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.
Yaneselli K, Ávila G, Rossi A, Rial A, Castro S, Estradé MJ, Suárez G, Algorta A.Platelet lysate (PL) is investigated as a potential replacement for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture. However, there is limited research on its impact on the immune profile of equine mesenchymal stromal cells (eMSCs). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different PL formulations on the proliferative capacity, multipotentiality, and immune profile of equine adipose tissue-derived MSCs (eAD-MSCs). growth kinetics and trilineage differentiation of eAD-MSCs ( = 7) were assessed under three culture conditions: medium-concentration PL (MPL), high-concentration PL (HPL), and FBS ...
Wolschrijn CF, Smit IH, Schouten J, Moller Te NCR.Facial expressions are important in pain recognition in horses, but current observation-based pain scales remain subjective. A promising technique to quantitatively measure subtle changes in expression patterns, including changes invisible to the human eye, is surface electromyography (sEMG). To achieve high-quality and reliable sEMG signals, unilateral placement of bipolar electrodes is required in relation to the motor endplates (MEP). We aimed to localize the nerve entry points (NEPs; where the nerve branch first pierced the muscle belly) and the direction of the terminal nerve endings to e...
Octaviano JI, Alonso MA, Boakari YL, Gomes V, Mori CS, Fleury PDC, Fernandes CB.Monitoring equine parturition effectively is essential for preemptive intervention in periparturient issues and ensuring the overall well-being of both mares and foals. However, its implementation in breeding farms is challenging due to variable gestational lengths and nocturnal births. Predictive techniques have the potential to streamline the monitoring process, reduce labor intensity, and minimize costs. Research on foaling prediction in mares carrying mule or equine clone fetuses is scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to comparatively analyze foaling prediction parameters in mares pregnant...
Woo PCY, Mheiri FA, Cavalleri J, Joseph S, Tang JYM, Joseph M, Tsang CC, Lau SKP, Wernery U.Epizootic lymphangitis (EL) is a highly prevalent and contagious infectious disease affecting horses in many parts of Ethiopia caused by Histoplasma capsulatum sensu lato ('var. farciminosum'). In this study, 12 suspected isolates of H. capsulatum sensu lato or yeasts unidentified by conventional biochemical tests isolated from Ethiopian horses with EL were characterised by ITS sequencing. Six of the 12 isolates were identified to be members of H. capsulatum sensu lato and the other six were Pichia kudriavzevii (synonym: Candida krusei) (n = 3), Trichosporon asahii (n = 1), Geotrichum silv...
Poochipakorn C, Wonghanchao T, Sanigavatee K, Chanda M.Single-confinement housing can pose welfare risks to domestic horses. This study investigated horses' stress responses when confined to single stalls in different stable designs in a tropical savanna region to address a gap in the literature. In total, 23 horses were assigned to a stable with a central corridor and solid external walls (A) (N = 8), a stable with one side corridor and solid external walls (B) (N = 6), or a stable with a central corridor and no solid external walls (C) (N = 9). Air velocity, relative humidity, air temperature, and noxious gases were measured inside the stables, ...
Richards S, Palmer D, Cawley A, Wainscott M, Keledjian J.An improved screening workflow and a robust capillary flow LC-MS confirmatory method for the detection of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) has been implemented to increase the sensitivity of rHuEPO detection and to reduce the number of suspect samples committed to confirmatory testing. The influence of repeated dosing of epoetin-β on the detection window of rHuEPO in equine plasma was assessed using the optimised method. Samples were initially assessed using an economical R&D Human EPO Duo-Set ELISA Development System. Samples indicating a result greater than the batch baseline were ...
Vernemmen I, Buschmann E, Demeyere M, Verhaeghe LM, Van Steenkiste G, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Improved characterization of arrhythmias is based on minimally invasive catheterizations. However, these catheterizations have been poorly explored in horses because apart from 3-dimensional (3D) mapping systems, continuous guidance of the catheter's position with adequate detail is difficult using current imaging modalities. Objective: Position multiple electrophysiology catheters simultaneously at predetermined strategical positions in the heart using transthoracic echocardiographic guidance. Methods: Eight adult healthy horses. Methods: Observational study. Two electrophysiological studies ...
Osborne C, Elce YA, Byrant B, Meehan-Howard L.To determine with mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) testing whether distal limb skin sensation is affected by intra-articular anesthesia of the tarsometatarsal joint (TMTJ). Unassigned: This was a prospective cohort study. Ten client-owned horses that had intra-articular TMTJ anesthesia were included in the study. The MNT was measured at 6 sites on the distal limb at 3 time points: before anesthesia (T0) and at 10 min (T10) and 30 min (T30) post-injection. Linear mixed-model analyses were done, with the significance level set at P < 0.05. Unassigned: There was an increase in MNT (P = 0.00...
Herbst AC, Coleman MC, Macon EL, Harris PA, Adams AA.Information on health care and health status of U.S. senior horses (≥15 years of age) is currently sparse. Objective: (A) Provide an overview of owner-reported (1) medical conditions, (2) management/treatment practices for equine metabolic syndrome and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), (3) frequencies of routine health care practices and (4) supplement and pharmaceutical use in U.S. senior horses (≥15 years of age). (B) Evaluate potential risk factors for certain medical conditions and for low routine health care. Methods: Online survey. Methods: Descriptive and inferential...
Arroyo LG, Gomez DE, Moore A, Papapetrou M, Lillie BN.Our objective was to determine whether equine herpesviruses 1 (EHV-1) viral nucleic acids could be detected immediately after foaling from nasal and vaginal swabs, whole blood, and placental tissue of healthy mares. Unassigned: Nasal and vaginal swabs, EDTA blood, and placental tissue (296 samples) were collected from 74 clinically healthy postpartum broodmares within 24 h after giving birth to live, clinically healthy foals. All samples were tested (PCR) for nucleic acids of neuropathogenic and non-neuropathogenic strains of EHV-1, and all were negative. Unassigned: As EHV-1 was not detected ...
Puccetti M, Pilati N, Beccati F, Denoix JM.To describe the clinical diagnosis, ultrasound findings, and outcome of 11 endurance horses with injuries to the serratus ventralis thoracis (SVT) or serratus ventralis cervicis (SVC) muscle. Methods: 11 endurance horses competing in medium- to high-level competitions and presenting with lameness caused by injuries to the SVT or SVC muscle, as confirmed by ultrasonography. Methods: Physical examinations revealed swelling caudal to the shoulder region associated with dorsocranial displacement of the scapula and edema of the ventral thorax for horses with SVT injuries. Swelling cranial to the sc...
Satué K, Fazio E, Velasco-Martinez MG, La Fauci D, Barbiera G, Medica P, Cravana C.In humans' and experimental animals' components of the somatotropic axis, such as growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations, decrease with advancing age. Although there is evidence regarding IGF-1, the effect of age on GH in mares, as well as the relationships between both parameters, have not yet been elucidated. On the other hand, although GH and IGF-1 are related to follicular development, it is unknown if they could be correlated with the circulating concentrations of ovarian steroids in mares, as occurs in other species. The hypothesis of this study was t...
Page AE, Johnson M, Parker JL, Jacob O, Poston R, Adams AA, Adam EN.Intra-articular corticosteroids are a popular treatment choice for joint-associated pain and inflammation in horses despite recent work on the metabolic effects of these drugs. The goal of this project was to compare metabolic effects between intra-articular (IA) triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and an autologous protein solution (APS). Five mixed-breed geldings (4-9 years) were utilized for this project. Three identical and consecutive 28-day treatment blocks were used, with metacarpophalangeal IA treatments consisting of equal volumes of saline, a commercially available APS, or 9 mg of TA. Regul...
Delvescovo B, McOnie R, Pearson G, Pugliese B, Hackett ES.Persistent hemorrhage of testicular vessels is a potentially life-threatening complication of equine castration. Frequently, general anesthesia is required to retrieve and ligate the bleeding vasculature when standing wound packing and retrieval of the spermatic cord are unsuccessful. We propose standing laparoscopic ligation of the testicular arteries via the paralumbar fossa as a rapid, effective means of halting hemorrhage while avoiding castration site trauma as well as the cardiovascular and recovery risks of general anesthesia. Methods: Two geldings, 6 and 9 months old, presented for eme...
Hobbs KJ, Cooper BL, Dembek K, Sheats MK.Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is fragmented extracellular DNA that is released from cells into various body fluids. Previously published data from adult horses supports cfDNA as a potential disease biomarker, but also shows that direct measurement in plasma is inaccurate due to matrix effect. It is currently unknown whether a similar matrix effect exists in foal plasma. Given this, the objectives of the current study were to investigate foal plasma for potential matrix effect during fluorescence measurement of cfDNA using a Qubit fluorometer, and to determine whether neat and/or extracted plasma cfDNA...
Laundon D, Proudley E, Basford PJ, Katsamenis OL, Chatelet DS, Cleal JK, Gostling NJ, Chavatte-Palmer P, Lewis RM.Placental structure is linked to function across morphological scales. In the placenta, changes to gross anatomy, such as surface area, volume, or blood vessel arrangement, are associated with suboptimal physiological outcomes. However, quantifying each of these metrics requires different laborious semi-quantitative methods. Here, we demonstrate how, with minimal sample preparation, whole-organ computed microtomography (microCT) can be used to calculate gross morphometry of the equine placenta and a range of additional metrics, including branching morphometry of placental vasculature, non-dest...
Giontella A, Silvestrelli M, Cocciolone A, Pieramati C, Sarti FM.Morphological scoring is a common evaluation method for domestic animals. The National Association of Maremmano Breeders (ANAM) has provided a dataset containing the records of 600 horses, four metric measurements (cm) and 24 traits with a continuous evaluation scale, each one with 15 classes. Moreover, a body condition score (BCS) with five classes is included. In this study, factor analysis was conducted to create a small number of informative factors (3) obtained from these traits, and a new BLUP-AM-MT index was established. The New Estimated Breeding Value (NEBV1) of each horse was compute...
Froidurot A, Jacotot E, Julliand S, Grimm P, Julliand V.Despite their low quantity and abundance, the cellulolytic bacteria that inhabit the equine large intestine are vital to their host, as they enable the crucial use of forage-based diets. Fibrobacter succinogenes is one of the most important intestinal cellulolytic bacteria. In this study, Fibrobacter sp. HC4, one cellulolytic strain newly isolated from the horse cecum, was characterized for its ability to utilize plant cell wall fibers. Fibrobacter sp. HC4 consumed only cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose and produced succinate and acetate in equal amounts. Among genes coding for CAZymes, 26% o...
Vernemmen I, Buschmann E, Van Steenkiste G, Demeyere M, Verhaeghe LM, De Somer F, Devreese KMJ, Schauvliege S, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Cardiac catheterizations in horses are mainly performed in the right heart, as access to the left heart traditionally requires an arterial approach. Transseptal puncture (TSP) has been adapted for horses but data on follow-up and closure of the iatrogenic atrial septal defect (iASD) are lacking. Objective: To perform TSP and assess postoperative complications and iASD closure over a minimum of 4 weeks. Methods: Eleven healthy adult horses. Methods: Transseptal puncture was performed under general anesthesia. Serum cardiac troponin I concentrations were measured before and after puncture. Wee...
White NA, Flynn K.The purpose of the study was to assess the challenges faced by state animal health officials (SAHOs) when managing equine disease outbreaks. Methods: A survey was conducted to assess SAHOs' collaboration with horse owners and practicing veterinarians to provide biosecurity and infection disease control. It was sent to 180 email addresses listed in the Equine Disease Communication Center website database. The responses in each category for each question were tabulated and reported as a percentage. Results: There were 72 survey responses from 45 states. The number of states responding suggested ...
Korim F, Revajová V, Koľvek F, Bujňák L, Hreus S, Všianský D.The parotid duct has been reported to be the most common site of sialoliths in horses. In this case report, we described the first confirmed case of the equine sialolithiasis in Slovakia. The work was aimed to describe the transcutaneous approach to removing the sialolith, which manifested as a hard painless mass in the area of the maxillary cheek teeth, in a 14-year-old Slovakian warmblood mare. Pathological-anatomical and histological examination after extirpation confirmed the presence of parotid duct ectasia resulting from calculus. The mineral composition of the sialolith was determined w...
Chiara M, Mariaelena C, Alessandro C, Davide B, Lavinia C, Paola MM, Barbara L, Chiara DP, Flagiello F, Pia PM.The advanced-PRF+ (A-PRF+) is a platelet concentrate, showing a higher concentration of growth factors, an increased number of cells and looser structure of the fibrin clot than leukocyte-PRF. A high variability in the size of PRF associated with patients, haematological features and centrifugation protocols was reported. The aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of A-PRF+ production in the field and the correlation between haematological parameters, macroscopic and microscopic features in equine A-PRF+. Samples from twenty Standardbred horses (3-7 years) were harvested with gla...
Zetterberg E, Persson-Sjodin E, Lundblad J, Hernlund E, Rhodin M.A high proportion of horses in training, perceived as free from lameness by their owner, exhibit vertical movement asymmetries. These types of asymmetries are sensitive measures of lameness, but their specificity as indicators of orthopaedic pathology or locomotor function remains unclear. Equine athletes performing at a high level could be assumed to exhibit a higher degree of movement symmetry compared with the general horse population, but this has not been confirmed. This study investigated the prevalence of movement asymmetries in horses performing at a high level in three equestrian disc...
Feijo LS, Wolfsdorf KE, Canisso IF, Parry S, Felippe MJB.Placental infection is an important cause of late-term pregnancy loss and neonatal diseases in horses. Detection of changes in blood parameters especially during early placentitis could improve the diagnostic accuracy, treatment decision, and potential outcomes. The objectives of this 2-part study were to identify differences in circulating immunological, inflammatory, and hormonal parameters between mares with natural ascending placentitis and control mares; evaluate each and combination of parameters as predictors of placentitis; and determine how these parameters indicate severity of placen...
Kabir A, Lamichhane B, Habib T, Adams A, El-Sheikh Ali H, Slovis NM, Troedsson MHT, Helmy YA.The equine industry holds substantial economic importance not only in the USA but worldwide. The occurrence of various infectious bacterial diseases in horses can lead to severe health issues, economic losses, and restrictions on horse movement and trade. Effective management and control of these diseases are therefore crucial for the growth and sustainability of the equine industry. While antibiotics constitute the primary treatment strategy for any bacterial infections in horses, developing resistance to clinically important antibiotics poses significant challenges to equine health and welfa...
Lomnicka I, Dubey S, Waller P, Vora D, Dirikolu L.The screening of drugs in plasma and urine often requires initial extraction (such as liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction) before the samples are submitted to instrumental analyses. These extraction procedures are often laborious and time-consuming. In this manuscript, a high-throughput automated assay based on liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) suitable for use as an initial testing procedure covering multiple classes of compounds prohibited in horse racing is described. The assay requires a 600-μL plasma aliquot, which is subjected to solid pha...
Bachmann M, Schusser GF, Wensch-Dorendorf M, Pisch C, Bochnia M, Santo MM, Netzker H, Woitow G, Thielebein J, Kesting S, Riehl G, Greef JM....Concentrations of starch, mono- and disaccharides, fructans, hemicellulose and cellulose were analysed in feed and gastric digesta of horses in relation to acid insoluble ash as a marker indigestible in the stomach. Twenty-four horses were allocated to pasture 24 h/d (PST; n = 4), hay ad libitum (HAY; n = 8), hay ad lib. and oats at 1 g starch/kg body weight (BWT)/meal (OS1; n = 6) and hay ad lib. and oats at 2 g starch/kg BWT/meal (OS2; n = 5). One horse was excluded from the analysis. The horses were fed the ration a minimum of 34 days. Following euthanasia and dissection, digesta was sample...
Cardona GC, Dahlgren LA, Byron CR, McKenzie HC, Werre SR, Bogers SH.The aim of the present study was to determine if a three-dimensional (3D)-printed instrument technique would improve lavage removal of plastic beads (guttural pouch [GP] chondroid mimics) through a dorsal pharyngeal recess (DPR) fenestration. We hypothesized that using a 3D-printed instrument placed through the DPR fenestration would remove more beads, reduce lavage time and incur less soft tissue damage than using a lavage tube control or instrument placement through the salpingopharyngeal ostium (SPO). Methods: Experimental cadaveric study. Methods: A total of 30 cadaveric equine heads. Meth...
Heaton CP, Cavinder CA, McClure EN, Smith T, Smith WB, Liburt N, Krotky A, Harris P.Insulin dysregulation (ID), core to equine metabolic syndrome, may present without obesity. Testing for ID risk is commonly based on breed and obese phenotype but might be valuable for non-obese stock-type horses. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ID in non-obese stock-type horses and evaluate if morphometric neck measurements (MNM) correlate with ID. Sixty-two, non-obese (BCS 5, range 2.5-6/9) stock-type horses were assessed for MNM: neck circumference at 25%, 50% (NC50), and 75% (NC75) length, and crest height. An oral sugar test (OST; 0.15 mL/kg BW corn syrup) was performed wi...
Rash A, Morton R, Woodward A, Maes O, McCauley J, Bryant N, Elton D.Equine influenza viruses (EIV) are a major cause of acute respiratory disease in horses worldwide and occasionally also affect vaccinated animals. Like other influenza A viruses, they undergo antigenic drift, highlighting the importance of both surveillance and virus characterisation in order for vaccine strains to be kept up to date. The aim of the work reported here was to monitor the genetic and antigenic changes occurring in EIV circulating in the UK from 2013 to 2015 and to identify any evidence of vaccine breakdown in the field. Virus isolation, reverse transcription polymerase chain rea...
Jackson RE, Bormann CL, Hassun PA, Rocha AM, Motta EL, Serafini PC, Smith GD.To determine the effect of semen storage and separation techniques on sperm DNA fragmentation. Methods: Controlled clinical study. Methods: An assisted reproductive technology laboratory. Methods: Thirty normoozospermic semen samples obtained from patients undergoing infertility evaluation. Methods: One aliquot from each sample was immediately prepared (control) for the sperm chromatin dispersion assay (SCD). Aliquots used to assess storage techniques were treated in the following ways: snap frozen by liquid nitrogen immersion, slow frozen with Tris-yolk buffer and glycerol, kept on ice for 24...
Pusterla N, Hussey GS.Equine myeloencephalopathy (EHM), an uncommon manifestation of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) infection, can cause devastating losses on individual farms, boarding stables, veterinary hospitals, and show and racing venues. An improved understanding of EHM has emerged from experimental studies and from data collected during field outbreaks at riding schools, racetracks, horse shows, and veterinary hospitals throughout North America and Europe. These outbreaks have highlighted the contagious nature of EHV-1 and have prompted a reevaluation of diagnostic procedures, treatment modalities, preventati...
Belshan M, Harris ME, Shoemaker AE, Hope TJ, Carpenter S.Sequence analysis identified significant variation in the second exon of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) rev. Functional analysis indicated that limited amino acid variation in Rev significantly altered the export activity of the protein but did not affect Rev-dependent alternative splicing. EIAV Rev can mediate export through two independent cis-acting Rev-responsive elements (RREs), and differences among Rev variants were more pronounced when both RREs were present. Variation in Rev may be an important mechanism for regulation of virus replication in vivo and may contribute to changes ...
Physick-Sheard PW, Marlin DJ, Thornhill R, Schroter RC.The pattern of variation in heart rate on a beat-to-beat basis contains information concerning sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) contributions to autonomic nervous system (ANS) modulation of heart rate (HR). In the present study, heart period (RR interval) time series data were collected at rest and during 3 different treadmill exercise protocols from 6 Thoroughbred horses. Frequency and spectral power were determined in 3 frequency bands: very low (VLF) 0-0.01-0.07-< or = 0.5 cycles/beat. Indicators of sympathetic (SNSI = LO/HI) and parasympathetic (PNSI = HI/TOTAL) activity were...
Frye JG, Fedorka-Cray PJ.Third-generation cephalosporin (3GC) antimicrobials are the drugs of choice for treatment of salmonellosis in children. Salmonella isolated in the USA are assayed by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) for resistance to antimicrobials including first-, second- and third-generation cephalosporins. From 1999 to 2003, 34,411 Salmonella were isolated from animals in the USA, of which 10.9% were found to be resistant to ceftiofur, a 3GC used in animals, whilst only 0.3% were resistant to ceftriaxone, a 3GC used in human medicine. Ceftiofur resistance rose from 4.0% in 19...
Firth EC.Horses can gallop within hours of birth, and may begin training for athletic competition while still growing. This review cites studies on the effects of exercise on bone, tendon and articular cartilage, as detected by clinical and research imaging techniques, tissue biochemical analysis and microscopy of various kinds. For bone, alterations in bone mineral content, mineral density and the morphology of the mineralized tissue are the most common end-points. Apparent bone density increases slightly after athletic training in the cortex, but substantially in the major load paths of the epiphyses...
Summerfield A, Auray G, Ricklin M.Dendritic cells (DC) have a main function in innate immunity in that they sense infections and environmental antigens at the skin and mucosal surfaces and thereby critically influence decisions about immune activation or tolerance. As professional antigen-presenting cells, they are essential for induction of adaptive immune responses. Consequently, knowledge on this cell type is required to understand the immune systems of veterinary mammals, including cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, and horses. Recent ontogenic studies define bona fide DC as an independent lineage of hematopoietic cells orig...
Ireland JL, McGowan CM.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is caused by an age-related degenerative disease of dopaminergic neurones. Despite its importance in equine practice, available information regarding its epidemiology is limited. This systematic review aimed to assess published literature to evaluate available evidence regarding the clinical presentation, prevalence and risk factors for PPID in horses and ponies. Electronic database searches were undertaken using a range of terms, and English language publications published prior to August 2016 were included. Both authors independently reviewed scre...
Ugryumova N, Gangnus SV, Matcher SJ.Polarization optical coherence tomography (PSOCT) is a powerful technique to nondestructively map the retardance and fast-axis orientation of birefringent biological tissues. Previous studies have concentrated on the case where the optic axis lies on the plane of the surface. We describe a method to determine the polar angle of the optic axis of a uniaxial birefringent tissue by making PSOCT measurements with a number of incident illumination directions. The method is validated on equine flexor tendon, yielding a variability of 4% for the true birefringence and 3% for the polar angle. We use t...
Pusterla N, Barnum S, Miller J, Varnell S, Dallap-Schaer B, Aceto H, Simeone A.Here we report on an EHV-1 outbreak investigation caused by a novel genotype H752 (histidine in amino acid position 752 of the ORF 30 gene). The outbreak involved 31 performance horses. Horses were monitored over a period of 35 days for clinical signs, therapeutic outcome and qPCR results of EHV-1 in blood and nasal secretions. The morbidity of the EHV-1 outbreak was 84% with 26 clinically infected horses displaying fever and less frequently anorexia and distal limb edema. Four horses showed mild transient neurological deficits. Clinically diseased horses experienced high viral load of EHV-1 i...
Couëtil L, Paradis MR, Knoll J.Pituitary adenomas are commonly reported in older horses. The typical clinical signs associated with this condition, also known as equine Cushing's disease (ECD), are related to increased adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) production resulting in hyperadrenocorticism. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether plasma ACTH concentrations differed between cushingoid and healthy horses. The second objective was to determine the effects of blood sample handling techniques on ACTH concentrations. A commercial human ACTH radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to quantify equine plasma ACTH. Intra-a...
Wagner AE, Muir WW, Hinchcliff KW.The cardiovascular effects of xylazine and detomidine in horses were studied. Six horses were given each of the following 5 treatments, at 1-week intervals: xylazine, 1.1 mg/kg, IV; xylazine, 2.2 mg/kg, IM; detomidine, 0.01 mg/kg, IV; detomidine, 0.02 mg/kg, IV; and detomidine, 0.04 mg/kg, IM. All treatments resulted in significantly decreased heart rate, increased incidence of atrioventricular block, and decreased cardiac output and cardiac index; cardiac output and cardiac index were lowest following IV administration of 0.02 mg of detomidine/kg. Mean arterial pressure was significantly redu...
Yager JA.The pathogenesis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals is reviewed. The main routes of infection are respiratory and alimentary. The latter is probably the chief route of exposure in all foals and probably leads to development of specific immunity. Susceptible foals, those whose maternal immunity wanes before generation of their own immune response, readily develop disease if exposed aerogenously to sufficient numbers of R. equi. Management and environmental circumstances have a major role to play in determining the magnitude of this challenge and, therefore, in the prevalence of the disease....
Garner MR, Flint JF, Russell JB.When cattle and horses are fed large amounts of grain, histamine can accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, and this accumulation can cause an acute inflammation of the hooves (laminitis). When ruminal fluid from dairy cattle fed grain supplements was serially diluted in anaerobic MRS medium containing histidine (50 mM), histamine was detected at dilutions as high as 10(-7). The histidine enrichments were then transferred successively in an anaerobic, carbonate-based medium (50 mM histidine) without glucose. The histamine producing bacteria could not be isolated from the rumens of cattle fe...
Lovati AB, Corradetti B, Lange Consiglio A, Recordati C, Bonacina E, Bizzaro D, Cremonesi F.The aim of the study was to compare in vitro the stemness features of horse progenitor cells derived from bone marrow (BM-MSCs), amniotic fluid (AF-MSCs) and umbilical cord matrix (EUC-MSCs). It has been suggested that there may be a stem cell population within both umbilical cord matrix and amniotic fluid. However, little knowledge exists about the characteristics of these progenitor cells within these sources in the equine species. This study wanted to investigate an alternative and non-invasive stem cell source for the equine tissue engineering and to learn more about the properties of thes...
Janssen IJ, Krücken J, Demeler J, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.P-glycoproteins (Pgps) are suspected to mediate drug extrusion in nematodes contributing to macrocyclic lactone resistance. This association was recently shown for Parascaris Pgp-11. Ivermectin resistance was correlated with the presence of three pgp-11 single nucleotide polymorphisms and/or increased pgp-11 mRNA levels. In the present study, the ability of Pgp-11 to modulate ivermectin susceptibility was investigated by its expression in a pgp-11-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans strain. Expression of Parascaris pgp-11 in two transgenic lines significantly decreased ivermectin susceptibility i...
Moss PS, Wan A, Whitlock MR.To describe the demographics and nature of injuries occurring on or around horses, to examine the nature of protective clothing in relation to these injuries, and to compare our data with previously published work in this area. Methods: Patients were identified using the term "sports injury-horse riding" from the departmental database for one calendar year from February 2000. Data were collected regarding demographics, injuries, protective clothing, and outcome. The data were then analysed and compared with the previously published literature. Results: 260 patients' records were analysed. The ...
Journal of medical entomologyDecember 9, 2008
Volume 45, Issue 6 1152-1155 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[1152:tobcbd]2.0.co;2
Schwint ON, Knowles DP, Ueti MW, Kappmeyer LS, Scoles GA.The tropical horse tick, Dermacentor nitens, is a natural vector of Babesia caballi in the Americas. B. caballi, one of the etiologic agents of equine piroplasmosis, occurs widely throughout the world, but the United States and a few other countries are considered to be free of infection. B. caballi is transovarially transmitted by the one-host tick D. nitens; we tested the hypothesis that B. caballi can persist in multiple generations of D. nitens in the absence of opportunity to reacquire infection from a susceptible equine host. Partially engorged female D. nitens were collected from a B. c...
Scoles GA, Hutcheson HJ, Schlater JL, Hennager SG, Pelzel AM, Knowles DP.We report an outbreak of equine piroplasmosis in southern Texas, USA, in 2009. Infection prevalence reached 100% in some areas (292 infected horses). Amblyomma cajennense was the predominant tick and experimentally transmitted Theileria equi to an uninfected horse. We suggest that transmission by this tick species played a role in this outbreak.
Gerber V, Robinson NE, Luethi S, Marti E, Wampfler B, Straub R.Horses housed in conventional stable environments are exposed to high dust loads. Long-term exposure to inhaled dust may lead to subclinical airway disease. Objective: Airway inflammation and mucus accumulation are 1) common in asymptomatic well-performing sport horses, 2) increased in older compared to younger individuals and 3) correlated. Methods: Mucus quantity and quality (endoscopic scoring) and BALF differential cytology were assessed in 13 younger horses (mean age 5 years) and 13 older horses (mean age 15 years), which had no historical or clinical evidence of lower airway disease, wer...
McGreevy PD, French NP, Nicol CJ.The behaviour of horses competing in different disciplines was studied and the relationship between the time they spent out of the stable and the prevalence of abnormal behaviour was examined. The owners of dressage, eventing and endurance horses were sent a questionnaire and a total of 1101 responses were received, giving data on 1750 horses. The behaviours studied were wood-chewing, weaving, crib-biting/wind-sucking and box-walking. The reported percentage prevalences of abnormal behaviour for the dressage, eventing and endurance horses were 32.5, 30.8 and 19.5, respectively. The relationshi...
Blommaert D, Sergeant N, Delehedde M, Jouy N, Mitchell V, Franck T, Donnay I, Lejeune JP, Serteyn D.A-kinase anchor protein 4 (AKAP4) is playing a central role in flagellar structure, chemotaxis, capacitation and sperm motility. In mammals, AKAP4 is expressed during spermatogenesis. AKAP4 is synthesized as a precursor, proAKAP4, which is cleaved into mature AKAP4 during fibrous sheath assembly. The proAKAP4 is a good indicator of sperm quality in humans and boars. The aims of this work were to study the expression, the localization and the concentration of proAKAP4 and AKAP4 in equine semen, and to evaluate the possible correlation between the total and progressive motility and the concentra...
Landman MA, de Blaauw JA, van Weeren PR, Hofland LJ.A population of 805 horses (70 per cent dressage, 20 per cent show jumpers and 10 per cent trotters) with orthopaedic problems was examined for signs of lameness and back problems, irrespective of their original complaints. In the horses with a back problem the prevalence of lameness was 74 per cent, and back problems were diagnosed in 32 per cent of the lame horses. These percentages were significantly higher than those recorded in a control population of 399 horses, of which 20 per cent were lame and 12 per cent had back problems. In the group of horses with orthopaedic problems there was a ...
Dutto DJ, Hoyt DF, Cogger EA, Wickler SJ.Although the forces required to support the body mass are not elevated when moving up an incline, kinematic studies, in vivo tendon and bone studies and kinetic studies suggest there is a shift in forces from the fore- to the hindlimbs in quadrupeds. However, there are no whole-animal kinetic measurements of incline locomotion. Based on previous related research, we hypothesized that there would be a shift in forces to the hindlimb. The present study measured the force produced by the fore- and hindlimbs of horses while trotting over a range of speeds (2.5 to 5 m s(-1)) on both level and up an...
Fenton JI, Chlebek-Brown KA, Peters TL, Caron JP, Orth MW.Objective To determine whether glucosamine inhibits experimentally induced degradation of equine articular cartilage explants. Methods Articular cartilage was obtained from the antebrachio-carpal and middle joints of horses (2-8 years old) killed for reasons unrelated to lameness. Cartilage discs were harvested from the weight-bearing region of the articular surface and cultured. Media were exchanged daily and the recovered media stored at 4 degrees C. Explants were maintained in basal media 2 days prior to the start of four treatment days. On days 1-4 lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 microg/ml) or...
Whitworth DJ, Banks TA.There has been unprecedented interest in recent years in the use of stem cells as therapy for an array of diseases in companion animals. Stem cells have already been deployed therapeutically in a number of clinical settings, in particular the use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat osteoarthritis in horses and dogs. However, an assessment of the scientific literature highlights a marked disparity between the purported benefits of stem cell therapies and their proven abilities as defined by rigorously controlled scientific studies. Although preliminary data generated from clinical trials in huma...
Mumford JA, Wilson H, Hannant D, Jessett DM.Equine influenza vaccines containing inactivated whole virus and Carbomer adjuvant stimulated higher levels and longer lasting antibody to haemagglutinin in ponies than vaccines of equivalent antigenic content containing aluminium phosphate adjuvants. Five months after the third dose of vaccine containing Carbomer adjuvant, ponies were protected against clinical disease induced by an aerosol of virulent influenza virus (A/equine/Newmarket/79, H3N8). In contrast ponies which received vaccine containing aluminium phosphate adjuvant were susceptible to infection and disease. There was an inverse ...
Russell LD, Ren HP, Sinha Hikim I, Schulze W, Sinha Hikim AP.Morphometric studies were performed on 12 mammalian species (degu, dog, guinea pig, hamster, human, monkey, mouse, opossum, rabbit, rat, stallion, and woodchuck) to determine volume density percentage (Vv%), volume (V), and numerical density (Nv) of seminiferous tubule components, especially those related to the Sertoli cell, and to make species comparisons. For most species, measurements were taken both from stages where elongate spermatids were deeply embedded within the Sertoli cell and from stages near sperm release where elongate spermatids were in shallow crypts within the Sertoli cell. ...
Flickinger EA, Van Loo J, Fahey GC.Inulin and oligofructose are prebiotic oligosaccharides fermented in the large intestine. This article provides an extensive review of the effects of these oligosaccharides on gastrointestinal characteristics (microflora, pathogen control, epithelial cell proliferation, putrefactive compound production, fecal characteristics, and nutrient digestibility) and systemic metabolism of carbohydrates, nitrogen, lipids, and minerals in dogs, cats, horses, calves, pigs, poultry, and rabbits. In addition, intake of inulin and oligofructose and considerations in their supplementation to animal diets are ...
