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.
Ginther OJ.The equine embryo or embryonic vesicle on Days 11-15 postovulation travels with profound physiologic purpose throughout the lumen of the two uterine horns and uterine body making 12 to 22 trips between the two uterine horns per day. This phenomenon is termed embryo mobility and is unique in equids among domestic species. Apparently, the embryo first reaches the uterine body on Days 8 or 9. Mobility increases to maximum by Days 11 or 12 and continues until an abrupt cessation of mobility (fixation) on Days 15 (ponies) or 16 (horses and donkeys). The embryo is propelled by uterine contractions i...
Muhonen S, Sadet-Bourgeteau S, Julliand V.Fibrous feeds are essential for horses. When developing feeding regimens promoting health and performance, we need to understand the digestion of plant cell walls and the functioning of the hindgut microbial ecosystem. Our objective was to investigate the effect of grass fibre maturity and legume forage on the hindgut microbiota and its activity. Six caecum and colon fistulated geldings were fed three diets differing in fibre composition: concentrate and late harvested grass haylage (35:65 energy ratio) (C); early and late harvested grass haylage (80:20) (G); lucerne and late harvested grass h...
Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Shiotani H, Yamamoto Y, Sadowska A, Wójtowicz A, Kozai K, Hojo T, Kimura K, Skarzynski DJ, Okuda K.Glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to play an important role in maintaining basal and stress-related homeostasis by interacting with endocrine mediators and prostaglandins (PGs). Although a growing body of evidence shows that GCs exert their regulatory action at a multitude of sites in the reproductive axis through corticosteroid receptors, little is known about the direct role of cortisol, an active form of GCs, in the equine endometrium. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of cortisol on PGF synthesis in the endometrial tissue and cells in vitro. In Exp.1, the immunolocalization and ...
Laus F, Corsalini J, Mandara MT, Bazzano M, Bertoletti A, Gialletti R.Equine grass sickness (EGS) has been reported in several European and extra-European countries. Despite this, no scientific paper about clinical cases of EGS in Italy has been published. EGS is a disease affecting almost exclusively horses kept on pasture, characterized by clinical signs related to lesions in autonomic nervous system (ANS), particularly in the enteric nervous system (ENS). According to clinical presentation, acute, subacute and chornic syndromes can be observed, with various sympthoms including dullness, anorexia, dysphagia, drooling of saliva, tachycardia, ptosis, patchy swea...
Jota Baptista C, Sós E, Szabados T, Kerekes V, Madeira de Carvalho L.The Pentezug Wildhorse Reserve, located in the Hortobágy National Park, Hungary, has one of the biggest ex situ populations of Przewalski's horses and aims to preserve its landscape and to study this subspecies. Between September and November 2018, 79 faecal samples were collected from Przewalski's horses. The McMaster, Willis flotation, natural sedimentation and coproculture methods were applied to all the samples. Results showed an average level of 1287 eggs per gram (EPG), which is a high faecal egg-shedding level. All the samples were positive for strongyle-type eggs (100%). There were no...
Souto EPF, Maia LA, Neto EGM, Kommers GD, Junior FG, Riet-Correa F, Galiza GJN, Dantas AFM.The epidemiologic, clinical, pathologic, microbiological and immunohistochemical findings of pythiosis in equidae in northeastern Brazil are described. From January 1985 to December 2020 the Laboratory of Animal Pathology of the Federal University of Campina Grande received 1,331 tissue samples of equidae, 202 (15.17%) of which were diagnosed as pythiosis. Equidae of both sexes with ages varying from 4 months to 25 years were affected. Most animals were mixed breed (79.7%) and reared in an extensive system (73.26%). The disease occurred throughout the year but the highest incidence (70.29%) wa...
Alsing-Johansson T, Pedersen A, Bergström K, Sternberg-Lewerin S, Penell J, Bergh A.Equine dentistry has developed immensely and human dental equipment, such as handpieces, are often used. Measures to avoid the spread of infectious microorganisms are important, but this is challenging since handpieces are difficult to decontaminate. Thus, it is necessary to develop effective IPC measures in equine dentistry. The aim of this study was to contribute to the evidence needed for future evidence-based guidelines on IPC by investigating hygiene in equine dentistry. Used handpieces and dummies (i.e., handpieces not used during dental procedure, reflecting environmental bacterial cont...
Paul LJ, Ericsson AC, Andrews FM, Keowen ML, Morales Yniguez F, Garza F, Banse HE.The role of the gastric microbiome in development or persistence of equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) remains to be investigated. Objective: The objective was to characterize the glandular mucosal and gastric fluid microbiomes of horses with and without EGGD. It was hypothesized that differences in the mucosal microbiome are associated with EGGD. Methods: Twenty-four horses were enrolled. Methods: Gastroscopy was performed and EGGD scores recorded (score 0, n = 6; score 1, n = 8; score ≥2, n = 10). Gastric fluid and pinch biopsies of healthy glandular mucosa and EGGD lesions were...
Fernández-Hernández P, Marinaro F, Sánchez-Calabuig MJ, García-Marín LJ, Bragado MJ, González-Fernández L, Macías-García B.Equine fertilization cannot be performed in the laboratory as equine spermatozoa do not cross the oocyte's zona pellucida . Hence, a more profound study of equine oviductal fluid (OF) composition at the pre-ovulatory and post-ovulatory stages could help in understanding what components are required to achieve fertilization in horses. Our work aimed to elucidate the proteomic composition of equine OF at both stages. To do this, OF was obtained postmortem from oviducts of slaughtered mares ipsilateral to a pre-ovulatory follicle ( = 4) or a recent ovulation ( = 4); the samples were kept at -80°...
Gil LHVG, Magalhaes T, Santos BSAS, Oliveira LV, Oliveira-Filho EF, Cunha JLR, Fraiha ALS, Rocha BMM, Longo BC, Ecco R, Faria GC, Furtini R....Madariaga virus (MADV) is a member of the eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) complex that circulates in Central and South America. It is a zoonotic, mosquito-borne pathogen, belonging to the family . Disturbances in the natural transmission cycle of this virus result in outbreaks in equines and humans, leading to high case fatality in the former and acute febrile illness or neurological disease in the latter. Although a considerable amount of knowledge exists on the eco-epidemiology of North American EEEV strains, little is known about MADV. In Brazil, the most recent isolations of MADV ...
Borowska A, Wolska D, Niedzwiedz A, Borowicz H, Jaworski Z, Siemieniuch M, Szwaczkowski T.Current knowledge of the genetic and environmental backgrounds of equine asthma seems to be insufficient, especially for primitive horse breeds. The main objectives of this study were to estimate the effects of sex, birth period, stud, parentage line and inbreeding on asthma morbidity in Polish Konik horses. Records of 274 horses (housed in two studs) were analysed. These animals were allocated to maternal and paternal lines. Individual inbreeding coefficients were extracted from the additive relationship matrix. Horses underwent diagnosis based on observation of the basic symptoms (high frequ...
Vitale V, Vezzosi T, Tognetti R, Fraschetti C, Sgorbini M.Recently, the use of smartphone ECG devices has been reported in humans and animals. Nevertheless, as the electrodes of these devices are inseparable, they can create only a precordial reading in veterinary species. Thus, although the smartphone ECG devices are considered valuable as a screening tool for the detection of some common arrhythmias, they are not always a reliable method for the measurement of the duration of the electrical deflections. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of a novel smartphone ECG device, to report the readings obtained recorded simultaneo...
Ortega-García MV, Salguero FJ, García N, Domínguez M, Moreno I, Berrocal A.Cutaneous forms of leishmaniosis due to Leishmania braziliensis have been reported in horses in the New World. Domestic animals play a role in the transmission of the disease. In Costa Rica, human cases of L. braziliensis, L. panamensis and L. infantum have been reported. The present report describes five cases of equine cutaneous leishmaniosis in Costa Rica. The aetiological diagnosis was based on the presence of the parasite within the lesions. Skin biopsies were used to perform histopathological analyses of the lesions. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the presence of the Leishmania ...
Van Hecke L, Magri C, Duchateau L, Beerts C, Geburek F, Suls M, Da Dalt L, Patruno M, Saunders J, Broeckx SY, Depuydt E, Spaas JH.The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of equine joint disease is widely investigated because of their regenerative and immunomodulatory potential. Allogeneic MSCs provide a promising alternative to autologous MSCs, since the former are immediately available and enable a thorough donor screening. However, questions have been raised concerning the immunogenic potential of allogeneic MSCs, especially after repeated administration. Methods: Current retrospective study assessed the cellular and humoral immunogenicity of ten jumping and dressage horses with naturally occurring d...
Prządka P, Buczak K, Frejlich E, Gąsior L, Suliga K, Kiełbowicz Z.Regenerative medicine is a dynamically developing field of human and veterinary medicine. The animal model was most commonly used for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treatment in experimental and preclinical studies with a satisfactory therapeutic effect. Year by year, the need for alternative treatments in veterinary medicine is increasing, and other applications for promising MSCs and their biological derivatives are constantly being sought. There is also an increase in demand for other methods of treating disease states, of which the classical treatment methods did not bring the desired resul...
Tozaki T, Ohnuma A, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Kakoi H, Hirota K, Kusano K, Nagata S.Gene doping is prohibited in horseracing. In a previous study, we developed a method for non-targeted transgene detection using DELLY, which is based on split-read (SR) and paired-end (PE) algorithms to detect structural variants, on WGS data. In this study, we validated the detection sensitivity of DELLY using artificially generated sequence data of 12 target genes. With DELLY, at least one intron was detected as a deletion in eight targeted genes using the 150 bp PE read WGS data, whereas all targeted genes were detected by DELLY using the 100 bp PE read data. The detection sensitivity was h...
Zhou R, Yang J, Zhang K, Qi Y, Ma W, Wang Z, Ente M, Li K.The absolute dominant species that infests wild population of Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) is Gasterophilus pecorum, and feces of released Przewalski's horse, a habitat odor, plays an important role in mating and ovipositing locations of G. pecorum. To screen out unique volatiles for attracting G. pecorum, volatiles from fresh feces of released horses at stages of pre-oviposition (PREO), oviposition (OVIP), and post-oviposition (POSO) of G. pecorum, and feces with three different freshness states (i.e., Fresh, Semi-fresh, and Dry) at OVIP were collected by dynamic headspace adsorptio...
Hales EN, Habib H, Favro G, Katzman S, Sakai RR, Marquardt S, Bordbari MH, Ming-Whitfield B, Peterson J, Dahlgren AR, Rivas V, Ramirez CA, Peng S....Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder associated with a vitamin E deficiency within the first year of life. Vitamin E consists of 8 isoforms metabolized by the CYP4F2 enzyme. No antemortem diagnostic test currently exists for eNAD/EDM. Objective: Based on the association of α-tocopherol deficiency with the development of eNAD/EDM, we hypothesized that the rate of α-tocopherol, but not γ-tocopherol or tocotrienol metabolism, would be increased in eNAD/EDM-affected horses. Methods: Vitamin E metabolism: Proof...
Merlin A, Foucher N, Linster M, Cazeau G, Marsot M, Delerue M, Sala C, Schneider J, Ferry B, Amat JP, Tapprest J.There is limited evidence regarding the proportion of dead equids in France that were euthanized and the factors influencing the decision-making of euthanasia. The better understanding of which could facilitate research on improvement of welfare, especially on end of life issues. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of euthanasia and identify associated factors in equids in France. A web-based survey was created and distributed by the French horse and riding institute to owners who reported an equine death between April 2017 and April 2018 (n = 5 158). Factors associated with...
Bażanów B, Pawęska JT, Pogorzelska A, Florek M, Frącka A, Gębarowski T, Chwirot W, Stygar D.Huculs () are an old breed of primitive mountain horses, originating from the Carpathian Mountains. To the best of our knowledge, data concerning the epidemiology of viral infections observed within this breed are sparse. The objective of this study was to estimate the serological status of a semi-isolated, unvaccinated Hucul herd, with respect to both common equine viral infections and horse-infecting arboviruses, the presence of which was previously reported in Poland. Twenty horses of the Hucul breed, living in a remote area in Poland, were studied in 2018 from March to May. Using nasal sec...
Geurden T, De Keersmaecker F, De Keersmaecker S, Claerebout E, Leathwick DM, Nielsen MK, Sauermann CW.In the present study, an anthelmintic treatment regimen with reduced treatment frequency was evaluated in horses on two study sites in Belgium during three consecutive summer pasture seasons. Historically, the horses on both study sites were treated up to 6 times a year with ivermectin (IVM) or up to 4 times a year with moxidectin (MOX), and previous efficacy evaluations indicated a reduced egg reappearance period in some of the treated horses for both IVM (28 days) and MOX (42 days). In the present study, all horses were treated with IVM or MOX in the spring and in autumn. Faecal egg counts (...
Haspeslagh M, Van Hecke LL, Hermans K, Chiers K, Pint E, Wilmink JM, Martens AM.Distal limb wounds in horses often show aberrant healing due to a slow inflammatory response. In human medicine, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is used for the treatment of chronic wounds with a similar inflammatory response. Objective: To compare the effect of NPWT to calcium alginate dressings on the healing of (non) contaminated equine distal limb wounds. Methods: Controlled experiment. Methods: Circular wounds were created on the left and right dorsomedial metacarpus of 10 horses. In five horses, the wounds were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In...
Cohen ND, Kahn SK, Cywes-Bentley C, Ramirez-Cortez S, Schuckert AE, Vinacur M, Bordin AI, Pier GB.Rhodococcus equi is a prevalent cause of pneumonia in foals worldwide. Our laboratory has demonstrated that vaccination against the surface polysaccharide β-1→6-poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) protects foals against intrabronchial infection with R. equi when challenged at age 28 days. However, it is important that the efficacy of this vaccine be evaluated in foals when they are infected at an earlier age, because foals are naturally exposed to virulent R. equi in their environment from birth and because susceptibility is inversely related to age in foals. Using a randomized, blind experim...
Miller AB, Murphy BA, Adams AA.Blue light therapy can be used in horses to alter the natural photoperiod and inhibit winter hair coat growth. Seasonal increases in ACTH occur in the fall season but are exaggerated in horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Additionally, PPID horses frequently present with hypertrichosis. Thus, blue light therapy was proposed as a potential management tool for hypertrichosis and for investigating the impact of photoperiod manipulation on ACTH. Eighteen PPID horses, aged 18 to 31 yr, from a university-owned research herd were selected and assigned to either the control group...
Ellero N, Lanci A, Avallone G, Mariella J, Castagnetti C, Muscatello LV, Di Maio C, Freccero F.Seizures, coma and death rapidly appeared after admission in a one ‑month‑old foal with a history of lethargy, fever and anorexia. Severe icterus and necrotizing hepatitis were observed at necropsy. Clinical signs, laboratory and postmortem findings were compatible with a suspect of clostridial hepatitis. Tyzzer’s disease was confirmed by the presence of organisms morphologically consistent with Clostridium piliforme in the hepatocytes at the margins of multiple areas of hepatic necrosis. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of clostridial hepatitis caused by Clos...
Brom-de-Luna JG, Salgado RM, Felix MR, Canesin HS, Stefanovski D, Diaw M, Hinrichs K.In vitro production of horse embryos via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a useful clinical and research technique. Current rates of blastocyst production are typically sub-optimal, and few methods to increase the rate of equine blastocyst development have been reported. Factors that might improve blastocyst production in a horse embryo culture system were explored. Myo-inositol is found in the horse oviduct and improves blastocyst development in other species, thus Experiment 1 was conducted to assess the effect of 10 mM myo-inositol added to Day 0-5 embryo culture medium, using hor...
Lemirre T, Santschi EM, Girard CA, Fogarty U, Janes JG, Richard H, Laverty S.The aetiology of equine medial femoral condyle (MFC) subchondral bone radiolucencies (SR) is unknown. Objective: Characterise the microstructural structural features of MFC SR in juvenile Thoroughbreds with microcomputed tomography (μCT) and histology. Methods: Cross-sectional post-mortem study. Methods: Distal femurs were collected at post-mortem. Conventional tomodensitometry was employed to scout for MFCs with and without SR lesions (SR+ and SR-, respectively). Group 1 were CT MFC SR+ and Group 2 age-matched SR- controls. Both underwent μCT and histological analysis. Group 3 CT MFC SR- fo...
Vercelli C, Tursi M, Miretti S, Giusto G, Gandini M, Re G, Valle E.Laminitis is one of the most devastating diseases in equine medicine, and although several etiopathogenetic mechanisms have been proposed, few clear answers have been identified to date. Several lines of evidence point towards its underlying pathology as being metabolism-related. In the carbonyl stress pathway, sugars are converted to methylglyoxal (MG)-a highly reactive α-oxoaldehyde, mainly derived during glycolysis in eukaryotic cells from the triose phosphates: D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. One common hypothesis is that MG could be synthesized during the dig...
Gray SM, Gutierrez-Nibeyro SD, Couëtil LL, Horn GP, Kesler RM, McCoy AM, Stewart MC, Schaeffer DJ.To evaluate the airway mechanics of modified toggle LP constructs in an airflow chamber model and compare these to the airway mechanics of standard LP constructs. Methods: Ex-vivo experimental study. Methods: Fifty-one equine cadaveric larynges. Methods: Bilateral LP constructs were performed using a modified toggle (n = 23) or a standard (n = 21) LP technique. Constructs were tested in an airflow model before and after cyclic loading which was designed to mimic postoperative swallowing. The cross-sectional area (CSA), peak translaryngeal airflow (L/s), and impedance (cmH 0/L/s) were deter...
Reinecke B, Klöhn M, Brüggemann Y, Kinast V, Todt D, Stang A, Badenhorst M, Koeppel K, Guthrie A, Groner U, Puff C, de le Roi M, Baumgärtner W....Since its first discovery by Arnold Theiler in 1918, serum hepatitis also known as Theiler's disease has been reported worldwide, causing idiopathic acute hepatitis and liver failure in horses. Recent studies have suggested a novel parvovirus, named equine parvovirus hepatitis (EqPV-H), to be associated with Theiler's disease. Despite the severity and potential fatality of EqPV-H infection, little is known about the possibility of developing chronic infections and putative cross-species infection of equine sister species. In the present longitudinal study, we employed qPCR analysis, serology, ...
Norrdin RW, Kawcak CE, Capwell BA, McIlwraith CW.The calcified layer of articular cartilage is known to be affected by age and mechanical factors that may play a role in the development of arthrosis. Because these factors are also related to subchondral remodeling and sclerosis, a morphometric study was carried out in fluorochrome-labeled animals to determine whether the level of subchondral remodeling affected the thickness of the calcified cartilage layer and its irregularity and vascularity at the interface with subchondral bone. These parameters were also studied at a site of increased mechanical stress. The area and thickness of the cal...
Francisco I, Arias M, Cortiñas FJ, Francisco R, Mochales E, Dacal V, Suárez JL, Uriarte J, Morrondo P, Sánchez-Andrade R, Díez-Baños P....A coprological survey to determine the influence of some intrinsic factors (breed, age, and sex) on the infection by helminth parasites in equine livestock (n = 418) under an oceanic climate area (NW Spain) was conducted. Faecal samples were individually collected and analyzed by the coprological techniques. The main strongylid genera identified were Trichonema and Cyalocephalus spp (small strongyles) and Strongylus and Triodontophorus (large strongyles). The prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode was 89% (95% CI 86, 92) and 1% cestoda (0, 2). The percentage of horses with strongyloid parasit...
Trindade PHE, Taffarel MO, Luna SPL.This prospective and longitudinal study aimed to identify spontaneous post-orchiectomy pain behaviors in horses regardless of the effects of anesthesia, analgesia, and recording time of day. Twenty-four horses divided into four groups were submitted to: inhalation anesthesia only (GA), or combined with previous analgesia (GAA), or orchiectomy under pre (GCA), or postoperative (GC) analgesia. The data obtained from the subtraction of frequency and/or duration of 34 behaviors recorded during seven 60-min time-points in the 24 h after the anesthesia from those recorded in the mirrored time-points...
van den Boom R, Brama PA, Kiers GH, DeGroot J, Barneveld A, van Weeren RR.Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) may be useful as biomarkers of joint disease or inflammation. However, activity of both MMPs and TNF-alpha in synovial fluid (SF) may be influenced by nonpathological factors such as arthrocentesis or exercise. Objective: To investigate the influence of repeated arthrocentesis and exercise on MMP and TNF-alpha activities in SF from normal equine joints. Methods: SF was collected from the left metacarpophalangeal, radiocarpal and tarsocrural joints of 16 horses. Eight of these horses were subsequently subjected to an ...
Muir WW.N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) is a synthetic chemical binding molecule (ligand) that selectively binds to the "slow response" glutamate NMDA receptor (NMDAR). NMDARs are important for normal brain function and play a central role in learning, memory, and the development of central nervous system hyperactive states. Diverse chemicals belonging to various drug families have demonstrated NMDAR antagonistic effects. Ketamine has been shown to produce antihyperalgesic effects produced by incision and tissue or nerve damage, and has become popular in equine practice as an anesthetic and more recently ...
Abdullah HHAM, Aboelsoued D, Farag TK, Abdel-Shafy S, Abdel Megeed KN, Parola P, Raoult D, Mediannikov O.Equine vector-borne diseases (EVBDs) are emerging and re-emerging diseases, and most of them are zoonotic. This study aimed to investigate EVBDs in equines and associated arthropods (ticks and flies) from Egypt using molecular analyses, in addition to a preliminary characterization of associated ticks and flies by the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and molecular techniques. In this study, 335 blood samples were obtained from equines that appeared to be in good health (320 horses and 15 donkeys) in Cairo and Beni Suef provinces, Egypt. From the same anima...
Goodrich LR, Brower-Toland BD, Warnick L, Robbins PD, Evans CH, Nixon AJ.Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is one of the most influential growth factors in cartilage repair. Maintenance of adequate IGF-I levels after articular repair procedures is complicated by the short biological half-life of IGF-I in vivo. This study investigated the potential for more prolonged IGF-I delivery through direct adenoviral mediated transduction of synovial tissues in the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints of horses. The use of a large animal model provided a structurally similar and metabolically relevant corollary to the human knee. The complete IGF-I coding sequence was packaged...
McCue PM, Wilson WD.Mastitis was diagnosed in 28 mares. Cytological evaluation of milk samples showed large numbers of neutrophils in 72 per cent and bacteria in 33 per cent. Aerobic bacteria were cultured from 71 per cent of samples. Streptococcus zooepidemicus was the most common isolate (37 per cent). Gram-negative species accounted for 42 per cent. Determination of the probability for antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates from mares with mastitis indicated that a trimethoprim-sulphonamide combination would be active against more than 75 per cent of isolates while penicillin would be active agains...
Orr N, Back W, Gu J, Leegwater P, Govindarajan P, Conroy J, Ducro B, Van Arendonk JA, MacHugh DE, Ennis S, Hill EW, Brama PA.The recent completion of the horse genome and commercial availability of an equine SNP genotyping array has facilitated the mapping of disease genes. We report putative localization of the gene responsible for dwarfism, a trait in Friesian horses that is thought to have a recessive mode of inheritance, to a 2-MB region of chromosome 14 using just 10 affected animals and 10 controls. We successfully genotyped 34,429 SNPs that were tested for association with dwarfism using chi-square tests. The most significant SNP in our study, BIEC2-239376 (P(2df)=4.54 × 10(-5), P(rec)=7.74 × 10(-6)), is lo...
Soboll G, Hussey SB, Minke JM, Landolt GA, Hunter JS, Jagannatha S, Lunn DP.Equine influenza virus remains an important problem in horses despite extensive use of vaccination. Efficacy of equine influenza vaccination depends on the onset and duration of protective immunity, and appropriate strain specificity of the immune response. This study was designed to test the protective immunity resulting from vaccination with the North American commercial ALVAC equine influenza vaccine (RECOMBITEK Influenza, Merial, USA)(1) against challenge with American lineage influenza viruses. In experiment 1, 12 ponies were vaccinated twice, at a 35 day interval, using the ALVAC-influen...
Gaarder JE, Rebhun WC, Ball MA, Patten V, Shin S, Erb H.To compare initial clinical appearances, healing mechanisms, risk factors, and outcomes of horses with fungal keratitis. Methods: Retrospective analysis. Methods: 52 horses (53 eyes) with fungal keratitis. Methods: Medical records and clinical photographs of eyes were reviewed. Keratomycoses were categorized on the basis of clinical appearance at initial examination and pattern of healing. Results: Five distinct forms of mycotic keratitis were recognized. Of 53 affected eyes, 34 (64%) retained sight and had varying degrees of corneal scarring after treatment, 6 (11%) had a cosmetic appearance ...
Hammond CJ, Mason DK, Watkins KL.Routine post mortem examination of 195 Thoroughbreds in Hong Kong revealed that 66 per cent suffered from gastric ulceration. Racehorses killed straight out of training suffered a significantly greater incidence of ulceration (80 per cent) than those having been retired for a month or more (52 per cent). The macroscopic findings post mortem enabled a classification of equine gastric ulceration to be suggested (Types 1, 2, 3), according to severity. Severe lesions (Types 2 and 3) were present in 45 per cent of horses put down from training and 5 per cent of retired horses. This difference was s...
Crawford TB, Wardrop KJ, Tornquist SJ, Reilich E, Meyers KM, McGuire TC.The purpose of this study was to identify the mechanisms responsible for the thrombocytopenia that develops following infection of horses by the lentivirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Immunocompetent Arabian foals and Arabian foals with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which lack functional B and T lymphocytes, were experimentally infected with EIAV. Levels of viremia and a number of clinical and hematologic parameters were examined prior to and following infection. Thrombocytopenia was not dependent on the immune response: SCID foals were affected as severely as immunocompe...
Doube M, Firth EC, Boyde A.To interrelate articular calcified cartilage thickness, mineralisation density, tidemark count and tidemark linear accretion rate by site in the equine third metacarpal distal condyle. To determine the effects of exercise during early life on articular calcified cartilage. Methods: Six of 12 pasture-raised Thoroughbred horses were exercised from 10 days old. Calcein labels were given 19 and 8 days prior to euthanasia at 18 months old. Osteochondral specimens were cut from the distal third metacarpal condyle and imaged using confocal scanning light microscopy (CSLM) and quantitative backscatter...
Nemoto M, Oue Y, Murakami S, Kanno T, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.Equine coronavirus has been responsible for several outbreaks of disease in the United States and Japan. Only one complete genome sequence (NC99 isolated in the US) had been reported for this pathogenic RNA virus. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of three equine coronaviruses isolated in 2009 and 2012 in Japan. The genome sequences of Tokachi09, Obihiro12-1 and Obihiro12-2 were 30,782, 30,916 and 30,916 nucleotides in length, respectively, excluding the 3'-poly (A) tails. All three isolates were genetically similar to NC99 (98.2-98.7%), but deletions and insertions were observed i...
Badenhorst M, de Heus P, Auer A, Rümenapf T, Tegtmeyer B, Kolodziejek J, Nowotny N, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JV.Prevalence studies have demonstrated a global distribution of equine hepacivirus (EqHV), a member of the family Flaviviridae. However, apart from a single case of vertical transmission, natural routes of EqHV transmission remain elusive. Many known flaviviruses are horizontally transmitted between hematophagous arthropods and vertebrate hosts. This study represents the first investigation of potential EqHV transmission by mosquitoes. More than 5000 mosquitoes were collected across Austria and analyzed for EqHV ribonucleic acid (RNA) by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reacti...
Al-Quraishy S, Abdel-Ghaffar F, Al-Rasheid KA, Mehlhorn J, Mehlhorn H.The hair of 300 horses belonging to short hair and long hair races had been routinely treated during the last 3 years with a neem seed extract (MiteStop®) in order to kill mallophages (e.g., specimens of the genus Werneckiella). It was found that in all cases, a hidden infestation with these biting lice had existed, which became visible when the product (diluted 1:20 with tap water) was brushed onto the hair. The mallophages left the body surface and became visible as a fine "wooly looking" layer at the tips of the hair. Furthermore, this treatment stopped the forming of dandruff of the skin...
Holmes CM, Violette N, Miller D, Wagner B, Svansson V, Antczak DF.The Icelandic horse has been maintained as a closed population in its eponymous homeland for many generations, with no recorded introductions of new horses of any breed since the year 1000 CE. Here we determined the diversity of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes in 156 Icelandic horses from two groups, based on a panel of 12 polymorphic intra-MHC microsatellites tested in families of various composition. We identified a total of 79 MHC haplotypes in these two groups, including one documented intra-MHC recombination event from a total of 147 observed meioses. None of these MHC h...
Zanotto GM, Frisbie DD.Osteoarthritis is a common clinical condition in the performance horse. In the last 10 years, there has been substantial growth in understanding of the disease and in the development of novel therapies. Objective: To document changes in clinical use of joint therapies over the past 10 years. We also aimed to understand how newly developed therapies have been added to routine clinical practice. Methods: Survey of veterinary professionals. Methods: We administered an electronic survey to members of the American Association of the Equine Practitioners. Questions from a similar survey in 2009 we...
Carossino M, Loynachan AT, Canisso IF, Cook RF, Campos JR, Nam B, Go YY, Squires EL, Troedsson MHT, Swerczek T, Del Piero F, Bailey E, Timoney PJ....Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has a global impact on the equine industry as the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory, systemic, and reproductive disease of equids. A distinctive feature of EAV infection is that it establishes long-term persistent infection in 10 to 70% of infected stallions (carriers). In these stallions, EAV is detectable only in the reproductive tract, and viral persistence occurs despite the presence of high serum neutralizing antibody titers. Carrier stallions constitute the natural reservoir of the virus as they continuously shed EAV in their seme...
ROCKEY JH, KLINMAN NR, KARUSH F.Anti-p-azophenyl-beta-lactoside (Lac) antibody has been isolated from equine antiserum by specific precipitation with Lac-HSA (human serum albumin) and Lac-Hy (hemocyanin). Antibody was separated from antigen by chromatography on DEAE cellulose and zone electrophoresis in solvents containing lactose. Six antigenically distinct immunoglobulins have been identified in purified equine anti-Lac antibody: 7S beta(2A)-globulin, 19S gamma-globulin, a 10S gamma(1) globulin, and three antigenically distinct 7S gamma-globulins. The specific hapten-binding activity of the 7S beta(2A)-antibody and of the ...
Banse HE, MacLeod H, Crosby C, Windeyer MC.The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence rates and risk factors for equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) and equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) in a population of 63 polo horses in competition. The prevalence of EGGD grade ≥ 1 was 69% and EGGD ≥ 2 was 31%. The prevalence of ESGD grade ≥ 1 was 54% and grade ≥ 2 was 37%. The risk factors retained in the final multivariable models were years of experience in polo competition for EGGD grade ≥ 1 and for grade ≥ 2, with decreased experience being associated with EGGD and weekly exercise duration and non-steroi...
Santodomingo A, Sierra-Orozco K, Cotes-Perdomo A, Castro LR.Horses are among the domestic animals that closely interact with humans and are highly parasitized by ticks, which are the primary vectors of zoonoses. As horses in Tayrona National Natural Park (PNNT) are used as a means of transporting goods, luggage and people, they are in constant contact with wild animals, workers and tourists from different countries. These factors increase the transmission risk of hemoparasites. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of Rickettsia sp., Anaplasma sp., and Theileria sp., in horse ticks in this protected area using conventional PCR. We col...
Elbers AR, Meiswinkel R.Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) host preferences and attack rates were quantified in early summer at a dairy farm in the Netherlands using livestock tethered at pasture. Midges were aspirated hourly over seven consecutive hours (17:00-23:00) from a dairy cow, a Shetland pony, and a sheep and correspondingly yielded seventeen, thirteen, and nine species. Of the 14,181 midges obtained, approximately 95% belonged to the C. obsoletus complex, C. dewulfi, C. chiopterus, and C. punctatus that together include all proven or potential vectors for arboviral diseases in livestock in northwestern E...
Watkins JP, Auer JA, Gay S, Morgan SJ.Full-thickness defects were surgically created in the superficial digital flexor tendons of the front limbs of 20 horses. Tissues formed within the defect were evaluated histologically, and the collagen composition of the tissue was determined by immunofluorescence. Transformation occurred from loose fibrillar areas of types I and III collagen and pericellular types IV and V collagen to dense bundles of type I collagen fibers. Loose fibrillar areas of types I and III collagen were present after 24 weeks. Histologically, in horses killed after 2 weeks, the tissue within the defect was a randoml...
