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.
Rubarth S, Krook L.Following a description of the histopathology of so-called mucoid degeneration of the nasal conchae in the horse, the authors conclude that the morphologic nature of the disease is osteodystrophia fibrosa. The lesions are believed to be expressions of nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism.
Bain AM.In the Hunter Valley of Australia, it is the practice to examine mares for pregnancy 25 days after service. These examinations are carried out without the operator having prior knowledge of the reason for the mare's presentation—i.e., whether for pregnancy, anoestrus, oestrus or follicle examination. This ensures a thorough examination and is a very critical check on the accuracy of the operator.
Lapin DR, Ginther OJ.A crude equine pituitary ethanol extract (EE) was used to induce single and miltiple ovulations in seasonally anovulatory pony mares 3-15 years of age. 12 mares were injected daily for 14 days with EE; 6 of the EE-treated mares were also treated with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and 6 control mares received saline vehicle only. In a 2nd experiment designed to determine if EE treatment could induce multiple ovulations in seasonally ovulatory mares, 7 mares were treated during diestrus, 7 mares were treated beginning on Day 1 of estrus, and 7 remained untreated. The results of experiment ...
Held JP, Daniel GB.The effect of flunixin meglumine on renal function was studied in 6 healthy horses by use of nonimaging nuclear medicine techniques. Effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) and effective renal blood flow (ERBF) were determined by plasma clearance of 131I-orthoiodohippuric acid before and after administration of flunixin meglumine. Mean ERPF and ERBF was 6.03 ml/min/kg and 10.7 ml/min/kg, respectively, before treatment and was 5.7 ml/min/kg and 9.7 ml/min/kg, respectively, after treatment. Although ERPF and ERBF decreased after flunixin meglumine administration, the difference was not statistically ...
Ott EA, Asquith RL.Three experiments using 63 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse yearlings were conducted to evaluate the influence of level of feeding, and protein and calculated energy content of pelleted concentrates on growth and bone development. Animals were housed in drylot paddocks and individually fed concentrates twice daily. Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dyctylon) hay was group-fed. Yearlings offered a corn-based concentrate (3.56 Mcal digestible energy [DE]/kg) consumed levels of dry matter similar to yearlings fed a mixed-grain concentrate (3.32 Mcal DE/kg but consumed slightly more digestible energy. N...
Douthit TL, Bormann JM, Kouba JM.The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze demographic variables and academic preparation of students to determine how these factors relate to student performance in ASI 521 Horse Science, an upper-level course offered in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI) at Kansas State University (KSU). Data were collected for 264 students enrolled in the course from 2008 to 2010. Students who took the course in 2008 received greater final percentages than those who took the course in subsequent years (P = 0.0016). Females tended to receive greater percentages than males (P...
Butcher MT, Bertram JE, Syme DA, Hermanson JW, Chase PB.The digital flexors of horses must produce high force to support the body weight during running, and a need for these muscles to generate power is likely limited during locomotion over level ground. Measurements of power output from horse muscle fibers close to physiological temperatures, and when cyclic strain is imposed, will help to better understand the in vivo performance of the muscles as power absorbers and generators. Skinned fibers from the deep (DDF) and superficial (SDF) digital flexors, and the soleus (SOL) underwent sinusoidal oscillations in length over a range of frequencies (0....
Schweizer C, Ramseyer A, Gerber V, Christen G, Burger D, Wohlfender FD.Racetrack injuries are of welfare concern and the prevention of injuries is an important goal in many racing jurisdictions. Over the years this has led to more detailed recording of clinical events on racecourses. However, risk factor analyses of clinical events at race meetings have not been previously reported for Switzerland. Objective: To identify discipline-specific factors that influence the occurrence of clinical events during race meetings with the ultimate aim of improving the monitoring and safety of racetracks in Switzerland and optimising racehorse welfare. Methods: Retrospective s...
Zhao J, Marghitu DB, Schumacher J.Tranquilization of horses with acepromazine has been used to suppress erratic head movements and increase the accuracy of a lameness examination. Some equine clinicians believe that tranquilization with acepromazine will make lameness more evident by causing the horse to focus on adjusting its gait to avoid limb pain rather than its surroundings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acepromazine on the Lyapunov exponents of lame horses. Ten lame horses were trotted in a straight line for a minimum of 25 strides. Kinematic data created by head movement were analyzed. Nonlinear...
Foreman JH.Metabolic causes of exercise intolerance can be subtle and difficult to document in horses. Because of increased metabolic rate in exercising muscle, most metabolic causes of exercise intolerance are clinically manifested by muscle abnormalities such as ER. Newer causes of ER are being documented by current research and are summarized in the article on muscular causes of equine exercise intolerance. Endocrine causes of exercise intolerance have been poorly documented, but recent work has shown the detrimental effects of hypothyroidism on exercise tolerance in horses. Many metabolic manifestati...
Doreau M, Dussap G.Female milk production was related to offspring water turnover, estimated by a tracer method (fig. 1). After deuterium oxide was injected into the blood of the offspring, we measured the decrease of its concentration in time. Milk intake was calculated by equations taking into account the weight gain of the offspring. The reliability of this method was checked in 28 bottle-fed lambs with known milk intake; the correlation between the actual intakes and our estimates was 0.98 with an error means of 5.6 p. 100. The error on the mean of 28 lambs was 0.5 p. 100 (table 1). The milk production of 6 ...
Kato H, Ohashi T, Matsushiro H, Watari T, Goitsuka R, Tsujimoto H, Hasegawa A.Equine interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) was molecularly cloned to establish a basis for cytokine therapy of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases in the horse. cDNA clones encoding the whole coding sequence of equine IL-1ra were isolated from equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that had been stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The equine IL-1ra cDNA obtained in this study contained an open reading frame encoding 177 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence of equine IL-1ra shared 75.7, 75.3 and 76.3% similarity with sequences of human, murine and ra...
Bowman SG, Marshall JF, Blikslager AT.To determine demographic characteristics of horses donated to the North Carolina State University Equine Health Center (EHC) between 1996 and 2008. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: 122 horses donated to the EHC between January 1996 and December 2008, and 246 horses offered for donation to the EHC between January 2007 and December 2008. Methods: Telephone and medical records were examined. Data were collected in 5 categories: age, sex, breed, reason for donation, and use prior to donation. Results: From January 1996 through December 2008, 122 horses were donated to the EHC (median,...
Wilson AM, Pardoe CH.Studies on horseshoe materials have been limited to the analysis of kinematic data to determine slip times and distances, since equine force plate analysis is traditionally undertaken on a rubber-surfaced force plate. The purpose of this study was to modify a force plate for measuring ground reaction forces on a road surface and report preliminary data from the system. A steel-reinforced concrete top plate of 18 mm thickness and mass 23 kg, and a 12 mm thick top plate of 6 mm bituminous macadam wear coat (road surface) contained in a tray constructed of 2 mm thick steel, mass 21 kg, were const...
Sirois J, Betteridge KJ, Brault A.Embryo transfer was used in an equestrian teaching center in order to produce as many foals as possible from their preferred mares during a single breeding season. Embryo collection by uterine lavage was attempted in five donor mares on 25 occasions 6.5 days after ovulation. Sixteen of the collection attempts (64%) yielded a total of 17 blastocysts. Of these 17 embryos, 13 were immediately transferred transcervically into recipient mares that had ovulated within two days of the time of ovulation in the donors, three were frozen for later transfer, and one was lost. Eight of the freshly transfe...
Baillet H, Leroy D, Vérin E, Delpouve C, Boulanger J, Benguigui N, Komar J, Thouvarecq R.The present research aims at quantifying the impact of practicing a new coordination pattern with an online visual feedback on the postural coordination performed on a mechanical horse. Forty-four voluntary participants were recruited in this study. They were randomly assigned to four practice groups based on i) with or without feedback (i.e., group 1, control, did not receive the feedback; group 2, 3 and 4 received an online feedback during practice) and ii) the specific trunk/horse coordination to target during practice (group 1, target coordination = 180° (without feedback); group 2, targe...
Jansen WL, van Alphen M, Berghout M, Everts H, Beynen AC.The ratio of calculated net energy intake (NEi) to calculate net energy requirement (NEr) might serve as an indicator of the efficiency of dietary energy utilization. The ratio was determined for 93 horses and ponies from 10 riding schools. For each animal with an assumed constant body weight, energy intake and energy requirements were assessed. On average, the estimated NEi was 14% greater than NEr. There was a significant, negative association between crude fibre intake and the NEi: NEr ratio. Earlier work indicated that extra fat intake may lead to over estimation of the calculated energy v...
Koterba AM, Drummond WH.Provision of adequate nutritional support to the sick neonatal foal is a vital part of intensive care; frequently, however, it is very difficult to accomplish. In this article, current recommendations concerning both enteral and parenteral nutrition are discussed.
Seamans KW, Sharp DC.Follicular aromatase activity during sexual resurgence after the winter anoestrus was investigated in 3 groups of 5 Pony mares. Group ET was studied during the early transition period, Group LT in late transition and Group C in full breeding condition. Granulosa and theca cells were incubated for 3 h with 3H-labelled androstenedione or progesterone. Analysis of the free oestrogenic products was by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and recrystallization revealed highly variable oestrogen production in both cell types from mares in all 3 groups. Only oestrone and oestradiol peaks wer...
Teigland MB.The role of the veterinarian at auction sales begins long before the consignment is assembled. A number of veterinarians are called upon by sales companies to evaluate the candidates before acceptance into the consignment. At sales time, the number of veterinarians involved grows to large numbers as the prospective buyers employ them to evaluate the animals to suit their individual needs. Professional ethics must be considered at all times when evaluating animals before auction. The findings must be kept confidential. The consignor allows veterinarians to examine his or her animals with the un...
Aberle ED, Judge MD, Kirkham WW, Page EH, Crawford BH.Frozen sections of equine musculus semitendinosus were examined for myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR), using standard histochemical procedures, and the proportions of the various fiber types and average fiber sectional size were determined. With ATPase staining, approximately 70% of the fibers were classified as alpha fibers (ATPase positive), and 30%, as beta fibers (ATPase negative). In addition, 2 populations of alpha fibers could be readily distinguished on the basis of the intensity of the ATPase reaction...
Artz NL, Robbins J, Millman ST.Objectives of this study were to evaluate an equine assisted learning (EAL) curriculum designed for medical students and resident physicians, and to determine impacts of the curriculum on participant perceptions of burnout and well-being. The EAL curriculum incorporated evidence-based skills and concepts to increase happiness and/or resilience. A pre/post intervention design was used, with 18 EAL participants receiving the curriculum within their month-long community based primary care clerkship elective, and 10 control (CTL) participants who did not receive the curriculum within their clerksh...
Ginther OJ.After the cessation of equine embryo mobility (fixation) on mean Day 16, the embryonic vesicle is rotated or oriented so that the pole with the embryo proper is opposite to the mesometrial attachment. Orientation involves massage of the vesicle by contractions of the turgid uterine horn and greater thickening of the vesicle at the pole with the embryo proper. Thickening of the dorsal endometrium (encroachment) especially on each side of the mesometrial attachment accounts for a guitar-pick shape of the vesicle when viewed in cross section of the uterine horn. On Days 21-40, the allantoic sac e...
Brand A, Lindner A, Gerhards H, Valenchon M, Petit O.The objective of this study was to explore how the endurance of five-year-old horses, kept out on pasture all their life and ridden for the first time well into their fifth year of age, developed within one year and compared to that of six-year-old horses raised under the same conditions and to other horses. Horses were submitted to a standardized exercise test (SET) to calculate their v (velocity run under defined conditions inducing 4 mmol/L of blood lactate concentration (LA)) and v (velocity run under defined conditions inducing a heart rate of 180 beats/min). The test consisted of up to ...
Lee J, Shin D, Kim H.Thoroughbred horses have been bred exclusively for racing in England for a long time. Additionally, because horse racing is a global sport, a healthy leisure activity for ordinary citizens, and a high-value business, systematic racehorse breeding at the population level is a requirement for continuous industrial development. Therefore, we established genomic evaluation system (using prize money as horse racing traits) to produce spirited, agile, and strong racing horse population. Methods: We used phenotypic data from 25,061 Thoroughbred horses (all registered individuals in Korea) that compet...
Pruett HE, Thompson DL, Cartmill JA, Williams CC, Gentry LR.Light horse mares, stallions, and geldings were used to 1) extend our observations on the thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) inhibition of GH secretion in response to physiologic stimuli and 2) test the hypothesis that stimulation of endogenous TRH would decrease the normal rate of GH secretion. In Exp. 1 and 2, pretreatment of mares with TRH (10 microg/kg BW) decreased (P < 0.001) the GH response to exercise and aspartate infusion. Time analysis in Exp. 3 indicated that the TRH inhibition lasted at least 60 min but was absent by 120 min. Administration of a single injection of TRH to stal...
Tennent-Brown BS, Morrice AV, Reed S.Neonatal encephalopathy is the most common neurologic condition affecting newborn foals and shares similarities with perinatal asphyxia syndrome of human infants. In many cases of neonatal encephalopathy there is no obvious episode of acute or chronic hypoxia and other mechanisms likely play a role in the pathogenesis. Increased concentrations of neuroactive progestagens are found in affected foals; whether these molecules are protective, as has been suggested, or play a role in the pathogenesis is unknown. Neurologic diseases other than neonatal encephalopathy affect foals occasionally and sh...
Boswinkel M, Neyens IJ, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.A 5-year old Tinker gelding was referred to the Department of Equine Sciences with a left eye uveitis and fever. At presentation the horse showed a mild lethargy, fever and decreased vision of the left eye. Rectal examination revealed an enlarged left kidney, with a hard and an irregular surface. The cranial mesentery artery had an enlarged and irregular aspect. Blood analysis showed anaemia, leucocytosis, increased blood urea nitrogen and creatinine and a hyperproteinemia. Urine analysis repeatedly showed a marked proteinuria and an increased gammaGT/creatinine ratio. The amount of abdominal ...
Nardelli M, Lanata A, Valenza G, Sgorbini M, Baragli P, Scilingo EP.This paper reports on a novel real time index designed to assess the quality of electrocardiographic (ECG) traces recorded in a group of five horses during a submaximal treadmill test procedure. During the experimental protocol two ECG monitoring systems were simultaneously applied to the animals. The first system was equipped with textile electrodes while the second one with standard red-dot electrodes. The procedure comprised four phases with an increased treadmill velocity, specifically, Walk 1, Trot 1, Trot 2 and Gallop. Three signal quality levels have been fixed according to the amount o...
Eto D, Yamano S, Hiraga A, Miyata H.There is little information about the muscle fibre recruitment pattern during sloped and flat track running in Thoroughbred horses. Objective: To examine the glycogen depletion pattern of each muscle fibre type during running on a flat and sloped treadmill. Methods: Thirteen Thoroughbred horses (3-9 years old) were used. They were initially subjected to incremental exercise tests on a treadmill at 10 and 0% inclines in each horse to determine running speed at 90 and 60% VO2max. Needle biopsy samples were obtained from the middle gluteal muscle immediately after the running at 90% VO2max for 4 ...
Kwok KY, Chan GHM, Kwok WH, Wong JKY, Wan TSM.Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are chemicals that possess the anti-oestrogenic activities that are banned 'in' and 'out' of competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in human sports, and by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) in horseracing. SERMs can be used as performance-enhancing drugs to boost the level of androgens or to compensate for the adverse effects as a result of extensive use of androgenic anabolic steroids (AASs). SERMs have indeed been abused in human sports; hence, a similar threat can be envisaged in horseracing. Numerous an...
Curcio Bda R, Pereira GR, Antunes LI, Boff AN, dos Santos FC, Lucas T, Nogueira CE, Corcini CD, Liu I, Deschamps JC.In vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures are limited by the inability to mature equine oocytes on in vitro methods. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate structural integrity of equine oocytes subjected to vitrification with a synthetic polymer (PVA). Methods: The effect of eGH and its relationship with IGF-I on in vitro maturation (IVM) were evaluated. Compact cumulus oocytes complexes (n=122) were cultured in TCM-199 with eGH, IGF-I or eGH+IGF-I for 30h at 38.5C in air with 5 % CO2. Oocytes were fixed after IVM or subjected to the vitrification protocol. Cryopreserved oocytes were ...
