The hair coat of horses serves as a protective layer that adapts to seasonal changes and environmental conditions. It is composed of different types of hair, including the long guard hairs and the finer undercoat, which together provide insulation and defense against external elements. The condition and appearance of a horse's hair coat can reflect its overall health, nutritional status, and management practices. Factors such as genetics, diet, and grooming influence hair coat quality, while seasonal shedding occurs to accommodate temperature variations. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the structure, function, and management of hair coats in horses, as well as their implications for equine welfare and performance.
Ward NI, Savage JM.The elemental (Br, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, V, and Zn) content of blood and wool or hair from animals (sheep, horses and alpacas) exposed to motor vehicle emissions alongside the London Orbital (M25) motorway is reported. Elemental values were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) quality control assessment using flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy (for Pb, correlation coefficients of whole blood r = +0.87, and hair r = +0.82), and replicate (n = 10) analysis of the international reference material IAEA A13 Animal Blood. For Pb very good agreement was obta...
Fjeldsgaard BE, Paulsen BS.Extracts of horse dander (HD) and horse hair and skin scrapings (HHSS) have been compared with respect to their content of proteins and carbohydrates. The protein content of HD is more than double that of HHSS, while the carbohydrate content is of the same order. SDS-PAGE and IEF, both combined with immunoblotting, and CIE/CRIE showed the IgE-binding ability of the proteins/glycoproteins present in the two extracts. SDS-PAGE/immunoblotting showed the presence of mainly the same IgE-binding bands in the two extracts. Nine were detected in HD, and seven in HHSS. Four of these were glycoproteins....
Bowling AT, Stott ML, Bickel L.Microsatellite DNA markers in a mare's hair bulbs not concordant with markers in her blood confirmed the hypothesis of chimaerism which had been proposed to explain the apparent parentage exclusion of the mare from her suckling foal. Parentage analysis for this foal based on genetic markers not originating from blood cells of its dam supported a parentage verification conclusion.
Bagy MM, Abdel-Mallek AY.Nine thermophilic genera and 17 species in addition to one variety of Aspergillus flavus, Malbranchea pulchella and Humicola grisea were collected from hair samples in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at 45 degrees C. Fifty-one hair specimens of rabbit, sheep, camel and horse were examined for the presence of thermophilic fungi. The most frequent species were Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Thermoascus aurantiacus and Malbranchea pulchella var. sulfurea. In low frequency, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus quadrilineatus, Paecilomyces variotii, Paecilomyces aerugineus, Mucor pusillus and Rhizopus s...
Argo CM, Cox JE, Gray JL.This study tested the role of melatonin in the regulation of seasonal physiological change in the pony stallion. Four 3-year-old, Welsh Mountain pony stallions were housed initially under the prevailing short-day photoperiod in December (8 of light [L]:16 h of darkness [D]) before being transferred to long days (16L:8D) on 13 January for the remaining 22 weeks of the study. On Day 76 (11 weeks later) the stallions began an 11-week period of daily melatonin treatment (20 mg orally, 8 h after lights on). Marked changes in mean plasma testosterone, beta-endorphin and cortisol concentrations occur...
Cymbaluk NF.Housing temperature effects on growth, feed utilization and feed digestion of 12, 7-mo-old Standardbred colts were evaluated for 22 wk beginning in late November. Colts were assigned to one of two treatments: housed in a barn heated at 10 degrees C (warm) or housed in a barn with no external heat supply (cold). All horses were allowed outdoors for 4 h daily. Mean temperatures of the warm and cold barn from November to April were 10.9 +/- .66 and -5.2 +/- 1.72 degrees C, respectively. Hair coat weight of cold-housed colts was 1.4- to twofold (P less than .05) that of warm-housed colts from Dece...
Anke M, Kośla T, Groppel B.The Cd status of animals is best reflected by kidneys and much worse by liver and hair. Breed (heavy- and warm-blooded horses) only took an insignificant effect on the Cd content of kidneys and liver. On the average, however, warm-blooded horses stored more Cd than heavy ones. Geldings from Cd-exposed living areas accumulated insignificantly more Cd in liver, kidneys and hair than mares. The influence of age on the Cd content of kidneys and liver of Cd-exposed horses was significant. The Cd exposure of a living area was very well reflected by kidneys and liver. On the average, horses from two ...
The Journal of heredityMarch 1, 1988
Volume 79, Issue 2 100-106 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a110461
Woolf CM, Swafford JR.The ultrastructural imaging of melanocytes coupled with analyses to detect sulfur-containing melanosomes by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to test the hypothesis that the yellowish-red and black pigments found in Arabian horses result from pheomelanogenesis and eumelanogenesis, respectively. These procedures detected pheomelanosomes in follicles at the base of hairs in chestnut horses and eumelanosomes in follicles at the base of hairs in black horses. By analyzing tissue obtained by skin biopsy, these procedures also demonstrated that skin melanocytes in a chestnut horse produ...
Sponenberg DP, Ito S, Eng LA, Schwink K.Hair samples of various colors of horses were analyzed for content of both eumelanin and pheomelanin by a procedure using high performance liquid chromatography. The results are in accord with generally accepted genetic hypotheses accounting for the various colors. However, the results support the hypothesis that the chestnut/sorrel group of colors is conditioned by the extension locus, not the brown locus. The results also indicate that the brown locus is a likely contributor to some rare color phenotypes.
Meyer W, Neurand K.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrates efficiently species-specific differences of hairy skin (integumentum commune) of domestic mammals (pig, cat, dog, horse, cattle, sheep, goat). This technique is very helpful in characterizing the typical structural features of the epidermal layers, the arrangement of the collagen fibre bundles and the elastic fibre network in the dermis, the external and internal construction of hair follicles and hair shafts, and the functional development of skin glands. It is also possible to observe certain domestication effects, especially where the hair coa...
Carracedo A, Concheiro L, Requena I.An isoelectric focusing method followed by silver staining has been developed for the study of keratins which is as effective as two-dimensional electrophoresis and fluorography for hair species identification. Hair from dogs, rabbits, horses, cows, guinea-pigs, donkeys, sheep and cats were successfully identified. Narrow pH ranges were used to observe heterogeneity in human hair. Although this heterogeneity may be affected by environmental conditions, it may be of use in criminalistics.
Wesson JA, Ginther OJ.Thirteen 6-8 month-old fillies were assigned to 3 treatment groups: Group 1 had a 16-h fixed daily photoperiod (16L:8D, N = 4), Group 2 a daily photoperiod equivalent to ambient daylength (control, N = 5), and Group 3 a 9-h fixed daily photoperiod (9L:15D, N = 4). The light treatments extended from 17 December to 9 August. Hair shedding occurred first in Group 1 followed by Group 2, then Group 3. The proportions of fillies with 1 or more ovulations (puberty) by the end of the project were 2/4, 5/5, 2/4 in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The hypothesis that a fixed daily photoperiod which corr...
Aho R.Hairsamples of domestic and laboratory animals suspected of dermatophytosis were examined for the presence of dermatophytes. A nutritionally poor base-medium developed by the author was successfully used in the isolation and identification of dermatophytes. Casein-medium supplemented with vitamins and Sabouraud-liquid medium were used in special cases. Dermatophytes were isolated in 36 of 331 samples (10.9%). The dermatophytes recovered were Microsporum canis: 13 isolates from cat. 4 from dog. 1 from horse; Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. granulare: 3 isolates from dog, 3 from horse, 2 from g...
Gravesen S, Løwenstein H, Weeke B.Horse hiar and dandruff have been investigated for their content of microfungi and bacteria. Inoculation and incubation on V-8 agar containing penicillin and streptomycin, with subsequent colony counting and identification, revealed more than nine and five different genera of microfungi and bacteria respectively, in horse hair and dandruff. Isolation and cultivation of the quantitatively dominating species, and preparation of an extract of these were performed, followed by immunochemical comparison with extract of the horse hair and dandruff using crossed-line immuno-electrophoresis. As no imm...
Frankland AL, Morris PG, Spreull JS.Seven pieces of autologous skin were transplanted onto freshly created, full thickness skin defects on the limbs and back of a one-year-old, male, piebald, Shetland pony. The transplantations were completed in two operative sessions, the transplants on the left side were done in the first session and the right side in the second. The sizes of the transplants varied from 20 sq cm to 2 sq cm and their thicknesses from whole skin to very thin, split skin. Donor sites were both rumps and the right side of the neck. Six of the seven grafts and two thirds of the remaining graft, were accepted. Both ...
Løwenstein H, Markussen B, Weeke B.Sera from 26 patients and 4 normals were examined for specific IgE binding to antigens of extract of horse hair and dandruff by means of CRIE. 22 of the patients were RAST- and intracutaneous-positive to horse extract. 4 more of the patients were RAST-negative to horse allergens, but showed allergies to extract of allergens from sources other than horse. The remaining four sera from controls were RAST-negative to horse and had no history of allergy. Antigens of horse hair and dandruff showed a significantly higher degree of binding to specific IgE in the sera from the first group of patients t...
Kooistra LH, Ginther OJ.The effects of photoperiod on reproductive activity and hair changes in pony mares were studied in 2 experiments. In experiment I, the effect of a fixed daily photoperiod on the onset of the breeding season was studied in 36 mares from Nov 13, 1973, to June 13, 1974. The 4 treatment groups were as follows: daily photoperiod equivalent to the normal day length (control group); constant light 24 hours a day with no dark (L24:D0 group); 16-hour daily photoperiod with 8 hours of dark (L16:D8 group); and 9-hour daily photoperiod with 15 hours of dark (L9:D15 group). The intervals from beginning of ...
Science (New York, N.Y.)March 4, 1966
Volume 151, Issue 3714 1085-1086 doi: 10.1126/science.151.3714.1085
Kennington GS, Ching CF.Hair samples from the horse, elk, deer, moose, and antelope; subcutaneous tissue from the moose and antelope; and cast and living skin of the rattlesnake were activated by exposure to a neutron flux. The resulting products were studied by pulse-height analysis. Differences in type and proportion of trace elements appear to be consistent within the species studied.
Dunnett M, Richardson DW, Lees P.Hair analysis to detect drug administration has not been studied extensively in horses. This study aimed to (a) develop an analytical method for enrofloxacin and its metabolite ciprofloxacin in mane and tail hair, (b) relate measured values to doses, routes of administration, hair colour, and (c) demonstrate long-term detectability. Samples were extracted in trifluoroacetic acid at 70 degrees C. Extracts were cleaned-up by solid-phase extraction and analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-diode array detection. Analyte recoveries were > 87%. Horses were sampled after therape...
Kania M, Mikołajewska D, Marycz K, Kobielarz M.The aim of this research was to assess the effect of diet supplementation with zinc and copper, in different chemical forms (organic and inorganic), on the mechanical properties of the hair of healthy English thoroughbred horses. Hairs were taken from 18 horses which had been fed with oats and hay for a period of 110 days. Twelve of the horses had been additionally given a daily dose of 700 g of highquality 44-ingredients Fohlengold St-Hippolyt muesli made by Muhle Ebert Dilheim. Six of them had received the muesli-containing organic zinc and copper (OS), while the other six horses had receive...
Ellse L, Burden FA, Wall R.A longitudinal study was undertaken over a 21 months period to examine the seasonal abundance of lice infesting donkeys, the risk factors which predispose donkeys to infestation and the effectiveness of louse management. All the lice seen were Bovicola (Werneckiella) ocellatus. A strong seasonal pattern, which was correlated with mean monthly temperature, was observed with higher prevalence and intensity in the cooler, winter months (October-March). Overall infestation in these animals was over-dispersed, suggesting that some individuals are strongly predisposed to infestation. Donkey age and ...
Echigoya Y, Sato T, Itou T, Endo H, Sakai T.To elucidate the molecular properties of the equine glycolytic enzymes equine M(1) (eM(1)) and M(2) (eM(2))-pyruvate kinase (PK), mRNAs were isolated from thoroughbred horse skeletal muscle and hair roots, respectively. The full-length eM(1) and eM(2)-PK cDNAs consist of 2,320 and 2,376 bp, respectively, containing a 1596 bp open reading frame. The cDNAs were mapped to equine chromosome 1, and the equine pyruvate kinase M (PKM) gene consists of twelve exons. Exon 9 of eM(1)-PK and exon 10 of eM(2)-PK were further investigated in five equine species. Out of 55 amino acids encoded by exon 9 in e...
Science (New York, N.Y.)March 4, 1966
Volume 151, Issue 3714 1085-1086 doi: 10.1126/science.151.3714.1085
Kennington GS, Ching CF.Hair samples from the horse, elk, deer, moose, and antelope; subcutaneous tissue from the moose and antelope; and cast and living skin of the rattlesnake were activated by exposure to a neutron flux. The resulting products were studied by pulse-height analysis. Differences in type and proportion of trace elements appear to be consistent within the species studied.
Chiwitt CLH, Scurrell EJ, Featherstone HJ, Heinrich CL.A 15-year-old Cob mare presented with a 4-month history of chronic epiphora and intermittent blepharospasm in the right eye. On ophthalmic examination, two translucent aberrant hairs were identified at the third eyelid margin corresponding to an area of corneal fibrosis and neovascularization. Partial excision of the third eyelid was performed, and histopathology confirmed ectopic hair follicles. Two weeks later, clinical signs recurred in the same eye. Examination revealed another pair of aberrant hairs on the bulbar surface of the third eyelid near its leading edge. This portion of the third...
Gravesen S, Løwenstein H, Weeke B.Horse hiar and dandruff have been investigated for their content of microfungi and bacteria. Inoculation and incubation on V-8 agar containing penicillin and streptomycin, with subsequent colony counting and identification, revealed more than nine and five different genera of microfungi and bacteria respectively, in horse hair and dandruff. Isolation and cultivation of the quantitatively dominating species, and preparation of an extract of these were performed, followed by immunochemical comparison with extract of the horse hair and dandruff using crossed-line immuno-electrophoresis. As no imm...
Cutler C, Viljanto M, Taylor P, Habershon-Butcher J, Muir T, Biddle S, Van Eenoo P.AC-262536 is one of a number of selective androgen receptor modulators that are being developed by the pharmaceutical industry for treatment of a range of clinical conditions including androgen replacement therapy. Though not available therapeutically, selective androgen receptor modulators are widely available to purchase online as (illegal) supplement products. The growth- and bone-promoting effects, along with fewer associated negative side effects compared with anabolic-androgenic steroids, make these compounds a significant threat with regard to doping control in sport. The aim of this st...
Knych HK, McKemie DS, Yim S, Stanley SD, Arthur RM.Given the potential for long-term inhibition of bone remodeling/healing and detrimental effects to horses in training, bisphosphonates are tightly regulated in horseracing. Hair has proven to be an effective matrix for detection of drug administration to horses and has been particularly effective in detecting drugs for a long period of time post administration. Thus, hair may prove to be a useful matrix for detection of administration of this class of drugs. The objective of the current study was to develop an assay and assess the usefulness of hair as a matrix for long-term detection of clodr...
The Journal of heredityMarch 1, 1988
Volume 79, Issue 2 100-106 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a110461
Woolf CM, Swafford JR.The ultrastructural imaging of melanocytes coupled with analyses to detect sulfur-containing melanosomes by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to test the hypothesis that the yellowish-red and black pigments found in Arabian horses result from pheomelanogenesis and eumelanogenesis, respectively. These procedures detected pheomelanosomes in follicles at the base of hairs in chestnut horses and eumelanosomes in follicles at the base of hairs in black horses. By analyzing tissue obtained by skin biopsy, these procedures also demonstrated that skin melanocytes in a chestnut horse produ...
Suzuki K, Yamaya Y, Asano K, Chiba M, Sera K, Matsumoto T, Sakai T, Asano R.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between the mean concentrations of trace elements and the severity of the second-degree atrioventricular (AV) block in the mane hair of horses. Electrocardiographs of horses were continually recorded for 6 h using a holter cardiac monitor to determine dropped ventricular beats (DVBs) which can be used as an indicator of the severity of the AV block. Mane hair Ca, Cu, Mg, and Zn concentrations were measured by the particle-induced X-ray emission method. The Zn/Cu ratio and Ca concentration in mane hair were significantly and positively ...
Stachurska A, Wałkuska G, Chałabis-Mazurek A, Jaworski Z, Cebera M.The objective of the study was to determine if there were differences in Cr, Mn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Ni levels in coat hair and hoof horn between Polish Konik horses maintained in stabled and reserve systems in Roztocze National Park in Poland. Summer and winter feeding seasons (seasons of the year in case of hooves) and age of horses were taken into account. 107 samples of hair and hooves, as well as all kinds of feed and sources of water available for the horses were examined. The results of the study indicate that the concentration of the elements in the coat hair, hoof horn, feeds and water is ...
van Bömmel-Wegmann S, Gehlen H, Barton AK, Büttner K, Zentek J, Paßlack N.Little is known about the animal- and diet-related factors that could interfere with the plasma zinc (Zn) concentrations of equines. Additionally, the adequacy of plasma to reflect changes in the Zn intake is unclear. In the first part of this study, the plasma Zn concentrations of hospitalized horses and ponies ( = 538) were measured and evaluated for the impact of the age, sex, horse type, and internal diseases of the animals. In the second part, the effects of increasing dietary Zn chloride hydroxide and Zn methionine supplementations were assessed on the plasma and mane hair Zn concentrati...
Pomorska-Zniszczyńska A, Szczepanik MP, Kalisz G, Adamczyk N, Tarach M, Sobuś M, Abramowicz B.Videodermoscopic examinations have only recently started to be used in veterinary medicine and usually involve a small group of animals. The aim of this study was to compare specific dermoscopic parameters in selected areas of the body of Arabian horses in the summer and winter seasons. The research was conducted between 2018-2019. The procedure was performed on the left side of the horse's body in seven areas: head, neck, chest, flank, rump, mane, and tail. 42 purebred Arabian horses aged 1-25 (median), 39 mares and 3 stallions were qualified for the study. An Italian Video-Dermascope 7 (Medi...
Jachimowicz-Rogowska K, Topczewska J, Krupa W, Bajcar M, Kwiecień M, Winiarska-Mieczan A.The purpose of the study was to evaluate seasonal changes in selected trace elements such as Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and Al in the coat of healthy Hucul horses kept in south-eastern Poland in two different facilities and fed with locally sourced feed. The coat for the study was collected from 24 individuals in autumn, winter, and spring. The concentration of elements in the feed was also determined. The date of collection had a significant effect on the concentration of the micronutrients analysed in the coat of Hucul horses. The highest concentration of Zn was found in the coat taken in summer. The c...
Wesson JA, Ginther OJ.Thirteen 6-8 month-old fillies were assigned to 3 treatment groups: Group 1 had a 16-h fixed daily photoperiod (16L:8D, N = 4), Group 2 a daily photoperiod equivalent to ambient daylength (control, N = 5), and Group 3 a 9-h fixed daily photoperiod (9L:15D, N = 4). The light treatments extended from 17 December to 9 August. Hair shedding occurred first in Group 1 followed by Group 2, then Group 3. The proportions of fillies with 1 or more ovulations (puberty) by the end of the project were 2/4, 5/5, 2/4 in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The hypothesis that a fixed daily photoperiod which corr...
Assis RA, Kuchler IL, Miekeley N, Tozzi MB.Capillary electrophoresis coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used in a speciation study on disodium monomethylarsonate (DS-MMA(V)) and its metabolites in horses, to which the drug was administered by intramuscular injection on five consecutive days at a single arsenic dosage of 270 mg day(-1). Samples of urine, whole blood, plasma, and mane hair were analyzed before, during, and after drug administration. The data show that blood clearing and urinary excretion of MMA is a fast process following first-order kinetics with biological half-lives of about 38 h and 44 h for ...
Werners A, Karasek I, Butler C, Yeatts J, Enomoto H, Baynes R.Several different tick species are known to infest horses. Aside from causing serious health and welfare issues, including anaemia, ill thrift, and immunosuppression, ticks can transmit a variety of important, sometimes zoonotic, pathogens. The successful prevention and treatment of tick infestations have been described, but the information is scarce and, in many instances, anecdotal. Here we describe a practical and affordable prevention of tick infestation by using abamectin-impregnated cattle ear tags affixed to a safety collar. We have assessed the radial distribution of abamectin by analy...
Argo CM, Cox JE, Gray JL.This study tested the role of melatonin in the regulation of seasonal physiological change in the pony stallion. Four 3-year-old, Welsh Mountain pony stallions were housed initially under the prevailing short-day photoperiod in December (8 of light [L]:16 h of darkness [D]) before being transferred to long days (16L:8D) on 13 January for the remaining 22 weeks of the study. On Day 76 (11 weeks later) the stallions began an 11-week period of daily melatonin treatment (20 mg orally, 8 h after lights on). Marked changes in mean plasma testosterone, beta-endorphin and cortisol concentrations occur...
Moeller BC, Clifford A, Emery RT, Alarcio G, Favro G, Arthur RM.Zilpaterol is a β -adrenergic agonist and a repartitioning agent that has a high potential for abuse in equine performance athletes. Analysis of zilpaterol in hair is an alternative sampling matrix that extends detection time periods beyond those found in urine or blood samples. Our laboratory has been screening for zilpaterol in hair for many years and recently detected and confirmed its presence in official samples. Accordingly, a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to detect and confirm zilpaterol in equine hair. Briefly, equine hair was decontaminate...
