"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.
Miller PA, Lawrence LM.Eight horses exercised to fatigue were used to characterize the resulting changes in blood pH, in blood lactate, free fatty acid, bicarbonate, and ammonia concentrations, and in muscle glycogen concentrations. The exercise test was conducted at a speed of 4.5 m/s on a motorized equine treadmill set at a 9% grade. At fatigue, all variables differed significantly (P less than 0.05) from base-line values. Heart rate averaged 191.1 +/- 6.5 beats/min at fatigue, and the plasma lactate concentrations increased from 7.8 +/- 0.95 mg/dl to 94.3 +/- 19.2 mg/dl. Ammonia concentrations increased from 66.7...
Patel J, Lofstedt RM.This report involves uterine rupture in a mare, which was unique because it was not associated with assisted or difficult foaling. We describe an alternative to surgical correction of the condition and illustrate the need for luminal uterine palpation, so that uterine rupture does not go undiagnosed.
Byars TD, Greene CE, Kemp DT.Warfarin-induced anticoagulation and reversal of the induced anticoagulation by vitamin K1 were evaluated in 4 mature horses. Each horse was given warfarin IV until the prothrombin (PT) time was prolonged by approximately 1.5 times the predosing base-line value. In experiment 1, we evaluated the time required for PT to return to the predosing value (PT reversal time) after warfarin administration was discontinued. Between each experiment, a 1-week rest period was allowed. In experiment 2, two doses of vitamin K1 (100 mg/dose) were administered IM 6 hours apart, and the PT was monitored hourly ...
Dumasia MC, Houghton E, Moss MS, Chakraborty J, Marks V.The pro-drugs of dexamethasone, a potent glucocorticoid, are frequently used as anti-inflammatory steroids in equine veterinary practice. In the present study the biotransformation and urinary excretion of tritium labelled dexamethasone were investigated in cross-bred castrated male horses after therapeutic doses. Between 40-50% of the administered radioactivity was excreted in the urine within 24 h; a further 10% being excreted over the next 3 days. The urinary radioactivity was largely excreted in the unconjugated steroid fraction. In the first 24 h urine sample, 26-36% of the total dose was...
White NA, Suarez M.Triceps intracompartmental pressure was measured in the lowermost limb of the recumbent horse during the initial period of recumbency during elective surgical procedures in 11 horses. Intramuscular pressure, using an IM catheter, was measured with the thoracic limbs in 4 different positions, including (I) table-contact limb unadvanced-unsupported free limb, (II) table-contact limb unadvanced-supported free limb, (III) table-contact limb advanced cranially, unsupported free limb, and (IV) table-contact limb advanced cranially, supported free limb. Pressure was measured in the 4 positions with a...
Hardy J, Marcoux M, Eisenberg H.A suspected lesion of osteochondrosis dissecans involving the anconeal process of the humeroradial joint (elbow) was found in 2 horses. In horse 1, the lesion was found during routine lameness examination, during which alleviation of the lameness was achieved after intra-articular anesthesia of the elbow. In horse 2, the lesion was found at necropsy. Horse 1 responded satisfactorily to intra-articular treatment with hyaluronic acid. Both horses also had other joints affected with osteochondrosis dissecans.
Carter GK, Martens RJ, Brown SA, Martin MT.Pharmacokinetic values of sodium amoxicillin (22 mg/kg of body weight) in foals were determined after a single IM injection in 6 Quarter Horse foals at 3, 10, and 30 days of age. Serum amoxicillin concentrations were measured serially over a 24-hour period. The absorption of amoxicillin was rapid and followed a 1st-order elimination. Mean peak serum concentrations occurred 30 minutes after the injection in foals at all ages and were 17.31 +/- 9.59 micrograms/ml when the foals were 3 days old, 23.28 +/- 9.86 micrograms/ml when the foals were 10 days old, and 21.35 +/- 6.39 micrograms/ml when th...
Galan JE, Timoney JF, Lengemann FW.Passive transfer of mucosal antibody to Streptococcus equi was studied in foals during the first 2 months of life. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA antibodies were found in sera and nasal secretions of foals shortly after colostrum intake. Titers were highest 2 days after birth; IgG predominated in sera, and IgA predominated in nasal washes. Intragastrically administered 99mTc-labeled IgA was transported from the bloodstream to the nasal mucosa of a newborn foal within a few hours of colostrum intake. Western blot analysis of the specificities of colostral and serum antibodies showed that select...
Hanson RR, Todhunter RJ.Abdominal wall hernia was detected in 4 pregnant mares. Antemortem diagnosis of the specific abdominal wall lesion was difficult. Ventral deviation of the abdomen, associated abdominal wall edema, and pain indicated rupture of the prepubic tendon. Three mares examined at necropsy did not have a rupture of the prepubic tendon but did have herniation of the abdominal wall. Abdominal pain was severe and was compounded by incarceration or entrapment of viscus.
Aguilar CM, Rangel EF, Deane LM.In an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Rio de Janeiro State where a mule had been found infected, a systematic search among equines was performed, resulting in the detection of Leishmania parasites in skin lesions of 30.8% of the animals, which included horses and mules. The eventual role of equines in the epidemiology of the human disease is being investigated.
Owen RA, Haywood S, Kelly DF.A four-year-old shire mare with haematuria, colic, terminal weight loss and an abdominal mass had a large unilateral renal adenocarcinoma. Clinical signs were monitored for 11 months. Increased serum copper concentrations were measured on two occasions. Hypercupraemia is discussed as a possible paraneoplastic change.
Bauer C, Bürger HJ.A paste formulation containing 14.3 per cent of oxibendazole and 44 per cent of trichlorfon was administered to 33 ponies and horses. The dose rate used was equivalent to 10 mg and 30 mg/kg bodyweight, of oxibendazole and trichlorfon respectively. After treatment 25 animals passed between one and 82 third stage larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis in their faeces. Dosing with 0.2 mg ivermectin/kg bodyweight three weeks later resulted in six animals expelling between one and four bots. The efficacy of the oxibendazole-trichlorfon paste was on average 96.2 per cent. This drug combination given t...
Held JP, Wright B, Henton JE.A 20-year-old gelding with weight loss and generalized weakness that progressed gradually over a 3-month period was diagnosed as having pyelonephritis caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection. Abnormal laboratory findings included high values for BUN, creatinine, potassium, and calcium, and depletion of sodium. Determination of glomerular filtration rate and effective renal plasma flow indicated a severe decrease in renal filtration and perfusion.
Levine RA, Hart AH, Wardlaw SC.Using quantitative buffy coat analysis (QBCA), rapid and accurate measurements can be made of the erythrocyte PCV, total WBC count, and platelet count, and the leukocyte population can be differentiated into total granulocytes (including quantitation of eosinophils), and lymphocytes and monocytes. The QBCA is performed by placing a blood sample (50 to 111 microliters) into a high-precision-bore microhematocrit tube that contains a freely moving, closely fitting, cylindrical plastic float. After centrifugation for 5 minutes, the buffy coat components separate by density. The plastic cylinder fl...
Hillidge CJ.Corynebacterium (Rhodococcus) equi is becoming increasingly significant as a cause of bronchopneumonia and lung abscessation in foals. The organism can survive within macrophages and may thus escape normal pulmonary defence mechanisms, particularly in immunocompromised animals. The disease has hitherto been associated with mortality rates as high as 80 per cent, partly as a result of inappropriate therapy. The selection of lipid-soluble antibiotics capable of intracellular penetration is critical for the successful treatment of C equi lung abscesses. A combination of two such antibiotics, eryt...
Van Mol KA, Fransen JL.A poorly performing nine-year-old thoroughbred mare was presented because of chronic weight loss. On rectal examination an abdominal mass was palpated and, on percussion of the right flank from the 11th to 13th intercostal space, a large area of dullness was delineated. Biopsies taken from the liver region and through the rectum revealed a malignant metastasising tumour of the urinary system. After euthanasia, the post mortem findings confirmed the presence of a papillary renal carcinoma with multiple metastases into the omentum and peritoneum.
Andrews FM, Spurgeon TL, Reed SM.Skeletal muscle biopsy specimens were taken from 4 male horses with neuromuscular disease such as myotonia congenita, chronic myositis, exertional rhabdomyolysis, and shivers. Histologic and histochemical techniques were used to evaluate skeletal muscle morphologic features and fiber-type population, size, and area, as well as muscle enzyme activities (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and esterase). A histochemical and histologic profile were described for each muscle biopsy specimen.
Webbon PM.A series of experimental tendon biopsies is described. Three biopsies were taken from the lateral digital extensor tendon (LDET) and three from the superficial flexor tendon (SFT). The LDET biopsies resulted in little discomfort whereas the SFT biopsies led to temporary lameness. The tendons were examined histologically up to 99 days after the biopsies were removed. In all of the tendons the defect filled with granulation tissue which subsequently became organised as a longitudinally orientated collagenous scar tissue. In this small series of biopsies the histological effects of the biopsy per...
Garza F, Thompson DL, French DD, Wiest JJ, St George RL, Ashley KB, Jones LS, Mitchell PS, McNeill DR.Five lighthorse mares were actively immunized against gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) to determine the relative importance of this hypothalamic hormone in the secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Five mares immunized against the conjugation protein served as controls. Mares were initially immunized in November and received secondary immunizations 4 wk later, and then at 6-wk intervals until ovariectomy in June. All mares immunized against GnRH exhibited an increase (p less than 0.01) in the binding of tritiated GnRH by plasma, an indication that a...
Leach D, Cymbaluk NF.Velocity-dependent changes in stride length and frequency were studied in 19 male foals, 6 to 8 months of age, and were related to body morphometrics. Eighteen distance and 8 angle measurements were digitized from 16-mm films of standing foals. The total mass and the percentage of total mass acting through the forelimbs were also recorded. Stride length and frequency data were extracted from 16-mm films of 239 strides of the walk, trot, and canter-gallop. Polynomial-regression analysis was used to determine the equation that best described the relationship between data of stride length or freq...
Steiss JE, Naylor JM.A three year old Quarter Horse stallion was presented with a one year history of episodes of generalized muscle tremors and stiffness, and spasm of the muscles of facial expression, lasting 10-15 minutes. Between attacks, the horse was either normal or had a localized muscle tremor in the flank region. Episodes appeared unrelated to exercise. The major abnormal findings included 1) a rise in plasma potassium from a resting level of 4.4 to 7.9 mmol/L during an attack and 2) electromyographic findings of generalized increased insertion activity and myotonic discharges. The horse was treated with...
Causey RC, Paccamonti DL, Todd WJ.A total of 22 clinical streptococcal isolates, predominantly Streptococcus zooepidemicus, associated with endometritis in horses were tested for their ability to withstand the natural bactericidal properties of freshly obtained blood. During a 3-hour incubation in blood from a single horse, 8 of these isolates survived and grew, the remainder were killed. To determine whether this ability to grow extended to blood of other horses, 5 of these growing isolates were tested for their ability to grow in the blood of 5 additional horses. The same 5 horses were used for each isolate. The isolates gre...
Gauvreau GM, Young SS, Staempfli H, McCutcheon LJ, Wilson BA, McDonell WN.A valved gas collection system for horses was validated, then used to examine the relationship between the respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and plasma and muscle lactate in exercising horses. Four healthy Standardbred horses were trained to breathe through the apparatus while exercising on a treadmill. Comparisons of arterial blood gas tensions were made at 3 work levels for each horse, without (control), and with the gas collection system present. At the highest work level, the arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) was significantly lower (P < 0.05), and the arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) ...
Oge S, Oge H, Yildirim A, Kircali F.Necropsies on 43 horses, 35 donkeys and two mules slaughtered in Ankara, Turkey, revealed that 12 (15%) of the equines harboured adult Setaria equina. When blood samples were checked for microfilariae, using Knott's method and a combination of membrane filtration followed by histochemical staining for acid phosphatase (AP), only three (4%) of the animals were found to be microfilaraemic. When stained for AP, the S. equina microfilariae exhibited diffuse red staining over the entire body, including the sheath, with brighter staining around the anal and excretory pores. Application of Knott's me...
Brink P.To describe surgical transposition of the levator labii superioris muscle to treat oromaxillary sinus fistula in horses. Methods: Clinical study. Methods: Three horses with chronic oromaxillary sinus fistula. Methods: After severing its tendinous insertion, the muscle belly of the levator labii superioris muscle was retracted and transposed through the oromaxillary sinus fistula. The tendon exited the oral cavity through a full-thickness buccal incision created adjacent to the oral end of the fistula and was then tunneled subcutaneously in a ventral direction before being anchored by sutures t...
Glaze MB, McGuire TC, Schmidt GM, Leid RW.A quantitative investigation of equine tear and aqueous humor immunoglobulins was done using normal horses and ponies as well as horses and ponies infected with Onchocerca cervicalis. The equine immunoglobulin isotypes IgGa, IgM, IgA and IgG(T) were quantitated by either single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) or radioimmunoassay (RIA). Tear immunoglobulin levels for IgGa (128 +/- 151 micrograms/ml), IgA (1,664 +/- 1,038 micrograms/ml) and IgM (106 +/- 74 micrograms/ml) were measured, while IgG(T) was not detectable. In horses with ocular inflammation the IgGa was 18-fold higher in the tears, 2,2...
Olive J, Lambert N, Bubeck KA, Beauchamp G, Laverty S.To ultrasonographically quantify experimentally induced effusion of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of horses and compare results with those obtained with palpation. Methods: 8 forelimbs from equine cadavers and forelimbs of 5 mares. Methods: Preliminary ex vivo experiments were performed to validate the methods. Then, the DIP joints of the forelimbs of standing horses were serially distended with saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (1, 4, and 10 mL) by injection through an intra-articular catheter. Two ultrasonographers measured distension of the dorsal recess of the DIP joint, and 2 surgeons,...
Raisbeck MF, Garner HE, Osweiler GD.Gram negative endotoxins play a contributory role in the syndrome which results from over consumption of carbohydrates by horses and ponies. Since the antibiotic polymyxin B exerts a direct anti-endotoxin effect by chemically modifying the active lipid A moiety of endotoxin, it might be expected to protect horses after carbohydrate overload and provide a new therapeutic and experimental tool for this condition. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of polymyxin B on hemostatic, hemodynamic, acid-base, and clinical aspects of the syndrome resulting from carbohydrate overload. ...
Rupić V, Bacar-Huskić L, Lojkić M, Habe F, Ergotić N.Research was carried out into the effect that different quantities and compositions of concentrated portions of meal had on certain haematological properties and on the immune response of mares in the course of hyper-immune antitetanus sera production. The experiment involved 24 Nonius and Lipizzaner cross-bred mares divided into two groups of 12 animals each, a control group and a trial group. The experiment lasted 12 months, with haematological and immunological tests being carried out every 30 days. During the course of the experiment each mare was subjected to 11 immunisation cycles, and i...
Winder NC, von Fellenberg R.In lungs from 22 horses, the number and type of mast cells in histologically normal specimens were compared with those in specimens with various histological lesions. Tissues fixed in Carnoy's solution were superior to those fixed in formalin for the identification of mast cells. Fixation of lung specimens from eight horses in Carnoy's solution and formalin allowed the identification of two subpopulations of mast cells: formalin-sensitive, which predominated and formalin-resistant. Specimens with mild chronic tracheitis and mild and moderate chronic bronchitis generally had slight increases in...
Jaramillo C, Arias MP, Mosqueda D, Darby S, Renaud D, Gómez DE.This study aimed at describing selected hematological, biochemical, and acid-base variables of adult horses living at sea level and comparing them to those living at 5 different altitudes. One hundred and thirty-eight healthy Paso Fino horses > 2 years old were enrolled. Altitudes included the following: altitude A (0 to 50 m above sea level, masl; n = 23), B (1000 to 1050 masl; n = 25), C (1450 masl; n = 30), D (1950 to 2050 masl; n = 30), and E (2950 to 3100 masl; n = 30). A portable blood gas analyzer was used to determine selected biochemical and acid-base variab...
Metz GE, Serena MS, Ocampos GM, Panei CJ, Fernandez VL, Echeverría MG.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) was isolated from a testicle of the presumable first stallion infected with EAV in Argentina. This virus isolate (named LT-LP-ARG) was confirmed by GP5-specific PCR and indirect immunofluorescence assays. The PCR product was sequenced, and the phylogenetic analysis revealed that the LT-LP-ARG strain of EAV forms a monophyletic group, together with other strains previously isolated in our laboratory (LP02 group). However, all Argentinean EAV strains belong to a polyphyletic group. We believe that the virus isolate presented in this report could be the origin of EAV ...
Jiang B, Rugh KS, Hatfield DG, Jiang D, Hahn AW.We report on a nonlinear algorithm which identifies R-wave peaks on the surface electrocardiogram, consistent reference points on the left ventricular pressure waveform and the initiation of the QRS complex on the epicardial electrogram. The algorithm has been used to evaluate data from horses, ponies, dogs and humans at rest and during exercise. It permits rapid, accurate evaluation of data on a beat-by-beat basis even with noisy signals and varying waveform configurations. The algorithm facilitates the acquisition of detailed information previously difficult or impossible to obtain by more c...
O'Brien RT, Biller DS.This article addresses the current status and clinical opportunities for portable radiography and ultrasonography. Radiology is indicated for imaging the nasal cavity, larynx, pharynx and thin portions of the neck. In young foals, adequate radiographs of the entire respiratory tract may be possible. Ultrasonography is indicated in superficial parts of the head and neck, the pleural space and diseased parts of the lungfields.
Harland MM, Fedele C, Berens v Rautenfeld D.Horses are highly susceptible to lymphedema. Knowledge of the morphological components of lymphatic collectors is therefore essential to understanding the function of the lymphatic system. A better knowledge of the lymphatic system allows the development of more effective treatments against lymphedema. The composition of hypodermal and deep lymphatic collectors was investigated with immunohistochemical staining, using antibodies against proteins of the collector walls from the skin in the hind limbs of 10 healthy horses. Lymphatic collectors can be subdivided into passive (elastic fibers) and ...
Prado TM, Schumacher J, Kelly GM, Henry RW.The urethral fold of 30 mares was split transversely into dorsal and ventral shelves, and the ventral shelf was used to help create a urethral extension. The dorsal shelf was stretched caudally and sutured to the roof of the extension so that it covered at least the cranial half of the extension. For 20 mares, a relaxing, vaginal incision was created cranial to the external urethral orifice to enable the dorsal shelf to be retracted further caudally. Ten of the 30 mares (33.3 per cent) developed a defect, but none developed a defect in that portion covered by the dorsal shelf of the urethral f...