"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.
Pietra M, Cinotti S, Ducci A, Giunti M, Peli A.During an 18 day test, we measured the cytokine mRNA expression (Interleukin-1beta [IL-1beta], Interleukin-8 [IL-8], Interferon-gamma [IFN-gamma], Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha [TNF-alpha]) of cells from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid [BALF] in five horses previously diagnosed with RAO, before and during challenge exposure, and after the desensitization phase which involved dexamethasone treatment and environmental modification. Simultaneously, the same cytokine mRNA expression of cells from BALF in four asymptomatic RAO-affected horses maintained outdoors was analyzed. An evident respiratory dist...
Wong SS, Ngan AH, Riggs CM, Teng JL, Choi GK, Poon RW, Hui JJ, Low FJ, Luk A, Yuen KY.The newly described brittle tail syndrome causes weakening and breakage of the tail hair of horses. Extensive mycological and molecular studies showed that a novel fungus Equicapillimyces hongkongensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is the most likely cause of this syndrome. It is a septate branching hyaline mould which grows optimally at 30°C, requires nicotinic acid but is inhibited by cycloheximide, and specifically infects horse hair. Hyphae fill the core of infected hair shafts with short-necked structures resembling ascomata containing banana-shaped septate ascospore-like structures perforating th...
Medana C, Calza P, Giancotti V, Dal Bello F, Pasello E, Montana M, Baiocchi C.Two horses were treated with sildenafil, and its metabolic products were sought in both urine and plasma samples. Prior to this, a simulative laboratory study had been done using a photocatalytic process, to identify all possible main and secondary transformation products, in a clean matrix; these were then sought in the biological samples. The transformation of sildenafil and the formation of intermediate products were evaluated adopting titanium dioxide as photocatalyst. Several products were formed and characterized using the HPLC/HRMS(n) technique. The main intermediates identified in thes...
Scheffer EG, Venter GJ, Labuschagne K, Page PC, Mullens BA, MacLachlan NJ, Osterrieder N, Guthrie AJ.Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of a variety of pathogens including African horse sickness virus (AHSV), a member of the family Reoviridae, genus Orbivirus. AHSV causes African horse sickness (AHS), an endemic disease of equids with an extremely high mortality rate in horses in sub-Saharan Africa. Culicoides (Avaritia) imicola Kieffer is considered to be the principal vector of AHSV and is the dominant Culicoides species in South Africa. Due to the global distribution of Culicoides vectors, there is a potential risk of AHS spreading from endemic areas to areas t...
Bolfă PF, Leroux C, Pintea A, Andrei S, Cătoi C, Taulescu M, Tăbăran F, Spînu M.This study assesses the impact of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) infection on the oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium of horses. Blood samples from 96 Romanian horses aged 1-25 years, were divided into different groups according to their EIAV-infection status, age, and time post-seroconversion. The effect of infection on oxidative stress was estimated by measuring enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [GPx] and catalase), non-enzymatic antioxidants (uric acid and carotenoids), and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde [MDA]). Infection modified the oxidan...
Takasu M, Hiramatsu N, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Nakagawa T, Hasegawa T, Huricha , Maeda M, Murase T, Mukoyama H.In order to contribute to conservation of the endangered Kiso horse, we clarified their genetic information using 31 microsatellite DNAs, and genotyped 125 horses, 83% of the existing breed. First, we clarified the current status of the horses. The horses were confirmed to have experienced rapid loss of population causing a bottleneck, and their effective population size was much smaller than their census size. Moreover, the number of alleles (6.3), observed heterozygosity (0.674), and expected heterozygosity (0.662) were in the same range as other endangered horses all over the world. Therefo...
Deschene K, Céleste C, Boerboom D, Theoret CL.Exuberant granulation tissue (EGT), a fibrotic healing disorder resembling the human keloid, occurs almost exclusively in limb wounds of horses and may be caused in part by a relative state of hypoxia within the wound. Objective: The objectives of this study were therefore to (1) assess the effects of hypoxia on equine dermal fibroblast (EDF) proliferation and apoptosis, (2) study the effects of hypoxia on the expression of key extracellular matrix (ECM) associated proteins and determine if such effects are dependent on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), and (3) determine if EDFs from the body or...
Salazar-Ortiz J, Camous S, Briant C, Lardic L, Chesneau D, Guillaume D.Mares have an annual reproductive rhythm, with a phase of inactivity in midwinter. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of food restriction on physiological and metabolic hallmarks of this rhythm. Methods: Over three successive years, 3 groups of 10 mares were kept under natural photoperiod. A 'well-fed' group was fed to maintain the mares in good body condition; a 'restricted' group received a diet calculated to keep the mares thin and a 'variable' group was fed during some periods like the 'restricted' group and during some other periods like the 'well-fed' group, with the aim o...
Azab W, El-Sheikh A, Abdel-Gawad A.Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) is an important pathogen that causes respiratory tract disease in horse populations worldwide. Glycoprotein G (gG) homologs have been identified in several alphaherpesviruses as minor non-essential membrane-anchored glycoproteins. In this study, EHV-4 gG deletion mutant has been generated by using bacterial artificial chromosome technology to investigate the role of gG in viral pathogenesis. Our findings reported here revealed no significant difference between parental EHV-4 and gG-negative strain in their replication cycle in cell culture. Furthermore, virus titer...
Mata X, Vaiman A, Ducasse A, Diribarne M, Schibler L, Guérin G.Gene characterization is an important feature for genome annotation and more particularly for candidate genes that could be selected in domestic species. Associations between an alpha-actinin-3 gene polymorphism and muscle performance were reported in humans involving a nonsense mutation (R577X) and in mice after inactivation of the gene. Here, we characterized the equine alpha-actinin-3 (ACTN3) gene by sequencing and transcript analysis. The cDNA was determined to be 3.47 kb in length with an open reading frame of 2709 bp expectedly encoding a protein 902 amino acids long. The ACTN3 gene is 1...
van Doorn DC, Eysker M, Kooyman FN, Wagenaar JA, Ploeger HW.A study was conducted to evaluate the occurrence of resistance against, in particular, ivermectin in cyathostomins in the Netherlands. Seventy horse farms were visited between October 2007 and November 2009. In initial screening, faecal samples were collected 2 weeks after deworming with either ivermectin, moxidectin or doramectin. Pooled faecal samples from a maximum of 10 horses were examined for worm eggs using a modified McMaster technique and for worm larvae after faecal larval cultures. In total 931 horses were involved. On 15 of 70 farms eggs and/or larvae were found. On 8 of these 15 f...
Barrey E, Jayr L, Mucher E, Gospodnetic S, Joly F, Benech P, Alibert O, Gidrol X, Mata X, Vaiman A, Guérin G.Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER) is frequently observed in race horses like trotters. Some predisposing genetic factors have been described in epidemiological studies. However, the exact aetiology is still unknown. A calcium homeostasis disruption was suspected in previous experimental studies, and we suggested that a transcriptome analysis of RER muscles would be a possible way to investigate the pathway disorder. The purpose of this study was to compare the gene expression profile of RER vs. control muscles in the French Trotter to determine any metabolic or structural disruption. T...
Sasaki M, Kim E, Igarashi M, Ito K, Hasebe R, Fukushi H, Sawa H, Kimura T.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), an α-herpesvirus of the family Herpesviridae, causes respiratory disease, abortion, and encephalomyelitis in horses. EHV-1 utilizes equine MHC class I molecules as entry receptors. However, hamster MHC class I molecules on EHV-1-susceptible CHO-K1 cells play no role in EHV-1 entry. To identify the MHC class I molecule region that is responsible for EHV-1 entry, domain exchange and site-directed mutagenesis experiments were performed, in which parts of the extracellular region of hamster MHC class I (clone C5) were replaced with corresponding sequences from equine...
Skedros JG, Sybrowsky CL, Anderson WE, Chow F.Natural loading of the calcanei of deer, elk, sheep and horses produces marked regional differences in prevalent/predominant strain modes: compression in the dorsal cortex, shear in medial-lateral cortices, and tension/shear in the plantar cortex. This consistent non-uniform strain distribution is useful for investigating mechanisms that mediate the development of the remarkable regional material variations of these bones (e.g. collagen orientation, mineralization, remodeling rates and secondary osteon morphotypes, size and population density). Regional differences in strain-mode-specific micr...
Watts AE, Nixon AJ, Yeager AE, Mohammed HO.A consistent and clinically relevant model for the induction of core lesions confined to the mid-metacarpal superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) has not been previously reported. Injection of bacterial collagenase is commonly used but often results in large, irregular and inconsistent lesions that disrupt the superficial tendon layers and epitenon. Objective: To develop and evaluate a new injection technique for collagenase induction of SDFT injury. Methods: Collagenase gel was injected into a physical columnar defect created by longitudinally placing a curved 16 gauge 8.89 cm needle in ...
Vallance SA, Case JT, Entwistle RC, Kinde H, Barr BC, Moore J, Anderson ML, Arthur RM, Stover SM.To determine if scapular fractures occur in racehorses with distinctive characteristics. Objective: To test the hypothesis that Thoroughbred (TB) and Quarter Horse (QH) racehorses with a scapular fracture have similar characteristics that are different from those of their respective racetrack populations. Methods: Necropsy findings, case details, last race information and career earnings for TB and QH racehorses that had a scapular fracture in California between 1990 and 2008 were retrospectively compared between breeds. Horse signalment, career earnings, career starts and race characteristics...
Herder V, Barsnick R, Walliser U, Teifke JP, König P, Czerwinski G, Hansmann F, Baumgärtner W, Hewicker-Trautwein M.An equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) infection was detected in lesioned skin from a nine-year-old Holsteiner stallion in the south of Germany. Macroscopically, the animal displayed a non-pruritic, multifocal, pustular dermatitis around both eyes, nostrils and the muzzle, which had been ongoing for one year. Histopathologically, skin lesions were characterized by orthokeratotic to parakeratotic hyperkeratosis, pustular dermatitis, epidermal hyperplasia, apoptotic keratinocytes, a lympho-plasmahistiocytic interface dermatitis with hydropic degeneration of keratinocytes, and perivascular to diffuse, ly...
Schnabel LV, Papich MG, Divers TJ, Altier C, Aprea MS, McCarrel TM, Fortier LA.Minocycline holds great potential for use in horses not only for its antimicrobial effects but also for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. However, there are no pharmacokinetic or safety data available regarding the use of oral minocycline in horses. Objective: To determine pharmacokinetics, safety and penetration into plasma, synovial fluid, aqueous humour (AH) and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of minocycline after oral administration of multiple doses in horses and to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of minocycline for equine pathogenic bacteria. Methods...
Smits K, Govaere J, Hoogewijs M, Piepers S, Van Soom A.Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is the method of choice for the in vitro production (IVP) of equine embryos. However, conventional ICSI has been associated with mechanical damage to the oocyte caused by the deformation of the zona pellucida (ZP) and exposure of the oolemma to negative pressure during injection. Introduction of the less traumatic and more efficient piezo drill-assisted ICSI (PDAI) yielded higher cleavage rates and more consistent results. Nevertheless, PDAI is also associated with disadvantages such as the use of mercury and possible DNA damage. This led us to explore a...
Andersson LS, Swinburne JE, Meadows JR, Broström H, Eriksson S, Fikse WF, Frey R, Sundquist M, Tseng CT, Mikko S, Lindgren G.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a chronic allergic dermatitis common in horses. Affected horses mainly react against antigens present in the saliva from the biting midges, Culicoides ssp, and occasionally black flies, Simulium ssp. Because of this insect dependency, the disease is clearly seasonal and prevalence varies between geographical locations. For two distinct horse breeds, we genotyped four microsatellite markers positioned within the MHC class II region and sequenced the highly polymorphic exons two from DRA and DRB3, respectively. Initially, 94 IBH-affected and 93 unaffected Sw...
Lange-Consiglio A, Corradetti B, Bizzaro D, Magatti M, Ressel L, Tassan S, Parolini O, Cremonesi F.The aim of this work was to isolate, for the first time, progenitor-like cells from the epithelial (AECs) and mesenchymal (AMCs) portions of the horse amniotic membrane, and to define the biological properties of these cells. AECs displayed polygonal epithelial morphology, while AMCs were fibroblast-like. Usually, six to eight passages were reached before proliferation decreased, with 13.08 and 26.5 cell population doublings attained after 31 days for AECs and AMCs, respectively. Immunocytochemical studies performed at passage 3 (P3) showed that both cell populations were positive for the expr...
Schwarz B, Ertl R, Zimmer S, Netzmann Y, Klein D, Schwendenwein I, Hoven RV.The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and frequency of a mutation in the gene coding for skeletal muscle glycogen synthase type 1 (GYS-1), which is the cause of equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) type 1 in a population of 50 Haflingers. GYS-1 genotyping of 50 Haflingers was performed with a validated restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay. The second aim was to compare resting and post-exercise muscle enzyme activities as well as parameters of glucose metabolism in blood between horses with and without the mutation. Nine of the 50 Haflingers were ident...
Sundström E, Komisarczuk AZ, Jiang L, Golovko A, Navratilova P, Rinkwitz S, Becker TS, Andersson L.Greying with age in horses is an autosomal dominant trait, characterized by hair greying, high incidence of melanoma and vitiligo-like depigmentation. Previous studies have revealed that the causative mutation for this phenotype is a 4.6-kb intronic duplication in STX17 (Syntaxin 17). By using reporter constructs in transgenic zebrafish, we show that a construct containing two copies of the duplicated sequence acts as a strong enhancer in neural crest cells and has subsequent melanophore-specific activity during zebrafish embryonic development whereas a single copy of the duplicated sequence a...
Clegg PD.Orthopaedic injury is common in the racing Thoroughbred and is a cause of both economic loss to the industry, as well as being an obvious welfare issue. Fatal injuries sustained during racing are an obvious major concern and it is important that all is done to reduce their frequency. As a consequence of the importance of these causes of horse morbidity and mortality, the Horserace Betting Levy Board in the UK has invested considerable resources into research in recent years in this area in an attempt to decrease the frequency of such injuries. This review summarises current knowledge relating ...
Koskinen E, Lindeberg H, Kuntsi H, Katila T.Twenty-four Finnhorse mares were examined by rectal palpation and ultrasonography every 6 h during late oestrus to determine the time of ovulation. Milk and serum samples were collected every 6 h after the detected ovulation for progesterone analysis. The progesterone rises took place within 0-54 h and 0-60 h after ovulation, in milk and serum, respectively. Statistically significant differences (p less than 0.05) in progesterone levels were observed for the first time 12-18 h and 18-24 h after ovulation, in serum and milk, respectively, as compared to progesterone levels 0-6 h after ovulation...
Owen RN, Semanchik PL, Latham CM, Brennan KM, White-Springer SH.Maintenance of mitochondrial health, which is supported in part by dietary antioxidants such as selenium (Se) and vitamin E (vitE), is pertinent to optimizing athletic performance. Deficiencies in Se and vitE negatively impact muscle health but mitochondrial adaptations to various levels of dietary Se and vitE are poorly understood. Young Quarter Horses (mean ± SD: 17.6 ± 0.9 mo) undergoing submaximal exercise training were used to test the hypothesis that a proprietary antioxidant blend containing elevated Se yeast (EconomasE, Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY) would improve mitochondrial ch...
Hostetter JM, Uzal FA.Evaluation of gastrointestinal (GI) biopsies is a multistep process that includes reviewing an appropriate history, determining sample quality, and evaluating histologic sections. Selected diagnostic parameters that, in combination with intestinal histopathology, can be useful to localize disease to the intestinal tract in the horse include hypoproteinemia and hypoalbuminemia, ultrasound evidence of increased thickness of the small intestinal wall, and alterations in glucose or D-xylose absorption tests. Biopsies may be acquired either endoscopically, or via laparoscopy or standing flank incis...
Anderson RA, Gallaway WJ.The capillary tube precipitin test was used to determine the host utilization patterns of Culiseta inornata in southwestern Manitoba. Ruminant blood was identified in 83.3% and equine blood in 15.8% of 1,036 positively reacting blood-meals. Human, swine and avian blood accounted for 0.9% of these blood-meals and mixed blood-meals accounted for 1.5% of the total. Culiseta inornata preferentially fed on large mammals, and selection between cattle and horses reflected the relative abundance of these two hosts rather than a specific preference for either one.
Sahu SP, Alstad AD, Pedersen DD, Pearson JE.Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and G (IgG) capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used as possible adjuncts to hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and virus neutralization (VN) tests to differentiate between reaction to recent exposure to eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus and those due to prior vaccination. Serum samples were evaluated by the IgM-capture ELISA, and the results were compared with those of HI and VN tests. Of 381 serum samples, 51% (195 samples) were positive by HI test (> or = 1:40) and 54% (205 samples) were positive by VN test (> or = 1:10), but only 3...
Wakuno A, Aoki M, Kushiro A, Mae N, Kodaira K, Maeda T, Yamazaki Y, Ohta M.There is limited information on clinical use of the new injectable anaesthetic agent alfaxalone in Thoroughbred horses. Objective: To compare anaesthetic induction and recovery characteristics and cardiopulmonary responses between alfaxalone, ketamine and thiopental in Thoroughbred horses premedicated with medetomidine and midazolam. Methods: Randomised blinded experimental cross-over study. Methods: Six Thoroughbred horses were anaesthetised 3 times with alfaxalone 1 mg/kg bwt, ketamine 2.5 mg/kg bwt or thiopental 4 mg/kg bwt after premedication with medetomidine 6 μg/kg bwt and midazola...
Yadav SC, Kumar R, Kumar V, Jaideep , Kumar R, Gupta AK, Bera BC, Tatu U.Trypanosoma evansi is the most extensively distributed trypanosome responsible for disease called surra in livestock in many countries including frequent outbreaks in India. The prevalence of this disease is most commonly reported by standard parasitological detection methods (SPDM); however, antibody ELISA is being in practice by locally produced whole cell lysate (WCL) antigens in many countries. In the present investigation, we attempted to identify and purify immuno dominant, infection specific trypanosome antigens from T. evansi proteome using experimentally infected equine serum by immun...
Timmerman I, Macaire C, Hanne-Poujade S, Bertoni L, Martin P, Marin F, Chateau H.Repeatability and reproducibility of any measuring system must be evaluated to assess possible limitations for its use. The objective of this study was to establish the repeatability and the inter-operator reproducibility of a sensors-based system (EQUISYM®) for quantifying gait asymmetries in horses.. Seven wireless IMUs were placed on the head, the withers, the pelvis, and the 4 cannon bones on three horses, by four different operators, four times on each horse, which led to a total of 48 repetitions randomly assigned. Data were collected along three consecutive days and analysed to calcula...
Jaglan PS, Roof RD, Yein FS, Arnold TS, Brown SA, Gilbertson TJ.Ceftiofur sodium, a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic approved for veterinary use, is metabolized to desfuroylceftiofur which is conjugated to micro as well as macromolecules. Twelve horses, weighting 442-618 kg, were injected intramuscularly with a single dose of 2.2 mg ceftiofur/kg (1.0 mg/lb) body weight. Blood was collected at various intervals over 24 h after treatment. Three groups of four horses each were euthanized and lungs were collected at 1, 12, and 24 h after treatment. The concentration of desfuroylceftiofur and desfuroylceftiofur conjugates in the plasma and lungs was dete...
Giannetto C, Fazio F, Nava V, Arfuso F, Piccione G, Coelho C, Gugliandolo E, Licata P.The objective of this study was to evaluate the biomarkers of exposure to boron, nickel, arsenic, and antimony in an industrial region, evaluating the bioaccumulation in biological substrates and the correlation with biomarkers such as hematological parameters. Through indication of the accumulation of some minerals in the horse's biological substrates reflects environmental pollution. Moreover, an additional aim of the study was to show whether these contaminants have an influence on the hematological parameters in horses. Blood, serum, mane, and tail samples from 20 horses from an industrial...
Viu J, Armengou L, Ríos J, Cesarini C, Jose-Cunilleras E.Acid-base imbalances observed in human paediatric patients are associated with outcome. Likewise, neonatal foals may have different acid-base imbalances associated with diagnosis or prognosis. Objective: To determine acid-base imbalances by the quantitative method in ill neonatal foals and assess their association with diagnosis and prognosis. Methods: Observational prospective clinical study. Methods: This study included 65 ill neonatal foals (32 septic, 33 nonseptic) admitted to an equine referral hospital from 2005 to 2011with acid-base parameters determined on admission and a control group...
Hart SK, Brown JA.To present a case series of horses diagnosed with diaphragmatic hernia, and to determine the significance of (1) historical information, examination findings, and laboratory data; and (2) exploratory laparotomy or necropsy findings on short- and long-term outcome. Methods: University Referral Hospital. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Forty-four horses/foals admitted between 1986 and 2006 with a diagnosis of diaphragmatic hernia made either at exploratory laparotomy or necropsy. Methods: None. Results: Information from the medical records included history, clinical examination findings a...
Kingston JK, Geor RJ, McCutcheon LJ.Rate and ionic composition of sweat fluid losses and partitioning of evaporative heat loss into respiratory and cutaneous components were determined in six horses during three 15-km phases of exercise at approximately 40% of maximal O2 uptake. Pattern of change in sweat rate (SR) and composition was similar during each phase. SR increased rapidly for the first 20 min of exercise but remained at approximately 24-28 ml . m-2 . min-1 during the remainder of each phase. Similarly, the concentrations of Na and Cl in sweat increased until 30 min of exercise but were unchanged thereafter. Sweat osmol...
Mudge MC, Macdonald MH, Owens SD, Tablin F.To compare viability of equine whole blood stored by 4 different methods, and to establish optimal storage protocols for an equine autologous blood donation program. Methods: In vitro study of stored equine whole blood. Animals- Six healthy adult horses. Methods: Blood from each horse was collected into 4 different containers: glass bottles containing acid-citrate-dextrose solution (ACD), plastic bags containing ACD, citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD), and CPD with supplemental adenine (CPDA-1). Blood was stored for 5 weeks and sampled at 2-day intervals. Standard hematologic and biochemical var...
Hession CE, Law Smith MJ, Watterson D, Oxley N, Murphy BA. This study aims to investigate the impact of a therapeutic horse riding (HR) intervention and an audiovisual (AV) intervention comprising exposure to equine rhythm and motion on developmental parameters of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The study design was a pretest/post-test. The study took place in three locations across Ireland-St. Michael's Boys School in Mervue, Co Galway, The Hunt Museum in Limerick City, Co. Limerick, and Fettercairn Youth Horse Project in Tallaght, Co. Dublin. Eighty-three children (6-14 years) with a primary diagnosis of DCD. Children m...
Bażanów B, Frącka A, Jackulak N, Romuk E, Gębarowski T, Owczarek A, Stygar D.Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) is considered to be an important pathogen in horses, but relatively few studies are available. Objective: The purpose of this study was to verify ERAV seroprevalence in selected horses in Poland, in addition to correlation between ERAV and age and sex of analysed animals and the antioxidant status. Methods: The material collected from clinically healthy horses was tested using the VNT (353 serum samples) and virus isolation method (44 nasal swabs). 27 serum samples with antibody titers between 0 and ≥1 : 2048 were chosen for further analysis. The study was ...
Davis JL, Gardner SY, Schwabenton B, Breuhaus BA.To identify clinical signs, underlying cardiac conditions, echocardiographic findings, and prognosis for horses with congestive heart failure. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 14 horses. Methods: Signalment; history; clinical signs; clinicopathologic, echocardiographic, and radiographic findings; treatment; and outcome were determined by reviewing medical records. Results: All 14 horses were examined because of a heart murmur; tachycardia was identified in all 14. Twelve horses had echocardiographic evidence of enlargement of 1 or more chambers of the heart. Other common clinical finding...
Zinkl JG, Brown PD.Horse polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) isolated from horse blood by sedimentation and isotonic lysis and having about 25% accompanying lymphocytes were as effective at chemotaxis as nearly pure PMN isolated by density gradient techniques. N-Formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (FMLP), used as a representative of the formylmethionyl peptides (produced by prokaryocytic organisms), was effective as a chemoattractant only at the high concentration of 10(-4) M. When serum was preincubated with FMLP at concentrations as low as 10(-8) M, the serum attracted horse PMN. This activity was not g...
Dart AJ, Hodgson DR, Snyder JR.To review the breed, age, gender, clinical and laboratory findings, treatment and outcome of horses with caecal disease presented to a referral centre. Methods: Retrospective study of 96 cases. Methods: The breed, age, and gender of the study population were compared with the corresponding hospital population for the same period. The means (+/- SD) for clinical and laboratory findings were recorded for each caecal disorder. Treatment was categorised as medical or surgical, and outcome was recorded. Results: Caecal diseases included impaction (40% of total cases), rupture associated with concur...
Korolainen R, Ruohoniemi M.In order to investigate the reliability of ultrasonography in revealing intestinal sand accumulations, the cranioventral parts of the abdomen of 32 horses (age 3-20 years) with signs suggestive of gastrointestinal sand were examined radiographically and ultrasonographically. The amount of sand and its localisation, relative to the ventral abdominal wall, were evaluated radiographically and graded (scale 0-4). Motility of the intestine and whether it was lying against the ventral abdominal wall were evaluated ultrasonographically and the findings summed and graded (scale 0-3) to express the lik...
Rogers CW, Firth EC, Anderson BH.To examine the effect of race training on kinematic parameters of the trot in a sample of 2-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. Methods: Two-year-old Thoroughbred fillies that had been either trained for racing (n=7) or left untrained in small paddocks (n=7) were examined for lameness, and linear and temporal kinematic data were collected from video recordings of each horse trotted in-hand, 5, 9 and 13 weeks after the beginning of training. Horses were graded as: sound (Grade 0), suspected but not obviously lame (Grade 1), or definitely lame at the trot (Grade 2). Results: Mean velocity at the trot...
Sangal V, Jones AL, Goodfellow M, Sutcliffe IC, Hoskisson PA.Rhodococcus equi ('Prescottella equi') is a pathogenic actinomycete primarily infecting horses but has emerged as an opportunistic human pathogen. We have sequenced the genome of the type strain of this species, R. equi strain C7(T) , and compared the genome with that of another foal isolate 103S and of a human isolate ATCC 33707. The R. equi strains are closely related to each other and yet distantly related to other rhodococci and Nocardia brasiliensis. The comparison of gene contents among R. equi strains revealed minor differences that could be associated with host adaptation from foals to...
Burkhardt E, von Saldern F, Huskamp B.On clinical examination, a six-year-old Hassian gray gelding with a history of impaired performance, slight cough, colic, and edema of the ventral abdomen, prepuce and the legs had reduced skin turgor, pale mucous membranes, forced costoabdominal breathing, reduced venous return, enlarged lymph nodes, and splenomegaly. Hematologic findings revealed anemia, leukocytosis and a high percentage of monocytoid leukemic cells. Generalized lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, ascites, hydrothorax, and a diffusely thickened gut wall were found at necropsy. Massive infiltration with monocytoid leukemic cells ...
Panzani D, Zicchino I, Taras A, Marmorini P, Crisci A, Rota A, Camillo F.Artificial photoperiod treatment is currently the best method to hasten the first ovulation of the breeding season in winter anoestrus mares. However, this is not easy to apply in large herds of mares and, to be effective, has to be planned in the northern hemisphere in December at the latest. Pharmacological treatments have been proposed as alternatives: GnRH agonists, progesterone or its synthetic agonist Altrenogest, and dopamino-antagonists, as pherphenazine, domperidone or sulpiride. Dopamino-antagonists protocols, beginning at a given day of the year, gave controversial results in terms ...
Weiss DJ, Evanson OA.To evaluate the activation status of neutrophils in blood samples obtained from horses with naturally occurring colic associated with strangulating obstruction, nonstrangulating obstruction, or inflammatory bowel disease. Methods: 30 horses with naturally occurring colic and 30 healthy control horses. Methods: Activation status of neutrophils was determined by assessing the number of neutrophils that could pass through filters with 5-microm pores, cell-surface CD11-CD18 expression, and alterations in size and granularity of neutrophils. Results: Horses with impaction or gas colic did not have ...
McConnell EJ, Rioja E, Bester L, Sanz MG, Fosgate GT, Saulez MN.Alterations in cerebral haemodynamics may contribute to perianaesthetic complications in horses. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is frequently used intraoperatively in man to provide information regarding cerebral perfusion. Objective: To determine whether NIRS can identify trends in regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) in horses and whether there is a correlation between rSO2 and venous oxygen tensions. Methods: A cerebral oximeter sensor recorded rSO2 from the dorsal sagittal sinus of 6 healthy horses. Values for rSO2, arterial and venous oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions (PaO2, PvO...
Cox S, Sommardahl C, Fortner C, Davis R, Bergman J, Doherty T.Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (COX) in tissues and used as therapeutic agents in different species. Grapiprant, a member of the piprant class of compounds, antagonizes prostaglandin receptors. It is a highly selective EP4 prostaglandin E receptor inhibitor, thereby limiting the potential for adverse effects caused by wider COX inhibition. The objectives of this study were to determine if the approved canine dose would result in measurable concentrations in horses, and to validate a chromatographic method of analysis for grapiprant in urine and plasma. M...
