Equids are members of the family Equidae, which includes modern horses, donkeys, and zebras, as well as extinct species. Equids are characterized by their long limbs, single-toed hooves, and herbivorous diet, which is primarily composed of grasses. Horses, specifically, have been domesticated for thousands of years and have played significant roles in agriculture, transportation, and sport. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of equids and horses, including their evolution, physiology, behavior, and interactions with humans. The collected works provide insights into the genetic diversity, adaptive traits, and conservation efforts related to equid species.
Tallmadge RL, Laverack M, Lejeune M, Crossley B, Diel DG.Equid herpesvirus (EHV) 1 and -4 are common viral pathogens of horses that can cause upper respiratory disease, neurological disease, abortion, and death. As characteristic alphaherpesviruses, both EHV-1 and EHV-4 can establish latency, resulting in a lifelong carrier state in infected animals. Here we describe the development and validation of a rapid and sensitive multiplex real-time PCR assay (EHV1-4MP) that simultaneously detects EHV-1 and EHV-4 and includes an endogenous internal control - melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) - targeting the equid genome. The EHV1-4MP assay analytical sensitiv...
Gamage C, Graves A, Li G, Thieulent CJ, Balasuriya UBR, Morrow J, Vissani A, Parreño V, Matthijnssens J, Carossino M.Equine rotavirus B (ERVB) has caused foal diarrhea in central Kentucky since 2021. Coding-complete genome sequences from 14 strains circulating in 2024 revealed >99% nucleotide identity to the 2021 prototype ERVB strain RVB/Horse-wt/USA/KY1518/2021, with a conserved genomic constellation (G3-P[3]-I3-R3-C3-M3-A4-N3-T3-E3-H3).
Janzen N, Sander J, Terhardt M, Mallek M, Smith H, Witt P, Theelen MJP.The case of a young foal poisoned by maple toxin is described. It showed signs of myopathy caused by ingesting life-threatening amounts of maple toxin. Some maple trees (Acer species) can pose a health risk to grazing horses. The leaves, seeds and shoots contain hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylencyclopropylglycine (MCPRG) and can cause life-threatening atypical myopathy.
Serrano-Rodríguez JM, Miraz R, Saitua A, Díez de Castro E, Ledesma-Escobar C, Ferreiro-Vera C, Priego-Capote F, Sánchez de Medina V....Cannabigerol (CBG) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid with growing interest in veterinary medicine; however, its pharmacokinetic profile in horses remains unknown. Understanding its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination is essential to optimizing dosing strategies and evaluating its potential for clinical use in equine patients. Unassigned: A prospective crossover study was conducted in eight healthy adult horses to assess the metabolism and the pharmacokinetics after intravenous (IV) administration at 1 mg/kg and oral administrations at 10 mg/kg with two formulations (mice...
Muresu Ibba GM, Poeta A, De Lorenzi G, Pupillo G, D'Annunzio G, Pezzarossi A, Bisceglia I, Mangone L.Melanomas are dermal-epidermal and subcutaneous tumors commonly found in horses, especially those with grey coats. This study aimed to characterize melanomas in slaughtered horses by analyzing their distribution according to sex, age, and nationality, and to describe the veterinary inspection interventions required at slaughterhouses based on lymph node involvement and distant metastases in a province of northern Italy. Between January and December 2024, 182 grey horses were examined, and 28 cases of melanoma were identified (15% of grey horses) with an average age of 14 years: 8 males (mean a...
da Silva GM, Navas C, Carvalho MB, Sampaio Y, Rocha MN, Gomes-Silva A, de Matos Guedes HL, Cunha L, Castilho LR, da Silva JL, Felicori LF.Horse immunoglobulins have been utilized for over a century in serotherapy to treat venomous animal bites and various other conditions. However, molecular-level information about these immunoglobulins remains limited, particularly regarding immunoglobulin lambda light chains (Igλ), which constitute over 90 % of circulating antibodies. Despite the sequencing of the equine genome, the International ImMunoGeneTics information system (IMGT) has not yet annotated Igλ in its database, restricting the analysis of the horse antibody repertoire. In this study, we analyzed the equine Igλ repertoire...
Micheau L, Audigié F, Moiroud C, Jacquet S.Disuse-induced bone loss during stall confinement and immobilization is a major concern in horses because it impairs recovery and increases susceptibility to further injury. Experimental models are needed to evaluate therapeutic options, but most available equine models rely on cast immobilization, which is technically demanding and may be associated with complications. This study aimed to assess a simpler and less restrictive model to induce a quantifiable decrease in bone density in horses. Six French Standardbred horses underwent eight weeks of stall confinement, with a wooden wedge fitted ...
Zhang Y, Zheng J, Zhang H, Lin Y, Wang Y, Ma Z, Wei J, Zhou B, Zhong D.Getah virus (GETV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), West Nile virus (WNV), and African horse sickness virus (AHSV) are mosquito-borne viruses threatening the health of racehorses. However, the systematic surveillance of these viruses among Shanghai racehorses remains lacking. Therefore, molecular and serological surveillance was conducted for these viruses in racehorses and mosquitoes at horse farms in Shanghai, China, during 2022 to assess their prevalence. Among 11,140 mosquitoes collected from seven farms across four districts, and were identified as the dominant species. RT-qPCR detec...
Esdaile E, Houston K, Till BJ, Sutton RB, Scurrell E, Ling M, Hartley C, Bellone RR.Although several inherited ocular disorders have been extensively studied in horses, few reports of equine ectopia lentis exist and no genetic investigations have been reported. Ectopia lentis in humans and other species is reported to be caused by trauma, genetic variants, and systemic diseases. The most commonly reported genetic causes are dominant alleles in FBN1. Here we examined a 3-day old Oldenburg x Thoroughbred colt due to concerns over bilateral ocular anomalies and hypothesized that either a recessively inherited allele or a dominant de novo allele was the genetic cause. Examination...
Raftery AG, Gummery L, Garcia K, Mohite D, Capewell P, Sutton DGM.Equine trypanosomiasis is a neglected protozoal disease. Objective: To perform a systematic search of literature to explore: (1) In equines what is the global geographical distribution and prevalence of trypanosomiasis? In low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is trypanosomiasis more prevalent than in higher-income countries (HICs)? (2) Is trypanosomiasis infection a significant contributor to global morbidity and mortality? Methods: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Methods: Studies were identified that described naturally occurring equine trypanosomiasis worldwide following 'Preferred R...
Blomström AL, Hansen S, Riihimäki M.Papillomaviruses (PVs) are small, non-enveloped viruses with double-stranded circular DNA genomes that infect a wide range of hosts, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. While human papillomaviruses are extensively studied, recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing techniques have increased the detection and genetic characterization of PVs from various animal species. Here, we describe the identification and whole-genome characterization of a divergent equine papillomavirus (EcPV) detected through a viral metagenomic investigation of a horse in Denmark exhibiting neurological ...
Serighelli-Júnior G, Strugava L, de Oliveira Franco JD, Kulik K, Dornbusch PT, Machado M, Moreno JCD.To describe the detailed anatomy of the equine thoracoabdominal region and to compare the accuracy of ultrasound-guided versus blind intercostal nerve injection techniques, targeting the thoracic intercostal nerves (T12-T18) in equine cadavers. Methods: Randomized, blinded, cadaveric study. Methods: Eight fresh adult equine cadavers. Methods: Eight horse cadavers were used: one in phase I (436 kg; 4 years old) for anatomic landmarks identification and seven in phase II [420 (317-560 kg); 16 (3-22 years old) [median (minimum-maximum)] for comparative study. In phase I, dissections were performe...
Encina A, Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Ligero M, Rodríguez-Sainz de Los Terreros A, Valera M.White leg markings in horses are phenotypic traits influenced by genetic and environmental factors. This study analyzed their prevalence, symmetry, and genetic parameters in 38,825 Pura Raza Española (PRE) horses registered in the official studbook. White markings were scored using a binary (affected/unaffected) and a four-level ordinal scale. Most horses (38,341 out of 38,825; 98.8%) had at least one limb without white markings. The prevalence of white markings was higher in the hindlegs (17.9% LH; 14.5% RH) than in the forelegs (5.3% LF; 4.6% RF). Markings were most frequent above the fetlo...
El-Ghaly W, El Kamli T, Zaari Lambarki L, El Hamdani M, Lahkak FE, Benmoussa A, Balouch L, Bakkali F, Saffaj T, Jhilal F.The quality of quantitative results in bioanalysis requires not only a validated analytical method but also a rigorous estimation of measurement uncertainty. This study examines the challenges associated with the implementation of two distinct approaches in equine anti-doping control for the assessment of uncertainty associated with an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry quantitative method for caffeine and lidocaine in horse urine. The bottom-up approach, based on the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (ISO GUM), was compared t...
de Zutter BM, de Paula Freitas-Dell'Aqua C, Dell'Aqua-Junior JA, Monteiro GA, Troncarelli T, Papa FO.This study evaluated the effects of cholesterol, pentoxifylline and casein, with or without skim milk, added to extenders during pre-centrifugation on equine sperm cryosurvival. Seven ejaculates from four stallions (n = 28) were divided into four groups: SM (skim milk), SMP (SM + pentoxifylline), SMCho (SM + cholesterol) and ChoCa (cholesterol + casein). After centrifugation and freezing, sperm kinematics and plasma membrane integrity were assessed immediately and 30 min post-thaw. SMCho and ChoCa showed superior results compared with SM and SMP. These findings indicate that chol...
Saul A, Pritchard P, Shrubb J, Robinson N, Stavisky J.Feeling undervalued, having limited opportunities to utilise clinical skills and lack of career progression have been identified as factors negatively affecting the job satisfaction and retention of small animal registered veterinary nurses (RVNs). The aim of this study was to explore the roles and activities of equine veterinary nurses, and the barriers and facilitators associated with their professional progression. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional online questionnaire was distributed to all RVNs and student veterinary nurses working with equids in VetPartners practices. The questions ...
Varandas M, Lozano J, Agrícola R, Gomes L, Rosa T, Magalhães M, Lamas L, Rinaldi L, Oliveira M, Paz-Silva A, Madeira de Carvalho L.The diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) strongyle infections in equids is still mainly performed using quantitative coprological techniques, like the McMaster (McM), but more sensitive and precise techniques, like FLOTAC (FL) and Mini-FLOTAC (MF), have been proposed over the past 20 years. The present study aimed to compare the analytical performance of these three methods in the diagnosis of strongyle infections in horses. Between October 2023 and June 2024, 32 fecal samples were processed using the McM, FL and MF techniques to identify strongyles' eggs, estimate their shedding (eggs per gram ...
Abbas G, Nielsen MK, E-Hage C, Ghafar A, Beveridge I, Bauquier J, Beasley A, Wilkes EJA, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Jacobson C, Hughes KJ, Jabbar A.Over the past 25 years, significant progress has been made in understanding and managing equine gastrointestinal parasites in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Australia and New Zealand. This review synthesises current knowledge of the epidemiology, diagnostic methods, anthelmintic resistance (AR), and control strategies for major equine intestinal parasites, including cyathostomins, Parascaris spp., Anoplocephala perfoliata, and Strongyloides westeri. Recent studies highlight substantial regional variation in parasite prevalence, egg shedding and cyathostomin population composition, sh...
Righetti F, Hentrich K, Flock M, Frosth S, Jacobsson K, Bjerketorp J, Pathak A, Ido N, Henriques-Normark B, Frykberg L, Paillot R, Guss B, Wood T.... subspecies () is the cause of strangles, one of the most prevalent diseases of horses worldwide. The disease is characterised by fever and the formation of abscesses in the lymph nodes of the head and neck, which can restrict the airway. A multicomponent subunit vaccine, Strangvac, has been shown to effectively reduce clinical signs of strangles and to reduce its incidence. The aim of this study was to determine the immune response against the immunoglobulin-cleaving endopeptidase IdeE, a key protective component within the vaccine and the ability of antibodies to neutralize the proteolytic...
Machado RZ, André MR, Pereira JG, Oliveira MDSC, Ribeiro LSDS, Toledo CZP, Gonçalves LR.Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by the protozoan parasites Babesia caballi, Theileria equi, and Theileria haneyi, characterized by intravascular hemolysis and associated systemic illness. Although T. equi and B. caballi have been widely reported in some regions of Brazil, data from other states are limited. Additionally, despite reports of T. equi genotype C, currently recognized as T. haneyi, has been identified in Brazil, there are no investigations using T. haneyi-specific molecular tools. This study assessed the presence of these three agents in horses from Baixada...
Wesołowska M, Szczuka E. In animals, staphylococci constitute a significant part of the normal skin microbiota and mucous membranes. There is limited information available on staphylococci isolated from healthy horses. These skin-associated bacteria can be easily transferred between animals and horse riders via direct contact. Patients undergoing hippotherapy (i.e., medical or therapeutic sessions with horses) are especially at risk of being colonized by horse skin-associated bacteria. However, it remains unclear whether equine skin is colonized by antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) opportunistic pathogens, which may be o...
Rosanowski SM, Milne H, Pearce P, McDonald N, Zobel G, McFadden A.An essential component of a timely response to a disaster event or disease outbreak is an accurate understanding of the population at risk, its location, and the owners' contact details. In equines, this can be achieved through individual identification, via microchipping, and the registration of these individuals in a centralised database. This review outlines the development by the New Zealand Equine Health Association (NZEHA) of a centralised database for equines in New Zealand, the National Equine Identification and Traceability (NEIT) system, which is built using Companion Animal New Zeal...
Wnuk E, Janicka W, Stachurska A, Owerczuk R, Łuszczyński J.Differences in the ranges and capacities of sensory modalities cause horses to perceive their surroundings differently than humans. To date, the horses' sense of smell has been studied mainly regarding social and reproductive behaviour. The role of olfaction in horse management and use also seems to be of utmost importance. The aim of this study was to determine the response to a scent of different intensities by horses of different sexes and types (warmblood horses vs ponies). The study involved 21 adult mares and geldings, of which 15 subjects learned how to complete the required task and we...
Musial F, Weiss T.Bit pressure and rein tension-induced mouth pain in horses have recently become a significant welfare concern, fueling debates within the equestrian community and beyond. Evidence indicates that bits can cause pain-related behaviors and even oral lesions. Although studying pressure-induced pain in animals is challenging, the similarities in the physiology of pain processing (nociception) across mammals suggest that it is reasonable to assume that pain perception in humans and horses is principally comparable. Therefore, we compared human pressure pain detection thresholds (PPDTs) to reported r...
Dindo S, Tovar-Pascual L, Baldassarro VA, Bucci D, Mislei B, Spinaci M, Ortiz-Rodriguez JM.Nanoplastics (NP) accumulation in biological tissues and their adverse effects on fertility through inflammatory and oxidative stress responses have recently been described as consequences of global plastic pollution. However, little is known about the impact of NP on gametes. This study aimed to assess the internalization of NP and their effects on mature equine spermatozoa. Frozen-thawed ejaculates from five stallions were divided into untreated control (CTR) and samples supplemented with different concentrations (10, 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL) of 30 nm polystyrene NP. At baseline (T0), and a...
Maniego J, Swinburne J, Hincks P, Habershon-Butcher J, Given J, Ryder E.Gene editing and genome manipulation offer great promise for treating diseases in both humans and animals. There is a danger, however, that this technology could be used for other purposes such as performance enhancement. To detect such 'gene doping' events, we evaluated a targeted enrichment panel and next-generation sequencing to assess its reproducibility, sensitivity, and capability of variant detection on a wide variety of samples and biological matrices. The panel was verified against existing data for the myostatin gene, a PCR-based SNP panel, and whole genome sequencing in a subset of ...
Park T, Hong S, Murray L, Lee J, Shah A, Mesa JC, Lee H, Couetil L, Lee CH.Continuous physiological monitoring is well-established in human healthcare for early disease detection and management. However, translation of these technologies to large animals such as equines remains underdeveloped due to anatomical constraints, dense hair coat coverage, and requirements for unimpeded mobility. Equines, particularly racehorses, are prone to asthma and cardiovascular abnormalities, with nearly 80 % affected by mild to moderate asthma, impacting performance and long-term health. Despite the need for continuous monitoring, existing solutions require shaving hairs, often lack...
Al-Ebshahy E, Badr Y, El-Ansary RE, Alajmi R, El-Ashram S, Rady A, Elgendy E.The present study investigated the molecular detection and genetic characteristics of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and EHV-4 circulating within Egyptian horse populations during 2019-2022. A total of 79 animals were sampled (54 nasal swabs and 25 aborted fetal tissues). PCR assays revealed that 24 (30.3%) and 7 (8.8%) samples were positive for EHV-1 and EHV-4, respectively. Additionally, 5 (6.3%) samples were concurrently infected with both viruses. Four EHV-1 and three EHV-4 isolates were genetically characterized based on partial sequencing of gB gene. The four EHV-1 strains displayed 100% n...
Saitua A, Pérez-Umbría J, García-Álamo K, Muñoz A.Dynamic mobilization exercises (DME) are an effective strategy to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and promote back health in sport horses. Previous studies focused mainly on multifidus muscle cross-sectional area, with limited data on locomotion and adaptation timing. This study evaluated locomotor changes using accelerometry, over 8 weeks of DME application in 14 sedentary horses: a DME group ( = 8) performing 10 different DME (3 neck flexions, 1 neck extension and 3 lateral bending exercises to each side), 5 repetitions of each DME per session, 3 sessions/week, and a control group ( = 6), t...
Nocera I, Moroni R, Fanelli D, Rota A, Di Franco C, Ungari C, Puccinelli C, Gandini M, Giusto G, Vannozzi I.Over the years, various diagnostic and surgical techniques have been developed to recognise and treat cryptorchidism in equid. This study retrospectively analysed cases of cryptorchidism referred to two centres between 2012 and 2025. Clinical data collected included species, breed, age, gender, location of retained testis, diagnostic approach, anaesthesia plan and surgical treatment, perioperative medical treatment, intra-operative complications and outcomes. A total of 37 clinical cases were included, 1/37 was a donkey and 1/37 was an intersex female. Most of the horses were three years old a...
Allen WR, Skidmore JA, Stewart F, Antczak DF.Measurement of the concentrations of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) in the serum of pregnant mares and Jenny donkeys carrying normal intraspecies and hybrid interspecies pregnancies suggested that the production of this hormone may be influenced by parental gene imprinting. Specifically, a differential expression of maternal and paternal genes may control the size and secretory activity of the structures that secrete eCG, the fetal endometrial cups. However, bisection of an interspecies mule embryo followed by transfer of the resulting demi-embryos and other intact mule embryos to horse ...
Lundgren EJ, Ramp D, Stromberg JC, Wu J, Nieto NC, Sluk M, Moeller KT, Wallach AD.Megafauna play important roles in the biosphere, yet little is known about how they shape dryland ecosystems. We report on an overlooked form of ecosystem engineering by donkeys and horses. In the deserts of North America, digging of ≤2-meter wells to groundwater by feral equids increased the density of water features, reduced distances between waters, and, at times, provided the only water present. Vertebrate richness and activity were higher at equid wells than at adjacent dry sites, and, by mimicking flood disturbance, equid wells became nurseries for riparian trees. Our results suggest t...
Guimaraes S, Arbuckle BS, Peters J, Adcock SE, Buitenhuis H, Chazin H, Manaseryan N, Uerpmann HP, Grange T, Geigl EM.Despite the important roles that horses have played in human history, particularly in the spread of languages and cultures, and correspondingly intensive research on this topic, the origin of domestic horses remains elusive. Several domestication centers have been hypothesized, but most of these have been invalidated through recent paleogenetic studies. Anatolia is a region with an extended history of horse exploitation that has been considered a candidate for the origins of domestic horses but has never been subject to detailed investigation. Our paleogenetic study of pre- and protohistoric h...
Fawcett JA, Sato F, Sakamoto T, Iwasaki WM, Tozaki T, Innan H.The domestication process of plants and animals typically involves intense inbreeding and directional selection for various traits. Here, we genotyped 370 Japanese Thoroughbred horses using the recently developed 670k SNP array and performed various genome-wide analysis also using genotype data of other horse breeds. We identified a number of regions showing interesting patterns of polymorphisms. For instance, the region containing the MC1R locus associated with chestnut coat color may have been targeted by selection for a different mutation much earlier on than the recent selection for chestn...
Orlando L.Alongside domestic horses and donkeys, the horse family, also known as equids, comprises six extant wild species of asses and zebras (Figure 1). Equids are extremely well represented in the fossil record, comprising a 55 million-year evolutionary history, punctuated by many episodes of innovation, extinction and migration. Limited to the single genus Equus today, in the Miocene (23.0–5.3 million years ago) the equid family flourished, comprising more than twenty genera. The group originated in Northern America, where the earliest fossil forms have been found, the so-called Hyracotheres, no l...
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...
Hibi H, Hatama S, Obata A, Shibahara T, Kadota K.A case of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and squamous papilloma in a 19-year-old Thoroughbred stallion is described. The animal exhibited severe wheezing caused by laryngopharyngeal stenosis. Histological examination identified laryngeal, laryngotracheal, and guttural pouch tumor masses consisting of areas of SCC. In the epiglottic lesion, the overlying epithelium was replaced by papilloma cells, and superficial cells frequently had nuclear inclusion bodies that expressed oncoprotein E6, which is characteristic of high risk human papillomaviruses. The papillomatous epithelium was cont...
Funk SM, Guedaoura S, Juras R, Raziq A, Landolsi F, Luís C, Martínez AM, Musa Mayaki A, Mujica F, Oom MDM, Ouragh L, Stranger YM, Vega-Pla JL....STRUCTURE remains the most applied software aimed at recovering the true, but unknown, population structure from microsatellite or other genetic markers. About 30% of structure-based studies could not be reproduced (, 21, 2012, 4925). Here we use a large set of data from 2,323 horses from 93 domestic breeds plus the Przewalski horse, typed at 15 microsatellites, to evaluate how program settings impact the estimation of the optimal number of population clusters that best describe the observed data. Domestic horses are suited as a test case as there is extensive background knowledge on the his...
Shittu I, Meseko CA, Sulaiman LP, Inuwa B, Mustapha M, Zakariya PS, Muhammad AA, Muhammad U, Atuman YJ, Barde IJ, Zecchin B, Quaranta EG, Shamaki D....In December 2018, suspected outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) were observed in donkeys in Sokoto State, in the extreme northwest of Nigeria bordering the Republic of the Niger. Equine influenza virus (EIV) subtype H3N8 was the etiologic agent identified in the outbreaks using real-time RT-qPCR and sequencing of both the partial haemagglutinin (HA) gene and the complete genome. Since then the H3N8 virus spread to 7 of the 19 northern states of Nigeria, where it affected both donkeys and horses. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial and complete HA gene revealed the closest nucleotide similarity...
Sykora S, Samek L, Schönthaler K, Palm F, Borzacchiello G, Aurich C, Brandt S.Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are malignant tumours arising from keratinocytes. In horses, there is increasing evidence for Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV-2) being causally involved in SCC development. However, only little is known regarding intralesional transcription of the virus, and sparse information on the incidence of EcPV-2 infection in healthy equids is available so far. Using RT-PCR, total mRNA from 8 EcPV-2 DNA-positive and 1 EcPV-2 negative SCC/SCC precursor lesions was screened for the presence of EcPV-2 E6 and E1 transcripts. Using PCR, we tested 193 sample specimens...
Lulla V, Losada A, Lecollinet S, Kerviel A, Lilin T, Sailleau C, Beck C, Zientara S, Roy P.African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is an orbivirus, a member of the Reoviridae family. Nine different serotypes have been described so far. AHSV is vectored by Culicoides spp. to equids, causing high mortality, particularly in horses, with considerable economic impacts. For development of a safe attenuated vaccine, we previously established an efficient reverse genetics (RG) system to generate Entry Competent Replication-Abortive (ECRA) virus strains, for all nine serotypes and demonstrated the vaccine potential of these strains in type I interferon receptor (IFNAR)-knockout mice. Here, we ev...
Alonso-Padilla J, Loza-Rubio E, Escribano-Romero E, Córdoba L, Cuevas S, Mejía F, Calderón R, Milián F, Travassos Da Rosa A, Weaver SC....West Nile virus (WNV) was probably introduced in southern and northern Mexico from the USA in two independent events. Since then, WNV activity has been reported in several Mexican states bordering the USA and the Gulf of Mexico, but disease manifestations seen there in humans and equids are quite different to those observed in the USA. We have analysed WNV seroprevalence in asymptomatic, unvaccinated equids from two Mexican states where no data had been previously recorded. WNV IgG antibodies were detected in 31.6% (91/288) of equine sera from Chiapas and Puebla states (53.3% and 8.0%, respect...
Science (New York, N.Y.)April 16, 1965
Volume 148, Issue 3668 382-383 doi: 10.1126/science.148.3668.382
BENIRSCHKE K, MALOUF N, LOW RJ, HECK H.The chromosome number of the domestic horse is 2n = 64; different races have the same complement. The chromosomes of two Przewalski's horses (at Catskill Game Farm, New York), presumably ancestral wild horses from Mongolia, are identical: 2n = 66, with more acrocentric and fewer metacentric elements than the chromosomes of the domestic horse. This apparent difference in karyotype may help resolve the questions of "purity" in the relatively few remaining Przewalski's horses. Moreover, these findings are of interest in relation to the apparent fertility of hybrids between these species.
West Nile fever (WNF) is a viral disease of wild birds transmitted by mosquitoes. Humans and equids can also be affected and suffer from meningoencephalitis. In Algeria, since the 1994 epidemic, no data on WNV circulation was available until 2012. In September 2012, a fatal human case of WNV neuro-invasive infection occurred in Jijel province. This study describes the first seroprevalence study of West Nile virus (WNV) antibodies conducted in the equine population in Algeria. During 2014, serum samples were collected from 293 equids (222 donkeys and 71 horses) asymptomatic and unvaccinated for...
Varcasia A, Garippa G, Pipia AP, Scala A, Brianti E, Giannetto S, Battelli G, Poglayen G, Micagni G.Between March 2003 and February 2007, the livers and the lungs of 2,231 horses from various Italian regions were examined for cystic echinococcosis presence at the time of slaughter. Hydatid cysts were found in six horses, namely four from Sardinia, one from Sicily, and one from Tuscany. The location, number, morphology, and fertility of the cysts found were determined. DNA was extracted from the germinal layers and protoscoleces of the fertile cysts and polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were performed in order to strain type DNA isolates for reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogen...
Sumbria D, Das Singla L, Sharma A.A cross-sectional study was conducted in Submountain undulating, Undulating plain, Western and Western plain agro-climatic zones of Punjab province, India, to determine the prevalence, agreement between diagnostic tests and associated related risk factors of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infection in equids (horses, donkey, mules). An overall prevalence of 14.14 and 0.0% of T. equi and B. caballi was recorded by multiplex polymerase chain reaction targeting 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) for both the parasites and 75 and 1.11% by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a representative...
The Journal of heredityNovember 5, 1997
Volume 88, Issue 5 384-392 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a023123
Allen WR, Short RV.Equids possess the unusual ability to interbreed freely among the phenotypically and karyotypically diverse member species of the genus to produce viable, but usually infertile, offspring. The mule (female horse x male donkey) was humanity's first successful attempt at genetic engineering and its clear expression of both parental phenotypes has contributed much to our understanding of genetic inheritance over the centuries. Even more surprising, mares and donkeys have been shown to be capable of carrying to term a range of true, xenogeneic extraspecies pregnancies created by embryo transfer, i...
Yang L, Kong X, Yang S, Dong X, Yang J, Gou X, Zhang H.The Tibetan horse is a species endemic to the Tibetan plateau, with considerable economic value in the region. However, we currently have little genetic evidence to verify whether the breed originated in Tibet or if it entered the area via an ancient migratory route. In the present study, we analyzed the hypervariable segment I sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in 2,050 horses, including 290 individuals from five Tibetan populations and 1,760 from other areas across Asia. Network analysis revealed multiple maternal lineages in the Tibetan horse. Component analysis of sub-lineage F3 indica...
Truppel JH, Otomura F, Teodoro U, Massafera R, da Costa-Ribeiro MC, Catarino CM, Dalagrana L, Costa Ferreira ME, Thomaz-Soccol V.In this study, we detected Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection in equids living in endemic regions of cutaneous leishmaniasis. To determine the role of these animals in the Leishmania cycle, we used two approaches: serological and molecular methods. Antibodies to the parasite were assayed using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Blood samples were collected and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the positive products were sequenced. The results showed that 11.0% (25/227) of the equids were seropositive for Leishmania sp, and 16.3% (37/227) were PCR positive. Ant...
Sells PD, Pinchbeck G, Mezzane H, Ibourki J, Crane M.Wounds are one of the primary welfare concerns of working equids and are often related to harness or load-bearing packs. Objective: To identify and quantify factors associated with the presence of pack wounds in donkeys and mules working in the wood trade in the Midelt (Northern High Atlas) region of Morocco, and to compare wounds of these donkeys and mules to those working in other trades. Methods: The study population comprised equids working in the Midelt region involved in the wood trade. Comparison populations were comprised of equids working in other trades, in the same region and in Khe...
Péron F, Ward R, Burman O.Knowledge about social recognition and memory in animals can help us to determine appropriate management and husbandry techniques. In this study, we used a habituation-discrimination procedure to investigate the ability of horses (Equus caballus) to distinguish between the body odour samples of unfamiliar conspecifics. To pick up body odour, we rubbed material on the coat of horses and presented these unknown body odours to 16 different conspecifics of the same sex and similar age. The test consisted of two successive two-min presentations of a sample from one individual (e.g. individual 'A') ...
Brits D, Steyn M, L'Abbé EN.Histology is used to describe post-mortem bone alterations, trauma, pathology and age estimation and to separate human and non-human bones. Many scholars are however not familiar with the intricate and variable microstructure of bone, and due to the complex nature of some classification systems, bone histomorphology is often incorrectly described or identified. Little information is available on the histomorphology of non-human bones found in southern Africa, and therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the histomorphology of non-human species commonly found in southern Africa, namely,...
López RH, Soto SU, Gallego-Gómez JC.West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the genus Flavivirus, and it is transmitted between Culex sp. mosquitoes and avian hosts. Equids and humans are commonly infected with WNV as dead-end hosts, and the signs and symptoms of infection range from mild illness to neurologic symptoms as encephalitis, meningitis and sometimes death. Previous phylogenetic studies have classified WNV into six genetically distinct lineages and provided valuable insight on WNV dispersal patterns within the Americas and its emergence in different geographic areas. In this study, we isolated, sequenced and genetically c...
Loscher DM, Meyer F, Kracht K, Nyakatura JA.Many ungulates show a conspicuous nodding motion of the head when walking. Until now, the functional significance of this behaviour remained unclear. Combining in vivo kinematics of quadrupedal mammals with a computer model, we show that the timing of vertical displacements of the head and neck is consistent with minimizing energy expenditure for carrying these body parts in an inverted pendulum walking gait. Varying the timing of head movements in the model resulted in increased metabolic cost estimate for carrying the head and neck of up to 63%. Oscillations of the head-neck unit result in w...
Burden FA, Bell N.The domestic donkey is a unique equid species with specific nutritional requirements. This article examines the importance of feeding strategies that mimic the donkey's natural environment using poor nutritional quality fibers and access to browsing materials. The relationship between nutrition and health is examined and practical approaches to the healthy and sick donkey are discussed.
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...
Maeda T, Sueur C, Hirata S, Yamamoto S.Behavioural synchrony among individuals is essential for group-living organisms. The functioning of synchronization in a multilevel society, which is a nested assemblage of multiple social levels between many individuals, remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to build a model that explained the synchronization of activity in a multilevel society of feral horses. Multi-agent-based models were used based on four hypotheses: A) horses do not synchronize, B) horses synchronize with any individual in any unit, C) horses synchronize only within units, and D) horses synchronize ac...
Higuchi RG, Wrischnik LA, Oakes E, George M, Tong B, Wilson AC.Sequences are reported for portions of two mitochondrial genes from a domestic horse and a plains zebra and compared to those published for a quagga and a mountain zebra. The extinct quagga and plains zebra sequences are identical at all silent sites, whereas the horse sequence differs from both of them by 11 silent substitutions. Postmortem changes in quagga DNA may account for the two coding substitutions between the quagga and plains zebra sequences. The hypothesis that the closest relative of the quagga is the domestic horse receives no support from these data. From the extent of sequence ...
Taylor WTT, Barrón-Ortiz CI.Despite its transformative impact on human history, the early domestication of the horse (Equus caballus) remains exceedingly difficult to trace in the archaeological record. In recent years, a scientific consensus emerged linking the Botai culture of northern Kazakhstan with the first domestication of horses, based on compelling but largely indirect archaeological evidence. A cornerstone of the archaeological case for domestication at Botai is damage to the dentition commonly linked with the use of bridle mouthpieces, or "bit wear." Recent archaeogenetic analyses reveal, however, that horse r...
