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.
Kearney CM, Buckley CT, Jenner F, Moissonnier P, Brama PA.Selection of suture material in equine surgery is often based on costs or subjective factors, such as the surgeon's personal experience, rather than objective facts. The amount of objective data available on durability of suture materials with regard to specific equine physiological conditions is limited. Objective: To evaluate the effect of various equine physiological and pathological fluids on the rate of degradation of a number of commonly used suture materials. Methods: In vitro material testing. Methods: Suture materials were exposed in vitro to physiological fluid, followed by biomechan...
Brocklehurst C, Weller R, Pfau T.Turning is commonly used as a diagnostic aid in equine lameness examinations. Forces experienced on the circle differ from those in a straight line, necessitating an inward lean of the body and asymmetric head/pelvic excursion, which are important parameters for lameness investigations. To better understand gait adaptations to lungeing in normal horses, the effect of turn direction on body lean in trot and in canter warrants further investigation. In this study, it was hypothesised that, on average and independent of gait, the observed body lean angle would be consistent with the ratio between...
Barros IN, Silva SO, Nogueira Neto FS, Asano KM, Souza SP, Richtzenhain LJ, Brandao PE.Gastroenteritis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among young and newborn animals and is often caused by multiple intestinal infections, with rotavirus and bovine coronavirus (BCoV) being the main viral causes in cattle. Given that BCoV is better studied than equine coronaviruses and given the possibility of interspecies transmission of these viruses, this research was designed to compare the partial sequences of the spike glycoprotein (S), hemagglutinin-esterase protein (HE), and nucleoprotein (N) genes from coronaviruses from adult cattle with winter dysentery, calves w...
Panarace M, Pellegrini RO, Basualdo MO, Belé M, Ursino DA, Cisterna R, Desimone G, Rodríguez E, Medina MJ.Flow cytometry sex-sorting technology was developed in 1989. However, it is only the bovine species in which offspring of the desired sex are obtained at a commercial level. The aim of the present work was to evaluate efficiency parameters when using fresh sexed semen in a large-scale equine commercial embryo transfer program. During the 2009, 2010 and 2011 breeding seasons, 938 synchronized cycles were artificially inseminated. One hundred (10.6%) mares failed to ovulate, and for the remaining 838 useable cycles, 887 doses of sexed semen were used, representing 1.06 doses per cycle. In genera...
Yin X, Hu Z, Gu Q, Wu X, Zheng YH, Wei P, Wang X.Human tetherin is a host restriction factor that inhibits replication of enveloped viruses by blocking viral release. Tetherin has an unusual topology that includes an N-terminal cytoplasmic tail, a single transmembrane domain, an extracellular domain, and a C-terminal glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Tetherin is not well conserved across species, so it inhibits viral replication in a species-specific manner. Thus, studies of tetherin activities from different species provide an important tool for understanding its antiviral mechanism. Here, we report cloning of equine tetherin and charact...
Solé M, Santos R, Molina A, Galisteo A, Valera M.The possibility of using quantitative kinematic traits as indirect selection criteria for sport performance could be beneficial to perform an early genetic evaluation of the animals. The genetic parameters for objectively measured kinematic traits under field conditions have been estimated for the first time, in order to potentially use these traits as indicators of gait quality in future selection of the Lusitano breed. The repeatability within three different types of training (dressage, bullfighting and untrained) was also discussed. A total of 176 males (4 to 14 years old) were recorded at...
Krueger K, Flauger B, Farmer K, Hemelrijk C.Herds of ungulates, flocks of birds, swarms of insects and schools of fish move in coordinated groups. Computer models show that only one or very few animals are needed to initiate and direct movement. To investigate initiation mechanisms further, we studied two ways in which movement can be initiated in feral horses: herding, and departure from the group. We examined traits affecting the likelihood of a horse initiating movement i.e. social rank, affiliative relationships, spatial position, and social network. We also investigated whether group members join a movement in dominance rank order....
Janczarek I, Bereznowski A, Strzelec K.The aim of the study was to define the influence of the selected factors (gender, age, transportation time, riding distance and air temperature during the ride) on the cortisol secretion and finding a correlation between the hormone level and the horses' sport results (veterinary parameters and the ride route parameters). The research was performed on 38 Arabian pure breed horses taking part in the endurance rides. The cortisol level was measured with enzyme-immunological method in saliva samples, taken four times from each horse. In order to verify the differences between the mean results the...
The Journal of heredityNovember 8, 2013
Volume 105, Issue 2 163-172 doi: 10.1093/jhered/est075
McCoy AM, Schaefer R, Petersen JL, Morrell PL, Slamka MA, Mickelson JR, Valberg SJ, McCue ME.A dominantly inherited gain-of-function mutation in the glycogen synthase (GYS1) gene, resulting in excess skeletal muscle glycogen, has been identified in more than 30 horse breeds. This mutation is associated with the disease Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy Type 1, yet persists at high frequency in some breeds. Under historical conditions of daily work and limited feed, excess muscle glycogen may have been advantageous, driving the increase in frequency of this allele. Fine-scale DNA sequencing in 80 horses and genotype assays in 279 horses revealed a paucity of haplotypes carrying th...
Dossa RG, Alperin DC, Hines MT, Hines SA.The CD1 family is a group of non-polymorphic MHC class I-like molecules that present lipid-based antigens to T cells. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that cytotoxic T lymphocytes from immune adult horses recognize lipids from the cell wall of an important equine pathogen, Rhodococcus equi. These findings suggest an important role for the equine CD1 antigen presentation system in protective immune responses to microbial pathogens in the horse. In this study, we characterized and mapped the equine CD1 gene cluster. The equine genome was found to contain 13 complete CD1 genes; seven ...
Plevin S, McLellan J.Limited information exists regarding the prognosis for juvenile racehorses sustaining injury to the suspensory ligament branch insertion (JISBI). Objective: To investigate the effect of JISBI on racing performance; and to assess whether the severity of JISBI is prognostically important. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Records were reviewed for 896 juvenile Thoroughbreds in training, to identify horses with JISBI limited to one branch (cases). The ability of cases to start a race was compared to their cohorts. Race records of maternal siblings were compared to cases. Results: The ...
Pearl CA, Roser JF.Lactoferrin is one of the most abundant proteins secreted by the stallion epididymis, but its cellular localization and regulation remain unknown. This study was designed to address the following objectives: (1) identify the epididymal cell types producing lactoferrin in pre-pubertal, peri-pubertal and post-pubertal animals; (2) demonstrate that lactoferrin binds to stallion sperm; and (3) determine if testosterone and estradiol regulate lactoferrin secretion in vitro. Using an immunohistochemical method, lactoferrin was localized in the cytoplasm of principal cells in the corpus and cauda of ...
Novakofski KD, Williams RM, Fortier LA, Mohammed HO, Zipfel WR, Bonassar LJ.Cartilage injury can lead to post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Immediate post-trauma cellular and structural changes are not widely understood. Furthermore, current cellular-resolution cartilage imaging techniques require sectioning of cartilage and/or use of dyes not suitable for patient imaging. In this study, we used multiphoton microscopy (MPM) data with FDA-approved sodium fluorescein to identify and evaluate the pattern of chondrocyte death after traumatic injury. Methods: Mature equine distal metacarpal or metatarsal osteochondral blocks (OCBs) were injured by 30 MPa compressive loa...
Wagner AL, Urschel KL, Betancourt A, Adams AA, Horohov DW.To determine the effects of advanced age on whole-body protein synthesis and activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in skeletal muscle of horses. Methods: Six 22- to 26-year-old (aged) and six 7- to 14-year-old (mature) horses. Methods: Whole-body protein synthesis was measured with a 2-hour primed constant infusion of (13)C sodium bicarbonate, followed by a 4-hour primed constant infusion of 1-(13)C phenylalanine. After the infusions, a biopsy specimen was obtained from a gluteus medius muscle and activation of protein kinase B (Akt), p70 riboprotein S6 kin...
Essig CM, Merritt JS, Stubbs NC, Clayton HM.To determine the magnitude and location of skin movement attributable to the cutaneus trunci muscle reflex in response to localized stimulation of the skin of the dorsolateral aspect of the thoracic wall in horses. Methods: 8 horses. Methods: A grid of 56 reflective markers was applied to the lateral aspect of the body wall of each horse; markers were placed at 10-cm intervals in 7 rows and 8 columns. A motion analysis system with 10 infrared cameras was used to track movements of the markers in response to tactile stimulation of the dorsolateral aspect of the thoracic wall at the levels of T6...
Krueger K, Farmer K, Heinze J.Social learning is said to meet the demands of complex environments in which individuals compete over resources and cooperate to share resources. Horses (Equus caballus) were thought to lack social learning skills because they feed on homogenously distributed resources with few reasons for conflict. However, the horse's social environment is complex, which raises the possibility that its capacity for social transfer of feeding behaviour has been underestimated. We conducted a social learning experiment using 30 socially kept horses of different ages. Five horses, one from each group, were chos...
Lacombe VA, Mayes M, Mosseri S, Reed SM, Ou TH.Although many studies have been performed to classify seizures by type in man and small animals, a similar study in horses is lacking. Objective: The aims of this study were as follows: 1) to characterise the distribution of seizure types in 104 horses presented for seizure disorders to a referral veterinary hospital; and 2) to characterise the various types of seizures by identifying associated clinical factors. Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical records. Methods: Seizures were classified based on seizure type, according to the most recent accepted definitions in both human and small...
Glynn ER, Londono AS, Zinn SA, Hoagland TA, Govoni KE.The use of equine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) is a novel method to improve fracture healing in horses. However, additional research is needed to identify optimal culture conditions and to determine the mechanisms involved in regulating BMSC differentiation into osteoblasts. The objectives of the experiments were to determine: 1) if autologous or commercial serum is better for proliferation and differentiation of equine BMSC into osteoblasts, and 2) the expression of key transcription factors during the differentiation of equine BMSC into osteoblasts. Equine BMSC were isolated fro...
Leadon DP, Jeffery R, O'Toole D, Duggan V.This report compiles the available information on unwanted horses in Ireland for 2011 and 2012 and builds upon the previous report for the period 2005 to 2010. Similar trends are present in the high value responsible ownership category and the practicing veterinary profession although extensively involved in horse welfare, euthanises a small proportion of Ireland's unwanted horses. Welfare groups have limited resources and a limited ability to deal with such an extensive problem, which has involved very large numbers of horses. Local authorities continue to have to devote significant efforts a...
Wulf M, Aurich C, von Lewinski M, Möstl E, Aurich JE.In this study, readability of reduced-size microchips in horses and the response to implantation were analysed. It was hypothesised that small microchips can be implanted stress-free but are less readable than larger microchips. Adult mares (n=40) were implanted with a reduced-size microchip (10.9×1.6 mm) at the left side of the neck (size of conventional microchips 11.4×2.2 mm). Microchips were identified with three different scanners (A, B, C) immediately, and at 6, 12 and 28 weeks after implantation. Twelve out of the 40 mares were submitted to microchip implantation and control treatment...
Claerhoudt S, Bergman EH, Saunders JH.This study describes a detailed computed tomographic reference of the normal equine foot. Ten forefeet of five adult cadavers, without evidence of orthopaedic disease, were used. Computed tomography (CT) was performed on all feet. Two-millimetre thick transverse slices were obtained, and sagittal and dorsal planes were reformatted. The CT images were matched with the corresponding anatomic slices. The phalanges and the distal sesamoid bone showed excellent detail. The extensor and flexor tendons (including their attachments) could be clearly evaluated. The collateral (sesamoidean) ligaments co...
Bellone RR, Holl H, Setaluri V, Devi S, Maddodi N, Archer S, Sandmeyer L, Ludwig A, Foerster D, Pruvost M, Reissmann M, Bortfeldt R, Adelson DL....Leopard complex spotting is a group of white spotting patterns in horses caused by an incompletely dominant gene (LP) where homozygotes (LP/LP) are also affected with congenital stationary night blindness. Previous studies implicated Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamily M, Member 1 (TRPM1) as the best candidate gene for both CSNB and LP. RNA-Seq data pinpointed a 1378 bp insertion in intron 1 of TRPM1 as the potential cause. This insertion, a long terminal repeat (LTR) of an endogenous retrovirus, was completely associated with LP, testing 511 horses (χ(2)=1022.00, p<<...
Harrison SM, Whitton RC, Kawcak CE, Stover SM, Pandy MG.The equine metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint is frequently injured, especially by racehorses in training. Most injuries result from repetitive loading of the subchondral bone and articular cartilage rather than from acute events. The likelihood of injury is multi-factorial but the magnitude of mechanical loading and the number of loading cycles are believed to play an important role. Therefore, an important step in understanding injury is to determine the distribution of load across the articular surface during normal locomotion. A subject-specific finite-element model of the MCP joint was devel...
In the present study a general screening protocol was developed to detect prohibited substances and metabolites for doping control purposes in equine sports. It was based on the establishment of a unified sample preparation and on the combined implementation of liquid and gas chromatographic MS analysis. The sample pretreatment began with two parallel procedures: enzymatic hydrolysis of sulfate and glucuronide conjugates, and methanolysis of the 17β-sulfate steroid conjugates. The extracts were treated for LC-TOF-MS, GC-HRMS and GC-MS assays. The majority of the prohibited substances were ide...
Kang Z, Shi J, Liu T, Zhang Y, Zhang Q, Liu Z, Wang J, Cheng S.The study investigated the origin of the Akhal-Teke horse using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and mitochondrial hypervariable region 1 (HVR-1) nucleotide sequences. Methods: Genome-wide SNP data from 22 breeds (481 horses) and mitochondrial HVR-1 sequences from 24 breeds (544 sequences) worldwide to examine the origin of the Akhal- Teke horse. The data were analyzed using principal component analysis, linkage disequilibrium analysis, neighbor-joining dendrograms, and ancestry inference to determine the population relationships, ancestral source, genetic structure, and r...
Hodgson DR, Rose RJ, Dimauro J, Allen JR.Biopsy samples were obtained from the middle gluteal muscle of 10 Thoroughbred horses undergoing a commercial race-training program. Samples were obtained before the program began and again after 6 and 12 weeks of training. All horses had raced at least once by the 12th week of training. Serial sections of muscle were examined histochemically for myosin adenosinetriphosphatase after either acid (pH 4.3 and 4.6) or alkaline (pH 10.3) preincubation, and then muscle fibers were identified as types I, IIA, IIB, or IIC. The oxidative capacity of individual fibers was assessed, using the reduced nic...
Marlin DJ, Schroter RC, White SL, Maykuth P, Matthesen G, Mills PC, Waran N, Harris P.The aims of the present field-based study were to investigate changes in fit horses undergoing acclimatisation to a hot humid environment and to provide data on which to base recommendations for safe transport and acclimatisation. Six horses (age 7-12 years) were flown from Europe to Atlanta and underwent a 16 day period of acclimatisation. Exercise conditions during acclimatisation (wet bulb globe temperature index 27.6+/-0.0 [mean +/- s.e.]) were more thermally stressful compared with the European climate from which the horses had come (22.0+/-1.8, P<0.001). Following the flight, weight l...
Meershoek LS, Roepstorff L, Schamhardt HC, Johnston C, Bobbert MF.Tendon injuries are an important problem in athletic horses and are probably caused by excessive loading of the tendons during demanding activities. As a first step towards understanding these injuries, the tendon loading was quantified during jump landings. Kinematics and ground reaction forces were collected from the leading and trailing forelimbs of 6 experienced jumping horses. Joint moments were calculated using inverse dynamic analysis. It was found that the variation of movement and loading patterns was small, both within and between horses. The peak flexor joint moments in the coffin a...
Miles CA, Fursey GA, Birch HL, Young RD.The velocity, attenuation and apparent backscattering coefficient of 6-11-MHz ultrasound were measured in three orthogonal directions in equine deep digital flexor (DDF) and superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendons at 0 degree C. Ultrasonic measurements were examined for correlation with tendon water, collagen, DNA and glycosaminoglycans contents, determined by chemical analyses and with structure observed by scanning electron microscopy. The SDF tendon contained more water, more DNA (i.e., more cells), less collagen and less glycosaminoglycans and exhibited lower velocities and attenuations t...
Ishihara A, Helbig HJ, Sanchez-Hodge RB, Wellman ML, Landrigan MD, Bertone AL.Objective-To determine the efficiency of a novel point-of-care gravitational marrow separator and bone marrow aspiration needle for concentrated bone marrow production and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) separation and assess the effect of repeated bone marrow collections in horses. Animals-8 healthy adult horses. Procedures-Bone marrow aspiration was performed twice (1 month apart) from sternebral bodies with a standard or prototype multidirectional needle. Concentrated bone marrow was obtained by gravitational marrow separation and evaluated for WBC and platelet counts, autom...
de Kock SS, Rodgers JP, Swanepoel BC.Previous studies have shown that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a promising marker for the detection of growth hormone (GH) abuse in the horse. The significant increases observed with GH administration in comparison to natural levels imply the possibility of setting a threshold level for IGF-1 that would be indicative of GH abuse. Although an immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) has been identified as a reliable screening method, a more specific IGF-1 quantification method needs to be developed for the prosecution of GH abuse by horseracing authorities. This study describes such an HPLC ele...
Katila T, Sankari S, Mäkelä O.A scintigraphic method was developed to study sperm migration in the reproductive tracts of mares. Mares (n=5) and stallions (n=2) were used to test various steps of the procedure and three other mares and a stallion were used to study sperm transportation. A radiolabelling solution was prepared from 99mTc (Technetium-99m) and hexamethyl propylene amine oxime. The highest labelling of spermatozoa (57-72%) was obtained by incubation of the spermatozoa with the radiolabelling solution for 20 min at 20 degrees C. Radioactivity outside the spermatozoa was removed by centrifugation and by two subse...
Perryman LE, Wyatt CR, Magnuson NS, Mason PH.Monoclonal antibodies specific for equine T lymphocyte subpopulations were produced and procedures for the continuous culture of equine lymphocytes were developed. These reagents and procedures were used to analyse the appearance, maturation and functions of T lymphocytes in normal horses and in T lymphocyte deficient horses with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). T lymphocytes appeared as early as the 75th day of fetal development and were normally distributed prior to birth of normal foals. Analysis of thymic T lymphocyte differentiation in SCID foals revealed the presence of both prot...
Bröjer J, Holm S, Jonasson R, Hedenström U, Essén-Gustavsson B.The degradation of glycogen and its two forms, proglycogen (PG) and macroglycogen (MG) has been studied in horses performing different types of exercise, but no information is available about the resynthesis of PG and MG after exercise. Objective: To determine the resynthesis of PG and MG in skeletal muscle after intermittent uphill exercise. Methods: At a training camp 9 well-trained Standardbred trotters performed a training session comprising a warm-up period, 7 repeated 500 m bouts of exercise on an uphill slope and a recovery period. Muscle biopsies (m. gluteus medius) for analysis of PG,...
Tozaki T, Swinburne J, Hirota K, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Tobe T.Genetic maps are extremely important tools for tracing the genes that govern economically significant traits, and microsatellites are a significant component of these. In this study, we isolated 2346 novel horse microsatellites as resources for the construction of high-density horse genetic maps. Of these 2346 markers, 339 (14.5%) horse sequences showed sequence homology to DNA sequences in the human genome, demonstrating that microsatellites as type II markers are valuable resources for developing linkage maps and that they have a potential equal to that of type I markers for developing compa...
Murray RC, Branch MV, Dyson SJ, Parkin TD, Goodship AE.Adaptation of osteochondral tissues is based on the strains experienced during exercise at each location within the joint. Different exercise intensities and types may induce particular site-specific strains, influencing osteochondral adaptation and potentially predisposing to injury. Our hypotheses were that patterns of equine distal tarsal subchondral bone (SCB) thickness relate to the type and intensity of exercise, and that high-intensity exercise leads to site-specific increases in thickness. SCB thickness was measured at defined dorsal and plantar locations on magnetic resonance images o...
Berreta A, Kopper J.Probiotics are live microorganisms that when consumed in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host. The objective of this review is to critically evaluate the definition of probiotics with reference to their use as supplements in horses, research regarding quality control, and propose areas for future focus. Several studies, performed over a 19-year period, have consistently identified deficiencies when comparing actual contents to label claims. Furthermore, basic information such as expiration dates and storage instructions are often missing from the labels. Finally, the authors wi...
Naylor JM, Poirier KL, Hamilton DL, Dowling PM.The effect of changes in feed intake on auscultatable gastrointestinal sounds has not been systematically studied. Disagreement also is present in the literature about variation in sounds according to the quadrant of auscultation. Gastrointestinal sounds were recorded over the center of the left dorsal, left ventral, right ventral, and right dorsal quadrants and over the middle of the right abdominal flank. During 24 hours (n = 4) or 48 hours (n = 5) of fasting, there was a reduction in the intensity of gastrointestinal sounds as assessed by analysis of sound recordings. There was also a reduc...
Moyer W.Hoof wall defects in horses are common occurrences, and, fortunately, many of those detected present little or no danger to the individual horse. Those defects that are either presently a problem or have a great likelihood of being a problem do often require specialized consideration. Horse shoeing and farriery are ancient practices; over the years, a multitude of methods, theories, and management schemes have been proposed. It is unfortunate to note that few studies are available to provide an accurate incidence rate, a better understanding of the various causes, and, lastly, a comparative ap...
Bell K, Patterson S, Pollitt CC.The plasma protease inhibitor system (Pi) of Standardbred horses was studied by thin-layer, high-voltage, acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (pH 4.6) followed by protein staining and staining for trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibition. In addition to the eight Thoroughbred alleles (PiF, G, I, L, N, S1, S2, U), another 10 alleles, designated PiH, J, K, O, P, Q, R, V, X, Z, were postulated to account for the 98 Pi types which were observed in Standardbreds. Detailed inhibitory spectra of the 'new' alleles were determined and further exceptions to the Pi1, Pi2 classification of Juneja et al. (1...
Lewis SL, Holl HM, Long MT, Mallicote MF, Brooks SA.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), like human metabolic syndrome, comprises a collection of clinical signs related to obesity, insulin dysregulation and susceptibility to secondary inflammatory disease. Although the secondary conditions resulting from EMS can be life-threatening, diagnosis is not straightforward and often complicated by the presence of other concurrent conditions like pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). In order to better characterize EMS, we sought to describe the variation within, and correlations between, typical physical and endocrine parameters for EMS. Utilizing ...
Wilgus H, Stellwagen E.Changes in the visible absorbance spectra of complexes of horse heart cytochrome c hemopeptide 1-65, peptide 66-104, and their guanidinated counterparts are compared with those characteristic of native and fully guanidinated ferricytochrome c over the pH range 7 to 11. Upon raising the pH, the methionine ligand in the guanidinated hemopeptide 1-65.peptide 66-104 complex is replaced by a strong field ligand. By contrast, the methionine ligand in the hemopeptide 1-65.guanidinated peptide 66-104 is replaced by a weak field ligand. These results demonstrate that lysine 13 does not ligate with the ...
Johnson L, Varner DD, Thompson DL.To determine the age at which adult values for hormonal and testicular characteristics are established, testes and blood from 123 slaughtered horses, aged 1-5 years, were compared. Serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) and intratesticular testosterone (ITT) were determined by radio-immunoassay. Specimens were obtained in the non-breeding (n = 46) or breeding (n = 43) season in Experiment 1 (Exp. 1) and in the breeding (n = 34) season in Experiment 2 (Exp. 2). Testicular parenchyma was fixed in glutaraldehyde and homogenized to...
Koskinen E, Katila T.The long-term effect of anabolic steroid was investigated in 3 experiments. In experiment I, 500 mg of 19-norandrostenololylaurate was given to 5 colts and a dose of 100 mg to another 5 colts every 3rd week. Six colts served as untreated controls. The animals were 12-16 months old at the start, and 24 months at the end of treatment. In experiment II, a dose of 1 mg/kg was given every 3rd week to 4 colts and 0.3 mg/kg every week to another 4 colts. Six colts served as controls. The colts were treated from 7 months to 12 months of age. In experiment III, 1 mg/kg of steroid was given every 3rd we...
Leach D, Cymbaluk NF.Velocity-dependent changes in stride length and frequency were studied in 19 male foals, 6 to 8 months of age, and were related to body morphometrics. Eighteen distance and 8 angle measurements were digitized from 16-mm films of standing foals. The total mass and the percentage of total mass acting through the forelimbs were also recorded. Stride length and frequency data were extracted from 16-mm films of 239 strides of the walk, trot, and canter-gallop. Polynomial-regression analysis was used to determine the equation that best described the relationship between data of stride length or freq...
Pedersen HG, Watson ED, Telfer EE.Follicular atresia has been examined previously by various biochemical and histological methods. The aim of this study was to compare, for the first time, detection of granulosa cell apoptosis by biochemical DNA analysis and microscopic examination of fresh granulosa cell morphology with the established method of detecting atresia by histology in equine follicles. DNA extracted from granulosa cells was examined by staining with ethidium bromide and end-labelling with [(32)P]dideoxy-ATP, which labels the free 3'-end of DNA fragments. In 25 of 26 follicles (96%) there was agreement between end-l...
Robert C, Valette JP, Denoix JM.The relationship between the presence of radiological abnormalities and subsequent racing performance is controversial. However, as training is expensive and time consuming, it would save time and money to identify subjects with osteo-articular lesions not compatible with a normal racing career on the basis of routine radiographic screenings at yearling age. Objective: To evaluate the impact of osteo-articular lesions on racing ability in French Trotters and identify radiographic changes associated with failure in 'qualification', in order to provide objective criteria for selection of horses ...
Broberg MN, Knych H, Bondesson U, Pettersson C, Stanley S, Thevis M, Hedeland M.Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) have anabolic properties but less adverse effects than anabolic androgenic steroids. They are prohibited in both equine and human sports and there have been several cases of SARMs findings reported over the last few years. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolite profile of the SARM ACP-105 (2-chloro-4-[(3-endo)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-8-yl]-3-methylbenzonitrile) in order to find analytical targets for doping control. Oral administration of ACP-105 was performed in horses, where blood and urine samples were collect...
Ball BA, Sabeur K, Allen WR.Sperm-mediated gene transfer has been reported as a method for production of transgenic animals in a variety of species, and this technique represents a possible method for production of transgenic equids. Objective: To evaluate the uptake of exogenous DNA (enhanced green fluorescent protein; pEGFP) by equine spermatozoa and to assess the ability of transfected spermatozoa to introduce this transgene into early equine embryos. Methods: To evaluate incorporation of pEGFP into equine spermatozoa, washed spermatozoa were incubated with 32P-pEGFP, with or without lipofection. Spermatozoa were also...
Castagnetti C, Mariella J, Serrazanetti GP, Grandis A, Merlo B, Fabbri M, Mari G.The aim of this study was to gather useful new data for evaluation of lung maturity in the neonatal foal. Because equine neonatal intensive therapy is very expensive, a precocious diagnosis could help to express a prognosis and to offer a respiratory support early after birth, increasing the survival rate and reducing complications. Amniotic fluid was collected at parturition on n=18 mares. Lamellar bodies were isolated in the amniotic fluid and measured with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore two tests on amniotic fluid that are commonly used in humane medicine were utilized:...
Dezutti JE.Patients with eating disorders may have the most complex interdisciplinary treatment plans of any mental illness. Nurses need innovative evidence-based treatment interventions to assist their patients with eating disorders on their road to recovery. Although much has been written about equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) and equine-facilitated psychotherapy, the literature has not described a detailed session that can help nurses understand how this experiential treatment works and the impact it can have on the patient. A review of the literature on eating disorders and on the use of equine th...
Enders AC, Lantz KC, Liu IK, Schlafke S.Twelve blastocysts, collected 7-12 days after ovulation (Day 0), were examined by light and electron microscopy to investigate the nature of the relationship of the polar trophoblast (Rauber's layer) to the inner cell mass. On Day 7, the polar trophoblast was intact and formed a flattened layer overlying the epiblast cells of the inner cell mass. As blastocysts enlarged to greater than 1 mm in diameter, small discontinuities appeared in the polar trophoblast, where epiblast cells intruded onto the surface. At this time, trophoblast cells adhered closely to adjacent and underlying epiblast cell...
Equine coronavirus (ECoV) leads to outbreaks with variable morbidity and mortality. Few previous reports of risk factors for infection are available in the literature. Unassigned: To describe unique clinical findings and risk factors for infection and development of clinical disease. Unassigned: 135 horses on a farm affected by ECoV outbreak. Unassigned: Retrospective cohort study. Data obtained included age, breed, gender, activity level, housing, and feed at the onset of the outbreak. Factors were evaluated for assessment of risk of infection using simple logistic regression or Fisher's exac...
Hudson W.Egyptian Arabian horses have been maintained in a state of genetic isolation for over a hundred years. There is only limited genetic proof that the studbook records of female lines of Egyptian Arabian pedigrees are reliable. This study characterized the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) signatures of 126 horses representing 14 matrilines in the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO) horse-breeding program. Results: Analysis of the whole D-loop sequence yielded additional information compared to hypervariable region-1 (HVR1) analysis alone, with 42 polymorphic sites representing ten haplotypes compar...
