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.
Lopes MAF, Hardy J, Farnsworth K, Labens R, Lam WYE, Noschka E, Afonso T, Cruz Villagrán C, Santos LCP, Saulez M, Kelmer G.Standing flank laparotomy can be an alternative to ventral midline laparotomy in horses with colic. Standing flank laparotomy avoids general anaesthesia, provides excellent access to some regions of the abdominopelvic cavity and costs less than ventral midline laparotomy. Objective: To report a series of cases of peritoneal and intestinal diseases other than SC diseases managed with standing flank laparotomy. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Records from equids with colic subjected to standing flank laparotomy at five hospitals (2003-2020) were reviewed. Descriptive data analysis w...
Nino-Fong R, Esparza Gonzalez BP, Rodriguez-Lecompte JC, Montelpare W, McD￮ L.Bone repair in horses implies invasive surgeries and increased cost. Research on musculoskeletal disorders therapy in horses includes cell-based therapy with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Mesenchymal stromal cells can be obtained from bone marrow (BMMSCs). Unfortunately, BMMSCs have limited cell replication . The objective of this study was to develop a biologically immortalized equine stem cell line derived from bone marrow, with unlimited proliferation and the ability to differentiate into bone cells. Equine BMMSCs were transfected and immortalized with human telomerase reverse transcri...
Costa M, Di Pietro R, Bessegatto JA, Pereira PFV, Stievani FC, Gomes RG, Lisbôa JAN, Weese JS.The purpose of this study was to characterize the fecal microbiota of horses with acute and chronic diarrhea before and after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Six client-owned horses with acute and chronic diarrhea received FMT from 2 healthy donor horses. Microbiota analysis using next-generation sequencing was performed on fecal samples collected before and 2 and 7 d after FMT. Signs of diarrhea improved in 4 horses, whereas the remaining 2 horses did not survive. There was a significant difference in the number of bacterial species between donors and recipients (P < 0.05). The Order ...
Kerr CL, Keating SCJ, Arroyo LG, Viel L.Neonatal foals may require prolonged sedation to permit ventilatory support in the first few days of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the cardiopulmonary effects and clinical recovery characteristics of 2 sedative/analgesia protocols in healthy foals receiving assisted ventilation. Foals were randomized to receive dexmedetomidine, butorphanol, and propofol (DBP) or midazolam, butorphanol, and propofol (MBP) during a 24-hour period. Infusion rates of dexmedetomidine, midazolam, and propofol were adjusted and propofol boluses administered according to set protocols t...
Kędzierski W, Sadok I, Kowalik S, Janczarek I, Staniszewska M.Tryptophan (Trp) is an essential amino acid which metabolises via the kynurenine pathway to generate a number of bioactive substances referred to as kynurenines. Among those are 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HKyn) and quinolinic acid, which are neurotoxic, as well as kynurenic acid (Kyna) and xanthurenic acid (XA), which, similarly to nicotinamide (NAm), show neuroprotective and anti-depressive effects. Routine exercise is known to modulate Trp metabolism in skeletal muscle and is thus believed to reduce the risk of depressive states in humans and laboratory animals. Analogously, it was hypothesised ...
Castaneda C, Juras R, Kjöllerström J, Hernandez Aviles C, Teague SR, Love CC, Cothran EG, Varner DD, Raudsepp T.This is a follow-up study to validate the previously detected association of the FKBP6 gene with stallion subfertility. Using a select cohort of 150 Thoroughbred stallions with detailed breeding records, we confirm significant association (P < 0.0001) between low per-cycle pregnancy rates (≤50%) and a combined A/A-A/A genotype of SNPs chr13:11 353 372G>A and chr13:11 353 436A>C in FKBP6 exon 5. We also show that stallion subfertility and the combined genotype A/A-A/A are not associated with the level of genetic diversity based on 12 autosomal microsatellite markers, or with pedig...
de Souza TC, Crowe OM, Bowles D, Poore LA, Suthers JM.To describe a minimally invasive cranial ostectomy for the treatment of impingement of dorsal spinous processes (DSPs) in the standing horse. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: One hundred two horses with impinging DSPs. Methods: The case records of all horses that had the described technique between 2011 and 2019 were reviewed. All sites of impinging DSPs were treated under standing sedation and local anesthesia. The minimally invasive cranial ostectomy of the caudal DSP was performed with bone rongeurs through multiple small incisions. Results: Of the 102 horses treated with this techniq...
MacNicol JL, Pearson W. organ culture can provide insight into isolated mucosal responses to particular environmental stimuli. The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of a prolonged culturing time as well as the addition of acidic gastric fluid into the environment of cultured gastric antral tissue to evaluate how altering the commonly used neutral environment impacted tissue. Furthermore, we aimed to investigate the impact of G's Formula, a dietary supplement for horses, on the secretion of gastrin, interleukin1-beta (IL-1β), and nitric oxide (NO). These biomarkers are of interest due to ...
Sgorbini M, Bonelli F, Percacini G, Pasquini A, Rota A.Our aim was to measure the concentrations of derived reactive oxygen metabolite (d-ROMs) and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) of donkey mares and foals at delivery and to verify the protective role of the placenta against fetal oxidative stress. A total of 15 Amiata jennies with a physiological gestation length and delivery were included together with 17 foals (two twin foalings). After delivery, maternal and foal venous blood samples were collected along with blood from the artery. Circulating lactate and plasma d-ROMs and BAP were evaluated. The Wilcoxon test for paired data was applie...
Dell A, Curry M, Hunter E, Dalton R, Yarnell K, Starbuck G, Wilson PB.The consequences of poor breed management and inbreeding can range from gradual declines in individual productivity to more serious fertility and mortality concerns. However, many small and closed groups, as well as larger unmanaged populations, are plagued by genetic regression, often due to a dearth in breeding support tools which are accessible and easy to use in supporting decision-making. To address this, we have developed a population management tool (BCAS, Breed Conservation and Management System) based on individual relatedness assessed using pedigree-based kinship, which offers breedi...
Pearson G, Goodale M, Wakshlag J, Fortier L.The objective of this study was to determine the effects of an oral, commercially available, marine based omega-3 fatty acid (n3-FA) supplement on fatty acid characteristics in horse whole blood. Fifty healthy, adult horses of various light breeds were assigned to one of two treatment groups: Group 1 receiving 7.5g/day of the test supplement, and Group 2 receiving 15g/day of the test supplement. The supplement contained 0.092g docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 0.148g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) per gram. Therefore, Group 1 received 1.11g of EPA and 0.69g of DHA daily, while Group 2 received 2.22g...
Khrabrova LA, Blohina NV, Bazaron BZ, Khamiruev TN.The Zabaikalskaya horse is an indigenous breed of horses from Siberia with diverse use. It is characterized by endurance and good adaptability to year-round herd maintenance in the harsh conditions of the Baikal steppes. To determine the genetic characteristics of the maternal lineage of the Zabaikalskaya horse breed based on mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms, we collected hair samples from 31 horses belonging to breeding farms in the Trans-Baikal Territory. Analysis of the 530 bp sequence of the mtDNA D-loop was performed using the maximum composite likelihood (MCL) model in combination with bo...
Tumlin K, Liu S, Park JH.The foundation of healthy workplace design is an understanding of work practices. Volunteers comprise the majority of the workforce in care centers using horses to address human health issues. Documentation is lacking on protections for worker well-being in equestrian microenvironments which are known to have the potential for dust exposures. Climate acts as a master variable in equestrian facility design and ventilation usage to address dust and temperature concerns. Using climate as an independent variable, our objective was to characterize space usage, safety, environmental control, and org...
Calvo-Santesmases A, Manso-Díaz G, Fores P, López-Sanromán J.Alpha-2-adrenergic drugs, such as detomidine, are commonly used to sedate lame horses during examination. However, the use of these drugs should be minimized, as they have numerous side-effects, like ataxia. Therefore, we wanted to test the effects, on the locomotor pattern, of low doses of detomidine (0.003 mg/kg). Six horses were sedated with 0.003 mg/kg of detomidine and compared with the same horses administered a saline solution. Using a triaxial accelerometer, data of kinetic, coordination and energetic locomotor parameters and the degree of sedation were collected. The effects were moni...
Akter R, El-Hage CM, Sansom FM, Carrick J, Devlin JM, Legione AR.Abortion in horses leads to economic and welfare losses to the equine industry. Most cases of equine abortions are sporadic, and the cause is often unknown. This study aimed to detect potential abortigenic pathogens in equine abortion cases in Australia using metagenomic deep sequencing methods. Results: After sequencing and analysis, a total of 68 and 86 phyla were detected in the material originating from 49 equine abortion samples and 8 samples from normal deliveries, respectively. Most phyla were present in both groups, with the exception of Chlamydiae that were only present in abortion sa...
Easton-Jones C.Equid gammaherpesviruses are ubiquitous and widespread in the equine population. Despite their frequent detection, their contribution to immune system modulation and the pathogenesis of several diseases remains unclear. Genetic variability and the combination of equid gammaherpesvirus strains a horse is infected with might be clinically significant. Initial gammaherpesvirus infection occurs in foals peripartum with latency then established in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. A novel EHV-5 study suggests that following inhalation equid gammaherpesviruses might obtain direct access to T and B...
Raś A, Raś-Noryńska M.The aim of the study was to compare three methods of reducing twin pregnancy in mares to maintain a single pregnancy. As multiple pregnancies in mare are always undesirable, early ultrasound diagnosis makes possible management of twin pregnancies and extra embryo removal. In years 2010-2018, 16494 mares were sonographically tested for early pregnancy, finding 868 cases of twins (471 bilateral and 397 unilateral). 260 mares with a confirmed bilateral tween pregnancy were subjected to manual crushing of one embryo and administration of flunixin at a dose of 1.1 mg/kg BW. 186 mares were subjecte...
Kuczumow A, Nowak J, Chałas R, Ptasiewicz M, Siejak P, Jarzębski M.New types of biological apatites have been discovered in molar sheep and horse teeth and are divided in two types. In the first and more general type, the release of Mg ions is parallel to the changes in composition of apatite leading to a final stoichiometric ratio of Ca to P ions, going from dentin depth towards the boundary of enamel with air. Inside dentin, another apatite sub-types were discovered with alternating layers of Mg-rich and C-rich apatites. The approximate formal stoichiometric relationships for these peculiar types of bioapatites are suggested. We identified two kinds of ion-...
Flash ML, Crabb HK, Hitchens PL, Firestone SM, Stevenson MA, Gilkerson JR.The proportion of Thoroughbred (TB) horses that commence training and eventually race, is an important industry-level indicator of how successful it is at producing horses suitable for racing. It is also of interest to the wider community and is central to the issue of whether there is overbreeding in the Australian TB industry. This study investigated the training and racing records for the 2005 and 2010 Victorian TB foal crops to determine the proportion of TBs that train and race, and the age of entering training and first race start. Subsets of the foal crop were also examined to determine...
Müller AC, Büttner K, Röcken M.Synovial structure involvement secondary to limb injury is a common emergency in equine practice, requiring an accurate initial diagnosis for immediate treatment. This study aimed to investigate the clinical usefulness of Serum amyloid A (SAA) in the initial diagnosis of synovial structure involvement caused by acute (<24 h) penetrating limb injuries in horses and to correlate SAA with standard diagnostic parameters. Fifty-five horses with acute limb injuries were divided into two groups: Group 1 (G1, n = 26) with a diagnosis of penetrating synovial trauma and Group 2 (G2, n = 29) without s...
Dauparaitė E, Kupčinskas T, Hoglund J, Petkevičius S.Anthelmintic resistance (AR) in equine cyathostomins is being reported all over the world. In Lithuania, however, the last study on this subject was published more than fifteen years ago, thus little is known about the current situation. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that may associated with the development of AR on equine studs in Lithuania. A questionnaire containing seven open-ended and nine closed multiple-choice questions about worm control strategies, use of anthelmintic substances and stable management practices was posted to 71 randomly selected horse establishment...
Armando F, Mecocci S, Orlandi V, Porcellato I, Cappelli K, Mechelli L, Brachelente C, Pepe M, Gialletti R, Ghelardi A, Passeri B, Razzuoli E.Equine penile squamous cell carcinoma (epSCC) is the most frequent tumor of the external male genitalia, representing 67.5% of equine genital cancers. epSCC is associated with papilloma virus (PV) infection and has been recently proposed as a model for human PV-induced squamous cell carcinomas. It has already been suggested that epSCC might undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This work aims to investigate in detail this process and the possible role of PV oncoproteins in epSCC. For this purpose, 18 penile SCCs were retrospectively selected and tested for both EcPV2 presence and...
Nieforth LO, Schwichtenberg AJ, O'Haire ME.In the last five years, the literature on animal-assisted intervention (AAI) for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has doubled in size from 42 studies prior to 2015 to 85 studies (cumulative total assessed in 2020). Horses remain the most commonly researched animal for AAI, followed by dogs. The most commonly researched outcome was social interaction, across 21 studies. Though the quantity of studies has increased, issues with methodological rigor remain. Results highlight the need for a continued focus on methodological rigor as well as refining the structure of animal-assisted interventions, ad...
Di Pietro R, Arroyo LG, Leclere M, Costa MC.All current studies have used Illumina short-read sequencing to characterize the equine intestinal microbiota. Long-read sequencing can classify bacteria at the species level. The objectives of this study were to characterize the gut microbiota of horses at the species level before and after trimethoprim sulfadiazine (TMS) administration and to compare results with Illumina sequencing. Nine horses received TMS (30 mg/kg) orally for 5 days twice a day to induce dysbiosis. Illumina sequencing of the V4 region or full-length PacBio sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed in fecal samples co...
Qin S, Huang Z, Wang Y, Pei L, Shen Y.Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a refractory disease that endangers both humans and animals. In recent times, Lactobacillus have been used to treat animal diseases. It may be a good choice to try to isolate Lactobacillus with probiotic potential to treat IBD. Equine, as a kind of hindgut fermentation animal has rich intestinal microflora, but data regarding this is scarce. The isolation of Lactobacillus with probiotic potential from equine may become a new method for the treatment of IBD. Four isolates of Lactobacillus were isolated from fresh feces of healthy male adult horses and analyze...
Bravo Mendiburt G, Agostini V, Cañete Betancourt G.In this paper a morphological differentiation tool of bovine and equine hair for their identification in forensic investigations is provided. 30 animals were used, fifteen adult bovines of the "Siboney de Cuba" breed and fifteen adult equines of the "Criolla" breed. These species are the most bred in Cuba and, at the same time, the most exposed to poaching and theft crimes. Hair from the cows was sampled from the dorsal region, the lateral region and the ventral region; on the other hand, the horses' hair was sampled from the dorsal region of the body, of the mane and of the tail. The sampled ...
El Brini Z, Fassi Fihri O, Paillot R, Lotfi C, Amraoui F, El Ouadi H, Dehhaoui M, Colitti B, Alyakine H, Piro M.This study reports the first equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus-4 (EHV-4) seroprevalence investigation in horse populations of Morocco in 24 years. It also aims to determine antibody titers in horses vaccinated under field conditions with a monovalent EHV-1 vaccine. Blood samples were collected from 405 horses, including 163 unvaccinated and 242 vaccinated animals. They were tested using a commercial type-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a virus neutralization test (VNT). Overall, 12.8% unvaccinated, and 21.8% vaccinated horses were positive for EHV-1. Al...
Raidal SL, Catanchin CSM, Burgmeestre L, Quinn CT.Respiratory insufficiency and pulmonary health are important considerations in equine neonatal care. As the majority of foals are bred for athletic pursuits, strategies for respiratory support of compromised foals are of particular importance. The administration of supplementary oxygen is readily implemented in equine practice settings, but does not address respiratory insufficiency due to inadequate ventilation and is no longer considered optimal care for hypoxia in critical care settings. Non-invasive ventilatory strategies including continuous or bi-level positive airway pressure are effect...
Johnson SA, Biscoe EW, Eilertson KE, Lutter JD, Schneider RK, Roberts GD, Cary JA, Frisbie DD.Elastography is an emerging imaging modality for characterizing tendon injury in horses, but its ability to differentiate tissue deformability relative to treatment group and biochemical properties using a prospective, experimental study design remain unknown. Objectives of the current study were to (a) to investigate differences in glycosaminoglycan, DNA, and soluble collagen levels in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) treated limbs compared to untreated control limbs utilizing a collagenase model of tendinopathy; (b) compare elastographic features between treatment groups; and (c) determine tissue...
Calvert AE, Bennett SL, Hunt AR, Fong RH, Doranz BJ, Roehrig JT, Blair CD.Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) can cause fatal encephalitis in humans and equids. Some MAbs to the E1 glycoprotein are known to be cross-reactive, weakly neutralizing in vitro but can protect from disease in animal models. We investigated the mechanism of neutralization of VEEV infection by the broadly cross-reactive E1-specific MAb 1A4B-6. 1A4B-6 protected 3-week-old Swiss Webster mice prophylactically from lethal VEEV challenge. Likewise, 1A4B-6 inhibited virus growth in vitro at a pre-attachm...
Allen GP, Yeargan MR, Bryans JT.The effect of in vitro and in vivo serial virus passage on the genetic stability of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) was investigated by restriction endonuclease analysis of the viral DNA. DNAs of EHV-1 isolates at different passage levels in cultured cells or in Syrian hamsters were compared by electrophoresis of the DNA cleavage fragments produced by restriction endonuclease digestion. No changes were observed in the restriction profile of the DNAs of EHV-1 strains after 100 sequential passages in cultured equine cells. However, serial passage of the virus in hamsters or in cells of non-equine o...
Thompson RE, Meyers MA, Veeramachaneni DNR, Pukazhenthi BS, Hollinshead FK.Organoids are a type of three-dimensional (3D) cell culture that more closely mimic the in vivo environment and can be maintained in the long term. To date, oviductal organoids have only been reported in laboratory mice, women, and cattle. Equine oviductal organoids were generated and cultured for 42 days (including 3 passages and freeze-thawing at passage 1). Consistent with the reports in mouse and human oviductal organoids, the equine oviductal organoids revealed round cell clusters with a central lumen. Developing a 3D model of the mare oviduct may allow for an increased understanding of t...
Trindade PHE, Taffarel MO, Luna SPL.This prospective and longitudinal study aimed to identify spontaneous post-orchiectomy pain behaviors in horses regardless of the effects of anesthesia, analgesia, and recording time of day. Twenty-four horses divided into four groups were submitted to: inhalation anesthesia only (GA), or combined with previous analgesia (GAA), or orchiectomy under pre (GCA), or postoperative (GC) analgesia. The data obtained from the subtraction of frequency and/or duration of 34 behaviors recorded during seven 60-min time-points in the 24 h after the anesthesia from those recorded in the mirrored time-points...
Haritou SJ, Zylstra R, Ralli C, Turner S, Tortonese DJ.Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a common and serious condition that gives rise to Cushing's disease. In the older horse, it results in hyperadrenocorticism and disrupted energy metabolism, the severity of which varies with the time of year. To gain insight into the mechanism of its pathogenesis, 24-h profiles for peripheral plasma melatonin, serotonin, dopamine and cortisol concentrations were determined at the winter and summer solstices, and the autumn and spring equinoxes in six horses diagnosed with Cushing's disease and six matched controls. The nocturnal rises in p...
Clarke KW, Paton BS.The effects of administration of one of four opiates (pethidine 1 mg/kg bodyweight (bwt), morphine 0.1 mg/kg bwt, methadone 0.1 mg/kg bwt, and butorphanol 0.05 mg/kg bwt) given intravenously to horses and ponies already sedated with detomidine (10 micrograms/kg bwt) were investigated. Behavioural, cardiovascular and respiratory effects of the combinations were compared with those occurring with detomidine alone. Addition of the opiate increased the apparent sedation and decreased the response of the animal to external stimuli. At doses used, butorphanol produced the most reliable response. Sid...
van den Boom R, Brama PA, Kiers GH, DeGroot J, Barneveld A, van Weeren RR.Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) may be useful as biomarkers of joint disease or inflammation. However, activity of both MMPs and TNF-alpha in synovial fluid (SF) may be influenced by nonpathological factors such as arthrocentesis or exercise. Objective: To investigate the influence of repeated arthrocentesis and exercise on MMP and TNF-alpha activities in SF from normal equine joints. Methods: SF was collected from the left metacarpophalangeal, radiocarpal and tarsocrural joints of 16 horses. Eight of these horses were subsequently subjected to an ...
Gmel AI, Druml T, Portele K, von Niederhäusern R, Neuditschko M.Linear description (LD) of conformation traits was introduced in horse breeding to minimise subjectivity in scoring. However, recent studies have shown that LD traits show essentially the same problems as traditionally scored traits, such as data converging around the mean value with very small standard deviations. To improve the assessment of conformation traits of horses, we investigated the application of the recently described horse shape space model based upon 403 digitised photographs of 243 Franches-Montagnes (FM) stallions and extracted joint angles based on specific landmark triplets....
Willingham-Lane JM, Berghaus LJ, Giguère S, Hondalus MK.The soil-dwelling, saprophytic actinomycete is a multihost, facultative intracellular pathogen of macrophages. When inhaled by susceptible foals, it causes severe bronchopneumonia. It is also a pathogen of pigs, which may develop submaxillary lymphadenitis upon exposure. isolates obtained from foals and pigs possess conjugative plasmids housing a pathogenicity island (PAI) containing a novel family of genes of unknown function called the virulence-associated protein or family. The PAI regions of the equine and swine plasmids differ in gene composition, with equine isolates possessing six ...
Rzekęć A, Vial C, Bigot G.Despite the decline of equine populations in the middle of the 20th century, the European horse industry is growing again thanks to economic alternatives found in the diversification of the uses of equines (sports, racing, leisure, etc.). Equines have many environmental advantages, but the fragmentation of the sector and the lack of synthetic knowledge about their environmental impacts do not enable the promotion of these assets and their effective inclusion in management practices and European policies. To highlight the equine environmental impacts, a literature review was carried out to cove...
Waters LJ, Hanrahan JP, Tobin JM, Finch CV, Parkes GMB, Ahmad SA, Mohammad F, Saleem M.Three mesoporous silica excipients (Syloid® silicas AL-1 FP, XDP 3050 and XDP 3150) were formulated with a model drug known for its poor aqueous solubility, namely phenylbutazone, in an attempt to enhance the extent and rate of drug dissolution. Although other forms of mesoporous silica have been investigated in previous studies, the effect of inclusion with these specific Syloid® silica based excipients and more interestingly, with phenylbutazone, is unknown. This work reports a significant enhancement for both the extent and rate of drug release for all three forms of Syloid® silica at a ...
Guthrie AJ, Lund RJ.Metabolic HP is extremely high during exercise in horses. Thermoregulation in horses is primarily dependent on evaporative heat loss from sweating in particular. Under thermoneutral conditions, these mechanisms are sufficient to allow horses to perform high-intensity exercise for long periods. Under thermally stressful conditions, particularly in high ambient humidity, the efficiency of evaporative heat loss mechanisms is compromised and may result in horses developing hyperthermia. Early recognition and vigorous treatment are essential to limit the consequences of heat stress in horses. Metic...
Turner RM, McDonnell SM.Significant amounts of alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity have been found in semen plasma from numerous species. In species in which the majority of semen plasma AP (SPAP) activity originates from the epididymis and testicle, SPAP activity can be used clinically as a marker to differentiate testicular origin azoospermia or oligospermia from ejaculatory failure. Information on SPAP activity in stallions to date has been limited. In this study, a standard clinical chemistry analyzer was used to determine AP activity in pre-ejaculatory fluid and ejaculates from groups of normal stallions. Additio...
Abdullah HHAM, Aboelsoued D, Farag TK, Abdel-Shafy S, Abdel Megeed KN, Parola P, Raoult D, Mediannikov O.Equine vector-borne diseases (EVBDs) are emerging and re-emerging diseases, and most of them are zoonotic. This study aimed to investigate EVBDs in equines and associated arthropods (ticks and flies) from Egypt using molecular analyses, in addition to a preliminary characterization of associated ticks and flies by the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and molecular techniques. In this study, 335 blood samples were obtained from equines that appeared to be in good health (320 horses and 15 donkeys) in Cairo and Beni Suef provinces, Egypt. From the same anima...
Castagnetti C, Mariella J, Pirrone A, Cinotti S, Mari G, Peli A.To evaluate and compare the gene expression of interleukin(IL)-1β, IL-8, and interferon-γ during the first 72 hours after birth in healthy foals and during the first 72 hours after hospitalization in sick neonatal foals and investigate correlations of clinicopathologic variables with cytokine expressions in healthy and sick neonatal foals. Methods: 33 foals < 7 days old (10 healthy foals, 7 foals with sepsis, 6 foals with peripartum asphyxia syndrome, and 12 foals with other diseases [2 with failure of passive transfer of immunity only were not further evaluated]). Methods: A blood sample...
Goodrich LR, Brower-Toland BD, Warnick L, Robbins PD, Evans CH, Nixon AJ.Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is one of the most influential growth factors in cartilage repair. Maintenance of adequate IGF-I levels after articular repair procedures is complicated by the short biological half-life of IGF-I in vivo. This study investigated the potential for more prolonged IGF-I delivery through direct adenoviral mediated transduction of synovial tissues in the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints of horses. The use of a large animal model provided a structurally similar and metabolically relevant corollary to the human knee. The complete IGF-I coding sequence was packaged...
McCue PM, Wilson WD.Mastitis was diagnosed in 28 mares. Cytological evaluation of milk samples showed large numbers of neutrophils in 72 per cent and bacteria in 33 per cent. Aerobic bacteria were cultured from 71 per cent of samples. Streptococcus zooepidemicus was the most common isolate (37 per cent). Gram-negative species accounted for 42 per cent. Determination of the probability for antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates from mares with mastitis indicated that a trimethoprim-sulphonamide combination would be active against more than 75 per cent of isolates while penicillin would be active agains...
Orr N, Back W, Gu J, Leegwater P, Govindarajan P, Conroy J, Ducro B, Van Arendonk JA, MacHugh DE, Ennis S, Hill EW, Brama PA.The recent completion of the horse genome and commercial availability of an equine SNP genotyping array has facilitated the mapping of disease genes. We report putative localization of the gene responsible for dwarfism, a trait in Friesian horses that is thought to have a recessive mode of inheritance, to a 2-MB region of chromosome 14 using just 10 affected animals and 10 controls. We successfully genotyped 34,429 SNPs that were tested for association with dwarfism using chi-square tests. The most significant SNP in our study, BIEC2-239376 (P(2df)=4.54 × 10(-5), P(rec)=7.74 × 10(-6)), is lo...
Wang X, Ji Y, Su J, Xue Y, Xi H, Wang Z, Bi L, Zhao R, Zhang H, Yang L, Guo Z, Guan Y, Feng X, Sun C, Lei L, Ur Rahman S, Dong J, Han W, Gu J. subsp. serovar Abortusequi is a frequently reported pathogen causing abortion in mares. In this study, the preventive and therapeutic effects of phage P SAE-01E2 against Abortusequi in a mouse model of abortion were investigated. Phage P SAE-01E2 was stable at different temperatures (4 to 70°C) and pH values (pH 4 to 10) and could lyse the majority of the serogroup O:4 and O:9 strains tested (25/28). There was no lysogeny-related, toxin, or antibiotic resistance-related gene in the genome of P SAE-01E2. All of these characteristics indicate that P SAE-01E2 has the potential for use in pha...
Bao T, Han H, Li B, Zhao Y, Bou G, Zhang X, Du M, Zhao R, Mongke T, Laxima , Ding W, Jia Z, Dugarjaviin M, Bai D.Skeletal muscle is the largest organ system in the mammalian body and plays a key role in locomotion of horses. Fast and slow muscle fibers have different abilities and functions to adapt to exercises. To investigate the RNA and miRNA expression profiles in the muscles with different muscle fiber compositions on Mongolian horses. We examined the muscle fiber type population and produced deep RNA sequencing for different parts of skeletal muscles. And chose two of them with the highest difference in fast and slow muscle fiber population (splenius and gluteus medius) for comparing the gene expre...
Bergh A, Lund I, Boström A, Hyytiäinen H, Asplund K.There is an increasing interest in complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM). There is, however, an uncertainty of the efficacy of these methods. Therefore, the aim of this systematic literature review is to assess the evidence for clinical efficacy of 24 CAVM therapies used in cats, dogs, and horses. A bibliographic search, restricted to studies in cats, dogs, and horses, was performed on Web of Science Core Collection, CABI, and PubMed. Relevant articles were assessed for scientific quality, and information was extracted on study characteristics, species, type of treatment, in...
Soboll G, Hussey SB, Minke JM, Landolt GA, Hunter JS, Jagannatha S, Lunn DP.Equine influenza virus remains an important problem in horses despite extensive use of vaccination. Efficacy of equine influenza vaccination depends on the onset and duration of protective immunity, and appropriate strain specificity of the immune response. This study was designed to test the protective immunity resulting from vaccination with the North American commercial ALVAC equine influenza vaccine (RECOMBITEK Influenza, Merial, USA)(1) against challenge with American lineage influenza viruses. In experiment 1, 12 ponies were vaccinated twice, at a 35 day interval, using the ALVAC-influen...
Hilliere C, Collado-Mateo D, Villafaina S, Duque-Fonseca P, Parraça JA.To provide an up-to-date research analysis on equine-assisted therapies and horse riding simulation exercise in older adults, and to suggest future directions in clinical practice and research. TYPE: Systematic review. A comprehensive search of studies was performed in 4 electronic databases (Cochrane, PubMed, PEDro, and Web of Science) regarding the effects of equine-assisted therapies and horse riding simulation exercise in older adults. Eight articles were selected, 5 of them focused on hippotherapy, 2 on horse riding simulation, and a single article that used the 2 types of therapy. PRISMA...
Gaarder JE, Rebhun WC, Ball MA, Patten V, Shin S, Erb H.To compare initial clinical appearances, healing mechanisms, risk factors, and outcomes of horses with fungal keratitis. Methods: Retrospective analysis. Methods: 52 horses (53 eyes) with fungal keratitis. Methods: Medical records and clinical photographs of eyes were reviewed. Keratomycoses were categorized on the basis of clinical appearance at initial examination and pattern of healing. Results: Five distinct forms of mycotic keratitis were recognized. Of 53 affected eyes, 34 (64%) retained sight and had varying degrees of corneal scarring after treatment, 6 (11%) had a cosmetic appearance ...
Prescott JF, Travers M, Yager-Johnson JA.Corynebacterium equi was cultured from manure or soil on five horse-breeding farms in Ontario at monthly intervals on three occasions during the summer of 1982. The organism was widespread. Contamination by C. equi of the loafing paddock and pasture areas was significantly greater in a farm established 30 years than in two established for four and six years and there was a significant correlation between the C. equi burden in stables, paddocks and pastures and the length of use of the five farms for horses. In all farms, numbers of C. equi in pasture soil exceeded numbers in fresh manure, sugg...
Díaz-Bertrana ML, Deleuze S, Pitti Rios L, Yeste M, Morales Fariña I, Rivera Del Alamo MM.Endometritis is one of the main causes of infertility in mares. In the present study, 363 mares with a history of repetitive infertility, and positive endometrial cytology and/or vaginal discharge were included. An endometrial swab for microbiological purposes plus sensitivity test was obtained from each mare. A positive culture was obtained in 89% of mares. The main isolated genera were (25.1%), (18.2%), (17.3%) and (12.1%). With regard to species, the most isolated microorganism was (17.3%), spp. (15.6%) and spp. (13.5%). Sensitivity tests showed that the most efficient antimicrobial ...
Dallaire A, Rucklebusch Y.For several weeks, three ponies kept in an environment with controlled light and temperature, were studied for behaviour (time spent in recumbency and time required to consume hay or oats) and for electrical activity of the brain (cortical and sub-cortical) during the night phase of the circadian rhythm. Recumbency was adopted by all the ponies for six or seven periods during the night. With a regimen of hay ad libitum, about four hours were cumulated in sternal recumbency and only one hour in complete lateral recumbency. Various degree of sleep, as identified by cortical and hippocampal elect...
Fazio E, Medica P, Cravana C, Ferlazzo A.In order to determine whether therapeutic riding could result in higher levels of stress than recreational riding, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response was evaluated in six horses by monitoring circulating β-endorphin, ACTH and cortisol concentrations. Horses were already accustomed to be trained both for therapy and riding school activity since 2004. Intervention consisted of 60-minute therapeutic sessions, two times per week for 6weeks with different riders: disabled and recreational riders (session A and B respectively). The therapeutic riders' group (A) consisted of six chil...
Reichert C, Campe A, Walter S, Pfaender S, Welsch K, Ruddat I, Sieme H, Feige K, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JMV.Recently, several new hepaciviruses have been identified of which the nonprimate hepacivirus (NPHV) - the closest relative to hepatitis C virus (HCV) discovered to date - is highly prevalent in horses. However, potential risk factors for the transmission of NPHV among horses remain still unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of NPHV infections in Thoroughbreds in northern and western Germany and to identify potential risk factors associated with NPHV infections. Using a cross-sectional study design, a total of 733 serum samples from Thoroughbred broo...
Waghmare AB, Salvi NC, Deopurkar RL, Shenoy PA, Sonpetkar JM.Several biochemical and hematological changes in horses are observed during production of snake antivenom. Although conventional adjuvants like Freund's (Complete and Incomplete) are good immunopotentiators, they produce considerable local reactions in animals. Variety of commercial adjuvants, like montanide adjuvants, having high immunopotentiation and showing lesser side effects are available. The prime objective during antivenom production is to strike a balance between safety of immunized horses and efficacy of the product. In our earlier work, efficacy of montanide group of adjuvants in a...
Crawford TB, Wardrop KJ, Tornquist SJ, Reilich E, Meyers KM, McGuire TC.The purpose of this study was to identify the mechanisms responsible for the thrombocytopenia that develops following infection of horses by the lentivirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Immunocompetent Arabian foals and Arabian foals with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which lack functional B and T lymphocytes, were experimentally infected with EIAV. Levels of viremia and a number of clinical and hematologic parameters were examined prior to and following infection. Thrombocytopenia was not dependent on the immune response: SCID foals were affected as severely as immunocompe...
