"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.
Chalder R, Housby-Skeggs N, Clark C, Pollard D, Hartley C, Blacklock B.There are a growing number of horses, ponies, and donkeys aged 15 years or older in the United Kingdom, yet there have been no studies utilising a complete ophthalmic examination to investigate the prevalence of ophthalmic pathology within this population. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of ophthalmic pathology and associations with signalment, in a convenience sample of geriatric equids in the United Kingdom. Methods: Cross sectional. Methods: Horses, ponies, and donkeys aged 15 years or older based at The Horse Trust charity underwent a full ophthalmic examination including slit...
Alipour A, Akrami Mohajeri F, Javdan G, Pourramezani F, Fallahzadeh H, Khalili Sadrabad E.In recent years, the mare's milk has been introduced as a rich source of nutrients with hypoallergic characteristics which is widely used for Iranian infants. The present study aimed to investigate the heavy metal concentration of mare's milk and its consumption risk assessment. About 88 mare's milk was collected from Yazd, the centre of Iran, during the summer of 2020. The raw mare's milk was digested and analysed for mineral and heavy metal content (As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb and Zn) by ICP-OES. To estimate the health hazard for consumers the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Haza...
Mannaa M, Shamaa AA, Shawky A, Hassan IM, Refaey AM, Abu-Seida AM.Cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM), also known as equine wobbler syndrome or cervical ataxia, is a devastating neurological syndrome resulting from compression of the spinal cord at the cervical region. This report describes a novel surgical technique for treatment of 16-month-old Arabian filly with CVSM. The filly showed grade 4 ataxia, hypermetria, weakness of the hind limbs, stumbling during walking, and abnormal gait. Case history, clinical signs and myelography revealed spinal cord compression between the C3 and C4 and C4-C5. The filly underwent a novel surgical interference fo...
Huertas RM, Arguedas M, Estrada JM, Moscoso E, Umaña D, Solano G, Vargas M, Segura Á, Sánchez A, Herrera M, Villalta M, Arroyo-Portilla C....During the production of snake antivenoms, the animals used as immunoglobulin source are subjected to processes that could deteriorate their physical condition. Therefore, these conditions must be carefully designed and validated. In this work, the immunization and bleeding protocols applied to horses used to produce the African polyspecific antivenom EchiTAb-plus-ICP were evaluated regarding their effects on the horses' health. The study focused on horses that had been previously immunized with venoms and then received periodic booster venom injections for antivenom production. It was found t...
Kawahisa-Piquini G, Bass L, Pezzanite LM, Moorman VJ.The role of hoof morphology is increasingly recognized as a factor associated with lameness incidence in performance horses. The primary objective was to evaluate effect of training initiation on hoof unevenness in Quarter Horses (n = 42; 29 2-year-olds, 13 3-year-olds) over 6-months (m) in training (m0, m2, m4, and m6). Horses were objectively assessed for lameness (inertial sensor system) and photographs and radiographs of feet were taken. Hoof measurements were taken (palmar/plantar angles, frog base width/length, toe length/angle, heel length/angle, heel/foot width, wall height/angle), a...
O'Brien TJ, Hollinshead F, Goodrich LR.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease affecting humans and horses, resulting in significant morbidity, financial expense, and loss of athletic use. While the pathogenesis is incompletely understood, inflammation is considered crucial in the development and progression of the disease. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have received increasing scientific attention for their anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and pro-regenerative effects. However, there are concerns about their ability to become a commercially available therapeutic. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are now recognized to play...
Lisboa BRF, da Silva JAR, da Silva WC, Barbosa AVC, Silva LKX, Lourenço-Júnior JB.In Brazil, the study on equine thermoregulation has not shown considerable advances, moreover, in the Amazon, this is a little explored aspect. This study aims to evaluate the thermoregulation of horses submitted to two methods of post-exercise cooling, in the climatic conditions of the Eastern Amazon. The experiment was conducted at Centro Hipico, Ananindeua, Para, for 15 days. Ten male horses, castrated of the Brazilian breed, aged 13 years and with an average weight of 482.3 kg were used. Equestrianism, which was exercised with pre-established protocol in the arena and track, for 30 min. Af...
Auckburally A, Wiklund M, Lord P, Nyman G.To measure changes in regional lung perfusion using CT angiography in mechanically ventilated, anesthetized ponies administered pulsed inhaled nitric oxide (PiNO) during hypotension and normotension. Methods: 6 ponies for anesthetic 1 and 5 ponies for anesthetic 2. Methods: Ponies were anesthetized on 2 separate occasions, mechanically ventilated, and placed in dorsal recumbency within the CT gantry. Pulmonary arterial, right atrial, and facial arterial catheters were placed. During both anesthetics, PiNO was delivered for 60 minutes and then discontinued. Anesthetic 1: hypotension (mean arter...
Joonè CJ, Cavalieri J.There is a need for a safe, effective and practical method of oestrus suppression in the mare. The aim of this study was to monitor ovarian activity in mares exposed to either 9.4 or 28.2 mg deslorelin acetate, a GnRH agonist, in the form of a sustained-release implant. Following oestrus synchronisation, mares were randomly assigned to one of three groups (n = 4 per group) and administered either one (Des1 group; 9.4 mg) or three (Des3 group; 28.2 mg) implants of deslorelin acetate (Suprelorin-12, Virbac Australia) or one blank implant (Control group; Virbac Australia). Mares underwe...
Testa B, Biggi M, Byrne CA, Bell A.Acquisition of magnetic resonance images of the equine limb is still sometimes conducted under general anaesthesia. Despite low-field systems allow the use of standard anaesthetic equipment, possible interferences of the extensive electronic componentry of advanced anaesthetic machines on image quality is unknown. This prospective, blinded, cadaver study investigated the effects of seven standardised conditions (Tafonius positioned as in clinical cases, Tafonius on the boundaries of the controlled area, anaesthetic monitoring only, Mallard anaesthetic machine, Bird ventilator, complete electro...
Dorneles EMS, Santana JA, Costa ACTRB, Junqueira DG, Heinemann MB, Lage AP.Brucellosis in equines, including horses, donkeys, and mules, is characterized by abscesses in tendons, bursae, and joints. Reproductive disorders, which are common in other animals, are rare in both males and females. Joint breeding of horses, cattle, and pigs was found as the main risk factor for equine brucellosis, with the transmission from equines to cattle or among equines possible, although unlikely. Hence, evaluation of the disease in equines can be considered an indirect indicator of the effectiveness of brucellosis control measures employed for other domestic species. Generally, the ...
Muñoz-Prieto A, Contreras-Aguilar MD, Cerón JJ, Ayala de la Peña I, Martín-Cuervo M, Eckersall PD, Holm Henriksen IM, Tecles F, Hansen S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a highly prevalent disease that affects horses worldwide. Within EGUS, two different forms have been described: equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD). The associated clinical signs cause detrimental activity performance, reducing the quality of life of animals. Saliva can contain biomarkers for EGUS that could be potentially used as a complementary tool for diagnosis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the measurements of calprotectin (CALP) and aldolase in the saliva of horses as potential biomarkers ...
Stage HJ, Trappe S, Söllig K, Trachsel DS, Kirsch K, Zieger C, Merle R, Aschenbach JR, Gehlen H.The investigation of multipotent stem/stromal cells (MSCs) in vitro represents an important basis for translational studies in large animal models. The study's aim was to examine and compare clinically relevant in vitro properties of equine MSCs, which were isolated from abdominal (abd), retrobulbar (rb) and subcutaneous (sc) adipose tissue by collagenase digestion (ASCs-) and an explant technique (ASCs-). Firstly, we examined proliferation and trilineage differentiation and, secondly, the cardiomyogenic differentiation potential using activin A, bone morphogenetic protein-4 and Dickkopf-1. Fi...
Kang H, Zsoldos RR, Sole-Guitart A, Narayan E, Cawdell-Smith AJ, Gaughan JB.Healthy adult horses can balance accumulation and dissipation of body heat to maintain their body temperature between 37.5 and 38.5 °C, when they are in their thermoneutral zone (5 to 25 °C). However, under some circumstances, such as following strenuous exercise under hot, or hot and humid conditions, the accumulation of body heat exceeds dissipation and horses can suffer from heat stress. Prolonged or severe heat stress can lead to anhidrosis, heat stroke, or brain damage in the horse. To ameliorate the negative effects of high heat load in the body, early detection of heat stress and im...
Sugiyama F, Takahashi Y, Nomura M, Ebisuda Y, Mukai K, Yoshida T.We investigated the risk factors for epistaxis in Japanese flat races over a 20-year period. The veterinary records of horses identified as having epistaxis by endoscopy on the race day, and the official racing records of all flat races from April to September between 2001 and 2020, were reviewed. The racecourses (n = 10), surface type, surface condition, race class, race distance, race year, sex, age, two training centers, ambient temperature, and body weight on race days were assessed using multivariable logistic regression (p < 0.05). Of 475,709 race starts, 616 (1.30 cases per 1000 starts;...
Etcharren V, Mouguelar H, Aguilar Valenciano JJ.Telocytes (TCs), a recently discovered special type of stromal cells, have been identified in many organs of many species, including the female and male reproductive system, with proposed multiple potential bio-functions such as homeostasis, immunomodulation, tissue remodeling and regeneration, embryogenesis, angiogenesis and even tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence, and characteristics of telocytes in normal equine oviduct. To identify them, we used routine light microscopy, non-conventional light microscopy (NCLM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and...
Hedia M, Leroy JLMR, Govaere J, Van Soom A, Smits K.The application of trans-vaginal ovum pick up (OPU) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is well established for commercial in vitro embryo production in horses. These assisted reproductive techniques are especially applied during the non-breeding season of the mare. However, little is known about how the health of the oocyte donor may affect the biochemical composition of the follicular fluid (FF) in small and medium-sized follicles routinely aspirated during OPU. This study aimed to investigate associations between systemic and FF concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), total choleste...
Darbandi H, Munsters C, Parmentier J, Havinga P.Detection of fatigue helps prevent injuries and optimize the performance of horses. Previous studies tried to determine fatigue using physiological parameters. However, measuring the physiological parameters, e.g., plasma lactate, is invasive and can be affected by different factors. In addition, the measurement cannot be done automatically and requires a veterinarian for sample collection. This study investigated the possibility of detecting fatigue non-invasively using a minimum number of body-mounted inertial sensors. Using the inertial sensors, sixty sport horses were measured during walk ...
El-Sayed SAE, Rizk MA, Baghdadi HB, Ringo AE, Sambuu G, Nugraha AB, Igarashi I.In this study, we designed novel truncated Babesia caballi (B. caballi) recombinant proteins from the previously used B. caballi proteins; 134-Kilodalton Protein (rBC134) and Merozoite Rhoptry 48 Protein (rBC48). Then, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of the newly designed proteins when used as a single antigen or when used as cocktail antigen consists of rBC134 full length (rBC134f) + newly designed rBC48 (rBC48t) or newly designed rBC134 (rBC134t) + rBC48t for the detection of B. caballi infection in horse using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). We used one dose and...
Brandly JE, Midon M, Douglas HF, Hopster K.Equine peri-anesthetic mortality is higher than that for other commonly anesthetized veterinary species. Unique equine pulmonary pathophysiologic aspects are believed to contribute to this mortality due to impairment of gas exchange and subsequent hypoxemia. No consistently reliable solution for the treatment of peri-anesthetic gas exchange impairment is available. Flow-controlled expiration (FLEX) is a ventilatory mode that linearizes gas flow throughout the expiratory phase, reducing the rate of lung emptying and alveolar collapse. FLEX has been shown to improve gas exchange and pulmonary me...
Zakia LS, Gomez DE, Caddey BB, Boerlin P, Surette MG, Arroyo LG.Next generation sequencing has demonstrated that alpha diversity of the fecal microbiota is significantly altered in horses with typhlocolitis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bacterial composition of the cecum content of horses with and without typhlocolitis through direct and culture-enriched 16S gene sequencing of six healthy horses and six horses with acute typhlocolitis; a case-control study design. Cecal content was collected after euthanasia. An aliquot was used for direct 16S gene sequencing. Another was serially diluted with brain heart infusion (BHI) and plated onto f...
Bronstein A, Marx A.Comparison of myoglobin structures reveals that protein isolated from horse heart consistently adopts an alternate turn conformation in comparison to its homologues. Analysis of hundreds of high-resolution structures discounts crystallization conditions or the surrounding amino acid protein environment as explaining this difference, that is also not captured by the AlphaFold prediction. Rather, a water molecule is identified as stabilizing the conformation in the horse heart structure, which immediately reverts to the whale conformation in molecular dynamics simulations excluding that structur...
Laidoudi Y, Rousset E, Dessimoulie AS, Prigent M, Raptopoulo A, Huteau Q, Chabbert E, Navarro C, Fournier PE, Davoust B., also known as the causal agent of Q fever, is a zoonotic pathogen infecting humans and several animal species. Here, we investigated the epidemiological context of from an area in the Hérault department in southern France, using the One Health paradigm. In total, 13 human cases of Q fever were diagnosed over the last three years in an area comprising four villages. Serological and molecular investigations conducted on the representative animal population, as well as wind data, indicated that some of the recent cases are likely to have originated from a sheepfold, which revealed bacterial c...
Tuniyazi M, Wang W, Zhang N.Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a technique involving transferring fecal matter from a healthy donor to a recipient, with the goal of reinstating a healthy microbiome in the recipient's gut. FMT has been used in horses to manage various gastrointestinal disorders, such as colitis and diarrhea. To evaluate the current literature on the use of FMT in horses, including its efficacy, safety, and potential applications, the authors conducted an extensive search of several databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, published up to 11 January 2023. The authors...
Fraschetto C, Dancot M, Vandersmissen M, Denoix JM, Coudry V.To describe type and distribution of tarsal collateral ligament (CL) injuries and to assess the long-term outcome in horses treated conservatively. Methods: 78 horses (median age, 7 years [IQR, 4 to 9.75 years]) of different breeds and disciplines. Methods: Retrospective analysis (2000 through 2020) of horses with tarsal CL lesions diagnosed on ultrasound. The resting time, ability to return to work, and performance level after the injury were compared between horses having a single ligament (group S) or multiple ligaments (group M) affected and according to the case severity. Results: Most of...
Gołyński M, Metyk M, Ciszewska J, Szczepanik MP, Fitch G, Bęczkowski PM.Homocysteine is an endogenous, non-protein sulfuric amino acid, an intermediate metabolite formed by the methionine transmethylation reaction. Its elevated serum concentration in humans, hyperhomocysteinemia, is a sensitive indicator and a risk factor for coagulation disorders, cardiovascular diseases and dementia. However, the role of homocysteine in veterinary species has not been unequivocally established. Although some research has been conducted in dogs, cats, cattle and pigs, relatively few studies on homocysteine have been conducted in horses. So far, it has been established in this spe...
Dilling SC, TenBroeck SH, Hogsette JA, Kline DL.Mosquitoes are pests of horses, but mosquito trap efficacy data, especially the ability of traps to protect horses, are lacking. Studies were conducted to investigate the comparative attraction between traps and horses, increase trap attraction by adding horse odors to the airstream of a trap, determine the spatial distribution of adult mosquitoes, estimate the numbers of mosquitoes feeding on horses, determine the relative attraction of horses to mosquitoes, and estimate the range of mosquitoes' attraction between two horses. When a horse and a mosquito trap were placed 3.5 m apart, there was...
Hu Z, Guo K, Du C, Sun J, Naletoski I, Chu X, Lin Y, Wang X, Barrandeguy M, Samuel M, Wang W, Lau PI, Wernery U, Raghavan R, Wang X.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is an important viral disease characterized by persistent infection in equids worldwide. Most EIA cases are life-long virus carriers with low antibody reactions and without the appearance of clinical symptoms. A serological test with high sensitivity and specificity is required to detect inapparent infection. In this study, a B-cell common epitope-based blocking ELISA (bELISA) was developed using a monoclonal antibody together with the EIAV p26 protein labelled with HRP. The test has been evaluated against the standard and with field serum samples globally. This ...
Kamyingkird K, Choocherd S, Chimnoi W, Klinkaew N, Kengradomkij C, Phoosangwalthong P, Thammasonthijarern N, Pattanatanang K, Inpankaew T, Phasuk J....African horse sickness (AHS) was reported as an outbreak in Thailand in 2020. Hematophagous insects from the genus Culicoides are the suspected vector responsible for AHS transmission. Horses in Hua Hin district, Prachuab Khiri Khan province, Thailand, were affected and died from AHS in 2020. However, the potential Culicoides species and its host preference blood meal in the affected areas are unknown. To investigate the potential vectors of AHS, Culicoides were collected using ultraviolet light traps placed near horse stables. Six horse farms, including five farms with AHS history and one far...
Halbert ND, Reitzel RA, Martens RJ, Cohen ND.To evaluate sensitivity and specificity of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for simultaneous detection of Rhodococcus equi and differentiation of strains that contain the virulence-associated gene (vapA) from strains that do not. Methods: 187 isolates of R equi from equine and nonequine tissue and environmental specimens and 27 isolates of bacterial species genetically or morphologically similar to R equi. Methods: The multiplex PCR assay included 3 gene targets: a universal 311-bp bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon (positive internal control), a 959-bp R equi-specific targe...
Olomski F, Fettelschoss V, Jonsdottir S, Birkmann K, Thoms F, Marti E, Bachmann MF, Kündig TM, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most common seasonal pruritic allergic dermatitis of horses occurring upon insect bites. In recent years, a major role for IL-31 in allergic pruritus of humans, monkeys, dogs, and mice was acknowledged. Here, we investigate the role of IL-31 in IBH of horses and developed a therapeutic vaccine against equine IL-31 (eIL-31). IL-31 levels were quantified in allergen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and skin punch biopsies of IBH lesions and healthy skin from IBH-affected and healthy horses. The vaccine consisted of eIL-31 covalently ...
Timoney PJ, McCollum WH, Murphy TW, Roberts AW, Willard JG, Carswell GD.The carrier state has been confirmed virologically in Thoroughbred and non-Thoroughbred stallions naturally infected with equine arteritis virus (EAV). Short-term or convalescent and long-term carriers occur. The frequency rate of the long-term carrier state in Thoroughbreds was high, averaging 33.9% among the three groups of stallions under study. While the convalescent carrier state only lasted a few weeks after clinical recovery, the long-term carrier state could persist for years. There was evidence, however, that not all such carriers might remain persistently infected for life. Carrier s...
Renshaw RW, Glaser AL, Van Campen H, Weiland F, Dubovi EJ.A virus that could not be identified as a previously known equine virus was isolated from the mononuclear cells of a horse. Electron microscopy revealed enveloped virions with nucleocapsid structures characteristic of viruses in the Paramyxoviridae family. The virus failed to hemabsorb chicken or guinea pig red blood cells and lacked neuraminidase activity. Two viral genes were isolated from a cDNA expression library. Multiple sequence alignments of one gene indicated an average identity of 45% as compared to Morbillivirus N protein sequences. A weaker relationship was found with Tupaia paramy...
Kim KH, Oang KY, Kim J, Lee JH, Kim Y, Ihee H.Here we report structural dynamics of equine myoglobin (Mb) in response to the CO photodissociation visualized by picosecond time-resolved X-ray solution scattering. The data clearly reveal new structural dynamics that occur in the timescale of ∼360 picoseconds (ps) and ∼9 nanoseconds (ns), which have not been clearly detected in previous studies.
Tecles F, Cerón JJ.Whole blood cholinesterase was measured using acetyl-, butyryl- and propionylthiocholine as substrates in 10 healthy adult dogs, cats, horses, pigs, goats, sheep and cows, in order to determine and characterise the cholinesterase activity in whole blood of the main domestic animals. An in vitro exposure test with two anticholinesterase compounds, the organophosphate insecticide coumaphos and the carbamate insecticide imidocarb, was also performed. In whole blood of ruminants and pigs, acetylthiocholine yielded the highest cholinesterase activity and other substrates were poorly hydrolysed; in ...
Rapoport A, Aharonson-Raz K, Berlin D, Tal S, Gottlieb Y, Klement E, Steinman A.Equine piroplasmosis imposes great concerns for the equine industry regarding international horse movement, and therefore requires reliable diagnostic tools. Recent studies from South Africa and Jordan, including a preliminary study in Israel, reported extremely low seroprevalence to Babesia caballi (B. caballi) (0-1%) using the acceptable rhoptry-associated protein-1 (RAP-1) cELISA. In accordance with the study from South Africa demonstrating a significant heterogeneity in the rap-1 gene sequence of South African B. caballi isolates, the objectives of this study were to phylogenetically chara...
Gilkerson JR, Bailey KE, Diaz-Méndez A, Hartley CA.Many viral agents have been associated with respiratory disease of the horse. The most important viral causes of respiratory disease in horses are equine influenza and the equine alphaherpesviruses. Agents such as equine viral arteritis virus, African horse sickness virus, and Hendra virus establish systemic infections. Clinical signs of disease resulting from infection with these agents can manifest as respiratory disease, but the respiratory tract is not the major body system affected by these viruses. Treatment of viral respiratory disease is generally limited to supportive therapies, where...
Xu Z, Kang X, Han P, Du P, Li L, Zheng A, Deng C, Qi J, Zhao X, Wang Q, Liu K, Gao GF.The origin and host range of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are important scientific questions as they might provide insight into understanding of the potential future spillover to infect humans. Here, we tested the binding between equine angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (eqACE2) and the receptor binding domains (RBDs) of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 prototype (PT) and variant of concerns (VOCs), as well as their close relatives bat-origin coronavirus (CoV) RaTG13 and pangolin-origin CoVs GX/P2V/2017 and GD/1/2019. We also determined the crystal structures of eq...
Chaichanasiriwithaya W, Rikihisa Y, Yamamoto S, Reed S, Crawford TB, Perryman LE, Palmer GH.Ehrlichia risticii causes an acute infectious disease in horses called Potomac horse fever. To investigate the biological diversity of E. risticii organisms, nine E. risticii isolates derived from the peripheral blood monocytes of clinically sick horses in Ohio and Kentucky during the summers of 1991 and 1993 were compared with Illinois and Virginia isolates originally obtained from horses in Maryland in 1984. Seven of the nine isolates (081, 606, 380, 679, As, Co, and Ov) formed large morulae (tightly packed inclusions of ehrlichial organisms). The remaining isolates, including 1984 isolates,...
French NP, Smith J, Edwards GB, Proudman CJ.The reason for undertaking this study was that postoperative complications of colic surgery lead to patient discomfort, prolonged hospitalisation and increased cost. Potential risk factors for the 6 most common postoperative complications (jugular thrombosis, ileus, re-laparotomy, wound suppuration, incisional herniation and colic) were evaluated using multivariable models. Jugular thrombosis was associated significantly with heart rate greater than 60 beats/min and with increased packed cell volume (PCV) at admission. The risk of postoperative ileus also increased with increasing PCV at admis...
Weiland G.The increasing horse trade requires a reliable immunodiagnosis of equine piroplasma infections due to import restrictions imposed by various countries, including the United States of America. It was the aim of our investigations to establish the suitability of serological tests for the detection of parasite carriers and, eventually, to differentiate between Babesia caballi and B. equi infections. The investigations were carried out on 11 ponies with experimentally-induced B. caballi and/or B. equi infection. The infections were confirmed by the demonstration of parasites in blood smears 2-13 d...
Hanggi EB, Ingersoll JF.Three horses (Equus caballus) with a history of performing cognitive tasks including discrimination learning, categorization, and concept use were tested to evaluate their long-term memory (LTM) in three experiments. In addition, use of LCD multi-displays for stimulus presentation was incorporated into cognition testing protocol for the first time with horses. Experiment 1 tested LTM for discrimination learning that originally occurred 6 years earlier. Five sets of stimuli were used and the two horses tested showed no decrement in performance on four of the sets; however, both horses did score...
Tripathi VN, Harding WC, Willingham-Lane JM, Hondalus MK.Rhodococcus equi is a facultative intracellular, Gram-positive, soilborne actinomycete which can cause severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia with abscessation in young horses (foals) and in immunocompromised people, such as persons with AIDS. All strains of R. equi isolated from foals and approximately a third isolated from humans contain a large, ~81-kb plasmid which is essential for the intramacrophage growth of the organism and for virulence in foals and murine in vivo model systems. We found that the entire virulence plasmid could be transferred from plasmid-containing strains of R. equi (dono...
Denny MW.Are there absolute limits to the speed at which animals can run? If so, how close are present-day individuals to these limits? I approach these questions by using three statistical models and data from competitive races to estimate maximum running speeds for greyhounds, thoroughbred horses and elite human athletes. In each case, an absolute speed limit is definable, and the current record approaches that predicted maximum. While all such extrapolations must be used cautiously, these data suggest that there are limits to the ability of either natural or artificial selection to produce ever fast...
Schuurman SO, Kersten W, Weijs WA.Horses spend much of their life standing, and they are believed to be able to keep their limbs straight without muscular effort. We tested the hypothesis that the stifle (knee) and hock (tarsal) joints could be stabilized merely with the help of a passive lock mechanism whereby the patella is secured behind a hook, formed by the medial femoral trochlea. In anaesthetized animals and isolated limbs the stifle and hock flex readily under compression. In isolated limbs this collapse was prevented by a small force applied to the patella, mimicking the action of the vastus medialis muscle. In vivo, ...
Hobbs SJ, Clayton HM.The aims of this study were to measure ground reaction forces (GRFs) of concurrently loaded limbs and to evaluate spatial relationships between the centre of pressure (COP) and centre of mass (COM) in trotting horses. Kinematic (120Hz) and GRF data were collected at trot from three trials of eight horses using four force plates (960 Hz). Forelimb and hind limb GRFs were measured, COP was calculated from the resultant vertical GRF vector and COM was calculated by summation of weighted segmental COMs. Peak total vertical force (19.3 ± 1.3N/kg at 45.1 ± 2.3% diagonal stance) coincided with zero...
Mendoza L, Mandy W, Glass R.The immunotherapeutic properties of a new Pythium insidiosum-vaccine formulation (PIV), was evaluated in 18 horses and 6 dogs with proven pythiosis from different enzootic areas in the United States. All injected horses but one responded with a weak (=29 mm, n=3), a mild (30-90 mm, n=7) or a strong (=100 mm, n=7) inflammatory reactions at the site of injection. Three equines with weak or negative reactions at the injection site were not cured. Seven equines with strong reactions at their injection sites, however, were cured. Six of the eight horses with mild reactions were also cured. The rema...
Rochais C, Fureix C, Lesimple C, Hausberger M.Chronic pain is thought to affect patients' cognitive functioning, including attention. Loss of attention is likely to have an impact on the execution of daily tasks, and, therefore, to have negative effects. However, relationships between chronic pain and cognitive deficits are still debated. Pre-clinical studies using laboratory animals prove useful to model pain-related cognitive impairment, but animal models had to predict effects in the real world. This study investigates attentional engagement of domestic horses by comparing observations in a home setting and evaluations of vertebral dis...
Kecerova Z, Cizek A, Nyc O, Krutova M.Clostridium difficile has been recovered from the faeces of several animal species as well as horses. Between April 2015 and October 2016, 213 samples of faeces from non-hospitalized (n = 138) and hospitalized horses (n = 75) were investigated and eighteen C. difficile isolates were cultured using an enrichment method. Sixteen C. difficile positive samples were identified from hospitalised horses (p < 0.01). Molecular typing revealed seven ribotypes and sequence types (RT033/ST11 n = 8, 44.4%; RT081/ST9 n = 4, 22.2%; RT009/ST3 n = 2, 11.1%; RT003/ST12 n = 1, 5.6%;...
Liebscher G, Vanchangiri K, Mueller T, Feige K, Cavalleri JM, Paschke R.Betulinic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene, and its derivatives are promising compounds for cancer treatment in humans. Melanoma is not only a problem for humans but also for grey horses as they have a high potential of developing melanoma lesions coupled to the mutation causing their phenotype. Current chemotherapeutic treatment carries the risk of adverse health effects for the horse owner or the treating veterinarian by exposure to antineoplastic compounds. Most treatments have low prospects for systemic tumor regression. Thus, a new therapy is needed. In this in vitro study, Betulinic acid a...
Lansade L, Colson V, Parias C, Trösch M, Reigner F, Calandreau L.Horses are capable of identifying individual conspecifics based on olfactory, auditory or visual cues. However, this raises the questions of their ability to recognize human beings and on the basis of what cues. This study investigated whether horses could differentiate between a familiar and unfamiliar human from photographs of faces. Eleven horses were trained on a discrimination task using a computer-controlled screen, on which two photographs were presented simultaneously (32 trials/session): touching one was rewarded (S+) and the other not (S-). In the training phase, the S+ faces were of...
O'Brien C, Marr N, Thorpe C.The forelimb superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is an energy-storing tendon that is highly susceptible to injury during activities such as galloping and jumping, such that it is one of the most commonly reported causes of lameness in the performance horse. This review outlines the biomechanical and biothermal effects of strain on the SDFT and how these contribute to the accumulation of microdamage. The effect of age-related alterations on strain response and subsequent injury risk is also considered. Given that tendon is a slowly healing and poorly regenerative tissue, prompt detection o...
Couroucé A, Normand C, Tessier C, Pomares R, Thévenot J, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Legrand L, Pitel PH, Pronost S, Lupo C.A total of 752 horses were involved in the CES Valencia Spring Tour 2021. Due to an equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) outbreak, the competition was cancelled and the site was locked down. The objective of this study was to describe epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic, and outcome data of the 160 horses remaining in Valencia. Clinical and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) data were analysed for 60 horses in a retrospective case-control observational study. The risk of developing clinical manifestations was explored using a logistic regression approach. EHV-1 was detected by qPCR, genot...
Sole A, Spriet M, Galuppo LD, Padgett KA, Borjesson DL, Wisner ER, Brosnan RJ, Vidal MA.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are commonly injected intralesionally for treatment of soft tissue injuries in the horse. Alternative routes of administration would be beneficial for treatment of lesions that cannot be accessed directly or to limit needle-induced iatrogenic damage to the surrounding tissue. Objective: The purpose of our study was to evaluate MSC distribution after intra-arterial (IA) and intravenous (IV) regional limb perfusions (RLP) using scintigraphy. We hypothesised that MSCs would persist in the distal limb after tourniquet removal and that both techniques would lead to dif...
Lyle CH, Blissitt KJ, Kennedy RN, Mc Gorum BC, Newton JR, Parkin TD, Stirk A, Boden LA.Sudden death adversely affects racehorse welfare, jockey safety and the public perception of horseracing. Objective: To describe the risk of racing-associated sudden death in Thoroughbred racehorses in the UK from 2000 to 2007, to identify whether there were risk factors uniquely associated with sudden death and to improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of racing-associated sudden death by identification of risk factors for such cases. Methods: A sudden death was defined as an acute collapse and death, in an apparently healthy Thoroughbred racehorse, during or immediately after racing, ...
Donovan DC, Jackson CA, Colahan PT, Norton N, Hurley DJ.Using an established standardized exercise test on a high-speed treadmill, thirteen Thoroughbred racehorses were exercised to fatigue (failure); blood samples were obtained before exercise, at failure, and at 2, 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after exercise. The exercise test induced a systemic inflammatory response characterized by a mild transient endotoxemia, leukocytosis, increased leukocyte expression of mRNA for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1 beta, and IL-6, and increased circulating concentrations of TNF-alpha and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF 2 alpha), with the most pronounced change...
Bussieres M, Krohne SG, Stiles J, Townsend WM.To evaluate the efficacy of using a porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) graft covered by a conjunctival flap for the surgical repair of full-thickness corneal wounds in dogs, cats and horses. Methods: All records dating from August 1999 to February 2003 from Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital of patients that had undergone ophthalmic surgical procedures and received a SIS corneal graft for a full-thickness lesion were reviewed. Fifteen cases were identified including six dogs, two cats and seven horses. Requirements for inclusion in this study were that SIS was used as a corne...
Scholz HC, Joseph M, Tomaso H, Al Dahouk S, Witte A, Kinne J, Hagen RM, Wernery R, Wernery U, Neubauer H.A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting the flagellin P (fliP)-I S407A genomic region of Burkholderia mallei was developed for the specific detection of this organism in pure cultures and clinical samples from a recent outbreak of equine glanders. Primers deduced from the known fliP-IS407A sequence of B. mallei American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 23344(T) allowed the specific amplification of a 989-bp fragment from each of the 20 B. mallei strains investigated, whereas other closely related organisms tested negative. The detection limit of the assay was 10 fg for purified DNA of ...
