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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.
Shortening of the forelimb in the horse during the stance phase. Compressions in the forelimb of a horse trotting at 3.7 m/s were studied using high-speed cinematography. From a diagram of shortenings it has been concluded that successive loadings in the longitudinal direction from below signify longer impact time and smaller impact forces compared to a theoretically stiff limb. It is proposed that the limb takes up the impact force passively until the onset of loading at the elbow joint, i.e. 30 ms following first contact.
Recommended terminology for researchers in locomotion and biomechanics of quadrupedal animals. This paper summarizes recommendations for terminology to be used in the description of quadrupedal locomotion and selected aspects of biomechanics. Directional terms and planes of the body (anatomical position, spatial reference systems), joint angulation, conformation, general locomotion terminology, phases of the stride and limb cycle (e.g. step, cadence) and terminology for the description of jumping are described.
Comparison of the damping effect of different shoeing by the measurement of hoof acceleration. The purpose of this study was to compare the damping effect of 16 types of shoeing by measuring hoof acceleration parameters on two trotting horses. At impact, maximal deceleration had extreme values such as 188 m/s2 (+/- 55) for the most damping combination (p < 0.01) and 746 m/s2 (+/- 14) for the steel shoe (mean = 551 m/s2 +/- 125). After the shock, the hoof was exposed to a mean vibrating acceleration at 418 Hz (+/- 84) which was progressively damped in 37.3 ms (+/- 10.5). According to these results, the damping ability of different farriery products significantly reduces (p < 0.05) shocks...
Kinematic gait analysis in equine carpal lameness. Gait analysis plays a major role in the clinical evaluation of equine lameness. It is generally accepted that the clinician expresses the grade of lameness as a subjective score. In this study lameness was objectively assessed using a standardized transient lameness model, in which lameness was induced by intra-articular injection of bacterial endotoxin into the radiocarpal joint of ponies. Lameness was scored by an experienced clinician, and locomotion was recorded simultaneously using a CODA-3 apparatus. The obtained kinematic gait parameters correlated well with the clinical lameness score ...
Characteristics of L-glutamine transport in equine jejunal brush border membrane vesicles. The sodium-dependent transporter system responsible for L-glutamine uptake by brush border membrane vesicles prepared from equine jejunum was characterized. Vesicle purity was ascertained by a 14- to 17-fold increase in activity of the brush border enzyme markers. Glutamine uptake was found to occur into an osmotically active space with negligible membrane binding. The sodium-dependent velocity represented approximately 80% of total uptake and demonstrated overshoots. Kinetic studies of sodium-dependent glutamine transport at concentrations between 5 microM and 5 mM revealed a single saturable...
The extended canter: a comparison of some kinematic variables in horses trained for dressage and for racing. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that there is no significant difference in selected temporal and linear stride variables of the extended canter in horses bred and trained for dressage or racing. Nine advanced-level dressage horses and 7 Thoroughbred racehorses were filmed at a frame rate of 200 Hz at an extended canter on a sand track. Two strides were recorded per trial, and each horse performed 6 or 7 trials. Temporal and linear data were determined from the films, and descriptive statistics (mean, SD) were calculated. Strides were selected for analysis on the basis of having ...
Structural changes in intercellular junctions during keratinization of the stratum medium of the equine hoof wall. Cells of the intertubular horn of the stratum medium of the equine hoof wall are joined by three types of junctions. Desmosomes and gap junctions were present in all strata. Septate-like junctions and an intercellular line were seen in the distal stratum spinosum subsequent to extrusion of the contents of membrane-coating granules. At a later stage of keratinization, non-membrane-bound acid phosphatase reaction product appeared to leak into the intercellular space except into areas occupied by septate-like junctions and the intercellular line. It is proposed that the formation of septate-like ...
Study on the energy and protein metabolism in horses. The present study focused on energy and protein metabolism in pregnant and lactating mares, including the suckling and weaned growing horses, in order to determine feed availability, as also the energy and protein requirements. The authors found that the feeding diets, consisting of alfalfa hay, oats and compounds, had different availability values in terms of energy and protein, according to animal physiological conditions and age. Thus, the pregnant mares utilized the metabolizable energy (ME) and digestible crude protein (DCP) intake in average proportions of 64.5 +/- 3.2%, 54.6 +/- 3.0%, r...
Pulmonary artery wedge pressure increases with high-intensity exercise in horses. Using catheter mounted microtip manometers, right atrial, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary artery wedge pressures were studied in 8 horses while they were standing quietly (rest), and during galloping at treadmill speeds of 8, 10, and 13 m/s. At rest, mean (+/- SEM) heart rate, mean right atrial pressure, mean pulmonary artery pressure, and mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure were 37 (+/- 2) beats/min, 8 (+/- 2) mm of Hg, 31 (+/- 2) mm of Hg, and 18 (+/- 2) mm of Hg, respectively. Exercise at treadmill belt speed of 8 m/s resulted in significant (P < 0.05) increments in heart rate, right at...
Haematological parameters of the Polish Primitive Horses. Average values of chosen haematological parameters have been described in a population of 90 clinically normal Polish Primitive Horses. The comparison of the results with values given in literature for horses as a whole and for other breeds enabled us to state that Polish Primitive Horses' blood is characterized by relatively low values of RBC, PCV, segmented neutrophils and monocytes, and high percentage of lymphocytes. It was demonstrated that values of some blood parameters of examined animals are similar to typical results obtained for primitive and cold-blooded horses. Moreover, it was pr...
A preliminary study of transitions between the walk and trot in dressage horses. The object of this study was to determine the limb support sequence during the transitions from walk to trot and from trot to walk in dressage horses under saddle and to test the null hypothesis that the limb support sequence during the transitions is not related to the level of training. Sixteen dressage horses training at novice to FEI Grand Prix level were videotaped performing an average of 9 transitions each from walk to trot and from trot to walk. The 30-Hz videotapes were viewed in slow motion, and based on the limb support sequence the transitions were categorized into two types. In ty...
Kinematics of the standardbred trotter measured at 6, 7, 8 and 9 m/s on a treadmill, before and after 5 months of prerace training. A kinematic study was performed on a group of 8 Standardbred stallions. Recordings were done using a modified CODA-3 optoelectronic kinematic analysis system with the horses running on a treadmill at speeds of 6, 7, 8, or 9 m/s. Linear and temporal gait characteristics, joint angle diagrams and the trajectories of the hoof in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement were studied. Two consecutive recording sessions were held at an age of 21-23 months, and a third was held 5 months later after an intensive training period. Joint angle diagrams appeared to show a similar pattern for all...
Limits to maximal performance. Body size fundamentally affects maximal locomotor performance in mammals. Comparisons of performances of different-sized animals yield different results if made using relative, rather than absolute scales. Absolute speed may be a reasonable way to evaluate the locomotor performance of an animal that must escape predators in real time. However, comparisons of metabolic power in animals of different size can only be made meaningfully on a mass-specific basis. Numerous factors associated with the mechanics, energetics, and storage of elastic energy during locomotion change with body size, which r...
Quantitative determination of equine alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes in foal and adult serum. Automated and semiautomated assays were developed and validated for the determination of equine alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes including intestinal (IALP), bone (BALP), and liver (LALP). The addition of levamisole selectively inhibited more than 97% of LALP while inhibiting only 55% of IALP. Because these percentages were highly reproducible in an automated system, the IALP activity could be calculated in a sample. Bone alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme was selectively precipitated by adding an equal volume of wheat germ agglutinin (5 mg/mL), incubating for 30 minutes at 37 degrees C, and centri...
[Comparison of the career profiles of racehorses over three decades]. To compare the career profiles of thoroughbred racehorses in Germany in different decades all horses which raced for the last time in the years 1966/67, 1976/77 and 1986/87 were selected from the annual report of the German Thoroughbred Racing Association. The number of racing horses increased within decades while the percentage of the horses which raced for the last time was equal in all years. It amounted yearly to about 30%. Most of the horses finished racing at three and four years of age. In 1966, 1967, 1976 and 1977 more than 50% of the horses began their career at the age of two years, ...
Motor neuron degeneration in a horse. A 9-year-old Quarter Horse mare was examined because of progressive weight loss, weakness, muscle atrophy and tremors, and behavioral change. Selenium and glutathione peroxidase assays, blood lead analysis, erythrocyte transketolase analysis, pseudorabies and Borrelia burgdorferi serology, electromyography, and CSF analysis were performed. Motor neuron degeneration was diagnosed by microscopic examination of neural tissues. The cause of the disease was not substantiated, but several possibilities were excluded via diagnostic testing. Diagnosis of motor neuron degeneration in horses may be made...
Quantification of the locomotion of Dutch Warmblood foals. To get an in-depth insight into the ontogeny of the equine locomotor apparatus, the locomotion of 28 Dutch Warmblood foals was recorded at the walk, trot and canter on a treadmill using a CODA-3 apparatus. A great similarity in joint angle-time diagrams was found, although considerable differences in kinematic gait parameters of individual foals could be detected. These results contribute to an objective comparison of the locomotor performance of foals.
Stride characteristics of overground versus treadmill locomotion in the saddle horse. The purpose of this study was to compare the velocity-dependent changes in stride length and stride frequency of horses performing the same incremental exercise test first on a track with a rider and then on a treadmill with a 0 and 3.5% slope successively. Seven French saddle horses undertook the exercise test which consisted of 5 stages of increasing speed for 3 min each with 1 min rest between each stage (1.6, 4.2, 8.3, 9.2 and 10 m/s). The horses were recorded by use of a video camera, and the tapes were analysed with regard to gait parameters. At 1.6, 8.3, 9.2 and 10 m/s, stride frequenci...
Eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions in sporadic equine motor neuron disease: an electron microscopic study. Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is a sporadic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that has been identified recently in horses of different breeds in North America. The cause is unknown. Pathologic changes which occur in spinal and certain brain stem motor neurons include chromatolysis, swelling, neurofilamentous accumulation, and development of eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Punctate eosinophilic inclusions, the type usually encountered in degenerating neurons, resembled Bunina bodies at the light microscopic level, but differed in their ultrastructural composition. These and less...
Effect of carnitine supplement to the dam on plasma carnitine concentration in the sucking foal. The changes in carnitine in plasma and milk during the first 3 months of lactation were studied in 14 broodmares and their foals. Six of the mares (Group S) were given a supplement of 10 g carnitine split between the morning and evening feeds, starting 2 weeks before birth. At birth the plasma carnitine concentration in Group S mares was about twice that in Group NS mares (no supplement). In both groups the concentration initially declined in the days after birth. Whilst this trend was reversed in Group S mares, the concentration in Group NS mares remained at a reduced level for the remainder ...
The effect of starting time on dexamethasone suppression test results in horses. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of starting time on dexamethasone suppression test results in horses. Eight adult horses were used throughout the trial. Baseline cortisol levels were established by collecting cortisol levels twice daily, at 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. for 4 consecutive days. Morning baseline cortisol levels were 46.3 +/- 5.94 ng/ml, and evening baseline cortisol levels were 32.8 +/- 5.59 ng/ml. Although lower, the evening cortisol levels were not statistically different (P = 0.154) from the morning levels. Dexamethasone suppression tests initiated at either 9:00...
Further observations on the morphology and sensitive innervation of the retractor penis muscle in several species of ungulates. The retractor penis muscle originates from the vertebrae in pigs, horses, cattle and goats; it arises from the rectum in sheep. In all the species considered, sensitive innervation was found. This was represented by encapsulated receptors. Nervous vegetative supply, made up of isolated or assembled ganglion cells, was also present. Among the numerous sensory nerve endings found in pigs, goats and sheep were Pacinian, Pacinian-like, Golgi-Mazzoni corpuscles and Krause's end bulbs (genital corpuscles). Few Pacinian and Pacinian-like corpuscles were found in cattle and horses. A hypothesis on the...
A comparison of the traditional Chinese versus transpositional zangfu organ association acupoint locations in the horse. The traditional Chinese (TC) and transpositional (TP) methods of animal acupoint location result in different acupoint charts. Representative TC and TP equine zangfu organ shu-association acupoint charts are compared to each other and to a human chart. Despite their differences, practitioners of both methods appear to achieve equally effective therapeutic results--a phenomenon termed "traditional Chinese/transpositional equal efficacy" (TTEE). Common veterinary acupuncture practices, traditional Chinese medical theory, spinal cord anatomy, and a preliminary equine "association segment" chart a...
High density lipoprotein metabolism in the horse (Equus caballus). 1. Apolipoprotein A-I dependent lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) activity was identified in equine lipoprotein deficient plasma (LPDP). 2. LCAT activity showed no breed or sex variation, and was unaltered postprandially. 3. There was no significant cholesteryl ester transfer activity in equine LPDP. 4. Hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl sepharose failed to unmask transfer activity or identify an inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer. 5. In 12 Shetland ponies, plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations were positively correlated with those of triglyceride, ...
A method to estimate the initial length of equine tendons. A procedure is described by which the length of a tendon at the onset of loading is determined objectively. The procedure includes the fitting of third-order polynomial functions on the load-elongation data. The onset of loading is detected by an increasing fit of the polynomial by selective data reduction of the initial part of the load-elongation curve. The procedure results in an objective and reproducible definition of the zero strain level of a tendon.
Gallop kinematics of Olympic three-day event horses. Limb contact variables of the gallop of 3-day event horses were determined for competitors in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games. Horses were filmed during the steeplechase, phase B of the speed and endurance test on day 2 of competition. Two 16-mm high-speed cameras were aimed perpendicularly to the direction of subject motion along a straightaway on the steeplechase track, filmed at 200 frames/s. Thirty-four of 48 competitors were filmed and 108 gallop strides analyzed. Velocity (VEL) averaged 12.09 +/- 0.10 m/s (mean +/- SE), stride length (SL) 6.04 +/- 0.05 m and stride frequency (SF) 2.0...
Concept of a force-measuring horseshoe. To further develop objective methods in the field of gait analysis a force-measuring horseshoe (FM shoe) has been developed. The ground reaction forces were determined by measuring the degree of displacement between the two solid parts of the shoe. This was done by three removable measuring units (MUs) that were equipped with strain gauges and placed in the toe and in each of the quarter parts. Before performing force recordings the sensors were calibrated with the actual MUs mounted on the shoe. This can be done in the field with a specially developed equipment. The shape of the signal genera...
Species difference in modulation of calcium release by Naja naja kaouthia snake venom cardiotoxin in terminal cisternae from human and equine skeletal muscle. The modulation of Ca2+ release by a cardiotoxin (CTX) from Naja naja kaouthia snake venom was examined in terminal cisternae-containing fractions from equine and human skeletal muscle. Pretreatment with CTX (10 microM) decreased by 27% (human muscle), or had no effect on (equine muscle), the threshold of Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release. If terminal cisternae fractions were first preloaded with Ca2+ to greater than 65% of the threshold of Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release and then CTX added, an immediate and sustained release of Ca2+ occurred in preparations from both species. Addition of CTX after a Ca2...
Changes in cross-sectional area and capillary supply of the muscle fiber population in equine gluteus medius muscle as a function of sampling depth. The right and left gluteus medius muscles of 4 mature Andalusian stallions were examined by repeated needle biopsy over a specific area and depth, as well as at different depths, to determine whether the cross-sectional area and capillary supply of the various fiber types are homogeneous throughout the muscle. The muscle biopsy specimens were histochemically analyzed for fiber types (myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase) and capillaries (amylase-periodic acid-Schiff method). Differences between contralateral sites were not identifiable for any of the analyzed variables. Differences between sa...
Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins of equine serum. Ligand blotting analysis of serum from the horse using radiolabelled IGF-I revealed a protein at 96 kDa which was not present in serum from goat, cow, sheep, deer or donkey. These latter species all displayed five labelled bands in the range 24 to 41 kDa. Conversely, these were only weakly labelled in serum from the horse. Size exclusion chromatography of horse serum pre-incubated with radiolabelled IGF-I revealed reduced binding in the 130-kDa peak compared with goat plasma, and ligand blotting analysis indicated the 96-kDa protein was present in this peak. The 96-kDa protein from horse serum...
