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.
Blackmore DJ, Greenwood RE, Johnson C.During an investigation of a group of clinically well thoroughbreds housed in the same stable, it was noted that seven of the 14 had no detectable thyroxine in the plasma (less than 5 nmol/litre). An investigation of thoroughbreds in this stable over a five month period suggested that the thyroids were functioning normally and that the thyroxine was excreted in the urine. Thyroxine binding studies on the blood of these horses suggested that the major part of the circulating thyroxine was bound to albumin. The thyroxine had been displaced resulting in an apparent absence of plasma thyroxine sin...
Nerenberg C, Runkel RA, Matin SB.A simple radioimmunoassay was developed for the determination of oxfendazole in plasma. Oxfendazole N-1(3)-valerate was coupled to polylysine via a carbodiimide reaction, and antiserum was developed in rabbits after inoculation with oxfendazole--polylysine conjugate. The assay was developed so that oxfendazole could be measured directly in a 0.1-ml aliquot of diluted or undiluted plasma. With the developed procedure, 200 pg of oxfendazole/ml of plasma can be determined quantitatively. Cross-reactivity was determined for closely related compounds and metabolites. The method was used to determin...
Srihongse S, Grayson MA, Morris CD, Deibel R, Duncan CS.An extensive outbreak of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) occurred in upstate New York during the summer of 1976, with 37 cases confirmed in horses by isolation of virus and/or by serologic examination. Other specimens collected in the affected area yielded 16 further isolates: 9 from 818 pools of 33,365 mosquitoes, 5 from tissues of 64 birds and 2 from 4 sentinel pheasants with serologic conversions. EEE antibodies were also detected in 81 of 499 wild birds tested. Our data implicate sparrows, cowbirds, and catbirds in the amplification of EEE virus and Culiseta melanura mosquitoes as v...
Herrick WC, Kingsbury HB, Lou DY.This paper describes the result of an investigation of strains and strain rates which normally occur in the tendons of the equine foreleg and presents stress-strain curves and moduli for the tendons at these rates. It has previously been demonstrated that resistance to flexion of the joints of the distal part of the equine foreleg is provided by a passive system of tendons and ligaments. It is therefore possible, using a large displacement, high-rate testing machine, to duplicate in the laboratory the strain rates and forces which are normally produced in the tendons of the foreleg of the runn...
Stalheim OH, Stone SS, Blackburn BO, Foley J.In horses given whole cultures or cells of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp capri (by subcutaneous and intravenous injections), antibody responses were measured by serologic procedures. During an immunization period of 22 weeks, horses produced an antiserum that was used to identify M mycoides subsp capri by agglutination, complement-fixation, and fluorescent antibody (FA) tests, but not by the growth-inhibition test. Horses that were injected with whole cultures of M mycoides subsp capri responded better than horses that were injected with only cells, ie, antibodies were detectable sooner by agar ge...
Smith AW, Vedros NA, Akers TG, Gilmartin WG.In a 5-year study (1972-1977) of microbial agents isolated from both clinically normal and diseased marine mammals, it was shown that certain disease agents are widespread in a diversity of ocean populations and that some are also transmissible to a number of terrestrial mammal species. Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona has been isolated repeatedly from 2 species of pinnipeds (Zalophus californianus califonianus and Callorhinus ursinus). Some of the more important bacterial pathogens for land mammals that were isolated from wild marine mammals are Pseudomonas mallei, Clostridium chauvoei, ...
Duncan ID, Griffiths IR, Madrid RE.A study has been made of the pathological changes in the recurrent laryngeal nerves from horses with clinical and sub-clinical idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia. Qualitative and quantitative studies showed in clinical cases there was a progressive distal loss of large myelinated fibres in the left recurrent nerve. Regenerating clusters and onion bulbs were frequently seen in affected nerves both at proximal and distal levels. Degenerating axons were characterized by collections of organelles, and denervated bands of Bungner were common. Similar but less severe changes were seen in the left recur...
Looze Y, Polastro E, Deconinck M, Leonis J.Spectrophotometric studies of the alkaline isomerization of horse heart and yeast cytochrome c show that the haemoproteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae differ significantly from the mammalian cytochrome c. Apparent pKa values of 8.41, 8.40 and 8.73 for isol-1-(the methylated and unmethylated forms) and iso-2-cytochrome c respectively, from baker's yeast were determined and compared with the value of 9.40 found for horse heart cytochrome c. The transitions, measured by observing the decrease of the absorbance at 695 nm as the pH increases, have been found to strictly parallel the decrease in a...
Bishop WJ.GG is a useful sedative and anaesthetic agent in horses. Used
alone, or in conjunction with barbiturates, it produces a un-
iformly smooth recovery from anaesthesia.
The need to infuse large volumes to obtain the desired effect is
a disadvantage ofthis agent. Few critical studies have been made
on the short and long term effects of administration of GG to
horses. Its pharmacology and clinical use are described and
indicate that it is a safe and useful drug.
Rance TA, Park BK.Oestrone, equilin and dehydroepiandrosterone were measured by radioimmunoassay in peripheral plasma from five pony mares; samples were taken from day 60 of pregnancy at approximately weekly intervals through to parturition. Of the three steroids measured, dehydroepiandrosterone showed the most consistent pattern of secretion. DHA concentrations remained low until day 105, increased rapidly from day 120 and attained maximum values between days 168–210; levels declined to day 300, but there was considerable variation between mares in DHA patterns prior to parturition. There was great variation...
Scott EA, Sandler GA.Blood flow (milliliter/minute) was measured in the medial palmar artery of 12 horses, using electromagnetic flow equipment. Extraluminal flow probes were surgically placed around the artery and base-line blood flows were recorded during surgical manipulation. After horses had recovered from anesthesia, blood flows were recorded each day for 11 days. According to mean average blood flows, horses were allotted to two groups: group 1--those with predominately normal flow characteristics, and group 2--those horses with predominately abnormal flow features. Average daily mean blood flows in the med...
Hansen TO, White NA, Kemp DT.Total parenteral nutrition was accomplished in 4 healthy adult horses. During the 10-day study, the horses were not permitted to ingest food or water. Body weight was maintained at 94% of initial values without clinical evidence of dehydration. Serum urea nitrogen and triacylglycerol concentrations decreased during the study, without other significant hematologic or biochemical changes. Horses adapted without problems to the routine of IV feeding and confinement. All horses were healthy at the conclusion of the study. It was concluded that intravenous feeding with a lipid-glucose-amino acid-el...
Dejardin LM, Arnoczky SP, Cloud GL, Stick JA.To evaluate changes in strain patterns in normal equine hooves following 4-point trimming, using photoelastic stress analysis. Methods: 15 equine front limbs with normal hoof configuration. Methods: Limbs were disarticulated at the carpometacarpal joint. Weight-bearing surfaces of each hoof were trimmed level to ensure 100% ground contact. Hoof walls were coated with a custom-made strain-sensitive plastic, and limbs were loaded to a third of body weight. Using a polariscope, strain distribution, magnitudes, and directions were evaluated in level hooves as well as before and after standardized ...
Mollerach-Gobbi B, Retegui LA, Peña C.The immunochemical behavior of several fragments of equine growth hormone (eGH) was examined using competitive binding assays with antibodies (Abs) to eGH obtained from different sources. Antigenicity was detected within the sequences 5-72 and 73-123 by rabbit Abs to eGH and by three mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced by using bovine growth hormone as immunogen, but showing heteroclitic properties towards eGH. The polyclonal Abs to eGH also recognized as immunoreactive two smaller peptides corresponding to the amino acid residues 52-72 and 110-123. By contrast, the heteroclitic Abs to...
Düe M.A survey is given about the situation of "doping" of horses. A definition of the term "doping" is delivered which is up to date and considers the matters of animal welfare. Existing regulations will be discussed in view of recent results of research. Different regulations for horses as well as humans in sports will be compared. Also different attempts of solutions for the regulatory body will be presented, which may change the regulatory significance. Finally a preview about actual questions related to doping is given.
Nguyen JS, Tran Y, Su SW, Nguyen HT.This paper is concerned with the design and development of a semi-autonomous wheelchair system using cameras in a system configuration modeled on the vision system of a horse. This new camera configuration utilizes stereoscopic vision for 3-Dimensional (3D) depth perception and mapping ahead of the wheelchair, combined with a spherical camera system for 360-degrees of monocular vision. This unique combination allows for static components of an unknown environment to be mapped and any surrounding dynamic obstacles to be detected, during real-time autonomous navigation, minimizing blind-spots an...
Murray MJ, Ball MM, Parker GA.A 3-month-old foal with a history of persistent fever and leukocytosis was found to have pneumonia, ulceration of the squamous portion of the stomach, and dilatation of the distal portion of the esophagus. The foal was euthanatized and necropsied. The distal portion of the esophagus was severely dilated, and there was severe ulceration and mural thickening of the stomach at the cardia. Because of the severe gastric ulceration and mural thickening, the gastroesophageal junction was fixed in an open position, permitting gastroesophageal reflux. The megaesophagus and pneumonia were considered to ...
Rothhaupt D, Ziegler H, Laser T.The orthopedic hippotherapy represents a new form of therapeutic exercise in the conservative treatment of segmental instabilities in the lumbar spine region. This kind of therapy works on the principle of conveying to the patient the three-dimensional swinging motion of the horse's back. The patient reacts to these movement impulses by moving up and down (vertical movement of the spine), back and forth (sagittal movement) and to the right and the left (horizontal movement). The small movements of the spine thus produced bring about a mobilization of the segments involved in movement and there...
Lipscomb DL, Boudreaux MK, Paxton R, Spano J, Welles EG, Schumacher J.To establish the existence of platelet-derived proteins in equine plasma, with the future goal of developing an assay for the detection of in vivo platelet activation. Methods: 5 mature healthy horses. Methods: Platelet-rich plasma and platelet-poor plasma were prepared from anticoagulated blood. Platelets were separated from plasma proteins by gel filtration, then activated with 0.5 microM platelet-activating factor. Protease inhibitors were added, and the released platelet proteins were harvested. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed on the released platele...
Foster JP, Evans MJ, Irvine CH.Mares at different stages of the oestrous cycle were given a single intravenous injection of 0.5 mg synthetic Gn-RH. The mean area of the induced LH peak was significantly less at mid-cycle (Day 10-11) than at any other time. The mean height of the LH peak above preinjection concentration was greater at late oestrus and early cycle (Day 5-6) than at mid-cycle and early oestrus. There were no significant different in mean FSH responses. The LH:FSH ratio for both height and area of induced peaks was significantly less at mid-cycle than at other times of injection. These results suggest that one ...
