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.
Browning GF, Chalmers RM, Fitzgerald TA, Corley KT, Campbell I, Snodgrass DR.Foal fecal group A rotavirus strains were characterized by electropherotype, serotype, and subgroup and shown to be distinctly different from rotaviruses of other mammals. Of 86 strains that were electropherotyped, 98% had similar profiles, with gene segments 3 and 4 close together and segments 7, 8, and 9 widely spaced. Of 70 strains that had sufficient detectable VP7 antigen to be serotyped by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), 63% were serotype G3 (39% were subtype G3A and 24% were subtype G3B), 4% were serotype G13, and 33% were untypeable. Serotypes G1, G2, G4, G5, G6, G9, G10, ...
Endo A, Pecoraro R, Sugita S, Nerome K.The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the haemagglutinin genes coding for the HA 1 domain of H3N8 equine influenza viruses isolated over wide regions of the world were analyzed in detail to determine their evolutionary relationships. We have constructed a phylogenetic model tree by the neighbour-joining method using nucleotide sequences of 15 haemagglutinin genes, including those of five viruses determined in the present study. This gene tree revealed the existence of two major evolutionary pathways during a twenty five-year period between 1963 to 1988, and each pathway appeared t...
Harrison IW, Speirs VC, Braund KG, Steiss JE.Laryngeal hemiplegia was induced in 4 ponies via a left recurrent laryngeal neurectomy. Reinnervation of the denervated left cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle was then attempted using a muscle pedicle graft from the right cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle. In 3 ponies there was no return of abductor function and failure of graft survival. In the fourth pony there was return of abductor function along with survival of the muscle bridge, however, there was evidence of reinnervation across the neurectomy site. Muscle-to-muscle neurotization of the paralyzed equine larynx, utilizing the cricoaryte...
Laverty S, Pascoe JR, Ling GV, Lavoie JP, Ruby AL.Medical records of 68 horses with urolithiasis were examined. Calculi were in the bladder in 47 horses, urethra in 11 horses, kidneys in 15 horses, and ureter in two horses. They occurred at several sites in six horses. Common clinical signs included hematuria, altered micturition (pollakiuria, dysuria, urinary incontinence), and tenesmus. Weight loss, possibly attributable to chronic renal failure and colic, was associated more commonly with renal and ureteral calculi. Weight loss also occurred in 13% of horses with cystic calculi only. In male horses, most cystic calculi were removed by peri...
Weber JA, Woods GL, Freeman DA, Vanderwall DK.Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) bound specifically (P less than 0.001) to ampullary and isthmic tissue on Day 2 and Day 5 after ovulation. No significant differences (P greater than 0.8) were detected between Day 2 and Day 5 in the specific binding of ampullary or isthmic tissue. Significantly more (P less than 0.05) PGE2 bound specifically to ampullary versus isthmic tissue on both days. Detection of PGE2-specific binding in the oviductal isthmus on Day 2 and Day 5 indicates that the oviduct is responsive to PGE2 when it is capable of transporting equine embryos.
Felsburg PJ, Somberg RL, Perryman LE.This review describes the clinical, immunologic and pathologic features of two naturally-occurring models of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in domestic animals that represent different forms of human SCID. Canine X-linked SCID (XSCID) has an X-linked recessive mode of inheritance and, as such, represents a model for the most common form of human SCID in the United States. Affected dogs have normal percentages of circulating B cells and low to normal percentages of phenotypically mature, but nonfunctional T cells. Severe combined immunodeficiency in the horse is an autosomal recessive ...
Jann HW, Good JK, Morgan SJ, Berry A.Healing of transected superficial digital flexor tendons was evaluated mechanically and histologically in eight horses. Tendons sutured with polyglyconate had higher loads at failure than nonsutured tendons at weeks 5 and 9. The tendon stress at failure (force per unit area) was higher in the sutured tendons at week 5 but not at week 9, reflecting the increased size of the scar at week 9. Histologically, scars after tenorrhaphy were consistently more mature than nonsutured tenotomy scars. The mean maturity score for sutured tendons was higher than for nonsutured tendons at weeks 5 and 9. Overa...
Robinson RC, Burtnick LD.Vitamin D binding protein (DBP) was isolated from horse plasma in a four-step procedure that involved Affi-Gel Blue affinity chromatography, gel filtration, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and anion exchange high-pressure liquid chromatography. The yield of DBP from 80 mL of plasma was 6-7 mg. Horse plasma DBP closely resembles other plasma DBPs, being a tryptophan-free protein of Mr 53,000. It is able to bind to and block the polymerization of monomeric actin. The secondary structure of DBP was calculated from circular dichroism measurements to be 39% alpha-helix, 42% beta-sheet, and 19% rand...
Power MM, Gustavsson I, Switoński M, Plöen L.Synaptonemal complex analysis by electron microscopy of a trisomy 28 in a male horse demonstrated a trivalent or a bivalent plus a univalent in primary spermatocytes. Two of the chromosomes making up the trivalent were, most often, completely paired with each other and only partially paired or associated with the third one. Half of the spermatocytes analysed demonstrated heterologous pairing or association between the free axis of the trivalent and the sex bivalent. The pairings remained, to a large extent, into diakinesis-metaphase I. In most pachytene cells one autosomal bivalent showed prox...
Harris P, Marlin D, Gray J.A similar and significant (P less than 0.001) increase in plasma thyroxine (T4) concentration was seen in seven clinically normal thoroughbred horses 2 h after the intravenous administration of either 2.5 iu or 5 iu of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) with a peak response around 4 h after administration. The intravenous administration of 0.2, 0.5 or 1 mg thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) resulted in a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in T4 concentration in three groups of animals; six thoroughbreds in full work, five thoroughbreds at rest and four ponies at rest. The peak response w...
Mumford JA, Wood J.Shortcomings in the original methods (based on haemagglutination of erythrocytes) used to measure potency of equine influenza vaccines and antibody responses stimulated by vaccines, coupled with the lack of a reliable challenge system in the target species, has hindered progress in identifying the antigenic content required to provide protection. Reliable methods are now available for measuring the haemagglutinin (HA) content of vaccines and the antibody responses they elicit. The development of challenge systems in the target species has allowed antibody levels consistent with protection to b...
McCarthy RN, Jeffcott LB.The effects of exercise and relative inactivity on cortical bone were compared in young horses. Two groups were used; one was given a 14-week programme of exercise (n = 6) and the other kept as unexercised controls (n = 6). The first nine weeks of exercise involved trotting and cantering (2 to 4 km d-1 at speeds up to 12 m s-1) on a treadmill set at an incline of 3 degrees. Over the next five weeks the horses were trained at near maximal speeds (that is, up to 14.5 m s-1) with no incline of the treadmill. At the end of the programme marked differences in cortical porosity and distribution of s...
Raekallio M.The electrocardiogram of 9 horses was continuously recorded for 24 h with Holter monitoring to examine the variations in heart rate and rhythm during daily routine procedures and at night. Three horses had transient sinus bradycardia, and 3 had periods of sinus tachycardia. Heart blocks were detected in 3 horses, and all horses had periods of sinus arrhythmia. These changes in the heart rate and rhythm were apparently caused by variations in autonomic nervous system tone and they are probably "normal" findings in resting, undisturbed horses. Ventricular premature depolarisations were not obser...
Foster CV, Harris RC.There was no detectable loss of total carnitine associated with intense exercise from the middle gluteal muscle of Thoroughbred horses. Measurements made on a single biopsy obtained during the course of a normal training and exercise programme may, therefore, be considered representative of the normal content at rest. The variability in total carnitine content within the normal muscle biopsy area amounted to 13.2 per cent of the normal mean content. Approximately 50 per cent of this variability could be attributed to covariation with citrate synthase, to which it was highly significantly corre...
Perez R, Recabarren SE, Valdes P, Hetz E.A study was undertaken in five draught horses of 648 +/- 33 kg body weight to find the effects of continuously pulling loads on their cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic responses. A cart equipped with an odometer, for measuring distance, and a hydraulic dynamometer, for measuring draught force, was used. Heart and respiration rates and rectal temperatures were recorded. Blood samples for measuring arterial and venous pH and blood gases, haemoglobin, glucose and lactic acid concentrations and the serum activity of the enzymes creatine phosphokinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate ...
Hassanain MM.Investigation studies on inactivated African horsesickness vaccine using binary ethyleneimine were conducted. The inactivation process of virulent type-9 strain using the above inactivant revealed complete virus inactivation at 18, 48 and 84 h post-treatment with inactivant concentrations of 0.004, 0.003 and 0.002M, respectively, without detection of residual virus. An inactivant concentration of 0.003M is recommended and no changes in viral antigenic properties were noticed in complement fixation test. The physical parameters in oil-emulsion vaccine using the incomplete Freund's adjuvant, wer...
Zimmerman NI, Wickler SJ, Rodiek AV, Hower MA.Four Arabian geldings were used in a randomized, repeated measure design to study the effect of two different diets on plasma free fatty acids at rest and during exercise. On each of four sampling days, two horses were fed one of two isoenergetic diets, either 100% corn or 100% alfalfa, at 22% of their estimated daily energy requirement. Two hours after the consumption of the diet, each horse participated in a submaximal standard exercise test consisting of three consecutive 10-min runs of increasing intensity at heart rates of 132, 140 and 147 beats/min, respectively. There were no significan...
Matthews NS, Hartsfield SM, Cornick JL, Jacobson JD, Williams JD.Measurements (n = 126) of end-tidal halothane concentrations were taken from 21 horses anesthetized for routine and emergency surgery. One hundred five paired values allowed comparison of gas samples taken near the oral end of the endotracheal tube (Y1) to samples obtained at the cuffed end of the endotracheal tube (Y2). Twenty-one paired readings were assessed to compare samples taken 25 cm beyond the cuffed end of the tube (Y3) to samples from Y1. Measurements were made at all locations at 15-minute intervals starting 30 minutes after beginning halothane. All measurements were made in tripli...
Rønne M.After fluorouracil/5-bromodeoxyuridine synchronization and subsequent FPG-staining, the karyotype of 15 phenotypically normal horses displayed several breaks and gaps. Twelve bands 1q24, 4p12, 8q23, 11p12, 16q21, 17q21, 23q31, 23q32, Xp21, Xq22, Xq25 and Xq27 showed relatively frequent fragility. After thymidine/cytidine synchronization and subsequent GWL-banding the same horses display karyotypes without any fragility. Hence it is suggested that the above listed bands harbour folate and/or 5-bromodeoxyuridine sensitive fragile sites.
Salonen JS, Vuorilehto L, Gilbert M, Maylin GA.Horse urine was investigated for metabolites by chromatography and mass spectrometry following the oral administration of the large animal analgesic sedative detomidine to two stallions and intravenous administration of [3H]-detomidine to a mare. Detomidine carboxylic acid and hydroxydetomidine glucuronic acid conjugate were identified in the urine after the oral doses. In addition, traces of free hydroxydetomidine were observed. About half of the radioactivity of [3H]-detomidine was excreted in the urine in 12 h after the i.v. dose (80 micrograms/kg). Most of the excretion occurred between 5 ...
Gentry PA, Feldman BF, O'Neill SL.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of modifying commercial reagents for the laboratory evaluation of several haemostatic parameters in normal, non-pregnant mares. The routine coagulation screening assays, namely, the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and the one-stage prothrombin time (PT), and the specific coagulation assays for the determination of the biological activity of Factors VII, VIII:C and IX, are discussed.
Scarratt WK, Furr MO, Robertson JL.A pregnant, miniature horse mare had clinical signs of hepatoencephalopathy and concurrent hypocalcemia. The signs included dullness, inappetence, blindness, head pressing, weakness, muscle fasiculations, uveitis, and urinary incontinence. Hepatic dysfunction and hypocalcemia were confirmed by serum biochemical analysis. The mare was treated successfully with a continuous infusion of Ringer solution, calcium gluconate, dextrose, B-complex vitamins, sodium ampicillin, and flunixin meglumine; topical administration of ophthalmic ointments; and decompression of the urinary bladder. Histologic exa...
Ruggles AJ, Ross MW.Medical records of 28 horses with impaction of the small colon were reviewed; 20 horses were admitted during the winter months. Diagnosis of small-colon impaction was made in 21 horses by rectal examination, and in 7 horses at exploratory celiotomy. Ten horses were treated medically, and 18 were treated surgically. Horses that were treated surgically were more likely to have abdominal distention than were those that responded to medical treatment (P less than 0.025). Signs of greater degree of abdominal pain and higher heart rate were seen in horses treated surgically, but these values were no...
Held JP, Prater P, Stettler M.A 9-year-old Arabian stallion with a 3-year history of infertility was evaluated for breeding soundness. Both testes were small. Ultrasonography revealed a small amount of free fluid between the tunics of both testes. Results of cytologic examination of the fluid were unremarkable. On semen examination, progressive motility was 10%, and total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate was 6.6 x 10(9), of which 92% were abnormal. Predominant abnormalities were head defects (75%): 57% of the heads had single or multiple vacuoles, and 60% also had midpiece swelling or bending.
Blikslager AT, Wilson DA, Taylor DS, MacFadden KE, Fischer JR, Fales WH.An 11-year-old, 430-kg fox-trotter stallion was referred for evaluation of colic. A right-sided inguinal hernia was diagnosed. At exploratory laparotomy, the ileum was found to be herniated through the right inguinal canal. Compromised small intestine was resected, jejunocecal anastomosis was performed, and the horse was castrated. Three days after surgery, the stallion would not bear weight on the left hind limb. The musculature of the left thigh region became swollen. Aspiration of the left thigh region yielded serosanguineous fluid from which Salmonella typhimurium was isolated. Ultrasonogr...
Fischer AT.Laparoscopic procedures can replace many more invasive procedures. Guided visceral biopsy, cryptorchid castration, ovariectomy, and limited abdominal exploration may be done laparoscopically in the standing horse.
Johannessen MK, Skretting G, Ytrehus B, Røed KH.Endochondral bone formation is an important process in development and growth of the skeleton; still many of the mechanisms of growth cartilage remain unknown. The aim of this study was to identify genes specifically expressed in growth cartilage by constructing a subtraction cDNA library of the articular-epiphyseal cartilage complex from neonatal foal. Two hundred and eighty-four differently expressed clones, representing five novel and 37 known genes, were detected by subtraction hybridization. The tissue specificity of these genes was verified by reverse Northern analysis, and tissue distri...
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 (...
Ochi A, Sekiguchi M, Tsujimura K, Kinoshita T, Ueno T, Katayama Y.Equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF) is a recently described form of interstitial pneumonia associated with equine herpesvirus type 5 (EHV-5). This disease has been reported in North and South America, Europe and Oceania but not, to our knowledge, in horses in Japan. We diagnosed EMPF in two Thoroughbred horses in Japan on the basis of gross and histopathological findings. In both cases, significant gross lesions, restricted to the lungs, consisted of numerous firm and coalescing nodules widely distributed throughout the lung. The nodules were <3 cm in diameter and pale white to t...
Cheng FP, Fazeli AR, Voorhout WF, Tremoleda JL, Bevers MM, Colenbrander B.The aim of this study was to investigate whether mare follicular fluid (FF) induces the acrosome reaction (AR) in stallion spermatozoa and, if so, to identify the component in FF responsible for it. Furthermore, the effect of this component on sperm-zona binding and the subsequent AR was studied. Pooled FF, aspirated from the preovulatory follicles of mares in oestrous, was used and aliquots of the fluid were treated with charcoal to remove steroids (CFF). Charcoal treatment reduced the progesterone concentration in FF from 153 to < 2 ng/mL. Spermatozoa from fertile stallions collected by a...
Nagel H, Lang H, Sole Guitart A, Lean N, Allavena R, Sprohnle-Barrera C, Young A.This case series presents a 20-year-old Quarter horse gelding and a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding with a histologic diagnosis of aggressive submural neoplasia, including an anaplastic sarcoma and a squamous cell carcinoma respectively. The current case series describes these neoplasias with radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and histopathology with immunohistochemistry. The purpose of this case series is to identify the clinical pattern of chronic reoccurring lameness in these cases and highlight the appearance of expansile osteolytic pathology of the distal phalan...
Sahagun-Ruiz A, Waghela SD, Holman PJ, Chieves LP, Wagner GG.A DNA probe from Babesia caballi (Bc1) was selected by antibody screening of a genomic library. The Bc1 probe hybridized specifically to B. caballi genomic DNA. A polymerase-chain-reaction-based assay for B. caballi DNA was developed from primers deduced from the probe nucleotide sequence. An amplified product of 1.6 kb was detected from as little as 500 fg B. caballi template DNA. Sensitivity increased 1000-fold when the biotin-labeled Bc1 probe was hybridized to the amplicons in a Southern blot.
Haltmayer E, Reiser S, Schramel JP, van den Hoven R.The aim of the study was to show that changes in thoracoabdominal asynchrony (TAA) between quiet breathing and CO2-induced hyperpnoea can be used to differentiate between horses with healthy airways and those suffering from inflammatory airway disease (IAD) or recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). The level of TAA was displayed by the Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) of thoracic and abdominal signals, generated by respiratory ultrasonic plethysmography (RUP) during quiet breathing and hyperpnoea. Changes in TAA were expressed as the quotient of the PCCs (PCCQ) during normal breathing and ...
Alvarenga MA, McCue PM, Bruemmer J, Neves Neto JR, Squire EL.Equine pituitary extract (EPE), has been reported to induce multiple ovulation in mares, however ovulation rates are poor in comparison to those obtained in other species. Attempts to improve the effectiveness of EPE for induction of superovulation in cyclic mares has focused on daily frequency of EPE treatment. Two experiments were performed to compare the ovarian response of cyclic mares given EPE once or twice-daily. Mares were assigned to one of two treatment groups 6 to 8 days after ovulation: prostaglandin was given once and EPE (25 mg) was given once daily (Group 1) or twice daily (Grou...
Onasanya AE, El-Hage C, Diaz-Méndez A, Vaz PK, Legione AR, Browning GF, Devlin JM, Hartley CA.Equid gammaherpesvirus 2 (EHV2) is a gammaherpesvirus with a widespread distribution in horse populations globally. Although its pathogenic significance can be unclear in most cases of infection, EHV2 infection can cause upper respiratory tract disease in foals. Co-infection of different strains of EHV2 in an individual horse is common. Small regions of the EHV2 genome have shown considerable genetic heterogeneity. This could suggest genomic recombination between different strains of EHV2, similar to the extensive recombination networks that have been demonstrated for some alphaherpesviruses. ...
Sasaki N, Minami T, Yamada K, Yamada H, Inoue Y, Kobayashi M, Tabata Y.To evaluate the effect of intra-articular injection of gelatin hydrogel microspheres containing basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on experimentally induced defects in third metacarpal bones (MC3s) of horses, in vivo. Methods: 6 healthy adult Thoroughbreds. Methods: Horses were anesthetized, and a hole (diameter, 4.5 mm) was drilled into the medial condyle of both MC3s of each horse. One milliliter (100 microg) of a solution of gelatin hydrogel microspheres (2 mg) containing bFGF was injected into the joint capsule of the right metacarpophalangeal joint of each horse (bFGF joint). One milli...
Wallace J.With concerns growing globally about anthelmintic resistance in equine endoparasites, James Wallace's practice undertook some research among its horse-owning clients and introduced a fixed-fee parasite management programme to help ensure the most effective use of these valuable medicines.
Merlin A, Schneider J, Cazeau G, Sala C, Linster M, Foucher N, Ferry B, Delerue M, Amat JP, Tapprest J.The core of the French equine traceability system is the census database (SIRE) managed by the French horse and riding institute (IFCE). Following the death of an equine, owners are legally obliged to take charge of cadaver removal by contacting a rendering company directly or after registration on the national ATM-équidés ANGEE association (ATM) website, which proposes negotiated prices for removal and recording of the death in the SIRE database. Despite these offers, ATM notes few users. Owners are also legally obliged to return the equine's passport to the IFCE, but only 30-40 % of owners...
Chua MM, Morgan DO, Karush F.The immune response to a bacterial vaccine of Streptococcus faecalis (strain N) was characterized in all of the seven horses studied by the sustained production of about 90% IgM anti-lactose antibody over a period of 44 weeks with maximum values of the total antibody ranging from 4 mg/ml of serum to 12 mg/ml of serum. With respect to the binding of a lactose-containing ligand the association constants of the antibodies purified from sera obtained between 5 and 44 weeks fell in the range of 1 times 10-5 M-1 to 2 times 10-5 M-1. Not only was there no significant indication of maturation of a-fin...
Vidal Moreno de Vega C, Lemmens D, de Meeûs d'Argenteuil C, Boshuizen B, de Maré L, Leybaert L, Goethals K, de Oliveira JE, Hosotani G, Deforce D....Important changes in glucose transporter (GLUT) expression should be expected if the glucose influx plays a pivotal role in fuelling or connecting metabolic pathways that are upregulated in response to exercise. The aim was to assess GLUT4, 8, and 12 dynamics in response to training and acute exercise. Sixteen untrained Standardbred mares (3-4 year) performed an incremental SET at the start and end of 8 weeks harness training. M. pectoralis (PM) and M. vastus lateralis (VL) muscle biopsies were taken before and after each SET, allowing for comparing rest and acute samples in untrained (UT) ...
Egenvall A, Nødtvedt A, Roepstorff L, Bonnett B.In a world of limited resources, using existing databases in research is a potentially cost-effective way to increase knowledge, given that correct and meaningful results are gained.Nordic examples of the use of secondary small animal and equine databases include studies based on data from tumour registries, breeding registries, young horse quality contest results, competition data, insurance databases, clinic data, prescription data and hunting ability tests. In spite of this extensive use of secondary databases, integration between databases is less common. The aim of this presentation is to...
Cahill CM, Van der Kolk H, Goode JA, Hayden TJ.Highly purified and well-characterised preparations of equine prolactin and growth hormone from equine pituitary glands were employed to set up highly sensitive and specific homologous radioimmunoassays (RIA) for the measurement of hormone in horse plasma. The limit of sensitivity of the GH RIA was 1.2 ng/ml with mean intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) of 6.6 and 10%, respectively. The sensitivity of the equine prolactin (ePRL) RIA was 0.5 ng/ml with mean intra and inter-assay CV of 9.1 and 15.6%, respectively. Dose-response curves of a crude pituitary gland extract and plas...
Lochner F, Sangiah S, Burrows G, Shawley R, McNew R, Walker J.The effect of allopurinol pretreatment 12 hours before an intraperitoneal challenge with a sublethal dose of Escherichia coli endotoxin (50 micrograms kg-1) was evaluated in 18 horses. The horses were divided among three equal groups: 1-endotoxin alone; 2-5 mg allopurinol kg-1 bodyweight plus endotoxin; and 3-50 mg allopurinol kg-1 bodyweight plus endotoxin. A variety of evaluation parameters were used. No differences among the groups were noted in rectal temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, haematological values, blood PaO2, blood PaCO2, blood pH or blood bicarbonate. Significant (P les...
Sampaio BFB, Nogueira BG, Souza MIL, Silva EVDCE, Zúccari CESN.The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of adding ascorbic acid 2-glucoside (AA2G), a water-soluble antioxidant and stable derivative of ascorbate, to the semen extender and compare it to the addition of vitamin C (Vit. C) and the fat-soluble antioxidant α-tocopherol (α-Toh), both individually and in combination, on the seminal variables of equine sperm submitted to cooling for 72 h. We used two ejaculates from 10 stallions and evaluated them for motility, membrane integrity, chromatin fragmentation, mitochondrial activity and lipid peroxidation. In the analysis of lipid pero...
Barnewitz D, Evers A, Zimmermann J, Wilke I, Kaps C, Sittinger M.Degenerative alterations in fetlock joints of the forelimb are common diagnoses for horses. The hyaline cartilage has a low capacity to regenerate and the treatment by veterinarians is often insufficient. As a final result, horses with articular cartilage defects are often not able to take part in competitions anymore. To establish an autologous cartilage repair method, we set artificial lesions (8 mm in diameter) into the fetlock joints of the forelimb of three horses. These defects were closed with autologous chondrocyte implants, which were fixed with titan-suture-anchors. After 3, 12 and 2...
Farrell RK, Hilbert BJ.Methods of equine identification including signalment, blood typing tattooing and freeze marking are discussed. A new system of individually identifying horses with an unalterable freeze mark is proposed. Unalterable numerical and alphabetical symbols have been developed to apply a registration number to the animal.
Fodor L, Szenci O, Peters M, Varga J, Szemerédi G, Wyszoczky F.A total of seven Bacteroides ureolyticus strains were isolated from the cervix and the clitoral fossa of mares with vaginal discharge. No other bacteria capable of causing metritis or vaginitis were isolated from the samples. The isolated strains resembled Taylorella equigenitalis. Both species are catalase, oxidase and alkaline phosphatase positive, but, in addition to these characteristics, B. ureolyticus strains produced urease and they could not tolerate 10% O2. They also failed to be agglutinated in a hyperimmune serum raised against T. equigenitalis; however, B. ureolyticus and T. equige...
Kraus-Hansen AE, Jann HW, Kerr DV, Fackelman GE.The intra-articular anatomy of 103 equine tarsi was studied by contrast radiography with image intensification and computerized tomography. There was communication between the tarsometatarsal and distal intertarsal joints in 21 of 55 (38%) interpretable tarsometatarsal arthrograms, and in 11 of 48 (23%) interpretable distal intertarsal arthrograms. The difference was not significant. The volume of contrast agent and the pressure of injection did not correlate with communication. Forced injection caused subcutaneous leakage of contrast medium but not communication. Communication occurred via th...
Tornquist SJ.Evaluation of equine bone marrow and lymph node samples can provide the definitive diagnosis in some cases, and may provide useful information in other cases. Some newer techniques, including immunophenotyping of cells and clonality assays, provide the capability to more precisely identify cells, both as to origin and malignancy. Use of these techniques on equine bone marrow and lymph node samples, and compiling of the data, will eventually provide invaluable information about equine neoplasia that will greatly improve the ability to predict tumor behavior and response to therapy.
Plenderleith RW.In large animal practice, clinical cases involving deep-seated infections affecting bones, joints, meninges and the larynx are particularly difficult to treat. The antibiotic lincomycin has the ability to penetrate tissue of poor vascularity and is also effective in the presence of pus. Eleven cattle, six sheep and three horses were treated with the drug at various doses and in 75 per cent of the cases there was a positive response.
Beasley AM, Coleman GT, Kotze AC.The use of macrocyclic lactone drugs for control of equine cyathostomins is threatened by increasing levels of resistance. Detection of changes in drug sensitivity is important for effective and sustainable management of cyathostomins, however, at present such detection relies on the use of the faecal egg count reduction test, which is known to be an insensitive method. The present study therefore aimed to examine the use of a 96-well plate larval migration inhibition test for detection of resistance to macrocyclic lactone drugs in cyathostomins. We optimised conditions for migration of larvae...