Geriatric horses are older equines that typically exhibit age-related physiological changes impacting their health and management. As horses age, they may experience alterations in metabolism, immune function, and musculoskeletal integrity. These changes can increase their susceptibility to diseases and necessitate specialized care. Research on geriatric horses often focuses on understanding the aging process, identifying common health issues such as osteoarthritis and dental problems, and developing management strategies to enhance their quality of life. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the physiological changes, health challenges, and management practices associated with aging in horses.
Zak A, Siwinska N, Elzinga S, Barker VD, Stefaniak T, Schanbacher BJ, Place NJ, Niedzwiedz A, Adams AA.Age, neurodegenerative disorders, and dysfunction of insulin secretion may be correlated with increased systemic concentrations of acute phase markers. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of age, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), and insulin dysregulation (ID) associated with PPID, on markers of the acute phase reaction. Twenty-nine mix-breed horses of both sexes were classified into groups: (1) healthy adult controls, (2) healthy non-PPID geriatric horses, (3) PPID ID+ horses, and (4) PPID ID- horses. Whole blood proinflammatory cytokine gene expression and serum concent...
Siard-Altman MH, Harris PA, Moffett-Krotky AD, Ireland JL, Betancourt A, Barker VD, McMurry KE, Reedy SE, Adams AA.Similarly to aged humans, senior horses (≥20 years) exhibit chronic low-grade inflammation systemically, known as inflamm-aging. Inflamm-aging in the senior horse has been characterized by increased circulating inflammatory cytokines as well as increased inflammatory cytokine production by lymphocytes and monocytes in response to a mitogen. Little is currently known regarding underlying causes of inflamm-aging. However, senior horses are also known to present with muscle wasting and often the endocrinopathy pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Despite the concurrence of these phenom...
Siwinska N, Zak A, Slowikowska M, Szczepankiewicz B, Niedzwiedz A, Paslawska U.The aim of this study was to establish the value of the renal resistive index (RI) of intrarenal arteries in healthy warmblood non-racing horses of different ages to assess the influence of physiologic factors and repeatability of measurement. The kidney ultrasonography examination was performed in three age groups: 15 foals, 15 adults and 15 elderly horses. The procedure was performed in unsedated standing animals. RI values were measured using pulsed-wave Doppler at the medial part of each kidney in the intrarenal arteries. To evaluate repeatability, all measurements were repeated two hours ...
Barrio E, Rickards KJ, Thiemann AK.Clinical evaluation and preventative care in donkeys should follow similar guidelines as for horses. There are species-specific differences due to the desert-adapted physiology of the donkey. Donkeys are mainly used as pack animals, companions and for production of meat or milk - they may be kept well into old age. Diseases often present late or may go unrecognized leading to poor welfare and quality of life. Basic knowledge of nutrition, blood values, pharmacology and common disease recognition will help veterinarians improve the health and welfare of donkeys.
Plasma clearance of iohexol is a reliable method to assess the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The relationship between aging and GFR in horses is unclear. To compare GFR estimated by iohexol clearance in horses of different ages. Twenty-one clinically healthy horses were enrolled. Prospective study. Groups: (A) composed by 8 young horses (≤14 years old) with serum creatinine <1.5 mg/dL, (B) by 7 aged horses (≥20 years old) with serum creatinine <1.5 mg/dL, and (C) by 6 aged horses (≥20 years old) with serum creatinine ≥1.5 mg/dL. Iohexol was injected (75.5 mg/kg) through...
Mazzotti E, Teti G, Falconi M, Chiarini F, Barboni B, Mazzotti A, Muttini A.Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that strongly correlates with age and promotes the breakdown of joint cartilage and subchondral bone. There has been a surge of interest in developing cell-based therapies, focused particularly on the use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) isolated from adult tissues. It seems that MSCs derived from synovial joint tissues exhibit superior chondrogenic ability, but their unclear distribution and low frequency actually limit their clinical application. To date, the influence of aging on synovial joint derived MSCs' biological characteristics and differen...
White-Lewis S, Johnson R, Ye S, Russell C.To compare equine-assisted therapy to exercise education on pain, range of motion, and quality of life in adults and older adults with arthritis. Quality of life for adults and older adults is negatively impacted by arthritis pain, stiffness, and decreased function. Equine-assisted therapy provides unique movements to the rider's joints and muscles improving pain, range of motion, and quality of life and has improved outcomes in balance, gait, strength, functional mobility, and spasticity for older adults, stroke, spinal cord injury, and multiple sclerosis patients. No research has investigate...
Boorman S, Stefanovski D, Southwood LL.To determine risk factors, especially age, associated with postoperative reflux (POR; >2 L of reflux present upon intubation), high-volume POR (≥20 L in 24 hours), and short-term outcome after small intestinal (SI) surgery. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Horses aged ≥16 years (geriatric; range, 16-30; n = 44) and <16 years (mature; range, 2-15; n = 39) with an SI surgical lesion that survived general anesthesia and did not have a second exploratory celiotomy during the same visit. Methods: Medical records (2009-2015) were reviewed; perioperative var...
Wiśniewska M, Janczarek I, Wilk I, Wnuk-Pawlak E.The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of music therapy on changes in the level of parameters describing heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as excitability indicators in geriatric horses. The study involved 20 warmblood geriatric horses, aged 20 years or more. Animals were kept in two identical stables in one facility. Horses from stable No. 1 were considered the experimental group, whereas horses from stable No. 2 constituted a control group. The experiment consisted in playing relaxation new age music to the horses in the experimental group for 28 days use special so...
Latham CM, Wagner AL, Urschel KL.The objective of this study was to examine markers of whole-body and muscle protein metabolism in aged horses fed a diet typical for North American aged horses, supplemented with amino acids. In a replicated Latin square design, six aged horses (20 ± 1.1 years) were studied while receiving each of three isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets, a control treatment concentrate (CON; 100 mg/kg BW day lysine, 84 mg kg day threonine, 51 mg kg day methionine), LYS/THR (134 mg kg BW day lysine, 110 mg kg BW day threonine, 52 mg kg BW day methionine) and LYS/THR/MET (132 mg kg BW da...
Malalana F, McGowan TW, Ireland JL, Pinchbeck GL, McGowan CM.Previous studies suggest that ocular disease is common among aged horses but owners may fail to identify or underestimate their clinical relevance. Objective: To document the prevalence of owner-reported ocular disease in horses aged ≥15 years. In a subset of these horses, to document ophthalmic findings from veterinary examination and compare with owner-reported ocular disease, and to determine risk factors for veterinary ophthalmic findings. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Owners of aged horses completed a survey on management, clinical signs and medical history. Risk factors for ...
Mueller MK, Sween C, Frank N, Paradis MR.OBJECTIVE To assess relationships between horse owners (or lessees) and geriatric or nongeriatric horses and to investigate factors influencing veterinary care decision-making. DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study. SAMPLE 2,879 people who owned or leased ≥ 1 horse. PROCEDURES Participants were recruited through social media and online horse forums to participate in an online survey about their horses, including measures of attachment, veterinary care decision-making, and experiences surrounding the death of a horse. Data were collected for primary horses (those respondents...
Fields B, Bruemmer J, Gloeckner G, Wood W.Institutional facilities face challenges providing experiences to residents with dementia that promote participation in meaningful activities. Guided by the Lived Environment Life Quality Model, this study investigated associations between 9 different activity situations-one an equine-assisted activities program (EAAP)-and positive, negative, and neutral behavioral indicators of quality of life (QoL) in 6 residents with dementia who expressed an interest in horses. Direct observational data were collected for 4 hours twice weekly over 8 weeks. Using χ tests, differences across activity situat...
Breuhaus BA.With more horses remaining active longer in life, it is important to characterize changes that occur normally with aging, so that these can be differentiated from development of disease. The objective of the study was to test the hypotheses that geriatric horses have lower circulating concentrations of thyroid hormones and/or higher serum thyrotropin (TSH) concentrations compared to younger horses. Serum thyroid hormone and TSH concentrations from 71 normal, healthy horses that had participated in prior research projects were analyzed for effects of age, sex, and season when samples were obtai...
Borges de Araujo T, Martins WR, Freitas MP, Camargos E, Mota J, Safons MP.Alzheimer disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive dementia syndrome that features cognitive and behavioral symptoms, as well as physical and functional limitations that develop over the course of the disease. As an activity that involves physical and cognitive aspects, equine-assisted therapy (EAT) could be a useful therapeutic approach in conditions that involve physical and cognitive decline. However, to date, there are no reports of the use of this therapy in participants with AD. Within this context, the objective of this case series was to describe the effects of EAT on balance, functional...
Hilliere C, Collado-Mateo D, Villafaina S, Duque-Fonseca P, Parraça JA.To provide an up-to-date research analysis on equine-assisted therapies and horse riding simulation exercise in older adults, and to suggest future directions in clinical practice and research. TYPE: Systematic review. A comprehensive search of studies was performed in 4 electronic databases (Cochrane, PubMed, PEDro, and Web of Science) regarding the effects of equine-assisted therapies and horse riding simulation exercise in older adults. Eight articles were selected, 5 of them focused on hippotherapy, 2 on horse riding simulation, and a single article that used the 2 types of therapy. PRISMA...
Christen G, Gerber V, van der Kolk JH, Frey CF, Fouché N.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) has been associated with diminished immune response in aged horses. This prospective study hypothesised that this may result in increased strongyle egg shedding in affected animals and that horses treated with pergolide would have reduced fecal egg counts (eggs per gram, EPG) compared to placebo-treated animals. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations and EPG were tested in 48 horses. There were no significant differences in baseline EPG between horses with pre-clinical PPID and healthy controls. There was no significant difference in EPG ...
Rapson JL, Schott HC, Nielsen BD, McCutcheon LJ, Harris PA, Geor RJ.Age and diet may affect insulin sensitivity (SI) but these factors have received limited investigation in horses. Objective: To measure minimal model parameters during an insulin-modified frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGTT) after adaptation to a forage only diet (HAY) or forage supplemented with either starch/sugar-rich (SS) or oil/fibre-rich (FF) concentrate feeds; and to assess glucose and insulin responses to a standardised meal challenge (SMC, 4 g/kg BW of SS) after diet adaptation in adult and aged mares. Methods: Latin square design with eight adult (5-12 yea...
Hofberger SC, Gauff F, Thaller D, Morgan R, Keen JA, Licka TF.OBJECTIVE To identify signs of tissue-specific cortisol activity in samples of suspensory ligament (SL) and neck skin tissue from horses with and without pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). SAMPLE Suspensory ligament and neck skin tissue samples obtained from 26 euthanized horses with and without PPID. PROCEDURES Tissue samples were collected from 12 horses with and 14 horses without PPID (controls). Two control horses had received treatment with dexamethasone; data from those horses were not used in statistical analyses. The other 12 control horses were classified as old horses (≥...
Rehrl S, Schröder W, Müller C, Staszyk C, Lischer C.Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a painful and progressive dental disease that mainly affects the incisors and canine teeth of aged horses. Diagnosis is based on radiographs to detect early stages of the disease. EOTRH is probably underdiagnosed and its prevalence in Germany unknown. Objective: This study was performed to determine the radiological prevalence of EOTRH in a large horse population in Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany. Methods: Prevalence study. Methods: The study population (142 horses) consisted of all horses 10 years and older that were presented...
Jacob SI, Geor RJ, Weber PSD, Harris PA, McCue ME.Diagnosis of equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) remains a challenge as multiple factors (stress, exercise, and time of year) influence ACTH and cortisol concentrations. To assess endocrine status in a study designed to evaluate the effects of age and diet on glucose and insulin dynamics, we performed thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation tests and overnight dexamethasone suppression tests in March, May, August, and October on 16 healthy Thoroughbred and Standardbred mares and geldings. Horses were grouped by age: adult (mean ± SD; 8.8 ± 2.9 yr; n = 8) and aged (20...
Kim MJ, Kim T, Oh S, Yoon B.Horseback riding is an effective exercise for improving postural control and balance. To reduce costs and improve accessibility, simulated horseback riding has been developed; but no differential effects of simulated and real horseback riding on muscle activation patterns in older adults have been studied. Thus, we compared muscle activation patterns for older and younger adults engaged in real and simulated horseback riding exercises, using surface electromyography recordings of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal oblique abdominis, and rectus femoris muscles. We recorded muscle ac...
Bullone M, Pouyet M, Lavoie JP.Peripheral airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass is increased in severe equine asthma, but no information is available on age related changes in ASM. In this study, peripheral ASM dimensions were determined in healthy horses of different ages. The thickness of the peripheral ASM layer was constant in horses of different ages, but ASM occupied a greater proportion of the inner wall area in young horses compared to older horses. This finding suggests that equine airways experience a decrease in the relative abundance of ASM with age.
Cozzi B, Ballarin C, Mantovani R, Rota A.The present article examines over 63,000 medical records belonging to the Veterinary Hospitals of the Universities of Bologna, Torino, and Padova, all in Northern Italy, and relative to dogs (approximately 50,000), cats (approximately 12,000), and companion horses (slightly less than 1,000). The animals of the three species were divided into age classes and categorized per sex into males, females, and neutered individuals. The mean age at visit and the effects of age classes and category (analyzed ANOVA) are presented and discussed. The data indicate that many animals are presented to the hos...
Cho SH.The present study aimed to identify the effects of horseback riding and mechanical horseback riding exercise on the relative α-power spectrum in the elderly. A total of 31 healthy elderly were randomly divided into horseback riding (n=15) and mechanical horseback riding exercise groups (n=16). The horseback riding exercise program was conducted for 25min twice a week for 12 weeks. Two-way repeated analysis of variance was used to identify the changes in measured variables before the exercise program, and after 6 and 12 weeks of the program. The horseback riding exercise group showed an increa...
Hart KA, Kitchings KM, Kimura S, Norton NA, Myrna KE.OBJECTIVE To compare tear cortisol concentrations between horses and ponies with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) and healthy nonaged (≤ 15 years old) and aged (≥ 20 years old) horses and to determine whether serum and tear cortisol concentrations were correlated. ANIMALS 11 horses and ponies with PPID and 20 healthy control horses and ponies (11 nonaged and 9 aged). PROCEDURES Paired tear and serum samples were obtained from PPID and control animals. All animals were free of active ocular disease. Tear and serum cortisol concentrations were measured with an ELISA and chemilumi...
McKeever KH.An increasing percentage of the equine population is more than 15 years old, many performing various athletic activities into their 20s. Studies of aged humans have led to a fine tuning of exercise prescription to promote fitness while preventing adverse and potentially dangerous effects of excessive exercise. However, limited data exist regarding the exercise capacity of aged horses. This article presents an overview of published studies on aging-induced decreases in physiologic function and exercise capacity in the horse. The information presented can be used as a guide for exercise prescrip...
Forrer R, Gautschi K, Lutz H.It was the goal of this paper to establish total selenium reference values for Switzerland in different animal species and in humans. To this purpose, a flameless atomic absorption method with deuterium background compensation utilizing a graphite furnace atomization system with a pyrolytic platform inside and palladium solution as matrix modifier was developed for the measurement of selenium in serum. The method was characterized by rapid performability, small sample requirement, acceptable detection limit (0.04 mumol/L) and precision and a linear range of measurement up to 4 mumol/L. The met...
Smith R, Pinchbeck G, McGowan C, Ireland J, Perkins E.The number of aged horses in the UK has been growing over recent years, with many horses remaining active and being cared for into old age. However, increasing age is paralleled with a heightened risk of morbidity and mortality; therefore, owners of older horses must manage changes in their horse, making decisions about management and health care provision. In this paper, we discuss data collected from an open-access online discussion forum, where forum users sought advice arising from concerns about their older horse. Qualitative data analysis was performed using grounded theory methods. A co...
Hofberger S, Gauff F, Licka T.In older horses, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) and suspensory ligament (SL) degeneration are common. The aim of the present study was to identify histopathological changes in the SL in horses with PPID. SLs of four horses with clinical signs of PPID (17-26 years of age) were compared with SLs from four old horses (18-31 years of age) and three young horses (4-9 years of age). In horses with PPID, there was reduced longitudinal arrangement of collagen fibres in SLs, along with inclusions of cartilage, extracellular matrix and haemorrhage, as well as significant proteoglycan accum...
Stevens KB, Marr CM, Horn JN, Pfeiffer DU, Perkins JD, Bowen IM, Allan EJ, Campbell J, Elliott J.The effect of left-sided valvular regurgitation (LSVR) on the mortality of middle-aged and older horses was investigated in a prospective cohort study involving 19 yards and 1153 horses. The horses were examined to determine whether they had a cardiac murmur and its type, and their age, sex, breed type and occupation were recorded. They were followed up at intervals of two years by postal questionnaire, and after four years information on 773 horses was available. There was no significant difference in the mortality of the horses with and without LSVR, but small horses had a significantly high...
McFarlane D, Hill K, Anton J.Immunosuppression leading to opportunist bacterial infection is a well-recognized sequela of equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). The mechanisms responsible for immune dysfunction in PPID however, are as of yet poorly characterized. Horses with PPID have high concentrations of hormones known to impact immune function including α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and insulin. α-MSH and related melanocortins have been shown in rodents and people to impair neutrophil function by decreasing superoxide production (known as oxidative burst activity), migration and adhesion. T...
Kim MJ, Kim T, Oh S, Yoon B.Horseback riding is an effective exercise for improving postural control and balance. To reduce costs and improve accessibility, simulated horseback riding has been developed; but no differential effects of simulated and real horseback riding on muscle activation patterns in older adults have been studied. Thus, we compared muscle activation patterns for older and younger adults engaged in real and simulated horseback riding exercises, using surface electromyography recordings of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal oblique abdominis, and rectus femoris muscles. We recorded muscle ac...
Badin L, Alibran É, Pothier K, Bailly N.Equine-assisted interventions (EAI) can improve a variety of health problems in older adults and thus promote their well-being. This systematic review aimed to synthesize studies on EAI to understand better their effects on the health of older adults. Unassigned: A systematic search guided by the PRISMA 2020 approach was performed on specific databases: Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. Peer-reviewed articles published in the English language from inception to June 2022 were retrieved. Methodological quality was established using the modified version of the Downs and Bl...
Muirhead TL, McClure JT, Wichtel JJ, Stryhn H, Markham RJ, McFarlane D, Lunn DP.Few studies have investigated immunosenescence in the horse, but it is accepted that the primary and secondary (anamnestic) immune responses may differ between aged and younger horses. The aim of the present study was to determine whether aged horses have a protective immune response post-vaccination. Thirty-four aged healthy horses (> or =20 years) and 29 younger adult horses (4-12 years) of various breeds were vaccinated with commercially produced killed rabies and influenza vaccines. Rabies serum neutralizing antibody titres and equine influenza virus specific antibody subclasses (immunoglo...
Zak A, Siwinska N, Elzinga S, Barker VD, Stefaniak T, Schanbacher BJ, Place NJ, Niedzwiedz A, Adams AA.Age, neurodegenerative disorders, and dysfunction of insulin secretion may be correlated with increased systemic concentrations of acute phase markers. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of age, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), and insulin dysregulation (ID) associated with PPID, on markers of the acute phase reaction. Twenty-nine mix-breed horses of both sexes were classified into groups: (1) healthy adult controls, (2) healthy non-PPID geriatric horses, (3) PPID ID+ horses, and (4) PPID ID- horses. Whole blood proinflammatory cytokine gene expression and serum concent...
Boorman S, Stefanovski D, Southwood LL.To determine risk factors, especially age, associated with postoperative reflux (POR; >2 L of reflux present upon intubation), high-volume POR (≥20 L in 24 hours), and short-term outcome after small intestinal (SI) surgery. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Horses aged ≥16 years (geriatric; range, 16-30; n = 44) and <16 years (mature; range, 2-15; n = 39) with an SI surgical lesion that survived general anesthesia and did not have a second exploratory celiotomy during the same visit. Methods: Medical records (2009-2015) were reviewed; perioperative var...
Pease AP, Schott HC, Howey EB, Patterson JS.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is the most common endocrinologic disorder of aged horses. Objective: Pituitary glands of PPID-affected horses are larger than those of aged horses without signs of PPID, and the size difference can be detected using computed tomography (CT) imaging. Methods: Eight horses with clinical signs of PPID and supportive endocrinologic test results and 3 aged control (PPID-negative) horses. Methods: Computed tomography examination of the brain and pituitary gland was performed twice in 10 of the 11 horses, approximately 6 months apart. Six PPID-affected ho...
McFarlane D, Hale GM, Johnson EM, Maxwell LK.To determine effects of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (Cushing's disease) and age on fecal egg count and time to egg reappearance after anthelmintic treatment in horses residing in similar environments. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: 29 healthy horses (4 to 35 years old) and 13 horses with PPID (13 to 33 years old). Methods: Fecal egg counts were performed by use of a modified Wisconsin flotation method at 2-week intervals before and after ivermectin treatment. Results: Horses with PPID had higher fecal egg counts before and 8, 10, and 12 weeks after ivermectin treatment, com...
Borges de Araujo T, Martins WR, Freitas MP, Camargos E, Mota J, Safons MP.Alzheimer disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive dementia syndrome that features cognitive and behavioral symptoms, as well as physical and functional limitations that develop over the course of the disease. As an activity that involves physical and cognitive aspects, equine-assisted therapy (EAT) could be a useful therapeutic approach in conditions that involve physical and cognitive decline. However, to date, there are no reports of the use of this therapy in participants with AD. Within this context, the objective of this case series was to describe the effects of EAT on balance, functional...
Ralston SL, Nockels CF, Squires EL.Hematologic data and results of diagnostic tests were compared between aged (greater than or equal to 20 years old) and young (less than or equal to 5 years old) horses to identify hematologic and metabolic changes associated with aging. Initial data were obtained from 8 aged and 6 young mares (group 1). Similar data were collected from a second group of aged (3 mares and 3 geldings) and young (1 mare and 5 geldings) horses (group 2). Dexamethasone suppression tests (DST) and necropsies were performed on 6 additional mares and mare 8 from group 1 (group 3). Complete blood counts and serum bioc...
Graham-Thiers PM, Kronfeld DS.The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of supplementary AA on the ability to support muscle mass in aging horses. Sixteen horses of light horse type were used in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with two age groups [ or = 20 yr (average = 22.4 +/- 0.87 yr)] and two diet groups [no supplementation (N) or supplementary lysine and threonine (S; 20.0 and 15 g/d, respectively)]. Horses were fed the diets for 14 wk and received regular light exercise throughout the study. Body weight, BCS, and venous blood samples were taken every 2 wk. Plasma was analyzed for total protein...
Bagge J, MacLeod JN, Berg LC. Bone marrow (BM)- and adipose tissue (AT)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used increasingly for autologous cell therapy in equine practice to treat musculoskeletal and other injuries. Current recommendations often call for 10-100 million MSCs per treatment, necessitating the expansion of primary cells in culture prior to therapeutic use. Of concern, human and rodent studies have shown a decline of both MSC recovery from sampled tissue and proliferative capacity with increasing donor age. This may be problematic for applications of autologous cell-based therapies in the important eq...
Siard-Altman MH, Harris PA, Moffett-Krotky AD, Ireland JL, Betancourt A, Barker VD, McMurry KE, Reedy SE, Adams AA.Similarly to aged humans, senior horses (≥20 years) exhibit chronic low-grade inflammation systemically, known as inflamm-aging. Inflamm-aging in the senior horse has been characterized by increased circulating inflammatory cytokines as well as increased inflammatory cytokine production by lymphocytes and monocytes in response to a mitogen. Little is currently known regarding underlying causes of inflamm-aging. However, senior horses are also known to present with muscle wasting and often the endocrinopathy pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Despite the concurrence of these phenom...
Bollwein A, Hänichen T.The cervical vertebral column of 103 horses of different age (42 weeks old fetus to 23 years) were examined with respect to age-related changes of the intervertebral disks. On gross examination the cervical intervertebral disks in the horse miss a pulpy nucleus but consist of a fibrocartilaginous tissue only, which is in contrast to literature. Age-related degenerative lesions as disintegration of connective tissue fibers leading to partial or complete loss of connection between the disks were found. In the more severe cases a yellow discoloration of the separated disks could be seen. Incidenc...
Wilson WJ, Mills PC, Dzulkarnain AA.To use the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) to test the hypothesis that auditory function could be worse in older horses than in younger horses. Methods: BAER waveforms in response to click stimuli were measured in five younger horses (5-8 years) and four older horses (17-22 years). Results: Compared with the younger horses, the older horses showed significantly (P < 0.02) worse BAER thresholds and significantly (P < 0.02) worse BAER wave V amplitudes to the 90 decibels above normal hearing level stimulus. These results were consistent with partial deafness in the older horse gr...
Reed SA, LaVigne EK, Jones AK, Patterson DF, Schauer AL.With improvements in care, the equine population is living longer, remaining active, and competing at increasingly older ages. Both advancing age and exercise result in increased concentrations of circulating and local cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Athletic endeavors in the aged horse may further increase the proinflammatory environment in muscle, decreasing the ability to react appropriately to exercise. Poor response to exercise limits the athletic ability of geriatric horses, thus reducing their useful life span and potentially increasing the risk of injur...
Mastro LM, Adams AA, Urschel KL.Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) has been associated with reduced insulin sensitivity in comparison with younger adult horses; however, the difference in insulin sensitivity between horses with PPID and aged-matched controls has not been well characterized. The objective of the study was to determine if aged horses with PPID had reduced insulin sensitivity and alterations in the insulin-mediated signaling pathways in the skeletal muscle when compared with healthy aged horses. Isoglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp procedures were conducted in 12 horses that were classified as ei...
Homnick TD, Henning KM, Swain CV, Homnick DN.Equine assisted activities (hippotherapy and therapeutic riding) improve balance in patients with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, but have not been systematically studied in older adults, at risk of falls due to balance deficits. We conducted a 10-week, single blind, controlled trial of the effect of a therapeutic horseback riding course on measures of balance in community-dwelling adults 65 years and older. Nine riders and six controls completed the trial. Controls were age matched to riders and all participants were recruited from the local community. Both groups showed improvements in ...
Kelemen Z, Grimm H, Long M, Auer U, Jenner F.Recumbency is a prerequisite for horses achieving rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and completing a full sleep cycle. An inability to lie down due to environmental insecurities or pain results in REM sleep deficiency, which can cause substantial impairment of welfare and health. Therefore, the present study used wearable automated sensor technology on 83 horses housed in an animal sanctuary to measure and compare the recumbency, locomotion, and standing time budgets of geriatric horses with and without chronic lameness to younger adult sound and lame horses. Recumbency times ranged from 0 to 319...
Zsoldos RR, Krüger B, Licka TF.In vertebrates ageing is characterized by reduced viscoelasticity of the ligamentous and tendineous structures and fibre changes in muscle. Also, some vertebral joint degeneration develops with ageing. The aim of this study was to apply dynamic time warping to compare the temporal characteristics of the surface electromyography (sEMG) data and to illustrate the differences in the pattern of muscle use during tasks of daily life in old and mature horses. kinematics (24 skin markers) and sEMG measurements of neck extensors and flexors were taken in five mature horses (age 10 ± 2 years, half of...
Wnuk M, Bugno-Poniewierska M, Lewinska A, Oklejewicz B, Zabek T, Bartosz G, Słota E.Recently, the old horse has been proposed as a model to study telomere-dependent senescence, immunosenescence and inflamm-aging. In the present paper, we used 80 Hucul and Anglo-Arabian horses divided into 3 age groups (juvenile, adult, old) to evaluate age-dependent changes at the genomic and DNA level and in cell proliferative potential. The level of positive TUNEL cells (both apoptotic and with DNA fragmentation), oxidative DNA damage (8-oxoG immunostaining), sister chromatid exchange and bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks were significantly increased in the combined old group compared to t...
McFarlane D.The aging process in people is associated with changes in adaptive and innate immune responses. Similar changes occur in aged horses. Age-related progressive impairment in the ability to respond to pathogen challenge and an increased inflammatory reactivity may predispose geriatric horses to many diseases of old age. Specific recommendations for immune modification of older horses, including an age-appropriate vaccination schedule, are not currently available. In addition, the effect of old age on risk of infectious disease is poorly documented. More work is needed to better understand the int...
Miller AB, Loynachan AT, Barker VD, Adams AA.In order to better understand the influence of age on innate immune function in horses, blood was collected from twelve adult horses (aged 10-16 years; mean: 13 years) and ten geriatric horses (aged 18-26 years; mean: 21.7 years) for analysis of plasma myeloperoxidase, complete blood counts, and cytokine and receptor expression in response to in vitro stimulation with heat-inactivated Rhodococcus equi, heat-inactivated Escherichia coli, and PMA/ionomycin. Gene expression was measured using RT-PCR for IFNγ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12α, IL-13, IL-17α, TLR2, TLR4, and TNFα. Endocrine fu...
Barrio E, Rickards KJ, Thiemann AK.Clinical evaluation and preventative care in donkeys should follow similar guidelines as for horses. There are species-specific differences due to the desert-adapted physiology of the donkey. Donkeys are mainly used as pack animals, companions and for production of meat or milk - they may be kept well into old age. Diseases often present late or may go unrecognized leading to poor welfare and quality of life. Basic knowledge of nutrition, blood values, pharmacology and common disease recognition will help veterinarians improve the health and welfare of donkeys.
McCue PM.Equine Cushing's disease (ECD) is a chronic progressive disease of the intermediate pituitary gland of older horses. Horses with Cushing's disease often have other health problems, such as laminitis, chronic infections, pseudolactation, and other issues. Diagnosis of ECD is usually based on clinical signs and endocrine tests. Medical management of affected horses is usually a long-term or lifelong commitment. The goal of this article is to review the pathophysiology of ECD, outline diagnostic tests, and present treatment options.
