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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.
Preliminary characterization of equine interferons and their antiviral activities on bovine, ovine, and human cells. Equine dermal cells induced with poly I:C + DEAE-dextran produced low levels of interferon tentatively classified as equine interferon beta (EqIFN-beta). In contrast, dermal cells initially primed with EqIFN-beta and then superinduced with poly I:C + DEAE-dextran in the presence of cycloheximide and actinomycin D produced greater than 100-fold EqIFN-beta. Equine blood mononuclear cells induced with Newcastle disease virus and phytohemagglutinin produced high levels of interferons tentatively classified as equine interferon alpha (EqIFN-alpha) and equine interferon gamma (EqIFN-gamma), respecti...
Ultrastructural study of the development of the pars distalis (anterior pituitary) in the foal. The pituitary glands of 4 horse embryos (41-55 days of gestation) were examined by light microscopy, and the pars distalis from 10 fetal foals (75-300 days) was examined by electron microscopy. At Day 41 the development of Rathke's pouch and the saccus infundibuli was advanced; the former had almost lost its connection with the stomodaeum and the latter had started to differentiate into infundibular process and infundibular stalk. By Day 43 Rathke's pouch was completely dissociated from the stomodaeum and its walls were beginning to show uneven growth. The ventral wall of the pouch, the future...
Transuterine migration of the fetus in the mare between day 42 and parturition. A total of 2187 Thoroughbred and Standardbred mares was examined over a 4-year period to determine the location of the fetus at 42 days, the location of the previous fetus as determined by examination 5-15 days after foaling, and pregnancy location the next season. Maiden mares showed 44 and 56% of pregnancies in the left and right horns respectively. No transuterine migration was observed in 139 maiden mares examined after their first foal. Lactating mares showed 62% implantations and full-term pregnancies on one side of the uterus with the next season's pregnancy being in the opposite uterin...
Control of ovulation in mares in the early breeding season with ovarian steroids and prostaglandin. Two trials were conducted to (1) determine the degree of control of ovulation achieved by treating mares in late winter with progesterone and oestradiol-17 beta combined after prior exposure to an artificially increased photoperiod, and (2) to examine the effectiveness of such a procedure incorporated into equine breeding farm management systems. Following a 15-day treatment of 150 mg progesterone and 10 mg oestradiol-17 beta daily with 10 mg PGF-2 alpha on the last day of steroid treatment, 27 of 31 mares ovulated on Days 8-14 after the last injection in one trial. Conception rate for mares m...
Inhibition of sperm binding to porcine ova by antibodies to equine zonae pellucidae. Sera and follicular fluid from mares previously determined as having antibodies to the zona pellucida were exposed to porcine ovarian oocytes before insemination with boar spermatozoa in vitro. There was a dramatic decline in the number of spermatozoa bound to zonae compared to treatments with sera and follicular fluid from mares negative for zona antibodies. These data suggest that antibodies reactive with the zona pellucida may be responsible for reduced or even complete infertility in some mares. In a group of 50 randomly selected mares tested for antizona antibodies, 2 pregnant mares were ...
Further observations on the innervation of the proximal sesamoidean ligament of the horse and ox. A vegetative innervation is described for the first time in this district. On the contrary, the finding of Pacini and pacini-like corpuscles, of Golgi Mazzoni's receptors, of muscle spindles and Golgi's tendon-organs testifies the existence of a sensitive innervation in this anatomical territory. According to Karamanlidis free nervous endings are not present. All the above recorded receptors show the typical structure and can be found isolated, grouped to constitute flower-sprays, organized to form opposito-polar corpuscles or associated to originate pecilomorphic fibers. These two last findin...
Toxicity of Cassia occidentalis in the horse. Three Shetland ponies were given a single oral dose of ground Cassia occidentalis seeds in aqueous suspension. The clinical signs observed resembled those seen in naturally occurring and experimental cases in cattle. The syndrome was characterized by an afebrile course, incoordination, recumbency and death. Elevations of blood alkaline phosphatase, CPK, LDH, and SGOT were observed. Although muscle lesions were not seen grossly, microscopic lesions included segmental necrosis of skeletal muscle fibers. The findings were regarded as sufficiently characteristic of C. occidentalis poisoning to be ...
Control of nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism in grazing horses with calcium plus phosphorus supplementation. A supplement system for the control of equine nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (NSH) was evaluated on 4 farms in the Arcadia Valley of the Queensland brigalow region. Thirty-three local stock horses (of which 13 had clinical NSH and 7 were recent introductions) were grazed on buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) for the 6 months from September 1979 to February 1980. Each horse was fed 1.0 kg of a mixture of ground limestone plus dicalcium phosphate (1:2) in 1.5 kg molasses each week. The pasture was hazardous during this time (total oxalate content above 0.5% and calcium: oxalate ratio be...
Salivary syndrome in horses: identification of slaframine in red clover hay. An outbreak of salivary syndrome in horses in North Carolina was investigated. Rhizoctonia leguminicola was the predominant fungus isolated from toxic red clover hay. The fungus was less prevalent in the hay after 10 months of storage, and the hay had also decreased in biological activity after 10 months. Toxic hay caused extreme salivation, piloerection, respiratory distress, and increased frequency of defecation when fed to guinea pigs, and purified extracts of toxic hay and pure slaframine elicited these same responses when injected intraperitoneally into guinea pigs. The freshly acquired h...
Lysine supplementation of diets for yearling horses. Forty-six Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse yearlings were used in two experiments designed to determine the amount of lysine in the concentrate necessary to promote maximum growth when fed the Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) hay provided at 1% body weight (BW)/day. In the first experiment, a 196-day trial, supplemental protein sources and analyses of the concentrates compared were: (1) soybean meal (SBM; 15.4% crude protein, .70% lysine); (2) SBM + .2% lysine (15.7% crude protein, .81% lysine), and (3) brewers dried grains + .2% lysine (15.9% crude protein, .59% lysine). Concentrate inta...
Influence of prostaglandin F2 alpha on sperm production and seminal characteristics of the stallion. Six mature stallions were used to test the effect of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha ) on sperm production and seminal characteristics. Semen was collected from each stallion twice weekly 1 hr following a 10 mg intramuscular injection of PGF2 alpha or a sham injection. A switchback design was used so that three stallions received PGF2 alpha and three served as controls during the first 9 weeks (period 1). Treatment regimens were reversed during the second 9 weeks (period 2). Treatment of stallions with PGF2 alpha resulted in an increase (P less than .05) in gel free seminal volume and a dec...
Collection and transfer of equine embryos. Embryos were recovered in 39 of 47 attempts (83%) during 1979 and in 75 of 104 attempts (72%) during 1980. The mean diameters of day 8 and 9 blastocysts were 1.00 and 2.13 mm, respectively. The injection of prostaglandin F2 alpha or prostalene on day 8 or 9 after ovulation resulted in a mean interval between embryo recovery attempts of 17.7 +/- 0.3 days. Number of embryos recovered within mares did not vary significantly with repeated attempts. Following surgical transfer, 8 of 15 recipients (53%) were pregnant at 50 days after ovulation, whereas only 4 of 15 recipients (27%) were pregnant at ...
Plasma oxytocin concentrations in cyclic mares and sexually aroused stallions. An experiment was conducted to measure plasma oxytocin concentrations at 4 different stages of the estrous cycle in 11 pony mares. Plasma oxytocin concentrations (muU/ml +/- SE) were found to be higher (P<.01) on day 2 of estrous (39.8 +/- 12.5) and day 5 post-ovulation (33.1 +/- 12.0) than on day 10 (2.3 +/- 1.6) and day 15 post-ovulation (6.8 +/- 4.1). A second experiment was conducted to measure jugular plasma oxytocin concentrations before and after sexual arousal in six pony stallions. Oxytocin concentrations (muU/ml +/- SE) were higher (P<0.06) after sexual arousal (50.5 +/- 8.9) than be...
Identification of cartilage wear fragments in synovial fluid from equine joints. Synovial fluids from 72 equine joints were examined for the presence of cartilage debris, and these findings were compared to findings from visual inspection of the articular cartilage surfaces at necropsy. Synovial fluids from 25 joints with visual cartilage damage contained one or more large particles of articular cartilage. Cartilage fragments were not found in synovial fluids from 42 of the 47 apparently normal joints; thus, a correlation may exist between cartilage debris in the synovial fluid and lesions of the articular surfaces.
Concentrations of progesterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone in the plasma of mares during pregnancy and at parturition. Plasma concentrations of progesterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone were high in the 2nd and 3rd months of gestation, but 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone increased from a level of 2 ng/ml, during the first 3 months, to 10-15 ng/ml during months 5-10, to reach 80-120 ng/ml during the last 30 days before foaling.
Collection and cultivation in vitro of equine mammary macrophages. Equine macrophages were obtained from female Shetland ponies by injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide through the lactiferous ducts of the mammary gland. After 6 to 11 days, balanced salt solution was injected into the mammary gland to wash out accumulated cells. Harvested cells contained a mixture of macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils, with the majority of the cells of mononuclear type. In culture, cells adherent after 24 hours were characterized as macrophages by morphologic features, nonspecific esterase staining, and by the presence of complement and immunoglobulin recept...
The cause and prevention of sacroiliac arthrosis in the Standardbred horse: a theoretical study. Sacroiliac arthrosis is a major cause of "hiking" lameness (often, so-called "stifle lameness") in Standardbred horses. The cause of this arthrosis is found in the moment forces generated as horses negotiate unbanked and underbanked turns and in the forces generated on cambered racing surfaces. The prediction is that such lameness could be virtually eliminated if racetrack and training track turns were properly banked and camber held to a minimum.
The use of combined high performance liquid chromatography negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry to confirm the administration of synthetic corticosteroids to horses. Negative ion chemical ionization mass spectra of some corticosteroids have been obtained by direct syringe introduction on to the Finnigan moving belt high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer interface. Proprietary preparations based upon dexamethasone, betamethasone and prednisolone were administered to horses at therapeutic dose level. Urine samples were extracted, the extracts purified by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography and the presence of the parent steroids in the eluates was confirmed by combined high-performance liquid chromatography negative ion chemical ionization mass s...
Effects of early experience on the learning ability of yearling horses. Twenty-four yearling Quarter Horse fillies were divided into three groups (I) very limited handling, (II) intermediate handling and (III) extensive handling. At about 14 months of age, each horse was preconditioned for 2 weeks and then run in a simple place-learning T-maze test in which it had to locate its feed. Thirty trials were run daily for 20 days, with the location of the feed changed each day. To retire from the maze, a horse had to meet the criterion: 11 correct responses in 12 tries, with the last eight being consecutive. Horses in Group II required the fewest trials to reach criteri...
