"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.
Bass L, Swain E, Santos H, Hess T, Black J.The objective of this study was to evaluate two feeding regimens: traditional grain feeding (twice a day, traditional fed [TF]) compared with horses fed with an automated feeder programmed to deliver grain in 20 equal aliquots (fractioned fed [FF]) and its effects on gastric ulceration, body weight, and body condition score (BCS). Thirty-one Quarter Horses were maintained in individual stalls during the 60-day experimental period and worked at moderate exercise intensity. Gastroscopies were performed before grain adaptation at 0, 30, and 60 days. Weight and BCS were evaluated biweekly. There ...
Zavodovskaya R, Eckert M, Murphy BG, Stover SM, Kol A, Diab S.Silicate associated osteoporosis (SAO) was diagnosed in an adult horse with the shortest documented exposure to cytotoxic silicates of 2 years. The horse was evaluated for a 6-months history of progressive back tenderness and acute onset of lameness. The horse had a marked (4/5) [American Association of Equine Practitioners scale] left forelimb lameness, moderate (2/5) hindlimb ataxia and weakness, and cervical pain upon palpation. Physical examination did not reveal clinical skeletal deformities or respiratory compromise. Radiographs revealed widespread, discrete, sharply delineated, osteoly...
Morgan R, Keen J, Halligan D, O'Callaghan A, Andrew R, Livingstone D, Abernethie A, Maltese G, Walker B, Hadoke P.Glucocorticoids are potent inhibitors of angiogenesis in the rodent in vivo and in vitro but the mechanism by which this occurs has not been determined. Administration of glucocorticoids is used to treat a number of conditions in horses but the angiogenic response of equine vessels to glucocorticoids and, therefore, the potential role of glucocorticoids in pathogenesis and treatment of equine disease, is unknown. This study addressed the hypothesis that glucocorticoids would be angiostatic both in equine and murine blood vessels.The mouse aortic ring model of angiogenesis was adapted to assess...
Martig S, Hitchens PL, Stevenson MA, Whitton RC.The repetitive large loads generated during high-speed training and racing commonly cause subchondral bone injuries in the metacarpal condyles of racehorses. Adaptive bone modelling leads to focal sclerosis at the site of highest loading in the palmar aspect of the metacarpal condyles. Information on whether and how adaptive modelling of subchondral bone changes during the career of a racehorse is sparse. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the changes in subchondral bone micromorphology in the area of highest loading in the palmar aspect of the metacarpal condyle in thorough...
Alonso JM, Peccinini RG, Campos ML, Nitta TY, Akutagawa TYM, Crescencio AP, Alves ALG, Rodrigues CA, Watanabe MJ, Hussni CA.Intraperitoneal (IP) use of antimicrobial agents may lead to therapeutic effects with better clinical results than intravenous (IV) administration. The aim of this study was to compare plasma and peritoneal fluid concentrations of ceftriaxone after IP and IV administration in horses, and to evaluate possible adverse effects. One group of five horses received 25mg/kg ceftriaxone diluted in 1L saline solution by IP catheter once daily for 5 days, while a second group of five horses received 25mg/kg ceftriaxone diluted in 250mL saline solution by IV injection once daily for 5days and 1L saline so...
Carr EA.Nutritional support is an important adjunct to medical therapy in the sick, injured, or debilitated equine patient. What is not clear is the optimal route, composition, or amounts of support. The enteral route should be chosen whenever possible to maximize the benefits to the gastrointestinal tract and the patient as a whole. Complete or partial parenteral nutrition is most useful as a bridge during recovery and transition to enteral feeding in the horse. The reader is encouraged to consider nutritional support whether enteral or parenteral in any anorexic, chronically debilitated, or sick equ...
Oliver-Espinosa O.Chronic diarrhea in the horse is defined as diarrhea present for more than several days with little if any improvement. The diagnosis and treatment of horses with chronic diarrhea usually present a great challenge to the clinician. There are many limitations to treatment of these patients given the limited numbers in which a final diagnosis can be achieved. The lack of knowledge of the alterations of horse microbiota during chronic diarrhea and the multiplicity of causes also make treatment challenging. A poor prognosis is often attached to chronic diarrhea, particularly in cases with neoplasi...
Ali OJ, Comerford EJ, Clegg PD, Canty-Laird EG.BiTendons are constructed from collagenous fascicles separated by endotenon/interfascicular matrix (IFM). Tendons may be specialised for precision movement or to store energy during locomotion and for the latter the elasticity of the endotenon/IFM is particularly important. The equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is a dedicated energy-storing tendon with a similar function to the human Achilles tendon. Classical anatomical descriptions portray fascicles as longitudinally arranged distinct anatomical structures. In the present study, using three-dimensional reconstruction from whole...
Csank T, Drzewnioková P, Korytár Ľ, Major P, Gyuranecz M, Pistl J, Bakonyi T.In central Europe, at least three flaviviruses circulate among vectors and vertebrate hosts. West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are mosquito-borne viruses maintained in the nature by enzootic cycle between mosquitoes and birds. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a flavivirus causing annual human cases in Slovakia. The aim of this study is the prevalence assessment of flavivirus infections in horses (n = 145) and birds (n = 109) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmation by neutralization test (VNT). WNV antibodies have been detected in 11.7% of tested ...
Suarez-Fuentes DG, Tatarniuk DM, Caston SS, Kersh KD, Gillen AM, Hays AM.To compare outcomes after semitendinosus tenotomy performed under standing sedation versus general anesthesia. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 20 horses with fibrotic myopathy of the semitendinosus muscle. Methods: Medical records (2002-2015) of horses undergoing tenotomy of the semitendinosus muscle for the treatment of fibrotic myopathy were reviewed. Signalment, history, affected muscles, restrain method, surgical procedures, and short-term outcome as well as complications were retrieved from records. Long-term outcome (gait and athletic function) was assessed at least 6 months...
Niimura Del Barrio MC, David F, Hughes JML, Clifford D, Wilderjans H, Bennett R.The mortality rate of horses undergoing general anaesthesia is high when compared to humans or small animal patients. One of the most critical periods during equine anaesthesia is recovery, as the horse attempts to regain a standing position. This study was performed in a private equine practice in Belgium that uses a purpose-designed one-man (head and tail) rope recovery system to assist the horse during the standing process.The main purpose of the retrospective study was to report and analyse complications and the mortality rate in horses during recovery from anaesthesia using the described ...
Moulin N, François I, Coté N, Alford C, Cleary O, Desjardins MR.Despite the recommendation of plate fixation for propagating condylar fractures of the third metacarpal (McIII) or third metatarsal bone (MtIII), lag screw fixation can be a viable surgical option. Objective: To evaluate short-term outcome and long-term racing performance of horses that underwent lag screw fixation of long condylar fractures of the McIII/MtIII. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records, post-surgical racing performance and outcome of 26 horses with propagating fractures of the medial and/or lateral condyle of McIII/MtIII were reviewed. Medical information in...
Sleutjens J, Serra Bragança FM, van Empelen MW, Ten Have RE, de Zwaan J, Roelfsema E, Oosterlinck M, Back W.Obesity and hyperinsulinaemia are frequently encountered in the equine population and risk factors for the development of laminitis. There are many options for hoof support that claim a beneficial effect, but often the scientific evidence is scarce. Objective: To quantify the effect of frog-supportive shoes on hoof kinetics in normal and obese ponies. Methods: Controlled in vivo trial. Methods: Ten Shetland mares (n = 10) with a normal (n = 5) or obese (n = 5) body condition were led over a dynamically calibrated pressure plate before (T0), immediately after (T1) and 72 h (T2) after ap...
Aman JE, Valberg SJ, Elangovan N, Nicholson A, Lewis SS, Konczak J.Cerebellar Purkinje cell axonal degeneration has been identified in horses with shivering but its relationship with abnormal hindlimb movement has not been elucidated. Objective: To characterise surface electromyographic (sEMG) hindlimb muscle activity in horses with shivering, correlate with clinical scores and examine horses for Purkinje axonal degeneration. Methods: Descriptive controlled clinical study. Methods: The hindlimb of seven shivering and six control draught horses were clinically scored. Biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL), tensor fasciae latae and extensor digitorum longu...
Qi T, Hu Y, Hu Z, Zhao S, Cullinane A, Lyons P, Gildea S, Wang X.Quantitation of virions is one of the important indexes in virological studies. To establish a sensitive and rapid quantitative detection method for equine arteritis virus (EAV), an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (AC-ELISA) was developed by using two EAV nucleoprotein monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), 2B9 and 2B3, prepared in this study. After condition optimization, mAb 2B9 was used as the capture antibody, and HRP-labeled 2B3 was chosen as the detecting antibody. The AC-ELISA had a good standard curve when viral particles of the Bucyrus EAV strain were used as a reference stan...
Malinowski K, Yee C, Tevlin JM, Birks EK, Durando MM, Pournajafi-Nazarloo H, Cavaiola AA, McKeever KH.With the increase in the number of horses being used in Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) programs and with the increasing concern for animal welfare, it is important to understand the impact of such interventions on the stress level and quality of life for the horses involved. The purpose of the present pilot study was to test the hypothesis that participation in EAAT would acutely alter physiological markers of stress and well-being, including plasma cortisol, plasma oxytocin, and heart rate variability (HRV), in horses and that symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ...
Pusterla N, Leutenegger CM, Barnum SM, Byrne BA.In recent years, molecular approaches have been able to characterise the viability of equine upper respiratory tract pathogens using absolute molecular quantitation as well as detection of transcripts for virulence genes. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate molecular surrogates for S. equi subspecies equi (S. equi) viability in biological samples from horses with strangles. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: S. equi culture-positive and culture-negative upper airway secretions were assessed by qPCR at the genomic (gDNA) and complimentary DNA (cDNA) ...
Peachey LE, Molena RA, Jenkins TP, Di Cesare A, Traversa D, Hodgkinson JE, Cantacessi C.A growing body of evidence, particularly in humans and rodents, supports the existence of a complex network of interactions occurring between gastrointestinal (GI) helminth parasites and the gut commensal bacteria, with substantial effects on both host immunity and metabolic potential. However, little is known of the fundamental biology of such interactions in other animal species; nonetheless, given the considerable economic losses associated with GI parasites, particularly in livestock and equines, as well as the global threat of emerging anthelmintic resistance, further explorations of the ...
Boyle AG, Timoney JF, Newton JR, Hines MT, Waller AS, Buchanan BR.This consensus statement update reflects our current published knowledge and opinion about clinical signs, pathogenesis, epidemiology, treatment, complications, and control of strangles. This updated statement emphasizes varying presentations in the context of existing underlying immunity and carrier states of strangles in the transmission of disease. The statement redefines the "gold standard" for detection of possible infection and reviews the new technologies available in polymerase chain reaction diagnosis and serology and their use in outbreak control and prevention. We reiterate the impo...
Lauková A, Styková E, Kubašová I, Gancarčíková S, Plachá I, Mudroňová D, Kandričáková A, Miltko R, Belzecki G, Valocký I, Strompfová V.Probiotic bacteria or their antimicrobial proteinaceous substances called bacteriocins (enterocins) hold promising prophylactic potential for animal breeding. This study present the results achieved after application of Enterocin M in horses. Enterocin M has never been applied to horses before. Clinically healthy horses (10) were involved in this pilot experiment. They were placed in the stables of the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Košice, Slovakia, with the approval of the University Ethics Committee. The animals were fed twice a day with hay and oats, or alternatively graz...
Dal Ben V, Oliveira RS, Borchardt JL, Valente JSS, Brasil CL, Zambrano CG, Leite FPL, Botton SA, Pereira DIB.Pythium insidiosum is an important aquatic Oomycota that causes pythiosis in mammals, especially horses, dogs, and humans; these inhabit marshy environments in tropical and subtropical areas. The aim of this study was to determine the protein profile, as well as identify likely immunodominant proteins, of Brazilian P. insidiosum isolates from southern Brazil, an important equine pythiosis endemic area. P. insidiosum isolates (horses, n = 20 and dogs, n = 02) were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot techniques. Horse, cattle, dog, and rabbit sera of both diseased and healthy animals were used...
Thompson KR, Clarkson L, Riley CB, van den Berg M.Little is known about the horse health management practices of Australian horse caregivers (owners). This article presents findings from a convenience sample of 505 horse owners who participated in an online survey. No large-scale welfare issues were identified, but there were some areas of potential concern, including owners who did not regularly deworm their horses (4%), a lack of strategic parasite control (3.1%), and a lack of regular dental care (11%). Several participants did not have their horse's hooves regularly shod or trimmed (2%), and 14% had an unqualified person maintain their ho...
Baldo CF, Almeida D, Wendt-Hornickle E, Guedes A.To describe a single-site transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block technique in horses. Methods: Prospective, descriptive, experimental anatomical study. Methods: Four adult pony cadavers. Methods: Freshly euthanized ponies were positioned in dorsal recumbency. A 6-13 MHz linear ultrasonic probe was used to scan the abdominal wall bilaterally midway between the last rib and iliac crest in search of the TAP location. By modifying the technique to accommodate the equine anatomy, the TAP was successfully visualized with the transducer positioned in a transverse plane with its side indicator over ...
Huber L, Giguère S, Berghaus LJ, Hanafi A, Vitosh-Sillman S, Czerwinski SL.Rhodococcus equi is one of the most important causes of disease in foals. Infection is typically characterized by pyogranulomatous pneumonia although extrapulmonary infections occur occasionally. Uveitis and polysynovitis have been reported in foals naturally infected with R. equi and are thought to be the result of an immune-mediated process. However, the pathogenesis of these conditions is poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to document the occurrence of uveitis and polysynovitis after experimental infection with R. equi and to determine if these disorders are the direct res...
Schoster A.Probiotics are commonly used in human and veterinary medicine due to their postulated positive effects on overall and specifically gastrointestinal health. Although some beneficial effects have been shown in several human diseases, a general beneficial effect of probiotics is currently not supported. In horses, well-designed studies to date are few, results are conflicting, and the effects of probiotics are questionable. Adverse effects are rare; however, intestinal adverse effects (diarrhea) have been reported in foals. Quality control of over-the-counter probiotics is not tightly regulated, ...
Lacitignola L, De Luca P, Imperante A, Tommasa SD, Crovace A.The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a single-portal endoscopic desmotomy of the PAL with the use of Arthrex - Centerline™. Ten horse distal front limbs from horses free of PAL disease were prepared for tenoscopy of the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS). A dual-port endoscopic desmotomy with a hook knife was performed in 5 specimens (Group A) and single port Arthrex-Centerline™ Desmotomy was performed in another 5 specimens (Group B). The performing time, judgments of the surgeon, number of blade passages, and gross anatomy were evaluated. The performing time and surgeon judg...
Costa MC, Weese JS.This article provides readers with the basic concepts necessary to understand studies using recent molecular methods performed in intestinal microbiome assessment, with special emphasis on the high throughput sequencing. This review also summarizes the current knowledge on this topic and discusses future insights on the interaction between the intestinal microbiome and equine health.
Mirra A, Klopfenstein Bregger MD, Levionnois OL.A 15-year-old Selle Francais gelding was presented to the equine referral hospital for treatment of a left guttural pouch mycosis previously diagnosed. After induction, the horse was shortly hoisted by all four feet, moved on a padded surgical table, and positioned in right lateral recumbency. In order to reduce the risk of bleeding during surgical manipulation of the carotid and maxillary arteries, a mean arterial pressure between 60 and 70 mmHg was targeted. After surgery, the horse was moved in a padded recovery box keeping the same lateral recumbency. Four unsuccessful attempts were perf...
Garvey M, Suárez NM, Kerr K, Hector R, Moloney-Quinn L, Arkins S, Davison AJ, Cullinane A.Equid herpesvirus 8 (EHV-8), formerly known as asinine herpesvirus 3, is an alphaherpesvirus that is closely related to equid herpesviruses 1 and 9 (EHV-1 and EHV-9). The pathogenesis of EHV-8 is relatively little studied and to date has only been associated with respiratory disease in donkeys in Australia and horses in China. A single EHV-8 genome sequence has been generated for strain Wh in China, but is apparently incomplete and contains frameshifts in two genes. In this study, the complete genome sequences of four EHV-8 strains isolated in Ireland between 2003 and 2015 were determined by I...
Gupta AK, Chauhan M, Tandon SN.Genetic diversity within the Marwari breed of horses was evaluated using 26 different microsatellite pairs with 48 DNA samples from unrelated horses. This molecular characterisation was undertaken to evaluate the problem of genetic bottlenecks also, if any, in this breed. The estimated mean (-/+ s.e.) allelic diversity was 5.9 (-/+ 2.24), with a total of 133 alleles. A high level of genetic variability within this breed was observed in terms of high values of mean (-/+ s.e.) effective number of alleles (3.3 -/+ 1.27), observed heterozygosity (0.5306 -/+ 0.22), expected Levene's heterozygosity ...
Wilson DA, Baker GJ, Pijanowski GJ, Boero MJ, Badertscher RR.Suspensory ligaments (SL) from 32 Thoroughbreds and 32 Standardbreds were collected to evaluate the variation in muscle content with respect to age, breed, sex, limb, and use. Six transverse sections, each 3 to 5 mm thick, were obtained from each SL. Four sections were taken from the body of the SL and 1 from the midportion of each branch. Sections were stained with van Gieson picric acid-fuchsin solution, then photographed, and black-and-white slides were made from the processed negatives. The transverse-sectional area of the SL and the contained muscle were determined by use of a computer wi...
Tenbroeck C, Hurst EW, Traub E.Equine encephalomyelitis of the eastern type is a disease of the late summer and fall and cases are found in greatest numbers near salt marshes. The epidemiological findings are against its transmission by contact and favor the view that it is insect borne. Although virus can be demonstrated in the blood of infected horses it is present for a relatively short time, and the possibility that the disease is not primarily an infection of horses but that it is transmitted to them from another host is considered.
Pusterla N, Vannucci FA, Mapes SM, Nogradi N, Collier JR, Hill JA, Difrancesco M, White AM, Akana NK, Simonek G, Gebhart CJ.To determine the efficacy of an avirulent Lawsonia intracellularis vaccine in preventing proliferative enteropathy in weanling foals. Methods: 12 healthy weanling foals. Methods: Foals were randomly assigned to a vaccinated, nonvaccinated, or control group. Vaccinated foals received an avirulent porcine L intracellularis frozen-thawed vaccine intrarectally 60 and 30 days prior to experimental challenge. On day 1, vaccinated and nonvaccinated foals were challenged via nasogastric intubation with a virulent heterologous isolate of L intracellularis. Control foals were not challenged. Clinical ob...
Putnová L, Štohl R.Considering the extensive data sets and statistical techniques, animal breeding embodies a branch of machine learning that has a constantly increasing impact on breeding. In our study, information regarding the potential of machine learning and data mining within a large set of horses and breeds is presented. The individual assignment methods and factors influencing the success rate of the procedure are compared at the Czech population scale. The fixation index values ranged from 0.057 (HMS1) to 0.144 (HTG6), and the overall genetic differentiation amounted to 8.9% among the breeds. The highes...
Park DL, Rua SM, Mirocha CJ, Abd-Alla ES, Weng CY.Naturally contaminated corn implicated in an outbreak of equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) in southeastern Arizona was analyzed for mutagenic potential using the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay before and after treatment with the ammonia procedure. Crude acetonitrile: water (1 + 1) extracts of high-pressure/ambient temperature (HP/AT) ammonia decontaminated, HP/AT plus low pressure/high temperature (LP/HT), and non-ammoniated fumonisin contaminated corn were tested for mutagenic potentials. Relatively pure (approx. 90%) fumonisin B1 standard was also tested for comparison purposes. T...
Puchalski SM.Advances in equine computed tomography have been made as a result of improvements in software and hardware and an increasing body of knowledge. Contrast media can be administered intravascularly or intrathecally. Contrast media is useful to differentiate between tissues of similar density. Equine computed tomography can be used for many different clinical conditions, including lameness diagnosis, fracture identification and characterization, preoperative planning, and characterization of skull diseases.
Randall RP, Schurg WA, Church DC.The two-choice preference test was used to
characterize the test reactions of five immature
horses to sweet, salty, sour and bitter tasting
solutions. Sucrose was preferred ('>60% of total
fluid as test solution) to tap water by the foals at
concentrations ranging from 1.25 to 10 g/100 ml.
Concentrations above and below this range result-
ed in indifference (40 to 60% of fluid consumed as
test solution). The horses were indifferent to NaCI
until a concentration of.63 g/100 ml was reached.
At this level the mean response changed to
rejection (<40% of total fluid as test solution).
F...
Blythe LL, Granstrom DE, Hansen DE, Walker LL, Bartlett J, Stamper S.To determine seroprevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in neurologically normal horses residing in 4 regions of Oregon and to describe the effects of age, gender, breed, and housing on seroprevalence within each region. Methods: Prevalence survey. Methods: Serum samples from 334 horses systematically selected by practicing veterinarians. Methods: Antibodies to S neurona were measured in sera, using a western blot. Information including age, gender, breed, housing, geographic location, and duration of residence was obtained for each horse. Data were analyzed, using descriptive statist...
Simonsen U, Prieto D, Hernández M, Sáenz de Tejada I, García-Sacristán A.To study the influence of alpha-adrenergic stimuli on non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) neurogenic relaxation in isolated horse penile resistance arteries. Methods: Deep intracavernous penile arteries with an internal lumen diameter of 200-500 microns., isolated from the corpus cavernosum of young horses, were mounted in microvascular myographs for isometric tension recording and electrical field stimulation (EFS) of autonomic nerve terminals. Results: In the presence of guanethidine (10(-5) M) and atropine (10(-7) M) tone of the arteries was raised by the thromboxane analogue, U46619. EFS...
Wambacq WA, van Doorn DA, Rovers-Paap PM, Ducatelle R, Vlaminck L, Lourenço M, Hesta M.As colic and intestinal disorders are a major concern in horses, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of butyrate, known to have a diverse array of beneficial effects on intestinal health. The effect of micro-encapsulated sodium butyrate supplementation on gut histology and immunohistochemistry parameters was studied in 14 healthy warmblood horses destined for slaughter in two separate periods. Horses were fed a low fiber - high starch diet, designed to induce subsequent starch overflow in the large intestine, aiming to create a mild challenge f...
North SE, Wakeley PR, Mayo N, Mayers J, Sawyer J.Infection with Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is endemic in the UK. A proportion of horses serve as long-term carriers and act as a reservoir of infection. Detection of these persistently infected horses is difficult using standard culture techniques owing to a lack of sensitivity and overgrowth by contaminating bacteria. In addition, differentiation of this causative bacterium from the closely related S. equi zooepidemicus has made the development of reliable and accurate diagnostic tests difficult. Objective: To develop and validate a sensitive and specific real-time PCR assay ...
Drögemüller M, Jagannathan V, Welle MM, Graubner C, Straub R, Gerber V, Burger D, Signer-Hasler H, Poncet PA, Klopfenstein S, von Niederhäusern R....Congenital hepatic fibrosis has been described as a lethal disease with monogenic autosomal recessive inheritance in the Swiss Franches-Montagnes horse breed. We performed a genome-wide association study with 5 cases and 12 controls and detected an association on chromosome 20. Subsequent homozygosity mapping defined a critical interval of 952 kb harboring 10 annotated genes and loci including the polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 (autosomal recessive) gene (PKHD1). PKHD1 represents an excellent functional candidate as variants in this gene were identified in human patients with autosoma...
Kikuchi M, Takao Y, Tokuda N, Ohnami Y, Orino K, Watanabe K.Total 78 semen samples were obtained from 27 Thoroughbred stallions (aged 6 to 27 years), and were subjected to quantification of lactoferrin (Lf) in seminal plasma and examination of the seminal properties. The seminal plasma Lf concentration varied from 21 to 689 microg/ml, with a mean value of 244 +/- 151 microg/ml (S.D.). The seminal plasma Lf concentration and total seminal plasma Lf positively correlated with the sperm concentration (r=0.5938, P<0.001) and with the total sperm number (r=0.6959, P<0.001), respectively. There was no correlation between seminal plasma Lf and sperm mot...
Gutierrez-Nibeyro SD, Werpy NM, Gold SJ, Olguin S, Schaeffer DJ.Foot pain is a common presenting complaint in Warmblood horses. The aim of this retrospective, cross-sectional study was to determine the spectrum of foot lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Warmblood horses used for dressage, jumping, and eventing. The medical records of 550 Warmblood horses with foot pain that were scanned using standing MRI were reviewed and the following data were recorded: signalment, occupation, lameness, diagnostic analgesia, imaging results, treatments, and follow-up assessments. Associations between standing MRI lesions and chronic lameness followi...
Izume S, Kirisawa R, Ohya K, Ohnuma A, Kimura T, Omatsu T, Katayama Y, Mizutani T, Fukushi H.Equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) is one of the most important pathogens in horses. To clarify the key genes of the EHV-4 genome that cause abortion in female horses, we determined the whole genome sequences of a laboratory strain and 7 Japanese EHV-4 isolates that were isolated from 2 aborted fetuses and nasal swabs of 5 horses with respiratory disease. The full genome sequences and predicted amino acid sequences of each gene of these isolates were compared with of the reference EHV-4 strain NS80567 and Australian isolates that were reported in 2015. The EHV-4 isolates clustered in 2 groups w...
Scare JA, Leathwick DM, Sauermann CW, Lyons ET, Steuer AE, Jones BA, Clark M, Nielsen MK.An alternative control regimen for drug-resistant parasites is combination deworming, where two drugs with different modes of action are administered simultaneously to target the same parasite. Few studies have investigated this in equine cyathostomins. We previously reported that an oxibendazole (OBZ) and pyrantel pamoate (PYR) combination was not sustainable against a cyathostomin population with high levels of OBZ and PYR resistance. This study consisted of a field study and two computer simulations to evaluate the efficacy of a moxidectin-oxibendazole (MOX-OBZ) combination against the same...
Towers RE, Murgiano L, Millar DS, Glen E, Topf A, Jagannathan V, Drögemüller C, Goodship JA, Clarke AJ, Leeb T.Ectodermal dysplasias (EDs) are a large and heterogeneous group of hereditary disorders characterized by abnormalities in structures of ectodermal origin. Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is an ED characterized by skin lesions evolving over time, as well as dental, nail, and ocular abnormalities. Due to X-linked dominant inheritance IP symptoms can only be seen in female individuals while affected males die during development in utero. We observed a family of horses, in which several mares developed signs of a skin disorder reminiscent of human IP. Cutaneous manifestations in affected horses includ...
Schröter C, Schulte-Sutum A, Zeckey C, Winkelmann M, Krettek C, Mommsen P.Equestrian sports are one of the most popular forms of sport in Germany, while also being one of the most accident-prone sports. Furthermore, riding accidents are frequently associated with a high degree of severity of injuries and mortality. Nevertheless, there are insufficient data regarding incidences, demographics, mechanisms of accidents, injury severity and patterns and outcome of injured persons in amateur equestrian sports. Accordingly, it was the aim of the present study to retrospectively analyze these aspects. Methods: A total of 503 patients were treated in the emergency room of th...
Vanniasinkam T, Barton MD, Heuzenroeder MW.Linear B-cell epitopes of the Rhodococcus equi virulence-associated protein (VapA) were mapped using a synthetic peptide bank in this study. The peptides were screened in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a total of 70 sera from foals with current R. equi disease (51 sera), as well as from foals that had either recovered from R. equi infection 10 months previously (3 sera) or that had no known history of R. equi disease (16 sera). An epitope with the sequence NLQKDEPNGRA was identified and was universally recognized by all 51 sera from foals with R. equi disease and was not rec...
Pollard D, Wylie CE, Verheyen KLP, Newton JR.Use of owner-reported data could further epidemiological knowledge of equine laminitis. However, owner recognition of laminitis has not previously been assessed. Objective: The primary objective was to establish whether cases of owner-suspected laminitis would be confirmed as laminitis by the attending veterinary surgeon. Secondary objectives were to compare owner- and veterinary-reported information from veterinary-confirmed cases of equine laminitis. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty-five British veterinary practices were invited to submit laminitis reporting forms (LRFs) for a...
Huntington PJ, Forman AJ, Ellis PM.This paper reports the first isolation of equine arteritis virus (EAV) in Australia and serological evidence of exposure to EAV in Australian horses. Twelve Standardbred stallions imported from North America were found to shed EAV in semen. One hundred and seven stallions were tested for serum antibodies to EAV and 73% of Standardbred stallions tested were seropositive as compared to 8% of Thoroughbred stallions. Serum antibody was detected in 71% of Standardbred mares, 6% of Standardbred racehorses and 1% of Thoroughbred mares and racehorses. Examination of stored serums demonstrated that EAV...
Santschi EM.The best defense against postoperative infection is to use multiple strategies to minimize wound contamination, maintain wound tissue health, and provide rational antimicrobial strategies that do not promote the development of resistant bacteria and superinfections.
Zweygarth E, Lopez-Rebollar LM, Nurton J, Guthrie AJ.Thirteen blood samples of horses from South Africa, five of which were seropositive for Babesia caballi and eight for both B. caballi and Theileria equi, were subjected to in vitro culture to identify carrier animals. None of the animals had a detectable parasitaemia on Giemsa-stained blood smears before culture initiation. Cultures were initiated in L-cysteine-enriched medium, either in an oxygen-reduced gas mixture or in a 5% CO2-in-air atmosphere. All five animals seropositive for B. caballi were identified as carrier animals using an oxygen-reduced atmosphere, whereas only four samples bec...
Raftery AG, Jallow S, Rodgers J, Sutton DGM.Globally, working equines have a continued and growing socioeconomic role in supporting the livelihoods of between 300-600 million people in low income countries which is rarely recognised at a national or international level. Infectious diseases have significant impact on welfare and productivity in this population and equine trypanosomiasis is a priority disease due to its severity and prevalence. Strategies are required to improve the prevention, diagnosis, management and treatment of trypanosomiasis in equines and more data are required on the efficacy and safety of current trypanocidal dr...
Guglick MA, MacAllister CG, Clarke CR, Pollet R, Hague C, Clarke JM.To determine pharmacokinetics of i.v., i.m., and oral administration of cefepime in horses and to compare pharmacokinetics of i.m. administration of cefepime with those of ceftiofur sodium. Methods: 6 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Horses received 3 doses of cefepime (11 mg/kg of body weight, PO; 2.2 mg/kg, i.v.; and 2.2 mg/kg, i.m.) and 1 dose of ceftiofur (2.2 mg/kg, i.m.). Two horses also received L-arginine, p.o. and i.v., at doses identical to those contained in the cefepime dihydrochloride-L-arginine preparations previously administered. Blood samples were collected for 24 hour...
Cotchin E.Published figures from veterinary schools indicate that tumours may account for about 1 to 3 per cent of surgical cases. In this paper an account is given of clinical and pathological aspects of the tumours that are most likely to be encountered in practice, either as visibly or palpably detectable masses of tissue, or as internal tumours responsible for clinical signs. Amongst the common and important tumours dealt with, the most prominent are "equine sarcoid", squamous-cell carcinoma (of eye region and of glans penis), granulosa-cell tumours and melanomas. Well over a hundred references prov...
Gehlen H, Krumbach K, Thöne-Reineke C.This literature review was aimed at analyzing whether stallion husbandry in groups is possible and desirable or poses risks. This was determined on the basis of different studies in order to be able to give practical recommendations from the viewpoint of animal welfare. Consequently, 50 different sources were analyzed, as well as observations of an experiment of the Swiss National Stud on the subject of change from single-stallion to group husbandry and its influence on animal welfare. The results revealed that stallion husbandry in groups is possible but still rarely practiced. It was found t...
