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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.
Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis: Histopathologic Features. Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a painful progressive condition of older horses that involves multiple teeth, including canines and incisors. EOTRH is uncommonly recognized by veterinary pathologists and in some cases may be misdiagnosed as cementoblastoma. The cause is unknown. The goals of this study were to describe the histopathologic features of EOTRH in 17 affected horses from the United States and to increase awareness of this condition. Samples ranged from affected tooth to the entire rostral mandible and maxilla. Affected teeth exhibited cemental h...
Application of the ASVCP guidelines for the establishment of haematologic and biochemical reference intervals in Icelandic horses in Austria. Despite the increasing popularity of Icelandic horses, published reference intervals (RIs) in this breed are rare. Due to their isolation and their small gene pool, alterations in some variables are likely and some possible breed-specific peculiarities have been described. The purpose of the present study was the establishment of comprehensive RIs in Icelandic horses according to recently published guidelines. In a prospective observational study, blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of 142 Icelandic horses into EDTA and serum tubes. Reference intervals were established for haema...
Telomerase Activity in Articular Chondrocytes Is Lost after Puberty. Telomere length and telomerase activity are important indicators of cellular senescence and replicative ability. Loss of telomerase is associated with ageing and the development of osteoarthritis. Implantation of telomerase-positive cells, chondrocytes, or stem cells expressing a normal chondrocyte phenotype is desired for cartilage repair procedures. The objective of this study was to identify at what age chondrocytes and at what passage bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) become senescent based on telomerase activity. The effect of osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) or interleukin-1α...
Parameters of the center of pressure displacement on the saddle during hippotherapy on different surfaces. Hippotherapy uses horseback riding movements for therapeutic purposes. In addition to the horse's movement, the choice of equipment and types of floor are also useful in the intervention. The quantification of dynamic parameters that define the interaction of the surface of contact between horse and rider provides insight into how the type of floor surface variations act upon the subject's postural control. Objective: To test whether different types of surfaces promote changes in the amplitude (ACOP) and velocity (VCOP) of the center of pressure (COP) displacement during the rider's contact wi...
Antiviral agents against equid alphaherpesviruses: Current status and perspectives. Equid herpesvirus infections cause respiratory, neurological and reproductive syndromes. Despite preventive and control measures and the availability of vaccines and immunostimulants, herpesvirus infections still constitute a major threat to equine health and for the equine industry worldwide. Antiviral drugs, particularly nucleoside analogues and foscarnet, are successfully used for the treatment of human alphaherpesvirus infections. In equine medicine, the use of antiviral medications in alphaherpesvirus infections would decrease the excretion of virus and diminish the risk of contagion and ...
Pathophysiology of free-bullet slaughter of horses and ponies. Forty-six equines were observed during routine commercial slaughter in an abattoir. The animals were shot once with a .22 calibre long rifle with hollow point rounds. Indicators of sensibility/insensibility were evaluated immediately after the shot (prior to exsanguination) and the resulting pathophysiology of free-bullet injury was assessed. All animals were rendered immediately insensible, with only one pony showing signs of a shallow depth of concussion, with an intermittently positive palpebral reflex but no other signs of brainstem function. All animals (100%) had some degree of damage to...
eCG concentrations, luteal structures, return to cyclicity, and postabortion fertility in embryo transfer recipient mares. The present study characterizes the relationship between the levels of eCG, ovarian morphology, resumption of cyclicity, and fertility in postaborted embryo transfer recipient mares. A total of 32 pregnant recipient mares carrying a male fetus were aborted at approximately 65 days of gestation by single transcervical administration of cloprostenol. In addition, 25 gestation age-matched mares were used as nonaborted controls. The concentration of progesterone, but not of eCG, differed significantly between controls and aborted mares 48 hours after abortion. Of treated mares, 84.4% (27 of 32) ex...
An investigation of the equine infectious disease threat represented by the presence of donkeys at mixed equestrian events in Ireland. The number of abandoned or otherwise neglected donkeys has significantly increased in Ireland in the recent past. The real or perceived capacity of the donkey to act as a reservoir of equine infectious disease, and thus pose an increased risk of disease transmission to horses and ponies, may be a factor in this increased abandonment and neglect. The authors here report on a field study exploring the infectious disease transmission threat the donkey poses to the general equine industry in Ireland through an examination of biosecurity standards and the views of horse and donkey exhibitors at nin...
Viral load of equine herpesviruses 2 and 5 in nasal swabs of actively racing Standardbred trotters: Temporal relationship of shedding to clinical findings and poor performance. The equine gamma herpesviruses 2 and 5 (EHV-2 and -5) have frequently been observed in the equine population and until recently presumed low to nonpathogenic. However, recent reports linking presence of equine gamma herpesviruses with clinical signs of mild to severe lung disease, suggest that the role of these viruses in respiratory disease and poor performance syndrome is still unclear. Moreover, baseline data regarding the temporal pattern of shedding of EHV-2 and EHV-5 within stables and within individual actively racing horses have been lacking. In a prospective longitudinal study, we fol...
Level of energy restriction alters body condition score and morphometric profile in obese Shetland ponies. Due to the high prevalence of obesity in some horses and ponies (especially in the leisure horse sector), effective and safe weight loss strategies are required. The present study evaluated the effect of two different energy restriction rates on physical, morphometric and welfare parameters in 18 obese (body condition score [BCS] 7-9/9) Shetland geldings. The trial was divided into three periods: (1) a 4 week adaptation period, during which the maintenance energy intakes to maintain a stable obese bodyweight were determined (100% MERob); (2) a 16.5-week weight loss period during which the poni...
Local and systemic effect of transfection-reagent formulated DNA vectors on equine melanoma. Equine melanoma has a high incidence in grey horses. Xenogenic DNA vaccination may represent a promising therapeutic approach against equine melanoma as it successfully induced an immunological response in other species suffering from melanoma and in healthy horses. In a clinical study, twenty-seven, grey, melanoma-bearing, horses were assigned to three groups (n = 9) and vaccinated on days 1, 22, and 78 with DNA vectors encoding for equine (eq) IL-12 and IL-18 alone or in combination with either human glycoprotein (hgp) 100 or human tyrosinase (htyr). Horses were vaccinated intramuscularl...
Activation of persistent Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus in mares with subclinical endometritis. Endometritis in horses caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) may be underdiagnosed due to traditional diagnostic methods lacking sensitivity and specificity. We serendipitously identified a bacterial growth medium (bActivate) that appeared capable of inducing growth of dormant S. zooepidemicus, which subsequently allowed detection by standard diagnostics. To assess the effect of bActivate we compared its ability to activate dormant S. zooepidemicus in a group of potentially infected subfertile mares with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). All mares had to test ...
Comparison between available serologic tests for detecting antibodies against Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi in horses in Canada. To investigate the agreement between available serologic tests for the detection of antibodies against Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi, 50 serum samples from horses of unknown clinical status and at low risk for infection were tested. In addition to a point-of-care enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (pocELISA), the evaluated tests included 2 indirect fluorescent antibody tests (IFATs) for antibodies against A. phagocytophilum and an IFAT, an ELISA confirmed with Western blot, and the Lyme multiplex assay for antibodies against B. burgdorferi. For each pair-wise comparison bet...
Evaluation of the non-calibrated pulse contour cardiac output monitor FloTrac/Vigileo against thermodilution in standing horses. To evaluate the non-calibrated, minimally invasive cardiac output (CO) monitor FloTrac/Vigileo (FloTrac) against thermodilution (TD) CO in standing horses. Methods: Prospective, experimental trial. Methods: Nine adult horses weighing a median (range) of 535 (470-602) kg. Methods: Catheters were placed in the right atrium, pulmonary artery and carotid artery under local anaesthesia. CO was measured 147 times by TD and FloTrac and indexed to body weight. Changes in CO were achieved with romifidine or xylazine and dobutamine constant rate infusions. Bland-Altman analysis, concordance and polar pl...
Osteopathology in the Equine Distal Phalanx Associated With the Development and Progression of Laminitis. Although the equine distal phalanx and hoof lamellae are biomechanically and physiologically integrated, bony changes in the distal phalanx are poorly described in laminitis. The aims of this study were (1) to establish a laminitis grading scheme that can be applied to the wide spectrum of lesions seen in naturally occurring cases and (2) to measure and describe changes in the distal phalanx associated with laminitis using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histology. Thirty-six laminitic and normal feet from 15 performance and nonperformance horses were evaluated. A laminitis grading sc...
Quantification of hypoglycin A in serum using aTRAQ(®) assay. Hypoglycin A has been recently identified has the causal agent of atypical myopathy (AM) in horses. Its identification and quantification in equine's biological fluids is thus a major concern to confirm maple poisoning and to provide insight into the poorly understood mechanism of hypoglycin A intoxication. Methods: Quantification of hypoglycin A has been achieved with the aTRAQ kit for amino acid analysis of physiological fluids (AB Sciex). Acquisition method on mass spectrometer has been updated to record the hypoglycin A specific MRM transition. Results: Outlined accuracy profiles demonstra...
VP2 Exchange and NS3/NS3a Deletion in African Horse Sickness Virus (AHSV) in Development of Disabled Infectious Single Animal Vaccine Candidates for AHSV. African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is a virus species in the genus Orbivirus of the family Reoviridae. There are nine serotypes of AHSV showing different levels of cross neutralization. AHSV is transmitted by species of Culicoides biting midges and causes African horse sickness (AHS) in equids, with a mortality rate of up to 95% in naive horses. AHS has become a serious threat for countries outside Africa, since endemic Culicoides species in moderate climates appear to be competent vectors for the related bluetongue virus (BTV). To control AHS, live-attenuated vaccines (LAVs) are used in Afri...
A multicentre, prospective, randomised, blinded clinical trial to compare some perioperative effects of buprenorphine or butorphanol premedication before equine elective general anaesthesia and surgery. Buprenorphine, a μ-agonist opioid, has recently been licensed for equine use, but butorphanol, a κ-agonist opioid, is more commonly used in horses. The effect of the 2 opioids has not previously been compared in a large clinical study. Objective: To compare post operative analgesia and physiological variables in horses undergoing elective surgery following premedication with either buprenorphine or butorphanol in a conventional clinical setting. Methods: Multicentre, prospective, randomised, blinded clinical investigation. Methods: Eighty-nine healthy horses admitted for elective surgery to ...
Antibody and Viral Nucleic Acid Testing of Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid for Diagnosis of Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Eastern equine encephalitis diagnostic serum antibody can appear 6 days after the onset of symptoms, and its numbers can increase 4-fold in 4 days, arguing for early and frequent serum testing. In populations where cerebrospinal fluid viral nucleic acid testing sensitivity and specificity remain undetermined, cerebrospinal antibody testing should also be performed.
Ageing does not result in a decline in cell synthetic activity in an injury prone tendon. Advancing age is a well-known risk factor for tendon disease. Energy-storing tendons [e.g., human Achilles, equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT)] are particularly vulnerable and it is thought that injury occurs following an accumulation of micro-damage in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Several authors suggest that age-related micro-damage accumulates due to a failure of the aging cell population to maintain the ECM or an imbalance between anabolic and catabolic pathways. We hypothesized that ageing results in a decreased ability of tendon cells to synthesize matrix components and m...
Antibody responses after vaccination against equine influenza in the Republic of Korea in 2013. In this study, antibody responses after equine influenza vaccination were investigated among 1,098 horses in Korea using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. The equine influenza viruses, A/equine/South Africa/4/03 (H3N8) and A/equine/Wildeshausen/1/08 (H3N8), were used as antigens in the HI assay. The mean seropositive rates were 91.7% (geometric mean antibody levels (GMT), 56.8) and 93.6% (GMT, 105.2) for A/equine/South Africa/4/03 and A/equine/Wildeshausen/1/08, respectively. Yearlings and two-year-olds in training exhibited lower positive rates (68.1% (GMT, 14) and 61.7% (GMT, 11.9)...
Immunomodulatory Role of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on Equine Endometriosis. Endometriosis is a degenerative process due to a chronic inflammatory damage leading to extracellular matrix components deposition and glandular fibrosis. It is known that mesenchymal stem cells secrete a wide range of bioactive molecules, some of them modulating the immune inflammatory response, and others providing regeneration and remodeling of injured tissue. We have performed in vitro experiments in order to analyze the capability of allogenic equine adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to infiltrate mares' endometrial tissues and to stimulate the expression of cytokines and metallopeptidas...
IMAGING DIAGNOSIS – UNILATERAL TRIGEMINAL NEURITIS MIMICKING PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR IN A HORSE. A 16-year old Warmblood gelding presented with a nonhealing corneal ulcer and absent corneal sensation in the left eye. A lesion affecting the maxillary and ophthalmic branches of the left trigeminal nerve was suspected. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging identified marked thickening of the ophthalmic and maxillary branches of the left trigeminal nerve. The nerve was iso- to hypointense on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images with heterogeneous enhancement. A peripheral nerve sheath tumor was suspected, however granulomatous neuritis was histopathologically confirmed. These inflammatory changes can...
Sympathetic innervation of the suprasesamoidean region of the deep digital flexor tendon in the forelimbs of horses. The purpose of this study was to delineate the pattern of sympathetic innervation in the suprasesamoidean region of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) in horses using immunohistochemical staining (IHC) for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and alpha-1 adrenergic receptor (α1-AR). Fourteen forelimbs were collected from 10 horses. Longitudinal sections of the suprasesamoidean region of healthy DDFTs were harvested. Most of the sympathetic innervation was found to be in the walls of blood vessels. The tendon tissue proper was sparsely innervated, with a lesser degree of innervation within the dorsal ...
Estimation of articular cartilage properties using multivariate analysis of optical coherence tomography signal. The aim was to investigate the applicability of multivariate analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) information for determining structural integrity, composition and mechanical properties of articular cartilage. Methods: Equine osteochondral samples (N = 65) were imaged with OCT, and their total attenuation and backscattering coefficients (μt and μb) were measured. Subsequently, the Mankin score, optical density (OD) describing the fixed charge density, light absorbance in amide I region (Aamide), collagen orientation, permeability, fibril network modulus (Ef) and non-fibrillar mat...
Melanocytic Ophthalmic Neoplasms of the Domestic Veterinary Species: A Review. Melanocytic neoplasms in veterinary species occur in various ophthalmic locations including the eyelid, conjunctiva, cornea, sclera, anterior and posterior uvea, and orbit. Histology usually provides the definitive diagnosis for melanocytic ocular neoplasias. The degree of tissue invasiveness and anaplastic cellular characteristics are more reliable indicators of biological behavior than is mitotic index in most ophthalmic melanocytic tumors. Melanocytic neoplasias of the eyelid are predominantly benign in canines and equines, though in felines, there is the potential for metastasis, especiall...
Learning about equine biosecurity. Equine consultant, Jane Nixon, attended the first equine biosecurity course at the British Racing School in November last year, organised by Whorl Publishing. Here, she reports on some of the issues covered.
