"Horses" is a broad topic that encompasses various aspects of equine biology, behavior, and management. This category includes studies on the anatomy, physiology, and genetics of horses, as well as their behavior, nutrition, and care. Research in this area may also cover the historical and cultural significance of horses, their roles in agriculture, sport, and therapy, and the challenges associated with their conservation and welfare. The page aggregates peer-reviewed research articles and scholarly studies that explore the multifaceted relationships between humans and horses, examining both scientific and socio-economic perspectives.
Cequier A, Romero A, Vázquez FJ, Vitoria A, Bernad E, Fuente S, Zaragoza P, Rodellar C, Barrachina L.Immunomodulation and immunogenicity are pivotal aspects for the therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Since the horse is highly valuable as both a patient and translational model, further knowledge on equine MSC immune properties is required. This study analysed how inflammation, chondrogenic differentiation and compatibility for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) influence the MSC immunomodulatory-immunogenicity balance. Equine MSCs in basal conditions, pro-inflammatory primed (MSC-primed) or chondrogenically differentiated (MSC-chondro) were co-cultured with either autolo...
Sissons JH, Blakemore E, Shafi H, Skotny N, Lloyd DM.Children with autism typically experience difficulties interacting socially with others when compared to their non-autistic peers. Establishing how effective interventions are for improving social functioning is important to help inform what should be offered to children with autism. This study reviewed how effective interventions that involved interaction with a live animal, known as animal-assisted interventions, are in improving social functioning in children with autism. A systematic search of the evidence on this topic found nine studies, which were explored for the effectiveness of anima...
Paruch L, Paruch AM.Zoogenic faecal contamination of the environment is one of the indices included in the evaluation of ecological threats, health hazards and adverse impacts on various ecosystems. The risks and environmental concerns are associated with the fact that faeces of wild and domesticated animals constitute the largest source of environmental loading of enteropathogens associated with transmission of zoonotic diseases (enteric zoonoses). Although sick animals are more likely to transmit pathogens, healthy ones can also be the carriers and defecate them into the environment. This is of particular impor...
Hewitt-Dedman CL, O'Neill HD, Bladon BM.To describe the removal of palmar intermediate carpal bone (ICB) fracture fragments using a transthecal approach through the carpal flexor tendon sheath. Methods: Case series. Methods: Four horses with fractures of the palmar aspect of the ICB. Methods: Two horses were injured when falling and two during recovery from general anesthesia. Three horses underwent MRI to supplement conventional imaging. Three horses had concurrent fractures of the radial and/or accessory carpal bones. Conventional proximolateral carpal sheath arthroscope and instrument portals were used, supplemented with a medial...
Górski K, Borowska M, Stefanik E, Polkowska I, Turek B, Bereznowski A, Domino M.Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is one of the horses' dental diseases, mainly affecting the incisor teeth. An increase in the incidence of aged horses and a painful progressive course of the disease create the need for improved early diagnosis. Besides clinical findings, EOTRH recognition is based on the typical radiographic findings, including levels of dental resorption and hypercementosis. This study aimed to introduce digital processing methods to equine dental radiographic images and identify texture features changing with disease progression. The radiogr...
The centromere is the chromosomal locus essential for proper chromosome segregation. While the centromeric function is well conserved and epigenetically specified, centromeric DNA sequences are typically composed of satellite DNA and represent the most rapidly evolving sequences in eukaryotic genomes. The presence of satellite sequences at centromeres hampered the comprehensive molecular analysis of these enigmatic loci. The discovery of functional centromeres completely devoid of satellite repetitions and fixed in some animal and plant species represented a turning point in centromere biology...
Orellana-Guerrero D, Dini P, Santos E, de la Fuente A, Meyers S, Koshak S, Dujovne G.Transvaginal aspiration of oocytes (TVA) is a commonly used clinical procedure to obtain oocytes for in vitro production of embryos in horses. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of the TVA procedure on blood and peritoneal parameters, and to investigate the association of these findings with variables such as use of antibiotics, number of ovarian punctures, and length of the procedure. Physical examination was performed and blood and peritoneal fluid were obtained from 14 mares before they underwent TVA and the same parameters were assessed 24 hours after the procedure. On exami...
Asakawa MG, Jamieson CA, David F, Johnson JP, Mehmood W, Oikawa MA.A 5-year-old Arabian broodmare with acute colic was diagnosed with lymphocytic ganglioneuritis of the coeliac-mesenteric ganglia and lymphocytic‒plasmacytic enterocolitis resembling inflammatory bowel disease. No significant pathogens were identified by aerobic culture or histopathological examination. The ganglia were multifocally infiltrated with small lymphocytes that were immunopositive for CD3 and negative for CD20 and CD79a antigens, indicating CD3+ T-lymphocyte-mediated coeliac-mesenteric ganglioneuritis. The findings suggest immune-mediated inflammatory bowel disease resulting in dis...
Greenberg CB, Javsicas LH, Clauson RM, Suckow MA, Kalinauskas AE, Lucroy MD.Autologous cancer vaccines (ACV) are an emerging option for adjuvant cancer treatment in veterinary medicine. With this form of active immunotherapy, the patient's tumor cells are processed ex vivo and returned to the patient with the goal of stimulating an immune response to unique, patient-specific antigens. The case accession database at Torigen was queried to identify horses that underwent biopsy or surgical resection of their primary tumor and received at least one subcutaneous dose of an adjuvanted whole-cell autologous cancer vaccine. The records were then reviewed for any reported adve...
Espíndola JP, Machado G, Diehl GN, Dos Santos LC, de Vargas AC, Gressler LT.Microbiological diagnosis of equine respiratory infections is essential for disease management. However, reliable diagnosis can be a challenge due to colonization of the upper respiratory tract (URT) by a diverse microbial population, and because there is a lack of studies with samples from healthy animals. Aiming to guide adequate URT culture, this work reports culturable microbial population from the URT of 1,010 apparently healthy horses from 341 farms in Southern Brazil and identifies the putative presence of pathogenic microorganisms. Nasal swabs were cultured in 5% blood agar, and the is...
Mahalingam-Dhingra A, Mazan MR, Bedenice D, Ceresia M, Minuto J, Deveney EF.There are limited options for treatment of the common disease, equine asthma. The aim of this study was to estimate the feasibility and potential efficacy of using nebulized lidocaine for treating equine asthma, while at the same time treating a separate cohort of asthmatic horses with inhaled budesonide. Nineteen horses with a history consistent with equine asthma were recruited from our referral population for a double-blind, randomized, controlled pilot clinical trial using Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. After screening, 16 horses met the inclusion criteria...
Clark-Price SC, Lascola KM, Auckburally A, Boone LH, Caldwell FJ, Weatherall KM, Hanson RR.Impairment of oxygen uptake can occur during general anesthesia in horses resulting in hypoxemia. Multiple treatments have been investigated for correction of hypoxemia with varying levels of success. In clinical trials, albuterol, a short-acting β2 adrenergic agonist, improved arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) in anesthetized horses unresponsive to adjustments in mechanical ventilation and administration of positive inotropic drugs. However, controlled studies comparing the magnitude of change and duration of effect of albuterol on PaO2 in healthy, nonhypoxemic anesthetized horses are ...
Macon EL, Harris P, Barker VD, Adams AA.Seasonal effects on the oral sugar test (OST), used to monitor insulin dysregulation (ID) status to help reduce laminitis risk, are poorly understood in the ID horse. Resting, (basal) insulin (T0) and 60-minute (T60) OST (0.15 mL/Kg BW Karo Light Corn Syrup) insulin responses were evaluated, once per each season over 2 years, in ID (n = 11 14.9 ± 4.3 years; mean ± SD) and non-insulin dysregulated (NID: n = 11 16.4 ± 5.3 years; mean ± SD) horses housed on the same farm. Seasonal morphometric measurements were collected: bodyweight (BW), body-condition scores (BCS), and cresty neck score...
Hussey GS, Giessler KS.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) myeloencephalopathy (EHM) is a devastating consequence of EHV-1 infection that has significant economic consequences. However, clinical EHM is relatively rare and occurs in only approximately 10% of infected horses. While there is a positive correlation between the duration and magnitude of viremia and incidence of EHM, it is likely that a combination of host and viral factors determine whether EHM occurs. The identification of these factors is of high interest for the equine community and has been the topic of much research for vaccine development and to predict w...
Haughan JE, Missanelli JR, You Y, Stefanovski D, Soma LR, Robinson MA.Glaucine, an aporphine alkaloid with anti-tussive, anti-inflammatory, and anti-nociceptive properties, has been identified in post-race samples from racehorses. To investigate pharmacokinetics of glaucine in horses, a three-way crossover study of intravenous and oral glaucine (0.1 mg/kg) and orally administered tulip poplar shavings (50 g shavings = 0.001 mg/kg glaucine) was performed in six horses. A two-compartment model best described IV administration with alpha ( ) and beta ( ) half-life lives of 0.3 (0.1-0.7) and 3.1 (2.4-7.8) h, respectively. The area under the curve ( ) was ...
Luttman AM, Komine M, Thaiwong T, Carpenter T, Ewart SL, Kiupel M, Langohr IM, Venta PJ.Tetranucleotide and pentanucleotide short tandem repeat (hereafter termed tetraSTR and pentaSTR) polymorphisms have properties that make them desirable for DNA profiling and paternity testing. However, certain species, such as the horse, have far fewer tetraSTRs than other species and for this reason dinucleotide STRs (diSTRs) have become the standard for DNA profiling in horses, despite being less desirable for technical reasons. During our testing of a series of candidate genes as potentially underlying a heritable condition characterized by megaesophagus in the Friesian horse breed, we foun...
Grimm P, Laroche N, Julliand S, Sorci G.It is increasingly difficult to control equine strongyles with synthetic drugs, as resistance is commonly observed. Here, we investigated the possible anthelmintic effect of sainfoin (), a polyphenol-rich legume, in naturally infected horses. On Day 0 (D0), 17 horses were allocated to three different homogenous groups in terms of fecal egg count (FEC): the control group (CONT) received a diet composed on a DM basis of 83% hay and 17% wheat bran, while in the sainfoin 1 (SF1) and sainfoin 2 (SF2) groups, half or all wheat bran, respectively, was replaced by dehydrated sainfoin pellets. The infe...
Samir A, Abdel-Moein KA, Zaher HM. has been associated with both nosocomial and community-acquired infections with mounting public health concern throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the burden of virulent extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing among diarrheic horses or those with respiratory illness to underscore the public health implication of such strains. Rectal and nasal swabs were gathered from 100 diseased horses (50 diarrheic and 50 with respiratory illness). The collected swabs were processed for isolation of ESBL-producing using a selective medium followed by phenotypic and ...
Santibáñez R, Lara F, Barros TM, Mardones E, Cuadra F, Thomson P.The ocular microbiome in horses is poorly described compared to other species, and most of the information available in the literature is based on traditional techniques, which has limited the depth of the knowledge on the subject. The objective of this study was to characterize and predict the metabolic pathways of the ocular microbiome of a group of healthy horses. Conjunctival swabs were obtained from both eyes of 14 horses, and DNA extraction was performed from the swabs, followed by next generation sequencing and bioinformatics analyses employing DADA2 and PICRUSt2. A total of 17 phyla we...
Hontoir F, Simon V, De Raeve Y, Dumortier L, Dugdale A, Vandeweerd JM.Different modalities such as lectures, dissections, 3D models, and online learning are used for teaching anatomy. To date, online learning has been considered a useful additional didactic tool. This study aimed to compare veterinary students' performance in radiographic anatomy (radio-anatomy) after online or classroom-based teaching to assess the extent to which the two methods were interchangeable. Three strategies were compared in a cohort of 83 learners. Students were committed to online learning only, online learning with the use of specimen equine bones, or learning on conventional radio...
Arafa AA, Hedia RH, Dorgham SM, Ibrahim ES, Bakry MA, Abdalhamed AM, Abuelnaga ASM.The World Health Organization considers multidrug-resistant (MDR) a major global threat. Horses harbor commensal isolates of this bacterial species and potentially serve as reservoirs for human MDR bacteria. This study investigated antimicrobial resistance in horses caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing . Unassigned: One hundred fifty-nine nasal swab samples were collected from horses with respiratory distress not treated with cefotaxime and erythromycin. Biochemical and serological identification was performed on all samples. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to de...
Nielsen MK, Littman BA, Orzech SW, Ripley NE.Equine cyathostomins are ubiquitous in grazing horses around the world and a main target in parasite control programs. Anthelmintic resistance has been reported with increasing frequency in these parasites over the past decades, and recent findings of fulminant resistance to the macrocyclic lactone class have raised severe concerns. This study aimed to evaluate ivermectin efficacy in cohorts of yearlings and mares present on four different farms in Central Kentucky. Strongylid egg counts were determined with an automated egg counting system, and the percent fecal egg count reduction (FECR) was...
Emanuel D, Kästner SBR, Delarocque J, Grob AJ, Bienert-Zeit A.The aim of this prospective clinical trial was to compare the influence of butorphanol, buprenorphine and levomethadone on sedation quality and postoperative analgesia in horses undergoing cheek tooth extraction. Fifty horses were assigned to three groups prior to oral cheek tooth extraction. Horses were treated with acepromazine, followed by a detomidine bolus, one of the three opioids and both a nerve block and gingival anaesthesia. During the surgery, sedation was maintained with a detomidine constant rate infusion. After surgery, the quality of sedation, surgical conditions and severity of...
Carvelli A, Nielsen SS, Paillot R, Broglia A, Kohnle L.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) can affect the entire equine sector in EU, and the large outbreak reported in 2021 in Spain drew attention to the needs of the European Commission for scientific advice for the assessment of EHV-1 infection within the framework of Animal Health Law. EHV-1 is considered endemic in the EU; its main risk is linked to the characteristic of producing latent life-long infections. These can reactivate producing clinical disease, which can include respiratory, abortive and possibly fatal neurological forms. From the epidemiological and genomic viewpoint, there are no speci...
Brown J, Physick-Sheard P, Greer A, Poljak Z.Horse movements are one of the most important factors for the spread of equine diseases, and past epidemics indicate that contact networks play an important role. Network analysis was used to describe the spatial and temporal characteristics of horse movements between Standardbred racetracks in Canada and the United States during 2019, and to characterize the network to provide a better understanding of the potential racetrack-to-racetrack spread of infectious disease within the network. Networks were constructed and analyzed as an overall network (the entire study period) and monthly networks...
Lara F, Castro R, Thomson P.The gut microbiome is a compound for millions of microorganisms that coexist in an organized way and contribute to the fermentation of different types of indigestible fibers by the small intestine. Some techniques, such as the massive sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, have made it possible to obtain information about the abundance and functionality of the microorganisms that compose the equine gut microbiome and the interaction with their environment. Recent studies have identified the change in the composition of the intestinal microbiome during and after a colic episode, although is ...
Elbourne M, Cawley A, Stanley S, Bowen C, Fu S.Equine urine analysis has evolved over time to detect thousands of urinary compounds for doping control in the horse racing industry. The longitudinal assessment of 3-methoxytyramine to tyramine ratio (3-MT/T) values in equine urine by GC-MS profiling was investigated to support the Racing NSW Equine Biological Passport (EBP) for detection of dopaminergic manipulation in racehorses. This involved comparison of routine urine samples to administration studies of Sinemet, a common Parkinson's disease medication containing levodopa. Using an endogenous reference compound (ERC) in a urinary ratio e...
Knott LE, Fonseca-Martinez BA, O'Connor AM, Goodrich LR, McIlwraith CW, Colbath AC.To evaluate the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), autologous conditioned serum (ACS), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and autologous protein solution (APS) for the treatment of equine musculoskeletal disease by diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Surgery (ACVS), and American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR). Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Diplomates (n = 423). Methods: An email link was sent to ACVS and ACVMR diplomates. A survey contained 59 questions regarding demographics, as well as indications, frequency, adverse effects, and limit...
Nagel H, Lang H, Sole Guitart A, Lean N, Allavena R, Sprohnle-Barrera C, Young A.This case series presents a 20-year-old Quarter horse gelding and a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding with a histologic diagnosis of aggressive submural neoplasia, including an anaplastic sarcoma and a squamous cell carcinoma respectively. The current case series describes these neoplasias with radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and histopathology with immunohistochemistry. The purpose of this case series is to identify the clinical pattern of chronic reoccurring lameness in these cases and highlight the appearance of expansile osteolytic pathology of the distal phalan...
Browning GF, Studdert MJ.The epidemiology of equine herpesvirus 2 was examined by using restriction endonuclease DNA fingerprints to distinguish viruses isolated from two groups of horses. The first group consisted of three yearlings isolated from other horses but in contact with each other for 418 days, whereas the second comprised seven mares and their foals, which were sampled at monthly intervals from parturition until the foals were about 180 days old. There was a complex pattern of transmission, with 15 different viruses isolated from both groups. Four distinguishable viruses were isolated from the three yearlin...
Ostlund EN.Two viruses, EHV-1 and EHV-4, are now known to be responsible for disease conditions formerly considered caused by "equine rhinopneumonitis virus." Although these viruses share several laboratory and clinical features, they differ in epidemiology and pathogenic potential. EHV-4 is primarily associated with clinical respiratory disease, whereas EHV-1 is more frequently isolated from aborted fetuses, sickly foals, and neurologic cases. Both viruses frequently establish latent infections, but the relevance of latency to clinical disease is unclear. Diagnosis based on identification of the pathoge...
Maddox TW, Williams NJ, Clegg PD, O'Donnell AJ, Dawson S, Pinchbeck GL.The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria represents a considerable problem for human and veterinary medicine, causing complications in the treatment of infections. Resistance in Escherichia coli from horses has been documented in commensal and pathogenic strains, but little information exists regarding the prevalence of such bacteria in hospitalised horses or associated risk factors. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted of 103 horses admitted to a referral equine hospital for more than 48 h, with faecal samples collected on hospital admission and subsequently ever...
Ringer SK, Portier KG, Fourel I, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R.To elaborate constant rate infusion (CRI) protocols for xylazine (X) and xylazine/butorphanol (XB) which will result in constant sedation and steady xylazine plasma concentrations. Methods: Blinded randomized experimental study. Methods: Ten adult research horses. Methods: Part I: After normal height of head above ground (HHAG = 100%) was determined, a loading dose of xylazine (1 mg kg(-1) ) with butorphanol (XB: 18 μg kg(-1) ) or saline (X: equal volume) was given slowly intravenously (IV). Immediately afterwards, a CRI of butorphanol (XB: 25 μg kg(-1) hour(-1)) or saline (X) was administer...
Decloedt A, Van Steenkiste G, Vera L, Buhl R, van Loon G.Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common clinically relevant arrhythmia in horses, with a reported prevalence up to 2.5%. The pathophysiology has mainly been investigated in experimental animal models and human medicine, with limited studies in horses. Atrial fibrillation results from the interplay between electrical triggers and a susceptible substrate. Triggers consist of atrial premature depolarizations due to altered automaticity or triggered activity, or local (micro)reentry. The arrhythmia is promoted by atrial myocardial ion channel alterations, Ca2+ handling alterations, structural ...
Moore CP, Collins BK, Fales WH.Seventy-three aerobic bacterial isolates were cultured from 64 eyes of 63 horses with infectious keratitis. Forty-two (58%) of the organisms isolated initially were gram-positive (g+, 10 genera) and 31 (42%) were gram-negative (g-, 5 genera). After local antimicrobial treatment, repeat cultures from samples obtained from 15 eyes of hospitalized horses yielded 21 secondary bacterial isolates. Staphylococci spp and Streptococci spp were the most common g(+) isolates and accounted for 79% of g(+) organisms isolated initially. Antibiograms revealed ticarcillin to be the most efficacious antibiotic...
Marsh RJ, Fraunfelder FT, McGill JI.The clinical differentiation of corneal epithelial lesions due to herpes simplex or herpes zoster may be confusing. Practical clinical tests, including the use of topical ocular stains, are useful to differentiate corneal epithelial lesions caused by these two viruses. Two distinctive types of zoster corneal epithelial disease may be seen; an early dendritic form, and a delayed form characterized by corneal mucus plaques that may take a dendriform pattern. These plaques are composed of mucus that is adherent to swollen, degenerating epithelial cells. The clinical differentiation between these ...
Wang AL, Kern T.Melanocytic neoplasms in veterinary species occur in various ophthalmic locations including the eyelid, conjunctiva, cornea, sclera, anterior and posterior uvea, and orbit. Histology usually provides the definitive diagnosis for melanocytic ocular neoplasias. The degree of tissue invasiveness and anaplastic cellular characteristics are more reliable indicators of biological behavior than is mitotic index in most ophthalmic melanocytic tumors. Melanocytic neoplasias of the eyelid are predominantly benign in canines and equines, though in felines, there is the potential for metastasis, especiall...
Gugnani HC.Entomophthoromycosis due to Conidiobolus coronatus is a granulomatous infection characterized by lesions that originate in the inferior turbinate, spread through ostia and foramina to involve the facial and subcutaneous tissues and paranasal sinuses. The majority of the cases have been described from areas of tropical rainforest in West Africa, agricultural and outdoor workers (aged 20-60 years) being the ones most frequently affected. The fungus is common in soil and decaying vegetation. Infection probably occurs by implantation of the spores of the fungus in nasal mucosa. C. incongruus is a ...
Bochnia M, Sander J, Ziegler J, Terhardt M, Sander S, Janzen N, Cavalleri JV, Zuraw A, Wensch-Dorendorf M, Zeyner A.Atypical myopathy (AM) in horses is caused by ingestion of seeds of the Acer species (Sapindaceae family). Methylenecyclopropylacetyl-CoA (MCPA-CoA), derived from hypoglycin A (HGA), is currently the only active toxin in Acer pseudoplatanus or Acer negundo seeds related to AM outbreaks. However, seeds or arils of various Sapindaceae (e.g., ackee, lychee, mamoncillo, longan fruit) also contain methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG), which is a structural analogue of HGA that can cause hypoglycaemic encephalopathy in humans. The active poison formed from MCPG is methylenecyclopropylformyl-CoA (MCPF-...
Léon A, Castagnet S, Maillard K, Paillot R, Giard JC.The present study described the evolution of antimicrobial resistance in equine pathogens isolated from 2016 to 2019. A collection of 7806 bacterial isolates were analysed for their in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility using the disk diffusion method. The most frequently isolated pathogens were group C Streptococci (27.0%), Escherichia coli (18.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (6.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.3%) and Enterobacter spp. (2.1%). The majority of these pathogens were isolated from the genital tract (45.1%, n = 3522). With the implementation of two French n...
Craven J, Bjørn H, Henriksen SA, Nansen P, Larsen M, Lendal S.This study reports on the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in strongyles of horses in Denmark. Of 5 methods used for the calculation of faecal egg count reduction (FECR) the method recommended by the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, for the detection of resistance in sheep was the most sensitive procedure for detecting resistance. Using this method benzimidazole resistance was detected on 33 of 42 farms (79%) examined. Pyrantel was tested on 15 farms and FECR tests indicate resistance on 3 (30%) farms. On 2 farms on which resistance to pyrantel was detecte...
Human movement scienceJanuary 4, 2013
Volume 32, Issue 1 157-170 doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2012.11.002
Wolframm IA, Bosga J, Meulenbroek RG.The sport of equestrianism is defined through close horse-rider interaction. However, no consistent baseline parameters currently exist describing the coordination dynamics of horse-rider movement across different equine gaits. The study aims to employ accelerometers to investigate and describe patterns of motor coordination between horse and rider across the equine gaits of walk, rising trot, sitting trot and canter. Eighteen female (N=18; mean age±SD: 37.57±13.04) Dutch horse-rider combinations were recruited to participate in the study. Horse-rider coordination was recorded using two tri-...
McGorum BC, Dixon PM, Halliwell RE.Eight control and 8 asymptomatic COPD-affected horses were given, on separate occasions, inhalation challenges with extracts of Micropolyspora faeni, Aspergillus fumigatus and Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. All horses were also given nebulised phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) challenges and 'natural challenges' (NCs), i.e. exposure to hay and straw, as control challenges. Responses were assessed by clinical, pulmonary mechanics, arterial blood gas tensions, arterial blood pH and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytological examinations. PBS challenges had no effect on control or COPD-affected horses, ...
Graf von Schweinitz D.Infrared thermographic imaging (ITI) is the most sensitive objective imaging currently available for the detection of back disease in horses. It is, however, only a physiological study primarily of vasomotor tone overlying other superficial tissue factors. Interpretation requires extreme care in imaging protocol and in understanding the significance of altered sympathetic nervous tone and the sympathetic distribution. Most discussions on back pain have centered on nociception and inflammatory events. ITI provides information and localization for more significant than diagnosing areas of hot sp...
Radiography and ultrasonography are the most used techniques in veterinary clinical practice, due to organizational, managerial and, mostly, economic reasons. However, in the last decades, Computed tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and, to a lesser extent, Nuclear Medicine (MN) are increasingly used. As we said in the previous article, all the Diagnostic Imaging techniques are actually "indispensable" in Veterinary Medicine, where many patients do not show any symptoms.This second part describes Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance (MRI) and Nuclear Medicine techniques ...
Raidal SL, Bailey GD, Love DN.To evaluate the effect of transportation on lower respiratory tract contamination and peripheral blood neutrophil function in horses and to compare results from transported horses with those obtained in earlier experiments from horses confined with heads elevated. Methods: A prospective study. Methods: Six horses were transported by road for 12 h. Clinical and haematological examination, transtracheal aspiration and cell function studies were conducted before and after transportation. Results obtained after transportation were compared to pre-transportation values. Results: After transportatio...
Rambags BP, Krijtenburg PJ, Drie HF, Lazzari G, Galli C, Pearson PL, Colenbrander B, Stout TA.Chromosomal aberrations are often listed as a significant cause of early embryonic death in the mare, despite the absence of any concrete evidence for their involvement. The current study aimed to validate fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) probes to label specific equine chromosomes (ECA2 and ECA4) in interphase nuclei and thereby determine whether numerical chromosome abnormalities occur in horse embryos produced either in vivo (n = 22) or in vitro (IVP: n = 20). Overall, 75% of 36,720 and 88% of 2,978 nuclei in the in vivo developed and IVP embryos were analyzable. Using a scoring sys...
Park AW, Wood JL, Daly JM, Newton JR, Glass K, Henley W, Mumford JA, Grenfell BT.We assess the effects of strain heterology (strains that are immunologically similar but not identical) on equine influenza in a vaccinated population. Using data relating to individual animals, for both homologous and heterologous vaccinees, we estimate distributions for the latent and infectious periods, quantify the risk of becoming infected in terms of the quantity of cross-reactive antibodies to a key surface protein of the virus (haemagglutinin) and estimate the probability of excreting virus (i.e. becoming infectious) given that infection has occurred. The data suggest that the infectio...
Brandt S, Haralambus R, Shafti-Keramat S, Steinborn R, Stanek C, Kirnbauer R.Bovine papillomavirus type 1 or 2 (BPV-1, BPV-2) are accepted causal factors in equine sarcoid pathogenesis. Whereas viral genomes are consistently found and expressed within lesions, intact virions have never been detected, thus permissiveness of sarcoids for BPV-1 replication remains unclear. To reassess this issue, an immunocapture PCR (IC/PCR) was established using L1-specific antibodies to capture L1-DNA complexes followed by amplification of the viral genome. Following validation of the assay, 13 sarcoid-bearing horses were evaluated by IC/PCR. Samples were derived from 21 tumours, 4 per...
Byström A, Egenvall A, Roepstorff L, Rhodin M, Bragança FS, Hernlund E, van Weeren R, Weishaupt MA, Clayton HM.The walk and trot are inherently symmetrical gaits, making them potentially suitable for the detection of left-right asymmetries. The aims of this study were to describe asymmetrical vertical excursions of the withers at walk in non-lame high-level dressage horses and to seek associations between these asymmetric movements and other kinematic variables and vertical ground reaction forces (vGRFs). Seven dressage horses, judged clinically as being sound, walked unridden and unrestrained on a treadmill with an integrated force measuring system (480 Hz), from which spatiotemporal and vGRF variable...
Kaspar A, Pfister K, Nielsen MK, Silaghi C, Fink H, Scheuerle MC.Strongylus vulgaris has become a rare parasite in Germany during the past 50 years due to the practice of frequent prophylactic anthelmintic therapy. To date, the emerging development of resistance in Cyathostominae and Parascaris spp. to numerous equine anthelmintics has changed deworming management and the frequency of anthelmintic usage. In this regard, reliable detection of parasitic infections, especially of the highly pathogenic S. vulgaris is essential. In the current study, two diagnostic methods for the detection of infections with S. vulgaris were compared and information on the occ...
Haussler KK, Bertram JE, Gellman K, Hermanson JW.Understanding the pathophysiology of equine back problems, for clinical evaluation, treatment or injury prevention, requires understanding of the normal 3-dimensional motion characteristics of the vertebral column. Recent studies have investigated regional vertebral kinematics; however, there are no reported measures of direct in vivo segmental vertebral kinematics in exercising horses. Relative movements between 2 adjacent vertebrae were recorded for 3 horses that were clinically sound and did not have a known history of a back problem. A transducer consisting of 2 fixtures and an array of li...
Jelocnik M, Jenkins C, O'Rourke B, Barnwell J, Polkinghorne A.Chlamydia psittaci is an important avian pathogen with spillover from infected wild and domesticated birds also posing a risk to human health. We recently reported a case of C. psittaci equine placentitis associated with further spillover to humans. Molecular typing of this case revealed it belonged to the 6BC clade of C. psittaci, a globally distributed highly virulent set of strains, typically linked to infection spillover from parrots. Equine chlamydiosis associated with C. psittaci infection has previously been reported elsewhere in countries where parrots are not endemic, however, rais...
Robert C, Audigié F, Valette JP, Pourcelot P, Denoix JM.Speed related changes in trunk mechanics have not yet been investigated, although high-speed training is currently used in the horse. To evaluate the effects of speed on back kinematics and trunk muscles activity, 4 saddle horses were recorded while trotting on a horizontal treadmill at speeds ranging from 3.5 to 6 m/s. The 3-dimensional (3-D) trajectories of skin markers on the left side of the horse and the dorsal midline of the trunk were established. Electrical activity was simultaneously obtained from the longissimus dorsi (LD) and rectus abdominis (RA) muscles using surface electrodes. T...
Menschik A.Mobility of the knee of the horse. The modification of medial and lateral femoral condyles by additional movement of the cruciate ligaments shown on the animal joint. Final rotation in the human knee-joint shapes the femoral condyles by additional movement of the cruciate ligaments. The roll-slide movement and final rotation lead to curving of the medial condyle of the femur in the transverse plane. The transition from the roll-slide into a tilting movement in the final phase of ultimate rotation reduces the power of the posterior ligamentous system of the knee-joint when there is a force tend...
Bunpapong N, Charoenkul K, Nasamran C, Chamsai E, Udom K, Boonyapisitsopa S, Tantilertcharoen R, Kesdangsakonwut S, Techakriengkrai N, Suradhat S....To investigate an outbreak of African horse sickness (AHS) on a horse farm in northeastern Thailand, we used whole-genome sequencing to detect and characterize the virus. The viruses belonged to serotype 1 and contained unique amino acids (95V,166S, 660I in virus capsid protein 2), suggesting a single virus introduction to Thailand.
Álvarez-Narváez S, Giguère S, Anastasi E, Hearn J, Scortti M, Vázquez-Boland JA.Antibiotic use has been linked to changes in the population structure of human pathogens and the clonal expansion of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains among healthcare- and community-acquired infections. Here we present a compelling example in a veterinary pathogen, , the causative agent of a severe pulmonary infection affecting foals worldwide. We show that the (46) gene responsible for emerging macrolide resistance among equine isolates in the United States is part of a 6.9-kb transposable element, Tn, actively mobilized by an IS family transposase. Tn is carried on an 87-kb conjugative pla...
