Equine Studies encompasses the scientific exploration and analysis of various aspects related to horses, including their physiology, behavior, genetics, nutrition, and management. This interdisciplinary field integrates knowledge from veterinary medicine, animal science, and equine management to enhance understanding of horse health and welfare. Topics within equine studies often include the study of equine anatomy, disease prevention, breeding practices, and performance optimization. Researchers and scholars contribute to this field by conducting experiments, field studies, and reviews that provide insights into improving equine care and management practices. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate diverse areas within equine studies, offering comprehensive insights into the complexities of horse biology and management.
Han H, McGivney BA, Farries G, Katz LM, MacHugh DE, Randhawa IAS, Hill EW.Thoroughbred horse racing is a global sport with major hubs in Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan. Regional preferences for certain traits have resulted in phenotypic variation that may result from adaptation to the local racing ecosystem. Here, we test the hypothesis that genes selected for regional phenotypic variation may be identified by analysis of selection signatures in pan-genomic SNP genotype data. Comparing Australian to non-Australian Thoroughbred horses (n = 99), the most highly differentiated loci in a composite selection signals (CSS) analysis were on ECA6 (34.75-34.85 ...
Yordanov G, Zlatanovic N, Palova N, Mehandjyiski I, Neov B, Radoslavov G, Hristov P.The objective of our study was to investigate the genetic structure of yet uninvestigated populations of three closely related horse breeds - the Danubian Horse, the Hungarian Nonius and the Serbian Nonius - in order to clarify their origin and genetic diversity. A 640-bp-long fragment of the mtDNA D-loop region was amplified and sequenced. The results showed that the investigated breeds have different genetic profiles although they share some common characteristics. We identified nine of the 17 haplogroups described in modern horses. Most of the obtained sequences fall into the M, L, G, and O...
Bartošová J, Komárková M, Dubcová J, Bartoš L, Pluháček J.Lactation is the most energy demanding part of parental care in mammals, so parent-offspring conflict arises over milk provided by the mother. In some species females commonly become pregnant shortly after parturition of previous young. This further intensifies mother-offspring conflict due to concurrent pregnancy and lactation. In equids it has been well established that pregnant females wean their foals earlier than non-pregnant ones. Intensified mother-offspring conflict was presumed to associate with pregnancy also during the period of intensive lactation, i.e., before the weaning process ...
Tennent-Brown BS, Goetz TE, Manohar M, Hassan AS, Freeman DE, Bundy JS, Evans MR.Hyperhydration, prior to prolonged moderate-intensity exercise simulating the 2nd day of a 3-day equestrian event (E3DEC), may induce arterial hypoxaemia detrimental to performance. Objective: Because moderate-intensity exercise does not induce arterial hypoxaemia in healthy horses, the effects of pre-exercise hypervolaemia on arterial oxygenation were examined during a prolonged exercise protocol. Methods: Blood-gas studies were carried out on 7 healthy, exercise-trained Thoroughbred horses in control and hyperhydration experiments. The study conformed to a randomised crossover design. The se...
Rodrigues JA, Gonçalves AR, Antunes L, Bettencourt EV, Gama LT.Breeding and parturition records collected over a period of 35 years in the Alter Real stud of Lusitano horses were used to calculate gestation length (GL). The 1027 gestations by 209 mares mated to 60 stallions had a mean GL of 338.1 ± 9.26 days. The mixed model analysis of variance indicated that the sex of the foal and inbreeding of the dam and foal had no significant effect on GL (P > .05). On the other hand, GL increased linearly with mare age, with an estimated regression coefficient of 0.155 ± 0.069 days/year (P < .05). Year and conception month affected GL (P < .05), with longer g...
Forster HV, Pan LG, Flynn C, Bisgard GE, Hoffer RE.We determined whether the [CO2] in the upper airways (UA) can influence breathing in ponies and whether UA [CO2] contributes to the attenuation of a thermal tachypnea during periods of elevated inspired CO2. Six ponies were studied 1 mo after chronic tracheostomies were created. For one protocol the ponies were breathing room air through a cuffed endotracheal tube. Another smaller tube was placed in the tracheostomy and directed up the airway. By use of this tube, a pump, and prepared gas mixtures, UA [CO2] was altered without affecting alveolar or arterial PCO2. When the ponies were at a neut...
Trachsel DS, Giraudet A, Maso D, Hervé G, Hauri DD, Barrey E, Robert C.The heart's physiological adaptation to aerobic training leads to an increase in heart chamber size, and is referred to as the Athlete's heart. However, heart dimensions are also related to body weight (BWT), body size, growth and (in some species) breed. There are few published data on the relationships between heart dimensions and growth or aerobic training in Arabian and Arabian-related endurance horses. Therefore the objective of the present study was to describe the influence of body dimensions (body length (BL), thoracic circumference (TC), withers height (WH)), BWT, age, gender, breed (...
Tulloch JSP, Fleming KM, Pinchbeck G, Forster J, Lowe W, Westgarth C.Animal-related injuries pose a significant risk to the veterinary profession. This study aimed to describe the incidence, demographics, context and consequences of animal-related injuries at UK veterinary schools. A multicentre audit of accident records (2009-2018) across five UK veterinary schools was performed. Injury rates were stratified by school, demographics and species. The context and cause of the injury were described. Multivariable logistic models explored factors associated with medical treatment, hospital visits and time off work. An annual rate of 2.60 (95% confidence interval 2....
van Buiten A, Remmen JL, Colenbrander B.In horses reproductive performance is usually expressed as the foaling rate. This rate ranges from 40% to 80%. Three major factors contribute to this variation namely, the stallion, the mare and management. In this study, the performance of Shetland ponies kept in three different breeding systems was investigated retrospectively. In one breeding system, the stud farmer travelled with his stallion (n = 9) to the mare (system 1) while in another system, the stallion (n = 3) stayed at the stud farm and the mares came to the stallion (system 2). The last system was pasture breeding (system 3; n = ...
Mialhe PJ.In order to verify possible preferential prey selection by Desmodus rotundus feeding on domestic herbivores in the Municipality of São Pedro (São Paulo, Brazil), vampire bat attacks were surveyed at rural properties where domestic herbivores were being raised and attack frequencies of D. rotundus on the total herd and on different species were calculated. The analysis found that the most frequently attacked herbivores were cattle and horses. The chi-square test (χ2), with a significance level of 5% corroborated the comparative analysis of attack frequency in properties that had these two sp...
Nannarone S, Bini G, Vuerich M, Menchetti L, Arcelli R, Angeli G.The aim of this study was to investigate a new approach for equine maxillary nerve blocks, which can facilitate several orofacial surgeries. Current techniques aim at the maxillary foramen and approach via the zygomatic arch, conferring the risk of injury to several delicate structures in the target area. To investigate the feasibility of a retrograde approach from the infraorbital foramen, an anatomic study of the infraorbital canal and its surrounding structures was performed on 13 cadaveric skulls using computed tomography and anatomical dissection. Measurements included canal length and vo...
Lamb CR, Adams CA.Relatively few journals publish their annual acceptance rate, although this figure is of scientific and academic interest. Objective: To determine the acceptance rate for manuscripts submitted to veterinary peer-reviewed journals during 2012 and to determine the proportions of submitted manuscripts that were accepted without revision, accepted after revision or rejected. Methods: Self-reporting email questionnaire Methods: Editors of 118 peer-reviewed journals listed in the Web of Science in the subject category veterinary sciences were invited by email to submit data pertinent to manuscripts ...
Meana A, Pato NF, Martín R, Mateos A, Pérez-García J, Luzón M.An epidemiological study on equine cestodosis was carried out in central Spain. A total of 372 digestive tracts from equids slaughtered in abattoirs located in central Spain were studied from November 2001 to May 2004. Anoplocephala perfoliata was detected in 24% of the animals and Anoplocephala magna in 18%. Individual tapeworm burden was from 1 to 491 tapeworms for A. perfoliata and from 1 to 64 tapeworms for A. magna. Low tapeworm burdens (less than 30 cestodes) predominated significantly (p<0.01) in all seasons for both species. Seasonal prevalence of infection by A. perfoliata was signifi...
Green SL.Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is a viral disease of livestock that results in vesicles and ulcerations on the teats, oral mucosa, tongue, and coronary bands. All three main serotypes of the VS virus can infect the horse. Although VS does not have a major impact on the equine industry, it is clinically identical to the other more economically devastating vesicular diseases of cattle and swine and can produce influenza-like symptoms in humans. VS in horses is reportable, as are all vesicular diseases of livestock.
Mlodawska W, Okolski A.The effect of filly age on morphology of the ovaries, collected oocytes and their capacity for in vitro maturation (IVM) was examined. The ovaries of slaughtered fillies were classified into three groups, according to filly age: (I) <10 month old (<10MF); (II) approximately 1 year old (1YF); and (III) approximately 1.5 year old (1.5YF). The ovaries of mares were used as a control group. Ovarian morphology and collected oocytes were evaluated. Only oocytes with expanded (Ex) and compact (Cm) cumuli were used for IVM. In <10MF, 1YF, 1.5YF and mare groups, corpora lutea were found in the...
Fenner K, Webb H, Starling MJ, Freire R, Buckley P, McGreevy PD.Rein tension is used to apply pressure to control both ridden and unridden horses. The pressure is delivered by equipment such as the bit, which may restrict voluntary movement and cause changes in behavior and physiology. Managing the effects of such pressure on arousal level and behavioral indicators will optimise horse learning outcomes. This study examined the effect of training horses to turn away from bit pressure on cardiac outcomes and behavior (including responsiveness) over the course of eight trials in a standardised learning task. The experimental procedure consisted of a resting p...
McGreevy PD, McLean AN, Keay KA, Thomson PC.Trained responses are said to be under stimulus control when they appear reliably and exclusively on cue. The SMART system is a conceptual, three-dimensional graphic that uses four quadrants to chart a horse's responsiveness to various cues from two reins and the trainer's legs and seat. The current plots have been designed for ridden horses. The models assume that the trainer's cues are bilaterally equivalent, unless the intention is to signal a turn or a lateral movement. The extent to which 'go' signals manifest as straight, forward locomotion reflect the bilateral balance of the horse's re...
Hyde KA, Aguiar FLN, Alvarenga PB, Rezende AL, Alves BG, Alves KA, Gastal GDA, Gastal MO, Gastal EL.Understanding the transition from quiescent primordial follicles to activated primary follicles is vital for characterizing ovarian folliculogenesis and improving assisted reproductive techniques. To date, no study has investigated preantral follicle crowding in the ovaries of livestock or characterized these crowds according to follicular morphology and ovarian location (portions and regions) in any species. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the crowding (clustering and neighborhood) patterns of preantral follicles in the equine ovary according to mare age, follicular morphology an...
Bartolomé E, Menéndez-Buxadera A, Valera M, Cervantes I, Molina A.The purpose of this study was to study phenotypic plasticity ability for Show Jumping performance in horses according to age differences. For this study, 11 352 participations, belonging to 1085 horses grouped by age (4-, 5- or 6-year olds), were analysed. repeatability animal models (RAM) and multiple trait animal models (MTAM) were compared. RAM assumed the same covariance components for all age groups, whereas MTAM considered the results of every animal at every age group as different (but correlated) traits. The age, sex, starting order and training level were included as fixed effects. T...
Walker N, Huseman C, Cater M, McCorkle DA, Hanselka D, Zoller J.The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the availability of virtual horse showing opportunities. The objectives of this study were to describe survey participants' personal characteristics and participation in virtual and in-person horse shows, level of satisfaction, attitude toward technology and motivation to participate, and internal and external factors influencing the decision to participate in virtual horse shows. A survey was distributed to a target audience of adult horse show participants and/or adults supporting youth horse show participants via Qualtrics (n = 251). A majority of respo...
Guzeloglu A, Atli MO, Kurar E, Kayis SA, Handler J, Semacan A, Aslan S.The aims of the present study were to elucidate the expression profiles of leukotriene (LT) pathway mRNA transcription and to determine the possible interaction of LT and prostaglandin (PTG) pathways genes in equine endometrium during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy. Endometrial biopsies were obtained from mares on the day of ovulation (d0), at late diestrous (LD, n = 4), and after luteolysis in the estrus phase (AL, n = 4) of the cycle. Biopsies were also taken on Days 14 (P14; n = 4), 18 (P18, n = 4), and 22 (P22, n = 4) during early pregnancy that were comparable days to cyclic sampli...
Valberg SJ, Iglewski H, Henry ML, Schultz AE, McKenzie EC.Selective breeding and discipline specific training has led to equine breeds adept at various athletic disciplines. Breed-specific skeletal muscle adaptations have been studied in many breeds but not Warmbloods (WB). We evaluated gluteal muscle contractile muscle fiber types and citrate synthase activity (CS), a marker for mitochondrial volume density, in WB trained for dressage (second level-Grand Prix) contrasted with Quarter Horses (QH). Gluteus medius muscle biopsies from 14 unfit/18 fit dressage-trained WB and 20 unfit/16 fit reining/working cow QH were analyzed fluorometrically and fiber...
Brinsko SP.This manuscript presents a brief historical review of investigations related to equine artificial insemination. The origin of recommended insemination doses for use fresh, cooled and frozen semen will be reviewed. Over 30 years ago, an insemination dose of 500 x 10(6) progressively motile sperm (PMS) was recommended to maximize pregnancy rates when mares were bred with fresh semen under less than ideal conditions. Since that time, 500 x 10(6) progressively motile sperm has been almost universally accepted as a standard insemination dose, regardless of a stallion's fertility or the refinements ...
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...
Dalla Costa E, Dai F, Lebelt D, Scholz P, Barbieri S, Canali E, Minero M.A truthful snapshot of horse welfare conditions is a prerequisite for predicting the impact of any actions intended to improve the quality of life of horses. This can be achieved when welfare information, gathered by different assessors in diverse geographical areas, is valid, comparable and collected in a harmonized way. This paper aims to present the first outcomes of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) approach: the results of on-farm assessment and a reliable and harmonized data collection system. A total of 355 sport and leisure horses, stabled in 40 facilities in Italy and in Germany, w...
Salamanca-Carreño A, Parés-Casanova PM, Rangel-Pachón DE, Bentez-Molano J, Vélez-Terranova OM.The aim of this research was to determine if the division between the cervical, dorsal, and croup profiles (three regions commonly assessed for descriptive profile purposes) has a modular basis as well as a morphological integration. For this, a total of 135 digital photographs were obtained, in a lateral view, of adult horses (14 females and 121 geldings; age range: 2-20 years), of the Araucanian breed, an equine population typical of the flooded savannah of Arauca, NE Colombia. From each image, 25 reference points (semi-landmarks) were obtained at the dorsal level of the neck, back, and crou...
Maśko M, Lewczuk D, Szarska E, Domino M.A horse learning about the entrance to narrow, cage-shaped places may be challenging both for the horses as well as for the owners. For some behaviors, such as loading into a trailer or climbing onto a treadmill, the final behavioral goal can be achieved by working towards it in stages. This study compared the successive approximation of horses to their first work on a treadmill with horses hardly ever loaded (HE L) and regularly loaded (R L) into a trailer. Fourteen horses were divided into two groups (HE L n = 7 and R L n = 7) based on their experiences of entering into a trailer. Al...
Kovár J, Kostelecká B.On the basis of test results, regarding the pulse rate response to the increased load, obtained from 278 three-year-old horses after finishing their elementary training (145 Bohemian warm-blooded horses, 115 Kladrub Black horses and 18 English half-bred horses), a method was worked for the evaluation of their performance. As an evaluating criterion a velocity (v170) was chosen which was obtained from an experimentally determined regression dependence of velocity on the pulse rate at 170 pulses per minute. A set of v170 data were statistically processed and on the basis of quantiles of normal d...
Labitzke D, Sieme H, Martinsson G, Distl O.The objectives of this study were to show whether semen traits of 30 Hanoverian stallions regularly used in AI may be useful for breeding purposes. Semen characteristics were studied using 15 149 ejaculates from 30 Hanoverian stallions of the State Stud Celle of Lower Saxony. Semen samples were collected between 2005 and 2009. Traits analysed were gel-free volume, sperm concentration, total and motile sperm number and progressive motility. A linear multivariate animal model was employed to estimate heritabilities and permanent environmental variances for stallions. The same model was used to p...
Gurgul A, Jasielczuk I, Semik-Gurgul E, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Szmatoła T, Polak G, Tomczyk-Wrona I, Bugno-Poniewierska M.The genetic differentiation of the current horse population was evolutionarily created by natural or artificial selection which shaped the genomes of individual breeds in several unique ways. The availability of high throughput genotyping methods created the opportunity to study this genetic variation on a genome-wide level allowing detection of genome regions divergently selected between separate breeds as well as among different horse types sharing similar phenotypic features. In this study, we used the population differentiation index (FST) that is generally used for measuring locus-specifi...
