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.
Hardt M, Teifke JP, Weiss E.Formalin-fixed and Paraplast-embedded tissue samples of 42 aborted equine fetuses were examined by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of equine herpesvirus DNA. The used set of primers was located in the glycoprotein 13 open reading frame and allowed the amplification of both EHV 1 und EHV 4. By cleaving pattern analysis after Hinf I digestion EHV 1 could be distinguished from EHV 4. In 9 of the cases investigated EHV 1-DNA was detected. This finding is in absolute context with the results of the virological investigations.
Gibson CA, Daniels RS, Oxford JS, McCauley JW.The nucleotide sequences of ten haemagglutinin genes of representative H7N7 equine influenza viruses isolated between 1956 and 1977 have been determined by primer extension sequencing. Their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences demonstrate a high degree of homology. These equine viruses can be divided into two distinct subgroups, the prototype-like, and a group comprising the early American isolates and the remaining equine viruses. The equine H7 haemagglutinins form a quite distinct group compared to H7 haemagglutinins isolated from other species. Each of these equine H7 haemagglutinin...
Hanie EA, Sullins KE, White NA.The results of 31 intracortical dorsal metacarpal stress fractures in 28 horses following unicortical osteostixis were reviewed. The incidence was predominately in the middle third of the lateral aspect of the left metacarpus, and males were affected more commonly. Approximately half of the surgical procedures were performed with the horse in the standing position. The mean times to return to training and racing were 4.25 and 6.9 months respectively. There was no correlation between time taken to return to racing and position of surgery. Complications experienced included lack of suture remova...
Tsuge H, Ago H, Noma M, Nitta K, Sugai S, Miyano M.The crystal structure of a calcium binding equine lysozyme has been determined at 2.5 A resolution by means of molecular replacement. The energy minimized equine lysozyme as the starting model, was refined with the molecular dynamics program, X-PLOR, and the R factor of the current model was found to be 24% without any water molecules. The conformation of the calcium binding loop is similar to that of alpha-lactalbumin. The profiles of backbone atomic displacements throughout the lysozyme and alpha-lactalbumin superfamilies are comparable as well as their homologous tertiary structures.
Brown DR, Forster HV, Lowry TF, Forster MA, Forster AL, Gutting SM, Erickson BK, Pan LG.Breathing, diaphragmatic and transversus abdominis electromyograms (EMGdi and EMGta, respectively), and arterial blood gases were studied during normoxia (arterial PO2 = 95 Torr) and 48 h of hypoxia (arterial PO2 = 40-50 Torr) in intact (n = 11) and carotid body-denervated (CBD, n = 9) awake ponies. In intact ponies, arterial PCO2 was 7, 5, 9, and 11 Torr below control (P less than 0.01) at 1 and 10 min and 5 and 24-48 h of hypoxia, respectively. In CBD ponies, arterial PCO2 was 3-4 Torr below control (P less than 0.01) at 4, 5, 6, and 24 h of hypoxia. In intact ponies, pulmonary ventilation, ...
Saari H, Tulamo RM, Konttinen YT, Sorsa T.A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure suitable for the simultaneous determination of the molecular size and concentration of macromolecular hyaluronate and proteoglycans in synovial fluid has been developed. Irrigation of the equine tarsocrural joint with 20 ml physiological saline (PSS) caused a mild inflammation with an increase of proteoglycans in the synovial fluid over the baseline arthrocentesis control sample. Proteoglycan and hyaluronate in the synovial fluid did not interact to form hyaluronate-proteoglycan aggregates, but separated as distinct chromatographic peak...
Sams RA, Detra RL, Muir WW.The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of doxapram in horses administered intravenous (iv) doses of 0.275, 0.55 and 1.1 mg doxapram/kg bodyweight (bwt) were investigated. Plasma doxapram concentrations decreased rapidly after drug administration and the disappearance of doxapram from plasma was best described by a polyexponential equation. Median values of total body clearance were 10.9, 10.6 and 10.9 ml/min/kg bwt for the three doses and were independent of dose. The steady-state volume of distribution was approximately 1,200 ml/kg bwt and the median biological half-life ranged from 121 to 178 m...
Muir WW.The cardiovascular effects of serial increasing infusions of dopexamine HCl were investigated in six conscious (1, 2, 4, 6, 10 micrograms/kg bodyweight [bwt]/min) and eight (0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20 micrograms/kg bwt/min) halothane-anaesthetised horses. Dopexamine produced dose-dependent increases in heart rate, +dP/dtmax' -dP/dtmax and cardiac output, and a decrease in systemic vascular resistance in conscious and halothane-anaesthetised horses. Mean arterial blood pressure did not change in conscious horses but increased to a maximum value at 10 micrograms/kg bwt/min in halothane-anaesthetised hors...
Browning GF, Chalmers RM, Fitzgerald TA, Snodgrass DR.Ten cultivable equine rotavirus isolates, two of North American, six of British, and two of Irish origin, were compared with standard rotavirus strains and with each other by cross neutralization, neutralization with a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), hybridization to a simian rotavirus (SA-11) VP7 gene probe, and reaction with rotavirus subgrouping and serotyping MAbs in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Six isolates, two of which had previously been serotyped as G3 by other workers, were found to be serotype G3; one was confirmed to be G5, and three were not related to serotypes G1 t...
May SA, Hooke RE, Lees P.Equine thymocytes, which respond to equine monocyte supernatants, do not respond to stimulation with recombinant human interleukin-1 alpha and beta, and equine synovial fibroblasts show a limited response in the form of prostaglandin E2 production without any evidence of neutral metalloproteinase production. Human interleukin-1 beta was about three to ten times as active on equine synovial cells as human interleukin-1 alpha in terms of prostaglandin E2 production. This preliminary evidence would suggest that there are qualitative and quantitative differences in the way recombinant human interl...
McClure JT, Kobluk C, Voller K, Geor RJ, Ames TR, Sivula N.Four miniature foals admitted with signs of progressive nonresponsive abdominal pain and no fecal production had fecalith impaction of the small colon. Duration of clinical signs ranged from 10 hours to 5 days. Removal of the fecalith via small colon enterotomy was a successful treatment in all 4 cases. Miniature foals may be predisposed to fecalith impaction of the small colon. If a miniature foal has signs of progressive nonresponsive abdominal pain, fecalith impaction needs to be considered. Surgical correction may be required.
LeBlanc MM, Tran T, Baldwin JL, Pritchard EL.Effects of farm management, breed, mare age, gestation duration, and climatologic factors on colostral specific gravity, colostral IgG concentration, and foal serum IgG concentration were evaluated. Climatologic variables measured were daily maximal, minimal, and mean air temperature, precipitation, average relative humidity, and total solar radiation. Presuckle, postpartum colostrum samples were collected from 140 Standardbred, 94 Thoroughbred, and 59 Arabian mares from January through June during 1985 and 1986. Thoroughbred (farm A, n = 61; farm B, n = 33) and Arabian (farm C, n = 45; farm D...
Ross MW, Bayha R.A 2-year-old Standardbred colt was examined because of signs of abdominal pain of 12 hours' duration. Clinical signs of disease, including tachycardia and abdominal distention, and rectal palpation findings of distention and thickening of the ventral colon, were consistent with displacement or early strangulation obstruction of the large colon. Surgical exploration revealed volvulus of the large colon around an axis formed by the dorsal mesenteric attachment of the transverse colon. The cecum could be completely exteriorized and lacked the cecocolic ligament and dorsal mesenteric attachments. ...
McCann JS, Caudle AB, Thompson FN, Stuedemann JA, Heusner GL, Thompson DL.Thirty mares in late gestation were used in a 3-yr study to assess effects of the tall fescue endophyte Acremonium coenophialum on serum prolactin (PRL) and progesterone. Two paddocks of each treatment, 0 or 100% infected 'Kentucky 31' tall fescue, were grazed by the mares for 21 d. Blood was collected three times per week until parturition. At 7-d intervals, mares were challenged with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) while grazing and blood was collected postinjection. Mares grazing 100% infected tall fescue (E+) had decreased serum PRL compared with mares grazing the 0% infected tall fesc...
Roth TL, White KL, Thompson DL, Horohov DW.It has been proposed that PGE2 is an important immunosuppressant acting at the fetal-maternal interface during pregnancy. We have previously shown that horse conceptus-conditioned medium suppresses lymphocyte proliferation. This experiment was designed to determine if horse conceptus-derived immunosuppressive activity could be attributed to PGE2 production by the trophoblast tissue. Trophoblast tissue from 21-day-old conceptuses was cut into equal sections and cultured in the presence or absence of the prostaglandin inhibitor, indomethacin. Following culture, immunosuppressive activity and the...
Matassa LC, Woodard D, Leavitt RK, Firby P, Beaumier P.Glycopyrrolate (Robinul) is a quaternary ammonium salt which serves as a respiratory enhancing drug. It is reportedly used in horse racing to improve breathing. Extraction of glycopyrrolate from equine urine employing unique solid-phase extraction techniques gave a residue suitable for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). LC-MS-MS analysis employed an extract derived from 5 ml of urine subjected to cation-exchange chromatography. The daughter ion of m/z 318 monitored in the positive-ion mode was m/z 116. Recovery of glycopy...
Jaussaud P, Guieu D, Courtot D, Barbier B, Bonnaire Y.A tolfenamic acid metabolite, a hydroxylated product, has been identified in equine plasma and urine samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the electron-impact and chemical-ionization modes. The method also allows the qualitative monitoring of the elimination of the drug and its metabolites from plasma. The two compounds are detected up to 48 and 24 h, respectively, after a single oral administration of a 30 mg/kg dose. The simultaneous detection of the two products increases the reliability of anti-doping control analysis.
Kodaka T, Hirayama A, Abe M, Miake K.EDTA-insoluble organic structures of the hypercalcified peritubular matrix (PM) in horse dentine were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The PM was enveloped in double cylindrical structures composed of fibrillar sheaths in the inner and outer peripheries. Between the outer fibrillar sheath and intrinsic fibrils of the intertubular matrix, a calcified cementing membrane existed. Within the PM, warped cone-shaped structures of fibrillar sheaths, overlapping at intervals of 4-6 microns and semiconcentrically surrounding the dentinal tubule, extended from the inner fibrillar towards the ou...
Valberg SJ, Cardinet GH, Carlson GP, DiMauro S.A polysaccharide storage myopathy is described in nine Quarterhorses, Quarterhorse crossbreds, American Paints and Appaloosa horses which had a history of recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis. Muscle biopsies were characterized by high muscle glycogen concentrations with up to 5% of type 2 muscle fibers containing inclusions which stained positively with the periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stain. The inclusions were classified as an acid mucopolysaccharide, based on their histochemical staining characteristics. Ultrastructural studies revealed that the inclusions were composed of beta glycogen parti...
Petroski RJ, Powell RG, Clay K.Stipa robusta (= Stipa vaseyi) is a perennial grass found in certain areas of the southwestern United States. It is commonly known as sleepygrass, as horses that ingest this grass may become profoundly somnolent or stuporous for periods of time lasting up to several days. In an attempt to determine the active principle(s), fractionation of a methanolic extract of sleepygrass infected with an Acremonium endophyte has yielded lysergic acid amide (20 micrograms/g dry wt), isolysergic amide (8), 8-hydroxylsergic acid amide (0.3), ergonovine (7), chanoclavine-I (15), and N-formylloline (18). Relate...
Johnson AT, Soma LR, Ferouz C.Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) affects a large portion of racing thoroughbred horses. Sites of hemorrhage and causal mechanisms remain unestablished. Our mathematical model was constructed to test the hypothesis that EIPH could be caused by a combination of respiratory and circulatory mechanical factors occurring during exercise. Various physiological data for respiration, blood circulation and exercise were incorporated into the model. Results show that inhalation pressure drops across airway resistances become great enough during exercise to cause rupture of capillaries for bot...
Vázquez FJ, Vitoria A, Gómez-Arrue J, Fuente S, Barrachina L, de Blas I, Romero A.First cannulation is a critical manoeuvre in equine laparoscopy. This retrospective study aimed at the comparison of the frequency and type of complications detected when using different human laparoscopy devices for laparoscopic access in standing horses, and the influence of body condition in such complications. Forty-four procedures were included, and retrieved data comprised cannula insertion technique, body condition, and type and frequency of complications. Laparoscopic access techniques were classified into five groups: P: pneumoperitoneum created using Veress needle prior to cannulatio...
Mason JB, Gurda BL, Van Wettere A, Engiles JB, Wilson JM, Richardson DW.Our long-term aim is to develop a gene therapy approach for the prevention of laminitis in the contralateral foot of horses with major musculoskeletal injuries and non-weightbearing lameness. Objective: The goal of this study was to develop a practical method to efficiently deliver therapeutic proteins deep within the equine foot. Methods: Randomised in vivo experiment. Methods: We used recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAVs) to deliver marker genes using regional limb perfusion through the palmar digital artery of the horse. Results: Vector serotypes rAAV2/1, 2/8 and 2/9 all succes...
Rukavian D, Hasanbasic D, Ramic J, Zahirovic A, Ajanovic A, Beganovic K, Durmic-Pasic A, Kalamujic B, Pojskic N.The focus of this study was on genetic diversity of TB horse population raised in B&H. Genomic DNA was genotyped by using 17 microsatellite markers. A total of 103 alleles were detected. The average number of alleles per locus was 6.059 and effective number of alleles was 3.293. Means of observed and expected heterozygosity were calculated 0.645 and 0.696, respectively. The average PIC values was 0.649 and inbreeding coefficient was 0.090. Based on all observed parameters, ASB2 locus showed the highest genetic diversity while locus HMS2 was the least diverse. These results suggest that the pop...
Boyd EH, Allen WE.Plasma drug concentrations were measured after two commercially available potentiated sulphonamides, trimethoprim and sulfadoxine and trimethoprim and sulphadiazine, were infused daily for 2 and 3 days, respectively, into the uteri of pony mares which had been mated before ovulation. Intravenous administration of trimethoprim and sulfadoxine allowed uterine absorption of trimethoprim (23-43%) and sulfadoxine (29-34%) to be calculated. After intra-uterine administration trimethoprim and sulphadiazine were detected in the milk of a lactating mare. In order to maintain plasma concentrations likel...
Tantawichien T, Benjavongkulchai M, Wilde H, Jaijaroensup W, Siakasem A, Chareonwai S, Yountong C, Sitprija V.The high cost of postexposure prophylaxis for rabies is one reason that treatment is inadequate in developing countries. This problem has kindled interest in the use of equine rabies immune globulin, which is a less expensive, yet effective, substitute for human rabies immune globulin. Fatal anaphylaxis is a feared complication of the administration of heterologous serum; therefore, authoritative sources recommend prior skin testing. However, recommendations for methods of administering such a skin test and for its interpretation vary greatly. We embarked on a long-term study to develop guidel...
Hebenbrock M, Düe M, Holzhausen H, Sass A, Stadler P, Ellendorff F.Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are considered suitable to monitor the position and velocity of horses during cross-country competition or in training. Furthermore, simultaneous recording of life data such as heart rate could be useful to assess the horse's condition during exercise. To test the suitability and reliability of a commercially available GPS system with integrated heart rate recording system and with built in GSM for data transmission, the Fidelak Equipilot Type EP-2003-15/G-2.11 (EP-15/G) was evaluated first for reliability of pulse recording from a pulse generator within the ph...
García-Rubio I, Fittipaldi M, Trandafir F, Van Doorslaer S.In this work, we show the extreme power of multifrequency HYSCORE (hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopy) techniques to unravel the hyperfine interactions of the electron spin with the remote nuclei in the heme site of high-spin ferric heme proteins. Horse heart aquo-metmyoglobin was used as a model system to demonstrate the power of these techniques. Experimental evidence was collected and assigned to protons of the proximal histidine ligand, to the mesoprotons of the heme ligand, and to two different protons of the distal water ligand. The latter difference relates to the stabilization...
Mariella J, Castagnetti C, Prosperi A, Scagliarini A, Peli A.The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of IL-4, IL-8, IL-13 and IFN-γ in equine colostrum and in foals' serum. Samples were obtained from 14 mares and their healthy foals. Soon after parturition, 10ml of colostrum was collected, filtered, centrifuged and frozen until assayed. Blood samples were obtained from each foal at birth (TO) and again after 24h (T24), after which they were frozen until assayed. Serum IgG was measured at 24h of age with an immunoturbidimetric quantitative method. Cytokine concentration was determined using commercially available ELISA tests. Statistica...
Dash RF, Minshall GJ, Wright IM.Slab fractures of the third carpal bone (C3) are a common cause of lameness in Thoroughbred racehorses. Information on fracture morphology is commonly obtained from radiographs or CT. This retrospective, methods comparison aimed to explore the agreement between radiography and CT for imaging C3 slab fractures and discuss the contribution of the latter to clinical case management. Thoroughbred racehorses with a slab or incomplete slab fracture of C3 identified on radiographs that subsequently underwent CT examination were included. Fracture characteristics (location, plane, classification, disp...
Rojas G, Vargas M, Robles A, Gutiérrez JM.Twenty batches of polyvalent antivenom produced at the Instituto Clodomiro Picado were analyzed for turbidity, both before and after freezing-thawing and lyophilization. Eight batches became turbid upon freezing-thawing, and this change correlated with high levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoproteins, especially beta-lipoprotein. Since normal horse serum does not become turbid after freezing-thawing, despite the fact that it has high lipoprotein levels, the possibility was raised that phenol, used as a preservative during serum fractionation, might affect lipoproteins, inducing the a...
Faria R, Vicente A, Silva J.The aim of this study was to evaluate the sprint racing performance of Quarter Horses in Brazil. Estimating genetic parameters, trends and correlations were obtained by single- and two-trait analyses using Bayesian inference (earnings to 2 years of equestrian age, best time and time class at distances of 301 m and 402 m). The data comprised a period of 38 equestrian years (1978 to 2015) with 23,482 sprint race records from 5861 animals. The heritability estimates were of low to moderate magnitude, ranging from 0.10 to 0.37 (single-trait) and from 0.15 to 0.41 (two-traits), and the repeatabilit...
Allen GP, Cohen JC, Randall CC, O'Callaghan DJ.The replication of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 3 (EHV-3) was unimpeded in three different cell types-equine epithelial cells, equine fibroblasts, and mouse fibroblasts-which had been blocked in their capacity to synthesize host DNA by 2.5 mM hydroxyurea (HU) or 2 mM thymidine (TdR). The rate of DNA synthesis in uninfected or equine herpesvirus-infected cells in the presence of HU or TdR was measured by pulse-labeling cell samples with a labeled DNA precursor at different times after infection. DNA synthesis in uninfected cultures was completely inhibited by both compounds. Howev...
Bergfelt DR, Meira C, Fleury JJ, Fleury PD, Dell'Aqua JA, Adams GP.A regimen of progesterone plus estradiol (P&E) was used as a standard for ovarian synchronization to test the efficacy and evaluate the commercial application of ultrasound-guided follicle ablation as a non-steroidal alternative for ovulation synchronization in mares. Recipient mares at a private embryo transfer facility were at unknown stages of the estrous cycle at the start of the experiment on Day 1 when they were randomly assigned to an ablation group (n=18-21 mares) or to a P&E group (n=20-21 mares). In the ablation group, mares were lightly sedated and all follicles > or = 10...
Baxter GM, Tackett RL, Moore JN.Palmar digital arteries and veins removed surgically from healthy horses under general anesthesia were cut into 4 mm vascular rings, suspended in tissue baths, and attached to force displacement transducers for continuous measurement of vascular tension. In vitro vascular responses were determined for acetylcholine, acepromazine, isoxsuprine hydrochloride (isoxsuprine), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and prostaglandin I2 (prostacyclin). After preconstriction with norepinephrine hydrochloride (norepinephrine), or prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha), the concentrations needed to produce 50% maximum re...
Green BE, Foil LD, Hagius SD, Issel CJ.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) was injected intrathoracically into Aedes aegypti, Stomoxys calcitrans, and Tabanus fuscicostatus, and fed to Ae. aegypti in suspensions of either artificial blood of Eagle's Minimum Essential Medium. Insects were stored at -70 degrees C for up to 9 months before testing for the presence of EIAV. The viral tissue culture titers detected from stored insects were similar to those from insects tested at time 0.
Tobin T, Tai CY, Arnett S.A published method for the recovery of procaine from human plasma using 5M NaOH gave very poor recoveries. Investigation showed that under the recommended extraction conditions procaine was rapidly hydrolysed. Extraction into benzene of samples buffered to pH 9.0 with borate buffer allowed essentially 100% recovery of procaine from equine plasma and urine.
Balke E, Weiss R, Seipp A.A total of 110 strains of beta-hemolytic streptococci, belonging to serogroup C (Lancefield), isolated from horses (71 S. zooepidemicus, 27 S. equisimilis and 12 S. equi) as well as 5 reference strains were tested for their ability to produce hyaluronidase. The determinations were carried out in a culture test on agarose gel and in a liquid test system (turbidity test according to DiFerrante). The results of both methods used showed that the three Streptococcus species could be differentiated by the relative quantitative determination of hyaluronidase activity. S. equisimilis strains produce 5...
Blue HB, Blue MG, Kenney RM, Merritt TL.Forty uterine fluid samples were obtained from 4 mares classified as resistant to uterine bacterial infection. The uterus of each mare was flushed with 50 ml of saline solution during estrus and diestrus of successive estrous cycles. Bacteria or fungi were isolated from 4 samples, and 7 additional samples were obtained from a mare with active intrauterine infection. Fluid volumes obtained during estrus (means = 40.3 +/- 11 ml) tended to be greater than those recovered during diestrus (means = 36.8 +/- 7.9 ml), but the difference was not significant. Concentrations and yields of protein in reco...
Ignatchenko AP, Bogomaz VI, Tugaĭ VA, Chuĭko AA.Biospecific sorbents for affinity chromatography of proteolytic enzymes have been synthesized by attaching cyclopeptide antibiotic gramicidin S to organo-silica supports. It is shown possible to attach gramicidin S to the organo-silica supports using glutaric aldehyde, p-benzoquinone, soluble and insoluble carbodiimides. The sorbents prepared by these methods were successfully applied for the purification of the crude pepsin from horse gastric juice and proteolytic complex produced by Acremonium chrysogenum.
Finch SC, Munday JS, Sutherland BL, Vlaming JB, Fletcher LR.AIMS To determine if equine fescue oedema (EFO) induced by grazing Mediterranean-type tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) infected with selected endophytes (Epichloë coenophiala) could be prevented by treatment with the corticosteroid, methylprednisolone, and anti-histamine, cetirizine, and to determine concentrations of lolines, specifically N-acetyl norloline (NANL), in grasses grazed by horses that did and did not develop EFO. METHODS Four horses were grazed on AR542-infected Mediterranean tall fescue pasture (from Day 0) for 7 days prior to being subjected to euthanasia. Two of these horses...
Fultz LE, Peloso JG, Giguère S, Adams AR.To compare the outcome of horses with nephrosplenic entrapment of the large colon (NSELC) that were treated nonsurgically by IV administration of phenylephrine and exercise with that of horses treated by IV administration of phenylephrine and a rolling procedure under general anesthesia. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 88 horses with NSELC. Methods: Horses examined between 2004 and 2010 because of acute abdominal pain that had NSELC on the basis of findings on abdominal palpation per rectum, abdominal ultrasonography, or both were included. Medical records were reviewed to obtain ...
Zeitler-Feicht MH.The guidelines of the Federal Ministry of User Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture (BMVEL) regarding "horse keeping with respect to animal welfare" are from 1995 (BMELF, 1995). Therefore, they are not suitable for modern horse keeping. The Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare (TVT) held it to be necessary to rework the guide-lines in light of 1) many subsequent investigations concerning horse keeping, and 2) the species-specific needs of horses in practice. Each chapter of the BMELF (1995) guide-lines was revised such that the literature and practical experiences were updated. Several c...
