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Topic:Equine Health
Equine health encompasses the study and management of diseases, disorders, and overall well-being of horses. It involves understanding various physiological systems, preventive care, and treatment strategies to maintain optimal health in equine populations. Common areas of focus include nutrition, infectious diseases, orthopedic conditions, and reproductive health. Research in equine health aims to advance knowledge on diagnostic methods, therapeutic interventions, and management practices that improve horse welfare and performance. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse aspects of equine health, offering insights into current findings and advancements in the field.
Cardiovascular, haematological and biochemical responses after large volume blood collection in horses. To determine whether removal of 20 mL/kg of blood (approximately 25% of blood volume) resulted in adverse physiological effects in donor horses, we removed this volume of blood from five horses and selected cardiovascular, haematological and biochemical variables measured during collection and for 31 days thereafter. We found that alteration in most variables occurred, although the changes in values usually remained within published reference ranges. Also, recovery of these alterations to pre-collection values was rapid, occurring within 24--48 h in most instances. We concluded that volumes of...
The effect of sodium heparin on equine articular cartilage. This study compared the effect of sodium heparin and gentamicin sulphate on equine articular cartilage (AC) explants in order to investigate the possible use of sodium heparin in the treatment of infectious arthritis. Six concentrations of sodium heparin and gentamicin sulphate were tested. The supernatant and explant digest were assayed for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content with the dimethyl-methylene blue assay and the per cent loss of GAG was calculated. A significant (P< 0.001) increase in percentage GAG loss was noted for the sodium heparin groups when compared to the control, whilst no ...
The effect of different quantities and compositions of pelleted diets on immune response of mares during the production of anti-tetanus sera. Research was carried out into the effect that different quantities and compositions of concentrated portions of meal had on certain haematological properties and on the immune response of mares in the course of hyper-immune antitetanus sera production. The experiment involved 24 Nonius and Lipizzaner cross-bred mares divided into two groups of 12 animals each, a control group and a trial group. The experiment lasted 12 months, with haematological and immunological tests being carried out every 30 days. During the course of the experiment each mare was subjected to 11 immunisation cycles, and i...
Training affects the collagen framework of subchondral bone in foals. Subchondral bone provides structural support to the overlying articular cartilage and plays an important role in osteochondral diseases. There is growing insight that the mechanical features of bone are related to the biochemistry of the collagen network. In this study the effect of exercise on water, calcium and the collagen network (total collagen, lysyl-hydroxylation, hydroxylysylpyridinoline, and lysylpyridinoline crosslinks) of subchondral bone at two differently loaded sites (site 1: intermittently loaded; site 2: constantly loaded) is investigated in foals. Exercise influenced calcium c...
[The diagnostic value of venous blood gas parameters and pH value in newborn foals with pulmonary diseases]. Analysis of blood gases in equine neonatology is regarded as a diagnostic tool to study the neonatal adaptation period. Aim of this study therefore was to compare the diagnostic value of venous blood gas parameters to arterial parameters in newborn foals with pulmonary disorders. Venous as well as arterial blood samples were taken from 24 foals (1 to 6 days old) and the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), pH, and oxygen parturition (S-O2) of these samples were investigated. In addition, the alveolar (A) to arterial (a) gradients (A-aDO2) were calculated...
The application of an indenter system to measure structural properties of articular cartilage in the horse. Suitability of the instrument and correlation with biochemical data. A recently developed indenter system that aims at determination of local structural properties of the cartilage surface was evaluated for suitability in the horse. To this aim, maximum indenter force was measured of the articular surface and related to biochemical characteristics of the cartilage at different sites of the distal metacarpal bone (MC). Significant topographical variation exists in structural properties of the articular surface of the MC. The dorsal margin showed a significantly lower maximum indenter force than more centrally located areas, indicating an increased compliance und...
Effect of periovulatory prostaglandin F2alpha on pregnancy rates and luteal function in the mare. The objective of this study was to determine whether periovulatory treatments with PGF2alpha affects the development of the CL, and whether the treatment was detrimental to the establishment of pregnancy. Reproductively sound mares were assigned randomly to one of the following treatment groups during consecutive estrus cycles: 1. 3,000 IU hCG within 24 hours before artificial insemination and 500 microg cloprostenol (PGF2alpha analogue) on Days 0, 1, and 2 after ovulation (n=8), 2. 2 mL sterile water injection within 24 hours before artificial insemination and 500 microg cloprostenol on Days ...
Induction of luteolysis in mares by ultrasound-guided intraluteal treatment with PGF2alpha. To evaluate the technique of ultrasound-guided luteal injection in mares, PGF2alpha was administered under ultrasound guidance to horse mares (n = 7 to 9 per group) on Day 9 postovulation via either a systemic (i.m.; zero, 0.01, 0.1, or 5 mg/dose) route or a local intraluteal (i.l.; zero, 0.01 or 0.1 mg/dose) route. The luteolytic efficacy of each treatment was determined based on post-treatment decreases in progesterone concentration, interval to uterine edema (IE) and interovulatory interval (IOI). Local administration of PGF2alpha directly into the CL consistently induced luteolysis, at dos...
Determination of oral dosage and pharmacokinetic analysis of flecainide in horses. To determine oral dosage and to evaluate the pharmacokinetics in horses of orally administered flecainide, an antiarrhythmic drug, the correlations between its plasma concentration and PR, QRS and QT intervals in equine electrocardiograms (ECG) were investigated. Six healthy horses were administered a randomly ordered dose of 4 or 6 mg/kg of flecainide acetate. The ECG was monitored (heart rate (HR), PR, QRS, and QT intervals) and blood was taken at timed intervals to measure the plasma flecainide concentrations pre- and post-administration. The maximum plasma concentration reached 1014+/-285 ...
Time-related changes of the cardiovascular system during maintenance anesthesia with sevoflurane and isoflurane in horses. To clarify time-related changes in equine cardiovascular system during maintenance anesthesia (180 min, 1.2 minimum alveolar concentration) with sevoflurane (Sev-group) compared to isoflurane (Iso-group) as the basis for clinical use of Sev, horses were examined for the heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac index (CI), systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and pre-ejection period (PEP)/ejection time (ET) that is an index of the cardiac contractility. The HR was almost 30 beats/min in both groups without significant temporal change. MAP was significantly elevated with time but the...
Morphological characteristics and distribution of the autonomic and sensitive innervation of the prostate in some animal species. The sensitive and autonomic innervation of the prostate was studied in some mammals (rat, rabbit, horse, donkey and bull) using gold chloride impregnation. In all the species considered the gland was supplied with conspicuous innervation located in the thickness of the capsule and in trabeculae. The autonomic innervation was constituted by ganglion cells of different sizes (small, medium and large), isolated or in groups of large ganglia also, always located along the course of nerve bundles. The sensitive nervous component, placed more frequently in the most superficial layer of the capsule, ...
Effects of caffeine on locomotor activity of horses: determination of the no-effect threshold. Caffeine is the legal stimulant consumed most extensively by the human world population and may be found eventually in the urine and/or blood of race horses. The fact that caffeine is in foods led us to determine the highest no-effect dose (HNED) of caffeine on the spontaneous locomotor activity of horses and then to quantify this substance in urine until it disappeared. We built two behavioural stalls equipped with juxtaposed photoelectric sensors that emit infrared beams that divide the stall into nine sectors in a 'tic-tac-toe' fashion. Each time a beam was interrupted by a leg of the horse...
Aromatase gene expression in the stallion. Adult stallion secretes very high estrogen levels in its testicular vein and semen, and the responsible enzyme cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450 arom) is known to be present mainly in Leydig cells. We studied in further details the distribution of equine aromatase in various adult tissues including the brain (hypothalamic area), liver, kidney, small intestine, muscle, bulbourethral gland and testes. The aromatase mRNA was essentially detected by RT-PCR in testis (169+/-14 amol of aromatase mRNA per microg of total RNA) and was barely detectable in brain, or below 0.1 amol/microg RNA in other tis...
[Extracorporal shock wave therapy in veterinary medicine]. This article gives a general overview on a new therapy in equine orthopedics. In human medicine extracorporal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is used for lithotripsy of stones of the urologic system and also in orthopedics. In equine medicine the therapy is almost exclusively applied for the treatment of orthopedic problems. The main indications are proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD), lesions of tendons and ligaments, osteoporotic changes and spavin. In this paper the mode of action of shock waves and the different shock wave devices are discussed. Also, some information about an ongoing clinical tr...
Arthroscopic autologous osteochondral mosaicplasty for the treatment of subchondral cystic lesion in the medial femoral condyle in a horse. An 11-year-old, Hungarian half-bred stallion was presented with a history of mixed left hindlimb lameness of 6 months duration. Subchondral bone cyst of the medial femoral condyle and injury of the medial meniscus were diagnosed. Osteochondral autograft transplantation (mosaic arthroplasty) was performed, taking grafts from the less weight-bearing medial border of the medial femoral trochlea of the affected limb, and transplanting them into the cyst during arthroscopy. The lameness was evaluated prior to and one year after the operation with a motion analysis system during treadmill exercise. ...
Characterisation of Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from foals and from immunocompromised human patients. The cultural, morphological, biochemical, serological characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility of 25 Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from lungs and lung abscesses of pneumonic foals and 5 R. equi strains isolated from immuno-compromised human patients were examined. All R. equi strains showed common cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics both with conventional tests and on the basis of their enzyme profile. The R. equi strains examined were resistant to penicillins with the exception of ampicillin, to sulphamethazine and several strains also to sulphamethoxazole-trimeth...
Effect of low-dose zearalenone exposure on luteal function, follicular activity and uterine oedema in cycling mares. The effect of 10-day zearalenone administration starting 10 days after ovulation was studied in 6 cycling trotter mares in the summer period. After an entire oestrous cycle (Cycle 1), mares were given 7 mg purified zearalenone per os daily (1 mg/ml in ethyl alcohol) beginning on Day 10 of Cycle 2. Toxin exposure was continued until the subsequent ovulation. Luteal function and follicular activity were monitored daily by rectal palpation, ultrasonography and blood sampling for progesterone. During toxin exposure, all animals were in good physical condition. The toxin had no effect on the length...
The surgical technique and the age of the horse both influence the outcome of mosaicplasty in a cadaver equine stifle model. Six pieces of grafts, 6.5 mm in diameter, 20 mm in length, were taken from each of 170 cadaver hindlimbs, using the cranial surface of the medial femoral trochlea for harvesting. The age of the horses varied between 4 months and 23 years. 30 limbs under the age of 12 years were selected for transplantation. Three of six grafts were transplanted into the medial femoral condyle using different combinations of tunnel depth and dilation. With ageing, a significant decline in transplantability was detected. In general, mosaicplasty cannot be recommended in horses above 11 years. Based on a previous...
Comparison of serum parathyroid hormone and ionized calcium and magnesium concentrations and fractional urinary clearance of calcium and phosphorus in healthy horses and horses with enterocolitis. To evaluate calcium balance and parathyroid gland function in healthy horses and horses with enterocolitis and compare results of an immunochemiluminometric assay (ICMA) with those of an immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for determination of serum intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations in horses. Methods: 64 horses with enterocolitis and 62 healthy horses. Methods: Blood and urine samples were collected for determination of serum total calcium, ionized calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+), phosphorus, BUN, total protein, creatinine, albumin, and PTH concentrations, venous blood gases, and...
Effect of walking velocity on ground reaction force variables in the hind limb of clinically normal horses. To measure the effect of subject velocity on hind limb ground reaction force variables at the walk and to use the data to predict the force variables at different walking velocities in horses. Methods: 5 clinically normal horses. Methods: Kinematic and force data were collected simultaneously. Each horse was led over a force plate at a range of walking velocities. Stance duration and force data were recorded for the right hind limb. To avoid the effect of horse size on the outcome variables, the 8 force variables were standardized to body mass and height at the shoulders. Velocity was standard...
Evaluation of a tapered-sleeve transcortical pin to reduce stress at the bone-pin interface in metacarpal bones obtained from horses. To evaluate stiffness and bone-pin interface stress for a transcortical tapered-sleeve pin (TSP) that incorporates bilateral tapered sleeves over a transcortical pin. Methods: 14 third metacarpal bones (MCIII) collected from adult horses of various breeds. Methods: Each MCIII was cut in half to provide 2 test specimens. Pins (conventional and TSP) of 3 diameters (6.35, 7.94, and 9.50 mm) were inserted in specimens (3 specimens for each diameter and each type of pin). The test fixture simulated a typical sidebar-span skeletal fixation device for horses. Single cycle load-deflection tests were p...
Lectin binding patterns of uterine glands in mares with chronic endometrial degeneration. To evaluate changes of glycoconjugate in uterine glands of endometrial tissues obtained from mares. Methods: adult mares. Methods: Uterine biopsy samples were collected during the breeding season and analyzed histologically for signs of chronic endometrial degeneration. Stage of the estrous cycle was established, using clinical examination and determination of hormonal status. Uterine tissue samples were analyzed, using lectin histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques (estrogen and progesterone receptors). Connective tissues were stained to determine alterations of ground substance in p...
Effects of ground surface deformability, trimming, and shoeing on quasistatic hoof loading patterns in horses. To determine whether solar load distribution pattern on a solid nondeformable ground surface is the product of contact erosion and is the mirror image of load distribution on a deformable surface in horses. Methods: 30 clinically normal horses. Methods: Solar load distribution was compared among 25 clinically normal horses during quasistatic loading on a solid nondeformable surface and on a highly deformable surface. Changes in solar load distribution patterns were evaluated in 5 previously pasture-maintained horses housed on a flat nondeformable surface. Changes in solar load distribution cre...
Cytoarchitectonic study of the cerebral cortex in the horse brain–classification of the cortex area. A cytoarchitectural classification of the horse cerebral cortex was done to determine whether functional locations exist or not such as found in the human cerebral cortex. Two adult horse brains were examined by Nissl and myelin stained methods. Six cell layers of the cerebral cortex were identified and classified into five types areas based on the cytoarchitectural organization: agranular, frontal, parietal, polar and granulous types. The agranular type was seen around the gyrus sylvius. In layer V of the agranular type, there were the many large cells that seemed like Betz cells. This type w...
Effect of water supply method and flow rate on drinking behavior and fluid balance in horses. This study investigated three methods of water supply on drinking preference and behavior in six Standardbred geldings (2-9 years, 505+/-9 kg). The water sources were buckets (B), pressure valve (PV), and float valve (FV) bowls. In an initial drinking preference test, PV was tested at three flow rates: 3, 8, and 16 l/min (PV3, PV8, and PV16), and FV at 3 l/min (FV3). Water intake was measured in l and presented as the percentage of the total daily water intake from each of two simultaneously presented alternatives. The intake from PV8 was greater than from both PV3 (72+/-11% vs. 28+/-11%) and ...
Differential regulation of gelatinases by transforming growth factor beta-1 in normal equine chondrocytes. Cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with increased levels of several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), including the gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9. While increases in some MMPs may be destructive, up-regulation of others may result from increases in normal tissue turnover. The production of MMP-2 and MMP-9 by the anabolic transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) in normal equine chondrocytes was investigated. Methods: Equine chondrocytes from clinically normal femoropatellar joints were maintained in alginate beads. After serum deprivation, cells were exposed to TGF-b...
Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer-determined corneal sensitivity in neonatal foals and adult horses. Corneal touch threshold (CTT) was measured in sick neonatal foals, healthy foals, and healthy adult horses with a Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer. The mean overall CTT for the adult horses, sick foals, and healthy foals was 4.82 +/- 0.87 cm, 3.21 +/- 0.24 cm, and 5.01 +/- 0.61 cm, respectively. The central cornea of adult horses was more sensitive than the limbal cornea. Corneal sensitivity was significantly reduced in sick neonatal foals compared to adults. The mean Schirmer I tear test values were significantly lower in foals than adults, and were 14.2 +/- 1.0 mm, 12.8 +/- 2.4 mm, and 18.3 +/- ...
Disease of the equine posterior segment. The appearance of the equine fundus is reviewed from the perspective of differentiating normal variations from disease, and the descriptions have been updated to include recently published ocular fundic abnormalities. Most pathological lesions are identified near the optic nerve head, and typically involve depigmentation or hyperpigmentation. Depending upon configuration and appearance, linear pigmented bands may reflect the course of the vortex veins, the transition from tapetal to nontapetal fundus, or indicate chorioretinitis or equine motor neuron disease. Choroidal vasculature is readily ...
