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.
Carroll AT, Reed RA, Perlini M, Clough AE, Rocha M, Moorman VJ.To evaluate the effect of cervical epidural injection of morphine alone and morphine in combination with detomidine on recovery from anesthesia in horses. Methods: Blinded, randomized, crossover, Latin square design. Methods: A group of six healthy adult horses aged 9 ± 3 years and weighing 471 ± 76 kg (mean ± standard deviation). Methods: Horses were administered each of three treatments during a 1 hour general anesthetic with a 4 day washout period. Treatments were: 1) cervical epidural injection of saline 0.011 mL kg (S); 2) morphine 0.1 mg kg (M); and 3) morphine 0.1 mg kg with detomidi...
Shaffer SK, Medjaouri O, Swenson B, Eliason T, Nicolella DP.The ability to quantify equine kinematics is essential for clinical evaluation, research, and performance feedback. However, current methods are challenging to implement. This study presents a motion capture methodology for horses, where three-dimensional, full-body kinematics are calculated without instrumentation on the animal, offering a more scalable and labor-efficient approach when compared with traditional techniques. Kinematic trajectories are calculated from multi-camera video data. First, a neural network identifies skeletal landmarks (markers) in each camera view and the 3D location...
Ramírez-Agámez L, Hernández-Avilés C, Samper JC, Love CC.Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using frozen/thawed (F/T) stallion sperm is a common procedure in the equine breeding industry. Historically, sex-sorted (SS) F/T stallion sperm has yielded lower cleavage (<30 %) and blastocyst rates (<5 %) after ICSI when compared to non-sorted (NS) F/T sperm. Recently, a new technology for sperm sex-sorting (Genesis III) has been validated by a commercial company. In Experiment 1, the post-thaw quality between NS-F/T and SS-F/T stallion sperm produced with this technology was compared. The post-thaw sperm motility was higher in NS-F/T (41 %) than i...
Taylor DEF, Lancaster BE, Ellis AD.Visual observation to record grass intake is time-consuming and labour-intensive. Technological methods, such as activity monitors, have been used but only record head position. This study aimed to evaluate sound recorders attached to headcollars to acoustically measure grass intake behaviour in horses as a low-cost alternative method. Pilot Study 1 assessed 6 × 11 min periods comparing bites/min and chews/min between video footage (VD) and sound recorders (SR). Grazing was identified audibly (SR) and visually through soundwave pattern software (SR). Chew rates (SR: 47 ± 5 chews/min, VD: 43 ...
Bosch K, Zsoldos RR, Hartig A, Licka T.The influence of soft tissue structures, including ligaments spanning one or more intervertebral junctions and the nuchal ligament, on motion of the equine cervical joints remains unclear. The present study addressed this using four post-mortem horse specimens extending from head to withers with all ligaments intact. Three-dimensional kinematics was obtained from markers on the head and bone-anchored markers on each cervical and the first thoracic vertebra during rotation, lateral bending, flexion and extension of the whole head, and neck segment. Yaw, pitch, and roll angles in 8 cervical join...
Sikorska U, Maśko M, Rey B, Domino M.Water treadmill (WT) exercise is used for horses' rehabilitation and training. Given that each training needs to be individualized for each horse, the goal is to assess whether infrared thermography (IRT) can serve as a non-invasive tool for daily monitoring of individual training and rehabilitation progress in horses undergoing WT exercise. Fifteen Polish Warmblood school horses were subjected to five WT sessions: dry treadmill, fetlock-depth water, fetlock-depth water with artificial river (AR), carpal-depth water, and carpal-depth water with AR. IRT images, collected pre- and post-exercise,...
Böck MJ, Fernandez TJ, Pereira VP, da Veiga ML, de Mello Bertoncheli Dos Santos C, de Morais-Pinto L.We examined 52 horse aortas to characterize the morphological aspects of the aortic bulb wall and the ascending aorta. The morphometric data were analyzed using ImageJ®-Fiji 1.5 software. The Tunica intima was composed of endotheliocytes with scarce cytoplasm and ellipsoid nuclei, supported by a collagenous subendothelial stratum. The Tunica media was composed entirely of fascicles of vascular smooth muscle cells interspersed with bundles of collagen fibers and elastic lamellae, characterizing the aortic medial lamellar unit. The Tunica adventitia consisted of two distinct sub-layers: the ext...
Becard B, Sapone M, Martin P, Hanne-Poujade S, Babu A, Hébert C, Joly P, Bertucci W, Houel N.The saddle's adaptability to the rider-horse pair's biomechanics is essential for equestrian comfort and performance. However, approaches to dynamic evaluation of saddle fitting are still limited in equestrian conditions. The purpose of this study is to propose a method of quantifying saddle adaptation to the rider-horse pair in motion. Eight rider-horse pairs were tested using four similar saddles with small modifications (seat depth, flap width, and front panel thickness). Seven inertial sensors were attached to the riders and horses to measure the active range of motion of the horses' forel...
Bazvand B, Rashidi A, Zandi MB, Moradi MH, Rostamzadeh J, Mahmoudi P.Iran is home to genetically distinct horse breeds shaped by geography and history. Breeds like the Kurdish, Caspian pony, and Turkmen reflect deep-rooted diversity and unique adaptive traits. Objective: This study aimed to identify genomic regions exhibiting signatures of selection and to detect candidate genes and biological pathways related to body size that may influence performance in various Iranian and exotic horse breeds. Methods: Samples were collected from three Iranian native breeds (Caspian pony, Turkmen, and Kurdish) and three exotic breeds (Fell pony, Arabian, and Akhal-Teke) orig...
Corbally AF, Mulligan FJ, Sweeney T, Fahey AG.This study examines the associations between linearly scored phenotypic traits and auction sales prices of young event horses in Ireland, aiming to identify key traits influencing market value. Data from 307 horses sold at public auctions (2022-2023) were analysed using regression analysis, binary optimisation, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Regression identified Head-neck Connection, Quality of Legs, Walk length of Stride, and Scope as highly significant predictors of sales price ( < 0.001), with Length of Croup, Trot Elasticity, Trot Balance, and Take-off Direction also significa...
Durgam S.The mid-metacarpal SDFT, intrasynovial DDFT and suspensory ligament are frequently injured soft tissues in the equine athlete. The mid-metacarpal SDFT exhibits a hierarchical structure and encounters repetitive strains at its functional limit. The intrasynovial DDFT possesses fibrocartilage where opposing bony surfaces to facilitate resistance-free gliding and contains chondrocyte-like cells embedded in a proteoglycan-rich ECM. While suspensory ligament enthesis injuries are common, collagen and non-collagen ECM structure-function specializations at the bone-ligament interface are understudied...
Gelinder Viklund Å, Blom Y, Eriksson S.The breeding goal of the Swedish Warmblood horse (SWB) is to produce internationally competitive horses in dressage and show jumping. In the current genetic evaluation, breeding values are estimated in multiple-trait animal models where competition performance is the target trait and results from two different young horse tests serve as indicator traits. However, preselection of horses, both for young horse tests and for competitions, is not considered in the current evaluation. The overall aim of this study was to analyse the all-or-none trait start status, in competition and in young horse t...
Fletcher KA, Benedetti B, Limon G, Grist A, Padalino B, Hernández-Gil M, Gibson TJ.There has been limited research into the effectiveness of penetrating captive bolt (PCB) for stunning horses () at slaughter. This study observed 100 horses at a commercial abattoir in Mexico, stunned using pneumatic PCB. Animals were assessed at the time of stunning and immediately after for signs of effective/ineffective stunning and shot positioning, with macroscopic gross brain pathology conducted to determine brain trauma. Twenty-five percent (25/100) received more than one shot and 28% (28/100) displayed behavioural signs of ineffective stunning. Of these 28 animals, all had deviations o...
Campana S, Dittmann M, Kircher P, Donati B.The distribution pattern of central tarsal bone (CTB) changes has not been described, except for slab- and dorsomedial-plantarolateral fractures. Objective: To describe CTB changes in CT and document their distribution and associations. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Standing and recumbent tarsal CT studies from 94 clinical cases were retrospectively evaluated. General case information, degree of sclerosis (none-severe), lesions (demineralisation, cystoid, fissure/fracture) and their location were recorded, dividing CTBs into 8 regions. Results: Eighty five of 94 tarsi showed at ...
Croll TP, Swanson BZ.Early in the 1900s, a Philadelphia Horse Dentist apparently had a jolly sense of humor. A business card with a fun reverse is evidence of that. In 1876 Peter J. Haley, Sr. founded a veterinary horse parlor business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his sons Peter Jr. Haley and James Raymond Haley carried their father's work forward, after his death.
Suomala H, Brotherus I, Hänninen L, Ternman E, Mykkänen AK.Very little is known about sleep disturbances in horses, although several management or animal-based factors may contribute to an increased risk of disturbances. Objective: To investigate factors related to rest and sleep behaviour of horses kept in stalls as perceived by Nordic horse owners or caretakers and their association with suspected sleep disturbances (SSD). Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: The 40 question online international survey included a convenience sample of horse owners or caretakers with horses over 4 years old kept in the same individual stalls for at least the l...
Cheung E, Mills D, Ventura BA.There is concern amongst the public, equestrians, animal welfare organisations, and horse-sport governing bodies regarding the welfare of performance horses, but equestrian culture appears slow to change. The present study seeks to increase our understanding of human factors underlying the persistence of welfare-compromising management and training practices within the performance horse world. Individual, semi-structured interviews focused on equestrians' attitudes were conducted with 22 equestrians from classical equestrian disciplines in the US, Canada, and the UK. Interview transcripts were...
Fiedler JM, Rosanowski S, Ayre ML, Slater JD.Participation in horse-related activities frequently involves relocating horses from the home stable to an activity venue, which might require local, regional, or international travel. In these circumstances, horses are exposed to unfamiliar surroundings and experience changes to their daily routines, which could have negative welfare impacts. An online survey was conducted in 2021 to ask experienced horse sector participants about the horse management practices that they perceived worked well and provided for positive horse welfare when undertaken at venues. Qualitative analysis identified fo...
Jing H, Liu P, Zheng S, Cao K, Li X.Total Mixed Ration (TMR) is recognized for its balanced nutritional composition, improved feed efficiency, enhanced animal production, and stabilization of the gastrointestinal microbiome. It has been extensively implemented in intensive ruminant farming, particularly for cattle and sheep, with demonstrated positive outcomes. However, its effects on the nutritional health of non-ruminant herbivores, such as horses, remain insufficiently investigated. This study aims to evaluate the comparative effects of TMR feeding versus conventional feeding practices in Akhal-Teke horses while maintaining i...
Gomes C, Coheur L, Tilley P.Equine asthma is a prevalent respiratory disease that negatively impacts horses' health and athletic performance. Traditional diagnostic methods are invasive and require specialised equipment. There is a need for a non-invasive, cost-effective screening tool that can be used by veterinarians and horse handlers in ambulatory settings. Objective: To assess the willingness of veterinarians and horse handlers to adopt such a tool (Questionnaire 1) and the challenges associated with visually recognising equine asthma (Questionnaire 2) and to develop EquiBreathe, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powe...
Miles S, McCauley C, Carossino M, Del Piero F, Liu CC, Gaschen L.Manica flexoria tears are increasingly recognized as a cause of lameness in horses resulting in a need for improved pre-operative diagnosis. Partial tears are difficult to pre-operatively diagnose and thus research for diagnostics of manica flexoria tears has been seen in increasing frequency over the past decade, though a deficit of information exists for the features of this structure on MRI, which is best suited for evaluation of soft tissues. The goal is to perform an observational study on the morphometry of the normal manica flexoria prospectively and describe it retrospectively on MRI. ...
Douglas M, Williams J, Randle H.Recent research has highlighted the detrimental impact of an ill-fitting saddle on equine health, welfare and performance. A correctly fitting saddle may not fit if positioned incorrectly. Objective: This study assessed riders' ability to visually evaluate saddle position and examine factors that influenced accuracy of assessment. Methods: Survey participants were provided with photographs of a series of saddles on horses obtained from the lateral aspect of the left side of the horse. Saddles were either correctly positioned (n = 5), too far forward (n = 5) or too far back (n = 2). This was in...
Hopkins E, Whitrod S, Marlin D, Blake R.Noseband tightness has received increasing attention within equitation science, however, there is little research into how this effects equine behaviour or performance. Objective: 1) determine the peak pressures under noseband in vivo at three different tightness; 2) assess limb and back kinematics at different noseband tightness. Methods: Noseband tightness (n = 8 horses) was set using an International Society for Equine Science (ISES) taper gauge with the three settings being; "two fingers (2F)", "one finger (1F)" and "zero fingers (0F)". Peak pressure under noseband was determined using pre...
Braun TF, Ameli K, Krämer S.Numerous studies have shown the positive effects that horses in equine-assisted interventions can have on a variety of recipients. The importance of animal welfare and implementation of animal welfare practices in equine-assisted interventions has not yet been extensively researched. Objective: The aim of this exploratory study was therefore to investigate the understanding of animal welfare from the perspective of equine-assisted professionals and how it is ensured by them. Methods: 111 equine-assisted professionals in Germany were surveyed about their knowledge of animal welfare and the indi...
Doherty O, Conway R, McGreevy P.Pressures applied to horses via nosebands are of growing concern. The current study applied noseband pressure to the head of a dead horse. Pressure sensors were placed on the left nasal bone to record pressures as the noseband was progressively tightened. Tightness increased as predicated by holes in the strap of the noseband (as supplied) through eight steps from two fingers' space, assessed using the standard International Society for Equitation Science Taper Gauge through to zero space. Sensors were also placed at the midline frontal plane and intra-orally at the level of the second premola...
Reddington E, Winter S.Elite sporting careers are made up of a succession of transitions and adjustments across multiple layers. Part of the microenvironment is an athlete's romantic partner who moves through the transitions alongside them, being impacted along the way. Though researchers are yet to explore jockeys and their partners experiences within the horse racing context. Framed through the transition environment working model (Henriksen et al., 2024) and supported by the family systems theory (Broderick, 1993), this study aimed to explore the career experiences and retirement transition of a retired Champion ...
Gong W, Ding W, Bou T, Shi L, Lin Y, Shi X, Wu H, Li Z, Dugarjaviin M, Bai D.Ferulic acid (FA), a natural antioxidant and major active component in Angelica sinensis, has beneficial effects on skeletal muscle health; however, its role in modulating muscle fiber type composition Mongolian horse remains unclear. In this study, we found that FA promotes the proliferation of Mongolian horse skeletal muscle satellite cell (MuSCs), upregulates the expression of fast-twitch muscle marker genes (e.g., MYH2), and downregulates the expression of slow-twitch markers (e.g., MYH7). RNA-seq revealed that FA activates the HIF-1 signaling pathway, significantly increasing PDK1 express...
Chodkiewicz A, Prończuk M, Studnicki M.In order to understand the role of horses in ecosystems and to effectively use their grazing in the protection of grasslands, it is important to assess where they primarily stay, followed by whether these habitats are used for grazing or resting. The main goal of the study was the model development based on artificial intelligence tools which allow to distinguish the basic levels of activity performed by horses using data from an accelerometer mounted in a collar worn by animals. The model calibration was based on direct observations of five randomly selected Polish primitive horse mares. In o...
Batterham R, Allen K, Dickson J, Warman S, Parkin T.To ensure veterinary students are prepared for clinical practice, curricula must provide opportunities for students to learn about the cases most frequently seen in practice. Currently, there is a gap in the literature with regard to the identification of common clinical topics encountered in equine primary care practice in the UK. This study aims to address this gap by utilizing text-mining techniques on electronic medical records (EMRs) to produce a ranked list of the most common clinical topics encountered in equine primary care in the UK. The study included 1,092,731 rows of data from 150,...
Brossi PM, Moreira JJ, Machado TS, Baccarin RY.This systematic review aimed to present and critically appraise the available information on the efficacy of platelet rich plasma (PRP) in equine and human orthopedic therapeutics and to verify the influence of study design and methodology on the assumption of PRP's efficacy. We searched Medline, PubMed, Embase, Bireme and Google Scholar without restrictions until July 2013. Randomized trials, human cohort clinical studies or case series with a control group on the use of PRP in tendons, ligaments or articular lesions were included. Equine clinical studies on the same topics were included inde...
Feary DJ, Hassel DM.Enteritis and colitis remain challenging and life-threatening diseases despite many recent advances. Successful treatment is largely dependent on early recognition and directed therapy, which is facilitated by obtaining a complete history and physical examination. A number of new therapies and methods of monitoring critically ill patients have become integral components of treatment success. The critical monitoring of equine foals and adults continues to be an exciting and emerging field.
Stewart MC, Stewart AA.This article provides an overview of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) biology. In the first section, the characteristics that are routinely used to define MSCs-adherence, proliferation, multi-lineage potential, and "cluster of differentiation" marker profiles-are discussed. In the second section, the major tissues and body fluids that are used as sources for equine MSCs are presented, along with the comparative biologic activities of MSCs from specific locations. Finally, the current understanding of the mechanisms by which MSCs influence repair and regeneration are discussed, with an emphasis on t...
Brooks SA, Makvandi-Nejad S, Chu E, Allen JJ, Streeter C, Gu E, McCleery B, Murphy BA, Bellone R, Sutter NB.Horses, like many domesticated species, have been selected for broad variation in skeletal size. This variation is not only an interesting model of rapid evolutionary change during domestication, but is also directly applicable to the horse industry. Breeders select for complex traits like body size and skeletal conformation to improve marketability, function, soundness and performance in the show ring. Using a well-defined set of 35 measurements, we have identified and quantified skeletal variation in the horse species. We collected measurements from 1215 horses representing 65 breeds of dive...
Galli C, Duchi R, Colleoni S, Lagutina I, Lazzari G.Assisted reproductive techniques developed for cattle in the last 25 years, like ovum pick up (OPU), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and somatic cell nuclear transfer, have been transferred and adapted to buffalo and horses. The successful clinical applications of these techniques require both the clinical skills specific to each animal species and an experienced laboratory team to support the in vitro phase of the work. In cattle, OPU can be considered a consolidated technology that is rapidly outpacing conventional superovulation for embryo transfer. In buffalo, OPU represents the ...
Giraldo CE, López C, Álvarez ME, Samudio IJ, Prades M, Carmona JU.There is no information on the effects of the breed, gender and age on the cellular content and growth factor (GF) release from equine pure-platelet rich plasma (P-PRP) and pure-platelet rich gel (P-PRG). The objectives of this study were: 1) to compare the cellular composition of P-PRP with whole blood and platelet poor plasma (PPP); 2) to compare the concentration of transforming GF beta 1 (TGF-β1) and platelet derived GF isoform BB (PDGF-BB) between P-PRP treated with non-ionic detergent (P-PRP+NID), P-PRG (activated with calcium gluconate -CG-), PPP+NID, PPP gel (PPG), and plasma and; 3) ...
Larose C, Richard-Yris MA, Hausberger M, Rogers LJ.We have established that lateral biases are characteristic of visual behaviour in 65 horses. Two breeds, Trotters and French Saddlebreds aged 2 to 3, were tested on a novel object test. The main finding was a significant correlation between emotionality index and the eye preferred to view the novel stimulus: the higher the emotionality, the more likely that the horse looked with its left eye. The less emotive French Saddlebreds, however, tended to glance at the object using the right eye, a tendency that was not found in the Trotters, although the emotive index was the same for both breeds. Th...
Hodgson DR, Davis RE, McConaghy FF.Conversion of stored energy into mechanical energy during exercise is relatively inefficient with approximately 80% of the energy being given off as heat. Relative to many species the horse suffers an apparent disadvantage by possessing a high metabolic capacity yet a small surface area for dissipation of heat, particularly as evaporation of sweat is the major method of heat dissipation. Under most conditions of exercise at least two-thirds of the metabolic heat load is dissipated via this means with sweat losses of more than 10 l h-1 reported. The remaining exercise-induced heat load must be ...
Wilson AM, Goodship AE.Mathematical modelling of tendon thermodynamics predicted that the temperature of the central core of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon would plateau at 11 degrees C above the tendon surface temperature during a sustained gallop. A mean temperature differential (between tendon core and surface) of 5.4 (S.E. +/- 1.0) degrees C was demonstrated in vivo in four horses. Peak intra-tendinous temperatures in the range 43-45 degrees C were recorded. Temperatures above 42.5 degrees C are known to result in fibroblast death in vitro [Hall (1988) Radiobiology for the Radiologist, 3rd Edn., pp...
da Silveira JC, Winger QA, Bouma GJ, Carnevale EM.Age-related decline in fertility is a consequence of low oocyte number and/or low oocyte competence resulting in pregnancy failure. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signalling is a well-studied pathway involved in follicular development and ovulation. Recently, small non-coding RNAs, namely microRNAs (miRNAs), have been demonstrated to regulate several members of this pathway; miRNAs are secreted inside small cell-secreted vesicles called exosomes. The overall goal of the present study was to determine whether altered exosome miRNA content in follicular fluid from old mares is associated wi...
Haase B, Brooks SA, Schlumbaum A, Azor PJ, Bailey E, Alaeddine F, Mevissen M, Burger D, Poncet PA, Rieder S, Leeb T.White coat color has been a highly valued trait in horses for at least 2,000 years. Dominant white (W) is one of several known depigmentation phenotypes in horses. It shows considerable phenotypic variation, ranging from approximately 50% depigmented areas up to a completely white coat. In the horse, the four depigmentation phenotypes roan, sabino, tobiano, and dominant white were independently mapped to a chromosomal region on ECA 3 harboring the KIT gene. KIT plays an important role in melanoblast survival during embryonic development. We determined the sequence and genomic organization of t...
McDonald TL, Larson MA, Mack DR, Weber A.Mammary-associated serum amyloid A 3 (M-SAA3) was secreted at highly elevated levels in bovine, equine and ovine colostrum and found at lower levels in milk 4 days postparturition. N-terminal sequencing of the mature M-SAA3 protein from all the three species revealed a conserved four amino acid motif (TFLK) within the first eight residues. This motif has not been reported to be present in any of the hepatically-produced acute phase SAA (A-SAA) isoforms. Cloning of the bovine M-Saa3 cDNA from mammary gland epithelial cells revealed an open reading frame that encoded a precursor protein of 131 a...
Margalit E, Sadda SR.A variety of disease processes can affect the retina and/or the optic nerve, including vascular or ischemic disease, inflammatory or infectious disease, and degenerative disease. These disease processes may selectively damage certain parts of the retina or optic nerve, and the specific areas that are damaged may have implications for the design of potential therapeutic visual prosthetic devices. Outer retinal diseases include age-related macular degeneration, pathologic myopia, and retinitis pigmentosa. Although the retinal photoreceptors may be lost, the inner retina is relatively well-preser...
Aurich J, Wulf M, Ille N, Erber R, von Lewinski M, Palme R, Aurich C.Analysis of salivary cortisol is increasingly used to assess stress responses in horses. Because spontaneous or experimentally induced increases in cortisol concentrations are often relatively small for stress studies, proper controls are needed. This requires an understanding of the factors affecting salivary cortisol over longer times. In this study, we have analyzed salivary cortisol concentration for 6 mo in horses (n = 94) differing in age, sex, reproductive state, and housing. Salivary cortisol followed a diurnal rhythm with the highest concentrations in the morning and a decrease throug...
Bean WJ.The RNAs coding for the nucleoproteins of a panel of influenza isolates from human and nonhuman hosts were compared by RNA-RNA hybridization to determine the extent of genetic diversity of this protein and to determine if related nucleoproteins (NP) are consistently found in viruses from certain hosts. Five nucleoprotein groups were defined. Group 1 contains nearly all of the avian influenza viruses, group 2 includes only certain viruses isolated from gulls, group 3 includes all recent equine influenza strains, group 4 contains only equine/Prague/1/56, and group 5 contains all human and swine ...
Biewener AA.Measurements of the cross-sectional geometry and length of bones from animals of different sizes suggest that peak locomotory stresses might be as much as nine times greater in the limb bones of a 300 kg horse than those of a 0.10 kg chipmunk. To determine if the bones of larger animals are stronger than those of small animals, the bending strength of whole bone specimens from the limbs of small mammals and bipedal birds was measured and compared with published data for large mammalian cortical bone (horses and bovids). No significant difference (P greater than 0.2) was found in the failure st...
Cosgrove EJ, Sadeghi R, Schlamp F, Holl HM, Moradi-Shahrbabak M, Miraei-Ashtiani SR, Abdalla S, Shykind B, Troedsson M, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M....The Arabian horse, one of the world's oldest breeds of any domesticated animal, is characterized by natural beauty, graceful movement, athletic endurance, and, as a result of its development in the arid Middle East, the ability to thrive in a hot, dry environment. Here we studied 378 Arabian horses from 12 countries using equine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays and whole-genome re-sequencing to examine hypotheses about genomic diversity, population structure, and the relationship of the Arabian to other horse breeds. We identified a high degree of genetic variation and complex ances...
Liu JX, Höglund AS, Karlsson P, Lindblad J, Qaisar R, Aare S, Bengtsson E, Larsson L.This comparative study of myonuclear domain (MND) size in mammalian species representing a 100,000-fold difference in body mass, ranging from 25 g to 2500 kg, was undertaken to improve our understanding of myonuclear organization in skeletal muscle fibres. Myonuclear domain size was calculated from three-dimensional reconstructions in a total of 235 single muscle fibre segments at a fixed sarcomere length. Irrespective of species, the largest MND size was observed in muscle fibres expressing fast myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms, but in the two smallest mammalian species studied (mouse and r...
Lemasson A, Boutin A, Boivin S, Blois-Heulin C, Hausberger M.Many animal species that rely mainly on calls to communicate produce individual acoustic structures, but we wondered whether individuals of species better known as visual communicants, with small vocal repertoires, would also exhibit individual distinctiveness in calls. Moreover, theoretical advances concerning the evolution of social intelligence are usually based on primate species data, but relatively little is known about the social cognitive capacities of non-primate mammals. However, some non-primate species demonstrate auditory recognition of social categories and possess mental represe...
Arnold W, Ruf T, Kuntz R.Many large mammals show pronounced seasonal fluctuations of metabolic rate (MR). It has been argued, based on studies in ruminants, that this variation merely results from different levels of locomotor activity (LA), and heat increment of feeding (HI). However, a recent study in red deer (Cervus elaphus) identified a previously unknown mechanism in ungulates--nocturnal hypometabolism--that contributed significantly to reduced energy expenditure, mainly during late winter. The relative contribution of these different mechanisms to seasonal adjustments of MR is still unknown, however. Therefore,...
Kandeil A, Gomaa M, Shehata M, El-Taweel A, Kayed AE, Abiadh A, Jrijer J, Moatasim Y, Kutkat O, Bagato O, Mahmoud S, Mostafa A, El-Shesheny R....Dromedary camels are natural host of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). However, there are limited studies of MERS-CoV infection of other domestic mammals exposed to infected dromedaries. We expanded our surveillance among camels in Egypt, Tunisia, and Senegal to include other domestic mammalian species in contact with infected camels. A total of 820 sera and 823 nasal swabs from cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, buffaloes, mules, and horses were collected. Swabs were tested using RT-PCR and virus RNA-positive samples were genetically sequenced and phylogenetically analy...
McDaniel Peters BC, Wood W.This systematic mapping review mapped current knowledge of equine-assisted interventions for people with autism to help guide future practice and research. Thirty-three studies including children and adolescents with autism, 3 of which confirmed diagnoses, were reviewed. Five types of equine-assisted activities were identified across 25 studies, with reported improvements in behavior, social interaction, and communication. Four types of equine-assisted therapies were identified across 8 studies, with reported improvements in motor control and self-care. Different approaches to therapeutic ridi...
Kol A, Wood JA, Carrade Holt DD, Gillette JA, Bohannon-Worsley LK, Puchalski SM, Walker NJ, Clark KC, Watson JL, Borjesson DL.Intravenous (IV) injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is used to treat systemic human diseases and disorders but is not routinely used in equine therapy. In horses, MSCs are isolated primarily from adipose tissue (AT) or bone marrow (BM) and used for treatment of orthopedic injuries through one or more local injections. The objective of this study was to determine the safety and lymphocyte response to multiple allogeneic IV injections of either AT-derived MSCs (AT-MSCs) or BM-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) to healthy horses. Methods: We injected three doses of 25 × 10(6) allogeneic MSCs fro...
Tseng SH, Chen HC, Tam KW.To evaluate the literature on the efficacy of equine assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) on gross motor outcomes representing the ICF component of body functions and activity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies of hippotherapy (HPOT) and therapeutic horseback riding (TR) for children with spastic CP. Gross motor outcomes, assessed via muscle activity and muscle tone, gait, posture and Gross Motor Function Measures (GMFM) were evaluated. Results: Five TR studies and nine ...
Waters AJ, Nicol CJ, French NP.Stereotypies are invariant and repetitive behaviour patterns that seemingly have no function, which tend to develop in captive animals faced with insoluble problems and may be indicative of reduced welfare. A 4 year prospective study of the factors influencing the development of stereotypic and redirected behaviours (abnormal behaviour) in a population of 225 young Thoroughbred and part-Thoroughbred horses was conducted between 1995 and 1999. Abnormal behaviour affected 34.7% of the population. Multivariable analysis showed that foals of low- or middle-ranking mares were less likely to develop...
Sedykh SE, Purvinish LV, Monogarov AS, Burkova EE, Grigor'eva AE, Bulgakov DV, Dmitrenok PS, Vlassov VV, Ryabchikova EI, Nevinsky GA.Exosomes are 40-100 nm nanovesicles containing RNA and different proteins. Exosomes containing proteins, lipids, mRNAs, and microRNAs are important in intracellular communication and immune function. Exosomes from different sources are usually obtained by combination of centrifugation and ultracentrifugation and according to published data can contain from a few dozens to thousands of different proteins. Crude exosome preparations from milk of eighteen horses were obtained for the first time using several standard centrifugations. Exosome preparations were additionally purified by FPLC gel fi...
