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.
BERGERET B, BLASCHKO H.The oxidative deamination of cystamine and homocystamine by mammalian oxidases has been studied. The histaminase of pig kidney oxidizes homocystamine much more slowly than cystamine. The amine oxidase of mammalian liver (guinea-pig, rabbit) oxidizes homocystamine more rapidly than cystamine. Both amines are oxidized by plasma (or serum) of ruminants (ox, sheep, goat) and of the horse. In the enzymatic oxidation of homocystamine both aminogroups are removed; there is no evidence that a ring compound analogous to cystaldimine is accumulating.
Williams S, Scott P.Meal contaminated by Datura stramonium seeds at the rate of 0.5% by weight was fed to two horses. Both horses showed clinical signs of depression, anorexia, weight loss, rapid heart and respiration rates, mydriasis, polyuria, polydipsia and diarrhoea. Both recovered with treatment. Maize screenings contaminated by the seeds had been used in the manufacture of the meal.
Dubois BB, Dixon JJ, Witte TH.To describe clinical and CT findings for horses and ponies undergoing intraoral cheek tooth extraction and assess potential associations between these features and outcome of the procedure. 74 horses and 7 ponies. Medical records were searched to identify horses and ponies that underwent CT and intraoral extraction of ≥ 1 cheek tooth with standing sedation. Signalment and clinical variables were recorded, and CT scans were reviewed. Anatomic location and measurements of affected teeth; abnormalities of the periodontium, pulp, infundibula, roots, and tooth shape; fracture presence and type; p...
Sheats MK.The most recent definition of sepsis in human medicine can be summarized as organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. In equine medicine, although no consensus definition is available, sepsis is commonly described as a dysregulated host systemic inflammatory response to infection. Defense against host infection is the primary role of innate immune cells known as neutrophils. Neutrophils also contribute to host injury during sepsis, making them important potential targets for sepsis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This review will present both historical and u...
Bellitto NA, Oliver FB, Pollock PJ.To evaluate the use of bidirectional knotless barbed suture material for closure of the equine linea alba. Methods: Laboratory study. Methods: Adult light horse cadavers (n = 24). Methods: A 25 cm incision was made through the linea alba, and a 200 L polyurethane bladder was positioned within the abdomen. The linea alba was closed either using USP2/EP5 bidirectional polydioxanone barbed suture or USP2/EP5 standard polydioxanone suture in a simple continuous pattern. Closure time was recorded for each suture type. The bladder was air-insufflated at 40 L/min, and the pressure at body w...
Tåmová B, Stumpa A, Zakopal J, Vĕzníková D, Mensík J.Equine influenza occurred in Czechoslovakia 14 years after the last epizootic in horses that had returned from abroad. Six strains A (Heq1Neq1) antigenically related to, but not identical with, strain A/eq/Praha/56 were isolated from 10 washings. Seroconversion was demonstrated with paired sera, but the antibody increase was more marked against the newly isolated strain.
Bondesson U, Johansson IM.This study demonstrates the development of a method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for determining nefopam, a non-narcotic pain reliever that is sometimes abused in horse doping, in equine plasma. Background […]
Dutta SK, Myrup AC, Rice RM, Robl MG, Hammond RC.Potomac horse fever, a recently recognized disease of equines, characterized by high fever, leukopenia, and a profuse diarrhea, was studied for its etiology. An Ehrlichia organism was isolated in equine macrophage-fibroblast cell cultures and mouse macrophage cell cultures from the mononuclear cells of blood of infected horses. The agent was continuously propagated in mouse macrophage cell cultures. The organism multiplied in the cytoplasm of mouse macrophage cells and was identified by Giemsa staining, acridine orange staining, and by indirect immunofluorescence with convalescent sera from in...
Whan G, Runciman RJ, Hurtig M.Whole bone in vitro biomechanical compressive testing can be complicated by three factors: sample asymmetry, heterogeneous material properties, and unknown effective centroid location. Methods: The technique presented here facilitates the calculation of effective centroid position, modulus of elasticity and equivalent uniform strain magnitude for a cross section of bone from a simple whole bone compressive test. Simplification of section response to load is achieved through a combination of linear beam and simple planer geometry theory. The technique requires three longitudinal strain gauges b...
Bishop J, Heffron B, Taddei L, Benoit M, Hurt L, Costello S, Gross M, Negrusz A.Clenbuterol (CLE) is used in horses as a bronchodilator and for its anabolic steroid-like effects. CLE is a Class 3 drug according to current Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) Uniform Classification Guidelines. The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium recommended a urine CLE threshold of 140 pg/mL after careful scientific review of the results of studies describing the disposition of CLE in the horse and this threshold was adopted by the ARCI. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was previously used to screen samples for CLE in Illinois, but could not detect such low co...
Pickles KJ, Berger J, Davies R, Roser J, Madigan JE.The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine in the treatment of headshaking in horses. Fifteen geldings received two doses of the GnRH vaccine four weeks apart. Serum was collected before and after vaccination to measure concentrations of luteinising hormone (LH) (10 horses) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (six horses). Owners recorded the frequency of seven common headshaking behaviours using a visual analogue scale (VAS) before vaccination and at two, four, eight, 12, 16 and 20 weeks after vaccination. Serum LH (P=0.008) and FSH...
Cieslak J, Mackowski M, Czyzak-Runowska G, Wojtowski J, Puppel K, Kuczynska B, Pawlak P.Apart from the well-known role of somatic cell count as a parameter reflecting the inflammatory status of the mammary gland, the composition of cells isolated from milk is considered as a valuable material for gene expression studies in mammals. Due to its unique composition, in recent years an increasing interest in mare's milk consumption has been observed. Thus, investigating the genetic background of horse's milk variability presents and interesting study model. Relying on 39 milk samples collected from mares representing three breeds (Polish Primitive Horse, Polish Cold-blooded Horse, Pol...
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...
Turner GV.Some aspects of the pathogenesis and comparative pathology of toxoplasmosis are described. The general pattern of infection, with or without necrosis, and tissue cyst formation as it occurs in all species is dealt with. The wide pathological manifestations of toxoplasmosis as seen in sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, cats, chinchillas and man are reviewed.
Richardson LM, Whitfield-Cargile CM, Cohen ND, Chamoun-Emanuelli AM, Dockery HJ.To determine whether a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) would reduce gastric ulceration and gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation compared with a non-COX selective NSAID. Methods: Randomized block design. Methods: Twenty-five healthy adult horses. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 5), phenylbutazone (n = 10), or firocoxib (n = 10) administered daily for 10 days. Gastroscopy was performed on days 0 and 10, and both squamous and glandular ulcers were scored according to established scoring criteria. Fecal samples w...
Chavatte-Palmer P, Duchamp G, Palmer E, Ousey JC, Rossdale PD, Lombès M.Progesterone, oestrogen and glucocorticoid receptor concentrations in the uterus and mammary glands of pregnant mares during mid- to late gestation (from day 150 of gestation to term) were measured by binding assays to investigate the hormonal mechanisms involved in pregnancy maintenance and lactation. Uterine progesterone receptor concentrations did not increase significantly with increasing gestational age (from 67.8 +/- 13.7 to 126.1 +/- 48.7fmol mg(-1) protein), whereas oestrogen receptor concentrations were significantly higher in pregnant mares (271.7 +/- 28.9 fmol mg(-1) protein) than i...
Heinonen E, Hedenstierna G, Meriläinen P, Högman M, Nyman G.To study the effect of the pulsed delivery of nitric oxide (NO) on pulmonary gas exchange in the anaesthetized horses. Design Prospective, controlled randomized. Methods: Five healthy Standardbred trotters, three geldings and two mares. Methods: The horses were anaesthetized with thiopentone and isoflurane and positioned in dorsal recumbency. Nitric oxide was added as a pulse to the inspired gas during the first half of each inspiration. In three horses the effect of NO on the ventilation-perfusion distribution was also investigated using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. Data w...
Sanz MG.Foals become infected shortly after birth; most develop subclinical pneumonia and 20% to 30% develop clinical pneumonia that requires treatment. It is now well established that the combination of screening programs based on thoracic ultrasonography and treatment of subclinical foals with antimicrobials has led to the development of resistant Rhodococcus equi strains. Thus, targeted treatment programs are needed. Administration of R equi-specific hyperimmune plasma shortly after birth is beneficial as foals develop less severe pneumonia but does not seem to prevent infection. This article provi...
Mellish MA, Adreani CM.A 5-year-old, Quarter horse mare was treated for severe cellulitis secondary to a gunshot wound near the right humerus. The bullet was not retrieved due to the risk of damaging the radial nerve or elbow joint. Despite the presence of the bullet, the mare resumed athletic soundness once the infection had resolved. Traitement d’une blessure par balle chez une jument. Une jument Quarter horse âgée de 5 ans a été traitée pour une cellulite sévère à la suite d’une blessure par balle près de l’humérus droit. Le projectile n’a pas été retiré par crainte de léser le nerf radial o...
Aubert MF.The author describes a method for evaluating the minimal number of diagnosis failures for each animal species (this diagnosis uses the Fluorescent Rabies Antibodies Test and mouse inoculation simultaneously). The percentage of well diagnosed rabid animals on total rabid ones is called sensibility of the diagnosis: it varies according to the species of animal examined: from 99.98% for the fox, to 98.61% for the horse. The percentage of errored negative diagnosis on total negative diagnosis is called infidelity of negative responses: it varies for each species according to the sensibility of the...
Lopez J, Copps J, Wilhelmsen C, Moore R, Kubay J, St-Jacques M, Halayko S, Kranendonk C, Toback S, DeShazer D, Fritz DL, Tom M, Woods DE.Considerable advances in understanding of the disease caused by Burkholderia mallei have been made employing a combination of tools including genetic techniques and animal infection models. The development of small animal models has allowed us to assess the role of a number of putative virulence determinants in the pathogenesis of disease due to B. mallei. Due to the difficulties in performing active immunization studies in small animals, and due to the fact that the horse is the target mammalian species for glanders, we have initiated experimental studies on glanders in horses. Intratracheal ...
