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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.
The medical management of eight horses with grade 3 rectal tears. Eight horses with Grade 3b rectal tears of the peritoneal part of the rectum or small colon were treated by a combination of medical therapy and dietary manipulation. All of the horses developed septic peritonitis during the course of treatment. Medical therapy consisted of a combination of penicillin, gentamicin and flunixin meglumine administered parenterally, metronidazole administered orally and liquid paraffin administered by nasogastric tube. Some horses also received fluid and electrolyte therapy i.v., plasma and heparin i.v. All horses were maintained on a laxative diet. Six of the 8 h...
Comparative studies in the promoter and exon 1 regions of tumour suppressor p53 in several mammalian species: absence of mutations in a panel of spontaneous domestic animal tumours. Tumour suppressor p53 is critical in a broad panel of tumour types in human, mouse and other mammals. Regions of the promoter and exon 1 play an important role in expression of p53. In the present study, the DNA sequences of promoter and exon 1 regions of four domestic animal species (dog, cat, horse and cattle) are determined and compared with experimental rodents (mouse, rat and hamster) and man. A broad panel of tumour types have been investigated for mutations in this regulatory area in 90 canine, 136 feline, 25 equine and 10 bovine patients. No mutation was detected in any of the tumours ...
West Nile encephalitis. WNV encephalitis in horses, previously reported in Africa, Asia, and Europe, occurred for the first time in the Western Hemisphere in 1999. The causative agent, WNV, is a flavivirus maintained in nature by a bird-mosquito cycle. The disease in horses is manifested primarily by ataxia of variable severity. Outbreaks of encephalitis may have a case fatality rate in excess of 40%, although this virus infection is inapparent in some horses. Early evidence indicates that WNV has overwintered in the northeastern United States and poses a threat for future disease occurrences in horses. No vaccine is...
Hydrolyzable carbohydrates in pasture, hay, and horse feeds: direct assay and seasonal variation. Carbohydrates may be hydrolyzed or fermented in the digestive tract, and this distinction is important for the evaluation of the diet of herbivores. Both hydrolyzable and fermentable carbohydrates are included in the nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) fraction as estimated by difference using proximate analysis. Our objectives were to measure hydrolyzable carbohydrates in forages and concentrates, to compare these values with nonstructural carbohydrate, to test for prediction of hydrolyzable carbohydrate concentration in forages from its near-infrared spectrum, and to examine seasonal variation ...
Locomotor characteristics of horses with navicular disease. To determine whether force-plate evaluation of horses with navicular disease would reveal an abnormal gait that persists despite loss of sensation to the palmar foot region, which may predispose such horses to navicular disease. Methods: 17 clinically normal Thoroughbreds and 8 Thoroughbreds with navicular disease. Methods: Data on ground reaction forces were obtained in trotting horses, using a force plate. Force-time curve variables for clinically normal horses were derived from 4 points at the beginning and 4 points at the end of the vertical and craniocaudal horizontal plots. Principal com...
Completion of the life cycle of Sarcocystis neurona. Sarcocystis neurona is the most important cause of a neurologic disease in horses, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). The complete life cycle of S. neurona, including the description of sarcocysts and intermediate hosts, has not been completed until now. Opossums (Didelphis spp.) are definitive hosts, and horses and other mammals are aberrant hosts. In the present study, laboratory-raised domestic cats (Felis domesticus) were fed sporocysts from the intestine of a naturally infected opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Microscopic sarcocysts, with a maximum size of 700 x 50 microm, developed...
Morphological and functional changes of stallion spermatozoa after cryopreservation during breeding and non-breeding season. The study compared quality and freezability of stallion semen during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Ejaculates were collected twice per week from four stallions during May (n = 24) and December (n = 24). The semen was mixed with skim milk extender, centrifuged and resuspended in fresh extender. Aliquots of this sperm suspension were separated from extender and diluted in TALP medium for sperm evaluation or with cryoextender (type "Gent" or a combination of Triladyl and skim milk). Samples of 0.5ml were cryopreserved in straws using a programmed freezer. Parameters of sperm quality were eva...
Factor analysis of the interrelationships between clinical variables in horses with colic. A prospective survey of horses with colic referred to the Large Animal Hospital at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen, Denmark, was undertaken between August 1994 and December 1997. The interrelationships between 17 clinical variables were analysed using factor analysis. Factor analysis uncovers the structure of the variability in data and therefore detects multicollinearity. A total of 528 horses were admitted in the study period. Of these, 16 were excluded from the analysis as a result of miscellaneous conditions. Only 205 horses had observations for all 17 variab...
Geophagia in horses: a short note on 13 cases. Recorded in several species including humans, geophagia or soil eating has been observed in both wild and domesticated horses and has generally been regarded as an indication of nutritional deficiency or "boredom". Studies of soils consumed by different species have led to several theories as to the identity of soil constituents that stimulate geophagia. In this study, geochemical analysis of 13 equine geophagic sites from different parts of Australia was undertaken. Significantly larger concentrations of iron and copper were found in soil samples from geophagic sites when compared to paired c...
Strangulating obstruction caused by intestinal herniation through the proximal aspect of the cecocolic fold in 9 horses. To report the clinical and surgical findings and outcome for horses with strangulating obstruction caused by herniation through the proximal aspect of the cecocolic fold. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Nine horses. Methods: Medical records were reviewed for clinical signs, surgical findings and technique, and outcome. Cadaver ponies and necropsy specimens were also used to study the regional anatomy of the cecocolic fold. Results: The ileum and distal jejunum were strangulated in 8 horses, whereas in 1 horse the small intestine and the left ascending colons were incarcerated in a rent ...
Administration of ticarcillin in combination with clavulanic acid intravenously and intrauterinely to clinically normal oestrous mares. Ticarcillin and clavulanic acid (potassium clavulanate) were administered to normal oestrous mares intravenously (i.v.) at a dose of 50 and 1.67 mg/kg for ticarcillin and clavulanate, respectively. In a crossover design, the same drugs were administered intrauterine (i.u.) at a dose of 12.4 and 0.4 mg/kg for ticarcillin and clavulanate, respectively. The i.u. dose was administered in 100 mL of saline solution. Endometrial tissue biopsies and plasma samples were collected after drug administration for the determination of ticarcillin and clavulanate concentrations by high-pressure liquid chroma...
Virulence plasmid of Rhodococcus equi contains inducible gene family encoding secreted proteins. Rhodococcus equi causes severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals. This facultative intracellular pathogen produces similar lesions in immunocompromised humans, particularly in AIDS patients. Virulent strains of R. equi bear a large plasmid that is required for intracellular survival within macrophages and for virulence in foals and mice. Only two plasmid-encoded proteins have been described previously; a 15- to 17-kDa surface protein designated virulence-associated protein A (VapA) and an antigenically related 20-kDa protein (herein designated VapB). These two proteins are not expressed by t...
Equine muscular dystrophy with myotonia. To describe a case of equine muscular dystrophy with myotonia. Methods: A 5-year-old horse presented with hypertrophy and delayed relaxation of the muscles of the hindlimbs from age 2 months. Testicular atrophy developed from 2 years of age. Action and percussion myotonia was associated with weakness in these muscles, and EMG showed diffuse myotonic discharges and myopathic features. Biopsy of the gluteal muscle showed adipose and connective tissue infiltration, marked variation in muscle fibre size, and moth-eaten, ring and whorled fibres. Results: Injection of apamin, a peptide blocker of ca...
Pharmacokinetics of gentamicin in mares in late pregnancy and early lactation. The disposition of drugs may differ between pregnant and nonpregnant animals, necessitating a change in dosage. We hypothesized that volume of distribution or clearance may be different for aminoglycoside antibiotics in pregnant mares vs. nonpregnant lactating mares. To examine this hypothesis, we administered gentamicin sulfate to seven Thoroughbred and Quarterhorse mares on two occasions, followed by plasma drug gentamicin assay and pharmacokinetic analysis. The first dose was administered 1-4 weeks before parturition (mean weight 578 kg) and the second dose was administered in the period 1-...
Clenbuterol administration does not enhance the efficacy of furosemide in attenuating the exercise-induced pulmonary capillary hypertension in Thoroughbred horses. The stimulation of pulmonary beta2-adrenergic receptors causes a decrease in vascular resistance. Thus, the present study was carried out to examine whether concomitant administration of clenbuterol-a beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist, to horses premedicated with furosemide would attenuate the exercise-induced pulmonary capillary hypertension to a greater extent than furosemide alone, and in turn, affect the occurrence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). Experiments were carried out on six healthy, sound, exercise-trained Thoroughbred horses. All horses were studied in the control...
Widespread origins of domestic horse lineages. Domestication entails control of wild species and is generally regarded as a complex process confined to a restricted area and culture. Previous DNA sequence analyses of several domestic species have suggested only a limited number of origination events. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences of 191 domestic horses and found a high diversity of matrilines. Sequence analysis of equids from archaeological sites and late Pleistocene deposits showed that this diversity was not due to an accelerated mutation rate or an ancient domestication event. Consequently, high mtDNA se...
Pharmacokinetics of metronidazole in horses after intravenous, rectal and oral administration. Metronidazole pharmacokinetics in horses was studied after intravenous (i.v.), rectal (p.r.) and oral (p.o.) administration at 20 mg/kg using a triple crossover study design. Metronidazole mean+/-SD half-life was 196+/-39, 212+/-30 and 240+/-65 min after i.v., p.r. and p.o. administration, respectively. The metronidazole clearance was 2.8 (mL/min/kg) and the volume of distribution at steady state was 0.68 L/kg. The pharmacokinetic parameters calculated for metronidazole after administration of the drug by the various routes showed that bioavailability (74+/-18 vs. 30+/-9%) and maximum serum co...
Heterologous expression of lacticin 3147 in Enterococcus faecalis: comparison of biological activity with cytolysin. Lacticin 3147 is a broad-spectrum, two-component, lanthionine-containing bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis DPC3147 which has widespread food and biomedical applications as a natural antimicrobial. Other two-component lantibiotics described to date include cytolysin and staphylococcin C55. Interestingly, cytolysin, produced by Enterococcus faecalis, has an associated haemolytic activity. The objective of this study was to compare the biological activity of lacticin 3147 with cytolysin. The lacticin 3147-encoding determinants were heterologously expressed in Ent. faecalis FA2-2, a plasm...
Absence of selective brain cooling in free-ranging zebras in their natural habitat. We used implanted miniature data loggers to measure brain and arterial blood temperatures in three free-ranging zebras (Equus burchelli) in their natural habitat, every 5 min for 9 days. The animals experienced globe temperatures exceeding 40 C, and radiant heat load of about 1000 W m-2. Arterial blood exhibited a moderate amplitude (1.7 C) nychthemeral rhythm, with an acrophase at 19.00 h and a nadir late in the morning, at 10.00 h. Brain temperature consistently exceeded blood temperature, on average by 0.2-0.4 C, and changes in brain temperature closely tracked changes in blood temperature....
Immune responses to retinal autoantigens and peptides in equine recurrent uveitis. To test the hypothesis that autoimmune mechanisms are involved in horses in which equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) develops spontaneously. Methods: Material obtained from horses treated for spontaneous disease by therapeutic routine vitrectomy was analyzed for total IgG content and IgG specific for S-Antigen (S-Ag) and interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP). The cellular infiltrate of the vitreous was analyzed by differential counts of cytospin preparations and flow cytometry using equine lymphocyte-specific antibodies. Antigen-specific proliferation assays were performed comparing p...
Isolation and characterization of an equine foamy virus. Foamy viruses (FVs) are complex retroviruses which have been isolated from different animal species including nonhuman primates, cattle, and cats. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a new FV isolated from blood samples of horses. Similar to other FVs, the equine foamy virus (EFV) exhibits a highly characteristic ultrastructure and induces syncytium formation and subsequent cell lysis on a large number of cell lines. Molecular cloning of EFV reveals that the general organization is that of other known FVs, whereas sequence similarity with its bovine FV counterpart is only 40%...
Heart rate and behavioural responses of crib-biting horses to two acute stressors. The heart rate and behaviour of 14 adult saddle horses, eight crib-biters and six normal controls, were investigated. Initially, the relationship between crib-biting and heart rate was investigated while the horses were undisturbed. The horses were tested when restrained with a lip twitch, and assessed when they were exposed suddenly to the rapid inflation of a balloon. The heart rate of the crib-biters during crib-biting was lower than during other behaviours. The crib-biters had a higher overall mean heart rate (P<0.05) suggesting that they may have had a higher basal sympathetic activity...
Phylogenetic analysis of partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I and large ribosomal RNA sequences and nuclear internal transcribed spacer I sequences from species of Cyathostominae and Strongylinae (Nematoda, Order Strongylida), parasites of the horse. Three nucleotide data sets, one nuclear (ITS-2) and two mitochondrial (COI and l-rRNA), have been investigated in order to determine relationships among species of Strongylinae and Cyathostominae, intestinal parasites of the horse. The data exhibited a strong mutational bias towards A and T and in the COI gene, silent sites appeared to saturate rapidly partly due to this substitution bias. Thus, the COI gene was found to be less phylogenetically informative than the l-rRNA and ITS-2 genes. Combined analysis of the l-rRNA and ITS-2 genes supported a monophyletic clade of the cyathostomes with T...
[Diagnosis of stomach carcinoma in the horse]. In 10 horses, which were referred to the clinic with the suspicion of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, gastroscopy revealed a gastric tumour. In ten cases the diagnosis of a squamous cell carcinoma was made on the basis of histology of biopsies or autopsy. The tumour always derived from the non-glandulary mucosa. The horses showed various clinical symptoms. All patients had a hypoalbuminemia and a hyperglobulinemia in the serum electrophoresis. This suggests that a gastric tumour can be suspected intra-vitam even without gastroscopy of the patient.
Rodeo related large animal injury: is protective head-gear warranted? To compare rodeo associated large animal injuries to large animal associated trauma from other aetiologies in order to determine whether mandatory protective head-gear during rodeo is warranted. Retrospective analysis related to injury involving large animal admissions between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 1995. The setting is at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center, a level 1 trauma centre. All patients admitted with Injury Severity Scores of 1 or higher following large animal associated injuries. There were 140 admissions for which mechanism of injury was known. Thirty-nine oc...
The seroprevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in Michigan equids. A cross-sectional study of serum antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona (the etiologic agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, EPM) was performed on Michigan equids. Our objectives were to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies to S. neurona in Michigan equids and to identify specific risk factors for seropositivity. A random, weighted sample of Michigan horse farms (stratified by the state's opossum (Didelphis virginiana) population and the number of equids on each operation) was selected. Ninety-eight equine-operation owners agreed to participate, and blood collection occurred from late ...
Liens for veterinary service–how effective are they? This research study discusses the effectiveness of liens for veterinary services, exploring different court cases that define and interpret possessory and non-possessory liens in veterinary contexts. The article highlights the [...]
