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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.
Effect of hypothyroidism on blood lipid concentrations in horses. To measure and compare concentrations of selected blood lipids before and after thyroidectomy in horses. Methods: 5 healthy adult mares. Methods: Mares were confirmed to be euthyroid. Thyroidectomy was performed, and hypothyroidism was confirmed. Selected blood lipid variables were measured before hypothyroidism was induced and weekly for 4 weeks after induction. Plasma concentrations of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) were measured. The composition of VLDL and LDL also was ...
Cardiorespiratory effects of a tiletamine/zolazepam-ketamine-detomidine combination in horses. To determine cardiorespiratory effects of a tiletamine/zolazepam-ketamine-detomidine (TZKD) combination in horses. Methods: 8 healthy adult horses. Methods: Horses were instrumented for measurement of cardiorespiratory, acid-base, and electrolyte values. Each horse was given xylazine (0.44 mg/kg of body weight, IV) 10 to 15 minutes prior to induction of recumbency by administration of the TZKD combination. Cardiorespiratory, acid-base, and electrolyte values were measured at 5-minute intervals for > or =30 minutes. Results: All horses became recumbent within 1 minute after IV administration of...
Follicle deviation and intrafollicular and systemic estradiol concentrations in mares. By definition, follicle deviation begins on the day the two largest follicles of a wave begin to differ in growth rates. The relationships between follicle deviation and intrafollicular and systemic estradiol concentrations were studied in ponies, using a two-follicle model in which all but the two largest follicles were ablated. A 20-microliter sample of follicular fluid was obtained from each of the two follicles by transvaginal ultrasonography. In experiment 1, the two follicles were sampled when the larger follicle reached 15 mm. No differences (p > 0.05) in post-sampling follicle chara...
Nitric oxide synthase activity in healthy and interleukin 1beta-exposed equine synovial membrane. To quantitate nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in healthy and interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta)-exposed equine synovial membrane. Methods: 6 healthy horses, 2 to 8 years old. Methods: Recombinant human IL-1beta (0.35 ng/kg of body weight) was injected intra-articularly into 1 metacarpophalangeal joint of each horse. The contralateral joint served as an unexposed control. All horses were euthanatized 6 hours after injection of IL-1beta, and synovial membrane specimens were assayed for NOS activity by measuring conversion of arginine to citrulline. Severity of inflammation was semiquantitated by ...
Mepivacaine: its pharmacological effects and their relationship to analytical findings in the horse. Mepivacaine is a local anaesthetic drug that is widely used in equine medicine and is classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) as a Class 2 foreign substance that may cause regulators to impose significant penalties if residues are identified in post-race urine samples. Therefore, an analytical/pharmacological database was developed for this agent and its metabolites. Using an abaxial sesamoid local anaesthetic model, it was determined that the highest no-effect dose (HNED) for its local anaesthetic effect was 2 mg. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELI...
Cimetidine inhibits nitric oxide associated nitrate production in a soft-tissue inflammation model in the horse. Cimetidine (CIM) is an H2-receptor antagonist that has been used in racehorses in an attempt to reduce the occurrence of stress-related gastric ulceration. It has also been shown to produce several useful effects other than its gastric acid suppression properties. Further, it is a well documented antagonist of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) mediated oxygenation reactions. Nitric oxide (NO), a recently discovered mediator or modifier of numerous physiological functions, is generated by several forms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), one of which is inducible (iNOS). Inducible NOS, expressed in neutrophil...
A pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic study with vedaprofen in an equine model of acute nonimmune inflammation. The pharmacodynamics and enantioselective pharmacokinetics of vedaprofen were studied in six ponies in a two period cross-over study, in which a mild acute inflammatory reaction was induced by carrageenan soaked sponges implanted subcutaneously in the neck. Vedaprofen, administered intravenously at a dosage of 1 mg/kg, produced significant and prolonged inhibition of ex vivo serum thromboxane B2 (TXB2) synthesis and short-lived inhibition of exudate prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and TXB2 synthesis. Vedaprofen also partially inhibited oedematous swelling and leucocyte infiltration into exudate. Vedap...
Dental wear in horses in relation to the microhardness of enamel and dentine. The microhardness of enamel, primary dentine and secondary dentine was determined in the incisor teeth of 39 horses of three different breeds, trotter horses, Belgian draft horses and Arab horses. Using a microhardness tester fitted with a Knoop diamond indenter, the overall Knoop Hardness Number was determined for each tissue, and the influence of breed and age on the hardness were evaluated. Enamel and secondary dentine were significantly harder in Arab horses than in trotters and Belgian draft horses, but there were no significant differences between draft horses and trotter horses in the h...
Etodolac in equine urine and serum: determination by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection, confirmation, and metabolite identification by atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry. A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was used for the detection of etodolac in equine serum and urine. The method consisted of a one-step liquid-liquid extraction, separation on a reversed-phase (RP-18) column and detection using an ultraviolet detector. Additional confirmation methods included a HPLC coupled with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometer (APCI-MS). Free (unbound) etodolac and its conjugates were present in the samples. Concentrations of the drug in the serum and urine samples collected from four standardbred mares after a single oral administra...
Effect of furosemide on pulmonary blood flow distribution in resting and exercising horses. We determined the spatial distribution of pulmonary blood flow (PBF) with 15-micron fluorescent-labeled microspheres during rest and exercise in five Thoroughbred horses before and 4 h after furosemide administration (0.5 mg/kg iv). The primary finding of this study was that PBF redistribution occurred from rest to exercise, both with and without furosemide. However, there was less blood flow to the dorsal portion of the lung during exercise postfurosemide compared with prefurosemide. Furosemide did alter the resting perfusion distribution by increasing the flow to the ventral regions of the l...
Factors controlling epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene expression in the endometrium of the mare. Previous studies showed a dramatic increase in EGF gene expression in the endometrial glands of pregnant mares around day 40 after ovulation. To investigate how the steroid hormones of pregnancy might regulate this expression, in situ hybridization was used to monitor the levels of EGF mRNA in endometrial biopsies obtained from seasonally anoestrous or ovariectomised mares given exogenous progesterone and oestrogen, alone or in combination, for up to 46 days. Biopsies were also taken from mares during the non-pregnant cycle, during normal pregnancies and pregnancies compromised by endometrial ...
Plasma myeloperoxidase level and polymorphonuclear leukocyte activation in horses suffering from large intestinal obstruction requiring surgery: preliminary results. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a specific enzyme of neutrophil azurophilic granules with a strong oxidative activity. Thanks to a radioimmunoassay of equine myeloperoxidase, the authors have observed a significantly higher plasma level of MPO in horses operated for strangulation obstruction of the large intestine (n = 6) than in horses suffering from a non-strangulating displacement of the large intestine (n = 9). For the 2 groups, 3 phases were distinguished: reception (P1), intensive care (P2) and terminal phase (P3). The mean peak values of MPO for these phases were 121.6 ng/mL (P1), 168.6 ng/mL ...
Three-dimensional structure of mare diferric lactoferrin at 2.6 A resolution. Lactoferrin is a monomeric glycoprotein with a molecular mass of approximately 80 kDa. The three-dimensional structure of mare diferric lactoferrin (mlf) has been determined at 2.6 A resolution. The protein crystallizes in the space group P 212121with a=85.2 A, b=99.5 A, c=103.1 A with a solvent content of 55 % (v/v). The structure was solved by the molecular replacement method using human diferric lactoferrin as the model. The structure has been refined using XPLOR to a final R -factor of 0.194 for all data in the 15-2.6 A resolution range. The amino acid sequence of mlf was determined using ...
Phylogenetic characterization of a highly attenuated strain of equine arteritis virus from the semen of a persistently infected standardbred stallion. An avirulent, novel variant of equine arteritis virus (EAV; CA95G) was isolated from the semen of a persistently infected Standardbred stallion. The CA95G virus caused subclinical infection and seroconversion in susceptible horses, and virus was isolated only once from blood and nasal secretions collected from 6 experimentally infected horses. Sequence analysis of genes encoding the known EAV structural proteins shows that this highly attenuated strain of EAV is genetically similar to virulent field strains of EAV and, in particular, to a strain of EAV that was isolated during an outbreak of e...
Platelets from thrombocytopenic ponies acutely infected with equine infectious anemia virus are activated in vivo and hypofunctional. Thrombocytopenia is a consistent finding and one of the earliest hematological abnormalities in horses acutely infected with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), a lentivirus closely related to human immunodeficiency virus. Multifactorial mechanisms, including immune-mediated platelet destruction and impaired platelet production, are implicated in the pathogenesis of EIAV-associated thrombocytopenia. This study was undertaken to investigate whether regenerative thrombopoiesis and platelet destruction occurred in ponies acutely infected with EIAV. Circulating large, immature platelets were in...
Detection of equine antibodies to babesia caballi by recombinant B. caballi rhoptry-associated protein 1 in a competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) was developed for detection of equine antibodies specific for Babesia caballi. The assay used recombinant B. caballi rhoptry-associated protein 1 (RAP-1) and monoclonal antibody (MAb) 79/17.18.5, which is reactive with a peptide epitope of a native 60-kDa B. caballi antigen. The gene encoding the recombinant antigen was sequenced, and database analysis revealed that the gene product is a rhoptry-associated protein. Cloning and expression of a truncated copy of the gene demonstrated that MAb 79/17.18.5 reacts with the C-termina...
Detection of equine herpesvirus types 2 and 5 (EHV-2 and EHV-5) in Przewalski’s wild horses. In blood samples of seven captive equid species from four German zoos EHV-1 specific antibodies were detected in 76% and EHV-4 specific antibodies in 73% of the 55 animals, whereas 93% were tested positive for EHV-2 and EHV-5, respectively. In only one blood sample from a Przewalski's wild horse EHV-4 DNA was amplified by PCR. From seven Przewalski's wild horses EHV-2, and from another one EHV-5 was isolated by cocultivation. The identity of the virus isolates was verified by PCR and restriction enzyme digestion.
Nonsurgical treatment of suprascapular nerve injury in horses: 8 cases (1988-1998). To determine the outcome of horses with suprascapular nerve injury treated with stall rest alone. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 8 horses. Methods: Information on signalment, history, limbs affected, severity of lameness, degree of muscle atrophy, gait abnormalities, and results of radiography and electromyography was obtained from medical records. All horses were treated with stall rest. Follow-up information on severity of lameness, gait abnormalities, degree of muscle atrophy, time between injury and resolution of gait abnormalities, and outcome was obtained during reexaminati...
Apical fracture of the proximal sesamoid bone in standardbred horses: 43 cases (1990-1996). To determine whether fracture fragment dimensions, suspensory ligament damage, and racing status at the time of injury were associated with outcome in Standardbred horses with apical fracture of the proximal sesamoid bone. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 43 Standardbred racehorses. Methods: Medical records, racing records, and radiographs were reviewed, and ultrasonographic findings were scored. Measurements of the fractured portion of the proximal sesamoid bone were made. Results: Seventy-four percent (32/43) of horses were pacers, and 26% (11/43) were trotters. Statistical differences...
Fractures of the rostral portion of the mandible and maxilla in horses: 89 cases (1979-1997). To compare fracture locations, repair methods, complications, and outcomes of horses with fractures of the rostral portions of the mandible and maxilla. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 89 horses with fractures of the rostral portions of the mandible and maxilla. Methods: Medical records and radiographs were reviewed. Fractures were categorized by fracture location and stability. Postoperative complications and long-term outcome were determined by clinical examination and telephone interviews with horse owners. Results: 4 fracture types were recognized. Fractures involving just the alveo...
Rapid and sensitive detection of equine arteritis virus in semen and tissue samples by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, dot blot hybridisation and nested polymerase chain reaction. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using four different primer pairs for the detection of equine arteritis virus (EAV) RNA in semen and tissue samples was evaluated. A fragment encoding the leader sequence of the EAV genome was most successfully amplified. The specificity and sensitivity of RT-PCR was assessed by virus isolation in cell culture, restriction analysis, dot blot hybridisation and nested PCR. To this end, 23 semen samples from seropositive stallions and 11 tissue samples from 4 aborted foals were tested. Compared to the virus isolation test in cell cu...
Acquired flexural deformity of the metacarpophalangeal joint in five horses associated with tendonous damage in the palmar metacarpus. Five cases of acquired flexural deformity of the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) in older horses and ponies were studied. The mean age of affected horses was 14-8 years. Four deformities developed following desmitis of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (ALDDFT) and superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and one following tendonitis of the SDFT alone. All cases were markedly lame and demonstrated variable degrees of flexural deformity. Ultrasonographic examination was performed on all cases which revealed extensive adhesion formation between the ALDDFT and SDFT and red...
Immunopathology of pineal glands from horses with uveitis. Pinealitis accompanying uveitis is well established in laboratory models of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis. In naturally occurring uveitis, pinealitis has been demonstrated in the pineal gland from a mare with active uveitis and is suspected in some human uveitides. We have evaluated pineal glands from horses with various stages of uveitis for signs of immunopathology accompanying spontaneous uveitis. Methods: Pineal glands from 10 horses with uveitis and from 13 horses without uveitis were evaluated for histochemical (H&E, collagen) and immunohistochemical (MHC class II antigen exp...
Peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations and immunoglobulin concentrations in healthy foals and foals with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. Infectious diseases are common in foals aged 1-5 months. The objectives of this investigation were to evaluate immunologic parameters in foals from birth to weaning to establish reference values for the proportion of circulating lymphocytes that were helper (CD4+) or cytotoxic (CD8+) T cells, or B cells; to measure serum immunoglobulin (IgM and IgG) concentrations; and to compare these immunologic parameters to values in foals with naturally occurring Rhodococcus equi pneumonia and in adult horses. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations were determined by flow cytometric analysis, and seru...
[Equipment, methods of constraint and other aids in horse racing]. After a brief introduction to the most important aspects of the current sport of horse-racing the equipment and tack will be described with respect to the horses wellbeing: bridles, tonguestrap, blinkers, saddle and girth. With reference to incorrect equipment for the rider, the wip and its misuse will be discussed. Problems with saddling and at the starting gate are often indicators of the incorrect application of aids. Then the misuse of the automatic horse trainer, treadmills and swimmingpools will be explained. Finally, the three most important requirements for improving the protection of ...
[Equipment and aids in trotting races]. During the last years, trotting races met with massive criticism, because some of the numerous items of equipment were not to be reconciled with animal protection. In March 1998, the Trotting Association (HVT), as well as the list of authorized equipment. The so-called "positive list" includes harnesses, bridles, bits, auxiliary reins, driving reins, whips and other aids, among other things brushing boots, ear-muffs and head-pole. Especially criticized items are submitted to an assessment according to the present animal protection law. Moreover, possibilities are shown to make positive conditi...
[Effect of common head gear on horses]. The functions of the most common head-gears for horses are analysed from a biomechanical point of view. With the exception of the stable halter are all of them designed to enlarge the tensile forces transmitted through the reins or the longe, and to concentrate the enlarged forces on sensitive parts of the horse's head: the nose, or the lips, mandible and tongue. Since the direction, duration and size of these tensile forces are the essential factors to modulate signals for controlling the horse, a device has been developed to measure, or at least roughly quantify these forces. The mechanical ...
