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.
Aguilar JJ, Cuervo-Arango J, Santa Juliana L.It is scientifically demonstrated that lunar cycles have important effects on several biological events. Controversy exists about the lunar influence on human and animal parturition. In addition, in the horse industry, especially in Polo Horse breeders of Argentina and around the world there is a higher demand for female offspring than for males. The objective of this study was to determine whether there is a significant association between the lunar phase at the time of mating and the sex ratio at birth in horses. The Argentinean Stud Book provided information related to all matings registere...
Zedda M, Lepore G, Biggio GP, Gadau S, Mura E, Farina V.A high number of differences exist in bone histological features depending on the species, breed, age and bone. Moreover, osteon distribution may vary in the different sides of a bone as a consequence of different biomechanical strains. The aim of this work was to study the distribution and morphology of osteons in different sides of the equine femoral diaphysis with the attempt to correlate them to the main strains operating on them. The following parameters of secondary osteons and Haversian canals were measured in the transverse sections of diaphyses: perimeter, area, minimum and maximum di...
Cesarini C, Monreal L, Armengou L, Delgado MÁ, Ríos J, Jose-Cunilleras E.To assess the progression of plasma D-dimer concentrations and coagulation status in horses with different types of colic. Methods: Prospective clinical observational study performed between March 2004 and September 2008. Methods: Veterinary university teaching hospital. Methods: Horses admitted and treated for colic and hospitalized for >48 hours were considered. Animals were classified by diagnosis into medical obstructive conditions (MO), surgical obstructive conditions (SO), inflammatory conditions, and ischemic lesions (IS). Methods: Three blood samples were obtained from each horse (a...
Dorey NR, Conover AM, Udell MA.The ability of many domesticated animals to follow human pointing gestures to locate hidden food has led to scientific debate on the relative importance of domestication and individual experience on the origins and development of this capacity. To further explore this question, we examined the influence of different prior training histories/methods on the ability of horses (Equus ferus caballus) to follow a momentary distal point. Ten horses previously trained using one of two methods (Parelli™ natural horsemanship or traditional horse training) were tested using a standard object choice tas...
Wathan J, McComb K.Sensitivity to the attentional states of others has adaptive advantages, and in social animals, attending to others is important for predator detection, as well as a pre-requisite for normal social functioning and more complex socio-cognitive abilities. Despite widespread interest in how social species perceive attention in others, studies of non-human animals have been inconclusive about the detailed cues involved. Previous work has focused on head and eye direction, overlooking the fact that many mammals have obvious and mobile ears that could act as a visual cue to attention. Here we report...
Spaas J, Helsen WF, Adriaenssens M, Broeckx S, Duchateau L, Spaas JH.There is general agreement that horses have dichromatic colour vision with similar capabilities to human beings with red-green colour deficiencies. However, whether colour perception has an impact on equine jumping performance and how pronounced the colour stimulus might be for a horse is unknown. The present study investigated the relationship between the colour of the fences (blue or green) and the show jumping performance of 20 horses ridden by two riders using an indoor and outdoor set of green and blue fences. In the indoor arena, significantly more touches and faults were made on blue fe...
Kristjansson T, Bjornsdottir S, Sigurdsson A, Andersson LS, Lindgren G, Helyar SJ, Klonowski AM, Arnason T.A nonsense mutation in DMRT3 ('Gait keeper' mutation) has a predominant effect on gaiting ability in horses, being permissive for the ability to perform lateral gaits and having a favourable effect on speed capacity in trot. The DMRT3 mutant allele (A) has been found in high frequency in gaited breeds and breeds bred for harness racing, while other horse breeds were homozygous for the wild-type allele (C). The aim of this study was to evaluate further the effect of the DMRT3 nonsense mutation on the gait quality and speed capacity in the multigaited Icelandic horse and demonstrate how the freq...
Smiet E, Van Dierendonck MC, Sleutjens J, Menheere PP, van Breda E, de Boer D, Back W, Wijnberg ID, van der Kolk JH.Different head-and-neck positions (HNPs) are discussed in relation to potential welfare issues. To evaluate the effect on welfare, seven Royal Dutch Sport horses were studied in five predetermined HNPs: (1) unrestrained (HNP1); (2) neck raised, bridge of nose around the vertical (HNP2); (3) neck lowered and considerably flexed, bridge of nose pointing towards the chest (HNP4); (4) neck raised and extended, bridge of nose in front of the vertical (HNP5), and (5) neck lowered and flexed, bridge of nose pointing towards the carpus (HNP7). A standardised exercise test (SET) of 34 min consisted o...
Lee JR, Hong CP, Moon JW, Jung YD, Kim DS, Kim TH, Gim JA, Bae JH, Choi Y, Eo J, Kwon YJ, Song S, Ko J, Yang YM, Lee HK, Park KD, Ahn K, Do KT, Ha HS....DNA methylation is an epigenetic regulatory mechanism that plays an essential role in mediating biological processes and determining phenotypic plasticity in organisms. Although the horse reference genome and whole transcriptome data are publically available the global DNA methylation data are yet to be known. Results: We report the first genome-wide DNA methylation characteristics data from skeletal muscle, heart, lung, and cerebrum tissues of thoroughbred (TH) and Jeju (JH) horses, an indigenous Korea breed, respectively by methyl-DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing. The analysis of the DNA m...
Metzger J, Tonda R, Beltran S, Agueda L, Gut M, Distl O.Domestication has shaped the horse and lead to a group of many different types. Some have been under strong human selection while others developed in close relationship with nature. The aim of our study was to perform next generation sequencing of breed and non-breed horses to provide an insight into genetic influences on selective forces. Results: Whole genome sequencing of five horses of four different populations revealed 10,193,421 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 1,361,948 insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels). In comparison to horse variant databases and previous reports, w...
Kienapfel K.The Knowledge of muscle activity in common head-neck positions (HNPs) is a necessary precondition for making judgements on HNPs. The aim of the study was to record the surface electromyography activities of important muscles of the horse's neck in various HNPs. The electrical activities of the m. splenius, brachiocephalicus and trapezius were recorded on both sides. Five horses, both with and without a rider, were examined in all three gaits on both hands in three different HNPs: a 'free' position, a 'gathered' (head higher, neck more flexed) position with the noseline in front of the vertical...
Ali A, Alamaary M, Al-Sobayil F.The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of the Arab mares in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: Managers of 26 studfarms containing 1014 Arab mares at five districts were asked to complete a questionnaire on the reproductive efficiency of their mares. Results: The mean age at first mating was 3.06 ± 0.5 years. Mares were mated equally in winter and all over the year. Natural mating was mostly used (76.9%). The means of estrus duration and estrus interval were 6.58 ± 1 days and 19.57 ± 1.8 days, respectively. The means of first service and over- all pregna...
Ramey D, Rollin B.Veterinarians working with racehorses face unique challenges. No other type of practice expects veterinarians to "correct" such minute deficiencies in performance. Since the actual performance potential of many horses cannot be known, treatments may be targeted at "perceived" deficiencies in performance. Nevertheless, seconds or fractions of a second determine profit and loss and thus the animal's value for the trainer and owner. One or two seconds may ultimately determine whether a horse continues racing or is sold for slaughter. Is a veterinarian who works to maintain or improve racehorse pe...
Shaw EB, Houpt KA, Holmes DF.Average daily core body temperature and behavioural patterns of pregnant mares were studied, in search of definitive signs of parturition within 24 h of the event. Nineteen pony mares were sampled twice daily for core body temperature. A significant temperature drop, averaging 0.1 degrees C (0.2 degrees F) was observed during the day prior to parturition. Between 18.00 h and 06.00 h, during the two weeks before parturition, Thoroughbred and Standardbred mares (n = 52) spent an average 66.8 per cent of their time standing, 27.0 per cent eating, 4.9 per cent lying in sternal recumbency, 1.0 per ...
DePew CL, Thompson DL, Fernandez JM, Sticker LS, Burleigh DW.Experiment 1 was conducted to characterize the concentrations of prolactin, growth hormone (GH), cortisol, insulin, glucagon, glucose, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), urea N, and 10 indispensable amino acids in the plasma of mares (n = 8) and stallions (n = 8) during the last 4 h of a 19-h period of feed deprivation and for 8 h after a noon meal. Experiment 2 was similar to Exp. 1 except that only stallions (n = 8) were used, and they were either fed (n = 4) or not fed (n = 4) at noon in a 2 x 2 Latin square design conducted over two sampling days 7 d apart. In Exp. 1, increases (P < .01)...
Kim NY, Son JK, Cho IC, Shin SM, Park SH, Seong PN, Woo JH, Park NG, Park HB.Temperament can be defined as a type of behavioral tendency that appears in a relatively stable manner in responses to various external stimuli over time. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for the records of temperament testing that are used to improve the temperament of Jeju crossbred (Jeju×Thoroughbred) horses. Methods: This study was conducted using 205 horses (101 females and 104 males) produced between 2010 and 2015. The experimental animals were imprinted and tamed according to the Manual for Horse Taming and Evaluation for Therapeutic Riding Horses and evaluated ...
Kydd E, Padalino B, Henshall C, McGreevy P.Natural Horsemanship is popular among many amateur and professional trainers and as such, has been the subject of recent scientific enquiry. One method commonly adopted by Natural Horsemanship (NH) trainers is that of round pen training (RPT). RPT sessions are usually split into a series of bouts; each including two phases: chasing/flight and chasing offset/flight offset. However, NH training styles are heterogeneous. This study investigated online videos of RPT to explore the characteristics of RPT sessions and test for differences in techniques and outcomes between amateurs and professionals...
Selvaggi M, Pesce Delfino AR, Dario C.The aim of this study was to assess genetic polymorphism at two loci in the exon 1 of the CSN3 gene in Murgese horse breed by PCR-RFLP analysis. The overall frequencies of alleles A and G at c.-66A > G locus were 0.80 and 0.20, respectively, and no GG animals were found in the population. At the c.-36C > A locus allelic frequencies were 0.74 and 0.26 for allele C and A, respectively, and no AA animals were detected. Population genetic indexes, namely gene heterozygosity, gene homozygosity, effective allele numbers, fixation index, and polymorphism information index were calculated. C...
Bourret V, Croville G, Mansuy JM, Mengelle C, Mariette J, Klopp C, Genthon C, Izopet J, Guérin JL.Recent in-depth genetic analyses of influenza A virus samples have revealed patterns of intra-host viral genetic variability in a variety of relevant systems. These have included laboratory infected poultry, horses, pigs, chicken eggs and swine respiratory cells, as well as naturally infected poultry and horses. In humans, next generation sequencing techniques have enabled the study of genetic variability at specific positions of the viral genome. The present study investigated how 454 pyrosequencing could help unravel intra-host genetic diversity patterns on the full-length viral hæmagglutin...
Ghazi SR, Tadjalli M.The detailed coronary arterial anatomy of seven camels was studied and compared with that of horses and cattle. In camels, there is a bilateral coronary supply, the right coronary artery being the larger. The left coronary artery follows the same pattern as that in horses. The ramus collateralis proximalis in camels separates off some distance away from the origin of the ramus interventricularis paraconalis, as in horses, whereas it separates of very quickly in cattle. The ramus collateralis distalis has two branches in camels, whereas the left distal ventriculi ramus does not branch. The ramu...
Stomp M, Masson A, Henry S, Hausberger M, Lesimple C.Several previous studies have shown that working conditions (including riding) can induce stress in horses. Riders' actions and postures, when inappropriate, induce stress and conflict behaviours during riding and welfare impairment and negative emotional states outside work. Optimistic biases have been found in leisure horses, which, amongst positive management factors, were ridden with loose reins and low hands. Thus, one can wonder whether horses may positively perceive work or parts of it. Indicators of positive emotions are poorly known yet but we recently found that, out of the working c...
Hernandez J, Hawkins DL.To compare financial returns between pinhooked yearling horses (ie, bought and trained for approximately 5 months with the goal of selling the horse at "2-year-olds in training" sales) that had mild or severe training failure and horses that had planned versus nonplanned training failure. Methods: 40 Thoroughbred pinhooked yearling horses. Methods: During the period from September 1998 through and April 1999, 20 horses had mild training failure (1 to 11 days lost), and 20 horses had severe training failure (13 to 108 days lost). Horses were assigned to these 2 groups on the basis of frequency ...
Bennet ED, Parkin TDH.This study examined the association between riding speed and elimination in Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) endurance events. A total of 35,061 horse starts from 1st July 2012 to 31st December 2015 were included in a multivariable logistic regression model containing 25 different risk factors. Riding speeds in individual stages ('loops') were included as individual risk factors in studying the progress of horses through loops 1-3 of each endurance ride. The possibility of real-time, 'mid-ride' predictive modelling was explored by modelling both riding speeds and sudden changes in sp...
Mactaggart AG, Phillips CJC.We validated a Thoroughbred racehorse welfare index, developed initially from expert opinion, by relating it to horse behaviour recorded in a range of training stables and surveying trainers to investigate the environment and management systems for Thoroughbred racehorses. Relationships between the index scores and horse behaviour were observed. Then, an Australia-wide survey of racing industry stakeholders was conducted to identify which parameters are important for welfare in a training stable. Trainers performed well on horsemanship and health/disease aspects. Provisions for ventilation, tr...
Brown-Douglas CG, Parkinson TJ, Firth EC, Fennessy PF.To examine the growth of spring- and autumn-born Thoroughbred foals raised on pasture. Methods: Bodyweight and growth rates were measured in pasture-raised Thoroughbred horses, born in either spring (n=56) or autumn (n=7), from birth to approximately 13 and 17 months of age. Results: Birthweight tended to be lower in autumn- than spring-born foals (54.4, SD 7.92 kg vs 57.3, SD 5.90 kg; p=0.08). Between birth and 6 months of age, there was no difference in growth rate at equivalent ages between horses born in spring and autumn. Spring-born horses, which were weaned in the autumn, had lower post...
Peterson ML, McIlwraith CW.When Thoroughbred racehorses experience catastrophic injuries, the track surface is often discussed as a factor. The present study investigated the mechanical properties of the surface and found that significant changes in a track occur during routine maintenance. Questions regarding the relative importance of track variability and hardness require further investigation.
Saastamoinen M, Särkijärvi S, Suomala H.Six Finnhorse mares were used in a digestibility trial, in which six typical horse diets were compared. The diets were: (A) haylage 100%; (B) hay 100%; (C) hay 70% and oats 30%; (D) hay 70% and soybean meal + oats 30%; (E) hay 70%, rapeseed meal + oats 30% and (F) hay 70 %, linseed meal + oats 30%. The trial was conducted according to an unbalanced 6 × 4 Latin square design with four 3-week experimental periods. The experimental period consisted of 17-day preliminary feeding which was followed by a 4-day total faecal and urine collection periods to evaluate N excretion. The digestibilities of...
Loftus L, Marks K, Jones-McVey R, Gonzales JL, Fowler VL.Effective training of horses relies on the trainer's awareness of learning theory and equine ethology, and should be undertaken with skill and time. Some trainers, such as Monty Roberts, share their methods through the medium of public demonstrations. This paper describes the opportunistic analysis of beat-to-beat (RR) intervals and heart rate variability (HRV) of ten horses being used in Monty Roberts' public demonstrations within the United Kingdom. RR and HRV was measured in the stable before training and during training. The HRV variables standard deviation of the RR interval (SDRR), root ...
Benoit P, Barrey E, Regnault JC, Brochet JL.The purpose of this study was to compare the damping effect of 16 types of shoeing by measuring hoof acceleration parameters on two trotting horses. At impact, maximal deceleration had extreme values such as 188 m/s2 (+/- 55) for the most damping combination (p < 0.01) and 746 m/s2 (+/- 14) for the steel shoe (mean = 551 m/s2 +/- 125). After the shock, the hoof was exposed to a mean vibrating acceleration at 418 Hz (+/- 84) which was progressively damped in 37.3 ms (+/- 10.5). According to these results, the damping ability of different farriery products significantly reduces (p < 0.05) shocks...
Alexander SL, Irvine CH.We have developed a non-surgical technique for long-term collection of pituitary venous blood which consists of slightly diluted hypophysial portal blood into which pituitary hormones have been secreted. In these experiments jugular and pituitary venous blood samples were collected from five unmedicated, ambulatory mares at 5-min intervals for 2-6 h on 11 occasions during the 6 days surrounding the ovulatory LH peak. Jugular blood only was collected from another five periovulatory mares without pituitary cannulae. The duration of oestrus was similar in mares with and without pituitary cannulae...
Arango-Sabogal JC, Mouncey R, de Mestre AM, Verheyen K.Up-to-date figures on early losses of Thoroughbreds from the racing industry can inform strategies to improve retention and incentivise traceability of Thoroughbreds during this early life period. Methods: Data on Thoroughbred mares bred in 2013-2014 and training, racing and sales information of their live offspring were analysed. The proportions and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of the entire 2014-2015 United Kingdom and Ireland foal crops that entered training, raced, were imported and/or exported between birth and the end of their third year of life, as well as the racing performance of...
Waddington B, Penitente-Filho JM, Neves J, Pinho RO, Chaya AY, Maitan PP, Silveira CO, Neves MG, Guimarães S, de Carvalho GR, Guimarães JD.This study was conducted to characterize the daily profile of testosterone secretion and its mean concentrations in the four seasons as well as to evaluate the semen characteristics and testicular biometry of Mangalarga Marchador stallions throughout the year in a tropical region. Three stallions were submitted to semen collections and evaluation of testicular biometry every 14 days along a year. Blood samples were collected once at the middle of each season, in a 20-min interval during 24 hr in order to evaluate the testosterone secretion profiles among seasons. Testosterone concentrations ...
