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.
Vera L, Van Steenkiste G, Decloedt A, Chiers K, van Loon G.Arterial rupture mainly affects older horses. The reason why older horses are more prone to arterial rupture and which underlying vascular changes predispose older horses to aortic rupture is still unclear. Objective: To investigate the effect of ageing on the equine arterial wall and blood pressure. Methods: Cohort study. Methods: Non-invasive blood pressure measurement using a tail cuff and vascular ultrasound from aorta, common carotid artery and external iliac artery was performed in 50 healthy young (3-7 years) and 50 healthy old Warmblood horses (>18 years). Arterial diameters and c...
Cervantes I, Bodin L, Valera M, Molina A, Gutiérrez JP.Control of the environmental variability by genetic selection offers possibilities for new selection objectives for productive traits. This methodology aims at reducing heterogeneity in productive traits and has been applied to several traits and species for which animal homogeneity is profitable. In horse breeding programmes, rank in competitions is a common selection objective but has been challenging to model. In this study, the parameters of environmental variability for the rank of a horse were computed to analyse the capability of a horse to maintain the best ranking across competitions ...
Wutke S, Benecke N, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Döhle HJ, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hallsson JH, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Morales-Muniz A....An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Lopez-Rodriguez MF, Cymbaluk NF, Epp T, Laarveld B, Thrasher M, Card CE.Iodine, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) are required for normal fetal growth, maturation, and neonatal survival. There is a lack of robust information on iodine levels found in colostrum, milk, and serum of mares and foals after a healthy pregnancy. Our objective was to characterize colostrum, milk, and serum iodine levels in healthy postpartum mares and foals (n = 10) and explore relationships with thyroid hormone concentrations. Colostrum, milk, and jugular blood samples from draft breed mares and foals with an estimated average iodine daily intake of 39 mg per mare during pregnan...
Al Abri MA, Holl HM, Kalla SE, Sutter NB, Brooks SA.The domesticated horse has played a unique role in human history, serving not just as a source of animal protein, but also as a catalyst for long-distance migration and military conquest. As a result, the horse developed unique physiological adaptations to meet the demands of both their climatic environment and their relationship with man. Completed in 2009, the first domesticated horse reference genome assembly (EquCab 2.0) produced most of the publicly available genetic variations annotations in this species. Yet, there are around 400 geographically and physiologically diverse breeds of hors...
Cappelli K, Mecocci S, Gioiosa S, Giontella A, Silvestrelli M, Cherchi R, Valentini A, Chillemi G, Capomaccio S.Physical exercise is universally recognized as stressful. Among the "sport species", the horse is probably the most appropriate model for investigating the genomic response to stress due to the homogeneity of its genetic background. The aim of this work is to dissect the whole transcription modulation in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) after exercise with a time course framework focusing on unexplored regions related to introns and intergenic portions. PBMCs NGS from five 3 year old Sardinian Anglo-Arab racehorses collected at rest and after a 2000 m race was performed. Apart from d...
Rajpar I, Barrett JG.Tendon injury is a significant clinical problem due to poor healing and a high reinjury rate; successful treatment is limited by our poor understanding of endogenous tendon stem cells. Recent evidence suggests that adult stem cells are phenotypically diverse, even when comparing stem cells isolated from the same tissue from the same individual, and may in fact exist on a spectrum of proliferation and differentiation capacities. Additionally, the relationships between and clinical relevance of this phenotypic variation are poorly understood. In particular, tenogenic capacity has not been studie...
Rioja-Lang FC, Connor M, Bacon H, Dwyer CM.Equine welfare issues are receiving increasing attention in the UK, but welfare problems can arise from a wide range of causes. In order to identify the most important welfare concerns for horses, we used a Delphi method with 19 equine welfare experts. An initial list of 84 equine welfare issues was generated using an online discussion board and NVivo thematic analysis. Subsequently, experts ranked these welfare issues for perceived prevalence, severity and duration of suffering associated with each issue on a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a mean score of 3 or above ( = 37) were includ...
Mayaki AM, Abdul Razak IS, Mohd Adzahan N, Mazlan M, Abdullah R.Equine chronic back pain (CBP) has been linked to different pathologic processes, which directly or indirectly involve spinal structures. Thus, making diagnosis and management very challenging with most horses with the condition recommended for early retirement from athletic activity. This study described the spinal cord lesions and the development of reactive microgliosis and astrocytosis in the spinal cords of horse with CBP. Thoracolumbar spinal cord segments from three horses euthanized because of unresolved CBP were dissected and grossly and histopathologically examined. The expression of...
Bachmann M, Glatter M, Bochnia M, Wensch-Dorendorf M, Greef JM, Breves G, Zeyner A.Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin may modulate hindgut fermentation. It was tested if digesta batch cultures taken from horses adapted to FOS and inulin show different fermentation compared with such taken from nonsupplemented horses. Six horses received 0.15 g FOS and inulin/kg body weight/d via Jerusalem artichoke meal (JAM) upon a hay-based diet; six horses received corncob meal without grains (CMG) as placebo. The horses were euthanized after 20 days. Digesta samples were taken from stomach, cecum, ventral colon ascendens (VCA), and colon transversum (CT). Digesta batch cultures we...
Kennedy R, Reardon RJM, James O, Wilson C, Dixon PM.Complications, especially delayed alveolar healing, are common following equine cheek teeth extraction, however, limited objective information is available on the prevalence and nature of these problems. Objective: To document the type and prevalence of complications that occur following equine cheek tooth extraction and to identify possible risk factors for these complications that could be used to predict their occurrence and hopefully reduce their prevalence. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Clinical records of all cheek teeth extractions performed between February 2004 and Sep...
Francis JM, Neander CR, Roeder MJ, Perry EB.Palatants may be added to equine feed and medication either during or after manufacturing to enhance product acceptance. Prior studies have examined a variety of palatants but results have been limited and inconsistent. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate topically applied oil-based palatants on feeding preferences in horses. Stock-type horses (n = 10) were used in this paired preference test across a two-phase study. Phase one compared six palatants (banana, anise, peppermint, apple, spearmint, and orange) to a control (corn oil), whereas phase two compared preference a...
Gharaibeh MH, Abutarbush SM, Mustafa FG, Lafi SQ, Halaiqa MS.Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global problem that will need a multinational collaborative effort to overcome this serious challenge. The aim of the study is to investigate the potential risk factors associated with the prevalence and distribution of antimicrobial-resistance genes (ARGs) of Escherichia coli isolates obtained from equine fecal samples. One hundred and eighteen horses from different geographical locations and management systems were enrolled in the study and a questionnaire containing information about each individual horse was designed and filled. The enrolled horses bel...
Cullen TE, Semevolos SA, Stieger-Vanegas SM, Duesterdieck-Zellmer K.This study describes clinical and ultrasonographic findings and outcomes of horses with lameness associated with muscle tears. Records of horses diagnosed with muscle tears were retrospectively evaluated. Horses in which one or more muscle tears were confirmed ultrasonographically and lameness was associated with the tear were included in the study ( = 14). Eight horses had tearing of a single muscle, 6 horses had 2 or more muscles involved. Twelve of 14 horses survived to discharge and were alive at follow-up (8 to 90 months). Recovery time ranged from 6 to 52 weeks (mean: 19.8 weeks); 6 to 1...
Giraldo A, Pinard CL, Plattner BL, Dubois MS.A periocular nodular sarcoid was diagnosed on the right upper eyelid and medial canthus of a 12-year-old Thoroughbred mare. Enucleation was performed and during the procedure the mass was noted to be firmly adhered to the underlying frontal bone. Partial ostectomy of the dorsal orbital rim was performed. Histopathology revealed invasion of the cortical lamellar bone and the bone marrow by neoplastic spindle cells and extension of these cells to multiple surgical margins. Recurrence at the level of the surgical site and its surroundings occurred 3 months after the procedure. The horse was eutha...
Zhao J, Marghitu DB, Schumacher J.Tranquilization of horses with acepromazine has been used to suppress erratic head movements and increase the accuracy of a lameness examination. Some equine clinicians believe that tranquilization with acepromazine will make lameness more evident by causing the horse to focus on adjusting its gait to avoid limb pain rather than its surroundings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acepromazine on the Lyapunov exponents of lame horses. Ten lame horses were trotted in a straight line for a minimum of 25 strides. Kinematic data created by head movement were analyzed. Nonlinear...
Gardela J, Carbajal A, Tallo-Parra O, Olvera-Maneu S, Álvarez-Rodríguez M, Jose-Cunilleras E, López-Béjar M.Horse transportation for temporary relocation during rest periods is a common and widespread practice among horse owners, either from sport competition or working tasks. This study aimed to determine the effect of a relocation period and the multiple factors associated with a rest period on hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) in horses. Additionally, this study reports the seasonal effect on HCCs and hair growth over a year. Thirteen police horses, Pure Spanish stallions of various ages (5-13 y), were selected to participate in this study. Hair sample collection was carried out approximately e...
Todd ET, Hamilton NA, Velie BD, Thomson PC.Horses produce only one foal from an eleven-month gestation period, making the maintenance of high reproductive rates essential. Genetic bottlenecks and inbreeding can increase the frequency of deleterious variants, resulting in reduced reproductive levels in a population. In this study we examined the influence of inbreeding levels on foaling rate, gestation length and secondary sex ratio in Australian Thoroughbred mares. We also investigated the genetic change in these traits throughout the history of the breed. Phenotypic data were obtained from 27,262 breeding records of Thoroughbred mares...
May-Davis S, Gee C, Brown WY.Ultrasound is a well-established modality in equine investigative and diagnostic procedures. Although to date, it has not been utilized in examining the attachments of the equine nuchal ligament lamellae (NLL) onto the cervical vertebrae, for which a noninvasive technique is currently lacking. This study presents a standardized methodology for investigating the equine NLL using ultrasonography, and further evaluates the ultrasound images against postmortem dissection in two nonrelated horses. The ultrasound images in both horses clearly presented the attachment points of the NLL to the dorsal ...
Kramer KJ, Kagan IA, Lawrence LM, Goff BM, Smith SR.An excess of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) can present a risk for horses prone to pasture-associated laminitis or some other metabolic conditions. Determining WSC concentrations in commonly grazed cool-season grasses, at different times of day and under different fertilization treatments, can help optimize grazing times and management strategies. The goals of this study were to develop a near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibration curve for WSC and to apply it to four cool-season grass species. Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, orchardgrass, and perennial ryegrass (10 cultiva...
Bueno BL, Câmara RJF, Moreira MVL, Galinari GCF, Souto FM, Victor RM, Bicalho JM, Ecco R, Dos Reis JKP.Equine infectious anemia (EIA), a disease caused by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), is considered an obstacle to the development of the horse industry. There is no treatment or vaccine available for EIA, and its pathogenesis, as well as the immune response against the virus, is not fully understood. Therefore, an immunohistochemistry assay was developed for the detection of viral antigens in tissues of equids naturally infected with EIAV. Sections of organs of six equids from Apodi-RN, Brazil, that tested positive for EIA by serological tests (ELISA and AGID) were fixed in 10% formalin ...
Hu K, Stewart AJ, Yuen KY, Hinrichsen S, Dryburgh EL, Bertin FR.Determination of plasma adrenocotrophic hormone (ACTH) concentration (endogenous or thyrotropin-releasing hormone [TRH] stimulation test) is the most commonly used diagnostic test for pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses. Because ACTH is unstable, samples often are frozen to be shipped to laboratories or to allow for batch analysis of research samples. However, the effect of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on equine ACTH is unknown. Objective: To determine the effects of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on immunoreactive ACTH concentration. Methods: Twenty-eight horses ranging from 10...
Gibson C, de Ruijter-Villani M, Bauersachs S, Stout TAE.Preimplantation horse conceptuses require nutrients and signals from histotroph, the composition of which is regulated by luteal progesterone and conceptus-secreted factors. To distinguish progesterone and conceptus effects we shortened the period of endometrial progesterone-priming by asynchronous embryo transfer. Day 8 embryos were transferred to synchronous (day 8) or asynchronous (day 3) recipients, and RNA sequencing was performed on endometrium and conceptuses recovered 6 and 11 days later (embryo days 14 and 19). Asynchrony resulted in many more differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ...
Hedberg-Alm Y, Penell J, Riihimäki M, Osterman-Lind E, Nielsen MK, Tydén E.All grazing horses are exposed to intestinal parasites, which have the potential to cause gastrointestinal disease. In Sweden, there is a concern about an increase in parasite-related equine gastrointestinal disease, in particular , since the implementation of prescription-only anthelmintics approximately 10 years ago. In a prospective case-control study, parasitological status, using fecal analyses for strongyle egg counts, the presence of eggs and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as well as serology for , were compared between horses presenting with or without gastrointestinal disease at a ...
Boorman S, Scherrer NM, Stefanovski D, Johnson AL.Facial nerve paralysis (FNP) in equids is not well described in the veterinary literature. Objective: To investigate the causes of FNP and associations among clinical variables, diagnosis, and outcome. Methods: Sixty-four equids presenting with FNP between July 2000 and April 2019. Cases of postanesthetic FNP were excluded. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Variables were evaluated for associations with outcomes (diagnosis and case outcome) using logistic regression. Results: The most common cause of FNP was trauma (n = 20). Additional diagnoses included central nervous s...
Nollet H, Deprez P, van Ham L, Dewulf J, Decleir A, Vanderstraeten G.Cervical spinal cord dysfunction is a common problem in equine medicine and the currently available tests give no objective information about the functionality of the nervous tracts. Therefore, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was performed in 84 healthy horses of different height in order to have an objective measure for the integrity of the descending motor tracts in normal horses. Objective: To obtain reference values for onset latency and peak-to-peak amplitude of magnetic motor evoked potentials (MMEPs) and to evaluate the possible effect of height, age and gender on the neurophysi...
Noronha LE, Harman RM, Wagner B, Antczak DF.The low-affinity Fc receptor CD16 plays a central role in the inflammatory and innate immune responses of many species, but has not yet been investigated in the horse. Using the predicted extracellular region of equine CD16 expressed as a recombinant fusion protein with equine IL-4 (rIL-4/CD16), we generated a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognize equine CD16. Nine mAbs were chosen for characterization based upon recognition of CD16, but not IL-4, in ELISA. All nine mAbs recognized full-length, cell-surface CD16 expressed as a GFP fusion protein by CHO cells, but not the c...
Peiffer RL, Wilcock BP, Yin H.Histologic examination was made of 1,419 globes from domestic animals (964 dogs, 374 cats, 41 horses, and 40 cattle) with ocular disease; pre-iridal membranes (rubeosis iridis) were found in 98. The membranes originated as endothelial budding from the anterior iridal stroma and seemed to mature into fibrous or fibrovascular membranes that were often followed by hyphema or, occasionally, glaucoma. Pre-existent disease in the 98 affected globes included chronic endophthalmitis (27/98), chronic glaucoma (24/98), anterior uveal melanoma (15/98), ciliary body adenoma (14/98), neoplasms metastatic t...
Valigura HC, Leatherwood JL, Martinez RE, Norton SA, White-Springer SH.Mitigation of exercise-induced stress is of key interest in determining ways to optimize performance horse health. To test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product would decrease markers of exercise-induced stress and inflammation in young horses, Quarter Horse yearlings (mean ± SD; 9 ± 1 mo) were randomly assigned to receive either no supplementation (CON; n = 8) or 21 g/d S. cerevisiae fermentation product (10.5 g/feeding twice daily; SCFP; n = 10) top-dressed on a basal diet of custom-formulated grain as well as ad libitum Coastal berm...
Senju N, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Almunia J, Maeda M, Matsuyama R, Takasu M.To help plan conservation of the endangered Miyako horse, a biological resource of the Miyako Islands in Japan, we characterized the genetics of the breed by genotyping 32 microsatellites and identifying mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. We also calculated genetic distances between individuals based on the proportion of shared alleles and visualized the genetic relationships with a phylogenetic tree. Two important results were obtained. One is that accurate pedigree registration of the horse by using microsatellites is possible, as the exclusion power of parentage testing is 0.999998. Another is t...
Sacks M, Ringer SK, Bischofberger AS, Berchtold SM, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R.To compare the effects of two balanced anaesthetic protocols (isoflurane-dexmedetomidine versus medetomidine) on sedation, cardiopulmonary function and recovery in horses. Methods: Prospective, blinded, randomized clinical study. Methods: Sixty healthy adult warm blood horses undergoing elective surgery. Methods: Thirty horses each were sedated with dexmedetomidine 3.5 μg kg (group DEX) or medetomidine 7 μg kg (group MED) intravenously. After assessing and supplementing sedation if necessary, anaesthesia was induced with ketamine/diazepam and maintained with isoflurane in oxygen/air and ...
Kilcoyne I, Watson JL, Kass PH, Spier SJ.To determine the incidence of complications and identify risk factors associated with development of complications following routine castration of equids. Methods: Retrospective case series. Animals-311 horses, 10 mules, and 3 donkeys. Methods: Medical records of equids undergoing routine castration were reviewed. Age, breed, surgical techniques (closed vs semiclosed castration and use of ligatures), anesthesia method (general IV anesthesia vs standing sedation with local anesthesia) and repeated administration of IV anesthetic agents, administration of antimicrobials and anti-inflammatory dru...
Ozubek S, Aktas M.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a protozoon disease caused by Babesia caballi and Theileria equi transmitted by ticks from the Ixodidae family. This study investigated the genetic heterogeneity and diversity of piroplasm genotypes using the Reverse Line Blotting (RLB) technique for piroplasm species in equids in Turkey. A total of 233 blood samples from 142 horses and 91 donkeys were collected in Şanlıurfa, Tunceli, and Iğdır. The RLB assay was performed for simultaneous detection of piroplasm species. The prevalence of piroplasm infection was 33.5% (95% CI; 27.4-39.9). T. equi was the most c...
Mendez-Angulo JL, Firshman AM, Groschen DM, Kieffer PJ, Trumble TN.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three footing surfaces on the flexion/extension, and range of motion (ROM) of the carpus, tarsus and fetlocks in the horse. The percentage of stride spent in the stance phase of sound horses at the walk was also measured. Nine sound horses were walked on hard ground (HD), soft ground (SF) and a land treadmill (LT), and five complete gait cycles were recorded by a digital video camera. Retro-reflective markers were placed on the skin at four anatomical locations on the left fore and hind limbs, and data were analyzed using two-dimensional (2D)...
Seo JP, Son WG, Gang S, Lee I.This study was performed to evaluate the sedative and analgesic effects of xylazine (X) and tramadol (T) intravenously (IV) administered to horses. Six thoroughbred saddle horses each received X (1.0 mg/kg), T (2.0 mg/kg), and a combination of XT (1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg, respectively) IV. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), indirect arterial pressure (IAP), capillary refill time (CRT), sedation, and analgesia (using electrical stimulation and pinprick) were measured before and after drug administration. HR and RR significantly decreased from basal values with X and XT t...
Marenzoni ML, Bietta A, Lepri E, Casagrande Proietti P, Cordioli P, Canelli E, Stefanetti V, Coletti M, Timoney PJ, Passamonti F.Herpesviral infections frequently occur in horses. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible association of equine herpesviruses (EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-3, EHV-4, EHV-5) with other causes of abortion, neonatal mortality or placental disorder. Sixty-seven abortions, 22 stillbirths, 14 cases of neonatal foal mortality and 3 cases of placental disease were investigated for infectious and non-infectious causes. Type-specific nested PCR assays and virus isolation were performed to detect EHV infections. A cause of fetal loss or placental disease was reached in 68 out 116 (58.7%) cases....
LaFrentz S, Abarca E, Mohammed HH, Cuming R, Arias CR.The equine conjunctival microbiota has often been reported to be dominated by Gram-positive species such as Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., and Corynebacterium sp. However, traditional culture-based methods can only recover a fraction of the bacterial species present in the sample. Objective: This pilot study aimed at exploring the diversity of the equine conjunctival microbiota using culture-independent methods. Methods: Eight horses were included in this study, and only eyes with normal ophthalmic examination (n = 15 eyes) were sampled. Methods: Conjunctival biopsies (culture-independent...
MacKay RJ, Merritt AM, Zertuche JM, Whittington M, Skelley LA.Serum and plasma from horses injected with endotoxin was examined for cytotoxic activity. Each of the cell lines, L929 and WEHI 164 clone 13, was sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of equine serum; however, a precipitation artifact caused by the use of isopropanol in the WEHI assay limited the use of this assay to samples containing less than 2 mg of protein/ml. In foals treated with a sublethal IV bolus of 5 micrograms of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/kg and in adult horses given a low-dose continuous infusion of LPS (30 ng/kg/h for 4 hours), cytotoxic activity was detected in all serum or plasma ...
Busoni V, Heimann M, Trenteseaux J, Snaps F, Dondelinger RF.We describe the abnormal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings in the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and distal sesamoid bone in horses with radiographic changes compatible with navicular syndrome. Thirteen postmortem specimens were examined using a 1.5-T magnetic field, with spin echo (SE) T1-weighted, turbo SE (TSE) proton density-weighted (with and without fat saturation), and fat saturation TSE T2-weighted sequences. The limbs were then dissected to compare the MR findings with the gross assessment and histologic examination of the DDFT and distal sesamoid bones. Tendonous abnormalit...
Kaka JS, Klavano PA, Hayton WL.Ketamine HCl was administered IV to xylazine HCl-treated horses. The plasma concentration of ketamine was measured several times after administration of the drug and these data were used to develop a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. The distribution and the elimination phase half-lives averaged 2.9 and 42 minutes. The volume of the central compartment averaged 212 ml/kg of body weight and the volume of the peripheral compartment was approximately threefold larger. The total body clearance of ketamine averaged 26.6 ml/minute/kg. Plasma protein binding of ketamine averaged 50% over the con...
Art T, Kirschvink N, Smith N, Lekeux P.To test the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species could be associated to the lower airway disorders occurring in horses suffering from recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), indices of oxidative stress were studied in blood and pulmonary epithelium lining fluid in 5 RAO horses either in clinical remission or 24 h after the onset of a crisis of bronchospasm and in 5 healthy horses. Venous blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were collected and analysed for reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidised glutathione (GSSG), total glutathione (TGSH), glutathione redox ratio (GRR) in blood hae...
Vinther AM, Heegaard PM, Skovgaard K, Buhl R, Andreassen SM, Andersen PH.Local inflammation may progress into systemic inflammation. To increase our understanding of the basic immunological processes during transition of equine local inflammation into a systemic state, investigation into the equine systemic immune response to local inflammation is warranted. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the innate peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) immune response to local inflammation in horses, and to compare this response with the PBL immune response during the early phase of acute systemic inflammation. Expression of 22 selected inflammation-related genes w...
Mama KR, Grimsrud K, Snell T, Stanley S.Detomidine hydrochloride is used to provide sedation, muscle relaxation and analgesia in horses, but a lack of information pertaining to plasma concentration has limited the ability to correlate drug concentration with effect. Objective: To build on previous information and assess detomidine for i.v. and i.m. use in horses by simultaneously assessing plasma drug concentrations, physiological parameters and behavioural characteristics. Objective: Systemic effects would be seen following i.m. and i.v. detomidine administration and these effects would be positively correlated with plasma drug con...
Powell SE, Ramzan PH, Head MJ, Shepherd MC, Baldwin GI, Steven WN.The proximal metacarpal region is a common site of origin of lameness in the performance horse. A number of disease entities are recognised as causes of proximal metacarpal lameness but a definitive diagnosis is often elusive. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is hypothesised to offer advantages over traditional imaging modalities in the investigation of proximal metacarpal pain. Objective: To describe clinical and imaging features of cases of lameness in racehorses arising from the proximal metacarpal region in which standing MRI identified 'bone marrow oedema-type' (BMO-type) signal patterns....
Fessler JF, Bottoms GD, Coppoc GL, Gimarc S, Latshaw HS, Noble JK.Endotoxin (LPS) was quantitated in experimental subjects and in horses with naturally occurring gastrointestinal strangulation obstruction and/or septicaemic diseases to establish the fate of LPS and the clinical usefulness of the Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. The assay was validated for sensitivity (10 pg/ml), recovery (90 to 106 per cent), intra-assay precision (CV = 5.5 per cent) inter-assay precision (CV = 11 per cent), and stability of diluted, heat treated, frozen samples (at least 90 days). Plasma concentrations of LPS after sublethal (3 micrograms/kg) jugular or portal vein bo...
Verheyen K, Newton JR, Talbot NC, de Brauwere MN, Chanter N.Three protracted outbreaks of strangles were investigated using endoscopic examination and a total of 14 asymptomatic carriers of Streptococcus equi were identified of which 13 showed evidence of carriage in the guttural pouch. Treatment was initiated to eliminate S. equi colonisation since these animals posed an infectious risk to susceptible horses. Two further horses were referred to us with severe guttural pouch pathology and from which S. equi was cultured, and treatment of these cases is also described. Treatment in the first instance was directed towards removal of gross guttural pouch ...
Prystupa JM, Juras R, Cothran EG, Buchanan FC, Plante Y.As part of the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has been investigating the genetic diversity of its native equine and pony populations. Along with examining four indigenous Canadian equine populations (Canadian horse, Lac La Croix pony, Newfoundland pony and Sable Island population), another 10 Mountain and Moorland, three Nordic, four horse and two feral equine populations (thought to have influenced some pony breeds) were also investigated. In total, 821 individuals were genotyped at 38 microsatellite loci. Results of the analysis of molecular variance indicated...
Barber TL, Walton TE, Lewis KJ.Twenty-nine horses were vaccinated with a trivalent (Venezuelan, eastern, and western) inactivated equine encephalomyelitis virus vaccine. The vaccine purchased for this study was the only one licensed and commercially available in May, 1975. Plaque-neutralizing and hemagglutinin-inhibiting antibodies in response to each of the 3 equine encephalomyelitis viruses were determined after vaccination. Horses had rising levels of plaque-neutralizing and hemagglutinin-inhibiting antibodies shortly after injection with the 1st and 2nd doses of the vaccine (given 3 weeks apart) and were refractory to c...
Brosnahan MM, Brooks SA, Antczak DF.The objective of this review is to introduce equine clinicians to the rapidly evolving field of clinical genomics with a vision of improving the health and welfare of the domestic horse. For 15 years a consortium of veterinary geneticists and clinicians has worked together under the umbrella of The Horse Genome Project. This group, encompassing 22 laboratories in 12 countries, has made rapid progress, developing several iterations of linkage, physical and comparative gene maps of the horse with increasing levels of detail. In early 2006, the research was greatly facilitated when the US Nationa...
Berthoud H, Frey J, Kuhnert P.Actinobacillus equuli, a member of the family Pasteurellaceae is the etiologic agent of a frequently lethal septicemia in neonatal foals as well as other more chronic diseases like arthritis, pleuritis, pneumonia or peritonitis. It may also be isolated from the oral cavity of healthy horses. Hemolytic isolates of A. equuli are known but so far no virulence determinants have been described for this bacterial species. By screening hemolytic A. equuli strains with specific gene probes, a hemolysin, designated Aqx (A. equuli RTX (repeats in the structural toxin)) was identified. This hemolysin was...
Merkies K, Nakonechny L, DuBois C, Derisoud E.Training practices may impose restrictions on the equine behavioral repertoire through the use of training equipment. Presently, the prevalence of the use of training equipment in Canada is unknown. Through an online survey for horse enthusiasts (n = 654), this study evaluated the prevalence and predominant uses of whips, spurs, and head-control equipment by enthusiasts with direct contact with horses compared to perceptions held by enthusiasts with no direct horse contact using chi-squared analyses. Respondents primarily reported using whips and spurs to augment rider or trainer cues and re...
Ablondi M, Summer A, Vasini M, Simoni M, Sabbioni A.Horses are nowadays mainly used for sport and leisure purposes, and several local breeds, traditionally used in agriculture, are exposed to the risk of extinction. The long-term survival of local horse breeds depends on strategies to both monitor their genetic diversity and to find their sustainable role in the equine market. Thus, several local horse breeds need to adapt their breeding objective to allow a modernization process. The Bardigiano is an example of such horse breeds; we, therefore, studied the existing evaluation protocol from a genetic standpoint to assess the protocol's suitabil...
McDowell KJ, Moore ES, Parks AG, Bush LP, Horohov DW, Lawrence LM.The hypotheses that endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum)-infected tall fescue (TF) seed causes vasoconstriction in horses in vivo and that ground seed would cause more pronounced vasoconstriction than whole seed were tested. Ten horses each received 1 of 3 treatments: endophyte-free ground (E-G; n = 4 horses) seed, endophyte-positive whole (E+W; n = 3) seed, or endophyte-positive ground (E+G; n = 3) seed. There were two 14-d periods, P1 and P2. During P1, animals were adapted to a concentrate (0.2% BW, as fed, twice daily) and alfalfa cubes. During P2, the seed was mixed into the concentrate ...
