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.
Vincent A, Peth-Pierce RM, Morrissey MA, Acri MC, Guo F, Seibel L, Hoagwood KE.(1) Background: Accounting for the well-being of equine partners is a responsibility of those engaged in Equine-Assisted Services (EAS). Researchers took heed of this call to action by developing an innovative way to collect data to assess the physiological indicators of stress in equine participants. The collection of saliva is considered to be a minimally invasive method of data collection and is typically performed using a cotton swab; however, in equines, the introduction of a foreign object may induce stress; (2) Methods: Researchers used a modified bit to collect pooled saliva in an effo...
Suchan T, Kusliy MA, Khan N, Chauvey L, Tonasso-Calvière L, Schiavinato S, Southon J, Keller M, Kitagawa K, Krause J, Bessudnov AN, Bessudnov AA....DNA hybridization-capture techniques allow researchers to focus their sequencing efforts on preselected genomic regions. This feature is especially useful when analysing ancient DNA (aDNA) extracts, which are often dominated by exogenous environmental sources. Here, we assessed, for the first time, the performance of hyRAD as an inexpensive and design-free alternative to commercial capture protocols to obtain authentic aDNA data from osseous remains. HyRAD relies on double enzymatic restriction of fresh DNA extracts to produce RNA probes that cover only a fraction of the genome and can serve a...
Costa VMD, Cursino AE, Franco Luiz APM, Braz GF, Cavalcante PH, Souza CA, Simplício KMMG, Drumond BP, Lima MT, Teixeira BM, Kroon EG.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is listed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as one of the equine diseases that must be notified. No effective treatment or vaccine is available. EIA control is based on segregation and euthanasia of positive equids. The disease is caused by the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), a member of the genus Lentivirus of the Retroviridae family. Despite the importance of this disease in equids, EIA has been poorly studied in donkeys (Equus asinus). We evaluate the sanitary conditions related to EIAV in donkeys from a shelter of abandoned animals capt...
Skelton JA, Hawkins JF, Rochat MC.A 13-year-old 128-kg miniature donkey gelding was evaluated for right forelimb lameness of 7 weeks' duration. Muscular atrophy of the infraspinatus and supraspinatus muscles over the right scapula with a palpable bony prominence over the point of the shoulder was evident. At the walk, the cranial phase of the stride was reduced with adduction of the distal aspect of the limb, dragging of the toe, and lameness (grade, 4/5). Lateral and craniocaudal radiographs of the right shoulder joint revealed lateral luxation of the humerus in relation to the scapula with bony proliferation and remodeling o...
Schweinsberg LP, Ehrle A, Schweinsberg U, Meehan L, Noguera Cender A, Lischer CJ.To describe the surgical correction of a multiplanar deformity of the radius in a pony using a single-cut osteotomy. Methods: Case report. Methods: A 9-week-old male Shetland pony foal with a bodyweight of 47 kg. Methods: The foal presented with a complex multiplanar deformity of the right radius. A 3-dimensional model of the bone was created based on computed tomography (CT) imaging. To correct the deformity, the cutting plane for a single-cut osteotomy was calculated following the mathematical approach described by Sangeorzan et al. After osteotomy, the bone was realigned and stabilized wi...
Andrade DGA, Cerri FM, Barbosa GVM, Basso RM, Takahira RK, Pantoja JCF, Oliveira-Filho JP, Borges AS.Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is important as a complementary test in horses with neurologic diseases, and sequential analysis may provide information about the treatment response or evolution and quantitative measures of the CSF drug concentration during treatment. The aim of this study was to compare erythrocyte and nucleated cell counts and protein concentration in multiple CSF samples obtained sequentially from two different puncture sites in clinically healthy horses. Eight and 12 horses, with no evidence of neurologic disease, were subjected to CSF collection from the atlanto...
Geiger T, Gerhards H, Wollanke B.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is typically caused by chronic intraocular leptospiral infection in warm-blooded horses in central Europe. The most effective therapy for leptospiral-induced ERU is the surgical removal of diseased vitreous (vitrectomy). Since vitrectomy is a highly specialized and invasive surgery, the indication must be determined very carefully. In order to obtain evidence of intraocular leptospiral infection by laboratory diagnostics in questionable leptospiral ERU-cases, sampling of aqueous humor is required, because serum tests using microscopic agglutination test (MAT) are...
de Mira MC, Lamy E, Santos R, Williams J, Pinto MV, Martins PS, Rodrigues P, Marlin D.The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of salivary cortisol (SC) and eye temperature measured by infrared thermography (IRTET) as biomarkers to manage competitions more effectively and monitor horse welfare in endurance competitions. Based on previous studies, it was hypothesised that pre-exercise baseline SC and IRTET would be higher in younger or less experienced horses, and that post-exercise variation from baseline would be higher in the top finishers. Results: Salivary cortisol measured in 61 competing at qualifier 40 km and 80 km rides showed an abrupt variation ...
Pradella GD, Duarte CA, Escobar TA, Zuravski L, Góss GC, Skupien JA, Lübeck I.The Leishmaniases are on the top of the global list of tropical neglected diseases. The number of infected dogs in South America is estimated in millions and correlated to disease cases in humans, especially in Brazil. Equines may get infected too and can play a role in the epidemiological chain. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate risk and protective factors of leishmaniasis in rural areas of the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil by Leishmania spp. protozoa molecular detection and serological evaluation (ELISA) in equine and canine blood samples. This wor...
Leeth C, Adkins J, Hay A, Bogers S, Potter A, Witonsky S, Zhu J.Immunological studies in the horse are frequently hampered by lack of environmental control, complicated study design, and ethical concerns when performing high risk studies. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the utility of a xenograft model for studying acute equine immune responses. Immunocompromised non obese diabetic (NOD). sudden combined immunodeficiency (scid).gamma-/- (NSG) mice were engrafted with either equine peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) or equine bone marrow to determine an optimal protocol for equine lymphocyte engraftment. We found that both PBL and bone ...
Santosuosso E, Leguillette R, Vinardell T, Filho S, Massie S, McCrae P, Johnson S, Rolian C, David F.Background: Swimming is used for rehabilitation and conditioning purposes in equine sports medicine despite the lack of understanding of equine swimming kinematics. The aim of this study was to assess forelimb joints kinematics (elbow, carpus, and fetlock) in swimming horses. The specific objectives were 1- to calculate and compare joint angles in swimming vs. passive mobilizations (PM), 2- to determine joint angular velocities during a swimming stride cycle. Methods: Eleven elite endurance horses swam in a 100-m straight pool. Underwater (swimming) and overground (PM) videos were recorded fro...
Gaitskell-Phillips G, Martín-Cano FE, Ortiz-Rodríguez JM, Silva-Rodríguez A, da Silva-Álvarez E, Gil MC, Ortega-Ferrusola C, Peña FJ.Seminal plasma plays an important role in sperm physiology. Seminal plasma proteins vehiculated in microvesicles, carry RNAs and proteins with a potential role in early embryo development. Additionally, proteins present in seminal plasma participate in redox regulation and energy metabolism. In view of these facts, we hypothesized that differences in protein composition of the seminal plasma among stallions may help to explain differences in freeze-ability seen among them. Three independent ejaculates from 10 different stallions of varying breeds were frozen using standard protocols in our lab...
Flash ML, Crabb HK, Hitchens PL, Firestone SM, Stevenson MA, Gilkerson JR.The number of horses leaving the Australian Thoroughbred (TB) racing industry each year is of concern to animal welfare advocates, public and regulators. A horse's previous athletic performance is a significant driver of retirement from racing. Racehorse performance can be measured in terms of the total number of starts, duration of racing and prize money earned. This study investigated Australian racing records for the 2005 and 2010 Victorian TB foal crops to identify factors associated with total number of starts, racing career duration, prize money earned and age of last race start-up to th...
Santos WB, Schettini GP, Maiorano AM, Bussiman FO, Balieiro JCC, Ferraz GC, Pereira GL, Baldassini WA, Neto ORM, Oliveira HN, Curi RA.The detection of signatures of selection in genomic regions provides insights into the evolutionary process, enabling discoveries regarding complex phenotypic traits. In this research, we focused on identifying genomic regions affected by different selection pressures, mainly highlighting the recent positive selection, as well as understanding the candidate genes and functional pathways associated with the signatures of selection in the Mangalarga Marchador genome. Besides, we seek to direct the discussion about genes and traits of importance in this breed, especially traits related to the typ...
Tamamura-Andoh Y, Niwa H, Kinoshita Y, Uchida-Fujii E, Arai N, Watanabe-Yanai A, Iwata T, Akiba M, Kusumoto M.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae have become a cause for great concern. Although some studies have reported the prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria and ESBL-encoding genes in horses worldwide, the genetic structure surrounding the ESBL gene has not been analysed in detail. In the present study, we isolated two ESBL-producing Escherichia coli strains from diseased racehorses in Japan and demonstrated the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Two ESBL-producing E. coli strains (E148 and E189) were isolated from th...
Galon EM, Macalanda AM, Garcia MM, Ibasco CJ, Garvida A, Ji S, Zafar I, Hasegawa Y, Liu M, Ybañez RH, Umemiya-Shirafuji R, Ybañez A, Claveria F....Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) considerably impair equine health and productivity. Moreover, TBDs, particularly equine piroplasmosis, impede international movement and trade of equids, which is a vital component of the global horse racing industry. In the Philippines, horse racing is a lucrative industry generating millions of USD annually. However, information on equine TBDs is scarce. This study intended to describe molecularly the equine tick-borne infections in a racehorse park in Cavite, Philippines and identify the risk factors associated with the infections. One hundred twenty-four (n = 124...
Przewoźny M, Senderska-Płonowska M, Rząsa A, Wierzbicki H, Borkowski J, Swagemakers JH, Żak-Bochenek A, Stefaniak T.Arthroscopy and splint bone removal are the common orthopedic procedures in horses. Estimation of the dynamics of acute phase proteins in postoperative monitoring seems to be interesting diagnostic approach. The aim of the study was to investigate changes in the concentrations of plasma inflammatory markers-fibrinogen, haptoglobin, and protease inhibitors-following orthopedic surgery in horses. The study involved 114 horses, divided into two study groups undergoing: arthroscopy (41 horses) and splint bone removal (13 horses). The control group consisted of 60 healthy horses. The blood was coll...
Pesko B, Habershon-Butcher J, Muir T, Gray B, Taylor P, Fenwick S, Hincks P, Scarth J, Paine S.Paracetamol is a widely used, non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic drug. Scientific evidence suggests that it is an effective pain treatment in equine medicine. However, there is very little published information about the pharmacokinetics of the drug in the horse. The aim of the research was to determine the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol in equine plasma and urine to inform treatment of Thoroughbred racehorses. In this multi-dose study, paracetamol was administered orally at 20 mg/kg to six Thoroughbred horses. Pre- and post-administration urine and plasma samples were collected and analys...
Physick-Sheard P, Avison A, Sears W.Ontario's Alcohol and Gaming Commission records equine racing fatalities through its Equine Health Program. The present study examined all Thoroughbred fatalities from 2003 to 2015, inclusive, to identify associations. Official records and details of fatalities were combined in multivariable logistic regression modelling of 236,386 race work-events (433 fatalities), and 459,013 workout work-events (252 fatalities). Fatality rates were 2.94/1000 race starts (all fatalities) and 1.96/1000 (breakdowns only) with an overall rate of 2.61% or 26.1 fatalities/1000 horses. Comparison with published re...
The American surgeonOctober 13, 2021
Volume 89, Issue 4 875-880 doi: 10.1177/00031348211048836
Bhade P, Parsons A, Smiley A, Shreffler J, Nash N, Baker J, Harbrecht B, Huecker M.The potential for significant traumatic injury to individuals who interact with horses remains high due to animal size, forces applied, and unpredictability. Despite an estimated 30 million riders in the United States annually, few recent publications have addressed this patient population. Objective: This study describes characteristics of patients injured in interactions with horses, focusing on mechanism of injury and use of protective equipment. Methods: We queried our institution's trauma registry for all patients admitted for equine-related injuries (ERI) between January 1, 2013 and Dece...
Kam YN, McKenzie K, Coyle M, Bertin FR.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a common endocrinopathy of horses diagnosed with a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test. Objective: Describe the repeatability of TRH stimulation in horses with and without PPID in winter and autumn. Methods: Twenty adult horses; 6 controls and 6 with PPID tested in autumn, 8 controls and 6 with PPID tested in winter with 3 controls and 3 with PPID tested in both seasons. Methods: Thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation was performed on 2 consecutive occasions, 1 week before and 1 week after the winter solstice and the autumn ...
Floyd E, Danks S, Comyn I, Mackenzie C, Marr CM.Respiratory disease is common in critically ill neonatal foals. Traditional oxygen therapy (TOT) with nasal insufflation of oxygen is often used to provide first-line respiratory support. Mechanical ventilation is used in foals which require a greater level of support but requires specialist expertise and can be associated with significant complications. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) enables a greater level of respiratory support without the need for intubation. High flow oxygen therapy (HFOT) is a mode of NIV commonly used in human intensive care. Objective: To describe the use of HFOT in ho...
Vasco ACCM, Brinkley-Bissinger KJ, Bobel JM, Dubeux JCB, Warren LK, Wickens CL.Rhizoma peanut (RP, Arachis glabrata) hay has the potential to meet horses' crude protein (CP) requirements with less nitrogen excretion than other legumes. This study aimed to evaluate nutrient intake, apparent digestibility, and nitrogen balance of RP "Florigraze" hay compared with alfalfa (ALF, Medicago sativa L. "Legendary XHD") and bermudagrass (BG, Cynodon dactylon L. "Coastal") hays when fed to maintenance horses at 2% body weight/d on a dry matter (DM) basis. We hypothesized that nutrient intake would be comparable between the legume hays and lesser for BG and that RP would result in r...
Gaitskell-Phillips G, Martín-Cano FE, Ortiz-Rodríguez JM, da Silva-Álvarez E, Masot J, Redondo E, Gil MC, Ortega-Ferrusola C, Peña FJ.Seminal plasma proteins have important roles in sperm functionality, and different mechanisms including micro-vesicle transport of proteins are involved in the regulation of sperm biology. Due to the role of seminal plasma, we hypothesized that specific proteins present in seminal plasma may be used as discriminant variables with potential to identify stallions producing different quality ejaculates; 10 fertile stallions, with different motility and velocity values (although within normal ranges) were used in this study. Motilities and velocities were studied using computer assisted sperm anal...
Conradie M, Robert M, Carstens A.A 7-year-old Thoroughbred gelding presented with a history of mild unilateral right-sided epistaxis and facial swelling over the right caudal maxillary sinus and zygomatic arch. Eleven months previously a progressive ethmoid hematoma had been surgically removed from the right caudal maxillary and conchofrontal sinus. Computed tomography identified a large expansile soft-tissue attenuating mass in the right caudal maxillary sinus, with protrusion into the conchofrontal sinus, that extended into the zygomatic arch. Lytic expansion and thinning of the cortex with pneumatization of the zygomatic a...
Loomes K, Louro LF.In equine anaesthesia, the recovery period is a time of considerable risk and has been the focus of prolific research. Risk factors, including age, type and duration of procedure or temperament may influence recovery quality. Unfortunately, the anaesthetist is unable to control for these factors, therefore various pharmacological interventions and recovery methods have been developed with the objective of improving recovery quality. However, no consensus among anaesthetists has been reached for many of these interventions and their implications for recovery-related mortality and morbidity. Obj...
Zorigt T, Furuta Y, Simbotwe M, Ochi A, Tsujinouchi M, Shawa M, Shimizu T, Isoda N, Enkhtuya J, Higashi H.Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-positive spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Detecting naturally acquired antibodies against anthrax sublethal exposure in animals is essential for anthrax surveillance and effective control measures. Serological assays based on protective antigen (PA) of B. anthracis are mainly used for anthrax surveillance and vaccine evaluation. Although the assay is reliable, it is challenging to distinguish the naturally acquired antibodies from vaccine-induced immunity in animals because PA is cross-reactive to both antibodies. Although additional ...
Lima DFPA, da Cruz VAR, Pereira GL, Curi RA, Costa RB, de Camargo GMF.The position and number of hair whorls have been associated with the behavior, temperament, and laterality of horses. The easy observation of whorls assists in the prediction of reactivity, and thus permits the development of better measures of handling, training, mounting, and riding horses. However, little is known about the genetics involved in the formation of hair whorls. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform a genome-wide association analysis to identify chromosome regions and candidate genes associated with hair whorl traits. Data from 342 Quarter Horses genotyped for approxim...
McGill S, Hayes M, Tumlin K, Coleman R.Equine farms are building both stables for the horses to live in and additional facilities to train and work horses (Kidd et al., 1997). For many of these farms, an outdoor arena that has an all-weather footing is the first working facility built. During inclement weather the ability to train in the outdoor arenas is inhibited, which in turn means the trainers, riders, and farms lose income as money is only made when horses are working, training, and competing. Indoor arenas allow for horses to continue to be worked no matter the weather conditions. The equine industry contributes a total of $...
McGorum BC, Chen Z, Glendinning L, Gweon HS, Hunt L, Ivens A, Keen JA, Pirie RS, Taylor J, Wilkinson T, McLachlan G.Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a multiple systems neuropathy of grazing horses of unknown aetiology. An apparently identical disease occurs in cats, dogs, rabbits, hares, sheep, alpacas and llamas. Many of the risk factors for EGS are consistent with it being a pasture mycotoxicosis. To identify potential causal fungi, the gastrointestinal mycobiota of EGS horses were evaluated using targeted amplicon sequencing, and compared with those of two control groups. Samples were collected post mortem from up to 5 sites in the gastrointestinal tracts of EGS horses (EGS group; 150 samples from 54 horse...
Finno CJ, Spier SJ, Valberg SJ.The recent development of equine genome maps by the equine genome community and the complete sequencing of the horse genome performed at the Broad Institute have accelerated the pace of genetic discovery. This review focuses on genetic diseases in the horse for which a mutation is currently known, including hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, severe combined immunodeficiency, overo lethal white syndrome, junctional epidermolysis bullosa, glycogen branching enzyme deficiency, malignant hyperthermia, hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia, and polysaccharide storage myopathy. Emphasis is placed...
Nankervis KJ, Finney P, Launder L.Water treadmill exercise can be incorporated into the rehabilitation programmes of horses recovering from back pathology, yet little is known about the effect of this type of exercise on thoracolumbar movement ranges. Objective: To measure the flexion-extension range of motion (FE ROM) of the thoracolumbar spine and pelvic vertical displacement during water treadmill walking at 3 water depths and compare these with the control condition. Methods: Within-subject trial using a crossover design in healthy horses. Methods: A total of 14 horses walked at 0.8 m/s on a water treadmill for 3 min at ea...
Zamith Cunha R, Zannoni A, Salamanca G, De Silva M, Rinnovati R, Gramenzi A, Forni M, Chiocchetti R.The metacarpophalangeal joint undergoes enormous loading during locomotion and can therefore often become inflamed, potentially resulting in osteoarthritis (OA). There are studies indicating that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) modulates synovium homeostasis, and could be a promising target for OA therapy. Some cannabinoid receptors, which modulate proliferative and secretory responses in joint inflammation, have been functionally identified in human and animal synovial cells. Unassigned: To characterize the cellular distribution of the cannabinoid receptors 1 (CB1R) and 2 (CB2R), and the can...
Curik I, Zechner P, Sölkner J, Achmann R, Bodo I, Dovc P, Kavar T, Marti E, Brem G.While the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced heterozygosity on fecundity and survival are well established, only a few investigations have been carried out concerning their influence on morphological traits. This topic is of particular interest for a small and closed population such as the Lipizzan horse. Thus, 27 morphological traits were measured in 360 Lipizzan mares and were regressed on the individual inbreeding coefficients, as well as on the individual heterozygosity and mean squared distances (mean d(2)) between microsatellite alleles within an individual. Both individual heter...
Morley PS, Hanson LK, Bogdan JR, Townsend HG, Appleton JA, Haines DM.Antibodies specific for equine influenza viruses are usually quantified using single radial hemolysis (SRH), hemagglutination inhibition (HI) or virus neutralization (VN). Neutralizing antibodies are thought to provide optimum protection to challenged animals. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which SRH and HI assays detect antibodies which neutralize equine influenza viruses. Acute and convalescent sera from 41 horses were analyzed using VN, SRH, and HI assays. These horses were present in a population of Thoroughbred racehorses during an epidemic of upper respiratory t...
Bertoni L, Jacquet-Guibon S, Branly T, Legendre F, Desancé M, Mespoulhes C, Melin M, Hartmann DJ, Schmutz A, Denoix JM, Galéra P, Demoor M....Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and economic loss in both humans and horses. The horse is recognized as a suitable model for human osteoarthritis, because the thickness, structure, and mechanical properties of equine articular cartilage are highly comparable to those of humans. Although a number of equine experimental osteoarthritis models have been described in the literature, these cases generally involve the induction of osteoarthritis in just one joint of each animal. This approach necessitates the involvement of large numbers of horses to obtain reliable data and thus limits the ...
Rosati S, Profiti M, Lorenzetti R, Bandecchi P, Mannelli A, Ortoffi M, Tolari F, Ciabatti IM.Among animal lentiviruses, Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), Equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) and Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) are important pathogens associated with a variety of clinical pictures including immunodeficiency, anaemia, arthritis, pneumonia. The detection of viral antibody response represents a practical diagnostic approach in all lentivirus infections since they remain detectable long life. Capsid antigen (CA) is the major viral core protein and specific antibodies against this antigen are usually first recognised in infected sheep, goat and horse, remaining dete...
Post F, Doster W, Karvounis G, Settles M.The geminate recombination kinetics of CO-myoglobin strongly deviates from single exponential behavior in contrast to what is expected for unimolecular reactions (1). At low temperatures, this result was attributed to slowly exchanging conformational states which differ substantially in barrier height for ligand binding. Above 160 K the kinetics apparently slow down with temperature increase. Agmon and Hopfield (2) explain this result in terms of structural relaxation perpendicular to the reaction coordinate, which enhances the activation energy. In their model, structural relaxation homogeniz...
Okoko T, Blagova EV, Whittingham JL, Dover LG, Wilkinson AJ.Virulence and host range in Rhodococcus equi depends on the variable pathogenicity island of their virulence plasmids. Notable gene products are a family of small secreted virulence-associated proteins (Vaps) that are critical to intramacrophagic proliferation. Equine-adapted strains, which cause severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals, produce a cell-associated VapA that is necessary for virulence, alongside five other secreted homologues. In the absence of biochemical insight, attention has turned to the structures of these proteins to develop a functional hypothesis. Recent studies have ...
Walter I, Handler J, Reifinger M, Aurich C.Periglandular fibrosis and cystic dilation of uterine glands are associated with equine endometriosis. The presence of extracellular matrix proteins (collagen type I, III and IV, laminin and fibronectin) in healthy and endometriotic specimens was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. The distribution of collagen I, but not collagen III, was dependent on the stage of the oestrous cycle. The arrangement of collagen I and collagen III in endometriotic specimens was similar to that in normal endometrium. In periglandular fibrosis, collagen IV, laminin and fibronectin deposition outside the basemen...
Hodavance MS, Ralston SL, Pelczer I.Metabonomic analysis is a powerful tool for identifying and characterizing metabolic disorders, for example type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an essential tool for such analysis, with special benefits. The review assesses the current status and potential of NMR-based metabonomics of type 2 diabetes. The horse is proposed as a possible model for studying this condition and disease. Some examples are shown of horse blood analyses by NMR.
Lawin FJ, Byström A, Roepstorff C, Rhodin M, Almlöf M, Silva M, Andersen PH, Kjellström H, Hernlund E.Computer vision is a subcategory of artificial intelligence focused on extraction of information from images and video. It provides a compelling new means for objective orthopaedic gait assessment in horses using accessible hardware, such as a smartphone, for markerless motion analysis. This study aimed to explore the lameness assessment capacity of a smartphone single camera (SC) markerless computer vision application by comparing measurements of the vertical motion of the head and pelvis to an optical motion capture multi-camera (MC) system using skin attached reflective markers. Twenty-five...
Love CC, Thompson JA, Brinsko SP, Rigby SL, Blanchard TL, Lowry VK, Varner DD.Relationships between sperm motility parameters and viability were evaluated using two fluorescent staining techniques in fresh extended semen (fresh and after 24 h storage at 5 degrees C) that had various concentrations of dead sperm added to simulate different levels of viable and nonviable sperm. Both protocols incorporated SYBR-14 and propidium iodide (PI) while the second protocol added the mitochondrial probe JC-1. The relationship between total sperm motility and percent viable sperm was high between staining protocols (r = 0.98). Time (0 h versus 24 h, P<0.0001) and treatment (0, 10, 2...
Gale AL, Mammone RM, Dodson ME, Linardi RL, Ortved KF.Joint injury is extremely common in equine athletes and post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), a progressive and debilitating disease, is estimated to affect 60% of horses in the USA. The limited potential for intrinsic healing of articular cartilage has prompted intense efforts to identify a cell-based repair strategy to prevent progression of PTOA. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to become an ideal source for cell-based treatment of cartilage lesions; however, full chondrogenic differentiation remains elusive. Due to the relatively low oxygen tension in articular cartilage, h...
Smith EJ, Beaumont RE, McClellan A, Sze C, Palomino Lago E, Hazelgrove L, Dudhia J, Smith RKW, Guest DJ.Tendon injuries occur commonly in both human and equine athletes, and poor tendon regeneration leads to functionally deficient scar tissue and an increased frequency of re-injury. Despite evidence suggesting inadequate resolution of inflammation leads to fibrotic healing, our understanding of the inflammatory pathways implicated in tendinopathy remains poorly understood, meaning successful targeted treatments are lacking. Here, we demonstrate IL-1β, TNFα and IFN-γ work synergistically to induce greater detrimental consequences for equine tenocytes than when used individually. This includes ...
Ramsauer AS, Badenhorst M, Cavalleri JV.Equine parvovirus hepatitis (EqPV-H) was first described in 2018 in a fatal case of Theiler's disease which followed the administration of an equine-origin biological product. The virus has since been frequently identified in serum and liver tissue of horses affected by Theiler's disease-an acute, severe hepatitis characterised by fulminant hepatic necrosis with a fatal outcome in most cases. EqPV-H is hepatotropic, appears to be associated with subclinical to severe hepatitis in horses, and is a likely cause of Theiler's disease. Although this disease is most frequently reported following the...
Lewis N, Hinrichs K, Leese HJ, McG Argo C, Brison DR, Sturmey R.Horses are one of the few species, beside humans, in which assisted reproductive technology has important clinical applications. Furthermore, the horse can serve as a valuable model for the study of comparative reproductive biology. Here we present the first comprehensive characterisation of energy metabolism and mitochondrial efficiency in equine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) during in vitro maturation (IVM), as determined using a combination of non-invasive consumption and release assays and mitochondrial function analysis. These data reveal notable species-specific differences in the rate...
Grady GF, Maxfield HK, Hildreth SW, Timperi RJ, Gilfillan RF, Rosenau BJ, Francy DB, Calisher CH, Marcus LC, Madoff MA.Reappearance of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in Massachusetts residents in the 1970's provided an opportunity to assess the predictive value of data on rainfall, EEE in horses, and carriage of EEE virus (EEEV) by mosquitoes, factors which had been studied annually since the last EEE outbreak in 1955-1956. The cycle of multiple cases during 1973-1975 started in a second consecutive year of rainfall that exceeded the annual mean by more than 20 cm, conditions recapitulating the 1955-1956 experience. In 1973, widespread EEE fatalities in horses presaged human cases, another recapitulation of...
Moridi M, Masoudi AA, Vaez Torshizi R, Hill EW.To understand the origin and genetic diversity of Iranian native horses, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences were generated for 95 horses from five breeds sampled in eight geographical locations in Iran. Sequence analysis of a 247-bp segment revealed a total of 27 haplotypes with 38 polymorphic sites. Twelve of 19 mtDNA haplogroups were identified in the samples. The most common haplotypes were found within haplogroup X2. Within-population haplotype and nucleotide diversities of the five breeds ranged from 0.838 ± 0.056 to 0.974 ± 0.022 and 0.011 ± 0.002 to 0.021 ± 0.001 res...
Peiró JR, Borges AS, Gonçalves RC, Mendes LC.To compare results reported for blood gas partial pressures, electrolyte concentrations, and Hct in venous blood samples collected from cattle, horses, and sheep and analyzed by use of a portable clinical analyzer (PCA) and reference analyzer (RA). Methods: Clinically normal animals (24 cattle, 22 horses, and 22 sheep). Methods: pH; Pco(2); Po(2); total carbon dioxide concentration; oxygen saturation; base excess; concentrations of HCO(3)(-), Na(+), K(+), and ionized calcium; Hct; and hemoglobin concentration were determined with a PCA. Results were compared with those obtained for the same bl...
Middleton JR, Fales WH, Luby CD, Oaks JL, Sanchez S, Kinyon JM, Wu CC, Maddox CW, Welsh RD, Hartmann F.Staphylococcus aureus isolates (n = 70) from 65 patients (36 canine, 18 equine, 7 bovine, 2 avian, and 2 feline) at seven veterinary teaching hospitals in the United States were studied. The majority of patients (83%) with an S. aureus infection were canine and equine, but this may have reflected a sample bias based on clinic case loads and diagnostic lab submissions at the participating institutions. Fourteen percent of patients with an S. aureus infection were infected with a methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolate. Six of seven institutions had at least one MRSA infection during the ...
Aleman M, Gray LC, Williams DC, Holliday TA, Madigan JE, LeCouteur RA, Magdesian KG.Epilepsy is relatively uncommon in horses compared with other species and limited information is available. Objective: The objectives of the study were to describe the age of onset, clinical signs, clinicopathologic data, electroeticephalographic findings, treatment, and outcome, including long-term prognosis in Arabian foals with idiopathic epilepsy. Methods: Twenty-two foals were included in the study. Methods: Medical records from 1985 to 2005 were reviewed. Results: The age of onset of affected foals ranged from 2 days to 6 months. Seizures were characterized by generalized tonic and cloni...
Dell'Aquila ME, Cho YS, Minoia P, Traina V, Lacalandra GM, Maritato F.The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the addition of follicular fluid (FF) collected from preovulatory follicles with that of oestrous mare serum (EMS) (acting as the control) to TCM-199 medium on the in-vitro maturation, fertilization and development of equine cumulus-enclosed oocytes. Oocytes (<30 mm in diameter) were obtained from the ovaries of slaughtered mares. After in-vitro maturation in the presence of the two supplements, their fertilization, cleavage and developmental potential were compared after conventional in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm inje...
Sykora S, Pieber K, Simhofer H, Hackl V, Brodesser D, Brandt S.Red complex bacteria, i.e. Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola and Tannerella forsythia, are involved in the onset and progression of periodontal disease in man, yet seldom inhabit the oral cavity of healthy individuals. Periodontal disease is also encountered in horses, with equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) constituting a particular form of disease. However, only little is known about the oral microbiome of healthy and periodontitis-affected equids. Objective: We aimed to test the hypothesis that red complex bacteria are also associated with EOTRH-re...
Jasko DJ, Little TV, Lein DH, Foote RH.Information pertaining to evaluation of single ejaculates of semen and records for 2 consecutive breeding seasons were obtained. In all, data for 99 individual breeding seasons (n = 43 Standardbreds and 56 Thoroughbreds) were evaluated. Included in each semen evaluation was examination of semen characteristics and computer-aided analysis of spermatozoal movement characteristics. On the basis of the analysis of breeding records for 4,175 mares (7,017 estrous cycles), a per-estrous cycle fertility rate was calculated from data for 96 of the breeding seasons. Stallions with lower fertility than t...
Cavalleri JV, Korbacska-Kutasi O, Leblond A, Paillot R, Pusterla N, Steinmann E, Tomlinson J.Horses and other equids can be infected with several viruses of the family Flaviviridae, belonging to the genus Flavivirus and Hepacivirus. This consensus statement focuses on viruses with known occurrence in Europe, with the objective to summarize the current literature and formulate clinically relevant evidence-based recommendations regarding clinical disease, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The viruses circulating in Europe include West Nile virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Usutu virus, Louping ill virus and the equine hepacivirus. West Nile virus and Usutu virus are mosquito-bor...
Dong HJ, Ho H, Hwang H, Kim Y, Han J, Lee I, Cho S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is one of the most frequently reported diseases in thoroughbred racehorses. Although several risk factors for the development of gastric ulcers have been widely studied, investigation of microbiological factors has been limited. In this study, the presence of Helicobacter spp. and the gastric microbial communities of thoroughbred racehorses having mild to severe gastric ulcers were investigated. Although Helicobacter spp. were not detected using culture and PCR techniques from 52 gastric biopsies and 52 fecal samples, the genomic sequences of H. pylori and H. ganm...
Birch HL, Wilson AM, Goodship AE.This study explores the hypothesis that high-intensity exercise induces degenerative changes in the injury-prone equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), but not in the rarely injured common digital extensor tendon (CDET). The horse represents a large-animal model that is applicable to human tendon and ligament physiology and pathology. Twelve age-matched female horses undertook galloping exercise three times a week with trotting exercise on alternative days (high-intensity group, n = 6) or only walking exercise (low-intensity group, n = 6) for 18 mo. The SDFT, suspensory ligament, dee...
Tulloch LK, Perkins JD, Piercy RJ.Skeletal muscle is composed of a heterogeneous mixture of several fibre types, each with specific physiological properties. In equine muscle, identification of these individual fibres (fibre typing) is important for both exercise physiology and pathological studies. Traditionally, fibre typing has been achieved by adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) histochemistry or by immunoperoxidase labelling with antibodies directed at myosin heavy chain isoforms. ATPase histochemistry can be temperamental and lacks specificity, and both techniques require staining of serial cryosections to reveal the entir...
