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.
Semanchik PL, Wesolowski LT, Ryan PJ, White-Springer SH, Fluckey JD.Skeletal muscle is a highly dynamic organ that is essential for locomotion as well as endocrine regulation in all populations of horses. However, despite the importance of adequate muscle development and maintenance, the mechanisms underlying protein anabolism in horses on different diets, exercise programs, and at different life stages remain obscure. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key component of the protein synthesis pathway and is regulated by biological factors such as insulin and amino acid availability. Providing a diet ample in vital amino acids, such as leucine and gluta...
Gouyet C, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S, Jardat P, Parias C, Reigner F, Calandreau L, Lansade L.Several studies have shown that horses have the ability to cross-modally recognize humans by associating their voice with their physical appearance. However, it remains unclear whether horses are able to differentiate humans according to different criteria, such as the fact that they are women or men. Horses might recognize some human characteristics, such as sex, and use these characteristics to classify them into different categories. The aim of this study was to explore whether domesticated horses are able to cross-modally recognize women and men according to visual and auditory cues, using...
Clauss M, Codron D, Hummel J.Like other members of the odd-toed ungulates (the perissodactyls), equids once had a higher species diversity in the fossil record than they have today. This is generally explained in comparison to the enormous diversity of bovid ruminants. Theories on putative competitive disadvantages of equids include the use of a single toe as opposed to two toes per leg, the lack of a specific brain cooling (and hence water-saving) mechanism, longer gestation periods that delay reproductive output, and in particular digestive physiology. To date, there is no empirical support for the theory that equids fa...
Riveroll AL, Skyba-Lewin S, Lynn KD, Mubyeyi G, Abd-El-Aziz A, Kibenge FST, Kibenge MJT, Cohen AM, Esparza-Gonsalez B, McD￮ L, Montelpare WJ.Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are used in tissue regeneration therapies. The objective of this study is to identify stable reference genes (RGs) for use in gene expression studies in a characterized equine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (EADMSC) differentiation model. ADSCs were differentiated into adipocytes (ADs) or osteoblasts (OBs), and the proteomes from these cells were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Proteins that were stably expressed in all three cells types were identified, and the mRNA expression stabilities for their corresponding genes were ...
Keen B, Cawley A, Reedy B, Noble G, Loy J, Fu S.The use of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors may mask doping agents, primarily levodopa, administered to racehorses and prolong the stimulating effects of dopaminergic compounds such as dopamine. It is known that 3-methoxytyramine is a metabolite of dopamine and 3-methoxytyrosine is a metabolite of levodopa thus these compounds are proposed to be potential biomarkers of interest. Previous research established a urinary threshold of 4,000 ng/mL for 3-methoxytyramine to monitor misuse of dopaminergic agents. However, there is no equivalent biomarker in plasma. To address this deficiency a...
Petz V, Khiaosa-Ard R, Iben C, Zebeli Q.Chewing is an essential physiological process in horses; yet, the physical form of feeds may affect their chewing and feeding behaviour with consequences for equine digestion and health. The present study evaluated the potential of a commercial forage cubes made from alfalfa and mixed meadow grasses to maintain chewing activity when compared with a traditional long and fibre-rich hay. An additional aim was to measure the dust formation during feeding. The experiment was a crossover design with six horses (11 ± 4 years old, mean ± SD), fed with 5 kg (as-fed basis) of their feed (long hay...
Yu J, Wang Z, Wang F, Yang G, Cheng J, Ji C, Li M, Liu B, Wang Y, Dang R.Testicular development and spermatogenesis are tightly regulated by the number of genes and noncoding genes, and mRNAs and lncRNAs play vital roles in regulating posttranscriptional gene expression. However, mRNAs and lncRNAs have not been systematically identified in the testes of donkeys. In this study, mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles in the testes of DeZhou donkeys between 2 months and 2 years of age were comprehensively analysed by RNA sequencing. We identified 56,605 lncRNAs and 61,857 mRNAs by gene expression analysis, and 21,845 lncRNAs (p < .05) and 14,109 mRNAs (p < .0...
Wang T, Xi C, Yu Y, Liu W, Akhtar MF, Li Y, Wang C, Li L.Equid herpesvirus 8 (EHV-8), also known as asinine herpesvirus type 3 (AHV-3), can cause severe respiratory disease, abortion in mares, and neurological disorders. There is limited information on the prevalence of EHV-8 in donkeys in China. In this study, we investigated EHV-8 infection in donkeys using PCR, resulting in the identification of a field strain, termed EHV-8 SD2020113, which was isolated using RK-13 cells and characterized by high-throughput sequencing and transmission electron microscopy. Our data indicated that 38.7% (457/1180) of donkeys showed the presence of EHV-8 in blood sa...
Tozaki T, Ohnuma A, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Takahashi Y, Nagata SI.Thoroughbreds are some of the most famous racehorses worldwide and are currently animals of high economic value. To understand genomic variability in Thoroughbreds, we identified genome-wide insertions and deletions (INDELs) and obtained their allele frequencies in this study. INDELs were obtained from whole-genome sequencing data of 101 Thoroughbred racehorses by mapping sequence reads to the horse reference genome. By integrating individual data, 1,453,349 and 113,047 INDELs were identified in the autosomal (1-31) and X chromosomes, respectively, while 18 INDELs were identified on the mitoch...
Carnet F, Perrin-Cocon L, Paillot R, Lotteau V, Pronost S, Vidalain PO.Vaccination is one of the most widely used strategies to protect horses against pathogens. However, available equine vaccines often have limitations, as they do not always provide effective, long-term protection and booster injections are often required. In addition, research efforts are needed to develop effective vaccines against emerging equine pathogens. In this review, we provide an inventory of approved adjuvants for equine vaccines worldwide, and discuss their composition and mode of action when available. A wide range of adjuvants are used in marketed vaccines for horses, the main fami...
Umair M, Beitsma M, de Ruijter-Villani M, Deelen C, Herrera C, Stout TAE, Claes A.The cryotolerance of equine blastocysts larger than 300 μm can be improved by aspirating blastocoele fluid prior to vitrification; however, it is not known whether blastocoele aspiration also enables successful slow-freezing. The aim of this study was therefore to determine whether slow-freezing of expanded equine embryos following blastocoele collapse was more or less damaging than vitrification. Grade 1 blastocysts recovered on day 7 or 8 after ovulation were measured (>300-550 μm, n = 14 and > 550 μm, n = 19) and blastocoele fluid was aspirated prior to slow-freezing in 10...
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...
Peng S, Dahlgren AR, Donnelly CG, Hales EN, Petersen JL, Bellone RR, Kalbfleisch T, Finno CJ.The genomic sequence of the horse has been available since 2009, providing critical resources for discovering important genomic variants regarding both animal health and population structures. However, to fully understand the functional implications of these variants, detailed annotation of the horse genome is required. Due to the limited availability of functional data for the equine genome, as well as the technical limitations of short-read RNA-seq, existing annotation of the equine genome contains limited information about important aspects of gene regulation, such as alternate isoforms and...
Gebremedhn S, Gad A, Ishak GM, Menjivar NG, Gastal MO, Feugang JM, Prochazka R, Tesfaye D, Gastal EL.Innumerable similarities in reproductive cyclicity and hormonal alterations highlight the considerable utility of the mare to study aspects of follicular dynamics and reproductive function in view of the largely constricted, human research subjects. The bi-directional communication between the growing oocyte and the surrounding somatic cells embodies the hallmark of mammalian follicular development, partially mediated by extracellular vesicles (EVs) encapsulated with microRNAs (miRNAs) and present in the follicular fluid (FF). Here, we aimed to decipher the dynamics of the miRNAs in EVs from e...
Nazari-Ghadikolaei A, Fikse F, Gelinder Viklund Å, Eriksson S.Assessment protocols to describe the various aspects of conformation, gait and jumping traits on a linear scale were introduced at young horse tests for Swedish Warmblood horses in 2013. The traits scored on a linear scale are assumed to be less subjective and more easily compared across populations than the traditional evaluated traits that are scored relative to the breeding goal. However, the resulting number of traits is considerable, and several of the traits are correlated. The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelationship between the different evaluated and linearly scored ...
Hatami M, Qasemi-Panahi B, Daghigh Kia H, Moghaddam G, Janmohammadi H.Equine semen cryopreservation is one of the major procedures for the genetic conservation of rare and endangered genotypes. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of egg yolk plasma (EYP) enriched with β-carotene as an antioxidant supplement on INRA-96 extender regarding freezing Arabic stallion sperm. For this purpose, β-carotene various concentrations were utilized as a supplementary ingredient in formulating the diets of laying hens. Birds were randomly divided into four groups, fed with 0 (control), 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg in a supplemented diet with β-carotene. Subse...
Bio SystemsFebruary 27, 2023
Volume 225 104871 doi: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.104871
Bhattacharjee S.Adaptations in equine limbs, including fusion of its bones, such as the metapodials II and IV (splint bones) with metapodial III (cannon bone), have been debated. It is argued that cursorial adaptations in equine limbs with a progressive reduction in the number of digits lighten up the limbs and facilitate fast running. Similar fusions in other bones, such as the radius and ulna, tend to exhibit similar traits. For example, the fusion often occurs in a disto-proximal direction while leaving sharp ridges. This article proposes a model to understand the biomechanical advantages that a fused symm...
Hill EW, McGivney BA, MacHugh DE.The proportion of the genome containing runs of homozygosity (ROH) affects production traits in livestock populations. In European and Australasian Thoroughbreds inbreeding, quantified using ROH (F ), is associated with the probability of ever racing. Here, we measured F using 333 K SNP genotypes from 768 Thoroughbred horses born in North America to evaluate the effect of inbreeding on racing traits in that region. Among North American horses, F was not associated (p = 0.518) with the probability of ever racing but was significantly associated with the number of race starts (p = 0.002). ...
Pechanec MY, Beall JM, Katzman S, Maga EA, Mienaltowski MJ.Tendinopathies remain the leading contributor to career-ending injuries in horses because of the complexity of tendon repair. As such, cell-based therapies like injections of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs, or MSCs) into injured tendons are becoming increasingly popular though their long-term efficacy on a molecular and wholistic level remains contentious. Thus, we co-cultured equine MSCs with intrinsic (tendon proper) and extrinsic (peritenon) tendon cell populations to examine interactions between these cells. Gene expression for common tenogenic, perivascular, and differenti...
Chapard L, Van Thillo A, Meyermans R, Gorssen W, Buys N, Janssens S.Show jumping is one of the most popular disciplines in the horse sector, which makes success in show jumping competitions an important breeding goal for many studbooks. Therefore, the genetic evaluation of show jumping performance is of major interest and this is the case for two Belgian Warmblood studbooks: the Belgian Warmblood horse and Zangersheide. In this study, first an improved phenotype for show jumping performance was developed, i.e. adjusted fence height based on a new non-arbitrary method to scale ranking and competition level, which are two major components of success in competiti...
Blanco MA, Di Rado FN, Peterson MM.Turfgrass in equine sports has clear advantages over other types of reinforcement but adds complexity to the management. This study investigates factors that influence the turfgrass' surface performance and how the use of a drainage package and a geotextile reinforcement affect quantitative measurements of turfgrass. The measurements are made using affordable, lightweight testing tools that are readily available or easily constructed. Eight boxes with turfgrass over a mix of the arena with peat at a consistent depth were tested for volumetric moisture content (VMC %) with time-domain reflectom...
Tinel JB, Veras MM, Waked D, Alonso MA, Fernandes CB.Mules are derived from crossing horse mares with a donkey, in which the interest is due to gentleness and ability to work and equestrian sports. As the placenta is responsible for fetal development and maturation, knowing its typical microstructure allows us to understand how fetomaternal interactions occur in this interspecific pregnancy. Thus, the study performed a comparative stereological evaluation of volumetric composition and fetomaternal contact surface in the uterine body (UB), gravid uterine horn (GUH), and nongravid uterine horn (NGUH) of Mangalarga Paulista mare's term allantochori...
Sánchez-Pacheco UA, Bahena-Mondragón BM, Hernández-Piedras FR, Soria-Osorio R, Meneses-Acosta A.The immunotherapy agents derived from horses are biological products that allow the neutralization of clinically relevant immunogens, such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, or the neutralization of toxins present in the venoms of snakes, spiders, and other poisonous animals. Due to their importance, detecting adventitious viruses in equine hyperimmune serum (raw material in industrial processes) is a critical step to support the safety of products for human use, and, in consequence, it is a requirement for commercialization and distribution. The safety of the finished product is ba...
Nielsen BD.Much research has been conducted in an attempt to decrease skeletal injuries in athletic horses. The objective of this literature review is to compile the findings of over three decades of research in this area, make practical recommendations, and describe how research can develop over the years. An initial study investigating the role of bioavailable silicon in the diets of horses in race training produced the unexpected finding of decreased bone mineral content of the third metacarpus subsequent to the onset of training. Further studies revealed this decrease to be associated with stall hous...
Weinert-Nelson JR, Biddle AS, Sampath H, Williams CA.Integrating warm-season grasses into cool-season equine grazing systems can increase pasture availability during summer months. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of this management strategy on the fecal microbiome and relationships between fecal microbiota, forage nutrients, and metabolic responses of grazing horses. Fecal samples were collected from 8 mares after grazing cool-season pasture in spring, warm-season pasture in summer, and cool-season pasture in fall as well as after adaptation to standardized hay diets prior to spring grazing and at the end of the grazing seaso...
Prutton AM, Lenaghan HAH, Baillie S.Simulation in veterinary education is an important means of providing a safe, welfare-friendly way for students to hone their skills prior to performing procedures on live animals. Students may not get many chances to practice passing a nasogastric tube and checking for reflux in live horses during clinical rotations and extra-mural studies. A low-cost equine nasogastric intubation model was created at the University of Surrey, allowing students to practice passing a tube and checking for reflux. Thirty-two equine veterinarians evaluated the model for realism, and its potential usefulness in t...
Yokomori T, Ohnuma A, Tozaki T, Segawa T, Itou T.Considering the personality traits of racehorses (e.g., flightiness, anxiety, and affability) is considered essential to improve training efficiency and decrease accident frequency, especially when retraining for a second career that may involve contact with inexperienced personnel after retiring from racing. Studies on human personality-related genes are frequently conducted; however, such studies are rare in horses because a consistent methodology for personality evaluation is lacking. Using the recently published whole genome variant database of 101 Thoroughbred horses, we compared horse ge...
Wolframm IA, Douglas J, Pearson G.Equestrianism is currently facing a range of pressing challenges. These challenges, which are largely based on evolving attitudes to ethics and equine wellbeing, have consequences for the sport's social licence to operate. The factors that may have contributed to the current situation include overarching societal trends, specific aspects of the equestrian sector, and factors rooted in human nature. If equestrianism is to flourish, it is evident that much needs to change, not the least, human behaviour. To this end, using established behaviour change frameworks that have been scientifically val...
Karatt TK, Sathiq MA, Laya S, Philip M, Karakka Kal AK, Subhahar MB.An effective alternative to testosterone therapy is selective androgen receptor modulators, a class of compounds that has a tissue-specific effect on muscle and bone. These drugs, which enhance performance, pose a severe abuse risk in competitive sports. GLPG0492 is one of the selective androgen receptor modulators discovered in recent decades. This compound has a unique tissue-specific action for muscle and bone against steroid receptors and acts as a partial agonist for androgen receptors. This study examined GLPG0492 and its metabolites in vitro using equine liver microsomes. Liquid chromat...
Piras FM, Cappelletti E, Abdelgadir WA, Salamon G, Vignati S, Santagostino M, Sola L, Nergadze SG, Giulotto E.In mammals, centromeres are epigenetically specified by the histone H3 variant CENP-A and are typically associated with satellite DNA. We previously described the first example of a natural satellite-free centromere on Equus caballus chromosome 11 (ECA11) and, subsequently, on several chromosomes in other species of the genus Equus. We discovered that these satellite-free neocentromeres arose recently during evolution through centromere repositioning and/or chromosomal fusion, after inactivation of the ancestral centromere, where, in many cases, blocks of satellite sequences were maintained. H...
Clayton HM, Larson B, Kaiser LJ, Lavagnino M.This study investigated the horse's contribution to tension in the reins. The experimental hypotheses were that tension in side reins (1) increases biphasically in each trot stride, (2) changes inversely with rein length, and (3) changes with elasticity of the reins. Eight riding horses trotted in hand at consistent speed in a straight line wearing a bit and bridle and three types of side reins (inelastic, stiff elastic, compliant elastic) were evaluated in random order at long, neutral, and short lengths. Strain gauge transducers (240 Hz) measured minimal, maximal and mean rein tension, rate ...
Garner MG, Cowled B, East IJ, Moloney BJ, Kung NY.In August 2007, Australia which had previously been free of equine influenza, experienced a large outbreak that lasted approximately 4 months before it was eradicated. The outbreak required a significant national response by government and the horse industries. The main components of the response were movement controls, biosecurity measures, risk-based zoning and, subsequently, vaccination to contain the outbreak. Although not initially used, vaccination became a key element in the eradication program, with approximately 140000 horses vaccinated. Vaccination is recognised as a valuable tool fo...
Boyd NK, Cohen ND, Lim WS, Martens RJ, Chaffin MK, Ball JM.Foals are uniquely susceptible to a wide variety of opportunistic infections normally associated with immunodeficiencies. Little is understood about the immune system of foals during the neonatal period. An apparent age-related susceptibility predisposes neonatal foals to infectious diseases and hinders therapeutic and preventative interventions for these diseases. Cytokine expression is correlated with the type of immune response as well as the severity of a disease. In this study, we measured foal peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-specific mRNA cytokine expression from 72 foals from t...
Mellor DJ.About a decade ago, concern was expressed that fetuses might suffer while dying in utero after the death of their dams. However, reference to already published literature provided compelling evidence that fetuses cannot consciously experience negative sensations or feelings, such as breathlessness and pain, and showed that, provided certain precautions are taken, they cannot suffer--their welfare is assured. In this article, I outline the major features of fetal and neonatal physiology that underlie this conclusion as it relates to fetuses that are neurologically exceptionally immature, modera...
Hoogewijs MK, de Vliegher SP, Govaere JL, de Schauwer C, de Kruif A, van Soom A.Sperm motility is considered to be one of the key features of semen analysis. Assessment of motility is frequently performed using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Nevertheless, no uniform standards are present to analyse a semen sample using CASA. Objective: We hypothesised that the type of counting chamber used might influence the results of analysis and aimed to study the effect of chamber type on estimated concentration and motility of an equine semen sample assessed using CASA. Methods: Commonly used disposable Leja chambers of different depths were compared with disposable and re...
Brama PA, TeKoppele JM, Bank RA, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.The objective of this study was to document the development of biochemical heterogeneity from birth to maturity in equine articular cartilage, and to test the hypothesis that the amount of exercise during early life may influence this process. Neonatal foals showed no biochemical heterogeneity whatsoever, in contrast to a clear biochemical heterogeneity in mature horses. The process of formation of site differences was almost completed in exercised foals age 5 months, but was delayed in those deprived of exercise. For some collagen-related parameters, this delay was not compensated for after a...
Asadollahpour Nanaei H, Esmailizadeh A, Ayatollahi Mehrgardi A, Han J, Wu DD, Li Y, Zhang YP.Body size is considered as one of the most fundamental properties of an organism. Due to intensive breeding and artificial selection throughout the domestication history, horses exhibit striking variations for heights at withers and body sizes. Debao pony (DBP), a famous Chinese horse, is known for its small body size and lives in Guangxi mountains of southern China. In this study, we employed comparative population genomics to study the genetic basis underlying the small body size of DBP breed based on the whole genome sequencing data. To detect genomic signatures of positive selection, we ap...
Human movement scienceNovember 26, 2013
Volume 33 227-237 doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2013.09.003
Münz A, Eckardt F, Witte K.In dressage riding the pelvis of the rider interacts with the horse physically. However, there is little information about the influence of riding skill on the interaction of the human pelvis with the horse. Therefore this paper aims to study the interaction between horse and rider in professional riders (PRO) and beginners (BEG). Twenty riders rode in walk, trot, and canter in an indoor riding hall with inertial sensors attached to their pelvis and to the horses' trunk. Statistical analysis of waveform parameters, qualitative interpretation of angle-angle plots, and cross-correlation of horse...
Ginther OJ, Gastal EL, Gastal MO, Utt MD, Beg MA.The temporal relationships between blood flow in the corpus luteum (CL) and circulating progesterone concentrations were studied in 20 mares. Retrospective inspection of plasma progesterone concentrations indicated that a precipitous decrease occurred during Days 15-17 (Day 0 = ovulation) and was defined as the luteolytic period. Mean percentage of CL with color-Doppler signals for blood flow was maximum on Day 10 (77.3%), and Days 10-14 (49.8%) were defined as the preluteolytic period. The cross-sectional area of the CL decreased progressively from Day 4 (9.0 cm2) to Day 19 (1.5 cm2). Progest...
Devienne MF, Guezennec CY.Oxygen consumption (VO2), ventilation (VE) and heart rate (HR) were studied in five recreational riders with a portable oxygen analyser (K2 Cosmed, Rome) telemetric system, during two different experimental riding sessions. The first one was a dressage session in which the rider successively rode four different horses at a walk, trot and canter. The second one was a jumping training session. Each rider rode two horses, one known and one unknown. The physiological parameters were measured during warm up at a canter in suspension and when jumping an isolated obstacle at a trot and canter. This s...
Van Heel MC, Moleman M, Barneveld A, Van Weeren PR, Back W.In order to optimise shoeing and shoeing conditions, it is essential to know how the horse adapts to a common shoeing interval. Objective: To measure changes in location of the centre of pressure (CoP) and hoof-unrollment pattern during a shoeing interval and to assess whether these changes in CoP result directly from changes in hoof conformation or are also influenced by compensatory mechanisms. Methods: Eighteen horses were trotted over a pressure-force measurement system shortly after shoeing and 8 weeks later. The position of the CoP was measured and also predicted using calculations based...
Li C, White SH, Warren LK, Wohlgemuth SE.Skeletal muscle function, aerobic capacity, and mitochondrial (Mt) function have been found to decline with age in humans and rodents. However, not much is known about age-related changes in Mt function in equine skeletal muscle. Here, we compared fiber-type composition and Mt function in gluteus medius and triceps brachii muscle between young (age 1.8 ± 0.1 yr, n = 24) and aged (age 17-25 yr, n = 10) American Quarter Horses. The percentage of myosin heavy chain (MHC) IIX was lower in aged compared with young muscles (gluteus, P = 0.092; triceps, P = 0.012), while the percentages of MHC I (gl...
Nielsen MK, Branan MA, Wiedenheft AM, Digianantonio R, Garber LP, Kopral CA, Phillippi-Taylor AM, Traub-Dargatz JL.The widespread occurrence of anthelmintic resistance in equine parasites across the world has led to recommendations of fecal egg count-based parasite programs to reduce treatment intensity and thereby delay further development of resistance as much as possible. The most recent study describing equine parasite control in the United States was conducted 20 years ago, and little is known about current strategies employed. This study was part of the National Animal Health Monitoring Systems (NAHMS) Equine 2015 Study, and aimed to describe equine parasite control strategies in the U.S. and evalu...
Ortiz-Escribano N, Bogado Pascottini O, Woelders H, Vandenberghe L, De Schauwer C, Govaere J, Van den Abbeel E, Vullers T, Ververs C, Roels K....The success rate for vitrification of immature equine oocytes is low. Although vitrified-warmed oocytes are able to mature, further embryonic development appears to be compromised. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare two vitrification protocols, and to examine the effect of the number of layers of cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte during vitrification of immature equine oocytes. Methods: Experimental in vitro and in vivo trials. Methods: Immature equine oocytes were vitrified after a short exposure to high concentrations of cryoprotective agents (CPAs), or a long exposure to l...
Hagen A, Lehmann H, Aurich S, Bauer N, Melzer M, Moellerberndt J, Patané V, Schnabel CL, Burk J.Translation of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapies is advancing in human and veterinary medicine. One critical issue is the culture of MSC before clinical use. Using fetal bovine serum (FBS) as supplement to the basal medium is still the gold standard for cultivation of many cell types including equine MSC. Alternatives are being explored, with substantial success using platelet lysate-supplemented media for human MSC. However, progress lags behind in the veterinary field. The aim of this study was to establish a scalable protocol for equine platelet lysate (ePL) produc...
Aurich JE, Kühne A, Hoppe H, Aurich C.Effects of seminal plasma on post-thaw motility and membrane integrity of cryopreserved horse spermatozoa were investigated. Carboxyfluorescein diacetate staining was used for the assessment of sperm membrane integrity. Adding 30% of seminal plasma from stallions with high post-thaw sperm motility to ejaculates from stallions with low post-thaw sperm motility increased progressive motility from 24.0 +/- 1.6 to 34.5 +/- 1.9% (P < 0.05) and membrane integrity from 27.0 +/- 2.1 to 34.3 +/- 2.3% membrane-intact spermatozoa (P < 0.05). Conversely, the addition of seminal plasma from stallions...
Swegen A, Lambourne SR, Aitken RJ, Gibb Z.Media used for equine sperm storage often contain relatively high concentrations of glucose, even though stallion spermatozoa preferentially utilize oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) over glycolysis to generate ATP and support motility. Rosiglitazone is an antidiabetic compound that enhances metabolic flexibility and glucose utilization in various cell types, but its effects on sperm metabolism are unknown. This study investigated the effects of rosiglitazone on stallion sperm function in vitro, along with the possible role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in mediating these effects. Sp...
McGahern AM, Edwards CJ, Bower MA, Heffernan A, Park SD, Brophy PO, Bradley DG, MacHugh DE, Hill EW.Equine mitochondrial DNA sequence variation was investigated in three indigenous Irish horse populations (Irish Draught Horse, Kerry Bog Pony and Connemara Pony) and, for context, in 69 other horse populations. There was no evidence of Irish Draught Horse or Connemara Pony sequence clustering, although the majority of Irish Draught Horse sequences (47%) were assigned to haplogroup D. Conversely, 31% of the Kerry Bog Pony sequences were assigned to the rare haplogroup E. In addition to the extant population analyses, ancient DNA sequences were generated from three out of four Irish archaeologic...
Adams AP, Antczak DF.A system for transplanting invasive equine trophoblast (i.e., chorionic girdle) to ectopic sites has been developed as a means to study the differentiation of this tissue and to assess maternal immune responses to the conceptus tissue in a site outside the uterus. Chorionic girdle was isolated from Day 33 to 34 conceptuses and surgically placed into the vulvar mucosa or subdermal skin of recipient mares. Biopsy specimens of the graft sites for immunohistochemical staining were taken at weekly or biweekly intervals after grafting. Serum samples were collected from each recipient and tested for ...
Pearson RA, Ouassat M.The age, sex, liveweight and body measurements (heart girth, umbilical girth, height, length from elbow to tuber ischii and circumference of the foreleg cannon bone) of 516 donkeys used to transport goods in Morocco were recorded. There were few donkeys over 12 years of age. For adult donkeys weighing from 74 to 252 kg, the best equation with only one variable for predicting liveweight was: liveweight (kg) = heart girth (cm)2.65/2188. The inclusion of two variables improved the prediction marginally, but the addition of further variables gave little further improvement. The best prediction equ...
van Heel MC, van Dierendonck MC, Kroekenstoel AM, Back W.Foot stance in grazing significantly influences hoof conformation and development from foal to yearling age. Objective: To conduct a longitudinal study to establish if the relationship between motor laterality and uneven front feet persisted in 3-year-old horses at the time of studbook selection and to investigate if such laterality and unevenness might influence the horses' ability to perform symmetrically while trotting, cantering and free jumping. Methods: Seventeen clinically sound but untrained (with only minimal experience of handling) and sound Warmblood horses that had participated in ...
Bullone M, Beauchamp G, Godbout M, Martin JG, Lavoie JP.Endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) revealed differences in the thickness of the layer representing subepithelial tissues (L2) between human asthmatics and controls, but whether this measurement correlates with airway smooth muscle (ASM) remodeling in asthma is unknown. In this study, we sought to determine the ability of EBUS to predict histological ASM remodeling in normal and equine asthmatic airways. We studied 109 isolated bronchi from the lungs of 13 horses. They underwent EBUS examination using a 30 MHz radial probe before being processed for histology. ASM remodeling parameters were e...
Lovati AB, Corradetti B, Cremonesi F, Bizzaro D, Consiglio AL.Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are a potential cell source for tendon repair in direct cell therapy and tissue engineering investigations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tenogenic induction of undifferentiated BM-MSCs under indirect co-culture technique with trimmed native tendon tissue. Since the horse represents a preferred species to study tendon regenerative strategies, this work was conducted on equine BM-MSCs. Methods: Equine BM-MSCs were co-cultured in a transwell system with tendon tissue fragments. The BM-MSC tenogenic differentiation was evaluated b...
Young LE, Rogers K, Wood JL.Cardiac morphology in human athletes is known to differ, depending on the sports-specific endurance component of their events, whereas anecdotes abound about superlative athletes with large hearts. As the heart determines stroke volume and maximum O(2) uptake in mammals, we undertook a study to test the hypothesis that the morphology of the equine heart would differ between trained horses, depending on race type, and that left ventricular size would be greatest in elite performers. Echocardiography was performed in 482 race-fit Thoroughbreds engaged in either flat (1,000-2,500 m) or jump racin...
Jouany JP, Medina B, Bertin G, Julliand V.Four cecum and right ventral colon-fistulated horses were assigned in a 4 x 4 Latin square design and fed a high-fiber (HF) or a high-starch (HS) diet with or without 10 g of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC; CBS 493.94) containing 4.5 x 10(9) cfu/g. The HF and HS diets consisted of pelleted feeds and long wheat straw (18.0 and 3.5 g of DM.kg(-1) of BW.d(-1), respectively) given in 2 equal meals to provide an NDF:starch ratio of 3.5 and 1.0, respectively. After a 21-d adaptation period intestinal contents were collected 4 h after the morning meal on d 23 and 25 to determine bacterial and SC concen...
Lorenzo JM, Fuciños C, Purriños L, Franco D.The effects of sex, slaughtered age (9 vs. 12 months) and livestock production system (freedom extensive system vs. semi extensive system) of "Galician Mountain" foals breed on the fatty acid composition were studied. The sex and slaughtered age of the animals had no statistical significance in the intramuscular fatty acids. Furthermore, the livestock production system showed differences in the fatty acid profiles from the Longissimus dorsi. The feeding system showed significant differences in PUFA content (P<0.001) higher in freedom extensive production system that semi extensive system, wher...
Mauel S, Steinbach F, Ludwig H.Dendritic cells (DC) are the initiators of immune responses and are present in most tissues in vivo. To generate myeloid DC from monocytes (MoDC) in vitro the necessary cytokines are granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). Using degenerated primers delineated from other species and rapid amplification of cDNA ends reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RACE RT-PCR), the cDNA of equine (eq.) GM-CSF was cloned and found to have a point deletion at the 3'-end of eq.GM-CSF, resulting in a 24-nucleotide extended open reading frame not described ...
Edwards JE, Schennink A, Burden F, Long S, van Doorn DA, Pellikaan WF, Dijkstra J, Saccenti E, Smidt H.Compared to horses and ponies, donkeys have increased degradation of dietary fiber. The longer total mean retention time of feed in the donkey gut has been proposed to be the basis of this, because of the increased time available for feed to be acted upon by enzymes and the gut microbiota. However, differences in terms of microbial concentrations and/or community composition in the hindgut may also underpin the increased degradation of fiber in donkeys. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess if differences existed between the fecal microbiota of pony, donkey and hybrids derived from them (...
Hinrichs K.This paper reviews current equine assisted reproduction techniques. Embryo transfer is the most common equine ART, but is still limited by the inability to superovulate mares effectively. Immature oocytes may be recovered by transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration of immature follicles, or from ovaries postmortem, and can be effectively matured in vitro. Notably, the in vivo-matured oocyte may be easily recovered from the stimulated preovulatory follicle. Standard IVF is still not repeatable in the horse; however, embryos and foals can be produced by surgical transfer of mature oocytes to th...
Meisfjord Jørgensen GH, Mejdell CM, Bøe KE.Horse owners may lack knowledge about natural thermoregulation mechanisms in horses. Horses are managed intensively; usually stabled at night and turned out during the day. Some are clipped and many wear a blanket, practices which reduce the horse's ability to regulate heat dissipation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between hair coat characteristics, body condition and infrared surface temperatures from different body parts of horses. Under standard conditions, the body surface temperature of 21 adult horses were investigated using infrared thermography. From severa...
