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.
Norton EM, Avila F, Schultz NE, Mickelson JR, Geor RJ, McCue ME.Ponies are highly susceptible to metabolic derangements including hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and adiposity. Objective: Genetic loci affecting height in ponies have pleiotropic effects on metabolic pathways and increase the susceptibility to equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Methods: Two hundred ninety-four Welsh ponies and 529 horses. Methods: Retrospective study of horses phenotyped for metabolic traits. Correlations between height and metabolic traits were assessed by Pearson's correlation coefficients. Complementary genome-wide analysis methods were used to identify a region of in...
Sutton GA, Atamna R, Steinman A, Mair TS.A valid, reliable and usable scale is needed for assessing severity of acute abdominal pain in horses. The study aim was to compare three different scales: (1) the equine acute abdominal pain scale (EAAPS); (2) a scale described by Mair and Smith (2005; M and S); and (3) a numerical rating scale (NRS). Forty brief films of horses (35 of colic cases and five of control horses) were randomly presented to 46 equine veterinarians from different countries. Participants, randomly divided into three groups, each used one scale. Five randomly selected films were shown twice for determining intra-obser...
Wong K, van der Weyden L, Schott CR, Foote A, Constantino-Casas F, Smith S, Dobson JM, Murchison EP, Wu H, Yeh I, Fullen DR, Joseph N, Bastian BC....Mucosal melanoma is a rare and poorly characterized subtype of human melanoma. Here we perform a cross-species analysis by sequencing tumor-germline pairs from 46 primary human muscosal, 65 primary canine oral and 28 primary equine melanoma cases from mucosal sites. Analysis of these data reveals recurrently mutated driver genes shared between species such as NRAS, FAT4, PTPRJ, TP53 and PTEN, and pathogenic germline alleles of BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53. We identify a UV mutation signature in a small number of samples, including human cases from the lip and nasal mucosa. A cross-species comparative...
Pereira GL, Malheiros JM, Ospina AMT, Chardulo LAL, Curi RA.Among horses selected for speed, the racing line of Quarter Horses is characterized by high performance in sprint races, with these animals being considered the fastest horses in the world. However, few studies have investigated in more detail the polymorphisms and genes that act on this trait. The objective of this study was to analyze exomes and UTRs in regions previously associated with this trait by GWAS in Quarter Horse racehorses with contrasting maximum speed index (SImax), prospecting causal gene polymorphisms that are related to or are in strong linkage disequilibrium with racing perf...
Devick IF, Hendrickson DA.To describe a standing left paralumbar fossa approach combined with mesocolon fenestration for bilateral equine ovariectomy. Methods: Prospective experimental clinical study. Methods: Four healthy client-owned mares and 1 client-owned Molly mule. Methods: Mares were restrained in standing stocks and sedated with an α -agonist continuous infusion to effect. The abdominal cavity was approached via a left paralumbar fossa approach, and the contralateral right ovary was accessed through an incision in the mesocolon. The location of the window was adjusted to allow triangulation, adequate visualiz...
Boone L, Schumacher J, DeGraves F, Cole R.The objective of this study was to determine if buffering mepivacaine HCL (mepHCl) with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) would significantly decrease the time to onset of analgesia when performing median and ulnar nerve blocks in naturally lame horses. Median and ulnar nerve blocks were performed on the naturally lame limb of nine horses during two separate study periods, with a minimum washout period of three days between study periods. Nerve blocks were performed by administering mepHCl alone or mepHCl mixed with NaHCO3 (nine parts 2 per cent mepHCl to one part 8.4 per cent NaHCO3). Lameness was ...
Pecoraro HL, Felippe MJB, Miller AD, Divers TJ, Simpson KW, Guyer KM, Duhamel GE.Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a rare condition in adult horses characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and increased susceptibility to parasitic and bacterial infections, including recurrent respiratory diseases, septicemia, and meningitis. Lyme disease is often included as a differential diagnosis in CVID horses with signs of meningitis; however, the Borrelia burgdorferi organism has not been demonstrated previously within central nervous system tissues of CVID horses with neurologic disease, to our knowledge. We report herein a case of neuroborreliosis in a CVID horse, confirmed ...
Duguma A, Lemma A, Hibste A.Equine reproduction is unique by having long behavioral estrus and differences in time of breeding between breeds and individuals of mares. An experimental study was conducted at the Balderas Sport Horses and Recreational Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from January to June, 2018, to evaluate conception rate to frozen semen in local and exotic crossbreed mares. Mares were teased to characterize estrus behavior and examined by ultrasound in determining imminent ovulation. Inseminations were done post ovulation within an average of 6-9 h using frozen-thawed semen. The overall conception rate to ...
Stein L, Sledge D, Smedley R, Kiupel M, Thaiwong T.A 15-y-old Miniature horse mare had a 6-mo history of an ulcerated mass on the right lower eyelid. An incisional biopsy and a subsequent excisional biopsy were submitted to the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for microscopic evaluation. Histologically, the incisional biopsy was composed of sheets of large neoplastic vacuolated polygonal cells. A few regions contained poorly differentiated neoplastic round-to-basaloid cells that rimmed the sheets of highly vacuolated polygonal cells. Both vacuolated and basaloid cells exhibited strong perimembranous and cytoplasmic im...
Coleman MC, Walzem RL, Kieffer AJ, Minamoto T, Suchodolski J, Cohen ND.Lipoproteins are water-miscible macromolecules enabling the transport of lipids in blood. In humans, altered proportions of lipoproteins are used to detect and classify metabolic diseases. Obesity and obesity-related comorbidities are common in horses. The pathophysiology of obesity is poorly understood and likely multifactorial. Development of new diagnostic tests to identify horses at risk of developing obesity to implement preventative measures is critical; however, a necessary first step to accomplish this goal is to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of disease. Thus, the ob...
Smith LCR, Wylie CE, Palmer L, Ramzan PHL.There are few observational studies regarding the potentially serious complication of synovial sepsis following intrasynovial medication in general equine practice. Quantification of risk is fundamental to fully inform decision-making and owner consent prior to undertaking procedures. Objective: To describe the occurrence of synovial sepsis following intrasynovial injections in a large ambulatory equine practice between 2006-2011. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Medication records were cross-referenced against synovial cytology submissions and hospital admissions for synovial sep...
Miglio A, Morelli C, Gialletti R, Lauteri E, Sforna M, Marenzoni ML, Antognoni MT.The clinical, histological, and immunophenotypic findings are presented for 4 horses affected by different types of lymphoma. Diagnoses of a monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma, a diffuse splenic large B-cell lymphoma, a peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and a T-cell rich large B-cell lymphoma of the third eyelid were made. Constatations cliniques et immunophénotypiques pour quatre formes de lymphomes équins. Les constatations cliniques, histologiques et immunophénotypiques sont présentées pour quatre chevaux affectés par différents types de lymphome. Des diagnostics d’un...
Dickson EC, Kayser WC, Latham CM, Leatherwood JL, Daigle CL, White SH.Equine research and management is limited to single-housing systems if individual animal intake is to be precisely recorded. Even then, dry forage intake is difficult to quantify accurately due to stomping or mixing hay with fecal matter and bedding. In cattle management, GrowSafe Systems (GrowSafe) is a commonly used tool to closely monitor individual animal feeding data using radio frequency identification (RFID) tag technology. Animals are equipped with a unique RFID tag that is read by the feed bunks each time the animal lowers its head into the bunk to consume feed. The objectives of this...
Roy RC, Riley CB, Stryhn H, Dohoo I, Cockram MS.Undetected injury of horses sustained during road transport to slaughter is a welfare concern. This study evaluated digital infrared thermography (DT) for the detection of ante-mortem bruising in horses following transport to a slaughter plant. The sensitivity and specificity of DT for the detection of bruises following transport was evaluated. DT images were obtained from 93 horses (2-3 horses per load; 40 loads) at a Canadian federally approved slaughter plant. From an elevated platform 5 m from the horses, left and right lateral DT images, and one caudal pelvic area image were obtained from...
Martins LC, Silva EVPD, Casseb LMN, Silva SPD, Cruz ACR, Pantoja JAS, Medeiros DBA, Martins Filho AJ, Cruz EDRMD, Araújo MTF, Cardoso JF....Serological evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection has been reported in different regions of Brazil from equine and human hosts but the virus had never been isolated in the country. Objective: We sought to identify the viral etiology of equine encephalitis in Espírito Santo state. Methods: We performed viral culture in C6/36 cells, molecular detection of WNV genome, histopathology and immunohistochemistry from horse cerebral tissue. We also carried out sequencing, phylogenetic analysis and molecular clock. Results: Histopathologic analysis from horse cerebral tissue showed injury related...
Steinmetz A, Gittel C, Böttcher D, Lapko L, Offhaus J.A melanoma of the upper eyelid was resected in a gray warmblood gelding. A full functional eyelid could be obtained by completion a sliding skin graft with a free labial mucocutaneous graft transplantation to restore the mucocutaneous junction and to decrease the risk of postoperative trichiasis.
Fischer BM, McMullen RJ, Reese S, Brehm W.Despite appropriate medical therapy, many horses with equine recurrent uveitis continue to suffer from recurrent bouts of inflammation. Surgical intervention via the pars plana vitrectomy or suprachoroidal cyclosporine implant placement may control and/or prevent recurrences, however, these procedures may be contraindicated, unavailable, or declined by an owner. Thus, an effective adjunctive treatment option may help to improve the clinical outcomes in those situations. There are several anecdotal reports on the use of intravitreal gentamicin injections, but to date, no data evaluating the com...
Wang J, Liu J, Yang J, Wang X, Li Z, Jianlin X, Li X, Xiang Q, Li Y, Liu Z, Luo J, Guan G, Yin H.Equine piroplasmosis, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, is an economically important tick-borne disease worldwide. In the current study, 242 blood samples were randomly collected from horses in Zhangye city of Gansu province, China. The presence and genetic diversity of piroplasms were evaluated with a nested PCR assay, gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that seventy-five (31.0%) samples were positive for piroplasms. Sequences analysis showed that seventy-three (30.2%) were positive for T. equi, and seven (2.9%) for B. caballi, five of which (2.1%) were i...
Pollard D, Wylie CE, Newton JR, Verheyen KLP.Previous robust epidemiological studies of equine laminitis have utilised only veterinary-diagnosed episodes of disease, potentially underestimating true disease frequency. Objective: To estimate the incidence of, and describe clinical signs associated with, owner-reported active laminitis in horses/ponies, using both veterinary-diagnosed and nonveterinary-diagnosed episodes. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: Data were collected from horse/pony owners in Great Britain between August 2014 and December 2016 using a web-based application. The incidence of owner-reported laminitis was estimate...
Henkel J, Lafayette C, Brooks SA, Martin K, Patterson-Rosa L, Cook D, Jagannathan V, Leeb T.White spotting phenotypes in horses are highly valued in some breeds. They are quite variable and may range from the common white markings up to completely white horses. EDNRB, KIT, MITF, PAX3 and TRPM1 represent known candidate genes for white spotting phenotypes in horses. For the present study, we investigated an American Paint Horse family segregating a phenotype involving white spotting and blue eyes. Six of eight horses with the white-spotting phenotype were deaf. We obtained whole-genome sequence data from an affected horse and specifically searched for structural variants in the known ...
de Lagarde M, Larrieu C, Praud K, Schouler C, Doublet B, Sallé G, Fairbrother JM, Arsenault J.Although antimicrobial resistance is increasingly common in equine medicine, molecular and epidemiological data remains scarce. Objective: We estimated the prevalence of, and risk factors for, shedding of multidrug resistant (MDR), extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing, and AmpC β-lactamase-producing, or some combination of these in Escherichia coli in horses in France. We characterized ESBL/AmpC isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of virulence and ESBL/AmpC-associated resistance genes. Methods: Fecal samples from healthy adult horses at 41 premises were colle...
Lepage SIM, Lee OJ, Koch TG.Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are the most common cell population studied for therapeutic use in veterinary medicine. MSCs obtained from neonatal sources such as umbilical cord tissue (CT-MSCs) or cord blood (CB-MSCs) are appealing due to the non-invasive nature of procurement and the time allowed for characterization of cells before use. However, it remains unclear as to whether CB- or CT-MSCs have equivalent progenitor and non-progenitor functions. CB-MSCs have been shown to have superior chondrogenic potential to MSCs from other sources, whereas their immunomodulatory capacity does not s...
Suarez-Fuentes DG, Tatarniuk DM, Caston SS, Bell CD, Loinaz RJ, Hostetter JM.To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a transendoscopic monopolar electrosurgical triangle-tip knife as instrumentation to perform unilateral ventriculocordectomy (VC) in healthy adult horses. Methods: In vivo experimental study. Methods: Nine horses donated for medical conditions unrelated to respiratory system. Methods: The triangle-tip knife was applied in contact fashion. Left VC was performed under standing sedation. Endoscopic images of the upper airway were graded for inflammation by 2 masked surgeons preoperatively and immediately, 24 hours and, in 2 cases, 7 and 14 days postopera...
Francesca Martelli, Sue Kidd and Joanna Lawes of the APHA discuss surveillance findings relating to Salmonella isolates from horses, and also the antimicrobial resistance patterns being seen.
Luethy D, Frimberger AE, Bedenice D, Byrne BS, Groover ES, Gardner RB, Lewis T, MacDonald VS, Proctor-Brown L, Tomlinson JE, Rassnick KM, Johnson AL.Prognosis associated with lymphoma in horses is poorly characterized, and treatment is often palliative. Long-term outcome after chemotherapy for horses with lymphoma is not well documented. Objective: To report long-term outcome of horses with lymphoma treated with chemotherapy. Methods: Fifteen equids. Methods: Retrospective case series. Medical record search and call for cases on the ACVIM listserv for horses treated with chemotherapy for lymphoma. Results: Fifteen cases with adequate data were identified. Complete remission was achieved in 5 horses (33.3%), partial response was achieved in...
Kalashnikov VV, Zajcev AM, Atroshchenko MM, Miroshnikov SA, Zavyalov OA, Frolov AN, Skalny AV.The objective of the present study was assessment of gender differences in hair trace element content in English Thoroughbred horses (North Caucasus, Russia) using ICP-DRC-MS and calculation of the reference values. Trace element content in mane hair of 190 stallions and 94 mares (3-7 years old) bred in North Caucasus (Russia) was assessed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mane hair Co, Cr, Mn, Li, Si, and Sr levels in mares exceeded those in stallions by 77%, 63%, 64%, 42%, 39%, and 64%, respectively. Hair Fe and Si content was nearly twofold higher in female horses as comp...
Haussler KK, Martin CE, Hill AE.Spinal mobilisation and spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) are being applied to horses; however, there are limited objective measures of their effects on spinal mobility or stiffness in actively ridden horses. Objective: To quantify passive spinal movements induced during dorsoventral mobilisation of the trunk and to identify any potential effects of SMT on measures of spinal mobility within the thoracolumbar region in standing horses. We hypothesise that displacement amplitudes will be significantly increased across vertebral levels after SMT, compared to spinal mobilisation only within the co...
Muranaka M, Yamanaka T, Katayama Y, Niwa H, Oku K, Matsumura T, Oyamada T.To investigate the pathology of equine influenza, necropsy of 7 horses experimentally infected with equine influenza A virus (EIV) subtype H3N8 was conducted on post-infection days (PID) 2, 3, 7, and 14. Histopathologically, rhinitis or tracheitis including epithelial degeneration or necrosis with loss of ciliated epithelia and a reduction in goblet cell numbers, was observed in the respiratory tracts on PIDs 2 and 3. Epithelial hyperplasia or squamous metaplasia and suppurative bronchopneumonia with proliferation of type II pneumocytes were observed on PIDs 7 and 14. Viral antigen was detecte...
Laseca N, Molina A, Valera M, Antonini A, Demyda-Peyrás S.Copy number variations (CNVs) are a new-fangled source of genetic variation that can explain changes in the phenotypes in complex traits and diseases. In recent years, their study has increased in many livestock populations. However, the study and characterization of CNVs in equines is still very limited. Our study aimed to investigate the distribution pattern of CNVs, characterize CNV regions (CNVRs), and identify the biological pathways affected by CNVRs in the Pura Raza Española (PRE) breed. To achieve this, we analyzed high-density SNP genotyping data (670,804 markers) from a large cohort...
Olsen E, Pedersen TL, Robinson R, Haubro Andersen P.Arterial blood pressure (BP) is a relevant clinical parameter that can be measured in standing conscious horses to assess tissue perfusion or pain. However, there are no validated oscillometric noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) devices for use in horses. Methods: Seven healthy horses from a teaching and research herd. Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and precision of systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in conscious horses obtained with an oscillometric NIBP device when compared to invasively measured arterial BP. Methods: An ...
Dyson S, Pollard D.The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) was applied to 1010 competition starts at British Eventing (BE) 90, 100 and Novice one-day events and compared with performance. The overall median RHpE score was 4/24 (IQR 2,6; range 0,12). There were moderate positive correlations between RHpE scores and dressage penalties (Spearman’s rho = 0.508, 0.468, 0.491, all p < 0.001 for BE 90, 100 and Novice, respectively). There were weak positive correlations between RHpE scores and final placings (Spearman’s rho = 0.157, p = 0.033, BE90; rho = 0.263, p < 0.001, BE 100; rho = 0.123, p = 0.035, Novice). In ...
van der Kolk JH, Wensing T, Kalsbeek HC, Breukink HJ.The objective of the study was to determine the sensitivity with which an adenoma of the pars intermedia of the pituitary gland can be predicted in horses by measuring the basal concentrations of glucose, cortisol, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), and insulin, the urinary concentration of corticoids, the urinary corticoid:creatinine ratio, and the plasma cortisol concentration after the administration of 25 IU of ACTH intravenously. The records of 24 cases of histologically confirmed equine pituitary pars intermedia adenomas were used. An adenoma of the pars intermedia of the pituitary gland in hor...
Tallmadge RL, Tseng CT, Felippe MJ.To further studies of neonatal immune responses to pathogens and vaccination, we investigated the dynamics of B lymphocyte development and immunoglobulin (Ig) gene diversity. Previously we demonstrated that equine fetal Ig VDJ sequences exhibit combinatorial and junctional diversity levels comparable to those of adult Ig VDJ sequences. Herein, RACE clones from fetal, neonatal, foal, and adult lymphoid tissue were assessed for Ig lambda light chain combinatorial, junctional, and sequence diversity. Remarkably, more lambda variable genes (IGLV) were used during fetal life than later stages and I...
Symons JE, Garcia TC, Stover SM.The effect of racetrack surface (dirt or synthetic) on distal hindlimb kinematics of racehorses running at competition speeds is not known. Objective: To compare distal hindlimb and hoof kinematics during stance of breezing (unrestrained gallop) racehorses between dirt and synthetic surfaces. Methods: Two-dimensional kinematic video analysis of 5 Thoroughbred racehorses galloping at high speeds (12-17 m/s) on a dirt racetrack and a synthetic racetrack. Methods: The positions of kinematic markers applied to the left hindlimb were recorded at 500 Hz. Position, velocity and acceleration of jo...
Lepage OM, Perron MF, Cadoré JL.Advances in the understanding of guttural pouch physiology and novel therapeutic approaches to mycotic infections in the horse are reviewed. It is suggested that the guttural pouches may contribute to the regulation of arterial blood temperature, cooling the circulation to the brain to below body temperature. Aspergillus spp. is the major organism found in a guttural pouch affected with mycosis but it is unclear why this agent becomes aggressive. Conventional therapy aims to prevent fatal haemorrhage and to treat any neurological lesions but it is desirable to try to prevent the disease. A tec...
Dinter Z, Klingeborn B.Six cases of paresis occurred in a Swedish stud with 48 mares and a stallion. Complement-fixation tests revealed a recent infection with EHV-1 in most horses of the stud. Serumneutralisation tests showed rapid antibody-titre increases during the course of the disease. This type of antibody response was interpreted as induced by reinfection or, possibly, recurrent infection. Two diseased mares were sacrificed. No virus could be isolated from their central nervous system (CNS), liver or spleen, but there is a presumptive evidence for the presence of an antigen specific to EHV-1 in the CNS and li...
Bollig ER, Granick JL, Webb TL, Ward C, Beaudoin AL.Antimicrobials are critical for medicine, but the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effectiveness of these valuable drugs. In USA, there are no national- or state-level programs or policies in place to track antibiotic use (AU) in dogs, cats, and horses, despite acknowledgement of this sector's importance to both the AMR problem and its solution. AU measurement is a key part of antibiotic stewardship and AMR prevention. This study aimed to fill existing gaps in the veterinary professions' knowledge of antibiotic prescribing in small animals and horses. To address this aim...
Borgia LA, Valberg SJ, Essen-Gustavsson B.Flexor tendon injury may be due to flexor muscle fatigue, contributing to fetlock joint hyperextension and tendon damage. A water treadmill provides resistance training on flexor tendon muscles, which might reduce the risk of tendon injury. Objective: To determine the effect of water treadmill training on the properties of the gluteal and superficial digital flexor (SDF) muscles and on cardiocirculatory response to a standardised exercise test. Methods: Five healthy unfit horses were trained on a water treadmill for 5 days/week for 4 weeks, starting with 5 min/day increasing to 20 min/day. Bef...
Gunther-Harrington CT, Arthur R, Estell K, Martinez Lopez B, Sinnott A, Ontiveros E, Varga A, Stern JA.Exercise induced cardiac fatigue (EICF) and cardiac dysrhythmias are well described conditions identified in high-level human athletes that increase in frequency with intensity and duration of exercise. Identification of these conditions requires an understanding of normal pre- and post-race cardiac assessment values. The objectives of this study were to (1) characterize selected indices of cardiac function, electrophysiologic parameters, and biochemical markers of heart dysfunction prior to and immediately after high level racing in Thoroughbred horses receiving furosemide; and (2) create pre...
Popescu S, Lazar EA, Borda C, Niculae M, Sandru CD, Spinu M.This paper investigates the effect of different housing conditions on the welfare quality of breeding horses. Using a welfare protocol that included health and behavioral parameters, 330 stallions (kept in tie-stall housing) and 365 broodmares (kept in extensive, mostly free housing) were assessed. The horses were categorized into four welfare categories ("not classified", "acceptable", "enhanced" and "excellent"), according to an individual welfare score calculated for each horse. The prevalence of stallions with dyspnea, tendon and joint swellings, abnormal gait and abnormal hoof horn qualit...
Verdegaal EJMM, Howarth GS, McWhorter TJ, Boshuizen B, Franklin SH, Vidal Moreno de Vega C, Jonas SE, Folwell LE, Delesalle CJG.Establishing proper policies regarding the recognition and prevention of equine heat stress becomes increasingly important, especially in the face of global warming. To assist this, a detailed view of the variability of equine thermoregulation during field exercise and recovery is essential. 13 endurance horses and 12 trotter horses were equipped with continuous monitoring devices [gastrointestinal (GI) pill, heartrate (HR) monitor, and global positioning system] and monitored under cool weather conditions during four endurance rides over a total of 80 km (40 km loops) and intense trotter trac...
Druml T, Baumung R, Sölkner J.The pedigree of the current Austrian Noriker draught horse population comprising 2808 horses was traced back to the animals considered as founders of this breed. In total, the number of founders was 1991, the maximum pedigree length was 31 generations, with an average of 12.3 complete generations. Population structure in this autochthonous Austrian draught horse breed is defined by seven breeding regions (Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria and Vorarlberg) or through six coat colour groups (Bay, Black, Chestnut, Roan, Leopard, Tobiano). Average inbreeding coefficie...
Ybañez AP, Ybañez RHD, Talle MG, Arreglo RMT, Geens MJC, Villas JGI, Villar SR, Laruga CL, Cao S, Moumouni FPA, Liu M, Igarashi I, Xuan X.Theileria equi and Babesia caballi are tick-borne protozoan parasites that can cause anemia in horses. In the Philippines, serological detection of these parasites has only been reported in the Northern area (Luzon). In this study, 105 horses from Cebu and Bohol, Philippines were tested using peripheral blood smear examination (PBSE), immunochromatographic test (ICT) strips, and PCR. Clinical history, presenting clinical signs and complete blood count were obtained. Results revealed that although all horses were negative using PBSE, 23 (21.9%) were positive (12 for T. equi, and 11 for B. cabal...
Ropka-Molik K, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Piórkowska K, Szmatoła T, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Apoptosis plays an important role in the regulation of healthy tissue growth and development as well as in controlling the maintenance of homeostasis in exercising muscles. During an intensive physical effort, the regulation of cell death by apoptosis results in the replacement of unaccustomed muscle cells by new cells that are better suited to exercise. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of two genes (SH3FR1 and SH3RF2) that control apoptosis in muscle tissues during training periods characterized by different intensities. The gene expression levels were estimated using rea...
Divers TJ.Organ thrombosis and laminitis are life-threatening complications in horses with acute gastrointestinal disease, especially those diseases that cause disruption of the protective mucosal barrier. Prevention of these complications should be a high priority when treating horses with gastrointestinal diseases because even with proper and intensive treatments, laminitis or organ thrombosis may not be curative. Preventative therapy should include expedient and appropriate treatment of the primary disease, normalization of tissue perfusion and oxygenation, and inhibition of gut-derived toxins or the...
Aleman M, Pickles KJ, Simonek G, Madigan JE.Trigeminal neuralgia or neuropathic pain has been regarded as a putative cause of idiopathic headshaking in horses. Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection and resultant postherpetic pain have been suggested as a possible cause of such neuropathic pain. Objective: To determine the presence of EHV-1 in the trigeminal ganglia of horses with idiopathic headshaking. Methods: Nineteen horses: control (n = 11, 9 geldings, 2 mares, median age 11 years) and headshaking (n = 8, all geldings, median age 11.5 years) horses were sourced from the equine research herd and caseload at the Veterinary Medical T...
Monahan CM, Chapman MR, Taylor HW, French DD, Klei TR.Three groups of foals were raised under different management programs in this study: Group 1 (n = 6) and Group 2 (n = 6) were raised with their dams on pasture; Group 3 foals (n = 5) were raised under parasite-free conditions. Mares and foals of Group 1 received daily pyrantel tartrate (PT) treatment with their pelleted feed ration, whereas mares and foals of Groups 2 and 3 received only the pelleted ration. Pasture-reared foals were weaned and moved to a heavily contaminated pasture for 5 weeks. Group 1 foals continued to receive daily PT treatment whereas Group 2 foals received only the pell...
Al-Kass Z, Eriksson E, Bagge E, Wallgren M, Morrell JM.Stallion semen is known to contain environmental bacteria and normal commensals, and in some cases may contain opportunistic pathogens. These bacteria may negatively influence sperm quality during storage before artificial insemination. The bacteria isolated depend on the culture conditions and method of identification; therefore, the aim of this study was to identify as many of the bacteria present in stallion semen as possible by culturing aliquots of semen under a variety of conditions. Eleven semen samples were available: five extended semen samples from one stud together with a sample of ...
Ashrafi GH, Piuko K, Burden F, Yuan Z, Gault EA, Müller M, Trawford A, Reid SWJ, Nasir L, Campo MS.Equine sarcoids are fibroblastic skin tumours affecting equids worldwide. While the pathogenesis is not entirely understood, infection with bovine papillomavirus (BPV) type 1 (and less commonly type 2) has been implicated as a major factor in the disease process. Sarcoids very seldom regress and in fact often recrudesce following therapy. Nothing is known about the immune response of the equine host to BPV. Given that the viral genes are expressed in sarcoids, it is reasonable to assume that vaccination of animals against the expressed viral proteins would lead to the induction of an immune re...
Barros SC, Ramos F, Fagulha T, Duarte M, Henriques AM, Waap H, Luís T, Costa T, Amador R, Quintans S, Fevereiro M.West Nile fever (WNF) is an emergent disease in Europe, under surveillance in the European Union. Following a 5-year period of apparent silence (autumn 2010 to summer 2015), West Nile virus (WNV) reemerged in the South of Portugal, in July 2015. Here we present data from the onset, geographic location within mainland Portugal, and outcome of clinical cases of WNV infection in horses in 2015 and 2016. During the transmission seasons of 2015 and 2016, twenty-seven horses, most symptomatic (n=20) were found positive to IgM, pr-E immunoglobulins and VNT, leading to the subsequent report to Animal ...
Baumann S, Gurtner C, Marti H, Borel N.Species of genus are important pathogens of animals, with a worldwide distribution and broad host range. Some species, such as , also pose a zoonotic disease risk. Abortion is one of the many diseases that has been associated with chlamydial infections in animals, with most attention focused on the economic impacts to sheep production. The role of chlamydia in equine abortions is unknown. Using the family-specific 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) real-time PCR, we tested 169 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded fetal membrane samples from 162 equine abortion cases collected between 2000 and 2018 in Swi...
Olave C, Morales N, Uberti B, Henriquez C, Sarmiento J, Ortloff A, Folch H, Moran G.Macrophages and neutrophils are important cellular components in the process of acute inflammation and its subsequent resolution, and evidence increasingly suggests that they play important functions during the resolution of chronic, adaptive inflammatory processes. Exacerbated neutrophil activity can be harmful to surrounding tissues; this is important in a range of diseases, including allergic asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in humans, and equine asthma (also known as recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Tamoxifen (TX) is a non-steroidal estrogen receptor modulator with effec...
Omar H, Hambidge M, Firmanes B, Shabandri AM, Wilsher S.The United Arab Emirates (UAE) presents a unique environment in which to breed horses with a non-physiological breeding season coupled with high temperatures and humidity for much of the year. This study aimed to describe bacterial isolates from the uteri of mares in the UAE and compare them to those reported elsewhere in the world. Bacterial antibiotic resistance was also analyzed to give a starting point for future monitoring. A total of 2,022 swabs taken over five breeding seasons from the endometrium (n = 1,350) or from uterine lavages (n = 672) were submitted for microbiological cultu...
Martig S, Hitchens PL, Stevenson MA, Whitton RC.The repetitive large loads generated during high-speed training and racing commonly cause subchondral bone injuries in the metacarpal condyles of racehorses. Adaptive bone modelling leads to focal sclerosis at the site of highest loading in the palmar aspect of the metacarpal condyles. Information on whether and how adaptive modelling of subchondral bone changes during the career of a racehorse is sparse. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the changes in subchondral bone micromorphology in the area of highest loading in the palmar aspect of the metacarpal condyle in thorough...
Alvarez I, Gutierrez G, Vissani A, Rodriguez S, Barrandeguy M, Trono K.We developed and validated an agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID) test for the diagnosis of equine infectious anemia (EIA) using as antigen the p26 protein of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) produced in the Escherichia coli expression system. The developed rp26-AGID test showed an excellent diagnostic relative sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) compared to a commercial AGID assay when 1855 field serum samples were analyzed. In addition, the rp26-AGID demonstrated to be a precise assay with excellent repeatability and reproducibility. In the analytical sensitivity trial, positive ...
