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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.
A massively parallel sequencing approach uncovers ancient origins and high genetic variability of endangered Przewalski’s horses. The endangered Przewalski's horse is the closest relative of the domestic horse and is the only true wild horse species surviving today. The question of whether Przewalski's horse is the direct progenitor of domestic horse has been hotly debated. Studies of DNA diversity within Przewalski's horses have been sparse but are urgently needed to ensure their successful reintroduction to the wild. In an attempt to resolve the controversy surrounding the phylogenetic position and genetic diversity of Przewalski's horses, we used massively parallel sequencing technology to decipher the complete mitoch...
Processing stored stallion semen doses by Single Layer Centrifugation. The purpose of this study was to determine if the quality of stored stallion semen doses could be enhanced by the scaled-up version of Single Layer Centrifugation using Androcoll-E-Large. Three semen doses from each of fifteen stallions were transported overnight to the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) for processing 24 h after semen collection. Sperm quality in the resulting SLC-selected samples was significantly improved compared to the uncentrifuged samples: mean progressive motility was increased by 8% on the day of processing (P < 0.001) and by 13% after 24 h cold storage...
Biological and clinical significance of anti-Müllerian hormone determination in blood serum of the mare. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily of growth and differentiation factors, is expressed in granulosa cells of preantral and small antral ovarian follicles. In humans, AMH appeared to regulate recruitment and growth of small ovarian follicles. Furthermore, circulating AMH concentrations were elevated in women with granulosa-cell tumors (GCT). In the horse, GCTs are the most common tumor of the ovary, and a variety of endocrine assays have been used to diagnose presumptive GCTs. The objectives of the present study were to validate a heterologo...
Laminar chemokine mRNA concentrations in horses with carbohydrate overload-induced laminitis. Chemokines play a vital role in leukocyte activation and emigration that reportedly plays a central role in laminar injury in equine laminitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pattern of laminar chemokine expression in horses in the classical carbohydrate overload (CHO)-model of laminitis. Laminar samples were obtained 24h following water administration in the control group (CON, n=8), and at the onset of fever (≥ 102°F, 12-22 h post CHO, DEV group, n=8) and at the onset of lameness (20-48 h post CHO, LAM group, n=8) in induced horses. Real time quantitative PCR was performed ...
Blood derived stem cells: an ameliorative therapy in veterinary ophthalmology. Stem cell technology has evoked considerable excitement among people interested in the welfare of animals, as it has suggested the potential availability of new tools for several pathologies, including eye disease, which in many cases is considered incurable. One such example is ulcerative keratitis, which is very frequent in horses. Because some of these corneal ulcers can be very severe, progress rapidly and, therefore, can be a possible cause of vision loss, it is important to diagnose them at an early stage and administer an appropriate treatment, which can be medical, surgical, or a combi...
The effect of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on in vitro maturation of equine oocytes. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that equine growth hormone (eGH), in combination with insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I), influences positively in vitro nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of equine oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were recovered from follicles that were < 25 mm in diameter, characterized by morphology and were allocated randomly as follow: (a) control (no additives); (b) 400 ng/ml eGH; (c) 200 ng/ml IGF-I; (d) eGH + IGF-I; and (e) eGH + IGF-I + 400 ng/ml anti-IGF-I antibody. Oocytes were matured for 30 h at 38.5°C in air with 5% CO2 and then stained wi...
Decreased oxidative phosphorylation and PGAM deficiency in horses suffering from atypical myopathy associated with acquired MADD. Earlier research on ten horses suffering from the frequently fatal disorder atypical myopathy showed that MADD (multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency) is the biochemical derangement behind atypical myopathy. From five horses that died as a result of this disease and seven healthy control horses, urine and plasma were collected ante mortem and muscle biopsies were obtained immediately post-mortem (2 patients and 7 control horses), to analyse creatine, purine and carbohydrate metabolism as well as oxidative phosphorylation. In patients, the mean creatine concentration in urine was increased...
Clinical expression of lolitrem B (perennial ryegrass) intoxication in horses. Perennial ryegrass staggers is purported to be a common neurological mycotoxicosis of horses but the case description lacks detail and evidence. Objective: To describe the clinical syndrome of lolitrem B intoxication in horses, limiting tests to those that are applicable to clinical practice, and to assess the potential value of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for lolitrem B in horse body fluids. Methods: Seven horses in 2 separate groups were fed perennial ryegrass seed and hay containing 2 ppm lolitrem B. Paired data were collected prior to and after 2 weeks exposure to lol...
Distal border fragments and shape of the navicular bone: radiological evaluation in lame horses and horses free from lameness. The significance of distal border fragments of the navicular bone is not well understood. There are also no objective data about changes in thickness and proximal/distal extension of the palmar cortex of the navicular bone. Objective: To describe the distribution of distal border fragments and their association with other radiological abnormalities of the navicular bone and describe the shape of the navicular bone in sound horses and horses with foot-related lameness, including navicular pathology. Methods: Sound horses had radiographs acquired as part of a prepurchase examination. Lame horses...
Successful treatment of equine sarcoids with cisplatin electrochemotherapy: a retrospective study of 48 cases. Sarcoids are the commonest form of equine skin tumour. Several therapeutic measures have been described but none is considered to be universally effective. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new anticancer therapy that utilises electrical field pulses to induce increased cell membrane permeability to antitumour hydrophilic drugs, such as cisplatin. The increased intracellular concentration of the drugs has a significant therapeutic benefit. The procedure has not been previously reported in a large number of horses. Objective: To validate ECT as a novel alternative treatment for equine sarcoids. Me...
A targeted lipidomics approach to the study of eicosanoid release in synovial joints. Articular tissues are capable of producing a range of eicosanoid mediators, each of which has individual biological effects and may be affected by anti-inflammatory treatment. We set out to develop and evaluate a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) approach for the simultaneous analysis of multiple eicosanoid lipid mediators in equine synovial fluid (SF), and to illustrate its use for investigation of the in vivo effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) treatment. Methods: Synovial fluid samples were obtained from normal joints of 6 adult...
Subclinical diseases underlying poor performance in endurance horses: diagnostic methods and predictive tests. Thirty-eight endurance horses underwent clinical and ancillary examinations, including haematological and biochemical evaluation, standardised exercise tests both on a treadmill and in the field, Doppler echocardiography, impulse oscillometry, video endoscopy and collection of respiratory fluids. All of the examined poorly performing horses were affected by subclinical diseases, and most of them had multiple concomitant disorders. On the contrary, the well-performing horses were free of any subclinical disease. The most frequently diagnosed diseases were respiratory disorders, followed by musc...
Latherin and other biocompatible surfactant proteins. Horses and other equids are unusual in producing protein-rich sweat for thermoregulation, a major component of which is latherin, a highly surface-active, non-glycosylated protein that is a member of the PLUNC (palate, lung and nasal epithelium clone) family. Latherin produces a significant reduction in water surface tension at low concentrations (≤1 mg/ml), and probably acts as a wetting agent to facilitate evaporative cooling through a thick, waterproofed pelt. Latherin binds temporarily to hydrophobic surfaces, and so may also have a disruptive effect on microbial biofilms. It may conseq...
Lamellar leukocyte infiltration and involvement of IL-6 during oligofructose-induced equine laminitis development. Laminitis is known to involve deregulation of proteases and destruction of the lamellar basement membrane with the host inflammatory response also playing a role. Leukocyte infiltration has been well characterized in the black walnut model of laminitis induction, but not in carbohydrate induced models. Increased gene expression of multiple cytokines, including IL-6, has also been implicated in laminitis development. Using real time PCR, immunohistochemistry and zymography methods, we characterize leukocyte infiltration and IL-6 gene expression in oligofructose (OF) induced laminitis. As well, ...
Clinical evaluation of total intravenous anesthesia using a combination of propofol and medetomidine following anesthesia induction with medetomidine, guaifenesin and propofol for castration in Thoroughbred horses. Seven Thoroughbred horses were castrated under total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) using propofol and medetomidine. After premedication with medetomidine (5.0 µg/kg, intravenously), anesthesia was induced with guaifenesin (100 mg/kg, intravenously) and propofol (3.0 mg/kg, intravenously) and maintained with constant rate infusions of medetomidine (0.05 µg/kg/min) and propofol (0.1 mg/kg/min). Quality of induction was judged excellent to good. Three horses showed insufficient anesthesia and received additional anesthetic. Arterial blood pressure changed within an acceptable range in all horse...
Studies of composition and major protein level in milk and colostrum of mares. The aim of the study was to determine the changes in composition and physicochemical features (pH, density, thermostability and acidity) of mare colostrum and milk, and of protein fraction contribution (serum albumin, β-casein, γ-casein, α-lactalbumin, G class immunoglobulins) depending on lactation stage. The research material was colostrum and milk samples from 12 Arabian mares. Colostrum samples were collected within 2 h after parturition and milk samples were collected twice, in the 3rd and 6th weeks of lactation. The level of basic milk components decreased significantly (only lactose ...
Identification of functional domains of the IR2 protein of equine herpesvirus 1 required for inhibition of viral gene expression and replication. The equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) negative regulatory IR2 protein (IR2P), an early 1,165-amino acid (aa) truncated form of the 1487-aa immediate-early protein (IEP), lacks the trans-activation domain essential for IEP activation functions but retains domains for binding DNA, TFIIB, and TBP and the nuclear localization signal. IR2P mutants of the N-terminal region which lack either DNA-binding activity or TFIIB-binding activity were unable to down-regulate EHV-1 promoters. In EHV-1-infected cells expressing full-length IR2P, transcription and protein expression of viral regulatory IE, early EICP...
Hendra virus: what do we know? Hendra virus infection is an emerging infectious disease that is not well understood. Most cases of Hendra virus infection have occurred in Queensland, with one case in a horse in NSW. Hendra virus infection has a high mortality rate in horses and humans and as cases could occur anywhere in Australia it is important to be ready for prompt action should an outbreak occur in NSW. This paper: reviews the current knowledge on Hendra virus infection including methods for preventing the disease; explains the animal health and human health response for an outbreak within NSW; and discusses possible f...
Flow cytometric characterization of culture expanded multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from horse adipose tissue: towards the definition of minimal stemness criteria. In the last decades, multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells have been isolated from many adult tissues of different species. The International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) has recently established that multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) is the currently recommended designation. In this study, we used flow cytometry to evaluate the expression of several molecules related to stemness (CD90, CD44, CD73 and STRO-1) in undifferentiated, early-passaged MSCs isolated from adipose tissue of four donor horses (AdMSCs). The four populations unanimously expressed high levels of CD90 an...
A gene catalogue of the euchromatic male-specific region of the horse Y chromosome: comparison with human and other mammals. Studies of the Y chromosome in primates, rodents and carnivores provide compelling evidence that the male specific region of Y (MSY) contains functional genes, many of which have specialized roles in spermatogenesis and male-fertility. Little similarity, however, has been found between the gene content and sequence of MSY in different species. This hinders the discovery of species-specific male fertility genes and limits our understanding about MSY evolution in mammals. Here, a detailed MSY gene catalogue was developed for the horse--an odd-toed ungulate. Using direct cDNA selection from horse...
Protein quality and utilization of timothy, oat-supplemented timothy, and alfalfa at differing harvest maturities in exercised Arabian horses. To evaluate the protein quality and postgut N utilization of full-bloom timothy hay, oat-supplemented timothy-hay diets, and alfalfa hay harvested at different maturities, apparent whole tract N digestibility, urinary N excretion, and serum AA profiles were determined in light to moderately exercised Arabian horses. Six Arabian geldings (16.0 ± 0.3 yr; 467 ± 11 kg of BW) were randomly allocated to a 6 × 6 Latin square design. Diets included full-bloom timothy grass hay (G), G + 0.2% BW oat (G1), G + 0.4% BW oat (G2), mid-bloom alfalfa (A1), early-bloom alfalfa (A2), and early-bud alfalfa ha...
The mosquito Aedes (Aedimorphus) vexans arabiensis as a probable vector bridging the West Nile virus between birds and horses in Barkedji (Ferlo, Senegal). Active catches of adult females of Aedes vexans arabiensis Patton, (Diptera: Culicidae) Patton by nets or aspirator, were conducted in 2003 and 2004 in the vegetation at the edge of temporary ponds in Barkedji, Senegalese Ferlo area. Two hundred and forty-one engorged females were captured, dissected and the gut content adsorbed on a Whatman filter paper and analysed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique to determinate the bloodmeal origin. Results indicated that Ae v. arabiensis fed primarily on mammals, including horses (35.7% of the bloodmeals), but also on birds (10...
Freezing stallion semen with the new Cáceres extender improves post thaw sperm quality and diminishes stallion-to-stallion variability. Ejaculates from 7 stallions were split and simultaneously frozen in three different extenders, INRA 96 egg yolk glycerol, Ghent and the newly developed extender Caceres. After thawing, samples were evaluated for motility (CASA system) sperm membrane integrity and early membrane changes (YoPro-1/Eth staining), acrosome integrity (FICT-PNA), and mitochondrial membrane potential (JC-1) (flow cytometry). Samples frozen in Caceres extender consistently showed the best results in post-thaw motility (increases ranging from 11 to 17%, p<0.05) and velocity (p<0.05), membrane integrity (increases ...
Long-term facial artery catheter implantation for serial arterial blood sampling and invasive arterial blood pressure measurement in horses. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate surgical catheter implantation in the facial artery of horses and the long-term maintenance of such arteries using heparin and ascorbic acid as filling solution. Nine horses were implanted with a polyurethane catheter. The catheters were flushed with a heparin/ascorbic acid solution every 8h and remained patent for 25 days. Arterial blood samples were collected twice a day, and one exercise test that included serial blood samples and arterial pressure recordings was performed on a treadmill. Polyurethane catheters surgically implanted in the fa...
The effect of treatment with flunixin meglumine at different times relative to hCG administration on ovulation failure and luteal function in mares. Flunixin meglumine (FM), a prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor, causes ovulatory failure in the mare. However, the effect of the FM treatment relative to the time of hCG administration on the ovulation failure has not been determined nor has its effect on the luteal function of treated mares. Estrous mares with a follicle ≥32 mm (range of 32-38 mm) were treated with 1.7 mg/kg b.w. of FM iv at zero, 12, 24 and 36 h (n=6), at 24 and 36 h (n=6), at 28 and 36 h (n=6), at 24h (n=6) or at 30 h (n=6) after treatment with 1500 IU hCG. One group received no FM (control, n=6). Progesterone concentratio...
Plasma atrial natriuretic peptide concentrations in horses with heart disease: a pilot study. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiovascular biomarker that might be useful in assessing the severity of cardiac disease in horses. Plasma ANP concentrations (Cp(ANP)) were compared between horses with heart disease but normal chamber size and function (Group A; n=6), horses with heart disease associated with left atrial (LA) enlargement, LA dysfunction, and/or left ventricular (LV) enlargement (Group B; n=5), and horses with no clinically apparent cardiovascular disease (Group C; n=13). The median (min-max) for Cp(ANP) was significantly higher in Group B (53.5 (36.0-70.7) pg/mL), comp...
Distribution of flunixin meglumine and firocoxib into aqueous humor of horses. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used systemically for the treatment of inflammatory ocular disease in horses. However, little information exists regarding the ocular penetration of this class of drugs in the horse. Objective: To determine the distribution of orally administered flunixin meglumine and firocoxib into the aqueous humor of horses. Methods: Fifteen healthy adult horses with no evidence of ophthalmic disease. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned to a control group and 2 treatment groups of equal sizes (n = 5). Horses assigned to the treatment groups rece...
Chromosomal assignment of six genes (EIF4G3, HSP90, RBBP6, IL8, TERT, and TERC) in four species of the genus Equus. We mapped six genes (EIF4G3, HSP90, RBBP6, IL8, TERT, and TERC) on the chromosomes of Equus caballus, Equus asinus, Equus grevyi, and Equus burchelli by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our results add six type I markers to the cytogenetic map of these species and provide new information on the comparative genomics of the genus Equus.
Synovial fluid D-dimer concentration in foals with septic joint disease. Increased synovial fibrinolytic activity (detected by increases in synovial D-Dimer concentrations) has been observed in different joint diseases in humans and adult horses, presumably in order to minimize fibrin deposition within the joint and thus avoid its detrimental effects. Objective: To investigate fibrinolytic pathway activation in joint sepsis in foals by measuring synovial D-Dimer concentrations. Methods: Eighteen septic foals with septic joints, 9 septic foals without septic joints, 9 systemically healthy foals with septic joint, and 3 controls are included. Methods: Prospective obs...
Systemic effects of a prolonged continuous infusion of ketamine in healthy horses. Ketamine as continuous rate infusion (CRI) provides analgesia in hospitalized horses. Objective: Determine effects of prolonged CRI of ketamine on gastrointestinal transit time, fecal weight, vital parameters, gastrointestinal borborygmi, and behavior scores in healthy adult horses. Methods: Seven adult Thoroughbred or Thoroughbred cross horses, with permanently implanted gastric cannulae. Methods: Nonblinded trial. Random assignment to 1 of 2 crossover designed treatments. Ketamine (0.55 mg/kg IV over 15 minutes followed by 1.2 mg/kg/h) or lactated Ringer's solution (50 mL IV over 15 minutes ...
