"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.
Garner A, Griffiths P.The purpose of this paper is to describe congenital defects, having no direct counterpart in
the literature, that affected both eyes of a new-born foal of pedigree racing stock, which
otherwise appeared to be entirely healthy as were both the sire and the dam.
Borer-Weir KE, Bailey SR, Harris PA, Menzies-Gow NJ, Elliott J.Digital vasoconstriction, ischaemia and hypoxia may predispose to acute laminitis. Laminitis incidence varies seasonally, peaking in spring and summer. Direct seasonal influences on equine digital artery (EDA) contractility have not been investigated. This study assessed seasonal variation in maintenance of phenylephrine (PHE)-induced tone in isolated EDAs under hypoxic (95% nitrogen) and hyperoxic (95% oxygen) conditions. The objective was to measure change in arterial tone over time after constriction to a plateau with PHE. Tone was measured at plateau and over time and percentage change cal...
Desmaizières LM, Cauvin ER.The radiographic and ultrasonographic findings in three horses with severe damage to the collateral ligaments of the carpus, associated with degenerative joint disease, are described. The horses remained lame despite prolonged rest and medical management, primarily because of the progression of the joint disease. Ultrasonography was found to be an accurate method for diagnosing the injury to the ligaments and is recommended as part of a routine examination in suspected carpal injuries.
Harkins JD, Tobin T.Fentanyl and other opioid drugs have their effect in the central nervous system; however, activity at peripheral sites has also been demonstrated. Pain-suppression activity at peripheral sites raises the possibility of skilled individuals producing local anaesthetic effects with small doses of opioid drugs that would be difficult to detect forensically and could be used to affect the outcome of a race. Therefore, the local pain-suppression effect (peripheral nerve inhibition) of fentanyl was tested using an abaxial sesamoid block/hoof withdrawal model. With this model, fentanyl did not produce...
Weston MC, Collins ME, Cunningham FM.To assess the biological effects of purified recombinant equine CCL11 on equine eosinophil function. Methods: Following stimulation of eosinophils from normal horses, the polymerised form of actin was measured by flow cytometry using fluorescently labelled phalloidin. Migration was determined in a 96 well plate chemotaxis assay using 8 microm pore membranes, and adherence of eosinophils to serum-coated plastic was assessed using a colorimetric assay for eosinophil peroxidase. Superoxide generation was measured by the reduction of cytochrome C in a colorimetric assay. Results: Equine CCL11 indu...
van Schie HT.The ultrasonic examination of tendons and ligaments of the distal limb of the horse improves the diagnostic possibilities of these frequently injured structures. The successful application is based upon a reliable knowledge of the normal sonographic anatomy and upon a standardized, flawless technic of the examination. Practice and experience allow the recognition of minor alterations which enables a more precise diagnosis, a more reliable prognosis, and in follow-up examinations also more specific information about the further use of the horse.
Dabareiner RM, White NA, Sullins KE.Case records and radiographs of 71 horses with subchondral lucency, without radiographic evidence of fracture, located on the distal radial carpal bone were examined retrospectively. All horses had lameness and/or joint effusion referable to the carpus. Distal radial carpal bone subchondral lucency was found as a solitary lesion or as a lesion concurrent and symmetric to a contralateral distal radial carpal bone chip fracture. The lesion appeared radiographically as a lucency or shadow on the distal dorsal margin of the radial carpal bone and was most evident on the flexed lateromedial and dor...
McCarthy HE, Singer ER, Davies Morel MC.This study compared the effect of sodium heparin and gentamicin sulphate on equine articular cartilage (AC) explants in order to investigate the possible use of sodium heparin in the treatment of infectious arthritis. Six concentrations of sodium heparin and gentamicin sulphate were tested. The supernatant and explant digest were assayed for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content with the dimethyl-methylene blue assay and the per cent loss of GAG was calculated. A significant (P< 0.001) increase in percentage GAG loss was noted for the sodium heparin groups when compared to the control, whilst no ...
Garcia MC, Ginther OJ.Six pony mares were ovariectomized (OVX) on day 16 of diestrus during June and July, 1972, to study short term changes in plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations. Plasma LH was higher (P less than .05) 3 days after OVX (1.76 ng/ml) than the day after OVX (1.01 ng/ml), and a gradual increase occurred over the first 2 weeks. Elevated plasma LH concentrations similar to mid-estrus levels were present from the 2nd to 11th week post-OVX. In another experiment, the same 6 OVX mares were bled once a month from February, 1973, to January, 1974, to study long-term changes in plasma LH in relatio...
Houghton E, Ginn A, Teale P, Dumasia MC, Copsey J.The stereochemistry of an isomer of 5-estrane-3,17 alpha-diol, the major metabolite of 19-nortestosterone in horse urine has been established by the use of methylene unit (MU) values. The empirical MU values of the bis-trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives of the eight available isomers of 5-androstane-3,17-diol and four isomers of 5-estrane-3,17 beta-diol were determined by capillary gas chromatography using three different columns. From this data the theoretical MU values for the bis-TMS derivatives of the four 5-estrane-3,17 alpha-diol isomers were predicted. Comparison of the experimentally det...
Katić I, Bajt VV.Transport of animals by water is a very old way of transport because it is relatively cheap and safe, with a minimum loss of animals. Waterways have been used for the transport of living animals and various goods from ancient times, for example in Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire. Later, Vikings were so successful in their conquests because they always had trained horses aboard. It is believed that the colonization of America was possible because Spaniards were also bringing many horses with them. Danish possessions in the Caribbean owe much of their economic success in the period between 18...
Cohen ND, Peck KE, Smith SA, Ray AC.The distribution of specific gravity values for 2,599 urine samples collected from racing Thoroughbred horses that were known to have received furosemide prior to racing was compared with that for 1,669 urine samples from racing Thoroughbred horses that reportedly had not received furosemide. Values of specific gravity for furosemide-treated horses were significantly lower (P < 0.001) than those for horses that had not received furosemide, and the proportion of horses with urine specific gravity either <1.010 or <1.012 was significantly greater (P < 0.001) among the furosemide-trea...
Sanders-Shamis M, Robertson JT.Radiography and endoscopy of a 17-day-old Standardbred foal that had right-sided facial swelling and dyspnea since birth revealed a soft tissue mass in the right nasal passage and right maxillary and frontal sinuses. A bone flap was used to expose the mass, and a fluid-filled structure was removed surgically. After surgery, the dyspnea was alleviated. The facial deformity resolved by the time the foal was 6 months old. The upper airway obstruction was absent clinically and endoscopically by the time the foal was 17 months old.
Gaughan EM, Wallace RJ, Kallfelz FA.The effects of two local anesthetic agents on the diagnostic quality of nuclear medical bone images (NMBIs) of distal parts of the equine fore limb were investigated. Local effects on bone uptake of technetium 99m methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) 4 and 24 hours after perineural and intraarticular injection of mepivacaine hydrochloride and bupivacaine hydrochloride were evaluated in the carpal and metacarpophalangeal regions of 12 horses and ponies. Neither mepivacaine hydrochloride nor bupivacaine hydrochloride significantly altered the diagnostic quality of the NMBIs. The injection and sub...
Cothran EG, Henney PJ, King JA.The inheritance of the equine Tf F3 allele was examined in 39 parent-offspring combinations. For 26 of the cases the allele inherited by the offspring from the heterozygous parent could be determined. The proportion of individuals that inherited the F3 variant compared to the alternative allele was exactly 1:1. In five cases the parental phenotype was identical to that of the offspring. For the remaining eight cases the parent was homozygous for the F3 allele and all offspring had the F3 allele. The results were consistent with Mendelian inheritance.
Jackson MA, Ohlerth S, Fürst AE.To describe the use of an aiming device (AD) and computed tomography (CT) for preoperative planning and intraoperative guided debridement of subchondral cystic lesions (SCL) in the limbs of horses and to determine the outcome 12 months after surgery. Methods: Prospective case series. Methods: Twelve horses referred because of lameness caused by 1 or 2 SCL (total of 14 SCL). Methods: All horses underwent CT-guided debridement of the SCL. The entry point of the drill bit and direction of drilling were planned and controlled by using a series of CT images and the AD. The SCL were curetted and fil...
Breeze RG, Brown CM, Turk MA.3-methylindole was administered orally and intravenously to horses and ponies in order to determine the ability of this chemical to provide a model of equine pulmonary disease. Both routes produced a severe and sometimes fatal pulmonary disease, characterised by bronchiolitis. Clinical signs developed 48 to 72 h after dosing and were most severe between Days 4 and 10 post dosing. Intravenous administration of 3-methylindole produced lung injury more rapidly and at a lower dose rate than the oral route. It is suggested that the respiratory condition induced by this chemical could become a metho...
Jahn P, Dobešová D, Brumarová R, Tóthová K, Kopecká A, Friedecký D.Equine atypical myopathy (AM also referred to as multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenases deficiency [MADD]) is thought to be caused by toxins metabolized from hypoglycin A (HGA) and méthylènecyclopropylglycine (MCPrG). HGA is contained in the seeds and seedlings of the sycamore tree (Acer pseudoplatanus); MCPrG has so far only been confirmed in seeds. Among other things, these substances can disrupt the fatty acids β-oxidation pathway with the subsequent accumulation of certain acylcarnitines. The tentative diagnosis is based on anamnesis and clinical signs and can be verified by the detection of ...