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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.
Genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. including novel identification of the Cryptosporidium muris and Cryptosporidium tyzzeri in horses in the Czech Republic and Poland. Faecal samples were collected from 352 horses on 23 farms operating under six different management systems in the Czech Republic and Poland during 2011 and 2012. Farms were selected without previous knowledge of parasitological status. All faecal samples were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. presence using microscopy, following aniline-carbol-methyl violet staining and PCR analysis of the small-subunit (SSU) rRNA and the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes. Cryptosporidium muris-positive samples were additionally genotyped at four minisatellite markers: MS1 (encoding a hypothetical protein), MS2...
Morphological and genetic characterization of an emerging Azorean horse breed: the Terceira Pony. The Terceira Pony is a horse indigenous to Terceira Island in the Azores. These horses were very important during the colonization of the island. Due to their very balanced proportions and correct gaits, and with an average withers height of 1.28 m, the Terceira Pony is often confused with a miniature pure-bred Lusitano. This population was officially recognized as the fourth Portuguese equine breed by the national authorities in January, 2014. The aim of this study was to analyze the morphology and the genetic diversity by means of microsatellite markers of this emerging horse breed. The biom...
Association of catastrophic biaxial fracture of the proximal sesamoid bones with bony changes of the metacarpophalangeal joint identified by standing magnetic resonance imaging in cadaveric forelimbs of Thoroughbred racehorses. To compare bony changes in the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) of racehorses with (cases) and without (controls) biaxial proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fracture as determined by 2 grading scales applied to images of cadaveric forelimbs obtained by means of standing MRI (sMRI). Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Forelimbs from 74 Thoroughbred racehorses (21 cases and 53 controls) that were euthanized at a Florida racetrack. Methods: Both forelimbs were harvested from cases and controls. Each forelimb underwent sMRI to obtain images of the MCPJ. Two grading scales were described and used for i...
Joint-dependent response to impact and implications for post-traumatic osteoarthritis. The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) varies between joints. Cartilage in eight different joints was evaluated to elucidate the disparate susceptibilities between joints to post-traumatic OA (PTOA) and provide evidence for joint-specific clinical treatments. The hypothesis was that cartilage in different joints would have varying cell death and anabolic gene expression profiles after injury. Methods: Adult equine cartilage explants were harvested from shoulder (SH), elbow (EL), carpal (CA), metacarpophalangeal (MC), patellofemoral (FP), tarsal (TA), metatarsophalangeal (MT), and proximal inter...
Horses fail to use social learning when solving spatial detour tasks. Social animals should have plenty of opportunities to learn from conspecifics, but most studies have failed to document social learning in horses. This study investigates whether young Icelandic horses can learn a spatial detour task through observation of a trained demonstrator horse of either the same age (Experiments 1 and 2, n = 22) or older (Experiment 3, n = 24). Observer horses were allowed to observe the demonstrator being led three times through the detour route immediately before being given the opportunity to solve the task themselves. Controls were allowed only to observe the d...
The diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation in the horse. Atrial fibrillation is the most common performance-limiting arrhythmia in the horse. Detailed cardiovascular evaluation will help guide prognosis and treatment. Many affected horses have lone atrial fibrillation (no predisposing cardiac abnormalities). These horses have a good prognosis for return to performance if sinus rhythm can be restored. The main therapeutic option continues to be quinidine, which has been used for over 60 years. Transvenous electrical cardioversion has proven to be a successful alternative. Other therapeutic options are being explored, but are currently limited.
Hematologic and biochemical reference intervals for adult Friesian horses from North America. Established breed-specific reference intervals (RI) are an important tool for monitoring the health of horses. There is a lack of published work on breed-specific RI for Friesian horses. Objective: The goal of this project was to determine hematologic and biochemical RI for Friesian horses residing in North America. Methods: Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were established for selection of reference subjects and for blood specimen collection and handling. Blood samples from 123 healthy, adult (range 3-18 years, median 8 years) Friesian horses of both sexes (70 mares, 45 geldings, and...
Does heterozygosity at the DMRT3 gene make French trotters better racers? Recently, a mutation was discovered in the DMRT3 gene that controls pacing in horses. The mutant allele A is fixed in the American Standardbred trotter breed, while in the French trotter breed, the frequency of the wild-type allele C is still 24%. This study aimed at measuring the effect of DMRT3 genotypes on the performance of French trotters and explaining why the polymorphism still occurs in this breed. Using a mixed animal model, genetic parameters and environmental effects on performance traits were estimated from data on 173 176 French trotter races. The effect of the DMRT3 gene was then...
Domesticated horses differ in their behavioural and physiological responses to isolated and group housing. The predominant housing system used for domestic horses is individual stabling; however, housing that limits social interaction and requires the horse to live in semi-isolation has been reported to be a concern for equine welfare. The aim of the current study was to compare behavioural and physiological responses of domestic horses in different types of housing design that provided varying levels of social contact. Horses (n = 16) were divided equally into four groups and exposed to each of four housing treatments for a period of five days per treatment in a randomized block design. The four h...
Enhanced bone healing using collagen-hydroxyapatite scaffold implantation in the treatment of a large multiloculated mandibular aneurysmal bone cyst in a thoroughbred filly. An unmet need remains for a bone graft substitute material that is biocompatible, biodegradable and capable of promoting osteogenesis safely in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a novel collagen-hydroxyapatite (CHA) bone graft substitute in the clinical treatment of a mandibular bone cyst in a young horse and to assess its potential to enhance repair of the affected bone. A 2 year-old thoroughbred filly, presenting with a multilobulated aneurysmal bone cyst, was treated using the CHA scaffold. Post-operative clinical follow-up was carried out at 2 weeks and 3, 6 and...
Anthrax as an example of the One Health concept. Anthrax is a peracute, acute or subacute multispecies bacterial infection that occurs on many continents. It is one of the oldest infectious diseases known; the biblical fifth and sixth plagues (Exodus chapters 7 to 9) that affected first livestock and then humans were probably anthrax. From the earliest historical records until development of an effective vaccine midway through the 20th Century, anthrax was one of the foremost causes of uncontrolled mortality in cattle, sheep, goats, horses and pigs, with 'spill over' into humans, worldwide. With the development of the Sterne spore vaccine, a...
Desflurane and sevoflurane elimination kinetics and recovery quality in horses. To evaluate pharmacokinetics, recovery times, and recovery quality in horses anesthetized with 1.2 times the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane or desflurane. Methods: 6 healthy adult horses. Methods: Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane or desflurane for 2 hours at 1.2 times the minimum alveolar concentration. Horses recovered without assistance. During recovery, end-tidal gas samples were collected until horses spontaneously moved. Anesthetic concentrations were measured by use of gas chromatography. After a 1-week washout period, horses were anesthetized with the other inha...
Mares prefer the voices of highly fertile stallions. We investigated the possibility that stallion whinnies, known to encode caller size, also encoded information about caller arousal and fertility, and the reactions of mares in relation to type of voice. Voice acoustic features are correlated with arousal and reproduction success, the lower-pitched the stallion's voice, the slower his heart beat and the higher his fertility. Females from three study groups preferred playbacks of low-pitched voices. Hence, females are attracted by frequencies encoding for large male size, calmness and high fertility. More work is needed to explore the relative i...
Whole-genome sequence analysis of G3 and G14 equine group A rotaviruses isolated in the late 1990s and 2009-2010. Equine group A rotavirus (RVA) G3P[12] and G14P[12] strains cause gastroenteritis in foals worldwide. Both of these strains have been co-circulating in Japan since G14P[12] strains emerged in the late 1990s. Although it is important to comprehensively understand the evolution of RVA strains, whole-genome sequence data on recent equine RVA strains in Japan are lacking. Therefore, in this study, whole-genome analysis of 23 equine RVA isolates from the late 1990s and 2009-2010 and the vaccine strain RVA/Horse-tc/JPN/HO-5/1982/G3P[12] (HO-5) was performed. The G3 strains, including strain HO-5, sh...
Semilobar Holoprosencephaly Associated with Multiple Malformations in a Foal. A full-term male foal born in a farm holidays in Maremma (Tuscany, Italy) was euthanized shortly after birth due to the presence of several malformations. The rostral maxilla and the nasal septum were deviated to the right (wry nose), and a severe cervico-thoracic scoliosis and anus atresia were evident. Necropsy revealed ileum atresia and agenesis of the right kidney. The brain showed an incomplete separation of the hemispheres of the rostral third of the forebrain and the olfactory bulbs and tracts were absent (olfactory aplasia). A diagnosis of semilobar holoprosencephaly (HPE) was achieved...
Effect of flunixin meglumine and firocoxib on ex vivo cyclooxygenase activity in horses undergoing elective surgery. To evaluate ex vivo cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition and compare in vitro and ex vivo COX-1 inhibition by flunixin meglumine and firocoxib in horses. Methods: 4 healthy horses for in vitro experiments and 12 healthy horses (6 males and 6 females; 5 Thoroughbreds, 5 Warmbloods, and 2 ponies) undergoing elective surgery for ex vivo experiments. Methods: 12 horses received flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg, IV, q 12 h) or firocoxib (0.09 mg/kg, IV, q 24 h). Blood samples were collected before (baseline) and 2 and 24 hours after NSAID administration. Prostanoids (thromboxane B2, prostaglandin E2, and p...
High genetic diversity of equine infectious anaemia virus strains from Slovenia revealed upon phylogenetic analysis of the p15 gag gene region. The equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), which belongs to the Retroviridae family, infects equids almost worldwide. Every year, sporadic EIAV cases are detected in Slovenia. Objective: To characterise the Slovenian EIAV strains in the p15 gag gene region phylogenetically in order to compare the Slovenian EIAV strains with EIAV strains from abroad, especially with the recently published European strains. Methods: Cross-sectional study using material derived from post mortem examination. Methods: In total, 29 EIAV serologically positive horses from 18 different farms were examined in this stu...
Comparative evaluation of three surveillance systems for infectious equine diseases in France and implications for future synergies. It is necessary to assess surveillance systems for infectious animal diseases to ensure they meet their objectives and provide high-quality health information. Each system is generally dedicated to one disease and often comprises various components. In many animal industries, several surveillance systems are implemented separately even if they are based on similar components. This lack of synergy may prevent optimal surveillance. The purpose of this study was to assess several surveillance systems within the same industry using the semi-quantitative OASIS method and to compare the results of t...
Grazing livestock are exposed to terrestrial cyanobacteria. While toxins from aquatic cyanobacteria are a well-recognised cause of disease in birds and animals, exposure of grazing livestock to terrestrial cyanobacteria has not been described. This study identified terrestrial cyanobacteria, predominantly Phormidium spp., in the biofilm of plants from most livestock fields investigated. Lower numbers of other cyanobacteria, microalgae and fungi were present on many plants. Cyanobacterial 16S rDNA, predominantly from Phormidium spp., was detected in all samples tested, including 6 plant washings, 1 soil sample and ileal contents from 2 grazing horses. F...
An optimised injection technique for the navicular bursa that avoids the deep digital flexor tendon. Injection of the navicular bursa is commonly performed from the palmar aspect of the limb, which results in penetration of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT). Objective: To report a radiographic guided injection from the lateral aspect of the limb that avoids puncture of the DDFT and to assess synovial and soft tissue penetration by the needle. Methods: Prospective clinical and cadaveric study. Methods: Prospective analysis of cadaver limbs and clinical cases in which the navicular bursa was injected from the lateral aspect. Cadaver limbs were placed in a stand to simulate weight bearing an...
A case of Murray Valley encephalitis in a 2-year-old Australian Stock Horse in south-east Queensland. This report summarises the findings from a case of naturally-occurring Murray Valley encephalitis in a 2-year-old filly presenting with acute onset of depression and weakness. Serum samples tested at the onset of clinical signs were negative for Hendra and Kunjin virus antibodies, but positive for Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) using IgM-capture ELISA (1 : 300 dilution). A virus neutralisation assay performed 4 weeks later confirmed a titre of 1 : 160. Sera collected in the weeks preceding neurological signs returned a negative titre for MVEV 2 weeks prior followed by a titre ...
The Equine Movement Disorder “Shivers” Is Associated With Selective Cerebellar Purkinje Cell Axonal Degeneration. "Shivers" is a progressive equine movement disorder of unknown etiology. Clinically, horses with shivers show difficulty walking backward, assume hyperflexed limb postures, and have hind limb tremors during backward movement that resembles shivering. At least initially, forward movements are normal. Given that neither the neurophysiologic nor the pathologic mechanisms of the disease is known, nor has a neuroanatomic locus been identified, we undertook a detailed neuroanatomic and neuropathologic analysis of the complete sensorimotor system in horses with shivers and clinically normal control h...
Humoral and cell-mediated immune response, and growth factor synthesis after direct intraarticular injection of rAAV2-IGF-I and rAAV5-IGF-I in the equine middle carpal joint. Intraarticular (IA) administration of viral vectors expressing a therapeutic transgene is an attractive treatment modality for osteoarthritis (OA) as the joint can be treated as a contained unit. Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in vivo can limit vector effectiveness. Transduction of articular tissues has been investigated; however, the immune response to IA vectors remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that IA rAAV2 and rAAV5 overexpressing insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) would result in long-term IGF-I formation but would also induce neutralizing antibodies (NAb) and anti-c...
Experimental transmission of equine hepacivirus in horses as a model for hepatitis C virus. Equine hepacivirus (EHCV; nonprimate hepacivirus) is a hepatotropic member of the Flaviviridae family that infects horses. Although EHCV is the closest known relative to hepatitis C virus (HCV), its complete replication kinetics in vivo have not been described, and direct evidence that it causes hepatitis has been lacking. In this study, we detected EHCV in 2 horses that developed post-transfusion hepatitis. Plasma and serum from these horses were used to experimentally transmit EHCV to 4 young adult Arabian horses, two 1-month-old foals (1 Arabian and 1 Arabian-pony cross), and 2 foals (1 Ara...
Improvement in Bilateral Carpal Valgus Deviation in 9 Foals After Unilateral Distolateral Radial Periosteal Transection and Elevation. To evaluate the effect of periosteal transection and elevation in foals with naturally occurring carpal valgus deviation. Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: Foals (n = 9) with bilateral carpal valgus. Methods: Foals with bilateral carpal valgus had distolateral radial periosteal transection and elevation (PE) including distal ulnar transection on 1 limb. Foals were stall confined until the skin incisions healed, and then allowed free exercise in a small paddock or round pen. Dorsopalmar carpal radiographs were obtained at 14 day intervals to determine the carpal valgus angle (CV...
Association of aldosterone and arginine vasopressin concentrations and clinical markers of hypoperfusion in neonatal foals. Critically ill foals often present to veterinary hospitals with impaired organ perfusion which can be demonstrated by increased blood L-lactate concentrations. As a compensatory mechanism to low blood pressure and electrolyte abnormalities, aldosterone and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are released to restore organ perfusion and function. Several studies have investigated the ability of blood L-lactate concentrations to predict severity of disease and outcome in critically ill human patients, adult horses and foals. However, information on the aldosterone and AVP response to hypoperfusion and its...
