"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.
Ranking G.This research article presents an initial investigation into the disease called “Surra,” which significantly affects horses and mules in India, leading to high mortality rates and considerable economic loss. The […]
Andersson L.The Grey allele in horses is causing premature hair greying and susceptibility to melanoma. The causal mutation is a 4.6 kb tandem duplication in intron 6 of the Syntaxin 17 gene. A recent study demonstrated that the most common allele at the Grey locus (G3) involves three tandem copies of this sequence, whilst a more rare allele (G2) has two tandem copies and the wild-type allele (G1) only one copy. The G3 allele is causing fast greying and high incidence of skin melanoma, whereas the G2 allele is causing slow greying and no obvious increase in melanoma incidence. Further somatic copy number ...
Johnson PJ, Wiedmeyer CE, LaCarrubba A, Ganjam VK, Messer NT.Although much has been written about laminitis in the context of its association with inflammatory processes, recognition is growing that most cases of laminitis examined by veterinarians in private practice are those associated with pasture grazing, obesity, and insulin resistance (IR). The term 'endocrinopathic laminitis' has been adopted to classify the instances of laminitis in which the origin seems to be more strongly associated with an underlying endocrinopathy, such as either IR or the influence of corticosteroids. Results of a recent study suggest that obesity and IR represent the mos...
Mazan MR, Deveney EF.Equine asthma (EA) is an important cause of wastage in the USA horse industry. Exposure to organic particulates, from stable dust, airborne pollen, and fungal loads, is posited to be the main cause. Dust arising from the earth's crust has been largely ignored as a contributor to EA in the veterinary literature. The objectives of this study were to investigate the occurrence of birefringent particulates in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of horses with a clinical complaint of EA residing in the arid West of the USA v. the East, in an effort to determine the contribution of geolocation t...
Sielaff S, Gerlach K, Brunk J, Sill V, Jahn W, Pelli AC.Data regarding the lesion detection ability of different radiotracers are lacking in equine bone scintigraphy. Methods: In this prospective study, hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HMDP) and methylene diphosphonate (MDP) were compared in horses with increased radiopharmaceutical uptake either in the caudal cervical region (CS group) or in the proximal metacarpal/metatarsal region (PMR group). Region of interest analysis was used to determine normal bone-to-soft tissue ratios, lesion-to-normal bone ratios and lesion-to-soft tissue ratios. Qualitative scoring and total count rates were recorded fo...
Pilati N, Pressanto MC, Beccati F, Pepe M, Venditti R, Gialletti R.The aim of this study was to compare ultrasonographic findings of the ventral midline incision after exploratory laparotomy for colic in horses with and without surgical site infection (SSI). Ultrasonographic examination of the surgical wound was performed on postoperative day 5 (D5) and day 10 (D10) to assess the presence of fluid accumulation, suture sinus formation, hyperechogenic spots and fistulous path. Clinical evaluation of the wound was used to classify horses with and without SSI. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the ultrasonograph...
Neville E, Pigott J.To describe the clinical presentation of a Thoroughbred filly with acute hemoperitoneum from a splenic source immediately after racing. Methods: A 3-year-old Thoroughbred filly used for racing and that had raced shortly before presentation to the hospital. Unassigned: On presentation, the filly was quiet, alert, and responsive with a heart rate of 76 beats/min, pale mucous membranes, and absent borborygmi. All other physical examination parameters were within normal limits. Abdominal ultrasound was performed and revealed echogenic free abdominal fluid and a splenic hematoma. Abdominocentesis y...
Myhre MG, Azeem A, Barrett M.Medical records from 2009 to 2021 from a private equine referral hospital in Rochester, NH, USA were analysed for cases that underwent general anaesthesia for low-field MRI of the distal limb. These were used to determine peri-anaesthetic morbidity and mortality. Unassigned: Two hundred and forty-three anaesthetic episodes were recorded in horses undergoing low-field MRI. The peri-anaesthetic complication rate prior to discharge was 6.2% (15/243). No patients experienced a fatal complication. Ninety two of the 243 patients had multiple sites imaged, 90/243 received pre-anaesthetic dantrolene, ...
Lin X, Feng M, Li Y, Liu Y, Wang M, Li Y, Yang T, Zhao C.The Baise horse, an indigenous horse breed mainly distributed in the Baise region of Guangxi province in southwest China, has a long history as draft animal. However, there is a lack of research regarding the origin and ancestral composition of the Baise horse. In this study, whole-genome resequencing data from 236 horses of seven Chinese indigenous horse breeds, five foreign horse breeds, and four Przewalski's horses were used to investigate the relationships between the Baise horse and other horse breeds. The results showed that foreign horse breeds had no significant impact on the formation...
Bergstrom TC, Spriet M, Carpenter RS, Jacques KL, Stover SM.Condylar fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Thoroughbred racehorses. Condylar fractures have a variety of fracture configurations that suggest there may be differences in aetiopathogenesis. Objective: To determine if exercise history differs with condylar fracture location in a population of Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical and exercise data. Methods: Exercise history of Thoroughbred racehorses that had condylar fracture repair between 1 January 2018 and 28 February 2021 was compared between racehorses that had fractures located radiog...
Quam VG, Belacic ZA, Long S, Rice HC, Dhar MS, Durgam S.Safe, efficacious therapy for treating degenerate deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and navicular bone fibrocartilage (NBF) in navicular horses is critically necessary. While archetypal orthobiologic therapies for navicular disease are used empirically, their safety and efficacy are unknown. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EV) may overcome several limitations of current orthobiologic therapies. Objective: To (1) characterise cytokine and growth factor profiles of equine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC)-derived extracellular vesicles (BM-EV) and (2) evaluate the ...
Pires LSA, Abrahão C, Dias de Castro LL, Hammerschmidt J, Antunes J, Molento CFM, Molento MB.Horse welfare assessment (HWA) does not account for individual or herd parasite infection. This study investigated the connection between HWA and individual parasite fecal egg count (FEC) in 90 Thoroughbred horses. All horses were naturally infected with gastrointestinal parasites and were evaluated for individual welfare indicators and FEC monthly, for 12 months. Horses were divided into three groups of 30 mares, 30 foals aged between 13 and 16 months (G2013), and 30 foals aged between two months and one year (G2014). A horse welfare protocol was developed and 1024 assessments were carried ou...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, Puente SL, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M, Ramos F....Following a request from the European Commission, EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of a tincture from the roots of C.A.Mey. (ginseng tincture), when used as a sensory additive in feed for horses, dogs and cats. The product is a water/ethanol (40:60 v/v) solution, with a dry matter content of no more than 6% and a content of 0.01%-0.5% (w/w) for the sum of the two triterpene saponins ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Rg1. The Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) concluded that the tincture is safe for horses, dogs and...
Laroche N, Grimm P, Julliand S, Sorci G.The use of anthelminthic drugs has several drawbacks, including the selection of resistant parasite strains. Alternative avenues to mitigate the negative effects of helminth infection involve dietary interventions that might affect resistance and/or tolerance by improving host immunity, modulating the microbiota, or exerting direct anthelmintic effects. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of diet on strongyle infection in horses, specifically through immune-mediated, microbiota-mediated, or direct anthelmintic effects. Horses that were naturally infected with strongyles were fed eit...
Smit IH, Parmentier JIM, Rovel T, van Dieen J, Serra Bragança FM.The use of surface electromyography in the field of animal locomotion has increased considerably over the past decade. However, no consensus exists on the methodology for data collection in horses. This study aimed to start the development of recommendations for bipolar electrode locations to collect surface electromyographic data from horses during dynamic tasks. Data were collected from 21 superficial muscles of three horses during trot on a treadmill using linear electrode arrays. The data were assessed both quantitatively (signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and coefficient of variation (CoV)) and...
Saldinger LK, Kilcoyne I, Nieto J.To evaluate if a difference in synovial amikacin concentrations exists in the radiocarpal joint (RCJ) following different durations of instillation of an IV regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) perfusate. Methods: 7 healthy horses. Methods: Horses received 2 IVRLPs with 2 g amikacin diluted to 60 mL with 0.9% NaCl via the cephalic vein in a crossover study design with a wash-out period between procedures. Instillation of the perfusate was administered over a 1-minute (technique 1) and 5-minute (technique 5) period. Concentrations of amikacin within the RCJ were measured at time (T) 5, 10, 15, 20, 2...
Connard SS, Gaesser AM, Clarke EJ, Linardi RL, Even KM, Engiles JB, Koch DW, Peffers MJ, Ortved KF.The objective of this study was to characterize extracellular vesicles (EVs) in plasma and synovial fluid obtained from horses with and without naturally occurring post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Methods: EVs were isolated from plasma and synovial fluid from horses with (n = 6) and without (n = 6) PTOA. Methods: Plasma and synovial fluid EVs were characterized with respect to quantity, size, and surface markers. Small RNA sequencing was performed, and differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) underwent bioinformatic analysis to identify putative targets and to explore potential associa...
Andersen C, Walters M, Bundgaard L, Berg LC, Vonk LA, Lundgren-Åkerlund E, Henriksen BL, Lindegaard C, Skovgaard K, Jacobsen S.Osteoarthritis (OA) remains a major cause of lameness in horses, which leads to lost days of training and early retirement. Still, the underlying pathological processes are poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that serve as regulators of many biological processes including OA. Analysis of miRNA expression in diseased joint tissues such as cartilage and synovial membrane may help to elucidate OA pathology. Since integrin α10β1-selected mesenchymal stem cell (integrin α10-MSC) have shown mitigating effect on equine OA we here investigated the effect of integrin α10...
Hughes K, Moore C, Woods S, Wilkes E.Point-of-care (POC) glucometry is commonly used in horses; however, measurement error with this method when analysing hypoglycaemic samples (<4mmol/L) is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the precision and accuracy of glucometry in hypoglycaemic horses in comparison to a laboratory method of glucose measurement (LAB). Repeatability coefficients were 0.47mmol/L for POC and 0.09mmol/L for LAB, and coefficients of variation were 10% and 2.11%, for the POC and LAB methods, respectively. Systemic bias with the POC method was present, with a mean bias of -0.26mmol/L (95% limits o...
Durward-Akhurst SA, Marlowe JL, Schaefer RJ, Springer K, Grantham B, Carey WK, Bellone RR, Mickelson JR, McCue ME.Disease-causing variants have been identified for less than 20% of suspected equine genetic diseases. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) allows rapid identification of rare disease causal variants. However, interpreting the clinical variant consequence is confounded by the number of predicted deleterious variants that healthy individuals carry (predicted genetic burden). Estimation of the predicted genetic burden and baseline frequencies of known deleterious or phenotype associated variants within and across the major horse breeds have not been performed. We used WGS of 605 horses across 48 breeds ...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, Puente SL, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M, Ramos F....Following a request from the European Commission, EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of a tincture from the dried fruit of (Turcz.) Baill. (omicha tincture), when used as a sensory additive in feed for horses, cats, dogs, and in feed and in water for drinking for poultry. The product is a water/ethanol (55:45 v/v) solution, with a dry matter content of not more than 4% (w/w) and a content of 0.01%-0.15% (w/w) for the sum of schisandrin and deoxyschisandrin. The Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) concluded that omic...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M....Following a request from the European Commission, EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of a feed additive obtained from the dried leaves of L. (ginkgo extract) when used as a sensory additive in feed for horses, dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs. Ginkgo extract contains ≥ 24% total flavonoids, ≥ 6% total terpene lactones and ≤ 1 mg/kg ginkgolic acids. The EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) concluded that ginkgo extract is safe for the target species at the following concentrations in complete fee...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, Puente SL, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M, Ramos F....Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of cajuput oil obtained from fresh leaves of Maton & Sm. ex R. Powell and (L.) L., when used as a sensory additive for all animal species. The FEEDAP Panel concluded that cajuput oil is safe up to the maximum proposed use levels in complete feed of 30 mg/kg for sows and dogs, 50 mg/kg for horses and ornamental fish, 40 mg/kg for salmon and 5 mg/kg for cats. For the other species, the ...
Wolframm IA, Heric L, Allen AM.At a time of mounting ecological crises and biodiversity loss, there is an urgent need for nature-based solutions. Equestrian properties cover a considerable proportion of the European rural and peri-urban landscape and provide much potential for integrating ecosystem services, such as the inclusion of small landscape features. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and quality of landscape features (LF) to help determine how the equine sector can contribute to the agro-ecological transition. Using a citizen science approach, 87 commercial and 420 private yard owners reported th...
Nielsen MK, Finnerty CA, Ripley NE, Page AE, McClendon ME, Adams AA.Anthelmintic performance against equine cyathostomins can be evaluated by two different non-terminal measures; the Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) and the Egg Reappearance Period (ERP). Most available FECRT and ERP data have been determined in populations of young horses, and very little information is available from mature and senior horses. Furthermore, it is unknown how commonly occurring equine endocrine disorders such as Insulin dysregulation (ID) and Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) may interfere with these measurements, but it has been suggested that horses with these...
Horner A, Bamford NJ, Stear MJ, Piedrafita D, Jabbar A, Hughes KJ, El-Hage CM, Preston S.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is the most common endocrine disorder of older horses. Immune dysfunction in horses with PPID could increase susceptibility to infectious diseases, including strongyle infections; however, few data are available. The aim of this study was to determine if horses with PPID had increased strongyle faecal egg counts (FEC) compared with control horses, over a fourteen-week period in Victoria, Australia. Clinical signs and plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations were used to categorise horses into PPID (n=14) or control (n=31) groups. Fae...
Carslake HB, Pinchbeck GL, Argo CM, Dugdale AHA, McGowan CM.Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), the principal incretin in horses, may play a role in the pathophysiology of insulin dysregulation (ID). This study aimed to describe its concentration in response to three preserved forages and four dynamic tests for ID in ponies. Twelve adult ponies of mixed ID status were given a meal of hay, soaked hay or haylage, an in-feed oral glucose test (OGT), oral sugar test (OST), an oral test using a proprietary breakfast cereal (WEET) or a combined glucose-insulin tolerance test (CGIT) weekly in a randomised cross-over study. Glucose, insulin and GLP-1 concentratio...
Inglis ZE, Firshman AM, Lochner HL, Martinson KL.In recent years, the number of horses submitted for necropsy has been in decline. This study aimed to identify the perceptions and barriers of equine necropsy through an online survey of horse owners. The data were analyzed by multivariate models for associations and factors that influenced decision making regarding necropsy. The survey yielded 1,366 usable responses. Respondents had higher familiarity with the term "autopsy" compared to "necropsy" (P<0.001) and showed a greater level of comfort using the terms "body" and "mortality" compared to "carcass" (P<0.001). Most respondents (82%) had ...
Mozo Vives B, Mainguy-Seers S, Lavoie JP.Salbutamol and hyoscine butylbromide (HBB) are commonly used bronchodilators in horses with severe asthma (SA). Objective: To compare the bronchodilation potency, duration, and adverse effects of salbutamol and HBB in SA. Methods: Six horses in exacerbation of SA. Methods: The effects of inhaled salbutamol (1000 μg) and HBB (150 mg, IV) were compared in a randomized, blinded, crossover experiment. Lung function, intestinal borborygmi and heart rate were assessed before and sequentially until 180 minutes after drug administration, and analyzed with 2-way repeated-measures ANOVA and Dunne...
