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.
Fifteen horses harboring naturally acquired, patent Parascaris equorum and Oxyuris equi infections were equally allotted to 3 treatment groups given (1) injectable vehicle; (2) injectable ivermectin at the dose rate of 200 microgram/kg of body weight; and (3) injectable ivermectin at the rate of 300 microgram/kg. All treatments were given IM in the neck. All animals were killed 14 days after treatment and examined for the targeted nematodes. Regardless of dose rate, ivermectin proved 100% effective in the removal of adult O equi and P equorum infections. Levels of immature P equorum were decre...
Vesicular stomatitis is an infrequent yet important vesicular disease of cattle, horses, and swine. Periodic outbreaks of this disease in the United States have caused economic losses in cattle herds because of decreased production, movement restrictions, and trade embargoes. Vesicular stomatitis causes clinical signs indistinguishable from those of foot-and-mouth disease. It is of utmost importance that appropriate samples are collected from clinical cases of vesicular disease in cattle and swine so a rapid laboratory diagnosis can be made.
A breed known for its versatility, the American Quarter Horse (QH), is increasingly bred for performance in specific disciplines. The impact of selective breeding on the diversity and structure of the QH breed was evaluated using pedigree analysis and genome-wide SNP data from horses representing 6 performance groups (halter, western pleasure, reining, working cow, cutting, and racing). Genotype data (36 037 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) from 36 Thoroughbreds were also evaluated with those from the 132 performing QHs to evaluate the Thoroughbred's influence on QH diversity. Results s...
The objective of this study was to graft autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) at the site of surgical repair of a soft palate defect in an adult horse in an attempt to improve wound healing and to investigate whether the transplanted MSCs would integrate into the soft palate structure and participate in regeneration. Bone marrow was collected from an adult horse with a full-thickness soft palate defect. The MSCs were isolated, cultured in monolayers, and labeled with 5-bromo-2-desoxymidine (BrdU) and chloromethylbenzamido-DiI-derived (cm-DiI) before transplantation. The soft palate defect ...
This study was designed to investigate whether horses with clinical signs of back pain due to suspected soft tissue injuries were affected by polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM). Diagnosis of PSSM in muscle biopsies obtained from the M. longissimus lumborum of 5 showjumpers and 4 dressage horses with a history of back pain is reported. M. longissimus lumborum biopsies of these horses were characterised histopathologically and in 3/9 cases also by electron microscopy. Observations were compared with M. gluteus biopsies of the same horses, and with M. gluteus biopsies obtained from 6 Standard...
Anoplocephala sp. parasites are among the most frequent tapeworms in equines and are associated with intestinal infections. This survey had the objective to verify Anoplocephala sp. prevalence at Sociedade Hípica Paranaense (SHPr). The animals were treated with ivermectin, which does not have efficacy against Anoplocephala sp.. To determine whether eggs of Anoplocephala sp. were present, a modified centrifugal flotation technique was used and also eggs per gram of faeces (EPG). None of the samples showed Anoplocephala sp. eggs and only 11% of the animals had positive values for EPG. The resul...
The objective of this study was to compare effects of butorphanol (BUT) or buprenorphine (BUP), in combination with detomidine and diazepam, on the sedation quality, surgical conditions, and postoperative pain control after cheek tooth extraction in horses, randomly allocated to 2 treatment groups (BUT: = 20; BUP: = 20). A bolus of detomidine (15 μg/kg, IV) was followed by either BUP (7.5 μg/kg, IV) or BUT (0.05 mg/kg, IV). After 20 min, diazepam (0.01 mg/kg, IV) was administered and sedation was maintained with a detomidine IV infusion (20 μg/kg/h), with rate adjusted based on scores to ...
Four horses were evaluated because of hind limb lameness. Two had a distinct gait abnormality at the walk characterized by lateral rotation of the point of the calcaneus and medial rotation of the toe during the stance phase. Nuclear scintigraphy revealed a focal area of intense radioisotope uptake in the caudodistal aspect of the femur in all 4 horses, and 3 of the horses had a corresponding proliferative reaction on the caudodistal cortex of the femur on radiographs. In all 4 horses, a diagnosis of injury to the origin of the gastrocnemius muscle was made. Three of the horses returned to ath...
Zebeli Q, Lindner L, Metzler-Zebeli BU.Grasslands are the cornerstone of horse feeding, used for grazing and to produce roughages and their products. However, improper grassland management hides several threats for equine health. In this context, grasslands contaminated with toxin-producing endophytes are considered an increasing threat for horses in many parts of the world. Endophytes are fungi that may grow in a mutualistic relationship in a range of grasses, including fescue grass and perennial ryegrass, two foliage species commonly found in European and American meadows and pastures. The endophytes produce alkaloids that are hi...
Bindi F, Vitale V, Cingottini D, Pasquini A, Longini M, Tagliaferri G, Bonelli F, Nocera I, Sgorbini M.Equine asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease characterized by airway inflammation and oxidative imbalance, particularly in its severe form. The aim of this study was to evaluate pro-oxidative substances, oxidative products, and antioxidant defense biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from horses with and without a history of severe equine asthma (SEA). This prospective observational study included 21 leisure horses classified as SEA or non-SEA based on clinical history and BALF cytology. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was analyzed for derivatives of reactive oxygen metaboli...
Jasiński T, Borowska M, Juszczuk-Kubiak E, Turek B, Kaczorowski M, Bąk M, Żuk J, Domino M.Horses presenting with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunctions are often clinically evaluated for TMJ osteoarthritis (OA). Due to the unique characteristic of TMJ-related pain, the clinical diagnosis of equine TMJ OA is challenging; however, it may be supported by computer-aided tools incorporating biomarker data. This study aims to evaluate a machine learning-based approach to address a binary classification distinguishing healthy TMJs from TMJ OA. Among 50 equine cadaver heads, 82 TMJs were included and annotated as healthy or OA based on histological and computed tomography (CT) findings...
Serteyn D, Graide H, Ceusters J, Vandersmissen M, Salciccia A, Sandersen C, Lejeune JP.Tendon and ligament injuries are frequent in sport horses and are prone to recurrence due to incomplete healing. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are increasingly used, but data controlled on the early effects of autologous MSCs remain limited. A prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in horses with naturally occurring tendinopathies. After standardized PRP pretreatment, non-responders were randomized to receive intralesional autologous muscle-derived MSCs (mdMSCs, = 17) or placebo ( = 6). Clinical and ultrasonographic paramete...
Blangy-Letheule A, Montnach J, Perrier J, Lemonnier LC, Denis M, Rozec B, Lauzier B, Leroux AA.Colic is a leading cause of mortality in horses, particularly when associated with systemic inflammation and organ dysfunction. In human medicine, these complications are associated with sepsis, defined as organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated, life-threatening host response to infection. However, no consensus sepsis score exists for adult horses. This retrospective study aimed to develop a diagnostic sepsis score for adult horses. Medical records from 295 horses admitted for colic to the Oniris equine emergency department (Nantes, France) between July 2011 and November 2021 were analyzed...
Physical exercise represents a physiological stressor capable of activating the acute-phase response (APR) in horses. However, the relative contribution of exercise intensity duration to acute-phase protein (APP) dynamics remains incompletely defined. This study compared the effects of short, high-intensity gallop exercise (2400 m flat race; = 12) and prolonged, low-intensity endurance exercise (40 km; = 13) on serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), and ceruloplasmin (Cp) in Thoroughbred racehorses. Blood samples were collected before exercise and at defined post-exercise time points. Bet...
Pye E, Marcilla MG, Duncan JC.Regional anaesthesia of the equine anogenital tract is limited to local infiltration, extradural, blind palpation and nerve stimulator-guided techniques which risk iatrogenic damage, recumbency and ataxia. This study aimed to describe and assess the feasibility of transcutaneous ultrasound-guided (USG) pudendal nerve staining in equine cadavers. An initial pilot phase used two fresh equine cadavers and one standing unsedated horse to image the intrapelvic anatomy using ultrasound. One fixed equine cadaver specimen was also dissected to identify the pudendal nerve and refine the dissection appr...
Gómez MD, Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Perdomo-González DI, Ripollés-Lobo M, Bartolomé E, Valera M.This study evaluates performance data and genetic merit of the main horse populations competing in Olympic disciplines in Spain and examines their implications for the optimization of official Breeding Programs. Performance records from 2004-2023 were analyzed, including 101,093 participations in Dressage, 319,000 in Show Jumping, and 17,535 in Eventing. These records were combined with pedigree information from 35,589 horses in Dressage, 33,935 in Show Jumping, and 12,102 in Eventing and evaluated using BLUP animal models to obtain standardized Estimated Breeding Values (EBV; mean 100 ± 20) ...