may limit their perception of danger. To assess the effect of the application of a mentholated ointment to horse nostrils on the stress response during pre-slaughter handling, plasma levels were evaluated for cortisol, beta-endorphin, epinephrine and norepinephrine prior to and after stunning. Twenty draught-type horses were divided into control (n=10) and treated (n=10) groups and a mentholated ointment applied to the nostrils of the treated horses following blood samplin...
Dupuis MC, Zhang Z, Druet T, Denoix JM, Charlier C, Lekeux P, Georges M.Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) is a major upper-airway disease of horses that causes abnormal respiratory noise during exercise and can impair performance. Etiopathogenesis remains unclear but genetic factors have been suspected for many decades. The objective of this study was to identify risk loci associated with RLN. To that end we genotyped 234 cases (196 Warmbloods, 20 Trotters, 14 Thoroughbreds, and 4 Draft horses), 228 breed-matched controls, and 69 parents with the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip. Using these data, we quantified population structure and performed single-marker and...
Baird JD, Valberg SJ, Anderson SM, McCue ME, Mickelson JR.The purpose of this study was to determine which continental European draught horse breeds harbour a mutation in the glycogen synthase 1 gene (GYS1) that is known to be responsible for type 1 polysaccharide storage myopathy in quarter horses and North American draught horses. Of a non-random selection of continental European draught horses belonging to 13 breeds, 62 per cent (250 of 403) tested were found to carry the mutant allele. The horses were located in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The mutation was identified in animals from each of the breeds examined. In...
Kander A, Warde P.This article explores the proposition that a reason for high agricultural productivity in the early nineteenth century was relatively high energy availability from draught animals. The article is based on the collection of extensive new data indicating different trends in draught power availability and the efficiency of its use in different countries of Europe. This article shows that the proposition does not hold, and demonstrates that, although towards the end of the nineteenth century England had relatively high numbers of draught animals per agricultural worker, it also had low number of w...
Oue Y, Ishihara R, Edamatsu H, Morita Y, Yoshida M, Yoshima M, Hatama S, Murakami K, Kanno T.A new equine coronavirus was isolated from the feces of adult horses with pyrogenic and enteric disease. The disease outbreak was mainly observed among 2- to 4-year-old horses living in stables of a draft-horse racetrack in Japan. On comparing the isolated virus (isolate Tokachi09) with the equine coronavirus NC99 strain, no significant differences were observed in several biological properties such as hemagglutinating activity, antigenicity (in indirect immunofluorescence and neutralization tests), and one-step growth (in cell culture). The sequences of the nucleocapsid and spike genes of iso...
Mathes RL, Paige Carmichael K, Peroni J, Anthony Moore P.A 5-year-old Draft Horse gelding presented for evaluation of a large, fleshy, ulcerated third eyelid mass OD of 3 weeks duration. Complete ophthalmic examination, ocular ultrasound and skull radiographs revealed a large soft-tissue mass involving the entire third eyelid OD and extending into the ventral right orbit to the level of the globe equator. No other abnormalities were noted on physical or ophthalmic examination. Surgical removal via exenteration was performed 3 months after initial presentation. A lacrimal adenocarcinoma of the third eyelid was diagnosed based on histopathology. Concu...
Stover KK, Williams SH.In mammals, chewing cycle duration (CCD) increases with various measures of size, scaling with body mass(0.13-0.28) and jaw length(0.55). Proposed explanations for these scaling relationships include the allometry of body size, basal metabolic rate and tooth size, on the one hand, and pendular mechanics treating the jaw as a gravity-driven pendulum, on the other. Little is known, however, about the relationship between CCD and size within species. Recent research in dogs demonstrates altogether different scaling exponents and weaker correlations. This research suggests that breed-specific grow...
Brooks SA, Makvandi-Nejad S, Chu E, Allen JJ, Streeter C, Gu E, McCleery B, Murphy BA, Bellone R, Sutter NB.Horses, like many domesticated species, have been selected for broad variation in skeletal size. This variation is not only an interesting model of rapid evolutionary change during domestication, but is also directly applicable to the horse industry. Breeders select for complex traits like body size and skeletal conformation to improve marketability, function, soundness and performance in the show ring. Using a well-defined set of 35 measurements, we have identified and quantified skeletal variation in the horse species. We collected measurements from 1215 horses representing 65 breeds of dive...
Winfield LS, Dechant JE.The purpose of this retrospective case-control study was to identify factors associated with primary gastric rupture and to investigate if there were differences between etiologies of primary gastric rupture. Compared to the general colic population, Quarter horses were under-represented and Friesians and draft breeds were over-represented in 47 cases of primary gastric ruptures. Horses with primary gastric rupture typically presented with severe clinical and clinicopathological derangements. There were 24 idiopathic gastric ruptures, 20 gastric impaction associated ruptures, and 3 perforating...
Aberle K, Wrede J, Distl O.We analysed the relationship coefficients (R) between the four German heavy horse breeds South German Coldblood, Rhenish German Draught Horse, Schleswig Draught Horse and Black Forest Draught Horse. The relationship coefficient makes it possible to ascertain crossbreeding between the breeds over time, or autonomous developments of the breeds, respectively. The investigation revealed that the relationship coefficients between the German draught horse breeds were very low. The mean relationship coefficients between the four German heavy horse breeds were largest between the South German Coldbloo...
Muylle S, Simoens P, Lauwers H, Van Loon G.The dentition of 170 Arab horses of known ages was examined and compared with the dental characteristics of trotter horses and Belgian draft horses of the same ages. The results indicated that inaccuracies in the determination of the age of horses by their dentition may result, at least partly, from differences between the breeds of horse involved because there were some major differences between the three breeds examined. These differences increased as the horses' true age increased. In general, the rate of dental wear was slower in the Arab horses than in trotter horses and Belgian draft hor...
Youssef MA, El-Khodery SA, Ibrahim HM.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the oxidative stress level and antioxidant trace elements status associated with lower airway disease in draft horses. For this purpose, venous blood samples were obtained from draft horses exhibiting signs of lower respiratory tract disorders (n = 83) and from control group (n = 20). Serum trace elements including selenium (Se), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) were assayed. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels as well as plasma hydrogen peroxides (H₂O₂) concentration and activity of ...
Muylle S, Simoens P, Lauwers H, Van Loon G.The accuracy of ageing horses by their dentition was assessed by comparing the dental features with the known dates of birth of 212 trotter horses and 189 Belgian draft horses. The horses ranged in age from two to 25 years. In both breeds it was observed that the shedding of the incisors and the appearance of the dental stars were the most reliable features for age determination. In young animals, the dental configuration was similar in both breeds. With increasing age the incisor teeth of draft horses were more liable to abrasion than those of trotter horses. The sequential changes in appeara...
Valentine BA, de Lahunta A, Divers TJ, Ducharme NG, Orcutt RS.Two Belgian geldings, 4 and 14 years old, respectively, with muscle atrophy, weakness, and abnormal gait characteristic of severe advanced shivers were examined clinically and on necropsy. Neurologic examination revealed no evidence of ataxia, and the clinical diagnosis was neuromuscular weakness and shivers. Necropsies of both horses, including examination of pituitary, brain, spinal cord, spinal roots and ganglia, and peripheral nerves, revealed no gross or histologic abnormalities. Examination of multiple skeletal muscle specimens revealed chronic myopathic changes and periodic acid-Schiff ...
Ishii M, Kobayashi S, Acosta TJ, Miki W, Matsui M, Yamanoi T, Miyake Y, Miyamoto A.The aim of this study was to establish the effectiveness of administration of oxytocin (OT) on placental expulsion after foaling. Four foaling mares with the placentas retained for up 1 hr after foaling received OT (50 IU) administration at 1 hr intervals before expulsion of the placenta. The changes in the plasma concentrations of OT and the PGF2alpha metabolite (PGFM) were investigated, and the influence of OT administration was considered. The results were as follows. The placenta was expelled after one to three OT administrations in all four mares that received OT. In two mares, which expe...
Tsogtgerel M, Tagami M, Watanabe K, Murase H, Hirosawa Y, Kobayashi Y, Nambo Y.Granulosa cell tumor (GCT) is a benign tumor which affects the mare's ovaries. In this report, a case of unilateral GCT in an ovary, which weighed 17.04 kg, of a 9-year-old Breton draft mare is described. A transrectal ultrasonography exam revealed a unilateral multi-cystic enlarged ovary. Laparoscopic ovariectomy was difficult due to enlargement of blood vessels in the ovarian broad ligament. The mare was necropsied, and the pathological changes in the GCT-affected ovary and unaffected ovary were evaluated. The ovarian mass in the GCT-affected ovary had a cribriform pattern and was positive f...
De Keyser K, Berth M, Christensen N, Willaert S, Janssens S, Ducatelle R, Goddeeris BM, De Cock HE, Buys N.Diagnosis of chronic progressive lymphoedema (CPL) in draught horses, including the Belgian Draught Horse, is mainly based on clinical evaluation of typical lower limb lesions. A deficient perilymphatic elastic support, caused by a pathological elastin degradation in skin and subcutis, has been suggested as a contributing factor for CPL. Elastin degradation products induce the generation of anti-elastin Ab (AEAb), detectable in horse serum by ELISA. For a clinically healthy group of draught horses, a significantly lower average AEAb-level than 3 clinically affected groups (mild, moderate and s...
Riva MG, Sobrero L, Menchetti L, Minero M, Padalino B, Dalla Costa E.Horses with a low level of tameness are at higher risk for transport-related disease and injury; hence, European regulations for the protection of animals during transport (EC 1/2005) are stricter for unhandled (unbroken) horses. However, the regulation does not provide adequate tools for unhandled horse identification. The Broken/Unbroken Test (BUT) was developed and validated to easily identify whether a horse is broken (handled) or not. As a further validation step, the aim of this study was to assess whether there is any correspondence between the BUT classification and the behavioral resp...
Hansen M, Knorr C, Hall AJ, Broad TE, Brenig B.The solute carrier family 26, member 2 (SLC26A2) gene belongs to a family of multifunctional anion exchangers. Mutations in the human SLC26A2 gene are associated with autosomal recessively inherited chondrodysplasias. Hence, we postulate that the equine SLC26A2 could be a candidate gene for conformational traits in horses. An equine BAC clone harboring the SLC26A2 gene was isolated. The complete 142,625 bp insert sequence of this clone was determined by transposon sequencing. Together with the SLC26A2 gene the BAC clone contains four genes, i.e. the macrophage colony stimulating factor 1 recep...
Myćka G, Musiał AD, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Piórkowska K, Ropka-Molik K.The gene encodes peroxisomal acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1, the first enzyme in the fatty acid β-oxidation pathway, which could be significant for organisms exposed to long periods of starvation and harsh living conditions. We hypothesized that variations within , revealed by RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq), might be based on adaptation to living conditions and had resulted from selection pressure. There were five different horse breeds used in this study, representing various utility types: Arabian, Thoroughbred, Polish Konik, draft horses, and Hucul. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located i...
Siemieniuch MJ, Kozdrowski R, Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Raś A, Nowak M.Endometritis is one of the most important causes of infertility in mares. Mares may suffer from endometritis outside the breeding season; however, pathological condition is often undiagnosed in anestrus. The aim of this study was to examine whether the secretion profiles of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and a metabolite of prostacyclin I2 (6-keto-PGF1α) differ in endometrial tissue cultures of heavy draft mares in anestrus with endometritis compared to those without endometritis. The endometrial biopsies were collected from 51 heavy draft mares. Inclusion criteria for ...
Greco-Otto P, Massie S, Shields E, Roy MF, Pajor E, Léguillette R.The Heavy Horse Pull is a competition where teams of two horses pull an increasingly heavy sled for a short distance. Similar to human wrestlers, some horses may undergo rapid weight change in order to enter a lower weight category. The objectives were to study the physiological effects of this practice as well as of the pulling competition in draft horses. Results: Fifty horses were divided into light-, middle- and heavyweight categories based on their arrival weights and competed 1-3 days after. Body weight was measured upon arrival and pre-competition. Blood was sampled for chemistry and h...
Herszberg B, McCue ME, Larcher T, Mata X, Vaiman A, Chaffaux S, Chérel Y, Valberg SJ, Mickelson JR, Guérin G.Glycogen storage diseases or glycogenoses are inherited diseases caused by abnormalities of enzymes that regulate the synthesis or degradation of glycogen. Deleterious mutations in many genes of the glyco(geno)lytic or the glycogenesis pathways can potentially cause a glycogenosis, and currently mutations in fourteen different genes are known to cause animal or human glycogenoses, resulting in myopathies and/or hepatic disorders. The genetic bases of two forms of glycogenosis are currently known in horses. A fatal neonatal polysystemic type IV glycogenosis, inherited recessively in affected Qu...
Geburek F, Deegen E, Hewicker-Trautwein M, Ohnesorge B.In the present field study the skin of the feet of 37 heavy draught horses of different breeds showing verrucous pastern dermatitis was examined clinically. Included were the degree of severity of the disease and the prevalence of anatomically normal structures associated with the skin: fetlock tufts of hair ("feathering"), ergots, chestnuts, bulges in the pastern region, cannon circumference. Each horse was examined for Chorioptes sp. skin mites. Information was also collected on the development of the skin alterations and housing conditions and feeding. These individual data were correlated ...
Mömke S, Distl O.Chronic pastern dermatitis predominantly affects draft horses, and this condition is characterized by hyperkeratotic-hyperplastic dermal alterations. Chronic pastern dermatitis resembles the acral-hemorrhagic phenotype of Darier-White disease in humans. The ATP2A2 gene has been shown to be responsible for human Darier-White. Thus, we chose ATP2A2 on equine chromosome 8 (ECA8) as candidate for chronic pastern dermatitis in coldblood horses. A linkage analysis was performed in 10 paternal half-sib families consisting of 85 German coldblood horses using a microsatellite closely linked to ATP2A2, ...
Lange-Consiglio A, Arrighi S, Fiandanese N, Pocar P, Aralla M, Bosi G, Borromeo V, Berrini A, Meucci A, Dell'Aquila ME, Cremonesi F.There is no published information about follicular-fluid leptin concentrations or the presence of leptin and leptin receptor in the equine ovary or oocyte. Three groups of mares - adult draft mares, draft fillies and adult Standardbred mares - were included in the study. Leptin and leptin receptor were detected in all immature oocytes by immunofluorescence with higher intensity in oocytes from draft mares compared with draft fillies and Standardbred mares. After in vitro maturation a higher proportion of oocytes reached metaphase II in draft mares than in draft fillies and Standardbred mares, ...
Cramp P, Derksen FJ, Stick JA, Nickels FA, Brown KE, Robinson P, Robinson NE.Little is known about the efficacy of bilateral ventriculectomy (VE) or bilateral ventriculocordectomy (VCE) in draught horses. Objective: To compare the effect of VE and VCE on upper airway noise in draught horses with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) by use of quantitative sound analysis techniques. Objective: In competitive draught horses with grade 4 RLN, VE and VCE reduce upper airway noise during exercise, but VCE is more effective. Methods: Thirty competitive hitch or pulling draught horses with grade 4 RLN were evaluated for upper airway sound during exercise. Respiratory rate (RR)...
Dunkel B, Buonpane A, Chang YM.Clinical impression suggests that some gastrointestinal lesions are more common in certain horse types. The study tested the hypothesis that relative prevalence of acute gastrointestinal lesions differs between equid types. In a retrospective caseâ€"control study, records (2010â€"2015) were reviewed for equids with acute gastrointestinal disease. Signalment, details of gastrointestinal lesions and diagnoses were recorded. Animals were categorised as miniature type, pony, Arabian, light breed or draft type. Exclusion criteria were no recorded breed/size/diagnosis, age less than one year a...
Zappaterra M, Nanni Costa L, Felici M, Minero M, Perniola F, Tullio D, Padalino B.Transportation of horses to slaughterhouses can pose a welfare concern, in particular when horses are unbroken/unhandled. This study aimed to describe their journeys and journey conditions, document their welfare status on arrival in a slaughterhouse in Italy, and investigate possible associations between journey conditions and welfare issues. A total of 395 unbroken draft horses in 20 different consignments were assessed with a standardized protocol. The most common departure point (16/20 consignments, 80%) was a French assembly center, but many of these horses had Spanish passports, suggesti...
Biral NV, Azevedo Santos H, Senne NA, Paulino PG, Camilo TA, Tassinari WS, Silva VL, Santos FN, Angelo IDC.Equine leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan of the Leishmania genus, and it has been reported in several countries around the world, especially Brazil. Therefore, the present investigation aims to conduct a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence, spatial distribution, and associated factors with seropositivity for Leishmania spp. in draft horses from the Distrito Federal, Brazil. The serological survey was conducted on 411 animals, employing the Indirect Immunofluorescence Test (IFA) and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The Kappa (κ) and g...
Gurgul A, Jasielczuk I, Semik-Gurgul E, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Szmatoła T, Polak G, Bugno-Poniewierska M.The current role of the horse as a companion animal resulted in a decrease of interest in breeding and usage of draft horses. This meant that the population of cold-blooded horses in Poland has been dramatically reduced during the last decades. To avoid impoverishment of the gene pool of the local horse population, a conservation program was established which involves draft horses and other local horse breeds. The draft horses bred in Poland can be subdivided in a few horse types of which the most widespread and consolidated are Sztumski and Sokólski horses. These two subpopulations are pheno...
De Keyser K, Janssens S, Peeters LM, Foqué N, Gasthuys F, Oosterlinck M, Buys N.Genetic parameters for chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL)-associated traits in Belgian Draught Horses were estimated, using a multitrait animal model. Clinical scores of CPL in the four limbs/horse (CPLclin ), skinfold thickness and hair samples (hair diameter) were studied. Due to CPLclin uncertainty in younger horses (progressive CPL character), a restricted data set (D_3+) was formed, excluding records from horses under 3 years from the complete data set (D_full). Age, gender, coat colour and limb hair pigmentation were included as fixed, permanent environment and date of recording as ra...
Cappelli K, Brachelente C, Passamonti F, Flati A, Silvestrelli M, Capomaccio S.Epitheliogenesis imperfecta in horses was first recognized at the beginning of the 20th century when it was proposed that the disease could have a genetic cause and an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. Electron microscopy studies confirmed that the lesions were characterized by a defect in the lamina propria and the disease was therefore reclassified as epidermolysis bullosa. Molecular studies targeted two mutations affecting genes involved in dermal-epidermal junction: an insertion in LAMC2 in Belgians and other draft breeds and one large deletion in LAMA3 in American Saddlebred. Metho...
Burns JJ, MacMillan KM, John E.Respiratory disease is common in the horse population and is often associated with poor performance in equine athletes. Despite their outstanding strength and aerobic capacity, little regard is given to draft horses and the respiratory disorders they may encounter when performing athletic activity. For this reason, the objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the prevalence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), tracheal mucus (TM) and recurrent laryngeal hemiplegia (RLH) in a population of competitive draft pulling horses, and (2) to determine if there was an association betw...
Matsuda K, Tabata S, Kawamura Y, Kurosawa T, Yoshie N, Taniyama H.Ectopic bone formation in the left atrioventricular valves and cardiac fibroskeleton, with systemic circulatory disturbance, is reported in a 4-year-old crossbred heavy horse. Microscopically, there was fibrosis, chondral metaplasia and mature bone, with bone marrow within the left atrioventricular cusps and in the annuli of the aortic and right atrioventricular valves.
Tuemmers C, Quezada G, Morales R, Serri M.In the Araucanía Region there are no studies on the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in horses. Serological samples from 100 draft horses from Mapuche communities of four communes in the region were analyzed using the microMAT technique. The seroprevalence was 35% for at least one serovar of Leptospira spp. being the most frequent serovars canicola (22%), grippotyphosa (21%), hardjo (13%) and pomona (10%). It was evident that the equine populations studied are exposed to infection by Leptospira spp. and reveal a potential risk of transmission to their owners.
Sheridan CK, Myrna KE, Nunnery CM, Czerwinski SL.To determine the prevalence of ocular disease in draft horses in the United States. Methods: Draft horses of various breeds and ages. Methods: Nondilated ophthalmic examination was performed using slit lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Intraocular pressures were measured when possible. Results: One hundred sixty-five draft horses were examined. Age range: 10 days to 33 years (mean 10.8 years, median 10 years); 87 geldings (52.7%), 71 mares (43.0%), 7 stallions (4.2%); 64 Percherons (38.8%), 51 Belgians (30.9%), 29 Clydesdales (17.6%), 15 Shires (9%), and 6 other draft bre...
