Equine biomechanics involves the study of the mechanical principles that govern the movement and structure of horses. This field examines the anatomical and physiological aspects that contribute to locomotion, including gait patterns, joint function, and muscle dynamics. Researchers utilize advanced technologies such as motion capture and force plate analysis to assess the efficiency and performance of equine movement. Understanding biomechanics aids in optimizing training regimens, improving performance, and preventing injuries. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanics of equine movement, its applications in sports and rehabilitation, and its impact on overall equine health.
Bish-Jones AR, Papich MG, Orsini JA.This study describes the pharmacokinetics of ertapenem, a carbapenem antimicrobial that has not been previously studied in equids. Administered as a 30 mg/kg intravenous bolus to six healthy horses, serial blood and synovial samples were obtained over 8 h after administration. Pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma and synovial fluid was performed. In plasma, the AUC was 353.10 h × μg/mL (CV = 49.02%), Vss 79.34 mL/kg (CV = 22.85%), CL 84.96 mL/h/kg (CV = 31.31%) and t1/2 2.03 h (CV = 15.32%). In synovial fluid, the AUC was 524.10 h × μg/mL (CV = 16.03...
Hall NP, Sweeney DM, Holmströem M, Kim W, Wang Y, Donahue KD, Palmer SE, Lambert DH, Bayly WM.To determine whether targeted lesion-specific algorithms developed from data collected with accelerometer-based inertial measurement units worn by racing Thoroughbreds could retrospectively identify horses at high risk of incurring forelimb condylar or proximal sesamoid fractures. Unassigned: Fracture-specific algorithms were generated from July 2021 to December 2024 with accelerometer data from 42,623 races by 15,755 horses, including 54 races by 23 horses that subsequently suffered condylar fractures and 90 races by 31 horses that later sustained proximal sesamoid fractures. Fracture-specifi...
Starrett A, Arnold CE, Burr A, Sarturi JO, Leatherwood JL, Pilla R, Awosile BB, Chaffin MK.To quantify gastrointestinal motility at 3 anatomic locations of the large colon in healthy horses fed 2 diets. Unassigned: 12 American Quarter Horses were enrolled in a prospective crossover study. Horses received either a complete pelleted diet fed at 1.35% body weight (BW) per day or Coastal Bermudagrass hay fed at 2% BW with 0.5% to 0.7% BW of complete pelleted feed. Each diet was fed for 13 days prior to motility assessment. Two ultrasonographers recorded the frequency of contractions at the sternal flexure of the large colon, left ventral colon, and cecum for 4 consecutive, 1-minute peri...
Hein M, Volkmann N, Probst J, Kemper N, Venner M.This retrospective report investigated whether starting racehorses' training and racing early is associated with a less successful and a shorter racing career. The data of 600 Thoroughbred racehorses from the German Racehorse Association's archiving programme were evaluated. The horses were classified into three groups regarding their different ages when starting training and racing: early training (16-24 months old)/early racing (two years old); early training/late racing (>two years old); and late training (25-30 months). Statistical models investigated effects on the horses' length of caree...
Vasco ACCM, Warren LK, Silva GM, Cuervo-Vivas W, Brandi RA, Silva VP, Lance JM, Dubeux JC, Wickens CL.Rhizoma peanut (RP, Arachis glabrata Benth) is an alternative legume forage to alfalfa (ALF, Medicago sativa L.) with less non-structural carbohydrates and crude protein. Yet, metabolic responses to consuming RP hay have never been evaluated in horses. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding RP 'Florigraze' hay on fecal and blood metabolic variables compared to alfalfa 'Legendary XHD' and bermudagrass (BMG, Cynodon dactylon L. 'Coastal') hays fed to maintenance horses. Methods: Six mature Quarter Horse geldings (596±40 kg) were randomly assigned to one ...
Bartenschlager F, Kuropka B, Schmitz P, Dumke F, Landmann K, Gruber AD, Weise C, Schnabel CL, Gehlen H, Mundhenk L.Mucus hypersecretion and accumulation are hallmark features of equine asthma (EA), a meaningful respiratory disorder in horses occurring in mild to moderate (MEA) and severe (SEA) forms. Changes of the proteomic composition of airway mucus in EA are poorly understood. Using label-free quantitative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we analyzed airway mucus from SEA (n = 10), MEA (n = 6), and healthy (n = 8) horses. We identified and quantified 2,275 proteins including gel-forming mucins MUC5AC and MUC5B and membrane-bound mucins MUC1 and MUC4. Compared with healthy controls, ...
von der Höden FJ, Stefansdottir SB, Torsteinsdottir S, Svansson V, Björnsson JM, Wagner B, Mahmuti D, Marti E, Jonsdottir S.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a seasonal, IgE-mediated allergic dermatitis of horses caused by salivary gland proteins of biting midges ( spp.). Current management relies on relief of clinical signs and on physical protection. In a previous pilot study, healthy horses were fed transgenic barley expressing a allergen via a special spiral bit, which successfully induced allergen-specific antibody responses. Building on this concept, the present study aimed to evaluate a more practical feeding approach, delivering transgenic barley expressing the major allergen Cul o 2p in a feed-compat...
Cortez JV, Cervi D, Ruiz AJ, Grupen CG.Nicotinic acid (NA) treatment during in vitro maturation (IVM) has been shown to elevate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) levels and improve oocyte developmental competence. Suboptimal equine oocyte IVM systems currently limit the efficiency of viable embryo in vitro production. This study evaluated NA supplementation during IVM for cloned equine embryo production, using oocytes from abattoir-sourced ovaries and live mares via ovum pick-up (OPU). Abattoir-derived oocytes (n = 694) were treated without or with 50 or 200 μM NA during the 18 h holding period (Pre-IVM). Next, OPU-deriv...
Fialová S, Kuřitková D, Sobotková E.This pilot study investigated stress-related behaviors in 238 dressage horse-rider combinations competing at national levels from Elementary (A) to Grand Prix (GP). Noseband tightness was assessed on-site using the FEI noseband measuring device (FNMD), and all but two horses complied with FEI regulations. Video-based analysis quantified conflict behaviors including mouth opening, tail swishing, and changes in head-neck position. Because noseband tightness showed minimal variation, no meaningful association with behavioral expression could be determined. In contrast, competition level had a cle...
Calle-González N, Rivero JL, Argüelles D, Requena F, Muñoz A.Capacitive resistive electrical transfer (CRET) is a non-invasive electromagnetic diathermic technique. The effect of its application 24 h prior to exercise, compared to a sham application performed with the device off, was evaluated in 8 Spanish Purebred dressage stallions. CRET was applied bilaterally on the neck, back, and croup. The horses wore an accelerometer fixed on the sternal area during a dressage test, and spatiotemporal stride parameters, total and dorsoventral (DVAA), longitudinal (LAA), and mediolateral accelerometric activities, as well as dorsoventral displacement, were recor...
Honkavaara JM, Karikoski NP, Palvas L, Pypendop BH, Rinne VM, Raekallio MR.The aim of the study was to determine the exposure to subcutaneously administered butorphanol in horses pre-treated with intravenous (IV) detomidine, with or without vatinoxan, a peripherally selective alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist. Five healthy, adult horses received three IV treatments 7 days apart, in a randomized, cross-over design: detomidine 20 μg/kg (DET-B), detomidine 20 μg/kg with vatinoxan 200 μg/kg (DETVAT-B) and saline (S-B), all followed by 0.1 mg/kg of butorphanol administered subcutaneously 30 min later. Venous samples were collected between 10 and 270 min after...
Palomino Lago E, Roberts SJ, Orriss IR, Lumsden ES, Guest DJ.Bone is a dynamic tissue that is maintained through the co-ordination of bone resorption and bone formation. An imbalance of these processes can lead to bone disease. In vitro studies of osteoblasts can help to understand bone formation, but primary cells have a limited lifespan in culture. Herein, we report the successful generation of equine immortalized osteoblasts through the stable overexpression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and Simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen in osteoblasts isolated from trabecular bone taken from the third metacarpal of a two-year-old Thoroug...
Strootmann T, Peter VG, Körner J.Anatomical variations of the caudal ventral lamina of the sixth cervical vertebra (C6), referred to as equine caudal cervical morphologic variations (ECCMV), and radiographic modelling of the caudal cervical articular process joints (APJ) are commonly identified in sport horses, yet their interrelationship and relevance for athletic performance remain controversial. This retrospective observational study aimed to determine the prevalence of ECCMV and APJ modelling in a clinically sound warmblood sport horse population, to evaluate a potential association and to assess if ECCMV affects competit...
Boger B, Naraian M, Hernandez E, Eaton A, Rockburn R, Tillman I, Payne S, Yob C, Panek C, Manfredi JM.Resistance bands used while horses are exercised with their handlers have shown benefits, but it is unknown if whole-body resistance bands used independently have therapeutic benefits. This study hypothesized that horses with varying gait asymmetries would experience improvements in lameness, muscular function, range of motion, posture, and cortisol following short-term use of a whole-body resistance band wrap (RBW). In this study, nine lame adult horses were evaluated with and without the RBW. The assessment included: objective gait analysis, acoustic myography, postural analysis, gait kinema...
Lewczuk D, Borowska A, Maśko M, Bagnicka E.: Knowledge of the genetic background of evaluated traits has been the basis for genetic progress in every horse-breeding population and is essential for precise breeding and up-to-date decision-making. The study aimed to estimate the heritability coefficients for field performance traits in mares. : The research was based on 1408 evaluations of mares conducted during the years 2002-2021 in 51 training centers in Poland. The preliminary analyses of the effects, significant for the investigated traits, were obtained using analysis of variance, and these additional data are also presented (SAS p...
Gordon S, Pusterla N, Finno CJ, Young A, Martínez-López B.Equine alphaherpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a highly contagious virus that can cause the neurological form, equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Understanding transmission-related risk factors is crucial for improving prevention strategies and guiding effective control measures. In this study, we collected data from 63 horses that had previously participated in the February 2022 winter horse show season at the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) (26 cases and 37 controls) to identify host and management factors associated with EHV-1 infection and/or EHM development during the February 202...
Shan D, Yao X, Ren W, Huang Q, Su Y, Li Z, Li L, Wang R, Ma S, Wang J.Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was employed in this article to map blood DNA methylation profiles at single-base resolution in Yili horses before a 5000 m speed race, with comparative analysis of epigenetic differences between the 'elite group' and 'ordinary group' across six four-year-old stallions. The overall methylation level in the elite group was generally higher than that in the ordinary groups, with a minority of regions showing hypomethylation. For instance, the promoter regions of key metabolic and neuro-related genes exhibited significant hypomethylation. The article ident...
Milczek-Haduch D, Żmigrodzka M, Kiełbik P, Świderska B, Olędzki J, Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O.Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising biomarkers and mediators of intercellular communication, but their isolation from equine biofluids remains challenging. This study compared two isolation workflows-size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and differential ultracentrifugation followed by SEC (UC + SEC)-to evaluate their efficiency, reproducibility, and the proteomic composition of EVs derived from equine serum and plasma. Blood from six healthy horses was processed to obtain platelet-free plasma and serum. EVs were isolated using SEC or UC + SEC and characterized by transmission ele...
So YM, Kwok WH, Yap C, Wong COL, Smalley SGR, Forbes BS, Chow DWY, Ho ENM.This paper describes the detection and longitudinal monitoring of cyclosporine in plasma and urine after subconjunctival implant administration in a horse. Sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) methods for detecting cyclosporine in horse plasma and urine have been developed and validated, with estimated limits of detection down to 1 pg/mL in both matrices. The developed methods enabled longitudinal monitoring of cyclosporine levels in blood and urine samples collected over 6 months from a horse that had received an ocular cyclosporine implant.
An T, Dugarjaviin M.(1) Background: The dun coat color, a wild-type phenotype in horses characterized by pigment dilution and primitive markings, is regulated by . This study explored the expression and localization of in the Bider marking (a primitive mark unique to the shoulder of horses); (2) Methods: We compared skin tissues from Bider-marked and non-Bider dun Mongolian horses. Samples were collected from the Bider area (dark-colored/light-colored shoulder), dorsal midline, and croup. Histological staining, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting were used to analyze pigment distribution and expression at mRNA and pr...
Key K, Kirkegaard J, Berg K, Andresen KR, Skov Hansen S.A handheld smartphone-based computer vision algorithm (RealHorse® [RH]) offers accessible alternatives for equine gait analysis but requires validation against a gold-standard three-dimensional multicamera optical motion capture system (Qualisys® [QS]). Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and precision of RH in measuring vertical displacement signals (VDS) at the eye, withers, back and croup in horses trotting on a straight line and on a circle. Methods: Cross-sectional comparative validation study of a markerless computer vision algorithm. Methods: Fifty-nine horses were recorded while trot...
Valenchon M, Reigner F, Lefort G, Adriaensen H, Gesbert A, Barrière P, Gaude Y, Elleboudt F, Lévy I, Ducluzeau C, Dupont J, Lainé AL, Uszynski I....Social interactions shape both the physiological and behavioural development of offspring, and poor care/early caregiver loss is known to promote adverse outcomes during infancy in both animals and humans. How affiliative behaviours impact the future development of offspring remains an open question. Here, we used Equus caballus (domestic horse) as a model to investigate this question. By coupling magnetic resonance imaging, longitudinal biobehavioural assessments and advanced multivariate statistical modelling, we found that prolonged maternal presence during infancy promotes the maturation o...
Jafari H, Abebe BK, Cong L, Ahmed Z, Zhaofei W, Sun M, Muhatai G, Chuzhao L, Dang R.The domestication and selective breeding of horses have profoundly influenced the emergence of adaptive traits and stress resistance mechanisms, shaping modern equine populations. This comprehensive review examines the genomic foundations of these traits, emphasizing recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatics. These tools have elucidated the genetic underpinnings of key characteristics such as endurance, speed, metabolic efficiency, and disease resistance. Importantly, the review identifies and connects gene variants associated with thermoregulation, immu...
Alves NC, Freitas MM, Faria JRD, Horta CL, Martins-Filho OA, Araújo MSS, Costa GMJ, Costa EA, de Almeida FRL, Amaral PHR, Pérez JCG, Lana ÂQ....Niacin acts as an antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative damage. This study evaluated the effects of adding niacin to the equine semen freezing extender on sperm quality and gene expression after cryopreservation. Ejaculates from ten stallions were frozen using the INRA 96 extender (control) or extenders supplemented with 10- and 20-mM niacin. After thawing, sperm were analysed for motility, kinematics, viability, membrane integrity, mitochondrial potential, lipid peroxidation, nitrite, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations, DNA integrity, ...
Franzan BC, da Silva Coelho I, Ramos EM, de Souza ARP, de Almeida FQ, Silva VP.This study aimed to investigate the gradual adaptation of the fecal bacterial community and in vitro fermentative capacity of horses fed a complete extruded diet (CED). Twelve geldings weighing 370 kg were removed from a native pasture and fed coastcross hay (Cynodon spp) for 7 days. In the second week, horses were assigned to two groups: one group was fed exclusively with coastcross hay (HAY) for 28 days and the other group fed with weekly increases of CED (30%, 60%, and 100%) to replace HAY. Fecal samples were collected on Days 7, 14, 21, and 28 for microbiota and in vitro fermentati...
Hämäläinen MJ, Brotherus IL, Wigren HM, Kaimio TE, Suomala H, Olbricht AM, Hänninen LT, Mykkänen AK.Reduced rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep is associated with impaired learning in many species. We developed a reversal learning test (RLT) suitable for field conditions to explore this association in 16 healthy horses. Nocturnal REM-like sleep behavior was recorded five times for 48 h over a six-week period. The horses performed a target training task followed by an RLT using two objects. When the horses reached a predefined frequency of touching the object, the spatial location was reversed. Mean test parameters were statistically analysed using GENLIN models, longitudinal continuous variables...
Khalil WA, Sharf MI, Derbala MK, Alfattah MA, Hassan MAE, Alhujaili W, El-Harairy MA, Abdelnour SA.Oxidative stress is a major contributor to male infertility. Therefore, fortifying assisted reproductive technology with nanotechnology could enhance sperm preservation. Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of myo-inositol nano-emulsion (MINE) supplementation in semen extender on sperm quality, redox balance, semen bacteriology, apoptosis, ultrastructure, and acrosome status of chilled stallion semen. Methods: Semen samples were collected and preserved with 0 (MINE0), 1 (MINE1), and 2 (MINE2) mg of MINE/mL of extender. Results: Results revealed that extender fortified with 1 or 2 ...
Vallejo-Soto P, Dorado J, Herrera-García R, Álvarez-Delgado C, Gómez-Laguna J, Santiago Á, Manrique M, González Ariza A, León Jurado JM....Assisted reproductive techniques are often extrapolated from horses to donkeys, despite poorer fertility outcomes in jennies. This issue has been attributed to unknown uterine species-specific differences. This study compared, through histomorphometry, the endometrium of jennies and mares. Endometrial biopsies (N = 12) were taken from reproductively sound jennies (n = 6) and mares (n = 6) in estrus. Histomorphometric analysis evaluated luminal (LE, µm) and glandular epithelium height (GE, µm), glandular lumen diameter (LD, µm), glandular area (GA, µm), the number of glands (#G), and glandu...
Hansen T, Kendall A, Finne R, Law E, Ringdahl A, Nostell K.Abdominal ultrasound is widely used to evaluate the intestinal tract of horses. Despite being a routine examination, there is limited data on the reliability of this diagnostic procedure. Objective: To investigate intra- and inter-rater reliability of ultrasonographic intestinal wall thickness measurements in healthy horses. A second aim was to assess variance within repeated measurements to determine threshold values that distinguish whether differences between repeated examinations are true findings versus solely due to measurement variation. Methods: In vivo reliability study. Methods: Eigh...
Smith RK, Birch HL, Goodman S, Heinegård D, Goodship AE.Strain-induced tendinopathy is a common injury in both human and equine athletes, with increasing incidence associated with greater involvement in sport and an increasingly aged population. This paper reviews our studies on the abundant non-collagenous protein, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), in equine tendons. Its variation between tendon type and site, age and exercise has provided an insight into how age and exercise influence tendon growth and maturation. Tendons can be broadly divided into two types, reflecting their different matrix composition and function: the energy-storin...
Costa MC, Stämpfli HR, Allen-Vercoe E, Weese JS.The intestinal microbiota is a complex polymicrobial ecosystem that exerts extremely important roles in the development and maintenance of health. Recently, as new sequencing technologies have become more available, there has been a revolution in the understanding of the equine intestinal microbiota. However, studies characterising the pioneer intestinal bacteria colonising foals and its development over time are still limited. Objective: The objectives of this study were to characterise the intestinal bacterial colonisation of newborn foals and to follow individual animals over time until age...
Kurien BT, Everds NE, Scofield RH.Animal urine collection is a vital part of veterinary practice for ascertaining animal health and in scientific investigations for assessing the results of experimental manipulations. Untainted animal urine collection is very challenging, especially with small rodents, and is an almost impossible task under conditions of microgravity. The fundamental aspects of urine collection are: (1) ease of collection, (2) quality of sample, (3) prevention of contamination, (4) severity of procedures used, (5) levels of pain caused to the animal and (6) refinement of methods to reduce stress, pain or distr...
Harris PA, Ellis AD, Fradinho MJ, Jansson A, Julliand V, Luthersson N, Santos AS, Vervuert I.The horse is a non-ruminant herbivore adapted to eating plant-fibre or forage-based diets. Some horses are stabled for most or the majority of the day with limited or no access to fresh pasture and are fed preserved forage typically as hay or haylage and sometimes silage. This raises questions with respect to the quality and suitability of these preserved forages (considering production, nutritional content, digestibility as well as hygiene) and required quantities. Especially for performance horses, forage is often replaced with energy dense feedstuffs which can result in a reduction in the p...
Frisbie DD, Lu Y, Kawcak CE, DiCarlo EF, Binette F, McIlwraith CW.Current autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) techniques require 2 surgical procedures: 1 for cell harvest and 1 for reimplantation of cultured cells. A 1-step procedure is more desirable. Objective: A 1-step surgical procedure using autologous cartilage fragments on a polydioxanone scaffold, or CAIS (cartilage autograft implantation system), in a clinically relevant defect (15-mm diameter) within equine femoral trochlea was compared with a 2-step ACI technique as well as with empty defects and defects with polydioxanone foam scaffolds alone. Methods: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: ...
Bellone RR, Holl H, Setaluri V, Devi S, Maddodi N, Archer S, Sandmeyer L, Ludwig A, Foerster D, Pruvost M, Reissmann M, Bortfeldt R, Adelson DL....Leopard complex spotting is a group of white spotting patterns in horses caused by an incompletely dominant gene (LP) where homozygotes (LP/LP) are also affected with congenital stationary night blindness. Previous studies implicated Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamily M, Member 1 (TRPM1) as the best candidate gene for both CSNB and LP. RNA-Seq data pinpointed a 1378 bp insertion in intron 1 of TRPM1 as the potential cause. This insertion, a long terminal repeat (LTR) of an endogenous retrovirus, was completely associated with LP, testing 511 horses (χ(2)=1022.00, p<<...
De Boyer Des Roches A, Richard-Yris MA, Henry S, Ezzaouïa M, Hausberger M.Lateralization of emotions has received great attention in the last decades, both in humans and animals, but little interest has been given to side bias in perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the influence of the emotional valence of stimuli on visual and olfactory explorations by horses, a large mammalian species with two large monocular visual fields and almost complete decussation of optic fibres. We confronted 38 Arab mares to three objects with either a positive, negative or neutral emotional valence (novel object). The results revealed a gradient of exploration of the 3 objects ...
Evans SV, Brayer GD.The three-dimensional structure of horse heart metmyoglobin has been refined to a final R-factor of 15.5% for all observed data in the 6.0 to 1.9 A resolution range. The final model consists of 1242 non-hydrogen protein atoms, 154 water molecules and one sulfate ion. This structure has nearly ideal bonding and bond angle geometry. A Luzzati plot of the variation in R-factor with resolution yields an estimated mean co-ordinate error of 0.18 A. An extensive analysis of the pattern of hydrogen bonds formed in horse heart metmyoglobin has been completed. Over 80% of the polypeptide chain is involv...
Kojima Y, Berger C, Vallee BL, Kägi JH.The amino-acid sequence of a metallothionein is reported. Metallothionein is a widely distributed, extremely cysteine-rich, low-molecular-weight protein containing large amounts of cadmium and/or zinc. Metallothionein-1B is one of the two prinicipal variants occurring in equine kidney cortex. The single-chain protein contains 61 amino acids and has the composition Cys20 Ser8Lys7Arg1Ala7Gly5Val3Asp2Asn1-Glu1Gln2Pro2Thr1Met1(Cd + Zn)7. Its amino-terminal residue is N-acetylmethionine. The sequence shows distinct clustering of the twenty cysteinyl residues into seven groups separated by stretches...
Lange-Consiglio A, Rossi D, Tassan S, Perego R, Cremonesi F, Parolini O.We have recently demonstrated that heterologous transplantation of horse amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal cells (AMCs) can be useful for cell therapy applications in tendon diseases, and hypothesized that these cells may promote tendon repair via paracrine-acting molecules targeting inflammatory processes. To test this hypothesis, here we examined the immunomodulatory characteristics of AMCs and of their conditioned medium (AMC-CM) in vitro, and studied the potential therapeutic effect of AMC-CM in thirteen different spontaneous horse tendon and ligament injuries in vivo. Our results demo...
Nielsen MK, Baptiste KE, Tolliver SC, Collins SS, Lyons ET.Increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance in equine nematodes have led to recommendations of more sustainable anthelmintic treatment protocols with emphasis on parasite surveillance and diagnosis, rather than prophylactic calendar-based treatments. This requires knowledge of the diagnostic test performance of techniques for counts of eggs per gram of feces (EPG) as well as methods for culturing, counting and identifying third stage (L(3)) strongyle larvae per gram of feces (LPG). For horses, such information does not exist in the published literature. The aim of this study was to examine th...
Uller C, Lewis J.The ability to select the greater numerosity over another in small sets seems to stem from the calculation of which set contains more, and has been taken as evidence of a primordial representation at the roots of the primate numerical system. We tested 56 horses (Equus caballus) in a paradigm previously used with human infants and nonhuman primates. Horses saw two quantities paired in contrasts-2 versus 1, 3 versus 2, 6 versus 4 and a control for volume, 2 versus 1 big-and had to make a choice by snout touching the container holding the numerosity selected. The horses spontaneously selected th...
Koch TG, Berg LC, Betts DH.This paper provides a bird's-eye perspective of the general principles of stem-cell therapy and tissue engineering; it relates comparative knowledge in this area to the current and future status of equine regenerative medicine.The understanding of equine stem cell biology, biofactors, and scaffolds, and their potential therapeutic use in horses are rudimentary at present. Mesenchymal stem cell isolation has been proclaimed from several equine tissues in the past few years. Based on the criteria of the International Society for Cellular Therapy, most of these cells are more correctly referred t...
Williams IF, McCullagh KG, Silver IA.During tissue response to injury the glycoproteins fibronectin and Type III collagen are synthesized in increased amounts. We have studied the distribution of these molecules in the healing tendon at various times after injury by comparison with that of the major constituent of normal tendon, Type I collagen. Immunofluorescent localization demonstrated the presence of fibronectin throughout the tendon within one week after injury. Staining was found in the matrix, both around capillaries and around fibroblast-like cells. Fibronectin was still apparent in the healing tendon at one month after i...
Fortier LA, Nixon AJ, Williams J, Cable CS.To isolate mesenchymal stem cells from adult horses and determine specific monolayer culture conditions required to enhance biochemically and phenotypically defined chondrocytic differentiation. Methods: 2 adult horse bone marrow donors without skeletal or hematologic abnormalities. Methods: Bone marrow was aspirated from the sternebra, and mesenchymal stem cells were isolated by centrifugation and cultured in monolayers. Subcultures were established in 24-well plates on day 13. Culture medium was harvested every 2 days, and culture of 12 of the 24 wells was terminated on day 6 and of the rema...
Maros K, Gácsi M, Miklósi A.Twenty domestic horses (Equus caballus) were tested for their ability to rely on different human gesticular cues in a two-way object choice task. An experimenter hid food under one of two bowls and after baiting, indicated the location of the food to the subjects by using one of four different cues. Horses could locate the hidden reward on the basis of the distal dynamic-sustained, proximal momentary and proximal dynamic-sustained pointing gestures but failed to perform above chance level when the experimenter performed a distal momentary pointing gesture. The results revealed that horses coul...
Stomp M, Leroux M, Cellier M, Henry S, Lemasson A, Hausberger M.Indicators of positive emotions are still scarce and many proposed behavioural markers have proven ambiguous. Studies established a link between acoustic signals and emitter's internal state, but few related to positive emotions and still fewer considered non-vocal sounds. One of them, the snort, is shared by several perrisodactyls and has been associated to positive contexts in these species. We hypothesized that this could be also the case in horses. In this species, there is a clear need for a thorough description of non-vocal acoustic signals (snorts, snores or blows are often used interch...
Birch HL, Bailey AJ, Goodship AE.Injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon are common in horses required to gallop and jump at speed. Partial rupture of this tendon usually occurs in the central core of the midmetacarpal region and may be preceded by localised degenerative changes. Post mortem examination of apparently normal equine flexor tendons has revealed an abnormal macroscopic appearance in the central core, characterised by a reddish discolouration. We have previously shown that there is also physical damage to the collagen fibres. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that the abnormal appearance is a...
Science (New York, N.Y.)July 19, 1991
Volume 253, Issue 5017 306-308 doi: 10.1126/science.1857965
Farley CT, Taylor CR.It is widely thought that animals switch gaits at speeds that minimize energetic cost. Horses naturally switched from a trot to a gallop at a speed where galloping required more energy than trotting, and thus, the gait transition actually increased the energetic cost of running. However, by galloping at this speed, the peak forces on the muscles, tendons, and bones, and presumably the chance of injury, are reduced. When the horses carried weights, they switched from a trot to a gallop at a lower speed but at the same critical level of force. These findings suggest that the trot-gallop transiti...
McMahon TA.Many parameters of gait and performance, including stride frequency, stride length, maximum speed, and rate of O2 uptake are experimentally found to be power-law functions of body weight in running quadrupeds. All of these parameters are reasonably easy to measure except maximum speed, where the question arises whether one means top sprinting speed or top speed for sustained running. Moreover, differences in training and motivation make comparisons of top speed difficult. The problem is circumvented by comparing animals running at the transition between trotting and galloping, a physiologicall...
Lampe JF, Andre J.This study has shown that domestic horses are capable of cross-modal recognition of familiar humans. It was demonstrated that horses are able to discriminate between the voices of a familiar and an unfamiliar human without seeing or smelling them at the same moment. Conversely, they were able to discriminate the same persons when only exposed to their visual and olfactory cues, without being stimulated by their voices. A cross-modal expectancy violation setup was employed; subjects were exposed both to trials with incongruent auditory and visual/olfactory identity cues and trials with congruen...
Brossi PM, Moreira JJ, Machado TS, Baccarin RY.This systematic review aimed to present and critically appraise the available information on the efficacy of platelet rich plasma (PRP) in equine and human orthopedic therapeutics and to verify the influence of study design and methodology on the assumption of PRP's efficacy. We searched Medline, PubMed, Embase, Bireme and Google Scholar without restrictions until July 2013. Randomized trials, human cohort clinical studies or case series with a control group on the use of PRP in tendons, ligaments or articular lesions were included. Equine clinical studies on the same topics were included inde...
Gerding JC, Gilger BC.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a leading cause of vision loss in horses. Objective: To assess the prognosis and impact of ERU on affected horses and their owners by evaluating the signalment, treatment and outcome (including the loss of use, vision assessment and economic loss). Methods: Retrospective impact study. Methods: Medical records of horses presenting to the North Carolina State University Veterinary Health Complex (NCSU-VHC) with ERU between 1999 and 2014 were reviewed. Signalment, clinical signs, ophthalmic examination findings, treatments and outcomes were evaluated. Owner quest...
Nagore D, García-Sanmartín J, García-Pérez AL, Juste RA, Hurtado A.Specific oligonucleotide probes were designed to develop a new and highly sensitive reverse line blot assay to detect and identify simultaneously different Theileria and Babesia species in horses. The amplified hypervariable V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene was hybridised against different generic and species-specific probes. The survey was conducted over 243 samples of equine blood divided into three different groups: group 1, 24 horses presented as possible clinical piroplasmosis; group 2, 181 clinically healthy free-ranging horses exposed to ticks; group 3, 38 riding horses with unrelated pat...
Harris RC, Marlin DJ, Dunnett M, Snow DH, Hultman E.1. Muscle buffering capacity (beta m) and dipeptide content were measured in locomotory muscles of the Thoroughbred horse, Greyhound dog and Man. 2. Beta m and carnosine contents were highest in the horse. Anserine was only found in dog muscle. 3. The higher beta m in horse and dog muscle, compared with man, appears to be predominantly due to higher muscle contents of histidine containing dipeptides in these species.
Lemasson A, Boutin A, Boivin S, Blois-Heulin C, Hausberger M.Many animal species that rely mainly on calls to communicate produce individual acoustic structures, but we wondered whether individuals of species better known as visual communicants, with small vocal repertoires, would also exhibit individual distinctiveness in calls. Moreover, theoretical advances concerning the evolution of social intelligence are usually based on primate species data, but relatively little is known about the social cognitive capacities of non-primate mammals. However, some non-primate species demonstrate auditory recognition of social categories and possess mental represe...
Kandeil A, Gomaa M, Shehata M, El-Taweel A, Kayed AE, Abiadh A, Jrijer J, Moatasim Y, Kutkat O, Bagato O, Mahmoud S, Mostafa A, El-Shesheny R....Dromedary camels are natural host of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). However, there are limited studies of MERS-CoV infection of other domestic mammals exposed to infected dromedaries. We expanded our surveillance among camels in Egypt, Tunisia, and Senegal to include other domestic mammalian species in contact with infected camels. A total of 820 sera and 823 nasal swabs from cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, buffaloes, mules, and horses were collected. Swabs were tested using RT-PCR and virus RNA-positive samples were genetically sequenced and phylogenetically analy...
Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Lukasik K, Skarzynski DJ, Okuda K.Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 not only regulates cell growth, development, and tissue remodeling, but it also participates in the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis. In the equine endometrium, the concentration of TGF-β1 is correlated with endometrosis (equine endometrial fibrosis). In other tissues, TGF-β1 induces differentiation of many cell types into myofibroblasts. These cells are characterized by α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and an ability to deposit excessive amounts of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The aim of the study was to determine whether TGF-β1 plays...
