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.
To investigate predictors of survival and athletic function in adult horses with infection of a synovial structure. Objective: Increasing duration from contamination to referral, bone or tendon involvement and positive microbial culture decreases short-term survival. Synovitis and/or sepsis at 5 days post-admission and involvement of Staphylococcus spp. decreases long-term athletic function. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Records over 4 years of adult horses with synovial sepsis were reviewed. A two-tailed Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test or t-test was used to examine whether v...
The goal of this work was the development of suitable (real-time) RT-PCR techniques for fast and sensitive diagnosis of EAV and for molecular-epidemiological characterisation of viral strains, as an alternative to virus isolation. To this purpose two conventional RT-PCR methods and one real-time RT-PCR were adapted to detect the broadest possible spectrum of viral strains. Several dilutions with Bucyrus strain showed a 100-fold higher sensitivity of real-time RT-PCR and heminested RT-PCR compared to simple RT-PCR. Making use of 11 cell culture supernatants of different EAV isolates and 7 semen...
To assess injury patterns attributable to horse kicks, to raise the issue of preventive measures, and to evaluate the role of modern accident and emergency department computer software. Methods: Data analysis using a new kind of full electronic medical record. Results: Seventeen kicked equestrians were unmounted at the time of injury. Eight of seventeen patients sustained contusions of the extremities, the back, and the trunk. In nine patients an isolated facial injury was diagnosed. Five of nine patients needed referrals to the department of plastic surgery because of the complexity of the fa...
The objective of this study was to enhance the in vitro sperm quality and in vivo fertility of frozen-thawed equine semen by the addition of l-carnitine (LC) to post-thawed semen. Different concentrations of LC were added to thawed samples to obtain four treatments control and 0.5, 1 and 2 mM LC. In the in vitro experiments, sperm motility and kinematics, membrane integrity and intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca ] ) were investigated, and the antioxidant bioactivity of LC was assessed by measuring hydrogen peroxide and nitrite concentrations (NO ). The fertility rate was assessed v...
A 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was examined because of clinical signs of pneumonia and shock. Mucous membrane petechiation and ventral edema were observed and considered to be a result of vasculitis. Epidermal necrosis developed on the distal portions of the limbs. The horse had a persistent high fever that was unresponsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory treatment, and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a nasal swab specimen and 2 transtracheal wash fluid samples. Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and supportive treatment resulted in clinical improvement. However, resolution of the ...
Uterine torsion typically occurs during mid to late gestation and is estimated to cause 5% to 10% of all equine obstetric emergencies. Clinical signs include abdominal pain that may be mistaken for gastrointestinal distress, parturition, or abortion. Uterine torsion is an emergency for the mare and fetus, and early recognition and intervention are essential to optimizing the chance of survival. This article reviews the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of uterine torsion in mares.
A 4-week old Quarter Horse filly was evaluated for abnormal gait and lateral deviation of the cervical spine. Physical examination findings prompted radiographs and computed tomography of the thoracic vertebral column which revealed hypoplasia of several thoracic vertebral bodies and resultant scoliosis of the thoracic vertebral column and deviation of the left and right hemithoraces and associated ribs. Collectively, radiography and computed tomography provided an accurate description of the vertebral malformations resulting in scoliosis in this foal.
The type of diet that a horse consumes is one of the most important factors determining the mineral profile and tensile strength of its hooves, so the quality and nutritional value of the supplied feed are fundamental to achieving satisfactory hoof quality. The objective of this study was to compare the differences in the mineral concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), and Iron (Fe) between two diets, namely silage and a commercial concentrate, using atomic absorption spectrometry and to determine which led to higher increases in the hoof tensile strength of ho...
The study investigates the case of an Australian Quarter Horse suffering from Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM), a muscular disease commonly seen in Quarter Horse breeds, Warmbloods, and draft horses. This […]
Harbowy RM, Nielsen BD, Colbath AC, Robison CI, Buskirk DD, Logan AA.Though circular exercise is commonly used in equestrian disciplines, it may be at the detriment of horses' musculoskeletal system. To investigate the effects of circular exercise on bone and joint health, 42 lambs were randomly assigned to a non-exercised control, straight-line, small circle, or large circle exercise regime at a slow (1.3 m/s) or fast (2.0 m/s) speed for 12 wk. Blood samples were taken biweekly. Animals were humanely euthanized upon study completion, and the fused third and fourth metacarpals were collected for biomechanical testing and bone density analysis. Fast groups were ...
Gholmohammadi S, Malekifard F, Yakhchali M.Ticks are important ectoparasites in equids, causing economic losses in animal husbandry in Iran and worldwide. This study was aimed to determine frequency and species diversity of hard ticks in equids in Ardabil province, during the four seasons in 2021. A total of 240 equids (187 horses, 53 donkeys) were randomly selected and examined. Ixodid ticks were collected from body surface of examined animals and identified. Of all examined equids, 32.5% horses, and 4.58% donkeys were infested with a total number of 412 ixodid ticks. Tick indices (tick number per animal) were 4.62. There was signific...
Richards S, Palmer D, Cawley A, Wainscott M, Keledjian J.An improved screening workflow and a robust capillary flow LC-MS confirmatory method for the detection of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) has been implemented to increase the sensitivity of rHuEPO detection and to reduce the number of suspect samples committed to confirmatory testing. The influence of repeated dosing of epoetin-β on the detection window of rHuEPO in equine plasma was assessed using the optimised method. Samples were initially assessed using an economical R&D Human EPO Duo-Set ELISA Development System. Samples indicating a result greater than the batch baseline were ...
Huang Z, Ma Q, Zhang C, Cheng R, Hou F, Wu Y, Luo F, Li Y.Post-mortem fetal extrusion, also known as "coffin birth", refers to the phenomenon where a fetus is pushed out of a deceased female due to pressure from decomposing gas in the abdominal cavity. While post-mortem fetal extrusion has been documented in humans at several archaeological sites, there are few reports of it occurring in non-human animals. In this study, we present a case of post-mortem fetal extrusion in equids observed in a chariot-horse pit (CMK2) at the Western Zhou period site of Yaoheyuan in northwestern China, dating to the early first millennium BC. This specific pit, one of ...
Lawson JM, Verheyen KL, Laroucau K, Bryan JS, Smith KC, Foote AK, de Mestre AM.Umbilical cord torsion (UCT) is the most frequent pathology of the equine umbilical cord (UC) and a prominent cause of abortion, yet objective data on its features remain limited. This study compared UCT with clinically normal pregnancies (CNP) to (i) identify gross and histological features of the UC and fetal membranes, (ii) determine whether UCT is associated with fetal growth restriction, and (iii) rule out infectious aetiologies. Gross and histological features of the UC, chorioallantois and amnion were compared between groups. Fetal weight and crown-rump length were analysed relative to ...
Mughal MAS, Khan MK, Lan H, Abbas RZ, Imran M, Abbas Z, Mehmood MS, Ali S.Parasitic diseases caused by Leishmania spp. create considerable health concerns in animals, resulting in a considerable financial impact. They causes a complex infection in equines, affecting weight gain, skin, liver, and spleen. To date, there is a lack of reports on the occurrence of Leishmania in equines in Southern Punjab, Pakistan, highlighting the need for molecular epidemiological surveillance. The current study focused on determining the prevalence of Leishmania in the equine population from District Rahim Yar Khan, Southern Punjab, Pakistan, through amplification of mitochondrial (Cy...
Friend MM, Nicodemus MC, Lemley CO, Cavinder CA, Prince P, Holtcamp K.Substance withdrawal presents a barrier to substance use disorder (SUD) recovery in part due to symptoms implicating neurotransmitters and their metabolites. Despite this relationship, research investigating alternative treatments such as psychotherapy incorporating equines (PIE) have primarily targeted vital signs and cortisol concentrations. Previous research has also proposed benefits of human-horse physiological coupling, but the role of neurotransmitters in the relationship between humans and horses during PIE has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this study was to characterize ne...
Janeiro-Otero A, Álvarez X, Dormann CF.Galician forests in northwestern Spain are subject to frequent wildfires with high environmental and economic costs. In addition, due to the consequences of climate change, these fires are becoming more virulent, occurring throughout the year, and taking place in populated areas, in some cases involving the loss of human life. Therefore, forest fire prevention is even more relevant than mitigating its consequences. Given the costs involved in forestry work, alternative measures to reduce fuel load and create vegetation gaps are needed. One involves grazing by an endemic species of feral horses...
Cameron-Whytock H, Divall H, Lewis M, Apps C.The study hypothesised that a markerless motion capture system can provide kinematic data comparable to a traditional marker-based system for riders mounted on a horse. The objective was to assess the markerless system's accuracy by directly comparing joint and segment angle measurements taken during walking and trotting with those obtained from a marker-based system. Ten healthy adult participants performed five dynamic trials during walking and trotting. A twelve-camera marker-based system and eight-camera 2D video-based system were synchronised. Three-dimensional hip, knee, shoulder and elb...
Arojojoye AS, Holmes J, Buchart MP, Awuah SG, Eisenberg R, Fenger CK, Maylin GA, Tobin T.Bupivacaine is a local anesthetic widely used in equine and human medicine. Use of bupivacaine in performance horses is regulated because its ability to block pain means that it can be misused for advantage in performance horses. In racing regulation, bupivacaine is classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) as a Class 2 Penalty Class A Foreign substance, the detection of which can lead to significant penalties. In horses, bupivacaine is metabolized by Phase-I hydroxylation to yield 3-hydroxybupivacaine, which is then glucuronidated to yield the Phase-II metabol...
Ferreira CMC, Simões BD, Marques EAS, Carbas RJC, da Silva LFM.Despite technological advancements in various industries, the equine sector still relies on old methods like horseshoeing. Although traditional, the industry is dynamic and well-funded. Therefore, there is a need to modernize these methods with more reliable and less invasive solutions for attaching horseshoes to horse hooves. There are currently several commercial adhesive solutions in the market specifically tailored to this application. In this work, the mechanical properties of two acrylic adhesives were characterized under quasi-static conditions. In the characterization process, tensile,...
Fritz SA, Charnas S, Ensley S.Blue green algae cyanotoxins have become increasingly more prevalent due to environmental, industrial, and agricultural changes that promote their growth into harmful algal blooms. Animals are usually exposed via water used for drinking or bathing, though specific cases related to equines are very limited. The toxic dose for horses has not been determined, and currently only experimental data in other animals can be relied upon to aid in case interpretation and treatment. Treatment is mostly limited to supportive care, and preventative control methods to limit exposures are more likely to aid ...
Fowler MA.In 1853, Rosa Bonheur first exhibited what would become her most widely celebrated work: . Although the work's modern setting and animal-focused subject matter do not obviously characterize it as an instance of classical reception, the artist claimed that it was inspired by the Parthenon frieze. A significant amount of feminist and queer scholarship has been dedicated to Rosa Bonheur's life, career, and art practices, all of which reveal the complex ways in which the artist negotiated the gender norms of 19th-century France. These ranged from her decision never to marry, instead living in hous...
Moaby I, Aitken A, Varga S.Several equine conditions are associated with and exacerbated by increased high-sugar grass intake. Knowing how climatic and biotic factors affect sugar content in grasses is important for decision-making by those involved in the management of equines. Objective: (1) To characterise equine owners' knowledge and perceptions of the factors affecting sugar content in grasses to inform in the management of grasses and equines. (2) To identify associations between pre-existing horse-related experience and level of knowledge about equine nutrition and health conditions. Methods: A questionnaire was ...
Daniels S, Martin S, Harris P, Moore-Colyer M.The in vitro gas production system (GPS), developed to estimate degradation of ruminant feedstuffs, has been adapted for equine use. This study aimed to characterise the bacterial community profile and metabolome of donor faeces and faecal inoculum within the GPS when fermenting the same diet as faecal donors. Six Welsh ponies on identical diets were faecal donors with samples collected for microbiome profiling and system inoculation. Gas production (manual pressure transducer technique) was performed for 156 h with 2 replicate bottles from each donor harvested at 8,20,28 and 36 h. Faecal an...
Chwirot A, Niedźwiedź A, Stygar D, Siwińska N, Paszkowska M, Niżański W, Napierkowska S, Migdał P, Kublicka A, Marynowska M, Matczuk A....This study investigated the presence of antibodies to human adenovirus type 36 (HAdV-D36) in horses with different metabolic statuses, including normal, overweight, and those diagnosed with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). A total of 151 serum samples were tested, of which 47.6% were positive for anti-HAdV-D36 antibodies. Although the horses were confirmed to be susceptible to HAdV-D36 infection, there was no significant correlation between infection and blood glucose or cholesterol levels. However, the triglyceride levels showed significant differences-they were particularly elevated in the s...
Journal of biomechanicsJanuary 16, 2026
Volume 197 113169 doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2026.113169
Collins AE, Wayne JS, Ferrando CA, De Vita R.This experimental study characterizes the elastic behavior of male and female equine genital tissues using uniaxial tensile testing, with strain measurements obtained via digital image correlation. Dog-bone-shaped tissue specimens were excised from mares and geldings (n=23 from female specimens and n=42 from male specimens) with all specimens aligned along the circumferential direction (CD) of the vagina, penis, and scrotum. The results include load-displacement data, stress-strain data, and tangent moduli for the penile sheath, vaginal canal, and scrotum, with strain measured in both the CD a...
Buckman PN, Brinker BA, Kapeller LE, Komáromy AM.To determine the accuracy of the EYEMATE-SC suprachoroidal tracer for telemetric tonometry in canine and equine globes. Methods: The EYEMATE-SC sensor (7.8 mm × 3.8 mm × 1 mm) was implanted in the suprachoroidal space of four freshly enucleated normal canine and two normal equine eyes. The anterior chambers were cannulated and connected to a reservoir of Plasma-Lyte A and a manometer. Starting at a manometric IOP of 5 mmHg, the pressure was progressively increased to 80 mmHg by raising the reservoir. At each setpoint (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 mmHg), t...
Sousa JA, Miranda LM, Coutinho DJB, Costa TF, Costa SP, Freitas ÚS, Costa FB, Machado RZ, Nogueira RMS, Costa APD.The hemoprotozoan Trypanosoma evansi is a parasite that infects mammals, causing an infection known as trypanosomiasis. There is no report of T. evansi in horses in the State of Maranhão, highlighting the need to assess exposure and infection by the parasite and generate data for its monitoring. The objectives of this study were to identify T. evansi in blood samples from horses, investigate its occurrence in horses in this region, and analyze the associated risk factors. Three hundred blood samples were collected for parasitological (blood smear), serological (indirect enzyme-linked immunoso...
Legg KA, Cochrane DJ, Gee EK, Chin YY, Rogers CW.Thoroughbred race-riding requires jockeys to attenuate horse movement and maintain postural stability whilst galloping at high speeds. This study aimed to investigate the head movement of jockeys in relation to race-riding experience. Accelerometer and heart rate data were collected from twelve apprentice and two senior jockeys during 85 exercise rides and 82 trial rides. Mean head displacements were determined for each jockey by double integrating the filtered acceleration data. A mixed effect multivariable linear regression model was used to investigate the relationship between jockey experi...
Kloster H, Stormo C, Haaland AH, Stuen S, Kjelland V. ticks play a crucial role as carriers of diseases, transmitting pathogens to vertebrate hosts, including horses. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against sensu lato (s. l.), , and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE-virus) in equine sera collected in southern Norway. In total, sera from 331 horses stabled in four counties (Agder, Vestfold and Telemark, Vestland, and Viken) were analyzed by immunoblot. In total, 66% of the horses were IgG-seropositive for antibodies against one or multiple tick-borne pathogens. The highest seroprevalence was detected against...
Souto PC, Santos MR, Orozco AMO, Bento LD, Ramirez-Lopez CJ, Girardi FM, Machado JCA, de Oliveira LL, da Fonseca LA.We aimed to develop a species-specific ELISA for qualitatively and quantitatively determining serum amyloid A (SAA) in horses. Current methods for measuring SAA in horses utilize ELISA or immunoturbidimetric tests designed for human SAA, which are not specific to horses. Mice and rabbits were used to generate polyclonal antibodies against equine SAA. The study examined serum samples from 32 horses with acute inflammatory disease (SG) and 25 clinically healthy horses. Furthermore, the SAAeq kinetics were observed in three horses from the SG group at three different timepoints. The SAA-ELISA est...
Hellige M, Geburek F.A number of indications exist that necessitate radiologic examination of the equine cervical spine. Different neurologic and pain-associated clinical signs within the scope of lameness or poor performance may be associated to pathologies of the cervical spine. Moreover, the number of requests for radiographic examinations of the cervical spine, for example as part of the pre-purchase examination, has increased significantly in recent years. However, the interpretation of radiographs represents a challenge, particularly in the case of clinically sound horses, as it often necessitates the resolu...
Moroudi RS, Mahboudi H, Mahboudi F.The Dareshouri horse breed is one of Iran's native equine breeds, originating from the Dareshouri tribe, a subgroup of the Qashqai nomads. This breed has a history spanning over 500 years. Horses of this breed have smooth nates, tall stature, raised tails and strong skeletal muscles. This is the first study to investigate the effect of genetics on athletic performance in the Dareshouri breed. For this purpose, in this study, the genotype combination of two important variants, including the rs397152648Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and Short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) insertion, ...
Germann JA, O'Sullivan TL, Greer AL, Spence KL.This study aimed to describe implementation of biosecurity practices by Ontario horse owners and investigate whether biosecurity implementation was associated with horse-owner demographic characteristics and personality traits. Unassigned: A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of horse owners in Ontario to collect data on demographics, personality traits, risk comprehension, and biosecurity practices. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify clusters of participants with shared personality traits, and univariable associations between clusters and de...
Wang B, Duan W, Zhao J, Bai D.Once a mare experiences parturition abnormalities, the outcome between a live foal and a stillborn can change rapidly. Automated detection of mare parturition and timely human intervention is crucial to reducing risks during mare and foal parturition. This paper addresses the challenges of manual monitoring of parturition in large-scale equine facilities due to the unpredictability of mare parturition timing, proposing an algorithm for detecting mare parturition through a balanced multi-scale feature fusion based on an improved Libra RCNN. Initially, a ResNet101 backbone network incorporating ...
Chapman M, Fenner K, Thomas MJW.Equestrianism has an opportunity to learn lessons relating to safer human-horse interactions from those who no longer have a voice, by drawing data from the investigation of horse-related human fatalities and participating in accident analysis. Many human-horse related injuries and fatalities are not examined in equestrianism for the purpose of developing safer future risk mitigation practice, often due to the philosophy that horse sport is simply dangerous. This study analysed data from the Australian National Coronial Information System (NCIS) relating to fatalities involving human-horse int...
Dufourni A, Demeyere M, Vera L, van Loon G, Decloedt A.This study aimed to compare two-dimensional, M-mode, color, pulsed-wave Doppler (PWD) and continuous-wave Doppler (CWD) echocardiography, and PWD ultrasonography of the caudal common carotid artery (CCA) in horses with aortic regurgitation (AR). Methods: Warmblood horses without (n = 20) and with mild, moderate, and severe AR (n = 60) were included in the study. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study focused on cardiac dimensions, aortic and CCA Doppler flow. Non-invasive blood pressure and presence of ventricular arrhythmia were recorded. Groups were compared using analysis of varianc...
