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.
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...
Duchesne R, Castagnet S, Maillard K, Petry S, Cattoir V, Giard JC, Leon A.This study aimed to analyse antimicrobial susceptibility evolution of equine pathogens isolated from clinical samples from 2006-2016. A collection of 25 813 bacterial isolates was studied, clustered according to their origins (respiratory tract, cutaneous, genital and other), and analysed for their antimicrobial susceptibility using the disk diffusion method. The most frequently isolated pathogens were group C Streptococci (27.6%), Escherichia coli (20.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (7.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.0%), Enterobacter spp. (3.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.4%), and Rhodococcus equi ...
Longhini ALF, Salazar TE, Vieira C, Trinh T, Duan Y, Pay LM, Li Calzi S, Losh M, Johnston NA, Xie H, Kim M, Hunt RJ, Yoder MC, Santoro D, McCarrel TM....Previously, we showed that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can be mobilized into peripheral blood using electroacupuncture (EA) at acupoints, LI-4, LI-11, GV-14, and GV-20. The purpose of this study was to determine whether EA-mobilized MSC could be harvested and expanded in vitro to be used as an autologous cell therapy in horses. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from young and aged lame horses (n = 29) showed a marked enrichment for MSCs. MSC were expanded in vitro (n = 25) and administered intravenously at a dose of 50 x 106 (n = 24). Treatment resulted in significant improve...
Radunsky D, Blumenfeld-Katzir T, Volovyk O, Tal A, Barazany D, Tsarfaty G, Ben-Eliezer N.Multi-echo spin-echo (MESE) protocol is the most effective tool for mapping T relaxation in vivo. Still, MESE extensive use of radiofrequency pulses causes magnetization transfer (MT)-related bias of the water signal, instigated by the presence of macromolecules (MMP). Here, we analyze the effects of MT on MESE signal, alongside their impact on quantitative T measurements. Study used 3 models: in vitro urea phantom, ex vivo horse brain, and in vivo human brain. MT ratio (MTR) was measured between single-SE and MESE protocols under different scan settings including varying echo train lengths, n...
Fehlberg LK, Lattimer JM, Drouillard JS, Douthit TL.Effects of Co on fiber digestibility in horses are largely unknown. Our objective was to evaluate effects of Co chloride on in vitro gas production, VFA production, and dry matter (DM) disappearance (IVDMD) using cecal fluid from 4 cannulated Quarter Horses. Five grams DM of alfalfa or smooth bromegrass hay were provided as substrate with Co added at 0.0, 0.5, 5.0, 25.0, or 50.0 mg/kg substrate DM. Ten milliliters cecal fluid and 140 mL McDougall's buffer were incubated in duplicate, and pH, VFA concentrations, and IVDMD were measured after 48 hours. Gas production, used as an indicator of...
Diaz-Jimenez M, Dorado J, Consuegra C, Ortiz I, Pereira B, Carrasco JJ, Gomez-Arrones V, Domingo A, Hidalgo M.The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different factors affecting vitrification success of donkey sperm: extender, sperm concentration, volume and storage vessel type. In Experiment 1, sucrose supplementations at 0.25 and 0.1 M were compared using two base extenders (containing or not egg-yolk); in Experiment 2, three sperm concentrations were assessed: 100, 200 or 300 million sperm/mL; and in Experiment 3, three different sperm volumes (100, 160 and 200 μL) and two different storage vessels (0.25 and 0.5 mL straws) were assessed. Sperm motility variables (CASA), plasma memb...
Donaldson MC, Holter AM, Neuhoff S, Arnosky JA, Simpson BW, Vernon K, Blob RW, DesJardins JD.Although horseback riding is a well-established means of rehabilitation therapy for a variety of human patients, there are few data on the biomechanical relationships between horse and rider during such hippotherapy. We simultaneously tracked the movements of a horse with several different novice riders, under conditions similar to hippotherapy, to evaluate whether horses pass the same motion to different riders while being lead at a walk. Riders were outfitted with a goniometric data collection system that recorded the angles of flexion and extension and lateral bending of the thoracic and lu...
Tassone S, Renna M, Barbera S, Valle E, Fortina R.Successful studies on in vitro digestibility measurement of feedstuffs with fecal inoculum have been reported for horses, whereas data on donkeys are currently lacking. In this study, we evaluated the use of the Daisy Incubator for in vitro digestibility measurement of feedstuffs using donkey feces as source of microbial inoculum. The method was tested using seven feedstuffs commonly used in donkey diets (alfalfa, bromegrass, ryegrass, and timothy hays; wheat bran and wheat straw; barley grains). Feces were obtained from four female donkeys, and incubations were carried out at 1-week interva...
Kunz IGZ, Reed KJ, Metcalf JL, Hassel DM, Coleman RJ, Hess TM, Coleman SJ.The gastrointestinal microbiota (GIM) plays an essential role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis with disruptions having profound effects on the wellbeing of the host animal. Parasitic infection is a long-standing issue for the equine industry, and the use of anthelmintic drugs for parasite control has long been standard practice. The impact of anthelmintic treatment on the GIM in healthy horses is not well known. This study evaluated the hypothesis that anthelmintic administration will alter the equine fecal microbiota in horses without an observed helminth infection. Ten horses were treat...
Olivier A, Viseu JP, Vignais N, Vuillerme N.Horseback riding requires the ability to adapt to changes in balance conditions, to maintain equilibrium on the horse and to prevent falls. Postural adaptation involves specific sensorimotor processes integrating visual information and somesthesic information. The objective of this study was to examine this multisensorial integration on postural control, especially the use of visual and plantar information in static (stable) and dynamic (unstable) postures, among a group of expert horse rider women (n = 10) and a group of non-athlete women (n = 12). Postural control was evaluated through the c...
Egan S, Brama P, McGrath D.Since Muybridge's 'horse in motion', researchers in the equine movement analysis field continue to improve objective analysis and performance monitoring while ensuring representative data capture. However, subjective evaluation remains the primary method of equine gait analysis in the applied setting, despite evidence highlighting the unreliability of this approach. Objective: To map research trends, limitations and opportunities across the diverse equine gait analysis literature. Methods: Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane systematic scoping review. Methods: Search terms were chosen based o...
Pereira GL, Malheiros JM, Ospina AMT, Chardulo LAL, Curi RA.Among horses selected for speed, the racing line of Quarter Horses is characterized by high performance in sprint races, with these animals being considered the fastest horses in the world. However, few studies have investigated in more detail the polymorphisms and genes that act on this trait. The objective of this study was to analyze exomes and UTRs in regions previously associated with this trait by GWAS in Quarter Horse racehorses with contrasting maximum speed index (SImax), prospecting causal gene polymorphisms that are related to or are in strong linkage disequilibrium with racing perf...
Dickson EC, Kayser WC, Latham CM, Leatherwood JL, Daigle CL, White SH.Equine research and management is limited to single-housing systems if individual animal intake is to be precisely recorded. Even then, dry forage intake is difficult to quantify accurately due to stomping or mixing hay with fecal matter and bedding. In cattle management, GrowSafe Systems (GrowSafe) is a commonly used tool to closely monitor individual animal feeding data using radio frequency identification (RFID) tag technology. Animals are equipped with a unique RFID tag that is read by the feed bunks each time the animal lowers its head into the bunk to consume feed. The objectives of this...
Mackowski M, Wodas L, Brooks SA, Cieslak J.Although only a few specific pigmentation types are allowed within the Hucul horse registry, accurate determination of particular coat colors can be uncertain due to the presence of variation in color shades and segregation of multiple dun dilution variants. Herein, we genotyped the previously identified polymorphisms within two coat color loci TBX3 (T-box 3) and ASIP (Agouti Signaling Protein) in 462 Hucul individuals and compared the genotype predicted phenotypes with observed pigmentation types provided in the Polish Horse Breeders Association database. We identified disagreement between th...
Gehlen H, Shety T, El-Zahar H, Hofheinz I.Cardiac biomarkers are important tools for monitoring disease progress and can monitor progression of therapy. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been studied for its use as a cardiac biomarker in human and small animal medicine while in horses with cardiac disease it has not been evaluated yet. The objective of the present study was to determine the concentration of plasma ET-1 in healthy horses and compare it with ET-1 concentration in horses with cardiac disease during rest and after exercise. Fifty four horses admitted to the Equine Clinic of Free University of Berlin were used in the present study, ...
Kumar R, Sarkhel SP, Kumar S, Batra K, Sethi K, Jain S, Kumar S, Tripathi BN.Six Trypanosoma evansi isolates were collected from ponies (PH1 and PK6), camel (CB2), donkeys (DJ3 and DH4) and cattle (CK5) from different States of Northern India (Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat) for molecular characterization based on 18S rRNA gene. The 18S rRNA gene (2251 bp) of different isolates was amplified, cloned and custom sequenced separately. Based on sequence and phylogenetic analysis of all six isolates, collected from different hosts as well as geographical areas, were having high identity among Indian T. evansi strains (99.7%) and with other strains of T. eva...
Pyles MB, Fowler AL, Bill VT, Harlow BE, Crum AD, Hayes SH, Flythe MD, Lawrence LM.Adult horses depend on the microbial community in the hindgut to digest fiber and produce short-chain fatty acids that are use for energy. Colonization of the foal gastrointestinal tract is essential to develop this symbiosis. However, factors affecting colonization are not well understood. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the age-related changes and effects of maternal diet on select fecal bacterial groups in foals from 1 to 28 d of age. Thoroughbred foals ( = 18) were from dams fed forage and one of two concentrates: an oat-based (OB) or corn and wheat middlings-based (CWB) pell...
Senju N, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Matsuyama R, Nakamura K, Takasu M.The Miyako and Yonaguni horses are native horses in Okinawa. Here, we evaluated their genetic relationship using microsatellite data and Kiso horses, which have four subpopulations, as a reference population for evaluating this relationship. Microsatellite data from 35 Miyako, 78 Yonaguni, and 172 Kiso horses were evaluated using the STRUCTURE software for analyzing multilocus genotype data to investigate the population structures and their underlying relationship. The results of the STRUCTURE analysis were stable when ΔK was 2, suggesting that the Okinawan horses are different from the Kiso ...
Marr I, Farmer K, Krüger K.An individual's positive or negative perspective when judging an ambiguous stimulus (cognitive bias) can be helpful when assessing animal welfare. Emotionality, as expressed in approach or withdrawal behaviour, is linked to brain asymmetry. The predisposition to process information in the left or right brain hemisphere is displayed in motor laterality. The quality of the information being processed is indicated by the sensory laterality. Consequently, it would be quicker and more repeatable to use motor or sensory laterality to evaluate cognitive bias than to perform the conventional judgment ...
Romero-Aguirregomezcorta J, Sugrue E, MartÃnez-Fresneda L, Newport D, Fair S.The journey of spermatozoa through the female genital tract is facilitated by rheotaxis, or the cell's preference to swim against a flow, as well as thigmotaxis, the wall tracking behaviour, which guides them to the site of fertilisation. The aim of this study was to characterise the rheotactic and thigmotactic response of stallion sperm within a microfluidic channel. Stallion sperm rheotaxis was assessed within the microfluidic channel with regard to: (i) A range of flow velocities, (ii) Varying media viscosity and (iii) Sperm hyperactivation. Sperm distribution across the microfluidic channe...
Shi MW, Zhang NA, Shi CP, Liu CJ, Luo ZH, Wang DY, Guo AY, Chen ZX.Many animal species present sex differences. Sex-associated genes (SAGs), which have female-biased or male-biased expression, have major influences on the remarkable sex differences in important traits such as growth, reproduction, disease resistance and behaviors. However, the SAGs resulting in the vast majority of phenotypic sex differences are still unknown. To provide a useful resource for the functional study of SAGs, we manually curated public RNA-seq datasets with paired female and male biological replicates from the same condition and systematically re-analyzed the datasets using stand...
Spoormakers TJP, Wiemer P.To describe a symphyseal osteotomy stabilised with two short locking compression plates (LCPs) for treatment of class 2 malocclusions. Methods: Case series. Methods: Five horses (age range 8 months to 5¾ years) with overjets and/or overbites ranging from 6 to 32 mm and from 0 to 60 mm, respectively, were treated by osteotomy through the caudal third of the mandibular symphysis, cranial to the interdental space. After cranial distraction and ventral rotation of the rostral part of the mandible, two short (5/6 hole), bent 3.5 mm LCPs were applied ventro-laterally and secured with two or three l...
Wolter R, Stefanski V, Krueger K.Social bond analysis is of major importance for the evaluation of social relationships in group housed horses. However, in equine behaviour literature, studies on social bond analysis are inconsistent. Mutual grooming (horses standing side by side and gently nipping, nuzzling, or rubbing each other), affiliative approaches (horses approaching each other and staying within one body length), and measurements of spatial proximity (horses standing with body contact or within two horse-lengths) are commonly used. In the present study, we assessed which of the three parameters is most suitable for s...
Pyles MB, Fowler AL, Bill VT, Crum AD, Hayes SH, Harlow BE, Flythe MD, Lawrence LM.Dietary starch source has been shown to affect fecal bacterial communities of horses fed minimally processed cereal grains. However, processing may increase foregut starch digestibility, reducing effects of starch source on fecal bacterial communities. This study aimed to determine the effect of starch source in pelleted concentrates on fecal Lactobacillus spp., amylolytic bacteria, and cellulolytic bacteria in broodmares mares, during the prepartum and postpartum period. Thoroughbred mares (n = 18) were paired by last breeding date then randomly assigned to either an oat-based or a corn and ...
Mirahmadi F, Koolstra JH, Fazaeli S, Lobbezoo F, van Lenthe GH, Snabel J, Stoop R, Everts V.Nutrition of articular cartilage relies mainly on diffusion and convection of solutes through the interstitial fluid due to the lack of blood vessels. The diffusion is controlled by two factors: steric hindrance and electrostatic interactions between the solutes and the matrix components. Aging comes with changes in the cartilage structure and composition, which can influence the diffusion. In this study, we treated fibrocartilage of mandibular condyle with ribose to induce an aging-like effect by accumulating collagen crosslinks. The effect of steric hindrance or electrostatic forces on the d...
DeBoer ML, Martinson KL, Kuhle KJ, Sheaffer CC, Hathaway MR.The impact of forage species on plasma amino acid (AA) concentrations of grazing horses (Equus caballus L.) is unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the impact of different forage species on plasma AA concentrations and protein synthesis. Research was conducted in July in St. Paul, MN, USA. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), mixed perennial cool-season grasses (CSGs), and teff (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.] Trotter) pastures were grazed by six horses randomly assigned to one of three forage types in a replicated Latin-square design. Horses had access to pasture each day. Jugular venous b...
Pan LG, Forster HV, Bisgard GE, Lowry TF, Murphy CL.Our purpose was to assess compensatory breathing responses to airway resistance unloading in ponies. We hypothesized that the carotid bodies and hilar nerve afferents, respectively, sense chemical and mechanical changes caused by unloading, hence carotid body-denervated (CBD) and hilar nerve-denervated ponies (HND) might demonstrate greater ventilatory responses when decreasing resistance. At rest and during treadmill exercise, resistance was transiently reduced approximately 40% in five normal, seven CBD, and five HND ponies by breathing gas of 79% He-21% O2 (He-O2). In all groups at rest, He...
Fachal MV, Furlan M, Clark R, Card CE, Chedrese PJ.The objective of this investigation was to clone and express the elk and horse common alpha-subunit and FSH beta-subunit cDNAs, and to produce recombinant FSH from both species in vitro. The RNAs extracted from elk and horse pituitary glands were reverse-transcribed and amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The cDNAs corresponding to both subunits of elk and horse were cloned into the expression vector pBudCE4.1 and transfected into CRL-9096 cells. Expression of both genes was determined in the transfected cells by Northern and Western blot analysis. Recombinant elk and horse FSH secreted in...
Arango-Sabogal JC, Mouncey R, de Mestre AM, Verheyen K.Thoroughbred breeders aim to have foals born early in the season, but scientific evidence on the advantages for race performance is scarce and contradictory. Unassigned: The association between date of birth and purchase price as foal/yearling, with race performance by the end of the second and third years of life of Thoroughbreds racing in flat races in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland (IRE) was assessed using negative binomial and zero-inflated negative binomial models on the entire 2014-2015 UK/IRE foal crops (Â = 28,282). Unassigned: In total, 6666 and 9456 horses raced in UK/IRE flat r...
Sprackman L, Dakin SG, May SA, Weller R.Osteoarthritis (OA) of the low motion joints of the tarsus, commonly termed 'bone spavin', is common in horses. Whilst the aetiology of this condition is multifactorial, it has been suggested that dorsal wedging of the central tarsal bone (CTB) and third tarsal bone (TTB) may predispose to the development of this disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tarsal bone conformation and osteoarthritis of the proximal intertarsal (PIT), distal intertarsal (DIT) and tarsometatarsal (TMT) joints. It was hypothesised that wedging of the CTB and TTB would be associated ...
Stanley SM, Poljak A.Mass spectrometric analyses of the recombinant proteins in Eprex and Aranesp were undertaken with the goal of producing reference mass spectra and evaluating strategies to improve its applicability as a method for equine and canine doping control of these substances. A simple, low chemical noise deglycosylation reaction removed microheterogeneity due to post-translational carbohydrate attachment and both proteins were detectable using MALDI-TOF-MS. Deglycosylated human erythropoietin (hEPO) was also detected using HPLC-ESI-MS. This is the first time that spectra of deglycosylated Eprex and Ara...
Tachibana Y, Sakurai T, Bai H, Shiota K, Nambo Y, Nagaoka K, Imakawa K.Extensive studies have been conducted to characterize the unique phenomena of equine pregnancy. Most studies have focused on embryo transmigration when the embryo is covered with a mucin-like glycoprotein capsule and on the characterization of the chorionic girdle and chorionic gonadotropin (CG) secretion. However, the events preceding and following capsule disappearance have not been well studied. In this study, the mRNA expression in conceptus membranes at days 19, 21, and 25 (day 0 = day of ovulation) was analyzed by RNA-seq (SOLiD3), and transcript levels on these three days and day 13...
The objectives of this prospective, experimental study were to describe changes in the stiffness of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) after induced injury, deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), accessory ligament (AL-DDFT), and suspensory ligament (SL) during 90 days of healing using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography. Eight healthy horses were selected. Preinjury B mode and ARFI evaluations were performed bilaterally in the palmar metacarpal region. Injury was induced only on the left forelimb (G2) by a single injection of collagenase in SDFT, 15 cm distal to ...
Hodgson S, Bennett-Skinner P, Lancaster B, Upton S, Harris P, Ellis AD.These studies assessed the pressure forces exerted by horses to extract forage from haynets. Study 1 measured horse posture and pressure in Newtons (10 N = 1 kg Force) exerted on haynets when feeding from either a single (SH) or double layered (DH) haynet (3 kg Hay), hung low or high. Mean and maximum pull forces were higher for the DH vs. SH (DH: 81 ± 2 N, max 156 N; SH: 74 ± 2.9 N, max 121 N; p < 0.01). Horses pulled harder on low (max pull 144 ± 8 N) compared to high (109 ± 8 N; p < 0.05) hung haynets. Mean maximum angles (nose-poll-withers) recorded were 90° ± 9 for SH and 127Â...
Martini F, Angelaccio S, Barra D, Doonan S, Bossa F.Cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase (L-aspartate:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.1) from horse heart has five cysteine residues, two of which can be titrated with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoid acid) in the native enzyme with no impairment of catalytic activity. The rate of modification is unaffected by the presence of substrates. Reaction with N-ethylmaleimide leads to loss of catalytic activity, the rate of inactivation being increased by the presence of substrates. Peptides containing 361 amino-acid residues (about 88% of the total number in the protein) have been isolated and ali...
Ögren G, Holtenius K, Jansson A.This study examined the P balance and fecal P losses in growing Standardbred horses in training fed a forage-only diet with or without P supplementation and assessed the magnitude and proportion of the soluble, inorganic P (Pi) fraction in feces. Fourteen Standardbred horses (aged 20.0 ± 0.3 mo) adapted to ad libitum intake of grass forage containing 0.25% P were used in a crossover experiment investigating 2 dietary treatments with (high-P) and without (low-P) mineral supplementation for 6 d. Daily feed intake and refusals were weighed. Spot samples of feces were collected twice daily on d 4...
Weiss DJ, Evanson OA, MacLeay J, Brown DR.To determine whether mucosal permeability is altered during the prodromal stages of alimentary laminitis. Methods: 15 healthy adult ponies. Methods: intestinal permeability was evaluated for control ponies (n = 5) and for ponies 4 to 12 (n = 5) and 20 to 28 (n = 5) hours after administration of carbohydrate overload. Mucosal permeability was determined by measuring the percentage of orally administered technetium Tc99m diethylenetriaminopentaacetate (99mTc-DTPA) excreted in urine during an 8-hour period, then measuring blood radioactivity at hourly intervals. Plasma endotoxin-like activity was...
Yang H, Ma YH, Li B, Dugarjaviin M.There is unique genetic information belonging to various kinds of living beings. Understanding of the formation process of organisms and a variety of vital movement is associated with the achievements of genome study. As horse has a notable health condition and great record of the genealogy in the world, thus it becomes a valuable model animal for studying life science. Despite of a late start, the map of the horse genome has undergone unprecedented expansion during the last few years. The current progresses of the horse genome, including genetic map, physical map, comparative genomic map, and...
Back W, Schamhardt HC, Van Weeren PR, Barneveld A.The trot at 3 m/s of 24 Shetland foals ('ponies') and 24 Dutch Warmblood foals ('horses') was recorded at age 4 months on a treadmill using a modified CODA-3 apparatus to characterise equine locomotion at young age. Locomotor variables of the ponies were qualitatively and, after scaling, quantitatively compared with those of horses. Ponies made shorter strides than horses, evidenced by a shorter stance and swing duration, although their relative stance durations were similar. Neither linear nor dynamic scaling procedures could completely compensate for differences in height at the withers comp...
Faramarzi B, Lantz L, Lee D, Khamas W.The digital cushion (DC) plays a role in absorbing and dampening forces applied to the foot and therefore supports internal structures such as navicular bone; yet, its architecture is not well-known. The goal of this study was to characterize the microanatomical structure of the DC in horses with clinically sound hooves. Both forefeet from the cadavers of 12 adult Quarter horses were cut and sectioned and samples of the following 4 regions of the DC were obtained: axial proximal (AxProx), axial distal (AxDis), abaxial lateral (AbxLat), and abaxial medial (AbxMed). The samples were processed an...
Walker VA, Walters JM, Griffith L, Murray RC.A recent epidemiological study indicated that various factors may be related to injury in dressage horses, but the mechanism by which these injuries occur has yet to be determined. The suspensory ligament (SL) is a frequent site of injury, and it is assumed that greatest strain is placed on this structure in collected trot; this has yet to be proved conclusively. The study aimed to investigate the effect of collected and extended trot on the hindlimb movement pattern. Four dressage horses were fitted with markers and inertial motion sensors (IMS). High-speed video was obtained for 2 strides on...
Aberle K, Wrede J, Distl O.Gene contributions of foreign populations as well as coefficients of inbreeding and relationship were calculated in 1918 South German Coldblood horses registered in Bavaria in 2003. Based on nearly complete 8-generation-pedigrees (index of pedigree completeness: 76%) the mean coefficient of inbreeding was 23%. After considering missing pedigree data, the mean coefficient of inbreeding was 3%. The rates of inbreeding per generation in the current population amount to about 0.43% over the last eight generations and to about 0.15% in the forthcoming generation. In the total current population, th...
Higgins JA, Klei TR, Foil LD.Culicoides variipennis were fed under controlled conditions on two ponies that exhibited seasonal changes in Onchocerca cervicalis microfilarial (mf) skin density and skin distribution. The seasonal changes did not radically affect mf ingestion. Flies were fed on the umbilicus of infected ponies by two methods: individual feeding in consecutive order at the same site, or by mass feeding. Linear regression analysis indicated that ingestion of microfilaria was independent of feeding time and engorged weight. In the individual feeding data, there was a trend toward an increased ingestion of mf as...
Lavin TE, Nielsen BD, Zingsheim JN, O'Connor-Robison CI, Link JE, Hill GM, Shelton J.An experiment was conducted to study P digestibility in mature horses because of the growing environmental concerns regarding P runoff and previous equine research focused mostly on young and growing animals or used ponies as a model. Phytase supplementation of swine and poultry diets can result in greater phytate-P digestibility, leading to a decreased need for inorganic P supplementation and a decrease in P excreted to the environment; this, however, has not been demonstrated in the horse. Six mature Arabian geldings were fed 6 diets consisting of pelleted concentrate and alfalfa hay. The co...
Gabor V, Gerken M.Numerical competence is one of the aspects of animal cognition with a long history of research interest, but few results are available for the horse. In the present study, we investigated the ability of three Shetland ponies to discriminate between different quantities of geometric symbols presented on a computer screen in a matching-to-sample arrangement. In Experiment 1, the ponies had to relate two similar quantities to another, paired in contrasts (1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4 and 4 vs. 5) of the same stimulus (dot). Specific pairs of quantities (all differing by one) of up to five different geometric...
Kappel S, Ramirez Montes De Oca MA, Collins S, Herborn K, Mendl M, Fureix C.The use of 2-dimensional representations (e.g. photographs or digital images) of real-life physical objects has been an important tool in studies of animal cognition. Horses are reported to recognise objects and individuals (conspecifics and humans) from printed photographs, but it is unclear whether image recognition is also true for digital images, e.g. computer projections. We expected that horses trained to discriminate between two real-life objects would show the same learnt response to digital images of these objects indicating that the images were perceived as objects, or representation...
Atkins CA, Pond KR, Madsen CK, Moorman VJ, Roman-Muniz IN, Archibeque SL, Grandin T.The objective of the control study was to assess 2 prominent fluctuations in a single optical signal as being either a true first hoof contact or a last break-over based on descriptive measures. The study builds on initial findings from a preliminary investigation of the embedded-optical-base system's (EOBS) capabilities in signal capturing and feasibility as potential alternative to existing gait technologies, such as piezoelectric (e.g., load cell) systems. Hoof contacts and break-overs were measured (0 to 1 au; arbitrary units) using a 2.4-m (length) × 0.9-m (width) platform containing 1 E...
Patterson SD, Bell K.Twelve equine protease inhibitory alleles, PiE, H, J, K, L2, O, P, Q, R, V, X, Z, have been characterized in terms of isoelectric point, molecular mass and inhibitory activity to bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin by ISO-DALT electrophoresis. Protein maps for 20 Pi alleles including those of the eight 'Thoroughbred' alleles (PiF, G, I, L, N, S1, S2, U) have now been determined. Five pairs of alleles, S1/S2, G/K, L/L2, P/R and U/Z, possessed varying numbers of common proteins ranging from one protein in the case of G/K and L/L2 to six in the case of U/Z. Based on these results and studies of the a...
Reeben M, Koho NM, Raekallio M, Hyyppä S, Pösö AR.Transport of lactate across membranes is facilitated by proton-monocarboxylate transporters (MCT). The most widely distributed isoform is MCT1, which needs an ancillary protein CD147. Studies on erythrocytes have shown that high activity of MCT1 is inherited as the dominant allele and that activity is regulated through CD147. Mutations of human MCT1 have been described that appear to impair lactate transport in muscles and cause exertional rhabdomyolysis. There are no reports of this potential relationship in the horse. Objective: To obtain sequences of equine MCT1 and CD147 to examine differe...
Hedberg Y, Dalin AM, Ohagen P, Holm KR, Kindahl H.In various species, sex, hormonal treatments and oestrous-cycle stage have been shown to affect the animal's response in behavioural tests. Few such studies have been performed in the horse. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether oestrous-cycle stage affects mares' response to a novel object test and isolation test and, in part, to study whether mares, assumed to suffer from oestrous-related behavioural problems, respond differently in these tests when compared with controls. Twelve mares were tested twice, in oestrus and dioestrus, in a crossover design. Seven behavioura...
Sundra T, Kelty E, Rendle D.An extended-release injectable omeprazole formulation (ERIO) has become a popular treatment for equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) where it is available; however, published data are limited and optimal treatment regimens have not been determined. Objective: To compare effects of treatment on ESGD and EGGD when an ERIO formulation is administered at either 5- or 7-day intervals. Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Methods: Case records and gastroscopy images of horses with ESGD or EGGD treated with ERIO were reviewed. Images were anonymised and...
Depuydt E, Chiers K, Van Hecke L, Saunders J, Martens A, Pille F, Spaas JH.Injuries to equine tendons and ligaments are career-compromising, causing reduced performance and premature retirement. Promising treatment alternatives have been investigated in the field of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this study, the tissue adherence and protein expression of tenogenic primed mesenchymal stem cells (tpMSCs) after administration to ex vivo tendon and ligament explants is investigated. First, collagen type I (COL I) and smooth muscle actin (SMA) expression was assessed in cytospins prepared from native MSCs and tpMSCs. Second, equine superficial digital flexor tendon and...
Verschooten F, Verbeeck J.This paper describes the application of a measuring device 'Flextest' to control the effect of traction force and traction time during flexion tests of the distal limb joints of the forelimbs. The optimal force for a flexion test is 100 N, over 1 min. A higher force (150 N) was not harmful. A slightly positive flexion response (100 N/1 min) in a horse with no other clinical signs or radiographic abnormalities is not of clinical significance. Individual left and right flexion and extension angles are almost identical and do not depend on age. Stabled horses which have been rested or horses rest...
Forsyth RK, Brigden CV, Northrop AJ.Oral chondroprotective supplements are commercially popular for veteran (and other athletic or arthritic) horses prone to joint degeneration, yet lack conclusive scientific support. Objective: To quantify the effects of an oral joint supplement (combination glucosamine hydrochloride (GHCL), chondroitin sulphate (CS) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) in vivo on stride parameters of veteran horses. Methods: Twenty veteran horses were randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 15) or placebo group (n = 5). Pre-treatment gait characteristics were recorded at trot using digital video footage (50 Hz). The rang...
