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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.
In vitro effects of oxygen on physico-chemical properties of horse erythrocyte membrane. Whether direct exposure to different concentrations (0%, 13%, 100%) of oxygen may affect horse erythrocyte membrane fluidity (EMF) and fatty acid (FA) composition was studied during 1 (T60) and 2h (T120) exposure. EMF was investigated at the head group level and hydrophobic core thanks to phosphorus nucleus 31 ((31)P) nuclear magnetic resonance ((31)P NMR) and electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) using two spin probes: 5-nitroxydestearic acid and 16-doxylstearic acid. Lipid structure of the membranes was studied by gas liquid chromatography. 4-Hydroxy-2E-nonenal was also analyzed as a marke...
Intestinal neoplasia in horses. Intestinal neoplasia of horses is inadequately described. Objective: Intestinal neoplasia of horses has characteristic clinicopathologic features. Methods: Thirty-four horses with intestinal neoplasia. Methods: Retrospective study. Results: Anamnesis, clinical signs, clinicopathologic and pathologic findings in 34 adult horses diagnosed histologically with intestinal neoplasia were reviewed. The horses ranged in age from 2 to 30 years (mean 16.6 years at presentation). The Arabian breed was most represented and there was no sex predisposition. The most common presenting complaints were weight ...
Investigation of a novel, heritable bleeding diathesis of Thoroughbred horses and development of a screening assay. Bleeding in racing horses associated with exercise appears to be multifactorial, and clinical investigation into severe cases rarely occurs. Previously, we reported a severe bleeding diathesis in a Thoroughbred mare. Herein, we describe the cellular physiology of this defect, provide a diagnostic tool for identifying it, and demonstrate that the dysfunction is heritable. Objective: The subject has a heritable defect in platelet secretion that reduces thrombin generation in the absence of additional plasma factors and delays the onset of thrombin production even in the presence of these factors...
Vehicle effects on the in vitro penetration of testosterone through equine skin. The effects of three vehicles, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), ethanol (50% in PBS w/w) and propylene glycol (50% in PBS w/w) on in vitro transdermal penetration of testosterone was investigated in the horse. Skin was harvested from the thorax of five Thoroughbred horses after euthanasia and stored at -20 degrees C until required. The skin was then defrosted and placed into Franz-type diffusion cells, which were maintained at approximately 32 degrees C by a water bath. Saturated solutions of testosterone, containing trace amounts of radiolabelled [14C]testosterone, in each vehicle were applie...
Lung surfactant function and composition in neonatal foals and adult horses. Lung surfactant function and composition are varied and adapted to the specific respiratory physiology of all mammalian species. Objective: Lung surfactant function and composition are different in neonatal foals as compared to adult horses. Methods: Six adult horses, 7 term foals (<24 hours old), and 4 premature foals were used. Animals were part of the Auburn University teaching herd except for 3 client-owned premature foals. Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was obtained from all animals. Ultracentrifugation of cell-free BALF separated surfactant into crude surfactant pellets ...
Effects of norepinephrine and a combined norepinephrine and dobutamine infusion on systemic hemodynamics and indices of renal function in normotensive neonatal thoroughbred foals. Norepinephrine is a potent vasopressor that increases arterial blood pressure but may have adverse effects on renal blood flow. The combination of norepinephrine and dobutamine may lead to improved renal perfusion compared to an infusion of norepinephrine alone. The effects of these drugs in the normotensive neonatal foal have not been reported. Objective: Norepinephrine increases arterial blood pressure. Adding dobutamine to a norepinephrine infusion will change the renal profile during the infusions without changing the arterial blood pressure. Methods: Eight conscious Thoroughbred foals wer...
The effects of feeding and fasting on gastrointestinal sounds in adult horses. The effect of changes in feed intake on auscultatable gastrointestinal sounds has not been systematically studied. Disagreement also is present in the literature about variation in sounds according to the quadrant of auscultation. Gastrointestinal sounds were recorded over the center of the left dorsal, left ventral, right ventral, and right dorsal quadrants and over the middle of the right abdominal flank. During 24 hours (n = 4) or 48 hours (n = 5) of fasting, there was a reduction in the intensity of gastrointestinal sounds as assessed by analysis of sound recordings. There was also a reduc...
Serum lactoferrin and immunoglobulin G concentrations in healthy or ill neonatal foals and healthy adult horses. Lactoferrin is a colostral glycoprotein with antimicrobial properties. Objective: (1) Serum lactoferrin and immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations are correlated and increase in healthy foals after ingestion of colostrum; (2) compared to healthy foals, ill foals will have lower lactoferrin concentrations that correlate with their IgG concentration, neutrophil count, the diagnosis of sepsis, and survival; and (3) plasma concentrations of lactoferrin will be less than serum concentrations. Methods: Healthy foals (n = 16), mature horses (n = 10), and ill foals 1-4 days old (n = 111) that were exam...
Fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum) hepatotoxicosis in horses and sheep. Fourteen horses at a boarding stable in Virginia were diagnosed with hepatic disease and locally grown hay was implicated as the cause. Objective: Panicum dichotomiflorum, the predominant grass species in the hay, is hepatotoxic to horses. Methods: Naturally occurring cases were adult horses of various breeds. Two healthy adult horses and 2 healthy adult sheep were used in feeding trials. Methods: Blood and liver specimens collected from affected animals during the outbreak were analyzed. Some of the affected animals were treated supportively; the main intervention was hay withdrawal. Feeding ...
Juvenile idiopathic epilepsy in Egyptian Arabian foals: 22 cases (1985-2005). Epilepsy is relatively uncommon in horses compared with other species and limited information is available. Objective: The objectives of the study were to describe the age of onset, clinical signs, clinicopathologic data, electroeticephalographic findings, treatment, and outcome, including long-term prognosis in Arabian foals with idiopathic epilepsy. Methods: Twenty-two foals were included in the study. Methods: Medical records from 1985 to 2005 were reviewed. Results: The age of onset of affected foals ranged from 2 days to 6 months. Seizures were characterized by generalized tonic and cloni...
Cardiovascular and pulmonary effects of hetastarch plus hypertonic saline solutions during experimental endotoxemia in anesthetized horses. Small volume resuscitation has been advocated as a beneficial therapy for endotoxemia in horses but this therapy has not been investigated in a prospective manner. The objective of this study was to determine the cardiopulmonary effects of small-volume resuscitation using hypertonic saline solution (HSS) plus Hetastarch (HES) during experimental endotoxemia in anesthetized horses. Objective: Treatment of horses with induced endotoxemia using HES-HSS does not alter the response of various cardiopulmonary indices when compared to treatment with either small- or large-volume isotonic crystalloid ...
Prevalence of Helicobacter equorum in faecal samples from horses and humans. Recently, a new enterohepatic Helicobacter species, H. equorum, was isolated from faecal samples of two clinically healthy horses. At the onset of this study, nothing was known about the prevalence of this organism in horses, nor was there any information available on the possible zoonotic character of this agent. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of H. equorum in faecal samples from equine and human origin. Therefore, faecal samples of 120 healthy privately owned horses, 227 healthy riding-school horses and 239 hospitalised horses were screened for H. equorum-DNA by means of a PCR ...
West Nile virus: recent trends in diagnosis and vaccine development. West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus, native to Africa, Europe, and Western Asia. In many respects, WNV is an outstanding example of a zoonotic pathogen that has leaped geographical barriers and can cause severe disease in human and horse. Before the emergence of WNV in the USA, only few methods of diagnosis were available. Recently, many changes in the fields of WN diagnosis and prevention have happened. This paper will review all these new tools. After a description of the main concerns in WNV and West Nile (WN) disease in humans and animals, this review will present the main...
Effect of exercise, training, circadian rhythm, age, and sex on insulin-like growth factor-1 in the horse. Insulin-like growth factor-1 could be a useful marker in the horse for diagnostic, selection, or forensic purposes, provided its physiological regulation is well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate factors, such as acute exercise, fitness training, time of day, sex, and age, that may influence serum IGF-1 in normal, healthy horses. Throughout a 9-wk training program, 6 geldings maintained a mean (+/- SEM) IGF-1 concentration of 302 +/- 29 ng/mL. Moderate or high intensity exercise had no effect on IGF-1 concentrations, when pre- and postexercise values were compared. Ove...
West Nile virus isolation from equines in Argentina, 2006. West Nile virus (WNV) was isolated from the brains of 3 horses that died from encephalitis in February 2006. The horses were from different farms in central Argentina and had not traveled outside the country. This is the first isolation of WNV in South America.
A lost Sorraia maternal lineage found in the Lusitano horse breed. A common female founder individual of the Portuguese horse breeds Sorraia and Lusitano was found while conducting research on the variation of the Lusitano mitochondrial DNA lineages in relation to studbook information. We obtained 416-bp control region sequences from 16 descendents of a female Sorraia founder (Pomba) still represented in the living population of the Lusitano, according to the most recent edition of this breed's studbook. The same haplotype was found for all analysed samples and belongs to the haplogroup described by several authors as having predominantly Iberian, South Ameri...
Factor analysis of body measurements in Arabian horses. Data of 13 body measurements have been analysed from 166 Arabian horses, 123 mares and 43 stallions, ranging from 49 to 298 months of age, belonging to Alzahraa stud, Cairo, Egypt. General linear model was used to study age and gender effects on these measures. Gender was a significant source of variation for most studied traits, but not for neck girth, cannon bone circumference of fore and hind legs, and pastern girth of fore and hind legs. Age significantly affected pastern girths of fore and hind legs and cannon bone circumference of fore legs, while there was no significant effect on the o...
Molecular and cytogenetic paternity testing of a male offspring of a hinny. An alleged male foal of a female mule, whose sire and grandparents were unknown, was identified for its pedigree. Parentage testing was conducted by comparing polymorphism of 12 microsatellite DNA sites and mitochondrial D-loop sequences of the male foal and the female mule. Both the sequence analysis of species-specific DNA fragments and a cytogenetic analysis were performed to identify the species of the foal and its parents. The results showed that the alleged female mule is actually a hinny, and the male foal, which possesses 62 chromosomes, qualifies as an offspring of the female hinny an...
Antigenic competition among different ‘O’ antigens of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovars during hyperimmunization in pony mares. The present study on antigenic competition among somatic 'O' antigens of different Salmonella groups (A, B, C1, C2, D and E1) in mares revealed that the immune response to most of the antigens was not (A, B, C2) or little (C1, D) affected by antigenic competition. However, E1 group antigen, which induced high antibody titres (Avg. 12967.3) when given alone, produced almost 3.5 log2 lower antibody titres on giving with other antigens, indicating the antigenic competition among some Salmonella group antigens. The antigenic competition varied for different antigens even of the similar chemical na...
Heritability of hair whorl position on the forehead in Konik horses. There are studies on the relationship between the position and shape of hair whorls on bovine forehead and phenotypic traits. According to anecdotal beliefs by horse users and handlers, temperamental traits may be related to the position of hair whorls in horses. No previous research on the mechanisms of inheritance of hair whorls has been performed, so the aim of the present study was to determine the heritability of the position of the hair whorl on the forehead of Konik horses. The horses (n = 362) were classified into five groups based on the whorl position on forehead with respect to the ...
Genetic correlations between performance traits and radiographic findings in the limbs of German Warmblood riding horses. Results of mare performance tests in the field (MPT-F) of 10,949 mares, mare performance tests at station (MPT-S) of 1,712 mares, and inspections of horses intended for sale at riding horse auctions (AU) of 4,772 horses were used to investigate genetic correlations between corresponding performance traits. Mare performance tests were held in 1995 to 2004 and auction inspections in 1999 to 2004. Scores on a scale from 0 to 10 were given for gaits under rider (walk, trot, canter), rideability (evaluated by judging commission and test rider), free-jumping (ability, style, total), and character. R...
A field study on the effect of some anthelmintics on cyathostomins of horses in sweden. The objective of the study was to investigate different aspects on the efficacy of three anthelmintics on cyathostomin nematodes of Swedish horses. A faecal egg count reduction (FECR) test was performed on 26 farms. Horses were treated orally with recommended doses of ivermectin, pyrantel pamoate or fenbendazole. Faecal samples were collected on the day of deworming and 7, 14 and 21 days later. No resistance was shown against ivermectin; the FECR was constantly >99%. The effect of pyrantel was assessed as equivocal in 6 farms 14 days after treatment; the mean FECR was 99%. As many as 72% of...
Inhibitor-free DNA for real-time PCR analysis of synovial fluid from horses, cattle and pigs. The potential of five different commercial DNA isolation methods to remove real-time PCR inhibitors from the synovial fluid of horses, cattle and pigs was investigated. All kits with the exception of one included a silica column-based purification of the DNA. With the fifth kit, DNA purification is achieved by removing contaminating macromolecules by a desalting process. We used a recently developed method based on comparison of the real-time PCR signal of an artificial target incorporated into each PCR reaction in the presence of the isolated DNA from the sample, and in control samples contai...
Influence of exercise on thermographically determined surface temperatures of thoracic and pelvic limbs in horses. To determine the amount of time required for surface temperatures of thoracic and pelvic limbs in horses to return to pre-exercise temperatures after high-speed treadmill exercise, as detected via infrared thermographic imaging. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: 6 Thoroughbreds. Methods: All horses had been trained on and conditioned to use of a high-speed treadmill. Baseline thermographic images were obtained 3 days prior to exercise (baseline). Horses were exercised on a treadmill at a walk for 5 minutes, a slow trot (3 m/s) for 5 minutes, a trot (5 to 6 m/s) for 5 minutes, and a slow gal...
Measuring the height of ponies at the withers: influence of time of day, water and feed withdrawal, weight-carrying, exercise and sedation. Measuring the height at the withers of a pony is one of the requirements of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), before competitors can participate in an official pony event. A pony has to be measured each year until it is eight years old. With and without shoes the height at the withers must be below 149.0cm and 148.0cm, respectively. When a pony exceeds the regulated height, it is excluded from participating in FEI pony competitions. Besides being excluded from competing, the selling price of the pony decreases dramatically, because the animal is then classified as a horse. For th...
