Equine diseases encompass a wide range of health conditions that can affect horses, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic conditions. These diseases can impact the overall health, performance, and well-being of horses. Common equine diseases include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, laminitis, and equine metabolic syndrome. Diagnosis and management of these diseases often require a combination of clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, and appropriate treatment strategies. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for various equine diseases, providing valuable insights for veterinarians and researchers in the field.
Menezes RC, Campos MP, Popielarczyk M, Kiupel M.We report a new case of cutaneous leishmaniosis caused by Leishmania (Mundinia) martiniquensis in a horse in Florida, USA. A 10-year-old neutered male Quarter horse was presented with multifocal to coalescing, raised, ulcerated and oozing, non-healing wounds on both pinnae of several weeks' duration. After a few months, the lesions regressed spontaneously. Biopsies of the lesions were performed with microscopical findings of epidermal hyperplasia with multifocal ulceration and focally extensive, dermal pyogranulomatous inflammation with numerous intact and degenerate neutrophils being surround...
Merrifield-Jones M, Tabor G, Williams J.Back pain is a significant factor for horses and is challenging for professionals to diagnose, with assessment frequently using subjective tools such as manual palpation. Reliable and valid objective measures are required and use of a pressure algometer (PA) has been investigated as an assessment tool; however, it has limitations, and other more realistic methods may be better suited for the task. The aim of the study was to establish inter- and intra-rater reliability for PA, FlexiForce Sensor (FFS), and manual palpation for equine epaxial soft tissue, measuring mechanical nociception thresho...
Rings LM, Swink JM, Dunbar LK, Burns TA, Toribio RE.The enteroinsular axis (EIA) comprises intestinal factors (incretins) that stimulate insulin release after PO ingestion of nutrients. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are the main incretins. The EIA has not been investigated in healthy neonatal foals but should be important because energy demands are high in healthy foals and dysregulation is frequent in sick foals. Objective: To evaluate the EIA response to carbohydrates or fasting in newborn foals. We hypothesized that incretin secretion would be higher after PO versus IV carbohydrate adm...
Menarim BC, Gillis KH, Oliver A, Mason C, Ngo Y, Werre SR, Barrett SH, Luo X, Byron CR, Dahlgren LA.Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by macrophage-driven synovitis. Macrophages promote synovial health but become inflammatory when their regulatory functions are overwhelmed. Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNCs) are a rich source of macrophage progenitors used for treating chronic inflammation and produce essential molecules for cartilage metabolism. This study investigated the response to autologous BMNC injection in normal and inflamed joints. Synovitis was induced in both radiocarpal joints of 6 horses. After 8 h, 1 inflamed radiocarpal and 1 normal tarsocrural joint received BMNC injec...
Noguera Cender A, Mählman K, Lischer CJ.To describe and evaluate an alternative technique for tenoscopic resection of the manica flexoria (MF). Methods: Descriptive study. Methods: Equine cadaver forelimbs and hind limbs (n = 36). Methods: Three surgeons varying in experience resected the MF in 12 limbs. The procedure was divided into six steps, including resection of the lateral/medial borders of the MF with a hook knife and resection of the proximal border with a micro scalpel. Outcomes compared between surgeons included completeness of resection, appearance of the margins of resection, appearance of the resected MF, collateral da...
Fretheim-Kelly ZL, Halvorsen T, Clemm H, Roksund O, Heimdal JH, Vollsæter M, Fintl C, Strand E.Dynamic obstructions of the larynx are a set of disorders that occur during exercise in equines and humans. There are a number of similarities in presentation, diagnosis, pathophysiology and treatment. Both equines and humans present with exercise intolerance secondary to dyspnea. During laryngoscopy at rest, the larynx appears to function normally. Abnormalities are only revealed during laryngoscopy at exercise, seemingly triggered by increased ventilatory demands, and quickly resolve after cessation of exercise. Lower airway disease (asthma being the most prevalent condition), cardiac diseas...
Schnabel CL, Babasyan S, Rollins A, Freer H, Wimer CL, Perkins GA, Raza F, Osterrieder N, Wagner B.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) outbreaks continue to occur despite widely used vaccination. Therefore, development of EHV-1 vaccines providing improved immunity and protection is ongoing. Here, an open reading frame 2 deletion mutant of the neuropathogenic EHV-1 strain Ab4 (Ab4ΔORF2) was tested as a vaccine candidate. Three groups of horses ( = 8 each) were infected intranasally with Ab4ΔORF2 or the parent Ab4 virus or were kept as noninfected controls. Horses infected with Ab4ΔORF2 had reduced fever and nasal virus shedding compared to those infected with Ab4 but mounted similar ada...
The UK has never experienced an outbreak of African horse sickness but, as Matthew Robin of the Fyrnwy Equine Clinic explains, there is still a risk of a case occurring.
Dern K, Burns TA, Watts MR, van Eps AW, Belknap JK.Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is consistently increased in the digital lamellae in different studies of sepsis-related laminitis (SRL). IL-6 signalling through the gp130 receptor activates similar signalling (i.e. mTORC1-related signalling) previously reported to be activated in models of endocrinopathic laminitis. Objective: To assess the activation state of signalling proteins downstream of IL-6/gp130 receptor complex activation in an experimental model of SRL. Methods: Randomised experimental study. Methods: Lamellar phospho-(P) protein concentrations downstream of the IL-6/gp130 receptors were asse...
Snoeck PPDN, Pessoa THO, Pereira MGS, Bastos ICL, de Melo MIV.The objective of this study was to compare the BotuCrio extender with the Merk - egg yolk and the INRA 82 modified by the inclusion of acetamide, methyl cellulose and trehalose in substitution of glycerol for freezing equine semen. The semen was diluted after centrifugation to obtain 100 x 10 of sperm/ml in: BotuCrio (control); Merk - egg yolk or INRA 82 modified (Experiment 1). The extended semen was packaged in 0.5 ml straws, cooled and frozen in a freezing machine. The control extender was superior in preserving the motility, VCL, VSL, VAP, LIN, STR and the BCF when compared to the Merk - e...
White SJ, Moore-Colyer M, Marti E, Hannant D, Gerber V, Coüetil L, Richard EA, Alcocer M.Severe equine asthma (sEA), which closely resembles human asthma, is a debilitating and performance-limiting allergic respiratory disorder which affects 14% of horses in the Northern Hemisphere and is associated with increased allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) against a range of environmental proteins. A comprehensive microarray platform was developed to enable the simultaneous detection of allergen-specific equine IgE in serum against a wide range of putative allergenic proteins. The microarray revealed a plethora of novel pollen, bacteria, mould and arthropod proteins significant in t...
Ramsauer AS, Wachoski-Dark GL, Fraefel C, Tobler K, Brandt S, Knight CG, Favrot C, Grest P.There is growing evidence that equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) infection is causally associated with the development of equine genital squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Early stages of disease present clinically as plaques or wart-like lesions which can gradually progress to tumoural lesions. Histologically these lesions are inconsistently described as benign hyperplasia, papilloma, penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), carcinoma in situ (CIS) or SCC. Guidelines for histological classification of early SCC precursor lesions are not precisely defined, leading to potential misdiagnosis. Th...
Park J, Kim EB.The ecosystem of an animal farm is composed of various elements, such as animals, farmers, plants, feed, soil, and microorganisms. A domesticated animal's health is largely connected with the reservoir of bacteria and viruses in animal farms. Although a few studies have focused on exploring the gut microbiome of animals, communities of microbiota and viruses in feedlots have not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: Here, we collected feces and dust samples (4 groups: cattle feces, C_F; horse feces, H_F; cattle dust, C_D; and horse dust, H_D) from cattle and horse farms sharing the same housi...
Galinelli N, Wambacq W, Broeckx BJG, Hesta M.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a pathological condition affecting the glandular and squamous regions of the stomach. It is characterized by non-specific clinical signs, behavioural changes or can also be found without any overt clinical manifestations. Nutritional factors such as intermittent feeding, high sugars and starch intake, large amounts of straw as forage and prolonged time without access to forage have all been associated with an increased risk of equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD). The aim of this study was to investigate which nutritional practices are commonly seen in...
Lewis N, Schnauffer K, Hinrichs K, Morganti M, Troup S, Argo C.The use of time-lapse imaging (TLI) in the evaluation of morphokinetics associated with invitro developmental competence is well described for human, cattle and pig embryos. It is generally accepted that embryos that complete early cleavage sooner are more likely to form blastocysts and that timing of later events, such as blastocyst formation and expansion, are predictive of implantation potential and euploid status. In the horse, morphokinetics as a predictor of developmental competence has received little attention. In this study we evaluated the morphokinetics of early equine embryo develo...
Solé M, Ablondi M, Binzer-Panchal A, Velie BD, Hollfelder N, Buys N, Ducro BJ, François L, Janssens S, Schurink A, Viklund Å, Eriksson S....Copy Number Variation (CNV) is a common form of genetic variation underlying animal evolution and phenotypic diversity across a wide range of species. In the mammalian genome, high frequency of CNV differentiation between breeds may be candidates for population-specific selection. However, CNV differentiation, selection and its population genetics have been poorly explored in horses. Results: We investigated the patterns, population variation and gene annotation of CNV using the Axiom® Equine Genotyping Array (670,796 SNPs) from a large cohort of individuals (N = 1755) belonging to eight ...
Frank BL, Doddman CD, Stokes JE, Carnevale EM.In this retrospective study the morphological characteristics of oocytes and cleavage stage embryos were associated with pregnancy results from clinical intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in mares. Oocytes were collected from preovulatory follicles, and images (×200; n=401) were captured for measurements of ooplasm, the perivitelline space and zona pellucida. After ICSI and before transfer into recipients' oviducts, cleavage stage embryos were imaged (n=178). Oocyte donor ages (3-13, 14-19, 20-23, 24-27 years) were compared, as were mares aged 3-13 years without versus with recent histor...
Arnhold S, Elashry MI, Klymiuk MC, Geburek F.Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) offer a promising cell source for therapeutic applications in musculoskeletal disorders. The appropriate selection of ASCs from various fat depots for cell-based therapy is challenging. The present study aims to compare stemness and multipotency of ASCs derived from retroperitoneal (RP), subcutaneous (SC), and lipoma (LP) fat to assess their usefulness for clinical application. Equine ASCs from the three fat tissue sources were isolated and characterized. The cell viability, proliferation, and self-renewal were evaluated using MTT, sulforhod...
Easton-Jones C, Woolard K, Mohr FC, Roy MA, Aleman M.Intracranial neoplasia in horses is rare compared to other species. Detailed information such as neurological, electroencephalographic, and histopathological examination of horses with intracranial neoplasia associated with seizures is scarce in the literature. Furthermore, ganglioglioma has not been reported in the horse. A 7-year-old Quarter horse cross Paint gelding was examined due to recurrent seizure-like episodes of 1-year duration. The seizures had been increasing in frequency and length, occurring up to 20 times a day at the time of presentation. Neurological examination revealed inte...
Gehlen H, Loschelder J, Walther M.Euthanasia represents a procedure with high responsibility for veterinarians in equine practice. The procedure should avoid pain and suffering for the horse and be carried out with the least possible stress for the patient and its owner. The presented study investigated the emotional impact of a horse's euthanasia procedure on the owner in order to enable development of future recommendations in improving the management of this procedure in horses. Methods: Questionnaires concerning euthanasia of a horse for horse owners and veterinarians, respectively were developed and sent by mail or publis...
Sievert M, Krohn J, Wehrend A.Due to the special structure of the equine placenta, foals depend on an adequate intake of high-quality colostrum post natum in order to ensure the development of passive immunity. The quality of the colostrum is determined, among other things, by the IgG content. This may be evaluated in the colostrum by direct and indirect methods (density and refractive index). The density of the colostrum is measured by a colostrometer and should amount to at least 1060 g/l. Refractometry is suitable for assessing the relative density or refractive index. Good equine colostrum has a Brix value of at leas...
Kellon EM, Gustafson KM.Hyperinsulinemia associated with equine metabolic syndrome and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction is a risk factor for laminitis. Research in other species has shown elevated body iron levels as both a predictor and consequence of insulin resistance. In humans, this is known as dysmetabolic hyperferritinemia. To explore the relationship between equine hyperinsulinemia and body iron levels. We reviewed case histories and laboratory results from an open access database maintained by the Equine Cushing's and Insulin Resistance Group Inc. (ECIR). We identified 33 horses with confirmed hyperinsu...
Fernandez-Fuertes B, Sánchez JM, Bagés-Arnal S, McDonald M, Yeste M, Lonergan P.This study aimed to determine the effect of bull seminal plasma (SP) and sperm on endometrial function. Bovine endometrial explants were incubated with: ejaculated sperm with or without SP, epididymal sperm, or SP alone. Neither ejaculated nor epididymal sperm induced differential expression of IL1A, IL1B, IL6, IL8, PTGES2, TNFA, and LIF. Interestingly, SP had a detrimental effect on endometrial RNA integrity. Addition of an RNase inactivation reagent to SP blocked this effect, evidencing a role for a SP-RNase. Because bulls deposit the ejaculate in the vagina, we hypothesized that the bovine ...
Consuegra C, Crespo F, Dorado J, Diaz-Jimenez M, Pereira B, Hidalgo M.Lipids and proteins can be used for sperm vitrification to preserve the integrity of sperm membranes or to increase the viscosity of the medium. This study evaluated the effect of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and milk serum proteins (Pronexcell) for stallion sperm vitrification. Hippex extender (Barex Biochemical Products, The Netherlands), plus 1% of bovine serum albumin and 100 mM of trehalose, was used as control for sperm vitrification. In experiment 1, different concentrations of LDL (L1 = 0.25, L2 = 0.5, L3 = 1%) and in experiment 2 of Pronexcell (P1 = 1, P2 = 5, P3 = 10%)...
Tanaka J, Leeb T, Rushton J, Famula TR, Mack M, Jagannathan V, Flury C, Bachmann I, Eberth J, McDonnell SM, Penedo MCT, Bellone RR.Mushroom is a unique coat color phenotype in Shetland Ponies characterized by the dilution of the chestnut coat color to a sepia tone and is hypothesized to be a recessive trait. A genome wide association study (GWAS), utilizing the Affymetrix 670K array (MNEc670k) and a single locus mixed linear model analysis (EMMAX), identified a locus on ECA7 for further investigation ( = 2.08 × 10). This locus contained a 3 Mb run of homozygosity in the 12 mushroom ponies tested. Analysis of high throughput Illumina sequencing data from one mushroom Shetland pony compared to 87 genomes from horses of var...
Marycz K, Szłapka-Kosarzewska J, Geburek F, Kornicka-Garbowska K.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is characterized by adiposity, insulin dysregulation and increased risk for laminitis. Increased levels of specific liver enzymes in the peripheral blood are typical findings in horses diagnosed with EMS. Current management of EMS is based on caloric restriction and increased physical activity. However, new potential treatment options are arising such as the transplantation of autologous adipose stem cells (ASC). However, cytophysiological properties of ASC derived from EMS horses are impaired which strongly limits their therapeutic potential. We hypothesized, t...
Girardi FM, da Fonseca LA, Ribeiro Filho JD, Souto PC, Ferreira DAC, Dornelas LRSM, Bento LD, de Carvalho Filho WP.Obesity in human and veterinary medicine is one of the most complex challenges within emerging diseases in the context of health. The problem of obesity in horses results in severe comorbidities; therefore, acute-phase proteins should be investigated for fluctuations increasing or decreasing by at least 25% in response to inflammation; these are candidates for future biomarkers and might provide new perspectives on early diagnosis and prognosis. Serum samples were analyzed in nine healthy animals (C) and nine obese animals (O). The proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylami...
Meister TL, Tegtmeyer B, Brüggemann Y, Sieme H, Feige K, Todt D, Stang A, Cavalleri JV, Steinmann E.An equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) has been recently identified in association with equine serum hepatitis, also known as Theiler's disease. The disease was first described by Arnold Theiler in 1918 and is often observed with parenteral use of blood products in equines. However, natural ways of viral circulation and potential risk factors for transmission still remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of EqPV-H infections in Thoroughbred horses in northern and western Germany and aimed to identify potential risk factors associated with viral infections. A total of 392...
Rota A, Calicchio E, Nardoni S, Fratini F, Ebani VV, Sgorbini M, Panzani D, Camillo F, Mancianti F.A saprophytic bacterial flora is present on the penis and the distal part of the urethra of stallions. Little is known about the fungal flora of their reproductive tract. As micro organisms play an important role in mares fertility, the aim of the study was to describe the distribution of fungi and bacteria in the normal genital apparatus of stallions. The microbic flora of the reproductive tract of 11 healthy, fertile stallions was evaluated, collecting samples from 5 different locations: urethral fossa, penis/internal lamina of the prepuce, urethra pre- and post-ejaculation, and semen. For f...
There are several bioengineering solutions aimed at improving human health and welfare. Smart electrodes based on textile substrates have met the growing demand for comfort, reliability, and robustness when acquiring physiological signals. Objective: Given the importance of good quality electrocardiograms (ECG) in equine sports medicine, this study focuses on the validation of smart textile electrodes to acquire ECG signals in horses during treadmill exercise. Methods: The performance of the smart textile electrodes is compared with standard silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes in terms...
Madigan JE, Haggettt EF, Pickles KJ, Conley A, Stanley S, Moeller B, Toth B, Aleman M.Increased plasma progestagen concentrations have been reported in foals with neonatal maladjustment syndrome (NMS). These steroids may cross the blood-brain barrier and have dampening effects in the central nervous system. Objective: To evaluate if the infusion of a progesterone derivative (allopregnanolone) in a healthy neonatal foal would induce clinical signs compatible with NMS. Methods: A healthy neonatal foal from a healthy mare with a normal gestation (length, no complications), birth and placenta was infused with allopregnanolone to observe its neurobehavioural effects. Heparinised blo...
Pusterla N, Barnum S, Lawton K, Wademan C, Corbin R, Hodzic E.Contemporary data on equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) genotype (non-neuropathogenic or N, neuropathogenic or D and new variant or H) in clinically diseased equids is important in order to determine the frequency of these genotypes and their association with disease expression. A total of 297 EHV-1 qPCR-positive swabs collected from 2019 to 2022 from horses with respiratory disease (EHV-1), neurological disease (equine herpesvirus-1 myeloencephalopathy [EHM]) and abortion were tested for the three different EHV-1 genotypes (N, D and H) using qPCR allelic discrimination assays. All submissions origi...
Kooijman LJ, Mapes SM, Pusterla N.Equine coronavirus (EqCoV) infection has been documented in most reports through quantitative qPCR analysis of feces and viral genome sequencing. Although qPCR is used to detect antigen during the acute disease phase, there is no equine-specific antibody test available to study EqCoV seroprevalence in various horse populations. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) targeting antibodies to the spike (S) protein of EqCoV and validated its use, using acute and convalescent sera from 83 adult horses involved in 6 outbreaks. The EqCoV S protein-based ELISA was able to reliably d...
Ortved KF, Nixon AJ.Damage to the articular cartilage surface is common in the equine athlete and, due to the poor intrinsic healing capabilities of cartilage, can lead to osteoarthritis (OA). Joint disease and OA are the leading cause of retirement in equine athletes and currently there are no effective treatments to stop the progression of OA. Several different cell-based strategies have been investigated to bolster the weak regenerative response of chondrocytes. Such techniques aim to restore the articular surface and prevent further joint degradation. Cell-based cartilage repair strategies include enhancement...
Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a viral disease, caused by the Equine Infectious Anemia virus (EIAV) belonging to the Retroviridae family, genus Lentivirus. Horses (or equids) infected with EIAV are lifelong carriers and they remain contagious for other horses even in the absence of clinical signs. So far, EIAV infection has been reported among horses in North and South America, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary and Romania, with no publication regarding the presence of EIAV in horses in Serbia. To determine the circulation of EIAV among, approximately, the 5000 horses of the Vojvodina region,...
Byron CR, DeWitt MR, Latouche EL, Davalos RV, Robertson JL.Irreversible electroporation is a proven ablation modality for local ablation of soft tissue tumors in animals and humans. However, the strong muscle contractions associated with the electrical impulses (duration, 50-100 μs) requires the use of general anesthesia and, in most situations, application of neuromuscular blockade. As such, this technology is not used in an outpatient setting for ablating common cutaneous tumors (e.g., squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma) in humans or animals. Recently, high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) technology has been developed to enable ele...
Butcher MT, Chase PB, Hermanson JW, Clark AN, Brunet NM, Bertram JE.Equine digital flexor muscles have independent tendons but a nearly identical mechanical relationship to the main joint they act upon. Yet these muscles have remarkable diversity in architecture, ranging from long, unipennate fibers ("short" compartment of DDF) to very short, multipennate fibers (SDF). To investigate the functional relevance of the form of the digital flexor muscles, fiber contractile properties were analyzed in the context of architecture differences and in vivo function during locomotion. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform fiber type was studied, and in vitro motility assays w...
Daly JM, Sindle T, Tearle J, Barquero N, Newton JR, Corning S.Surveillance of equine influenza viruses has suggested that strains included in currently licensed vaccines are a poor match for those predominantly circulating in the field. Objective: To assess the ability of Duvaxyn IE-T Plus to provide cross protection against the newly evolved South Africa/4/03 (H3N8) strain of equine influenza virus. Methods: The vaccine efficacy was evaluated by challenge infection with influenza strain A/eq/South Africa/4/03 (H3N8) 2 weeks after a primary course of 2 vaccinations with Duvaxyn IE-T Plus given at a 4-week interval. The outcome of challenge in vaccinated ...
Muylle S, Simoens P, Lauwers H.In the present study the age-related morphological characteristics of 948 equine incisors were investigated. After extraction, total incisival length and root length were measured at the vestibular side of the teeth. Equine incisors reach their maximal length 2-3 years after eruption. Notwithstanding severe occlusal wear, this maximal length is maintained during most of the horses' life due to prolonged root formation. Root formation, at the rate of 2.5 mm per year, starts at the age of 5-6 years and continues until the age of 17. As the root of the incisor develops, its apical foramen narrows...
Finlay M, Yuan Z, Morgan IM, Campo MS, Nasir L.Bovine papillomavirus type 1 infects not only cattle but also equids and is a causative factor in the pathogenesis of commonly occurring equine sarcoid tumours. Whilst treatment of sarcoids is notoriously difficult, cisplatin has been shown to be one of the most effective treatment strategies for sarcoids. In this study we show that in equine fibroblasts, BPV-1 sensitises cells to cisplatin-induced and UVB-induced apoptosis, a known cofactor for papillomavirus associated disease, however BPV-1 transformed fibroblasts show increased clonogenic survival, which may potentially limit the therapeut...
Wach-Gygax L, Burger D, Malama E, Bollwein H, Fleisch A, Jeannerat E, Thomas S, Schuler G, Janett F.In this study annual fluctuations of DNA fragmentation and quality of cold-stored equine sperm were evaluated. Ejaculates were collected weekly during one year from 15 stallions. Ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and total sperm count were determined and semen was then extended and cold-stored for 48 h. Sperm motility was evaluated by CASA before and after 24 as well as 48 h of cold storage. In addition, the percentages of sperm with intact plasma membrane and acrosome (PMAI %) and with low intracellular Ca2+ level were determined in cold-stored semen (24 h, 48 h). SCSA™ was performe...
Two closed horse herds (Old Lot 4 and Field 24), infected since 1966 with Population B small strongyles resistant to thiabendazole (TBZ) and phenothiazine (PTZ), were terminated in February, March, and May, 2005. At necropsy, only the large endoparasites were identified and counted. The number of horses on pasture was 14 (239 days of age to 23 years old) for Old Lot 4 and two (3 to 20 years old) for Field 24. The time of the last antiparasitic treatment, relative to the year (2005) of necropsy, was 26 years for Old Lot 4 and 9 years for Field 24 horses. Gasterophilus intestinalis third instars...
Söderlund R, Bölske G, Holst BS, Aspán A.Infection by Mycoplasma felis is associated with ocular and respiratory disease in cats and respiratory disease in horses. A correct diagnosis is beneficial since the use of specific antimycoplasmal treatment can lead to resolution. The objective of the present study was to develop a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method based on dual-labeled fluorogenic probe technology, targeting the gene encoding elongation factor Tu (tuf ), for the fast and specific detection of M. felis. Specificity was achieved by basing the assay design on partial sequencing of the tuf gene in strains and cli...
Velloso Alvarez A, Boone LH, Braim AP, Taintor JS, Caldwell F, Wright JC, Wooldridge AA.There are several non-steroidal intra-articular therapeutics (NSIATs) available for use by equine practitioners for the treatment of performance-limiting joint-related pathology. Information is limited on perceived clinical efficacy, recommended treatment protocols, and associated complications. Our objective with this cross-sectional survey was to investigate the current clinical usage of NSIATs by equine practitioners. An electronic cross-sectional convenience survey inquiring about the use of steroidal and NSIATS (platelet-rich plasma, autologous conditioned serum, autologous protein soluti...
Verdon M, Lanz S, Rhyner C, Gerber V, Marti E.Genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical evidence suggests that, in horses, there are manifestations of hypersensitivity that can occur together. Objective: To investigate whether concurrent insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) and severe equine asthma (EA) is associated with higher allergen-specific and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentrations than only EA or IBH. Methods: Healthy control horses (C, n = 40), horses with IBH (IBH, n = 24), severe EA (EA, n = 18), and both conditions (IBH/EA, n = 23) were included. Methods: In our retrospective comparative study, sera from ho...
Franciolli AL, Cordeiro BM, da Fonseca ET, Rodrigues MN, Sarmento CA, Ambrosio CE, de Carvalho AF, Miglino MA, Silva LA.In spite of numerous, substantial advances in equine reproduction, many stages of embryonic and fetal morphological development are poorly understood, with no apparent single source of comprehensive information. Hence, the objective of the present study was to provide a complete macroscopic and microscopic description of the equine embryo/fetus at various gestational ages. Thirty-four embryos/fetuses were aged based on their crown rump length (CRL), and submitted to macroscopic description, biometry, light and scanning microscopy, as well as the alizarin technique. All observed developmental c...
Kainzbauer C, Rushton J, Tober R, Scase T, Nell B, Sykora S, Brandt S.In January 2010, 18 months after excision of an ocular squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a Connemara mare presented with anorexia and periorbital/parotideal lesions. Post mortem examination revealed these lesions as forming one entity, with 2 additional growths in the retropharyngeal region and the left jugular groove, respectively. The lesions were confirmed histopathologically as SCCs. Using PCR, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 2008 and 2010, tumour tissue, intact skin and vulval mucosa were screened for Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV-2) and bovine papillomavirus typ...
Ricci G, Del Boccio G, Pennelli A, Aceto A, Whitehead EP, Federici G.Glutathione transferase (EC 2.5.1.18) from horse erythrocytes has been purified and some molecular and kinetic properties have been investigated. It appears to be a dimeric protein composed of subunits of about 23 kDa, indistinguishable either in sodium dodecyl sulfate or in urea electrophoresis. Amino acid composition, substrate specificities, sensitivity to inhibitors, CD spectra, and immunological studies provide evidence that the horse enzyme is related to the pi class transferases. This enzyme has only two reactive thiol groups/dimer whose integrity appears to be essential for the activit...
Gildea S, Sanchez Higgins MJ, Johnson G, Walsh C, Cullinane A.There is a lack of information concerning concurrent administration of vaccines against equine influenza virus (EIV) and equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV-1/4). The primary objective of this study was to determine the impact of the concurrent use of EIV and EHV-1/4 vaccines in Thoroughbred racehorses on their humoral immune response to EIV. This study was carried out on a population of 30 horses using an inactivated whole-virus EIV vaccine and an inactivated EHV-1/4 vaccine. Horses were randomly allocated to vaccination group A or B. Horses in group A were vaccinated against EIV and EHV-1/4 2 we...
Herrera M, León G, Segura A, Meneses F, Lomonte B, Chippaux JP, Gutiérrez JM.Caprylic acid purification of IgG, currently used in the manufacture of horse-derived antivenoms, was successfully adapted for the preparation of sheep and camel IgG. Sheep IgG had a molecular mass of approximately 150 kDa, whereas camel IgG presented two bands of molecular masses of approximately 160 and 100 kDa, the latter corresponding to heavy-chain IgG, which is devoid of light chains. Horse, sheep and camel IgGs were compared by several parameters aiming at predicting their potential for induction of early and late adverse reactions. Horse and sheep IgGs showed a higher anticomplementary...
Dutra F, Schuch LF, Delucchi E, Curcio BR, Coimbra H, Raffi MB, Dellagostin O, Riet-Correa F.A disease named locally as churrío or churrido equino (i.e., equine scours) has occurred for at least 100 years in Uruguay and southern Brazil in farms along both shores of the Merín lake. This report describes cases of churrido equino and provides serologic, pathologic, and DNA-based evidence indicating that the disease is in fact equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (Potomac horse fever). Results of an epidemiological investigation conducted on an endemic farm are also presented. Clinical signs in 12 horses were fever, depression, diarrhea, dehydration, and sometimes colic and distal hind limb ed...
Reinisch AI.Six recent cases of animal hoarding in Manitoba were compared to the relevant literature. Cases were similar to previous reports in age and demographics of hoarders. Five cases involved small mammals and 1 case involved horses. Understanding this phenomenon would be enhanced by consistent investigative format and reporting and closer working relationships with public health. Six cas récents d’amassement d’animaux au Manitoba ont été comparés à la documentation pertinente. Les cas étaient semblables à des rapports antérieurs relativement à l’âge et aux données démographiques ...
Covaleda L, Fuller FJ, Payne SL.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infection is distinctive in that it causes a rapid onset of clinical disease relative to other retroviruses. In order to understand the interaction dynamics between EIAV and the host immune response, we explored the effects of EIAV and its S2 protein in the regulation of the cytokine and chemokine response in macrophages. EIAV infection markedly altered the expression pattern of a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines monitored in the study. Comparative studies in the cytokine response between EIAV(17) and EIAV(17DeltaS2) infection revealed ...
Zheng YH, Sentsui H, Kono Y, Ikuta K.An attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), named V26, was previously obtained after 50 passages of the Japanese virulent strain V70 in primary macrophage culture. To clarify the differences between both viruses, their full-length sequences were determined. There were higher mutations in S2 (6.15% amino acid difference) and LTR (10.7% nucleotide difference). The presumed initiation codon of the S2 gene was absent from the sequence of V26. There was a large insertion within the long-terminal repeat (LTR) U3 hypervariable region of V26. In addition, there were minor mutations in gag (1....
Coleman M, Kuskie K, Liu M, Chaffin K, Libal M, Giguère S, Bernstein L, Cohen N.The objective of this study was to determine the in vitro antimicrobial activity of gallium maltolate (GaM) against Rhodococcus equi. A total of 98 virulent bacterial isolates from equine clinical cases were examined, of which 19 isolates were known to be resistant to macrolides and rifampin. Isolates were cultured with various concentrations of GaM and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined after 24 and 48 h. Both the MIC(50) and the MIC(90) after 24h of growth were 558 ng/mL (8 μM) and after 48 h of growth were 2230 ng/mL (32 μM). There were no apparent differences b...
Scoles GA, Ueti MW.The apicomplexan hemoprotozoan parasite Theileria equi is one of the etiologic agents causing equine piroplasmosis, a disease of equines that is endemic throughout large parts of the world. Before 2009 the United States had been considered to be free of this parasite. Occasional cases had occurred but there was no evidence for endemic vector-borne transmission in the U.S. until a 2009 outbreak in Texas in which Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma cajennense were implicated as vectors. Although D. variabilis has previously been shown to be a competent laboratory vector, studies suggested A. ca...
Thiemann AK, Poore LA.This article provides a review of hoof anatomy and care in donkeys and mules. Hoof disease is a major cause of poor welfare and mortality globally. Problems associated with hoof disease are discussed in the context of behavior, diet, treatment, and prevention. The most common conditions encountered are discussed, including laminitis, the overgrown unbalanced hoof, white line disease, flexural deformities, and other significant issues. Differences between donkey and horse hoof anatomy are described.
