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.
Rossdale PD.Diagnosis in veterinary medicine is based upon observations of the manner in which the behavioural patterns differ from those exhibited by normal subjects. The newborn foal adapts to an advanced level of activity within a period which is short relative to many other species, and the behavioural patterns which it exhibits during the period of adaptation are comparatively stereotyped. Because the status of any newborn mammal is affected by its previous experience of foetal development and birth, the behavioural patterns of the mother form an important anamnesis in the life of each individual neo...
Seck M, Jobling R, Brown AF.Bits used for cart horses in Senegal are typically made of recovered construction iron and often have defects related to design, shape, fit and metal quality. Consequently, there is widespread presence of bit-related oral injury amongst these equids. It was hypothesised that improving bit design would ameliorate bit-related welfare issues for working cart horses. This study aimed to develop locally made alternative bit prototypes and test their efficacy as less harmful to working horses, and their acceptability to their drivers. Eight animal-based welfare indicators (four physical and four beh...
Kenney RM, Condon W, Ganjam VK, Channing C.The histological features and hormonal content of follicular fluid of antral follicles during oestrus were correlated. As a result it was possible to characterize several categories of viable and atretic follicles. A seemingly important stage in maturation appeared to be at 3 cm in diameter since follicular oestrogens and androgens underwent a 3-fold increase in concentration at that size. Evidence was obtained to suggest that oestrogens are anti-atretogenic. However, a drop in oestrogens was not the cause of atresia since degeneration commenced when levels were high. Contrary to the concept t...
Hall SJ.An objective and accountable method is needed for deducing the number of registered animals in a breed from registration data. By following the principle that individual breeders register sufficient young females to be certain of having enough replacements for their current breeding stock, the ratios were calculated of the number of adult females in a breed to the number of female registrations, in a given year. Number of breeds considered were 8 cattle, 16 sheep, 8 pigs, 1 goat and 2 equines, all in the United Kingdom or Ireland. This yielded multipliers (4.4 for cattle, 3.3 for sheep, 3.1 fo...
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...
Cartee RE, Cowles WR.To determine the lines of maximum extensibility of the skin over the equine carpus, round puncture wounds were made 2.0 cm apart over the carpal area of 5 horses (7 carpi). The direction of elongation of the round puncture wound was observed and photographed. Lines of maximum extensibility that occurred over the surfaces of the equine carpus were determined to be proximal to distal, except in a small area over the accessory carpal bone where a state of anisotropism existed. In an immobilized carpus, direction of a surgical incision was not as important as it was in a mobile carpus, in which th...
O'Grady SE, Dryden VC.A club foot or flexural deformity may affect a horse at any stage of life from neonate through adulthood. The emphasis of this article is on defining and recommending the appropriate farriery for flexural deformities involving the deep digital flexor tendon and the distal interphalangeal joint. Clinical management of the flexural deformity is influenced by the severity, duration, and etiology of the club foot as well as the degree and source of lameness. Also discussed is the management of mismatched hoof angles, which remains a controversial subject for both farrier and veterinarian.
Alm H, Neumann H, Torner H, Tomek W, Wollenhaupt K, Kanitz W, Becker F.Equine oocytes were collected by follicle aspiration in vivo or by dissection of material obtained from an abattoir, and the ultrastructure, protein phosphorylation and mRNA status of the oocytes were evaluated. Electron microscopy studies indicated that the nucleus had a smooth membrane in oocytes with a compact cumulus, whereas the nuclear membrane was undulated in all other groups. Oocytes with compact cumuli had only a few microvilli, whereas those with expanded cumuli had more microvilli. There were only small numbers of cortical granules close to the oolemma in oocytes with compact cumul...
Brama PA, Barneveld A, Karssenberg D, Van Kampen GP, van Weeren PR.A recently developed indenter system that aims at determination of local structural properties of the cartilage surface was evaluated for suitability in the horse. To this aim, maximum indenter force was measured of the articular surface and related to biochemical characteristics of the cartilage at different sites of the distal metacarpal bone (MC). Significant topographical variation exists in structural properties of the articular surface of the MC. The dorsal margin showed a significantly lower maximum indenter force than more centrally located areas, indicating an increased compliance und...
Sinclair CD, Thompson D, Stevenson JS, Rozell T, Jager A, Kouba J.Introducing males to seasonally anestrous females has been shown to increase LH concentrations and hasten the first ovulation in ewes and goat does. Investigation of this sociosexual phenomenon in mares has not been well studied. The objective of this study was to determine if direct or indirect exposure of anestrous mares to a stallion would result in a similar increase in LH and hasten the first ovulation. In late February, mares were stratified by parity and age and assigned randomly to three treatments (n = 7/treatment): (1) DXP (direct exposure; mares housed adjacent to stallion and all...
Voss JL, Pickett BW.The effect of rectal palpation of fertility of non-lactating, normal cyclic mares was studied over 3 years. During the first year (1971), the conception rates in mares after daily paplaption during oestrus only, and during oestrus and the first 50 days of pregnancy, were not significantly lower (P greater than 0-05) than the conception rates recorded in mares not palpated. No abortions could be attributed to palpation. Oestrus lasted longer (P less than 0-05) in non-palpated than palpated mares. During the second year (1972), first-cycle pregnancy rates in two groups of mares palpated daily du...
Mattila M, Honkanen S, Sjögren T, Piirainen A, Aartolahti E.Interaction has a multidimensional role in equine-facilitated rehabilitation. Unassigned: The aim of this study was to understand rehabilitees' experiences of interaction during equine-facilitated rehabilitation. Unassigned: Six children and four adults with individual diagnoses or reasons to participate in equine-facilitated rehabilitation were included in this qualitative study. Data were collected by interviewing individually the rehabilitees. A phenomenological Spiegelberg's seven-phase meaning analysis was performed to reveal the meanings. Unassigned: Seven meanings were identified: 1) Tr...
Dowsett KF, Pattie WA.Semen was collected from 222 stallions of 13 breed or colour types in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. A total of 648 collection attempts were made, using an artificial vagina, during 4 consecutive breeding seasons (1974/5 to 1977/8). Modifications were made to the techniques used by previous workers because collections were made at commercial studs using minimal animal restraint. Of all collection attempts, 621 (96%) were successful, while at least one semen sample was collected from each of 216 stallions (97%). There were no significant relationships between stallion collect...
Schryver HF, Hintz HF, Lowe JE.Absorption excretion and tissue distribution of stable Zn and 65Zn in mature ponies were studied in three experiments. In the first experiment, the metabolism of stable, dietary Zn and intravenously administered 65Zn was studied in three ponies in a 3 X 3 Latin square design. The ponies were fed a corn and beet pulp diet containing 35 mg Zn/kg or the same diet with 250 or 520 mg of supplemental Zn as ZnO. The ponies absorbed and retained more stable Zn when fed 250 mg of supplemental Zn that when fed the basal diet alone or the basal diet plus 520 mg of supplemental Zn. The ponies retained mor...
Manohar M, Thurmon JC, Tranquilli WJ, Shawley RV, Froelich P.A technique was developed for long-term catheterization of the coronary sinus in calves and ponies. A catheter with a 10 to 12 cm-long stiff segment was implanted via right lateral thoracotomy. Catheters were kept patent up to 10 weeks after the surgical procedure. At that time, location of the catheter tip was confirmed both by determining oxygen tension of the anaerobically sampled blood and by radiography. Base-line values of oxygen venous blood of non-anesthetized calves and ponies are reported.
Yildirim F, Yildiz A, Cengiz MM, Temel M, Küreksiz A.Horses in stalls generally remain in single-stall housing, so abnormal behavior can be observed in this management condition. Abnormal behavior can harm the horse's keeper, rider, or even the animal itself. The present study aims to examine the effect of goats on abnormal behaviors in horses. For this purpose, it placed six horses and six goats in the single-stall housing of the horses, one horse and one goat, and monitored them for 45 d. The research was divided into three observation phases during this time: in the first observation, the horses were left alone (0-15 d), in the second obs...
Merkt H.A stallion got fatal injuries by kicks of a maiden mare because a so called "panic hook" untied spontaneously. The use of such hooks to secure mares during mating should therefore not be recommended.
Sischo WM, Floyd JG, McKean JD, Hueston WD.To assess veterinary extension in the United States as perceived by veterinary extension personnel. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: Extension veterinarians in the United States. Methods: 2 surveys were designed and mailed to extension veterinarians listed by the USDA and the American Association of Extension Veterinarians. Results: 34 states had > or = 1 extension veterinarian. The majority (> 60%) of extension veterinarians did not commit time to resident education and were not involved in research activities. Paradoxically, 23% of responding extension veterinarians did not re...
Art T, Lekeux P.Exercise-induced variations in their ventilatory mechanics were studied in 8 healthy ponies 4.2 +/- 1.4 years old and weighing 282 +/- 11 kg. Airflow (V), tidal volume (VT), esophageal pressure, mask pressure and electrocardiogram were simultaneously recorded before, during and after a treadmill (incline 8.3 degrees) exercise which consisted of 2 min walking (1.5 m.sec-1), 3 min slow trotting (3.0 m.sec-1) and 3 min fast trotting (3.5 m.sec-1). The results of three consecutive daily measurements were averaged for each pony. Heart rate, minute volume (Ve), respiratory frequency (f) and peak ins...
Michio Clark J, Connor TA, Post A, Blaine Hoshizaki T, Ní Annaidh A, Gilchrist MD.The performance of equestrian helmets to protect against brain injuries caused by fall impacts against compliant surfaces such as turf has not been studied widely. We characterize the kinematic response of simulated fall impacts to turf through field tests on horse racetracks and laboratory experiments. The kinematic response characteristics and ground stiffness at different going ratings (GRs) (standard measurement of racetrack condition) were obtained from 1 m and 2 m drop tests of an instrumented hemispherical impactor onto a turf racetrack. The "Hard" rating resulted in higher peak lin...
López-Rivero JL, Diz AM, Monterde JG, Agüera E.The results from a recent study by Bruce and Schurg (1990) indicate that the gluteus medius (Gm) of the horse is a complex muscle subdivided by an internal tendinous sheet into two regions (dorsal and ventral) which may subserve different functions. In the present study, both regions were found to contain a similar proportion of histochemically-determined muscle fibre types. Fibre type composition did not generally vary over the length of the muscle at the same relative depth. In contrast, there was a significant tendency for the percentage of type I fibres to increase gradually in accordance ...
Whitton RC, McCarthy PH, Rose RJ.To describe in detail the structure of the medial palmar intercarpal ligament (MPICL), the lateral palmar intercarpal ligament (LPICL), and a dorsomedial intercarpal ligament (DMICL) of the equine midcarpal joint. Methods: Dissections of equine midcarpal joints. ANIMALS AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Ten carpal joints from eight thoroughbred horses. Methods: Detailed dissections of the midcarpal joint were performed, with particular attention paid to the MPICL, the LPICL, and the DMICL. The attachments and dimensions of these structures were recorded, as well as their behavior during joint movement. R...
Frape DL, Tuck MG, Sutcliffe NH, Jones DB.1. The rate of passage of chromic oxide (Cr) was similar in the pony and rhinoceros. 2. Higher apparent amounts digested were found using 4N-HCl-insoluble ash (AIA) than those determined by Cr, but overall digestibilities were similar for the two species. 3. An abrupt increase in the starch content of the horse diets increased the number of faecal ciliate protozoa. Only when the overall feed intake was increased in horses receiving a high dietary proportion of starch were the numbers depressed. 4. When the rhinoceros received 109 kJ apparent DE per kg bodyweight daily (716 kJ/W0.75 daily) it m...
Pfeiffer CJ, Murray MJ, Fainter L.The granular columnar epithelial cell of the equine dorsal large colon has been studied by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. Particular attention was focused on nuclear bodies commonly observed as central clusters of spherical, electron-dense inclusions within the nucleus. Ultrastructural morphology as well as X-ray microanalysis spectra reveal great similarity between colonic nuclear bodies and the numerous small granules of the apical cytoplasm in these epithelial cells. X-ray spectra of these cells were distinct from those of goblet cell mucous granules and mast cell...
Caporali EH, Kuykendall T, Stewart MC.To fully sequence and characterize equine aggrecan and confirm conservation of major aggrecanase, calpain and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) cleavage sites. Methods: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends were used to generate clones that encompassed the complete equine aggrecan sequence. Clones were sequenced and compared with the equine genome database to determine intron-exon boundaries. Results: The aggrecan gene spans over 61 kb on chromosome 1 and is encoded by 17 exons. Two major variants of aggrecan were cloned; one containing 8187 bp (2728...
Brück I, Hyland JH.The contributions of 2 biochemical pathways to the total metabolism of glucose (the Embden-Meyerhof pathway [EMP] and the pentose phosphate pathway [PPP]), were assessed for equine embryos recovered on Day 4.5, 7.5 and 11.5 post ovulation. At all developmental stages studied, glucose was metabolized through both pathways. Through the EMP, the amounts of glucose metabolized per nl embryo volume per hour were 4.0, 9.9 and 3.1 pmol, whereas via the PPP, amounts were 0.9, 1.7 and 0.07 pmol for Day-4.5, -7.5 and -11.5 embryos, respectively. The ratio of EMP:PPP with age was 9.7 for Day -4.5 embryos...
Işık R.Lactoferrin (LTF), also called lactotransferrin, is an iron-binding protein and member of transferrin family, whereas β-LG is an important milk protein and belongs to the ligand-binding protein family of lipocalins and binds retinol. Beta-lactoglobulin (β-LG) is a major whey protein and it is a member of lipocalins family. β-LG is also known as a major allergen reason of cow milk protein allergy. Yet, no information has been reported about β-LG and LTF genes in donkeys. In this study, the genetic variation of β-LG and LTF genes were analyzed via DNA sequencing in 77 donkeys, which were in...
Zicker SC, Rogers QR.Temporal changes, as well as differences in distribution, in concentrations of 24 amino acids in plasma and whole blood of neonatal foals were determined from birth to 2 days of age. In addition, differences in concentrations of amino acids in plasma between mare and foal pairs were determined at birth. Significant (P < 0.05) hypoaminoacidemia existed for 15 amino acids in plasma of foals at birth, compared with mares (paired t-test). Concentrations of 7 amino acids (aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, hydroxyproline, phenylalanine, proline) in plasma of foals were higher (P 0.05). S...
Houghton E, Dumasia MC, Teale P, Smith SJ, Cox J, Marshall D, Gower DB.Stable isotope gas chromatography/mass spectrometry has been used successfully in the elucidation of structures of urinary steroid metabolites in the horse and in the identification of metabolites isolated from in vivo perfusion and in vitro incubation studies using equine tissue preparations. Deuterium-labeled steroids, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and 5-androstene-3 beta,17 beta-diol have been synthesized by base-catalyzed isotope exchange methods and the products characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. [16,16(-2)H2]Dehydroepiandrosterone (plus radiolabeled dehydroepi...
Bézard J, Bøgh IB, Duchamp G, Hyttel P, Greve T.Nuclear maturation of equine oocytes was assessed immediately after in vivo collection. A double-staining technique (Hoechst and orcein) was used on the same oocytes to visualize nuclear morphology, i.e. to evaluate the chromatin configurations of each oocyte after Hoechst in relation to the nuclear morphology after orcein staining. The proportion of oocytes evaluated as germinal vesicle stages was significantly (p < 0.02) lower after Hoechst (14.5%) than after orcein staining (29.0%), while the incidence of the so-called dense chromatin stage was assessed to be higher (p < 0.05) after H...
Moslemi S, Silberzahn P, Gaillard JL.Explants of equine full-term placenta have been shown to synthesize 19-norandrogens from labelled androgens. Steroid metabolites were purified by silica-gel column chromatography then analysed and quantified by c18-reverse-phase HPLC coupled to a radioactive flow detector. 19-Norandrostenedione was subsequently recrystallized to constant specific activity, providing unequivocal evidence of its synthesis by the equine placenta. 19-Norandrostenedione synthesis appeared to be localized in the microsomal fraction. Regardless of the substrate used, formation of 19-norandrogens was far weaker than t...
