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.
Wang L, Unger L, Sharif H, Eriksson S, Gerber V, Rönnberg H.Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) plays a key role in the synthesis of deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) and is thus important for DNA replication and cell proliferation. The expression of TK1 is highest during S-phase, and it is rapidly degraded after mitosis. In cancer cells, TK1 is upregulated, resulting in leakage of excess TK1 into the blood. Consequently, serum TK1 has been used as a diagnostic and prognostic cancer biomarker, mainly in human medicine. The aims of this work were to characterize equine TK1 and to evaluate its suitability as a serum biomarker for equine lymphoma. Results: Equine T...
The Journal of heredityDecember 12, 2021
Volume 113, Issue 3 238-247 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esab070
Esdaile E, Avila F, Bellone RR.American Standardbreds were developed as a harness racing horse breed. The United States Trotting Association closed the studbook in 1973 and implemented a book size cap in 2009. This study aimed to investigate genetic diversity in the American Standardbred after the studbook cap was introduced using short tandem repeats (STRs) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Sixteen STRs from horses foaled from 2010 to 2015 and their sires and dams (n = 50 621) were utilized to examine allelic richness (Ar), expected heterozygosity (HE), observed heterozygosity (HO), unbiased heterozygosity (HU), ...
Mukai K, Kitaoka Y, Takahashi Y, Takahashi T, Takahashi K, Ohmura H.We investigated whether moderate-intensity training of horses in moderate hypoxia for 4 weeks elicits greater adaptations in exercise performance, aerobic capacity, and glycolytic/oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle compared to normoxic training. In a randomized crossover study design, seven untrained Thoroughbred horses (5.9 ± 1.1 years, 508 ± 9 kg) completed 4 weeks (3 sessions/week) of two training protocols consisting of 3-min cantering at 70% of maximal oxygen consumption ( ) in hypoxia (HYP; F O = 14.7%) and normoxia (NOR; F O = 21.0%) with a 4-month washout period....
Nyerges-Bohák Z, Nagy K, Rózsa L, Póti P, Kovács L.Changes in heart rate and heart rate variabilty (HRV) were investigated in untrained (UT; starting their first racing season) and detrained (DT; with 1-3 years of race experience) racehorses before and after 14-week conventional training. HRV was measured at rest over 1 h between 9:00 and 10:00 AM on the usual rest day of the horses. The smallest worthwhile change (SWC) rate was calculated for all HRV parameters. UT horses had significantly higher heart rate compared to DT (P<0.001). There were no gender- or training-related differences in heart rate. The root-mean-square of successive diff...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Fašmon Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A....Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of a tincture from the bark of J. Presl (cinnamon tincture) when used as a sensory additive in feed and water for drinking for all animal species. The product is a water/ethanol ■■■■■ solution, with a dry matter content of approximately 0.9%. The product contains on average 0.344% polyphenols (of which 0.001% are flavonoids) and 0.001% cinnamaldehyde. Methyleugenol was present at the...
Cappelli K, Mecocci S, Capomaccio S, Beccati F, Palumbo AR, Tognoloni A, Pepe M, Chiaradia E.Physical exercise has been associated with the modulation of micro RNAs (miRNAs), actively released in body fluids and recognized as accurate biomarkers. The aim of this study was to measure serum miRNA profiles in 18 horses taking part in endurance competitions, which represents a good model to test metabolic responses to moderate intensity prolonged efforts. Serum levels of miRNAs of eight horses that were eliminated due to metabolic unbalance (Non Performer-NP) were compared to those of 10 horses that finished an endurance competition in excellent metabolic condition (Performer-P). Circulat...
Murchie TJ, Monteath AJ, Mahony ME, Long GS, Cocker S, Sadoway T, Karpinski E, Zazula G, MacPhee RDE, Froese D, Poinar HN.The temporal and spatial coarseness of megafaunal fossil records complicates attempts to to disentangle the relative impacts of climate change, ecosystem restructuring, and human activities associated with the Late Quaternary extinctions. Advances in the extraction and identification of ancient DNA that was shed into the environment and preserved for millennia in sediment now provides a way to augment discontinuous palaeontological assemblages. Here, we present a 30,000-year sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) record derived from loessal permafrost silts in the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada. ...
Rørvang MV, Ničová K, Sassner H, Nawroth C.Many frameworks have assessed the ultimate and ontogenetic underpinnings in the development of object permanence, but less is known about whether individual characteristics, such as sex or training level, as well as proximate factors, such as arousal or emotional state, affect performance in these tasks. The current study investigated horses' performance in visible and invisible displacement tasks and assessed whether specific ontogenetic, behavioral, and physiological factors were associated with performance. The study included 39 Icelandic horses aged 2-25 years, of varying training levels. ...
Sabiniewicz A, Białek M, Tarnowska K, Świątek R, Dobrowolska M, Sorokowski P.Mammalian body odour conveys cues about an individual's emotional state that can be recognised by conspecifics. Thus far, little attention has been paid to interspecific odour communication of emotions, and no studies have examined whether humans are able to recognise animal emotions from body odour. Thus, the aim of the present study was to address this question. Body odour samples were collected from 16 two-year-old thoroughbred horses in fear and non-fear situations, respectively. The horse odour samples were then assessed by 73 human odour raters. We found that humans, as a group, were abl...
Herren FL, Gerber V, Meier R, Schweizer-Gorgas D, Klopfenstein Bregger MD.The volumes of equine teeth may change considerably over time for several reasons including domestication, routine dental floating, and the hypsodont and anelodont nature of the teeth. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) of the head is routinely performed in standing horses and, in this proof of concept study, the feasibility of measuring tooth volume from CBCT datasets was determined. The CBCT images of 5 equine cadaver cheek teeth were segmented with a software 3-dimensional (3D) Slicer using a predefined protocol, corrected manually, and re-assembled into a 3D model. Individual tooth volum...
Atsenova N, Palova N, Mehandjyiski I, Neov B, Radoslavov G, Hristov P.The question about the time and the place of horse domestication, a process which had a profound impact on the progress of mankind, is disputable. According to the most widely accepted hypothesis, the earliest domestication of the horse happened in the western parts of the Eurasian steppes, between the Northern Black Sea region and present-day Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It seems that it occurred not earlier than the first half and most probably during the middle (even the last third) of the fourth millennium BC (from ∼ 5.5 kya). The next steps of large-scale horse breeding occurred almost ...
Holcomb FR, Multhaup KS, Erwin SR, Daniels SE.This field experiment examined whether the well-documented benefit of spaced over massed training for humans and other animals generalizes to horses. Twenty-nine randomly selected horses (Equus ferus caballus) repeatedly encountered a novel obstacle-crossing task while under saddle. Horses were randomly assigned to the spaced-training condition (2 min work, 2 min rest, 2 min work, 2 min rest) or the massed-training condition (4 min work, 4 min rest). Total training time per session and total rest per session were held constant. Days between sessions (M = 3) were held as consistent as...
Alim S, Cheppali SK, Laitaoja M, Talluri TR, Jänis J, Swamy MJ.Fibronectin type-II (FnII) family proteins are the major proteins in many mammalian species including bull, horse and pig. In the present study, a major FnII protein has been identified and isolated from donkey (Equus hemionus) seminal plasma, which we refer to as Donkey Seminal Plasma protein-1 (DSP-1). The amino acid sequence determined by mass spectrometry and computational modeling studies revealed that DSP-1 is homologous to other mammalian seminal plasma proteins, including bovine PDC-109 (also known as BSP-A1/A2) and equine HSP-1/2. High-resolution LC-MS analysis indicated that the prot...
Coelho CS, Sodre TDRP, Sousa LN, Siqueira RF, Manso Filho HC, Aragona F, Fazio F.Vaquejada is a high-intensity and short-duration exercise in which helper horses (HH) are responsible to keep a bull running in a line while pull horses (PH) work to put the bull down after 100 m of running. The purpose of this study was to quantify and compare energy expenditures (EE), transport costs (COT) and metabolic energy requirements (Pmet) of horses used in Vaquejada. Thus, eight Quarter Horses, in randomly formed pairs, performed a vaquejada simulation test (VST), which consisted of three races on a sand track (130-150 m), with a 5-min interval between them. All horses used an integr...
Nichols CL, Doherty TJ, Schumacher J, Jones PD, Sun X.To determine whether palmar digital nerve (PDN) blockade in horses with a combination of dexmedetomidine and mepivacaine would block the response to mechanical force applied to the digit longer than would anesthetizing these nerves with mepivacaine alone or dexmedetomidine alone. Methods: 8 mares with no signs of lameness. Methods: In a randomized, crossover, blinded, experimental study, both PDNs of the same forelimb of each horse were anesthetized by perineural injection with either 30 mg mepivacaine alone, 250 µg of dexmedetomidine alone, or 30 mg mepivacaine combined with 250 µg of dexme...
Rogers CW, Gee EK, Dittmer KE.Within the lay literature, and social media in particular, there is often debate about the age at which a horse should be started and introduced to racing or sport. To optimize the welfare and longevity of horses in racing and sport, it is important to match exercise with musculoskeletal development and the ability of the musculoskeletal system to respond to loading. The justification for not exercising horses at a certain age is often in contrast to the scientific literature and framed, with incorrect generalizations, with human growth. This review provides a relative comparison of the growth...
Carvalho JRG, Conde G, Antonioli ML, Santana CH, Littiere TO, Dias PP, Chinelatto MA, Canola PA, Zara FJ, Ferraz GC.In horses, there is an increasing interest in developing long-lasting drug formulations, with biopolymers as viable carrier alternatives in addition to their use as scaffolds, suture threads, screws, pins, and plates for orthopedic surgeries. This communication focuses on the prolonged biocompatibility and biodegradation of PLA, prepared by hot pressing at 180 °C. Six samples were implanted subcutaneously on the lateral surface of the neck of one horse. The polymers remained implanted for 24 to 57 weeks. Physical examination, plasma fibrinogen, and the mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) w...
de Oliveira Bussiman F, Carvalho RSB, E Silva FF, Ventura RV, Ferraz JBS, Mattos EC, Eler JP, Balieiro JCC.Multitrait models can increase the accuracy of breeding value prediction and reduce bias due to selection by using traits measured before and after it has occurred. However, as the number of traits grows, a similar trend is expected for the number of parameters to be estimated, which directly affects the computing power and the amount of data required. The aim of the present study was to apply reduced rank (principal components model-PCM) and factor analytical models (FAM), to estimate (co)variance components for nineteen traits, jointly evaluated in a single analysis in Campolina horses. A to...
Journal of biomechanicsNovember 27, 2021
Volume 130 110888 doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110888
Shaffer SK, Shelly K, Garcia TC, Samol MA, Hill AE, Fyhrie DP, Stover SM.Proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fractures in racehorses are likely fatigue fractures that occur due to repetitive loads and stress remodeling. The loading circumstances that may induce damage in the PSBs are not well understood. The goal of this study was to determine in three-dimensions, PSB motions relative to the opposing metacarpal condyle during simulated mid-stance loads. Seven equine cadaveric forelimbs were axially loaded in a material testing system to simulate standing and mid-stance walk, trot, and gallop load conditions (1.8-10.5 kN). Joint angles were determined by tracking the posit...
Drews B, Milojevic V, Robles M, Wimel L, Dubois C, Rudolf Vegas A, Giller K, Chavatte-Palmer P, Daniel H, Giesbertz P, Bruckmaier RM, Ulbrich SE.Female mammalian reproductive functions are closely linked to body condition and metabolic status. Energy homeostasis is regulated by endocrine hormones such as insulin, IGF-I, leptin, and adiponectin via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. These metabolic hormones and their receptors are also expressed in reproductive tissues and the embryo. We investigated the relationship between circulating leptin and the fatty acid (FA) and amino acid (AA) composition of the equine uterine fluid (UF) and peripheral blood plasma (BP) by using a mass spectrometry-based approach. UF and BP were collecte...
Mühlemann S, Leandri M, Risberg ÅI, Spadavecchia C.The nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) is used to investigate nociception in horses. The NWR threshold is a classical model endpoint. The aims of this study were to determine NWR tolerance and to compare threshold and tolerance reflexes in horses. In 12 horses, the NWR was evoked through electrical stimulation of the digital nerve and recorded via electromyography from the deltoid. Behavioral reactions were scored from 0 to 5 (tolerance). First, the individual NWR threshold was defined, then stimulation intensity was increased to tolerance. The median NWR threshold was 7.0 mA, whereas NWR tol...
Doll CU, Niebert S, Burk J.Tendon lesions are common sporting injuries in humans and horses alike. The healing process of acute tendon lesions frequently results in fibrosis and chronic disease. In horses, local mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) injection is an accepted therapeutic strategy with positive influence on acute lesions. Concerning the use of MSCs in chronic tendon disease, data are scarce but suggest less therapeutic benefit. However, it has been shown that MSCs can have a positive effect on fibrotic tissue. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the interplay of MSCs and healthy or chronically diseased tendon matrix...
Philip M, Karakka Kal AK, Subhahar MB, Karatt TK, Mathew B, Perwad Z.Performance-enhancing substances and methods have become a serious problem in competitive sports. The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stabilizers can enhance the organism's capacity for molecular oxygen transport and are likely to be abused as performance-enhancing agents in sports. This paper describes the metabolic conversion of the popular hypoxia inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitors, namely, daprodustat, desidustat, and vadadustat using equine liver microsomes, determined on a QExactive high-resolution mass spectrometer. During this study, a total of 10 metabolites for da...
Bugno-Poniewierska M, Kij-Mitka B, Podstawski Z, Długosz B, Lasek O, Mrowiec P, Tischner M.The use of frozen semen lowers the risk of disease transmission, eliminates geographical limitations and supports the implementation of genetic resource protection programs. However, due to the very rare use of frozen semen from Hutsul stallions, their genetic material is not secured in sperm banks, and very little information is available about their semen, including its suitability for cryopreservation, and sperm survival rates after thawing. The aim of this study was to analyse basic parameters such as sperm motility, vitality and morphology in diluted-stored and post-thawed Hutsul semen, u...
Shorten PR, Legacki EL, Chavatte-Palmer P, Conley AJ.Hormone secretion by the maternal ovaries, trophoblast/placenta and fetus occurs sequentially, creating distinct steroid metabolomic 'signatures' in systemic blood of pregnant mares that vary with gestational stage. Algorithms were developed to predict the gestational day (GD) from the maternal steroid metabolome (nine steroids; pregnenolone (P5), progesterone (P4), 5α-dihydroprogesterone (DHP), 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, allopregnanolone, 20α-hydroxy-DHP, 3β,20α-dihydroxy-DHP, DHEA and androstenedione) determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of eight thoroug...
Horan K, Kourdache K, Coburn J, Day P, Carnall H, Harborne D, Brinkley L, Hammond L, Millard S, Lancaster B, Pfau T.Horseshoes influence how horses' hooves interact with different ground surfaces, during the impact, loading and push-off phases of a stride cycle. Consequently, they impact on the biomechanics of horses' proximal limb segments and upper body. By implication, different shoe and surface combinations could drive changes in the magnitude and stability of movement patterns in horse-jockey dyads. This study aimed to quantify centre of mass (COM) displacements in horse-jockey dyads galloping on turf and artificial tracks in four shoeing conditions: 1) aluminium; 2) barefoot; 3) GluShu; and 4) steel. ...
Amado-Fuentes M, Gozalo M, Garcia-Gomez A, Barrios-Fernandez S.People with disabilities due to genetic origin often present high levels of stress: non-pharmacological interventions such as Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAI) may be a useful strategy. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate stress levels in two participants with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome diagnosis, immediately after carrying out the EAI. A single case experimental design methodology was chosen due to the small sample size. Two participants with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, a rare disease, with different comorbidities were included. The present study considered the EAI as the indepe...
Orsolini MF, Meyers SA, Dini P.As the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and in vitro embryo production (IVP) expand in the equine industry, it has become necessary to further our understanding of available semen selection techniques. This segment of our two-section review will focus on the selection of spermatozoa based on quality and sex for equine intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), as well as current and future developments in sperm sorting technologies. Ultimately, novel methods of semen selection will be assessed based on their efficacy in other species and their relevance and future application towa...
Delcourt V, Garcia P, Pottier I, Mansoibou N, Bache N, Glavieux Y, Chabot B, Perot I, André F, Loup B, Barnabé A, Popot MA, Bailly-Chouriberry L.Synthetic androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) are banned compounds and considered as major threats by both racing and sports international authorities. Hence, doping control laboratories are continually looking into analytical improvements to increase their detection capabilities, notably by means of emerging technologies. To enhance analytical performances for the detection of synthetic AAS such as stanozolol, specific chromatographic procedures have been developed using recent quaternary liquid chromatography technology originally designed for high-throughput standardized proteomics connected...
Schmidt MJ, Knemeyer C, Heinsen H.In this study, the morphology of the horse brain (Equus caballus) is decribed in detail using high field MRI. The study includes sagittal, dorsal, and transverse T2-weighted images at 0.25 mm resolution at 3 Tesla and 3D models of the brain presenting the external morphology of the brain. Representative gallocyanin stained histological slides of the same brain are presented. The images represent a useful tool for MR image interpretation in horses and may serve as a starting point for further research aiming at in vivo analysis in this species.
King MR.Hydrotherapy has become a key element within equine rehabilitation protocols and is used to address range of motion, proprioception, strength, neuromotor control, pain, and inflammation. Various forms of hydrotherapy can be tailored to the individual's injury and the expected return to athletic performance. This article describes the mechanisms of action of hydrotherapies and potential use in the clinical management of equine musculoskeletal injuries.
Hackett CH, Fortier LA.The field of regenerative medicine research is rapidly expanding. One area of interest to equine researchers is the possibility of isolating or generating pluripotent cells, capable of producing differentiated cell types derived from all 3 primary germ layers. Reports of equine embryonic stem-like (ES) cell isolation can be found in the literature. Other groups are working to produce equine-induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. This article summarizes the essential features needed to characterize a cell type as pluripotent, specific challenges in using the horse as a model organism for pluripo...
Townley P, Baker KP, Quinn PJ.An investigation of the landing and engorging sites of midges on a bait horse was made in Ireland as part of a project examining the aetiology of sweet itch. Ten species were recovered, seven of which engorged. Culicoides obsoletus and C dewulfi were the most commonly represented, accounting for 89.9 per cent of midges landing and 90.5 per cent of midges engorging. Only 4.69 per cent of midges attracted to the bait were C pulicaris. Overall, the preferential landing sites for midges were along the mane and lower leg regions. Few culicoides were attracted to the head, front and underside of the...
Gao S, Zeng Z, Wang H, Chen F, Huang L, Wang X.African horse sickness (AHS) is a devastating equine infectious disease. On 17 March 2020, it first appeared in Thailand and threatened all the South-East Asia equine industry security. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out risk warnings of the AHS in China. The maximum entropy algorithm was used to model AHS and Culicoides separately by using climate and non-climate variables. The least cost path (LCP) method was used to analyze the habitat connectivity of Culicoides with the reclassified land cover and altitude as cost factors. The models showed the mean area under the curve as 0.918 and ...
Baker DL, Powers JG, Ransom JI, McCann BE, Oehler MW, Bruemmer JE, Galloway NL, Eckery DC, Nett TM.Wildlife and humans are increasingly competing for resources worldwide, and a diverse, innovative, and effective set of management tools is needed. Controlling abundance of wildlife species that are simultaneously protected, abundant, competitive for resources, and in conflict with some stakeholders but beloved by others, is a daunting challenge. Free-ranging horses (Equus caballus) present such a conundrum and managers struggle for effective tools for regulating their abundance. Controlling reproduction of female horses presents a potential alternative. During 2009-2017, we determined the lon...
Sweeting MP, Houpt CE, Houpt KA.Eight pairs of pony mares were observed. Members of a pair were housed in adjacent stalls and fed hay ad libitum. The behavior of both ponies was recorded simultaneously in the morning (1000 to 1200 h) and afternoon (1400 to 1600 h) for a total of 117 h. The time budget was: 70.1 +/- 8.6% eating; 17.8 +/- 7.4% standing (including stand rest, stand alert and stand nonalert); 5.2 +/- 7.0% pushing hay; 2.9 +/- 1.2% walking; 1.9 +/- 2.9% drinking; 1.3 +/- 1.1% self-grooming; .2 +/- .3% defecating; .06 +/- .1% chewing nonfood items; .06 +/- .03% urination; .06 +/- .1% licking salt; .07 +/- .1% pawi...
Beldarrain LR, Morán L, Sentandreu MÁ, Insausti K, R Barron LJ, Aldai N.A full-randomized block design was used for the study of the FA composition and meat quality parameters, considering ageing time as a split-plot factor. Chemical and fatty acid composition of steaks (longissimus thoracis and lumborum muscle) from 15 month old semiextensively reared Hispano-Bretón horses were characterized (day 0), and the effect of vacuum ageing (0, 7, 14 and 21 days) on several meat quality parameters (pH, instrumental color and texture and cook loss) was determined. The average fat content of horse loin was 3.31%, and the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content, although hig...
Greve L, Dyson S.Common causes of poor performance in horses include factors related to the horse, the rider and/or the saddle, and their interrelationships remain challenging to determine. Horse-related factors (such as thoracolumbar region pain and/or lameness), rider-related factors (such as crookedness, inability to ride in rhythm with the horse, inability to work the horse in a correct frame to improve core strength and muscular support of the thoracolumbar spine of the horse), and saddle-related factors (such as poor fit causing focal areas of increased pressure) may all contribute to poor performance to...
Macías García B, Morrell JM, Ortega-Ferrusola C, González-Fernández L, Tapia JA, Rodriguez-Martínez H, Peña FJ.The present study attempted to select the subpopulation of stallion spermatozoa that best survived a conventional freezing and thawing procedure, using centrifugation of post-thawed semen samples through a single layer of a glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane-coated silica colloid with a species-specific formulation (Androcoll-E). Sperm motility, sperm chromatin structure, membrane integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential were studied in filtered and non-filtered spermatozoa. Single-layer centrifugation (SLC) using Androcoll-E significantly improved all the sperm parameters studied, implying...
Poyato-Bonilla J, Laseca N, Demyda-Peyrás S, Molina A, Valera M.The Carthusian horse is a Pura Raza Español (PRE) strain (CS), bred as a closed population since its creation more than 500 years ago. The aim of this study was to analyse for the first time its population structure and situation of variability combining both genealogical (GEL) and genomic (GEN) data. The GEL data comprised 348,429 pedigree records (56,105 CS horses), while the GEN analysis included the high-density genotypes (670,804 SNPs) of 287 horses. Pedigree completeness demonstrated its accuracy, showing a good correlation of GEL (F) and GEN (F ) inbreeding coefficient in the case of ...
Muylle S, Simoens P, Lauwers H, Van Loon G.The accuracy of ageing mini-Shetland ponies and donkeys was assessed by correlating the appearance of specific dental features with the known ages of 106 mini-Shetland ponies and 63 donkeys. The ages of the animals ranged between 2 days and 26 years. In both species the eruption of the deciduous and permanent incisors occurred later than in horses. On the other hand, the appearance of the dental stars on the permanent incisors of mini-Shetlands and donkeys was seen at a younger age than in horses. As in most horse breeds, the disappearance of the cups, the clinical crown lengths, the presence ...
Peters AE, Watts AE.Point-of-care kits to concentrate bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used clinically in horses. A maximal number of MSCs per milliliter of marrow aspirated might be desired prior to use of a point-of-care system to concentrate MSCs. Our objective was to test a method to increase the number of MSCs per milliliter of marrow collected. We collected two BM aspirates using two different collection techniques from 12 horses. The first collection technique was to aspirate BM from a single site without advancement of the biopsy needle. The second collection technique was to asp...
Ansari HA, Hediger R, Fries R, Stranzinger G.The first gene assignment to a horse chromosome is reported for equine leucocyte antigen (ELA), the major histocompatibility complex of the horse. A cloned DNA sequence derived from a class I gene of the porcine major histocompatibility complex was used as a probe for an in situ hybridization experiment. We present the regional localization of ELA, using this sequence, to equine chromosome 20q14-q22.
Kaseda Y, Khalil AM, Ogawa H.The stability of relationships between harem stallions and mares (consort relations) was investigated and the durations of inter partum intervals were determined in order to establish if there was any correlation between the stability of consort relation and reproductive success of mares in Misaki feral horses. Thirty-four mares were observed continuously for more than 5 years. The lifetime stability was 80-100% (mean 92.4%) for 16 mares, 60-79% (mean 70.4%) for 10 mares and 0-59% (mean 27.9%) for 8 mares. The continuous length (years) of specific consort relations was 2-10 years and was found...
Berghold P, Möstl E, Aurich C.Stressful events may contribute to low reproductive efficiency due to glucocorticoid-mediated inhibition of hormone secretion in a variety of species. We therefore investigated effects of stress related to management of mares around artificial insemination on secretion of cortisol and fertility parameters. To avoid further disturbance of mares by frequent blood sampling, faecal cortisol metabolites (fCM) were determined instead (sample collection at 8-h intervals). A total of 50 mares (16 maiden, 17 barren, 12 foaling, 5 teaching mares) were included in the study. Mares were brought to the AI ...
Ask K, Rhodin M, Tamminen LM, Hernlund E, Haubro Andersen P.Equine orthopedic pain scales are targeted towards horses with moderate to severe orthopedic pain. Improved assessment of pain behavior and pain-related facial expressions at rest may refine orthopedic pain detection for mild lameness grades. Therefore, this study explored pain-related behaviors and facial expressions and sought to identify frequently occurring combinations. Orthopedic pain was induced by intra-articular LPS in eight horses, and objective movement asymmetry analyses were performed before and after induction together with pain assessments at rest. Three observers independently ...
Leach DH, Oliphant LW.Annular gap junctions interiorized within cells of the stratum spinosum of the coronary border of the equine hoof were degraded by two methods. Some were autophagocytized and some appeared to fuse with lysosomes to form heterophagosomes. Structural changes of partially degraded annular gap junctions included increased density of the enclosed cytoplasm, formation of filamentous or membrane-like material within the annular gap junction, and disruption of the circular or oval profile of the gap junction. The annular gap junctions are apparently incorporated into the fully keratinized cells of the...
Swinburne J, Gerstenberg C, Breen M, Aldridge V, Lockhart L, Marti E, Antczak D, Eggleston-Stott M, Bailey E, Mickelson J, Røed K, Lindgren G....Two 3-generation full-sibling reference families have been produced and form a unique resource for genetic linkage mapping studies in the horse. The F(2) generations, now comprising 61 individuals, consist of 28- to 32-day-old embryos removed nonsurgically from two pairs of identical twin mares. The same stallion sired all F(2)s such that the two full-sibling families are half-sibling with respect to each other. The families are crossbred to maximize levels of heterozygosity and include Arabian, Thoroughbred, Welsh Cob, and Icelandic Horse breeds. Milligram quantities of DNA have been isolated...
Yarnell K, Fleming J, Stratton TD, Brassington R.Infrared thermography (IRT) was used to assess surface temperature change as an indirect measure of muscle activity and exercise associated changes in blood flow in the working hind limb muscles of horses (n=7) undergoing water treadmill exercise. Three treatments were investigated including the treadmill ran dry (TD), water at the height of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) and water at the height of the carpus (CP). Maximum skin surface temperature was recorded from the region of the semitendinosus muscle during exercise at each water height. There was a significant difference in surf...
Devireddy RV, Swanlund DJ, Olin T, Vincente W, Troedsson MH, Bischof JC, Roberts KP.Optimization of equine sperm cryopreservation protocols requires an understanding of the water permeability characteristics and volumetric shrinkage response during freezing. A cell-shape-independent differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) technique was used to measure the volumetric shrinkage during freezing of equine sperm suspensions at cooling rates of 5 degrees C/min and 20 degrees C/min in the presence and absence of cryoprotective agents (CPAs), i.e., in the Kenney extender and in the lactose-EDTA extender, respectively. The equine sperm was modeled as a cylinder of length 36.5 microm a...
Burger D, Thomas S, Aepli H, Dreyer M, Fabre G, Marti E, Sieme H, Robinson MR, Wedekind C.Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) have been shown to influence social signalling and mate preferences in many species, including humans. First observations suggest that MHC signalling may also affect female fertility. To test this hypothesis, we exposed 191 female horses () to either an MHC-similar or an MHC-dissimilar stimulus male around the time of ovulation and conception. A within-subject experimental design controlled for non-MHC-linked male characteristics, and instrumental insemination with semen of other males ( = 106) controlled for potential confounding effects of ...
Finno CJ, Gianino G, Perumbakkam S, Williams ZJ, Bordbari MH, Gardner KL, Burns E, Peng S, Durward-Akhurst SA, Valberg SJ.The cause of immune-mediated myositis (IMM), characterized by recurrent, rapid-onset muscle atrophy in Quarter Horses (QH), is unknown. The histopathologic hallmark of IMM is lymphocytic infiltration of myofibers. The purpose of this study was to identify putative functional variants associated with equine IMM. A genome-wide association (GWA) study was performed on 36 IMM QHs and 54 breed matched unaffected QHs from the same environment using the Equine SNP50 and SNP70 genotyping arrays. A mixed model analysis identified nine SNPs within a ~ 2.87 Mb region on chr11 that were significantly (...
Rivero JL, Talmadge RJ, Edgerton VR.The aim of this study was to characterize the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms present in equine skeletal muscle. Methods: Muscle biopsies were removed from the superficial region of the gluteus medius muscle of five mature horses and analyzed by immunohistochemistry (using a battery of monoclonal antibodies specific for rat MyHC isoforms) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results: Immunohistochemistry allowed subdivision of three different muscle fiber populations containing a single MyHC, one slow and two fast, and two hybrid populations, one containing slow an...
Back W, Schamhardt HC, Savelberg HH, van den Bogert AJ, Bruin G, Hartman W, Barneveld A.Kinematic data of the equine hind limb are presented graphically and related to functional aspects of the hind limb in locomotion. The trot of 24 two-year-old Dutch Warmblood horses was recorded at 4 m/s on a high-speed treadmill using kinematic analysis equipment. Joint angle-time, angle-angle, stick and marker diagrams were used to present graphically the data following standardised procedures. As the kinematic data were expressed with reference to the joint angles of the horse standing squarely and were time-standardised to the duration of the stride cycle, mean joint curves for the total g...
