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.
Votion DM, Linden A, Delguste C, Amory H, Thiry E, Engels P, van Galen G, Navet R, Sluse F, Serteyn D, Saegerman C.Over the last decade, atypical myopathy (AM) in grazing horses has emerged in several European countries. An exploratory analysis was conducted to determine horse- and pasture-level indicators or factors associated with AM in Belgium. Belgian cases of AM confirmed by histology (n=57) were compared to their healthy co-grazing horses (n=77) and to pastured horses not involved with AM as controls (n=386). The pastures where confirmed cases were grazing (42 pastures; 38 sites; 44 incidences of AM) were compared with those of the controls (216 pastures; 96 sites; no incidence of AM). Statistically ...
Masuda T, Takakura A, Kobayashi S.Flight and avoidance reactions from human were examined using 168 postweaning Thoroughbred foals in 22 breeding farms. Further 114 yearlings of 168 foals were tested in the following summer. The foal handlings by the stabler were asked in questionnaire. The relationship between the behavioural reactions and the foal handling frequencies was analyzed. The flight reaction was estimated as the distance from the animal to a stranger when the animal began to flight away from his approach. The avoidance scores were set up from (1) (not resistant) to (5) (touch rejection) from human touching. In the ...
Matsuura A, Ohta E, Ueda K, Nakatsuji H, Kondo S.To obtain basic knowledge about selecting horses for therapeutic riding, the influence of equine conformation on rider oscillation and relationships between these factors and the evaluation on horses as the therapeutic riding were studied. Thirty-five riding horses were used. Equine conformation was estimated by 24 indices. Rider oscillation was measured by an accelerometer fixed at the rider's waist. The spatial position of the oscillation was estimated by a double integration of the acceleration. Horses were evaluated for therapeutic riding by a Riding for the Disabled Association instructor...
Chen J, Weng Q, Chao J, Hu D, Taya K.In China, the first Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) group was released in Kalamaili Ungulate Protected Area in Xinjiang, in August 2001. The objective of this study was to investigate reproduction and development of released Przewalski's horses in Xinjiang, China from 2002 to 2006. Twenty-four descendants were naturally born, average reproduction rate was 38.7%, and average survival rate of foals was 69.1% in this interim. Frequent alternation of the leading stallion and infertility in female horses due to environmental factors were main causes for the low reproduction rate. The infant ...
Agut A, Martínez ML, Sánchez-Valverde MA, Soler M, Rodríguez MJ.The objectives of this study were to establish normal values for relative echogenicity (RE) and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the flexor tendons and ligaments of the metacarpal region of Purebred Spanish horses (PBSH), and to determine the effect of body mass index (BMI), age, sex and forelimb on these variables. Transverse ultrasonographic images were obtained using 20 normal PBSH (10 females, 10 males; 2-25 years of age; BMI 132.04-152.25; not in training). The images were digitised and values for CSA and RE were determined for each structure. The suspensory ligament was the most echogenic a...
Cebulj-Kadunc N, Kosec M, Cestnik V.To determine seasonal changes in circulating leptin concentrations, as well as leptin fluctuations in various patterns of seasonal ovarian activity, blood samples were taken in 107 Lipizzan fillies aged 1-4 years over the whole year from January to December. Serum concentrations were measured in samples obtained once a month (leptin) or twice a month (progesterone), and evaluated with respect to the age of animals (yearlings, 2-, 3- and 4-year olds) and the pattern of ovarian activity (anoestrous, seasonal cycle, prolonged cyclicity, continuous cyclicity). The mean and monthly leptin concentra...
Kuzmina TA, Kharchenko VO.In 2004-2006, 322 brood horses from 11 horse farms were examined using the faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) to determine the presence and distribution of anthelmintic resistance in strongylids in Ukraine. The anthelmintic drugs "Albendazole-7.5" (7.5mg of albenazole, Ukraine) at a dose of 5mg per kg body weight and "Univerm" (0.2% aversectin C, Russia) at a dose of 0.5mg per kg body weight were used. Seventy-one horses from six farms were examined in vivo to investigate the influence of anthelmintic treatment on the gastrointestinal strongylid community structure. Horses were treated wi...
Manso Filho HC, Costa HE, Wang Y, McKeever KH, Watford M.Glutamine plays important roles in the interorgan transport of nitrogen, carbon and energy but little is known about glutamine metabolism in the horse. In this study we determined the tissue distribution of glutamine synthetase expression in three Standardbred mares. Expression of glutamine synthetase was highest in kidney and mammary gland, and relatively high in liver and adipose tissue. Expression was lower in gluteus muscle, thymus, colon and lung, and much lower in small intestine, pancreas and uterus. The pattern of glutamine synthetase expression in the horse is similar to that of other...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Ionita M, Lewellen A, Collins SS.Field studies (n=6) were completed on evaluation of activity of ivermectin (200 microg/kg) paste formulation against small strongyles in horses (foals, yearlings, and older animals) on a farm (Farm MC) in Central Kentucky in late 2006 and during 2007. A girth tape was used to estimate body weights which were then used to calculate the proper dose rate of ivermectin. The foals, yearlings, and some of the older horses were born and raised on the farm. However, most of the older horses which were not raised on the farm had been there for several years. The horse herd was given ivermectin exclusiv...
Reisen WK, Fang Y, Brault AC.Historically, western equine encephalomyelitis virus (WEEV) caused large equine and human epidemics in the Americas from Canada into Argentina. Despite recent enhanced surveillance for West Nile virus, there have been few reports of equine or human cases and little documented enzootic activity of WEEV. During the past three years, WEEV has been active again in California, but without human or equine cases. In the current study, we compared host and vector competence of representative WEEV isolates made during each decade over the past 60 years using white-crowned sparrows, house sparrows, and ...
Phumoonna T, Barton MD, Vanniasinkam T, Heuzenroeder MW.Rhodococcus equi remains a significant bacterial pathogen, causing severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals aged 1-3 months. There is no effective vaccine currently available for the prevention of R. equi pneumonia. DNA vaccines are known to offer specific advantages over conventional vaccines. The aim of this study was to demonstrate efficacy of our recombinant DNA vaccine candidates, namely pcDNA3-Re1, pcDNA3-Re3 and pcDNA3-Re5 by combining a heat shock protein GroEL2 to a virulence-associated protein A (VapA) from R. equi to protect C3H/He mice against the R. equi infection. VapA was show...
Chaffin MK, Cohen ND, Martens RJ.To determine the effect of azithromycin chemoprophylaxis on the cumulative incidence of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi, age at onset of pneumonia, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of azithromycin for R equi isolates cultured from fecal and clinical samples. Methods: Controlled, randomized clinical trial. Methods: 338 foals born and raised at 10 equine breeding farms; each farm had a history of endemic R equi infections. Methods: Group 1 foals were control foals, and group 2 foals were treated with azithromycin (10 mg/kg [4.5 mg/lb], PO, q 48 h) during the first 2 weeks after bi...
Garvican ER, Vaughan-Thomas A, Redmond C, Clegg PD.Matrix degradation by metalloproteinases is considered a key feature in the loss of articular cartilage seen in many joint diseases. Membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MT3-MMP) expression is elevated in human cartilage in end-stage osteoarthritis. We investigated whether MT3-MMP is similarly regulated in cartilage in two naturally occurring arthropathies in vivo and whether proinflammatory cytokines regulate its expression in vitro. MT3-MMP expression was evaluated in cartilage from horses with osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis and compared with age- and site-matched normal cartilage. ...
Takeuchi K, Murakami A, Sekiguchi A, Hirata Y, Maeda K, Kitahori K, Doi Y, Takamoto S.Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction is a frequent condition after Rastelli operation. Although several modifications have been reported elsewhere, ideal conduit has not been developed yet during long-term follow-up. We reviewed our experiences over 15-year long-term follow-up with patients who underwent Rastelli operation using house-made equine pericardial roll graft. Methods: Since June 1981, 16 patients underwent Rastelli operation with the pericardial roll graft. Median follow-up time was 15.6 years (7.3-26.8 years). Results: Twelve out of 16 patients using pericardial roll graft w...
Guan F, Uboh CE, Soma LR, Birks E, Chen J, You Y, Rudy J, Li X.Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) and darbepoetin alfa (DPO) are protein-based drugs for the treatment of anemia in humans by stimulating erythrocyte production. However, these agents are abused in human and equine sports due to their potential to enhance performance. This paper describes the first method for differentiation and identification of rhEPO and DPO in equine plasma by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method comprised analyte extraction and enrichment by immunoaffinity separation with anti-rhEPO antibodies, dual digestion by trypsin an...
Cunha AP, Bello AC, Leite RC, Bastianetto E, Ribeiro AC, Freitas CM, Oliveira PR.The aim of this study was to verify the efficiency of a strategic control program of Amblyomma cajennense in horses under field conditions. Acaricide treatments were applied at seven days intervals and divided in two series, the first one beginning in April 2004 (eight treatments), and the second one beginning in July 2004 (five treatments), aiming to control larvae and nymphs of the tick. A pyrethroid chemical base cypermethrin 0.015% was used for spraying the horses. There was a reduction of 44.85% in the adults infestation of the tick in the period of October 2004 to March 2005, and 59.74%,...
Turner M, Balendra G, McCrory P.To determine the direct and indirect cost of injuries in professional jockeys as a result of race riding. Methods: Cohort study. Methods: Professional horse racing. Methods: Professional jockeys in the UK registered with the Jockey Club. Methods: Payouts under the Professional Riders Insurance Scheme (PRIS) for injuries sustained by professional jockeys, which were recorded by the Jockey Club injury database between 1996 and 2006 inclusive. Results: In the 11-year period of the study, there were 1328 injuries that resulted in jockeys missing a total of 71,509 days of racing, and as a result PR...
Cunha AP, Bello AC, Leite RC, Ribeiro AC, Freitas CM, Bastianetto E, Oliveira PR.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Amblyomma cajennense strategic control program on the Anocentor nitens population. The acaricide treatments were carried out every seven days and divided in two series, the first one beginning in April 2004 (eight treatments) and the second beginning in July of the same year (five treatments), using pyrethroid chemical base - cypermethrin in the concentration of 0,015%. Monthly it was evaluated the infestation of A. nitens in the ear and nasal diverticulum of the equines before (October 2003 to March 2004) and after (October of 2004...
Hastie PM, Mitchell K, Murray JA.There is a need to further our understanding of the role that the equine hindgut ecosystem plays in digestive processes and diseases. The aim of the present study was to utilise the real-time PCR technique to determine the abundance of candidate cellulolytic (Ruminococcus flavefaciens; Fibrobacter succinogenes) and non-cellulolytic (Streptococcus bovis) bacteria in lumen contents from the caecum, ventral and dorsal colon, and rectum of healthy horses (n 14). Total DNA was extracted from frozen and lyophilised lumen contents, and PCR primers and Taqman probes were designed based on 16S rDNA seq...
Valette JP, Robert C, Denoix JM.The objectives of this study were to establish standards for growth and to model the evolution of wither height (WH) between birth and adult age in different breeds of sport- and race-horses. Therefore, 398 foals, then yearlings of three different breeds, were measured regularly between birth and 18 months of age. Linear and non-linear functions were compared for describing the growth in each breed group. The monomolecular, Gompertz, logistic and cubic models correctly estimated WH in the three breeds during the first 2 years (R2 = 0.99, s.e. 3.9 to 4.5) and better than the cubic and quadratic...
Vos Nj.The 'classical' or 'Hangman' neck fracture involves the odontoid peg (process) of the second cervical vertebra (C2), and is described as an axial, dens or odontoid peg fracture in both the veterinary and human literature. Possible surgical treatment in both foals and adult horses requires a technique that allows decompression, anatomical alignment and stabilisation of the odontoid fracture. A limited number of surgical cases in foals have been reported in literature, but never in an adult horse. A mature Irish Thoroughbred racehorse was diagnosed with a type 2a odontoid peg fracture. Clinical ...
Lemos KR, Marques LC, Deaquino LP, Alessi AC, Machado RZ.An histochemical and immunohistochemical study was carried out to evaluate the mechanisms of immune response of horses experimentally infected by Trypanosoma evansi. For this purpose the HE histochemical stain and the avidin biotin peroxidase method were used. To determine the presence and immunoreactivity of immune cells we used anti-major histocompatibility complex II antibodies. Cellular infiltration phenotype was characterized with the aid of anti-CD3 antibody for T lymphocytes and by anti-BLA 36 antibodies for B lymphocytes. Macrophages were marked with an antibody against myeloid/histyoc...
Kędzierski W, Kapica M.The effect of acute exercise was studied in a group of 42 clinically healthy young Standardbred trotters. These trotters had been divided into four groups according to their age. Their ages were from 1.5 to 3 years. Three jugular venous blood samples were collected via venipuncture from each horse. These samples were collected while (1) at rest, (2) after the end of the exercise and (3) 30 min after the end of the exercise. Exercise showed a significant increase in plasma leptin concentration (3.8 ± 0.31 at rest v. 4.3 ± 0.37 just after exercise and 4.4 ± 0.47 ng/ml after a 30-min rest; ANO...
Hoffmann C, Ellenberger C, Mattos RC, Aupperle H, Dhein S, Stief B, Schoon HA.This paper describes the histomorphological and immunohistochemical characterisation of phenotypic variations of endometrosis as well as potential etiological factors which may influence disease progression. In total, 779 endometrial biopsies were examined. These biopsies were taken in the breeding and non-breeding season (n=509), on defined days during the estrous cycle (n=70) and before and after experimentally induced bacterial endometritis (n=200). In addition to conventional histopathology, selected biopsies were investigated using alcianblue staining as well as immunohistochemical method...
Cavalcanti MC, Rizgalla M, Geyer J, Failing K, Litzke LF, Bergmann M.In eukaryotic cells, the major protein constituents of the chromatin are histones, which can be divided into five classes, identified as H1, H2A, H2B, H3 and H4. During normal spermatogenesis, a testis-specific H1t is expressed in primary spermatocytes and believed to facilitate histone to protamine exchanges during spermiogenesis. In equine testes we detected the H1 protein at 22kDa by western blot analysis while H1t was detected at 29kDa. H1 protein was found to be expressed in all germ cells up to elongating spermatids (Sc) at stage IV. In peripubertal animals, there was a prolonged express...
McFarlane D, Holbrook TC.Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is the result of a loss of dopaminergic inhibition of the pars intermedia secondary to neurodegeneration of periventricular hypothalamic neurons. The pathologic events contributing to development of neurodegeneration or clinical signs in equids with PPID are unknown. Chronic inflammation may contribute to initiation or progression of PPID. Objective: Horses with PPID have a distinct systemic cytokine profile compared with that of normal adult or aged horses. The cytokine profile of healthy aged horses differs from that of adult horses. Method...
Sanchez LC, Giguère S, Javsicas LH, Bier J, Walrond CJ, Womble AY.Gastric tonometry is commonly used in humans as an assessment of intestinal mucosal perfusion. Values in healthy foals are currently unknown. Objective: Age, enteral feeding, and omeprazole administration would significantly alter gastric tonometry measurements in neonatal foals. Methods: Nine clinically normal foals were used to assess the effect of age and feeding, and 8 similar foals were used to assess the effect of omeprazole. Methods: At 1, 7, and 14 days of age, gastric intramucosal PCO2 (PgCO2) and arterial blood gas samples were obtained at baseline, immediately after feeding milk, an...
Wilson DG.Possibly no other development has revolutionized general surgery more dramatically than laparoscopic surgery in human patients. The development of instrumentation suitable for use in horses has allowed the veterinary surgeon to begin to introduce minimally invasive procedures. Clearly, in people, one of the greatest benefits is reduced patient morbidity and earlier return to function. The author's experience with laparoscopic procedures in the horse would tend to reinforce those observations. The most significant obstacle to widespread acceptance of minimally invasive surgery in the horse is p...
Martin BB, Klide AM.Fourteen horses that could not perform at their expected standards due to chronic back pain of 4 to 48 months duration, and had not obtained lasting improvement from other forms of therapy, were treated by stimulating nine acupuncture points using a low powered infrared laser (300 microW, 904 nm). The treatments were performed weekly, and consisted of stimulating each point for 2 minutes with a pulse frequency of 360 pulses per second. After completion of a mean of 11 treatments, clinical signs of back pain were alleviated in 10 of the 14 horses, there was no change in three, and one was lost ...
Randleff-Rasmussen PK, Leblond A, Cappelle J, Bontemps J, Belluco S, Popoff MR, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Tapprest J, Tritz P, Desjardins I.Equine grass sickness (EGS) (equine dysautonomia) is a neurodegenerative condition of grazing equines. Pre-mortem diagnosis of EGS is a challenge for practitioners as definitive diagnosis requires ileal/myenteric lymph node biopsies. This study aimed to develop a clinical score that could be used by practitioners to improve the detection of acute or subacute EGS cases in the field. Suspected EGS cases were declared by veterinary practitioners. A case was classified as confirmed positive if ileal or rectal biopsy samples showed neuronal degeneration typical of EGS. A semi-quantitative scoring s...
Müller A, Glüge S, Vidondo B, Wróbel A, Ott T, Sieme H, Burger D.Prediction of impending foaling is highly desirable as early intervention may improve mare and foal outcomes. However, monitoring the peripartum mare is a time-consuming challenge for breeders and many foaling prediction systems have limitations. "Heating up" of the mare is empirically used by breeders as a sign of upcoming parturition in mares. The purpose of this study was to investigate if an increase in skin temperature shortly before parturition is detectable and to determine whether such physiological changes could be an additional valuable parameter to predict foaling. For that, 56 foal...
Yasine A, Daba M, Ashenafi H, Geldhof P, Van Brantegem L, Vercauteren G, Demissie T, Bekana M, Tola A, Van Soom A, Duchateau L, Goddeeris B, Govaere J.Dourine, caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum, is a life-threatening venereal disease in equidae. So far, there is no clear evidence on how and when stallions become infectious, nor which tissues are affected by the parasite in diseased animals. Post-infection, after a transient, temporary phase of parasitaemia, the parasite disperses to different tissues in an unknown distribution pattern. This study describes the distribution of the parasite after infection by artificial insemination (AI) or blood transfusion. Mares (N = 4) were artificially inseminated with T. equiperdum spiked semen wherea...
Jöchle W.In this uncontrolled clinical study 12 investigators cooperated to evaluate the analgesic and sedative effect of detomidine (DORMOSEDAN; Farmos Group Ltd; Finland) in 234 horses with abdominal pain caused by colic. The study was designed to use each animal as its own control and to evaluate its response to the drug over a 60 min period. Detomidine was given intravenously (i.v.) once in 169 cases (167 horses, 1 mule, 1 donkey) at a dose of 20 micrograms/kg bodyweight (bwt), and to 65 horses at 40 micrograms/kg bwt. The higher dose was used predominantly in horses with severe pain which were mor...
Geraghty TE, Love S, Taylor DJ, Heller J, Mellor DJ, Hughes KJ.The sites of insertion of catheters into the jugular veins of six horses were investigated to determine common isolates and to assess the effectiveness of two disinfection protocols with the hair coat left long, clipped or shaved. Skin commensals (Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Micrococcus species) and environmental contaminants (Bacillus, Enterobacteriaceae, Aspergillus and Mucor species) were the microorganisms most frequently isolated. Chlorhexidine gluconate and povidone-iodine-based skin disinfection protocols resulted in significant reductions in the number of bacterial isolates from ...
Seahorn TL, Groves MG, Harrington KS, Beadle RE.To evaluate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of horses in Louisiana by assessing the signalment, history, environmental factors, clinical signs, and treatment of such horses. Methods: Epidemiologic mail survey. Methods: 83 of 240 veterinarians contacted by mail agreed to take part in the survey. Veterinarians contacted were listed as mixed-animal or equine practitioners in the 1991/1992 directory of the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association or had submitted a specimen from a horse to the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory within the past 2 years. Methods: The survey con...
McFadden AM, Pearce PV, Orr D, Nicoll K, Rawdon TG, Pharo H, Stone M.To summarise investigation and laboratory data collected between 2001 and 2011 to provide evidence that equine arteritis virus is not present in the horse population of New Zealand. Methods: Analysis was carried out on results from laboratory tests carried out at the Ministry for Primary Industries Animal Health Laboratory (AHL) for equine arteritis virus from horses tested prior to being imported or exported, testing of stallions as part of the New Zealand equine viral arteritis (EVA) control scheme and testing as part of transboundary animal disease (TAD) investigations for exclusion of EVA....
Sturgill TL, Giguère S, Franklin RP, Cohen ND, Hagen J, Kalyuzhny AE.The objectives of the present study were to determine if administration of inactivated parapoxvirus ovis (IPPVO) can decrease the cumulative incidence of pneumonia and increase the number of IFN-γ- and IL-4-secreting cells among foals. Fifty-nine foals were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups (IPPVO or placebo) prior to birth. At 24-48 h of age, foals received 2 ml of either IPPVO or a placebo by intramuscular injection. Injections were repeated 24h and 8 days later. The number of IFN-γ- and IL-4-secreting cells was measured using a validated ELISPOT assay on blood mononuclear cells coll...
Gift LJ, Gaughan EM, Schoning P.A 5-year-old Quarter Horse mare was referred for evaluation of an acute non-weightbearing lameness of the left hind limb in which musculoskeletal abnormalities had not been detected. After admission, the mare had signs of colic. Exploratory laparotomy revealed the left ovary to be large, masses in the left sublumbar space, and diffuse infiltration of the mesentery, omentum, liver, and spleen with variably-sized masses. The mare was euthanatized, and granulosa cell tumor was identified on histologic examination of the left ovary, left sublumbar and cranial thoracic lymph nodes, omentum, mesente...
Fikri F, Hendrawan D, Wicaksono AP, Purnomo A, Khairani S, Chhetri S, Maslamama ST, Purnama MTE.Colic is among the common health issues in equine health management. Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are the most frequent causes of colic, but dysfunction of other organs and systems inside the abdominal cavity may also contribute. Therefore, it is crucial to identify risk factors for colic of specific etiologies. This study aimed to examine the incidence, risk factors, and best therapeutic management practices for horses with colic. Unassigned: A cohort of 256 horses living in Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia, was randomly recruited based on reports of colic symptoms by owners. Diagnosis and t...
Theuerkauf K, Obach-Schröck C, Staszyk C, Moritz A, Roscher KA.In humans, activated platelets contribute to sepsis complications and to multiple organ failure. In our prospective analytical study of cases of the equine systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), we adapted a standard human protocol for the measurement of activated platelets and platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLAs) in equine platelet-leukocyte-rich plasma (PLRP) by flow cytometry, and we investigated the hypothesis that activated platelets and PLAs are increased in clinical cases of SIRS. We included 17 adult horses and ponies fulfilling at least 2 SIRS criteria, and 10 healthy equids ...
Pratt S, Cunneen A, Perkins N, Farry T, Kidd L, McEwen M, Rainger J, Truchetti G, Goodwin W.There is no information directly comparing midazolam with guaifenesin when used in combination with an alpha-2 agonist and ketamine to maintain anaesthesia via i.v. infusion in horses. Objective: To compare ketamine-medetomidine-guaifenesin with ketamine-medetomidine-midazolam for total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) in young horses anaesthetised for computerised tomography. Methods: Prospective, randomised, blinded, crossover trial. Methods: Fourteen weanlings received medetomidine 7 μg/kg bwt i.v. and anaesthesia was induced with ketamine 2.2 mg/kg bwt i.v. On two separate occasions hors...
Beck C, Charles JA, Maclean AA.A 16-year-old thoroughbred stallion developed sudden swelling of the left testicle. The stallion had previously been regarded as a unilateral cryptorchid. Ultrasound examination of the left testicle revealed a diffusely heterogeneous parenchyma. The testicle was diffusely hypoechoic with ill defined regions of hyperechogenicity giving the appearance of hypoechoic nodules throughout the testicular parenchyma. No normal testicular tissue was identifiable. An echogenic band, representing a pseudocapsule could be seen surrounding the testicle. Histopathologic diagnosis a seminoma.
Grace ND, Pearce SG, Firth EC, Fennessy PF.To determine the changes in Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, S, Cu, Fe and Zn concentrations of milk during the lactation in pasture-fed Thoroughbred mares and then calculate the dietary mineral requirements of the sucking foal and the lactating mare. Methods: Milk was sampled on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and at various times between 55 to 65, 85 to 95 and 135 to 150 days after parturition from 21 pasture-fed mares. The concentrations of macro- and micro-elements in the milk were determined by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. Results: Concentrations (mg/L) of these elements were highest in co...
Duz M, Whittaker AG, Love S, Parkin TD, Hughes KJ.To validate the use of digital audio recording and analysis for quantification of coughing in horses. Methods: Part A: Nine simultaneous digital audio and video recordings were collected individually from seven stabled horses over a 1 h period using a digital audio recorder attached to the halter. Audio files were analysed using audio analysis software. Video and audio recordings were analysed for cough count and timing by two blinded operators on two occasions using a randomised study design for determination of intra-operator and inter-operator agreement. Part B: Seventy-eight hours of audio...
Brianti E, Giannetto S, Traversa D, Chirgwin SR, Shakya K, Klei TR.A mixed population of equine cyathostomin (Nematoda, Strongyloidea) infective third stage larvae (L3) was cultured in vitro using a cell-free medium. Some L3 were cultured immediately after Baermann collection from fecal cultures, while others were kept in water at 4 degrees C for 7 days before initiating the in vitro cultures. Cultures were examined daily for viability. At days 2, 7, 14 and 21 larvae were collected for identification of developmental stage and morphological changes, using both light and scanning electron microscopy. Larvae were classified as early L3 (EL3), developing L3 (DL3...
Miki W, Oniyama H, Takeda N, Kimura Y, Haneda S, Matsui M, Taya K, Nambo Y.We observed structural changes in the follicles and uterus of heavy draft mares during estrus and examined the effect of a single injection of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog buserelin on ovulation and endocrine profiles. Twenty-two heavy draft mares were divided into a buserelin-treated group (n=8) and a control group (n=14). Mares were given an intramuscular injection of 40 µg buserelin when they presented signs of estrus to a teaser stallion, had ≥45 mm diameter follicles, and presented decreased uterine edema compared with the previous examination. The follicles and uterus wer...
Keegan KG, Satterley JM, Skubic M, Yonezawa Y, Cooley JM, Wilson DA, Kramer J.To determine whether a shoe with an axialcontoured lateral branch would induce greater lateral roll of the forelimb hoof during the time between heel and toe lift-off at end of the stance phase (breakover). Animals-10 adult horses. Methods: A gyroscopic transducer was placed on the hoof of the right forelimb and connected to a transmitter. Data on hoof angular velocity were collected as each horse walked and trotted on a treadmill before (treatment 1, no trim-no shoe) and after 2 treatments by a farrier (treatment 2, trim-standard shoe; and treatment 3, trim-contoured shoe). Data were converte...
Kuhn M, Guschlbauer M, Feige K, Schluesener M, Bester K, Beyerbach M, Breves G.Equine typholocolitis is a sporadic diarrheal disease causing high mortality rates. One of the risk factors responsible for this is the oral application of the macrolide antibiotic erythromycin. The aim of the present in vitro study was to investigate whether erythromycin in combination with feed restriction provokes changes in microbial hindgut metabolism and could therefore be involved in the pathogenesis of equine typhlocolitis. As application of erythromycin and feed restriction are risk factors for equine typhlocolitis, both factors were chosen to investigate their individual and combined...
Hamir AN, Reef VB.Gross and histopathological findings in a 9-year-old horse implanted with permanent transvenous pacing cardiac catheters, 18 and 34 months before its death, are described. Lesions consisting of extensive fibrino-haemorrhagic thrombi with large numbers of bacterial colonies were present along the electrode wires and on mural and valvular endocardial surfaces of the right heart. There was a locally extensive area of suppurative endocarditis around the attachment site of the atrial electrode, which was loosely attached by a thin band of membranous tissue to the endocardium. The ventricular electr...
Buhl R, Hesselkilde EM, Carstensen H, Hopster-Iversen C, van Loon G, Decloedt A, Van Steenkiste G, Marr CM, Reef VB, Schwarzwald CC, Mitchell KJ....The recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation (AF) in horses after cardioversion to sinus rhythm (SR) is relatively high. Atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR) derived from surface ECG is considered a biomarker for electrical remodelling and could potentially be used for the prediction of successful AF cardioversion and AF recurrence. Objective: Evaluate if AFR was associated with successful treatment and could predict AF recurrence in horses. Methods: Retrospective multicentre study. Methods: Electrocardiograms (ECG) from horses with persistent AF admitted for cardioversion with either medical treatmen...
Ueda H, Abe M, Takehana K, Iwasa K, Hiraga T.The innervation of the red pulp in the spleen of horse and pig was investigated by electron microscopy. In addition, the neurilemma was studied by immunohistochemistry specific for S-100 protein. In the pig, a large population of smooth-muscle cells extending from the smooth-muscle trabeculae was present in the red pulp. The cytoplasmic processes of reticular cells enwrapped the smooth-muscle cells, and nerve fibres were distributed between the smooth-muscle cells and the reticular cells. The nerve terminals clustered toward the facing of the smooth-muscle cells. Nerve fibres and terminals wer...
Cvitas I, Oberhaensli S, Leeb T, Marti E.Equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most common skin disease affecting horses. It is described as an IgE-mediated, Type I hypersensitivity reaction to salivary gland proteins of Culicoides insects. Together with Th2 cells, epithelial barrier cells play an important role in development of Type I hypersensitivities. In order to elucidate the role of equine keratinocytes in development of IBH, we stimulated keratinocytes derived from IBH-affected (IBH-KER) (n = 9) and healthy horses (H-KER) (n = 9) with Culicoides recombinant allergens and extract, allergic cytokine milieu (ACM) and ...
Slusarewicz P, Slusarewicz JH, Nielsen MK.An automated equine fecal egg count test, known as the Parasight System, was modified for use with small ruminants. Modifications included the introduction of a short centrifugation step in a floatation medium, an adjustment in pre-test sample filtering, and training of an image analysis-based egg counting algorithm to recognize and enumerate trichostrongylid eggs. In preliminary assessments, the modified method produced trichostrongylid egg counts comparable to manual McMaster analyses of the same samples from both ovine and caprine sources. The coefficient of determination (R) for the linear...
Cheevers WP, Fatemi-Nainie S, Anderson LW.A retrovirus is spontaneously released into the culture medium of the equine sarcoid-derived MC-1 cell line. The MC-1 virus did not exhibit in vitro transforming activity or replication when tested on equine fibroblasts or a variety of other mammalian cell cultures. Complementary DNA, synthesized using detergent-activated MC-1 virus RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, detected homologous sequences in the DNA of an established equine dermal cell line and in the DNA of primary equine dermal fibroblasts. Iododeoxyuridine or azacytidine induced a replication-deficient endogenous retrovirus in the normal...
Gill J, Kompanowska-Jezierska E.In 34 pure-bred Arabian horses, divided into four groups (Gr. I, 10 pregnant mares; Gr. II, seven barren mares; Gr. III, 10 foals born in 1981; Gr. IV, seven foals born in 1982), seasonal changes in haemoglobin level, haematocrit value, sedimentation rate, red blood cell number and diameter, percentage of erythroblasts and reticulocytes, and index F were studied. Seasonal cyclicity was found in all groups in the haemoglobin level, haematocrit value and RBC diameter. It was also found in the sedimentation rate (PCV) and in index F, but not for the youngest foals (Gr. IV). For the RBC number the...
