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.
Johnson PJ, Kreeger JM, Keeler M, Ganjam VK, Messer NT.In order better to evaluate the extent to which degradation of the lamellar basement membrane (LBM) by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) occurs in equine laminitis, we determined the concentration of type IV collagen and laminin in normal and laminitic horses, using specific immunoassays. Blood samples were obtained from both the jugular and the cephalic veins of horses (n = 10) before and after the induction of acute alimentary laminitis by carbohydrate overload. Jugular and cephalic venous blood samples were also obtained from horses affected with naturally occurring laminitis (n = 16) and non...
Brama PA, Tekoppele JM, Bank RA, Barneveld A, Firth EC, van Weeren PR.In order to assess the influence of strenuous exercise on collagen characteristics of articular cartilage, the response of the collagen network was studied in seven 2-year-old Thoroughbreds subjected to strenuous exercise compared to 7 nontrained individuals. After 13 weeks, the animals were subjected to euthanasia, fetlock joints of the forelimbs were scored macroscopically after Indian Ink staining, and articular cartilage from different locations of the articular surface of the proximal first phalanx was sampled and analysed for water content, collagen content, hydroxylysine content and amo...
Hinton TM, Li F, Crabb BS.Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) has recently been classified as an aphthovirus, a genus otherwise comprised of the different serotypes of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). FMDV initiates translation via a type II internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) and utilizes two in-frame AUG codons to produce the leader proteinases Lab and Lb. Here we show that the ERAV 5' nontranslated region also possesses the core structures of a type II IRES. The functional activity of this region was characterized by transfection of bicistronic plasmids into BHK-21 cells. In this system the core type II structures, ...
Retamal C, Urzúa J, Lorca C, López ML, Alves EW.The present paper reports modifications in the electrophoretic and cytochemical characteristics of mature and immature stallion spermatozoa. Some sperm surface glycoproteins (36, 32, 29, 21, 20, 18 kDa) detected in cauda epididymidis spermatozoa, were either absent or present in a very low relative concentration in immature sperm cells. A major 14 kDa protein band, observed in sperm extracts obtained from ductus efferentes, progressively decreased along the epididymal ductus. The nature and distribution of carbohydrate residues on the sperm membrane, during epididymal maturation, was also stud...
Davies Morel MC, Gunnarsson V.Very limited information is available on the breeding performance of Icelandic stallions, let alone the effect that management practices may have had on such performance. As an extensively kept, largely genetically isolated breed of horse it provides a good model for the study of factors that affect reproductive performance without the additional complication of selective breeding, infectious infertility and breed effect. A survey was conducted using 27 Icelandic stallions covering 1590 mares within the normal Icelandic breeding system (May to September). During the season, stallions cover mar...
Várady M, Königová A, Corba J.The present study included 19 stud farms, including 243 horses, that were investigated for the occurrence of anthelmintic resistant cyathostomes. The number of horses on the farms varied from nine to more than 100, and horses of all ages were included. A minimum of seven horses were used for faecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests. The anthelmintics included were: fenbendazole (paste formulation), ivermectin (paste formulation) and pyrantel (powder). Resistance to benzimidazoles was detected on 14 farms, with FECR values ranging from 65.1 to 86.3%. Larval cultures after fenbendazole treatment ...
Guan F, Uboh CE, Soma LR, Birks EK, Teleis D, Rudy JA, Watson AO, Tsang DS.A reliable and sensitive method for the extraction and quantification of phenytoin (5,5'-diphenylhydantoin), its major metabolite, 5-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin (p-HPPH) and minor metabolite, 5-(m-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin (m-HPPH) in horse urine and plasma is described. The method involves the use of solid-phase extraction (SPE), liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), enzyme hydrolysis (EH) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The minor metabolite, 5-(m-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin (m-HPPH) was not present in a reliably quantifiable concentration in all samples. The ...
Roels S, Tilmant K, Van Daele A, Van Marck E, Ducatelle R.Melanocytic tumours are a well-known clinical and pathological entity in horses, but further phenotypic characterization of these tumours is lacking. Six melanocytic tumours from five horses (two metastatic and four benign) were examined by Ki67, PCNA and p53 immunostaining, DNA nick end labelling (Tunel) and Feulgen staining. The stainings were evaluated using quantitative image analysis. The resulting parameters of growth fraction (Ki67), S-phase index (PCNA), p53 index, apoptotic index, DNA index, nuclear diameter, ploidy balance, proliferation index (Feulgen) and hyperploidy were analysed....
Fenton JI, Chlebek-Brown KA, Peters TL, Caron JP, Orth MW.To determine whether glucosamine-3-sulfate, glucose-3-sulfate (control) and N-acetyl glucosamine inhibit experimentally induced degradation of equine articular cartilage explants similar to glucosamine HCl. Methods: Articular cartilage was obtained from the antebrachio-carpal and middle joints of horses (2-8 years old) killed for reasons unrelated to lameness. Cartilage discs were harvested from the weight-bearing region of the articular surface and cultured. Media were exchanged daily and the recovered media stored at 4 degrees C. On days 1 and 2 lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 microg/ml) was add...
Bureau F, Delhalle S, Bonizzi G, Fiévez L, Dogné S, Kirschvink N, Vanderplasschen A, Merville MP, Bours V, Lekeux P.In most cells trans-activating NF-kappaB induces many inflammatory proteins as well as its own inhibitor, IkappaB-alpha, thus assuring a transient response upon stimulation. However, NF-kappaB-dependent inflammatory gene expression is persistent in asthmatic bronchi, even after allergen eviction. In the present report we used bronchial brushing samples (BBSs) from heaves-affected horses (a spontaneous model of asthma) to elucidate the mechanisms by which NF-kappaB activity is maintained in asthmatic airways. NF-kappaB activity was high in granulocytic and nongranulocytic BBS cells. However, NF...
Taylor KC, Vitello LB, Erman JE.The ionization of 4-nitroimidazole to 4-nitroimidazolate was investigated as a function of ionic strength. The apparent pKa varies from 8.99 to 9.50 between 0.001 and 1.0 M ionic strength, respectively, at 25 degrees C. The ionic strength dependence of this ionization is anomalous. The binding of 4-nitroimidazole by horse metmyoglobin was studied between pH 5.0 and 11.5 and as a function of ionic strength between 0.01 and 1.0 M. The association rate constant is pH-dependent, varying from 24 M(-1)s(-1) at pH 5 to a maximum value of 280 M(-1)s(-1) at pH 9.5 and then decreasing to 10 M(-1)s(-1) a...
Barclay AJ, Paton DJ.Hendra has been recognized in Australia as a new zoonotic disease of horses since 1994/5 and subsequent work has shown that the viral agent is endemic in certain species of fruit bat. The Hendra virus is the type species of a new genus within the sub-family Paramyxovirinae, which also contains another newly identified zoonotic bat virus, namely Nipah. It is assumed that contact with bats has led to the Hendra virus being transferred to horses on each of the three separate incidents that have been reported in the last five years. No evidence has been found for widespread subclinical infection o...
Vaneechoutte M, Devriese LA, Dijkshoorn L, Lamote B, Deprez P, Verschraegen G, Haesebrouck F.Acinetobacter baumannii was isolated from tips clipped from seven intravenous jugular catheters collected from horses in the Ghent University equine clinic. They originated from seven different horses. Three of the seven showed evidence of local infection.
Del Piero F.Two 5-year-old grade male horses presented with epiphora, rhinorrhea, conjunctival and nasal mucosal hyperemia, and dorsal and thoracic macropapular rash. Skin biopsies were collected from the affected areas, and serial sections were evaluated following hematoxylin and eosin and immunoperoxidase histochemistry staining by using a murine monoclonal antibody of the immunoglobulin G2A isotype recognizing the 30-kDa membrane protein of equine arteritis virus (EAV). In both horses, lesions consisted of mild to moderate diffuse superficial dermal edema and vasculitis with mild perivascular lymphocyt...
Huxtable CR, de Lahunta A, Summers BA, Divers T.Marginal siderosis is recognized in humans as an uncommon clinicopathologic entity characterized by degeneration of neural tissue at the surface of the brain and spinal cord, in association with the accumulation of hemosiderin, and resulting from chronic subarachnoid hemorrhage. The sources of hemorrhage are various and include neoplasms, malformations, cysts, and vasculopathy. Marginal siderosis of the spinal cord due to a myxopapillary ependymoma was diagnosed in a 19-year-old Dutch Warm Blood horse with clinical signs of myelopathy. There is only one previous report of marginal siderosis in...
Tomlinson JE, Redding WR, Sage A.Ultrasonographic examination of the tarsus was performed on four clinically and radiographically normal limbs of adult horses. Particular attention was paid to the articular cartilage surfaces of the trochlear ridges of the talus and the distal intermediate ridge of the tibia. Two separate measurements of articular cartilage thickness were acquired from a longitudinal view at each site. Anatomy was confirmed with post mortem dissection. Ultrasonography was found to be a practical method for imaging the articular cartilage over the trochlear ridges of the talus and distal intermediate ridge of ...
Rickards KJ, Page CP, Lees P, Cunningham FM.Neutrophils are recruited to the lungs of horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and exhibit increased activity after antigen challenge. Phosphodiesterase type4 (PDE4) inhibitors have been shown to attenuate human neutrophil activation. The aim of this study was to establish the PDE isoenzyme profile of equine neutrophils using isoenzyme selective inhibitors to determine if these compounds should be evaluated in horses with COPD. Total cAMP and cGMP dependent PDE activity was no different in neutrophils from normal (156.2+/-7.1 and 6.8+/-0.6 pmol/min/mg for cAMP and cGMP, res...
Gilger BC, Malok E, Stewart T, Horohov D, Ashton P, Smith T, Jaffe GJ, Allen JB.The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an intravitreal device releasing cyclosporine A (CsA) on recurrent inflammatory episodes in experimental uveitis. Nine normal horses were immunized peripherally with H37RA-mTB antigen twice, and then received 25 microg of H37RA-mTB antigen intravitreally in the right eye and an equal volume of balanced salt solution intravitreally in the left eye. Two weeks later, the animals randomly received either a CsA or a polymer implant (without CsA) in both eyes 1 week following implantation of the devices, 25 microg of H37RA-mTB antigen was rei...
Carvalho R, Oliveira AM, Souza AM, Passos LM, Martins AS.In this study, an improved polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for detection of DNA of latent EHV-1 strains from several sources. Three pairs of oligonucleotide primers spanning fragments of 333 bp, 226 bp and 268 bp of the thymidine kinase (tk) gene, and one primer pair spanning 225 bp of the glycoprotein C (gC) gene were used in specific amplifications. Primers for EHV-4 PCR were also designed. Restriction digests with TaqI confirmed the identity of tk PCR fragments from EHV-1. The sensitivity to detect PCR products was further improved by visualisation in silver-stained acrylamide gels...
Behn C, Bostedt H.Under field conditions, the diagnosis of foal's diseases relies almost exclusively on the physical examination. As the signs of illness in the equine neonate are frequently vage and non-localizing, the diagnosis of diseases may be problematic. This often causes misinterpretations and leads to ineffective prophylaxis and treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of diagnostic ultrasonography of the foal's abdomen under field conditions to provide an optimized technique and to describe the normal findings. Diagnostic ultrasonography of the abdomen was performed after ob...
Don-van't Slot HP, van der Kolk JH.Severe-Combined-Immunodeficiency-Disease (SCID) is discussed with special reference to its pathogenesis, clinical symptoms, pathology, and diagnosis. The disorder has been observed in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia and is characterized by an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The clinical features of the disease seen in Arab foals under 46 days of age are intermittent fever, (adenoviral) pneumonia, and weight loss sometimes associated with diarrhoea. From 1998 on, the SCID gene can be detected in the Netherlands by means of DNA analysis.
Eggleston RB, Mueller PO, Chambers JN, Bentley A.Numerous techniques for surgical correction of angular limb deformities in horses involving an osteotomy of the affected bone and stabilization with an internal fixation device have been described. However, because the osteotomy typically has to be performed at the level of the physis, leaving little bone between the physis and the nearest joint, stabilizing the osteotomy by use of internal fixation devices may be difficult. In horses with severe chronic angular limb deformities, the amount of soft-tissue contracture may make it impossible to correct the deformity during a single procedure wit...
Svistunenko DA, Sharpe MA, Nicholls P, Blenkinsop C, Davies NA, Dunne J, Wilson MT, Cooper CE.The paramagnetic species in human metHb and horse metmyoglobin (metMb) have been studied at low temperature using EPR spectroscopy. The high-spin (HS) haem signal in aquometMb has a greater rhombic distortion than the HS metHb signal. Nevertheless, the individual line width (g=6) is smaller in metMb than in metHb, consistent with non-identical signals from the alpha and beta Hb subunits. Three low-spin (LS) haem forms are present in metHb, while metMb has only two. The major LS form in both proteins is the alkaline species (with OH(-) at the sixth co-ordination position). The minor LS forms ar...
Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW.Joint disease in horses and in humans is a significant social and economic problem and continued research and improvements in therapeutics are needed. Because horses have naturally occurring osteoarthritis that is similar to that of humans, the horse was chosen as a species to investigate gene transfer as a potential therapeutic modality for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Using an established model of equine osteoarthritis, the therapeutic effects resulting from overexpression the equine interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene sequence through adenoviral mediated gene transfer was investigate...
Malone ED, Kannan MS, Brown DR.To determine whether substance P (SP) functions as a neurotransmitter in equine jejunum. Methods: Samples of jejunum obtained from horses that did not have lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. Methods: Jejunal smooth muscle strips, oriented in the plane of the circular or longitudinal muscle, were suspended isometrically in muscle baths. Neurotransmitter release was induced by electrical field stimulation (EFS) delivered at 2 intensities (30 and 70 V) and various frequencies on muscle strips that were maintained at low tension or were under contraction. A neurokinin-1 receptor blocker (CP-96...
Osińska E, Golke A, Słońska A, Cymerys J, Bańbura MW, Dzieciatkowski T.Equid herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) together with equid herpesvirus type 5 are members of Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily, genus Rhadinovirus. EHV-2 is one of major agents causing diseases of horses common worldwide. A possible role of EHV-2 in reactivating latent equid herpesvirus type-1 has been suggested, because reactivation of latent EHV-1 was always accompanied by EHV-2 replication. Variety techniques, including cell culture, PCR and its modifications, have been used to diagnose EHV-2 infections. The aim of this study was to develop, optimize and determine specificity of real-time PCR (qPCR) f...
Tou K, Cawley A, Bowen C, Bishop DP, Fu S.The current approach to equine anti-doping is focused on the targeted detection of prohibited substances. However, as new substances are rapidly being developed, the need for complimentary methods for monitoring is crucial to ensure the integrity of the racing industry is upheld. Lipidomics is a growing field involved in the characterisation of lipids, their function and metabolism in a biological system. Different lipids have various biological effects throughout the equine system including platelet aggregation and inflammation. A certain class of lipids that are being reviewed are the eicosa...
Byström A, Roepstorff L, Rhodin M, Serra Bragança F, Engell MT, Hernlund E, Persson-Sjödin E, van Weeren R, Weishaupt MA, Egenvall A.Saddle slip, defined as a progressive lateral displacement of the saddle during ridden exercise, has recently been given attention in the scientific press as a potential sign of lameness. The aim of this study was to objectively quantify the normal lateral movement (oscillations) of the saddle relative to the horse in non-lame horses, and associate this movement to the movements of the horse and rider. Data from seven Warmblood dressage horses competing at Grand Prix (n = 6) or FEI Intermediate (n = 1) level, ridden by their usual riders, were used. Simultaneous kinetic, kinematic and saddle p...
Brandly JE, Midon M, Douglas HF, Hopster K.Equine peri-anesthetic mortality is higher than that for other commonly anesthetized veterinary species. Unique equine pulmonary pathophysiologic aspects are believed to contribute to this mortality due to impairment of gas exchange and subsequent hypoxemia. No consistently reliable solution for the treatment of peri-anesthetic gas exchange impairment is available. Flow-controlled expiration (FLEX) is a ventilatory mode that linearizes gas flow throughout the expiratory phase, reducing the rate of lung emptying and alveolar collapse. FLEX has been shown to improve gas exchange and pulmonary me...
Gobato MLM, Segabinazzi LGTM, Scheeren VFC, Bandeira RS, Freitas-Dell'Aqua CP, Dell'Aqua JA, Papa FO.Artificial insemination using cooled-transported semen has marked importance in equine breeding programs around the world, and the high value of mules has generated avid interest in donkey semen biotechnology. However, donkey semen cools poorly in commercially available equine extenders. Therefore, this study aimed to develop approaches to improve the ability of donkey semen to tolerate cooling. Ejaculates of seven donkeys (n = 21) were cooled at 5°C for 48 h in three different extenders (milk-based, SM; sodium caseinate-based, SC; or egg yolk-based, EY) in the presence or absence of seminal ...
Wolker RR, Carmalt JL, Wilson DG.To compare the biomechanical characteristics, failure mode, and effects of side (left or right limb) and end (forelimb or hindlimb) of different screws in 2-screw, parallel-screw proximal interphalangeal joint arthrodesis constructs in horses. Methods: In vitro experimental study. Methods: Twenty limbs from 6 cadavers (4 complete limb sets, 2 partial sets-total of 4 forelimb and 6 hindlimb pairs). Methods: Two parallel 5.5 mm cortical (AO) screws were inserted in lag fashion in 1 randomly allocated limb of a pair, and 2 parallel headless, tapered, variable-pitched, titanium compression screws ...
Catecholamines are among the most frequently investigated parameters for studying sympathoadrenal activity in response to stress conditions. Objective: To evaluate basal plasma concentrations of catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine) in healthy donkeys. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Catecholamine concentrations from 440 Martina Franca donkeys were determined: 269 females and 171 entire males, aged from 4 months to 24 years. Animals were subdivided into four age categories: under 12 months old (64 males and 54 females), from 13 to 36 months (56 males and 75 females),...
Uhl PB, Amann B, Hauck SM, Deeg CA.Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) builds the outer blood-retinal barrier of the eye. Since one typical feature of the autoimmune disease, equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), is the breakdown of this barrier, we recently performed comparative analysis of healthy and uveitic RPE. We identified for the first time peripherin 2, which is responsible for visual perception and retina development, to be localized in RPE. The purpose of this study was therefore to validate our findings by characterizing the expression patterns of peripherin 2 in RPE and retina. We also investigated whether peripherin 2 expr...
Michl J, Modarai M, Edwards S, Heinrich M.Identification of toxic or harmful agents continues to be a key goal in agricultural chemistry. This paper reports a metabolomic analysis of Ranunculus repens and related species, which were recently postulated to be cocausative agents in the etiology of equine grass sickness (EGS). Specifically, samples collected at EGS sites were compared with those from non-EGS sites. Furthermore, interspecific and seasonal variations and the species' response to edaphic and climatic factors were investigated. (1)H NMR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis was applied to the crude meth...
Takahashi T, Unuma S, Kawagishi S, Kurebayashi Y, Takano M, Yoshino H, Minami A, Yamanaka T, Otsubo T, Ikeda K, Suzuki T.Most equine influenza A viruses (IAVs) show strong binding to glycoconjugates containing N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) as well as N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). Therefore, the progeny of equine IAV is thought to be released from the infected cell surface through removal of sialic acids by the viral sialidase. In the present study, equine IAV sialidases showed significantly lower substrate affinity than that of human IAV sialidases to artificial and natural Neu5Gc-conjugated substrates. The substrate specificity of equine IAV sialidases is in disagreement with their binding specificity ...
Whittem T, Firth EC, Hodge H, Turner K.This study examined the pharmacokinetics of steady-state phenylbutazone and single bolus intravenous gentamicin when administered together in the horse. The trial design was completed as a cross-over with seven thoroughbred horses. In the first phase each horse received 2.2 mg/kg gentamicin intravenously. After a 2-week washout, each horse received 4.4 mg/kg phenylbutazone intravenously every 24 h for 5 days. On the fourth day each horse received gentamicin as before. Plasma was harvested for gentamicin concentration determination by fluorescence polarization immunoassay and for phenylbutazone...
Emeto UE, Okolo CC, Nweze NE.Epidemiological data on trypanosomosis and piroplasmosis of horses are lacking in southeastern Nigeria. The prevalence of trypanosome and piroplasm infections in horses and resistance profile of isolated trypanosomes to diminazene and isometamidium salts were investigated. For the cross-sectional study of horses billed for slaughter, 304 horses were randomly sampled. Approximately 2 ml of blood was collected into anticoagulant-treated bottles for haematocrit (HCT) determination, direct microscopic examinations, and rat inoculation. Gender, body condition scores (BCS), age groups, and body wei...
McKenzie HC, Funk RA, Trager L, Werre SR, Crisman M.Potomac horse fever (PHF) is a potentially fatal enterocolitis of horses caused by Neorickettsia risticii. The disease was originally recognised almost 40 years ago in the state of Maryland in the US. It is now known to occur in many areas of North America, as well as having been described in South America and Europe. Monocomponent PHF vaccines are available, but clinical protection with vaccination has been reported to be inconsistent. Objective: This study was designed to assess the immunogenicity of a commercially available Potomac Horse Fever (PHF) vaccine when administered as either a mo...
Hobo S, Ogasawara Y, Kuroki Y, Akino T, Yoshihara T.To characterize surfactant protein D (SP-D) isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of healthy horses. Methods: BALF from 10 Thoroughbreds (5 males, 5 females; 26 to 40 months old) without history or clinical signs of respiratory tract disease. Methods: BALF was obtained and centrifuged at 33,000 X g. The supernatant was applied to a mannose-Sepharose 6B affinity column in the presence of calcium, and the bound protein fraction was analyzed by use of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoblot analysis; amino acid composition was determined and partial seque...
Abuja GA, García-López JM, Manso-Díaz G, Spoormakers TJ, Taeymans O.Although an uncommon condition, cranial nuchal bursitis can affect the performance of the equine athlete. The anatomy is not well described and there are no reports of diagnostic imaging for endoscopic approaches. Objective: To describe the anatomy, ultrasonographic and magnetic resonance features of and endoscopic approach to the cranial nuchal bursa in horses. Methods: Experimental cadaver study. Methods: Four cranial nuchal bursae were dissected, 4 specimens were frozen to prepare anatomical sections and 2 were injected with latex to document surface landmarks and topographical anatomy and ...
Rodgerson DH, Belknap JK, Moore JN, Fontaine GL.To determine messenger RNA expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interleukin- (IL)-1beta from cultured equine smooth muscle cells (SMC). Methods: Segments of palmar digital artery harvested from 6 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Explants were collected from the tunica media of arteries for primary culture of SMC. Equine mononuclear cells were used as control cells. Subcultured vascular SMC and control cells were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (20 microg/ml and 100 ng/ml, respectively). Northern blot analysis with equine-specific probes for COX-2, ...
Satué K, Fazio E, Gardón JC, Medica P.The interpretation of the blood count is essential to help the equine clinician in the diagnosis, prognosis, patient management, and control of equine diseases. Hematologic alterations often reflect the condition of the individual or an overall response to a pathological situation. A thorough clinical examination of the patient is essential to correctly interpret the hematological results. The most common abnormalities in the erythrogram are mainly anemia and polycythemia. The frequent causes of anemia in horses are acute and chronic blood loss, hemolytic anemia, and anemia caused by chronic d...
Starke SD, Miles GC, Channon SB, May SA.Visual assessment of equine lameness is an everyday veterinary task suffering from poor diagnostic accuracy. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of the perceptual learning game 'LamenessTrainer' on skill development. Thirty-six undergraduate veterinary students engaged in four game modules teaching the assessment of fore- and hindlimb lameness. Computer animations of horses in this game displayed 0% (sound) to 70% (moderately lame) vertical movement asymmetry of head and pelvis. Performance, learning effects, diagnostic accuracy, detection thresholds and survey responses were anal...
McConnico RS, Argenzio RA, Roberts MC.The objective of this project was to determine early tissue biochemical events associated with increased colonic secretion during the acute stage of castor-oil-induced colitis by measuring cecal mucosal and submucosal malondialdehyde (MDA) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), levels in ponies. Intestinal tissue (inflamed or healthy) samples were obtained from 4 age- and sex-matched Shetland ponies. Biochemical methods were used to determine MDA and PGE2 levels in intestinal tissue samples from inflamed and healthy equine intestine. Inflamed tissue MDA and PGE2 levels increased with time after castor o...
Reinemeyer CR.Efforts to control cyathostome nematodes in temperate climates have not been uniformly successful, as evidenced by contemporary reports of clinical disease and widespread anthelmintic failure. Indeed, effective control is confounded by numerous factors, including ignorance of local transmission patterns, confusing or conflicting control recommendations, and use of ineffective anthelmintics or regimens. Most of these problems are universal rather than being climatically unique, and it is important to recognize that they are mere symptoms of larger and more comprehensive problems. The most basic...
Morton AJ, Grosche A, Matyjaszek SA, Polyak MM, Freeman DE.The effects of prostaglandins and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on repair of equine intestinal mucosa are important since most horses with gastrointestinal diseases are routinely treated with NSAIDs, such as flunixin meglumine (FM), and these drugs can be toxic to equine gastrointestinal mucosa. Objective: Flunixin meglumine would not affect recovery of equine colonic mucosa in vitro, 18 h after a reversible ischaemic injury. Methods: In 14 anaesthetised horses, a segment of pelvic flexure was subjected to 2 h of ischaemia and the horses were allowed to recover for 18 h. Seven ...
Walshe N, Burrell A, Kenny U, Mulcahy G, Duggan V, Regan A.In view of the rising threat of anthelmintic resistance in parasite populations and the planned change of classification of anthelmintics in Ireland for food animals to prescription-only medicines, there is a need for increased focus on parasite control strategies for horses. Effective parasite control programs (PCPs) are complex, necessitating the application of risk-assessment based on host immune status, infection pressure, type of parasite and seasonality to determine the requirement for anthelmintic administration and an understanding of parasite biology to employ effective, non- therapeu...
McCormick JD, Valdez R, Rakestraw PC, Varner DD, Blanchard TL, Cavinder CA, Sudderth AK, Kiser A, Love CC.Management decisions on unilateral orchiectomy are often influenced by the potential for post operative return to successful breeding. The effects of 2 surgical methods (first intention [FI] vs. second intention [SI] incision healing) for unilateral orchiectomy on resulting semen quality and scrotal temperature were evaluated. Objective: To evaluate the effects of 2 surgical unilateral orchiectomy techniques on scrotal healing, size of the remaining testis and post operative sperm quality. Methods: Unilateral orchiectomy was performed on mature Miniature Horse stallions. Semen was collected pr...
Webbon P.The understanding and application of genetics have grown extremely quickly since it has become possible to sequence the whole genome of an organism. The human genome sequence was completed in 2001 and that of the horse in 2007. The significance of this is that it makes it more feasible to explain how both genetically simple and complex traits are transmitted from one generation to the next and, therefore, to make informed breeding decisions, modify how horses are managed and trained to minimise the risk of disease and injury, and improve methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of many c...
Frye CC, Bei D, Parman JE, Jones J, Houlihan AJ, Rumore A.Streptothricosis is a dermatitis characterized by matted tufts of hair and coalescing, pustular crusts that affects many livestock species, including horses. It results from cutaneous infection by the actinobacterium Dermatophilus congolensis. For economic reasons, the ailment is often treated with commercially available over-the-counter (OTC) products or home remedies rather than prescribed medications. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of tea tree oil (TTO), an essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia, as an OTC treatment for streptothricosis. Bacteria were isolated from presumptive ...
Parvini P, Mihatovic I, Sahin D, Becker J, Schwarz F.To assess the clinical performance of an equine-derived collagen-containing bone block (CXBB) for lateral alveolar ridge augmentation and staged implant placement. Methods: A total of n = 16 patients (16 implants) had received a modified surgical protocol for lateral ridge augmentation using a size-adapted rigidly fixed CXBB and contour augmentation. After 26 weeks of submerged healing, the primary endpoint was defined as the final ridge width (RW26) sufficient to place an adequately dimensioned titanium implant at the respective sites. Secondary outcomes included the gain in ridge width (R...
Hardt M, Teifke JP, Weiss E.Formalin-fixed and Paraplast-embedded tissue samples of 42 aborted equine fetuses were examined by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of equine herpesvirus DNA. The used set of primers was located in the glycoprotein 13 open reading frame and allowed the amplification of both EHV 1 und EHV 4. By cleaving pattern analysis after Hinf I digestion EHV 1 could be distinguished from EHV 4. In 9 of the cases investigated EHV 1-DNA was detected. This finding is in absolute context with the results of the virological investigations.
Abhishek , Kumar B, Anjay , Mishra AK, Prakash C, Priyadarshini A, Rawat M.Salmonella Abortusequi causes important clinical diseases in horses possibly leading to abortion. In the present investigation, the protective efficacy of both plain and aluminum hydroxide gel adjuvanted phage lysate was evaluated in guinea pig model. Broad host range bacteriophage P-SAE-2, was characterized and used for generation of lysates. Three different lysate batches, produced through separate cycles and characterized, were pooled together for immunization study. Plain and adjuvanted phage lysate preparations elicited both humoral and cellmediated immunity. The adjuvanted lysate at a do...
Spier SJ, Carlson GP, Harrold D, Bowling A, Byrns G, Bernoco D.Four Quarter Horses (1 stallion, 3 mares) with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis were mated to unaffected horses to determine the genetic basis of the disease. The affected stallion was bred to 11 unaffected mares (4 Quarter Horses, 1 Arabian, 2 Standardbreds, and 4 Thoroughbreds). The 3 affected mares were bred to an unaffected Quarter Horse stallion. Of the 15 offspring obtained from these matings, 9 were affected with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, and 6 were unaffected, consistent with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Diagnosis was established by results of oral administration of...
Yang F, Li N, Liu B, Yu J, Wu S, Zhang R, Yang W, Ji C, Sun Q, Ma J, Li M, Zhou J, Zhou X, Pietrani M, Losinno L, Zeng S.With the expansion of the donkey industry, timed artificial insemination (TAI) is becoming increasingly important in the reproductive management of jennies, however, TAI has not been widely investigated in donkeys. Objective: To develop efficient TAI protocols for cooled or frozen semen in jennies, based around ovulation induction with a GnRH analogue. Methods: Experimental exploratory study. Results: In experiment 1, the effects of different GnRH analogue (deslorelin) doses, follicle diameter (FD) at induction, repeated use of a GnRH analogue, and the influence of season on induction efficien...
