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.
Miller L, Lord S.Loss of endotracheal tube (ETT) integrity secondary to dental damage is reported in the human literature. Objective: To describe this problem in equine anaesthesia. Methods: Case report. Conclusions: An 18-year-old Standardbred gelding presented out of hours with colic signs. Findings on clinical examination and pain refractory to analgesia meant that exploratory laparotomy was elected for. Prior to general anaesthesia (GA) leak testing of the anaesthetic machine was performed and the pilot balloon of the endotracheal tube (ETT) was inflated to confirm cuff integrity. Intermittent-positive pre...
Usuga A, Gutiérrez V, López ME, Pérez LF, Jaramillo L, Rojano B, Restrepo G.Microbial growth in semen may cause a decline of sperm quality and fertility; however, the addition of antifungals to semen extender has been shown to impair the overall fertility of the sperm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of conventional and natural compounds, and their effect on the motility and kinetics of cooled stallion semen. A total of 15 ejaculates from five stallions were collected using the artificial vagina. Each ejaculate was supplemented with: fluconazole at 12.5 (F1), 25 (F2) and 50 (F3) mg/ml; amphotericin-B at 6.5 (A1), 12.5 (A2) and 25 (A3) mg/...
Köhne M, Unruh C, Böttcher D, Tönissen A, Ulrich R, Sieme H.Uterine pathologies are the most common causes of infertility in mares. This study aimed to establish an ex vivo blood-perfused model for equine uteri and investigate the possible effects of different cycle stages (estrus, diestrus and anestrus) on the applicability of the model. Uteri (n = 13) were collected at an abattoir, flushed with preservation solution, transported to the laboratory on ice, and isolated perfused with autologous blood for 6 h (n = 12). For negative control, one uterus was handled as described but left without perfusion for 6 h. The cycle stage was determined by ex...
Keen B, Cawley A, Reedy B, Fu S.Metabolomics is a multidisciplinary field providing workflows for complementary approaches to conventional analytical determinations. It allows for the study of metabolically related groups of compounds or even the study of novel pathways within the biological system. The procedural stages of metabolomics; experimental design, sample preparation, analytical determinations, data processing and statistical analysis, compound identification and validation strategies are explored in this review. The selected approach will depend on the type of study being conducted. Experimental design influences ...
Rampacci E, Mazzola K, Beccati F, Passamonti F.Feeding foals with poor quality colostrum predisposes them to failure of passive transfer (FPT). FPT is a major risk factor for neonatal infections. Objective: To assess the optimal cut-offs for the optical (OR) and digital (DR) refractometer and determine their accuracy for poor quality colostrum diagnosis. Methods: A diagnostic validation study. Methods: Eighty-one colostrum samples and sera were collected from broodmares and their neonatal foals, respectively. Colostral and serum IgG concentrations were measured by radial immunodiffusion (RID), DR and OR. Correlation coefficients were calcu...
Alberti E, Stucchi L, Lo Feudo CM, Ferrucci F, Zucca E.Pulmonary artery stiffness (PAS) is an index of pulmonary artery elasticity that permits to evaluate the pulmonary vascular bed in humans. It can early detect an increase in pulmonary artery stiffness as a consequence of remodeling of the vessel wall caused by chronic pulmonary and congenital heart diseases. This remodeling can occur also in horses with chronic respiratory diseases. Thus, PAS could be a useful echocardiographic parameter also in horses. However, in literature, there are no studies regarding PAS in horses. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of PAS in horses. F...
Floriano D, Watkins AR, Hopster K.To evaluate the efficacy of 2 different oxygen delivery strategies-intranasal and tracheal insufflation-on the inspired fraction of oxygen (FIO2) in standing horses and to determine the time needed for arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) equilibration. Methods: 6 healthy adult horses. Methods: In this blinded, randomized crossover design study, horses were randomly assigned to receive oxygen via nasal cannula (group N) or transcutaneous tracheal catheter (group T). After placement of venous and arterial catheters, FIO2 was measured through a catheter placed into the distal portion of the t...
Salinas-Estrella E, Ueti MW, Lobanov VA, Castillo-Payró E, Lizcano-Mata A, Badilla C, Martínez-Ibáñez F, Mosqueda J.Equine piroplasmosis is a disease of horses, mules and donkeys, caused by the hemoprotozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi and transmitted by ticks of tropical and subtropical regions. Because the clinical signs are not specific, the diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis is difficult. In Mexico, where the environmental factors are conducive to the persistence of these pathogens, there is a lack of molecular studies to evaluate the occurrence of both parasites in horses. In the present study, matching serum and whole blood samples were obtained from 269 horses residing in 24 locations with tro...
Rueda-Carrillo G, Rosiles-Martínez R, Hernández-García AI, Vargas-Bello-Pérez E, Trigo-Tavera FJ.Hoof mineral profile is important as it could affect locomotion. Factors such as body weight, sex, age, and riding disciplines affect hoof mineral profile. In Mexico and globally, studies are needed on the characterization of mineral profile of hooves and tensile strength, as this could help to prevent overgrowth or microfractures. Therefore, in the present survey, 165 samples of equine hoof cuttings from different sex, ages, breeds, and riding disciplines from different regions of Mexico were analyzed for their mineral composition, and a universal testing machine was used to measure tensile s...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Fašmon Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A....Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of olibanum extract from Roxb. ex Colebr., when used as a sensory additive (flavouring) in feed for all dogs and horses. The FEEDAP Panel concluded that the additive under assessment is safe for horses at the maximum proposed use level of 100 mg/kg in complete feed. For dogs, the calculated safe concentration in feed is 330 mg/kg complete feed. The additive is considered safe for consumers...
Ishii H, Shibuya M, So YM, Wong JKY, Ho ENM, Kusano K, Sone Y, Kamiya T, Wakuno A, Ito H, Miyata K, Yamada M, Leung GN.IOX4, a hypoxia-inducible factor stabilizer, is classified as a banned substance for horses in both horse racing and equestrian sports. We recently reported the pharmacokinetic profiles of IOX4 in horse plasma and urine and also identified potential monitoring targets for the doping control purpose. In this study, a long-term longitudinal analysis of IOX4 in horse hair after a nasoesophageal administration of IOX4 (500 mg/day for 3 days) to three thoroughbred mares is presented for the first time for controlling the abuse/misuse of IOX4. Six bunches of mane hair were collected at 0 (pre), ...
Ishii H, Leung GN, Yamashita S, Nagata SI, Kushiro A, Sakai S, Toju K, Okada J, Kawasaki K, Kusano K, Kijima-Suda I.The use of nicotine stimulants in horses is generally banned in horse racing and equestrian sports-accidental consumption of tobacco products is one of the possible causes of nicotine exposure in horses. The authors recently reported a comprehensive metabolic study of nicotine in equines, differentiating between nicotine exposure and sample contamination by means of a nicotine biomarker trans-3'-hydroxycotinine. To identify potential biomarkers for the differentiation of genuine nicotine administration and consumption of tobacco products, tobacco leaves (equivalent to 250 mg of nicotine) wer...
Stieger-Vanegas SM, Hanna AL.Computed tomography (CT) imaging of the head in equine patients is now commonly performed as CT scanners are more readily available. Head CT has proven valuable in evaluating spatially complex anatomic structures, where radiographic superimposition, or restricted access endoscopy or ultrasound, limit complete evaluation of the disease process. Head CT has been demonstrated to be incredibly valuable in the evaluation of dental and paranasal sinus disease, disease of the hyoid apparatus and ear, and in evaluation of skull trauma. CT is an excellent modality for assessment of both osseous and so...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Rubio CP, González-Arostegui LG, Martín-Cuervo M, Cerón JJ, Ayala I, Henriksen IH, Jacobsen S, Hansen S.Changes in the oxidative status of the blood of horses suffering from gastric ulcers and colic of intestinal aetiology (CIE) have been reported. However, saliva can also be a source of biomarkers of oxidative status. Therefore, this study aims to validate automated assays for the measurement of oxidative status biomarkers (ferric reducing ability of saliva/serum-FRAS/FRAP, cupric reducing antioxidant capacity-CUPRAC, the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity-TEAC, uric acid, and advanced oxidation protein products-AOPP) in the saliva and serum of horses, to assess their changes in the differe...
Lutzer A, Nagel C, Aurich J, Murphy BA, Aurich C.In horses, blue LED light directed at one eye of pregnant mares shortens gestation length and results in the birth of foals with lower wither heights, similar weight and reduced hair length compared to controls. In this study, we have therefore analysed postnatal development of foals born to either blue LED light-treated (n = 20) or control mares (n = 20). Size, weight and hair coat changes were determined for 1 year and heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and selected haematology parameters for 1 month. Haematocrit decreased (P < .001) and leukocyte and lymphocyte counts increased...
Arfuso F, Piccione G, Trimarchi F, Panzera MF, Giannetto C.Horse trekking is a non-competitive sport that, as other kinds of exercise, involves skeletal muscle effort and may implicate significant energy expenditure leading to stress. The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of trekking on metabolic and stress response as well as muscle damage markers in clinically healthy horses. Thirty horses were equally divided in 3 groups according to trekking course: Group A (trekking course 15 km long), Group B (trekking course 35 km long starting;), Group C (three trekking courses for three consecutive days; during the first day the trekking cours...
Vernemmen I, Van Steenkiste G, Dufourni A, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC) is 1 of the main treatment options for atrial fibrillation (AF) in horses. Large-scale studies on factors affecting success and prognosis have primarily been performed in Standardbred populations. Objective: To determine factors affecting cardioversion success, cardioversion difficulty and recurrence in a predominant Warmblood study sample. Methods: TVEC records of 199 horses. Methods: Retrospective study of TVEC procedures of horses admitted for AF without severe echocardiographic abnormalities. Horse and procedural factors for success and cumulativ...
Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Foote AK, Verheyen KL.Enhanced understanding of reasons for, and timings of, mortality in Thoroughbreds prior to entering race training is warranted to provide insight into this population's health status. The aims of this study were to describe pathologies diagnosed at post-mortem (PM) examination in Thoroughbreds aged from birth to 18 months and investigate associations between age and pathology. Reports from a pathology laboratory in Newmarket, UK, were used to identify eligible cases examined between January 2006 and December 2020. Reported pathologies were extracted and categorised where appropriate. Comorbidi...
Broomé S, Ask K, Rashid-Engström M, Haubro Andersen P, Kjellström H.Orthopedic disorders are common among horses, often leading to euthanasia, which often could have been avoided with earlier detection. These conditions often create varying degrees of subtle long-term pain. It is challenging to train a visual pain recognition method with video data depicting such pain, since the resulting pain behavior also is subtle, sparsely appearing, and varying, making it challenging for even an expert human labeller to provide accurate ground-truth for the data. We show that a model trained solely on a dataset of horses with acute experimental pain (where labeling is les...
Tou K, Cawley A, Bowen C, Sornalingam K, Fu S.The conventional detection of exogenous drugs in equine doping samples has been used for confirmation and subsequent prosecution of participants responsible. In recent years, alternative methods using indirect detection have been investigated due to the expanding number of pharmaceutical agents available with the potential of misuse. The monitoring of endogenous biomarkers such as hydrocortisone (HC) has been studied in equine urine with an international threshold of 1 μg/ml established; however, there is no current threshold for equine plasma. The aim of this research was to investigate pl...
Desanti-Consoli H, Bouillon J, Chapuis RJJ.Vaccination against infectious diseases is a cornerstone of veterinary medicine in the prevention of disease transmission, illness severity, and often death in animals. In North American equine medicine, equine vaccines protecting against tetanus, rabies, Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, and West Nile are core vaccines as these have been classified as having a heightened risk of mortality, infectiousness, and endemic status. Some guidelines differ from the label of vaccines, to improve the protection of patients or to decrease the unnecessary administration to reduce potential sid...
Egenvall A, Byström A, Lindsten A, Clayton HM.As techniques for equine biomechanical research have become more accessible and affordable, the literature published in this area has exploded. Literature reviews have become more popular of late and, more specifically, several literature reviews in areas related to equine biomechanics have been published. A scoping review is a relatively new approach, where a general aim is to map the body of literature on a topic area, accounting for criteria for inclusion and exclusion. However, problems can arise both in performing the review and in critiquing the findings. In this manuscript, the authors ...
Ginther OJ.Traveling of the fetal-amniotic unit throughout the uterus ceases on ∼ Day 180 followed by closure of each uterine horn. By mean Day 240, the fetus and nearly all of the pool of allantoic fluid are confined to the uterine body. Intrauterine fetal-location changes end, but in-place activity of limbs, head, and body and changes in fetal recumbency and presentation continue, sometimes vigorously. Preference for cranial presentation (fetal sternum toward maternal cervix) has been hypothesized to be stimulated by ∼ 40° incline of uterine body toward the cervix. The uterine body expands forward...
Nikitkina EV, Dementieva NV, Shcherbakov YS, Atroshchenko MM, Kudinov AA, Samoylov OI, Pozovnikova MV, Dysin AP, Krutikova AA, Musidray AA....The semen quality of stallions including sperm motility is an important target of selection as it has a high level of individual variability. However, effects of the molecular architecture of the genome on the mechanisms of sperm formation and their preservation after thawing have been poorly investigated. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for the sperm motility of cryopreserved semen in stallions of various breeds. Methods: Semen samples were collected from the stallions of 23 horse breeds. The following semen characteristics were examined: progressive motility (PM), p...
Herb VM, Url A, Tichy A, Nell B.Establishing an immunohistochemical approach for semi-quantitative assessment of the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in equine, canine, and feline corneas. Methods: Healthy corneas of horses, dogs, and cats, euthanized because of a fatal disease or an unrecoverable trauma unrelated to and without a history of ophthalmic disease were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and determined to be pathomorphologically healthy by light microscopy. Automated immunohistochemistry was performed using primary antibodies against IgG, biotin-conjugated secondary antibodies, and streptavidin-peroxidase, as w...
Dorph K, Haughan J, Robinson M, Redding LE.To characterize antimicrobial use on four racetracks in the eastern US during the peak racing 2017-2018 seasons. Handwritten daily treatment sheets provided by attending veterinarians who listed treatments administered to horses stabled at the racetrack were obtained. Information contained in the treatment sheets included the date, name of the horse and its trainer, type of treatment, and a brief (usually 1-word) indication for treatment. The handwritten data listed on the racetrack treatment sheets were manually transcribed and analyzed. A total of 2,684 antimicrobial prescriptions were recor...
Bravo-Barriga D, Serrano-Aguilera FJ, Barrasa-Rita R, Habela MÁ, Chacón RB, Ezquerra LJ, Martín-Cuervo M.Endurance is an increasingly popular equestrian sport. However, in southern Europe, there is a high prevalence of horses that are asymptomatic carriers of equine piroplasmosis (EP), a tick-borne disease that could affect their performance. This study aimed to evaluate the impact and influence of EP on the performance of endurance horses. Blood samples were collected from 40 horses in Extremadura, Spain, before and after a race, in different national elite horse endurance competitions. Hematological and biochemical parameters and EP seroprevalence were analysed by competitive enzyme-linked immu...
Nebbia C, Ceppa L, Dacasto M, Nachtmann C, Carletti M.The oxidative metabolism of monensin, an ionophore antibiotic extensively used in veterinary practice as a coccidiostat and a growth promoter, was studied in hepatic microsomal preparations from horses, pigs, broiler chicks, cattle and rats. As assayed by the measurement of the amount of the released formaldehyde, the rate of monensin O-demethylation was nearly of the same order of magnitude in all species, but total monensin metabolism, which was estimated by measuring the rate of substrate disappearance by a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, was highest in cattle, interme...
Keggan A, Freer H, Rollins A, Wagner B.Horses have 11 immunoglobulin isotypes: IgM, IgD, IgA, IgE, and seven IgG subclasses designated as IgG1-IgG7, each of which are distinguished by separate genes encoding the constant heavy chain regions. Immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes have different functions during the immune response and pathogen-specific isotypes can be used as indicators for immunity and protection from disease. In addition to existing monoclonal antibodies to various equine Igs, quantification of the individual isotypes requires pure isotype standards. In this report, we describe a fusion between X63-Ag8.653 mouse myeloma ce...
Freeman DA, Weber JA, Geary RT, Woods GL.The objectives of this study were 1) to determine the time of embryo transport through the mare oviduct, 2) to determine whether equine embryos increase in diameter prior to the time of oviductal transport, and 3) to assess the stage of equine embryonic development at the time of oviductal transport. The time of oviductal transport (interval from ovulation to uterine entry) was estimated by collecting embryos from the mare oviduct or uterus at 2-hour intervals from 120 to 168 h postovulation. The time of oviductal transport was 130 to 142 h, since 9 9 embryos were located in the oviduct from 1...
The Journal of heredityFebruary 16, 2016
Volume 107, Issue 3 214-219 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esw007
Jacobs LN, Staiger EA, Albright JD, Brooks SA.Shared signaling pathways utilized by melanocytes and neurons result in pleiotropic traits of coat color and behavior in many mammalian species. For example, in humans polymorphisms at MC1R cause red hair, increased heat sensitivity, and lower pain tolerance. In deer mice, rats, and foxes, ASIP polymorphisms causing black coat color lead to more docile demeanors and reduced activity. Horse (Equus caballus) base coat color is primarily determined by polymorphisms at the Melanocortin-1 Receptor (MC1R) and Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP) loci, creating a black, bay, or chestnut coat. Our goal was...
Postel A, Cavalleri JM, Pfaender S, Walter S, Steinmann E, Fischer N, Feige K, Haas L, Becher P.Novel viruses belonging to the genera Hepacivirus and Pegivirus have recently been discovered in horses and other animal species. Viral genomes of non-primate hepaciviruses (NPHV), equine pegivirus 1 (EPgV 1) and Theiler's disease associated virus (TDAV) were detected in a horse serum routinely used for cell culture propagation in our laboratory. Therefore, a study was carried out to further investigate the presence of these human Hepatitis C virus (HCV) related viruses in equine serum based products used in veterinary medicine and for research and to characterize the viral genomes. Without ex...
Azarpeykan S, Dittmer KE, Gee EK, Marshall JC, Wallace J, Elder P, Acke E, Thompson KG.The aims of the study were to determine the effect of season and blanketing on vitamin D synthesis in horses and examine the interaction between vitamin D and other analytes involved in calcium homeostasis. Twenty-one healthy horses at pasture were included; 5 were covered with standard horse blankets including neck rugs. Blood samples were collected for 13 mo and analyzed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25OHD2) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]2D), ionized calcium (iCa), total calcium (tCa), phosphorus (P), total magnesium (tMg), and parathyroid hormone (PTH). Gr...
O'Connor S, Warrington G, McGoldrick A, Cullen S. Professional horse racing is considered a high-risk sport, yet the last analysis of fall and injury incidence in this sport in Ireland was completed between 1999 and 2006. Objective: To provide an updated analysis of the fall and injury incidence in professional flat and jump horse racing in Ireland from 2011 through 2015, compare it with the previous analysis, and detail the specific types and locations of injuries. Methods: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: A medical doctor recorded all injuries that occurred at every official flat and jump race meeting for the 2011 th...
Père MC.Several general features of nutrient uptake and utilisation by foetuses are similar among mammalian species. Nevertheless, there are also differences linked mainly to differences in placental permeability. Glucose and lactate are the main energetic substrates of the foetus. In normal conditions, the oxidation of carbohydrates accounts for about 75, 60 and 50% of oxygen uptake in the foetal pig, foal and lamb, respectively, and acetate accounts for about 10% in ruminants. Acidic amino acids are synthesised by the foetus, whereas neutral and basic amino acids are transported from the placenta. A...
Schöllhorn WI, Peham C, Licka T, Scheidl M.Interactions of various systems were investigated in several studies of dynamic systems, but the interactions between horse and rider have not yet been documented. These interactions include the rider's ability to control the horse, adapt to the horse and maintain both participants' body position. An optimum interaction is also adapted to the individual nature of the horse. Objective: To identify rider-horse interactions by means of artificial neural nets analysing the time-continuous pattern. Methods: Fourteen horses were measured trotting on hand, and ridden at working trot with a profession...
Whitlock MR, Whitlock J, Johnston B.A retrospective study of horse riding injuries in Berkshire was undertaken over a one year period from November 1983. The information was obtained from the Ambulance Service, the Jockey Club and the St. John Ambulance Brigade. There was a total of 103 injured persons with no deaths. Information from the Jockey Club was compared with the other two groups, the former sustaining more limb injuries and the latter more head injuries. A questionnaire was sent to all 42 ambulance patients. Thirty-eight had radiographs taken, 16 of which showed a fracture. Forty-one were wearing some form of hard hat,...
Lulla V, Lulla A, Wernike K, Aebischer A, Beer M, Roy P.African horse sickness virus (AHSV), an orbivirus in the Reoviridae family with nine different serotypes, causes devastating disease in equids. The virion particle is composed of seven proteins organized in three concentric layers, an outer layer made of VP2 and VP5, a middle layer made of VP7, and inner layer made of VP3 that encloses a replicase complex of VP1, VP4, and VP6 and a genome of 10 double-stranded RNA segments. In this study, we sought to develop highly efficacious candidate vaccines against all AHSV serotypes, taking into account not only immunogenic and safety properties but als...
Goodman LB, Wimer C, Dubovi EJ, Gold C, Wagner B.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) induces a variety of disease manifestations, including respiratory disease, abortions, and myeloencephalopathy. Several vaccines are commercially available but could not previously be distinguished by serologic testing from infection with EHV-1 (or the closely related EHV-4). Currently available vaccines are not reliably protective against the severe manifestations of the disease, including fatal myeloencephalopathy. We determined immunological parameters that can differentiate vaccinated from previously infected animals by comparing humoral and cellular EHV-1-spec...
Kawcak CE, Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW, Werpy NM, Park RD.To evaluate the use of a combination of avocado and soybean unsaponifiable (ASU) extracts for the treatment of experimentally induced osteoarthritis in horses. Methods: 16 horses. Methods: Osteoarthritis was induced via osteochondral fragmentation in 1 middle carpal joint of each horse; the other joint underwent a sham operation. Horses were randomly allocated to receive oral treatment with ASU extracts (1:2 [avocado-to-soybean] ratio mixed in 6 mL of molasses; n = 8) or molasses (6 mL) alone (placebo treatment; 8) once daily from days 0 to 70. Lameness, response to joint flexion, synovial eff...
Raabe O, Shell K, Würtz A, Reich CM, Wenisch S, Arnhold S.Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) represent a promising subpopulation of adult stem cells for tissue engineering applications in veterinary medicine. In this study we focused on the morphological and molecular biological properties of the ADSCs. The expression of stem cell markers Oct4, Nanog and the surface markers CD90 and CD105 were detected using RT-PCR. ADSCs showed a proliferative potential and were capable of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation. Expression of Alkaline phosphatase (AP), phosphoprotein (SPP1), Runx2 and osteocalcin (OC) mRNA were positive in osteogenic linea...
Shah SZA, Nawaz Z, Nawaz S, Carder G, Ali M, Soomro N, Compston PC.Equine ownership is a common income-generating strategy in Pakistan. In Karachi, donkey carts are used to transport building materials, commercial produce and garbage. This study aimed to articulate the role and welfare of donkeys used in waste management. We conducted interviews with donkey owners ( = 200), households which use donkey carts for waste collection ( = 50) and key informants ( = 14). To assess the welfare of donkeys, the Standardised Equine-Based Welfare Assessment Tool (SEBWAT) was used ( = 204). Collection of waste was the primary source of income for 89% of owners interviewed....
Mooij MJ, Jans W, den Heijer GJ, de Pater M, Back W.There is a lack of evidence for the presumed beneficial effects of water treadmills on the movement of the horse's back. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of water treadmill exercise on axial rotation (AR), lateral bending (LB) and pelvic flexion (PF) in horses. The back kinematics of a group of riding horses were studied at the walk in a water treadmill at different depths of water (hoof, fetlock, carpus, elbow and shoulder joint levels) over a period of 10 days. Skin markers were placed at anatomical locations on the back. AR, LB and PF were measured on days 1 and 10 using two...
McGowan TW, Pinchbeck G, Phillips CJ, Perkins N, Hodgson DR, McGowan CM.To describe the prevalence and risk factors for clinical signs of disease and owner-reported health or welfare issues of aged horses in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Owners of horses were contacted via an equestrian organisation in Queensland and asked to complete a questionnaire about their horses aged 15 years and older, to gain information about clinical signs observed in the horse and disease history. Owners were asked to identify health or welfare issues they felt were important in aged horses. Results: Owners were able to identify many clinical signs of disease, with 83% of horses havi...
Simbizi V, Saulez MN, Potts A, Lötter C, Gummow B.Most leptospiral infections in horses are asymptomatic; however, acute disease manifestations as well as reproductive failure and recurrent uveitis have been reported. In South Africa, the epidemiology of the disease in horses is not well documented. A serosurvey to determine what serovars were present in horses from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape Provinces and to get an estimate of the seroprevalence of leptospirosis was carried out from January 2013 until April 2014 with the assistance of four large equine hospitals located in these provinces. Furthermore, associations between poten...
Liu A, Zhang J, Zhao J, Zhao W, Wang R, Zhang L.Horses interact with humans in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits as well as in working activities. Cryptosporidium spp are one of the most important zoonotic pathogens causing diarrhea of humans and animals. The reports of Cryptosporidium in horses and the findings of zoonotic Cryptosporidium species/genotypes show a necessity to carry out molecular identification of Cryptosporidium in horses, especially in diarrheic ones. The aim of the present study was to understand Cryptosporidium infection and species/genotypes in diarrheic horses, and to trace...
Go YY, Zhang J, Timoney PJ, Cook RF, Horohov DW, Balasuriya UB.Extensive cell culture passage of the virulent Bucyrus (VB) strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV) to produce the modified live virus (MLV) vaccine strain has altered its tropism for equine CD3(+) T lymphocytes and CD14(+) monocytes. The VB strain primarily infects CD14(+) monocytes and a small subpopulation of CD3(+) T lymphocytes (predominantly CD4(+) T lymphocytes), as determined by dual-color flow cytometry. In contrast, the MLV vaccine strain has a significantly reduced ability to infect CD14(+) monocytes and has lost its capability to infect CD3(+) T lymphocytes. Using a panel of five re...
Faubladier C, Sadet-Bourgeteau S, Philippeau C, Jacotot E, Julliand V.This study assessed the time-scale variability of bacterial community structure in foal feces from birth to 365 days of age using Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA). Fecal samples were collected from five foals 2 h after birth (meconium) and in the morning at days 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 179, 183, 194 and 365. The ARISA profiles were compared using an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Although both the age effect and the foal effect were highly significant (P < 0.010), the R-ANOSIM value for the foal effect was very low (R-ANOSIM = 0.089), while that of the age eff...
Fraipont A, Van Erck E, Ramery E, Richard E, Denoix JM, Lekeux P, Art T.Thirty-eight endurance horses underwent clinical and ancillary examinations, including haematological and biochemical evaluation, standardised exercise tests both on a treadmill and in the field, Doppler echocardiography, impulse oscillometry, video endoscopy and collection of respiratory fluids. All of the examined poorly performing horses were affected by subclinical diseases, and most of them had multiple concomitant disorders. On the contrary, the well-performing horses were free of any subclinical disease. The most frequently diagnosed diseases were respiratory disorders, followed by musc...
Lange CE, Vetsch E, Ackermann M, Favrot C, Tobler K.Papillomaviruses appear to be species-specific pathogens, and it was suggested that each animal species might harbour its own set of papillomaviruses. However, all approaches addressing the underlying evolutionary phenomena still suffer from very limited data about animal papillomaviruses. In case of the horse for example, only three equine papillomaviruses (EcPVs) have been identified. To further address the situation in this host, suspected papillomavirus-associated lesions were tested for EcPV DNA. Four novel EcPV types were detected and their genomes entirely cloned and sequenced. They dis...
Dixon PM, Head KW.The clinical and pathological findings of 28 cases (27 horses, 1 donkey) of equid sinonasal tumours examined at the Edinburgh Veterinary School are presented and include: seven cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC); five adenocarcinomas; three undifferentiated carcinomas; two adenomas; five fibro-osseous and bone tumours; and single cases of ameloblastoma, fibroma, fibrosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, melanoma and lymphosarcoma. The median ages of animals affected with epithelial, and fibro-osseous/bone tumours were 14 and 4 years, respectively. Unilateral purulent or mucopurulent nasal di...
Varela E, Rey J, Plaza E, Muñoz de Propios P, Ortiz-Rodríguez JM, Álvarez M, Anel-López L, Anel L, De Paz P, Gil MC, Morrell JM....Contaminating bacteria present in stallion ejaculates may compromise sperm quality during storage. Different procedures have been used to reduce the load of microorganisms in semen and avoid bacterial growth during storage. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate different techniques to eliminate bacteria in semen 2) to study the relationship between total microflora load (TML) and ROS production; and 3) to determine if TML affects the functionality of cool-stored sperm. Ejaculates from 11 stallions were split and processed in 3 ways: A. extended semen; B. conventional centrifuged semen, a...
Brindley MA, Maury W.Entry of wild-type lentivirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) into cells requires a low-pH step. This low-pH constraint implicates endocytosis in EIAV entry. To identify the endocytic pathway involved in EIAV entry, we examined the entry requirements for EIAV into two different cells: equine dermal (ED) cells and primary equine endothelial cells. We investigated the entry mechanism of several strains of EIAV and found that both macrophage-tropic and tissue culture-adapted strains utilize clathrin-coated pits for entry. In contrast, a superinfecting strain of EIAV, EIAV(vMA-1c), utilizes ...
Browning GF, Studdert MJ.The epidemiology of equine herpesvirus 2 was examined by using restriction endonuclease DNA fingerprints to distinguish viruses isolated from two groups of horses. The first group consisted of three yearlings isolated from other horses but in contact with each other for 418 days, whereas the second comprised seven mares and their foals, which were sampled at monthly intervals from parturition until the foals were about 180 days old. There was a complex pattern of transmission, with 15 different viruses isolated from both groups. Four distinguishable viruses were isolated from the three yearlin...
Gorissen BM, Wolschrijn CF, van Vilsteren AA, van Rietbergen B, van Weeren PR.Bone is a dynamic tissue adapting to loading according to "Wolff's law of bone adaptation." During very early life, however, such a mechanism may not be adequate enough to adapt to the dramatic change in environmental challenges in precocial species. Their neonates are required to stand and walk within hours after birth, in contrast to altricial animals that have much more time to adapt from the intrauterine environment to the outside world. In this study, trabecular bone parameters of the talus and sagittal ridge of the tibia from stillborn but full-term precocials (calves and foals) were ana...
