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.
Weinert JR, Werner J, Williams CA.Field studies characterizing equine grazing activity primarily rely on observational protocols, limiting the quantity and accuracy of collected data. The objectives of this study were to validate an automated chew sensor technology, the EquiWatch System (EWS), for detecting grazing behaviors and to demonstrate potential applications of the EWS in equine grazing research. Eight mature standardbred mares were used in this study. EquiWatch System validation was completed in two phases: grazing time was evaluated in experiment 1 and chew counts in experiment 2. The correlation between visual obser...
Canever MF, Miletti LC.The development of new drugs targeting neglected animal diseases is imperative. In Asia and South America, Trypanosoma evansi is a pathogen that affects horses and other species, causing economic losses associated with reduced animal productivity and death. In order to accelerate the identification of drugs with activity against neglected diseases, Medicines for Malaria Venture has developed Pathogen Box®, a library of 400 different molecules. The present work aimed to identify compounds present in the Pathogen Box® library, measuring in vitro activity against T. evansi. Among the 400 compou...
Bai H, Lu H, Wang L, Wang S, Zeng W, Zhang T.Ningqiang pony is one of the five pony breeds in China and is listed as a rare species. It is, therefore, meaningful to conduct stature research on this breed for its efficient reproduction, utilization and protection. This study is based on four SNP variants of adjacent LCORL/NCAPG, HMGA2, ZFAT and LASP1 genes, which have been found to be associated with horse height, and then, the 4 SNP loci in 22 Ningqiang ponies were analyzed. The results showed that there were genetic variations at the four loci in Ningqiang pony, there was a SNP on LCORL/NCAPG, HMGA2 and ZFAT gene all including T allele ...
Gilday R, Richard H, Beauchamp G, Fogarty U, Laverty S.The administration of bisphosphonate medications, which target osteoclastic-bone remodelling, to juvenile and adult racehorses is a matter of debate owing to concerns that these molecules remain bound to the bone-mineralised matrix and may interfere with subsequent bone growth, adaptation to exercise and healing of bone microdamage in equine athletes. Osteoclasts participate in endochondral ossification, subchondral bone remodelling and bone repair. There is a knowledge gap on the role of equine osteoclast biology in the growth and maturation of joint surfaces and this information is important...
Han H, McGivney BA, Farries G, Katz LM, MacHugh DE, Randhawa IAS, Hill EW.Thoroughbred horse racing is a global sport with major hubs in Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan. Regional preferences for certain traits have resulted in phenotypic variation that may result from adaptation to the local racing ecosystem. Here, we test the hypothesis that genes selected for regional phenotypic variation may be identified by analysis of selection signatures in pan-genomic SNP genotype data. Comparing Australian to non-Australian Thoroughbred horses (n = 99), the most highly differentiated loci in a composite selection signals (CSS) analysis were on ECA6 (34.75-34.85 ...
Kavanagh KD, Bailey CS, Sears KE.Previous work comparing the developmental mechanisms involved in digit reduction in horses with other mammals reported that horses have only a 'single digit', with two flanking metapodials identified as remnants of digit II and IV. Here we show that early embryos go through a stage with five digit condensations, and that the flanking splint metapodials result from fusions of the two anterior digits I and II and the two posterior digits IV and V, in a striking parallel between ontogeny and phylogeny. Given that even this most extreme case of digit reduction exhibits primary pentadactyly, we re...
Grilz-Seger G, Reiter S, Neuditschko M, Wallner B, Rieder S, Leeb T, Jagannathan V, Mesarič M, Cotman M, Pausch H, Lindgren G, Velie B, Horna M....The roan coat color in horses is characterized by dispersed white hair and dark points. This phenotype segregates in a broad range of horse breeds, while the underlying genetic background is still unknown. Previous studies mapped the roan locus to the KIT gene on equine chromosome 3 (ECA3). However, this association could not be validated across different horse breeds. Performing a genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) in Noriker horses, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (ECA3:g.79,543.439 A > G) in the intron 17 of the KIT gene. The G -allele of the top associated SNP...
Winter RL, Tian Y, Caldwell FJ, Seeto WJ, Koehler JW, Pascoe DA, Fan S, Gaillard P, Lipke EA, Wooldridge AA.Endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) may be useful therapeutically in conditions with poor blood supply, such as distal limb wounds in the horse. Encapsulation of ECFCs into injectable hydrogel microspheres may ensure cell survival and cell localization to improve neovascularization and healing. Autologous ECFCs were isolated from 6 horses, labeled with quantum nanodots (QD), and a subset were encapsulated in poly(ethylene) glycol fibrinogen microspheres (PEG-Fb MS). Full-thickness dermal wounds were created on each distal limb and injected with empty PEG-Fb MS, serum, ECFCs, or ECFCs enca...
Liu S, Jiang S, Dong XG, Cui R, Ling Y, Zhao C.The Debao pony is a well-known dwarf horse breed in China. High-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) gene is regarded as one of the important candidate genes regulating body height in horses. The aim of this study was to study the association between mutations in HMGA2 gene and withers height in Debao ponies. The polymorphisms in all exons and partial introns of the HMGA2 gene were screened with sequencing across 180 Debao ponies. And the association between the DNA variants and withers height was analyzed. Seven genetic variants were identified in HMGA2 gene, including six novel variants. Among t...
Rørvang MV, Nielsen TB, Christensen JW.Animals can acquire new behavior through both individual and social learning. Several studies have investigated horses' ability to utilize inter-species (human demonstrator) social learning with conflicting results. In this study, we repeat a previous study, which found that horses had the ability to learn from observing humans performing an instrumental task, but we include a control for stimulus enhancement. One human demonstrator and thirty horses were included, and the horses were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: (A) full human demonstration, (B) partial human demonstration, a...
Lemirre T, Santschi E, Girard C, Fogarty U, Chapuis L, Richard H, Beauchamp G, Laverty S.The juvenile equine medial femoral condyle (MFC) is frequently affected with radiographic changes (sclerosis and subchondral lucencies) that arise at a similar site to juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) in children. There is little information on maturation of the MFC. To describe the normal development of the equine MFC osteochondral unit from birth to 2 years. Unassigned: Micro CT, histology and immunohistochemistry were performed on healthy equine MFCs (n = 29) at sites where lesions occur. Parameters assessed included: cartilage thickness; the epiphyseal growth plate cartilage org...
Winton CL, McMahon R, Hegarty MJ, McEwan NR, Davies-Morel MCG, Morgan C, Nash DM.The UK and Ireland have many native pony breeds with historical and cultural importance as well as being a source of uncharacterized genetic diversity. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research investigating their genetic diversity and phylogenetic interrelationships. Many studies contain a limited number of pony breeds or small sample sizes for these breeds. This may result in erroneous grouping of pony breeds that otherwise have intricate interrelationships with each other and are not evaluated correctly when placed as a token subset of a larger dataset. This is the first study that...
Schrimpf A, Single MS, Nawroth C.Dogs and cats use human emotional information directed to an unfamiliar situation to guide their behavior, known as social referencing. It is not clear whether other domestic species show similar socio-cognitive abilities in interacting with humans. We investigated whether horses ( = 46) use human emotional information to adjust their behavior to a novel object and whether the behavior of horses differed depending on breed type. Horses were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an experimenter positioned in the middle of a test arena directed gaze and voice towards the novel object with eith...
Skarzynski DJ, Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Rebordão MR, Jalali BM, Piotrowska-Tomala KK, Leciejewska N, Łazarczyk M, Ferreira-Dias GM.The innate and adaptive immune mechanisms are key components of regulation of reproductive physiological function and uterine disorders in equine uterus. The predominant immunological response in equine endometrium, characterized by an innate immune response, occurs under estrogens influence, in the follicular phase. Although, the increase in immune-related genes in equine endometrium during estrus has been suggested to play a role in uterine clearance after mating, immune cells and their product, i.e. cytokines play also mandatory role in the luteal development and maintenance, regression of ...
Pu Y, Zhang Y, Zhang T, Han J, Ma Y, Liu X.As a nutrient sensor, the placenta plays a key role in regulating fetus growth and development. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to regulate growth-related traits. However, the biological function of lncRNAs in horse placentas remains unclear. To compare the expression patterns of lncRNAs in the placentas of the Chinese Ningqiang (NQ) and Yili (YL) breeds, we performed a transcriptome analysis using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology. NQ is a pony breed with an average adult height at the withers of less than 106 cm, whereas that of YL is around 148 cm. Based on 813 million high...
Parés-Casanova PM, Salamanca-Carreño A, Crosby-Granados RA, Bentez-Molano J.Skull size and shape have been widely used to study domestic animal populations and breeds. Although several techniques have been proposed to quantify cranial form, few attempts have been made to compare the results obtained by different techniques. While linear morphometrics has traditionally been used in breed characterization, recent advances in geometric morphometrics have created new techniques for specifically quantifying shape and size. The objective of this study was to compare two morphometric methods for their ability to describe external morphology. For this purpose, 20 skull specim...
Rzekęć A, Vial C, Bigot G.Despite the decline of equine populations in the middle of the 20th century, the European horse industry is growing again thanks to economic alternatives found in the diversification of the uses of equines (sports, racing, leisure, etc.). Equines have many environmental advantages, but the fragmentation of the sector and the lack of synthetic knowledge about their environmental impacts do not enable the promotion of these assets and their effective inclusion in management practices and European policies. To highlight the equine environmental impacts, a literature review was carried out to cove...
Goncalves GR, Morotti F, Colombo AHB, Bonato DV, Bizarro-Silva C, Rosa CO, Cavalieri FLB, Seneda MM.Age and antral follicle count (AFC) are related to fertility in cattle, but this information remains limited in mares. Methods: To verify the influence of age and AFC on the reproductive characteristics of mares, 15 Quarter Horse donors, with 5-15 antral follicles, ranging from three to 17 years old, healthy and in good nutritional status, were divided into groups with low AFC (≤9 follicles) or high AFC (≥10 follicles) and mares considered young (≤9 years) or old (≥10 years). Mares were submitted to ultrasonography to determine the dominant follicle diameter, follicular growth rate, de...
Moore LV, Zsoldos RR, Licka TF.The present study investigated accelerations of the front and hind hooves of horses comparing two different shoe types. A standard steel shoe, with studs, pins, and in some instances with toe grabs, was compared to a steel shoe covered on the bottom with a layer of polyurethane. Four horses were used; they trotted in hand on an asphalt track at their self-selected speed. The results showed significantly reduced decelerations during the stance phase with the polyurethane-covered shoes (10th percentile median steel -2.77 g, polyurethane -2.46 g; 0.06) and significantly increased decelerations i...
Bao T, Han H, Li B, Zhao Y, Bou G, Zhang X, Du M, Zhao R, Mongke T, Laxima , Ding W, Jia Z, Dugarjaviin M, Bai D.Skeletal muscle is the largest organ system in the mammalian body and plays a key role in locomotion of horses. Fast and slow muscle fibers have different abilities and functions to adapt to exercises. To investigate the RNA and miRNA expression profiles in the muscles with different muscle fiber compositions on Mongolian horses. We examined the muscle fiber type population and produced deep RNA sequencing for different parts of skeletal muscles. And chose two of them with the highest difference in fast and slow muscle fiber population (splenius and gluteus medius) for comparing the gene expre...
Ablondi M, Eriksson S, Tetu S, Sabbioni A, Viklund Å, Mikko S.The equestrian sport horse Swedish Warmblood (SWB) originates from versatile cavalry horses. Most modern SWB breeders have specialized their breeding either towards show jumping or dressage disciplines. The aim of this study was to explore the genomic structure of SWB horses to evaluate the presence of genomic subpopulations, and to search for signatures of selection in subgroups of SWB with high or low breeding values (EBVs) for show jumping. We analyzed high density genotype information from 380 SWB horses born in the period 2010-2011, and used Principal Coordinates Analysis and Discriminant...
Rodríguez MB, Gambini A, Clérico G, Ynsaurralde-Rivolta AE, Briski O, Largel H, Sansinena M, Salamone DF.Assisted reproduction techniques (ARTs) have become widespread in the equine breeding industry. In particular, the combination of oocyte recovery from live mares followed by IVM and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has increased markedly among the ARTs used with valuable or low-fertility animals. There is currently no consensus among research groups regarding the optimal oocyte maturation period to produce high-quality embryos. In this study, we report the maturation dynamics of equine oocytes at different time points, from 20 to 40h (Experiment 1). In addition, in Experiment 2, equine ...
Kagan IA, Anderson ML, Kramer KJ, Seman DH, Lawrence LM, Smith SR.Nonstructural carbohydrates of pasture plants, comprising water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) and starch, may contribute to excessive consumption of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates by grazing horses. Seasonal and diurnal variation in WSCs were studied in red (Trifolium pratense L.) and white clovers (Trifolium repens L.) subjected to a typical management regime of rotationally grazed horse pastures. Two red and two white clover cultivars from monoculture plots were harvested after 4 weeks of growth from April to October of 2015, in the morning and afternoon of each harvest date. Water-soluble...
Allen KJ, Tennant KV, Franklin SH.Published studies vary as to whether epithelial cells are included in differential counts for tracheal wash (TW) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology in horses. The aim of this study was to determine whether inclusion or exclusion of epithelial cells affects interpretation of airway cytology. Using criteria of >20% TW neutrophils, >10% BAL neutrophils and/or >5% BAL mast cells to indicate airway inflammation, there was a change in categorisation from 'normal' to 'abnormal' in 21%, 4% and 8% horses, respectively, when epithelial cells were excluded from differential counts. It is recommend...
Jaqueth AL, Hathaway M, Catalano DN, Linders NC, Mottet R, Martinson KL.Social media are an ever-present part of daily life and for researchers and may be a useful platform to increase potential participant pools for Web-based surveys. Although survey usage to evaluate practices in the equine community is not new, the use of social media to advertise and enhance the usage of Web-based surveys is novel. In 2018, the University of Minnesota (UMN) equine Extension program developed and administered two Web-based surveys through the UMN equine Extension Facebook page and monthly e-newsletter. Surveys focused on industry practices and motivating factors behind the usag...
Trösch M, Cuzol F, Parias C, Calandreau L, Nowak R, Lansade L.Over the last few years, an increasing number of studies have aimed to gain more insight into the field of animal emotions. In particular, it is of interest to determine whether animals can cross-modally categorize the emotions of others. For domestic animals that share a close relationship with humans, we might wonder whether this cross-modal recognition of emotions extends to humans, as well. In this study, we tested whether horses could recognize human emotions and attribute the emotional valence of visual (facial expression) and vocal (non-verbal vocalization) stimuli to the same perceptua...
Klohonatz KM, Coleman SJ, Cameron AD, Hess AM, Reed KJ, Canovas A, Medrano JF, Islas-Trejo AD, Kalbfleisch T, Bouma GJ, Bruemmer JE.Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) in the mare is not well defined. In a non-pregnant mare, prostaglandin F (PGF) is released on day 14 post-ovulation (PO) to cause luteal regression, resulting in loss of progesterone production. Equine MRP occurs prior to day 14 to halt PGF production. Studies have failed to identify a gene candidate for MRP, so attention has turned to small, non-coding RNAs. The objective of this study was to evaluate small RNA (<200 nucleotides) content in endometrium during MRP. Mares were used in a cross-over design with each having a pregnant and non-mated cycle. Ea...
Draper ACE, Cahalan SD, Goodwin D, Perkins J, Piercy RJ.Equine recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) is a naturally occurring model of length-dependent axonopathy characterized by asymmetrical degeneration of recurrent laryngeal nerve axons (RLn). Distal RLn degeneration is marked, but it is unclear whether degeneration extends to include cell bodies (consistent with a neuronopathy). With examiners blinded to RLN severity, brainstem location, and side, we examined correlations between RLN severity (assessed using left distal RLn myelinated axon count) and histopathological features (including chromatolysis and glial responses) in the nucleus ambiguu...
Steinfort S, Obach-Schröck C, Röcken M, Theiss F, Failing K, Vogelsberg J, Staszyk C.Equine periodontal disease (ePD) usually starts with food impaction, formation of diastemata, gingival inflammation and formation of periodontal pockets. This process proceeds toward the dentoalveolar space, causing detachment of tooth supporting periodontal fibers. Although several therapeutical procedures have been proposed, ePD is often only diagnosed in advanced stages, requiring dental extraction. A similar dilemma has been observed in small animal medicine, but has been overcome by the introduction of reliable examination protocols for the early diagnosis of periodontal diseases (PD). Th...
Johnson PJ, Janvier V, Luh WM, FitzMaurice M, Southard T, Barry EF.There is growing interest in the horse for behavioral, neuroanatomic and neuroscientific research due to its large and complex brain, cognitive abilities and long lifespan making it neurologically interesting and a potential large animal model for several neuropsychological diseases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful neuroscientific research tool that can be performed , with adapted equine facilities, or in the research setting. The brain atlas is a fundamental resource for neuroimaging research, and have been created for a multitude animal models, however, none currently exist f...
Christmann U, Welles EG, Waldridge BM, Schumacher J, Grier BL, Hite RD.Abnormalities in lung surfactant are well described in human respiratory diseases including asthma, but are poorly described in horses. Objective: Lung surfactant is abnormal in horses with clinical signs of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Methods: Six healthy horses and 5 horses with RAO. Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was obtained from all horses by standard procedures. Cell-free BALF was separated into crude surfactant pellets (CSP) and supernatant via ultracentrifugation. Phospholipid and protein content was analyzed from both of these fractions. Phospholipid composition ...
Walden-Schreiner C, Leung YF, Kuhn T, Newburger T.Monitoring the behavior of pack animals in protected areas informs management about use patterns and the potential associated negative impacts. However, systematic assessments of behavior are uncommon due to methodological and logistical constraints. This study integrated behavior mapping with GPS tracking, and applied behavior change point analysis, as an approach to monitor the behaviors of pack animals during overnight periods. The integrated approach identified multiple grazing patterns (i.e., locally intense grazing, ambulatory grazing) not feasible through a single methodology alone. Mon...
Keg PR, Barneveld A, Schamhardt HC, van den Belt AJ.To answer the question whether it is possible to differentiate, by means of a high plantar nerve block in the hind limb, flexor tendon lameness from a suspensory ligament lameness, mid-plantar tendinitis or desmitis was induced with collagenase in five Standardbred horses in two trials. Before the induction of lameness, and on the fourth (D4) and fourteenth day (D14) after the induction of lameness the horses were evaluated subjectively (clinical lameness score), objectively (ground reaction force (GRF) measurements), and ultrasonographically. Clinical evaluation and GRF measurements were also...
Zhang L, Franchini M, Wehrli Eser M, Dip R.Accumulation of extracellular adenosine has been closely associated with human asthmatic responses. However, the relevance of adenosine signalling in equine airways has not previously been investigated. Objective: To determine the expression of adenosine receptors (AR) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells and assess the reactivity of these cells to AR ligands ex vivo, employing IL-6 as readout of adenosinergic inflammatory signalling. Methods: Eight horses with varying degrees of lower airway inflammation and 10 healthy controls were analysed. Expression of AR-subtypes in each BAL sample was ...
Badial PR, Tallmadge RL, Miller S, Stokol T, Richards K, Borges AS, Felippe MJ.Mature B cell neoplasms cover a spectrum of diseases involving lymphoid tissues (lymphoma) or blood (leukemia), with an overlap between these two presentations. Previous studies describing equine lymphoid neoplasias have not included analyses of clonality using molecular techniques. The objective of this study was to use molecular techniques to advance the classification of B cell lymphoproliferative diseases in five adult equine patients with a rare condition of monoclonal gammopathy, B cell leukemia, and concurrent lymphadenopathy (lymphoma/leukemia). The B cell neoplasms were phenotypically...
Verney M, Grey F, Lemans C, Géraud T, Berthier D, Thévenon S, Rincé A, Hans A, Morrison L, Hébert L.Equine trypanosomosis comprises different parasitic diseases caused by protozoa of the subgenus Trypanozoon: Trypanosoma equiperdum (causative agent of dourine), Trypanosoma brucei (nagana) and Trypanosoma evansi (surra). Due to the absence of a vaccine and the lack of efficacy of the few available drugs, these diseases represent a major health and economic problem for international equine trade. Development of affordable, sensitive and specific diagnostic tests is therefore crucial to ensure the control of these diseases. Recently, it has been shown that a small RNA derived from the 7SL gene ...
Lindinger MI, Geor RJ, Ecker GL, McCutcheon LJ.We studied the effects of heat and relative humidity (RH) on plasma volume (PV) and ion responses to submaximal exercise and 60 min recovery in Thoroughbreds. Five horses were exercised at 50% of peak VO2 in cool, dry (CD, T = 22 degrees C, RH = 45-55%), and hot, humid (HH, T = 30-34 degrees C, RH = 80-85%) conditions until a pulmonary artery temperature of 41.5 degrees C was reached. Blood was obtained from the carotid artery. Body mass was measured at rest and after 30 min of recovery. The thermal conditions had no effect on the PV and ion responses during exercise and initial 30 min of reco...
Greppi M, Bordin C, Raspa F, Maccone E, Harris P, Ellis AD, Cavallini D, Bergero D, Valle E.Slow feeding devices (SFDs) are useful tools in order to improve the horse well-being and to reduce wastage, but their use may result in unnatural posture during feeding and frustration behaviours. Moreover, it may be important to evaluate the laterality during feeding. The aim of the study was to investigate ponies' feeding behaviour (i.e., lateralisation, frustration, postural eating style) with different hay feeding methods: on the ground (G), a fully filled hay net (HF), a partially filled hay net (HL), and a slow feeder hay box (HB). Nine ponies of two different breed types (Shetland and ...
Bugno-Poniewierska M, Jankowska M, Raudsepp T, Kowalska K, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Szmatola T.Chromosomal abnormalities occur in the equine population at a rate of approximately 2%. The use of molecular cytogenetic techniques allows a more accurate identification of chromosomal abnormalities, especially those with a low rate of abnormal metaphases, demonstrating that the actual incidence in equine populations is higher. Objective: Estimation of the number of carriers of karyotypic abnormalities in a sample from a population of young horses of various breeds, using molecular cytogenetic techniques. Methods: Cross-sectional. Methods: Venous blood samples were collected from 500 young hor...
Baraille M, Buttet M, Grimm P, Milojevic V, Julliand S, Julliand V.Horse owners and veterinarians report that from the age of 15, their horses can lose body condition and be more susceptible to diseases. Large intestinal microbiome changes may be involved. Indeed, microbiota is crucial for maintaining the condition and health of herbivores by converting fibres into nutrients. This study aimed to compare the faecal microbiome in horses aged from 6 to 30 years old (yo), living in the same environment and consuming the same diet, in order to assess whether the parameters changed linearly with age and whether there was a pivotal age category. Fifty horses were se...
Dyson S, Phillips K, Zheng S, Aleman M.There is controversy about the clinical relevance of congenital variants of the ventral laminae of the sixth (C6) and seventh (C7) cervical vertebrae and their relationship with other radiological abnormalities. Objective: To document the prevalence of congenital variants of C6 and C7 and that of other radiological abnormalities from C6 to the second thoracic vertebra (T2). Methods: Cross-sectional. Methods: The study included Warmblood horses ≥3 years of age undergoing clinical assessment at two referral institutions: 127 control horses and 96 cases (neurologic, neck pain or stiffness, or...
Pokharel K, Weldenegodguad M, Reilas T, Kantanen J.Finnhorse is Finland's native and national horse breed and it has genetic affinities to northern European and Asian horses. It has historical importance for agriculture, forest work and transport and as a war horse. Finnhorse has four breeding sections in the studbook and is under conservation and characterisation efforts. We sequenced and annotated the genome of a Finnhorse mare from the working horse section using PacBio and Omni-C data. This genome can complement the existing Thoroughbred reference genome (EquCab 3.0) and facilitate genetic studies of horses from northern Eurasia. We assemb...
Froidurot A, Jacotot E, Julliand S, Grimm P, Julliand V.Despite their low quantity and abundance, the cellulolytic bacteria that inhabit the equine large intestine are vital to their host, as they enable the crucial use of forage-based diets. Fibrobacter succinogenes is one of the most important intestinal cellulolytic bacteria. In this study, Fibrobacter sp. HC4, one cellulolytic strain newly isolated from the horse cecum, was characterized for its ability to utilize plant cell wall fibers. Fibrobacter sp. HC4 consumed only cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose and produced succinate and acetate in equal amounts. Among genes coding for CAZymes, 26% o...
Bourebaba L, Bourebaba N, Galuppo L, Marycz K.Nowadays, regenerative medicine techniques are usually based on the application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the repair or restoration of injured damaged tissues. However, the effectiveness of autologous therapy is limited as therapeutic potential of MSCs declines due to patient's age, health condition and prolonged in vitro cultivation as a result of decreased growth rate. For that reason, there is an urgent need to develop strategies enabling the in vitro rejuvenation of MSCs prior transplantation in order to enhance their in vivo therapeutic efficiency. In presented study, we attemp...
Duysens J, Graide H, Niesten A, Mouithys-Mickalad A, Deby-Dupont G, Franck T, Ceusters J, Serteyn D.Muscle-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (mdMSCs) hold great promise in regenerative medicine due to their immunomodulatory properties, multipotent differentiation capacity and ease of collection. However, traditional in vitro expansion methods use fetal bovine serum (FBS) and have numerous limitations including ethical concerns, batch-to-batch variability, immunogenicity, xenogenic contamination and regulatory compliance issues. This study investigates the use of 10% equine platelet lysate (ePL) obtained by plasmapheresis as a substitute for FBS in the culture of mdMSCs in innovative 2D and 3...
Hobbs KJ, Cooper BL, Dembek K, Sheats MK.Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is fragmented extracellular DNA that is released from cells into various body fluids. Previously published data from adult horses supports cfDNA as a potential disease biomarker, but also shows that direct measurement in plasma is inaccurate due to matrix effect. It is currently unknown whether a similar matrix effect exists in foal plasma. Given this, the objectives of the current study were to investigate foal plasma for potential matrix effect during fluorescence measurement of cfDNA using a Qubit fluorometer, and to determine whether neat and/or extracted plasma cfDNA...
Le Breton A, Lewis N.Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are performed worldwide in the equine industry to produce genetically valuable foals. Among them, ovum pick up (OPU) combined with intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can now be more efficient than embryo transfer (ET) under optimal conditions. However, OPU is not a benign procedure for the mare and the process is costly. Improved efficiency is therefore in the interest of everyone, maximizing mare welfare and optimizing economics for the client. One of the key factors of success is the antral follicle count (AFC) at the time of OPU and subsequent...
Fugazzola MC, De Ruijter M, Veraa S, Plomp S, van Buul W, Hermsen G, van Weeren R.The objective of this study was to evaluate a non-resorbable implant for the focal repair of chondral defects in eight adult horses with 12-month follow-up. The bi-layered construct composed of a polycarbonate-urethane-urea biomaterial which was printed in 3D fashion onto a bone anchor was implanted into surgically created osteochondral defects into the femoropatellar joints of eight horses. The analysis of post-mortem outcomes were compared to defects treated with microfracture in the same animal on the contralateral femoropatellar jointfemoropatellar joint. The overall macroscopic scoring af...
Ahlawat S, Niranjan SK, Arora R, Vijh RK, Kumar A, Sharma U, Raheja M, Popli K, Yadav S, Mehta SC.The unique horse and pony breeds of India are declining at an alarming rate. These horses have been integral to the Indian culture and customs for centuries and represent a valuable genetic resource. It is imperative to harness the potential of this equine genetic resource that urgently needs conservation. The study highlights the design and development of a high density SNP array, the Axiom_Ashwa to aid in the genetic analysis and conservation efforts for Indian horse and pony breeds. With 613,950 SNPs, this chip offers extensive genome coverage having an average inter-marker distance of 4 k...
Buschmann E, Van Steenkiste G, Vernemmen I, Demeyere M, Schauvliege S, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Myocardial sleeves of the caudal vena cava are the predilection site for atrial tachycardia (AT) in horses. Caudal vena cava isolation guided by the ablation index, a lesion quality marker incorporating power, duration and contact force, might improve outcome. Objective: Describe the feasibility and outcome of caudal vena cava isolation using ablation index-guided radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) to treat AT in horses. Methods: Ten horses with sustained AT. Methods: Records from 10 horses with sustained AT treated by three-dimensional electro-anatomical mapping and ablation index-guided...
Żak-Bochenek A, Żebrowska-Różańska P, Bajzert J, Łaczmański Ł, Szponar B, Siwińska N, Gładysz K, Sikorska K, Chełmońska-Soyta A.Oral probiotic dietary supplements are widely used in veterinary medicine, including in horses. It is hypothesized that the presence of probiotic strains can both modulate the intestinal microbiota and affect mucosal immunity parameters. Such a study has not yet been conducted in horses. Unassigned: This study involved 12 healthy horses, which were randomly divided into a control group and a group that received a commercial oral probiotic formula containing , or for 84 days. Fecal samples were collected from all horses on day 0 (D0), 28 days after starting the probiotic (D28), 56 days (D56),...
van Loon J, Verhaar N, van den Berg E, Ross S, de Grauw J.Pain assessment is very important for monitoring welfare and quality of life in horses. To date, no studies have described pain scales for objective assessment of pain in foals. Studies in other species have shown that facial expression can be used in neonatal animals for objective assessment of acute pain. The aim of the current study was to adapt a facial expression-based pain scale for assessment of acute pain in mature horses for valid pain assessment in foals. The scale was applied to fifty-nine foals (20 patients and 39 healthy controls); animals were assessed from video recordings (30-6...
Beasley A, Abbas G, Hughes K, El-Hage C, Jacobson C, Bauquier J, Wilkes E, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Beveridge I, Nielsen M, Jabbar A.Over the past few decades, the emergence of resistance amongst intestinal parasites of horses to all available anthelmintic classes has emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in parasite control approaches within the Australian equine industry. Findings of a recent Australia-wide research project have provided new insights into intestinal parasites (i.e. strongyles and ascarids) and parasite control from the perspectives of Australian horse breeders and equine veterinarians. The published data have revealed recent trends in parasite prevalence and distribution, breeders' and veterinarians' a...
Wang C, Zeng Y, Wang J, Wang T, Li X, Shen Z, Meng J, Yao X.The Yili horse is a riding-type breed that has been continuously bred independently in China. The genetics of body conformation and racing performance traits need to be comprehensively considered in making breeding decisions. This study is the first to estimate the genetic parameters of 13 body conformation and racing performance traits in Yili horses using a linear model. In total, 9937 body conformation and 2576 race records of 9100 Yili horses obtained from 1993 to 2022 were reviewed. The results showed that heritability estimates of body measurement traits were medium to high, ranging from...
Beaumont RE, Smith EJ, David C, Paterson YZ, Faull E, Guest DJ.Tendon injuries are a common problem in humans and horses. There is a high re-injury rate in both species due to the poor regeneration of adult tendon and the resulting formation of scar tissue. In contrast, fetal tendon injuries undergo scarless regeneration, but the mechanisms which underpin this are poorly defined. It is also unclear if tendon cells derived from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) would aid tendon regeneration. In this study we determined the responses of adult, fetal and ESC-derived equine tenocytes to a range of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors that are upregulated follow...
O'Connell E, Dyson S, McLean A, McGreevy P.Euphemisms, anthropomorphisms, and equivocation are established characteristics of traditional equestrian language. 'Evasion', 'resistance', and 'disobedience' are common labels assigned to unwelcome equine behaviours, implying that the horse is at fault for not complying with the human's cues and expectations. These terms appear to overlook multiple motivations that may directly result in the horse offering unwelcome responses, which may then inadvertently be reinforced. This article revisits some of the anthropocentric inferences in these terms and explores the harmful consequences of such c...
Blomström AL, Källse A, Riihimäki M.Viral infections pose a significant challenge to the equine population, compromising welfare and causing substantial economic losses for the global equine industry. While numerous equine viral pathogens have been identified, many suspected viral infections remain undiagnosed. This highlights the need for further identification and characterization of viruses circulating within the equine population. In this study, we utilized viral metagenomics to investigate viruses present in serum samples and nasal swabs collected from horses in Sweden. The primary focus was on horses presenting with fever,...
Nadal C, Chanet C, Delaunay C, Pitel PH, Marsot M, Bonnet SI.Equine piroplasmosis, caused by the protozoan parasites Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, is endemic in Europe's Mediterranean basin, creating significant health and economic challenges for the equine sector. With no available vaccine, an eco-epidemiological approach is essential in order to identify and implement effective preventive measures. With this aim in view, we identified risk factors associated with B. caballi and T. equi infections and tick infestation for draught horses in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, known for its high piroplasmosis seroprevalence. During the spri...
Wang J, Ren W, Li Z, Li L, Wang R, Ma S, Zeng Y, Meng J, Yao X.Equine endurance exercise induces physiological changes that alter metabolism and molecular pathways to maintain balance after intense physical activity. However, the specific regulatory mechanisms remain under debate. Identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differential metabolites (DMs) associated with equine endurance is essential for elucidating these regulatory mechanisms. This study collected blood samples from six Yili horses before and after an 80 km race and conducted transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses, yielding 722 DEGs and 256 DMs. These DEGs were primarily enri...
Aragona F, Rizzo M, Arrigo F, Arfuso F, Fazio F, Giudice E, Pugliatti P, Piccione G, Giannetto C.Among physiological parameters, total locomotor activity (TLA) and heart rate (HR) are used as physiological indicators in animal welfare evaluations. The present study aimed to simultaneously record for 24 h the TLA and HR of ten clinically healthy horses housed in conventional individual boxes subjected to a natural photoperiod and temperature. An actigraphy-based data logger was placed on the headstall, and an equine HR monitor was placed around the chest to monitor TLA and HR, respectively. Activity was monitored with 5 min sampling intervals and HR with 5 s intervals. To make the data poi...
