The relationship between the environment and horses encompasses the study of how various environmental factors impact equine health, behavior, and performance. This includes examining the effects of climate, air quality, housing conditions, and pasture management on horses. Environmental factors can influence respiratory health, thermoregulation, and stress levels in horses. Research in this area often focuses on identifying optimal conditions for horse welfare and productivity, as well as the mitigation of adverse environmental impacts. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the interactions between environmental conditions and equine physiology, behavior, and overall health.
da Silva Martins A, Silva TA, Heinemann MB, Guedes IB, Soares RR, Dias RA, Passos RF, Braga RM, Santos FCCD, Borsanelli AC.Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonosis with significant impact on public and veterinary health, with equines acting as potential maintenance hosts of infection. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of Leptospira in Lavradeiro horses under semi-feral conditions in Indigenous communities in the state of Roraima, Brazil. A total of 387 serum samples were subjected to the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), using antigens of Leptospira spp. from 18 serogroups. The overall prevalence was 15.8% (95% CI: 12.3-19.8%), with the most frequent serogroups being Australis, Tarassovi, Autumna...
Hendler R, Tischew S, Hensen H, Metze K, Schütz L, Bade K, Fischer C.Long-term, year-round grazing by large herbivores is increasingly used to restore degraded temperate heathlands and grasslands, yet the behavioral mechanisms of grazers underlying restoration remain insufficiently understood. We combined over 13 years of high-resolution GPS-tracking data of free-ranging Heck cattle and Konik horses with repeated vegetation surveys across various habitat types (encroachment-derived Calamagrostis epigejos stands, dry sandy grasslands, dry heaths, and pioneer forests) in Central Germany. We quantified how habitat preference and vegetation structure co-develop und...
El Abbadi I, Pallier V, Bastos MC, Lissalde S, Feuillade G.This study developed a method for the simultaneous quantification of six potentially environmentally toxic veterinary drugs: benzylpenicillin, acepromazine, flunixin, dexamethasone, ketamine and romifidine, in soils, sediments, equine faeces and natural waters. Three methods were compared for their extraction from solid matrices: Ultrasonic extraction (USE), QuEChERS and Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE). ASE method was optimized according to temperature and extraction cycles. Quantification was performed by LC-MS/MS. LC and MS parameters were optimized. The method was validated according t...
Bergin MD, Börger L, da Rocha ÉG, Havmøller RW, Jensen M, Svenning JC.Large herbivores can strongly influence ecosystem structure and biodiversity, making knowledge of their space use important for trophic rewilding. We used GPS-tracking data collected over two years from 10 semi-feral cattle and 17 horses across ten Danish rewilding sites to analyse habitat use in a use-availability framework using resource selection functions (RSFs), complemented by direct behavioural observations. Both species showed large individual variability but overall used habitats disproportionately to availability, with higher relative use of open habitats; including dry grassland and...
Luke KL, Hockenhull J, Furtado T, Ainley N, Osborne M.To improve horse welfare do we need more science or a different scientific approach? For over 40 years researchers have called for change to improve horse welfare. During this time, publications have grown exponentially, improving our understanding of horse's needs and the need for change. However, the translation of science into practice is arguably too slow, and yet, there is scant industry-specific research to guide change efforts. To assist behaviour change research, this paper recasts an influential, highly regarded systems thinking framework, the Meadows 12, for the horse industry as the...
Hausberger M, Lerch N, Grandgeorge M.On-farm welfare assessment of equines is a challenge given the large diversity of management practices, especially in terms of housing and activities. In our study, we tested time budget measures as a complementary tool to more conventional welfare indicators (e.g., stereotypic behaviours, ear position while foraging, neck shape). We observed 174 horses living in eight facilities (in their home environment) for which data on management practices and welfare were available. Time budget was assessed using the scan sampling method (1 min scan sampling over 30 min; 33 scans), while welfare assessm...
Pyles MB, Brown MA, Dobrzelecki AM, Becker OG.Minnesota is a major producer of cultivated wild rice, generating a straw byproduct that may serve as an alternative bedding material for horses. This study compared wild rice straw (WRS) and wood sawdust (WS) for water absorptive capacity (WAC), muck production, suspended particulate matter (PM), and ammonia concentrations. In a crossover design (n = 4), horses were assigned to WRS or WS for 5 d before switching treatments for an additional 5 d. Horses were stalled overnight. Daily muck production was recorded, WAC was evaluated over 24 h, and PM and ammonia concentrations were measured withi...
Ribeiro GSN, de Souza AF, Campos ML, Fonteque JH.Trace elements arsenic, cadmium, lead, chromium, mercury, nickel, and zinc are high-density, naturally occurring metals notable for their toxicity and environmental persistence. Cadmium and mercury are particularly concerning due to their capacity for bioaccumulation and biomagnification within the food chain. Dispersed through both anthropogenic and natural sources, these elements pose significant threats to ecosystems and animal health. In equines, they induce oxidative stress by disrupting mitochondrial function, generating reactive oxygen species, and inhibiting antioxidant enzymes, leadin...
Mutillod C, Perrin W, Buisson É, Tatin L, Mesléard F, Jay-Robert P, Dutoit T.In Europe, where livestock has largely replaced wild ungulates over the centuries, dung beetle assemblages have become largely dependent on livestock farming. The radical changes in livestock farming practices during the 20th century have therefore had a profound impact on these assemblages. Trophic rewilding with large herbivores is an important focus in European rewilding projects, and dung beetle assemblages appear to be good indicators of the success of rewilding. By comparing the composition of dung beetle assemblages and the rate of dung disappearance in three neighboring grassland habit...
Dirikolu L, Liu CC, Schaeffer DJ.The objectives of the study were to report the incidence of race-related injuries and equine fatalities in racehorses at the Louisiana racetracks from 2014 to 2022 for both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorses. Additionally, this study evaluated several factors that may be related to the occurrence of race-related injuries in racehorses in Louisiana. The average rates of equine fatal injuries (euthanized on or off track within 72 h of the race) were 1.70 ± 0.76 and 1.94 ± 0.89 per 1000 starts in Thoroughbred and Quarter racehorses, respectively. The average rates of non-fatal injur...
Bini de Lima AC, Sebastião da Fé VC, Palermo Hernandes MS, Pfeifer de Cristo EC, Dos Santos Fagundes Euzébio AG, E Silva Sousa MV....This study aimed to evaluate the ability of social noncontact environmental enrichment to facilitate social buffering and to characterize the emotional experience of horses subjected to restraint in stock by assessing physiological parameters and facial expressions. Pantaneiro horses (n = 11) were evaluated in a crossover design with two treatments: social noncontact enrichment during stock restraint and social isolation during stock restraint. Physiological parameters (heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, ocular temperature by infrared thermography, and auricular temperat...
Poinsard L, Anson C, Billat V.Turnout locomotor activity is a potentially informative indicator of health and welfare in older horses, yet objective field data in seniors remain limited. We examined whether a brief turnout recording could detect cross-sectional associations between chronological age and locomotor activity in senior horses in this study setting. In this single-site observational study, 28 senior Selle Français horses (17-35 years) contributed 122 paddock sessions (2 h each), with total distance and mean speed quantified using a Polar Team Pro sensor. Associations with age were assessed using linear mixed-e...
Karlsson J.In early 2025, the Falsterbo Horse Show entered a title sponsorship agreement with Al Shira'aa Stables in the United Arab Emirates, prompting extensive Swedish media coverage and strong public reactions. This controversy offers an opportunity to examine how sport sponsorship becomes a site for moral and geopolitical boundary-making. Drawing on a Foucauldian understanding of discourse as a meaning-making practice, the study analyses 210 Swedish newspaper articles published between February and April 2025 to explore how power/knowledge operates through language and how sponsorship is discursivel...
Splan RK, Noel FI, Gardner GM, Kenny LB.Proper pasture management improves forage yield, reduces costs, and minimizes environmental impacts, but may be difficult in suburban settings. Objective: This study evaluated pasture condition and management practices on 28 horse farms in counties adjacent to the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Methods: Between November 2019 and January 2020, 72 pastures (2-3/farm) were assessed via soil sampling, USDA-NRCS Pasture Condition Score Sheet (PCSS), Penn State Equine Pasture Evaluation Disc (EPED), and farm manager interviews. Linear models assessed effects of management factors on pasture conditi...
Lungren L, Mazzarella J, Mumbauer-Pisano J.This qualitative study explored healthcare students' lived experiences during an interprofessional education (IPE) event incorporating equine-assisted services (EAS). Traditional IPE events often rely on classroom settings that may limit interprofessional engagement, collaboration, and application. Utilizing interpretive phenomenological analysis, researchers examined how the equine environment influenced interprofessional learning among fourteen graduate students from diverse healthcare disciplines at a western United States public university. Participants engaged in experiential demonstratio...
Crowell CN, Handlos GC, Discepolo DR, Roeder M, Perry EB.Palatability research in horses has primarily been conducted in mature, non-lactating horses and has typically investigated gustatory rather than aromatic preference. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the gustatory and aromatic preferences of nursing foals. Methods: Stock-type mare (13.25 ± 4.40 years) and foal (6 ± 3 weeks) pairings (n = 4) were utilized in multi-preference testing for treatments including apple, anise, peppermint and control (no palatant). Mares and foals were placed in assigned split stalls for 1800 seconds and provided unrestricted access to a...
West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that remains an important public and veterinary health concern across Europe. Periodic outbreaks affecting humans, horses, and wildlife highlight the complex ecological interactions underlying viral circulation. This narrative review aims to synthesize current knowledge regarding WNV epidemiology, transmission dynamics, and surveillance strategies in Europe, with particular attention to the Romanian context. Available surveillance data indicate recurrent seasonal transmission in several European regions; however, reported case numbers may be...
Alonso MA, Dos Santos GR, Fonte JS, Marques PC, Pereira DD, Toral FLB, Bordignon V, Junior JB, Squires E, Fernandes CB.This retrospective study evaluated whether different reproductive biotechnologies influence neonatal behaviour parameters in foals. Data from 102 foalings in two commercial breeding farms were analysed, including foals conceived by artificial insemination (AI), conventional embryo transfer (ET) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Neonatal parameters recorded were birth weight, time to achieve sternal recumbency, time to stand, time to nurse and time to meconium elimination. Mixed statistical models were applied to assess the influence of reproductive technique, breed, sex and farm. Si...
Rinnovati R, Meistro F, Ralletti MV, D'Angelo P, Spadari A, Zingariello E, Pollera C, Stancampiano L.In horses, surgical site infections (SSIs) are multifactorial complications influenced by patient-related, procedural, and environmental factors. While perioperative contamination has been extensively studied in the operating theater, the anesthetic induction and recovery environment has received limited attention. The aim of this study was to characterize bacterial contamination within an equine anesthetic induction and recovery stall and to evaluate its spatial and temporal distribution. Environmental samples were collected from four predefined locations within the stall at three time points...
Marcelino I, Monti G, Cornelissen P, Bassingthwaighte E, Het Lam J, van der Merwe D, van der Poel WHM.Trace minerals are essential for animal health but can also, together with heavy metals, have a negative impact, making their monitoring crucial to assess animal health. These elements were examined through a long-term post-mortem monitoring system based on routine liver sampling for Heck cattle, Konik horses and red deer in place at the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve in the Netherlands, using data from this system to determine reference intervals and investigate trends in liver trace element concentrations. Throughout the monitoring programme, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ...
Pfau T, Weller R, Peterson ML, Davis BL, Alamo KG, Eamon CM, Chan ZYS.Chuckwagon races are conducted on dedicated tracks with an "infield" used for rodeo activities and a "track" used for racing. Thoroughbred horses (4 per wagon) first navigate a Chuckwagon in a figure eight maneuver around two barrels in the "infield" before galloping around the "track" and finishing the race in the "infield". Objective: Quantify surface properties (and their association with moisture content) for "track" and "infield". We hypothesized that, due to different preparation, property differences would be larger between "track" and "infield" than across consecutive days and surface ...
Nixon W, Buckley P, Butler R.There is a lack of information on horse parasite management practices currently used by individual horse owners in Australia. A voluntary, anonymous online survey was developed for and distributed by Pony Club Australia to its members seeking information on horse population; housing; paddock, manure and parasite management; and owner attitudes. From a total of 98 completed responses, 95/98 of participants indicated their horses spent time in paddocks, 91/98 administered anthelmintics, 42/98 guessed their horse's body weight for dosing, 78/98 recalled the dewormer brand or active ingredient las...
Ivester K, Couetil L, Arora D, Wilkes R, Thimmapuram J.Fungal exposure is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma in horses, but the importance of specific fungi is unknown. Geographic variation in equine asthmatic endotypes is suspected and might be related to different fungal exposures due to different climatological and geographical conditions. This study had two objectives: evaluate the effect of the ecoregion upon BALF inflammatory cells and fungal community composition in horses with asthma and evaluate the effect of BALF fungal community composition upon the likelihood of neutrophilic, mastocytic and eosinophilic inflammation in t...
Kristensen JÅ, Buitenwerf R, Berti E, Hansen OLP, Schowanek SD, Ejrnæs R, Hansen MDD, Olsen K, Normand S, Svenning JC.Feral cattle (Bos taurus) and horses (Equus ferus caballus) are commonly introduced to European rewilding areas to halt vegetation succession and to conserve light-demanding species. Yet, we still do not understand how the habitat preference of animals shapes vegetation structure at the landscape scale. Here, we used spatial preference modeling to understand drivers of space-use based on GPS-collared horses and cattle in a 120-ha rewilding area in Denmark. Using a time series of a satellite-based vegetation productivity index, we tested the ability of animal space-use to explain changes in veg...
Maeda T, Inoue S, Ringhofer M, Hirata S, Yamamoto S.Encounters between competitive individuals or groups are common in social animals and can involve costly aggression; thus, animals often employ strategies to minimize direct conflict. However, research on whether and how animals adjust their group spatial structure when they encounter or spatially co-occur with a different group remains limited. We investigated how non-territorial units in feral horse multilevel societies manage spatial encounters with neighbouring units. We observed 25 reproductive units in northern Portugal, using drones, and employed statistical analyses to quantify spatial...
Riet-Correa F, Micheloud JF, Machado M, Mendonça FS, Schild AL, Uzal FA, Lemos RAA.The objective of this paper is to review the information on toxic plants for ruminants and horses in South America, a continent in which there are 237 plants known to be toxic for livestock. Predisposing factors for plant toxicity include parts or vegetative state of the plants consumed, sprouting after rains, toxic dose, social facilitation, palatability, hunger, thirst, naivete, ingestion period, susceptibility/resistance, transportation, climatic alterations, and environmental degradation. Toxic plants can be forage or non-forage species. The latter can be invasive plants from other regions...
Moaby I, Aitken A, Varga S.Several equine conditions are associated with and exacerbated by increased high-sugar grass intake. Knowing how climatic and biotic factors affect sugar content in grasses is important for decision-making by those involved in the management of equines. Objective: (1) To characterise equine owners' knowledge and perceptions of the factors affecting sugar content in grasses to inform in the management of grasses and equines. (2) To identify associations between pre-existing horse-related experience and level of knowledge about equine nutrition and health conditions. Methods: A questionnaire was ...
Kern-Allely C, Scott D, Magzamen S, Duncan C.Air pollution is a major global health threat that is expected to worsen, yet its effects on domestic animals remain poorly understood. The objective of this scoping review was to synthesize existing evidence on associations between ambient air pollutants and health outcomes in domestic animals and to identify gaps to guide future research. Unassigned: A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines with 2 search databases (PubMed and Web of Science) using ...
Cameron A, Freeman SL, Wild I, Burridge J, Burrell K.Working equids support millions of people globally, especially in low-income, lower-middle-income, and upper-middle-income countries. However, they commonly suffer from poor welfare and are typically overlooked in policy and funding decisions. This scoping review aimed to collate evidence on two topics related to working equid use in low- and middle-income countries: their socioeconomic value to their owners and the impact of educational interventions for owners/handlers aiming to improve equid welfare. Original research published from 2014 onwards was eligible for inclusion. This scoping revi...
Gilbert M, Nicolas G, Cinardi G, Van Boeckel TP, Vanwambeke SO, Wint GRW, Robinson TP.Global data sets on the geographic distribution of livestock are essential for diverse applications in agricultural socio-economics, food security, environmental impact assessment and epidemiology. We present a new version of the Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW 3) database, reflecting the most recently compiled and harmonized subnational livestock distribution data for 2010. GLW 3 provides global population densities of cattle, buffaloes, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and ducks in each land pixel at a spatial resolution of 0.083333 decimal degrees (approximately 10 km at the equat...
Middleton D, Pallister J, Klein R, Feng YR, Haining J, Arkinstall R, Frazer L, Huang JA, Edwards N, Wareing M, Elhay M, Hashmi Z, Bingham J, Yamada M....In recent years, the emergence of several highly pathogenic zoonotic diseases in humans has led to a renewed emphasis on the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, otherwise known as One Health. For example, Hendra virus (HeV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus, was discovered in 1994, and since then, infections have occurred in 7 humans, each of whom had a strong epidemiologic link to similarly affected horses. As a consequence of these outbreaks, eradication of bat populations was discussed, despite their crucial environmental roles in pollination and reduction of the insect p...
Librado P, Khan N, Fages A, Kusliy MA, Suchan T, Tonasso-Calvière L, Schiavinato S, Alioglu D, Fromentier A, Perdereau A, Aury JM, Gaunitz C....Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 BC. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia and Anatolia, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don regi...
Warmuth V, Eriksson A, Bower MA, Barker G, Barrett E, Hanks BK, Li S, Lomitashvili D, Ochir-Goryaeva M, Sizonov GV, Soyonov V, Manica A.Despite decades of research across multiple disciplines, the early history of horse domestication remains poorly understood. On the basis of current evidence from archaeology, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal sequencing, a number of different domestication scenarios have been proposed, ranging from the spread of domestic horses out of a restricted primary area of domestication to the domestication of numerous distinct wild horse populations. In this paper, we reconstruct both the population genetic structure of the extinct wild progenitor of domestic horses, Equus ferus, and the origin and...
Elghandour MMY, Tan ZL, Abu Hafsa SH, Adegbeye MJ, Greiner R, Ugbogu EA, Cedillo Monroy J, Salem AZM.The production of livestock and poultry faces major challenges to meet the global demand for meat and dairy products and eggs due to a steady increase in the world's population and the ban of antibiotics in animal production. This ban has forced animal nutritionists to seek for natural alternatives to antibiotics. In this context, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has received considerable attention in the last decade. It has been reported that feed supplementation with live yeast cells improve feed efficiency, enhance feed digestibility, increase animal performance, reduce the number of path...
Science (New York, N.Y.)March 10, 2011
Volume 331, Issue 6021 1178-1181 doi: 10.1126/science.1196166
Mihlbachler MC, Rivals F, Solounias N, Semprebon GM.The evolution of high-crowned molars among horses (Family Equidae) is thought to be an adaptation for abrasive diets associated with the spread of grasslands. The sharpness and relief of the worn cusp apices of teeth (mesowear) are a measure of dietary abrasion. We collected mesowear data for North American Equidae for the past 55.5 million years to test the association of molar height and dietary abrasion. Mesowear trends in horses are reflective of global cooling and associated vegetation changes. There is a strong correlation between mesowear and crown height in horses; however, most horse ...
Giguet-Covex C, Pansu J, Arnaud F, Rey PJ, Griggo C, Gielly L, Domaizon I, Coissac E, David F, Choler P, Poulenard J, Taberlet P.The reconstruction of human-driven, Earth-shaping dynamics is important for understanding past human/environment interactions and for helping human societies that currently face global changes. However, it is often challenging to distinguish the effects of the climate from human activities on environmental changes. Here we evaluate an approach based on DNA metabarcoding used on lake sediments to provide the first high-resolution reconstruction of plant cover and livestock farming history since the Neolithic Period. By comparing these data with a previous reconstruction of erosive event frequen...
Ivester KM, Couëtil LL, Moore GE.Mild equine asthma is presumed to arise in response to environmental exposures but the relative impact of differing inflammatory phenotypes upon performance are largely unexplored. Objective: Airway inflammation negatively affects performance and cytological phenotype varies with environmental exposure. Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses in active training and racing. Methods: Thoroughbreds were recruited 24-48 hours before racing. Each horse was eligible for re-enrollment with each race entry. Within one hour of race completion, physical examination, respiratory endoscopy, and BAL were performe...
Nielsen BL, Dybkjær L, Herskin MS.Transport of farm animals gives rise to concern about their welfare. Specific attention has been given to the duration of animal transport, and maximum journey durations are used in legislation that seek to minimise any negative impact of transport on animal welfare. This paper reviews the relatively few scientific investigations into effects of transport duration on animal welfare in cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and poultry. From the available literature, we attempt to distinguish between aspects, which will impair welfare on journeys of any duration, such as those associated with loading, and...
Morens DM, Taubenberger JK.To understand human influenza in a historical context of viral circulation in avian species, mammals, and in the environment. Methods: Historical review. Methods: Global events in a variety of circumstances over more than 3,000 years time. Methods: Comprehensive review of the historical literature including all major publications on pandemic and panzootic influenza. Methods: Influenza pandemics, panzootics, major epidemics and epizootics, and instances of interspecies transmission of influenza A. Results: Extensive documentation of human and animal influenza over many centuries suggests that i...
Båverud V, Gustafsson A, Franklin A, Aspán A, Gunnarsson A.Clostridium difficile has been associated with acute colitis in mature horses. Objective: To survey C. difficile colonisation of the alimentary tract with age, occurrence of diarrhoea and history of antibiotic therapy; and to study the occurrence and survival of C. difficile in the environment and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated strains. Methods: A total of 777 horses of different breeds, age and sex were studied. Further, 598 soil samples and 434 indoor surface samples were examined. Antimicrobial susceptibility of 52 strains was investigated by Etest for 10 antibiotics. Results: In ...
Ramseyer A, Gaillard C, Burger D, Straub R, Jost U, Boog C, Marti E, Gerber V.Environment and genetics influence the manifestation of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), but the associations of specific factors with mild, moderate, and severe clinical signs are unknown. Objective: We hypothesized that sire, feed, bedding, time outdoors, sex, and age are associated with clinical manifestations of mild, moderate, and severe lower airway disease. Methods: Direct offspring of 2 RAO-affected Warmblood stallions (F1S1, n = 172; F1S2, n = 135); maternal half-siblings of F1S1 (mHSS1, n = 66); and an age-matched, randomly chosen control group (CG, n = 33). Methods: A standardize...
Bucknell DG, Gasser RB, Beveridge I.A quantitative post mortem study of 150 horses from Victoria was conducted to determine the prevalence and epidemiology of gastrointestinal parasites. A total of 42 species of metazoan parasite was found. The following species of non-cyathostome parasite were found (% prevalence): Trichostrongylus axei (51%); Habronema muscae (13%); H. majus (2%); Draschia megastoma (5%); Gastreophilus intestinalis (81%); G. nasalis (29%); Parascaris equorum (5%); Anoplocephala perfoliata (29%); Fasciola hepatica (0.7%); Oxyuris equi (7%); Strongylu vulgaris (23%); S. edentatus (23%); S. equinus (3%); Crateros...
Tozer SJ, Lambert SB, Strong CL, Field HE, Sloots TP, Nissen MD.Q fever is a vaccine-preventable disease; despite this, high annual notification numbers are still recorded in Australia. We have previously shown seroprevalence in Queensland metropolitan regions is approaching that of rural areas. This study investigated the presence of nucleic acid from Coxiella burnetii, the agent responsible for Q fever, in a number of animal and environmental samples collected throughout Queensland, to identify potential sources of human infection. Samples were collected from 129 geographical locations and included urine, faeces and whole blood from 22 different animal s...
Hotchkiss JW, Reid SW, Christley RM.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a commonly encountered respiratory condition of horses. Despite this, the epidemiology of this predominately manageable and reversible disease in Great Britain has been largely ignored. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of RAO in the general horse population of Great Britain and to investigate possible risk factors for RAO associated with management or early life. Methods: Horse owners were surveyed using a self-administered postal questionnaire that contained a risk-screening questionnaire (RSQ) designed to identify horses with RAO. These owners were ...
Hausberger M, Bruderer C, Le Scolan N, Pierre JS.The aim of the present study was to broach the question of the relative influence of different genetic and environmental factors on different temperament/personality traits of horses (Equus caballus). The researchers submitted 702 horses to standardized experimental tests and investigated 9 factors, either genetic or environmental. Genetic factors, such as sire or breed, seemed to influence more neophobic reactions, whereas environmental factors, such as the type of work, seemed to play a more dominant role in reactions to social separation or learning abilities. Additive effects were evident,...
Irvine CH, Alexander SL.In horses, a circadian rhythm in plasma cortisol concentrations has been reported in some but not all studies. When a rhythm occurred, horses were accustomed to a management routine, comprising stabling, feeding and sometimes exercise, which may entrain a circadian pattern. In this work, we monitored plasma cortisol by collecting jugular blood through indwelling cannulae from four groups: 1): 10 untrained, unperturbed mares grazing excess pasture, bled hourly for 26 hr; 2) 4 mares housed in a barn for 48 hr before sampling every 15 min for 20-24 hr; 3) 5 mares placed in an outdoor yard for sam...
Luthersson N, Nielsen KH, Harris P, Parkin TD.The prevalence (up to 93% in Thoroughbred racehorses) and severity of equine gastric ulceration syndrome (EGUS) has been associated with type of training and differing management practices. However, there have been few studies to confirm these findings in nonracehorses in Europe. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of EGUS in a population of Danish horses, during winter when the horses had been housed and fed for at least 8 weeks and to analyse the influence of feed, work level and environment on the risk of EGUS of > or = grade 2 in severity. Methods: A total of 201 horses, not in active...
Bisanzio D, Giacobini M, Bertolotti L, Mosca A, Balbo L, Kitron U, Vazquez-Prokopec GM.West Nile Virus (WNV) transmission in Italy was first reported in 1998 as an equine outbreak near the swamps of Padule di Fucecchio, Tuscany. No other cases were identified during the following decade until 2008, when horse and human outbreaks were reported in Emilia Romagna, North Italy. Since then, WNV outbreaks have occurred annually, spreading from their initial northern foci throughout the country. Following the outbreak in 1998 the Italian public health authority defined a surveillance plan to detect WNV circulation in birds, horses and mosquitoes. By applying spatial statistical analysi...
Zhao Y, Li B, Bai D, Huang J, Shiraigo W, Yang L, Zhao Q, Ren X, Wu J, Bao W, Dugarjaviin M.The hindgut of horses is an anaerobic fermentative chamber for a complex and dynamic microbial population, which plays a critical role in health and energy requirements. Research on the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses has not been reported until now as far as we know. Mongolian horse is a major local breed in China. We performed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes V4 hypervariable regions from gut fecal material to characterize the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses and compare them to the microbiota in Thoroughbred horses. Fourteen Mongolian and 19 Thoroughbred horses were use...
Léguillette R.Heaves, or recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), is a chronic respiratory disease featuring lower airway inflammation, bronchoconstriction, and mucus accumulation. Inhaled organic dusts and T helper 2 type immunologic reactions are involved in the complex pathophysiology of RAO. Clinical signs vary and alternate with remission periods. The diagnosis is often based on history and clinical examination in severe cases, but bronchoalveolar lavage may be useful for the detection of early cases. The most important aspect of treatment is to avoid exposure to allergens. Corticosteroids may be administer...
Wittmann EJ, Baylis M.Changes in the distribution and abundance of insects are likely to be amongst the most important and immediate effects of climate change. We review here the risk that climate change poses to the UK's livestock industry via effects on Culicoides biting midges, the vectors of several arboviruses, including those that cause bluetongue (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS). The major old-world vector of BT and AHS viruses, C. imicola, occurs in southern Europe and will spread further north as global temperatures increase. It is unlikely, however, that in the foreseeable future it will reach and be...
Lönker NS, Fechner K, Wahed AAE.One Health (OH) is a crucial concept, where the interference between humans, animals and the environment matters. This review article focusses on the role of horses in maintaining the health of humans and the environment. Horses' impact on environmental health includes their influence on soil and the biodiversity of animal and plant species. Nevertheless, the effect of horses is not usually linear and several factors like plant-animal coevolutionary history, climate and animal density play significant roles. The long history of the relationship between horses and humans is shaped by the servic...
Burrell MH, Wood JL, Whitwell KE, Chanter N, Mackintosh ME, Mumford JA.A longitudinal study of respiratory disease in racehorses was carried out to assess its relative associations with different infectious agents and to examine any role that the environmental conditions might play. The relationships between coughing, nasal discharge, pyrexia and lower respiratory tract disease were also examined to provide information for improving clinical diagnosis, particularly of disease of the lower respiratory tract. Lower airway disease was closely associated with infection with Streptococcus zooepidemicus. It was also found that equine herpesvirus seroconversions and S p...
Weese JS, DaCosta T, Button L, Goth K, Ethier M, Boehnke K.After recognition of a cluster of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in horses and humans at the Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital, environmental contamination with MRSA was evaluated. A total of 260 environmental surfaces were sampled during periods when MRSA-infected horses were hospitalized, and MRSA was isolated from 25/260 sites (9.6%). The most commonly contaminated sites were stalls housing MRSA-positive horses, but other stalls, medical equipment, personal items, and equine restraint devices also were contaminated. The role of the environ...
Linklater WL.Socio-ecological explanations for intra- and interspecific variation in the social and spatial organization of animals predominate in the scientific literature. The socio-ecological model, developed first for the Bovidae and Cervidae, is commonly applied more widely to other groups including the Equidae. Intraspecific comparisons are particularly valuable because they allow the role of environment and demography on social and spatial organization to be understood while controlling for phylogeny or morphology which confound interspecific comparisons. Feral horse (Equus caballus Linnaeus 1758) p...
Liu ZP.The diagnosis of lead poisoning combined with cadmium in sheep and horses living on farmland in the vicinity of non-ferrous metal smelters in Baiyin of Gansu province in China was based on laboratory findings as well as clinical signs. The concentrations of lead, cadmium, copper and zinc in soils, water, forages, feed and blood, hair and tissues of affected sheep and horses were determined in the surroundings of the smelters in Baiyin and controls. Haematological values were also measured. The concentrations of these elements in soils, forages, water and feed were significantly higher than tho...
Cooper JJ, McDonald L, Mills DS.Stabled horses commonly perform stereotypic patterns of weaving, where the horse shifts its weight from side to side often swinging its head. Ten warm-blood types, of which five were known to reliably weave, were housed in similar 12x12 ft wooden loose boxes in a single stable block surrounding a courtyard. Each horse was exposed to each of five stable designs. These were: the conventional front top-half of the door open only with a view of the stable courtyard (F); front half-door open and a similar half-door open at the back of the stable with a view to the surrounding fields (FB); back open...
Horváth G, Blahó M, Kriska G, Hegedüs R, Gerics B, Farkas R, Akesson S.White horses frequently suffer from malign skin cancer and visual deficiencies owing to their high sensitivity to the ultraviolet solar radiation. Furthermore, in the wild, white horses suffer a larger predation risk than dark individuals because they can more easily be detected. In spite of their greater vulnerability, white horses have been highly appreciated for centuries owing to their natural rarity. Here, we show that blood-sucking tabanid flies, known to transmit disease agents to mammals, are less attracted to white than dark horses. We also demonstrate that tabanids use reflected pola...
Takai S, Ohbushi S, Koike K, Tsubaki S, Oishi H, Kamada M.The prevalence of virulent Rhodococcus equi in isolates from soil and feces of foals on a farm with endemic R. equi infections was significantly higher than that of a farm with no history of the disease. Foals bred on a farm with the endemic disease might be constantly exposed to virulent R. equi in their environment.
