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Topic:Equine Health
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.
Estimates of heritability of atrial fibrillation in the Standardbred racehorse. The number of Standardbred racehorses admitted to the Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital (Guelph, Canada) for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been on the rise since the early 1990s. A small number of sires have been contributing to a large proportion of cases, indicating there may be a genetic predisposition to the arrhythmia in this breed. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the heritability of AF in Standardbred horses and whether heritability of the arrhythmia differs across gaits and/or sexes. Methods: Heritability study based on retrospective revi...
Equine Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Retain a Pericyte-Like Phenotype. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been used in human and equine regenerative medicine, and interest in exploiting their potential has increased dramatically over the years. Despite significant effort to characterize equine MSCs, the actual origin of these cells and how much of their native phenotype is maintained in culture have not been determined. In this study, we investigated the relationship between MSCs, derived from adipose tissue (AT) and bone marrow (BM), and pericytes in the horse. Both pericyte (CD146, NG2, and αSMA) and MSC (CD29, CD90, and CD73) markers were detected in ...
A missense mutation in damage-specific DNA binding protein 2 is a genetic risk factor for limbal squamous cell carcinoma in horses. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common cancer of the equine eye, frequently originating at the limbus, with the potential to invade the cornea, cause visual impairment, and result in loss of the eye. Several breeds of horses have a high occurrence of limbal SCC implicating a genetic basis for limbal SCC predisposition. Pedigree analysis in the Haflinger breed supports a simple recessive mode of inheritance and a genome-wide association study (N = 23) identified a 1.5 Mb locus on ECA12 significantly associated with limbal SCC (Pcorrected = 0.04). Sequencing the most physiologicall...
Deep anestrous mares under natural photoperiod treated with recombinant equine FSH (reFSH) and LH (reLH) have fertile ovulations and become pregnant. The most common equine breeding practice to decrease the time to the first ovulation of the year is to use artificial lights starting December 1 in the Northern Hemisphere. It can take 60-90 d for this lighting regimen to induce a fertile ovulation. The success rate for pharmaceutical compounds to carry out the same process has been variable. One compound that did induce an early ovulation was recombinant equine follicle stimulating hormone (reFSH), but neither pregnancy nor cyclicity was established in that study. Starting on December 1, 20 deep-anestrous mares of light horse breeds (4-15 y...
Attitudes towards worm egg counts and targeted selective treatment against equine cyathostomins. Gastrointestinal nematodes present a major threat to the health and welfare of equids worldwide. Anthelmintic resistance (AR) is increasingly reported and challenges effective control in horses and ponies in many regions. The use of faecal worm egg counts (FECs) to support targeted treatment (FEC-TT) and targeted selective treatment (FEC-TST) has been promoted as an effective deworming strategy that may prolong the useful life of anthelmintics and reduce the costs associated with parasite control. However, treatment applied at set intervals or on pre-determined dates remains common. A structur...
Orthopedic Conditions of the Premature and Dysmature Foal. Incomplete ossification of the cuboidal bones is a common finding in premature and dysmature foals, and possibly in foals with hypothyroidism. Radiographs of the carpus and tarsus should be performed in any high-risk foal to obtain a diagnosis. Goals of treatment include limiting weight bearing and exercise. The prognosis is guarded depending on the degree of incomplete ossification.
The effect of postsurgical pain on attentional processing in horses. To investigate the effect of postsurgical pain on the performance of horses in a novel object and auditory startle task. Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: Twenty horses undergoing different types of surgery and 16 control horses that did not undergo surgery. Methods: The interaction of 36 horses with novel objects and a response to an auditory stimulus were measured at two time points; the day before surgery (T1) and the day after surgery (T2) for surgical horses (G1), and at a similar time interval for control horses (G2). Pain and sedation were measured using simple descriptive s...
Retinoic acid-mediated anti-inflammatory responses in equine immune cells stimulated by LPS and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells. Retinoic acid (RA), an active metabolite of vitamin A, has shown potential therapeutic immunomodulatory properties. Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-based therapy is an effective approach to induce tissue healing and regeneration in many equine orthopedic conditions. However, MSCs-based therapies induced inflammatory responses in vivo. This study aimed to: 1. Determine the effect of RA cell culture treatment on inflammatory responses of lipopolysaccharides (LPS)- and allogeneic MSCs-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). 2. Determine the effect of RA on stimulated MSCs ...
Three-dimensional kinematics of the equine metacarpophalangeal joint using x-ray reconstruction of moving morphology – a pilot study. X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology (XROMM) uses biplanar videoradiography and computed tomography (CT) scanning to capture three-dimensional (3D) bone motion. In XROMM, morphologically accurate 3D bone models derived from CT are animated with motion from videoradiography, yielding a highly accurate and precise reconstruction of skeletal kinematics. We employ this motion analysis technique to characterize metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) motion in the absence and presence of protective legwear in a healthy pony. Our in vivo marker tracking precision was 0.09 mm for walk and trot, and 0.1...
Correction: Validation of a Laboratory Method for Evaluating Dynamic Properties of Reconstructed Equine Racetrack Surfaces. [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050534.].
Equine papillomavirus type 2: An equine equivalent to human papillomavirus 16? In horses, squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) commonly affect the external genitals. There is growing evidence that equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) infection promotes disease development. To assess the possible association of EcPV2 with equine SCCs of the head (HSCC), 15 HSCC DNA samples were screened by E6/E7, E2, and LCR PCR and amplicons were analysed for sequence variations. The physical form of EcPV2 in HSCC, genital lesions, and smegma from horses with SCC was then addressed using EcPV2 immunocapture PCR (IC/PCR) for detection of virion, and E6 vs. E2 qPCR to investigate possible integr...
White muscle disease in foals: focus on selenium soil content. A case series. White muscle disease (WMD) is a nutritional myopathy caused by selenium (Se) deficiency. In most soils, Se is present in low concentrations, sometimes even below 0.2 mg/kg, a trend which is seen in many countries. Apart from total soil Se concentrations, soil conditions may be such that the bio-availability of Se is so low that it causes very low uptake in plants which can ultimately lead to deficiency problems in animals. This is the first case series to report clinical WMD in foals in areas deficient in Se, in the Netherlands. The aim of the current report is to provide an overview of the c...
Alterations in thoracolumbosacral movement when pain causing lameness has been improved by diagnostic analgesia. Lameness, thoracolumbosacral pain and reduced range of motion (ROM) often coexist; better understanding of their relationship is needed. The objectives were to determine if thoracolumbosacral movement of horses changes when pain causing lameness is improved by diagnostic analgesia. We hypothesised that reduction of lameness will increase ROM of the thoracolumbosacral region. Thirteen horses with different types of hind limb lameness were trotted in straight lines and lunged on a 10m diameter circle on left and right reins before and after lameness was subjectively substantially improved by dia...
Acute leukemia in six horses (1990-2012). Acute leukemia is rare in horses. Herein we describe historical, clinicopathologic, and postmortem findings in 6 horses with acute leukemia. Medical records of horses with >20% bone marrow blasts and cytochemical or immunophenotyping results were reviewed. Affected horses were 2-8 y of age and of different breeds and sex. Horses were presented acutely with nonspecific signs (e.g., fever, lethargy). Characteristic hemogram findings were bi- or pancytopenia with low blast numbers. Histologic examination revealed extramedullary infiltrates, especially in lymph nodes, spleen, kidney, liver, and...
Nationwide molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus responsible for horse infections in France. The epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in horse infections is not well documented, especially in France. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of MRSA isolates in horse infections from 2007 to 2013 in France and to characterize phenotypically and genotypically this collection. Out of 1393 S. aureus horse isolates, 85 (6.1%) were confirmed to be MRSA. Interestingly, the prevalence of MRSA significantly increased from 2007-2009 to 2010-2013 (0.7 vs. 9.5%, P <0.0001). Resistance to methicillin was due to the presence of the mecA gene in 84...
An Ambulatory Electroencephalography System for Freely Moving Horses: An Innovating Approach. Electroencephalography (EEG) that has been extensively studied in humans presents also a large interest for studies on animal brain processes. However, since the quality of the recordings is altered by muscular activity, most EEG recordings on animals are obtained using invasive methods with deeply implanted electrodes. This requires anesthesia and can thus only be used in laboratory or clinical settings. As EEG is a very useful tool both for detecting brain alterations due to diseases or accidents and to evaluate the arousal and attentional state of the animal, it seemed crucial to develop a ...
Comparison of autologous bone marrow and adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells, and platelet rich plasma, for treating surgically induced lesions of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon. Several therapies have been investigated for equine tendinopathies, but satisfactory long term results have not been achieved consistently and a better understanding of the healing mechanism elicited by regenerative therapies is needed. The aim of this study was to assess the separate effects of autologous bone marrow (BM) and adipose tissue (AT) derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and platelet rich plasma (PRP), for treating lesions induced in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) of horses. Lesions were created surgically in both SDFTs of the forelimbs of 12 horses and were treated...
Discrimination of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi and Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Accurate and timely identification of infectious etiologies is of great significance in veterinary microbiology, especially for critical diseases such as strangles, a highly contagious disease of horses caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. equi. We evaluated a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) platform for use in species- and subspecies-level identification of S. equi isolates from horses and compared it with an automated biochemical system. We used 25 clinical isolates each of S. equi subsp. equi and S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus. Using ...
Nonsynonymous changes of equine lentivirus receptor-1 (ELR1) gene in amino acids involved in the interaction with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Equine lentivirus receptor-1 (ELR1) has been characterized as the specific functional receptor that mediates equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) entrance to horse macrophages. This receptor is tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 14 (TNFRSF14). The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of allelic variants in the coding sequence of equine TNFRSF14 gene by screening for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in different equine populations. Forty seven horse samples were randomly selected from a reservoir of EIAV-seropositive and seronegative samples collected from d...
Ultrasonographic assessment of the atlanto-occipital space in healthy Thoroughbred foals and Thoroughbred foals with neonatal maladjustment syndrome. Ultrasonography of the atlanto-occipital (AO) space may be useful as a non-invasive diagnostic tool in neonatal foals. The aims of the study were establish a range of values for ultrasonographic measurements of the AO space in healthy Thoroughbred foals and to compare these variables in healthy foals with foals diagnosed with neonatal maladjustment syndrome (NMS). Ultrasonography of the AO space was performed on 38 healthy Thoroughbred foals and 28 Thoroughbred foals with NMS≤4days of age. Transverse image spinal cord height (P=0.001), width (P<0.001) and spinal cord cross sectional area ...
Rapid diagnosis of equine influenza by highly sensitive silver amplification immunochromatography system. Equine influenza (EI) is a respiratory disease caused by equine influenza A virus (EIV, H3N8) infection. Rapid diagnosis is essential to limit the disease spread. We previously reported that some rapid antigen detection (RAD) tests are fit for diagnosing EI although their sensitivity is not optimal. Here, we evaluated the performance of the newly developed RAD test using silver amplification immunochromatography (Quick Chaser Auto Flu A, B: QCA) to diagnose EI. The detection limits of QCA for EIVs were five-fold lower than the conventional RAD tests. The duration of virus antigen detection i...
Ancient genomic changes associated with domestication of the horse. The genomic changes underlying both early and late stages of horse domestication remain largely unknown. We examined the genomes of 14 early domestic horses from the Bronze and Iron Ages, dating to between ~4.1 and 2.3 thousand years before present. We find early domestication selection patterns supporting the neural crest hypothesis, which provides a unified developmental origin for common domestic traits. Within the past 2.3 thousand years, horses lost genetic diversity and archaic DNA tracts introgressed from a now-extinct lineage. They accumulated deleterious mutations later than expected ...
Phenotypic and Genetic Analysis of the Leopard Complex Spotting in Noriker Horses. Genetic analyses of coat colors are frequently restricted to subjectively categorized phenotype information. The aim of this study was to develop a method to numerically quantify the variability of leopard complex (LP) spotting phenotypes introducing tools from image analysis. Generalized Procrustes analysis eliminates systematic errors due to imaging process. The binarization of normalized images and the application of principal component analysis (PCA) on the derived pixel matrices, transform pixel information into numerical data space. We applied these methods on 90 images to ascertain the ...
Laparoscopic evaluation of the small intestine in the standing horse: Technique and effects. To evaluate the feasibility and clinical outcomes after laparoscopic evaluation of the small intestines via laparoscopy. Methods: Prospective pilot study. Methods: Healthy adult horses (n = 5). Methods: Horses were restrained in standing stocks and received an infusion of detomidine. One port was placed in the left last intercostal space and 3 ports were placed in the right paralumbar fossa. The small intestine was run with atraumatic laparoscopic grasping forceps, from the duodenocolic plica to the ileocecal plica. Postoperative pain was scored every 4 hours for the first 48 hours. Horses...
Pharmacokinetics of firocoxib after intravenous administration of multiple consecutive doses in neonatal foals. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of intravenous firocoxib in neonatal foals. Six healthy foals were administered 0.09 mg/kg firocoxib intravenously once a day for 7 days. Blood was collected for plasma firocoxib analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection at times 0 (day 1 of study only) and 0.08, 0.25, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16 and 24 hr on dose numbers 1, 5 and 7. Blood was also collected immediately prior to doses 3, 4, 5 and 7. Final samples were collected at 36, 48, 72 and 96 hr following the final dose. Noncompartmen...
Molecular confirmation of Sarcocystis fayeri in a donkey. Sarcocystis fayeri is a canine protozoan parasite with an equine intermediate host. Historically classified as an incidental pathogen, recent literature has described the toxic effects of Sarcocystis fayeri in human food poisoning, and highlighted potential involvement in equine neuromuscular disease. Until now, horses were believed to be the exclusive intermediate host. This study reports the first molecular confirmation of S. fayeri in a donkey, and gives rise to the consideration of donkeys being a potential reservoir for the parasite. This finding is of particular importance in understandi...
