"Foals" encompasses a stage in the lifecycle of equines with distinct physiological and developmental characteristics. Foals are young horses, typically under one year of age, undergoing rapid growth and development. They require specific nutritional, health, and management practices to support their transition to adulthood. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the growth, development, health challenges, and management practices associated with foals and horses, providing insights into their care and welfare across different life stages.
Kostopoulou D, Casaert S, Tzanidakis N, van Doorn D, Demeler J, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Saratsis A, Voutzourakis N, Ehsan A, Doornaert T....Faecal samples were collected from foals between the age of 1 week and 6 months in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece. A quantitative direct immunofluorescence assay based on the commercial MERIFLUOR Cryptosporidium/Giardia kit was performed to evaluate the presence of (oo) cysts. Parasite positive samples were genotyped, based on the 18S ribosomal DNA gene and the heat shock protein (HSP70) gene for Cryptosporidium and on the β-giardin gene and the triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) gene for Giardia. In total, 134 foals from Belgium, 44 foals from The Netherlands, 30 foals from Germa...
Campbell ML, Sandøe P.Welfare problems related to the way horses are bred, whether by coitus or by the application of artificial reproduction techniques (ARTs), have been given no discrete consideration within the academic literature. This paper reviews the existing knowledge base about welfare issues in horse breeding and identifies areas in which data is lacking. We suggest that all methods of horse breeding are associated with potential welfare problems, but also that the judicious use of ARTs can sometimes help to address those problems. We discuss how negative welfare effects could be identified and limited an...
Schoster A, Staempfli HR, Abrahams M, Jalali M, Weese JS, Guardabassi L.Up to 60% of foals develop diarrhea within 6 months after birth. Preventive measures are limited but potentially probiotics could be used. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a newly designed probiotic on the incidence of foal diarrhea in a randomized field trial. Methods: Seventy-two healthy neonatal foals. Methods: Randomized, placebo-controlled field trial. Foals were administered a placebo or probiotic for 3 weeks and monitored for an additional week. A total of 3 fecal samples were taken from each foal at biweekly intervals. Statistical modeling was applied for comparison of incidence an...
Cohen ND, Slovis NM, Giguère S, Baker S, Chaffin MK, Bernstein LR.Macrolide-resistant isolates of Rhodococcus equi are emerging, prompting the search for clinically effective alternative antimicrobials. Objective: The proportion of foals with ultrasonographic evidence of pneumonia presumed to be caused by R. equi that had a successful outcome when administered gallium maltolate (GaM) PO would not be more than 10% inferior (ie, lower) than that of foals receiving standard treatment. Methods: Fifty-four foals with subclinical pulmonary abscesses among 509 foals at 6 breeding farms in Kentucky. Methods: Controlled, randomized, prospective noninferiority study. ...
Peugnet P, Robles M, Mendoza L, Wimel L, Dubois C, Dahirel M, Guillaume D, Camous S, Berthelot V, Toquet MP, Richard E, Sandersen C, Chaffaux S....In stud management, broodmares are commonly fed concentrates in late pregnancy. This practice, however, was shown to correlate with an increased incidence of osteochondrosis in foals, which may be related to insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that supplementation of the mare with barley in the last trimester of pregnancy alters the pre-weaning foal growth, glucose metabolism and osteoarticular status. Here, pregnant multiparous saddlebred mares were fed forage only (group F, n=13) or both forage and cracked barley (group B, n=12) from the 7th month of pregnancy until term, as calculated to c...
Mehdizadeh Gohari I, Parreira VR, Nowell VJ, Nicholson VM, Oliphant K, Prescott JF.A role for type A Clostridium perfringens in acute hemorrhagic and necrotizing gastroenteritis in dogs and in necrotizing enterocolitis of neonatal foals has long been suspected but incompletely characterized. The supernatants of an isolate made from a dog and from a foal that died from these diseases were both found to be highly cytotoxic for an equine ovarian (EO) cell line. Partial genome sequencing of the canine isolate revealed three novel putative toxin genes encoding proteins related to the pore-forming Leukocidin/Hemolysin Superfamily; these were designated netE, netF, and netG. netE a...
Zabrecky KA, Slovis NM, Constable PD, Taylor SD.Accurate diagnostic markers for sepsis in neonatal foals are needed. Plasma C-reactive protein concentration (p[CRP]) and haptoglobin concentration (p[Hp]) are well-established biomarkers of infection in humans, but studies are lacking in foals. Objective: p[CRP]) and p[Hp] are increased in septic foals compared to sick nonseptic and healthy control foals, and are predictive of survival. Methods: Eighty critically ill foals (40 septic, 40 sick nonseptic) and 39 healthy control foals <1 week of age. Methods: Multicenter, prospective observational clinical study. Venous blood was collected at a...
Wilkins PA, Sheahan BJ, Vander Werf KA, Castagnetti C, Hardy J, Schoster A, Boston RC.A variety of measures of L-lactate concentration ([LAC]) in the blood of critically ill neonatal foals have shown utility as prognostic indicators. These measures, evaluating either the severity of hyperlactatemia or the duration of exposure to hyperlactatemia, perform fairly well and have correctly classified 75-80% of foals examined in several studies. The area under the L-lactate concentration versus time curve (LACArea) encompasses both severity and duration of hyperlactatemia and should improve correct classification of patient survival. Objective: LACArea is larger in nonsurviving critic...
Galuppi R, Piva S, Castagnetti C, Iacono E, Tanel S, Pallaver F, Fioravanti ML, Zanoni RG, Tampieri MP, Caffara M.The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence, pattern of spread and risk factors for the transmission of cryptosporidiosis in foals and mares hospitalized in a University Equine Perinatology Unit, where a new subtype family of Cryptosporidium horse genotype was described by Caffara et al. (2013). Mares (36) and foals (37) hospitalized during the 2012 foaling season were included. Multiple sampling from each animal was performed (a total of 305 stool samples were collected). One hundred and eleven environmental samples (gauze swabs) were also collected before and after the breeding season....
Hepworth-Warren KL, Wong DM, Fulkerson CV, Wang C, Sun Y.To determine clinical characteristics, clinicopathologic data, and bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility results associated with septic arthritis in foals ≤ 180 days old. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 83 foals with septic arthritis. Methods: Medical records at 2 teaching hospitals between 1998 and 2013 were searched to identify those for foals ≤ 180 days old with confirmed infection of ≥ 1 synovial structure. Data extracted from the records included signalment, clinicopathologic information, bacteriologic culture and antimicrobial susceptibility results, and o...
Scoggin CF.Advancing age can adversely affect a thoroughbred brood-mare's reproductive efficiency and influence the commercial and athletic potential of her progeny. Causes for the decline in fertility include decreased oocyte and embryo quality, anatomical defects and endometrial degeneration. In addition, evidence exists that as the age of a dam increases, her foals will be at increased risk of morbidity and mortality during the neonatal period. Health issues can have lasting and deleterious effects on surviving foals, including decreased sale value and reduced athletic performance. The purpose of this...
Hamza E, Mirkovitch J, Steinbach F, Marti E.The immune system of mammals is subject to continuous development during the postnatal phase of life. Studies following the longitudinal development of the immune system in healthy children are limited both by ethical considerations and sample volumes. Horses represent a particular valuable large animal model for T regulatory (Treg) cells and allergy research. We have recently characterised Treg cells from horses, demonstrated their regulatory capability and showed both their expansion and induction in vitro. Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a common allergy in horses resembling atopic de...
Haupt J, García-López JM, Chope K.Ventral midline hernia formation following abdominal surgery in horses is an uncommon complication; however, it can have serious consequences leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Currently, mesh hernioplasty is the treatment of choice for large ventral midline hernias in horses to allow potential return to normal function. Complications following mesh hernioplasty using polypropylene or polyester mesh in horses can be serious and similar to complications seen in human patients, including persistent incisional drainage, mesh infection, hernia recurrence, intra-abdominal adhesions, mesh...
Hemberg E, Einarsson S, Kútvölgyi G, Lundeheim N, Bagge E, Båverud V, Jones B, Morrell JM.This study investigated the relationship of the health of the newborn foal and (1) number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) in the amniotic fluid, (2) bacteria present in the amniotic fluid and the venous umbilical blood, and (3) bacteria present in the uterus of the newly foaled mare. A further aim was to investigate relationships between the bacteriologic findings in the amniotic fluid, umbilical blood, and uterus postpartum. Samples were taken from 50 Standardbred trotter foaling mares from a well-managed stud in Sweden. Parturition was spontaneous in all cases. Length of pregnancy, p...
Gilday RA, Wojnarowicz C, Tryon KA, Lohmann KL.A Canadian warmblood foal treated for septic polyarthritis was diagnosed with bilateral congenital renal dysplasia, hydronephrosis, and hydroureter at 2 weeks of age based on abdominal ultrasound and postmortem examination. Intermittent abdominal pain throughout the course of treatment was attributed to hydronephrosis and hydroureter. Un poulain Warmblood canadien traité pour une polyarthrite septique a été diagnostiqué avec de la dysplasie rénale congénitale bilatérale, de l’hydronéphrose et de l’urétérohydrose à l’âge de 2 semaines en se fondant sur une échographie abdomi...
Cappelli K, Brachelente C, Passamonti F, Flati A, Silvestrelli M, Capomaccio S.Epitheliogenesis imperfecta in horses was first recognized at the beginning of the 20th century when it was proposed that the disease could have a genetic cause and an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. Electron microscopy studies confirmed that the lesions were characterized by a defect in the lamina propria and the disease was therefore reclassified as epidermolysis bullosa. Molecular studies targeted two mutations affecting genes involved in dermal-epidermal junction: an insertion in LAMC2 in Belgians and other draft breeds and one large deletion in LAMA3 in American Saddlebred. Metho...
Qi M, Zhou H, Wang H, Wang R, Xiao L, Arrowood MJ, Li J, Zhang L.A total of 262 fecal specimens collected from grazing horses at five locations in Xinjiang, China were examined by PCR for Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis. The Cryptosporidium and G. duodenalis infection rates were 2.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Seven Cryptosporidium-positive specimens were found in foals (16.3%), and four G. duodenalis-positive specimens were found in mares (2.5%). Sequence analyses of 18S rRNA and gp60 genes revealed that seven animals were positive for the subtype VIaA15G4 of Cryptosporidium horse genotype. G. duodenalis assemblages A and B were identified by mole...
Spoormakers TJ, Graat EA, ter Braake F, Stout TA, Bergman HJ.Previous surveys have reported that mare and foal survival after correction of uterine torsion (UT) varies from 60 to 84% and from 30 to 54%, respectively. Furthermore, resolution via a standing flank laparotomy (SFL) has been associated with better foal, but not mare, survival. Objective: To compare the success of SFL with other correction methods (e.g. midline or flank laparotomy under general anaesthesia; correction per vaginam). Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical records. Methods: Data on correction technique, stage of gestation, degree of rotation, survival and subsequent fertili...
Nemoto M, Nagai M, Tsunemitsu H, Omatsu T, Furuya T, Shirai J, Kondo T, Fujii Y, Todaka R, Katayama K, Mizutani T.Equine group A rotavirus (RVA) G3P[12] and G14P[12] strains cause gastroenteritis in foals worldwide. Both of these strains have been co-circulating in Japan since G14P[12] strains emerged in the late 1990s. Although it is important to comprehensively understand the evolution of RVA strains, whole-genome sequence data on recent equine RVA strains in Japan are lacking. Therefore, in this study, whole-genome analysis of 23 equine RVA isolates from the late 1990s and 2009-2010 and the vaccine strain RVA/Horse-tc/JPN/HO-5/1982/G3P[12] (HO-5) was performed. The G3 strains, including strain HO-5, sh...
Pintore MD, Cantile C.A full-term male foal born in a farm holidays in Maremma (Tuscany, Italy) was euthanized shortly after birth due to the presence of several malformations. The rostral maxilla and the nasal septum were deviated to the right (wry nose), and a severe cervico-thoracic scoliosis and anus atresia were evident. Necropsy revealed ileum atresia and agenesis of the right kidney. The brain showed an incomplete separation of the hemispheres of the rostral third of the forebrain and the olfactory bulbs and tracts were absent (olfactory aplasia). A diagnosis of semilobar holoprosencephaly (HPE) was achieved...
Baker WT, Slone DE, Ramos JA, Santschi EM, Lord LK, Adams SB, Lynch TM, Hughes FE.To evaluate the effect of periosteal transection and elevation in foals with naturally occurring carpal valgus deviation. Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: Foals (n = 9) with bilateral carpal valgus. Methods: Foals with bilateral carpal valgus had distolateral radial periosteal transection and elevation (PE) including distal ulnar transection on 1 limb. Foals were stall confined until the skin incisions healed, and then allowed free exercise in a small paddock or round pen. Dorsopalmar carpal radiographs were obtained at 14 day intervals to determine the carpal valgus angle (CV...
Dembek KA, Hurcombe SD, Stewart AJ, Barr BS, MacGillivray KC, Kinee M, Elam J, Toribio RE.Critically ill foals often present to veterinary hospitals with impaired organ perfusion which can be demonstrated by increased blood L-lactate concentrations. As a compensatory mechanism to low blood pressure and electrolyte abnormalities, aldosterone and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are released to restore organ perfusion and function. Several studies have investigated the ability of blood L-lactate concentrations to predict severity of disease and outcome in critically ill human patients, adult horses and foals. However, information on the aldosterone and AVP response to hypoperfusion and its...
Scarlet D, Walter I, Hlavaty J, Aurich C.In mares, FSH and its receptor (FSHR) are essential for ovarian function. The objective of the present study was to analyse FSHR gene expression at the mRNA and protein levels in ovarian tissue from newborn and adult horses. Expression of mRNA was analysed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, whereas FSHR protein was visualised by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence labelling (IF) and western blot. FSHR mRNA was detected in ovarian follicles and luteal tissue from adult mares, as well as in the ovaries of neonates. Follicular growth up to 4mm in diameter was already p...
John J, Roediger K, Schroedl W, Aldaher N, Vervuert I.Almost all foals develop transient diarrhoea within the first weeks of life. Studies indicated different viral, bacterial, and parasitic causes, such as rotavirus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Cryptosporidium are discussed. But little is known about the development of intestinal microflora in foals. The present study investigated whether the supplementation with Bacillus cereus var. toyoi would modify the developing intestinal microflora and consequently reduce diarrhoea in foals. From birth, the foals were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: placebo (10 mL isotonic...
Okoko T, Blagova EV, Whittingham JL, Dover LG, Wilkinson AJ.Virulence and host range in Rhodococcus equi depends on the variable pathogenicity island of their virulence plasmids. Notable gene products are a family of small secreted virulence-associated proteins (Vaps) that are critical to intramacrophagic proliferation. Equine-adapted strains, which cause severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals, produce a cell-associated VapA that is necessary for virulence, alongside five other secreted homologues. In the absence of biochemical insight, attention has turned to the structures of these proteins to develop a functional hypothesis. Recent studies have ...
Baska-Vincze B, Baska F, Szenci O.Monitoring fetal heart rate (FHR) and fetal heart rate variability (FHRV) helps to understand and evaluate normal and pathological conditions in the foal. The aim of this study was to establish normal heart rate reference values for the ongoing equine pregnancy and to perform a heart rate variability (HRV) time-domain analysis in Lipizzaner mares. Seventeen middle- and late-term (days 121-333) pregnant Lipizzaner mares were examined using fetomaternal electrocardiography (ECG). The mean FHR (P = 0.004) and the standard deviation of FHR (P = 0.012) significantly decreased during the pregnancy. ...
Smith LJ, Marr CM, Payne RJ, Stoneham SJ, Reid SW.Septic arthritis is a serious problem in the neonate, with a poor prognosis being reported for recovery. The impact of neonatal septic arthritis on the likelihood that Thoroughbred (TB) foals will start on a racecourse is not known. Objective: The development of septic arthritis in a TB foal significantly reduces the likelihood that it will race when compared to foals from the same dam. Methods: Medical records of 69 foals treated for septic arthritis were reviewed. The dam's foaling records were reviewed and lifetime racing records were then retrieved for both the affected foals and at least ...
Karlíková R, Široká J, Mech M, Friedecký D, Janečková H, Mádrová L, Hrdinová F, Drábková Z, Dobešová O, Adam T, Jahn P.The case of atypical myopathy (AM) in newborn Haflinger foal with clinical signs of depression and weakness appearing 6 hours after birth resulting in recumbency 12 hours after birth is described. The foal's dam was diagnosed with AM in the 6th month of gestation based on clinical signs of a myopathy, elevated serum activity of creatine kinase, metabolomic analysis and the presence of methylenecyclopropyl acetyl carnitine (MCPA-carnitine) in the blood. At the time of delivery, the mare was grazing on a pasture near sycamore trees but was free of clinical signs of AM. Metabolomic analysis of th...
Lind EO, Christensson D.In the last few years stud farms have experienced increasing problems with Parascaris equorum infections in foals despite intensive deworming programs. This has led to the question as to whether the anthelmintic drugs used against this parasite are failing. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of ivermectin, fenbendazole and pyrantel on the faecal output of ascarid eggs of foals. Methods: A Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) was performed on nine large studs in Sweden. Anthelmintic drugs were given orally and faecal samples were examined for ascarid eggs on the day of deworming an...
Brown JA, Mapes S, Ball BA, Hodder AD, Liu IK, Pusterla N.To determine the incidence of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection among Thoroughbreds residing on a farm on which the virus was known to be endemic. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods: 10 nonpregnant mares, 8 stallions, 16 weanlings, 11 racehorses, and 30 pregnant mares and their foals born during the 2006 foaling season. Methods: Blood and nasopharygeal swab samples were collected every 3 to 5 weeks for 9 months, and placenta and colostrum samples were collected at foaling. All samples were submitted for testing for EHV-1 DNA with a PCR assay. A type-specific EHV-1 ELISA was used t...
Lawler JB, Hassel DM, Magnuson RJ, Hill AE, McCue PM, Traub-Dargatz JL.To determine the adsorptive capability of di-tri-octahedral smectite (DTOS) on Clostridium perfringens alpha, beta, and beta-2 exotoxins and equine colostral antibodies. Methods: 3 C perfringens exotoxins and 9 colostral samples. Methods: Alpha, beta, and beta-2 exotoxins were individually co-incubated with serial dilutions of DTOS or bismuth subsalicylate, and the amount of toxin remaining after incubation was determined via toxin-specific ELISAs. Colostral samples from healthy mares were individually co-incubated with serial dilutions of DTOS, and colostral IgG concentrations were determined...
Vos NJ, Ducharme NG.The purpose of this paper was to identify factors that would positively or negatively affect the short-term survival rate of foals with septic arthritis. Medical records of 81 foals (≤seven months of age) with a clinical diagnosis of septic arthritis, referred to the equine hospital at Cornell University Hospital for Animals, between 1994 and 2003 were reviewed. Signalment, age at presentation, number of affected joints, joint fluid parameters, bacterial agents, treatment modalities and year of treatment were compared between survivors and nonsurvivors. Sixty-two of 81 foals (77%) were disch...
Nielsen MK, Reist M, Kaplan RM, Pfister K, van Doorn DC, Becher A.Due to widespread development of anthelmintic resistance in equine parasites, recommendations for their control are currently undergoing marked changes with a shift of emphasis toward more coprological surveillance and reduced treatment intensity. Denmark was the first nation to introduce prescription-only restrictions of anthelmintic drugs in 1999, but other European countries have implemented similar legislations over recent years. A questionnaire survey was performed in 2008 among Danish horse owners to provide a current status of practices and perceptions with relation to parasite control....
Machang'u RS, Prescott JF.Rhodococcus equi produces two exoenzymes (REE), a cholesterol oxidase in large amounts and a phospholipase C, which cause lysis of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) sensitized with Staphylococcus aureus beta toxin. Two immunization studies were done in foals to determine the role of antibody to REE in protection against R. equi pneumonia. In the first study, three foals (mean age 10 days) were vaccinated four times at 2-week intervals with over 1 million units of partially purified exoenzymes (PREE). In the second study, three foals (mean age 19 days) were administered plasma from an adult horse va...
Grewar JD, Thompson PN, Lourens CW, Guthrie AJ.Thoroughbred foal body temperature data were collected from shortly after birth until shortly after weaning during the 2007/2008 season on a stud farm in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Equine encephalosis (EE) caused by EE virus (EEV) serotype 4 (EEV-4) occurred in the foal group during the first autumn after their birth (March and April 2008). A descriptive study was undertaken to provide data on the EEV maternal antibody status, the association between pyrexia and EEV infection, and the incidence of infection amongst the foals prior to and during the episode. This included the fr...
Foote CE, Gilkerson JR, Whalley JM, Love DN.To examine the prevalence of equine herpesvirus 1 antibody in mares and foals on a large Hunter Valley Thoroughbred stud farm in New South Wales before and after the introduction of an inactivated whole virus vaccine. Methods: Cross-sectional serological surveys performed in February 1995 and 2000 to determine the prevalence of EHV-1 antibody-positive mares and foals. A further cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2001 to complement the 2000 data. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-nine mares and their foals were sampled in 1995 and 236 mares and their foals were sampled in 2000. The study p...
Demmers S, Johannisson A, Gröndahl G, Jensen-Waern M.The aim of this study was to investigate the phagocytic and killing capacities as well as expression of CD18 of neutrophils obtained from healthy foals from birth to age 8 months. Blood was taken from 6 Standardbred foals at 7 time-points between ages 2-56 days and thereafter once a month. For comparison, cells from 16 mature horses were evaluated. Neutrophil phagocytosis of yeast cells was assessed by flow cytometry after opsonisation with mature pooled serum, autologous serum or anti-yeast IgG. The killing capacity of the neutrophils, as indicated by the oxidative burst, was monitored by che...
Prescott JF, Coshan-Gauthier R, Barksdale L.Antibody to equi factor(s) in cases of Corynebacterium equi pneumonia in foals was detected using C. pseudotuberculosis exotoxin sensitized calf red blood cells. The test was standardized using antitoxin produced in rabbits by injection of equi factor(s). All sera from ten foals with culture-diagnosed C. equi pneumonia had antibodies to equi factor(s) (titre range 8-256, mean 74.0) and nine sera from 11 foals with suspected C. equi pneumonia also showed antibodies (titre range 4-512, mean 136.4). Two of five pneumonia foals with transtracheal aspirate cultures not yielding C. equi had such ant...
Brault SA, Blanchard MT, Gardner IA, Stott JL, Pusterla N, Mapes SM, Vernau W, Dejong KD, Maclachlan NJ.Equid herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) infection is ubiquitous in horses. Although EHV-2 infection has been associated with several disease syndromes, its true pathogenic significance in horses remains uncertain. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), another gammaherpesvirus, has been shown to cause febrile illness in humans related to its immunopathologic effects. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe the ontogeny of the immune response of a cohort of 9 foals to natural infection with EHV-2 by evaluating serial complete blood counts, lymphocyte morphology, cytokine gene expression in peripheral blood mono...
Becht JL, Byars TD.Gastroduodenal ulceration is becoming recognised as an important disease in foals during the first few months of life. Aetiopathogenesis is presumed to be similar to peptic disease in humans associated with back diffusion of hydrogen ions into the mucosa. Many factors have been incriminated as predisposing foals to ulceration but few have been proven. To date, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents has been the only documented cause of gastroduodenal ulceration in foals. The clustering of affected foals on certain farms suggests an infectious aetiology but attempts to identify a causati...
Sievert M, Schuler G, Büttner K, Wehrend A.The timely diagnosis of abnormalities in the passive transfer of colostral immunoglobulins is important for the health and development of newborn foals. This study investigated three different methods for measuring immunoglobulin G concentration in neonatal foals. Comparison of a commercial SNAP assay, total protein concentration determination, and total globulin calculation by subtracting the albumin fraction from total protein as an indirect parameter was performed on a quantitative ELISA, which served as a reference method. The study included 119 samples from 148 foals between the age of 1 ...
Crisman MV, Wilcke JR, Sams RA.To determine pharmacokinetic variables that describe the disposition of flunixin after i.v. administration of flunixin meglumine to foals < 24 hours old. Methods: 6 healthy foals, 2 males and 4 females (mean age, 11.6 hours; range, 6 to 22.5 hours). Methods: Flunixin (as flunixin meglumine) was administered to foals at a dosage of 1.1 mg/kg of body weight. Flunixin concentration in plasma samples was analyzed, using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Concentration versus time profiles were analyzed according to standard pharmacokinetic techniques. Blood samples were obtained from foals by j...
Léon A, Pronost S, Tapprest J, Foucher N, Blanchard B, André-Fontaine G, Laugier C, Fortier G, Leclercq R.Studies were carried out to determine the cause of death in a prematurely born Thoroughbred foal that died 24 hours after birth. Necropsy revealed gross lesions suggestive of septicemia. A commercial Leptospira polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay designed to specifically amplify the hemolysis-associated protein 1 (hap1) gene present only in pathogenic Leptospira strains detected the presence of Leptospira DNA in various tissues of the foal. Histologic examination of lung, liver, kidney, and myocardium revealed numerous spirochetes in Warthin-Starry-stained tissue sections. Results of PCR ana...
Hamza E, Mirkovitch J, Steinbach F, Marti E.The immune system of mammals is subject to continuous development during the postnatal phase of life. Studies following the longitudinal development of the immune system in healthy children are limited both by ethical considerations and sample volumes. Horses represent a particular valuable large animal model for T regulatory (Treg) cells and allergy research. We have recently characterised Treg cells from horses, demonstrated their regulatory capability and showed both their expansion and induction in vitro. Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a common allergy in horses resembling atopic de...
Hug SA, Riond B, Schwarzwald CC.To evaluate the applicability and accuracy of a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) in critically ill foals by comparing the performance of the CGMS, a point-of-care (POC) glucometer, and an in-house standard laboratory assay (SLA). Methods: Prospective study. Methods: University teaching hospital. Methods: Seven critically ill neonatal foals requiring intensive care. Methods: Foals were instrumented with a CGMS that measured interstitial glucose concentration every 5 minutes for the duration of 15-79 hours. Capillary and venous blood samples were taken every 4-6 hours for POC and SLA...
Zilch TJ, Lee JJ, Saleem MZ, Zhang H, Cortese V, Voris N, McDonough SP, Divers TJ, Chang YF.Little information is available about experimental inoculation of leptospirosis in horses and the pathogenicity of Leptospira interrogans serovar Bratislava in this host. Objective: To determine the serological, clinical, pathological and haematological responses of horses to L. interrogans serovar Bratislava strain PigK151. Methods: Randomised controlled in vivo experiment. Methods: Ten seronegative female foals were divided into 2 groups, control (n = 4) and challenged (n = 6). The challenged group received 1 × 109 leptospires divided equally between topical ocular and intraperitoneal...
Browning GF, Chalmers RM, Sale CS, Fitzgerald TA, Snodgrass DR.The homotypic and heterotypic antibody response to rotavirus was determined in three pony mares and their foals. The normal concentrations of anti-rotavirus antibodies in mares' milk and mares' and foals' serum over the first 10 weeks post-partum were measured using IgA, IgG and rotavirus serotype-specific enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. Experimental infection of the foals with serotype 3 equine rotavirus produced a rapid, serotype-specific response which peaked 10 days after infection and a slower heterotypic response which peaked 32 days later. In contrast, vaccination of the mares with ...
Bermingham EC, Papich MG, Vivrette SL.To determine the pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin administered IV and orally to foals. Methods: 5 clinically normal foals. Methods: A 2-dose cross-over trial with IV and oral administration was performed. Enrofloxacin was administered once IV (5 mg/kg of body weight) to 1-week-old foals, followed by 1 oral administration (10 mg/kg) after a 7-day washout period. Blood samples were collected for 48 hours after the single dose IV and oral administrations and analyzed for plasma enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin concentrations by use of high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: For IV administ...
Choi YH, Norris JD, Velez IC, Jacobson CC, Hartman DL, Hinrichs K.The presence of heterogenous mitochondria from the host ooplast affects the acceptance of offspring obtained by somatic cell nuclear transfer. This might be avoided by obtaining oocytes from selected females, but is then complicated by low numbers of available oocytes. We examined the efficiency of equine somatic cell nuclear transfer using oocytes recovered by transvaginal aspiration of immature follicles from 11 mares. Use of metaphase I oocytes as cytoplasts and of scriptaid (a histone deacetylase inhibitor) treatment during oocyte activation were evaluated to determine if these approaches ...
Giancola S, Hart KA.Blood culture is considered the gold standard test for documenting bacteraemia in patients with suspected bacterial sepsis in veterinary and human medicine. However, blood culture often fails to yield bacterial growth even though the clinical picture is strongly suggestive of bacterial sepsis, or contaminating organisms can overgrow the true pathogen, making accurate diagnosis and appropriate management of this life-threatening condition very challenging. Methodology for collecting blood cultures in equine medicine, and even in human hospitals, is not standardised, and many variables can affec...
Clayton HM, Townsend HG.A photographic method was used to measure axial rotation, dorsoventral flexion and extension and lateral bending at each intervertebral joint complex from the occiput to the first thoracic vertebra in spinal segments from 19 foals under 12 months of age and 14 horses over three years of age. Comparisons between the two groups showed that there was a general reduction in cervical spinal mobility with age. For the three types of movement at the eight joints tested, adults' mobility exceeded that of foals in only three cases (axial rotation and lateral bending at the A-O joint, and lateral bendin...
Brama PA, TeKoppele JM, Bank RA, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.Subchondral bone provides structural support to the overlying articular cartilage, and plays an important role in osteochondral diseases. There is growing insight that the mechanical features of bone are related to the biochemistry of the collagen network and the mineral content. In the present study, part of the normal developmental process and the influence of physical activity on biochemical composition of subchondral bone was studied. Water content, calcium content and characteristics of the collagen network (collagen, hydroxylysine, lysylpyridinoline (LP) and hydroxylysylpyridinoline (HP)...
Rogers CW, Dittmer KE.In mammals, play behaviour appears innate and, because of this, may provide insight into the frequency and intensity of load that is required to stimulate positive musculoskeletal development. The objective of this review was to explore the interaction between play and tissue (bone) development at a molecular through to whole-animal level, with specific focus on the horse as a model. The basis of our understanding of the response of bone to loading is the mechanostat theorem. This assumes that at a tissue level, bone attempts to keep localised strain within the physiological range of 1500-2500...
Heidler B, Aurich JE, Pohl W, Aurich C.This study summarizes weight development, plasma glucose concentrations and reproductive parameters in lactating (n = 46) and non-lactating Lipizzaner mares (n = 11) throughout the breeding season. It was the aim of the study to analyse if an energy deficit with possible effects on reproductive functions occurs at any time during the first 4 months of gestation. Mean gestation length was 334.3 +/- 7.3 days. Gestation of foals born in May/June was shorter (P < 0.01) than for foals born in March/April. Out of the 46 lactating mares, 44 ovulated between Days 8 and 18 postpartum and two mares ovul...
Dilai M, Piro M, El Harrak M, Fougerolle S, Dehhaoui M, Dikrallah A, Legrand L, Paillot R, Fassi Fihri O.To evaluate the humoral immune response to mixed Equine Influenza vaccination, a common practice in the field, an experimental study was carried out on 42 unvaccinated thoroughbred weanling foals divided into six groups of seven. Three groups were vaccinated using a non-mixed protocol (Equilis Prequenza-Te, Proteqflu-Te or Calvenza-03) and three other groups were vaccinated using a mix of the three vaccines mentioned previously. Each weanling underwent a primary EI vaccination schedule composed of two primary immunisations (V1 and V2) four weeks apart followed by a third boost immunisation (V3...
Rossdale PD, Ousey JC, Silver M, Fowden A.This paper describes criteria used to assess maturity of the newborn foal and their clinical application to field cases of prematurity and dysmaturity. Premature and mature foals may be clearly distinguished by their behavioural and physical characteristics. Measurement of haematological parameters (mean cell volume, total white cell and differential counts), pancreatic beta cell activity (plasma glucose and insulin levels), adrenocortical-medullary function (plasma cortisol, adrenocorticotrophic hormone and catecholamines) and the renin-angiotensin system (plasma renin substrate concentration...
