Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
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.
The concept of osmolality: its use in the evaluation of “dehydration” in the horse. Osmolality is an indication of the osmotic pressure of plasma and depends on the amount of solute and solvent (water) present. The mean (+sd) plasma osmolality of 100 clinically normal animals was 282 (+6) mOsm/kg using lithium heparin as anticoagulant. The equation, osmolality=1.86 (sodium + potassium) +glucose +blood urea nitrogen + 9, was found to predict only crudely plasma osmolality. The plasma sodium: osmolality ratio was 0.49. Water and electrolyte disorders are classified into 3 types based on the measurement of electrolytes and osmolality: (1) Hypertonic dehydration (true dehydration...
Protein utilisation in response to caecal corn starch in ponies. The influence of administering caecal corn starch (0.0, 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6 g/kg body weight/day) on protein utilisation in 4 ponies was analysed with a latin square experimental design. The basal diet was dehydrated alfalfa pellets. Determinations were made of nitrogen retention, protein and dry matter digestions, total plasma protein, plasma urea nitrogen, plasma ammonia and plasma-free amino acids. Twice daily administration of corn starch into the caecum resulted in an increased nitrogen retention (P less than 0.01). Maximum nitrogen retention was observed with the caecal administration of 0.4...
Urinary production in the healthy horse and in horses deprived of feed and water. Total daily 24-hour urinary output was obtained from 11 healthy horses fed alfalfa hay with free access to salt during periods of high environmental temperatures. Daily urinary volume averaged 15.6 L, with mean specific gravity of 1.028, osmolality of 1,040 mOsm/kg, and urinary flow rate of 1.24 ml/kg/hr. Total 24-hour sample collections of urine were also obtained from horses held without access to feed or water for periods of 24, 48, and 72 hours during high environmental temperatures. Average urine production under these conditions was 6.3 L during the 1st day; 3.2 L, the 2nd day; and 3.0 L...
Pulmonary function tests in standing ponies: reproducibility and effect of vagal blockade. Arterial blood gas tensions, pulmonary mechanics, and lung volumes were measured in 4 sedated ponies every hour for 6 hours and in 5 ponies 4 times at 2-month intervals to assess the short- and long-term reproducibility of pulmonary function measurements. Variability in blood gas tensions was small over the short- and long-term measurement periods, whereas the variability in total respiratory resistance and functional residual capacity was small over the short term but larger over the long term. The variability in tidal volume, minute ventilation, respiratory rate, and dynamic and quasistatic ...
Experimental subacute foal pneumonia induced by aerosol administration of Corynebacterium equi. Subacute pyogranulomatous pneumonia was experimentally induced in 3 neonatal foals following multiple challenge with aerosols containing Corynebacterium equi. On each of 7 consecutive days the foals were exposed to approximately 3.5 X 10(7) viable C equi in droplets small enough to reach the terminal airways. Clinical, pathological and bacteriological features of the induced syndrome were indistinguishable from those exhibited by cases with spontaneous subacute C equi foal pneumonia. Radiographic evidence of advanced pulmonary damage preceded the appearance of clinical signs and ante mortem cu...
Pancreatic colipase: crystallographic and biochemical aspects. A detailed study of the crystallization of hog and horse colipases has been undertaken. Several crystallographic varieties have been obtained and a 0.3-nm resolution structure determination is actually in progress. The sequence of the A form of horse colipase (one methionine) is given. From spectrophotometric experiments and sequence comparisons, the involvement of the aromatic residue in position 52 in the micelle binding site has been demonstrated.
Assessment of the calcium and phosphorus nutrition in horses by analysis of urine. Studied were made to determine if a practical assessment of the calcium and phosphorus nutrition of horses could be obtained from an analysis of urine samples. The concentrations of Ca and P in urine samples changed markedly when groups of 4 mares were fed diets containing from 1.0 to 3.9 g Ca/kg and from 1.5 to 6.1 g P/kg, but serum concentrations of Ca and P remained relatively constant. The concentrations in single urine samples were considered unreliable indicators of excretion of the minerals because of variations in water excretion, and two methods to overcome this problem were examined....
Equine abortion associated with Enterobacter agglomerans. During a 20 month period Enterobacter agglomerans was
isolated from 17 cases of equine abortion. In 8 cases E
agglomerans was isolated in pure culture and in 9 cases it was
isolated in mixed culture from the foetus and/or foetal
membranes. Fifteen cases had histological evidence of foetal
infection and/or placentitis.
The occurrence of E agglomerans in pure culture, associated
with inflammatory lesions in the foetus and foetal membranes,
suggests it to be a cause of abortion in mares.
Intussusception associated with Anoplocephala perfoliata infection in five horses. Intussusception associated with Anoplocephala perfoliata infection was found in 5 horses. The unusual types of intussusception and the presence of tapeworms at the leading edge of the intussuscipiens suggested tapeworms as the cause of the problem. Lesions attributable to tapeworm attachment on the mucosa were found to fit a mechanical model of intussusception. Treatment of two of the horses and some of their pasturemates with pyrantel pamoate caused elimination of intact tapeworms.
Innervation of the equine intrinsic laryngeal muscles. The nerve supply to the intrinsic laryngeal muscles of the horse was studied by gross dissection and by electromyography which was carried out before, during and after section of various intralaryngeal nerve branches. The anatomical relationships and passage of the laryngeal nerves throughout the larynx were defined. Unlike the dog and man there was no evidence of the passage of motor nerve fibres from one side of the larynx to the other.
Split-thickness autogenous skin transplantation in the horse. Single or multiple split-thickness autogenous skin transplants were applied to 20 limb wounds of 17 horses. The surface area of the wounds ranged from 25 to 200 sq cm. Grafts 0.635-mm thick were collected by use of an electric dermatome and were expanded on a mesh dermatome. The expanded mesh grafts were applied to wounds on 3 horses 4 days after injury. For the other 14 horses, grafts were applied after a granulation tissue bed had formed. The grafts were secured to the recipient beds with sutures and a dressing composed of a foam pad and elastic adhesive tape or with the dressing alone. Furt...
Antigenic stimulation of T lymphocytes in chronic nononcogenic retrovirus infection: equine infectious anemia. Equine infectious anemia is a chronic disease of horses caused by a nononcogenic retrovirus. Studies were undertaken to determine the types of cells involved in the in vitro lymphoproliferative response to viral antigens and the dynamics of this reaction. It was observed that reactive lymphocytes were present at unpredictable times in the peripheral blood of infected horses. This reaction was shown to be specific for the interaction of equine infectious anemia virus and T lymphocytes. Enriched B-lymphocyte populations did not divide when exposed to equine infectious anemia virus. Macrophages w...
Effect of induced back pain on gait and performance of trotting horses. Back pain was induced in Standardbred horses by multiple intramuscular injections of a concentrated lactic acid solution into the left longissimus dorsi muscle. The investigation was divided into 2 parts. In Stage 1, 2 trotters were exercised on a treadmill and filmed by high speed cinematography before and after the induction of back pain. No signs of hindlimb lameness were evident and no quantitative changes in the components of the gait resulted, but a noticeable reduction was seen in performance capacity. Stage 2 involved a more intensive clinical and cinematic analysis of 3 horses. In the...
Surgical arthrodesis for the treatment of bone spavin in 20 horses. During a 3 year period 20 horses with bone spavin were treated by surgical arthrodesis of the affected joints. The horses chosen for surgery were those with osteoarthritis, but with little or no evidence of periostitis. Whenever possible they were examined periodically during the postoperative period to evaluate the lameness and to assess the progress of ankylosis by radiography. Three of the horses were still lame 12 months later. The remainder returned to normal work, although one subsequently developed spavin in the other hock and was destroyed. The earliest return to soundness was 3 1/2 mo...
Haematological changes in 2 ponies before and during an infection with equine influenza. MOST viral infections in animals, including man, have been
shown to alter the absolute and relative numbers of circulating
leucocytes. This usually causes a lymphopenia or neutropenia
but, occasionally, a lymphocytosis occurs (Gresser and Lang
1966). Several studies and reviews of respiratory viral
infections in horses have noted changes in the blood pictures
of infected animals, particularly during the early stages of the
disease (Steck and Gerber 1965; Gerber 1966, 1969; Bryans
and Gerber 1972; Hofer, Steck and Gerber 1978). The
transient nature of the leucocyte response is, probabl...
An examination of the calcium and phosphorus nutrition of thoroughbred racehorses. The calcium and phosphorus nutrition of thoroughbred racehorses was assessed by analysis of serum and urine samples collected from 90 horses in 1975 and 139 horses in 1980-81 at racetracks in Melbourne. Horses that were excreting greater than 15 mumole Ca/mosmole and which had a calcium to creatinine clearance ratio greater tha 2.5% were considered to have adequate Ca intake. Horses that were excreting greater than 15 mumole P/mosmole and which had a phosphorus to creatinine clearance ratio greater than 4% were considered to have excessive phosphorus intake. Sixty-percent of the horses sampled...
Selenium status of thoroughbreds in the United Kingdom. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was measured in the erythrocytes of 600 Thoroughbred horses in training; the selenium concentrations in whole blood and serum was measured in over 80 of these Thoroughbreds. A quadratic relationship was demonstrated between erythrocyte GSH-Px and whole blood or serum selenium concentration. There was no significant difference in the activity of aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, or gamma-glutamyl transferase in the serum of Thoroughbreds with high erythrocyte GSH-Px activity (more than 25 u/ml) when compared with those with low erythroc...
