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.
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 ...
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...
Velásquez JM, Tamayo-Arango L, Santos-Silva T, Miglino MA.Horse joints are common sites of injury, orthopedic issues, and surgical and clinical interventions. For this reason, a thorough understanding of joint anatomy, including the boundaries of their recesses and their relationships with other structures of the locomotor apparatus, is essential. This study aimed to develop cast anatomical models of the synovial structures of the equine hand and foot, compare different casting materials and visualization methods, and identify the most suitable technique for enhancing the understanding of equine limb arthrology. Additionally, an anatomical descriptio...
Naydani CJ, Coombs T.Obesity and its comorbidities (e.g. laminitis) are identified as major welfare issues among domestic equids in the United Kingdom (UK) and abroad. Weight-management typically focuses on restricting consumption (e.g. limiting pasture grazing), often facilitated through stabling. This leads to social isolation, prompting other welfare issues. Increased exercise may be a preferable solution for equine obesity, if viable. The aims of this study were to explore horse (Equus caballus) owner perceptions regarding the importance of exercise, and to investigate how exercise provision related to welfare...
Bouverat VMA, Naef J, Dolf G, Lamon I, Sage SE, Gerber V.Organic dust from hay is a primary trigger of equine asthma. Objective: (1) To introduce a novel hay-shaker (HS) device for standardised hay dust generation, enabling simultaneous measurements of various particulate matter (PM) size fractions. (2) To compare these measurements with those in the horse's breathing zone (BZ) to assess the influence of environmental and individual factors. Methods: Comparative experimental study. Methods: A HS generating dust was developed. Total dust (PMT) and size fractions (PM1, PM2.5, PM4 and PM10, representing particle size in μm) were measured from 50 hay s...
Cheung HW, Wong KS, Choi YC, Kwok WH, So YM, Farrington AF, Bond AJ, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.An increasing number of novel Fc-fusion proteins and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are being developed as therapeutic agents for treating various diseases. Among these, there are inhibitors of the activin Type II receptor (ActRIIA and ActRIIB) signaling pathways and mAbs against nerve growth factor (NGF), which may be misused for performance enhancement in horseracing and equestrian sports. This study is aimed at developing a generic detection method for doping control analysis of nine targeted proteins, each containing the Fc domain of human IgG or IgG from other species in equine plasma, name...
Fernandes T, Robin MG, Oikawa MA, Alexander GR, Pompermayer E, Uberti B.Tracheal congenital defects are infrequent but serious findings in animals. Tracheal diverticula are congenital air-filled cystic lesions, a sub-type of paratracheal air cyst mainly found extra-thoracically in foals. We describe a case in a twelve-day old show Arabian colt with right sided unilateral cervical swelling since birth. Percutaneous ultrasound revealed a heterogeneously air- and fluid-filled spheroid mass, and upper airway endoscopy confirmed luminal communication to the trachea. Contrasted computed tomography showed a narrow isthmus originating between two proximal tracheal rings a...
Albanese V, Straticò P, Fischer H, Petrizzi L.Injuries to the distal limb are common in horses. The clinical aspect of the lesions is variable based on the structures that are involved. Synovial structures as well as tendons and/or ligaments may be involved in such injuries, affecting treatment modalities and costs, and prognosis. This retrospective study compares wounds involving synovial structures to wounds without such involvement in terms of treatment duration and costs, and prognosis. Synovial wounds were much more expensive to treat and carried a lower prognosis. Involvement of tendons and/or ligaments in the wounds resulted in mor...
Penazzi L, Pagliara E, Nervo T, Ala U, Bertuglia A, Romano G, Hattab J, Tiscar PG, Bergagna S, Pagliasso G, Antoniazzi S, Cavallarin L, Valle E....Foals commonly experience diarrhoea in the first weeks of life. Although this condition is rarely life-threatening, it can have significant health consequences. This study investigated whether new-born foals can benefit from a dietary supplement of nucleotides, as already demonstrated in other species. Dietary nucleotides have positive effects on rapidly proliferating tissues and are considered "semi-essential nutrients" since cells have only a limited capacity to synthesize these compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate whether providing foals with a dietary nucleotide supplementat...
Gugole PM, Zannoni A, Forni M, Iacono E, Zambelli F, Merlo B.This study investigates the effects of overnight holding and naloxone (Nx) supplementation on the vitrification outcomes of equine immature oocytes. Oocytes were divided into six experimental groups based on treatment combinations: fresh (F) and held (H) control oocytes, oocytes vitrified with or without Nx (10 M) (VIT and VIT-Nx), oocytes vitrified after overnight holding with or without Nx (10 M) (H-VIT and H-VIT-Nx). They were assessed for survival, meiotic competence, intracellular oxidative stress, mitochondrial activity and distribution, apoptosis, and apoptotic gene expression. At sur...
Blomström AL, Källse A, Riihimäki M.Viral infections pose a significant challenge to the equine population, compromising welfare and causing substantial economic losses for the global equine industry. While numerous equine viral pathogens have been identified, many suspected viral infections remain undiagnosed. This highlights the need for further identification and characterization of viruses circulating within the equine population. In this study, we utilized viral metagenomics to investigate viruses present in serum samples and nasal swabs collected from horses in Sweden. The primary focus was on horses presenting with fever,...
Kemp KL, Yuen NKY, Skinner JE, Bertin FR.Phenylbutazone is prescribed to manage pain caused by hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis. Phenylbutazone reduces glucose and insulin concentrations in horses with insulin dysregulation (ID) but the underlying mechanism of action is unknown. Objective: Investigate the effect of phenylbutazone on tissue insulin sensitivity in horses. It is hypothesized that the reduced glucose and insulin concentrations in horses with ID receiving phenylbutazone are mediated by a higher tissue insulin sensitivity. Methods: Fifteen light breed horses, including seven with ID. Methods: Randomized cross-over stu...
Cameron A, Geldard M, Mair T, England G, Burford J, Freeman S, Pollock K, Wilson E.Veterinary and charity teams are frequently involved in equine end-of-life decisions. These can cause ethical dilemmas and emotional burdens and complicate communication with owners. Semi-structured focus groups explored experiences of making decisions about end-of-life care and euthanasia at three UK equine veterinary practices and one charity. There were 26 participants in a mix of roles. Inductive coding was conducted during thematic analysis. Major themes generated were 'Equine Welfare', 'Relationships', 'Decision-Making', and 'Emotional Toll and Coping Strategies'. Communication, finances...
Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Bieniek A, Ropka-Molik K, Bellone RR.Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) has been connected to the leopard complex spotting phenotype (LP) in various horse breeds. CSNB associated with LP is thought to be caused by a 1378 bp insertion in TRPM1, with homozygotes being nightblind and having few to no spots of pigment in their white patterned area. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of CSNB alleles in tarant-colored horses in Poland through a three-primer system for an allele-specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The TRPM1 gene insertion was genotyped in 221 horses belonging to Małopolska, Felin and Shetland Pon...
Aoun R, Ogunmola Z, Musso A, Taguchi T, Takawira C, Lopez MJ.The shift in vertical forces on the equine hoof surface by heart-bar, egg-bar, and wooden clog shoes can significantly impact gait kinetics. Hypotheses tested in this study were that vertical, braking, and propulsion peak force (PF) and impulse (IMP) are different while shod with heart-bar, egg-bar, open-heel, and wooden clog shoes, or while unshod, and the resultant ground reaction force vector (GRF YZ ) has the longest duration of cranial angulation with open-heel shoes followed by unshod, then egg-bar and heart-bar shoes, and the shortest with wooden clog shoes. Forelimb GRFs were recorded ...
McCarthy RD, Ordóñez HJ, Semevolos SA.To compare core temperatures of superficial and deep digital flexor tendons (SDFT, DDFT) during application of a compression cooling system versus ice boots and during subsequent lower limb bandaging. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Paired forelimbs of six sedated horses. Methods: Thermocouples were placed in the core of SDFT and DDFT of both front limbs of each horse. A compression cooling system was applied to one front limb and an ice boot was applied to the other front limb for 60 min and then removed for 60 min. Standing bandages were then applied to both front limbs for 60 mi...
Lösle M, Lin CW, Beil-Wagner J, Aebi M, Buch T.Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a widely used hormone that synchronizes the female cycle and induces estrus in livestock. eCG is a heterodimeric glycoprotein composed of non-covalently linked α- and β-chains whose glycosylation profiles determine the in vivo activity of the hormone. The commercially available eCG products are crudely purified from the serum of pregnant mares, hence called pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG). Appropriate glycosylation of the protein is crucial for the correct binding to the receptor, receptor activation, and its half-life. The exact protein composi...
Hardefeldt LY, Thomas K, Begg L.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a problem for equine practitioners in Australia, but antimicrobial use in practice has been largely understudied. We aimed to evaluate equine veterinarians' intentions of prescribing antimicrobials in areas where we perceived there to be wide ranges of practice - dentistry, reproduction and for nonbactericidal effects. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of veterinarians working in equine practice was conducted over 4 months in 2023 and 2024. Antimicrobial use, including compounding practices, for reproductive and dental disorders, and nonbactericidal...
Visser EK, Jens AL, Nieuwe Weme LE, Spaapen AA, Maarleveld KN, Enzerink KH, Tromp PN, Haven-Pross SC.Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) offer significant benefits for individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. However, ensuring the welfare of the horses involved remains a key ethical concern. The objective of this study was to assess the affective states of horses involved in EAS while also establishing behavioural thresholds for indicators of positive or negative affective states. A total of 98 horses were observed over a two-month period, accumulating data about horse behaviour and session characteristics from 830 EAS sessions. Horses participating in coaching programs averaged...
Berglund P, Andonov S, Jansson A, Olsson C, Lundqvist T, Strandberg E, Eriksson S.In equine sports, shoes are used to protect the hooves from wear and tear. In Swedish trotting races, pulling off the shoes to race barefoot is popular because it improves racing time. Good hoof quality is essential for high-performance horses, but not all trotting horses have hooves that tolerate barefoot racing. The ability to race barefoot is a complex trait that is known to be influenced by environmental factors, but the genetic basis of this trait has not been studied. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters and correlations between estimated breeding values for three nov...
de Freitas MG, Dos Santos GH, Silva DLZ, Costa TD, Borges DGL, Reckziegel GH, Cleveland H, do Nascimento Ramos CA, Pereira FB, de Almeida Borges F.The strategic control of equine gastrointestinal nematodes is based on epidemiology. The aim is the reduction of the population of parasites as a whole in the hosts and environment while seeking the number of treatments that achieves the balance between not risking animal health and not exerting selection pressure for resistant parasites. This is the first study in a tropical region to assess a strategic control protocol for equines. The study was conducted in the municipality of Anastácio in the state of Mata Gross do Sul, Brazil, over a two-year period from April 2021 to March 2023, involvi...
Entwisle IG, McConnell EJ.Sand enteropathy describes the clinical signs attributed to accumulation of sand in the gastrointestinal tract. Psyllium combined with magnesium sulphate has been recommended for clearing intestinal sand, but this has only been evaluated in one population. The combination of these two agents with paraffin oil has not been investigated. Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of paraffin oil, psyllium and magnesium sulphate combined in clearing intestinal sand in horses diagnosed with sand enteropathy. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records of horses presenting for san...
Page AE, Rauber-Ramos AM, Humiston M, McPeek JL, Adam EN.Given the metabolic effects of intra-articular (IA) corticosteroids, the goal of this project was to monitor the effects of IA betamethasone in both insulin dysregulated (ID)(n = 3) and non-ID (n = 5) horses. A cross-over design was used where eight geldings were injected with either 9 mg of betamethasone or saline into both metacarpophalangeal joints, followed by regular blood collections for adrenocorticotropin releasing hormone (ACTH), cortisol, insulin, and glucose, as well as pre- and post-administration oral sugar testing. Results were analyzed via two-way repeated measures analysis of v...
Botía M, Muñoz-Prieto A, Martínez-Subiela S, Martín-Cuervo M, Hansen S, Manteca X, Cerón JJ, López-Arjona M.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a frequent disease in horses that comprises two different entities: equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD). This disease considerably reduces the quality of life of affected horses and can negatively affect performance. Saliva contains biomarkers, such as oxytocin, that have been used as a welfare indicator and can develop a function as a protective factor against stress-induced changes in gastric function due to its gastric antisecretory and antiulcer effects. The objective of this work was to evaluate changes...
The protein journalFebruary 22, 2025
Volume 44, Issue 3 271-282 doi: 10.1007/s10930-025-10259-8
Akay MB, Sener K, Sari S, Bodur E.Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8), a serine hydrolase found in various tissues, hydrolyses choline esters such as acetylcholine and succinylcholine, as well as other esters such as heroin and acetylsalicylic acid. It is considered to play a role in lipid metabolism as it belongs to the same enzyme group as lipases and its catalytic subunits are similar. In this study, the effects of unsaturated fatty acids, namely arachidonic (AA), linoleic (LA), alpha-linolenic (ALA) and oleic acid (OA), on equine serum BChE (EqBChE) were investigated. Enzyme activity was measured by the modified Ellma...
Dubeibe-Marin DF, Borraez DF, Gomez-López DL, Velasco-Acosta DA.This study evaluated the effect of the presence and location of the corpus luteum (CL) on quantity and competence of equine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). Pairs of ovaries were collected at the slaughterhouse and classified into three groups: ovaries with CL (CL+); ovaries with CL in the contralateral ovary (CL-) and ovaries without a CL (NCL). Were evaluated COC quantity, morphology, nuclear maturation rate, and intrafollicular progesterone concentration and gene expression (BAX, BMP-15, ODC1, GDF9, AURKA) in both cumulus cells and oocytes after in vitro maturation. Results showed a lower r...
MacMillan KM, Burns JJ, John E, Clancey N, Stull JW.Decreased total T4 (tT4) concentrations are frequently observed in racing Standardbred horses lacking clinical evidence of hypothyroidism. This poses a diagnostic challenge as primary hypothyroidism is reported to be rare in adult horses. Despite this, owners frequently wish to administer thyroid supplementation to horses having low tT4 concentrations. Forty racing Standardbred horses were sampled. Baseline tT4 concentrations were determined using human-based (equine) and canine-based chemiluminescent assays. Dynamic evaluation of tT4 was performed using a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) s...
Branda F, Yon DK, Albanese M, Binetti E, Giovanetti M, Ciccozzi A, Ciccozzi M, Scarpa F, Ceccarelli G.Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the equine influenza virus (EIV), posing a significant threat to equine populations worldwide. EIV exhibits considerable antigenic variability due to its segmented genome, complicating long-term disease control efforts. Although infections are rarely fatal, EIV's high transmissibility results in widespread outbreaks, leading to substantial morbidity and considerable economic impacts on veterinary care, quarantine, and equestrian activities. The H3N8 subtype has undergone significant antigenic evolution, resulting in the...
Júnior GS, de Souza JV, de Souza Ferreira W, Florentino VRD, Valente TC, Comassetto F, Oleskovicz N.This study aimed to evaluate the sedation degree, cardiopulmonary effects, and detomidine-sparing during dental occlusal adjustment in standing horses using a bolus and constant rate infusion (CRI) of detomidine alone or in combination with butorphanol or methadone. In this randomized, blinded clinical trial, 24 healthy adult horses were assigned to the detomidine (DT), detomidine-butorphanol (DB), or detomidine-methadone (DM) group. DT received an intravenous bolus of detomidine (20 μg/kg), followed by CRI at 20 μg/kg/h. DB received detomidine (10 μg/kg) and butorphanol (0.02 mg/kg) boluse...
Shnaiderman-Torban A, Meltzer L, Zilberman-Daniels T, Navon-Venezia S, Cohen A, Sutton GA, Blum SE, Amit S, Steinman A.Infections with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) contribute to morbidity and mortality in human neonates. In foals, data are scarce. Objective: Determine the association between ESBL-PE gastrointestinal colonization on hospital admission and infections in hospitalized neonates. Methods: Sixty-seven foals. Methods: Prospective study of foals admitted to a veterinary hospital. Foals were screened for ESBL-PE colonization and for infections. Risk factors and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results: Seventy-six percent of foals suffered from at least 1 bacteri...
Weaver SC, Pfeffer M, Marriott K, Kang W, Kinney RM.Epizootics of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) involving subtype IAB viruses occurred sporadically in South, Central and North America from 1938 to 1973. Incompletely inactivated vaccines have long been suspected as a source of the later epizootics. We tested this hypothesis by sequencing the PE2 glycoprotein precursor (1,677 nucleotides) or 26S/nonstructural protein 4 (nsP4) genome regions (4,490 nucleotides) for isolates representing most major outbreaks. Two distinct IAB genotypes were identified: 1) 1940s Peruvian strains and 2) 1938-1973 isolates from South, Central, and North America...
Turner TA.Thermography is a practical aid in the clinical evaluation of the equine patient. It is particularly germane to the evaluation of lameness. This modality specifically increases the accuracy of diagnosis. Thermography is the pictorial representation of skin temperature. The technique involves the detection of infrared radiation, which can be directly correlated to blood flow. To be accurate, thermography must be performed in a controlled area free of drafts. The area should be protected from sunlight to avoid erroneous heating of the skin, and the horse's hair length should be uniform. Thermogr...
Theoret CL, Wilmink JM.Impaired wound healing represents an enormous clinical and financial problem for companion animals and humans alike. Unfortunately, most models used to study healing rely on rodents, which have significant differences in the healing and scarring process and rarely develop complications. In order to better simulate impaired healing, the model should strive to reproduce the natural processes of healing and delayed healing. Wounds on the limbs of horses display similarities to wounds in humans in their epithelialization/contraction ratio, genetic influence as well as dysregulated cytokine profile...
Richardson DW, Dodge GR.To determine the effects of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on expression and regulation of several matrix-related genes by equine articular chondrocytes. Methods: Articular cartilage harvested from grossly normal joints of 8 foals, 6 yearling horses, and 8 adult horses. Methods: Chondrocytes maintained in suspension cultures were treated with various doses of human recombinant IL-1beta or TNF-alpha. Northern blots of total RNA from untreated and treated chondrocytes were probed with equine complementary DNA (cDNA) probes for cartilage matrix-related ge...
McPartlin LA, Suarez SS, Czaya CA, Hinrichs K, Bedford-Guaus SJ.Capacitation is a complex and not well-understood process that encompasses all the molecular changes sperm must undergo to successfully fertilize an oocyte. In vitro fertilization has remained elusive in the horse, as evidenced by low in vitro fertilization (IVF) rates (0%-33%); moreover, only two foals have ever been produced using IVF. Incubation of stallion sperm in modified Whittens supplemented with bovine serum albumin and sodium bicarbonate yielded significant rates of time-dependent protein tyrosine phosphorylation and induced acrosomal exocytosis, consistent with capacitation. The obj...
Qi M, Wang R, Wang H, Jian F, Li J, Zhao J, Dong H, Zhu H, Ning C, Zhang L.In present study, 262 fecal specimens were collected from 12 groups of grazing horses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The specimens were subjected to PCR and sequencing analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in horses was 30.9% (81/262). No significant differences in prevalence were observed between horses of different ages or sexes. Nineteen genotypes were identified: 15 known genotypes (BEB6, CHG19, CM6, CM7, CM8, CS-1, CS-4, D, EpbA, EbpC, G, horse1, horse2, O, and Peru8) and four new genotypes (XJH1-XJH4). Six ...
Leemans B, Gadella BM, Stout TA, De Schauwer C, Nelis H, Hoogewijs M, Van Soom A.In contrast to man and many other mammalian species, conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) with horse gametes is not reliably successful. The apparent inability of stallion spermatozoa to penetrate the zona pellucida in vitro is most likely due to incomplete activation of spermatozoa (capacitation) because of inadequate capacitating or fertilizing media. In vivo, the oviduct and its secretions provide a microenvironment that does reliably support and regulate interaction between the gametes. This review focuses on equine sperm-oviduct interaction. Equine sperm-oviduct binding appears to be...
Pomar FJ, Teerds KJ, Kidson A, Colenbrander B, Tharasanit T, Aguilar B, Roelen BA.The occurrence of pregnancies and births after embryo transfer (ET) of in vivo produced embryos is generally more successful compared to that of embryos produced in vitro. This difference in ET success has been observed when embryos of morphological equal (high) quality were used. The incidence of apoptosis has been suggested as an additional criterion to morphological embryo evaluation in order to assess embryo quality and effectively predict embryo viability. In this study, equine, porcine, ovine, caprine and bovine in vivo and in vitro produced morphologically selected high quality (grade-I...
McCarthy AJ, Lindsay JA, Loeffler A.Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to pose a major threat to human health. In animals, MRSA has become established as a veterinary pathogen in pets and horses; in livestock, it presents a concern for public health as a reservoir that can infect humans and as a source of transferrable resistance genes. Genetic analyses have revealed that the epidemiology of MRSA is different in different animal hosts. While human hospital-associated MRSA lineages are most commonly involved in pet infection and carriage, horse-specific MRSA most often represent 'traditional' equine S. au...
Tozaki T, Miyake T, Kakoi H, Gawahara H, Sugita S, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Hirota K, Nakano Y.Using 1400 microsatellites, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify genomic regions associated with lifetime earnings and performance ranks, as determined by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). The minimum heritability (h(2) ) was estimated at 7-8% based on the quantitative trait model, suggesting that the racing performance is heritable. Following GWAS with microsatellites, fine mapping led to identification of three SNPs on ECA18, namely, g.65809482T>C (P=1.05E-18), g.65868604G>T (P=6.47E-17), and g.66539967A>G (P=3.35E-14) associated with these performance ...
Mihm M, Evans AC.The selection of a single ovarian follicle for further differentiation and finally ovulation is a shared phenomenon in monovulatory species from different phylogenetic classes. The commonality of dominant follicle (DF) development leads us to hypothesize that mechanisms for DF selection are conserved. This review highlights similarities and differences in follicular wave growth between cows, mares and women, addresses the commonality of the transient rises in FSH concentrations, and discusses the follicular secretions oestradiol and inhibin with their regulatory roles for FSH. In all three spe...
Knollinger AM, La Croix NC, Barrett PM, Miller PE.To compare intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements obtained with a rebound tonometer in dogs and horses with values obtained by means of applanation tonometry and direct manometry. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: 100 dogs and 35 horses with clinically normal eyes, 10 enucleated eyes from 5 dogs, and 6 enucleated eyes from 3 horses. Methods: In the enucleated eyes, IOP measured by means of direct manometry was sequentially increased from 5 to 80 mm Hg, and IOP was measured with the rebound tonometer. In the dogs and horses, results of rebound tonometry were compared with results of applana...
Aurich C.Horses are long-day breeders. During the breeding season, cycle length is about 22 days with 5-7 days of oestrus. Gonadotroph cells are localized in the pars distalis as well the pars tuberalis of the pituitary and heterogeneity in the pattern of LH and FSH storage within the gonadotroph population is considered the basis for the differential regulation of gonadotrophin secretion throughout the reproductive cycle. No short and distinct periovulatory LH peak exists in the mare. The equine ovary has an extreme large size and weight. One to two major follicular waves develop per cycle. The preovu...
Ball JM, Rushlow KE, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.We describe here a detailed analysis of the antigenic determinants of the surface unit glycoprotein (gp90) of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), using a comprehensive panel of synthetic peptides in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with immune serum from naturally and experimentally infected horses and with a panel of gp90-specific neutralizing and nonneutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The results of these studies identify immunoreactive segments throughout the conserved and variable domains of gp90 but localize immunodominant (100% reactivity) determinants to the amino and carboxyl term...
Perkins GA, Lamb S, Erb HN, Schanbacher B, Nydam DV, Divers TJ.Plasma ACTH levels have been variable in horses with a positive clinical response for therapy for equine Cushing's Disease (ECD). Therefore, our purpose was to determine the value of monitoring plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) levels during treatment of equine Cushing's disease (ECD) with either cyproheptadine (n = 32) or pergolide (n = 10). First, we validated the chemiluminescent ACTH assay (specificity, precision, accuracy, intra-assay and interassay variations) and tested methods of handling the whole blood from the time of collection to when the ACTH was assayed. The sensitivity and spec...
Eivers SS, McGivney BA, Fonseca RG, MacHugh DE, Menson K, Park SD, Rivero JL, Taylor CT, Katz LM, Hill EW.Intense selection for elite racing performance in the Thoroughbred horse (Equus caballus) has resulted in a number of adaptive physiological phenotypes relevant to exercise; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for these characteristics are not well understood. Adaptive changes in mRNA expression in equine skeletal muscle were investigated by real-time qRT-PCR for a panel of candidate exercise-response genes following a standardized incremental-step treadmill exercise test in eight untrained Thoroughbred horses. Biopsy samples were obtained from the gluteus medius before, i...
Hewson CJ, Dohoo IR, Lemke KA, Barkema HW.Anecdotal evidence suggests that many veterinarians may not use analgesics in livestock for routine surgical procedures or painful disease states. To investigate this, we conducted a national mail survey of a random sample of 1431 Canadian veterinarians (response rate, 50.1%). Questions primarily concerned veterinarians' analgesic usage for common surgeries and medical conditions in beef and dairy cattle, pigs, and horses, and attitudes toward pain management. More than 90% of veterinarians used analgesic drugs for equine surgeries, for cesarean section in sows and cows, and for bovine claw am...
Kutasi O, Bakonyi T, Lecollinet S, Biksi I, Ferenczi E, Bahuon C, Sardi S, Zientara S, Szenci O.The spread of lineage 2 West Nile virus (WNV) from sub-Saharan regions to Europe and the unpredictable change in pathogenicity indicate a potential public and veterinary health threat and requires scientific awareness. Objective: To describe the results of clinical and virological investigations of the 1st outbreak of a genetic lineage 2 WNV encephalomyelitis in horses. Methods: Seventeen horses with neurologic signs. Methods: Information regarding signalment, clinical signs, and outcome was obtained for each animal. Serology was performed in 15 cases, clinicopathological examination in 7 case...
Haber M, Cao Z, Panjwani N, Bedenice D, Li WW, Provost PJ.The physiologic mechanisms involving growth factors, including PDGF-BB, EGF, and TGF-beta 1, as potent mediators of fibroblasts and epithelial cells in corneal wound healing remain unknown. The goal of this study was to determine culture methods for equine epithelial cells and keratocytes and to investigate how exogenous growth factors influence proliferation of both cell types. Methods: Cell cultures were established from healthy corneas harvested from horses immediately following euthanasia and maintained using standard tissue culture protocols. To determine the effects of PDGF-BB, EGF, TGF-...
Bermúdez CS, Zaldívar AY, Spolidorio MG, Moraes-Filho J, Miranda RJ, Caballero CM, Mendoza Y, Labruna MB.The present research evaluated the presence of Rickettsia spp. on ectoparasites of horses and dogs (using PCR techniques), and their sera (using immunofluorescence assay) in El Valle de Antón town in Panama. A total of 20 horses and 20 dogs were sampled, finding four species of ectoparasites on dogs (the ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, and the flea Ctenocephalides felis), and two tick species on horses (Amblyomma cajennense and Dermacentor nitens). DNA of Rickettsia amblyommii was found in pools of A. cajennense, D. nitens, and R. sanguineus, while ...
Tomlinson JE, Tennant BC, Struzyna A, Mrad D, Browne N, Whelchel D, Johnson PJ, Jamieson C, Löhr CV, Bildfell R, McKenzie EC, Laverack M, Renshaw RW....A novel equine parvovirus (EqPV-H) was recently discovered in the equine liver with Theiler's disease. Objective: To determine the prevalence of EqPV-H infection in naturally occurring Theiler's disease cases and in-contact horses in the absence of historical equine biologic product administration. Methods: Ten cases of Theiler's disease from 6 separate properties were included in the study, based on the criteria of acute onset of clinical signs of liver failure with laboratory or histopathologic findings characteristic of Theiler's disease and no history of receiving an equine biologic produc...
Saito S, Ugai H, Sawai K, Yamamoto Y, Minamihashi A, Kurosaka K, Kobayashi Y, Murata T, Obata Y, Yokoyama K.Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells with the potential capacity to generate any type of cell. We describe here the isolation of pluripotent ES-like cells from equine blastocysts that have been frozen and thawed. Our two lines of ES-like cells (E-1 and E-2) appear to maintain a normal diploid karyotype indefinitely in culture in vitro and to express markers that are characteristic of ES cells from mice, namely, alkaline phosphatase, stage-specific embryonic antigen-1, STAT-3 and Oct 4. After culture of equine ES-like cells in vitro for more than 17 passages, some ES-like cells diffe...
Cuny C, Witte W.MRSA infections in equine clinics were reported from Northern America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. The majority of nosocomial infections in horses is obviously associated with particular MRSA clonal lineages. As already observed for epidemic MRSA in human hospitals more than 10 years ago, a dynamics of MRSA clonal lineages is also observed in European equine clinics: clonal lineages belonging to clonal complex (CC) 8 are on the retreat whereas MRSA attributed to CC398 become increasingly prevalent. The majority of CC398 isolates belong to a subpopulation which is particularly associated with...
Harvey AM, Beausoleil NJ, Ramp D, Mellor DJ.Knowledge of the welfare status of wild animals is vital for informing debates about the ways in which we interact with wild animals and their habitats. Currently, there is no published information about how to scientifically assess the welfare of free-roaming wild animals during their normal day-to-day lives. Using free-roaming horses as an example, we describe a ten-stage protocol for systematically and scientifically assessing the welfare of individual non-captive wild animals. The protocol starts by emphasising the importance of readers having an understanding of animal welfare in a conser...
Nemoto M, Oue Y, Morita Y, Kanno T, Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Ueno T, Katayama Y, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.Recently, outbreaks associated with equine coronavirus (ECoV) have occurred in Japan and the United States. While ECoV is likely to be pathogenic to horses, it has not been shown that experimental inoculation of horses with ECoV produces clinical signs of disease. In this study, we inoculated three Japanese draft horses with an ECoV-positive diarrheic fecal sample to confirm infection after inoculation and to investigate the clinical course and virus shedding patterns of ECoV. Virus neutralization tests showed that all three horses became infected with ECoV. Two of the three horses developed c...
Sharma M, Nunez-Garcia J, Kearns AM, Doumith M, Butaye PR, Argudín MA, Lahuerta-Marin A, Pichon B, AbuOun M, Rogers J, Ellis RJ, Teale C, Anjum MF.In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 recovered from S. aureus isolated animals in the UK. To determine possible origins of 12 LA-MRSA CC398 isolates collected after screening more than a thousand S. aureus animal isolates from the UK between 2013 and 2015, whole genome sequences (WGS) of CC398 European, including UK, and non-European isolates from diverse animal hosts were compared. Phylogenetic reconstruction applied to WGS data to assess genetic relatedness of all 89 iso...
Chambers TM, Quinlivan M, Sturgill T, Cullinane A, Horohov DW, Zamarin D, Arkins S, García-Sastre A, Palese P.Three previously described NS1 mutant equine influenza viruses encoding carboxy-terminally truncated NS1 proteins are impaired in their ability to inhibit type I IFN production in vitro and are replication attenuated, and thus are candidates for use as a modified live influenza virus vaccine in the horse. Objective: One or more of these mutant viruses is safe when administered to horses, and recipient horses when challenged with wild-type influenza have reduced physiological and virological correlates of disease. Methods: Vaccination and challenge studies were done in horses, with measurement ...
Crisman MV, Scarratt WK, Zimmerman KL.Activation of the host response to infection, the "acute-phase response," is a highly organized physiologic reaction that includes changes in concentrations of plasma acute-phase proteins (APPs). The APPs are increasingly being used as markers for prognosis and monitoring response to therapy along with general determinants of equine health. Use of APPs in veterinary medicine is becoming more widespread as more commercial diagnostic kits are being validated. This article reviews the salient features of APPs and examines their current application and potential utility in equine inflammatory diso...
Moreau MM, Eades SC, Reinemeyer CR, Fugaro MN, Onishi JC.In the equine carbohydrate overload model of acute laminitis, disease progression is associated with changes in bacteria found in the cecum. To date, research has focused on changes in specific Gram-positive bacteria in this portion of the intestinal tract. Metagenomic methods are now available making it possible to interrogate microbial communities using animal protocols that sufficiently power a study. In this study, the microbiota in cecal fluid collected from control, non-laminitic horses (n=8) and from horses with early-stage acute laminitis induced with either oligofructan (n=6) or corns...
Nielsen MK, Peterson DS, Monrad J, Thamsborg SM, Olsen SN, Kaplan RM.Strongylus vulgaris is an important strongyle nematode with high pathogenic potential infecting horses world-wide. Several decades of intensive anthelmintic use has virtually eliminated clinical disease caused by S. vulgaris, but has also caused high levels of anthelmintic resistance in equine small strongyle (cyathostomin) nematodes. Recommendations aimed at limiting the development of anthelmintic resistance by reducing treatment intensity raises a simultaneous demand for reliable and accurate diagnostic tools for detecting important parasitic pathogens. Presently, the only means available t...
