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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.
Pulmonary mechanics during treadmill exercise in race ponies. Exercise-induced variations in their ventilatory mechanics were studied in 8 healthy ponies 4.2 +/- 1.4 years old and weighing 282 +/- 11 kg. Airflow (V), tidal volume (VT), esophageal pressure, mask pressure and electrocardiogram were simultaneously recorded before, during and after a treadmill (incline 8.3 degrees) exercise which consisted of 2 min walking (1.5 m.sec-1), 3 min slow trotting (3.0 m.sec-1) and 3 min fast trotting (3.5 m.sec-1). The results of three consecutive daily measurements were averaged for each pony. Heart rate, minute volume (Ve), respiratory frequency (f) and peak ins...
Distribution and ultrastructure of mast cells in the equine respiratory tract. Mast cells in the equine respiratory mucosa were studied at both light--and transmission electron--microscope levels. Mast cells were identified at all levels of the tract, with the greatest cell density in the nasopharynx. The majority (57 to 94 per cent) of this cell population were located within the connective tissue of the lamina propria. Up to 20 per cent of these cells were associated with the mucosal glandular tissue, whilst small numbers were present within the surface epithelium and in association with nodular lymphoid tissue. In the peripheral lung tissue 20 per cent of the mast cel...
Retrospective assessment of dobutamine therapy for hypotension in anesthetized horses. Dobutamine was infused (1.7 micrograms/kg/minute) into 200 anesthetized horses as treatment for hypotension. The horses had been premedicated with xylazine, and anesthesia was induced with guaifenesin and ketamine and maintained with halothane. One hundred fifty-seven horses (79%) responded with an average increase in systolic blood pressure of at least 10 mm Hg within 10 minutes. A cardiac arrhythmia developed in 56 horses (28%) after dobutamine administration: 34 with sinus bradycardia, 18 with atrioventricular block, 2 with premature atrial contractions, and 2 with atrioventricular dissocia...
T lymphocyte development and maturation in horses. Monoclonal antibodies specific for equine T lymphocyte subpopulations were produced and procedures for the continuous culture of equine lymphocytes were developed. These reagents and procedures were used to analyse the appearance, maturation and functions of T lymphocytes in normal horses and in T lymphocyte deficient horses with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). T lymphocytes appeared as early as the 75th day of fetal development and were normally distributed prior to birth of normal foals. Analysis of thymic T lymphocyte differentiation in SCID foals revealed the presence of both prot...
[The problems of mastitis in mares]. Based on a group of 33 mares infected with mastitis, data regarding the time of appearance, the clinical symptoms and the bacteriological causes of the disease were evaluated. The cases were distributed as follows: 27.3% before delivery, 24.2% immediately after delivery (until the third day), 12.1% during the middle and late stages of lactation, 9.1% immediately after the weaning of the foal and 27.3% outside the lactation period of non-pregnant mares. The clinical picture is described. In the majority of the cases, both halves of the udder were infected. The analysis of the bacteriological re...
Platelet activating factor as a mediator of equine cell locomotion. Equine polymorphonuclear (PMN) and mononuclear (MN) leucocytes were separated on Percoll gradients and used to study the chemoattractant properties of the polar ether-linked phospholipid, platelet activating factor (PAF). Six concentrations of PAF ranging from 1 ng/ml to 100 micrograms/ml were studied in each of two in vitro assay systems, the agarose microdroplet and a microfilter technique. Very significant (p less than 0.01) increases in the movement of both PMN and MN cells were obtained with most concentrations of PAF. In two instances there was no apparent concentration-response relation...
Total and free thyroxine and triiodothyronine in blood serum of mammals. 1. Blood samples were obtained from seven species of mammals: horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, guinea pigs and rats for determination of total and free thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Total thyroxine in the order listed above in ng/ml was: 15, 60, 79, 185, 53, 45 and 79. Free thyroxine in pg/ml was: 5.9, 10.0, 19.2, 32.1, 21.7, 6.7 and 51.3. 2. Total triiodothyronine in pg/ml was: 677, 1290, 979, 3170, 760, 317 and 1747. Free triiodothyronine in pg/ml was: 3.22, 4.40, 2.60, 6.74, 2.74, 2.42 and 10.88. 3. Percent free thyroxine was high in rats and low in guinea pigs, while percent free trii...
Breathing strategy of the adult horse (Equus caballus) at rest. To investigate the mechanism underlying the polyphasic airflow pattern of the equine species, we recorded airflow, tidal volum, rib cage and abdominal motion, and the sequence of activation of the diaphragm, intercostal, and abdominal muscles during quiet breathing in nine adult horses standing at rest. In addition, esophageal, abdominal, and transdiaphragmatic pressures were simultaneously recorded using balloon-tipped catheters. Analysis of tidal flow-volume loops showed that, unlike humans, the horse at rest breathes around, rather than from, the relaxed volume of the respiratory system (Vr...
Association of arytenoid chondritis with equine lymphocyte antigens but no association with laryngeal hemiplegia, umbilical hernias and cryptorchidism. Associations were sought between ELA A1-A10 and W11 antigens and the presence of laryngeal hemiplegia, arytenoid chondritis, umbilical hernias and cryptorchidism in Thoroughbreds and/or Quarter Horses. No significant associations were detected between laryngeal hemiplegia and any ELA antigen in Thoroughbreds. The association between arytenoid chondritis and A9 was significant with a relative risk (RR) of 15.6 and aetiologic fraction (EF) of 0.80 in Thoroughbreds. There were apparent associations based on RR between A4 and A5 in Quarter Horses with umbilical hernias (RR = 7.5 and 6.1 respective...
Novel alpha haemoglobin haplotypes in horses. Four minor haplotypes that produce abnormal haemoglobin phenotypes in horses have been characterized. Two of them, AIIb and V, are copy number variants with, respectively, one and three alpha genes instead of the normal complement of two. The AIIa and C haplotypes, on the other hand, each have two alpha genes but, as a result of probable gene conversions, they now encode identical, though haplotype specific, globins. Two out of 60 unrelated and phenotypically normal horses studied had an unusual triplicated rearrangement in the embryonic zeta-gene locus. Each of these variants appears to have ...
Equine postanaesthetic myositis: thromboxanes, prostacyclin and prostaglandin E2 production. Arachidonic acid cyclooxygenase metabolites, thromboxane B2 (TXB2), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 (6-keto-PGF1) were measured in horses where anaesthesia was maintained with halothane. Two horses suffering from postanaesthetic myositis were compared with four normal horses. TXB2 and PGE2 levels were higher in mixed venous blood drawn from the myopathic horses. An increase of TXB2 and PGE2 levels appeared when myopathic horses were rolled into dorsal recumbency after a prolonged period of lateral recumbency. One hour after the end of anaesthesia, TXB2 had continued to incr...
Exploratory celiotomy for gastrointestinal disease in neonatal foals: a review of 20 cases. The medical records of 20 neonatal foals in which exploratory celiotomies were performed for gastrointestinal disease were reviewed. In all 20 foals, persistent pain and/or progressive abdominal distension were the primary clinical findings influencing the decision to operate. However, ancilliary laboratory data were important to the proper medical management of these foals during anaesthesia and following surgery. Surgical diagnoses of the 20 foals included ileus (nine foals; 45 per cent), small colon obstruction (five foals; 25 per cent), large colon displacement (three foals; 15 per cent), ...
Serum alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes in the horse–variation with age, training and in different pathological conditions. Serum alkaline Phosphatase isoenzyme (ALP) activity was measured by agarose gel electrophoresis in horses, Swedish half-breds and trotters, of varying age and during different conditions of training. Thus the effects of aging and growing on the isoenzyme activities from birth up to about 3 years of age was studied. The influence of training during the first year of life on the ALP isoenzyme pattern was also evaluated. Furthermore the isoenzyme pattern in adult horses suffering from different kinds of diseases was studied.
In newborn and very young horses normally two different isoenzyme fra...
Effects of halothane anesthesia on the clearance of gentamicin sulfate in horses. Inhalation anesthetics decrease the clearance of some drugs that are eliminated by renal excretion. The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the effects of halothane anesthesia on the pharmacokinetics and urinary excretion of gentamicin sulfate, using the horse as a model. Using a crossover design, pharmacokinetic values after a single IV dose of gentamicin (4 mg/kg) were compared in halothane-anesthetized and unanesthetized horses. Compared with unanesthetized horses, the anesthetized horses had significant decreases in total body clearance (P less than 0.01) and apparent vol...
Suitability of human, bovine, equine, and ovine tooth enamel for studies of artificial bacterial carious lesions. The progress of artificial caries-like lesions created in human, bovine, equine, and ovine enamel has been studied. Lesions were produced by exposure to an acid gel system or by 5-day exposure to a sequential batch culture technique using Streptococcus mutans NCTC 10832. Longitudinal ground sections were prepared. The lesions were of similar appearance in all species when examined in polarized light. The depth in human enamel was approximately half that in the animal species. Microradiography confirmed subsurface demineralization in all four species. Similar depth ratios were seen in the scann...
Preliminary evidence for a fourth allele at the phosphohexose isomerase (Phi) locus of horse erythrocytes. A fourth allele at the horse erythrocyte phosphohexose isomerase (Phi) locus was proposed to account for phenotypes observed after starch gel electrophoresis and enzymatic staining of red cell lysates from American Saddlebred and Tennessee Walking Horse breeds. The gene was rare, having an estimated frequency of 0.009 in 949 Saddlebreds tested.
Natural infection with Eimeria leuckarti: prevalence of oocysts in feces of horse foals on several farms in Kentucky during 1986. During 1986, fecal specimens were collected 1 or more times from each of 164 horse foals (158 Thoroughbred and 6 mixed light horse type), ranging in age from 0 to 252 days, on 13 farms in central Kentucky. To detect natural infection with Eimeria leuckarti, feces were examined for oocysts. Oocysts were found in 67 (41%) of the foals on 11 (85%) of the farms. The earliest age at which oocysts were first detected was 15 days (1 foal); the latest age was 123 days (1 foal). The mean age for the first appearance of oocysts in the feces of the 67 foals positive for E leuckarti was approximately 70 d...
[Endangered domestic animal breeds in German-speaking countries. V. Horses]. Due to motorization the heavy horses, in particular draught horses and carriage horses, were deprived of their "raison d'être". At present therefore, they mostly are found in small livestocks. The past few years they regained some significance through their work in the forests, as an attraction in tourism or somewhere else. In German speaking countries approximately 15 horse breeds must be considered to be threatened in their existence. Breeding history, appearance, use and geographical distribution of 12 of them are discussed in this article.
Comparative scanning electron-microscopic study of the lingual papillae in two species of domestic mammals (Equus caballus and Bos taurus). II. Mechanical papillae. The mechanical papillae of the horse and cow were studied by scanning electron microscopy in order to determine their morphostructural characteristics and the differences between the two species. The horse has only thin, small and interlaced filiform papillae, while the cow shows robust and more ordered filiform papillae. Furthermore, the cow tongue presents conical and lenticular papillae surrounded by a papillary groove. A characteristic distribution of stratified scales and channeled tracts is observed in conical and lenticular papillae but not in the filiform papillae. The morphostructural...
Classification of the main macroscopic lesions produced by larvae of Gasterophilus spp. (Diptera:Gasterophilidae) in free-ranging horses in Umbria. Listed and described herein are the main macroscopic lesions produced along the whole digestive tract of free-ranging horses by larvae of the five Gasterophilus spp., occurring in Umbria, a region of central Italy: Gasterophilus intestinalis, Gasterophilus nasalis, Gasterophilus pecorum, Gasterophilus inermis, Gasterophilus haemorrhoidalis. Lesions are classified on the basis of their sizes and shapes and the host's anatomic sites infested, and they are examined in relation to the developmental stages of larvae causing them. The examination of the lesions shows that it is very difficult to dif...
Conserved repetitive DNA sequences (Bkm) in normal equine males and sex-reversed females detected by in situ hybridization. In situ hybridization with a cloned banded krait sex-specific repetitive DNA probe (Bkm) indicates a high concentration of Bkm sequences on the horse Y chromosome in both normal XY males and XY sex-reversed females. Lesser, but still significant, concentrations of Bkm sequences were mapped to horse chromosomes 3, 4, and 30.
Follicular growth and estradiol influence on luteal function in mares. Follicular growth, circulating estradiol concentrations and endometrial prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) production were measured to determine whether there is an interrelationship among these factors associated with luteolysis. Follicular growth was monitored by rectal palpation every other day during diestrus in 16 mares. Plasma estradiol was determined for daily samples during all estrous cycles. Endometrial tissue was removed for PGF2 alpha analysis by radioimmunoassay on d 10, 12, 14 or 16 during several normal cycles and after d 30 during spontaneously prolonged cycles. Circulating es...
Ultrastructural description of a new chytrid genus of caecum anaerobe, Caecomyces equi gen. nov., sp. nov., assigned to the Neocallimasticaceae. Vegetative and reproductive stages of Caecomyces equi gen. nov., sp. nov. isolated from the horse caecum were examined by light and electron microscopy. This organism, which is similar to isolates known as Sphaeromonas communis, produces uniflagellate, uninucleate zoospores whose perikinetosomal structures, i.e. circumflagellar ring, spur, struts and scoop, are similar in many respects to those described in species of Neocallimastix. Microtubular roots extend basally from the spur and associate with hydrogenosomes and the nucleus. Another group of microtubules radiates laterally in a fan-shape...
Body condition scoring and weight estimation of horses. Three hundred and seventy two horses of varying breeds, height and fatness were weighed and measured for height at the withers. They were assessed for condition score by adaptation of a previously published method. The heart girth and length of 281 of the horses were also measured. Weight of horses was highly correlated (P less than 0.001) with height (r2 = 0.62), condition score (r2 = 0.22) and girth2 x length (r2 = 0.90). Nomograms were constructed to predict weight from height and condition score, and girth and length measurements. Weight can also be accurately estimated from the formula: (...
Effects of lesion size and location on equine articular cartilage repair. The mechanisms and completeness of equine articular cartilage repair were studied in ten horses over a nine month period. Large (15 mm square) and small (5 mm square) full-thickness lesions were made in weight bearing and nonweight bearing areas of the radiocarpal, middle carpal and femoropatellar joints. The horses were euthanized in groups of two 1, 2.5, 4, 5 and 9 months later. Gross pathology, microradiography, and histopathology were used to evaluate qualitative aspects of articular repair. Computer assisted microdensitometry of safranin-O stained cartilage sections was used to quantitate...
Microcirculation of the coronary band of the equine hoof. Scanning-electron-microscopic examination of corrosion casts was used to investigate the microcirculation of the coronary border of the equine hoof. Numerous peg-shaped capillary plexuses derived from arterioles extended distally from the dorsal branches of the digital arteries parallel to the hoof wall. The plexuses varied in length and consisted of a fine network of interconnected capillaries that converged to join a centrally situated venule. These centrally situated venules within the papillary plexuses gave rise to a vast venous plexus deep to the coronary band.
