"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.
TOMCSIK J, SCHWARZWEISS H.1. From beef stroma pretreated at room temperature with acetone and alcohol, a fraction was isolated with boiling 100% alcohol which, in a dilution of 1:500,000, combines with the sheep blood agglutinin of human serum produced during serum sickness. Using the terminology of Schiff, this fraction corresponds to the heterogenetic serum sickness antigen; it could be separated to a large extent from the heterogenetic mononucleosis antigen which also occurs in beef stroma.
2. The so-called serum sickness antigen also occurs heterogenetically in guinea pig kidney and it could also be isolated from ...
Bercy A, Ceacero F, Komárková M.Rewilding can play a vital role in safeguarding biodiversity, with the grazing pressure exerted by large ungulates and controlled by their predators being a significant factor, particularly in European contexts. Domestic horses are becoming integral to such ungulates' biomass, but they may differ from truly wild species due to their domesticated origin. This raises concerns about whether feral horses retain adequate antipredator behaviours, especially in the presence of expanding, large predators like wolves. The field of antipredator behaviour research is hampered by inconsistent results and ...
Valberg SJ.Although horses most commonly develop exertional rhabdomyolysis, there are numerous causes for nonexertional rhabdomyolysis (nonER) that pose a serious health threat to horses. Their etiologies can be broadly categorized as toxic, genetic, inflammatory/infectious, nutritional, and traumatic and a variety of diagnostic tests are available to discern among them. This study discusses causes of nonER as well as diagnostics and treatments that are specific to each etiology. General treatment of acute rhabdomyolysis is covered in detail in the study in this issue on sporadic and recurrent exertional...
McKenzie E.The equine muscle system is complex and prone to a large range of hereditary and acquired diseases that often have overlapping clinical signs with orthopedic, neurologic, and other disorders. Obtaining a clinical history that fully outlines the client concerns and any known information about the disorder and following with a comprehensive physical examination and screening clinical pathology tests are fundamental to achieve definitive diagnosis. A methodical and comprehensive approach aids accurate diagnosis and development of an optimal treatment and management plan. This article describes th...
Dollemore G, McGovern K, Tallon R.Conservative and surgical management of left dorsal displacement and nephrosplenic ligament entrapment of the large colon (NSLE) is well described in horses. Whilst breed factors predispose the development of NSLE, it is unknown if breed affects the likelihood for surgical intervention. Objective: To compare the incidence of surgical intervention and differences in pre-operative parameters between Thoroughbred and non-Thoroughbred horses. The authors hypothesise a higher proportion of Thoroughbreds require surgical intervention. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: Case recor...
Lindqvist A, Nyman G, Rydén A, Wattle O.This study aimed to assess and compare the recovery of ponies and horses following general anesthesia in two different settings: a recovery box with an inflexible, adjustable ceiling, and free recovery without restraints. Our primary objective was to evaluate the effect of adjustable ceilings on the prevention of premature attempts to rise during recovery. The secondary aim was to compare the physiological stress indicators during recovery. Methods: Prospective, randomized, experimental study. Methods: Six healthy ponies and 10 healthy horses. Methods: This study used a crossover design with t...
Barbazanges P, Couroucé A, Le Digarcher G, Cardwell JM, Schmitt E, Toquet MP, Lemonnier LC, Richard EA.Fungi are ubiquitous in horses' environment. Their contribution to the pathophysiology of severe asthma (SA) is acknowledged, while controversies remain for mild-moderate asthma (MA). Objective: We hypothesised that fungi are a risk factor for asthma. Our objective was to compare different combinations of analytical methods (cytology, culture) and sampling sites (tracheal wash (TW), bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)) in relation to clinical status (control, MA, SA). Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study. Methods: The study population included asymptomatic racing horses in the field and ...
Heath HD, Peng S, Szmatola T, Ryan S, Bellone RR, Kalbfleisch T, Petersen JL, Finno CJ.Allele-specific expression (ASE) analysis provides a nuanced view of cis-regulatory mechanisms affecting gene expression. Results: An equine ASE analysis was performed, using integrated Iso-seq and short-read RNA sequencing data from four healthy Thoroughbreds (2 mares and 2 stallions) across 9 tissues from the Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes (FAANG) project. Allele expression was quantified by haplotypes from long-read data, with 42,900 allele expression events compared. Within these events, 635 (1.48%) demonstrated ASE, with liver tissue containing the highest proportion. Genetic var...
Ishihara T, Nieves E, Reed R, Hofmeister E.Dobutamine is used to treat hypotension in isoflurane-anaesthetised horses but may produce arrhythmias. Halothane is a volatile anaesthetic that was, historically, widely used in horses, but in one study, 56 of 200 halothane-anaesthetised horses (28%) developed arrhythmias after dobutamine administration. Although isoflurane has largely replaced halothane, it is unknown how isoflurane and dobutamine interact in the development of arrhythmias. Methods: The medical records of horses undergoing general anaesthesia at the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital in 2015 were reviewed ret...
Halo M, Kirchner R, Tirpák F, Slanina T, Tokárová K, Kováčik A, Miškeje M, Greń A, Formicki G, Halo M, Madeddu R, Massányi P.The abundance of chemical elements in the blood of horses can indicate the physiological balance, health of animal as well as can be taken as an indicator of environmental pollution. The aim of this work was to analyse haematological, biochemical parameters, TOS, FRAP, SOD, Gpx, TAS and their correlations with concentrations of essential and risk elements in blood of horses stabled in two different locations: The National Stud Farm Topoľčianky (n = 11; 11 stallions, consisting of the breeds 6 Lipizzan, 3 Slovak warmblood, 2 Holsteiner) and Experimental Centre at Institute of Animal Husba...
Resetic N, Comino F, Wilmink J, Gorvy DA.To report the management and outcomes of five horses with ear skin defects treated with the use of full-thickness mesh grafts and full-thickness Meek micrografts. Methods: Five horses with acute or granulating pinna skin wounds. Methods: Short case series. Methods: A full-thickness graft was harvested from the pectoral region under general anesthesia. The sheet graft was stretched on a sterile plastic board with the epidermal side facing down. The subcutaneous fat and fascia were removed by sharp dissection. The skin graft was then meshed by hand or using a block mesher, or manually cut into m...
Maier I, Kienzle E.The goal of this meta-analysis was to (i) identify any potential differences in the apparent and true digestibility, renal excretion, and retention between ponies and horses and (ii) examine the impact of work on these parameters. Additionally, the study aimed to (iii) evaluate the effects of water deficiency. This meta-analysis used data from 33 studies and plotted them in diagrams similar to the Lucas test against mineral intake. Three studies involved ponies that were later diagnosed with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). These were compared with other data to identify quantitat...
Baville E, Carstanjen B, Thomas-Cancian A, Calgaro A, Bonnet N, Tiret L, Gache V, Abitbol M.Supernumerary digits, or polydactyly, have been described in various species including humans, wild and domestic animals. In horses, it represents the most common congenital limb malformation, which has only been described in isolated cases or nuclear families. Molecular aetiology has not been reported. Objective: To characterise the phenotype of a non-syndromic pre-axial polydactyly in a horse family and to decipher the inheritance pattern. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Forty-three members of the family including a previously reported polydactyl case were recruited. Available clinica...
Aziz KJ, Barwary LTOA, Issa NA, Abdulwahid MJ.This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Theileria equi (T. equi) and Babesia caballi (B. caballi) in racing horses in Erbil Province, Iraq, and to assess the associated hemato-biochemical changes in infected animals. Methods: A total of 196 horses, including 155 clinically healthy and 41 clinically suspected infected animals, were examined using Giemsa-stained blood films and PCR to determine the prevalence rates. Additionally, the hemato-biochemical parameters of infected horses were compared to a non-infected control group (n = 10). Results: The prevalence of T. equi and B. cabal...
The AnalystJanuary 23, 2025
doi: 10.1039/d4an01501k
Göktaş EF, Kabil E, Söylemez Yeşilçimen E, Dirikolu L.Various technical methodologies are required to accurately detect substances of different chemical and pharmacological properties in biological samples, which are increasing in number and variety daily. Therefore, laboratories where many samples and different factors are analyzed simultaneously need methods with easy sample preparation, short analysis times and low analysis costs. In this study, the objective was to scan substances susceptible to chemical degradation, amenable to analysis without hydrolysis, and exhibiting short-term stability by employing a straightforward, expeditious, and c...
Kodaira K, Kakizaki M, Nagata SI, Ode H, Okano A, Tamura N, Mizobe F, Matsuda Y, Kurimoto S, Aida H.To investigate the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of rocuronium administered by bolus injection to sevoflurane-anesthetized horses. Methods: Prospective, experimental, crossover study. Methods: Five healthy adult Thoroughbred horses (body mass 368-470 kg, three females and two males). Methods: Each horse was anesthetized twice with sevoflurane and assigned to be administered rocuronium bromide intravenously: 0.2 mg kg (R02) or 0.4 mg kg (R04). There was a minimum 2 week washout period between experiments. During anesthesia, the peroneal nerve was stimulated (train-of-four) and neuromusc...
Ishikawa Y, Tufa SF, Keene DR, Bächinger HP, Winand NJ.Mutations in the collagen-modifying enzyme lysyl hydroxylase 1 (LH1) cause Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (WFFS) in horses. We investigated the impact of this mutation on collagen structure and function. Our results show that LH1 deficiency leads to reduced lysine hydroxylation, altered collagen fibril organization, and tissue abnormalities resembling human Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. These findings highlight the critical role of LH1 in collagen biosynthesis and provide insights into the pathogenesis of WFFS.
Drahonovska A, O'Neill HD. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the need for flexed radiographs of the proximal medial trochlear ridge (PMTR) after trauma involving medial tarsus; (2) to evaluate outcome following arthroscopic removal of traumatic osteochondral fragments (TOCF) resulting from direct injury to PMTR. Methods: Records of patients with wounds to the medial tarsus were searched and those with TOCF of the PMTR included. Patient history, fracture etiology, preoperative diagnostics, and intraoperative findings were documented. Postoperative performance data were collected using Thoroughbred R...
Gerras J, Young K, Roberts D, Waldman G, Salmon JH, Gilger BC.To describe the ocular findings, chronology of disease, and serum leptospiral titers in a group of horses, mules, and donkeys following an outbreak of leptospirosis. Unassigned: Fifty Equidae in central North Carolina had ophthalmic examinations and serum leptospiral microscopic agglutination test (MAT) titers performed every 3-6 months for 24 months followed by a final examination at 34 months. Unassigned: Throughout the nearly three-year study period, 17 horses (34%; 17/49 horses) developed signs of uveitis; 20 eyes (20/34; 58.8%) of these 17 horses were visual at the initial examinati...
Kim S, Choi Y, Kim J, Wickens CL, Yoon M.Enhancement of human-horse interaction is crucial for safety in equine management, as poor relationships between humans and horses can lead to accidents. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is highly related to social affinity in animals and several studies have been documented that supplementation of tryptophan, which is a precursor of serotonin, can increase calmness of horses. This study aimed to assess the effect of tryptophan through soybean oil supplementation on serotonin concentrations and the behavior of horses. Six horses participated and the horses were treated with or without soyb...
Simões BP, Cerri FM, Takahira RK, Borges AS, Oliveira-Filho JP, Amorim RM.Chlorfenapyr is a pesticide that interferes with mitochondrial function, leading to cell death and mortality. Although poisoning is primarily documented in humans and dogs, it can result in severe clinical signs, including sweating, respiratory distress, and neurological dysfunction. This report describes the clinical and laboratory findings of a horse with suspected accidental intoxication with chlorfenapyr. A 4-year-old Quarter Horse mare was referred to the veterinary hospital with signs of excessive sweating, hyperthermia, tachypnea, muscle fasciculation, and fearful facial expression. The...
Harding C, Viljanto M, Hincks P, Habershon-Butcher J, Paine SW.Omeprazole is a gastric acid secretion inhibitor used as an effective anti-ulcer drug. Based on oral administration studies, its International Screening Limit (ISL) was established in plasma and urine at 1 ng/mL with a Detection Time (DT) of 48 h. A novel formulation of injectable omeprazole has since been released, and therefore, a pharmacokinetic study was performed to assess the DT above the ISL against current advice. Six Thoroughbred horses were given four repeated weekly intramuscular administrations of omeprazole (4 mg/kg). Plasma and urine omeprazole concentrations were measured ...
Wright CA, Lawton K, Barnum S, Craig BW, Farwell BR, Blea J, McCook C, Pusterla N.This study aimed to determine if exercise increases the frequency of selected respiratory viruses/bacteria shedding in non-clinical horses using nose wipes. Nose wipes were taken pre- and post- exercise from 133 healthy horses of various ages and disciplines. Wipes were assayed for the presence of selected common (equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV), EHV-4, S. equi spp equi) and commensal (EHV-2, EHV-5, S. equi spp zooepidemicus) respiratory pathogens. The frequency of detection increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the post-exercise wipes for EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-5, and S. zooepidemicus. EHV-4 and S. equ...
Bhave A, Kieson E, Hafner A, Gloor PA.This research applies unsupervised learning on a large original dataset of horses in the wild to identify previously unidentified horse emotions. We construct a novel, high-quality, diverse dataset of 3929 images consisting of five wild horse breeds worldwide at different geographical locations. We base our analysis on the seven Panksepp emotions of mammals "Exploring", "Sadness", "Playing", "Rage", "Fear", "Affectionate" and "Lust", along with one additional emotion "Pain" which has been shown to be highly relevant for horses. We apply the contrastive learning framework MoCo (Momentum Contras...
Colla S, Johnson JW, McGilvray KC, Zanotto GM, Seabaugh KA.Therapeutic shoeing for horses is used to affect the palmar angle (PA) of the distal phalanx. These changes may influence the strain on the distal interphalangeal joint collateral ligaments (DIJCLs). This cadaveric study aimed to assess DIJCL strain under varying loads and PA adjustments. Using 26 cadaver forelimbs, eight optical markers were placed on one DIJCL for strain measurement under five different loads (1000-5000 newtons) at a neutral PA, followed by PA increases of 2°, 4°, and 6° and decreases of -2° and -4°. The results indicate that increases in PA corresponded to significantl...
Nowicka B, Polkowska I, Zeliszewska-Duk P, Torres A, Duk M.Similarly, in humans and horses, thoracic and lumbosacral back pain cause more disability and work interruptions worldwide than any other disease. Given that there are few effective treatments for back pain in humans and animals, primary prevention strategies and a reduction in pain factors may be crucial. In the analysed data obtained for the horses studied, the pattern of changes in adipocytokine concentrations, including resistin, visfatin and leptin, was noted for those with back pain compared to the control animals. Concentrations of selected adipocytokines in horses from the back pain gr...
Jacob O, Hause B, Peters-Smith K, Adam EN, Page AE, Floyd C, Tucker C, Eertink LG, Wang D, Li F.Equine sarcoids are the most identified skin tumors of horses, which are highly associated with bovine papillomavirus infection. Sarcoids can impair the use of the horse and are difficult to treat, resulting in significant economic losses and a welfare concern. There is no vaccine available to protect global equines from sarcoids. We aimed to determine the safety and protective antibody response in horses immunized with a recombinant baculovirus vector vaccine expressing the L1 protein of bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV1). A group of 10 clinically healthy, sarcoid-free horses were immunized ...
Feighelstein M, Ricci-Bonot C, Hasan H, Weinberg H, Rettig T, Segal M, Distelfeld T, Shimshoni I, Mills DS, Zamansky A.[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302893.].
