Horse management encompasses the practices and techniques used to care for and maintain horses in various settings, including stables, pastures, and performance environments. This area of study covers a range of activities such as feeding, grooming, housing, exercise, and health monitoring to ensure the well-being and optimal performance of horses. Effective horse management requires an understanding of equine behavior, nutrition, and physiology, as well as the ability to implement routine care practices and respond to health issues. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methods, strategies, and outcomes associated with different horse management practices.
Shi L, Hu J, Jin Z.Strangles is one of the most prevalent horse diseases globally. The infected horses may be asymptomatic and can still carry the infectious pathogen after it recovers, which are named asymptomatic infected horses and long-term subclinical carriers, respectively. Based on these horses, this paper establishes a dynamical model to screen, measure, and model the spread of strangles. The basic reproduction number $ mathcal{R}_0 $ is computed through a next generation matrix method. By constructing Lyapunov functions, we concluded that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if...
Williams JM, Berg LC, Clayton HM, Kirsch K, Marlin D, Randle H, Roepstroff L, Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MSV, Weishaupt MA, Munsters C.The public is increasingly questioning equestrianism's social license to operate. While the focus historically centered on horseracing, increased scrutiny is now being placed on how dressage, showjumping, and eventing are addressing equine management and welfare concerns. Nominated equestrian federation and equestrian organization experts ( = 104) directly involved in international and/or national-level horse sports took part in a four-stage, iterative Delphi to obtain consensus on what factors should be considered essential to manage sporthorse health and welfare. Five core domains were agree...
Fowler MA.In 1853, Rosa Bonheur first exhibited what would become her most widely celebrated work: . Although the work's modern setting and animal-focused subject matter do not obviously characterize it as an instance of classical reception, the artist claimed that it was inspired by the Parthenon frieze. A significant amount of feminist and queer scholarship has been dedicated to Rosa Bonheur's life, career, and art practices, all of which reveal the complex ways in which the artist negotiated the gender norms of 19th-century France. These ranged from her decision never to marry, instead living in hous...
Colgate V.Victoria Colgate of Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance introduces CANTER, a voluntary pan-industry initiative that is aiming to inspire behaviour change among horse owners and promote a more sustainable approach to controlling parasites in their animals.
du Toit N.Geriatric horses have a high prevalence of dental disease, which is a culmination of age-related dental changes and dental disease throughout the life of the horse that may have long-term consequences. Wear abnormalities, diastemata with periodontal disease, pulpitis and endodontic disease, infundibular caries, and equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis become more prevalent with age. Recognition of age-related dental disease at an early stage can help to treat and possibly preserve teeth for longer. With a natural decrease in masticatory efficiency, it is even more importan...
Carvalho Seabra J, Hess T, Martinez do Vale M, Spercoski KM, Brooks R, Dittrich JR.Free choice forage could be the best option regarding horses' welfare but can lead to increased body weight (BW), and waste of hay. Automatic box feeders (BF) and slow feeders (SF) decrease food waste, but it is unknown how these affect the horses' time-budget (TB). This study compared the effects of feeding free choice hay (FC), to a SF and an automated BF on the horses' cortisol circadian rhythm (CCR) and behavior by 24-hours continuous behavioral sampling (CBS). The study was designed as a 3 × 3 Latin square design with 15 polo horses divided into 3 groups, for 15 days on each treatment....
Dierberger H, Pieper L, Jung M, Schulze M.Appropriate stallion semen handling is of great importance in equine artificial insemination (AI) industry. Optimal treatment of AI doses is aiming for best sperm preservation by excluding strong environmental influences and adding media that favour sperm survival. One method widely used in stallion sperm handling is the rotation of liquid-preserved semen samples on roller benches during storage. As previous studies in boars give rise to the fact that rotation should not be considered beneficial for spermatozoa anymore, the present study investigated the influence of continuous rotation of dil...
Ishii H, Shibuya M, Kusano K, Sone Y, Kamiya T, Wakuno A, Ito H, Miyata K, Yamada M, Leung GN.Vadadustat is a newly launched hypoxia-inducible factor stabilizer with anti-anemia and erythropoietic effects; however, its use in horses is expressly forbidden in both racing and equestrian competitions. Following our previous report on the pharmacokinetic study of vadadustat in horse plasma and urine, a long-term longitudinal analysis of vadadustat in horse hair after nasoesophageal administration (3 g/day for 3 days) to three thoroughbred mares is described in this study. Our main objective is to further extend the detection period of vadadustat for the purpose of doping control. Three...
Keener MM, Tumlin KI.Equestrian sport has various welfare issues and educational needs. To address these complex interactions, we propose an integrated approach called the Triple-E Model, which focuses on the equine, equestrian, and environmental triad. A literature review of existing models suggests that complexities of these interactions are overlooked, despite the significant impact of equine industries on economics, healthcare, and animal welfare. This paper discusses current models and theories used to evaluate equine-equestrian-environmental interactions and introduces the Triple-E Model to foster multidisci...
Karatt TK, Sathiq MA, Laya S, Ajeebsanu MPM, Karakka Kal AK, Subhahar MB, Perwad Z.Recently, there has been a report suggesting that ecdysteroids can enhance sports performance, making them relevant substances in doping control. Hence, it is imperative to examine the analytical characteristics of ecdysteroids in biological samples to identify their misuse in competitive sports. Methods: To assess the doping of ecdysteroids such as ecdysone, ecdysterone, ponasterone A, turkesterone, and ajugasterone C, a fast and sensitive extraction and detection method was developed, optimized, and validated using equine urine and plasma. Different extraction techniques, namely, solid-phase...
Anna C, Martyna P, Marcin S, Dawid W.Free-ranging grazers are increasingly being introduced to areas of high natural value, such as wetlands. There is also growing attention that has been paid to the historical role of herbivores in shaping ecosystems and landscapes. Even though studies on the grazing of free-range horses were carried out in different regions and climates, still little is known about their habitat selection on heterogeneous marshy areas in the temperate region of Europe. The aim of this study was to investigate the habitat use by contemporary Konik horses during the growing season on the basis of three-year GPS d...
Jaramillo FM, Oliveira TM, Silva PEA, Trindade PHE, Baccarin RYA.Horse racing is a major sport practiced worldwide. The environment to which horses are exposed during race meetings can influence their behavior. However, to the best of our knowledge, a method for assessing a horse's response to its surroundings during the pre- and post-race periods has not yet been reported. This study aimed to create a standard list of descriptors for use in a qualitative behavioral assessment (QBA) focused on assessing the emotional expressivity of horses before and after racing events. Unassigned: Seventy pre- or post-race 30-second videos of horses were randomly selected...
Horan K, Price H, Day P, Mackechnie-Guire R, Pfau T.Injuries to racehorses and their jockeys are not limited to the racetrack and high-speed work. To optimise racehorse-jockey dyads' health, well-being, and safety, it is important to understand their kinematics under the various exercise conditions they are exposed to. This includes trot work on roads, turf and artificial surfaces when accessing gallop tracks and warming up. This study quantified the forelimb hoof kinematics of racehorses trotting over tarmac, turf and artificial surfaces as their jockey adopted rising and two-point seat positions. A convenience sample of six horses was recruit...
Tanner JC, Barrell GK.Despite being a large commercial breeding industry, there is little published data on the reproductive success of Standardbred mares. Objective: To quantify the reproductive performance of Standardbred mares under artificial breeding systems in a commercial setting and determine the incidence of early embryonic and other pre-partum losses. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Data from four commercial farms were collected across four breeding years, and all mares were bred via artificial insemination. A total of 3995 mares contributed 7229 mare years. First-cycle pregnancy rate (FCPR)...
Ishii H, Shibuya M, Kusano K, Sone Y, Kamiya T, Wakuno A, Ito H, Miyata K, Yamada M, Leung GN.Daprodustat is a hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase domain (HIF-PHD) inhibitor and is used as an erythropoiesis stimulant for the treatment of anemia in humans. In general, administering daprodustat to horses will result in a lifetime ban from both equestrian sports and horseracing by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and the Fédération Équestre Internationale, respectively. To control the misuse/abuse of daprodustat, we conducted nasoesophageal administration of daprodustat (100 mg/day for 3 days) to three thoroughbred mares and the post-administration hair ...
Horne CR, Tufts S.Continual advancements in diagnostic imaging have allowed for more accurate and complete diagnoses of injuries in the performance horse. The use of several different imaging tools has further allowed the equine sports medicine clinician to more carefully direct treatment options, monitor response to therapy and guide rehabilitation recommendations. The advancements in diagnostic imaging and novel treatment options have led to the improvement in the overall prognosis of many injuries that affect the horse and their performance. The purpose of this section is to review the advancements made in d...
Collery A, Browne JA, O'Brien C, Sheridan JT, Murphy BA.Hair follicles (HF) represent a useful tissue for monitoring the circadian clock in mammals. Irregular light exposure causes circadian disruption and represents a welfare concern for stabled horses. We aimed to evaluate the impact of two stable lighting regimes on circadian clock gene rhythmicity in HF from racehorses. Two groups of five Thoroughbred racehorses in training at a commercial racehorse yard were exposed to standard incandescent light or a customized LED lighting system. The control group received light from incandescent bulbs used according to standard yard practice. The treatment...
Ishige T, Kikuchi M, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Ohnuma A, Tozaki T, Hirosawa Y, Tanaka S, Nagata SI.We evaluated the utility of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for parentage testing in Breton (BR) and Percheron (PR) horses in Japan using the proposed International Society for Animal Genetics (P-ISAG) 147 SNP panel and 414 autosomal SNPs. Genomic DNA was extracted from 98 horses of two breeds, BR (n = 47) and PR (n = 51), and sequenced using next-generation sequencing. The average minor allele frequencies for the P-ISAG panel for BR and PR were 0.306 and 0.301, respectively. The combined probabilities of exclusion (PEs) given two parents and one offspring: exclude a relat...
Bailey E.Native Americans of the Plains and Rocky Mountains are renowned for their horsemanship. Taylor et al. recently used ancient DNA and other bioarcheological approaches to document how horses dispersed throughout America and transformed Native American societies following their introduction by the Spanish in 1519, well before the arrival of European settlers.
Karasu GK, Rogers CW, Gee EK.Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations. As a monogastric hindgut fermenter on a per k...
Dosi MCM, Riggs CM, May J, Lee A, Cillan-Garcia E, Pagan J, McGorum BC.There is a paucity of data relating to the vitamin D status of racehorses. We hypothesised that the management of racehorses in Hong Kong (HK) predisposes to low vitamin D status unless they receive dietary supplementation. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25OHD2), 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) and total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (total 25OHD) for 79 non-grazing HK racehorses were compared with those for 22 racehorses training in the United Kingdom (UK) that grazed for ≥1 h/d, and for which published data exists. A nested group of 41 HK horses was sampled twice to determine the effect...
Haddy E, Burden F, Raw Z, Rodrigues JB, Zappi Bello JH, Brown J, Kaminski J, Proops L.Belief in animal sentience and the quality of human-animal relationships play a significant role in animal welfare. However, the link between an individual animal's welfare and the beliefs and emotional connection of the owner to the animal is understudied and focussed on single cultures, limiting generalisability. In this study, we explored potential links between owner attitude, beliefs in animal sentience, and working equid welfare across four continents. This study used a welfare assessment protocol alongside a questionnaire exploring owner attitudes to assess 378 participants across six c...
Ohnuma A, Tozaki T, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Takahashi Y, Nagata SI.To ensure fair competition and sports integrity, gene doping is prohibited in horseracing and equine sports. One gene doping method is by administering exogenous genes, called transgenes, to postnatal animals. Although several transgene detection methods have been developed for horses, many are unsuitable for multiplex detection. In this proof-of-concept study, we developed a highly sensitive and multiplex transgene detection method using multiple πCode with identification patterns printed on the surface. The following steps were employed: (1) multiplex polymerase chain reaction amplification...
Pinetre J, Delcourt V, Becher F, Garcia P, Barnabé A, Loup B, Popot MA, Fenaille F, Bailly-Chouriberry L.Many innovative biotherapeutics have been marketed in the last decade. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and Fc-fusion proteins (Fc-proteins) have been developed for the treatment of diverse diseases (cancer, autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory disorders) and now represent an important part of targeted therapies. However, the ready availability of such biomolecules, sometimes characterized by their anabolic, anti-inflammatory, or erythropoiesis-stimulating properties, raises concerns about their potential misuse as performance enhancers for human and animal athletes. In equine doping control labo...
Forino S, Cameron L, Stones N, Freeman M.The ideal equestrian body image (BI) is a smaller physique and riders feel body shape (BS) influences subjective judge scoring within dressage competitions. The aims were to identify perceptions of equestrian coaches and dressage judges of rider body shape (BS), identify perceptions of appropriate horse-rider matching and establish the impact of BS on perceived rider ability. An online survey (GoogleFormsTM) was shared, respondents (n = 265, coaches = 174 judges = 91) viewed images of twelve riders of different BS (Ectomorph, Mesomorph, and Endomorph) mounted on three horses of different...
Jackson K, Kelty E.Equine peripheral caries is a common condition characterized by demineralization and degradation of the clinical crown of equine cheek teeth. The condition can cause significant pain and morbidity, particularly in severe cases. Recent studies indicate that the condition is driven by environmental conditions within the mouth, as only the clinical crown of the tooth is affected (the reserve crown below the gingival margin remains unaffected). It is hypothesized that peripheral caries is driven by changes in oral pH, with risk factors for the condition including the intake of high-sugar feeds (oa...
Faria R, Vicente A, Silva J.The aim of this study was to evaluate the sprint racing performance of Quarter Horses in Brazil. Estimating genetic parameters, trends and correlations were obtained by single- and two-trait analyses using Bayesian inference (earnings to 2 years of equestrian age, best time and time class at distances of 301 m and 402 m). The data comprised a period of 38 equestrian years (1978 to 2015) with 23,482 sprint race records from 5861 animals. The heritability estimates were of low to moderate magnitude, ranging from 0.10 to 0.37 (single-trait) and from 0.15 to 0.41 (two-traits), and the repeatabilit...
Meisfjord Jørgensen GH, Mejdell CM, Bøe KE.Horse owners may lack knowledge about natural thermoregulation mechanisms in horses. Horses are managed intensively; usually stabled at night and turned out during the day. Some are clipped and many wear a blanket, practices which reduce the horse's ability to regulate heat dissipation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between hair coat characteristics, body condition and infrared surface temperatures from different body parts of horses. Under standard conditions, the body surface temperature of 21 adult horses were investigated using infrared thermography. From severa...
York A, Matusiewicz J, Padalino B.This review aims to provide practical outcomes on how to minimise the incidence of transport-related problem behaviours (TRPBs) in horses. TRPBs are unwanted behaviours occurring during different phases of transport, most commonly, a reluctance to load and scrambling during travelling. TRPBs can result in injuries to horses and horse handlers, horse trailer accidents, disruption of time schedules, inability to attend competitions, and poor performance following travel. Therefore, TRPBs are recognised as both a horse-related risk to humans and a human-related risk to horses. From the literature...
Cavallini D, Penazzi L, Valle E, Raspa F, Bergero D, Formigoni A, Fusaro I.Dry hay (composed of grass, legumes, or a mixture of the two) provides the primary source of alimentary fiber in stabled horses with limited access to fresh pasture. However, hay can also give rise to health problems in the horse, depending on the quality and quantity of its components. Pathologies may be rooted in biological problems, such as inadequate digestion disturbances, or reflect mechanical difficulties-for example, due to the presence of sharp plant parts that irritate the oral mucosa, or due to physical intake problems that inhibit consumption. Unwanted plants in the hay may cause s...
Fritzen B, Rohn K, Schnieder T, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.Increasing prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in equine nematodes calls for a reexamination of current parasite control programmes to identify factors influencing control efficacy and development of resistance. Objective: To investigate if associations occur between prevalence of parasitic nematodes and management practices. Methods: German horse farms (n = 76) were investigated in 2003 and 2004. Information on farm and pasture management with respect to endoparasite control measures obtained using a questionnaire survey. Faecal examinations were performed in parallel. Results: Horses (n = ...
Robinson VL, Smith BB, Arnone A.In 1947, Perutz and co-workers reported that crystalline horse methemoglobin undergoes a large lattice transition as the pH is decreased from 7.1 to 5.4. We have determined the pH 7.1 and 5.4 crystal structures of horse methemoglobin at 1.6 and 2.1 A resolution, respectively, and find that this lattice transition involves a 23 A translation of adjacent hemoglobin tetramers as well as changes in alpha heme ligation and the tertiary structure of the alpha subunits. Specifically, when the pH is lowered from 7.1 to 5.4, the Fe(3+) alpha heme groups (but not the beta heme groups) are converted from...
Evans D, McGreevy P.Concerns have been expressed concerning animal-welfare issues associated with whip use during Thoroughbred races. However, there have been no studies of relationships between performance and use of whips in Thoroughbred racing. Our aim was to describe whip use and the horses' performance during races, and to investigate associations between whip use and racing performance. Under the Australian Racing Board (ARB) rules, only horses that are in contention can be whipped, so we expected that whippings would be associated with superior performance, and those superior performances would be explaine...
Tozaki T, Ohnuma A, Takasu M, Kikuchi M, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Kusano K, Nagata SI.Indiscriminate genetic manipulation to improve athletic ability is a major threat to human sports and the horseracing industry, in which methods involving gene-doping, such as transgenesis, should be prohibited to ensure fairness. Therefore, development of methods to detect indiscriminate genetic manipulation are urgently needed. Here, we developed a highly sensitive method to detect horse erythropoietin () transgenes using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). We designed two TaqMan probe/primer sets, and the transgene was cloned into a plasmid for use as a model. We extracted the spiked transgene f...
Nuñez CM, Adelman JS, Smith J, Gesquiere LR, Rubenstein DI.Feral horses (Equus caballus) have a complex social structure, the stability of which is important to their overall health. Behavioral and demographic research has shown that decreases in group (or band) stability reduce female fitness, but the potential effects on the physiological stress response have not been demonstrated. To fully understand how band stability affects group-member fitness, we need to understand not only behavioral and demographic, but also physiological consequences of decreases to that stability. We studied group changes in feral mares (an activity that induces instabilit...
McDonnell SM.Based on observational studies comparing social organization and reproductive behavior of equids breeding under feral, semi-feral, and domestic conditions, a series of comparisons and findings on reproductive physiology and behavior are presented. Simple changes in management and handling of mares and stallions that can improve reproductive efficiency and fertility or that can overcome specific breeding problems are discussed.
Lind EO, Rautalinko E, Uggla A, Waller PJ, Morrison DA, Höglund J.Virtually all horses are infected with helminth parasites. For some decades, the control of parasites of Swedish horses has been based on routine treatments with anthelmintics, often several times per year. Since anthelmintic resistance is becoming an increasing problem it is essential to develop more sustainable control strategies, which are adapted to different types of horse management. The aim of this study was to obtain information on practices used by Swedish horse owners for the control of endoparasites. Methods: A questionnaire with 26 questions about management practices and parasite ...
Cymbaluk NF, Christison GI.Horses are reared in all types of weather. Temperatures as diverse as -40 degrees C to 40 degrees C are tolerated by horses. The nutrient requirement most influenced by cold weather is energy. In cold weather, feeding good quality hays free-choice is usually sufficient for mature horses in good body condition. Grain may have to be fed when poor quality hays are used. Hot weather (greater than 30 degrees C) necessitates heat loss to maintain body core temperature. Horses sweat to reduce body heat. Heat stress can be minimized by feeding diets that reduce the heat increment. Use of grain and fat...
To assess injury patterns attributable to horse kicks, to raise the issue of preventive measures, and to evaluate the role of modern accident and emergency department computer software. Methods: Data analysis using a new kind of full electronic medical record. Results: Seventeen kicked equestrians were unmounted at the time of injury. Eight of seventeen patients sustained contusions of the extremities, the back, and the trunk. In nine patients an isolated facial injury was diagnosed. Five of nine patients needed referrals to the department of plastic surgery because of the complexity of the fa...
Takahashi Y, Ohmura H, Mukai K, Shiose T, Takahashi T.Horses need aggressive cooling to prevent exertional heat illness after strenuous exercise in hot and humid conditions. This study compared various methods for cooling horses in such conditions, testing the hypothesis that continual application of running water would be the most effective method to decrease core temperature. Five Thoroughbreds were exercised on a treadmill at wet-bulb globe temperature of 31.8 ± 0.1°C until their pulmonary artery temperature reached 42°C. The time until the pulmonary artery temperature returned to <39°C (t) and the rectal temperature at 30 minutes afte...
Fenner K, Caspar G, Hyde M, Henshall C, Dhand N, Probyn-Rapsey F, Dashper K, McLean A, McGreevy P.We propose that the anthropomorphic application of gender stereotypes to animals influences human-animal interactions and human expectations, often with negative consequences for female animals. An online survey was conducted to explore riders' perceptions of horse temperament and suitability for ridden work, based on horse sex. The questionnaire asked respondents to allocate three hypothetical horses (a mare, gelding and stallion) to four riders compromising a woman, man, girl and boy. Riders were described as equally capable of riding each horse and each horse was described as suitable for a...
Naundrup PJ, Svenning JC.Megafaunas worldwide have been decimated during the late Quaternary. Many extirpated species were keystone species, and their loss likely has had large effects on ecosystems. Therefore, it is increasingly considered how megafaunas can be restored. The horse (Equus ferus) is highly relevant in this context as it was once extremely widespread and, despite severe range contraction, survives in the form of domestic, feral, and originally wild horses. Further, it is a functionally important species, notably due to its ability to graze coarse, abrasive grasses. Here, we used species distribution mod...
Brama PA, Karssenberg D, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.The objective of this study was to map topographically contact areas and pressure distributions on the proximal articular surface (PAS) of the proximal phalanx (PI) under various clinically relevant loading conditions. Left and right forelimbs of 13 mature horses were transected halfway down the radius and loaded in a position mimicking the weightbearing attitude close to the midstance phase. Five loads were used which corresponded with loads that can be expected in different gaits or during athletic performance (stance: 1800 N, walk: 3600 N, trot: 5400 N, gallop: 10,500 N and jumping: 12,000 ...
Powell SE.The metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal (MCP/MTP) joint is a common site of lameness in the Thoroughbred racehorse. Radiographs may fail to show pathology consistent with the degree of lameness. With a high incidence of stress fractures occurring in the distal third metacarpal/metatarsal (MC3/MT3) condyles and proximal phalanx, a definitive diagnosis as to the nature of the pathology is essential. Objective: To describe the low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in Thoroughbred racehorses with MCP/MTP joint pain scanned under standing sedation. Methods: The MR images and clinical record...
Górecka-Bruzda A, Jaworski Z, Jaworska J, Siemieniuch M.To prevent abuse and to assure the welfare of domestic horses, attempts to assess welfare in a standardized way have been made. Welfare-assessment tools often refer to the physical and social environments of feral domestic horses as examples of welfare-friendly conditions for horses. However, free-roaming horses are often exposed to conditions or states that may be regarded as welfare threats or abuse. The aim of this review was to present cases of welfare compromises as well as natural ways to restore high standards of welfare to Konik polski horses (Koniks) living in semiferal conditions in ...
Weinert-Nelson JR, Biddle AS, Williams CA.Diet is a key driver of equine hindgut microbial community structure and composition. The aim of this study was to characterize shifts in the fecal microbiota of grazing horses during transitions between forage types within integrated warm- (WSG) and cool-season grass (CSG) rotational grazing systems (IRS). Eight mares were randomly assigned to two IRS containing mixed cool-season grass and one of two warm-season grasses: bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] or crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.]. Fecal samples were collected during transitions from CSG to WSG pasture sections (...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Apanaskevich DA, Mumcuoglu KY, Steinman A.Ticks are important ectoparasites of horses that can affect animal welfare and vector several infectious, including zoonotic, diseases. In order to investigate the species distribution, epidemiology and seasonal dynamics of ticks infesting horses in Israel, 3267 ticks were collected from 396 horses in 24 farms across the country from July 2014 to June 2015. Results: Ticks were found on 50% of the farms and on 25% of the horses, with Hyalomma being the most prevalent genus (70% of ticks). Pasture was the most prominent risk factor for tick infestation (99% of ticks, P < 0.001), and is repres...
Chand N, Eyre P.Histamine, 2-methylhistamine (a specific H1-agonist), 5-HT, PGF2alpha, SRS-A, bradykinin (BK) and carbachol contract bronchial and tracheal smooth muscles of the horse. Isoprenaline, PGE1, E2, dimaprit and 4-methylhistamine (last two = specific H2-agonists) relaxed airways which were partially contracted to carbachol. Mepyramine (a specific H1-antagonist) selectively antagonized contractions to histamine. In the presence of mepyramine, histamine caused relaxation of airways partially contracted to carbachol. Metiamide and burimamide (specific H2-antagonists) specifically antagonized or reverse...
Dai F, Dalla Costa A, Bonfanti L, Caucci C, Di Martino G, Lucarelli R, Padalino B, Minero M.The present work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a self-loading training using positive reinforcement on stress-related behaviors shown by meat horses during loading procedures into a truck. Thirty-two meat horses ( = 18; = 14; 6 month-old) were included in the study. All horses had limited interactions with the farmer and were not used to be restrained nor lead by halter. Horses were divided in two groups: Control Group (C; = 14) and Training Group (T; = 18). T horses were trained to self-load: in order to teach the horses to enter into the truck, a targeting training technique throughou...
Chaplin SJ, Gretgrix L.Housing conditions for horses impose various levels of confinement, which may compromise welfare. Lying behaviour and activity can be used as welfare indicators for domestic animals and rebound behaviour suggests a build-up of motivation resulting from deprivation. The objective of this study was to determine if activity and lying behaviour of horses are affected by housing conditions and to investigate the occurrence of rebound behaviour after release from confinement. Eight horses were subjected, in pairs, to each of four experimental treatments; paddock (P), fully stabled (FS), partly stabl...
Raidal SL, Love DN, Bailey GD.Confinement of horses with their heads elevated for periods up to 24 hours was used to evaluate the extent and the effects of bacterial contamination of the equine lower respiratory tract. Significant (P < 0.05) increases in bacterial numbers (up to 10(9) colony forming units/mL in transtracheal aspirate derived samples) occurred within 6 or 12 hours in most horses. Pasteurella/Actinobacillus spp and Streptococcus spp were most commonly isolated. Lowering of the head for 30 minutes every 6 hours to facilitate postural drainage did not prevent multiplication of organisms to levels equivalent...
Siess W, Lapetina EG.Phospholipase C has been studied in homogenates, total particulate and soluble fractions of horse and human platelets. This enzyme, assayed with exogenous L-3-phosphatidyl[14C]inositol, is predominantly localized in the soluble fraction and its distribution parallels that of lactate dehydrogenase. A small percentage of activity present in the particulate fraction seems to be due to contamination with soluble enzyme. Enzyme from horse and human platelets appears identical, having a Km of 0.10-0.15 mM, acid pH optimum (pH 5.5) and showing Ca2+-dependency and weak inhibition by deoxycholate. Anal...
Schöllhorn WI, Peham C, Licka T, Scheidl M.Interactions of various systems were investigated in several studies of dynamic systems, but the interactions between horse and rider have not yet been documented. These interactions include the rider's ability to control the horse, adapt to the horse and maintain both participants' body position. An optimum interaction is also adapted to the individual nature of the horse. Objective: To identify rider-horse interactions by means of artificial neural nets analysing the time-continuous pattern. Methods: Fourteen horses were measured trotting on hand, and ridden at working trot with a profession...
Williams JM, Randle H, Marlin D.COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020; the United Kingdom (UK) implemented quarantine measures shortly afterward, resulting in rapid changes in how owners managed and interacted with their horses. This study provides a rapid analysis of the initial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the management of UK leisure and competition horses. A 17 question online survey was distributed via equestrian social media sites to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on horse and yard management and on human-horse interactions. Frequency analysis combined with Chi-squared and thematic analyses i...
Gunst S, Dittmann MT, Arpagaus S, Roepstorff C, Latif SN, Klaassen B, Pauli CA, Bauer CM, Weishaupt MA.Asymmetric forces exerted on the horse's back during riding are assumed to have a negative effect on rider-horse interaction, athletic performance, and health of the horse. Visualized on a saddle pressure mat, they are initially blamed on a nonfitting saddle. The contribution of horse and rider to an asymmetric loading pattern, however, is not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of horse and rider asymmetries during stance and in sitting trot on the force distribution on the horse's back using a saddle pressure mat and motion capture analysis simultaneously. D...
Dalla Costa E, Dai F, Lebelt D, Scholz P, Barbieri S, Canali E, Minero M.A truthful snapshot of horse welfare conditions is a prerequisite for predicting the impact of any actions intended to improve the quality of life of horses. This can be achieved when welfare information, gathered by different assessors in diverse geographical areas, is valid, comparable and collected in a harmonized way. This paper aims to present the first outcomes of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) approach: the results of on-farm assessment and a reliable and harmonized data collection system. A total of 355 sport and leisure horses, stabled in 40 facilities in Italy and in Germany, w...
