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Topic:Equine Science
Equine Science encompasses the study of horses and their management, health, and performance. This field integrates various scientific disciplines such as biology, genetics, nutrition, physiology, and veterinary medicine to understand and improve the well-being and capabilities of horses. Areas of focus include equine anatomy, reproduction, behavior, and disease prevention. Research in equine science aims to enhance horse care, optimize training and performance, and address health challenges. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse aspects of equine science, providing insights into the latest advancements and methodologies in the field.
Changing Human-Animal Relationships in Sport: An Analysis of the UK and Australian Horse Racing Whips Debates. Changing social values and new technologies have contributed to increasing media attention and debate about the acceptable use of animals in sport. This paper focuses on the use of the whip in thoroughbred horse racing. Those who defend its use argue it is a necessary tool needed for safety, correction and encouragement, and that it does not cause the horse any pain. For those who oppose its use, it is an instrument of cruelty. Media framing is employed to unpack the discourses played out in print and social media in the UK (2011) and Australia (2009) during key periods of the whip debate foll...
Doping control analysis of 46 polar drugs in horse plasma and urine using a ‘dilute-and-shoot’ ultra high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry approach. The high sensitivity of ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) allows the identification of many prohibited substances without pre-concentration, leading to the development of simple and fast 'dilute-and-shoot' methods for doping control for human and equine sports. While the detection of polar drugs in plasma and urine is difficult using liquid-liquid or solid-phase extraction as these substances are poorly extracted, the 'dilute-and-shoot' approach is plausible. This paper describes a 'dilute-and-shoot' UHPLC-HRMS screening me...
Loci impacting polymorphic gait in the Tennessee Walking Horse. Following domestication, man selected the horse primarily for the purpose of transportation rather than consumption; this selective strategy created divergent traits for locomotion. At intermediate speeds, beyond the flat walk, the horse can perform a range of diagonal and lateral 2-beat or 4-beat gait patterns. The Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) is the only U.S. breed able to perform an even-timed 4-beat gait (the "running-walk") at intermediate speeds; however, within the breed, there is remaining variation in gait type. To investigate the contribution of genetics to this unique trait, blood ...
Effects of Age, Exercise Duration, and Test Conditions on Heart Rate Variability in Young Endurance Horses. Although cardiac recovery is an important criterion for ranking horses in endurance competitions, heart rate variability (HRV) has hardly ever been studied in the context of this equestrian discipline. In the present study, we sought to determine whether HRV is affected by parameters such as age, exercise duration and test site. Accordingly, HRV might be used to select endurance horses with the fastest cardiac recovery. The main objective of the present study was to determine the effects of age, exercise duration, and test site on HRV variables at rest and during exercise and recovery in young...
New insights on equid locomotor evolution from the lumbar region of fossil horses. The specialization of equid limbs for cursoriality is a classic case of adaptive evolution, but the role of the axial skeleton in this famous transition is not well understood. Extant horses are extremely fast and efficient runners, which use a stiff-backed gallop with reduced bending of the lumbar region relative to other mammals. This study tests the hypothesis that stiff-backed running in horses evolved in response to evolutionary increases in body size by examining lumbar joint shape from a broad sample of fossil equids in a phylogenetic context. Lumbar joint shape scaling suggests that st...
The effects of urine concentration, and cushion centrifugation to remove urine, on the quality of cool-stored stallion sperm. Urine-contaminated stallion semen is a clinical problem due to a variety of causes. The effect of the level of urine contamination on the longevity of sperm quality has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of urine concentration level (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) and cushioned centrifugation and resuspension of the sperm pellet in fresh extender, on measures of sperm quality, immediately after semen collection (T0), after 1 hour of storage at room temperature (T1), and after 24 hours of cooled storage (T24). In general, most sperm quality measures declined w...
Elimination of cetirizine following administration of multiple doses to exercised thoroughbred horses. Cetirizine is an antihistamine used in performance horses for the treatment of hypersensitivity reactions and as such a withdrawal time is necessary prior to competition. The objective of the current study was to describe the disposition and elimination of cetirizine following oral administration in order to provide additional serum concentration data upon which appropriate regulatory recommendations can be established. Nine exercised thoroughbred horses were administered 0.4 mg/kg of cetirizine orally BID for a total of five doses. Blood samples were collected immediately prior to drug admin...
Genetic relationship between the Nordestino horse and national and international horse breeds. Knowledge of genetic diversity and relationships between breeds is very important for conservation programs. Hair samples were collected from 393 individual Nordestino horses and genotyped using 14 microsatellite markers in order to investigate the genetic relationship between this breed and 66 international horse breeds. There was high allelic diversity and inbreeding coefficient within population values were not significant, which was probably due to crossbreeding. Despite the Nordestino horse population being in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, a global deficit of heterozygotes was observed. Thi...
Distribution of proteins within different compartments of tendon varies according to tendon type. Although the predominant function of all tendons is to transfer force from muscle to bone and position the limbs, some tendons additionally function as energy stores, reducing the energetic cost of locomotion. To maximise energy storage and return, energy-storing tendons need to be more extensible and elastic than tendons with a purely positional function. These properties are conferred in part by a specialisation of a specific compartment of the tendon, the interfascicular matrix, which enables sliding and recoil between adjacent fascicles. However, the composition of the interfascicular matr...
Embryo-maternal communication during the first 4 weeks of equine pregnancy. The first month of equine pregnancy covers a period of rapid growth and development, during which the single-cell zygote metamorphoses into an embryo with a functional circulation and precursors of many important organs, enclosed within extraembryonic membranes responsible for nutrient uptake and gaseous exchange. After exiting the oviduct, the conceptus must influence uterine physiology to ensure adequate nutrition and preparation for implantation, while continued development results in the chorioallantois superseding the yolk sac as the primary interface for maternal interaction and exchange...
Review of the reproductive endocrinology of the pregnant and parturient mare. Analytical advancements, especially methods using gas or liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, have allowed more specific and reliable measurement of multiple steroid hormones in the plasma of mares throughout gestation and the periparturient period. Data such as these will form the central focus of this review. The comprehensive analyses possible with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry illuminate the key physiological and developmental transitions that make equine gestation unique. Weeks 6 to 20 encompass endometrial cup formation and equine chorionic gonadotropic secret...
Genetic variability of the equine casein genes. The casein genes are known to be highly variable in typical dairy species, such as cattle and goat, but the knowledge about equine casein genes is limited. Nevertheless, mare milk production and consumption is gaining importance because of its high nutritive value, use in naturopathy, and hypoallergenic properties with respect to cow milk protein allergies. In the current study, the open reading frames of the 4 casein genes CSN1S1 (αS1-casein), CSN2 (β-casein), CSN1S2 (αS2-casein), and CSN3 (κ-casein) were resequenced in 253 horses of 14 breeds. The analysis revealed 21 nonsynonymous nucle...
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Plays a Pivotal Role in the Maintenance of Stallion Sperm Motility. Although stallion spermatozoa produce significant quantities of reactive oxygen species, a lag between 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE) adduction and the loss of motility in stallion spermatozoa suggests the presence of a robust aldehyde detoxification mechanism. Because there is a paucity of studies characterizing the role of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in sperm functionality, the aim of this study was to ascertain the relationship between 4HNE production and motility and ALDH expression by stallion spermatozoa. PCR analysis revealed the presence of the ALDH1A3, ALDH1B1, and ALDH2 isoforms in these ...
Trabecular bone of precocials at birth; Are they prepared to run for the wolf(f)? Bone is a dynamic tissue adapting to loading according to "Wolff's law of bone adaptation." During very early life, however, such a mechanism may not be adequate enough to adapt to the dramatic change in environmental challenges in precocial species. Their neonates are required to stand and walk within hours after birth, in contrast to altricial animals that have much more time to adapt from the intrauterine environment to the outside world. In this study, trabecular bone parameters of the talus and sagittal ridge of the tibia from stillborn but full-term precocials (calves and foals) were ana...
A journey through people, places, and projects in equine assisted reproduction. A research study is a product of not only a question and its pursuit but also the people, places, and facilities available at the time. My work in equine assisted reproduction has progressed from embryo transfer to oocyte maturation, oocyte transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, embryo biopsy, embryo vitrification, and cloning, as a result of collaborations with an array of remarkable people. This is a summary of some of the stories behind the studies.
Evidence of heterospecific referential communication from domestic horses (Equus caballus) to humans. Referential communication occurs when a sender elaborates its gestures to direct the attention of a recipient to its role in pursuit of the desired goal, e.g. by pointing or showing an object, thereby informing the recipient what it wants. If the gesture is successful, the sender and the recipient focus their attention simultaneously on a third entity, the target. Here we investigated the ability of domestic horses (Equus caballus) to communicate referentially with a human observer about the location of a desired target, a bucket of food out of reach. In order to test six operational criteria ...
Comparative genomics of hormonal signaling in the chorioallantoic membrane of oviparous and viviparous amniotes. In oviparous amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) lines the inside of the egg and acts as the living point of contact between the embryo and the outside world. In livebearing (viviparous) amniotes, communication during embryonic development occurs across placental tissues, which form between the uterine tissue of the mother and the CAM of the embryo. In both oviparous and viviparous taxa, the CAM is at the interface of the embryo and the external environment and can transfer signals from there to the embryo proper. To understand the evolution of placental ...
Practical Considerations in Trace Element Analysis of Bone by Portable X-ray Fluorescence. Forensic anthropologists are more often turning to nondestructive methods to assist with skeletal analyses, specifically for trace elemental analyses. Portable XRF (pXRF) instruments are versatile and are able to be used in diverse settings or for specimens of a shape and size that cannot be accommodated by laboratory-based instruments. Use of XRF requires knowledge of analysis parameters such as X-ray penetration and exit depth. Analysis depth was determined by examining pure elements through known thicknesses of equine bone slices. Correlation between the element's X-ray emission energy and ...
Lipidomics of equine sperm and seminal plasma: Identification of amphiphilic (O-acyl)-ω-hydroxy-fatty acids. Using a nontargeted lipidomics analysis of equine sperm and seminal plasma, we were able to characterize a diverse array of individual lipids including ethanolamine and choline ether lipids and seminolipids essential to membrane raft function. We also detected, for the first time in sperm, the presence of (O-acyl)-ω-hydroxy-fatty acids (OAHFA) with up to 52 carbon chain lengths, which were localized to the head and not the tail of sperm. The only previous identification of OAHFAs has been in meibomian glands and their sebaceous secretions. The identities of these lipid amphiphiles were valida...
Incorporation of sunflower oil or linseed oil in equine compound feedstuff: 1 Effects on haematology and on fatty acids profiles in the red blood cells membranes. Eight trained horses (6 mares - 2 geldings, 6 Selle Français, 2 Trotteur Français, 12 ± 5.8 years old, 538 ± 72.5 kg) were offered three diets to potentially affect haematology and the fatty acids (FA) profiles in red blood cells (RBC) membranes. The control diet was composed of 50% hay and 50% concentrate containing mainly rolled barley (48%) and whole spelt (48%). In the case of sunflower oil diet, sunflower oil (62.0% of α-linoleic acid, LA) was incorporated at a rate of 8% and substituted by an equal proportion of barley. In the linseed oil diet, first cold-pressed linseed oil (...
Screening of whole genome sequences identified high-impact variants for stallion fertility. Stallion fertility is an economically important trait due to the increase of artificial insemination in horses. The availability of whole genome sequence data facilitates identification of rare high-impact variants contributing to stallion fertility. The aim of our study was to genotype rare high-impact variants retrieved from next-generation sequencing (NGS)-data of 11 horses in order to unravel harmful genetic variants in large samples of stallions. Methods: Gene ontology (GO) terms and search results from public databases were used to obtain a comprehensive list of human und mice genes pred...
The origin of Chinese domestic horses revealed with novel mtDNA variants. The origin of domestic horses in China was a controversial issue and several hypotheses including autochthonous domestication, introduction from other areas, and multiple-origins from both introduction and local wild horse introgression have been proposed, but none of them have been fully supported by DNA data. In the present study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of 714 Chinese indigenous horses were analyzed. The results showed that Chinese domestic horses harbor some novel mtDNA haplogroups and suggested that local domestication events may have occurred, but they are not the dominant ha...
Development and Validation of a Model for Training Equine Phlebotomy and Intramuscular Injection Skills. Simulation in veterinary education offers a solution for bridging the gap between observation and performance of clinical skills. An equine neck model was created that allows repetitive practice of jugular phlebotomy, intramuscular (IM) injection, and intravenous catheterization. The aim of this study was to validate the model for jugular phlebotomy and IM injection. We surveyed experienced veterinarians on the model's realism and the comprehensiveness of its features. In a randomized experimental study, we compared the learning outcomes of first-year veterinary students trained on the model (...
Hippotherapy: Remuneration issues impair the offering of this therapeutic strategy at Southern California rehabilitation centers. Hippotherapy is the use of equine movement in physical, occupational, or speech therapy in order to obtain functional improvements in patients. Studies show improvement in motor function and sensory processing for patients with a variety of neuromuscular disabilities, developmental disorders, or skeletal impairments as a result of using hippotherapy. Objective: The primary objective of this study is to identify the pervasiveness of hippotherapy in Southern California, and any factors that impair its utilization. Methods: One hundred and fifty-two rehabilitation centers in the Southern Californ...
Body composition assessment in horses using bioimpedance spectroscopy. Assessment of equine body composition using objective measurements is difficult owing to the large size of the animals and the costs involved. Bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS), a technique widely used for the assessment of body composition in humans, was investigated for practicality of use in horses. BIS uses algorithms that require values for the apparent resistivities of body fluids and body proportion factors (Kb), currently not available for horses. Aims of the present study were to derive resistivity coefficients and body proportion factors and to validate their use for predict...
An Overview of Ten Italian Horse Breeds through Mitochondrial DNA. The climatic and cultural diversity of the Italian Peninsula triggered, over time, the development of a great variety of horse breeds, whose origin and history are still unclear. To clarify this issue, analyses on phenotypic traits and genealogical data were recently coupled with molecular screening. Methods: To provide a comprehensive overview of the horse genetic variability in Italy, we produced and phylogenetically analyzed 407 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region sequences from ten of the most important Italian riding horse and pony breeds: Bardigiano, Esperia, Giara, Lipizzan, Maremm...
Evolution of equine infectious anaemia in naturally infected mules with different serological reactivity patterns prior and after immune suppression. Information on equine infectious anaemia (EIA) in mules, including those with an equivocal reaction in agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGIDT), is scarce. For this, a study was conducted to evaluate the clinical, viral loads and pathological findings of two groups of naturally infected asymptomatic mules, respectively with a negative/equivocal and positive AGIDT reactivity, which were subjected to pharmacological immune suppression (IS). A non-infected control was included in the study that remained negative during the observation period. Throughout the whole study, even repeated episodes of rec...
