Management and horses encompass the practices and strategies employed to care for and maintain horses in various settings, including stables, pastures, and performance environments. This area of study focuses on aspects such as nutrition, housing, exercise, health care, and overall welfare. Effective management aims to optimize the physical and psychological well-being of horses, ensuring they perform to their potential and live healthy lives. The topic includes research on feeding practices, pasture management, housing design, and disease prevention strategies. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore different management approaches, their impact on equine health and performance, and guidelines for best practices in horse care.
Abbas G, Stevenson MA, Bauquier J, Beasley A, Jacobson C, El-Hage C, Wilkes EJA, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Beveridge I, Nielsen MK, Hughes KJ....This study aimed to assess Australian veterinarians' knowledge, perceptions and treatment strategies for worm control in horses with an online questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised 64 questions covering various aspects of: (i) veterinary practice; (ii) the veterinarian's knowledge of gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) and the importance of parasites in different age groups of horses; (iii) the diagnosis and control of worms; (iv) anthelmintics and anthelmintic resistance (AR); (v) grazing management; and (vi) the means of communication and the discussion between veterinarians and their cli...
Williams JM, Berg LC, Clayton HM, Kirsch K, Marlin D, Randle H, Roepstroff L, Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MSV, Weishaupt MA, Munsters C.The public is increasingly questioning equestrianism's social license to operate. While the focus historically centered on horseracing, increased scrutiny is now being placed on how dressage, showjumping, and eventing are addressing equine management and welfare concerns. Nominated equestrian federation and equestrian organization experts ( = 104) directly involved in international and/or national-level horse sports took part in a four-stage, iterative Delphi to obtain consensus on what factors should be considered essential to manage sporthorse health and welfare. Five core domains were agree...
Kashani-Carver A, O'Halloran C, Scurrell E, Featherstone H, de Freitas FF, Lowe R.Only 27 cases of equine conjunctival haemangiosarcoma have been reported in the literature over the past 37 years. Out of these, 22% of cases were lost to follow-up, 52% were euthanized, and 26% survived. A scarcity of cases and information is available for this rarely seen conjunctival tumour. Unassigned: To describe the clinical features, management, and outcome of conjunctival hemangiosarcoma in seven horses in the UK. Unassigned: Optivet medical records were reviewed for equine cases seen or advised on with a histopathological diagnosis of conjunctival haemangiosarcoma between January 2013...
Wong ASM, Morrice-West AV, Hitchens PL, Whitton RC.Catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMI) in horses are associated with both too little and too much high-speed exercise. In order to advise trainers on training and management strategies that minimize the risk of musculoskeletal injury (MSI), a better understanding of how training practices affect MSI in racehorses is needed. Data from prospective studies relating training data and MSI are complicated by the gradual development of pathology and the effect of this on the ability of horses to train consistently prior to the identification of an injury. To circumvent this, 66 Australian Thorou...
Viterbo L, Hughes J, Milner PI, Bardell D.The study aimed to investigate if arterial blood analysis in conscious horses presenting with signs of colic and breathing ambient air had diagnostic or prognostic value. Arterial blood samples from 352 horses presenting with colic at a university equine referral hospital were analysed for pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), concentrations of sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), ionised calcium (Ca2+) and chloride (Cl-), actual and standardised plasma bicarbonate concentration (HCO3- (P) and HCO3- (P, st)), blood and extracellular fluid base excess (Base...
Ward AB, Harris PA, Argo CM, Watson CA, Burns NM, Neacsu M, Russell WR, Grove-White D, Morrison PK.Native ponies are at increased risk of obesity and metabolic perturbations, such as insulin dysregulation (ID), a key risk factor for endocrinopathic laminitis. Management and feeding practices can be adapted to maintain healthy body condition and support metabolic health, but owners may inadvertently provide their ponies with inappropriate management leading to obesity and exacerbating risk of metabolic disease. Adoption of preventative weight management approaches (WMAs), including regular monitoring of body condition, providing appropriate preserved forage, promoting seasonal weight loss, a...
Treby S, Grover SP.Peatlands are globally significant carbon sinks, but when disturbed, have the potential to release carbon back to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. Feral horse populations in the Australian Alps degrade Sphagnum peatlands, which are highly sensitive to disturbance. However, the link between this degradation and peatland carbon cycling is not understood. Here, we compared the autumn daytime carbon dioxide (CO) and methane (CH) fluxes of 12 alpine and subalpine Sphagnum peatlands in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia. The presence of feral horses at these sites was correlated with higher carb...
Matthews JB, Peczak N, Lightbody KL.Helminths are commonly found in grazing equids, with cyathostomin nematodes and the cestode being the most prevalent. Most horses harbour low burdens of these parasites and do not develop signs of infection; however, in a small number of animals, high burdens can accumulate and cause disease. Cyathostomins are associated with a syndrome known as larval cyathostominosis. This occurs when large numbers of larvae emerge from the large intestinal wall. This disease has a case fatality rate of up to 50%. infection has been associated with various types of colic, with burdens of >20 worms assoc...
Leps A, Korsos S, Clarysse M, Vlaminck L.To document the long-term outcome of surgically treated primary and dental-related sinusitis in horses and to describe a simple protocol for postoperative management. All surgically treated sinusitis cases referred between January 2016 and June 2022 were reviewed. Cases diagnosed with primary and dental-related sinusitis and with a follow-up of at least 6 months after hospital discharge were included. Cases with other sinus pathology were excluded. 130 cases met the inclusion criteria. 104 out of 130 were treated with sinoscopy and 26/130 with sinusotomy. 86 out of 130 cases (66.2%) were diagn...
Hain AM, Þórisdóttir SL, Tretow M, Bienert-Zeit A.In the context of a study of Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH), elderly Icelandic horses were examined in their originating country. The subject of this survey was the impact of dental treatment and keeping and feeding management on the health of the rostral oral cavity. A total of 170 horses (aged ≥ 15) located in different areas of Northwest, West, and South Iceland. The horse owners completed a questionnaire about keeping, feeding, and preventative dental care. The horses were clinically examined with particular attention to gingival and dental disorders of...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Banse HE, Duff A, Hart N, Ireland JL, Knowles EJ, McFarlane D, Rendle D.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a prevalent, age-related chronic disorder in equids. Diagnosis of PPID can be challenging because of its broad spectrum of clinical presentations and disparate published diagnostic criteria, and there are limited available treatment options. Objective: To develop evidence-based primary care guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of equine PPID based on the available literature. Methods: Evidence-based clinical guideline using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. Methods: Research questions ...
Shanklin AJ, Archer DC, Baldwin CM.Mesodiverticular bands (MDBs) are an embryonic remnant of the vitelline artery. Information about the clinical significance of equine MDBs is currently limited. Objective: To report the clinical features, surgical findings and outcomes of horses undergoing exploratory laparotomy where a MDB was identified. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Case records of horses undergoing exploratory laparotomy for colic over a 14-year period (2009-2022) were reviewed. MDBs identified at laparotomy were classified as the primary or contributory cause of abdominal pain, or as incidental. Results: MD...
Bourebaba L, Serwotka-Suszczak A, Bourebaba N, Zyzak M, Marycz K.Hyperactivation of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP1B) has been associated with several metabolic malfunctions ranging from insulin resistance, metaflammation, lipotoxicity, and hyperglycaemia. Liver metabolism failure has been proposed as a core element in underlying endocrine disorders through persistent inflammation and highly fibrotic phenotype. Unassigned: In this study, the outcomes of PTP1B inhibition using trodusquemine (MSI-1436) on key equine metabolic syndrome (EMS)-related alterations including inflammation, fibrosis, and glucose uptake have been analyzed in liver explants collect...
Orazymbetova Z, Ualiyeva D, Dossybayev K, Torekhanov A, Sydykov D, Mussayeva A, Baktybayev G.Understanding the genetic diversity and structure of domesticated horse () populations is critical for long-term herd management and breeding programs. This study examines 435 horses from Kazakhstan, covering seven groups in three geographic areas using 11 STR markers. Identified are 136 alleles, with the mean number of alleles per locus ranging from 9 to 19. VHL20 is the most variable locus across groups, while loci HTG4, AHT4, AHT5, HTG7, and HMS3 are variable in most populations. The locus AHT5 in the Emba population shows the highest frequency of rare alleles, while the lowest frequency, 0...
Cullen MD, Pettitt RA, Tomlinson AW, Louro LF, Bennell AJ, Michael R, Stack JD.To describe the surgical treatment, postoperative management, and outcome of a miniature horse undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods: Case report. Methods: A 4-year-old miniature horse stallion weighing 85 kg. Methods: The horse presented with left coxofemoral luxation of ~6 weeks duration. Computed tomography confirmed craniodorsal luxation with marked degenerative changes to the femoral head. The horse underwent THA using cementless press fit implants, including an interlocking lateral bolt for the femoral stem. Results: The horse recovered well from anesthesia but suffered a ...
Miranda ALS, Antunes BC, Minozzo JC, Lima SA, Botelho AFM, Campos MTG, Chávez-Olórtegui C, Soto-Blanco B.Antivenom production against venom relies on horses being immunized and bled for plasma harvest. One horse can partake in several cycles of antivenom production, which will require years of constant venom and adjuvant inoculation and bleeding. The actual impact on the health of horses that participate in several antivenom-producing cycles is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the general health status of horses that underwent at least six cycles of loxoscelic antivenom production. Seven crossbred horses that had partaken in six to eight complete antivenom-producing cycles were u...
Simões J, Sales Luís JP, Madeira de Carvalho L, Tilley P.The relationship between helminth infection and allergic diseases has long intrigued the scientific community. This interaction was previously studied in a horse family with high incidence of severe equine asthma and in non-related severely asthmatic horses from equine hospital referrals in Switzerland. Our aim was to determine if this interaction would also be observed in a group of non-related client-owned severely asthmatic horses living in a Mediterranean climate and recruited through a first-opinion veterinarian group. Fecal samples from severe equine asthma-affected and healthy horses li...
Lüthin S, Zollinger A, Basso W, Bisig M, Caspari N, Eng V, Frey CF, Grimm F, Igel P, Lüthi S, Regli W, Roelfstra L, Rosskopf M, Steiner B....The standard parasite management of horses based on regular anthelmintic treatments, now practiced for decades has resulted in a worrying expansion of resistant helminth populations, which may considerably impair control on the farm level. The aim of the present study was to obtain a retrospective (year 2010 - 2016) nationwide analysis of faecal egg count (FEC) data from the Swiss adult horse population, related to horse age and geographic region. Thirteen labs provided a total of 16,387 FEC data of horses aged four to 39 years (average: 13.6 years). The annual number of performed FEC tests i...
Bolz NM, Ehrle A, Mählmann K, Lischer CJ.To describe cases with caudal cruciate ligament (CdCL) avulsion fragments diagnosed based on computed tomography (CT) examination and report on arthroscopic fragment removal. Methods: Four Warmblood horses with hindlimb lameness and osseous fragments located in the caudal medial femorotibial joint (mFTJ). Methods: Short case series. Methods: CT and arthroscopic evaluation of the caudal mFTJ were performed. The caudal mFTJ and the insertion of the CdCL on the tibia were assessed and removal of the avulsion fragments was attempted in three horses using a cranial intercondylar approach. Results: ...
Ghoniem SM, ElZorkany HE, Hagag NM, El-Deeb AH, Shahein MA, Hussein HA.Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) biosensors can detect low viral loads and differentiate between viruses types, enabling early diagnosis and effective disease management. In the present study, we developed GNPs biosensors with two different capping agent, citrate-GNPs biosensors and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-GNPs biosensors for detection of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in multiplex real time PCR (rPCR). Citrate-GNPs and PVP-GNPs biosensors can detect dilution 10 of EHV-1 with mean Cycle threshold (Ct) 11.7 and 9.6, respectively and one copy as limit of detection, while citrate-GNPs and PVP-GNPs biosensors can de...
Bowen AG, Tabor G, Labens R, Randle H.Outcome measures are essential for monitoring treatment efficacy. The lack of measures for quality of movement in equine physiotherapy and rehabilitation impairs evidence-based practice. To develop a new field-based outcome measure, it is necessary to determine movements most frequently observed during assessment of rehabilitation and performance management cases. An online survey of 81 equine sports medicine veterinarians and equine allied-health clinicians was conducted. The key movements identified included walk and trot on both firm and soft surfaces in a straight line and on a small circl...
Jammes M, Contentin R, Audigié F, Cassé F, Galéra P. Osteoarthritis (OA) is an invalidating articular disease characterized by cartilage degradation and inflammatory events. In horses, OA is associated with up to 60% of lameness and leads to reduced animal welfare along with extensive economic losses; currently, there are no curative therapies to treat OA. The mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome exhibits anti-inflammatory properties, making it an attractive candidate for improving the management of OA. In this study, we determined the best storage conditions for conditioned media (CMs) and tested whether priming MSCs with cytokines can enh...
O'Brien M, Mochel JP, Kersh K, Wang C, Troy J.Pain management is critical to equine welfare with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) commonly used in horses. However, systemic NSAID use is limited by harmful gastrointestinal and renal side effects. Intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) is a technique used in horses that produces high, local antibiotic concentrations while limiting systemic circulation. NSAID-IVRLP would be a novel method of local pain management while limiting systemic NSAID side effects. To date, NSAID-IVRLP administration has not been reported in horses. This study aimed to identify the pharmacokinetics ...
Kunanusont N, Taesuji M, Kulthonggate U, Rattanamas K, Mamom T, Thongsri K, Phannithi T, Ruenphet S.African horse sickness (AHS) has become a newly emerging disease after an outbreak in northeastern Thailand in March 2020. Mass vaccination in horses with live-attenuated AHS virus (AHSV) vaccine is essential for AHS control and prevention. This study aimed to monitor the longitudinal humoral immune response before and after a single vaccination using a live-attenuated vaccine against AHS in stallions, mares, and pregnant mares, including maternal immunity in foals born from pregnant mares during the outbreak in Thailand. Unassigned: A total of 13 stallions and 23 non-pregnant and 21 pregnant ...
Tozaki T, Ohnuma A, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Nagata SI.Individual identification and paternity testing are important for avoiding inbreeding in the management of small populations of wild and domestic animals. In horse racing industries, they are extremely important for identifying and registering individuals and doping control to ensure fair competition. In this study, we constructed an individual identification panel for horses by using insertion and deletion (INDEL) markers. The panel included 39 INDEL markers selected from a whole-genome INDEL database. Genotyping of 89 Thoroughbreds showed polymorphisms with minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of...
Janicka W, Wilk I, Próchniak T.Living in a herd has multiple advantages for social species and is a primary survival strategy for prey. The presence of conspecifics, identified as a social buffer, may mitigate the individual stress response. Social isolation is, therefore, particularly stressful for horses, which are gregarious animals. However, they are not equally vulnerable to separation from the group. We tested whether more and less socially dependent horses and independent individuals would differ in their responses to novel and sudden sounds occurring in two contexts: non-social and social motivation. Twenty warmbloo...
Karasu GK, Rogers CW, Gee EK.Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations. As a monogastric hindgut fermenter on a per k...
The aim of our study was to analyze circadian rhythm of the hematological profile of horses housed in a loose box and paddock during the different seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). Blood samples were performed every 4 h for 48 consecutive hours. Red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), white blood cells (WBCs), platelets (PLTs), and leukocyte subpopulations (neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes) were analyzed, and, at the same time, environmental conditions were recorded. A statistically significant effect of housing conditions ( < 0...
Majecka K, Klawe A.The aim of this study was to explore whether the size of paddocks affected social interactions within a group of horses. Furthermore, the effects of the gender composition in groups on social behavior were investigated. The research was done in a horse-riding center. A total of 78 horses and ponies, forming 3 groups, were included in the study. The time of the observation was divided into 2 periods. The data obtained from the 1st period (the horses were on relatively small paddocks) and the 2nd period (the paddocks were significantly bigger) were compared. The findings uniformly indicated that...
Paul LJ, Ericsson AC, Andrews FM, McAdams Z, Keowen ML, St Blanc MP, Banse HE.The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship of diet and management factors with the glandular gastric mucosal microbiome. We hypothesize that the gastric mucosal microbial community is influenced by diet and management factors. Our specific objective is to characterize the gastric mucosal microbiome in relation to these factors. 57 client-owned horses in the southern Louisiana region with and without equine glandular gastric disease. Diet and management data were collected via a questionnaire. Gastroscopy was used for evaluation of equine gastric ulcer syndrome and collectio...
Harris P, Shepherd M.Nutrition and management have enabling and supporting roles to play in the health, welfare, and performance of equines. Poor or inappropriate nutrition may therefore impose limits on an animal's ability to perform and adversely affect health and welfare. Understanding the gastrointestinal tract from a nutrition perspective can help to reduce the risk of certain clinical problems. This article outlines key factors with respect to the equine digestive tract and discusses relevant aspects of ration formation. Forage is highlighted, because inappropriate forage provision is one of the key limitati...
Nielsen MK, Vidyashankar AN, Hanlon BM, Diao G, Petersen SL, Kaplan RM.Anthelmintic resistance is an increasing challenge for the control of equine parasites. The fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) is the practical gold standard method for evaluating reduction in anthelmintic efficacy, but the interpretation is complicated due to high levels of variability. A hierarchical statistical model was described for analysis of FECRT data from multiple farms to evaluate the role of biological factors in determining the strongyle efficacy of pyrantel pamoate in a study performed in Denmark. The model was then used to describe two notions of farm efficacy, namely condit...
Zupan M, Štuhec I, Jordan D.We used eight horses 1 to 12 years old to investigate the influence of irregular feeding times on the behavior. The animals were housed in individual boxes, fed with hay and barley-oat mixture at three set times; 05:00 (earlier feeding) on Thursdays, 07:00 (delayed feeding) on Saturdays and 06:00 (regular feeding) on other weekdays. Direct observations took place in 10 continuous weeks; they started 1 h prior to feeding and lasted for 2 h. Long-term behaviors (i.e. hay and concentrate consumption, resting) were recorded every 5 min, short-term behaviors (i.e. kicking, pawing the ground, comfo...
Jonckheer-Sheehy VS, Houpt KA.Horses and ponies are used for experimental research in a variety of fields, but there is little published scientific literature that describes current or evidence-based recommendations for keeping and managing these species for research purposes. Equine species require particular environmental conditions and allowances to accommodate their behavior and physiology. Here the authors review studies and common practices for ambient facility conditions; provision of bedding, food and water; opportunities for exercise and environmental enrichment; allocation of facility spaces and resources; and de...
Walmsley E, Steel C, Haines G, Lumsden J, O'Sullivan C.The incidence of colic following swimming exercise (SC) in a racehorse population examined over 3 years was 0.08%. Following 167,977 swims, 136 cases were reported. Colic resolved spontaneously in 2 horses, medically in 129 or surgically in 5. In a separate study, 21 horses were subject to exploratory laparotomy for SC. Findings included non-strangulating displacements in 7 horses, strangulating displacements in 7, a combination of non-strangulating and strangulating displacements in 1, prominent gaseous intestinal distension in 5 and no abnormalities in 1 horse. A poor response to analgesia p...
Soroko M, Howell K, Dudek K, Waliczek A, Micek P, Flaga J.The aim of the study was to determine the utility of maximum eye temperature measured by infrared thermography (IRT) as a stress indicator compared with plasma cortisol concentration in Thoroughbred and Arabian racehorses. The study included thirty racehorses undergoing standard training for racing. Measurements of maximum eye temperature and blood collection for plasma cortisol concentration were carried out before training (BT), and within 5 (5AT) and 120 minutes (120AT) after the end of the each training session in three repetitions, with a monthly interval. Both parameters were elevated at...
Pickering CM, Norman P.Public participation is critical for planning and management of protected areas. With people increasingly using social media, including Twitter, to obtain news and express opinions, park agencies should recognize the utility of monitoring and engaging with this public discourse. We used a conservation culturomics approach to analyse Tweets during a period of controversy about the management of large mammals (horses) in a park (Kosciuszko National Park in Australia), including examining who talked about what, when and what emotions were expressed. An automated programming interface was used to ...
Whiting TL, Salmon RH, Wruck GC.Nine of 45 horses subjected to prolonged malnutrition died subsequent to being placed with a responsible caregiver and being provided an appropriate diet. Initial extreme poor body condition score tended to be associated with death, although individual response to refeeding varied. The financial costs of stabilizing the group of horses significantly exceeded their free market price. Responsible management of chronically starved commercial animals should include options for immediate euthanasia. Neuf des 45 chevaux soumis à une malnutrition prolongée sont morts après avoir été placés che...
Fox AE, Belding DL.Aversive control is a common method to reduce undesirable behavior in horses. However, it often results in unintended negative side effects, including potential abuse of the animal. Procedures based on positive reinforcement, such as differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), may reduce undesirable behaviors with fewer negative consequences. The current study used DRO schedules to reduce pawing using a multiple baseline design across 3 horses. Results indicated that DRO schedules were effective at reducing pawing. However, individual differences in sensitivity to DRO and reinforcer ef...
Dodman NH, Normile JA, Shuster L, Rand W.Owners who believed they had a horse with self-mutilating behavior were asked to complete a questionnaire to obtain information on the signalment, clinical history, clinical signs, management, and treatment of the condition. Fifty-two owners of 59 horses responded; 2 cases were omitted because an organic cause was determined. Owners also were asked to complete information for unaffected horses on the same farm. Various breeds were affected, and of the 57 horses, 20 were stallions, 31 were geldings, and 6 were mares. Affected horses tended to develop the condition prior to sexual maturity. Clin...
Misuno E, Clark CR, Anderson SL, Jenkins E, Wagner B, Dembek K, Petrie L.The goals of this study were to report the seasonal shedding patterns of strongyle and spp. eggs in repeated fecal samples for mares ( = 38) and foals ( = 39), and to evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin treatment in mares from 2 selected horse breeding farms in central Saskatchewan. Median strongyle fecal egg counts (FEC) peaked in July and August in adult horses. The farms differed significantly ( = 0.0005) in regard to strongyle shedding categories ( 500 eggs/g) over time, but for each individual horse (both farms combined) these categories did not differ over time ( = 0.13) on samples coll...
Janicka W, Wilk I, Próchniak T.Living in a herd has multiple advantages for social species and is a primary survival strategy for prey. The presence of conspecifics, identified as a social buffer, may mitigate the individual stress response. Social isolation is, therefore, particularly stressful for horses, which are gregarious animals. However, they are not equally vulnerable to separation from the group. We tested whether more and less socially dependent horses and independent individuals would differ in their responses to novel and sudden sounds occurring in two contexts: non-social and social motivation. Twenty warmbloo...
Hinton M.The literature published over the last 150 years provides confusing and often conflicting advice on the ideal way to water horses. Many of the problems associated with watering appear to be caused by either mismanagement or ignorance. An obvious way to prevent trouble is to provide adequate water at all times when a horse is at rest and to allow sufficient opportunity to drink while working.
Watanabe T, Ohta C, Shirahata T, Goto H, Tsunoda N, Tagami M, Akita H.Foal diarrhea due to serotype 3 rotavirus broke out on a foal-raising farm in the years 1987 and 1989. In 1989, all of the foals, regardless of whether or not they suffered from diarrhea, received bovine colostral immunoglobulin (Ig) powder orally for 3 to 5 days during the epidemic. The morbidity of the diarrhea was lower than that observed in 1987, when the Ig powder was not administered to foals. These data suggested that the administration of Ig powder might partially prevent foal diarrhea with rotavirus infection.
Boakari YL, Alonso MA, Riccio AV, Fernandes CB.In equine management, it is important to predict the approximate foaling date of mares to monitor parturition and allow early identification and intervention of problems during the perinatal period. There are no studies comparing accurate gestational length (GL) when mares are carrying mule foals and no controlled comparisons between GL of mares pregnant with equine or mule foals. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to compare GL of mares pregnant with equine or mule foals and establish normal reference values for GL of mares pregnant with male and female mules. Gestational length of ...
Borgsteede FH, Dvojnos GM, Kharchenko VA.The efficacy of treatment with cambendazole was tested in 1-year-old horses on a farm in Dubrovka, Ukraine. Thirty-five horses were treated. Their egg output was compared on the day of treatment and 14 days later with that of 33 untreated horses. Before treatment the mean number of eggs g-1 faeces was 614 in the controls and 766 in horses that had been treated. After 14 days the mean egg output in the controls was 580 and in the treated horses 369. This means a reduction of 54.5%. Only cyathostome larvae could be cultured from faeces collected after treatment. It can be concluded that benzimid...
Karasu GK, Rogers CW, Gee EK.Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations. As a monogastric hindgut fermenter on a per k...
Hesta M, Shepherd M.Inappropriate nutrition is a priority welfare challenge. Nutritional mistakes are common and can lead to adverse events, such as poor growth and performance, colic, laminitis, and obesity. A detailed nutritional assessment involving evaluating the equine patient, current diet/ration, and management is essential in creating an effective nutritional plan. Goal(s) should be established and used to inform the plan. Management or resource barriers should be considered. Effective communication and a team-based approach versus an authoritarian one are likely to enhance the success of the nutritional ...
Vajs T, Nekouei O, Biermann NM.The tarsus is one of the most common areas of traumatic injury with associated synovial involvement (SI) in horses. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic procedures, management (emphasizing the type, duration, and route of antimicrobial administration), and outcome of cases with acute soft tissue trauma to the tarsal region. The presenting clinical features, the results of diagnostic modalities, and the initial response to therapy were assessed for their usefulness to predict SI. Medical records of 72 cases were included and SI was diagnosed ...
Riva MG, Dai F, Huhtinen M, Minero M, Barbieri S, Dalla Costa E.Noise anxiety is an over-reaction to loud noises commonly detected among pets and can greatly impact on their welfare and on their management. When exposed to noisy events, horses can show intense escape attempts, which may cause severe accidents for the horse and the rider/handler. The aim of the present study was to investigate, through a web survey, UK and US owners' perception of noise anxiety severity in their horses, their management strategies and perceived efficacy. The questionnaire was shared via social networking and advertised as "What is your horse afraid of?". Over a total of 183...
Ross J, Palmer JE, Wilkins PA.To review management of pregnant mares with body wall defects and assess the effect of various management strategies on the outcome of mares and their foals. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 13 mares. Methods: Medical records of eligible mares were reviewed. Signalment, history, admitting complaint, clinical findings, parity, type of body wall defect, concurrent diagnoses, postpartum complications, outcome of fetus, outcome of mare, and type of clinical case management were recorded. Results: 8 mares received conservative management and 5 mares received interventional management. S...
Lönnell C, Roepstorff L, Egenvall A.Lameness is the most commonly diagnosed condition in equine veterinary practice. To examine whether variations in management and husbandry strategies in riding schools could influence wastage due to orthopaedic injury schools with high (HUIO) or low (LUIO) insurance claims for orthopaedic injuries (as an indirect measure of wastage) were compared epidemiologically using an extensive questionnaire and field study visits. Schools differed in management strategies and these influence injury rate and longevity. For horses in the LUIO schools a significantly longer time period had elapsed since acq...
Kutzner-Mulligan J, Eisemann J, Siciliano P, Smith J, Hewitt K, Sharlette J, Pratt-Phillips S.Management techniques that reduce the insulin response to feeding in horses have application in preventing insulin resistance (IR) and potential associations (e.g., laminitis). Eight mature idle horses of BCS between 5 and 6.5 and with no previous indication of IR were fed a meal of concentrate under 4 feed delivery treatments in a repeated Latin Square design. Treatments were all based on a bucket of equal dimensions. The treatments included a control (CON) and 3 treatments hypothesized to increase time to consume feed (TCF): mobile obstacles above the feed (BALL), stationary obstacles below ...
Briefer Freymond S, Bardou D, Beuret S, Bachmann I, Zuberbühler K, Briefer EF.Although stereotypic behaviors are a common problem in captive animals, why certain individuals are more prone to develop them remains elusive. In horses, individuals show considerable differences in how they perceive and react to external events, suggesting that this may partially account for the emergence of stereotypies in this species. In this study, we focused on crib-biting, the most common stereotypy displayed by horses. We compared how established crib-biters ("CB" = 19) and normal controls ("C" = 18) differed in response to a standard "personality" assessment test battery, i.e., react...
Slocombe JO, Coté JF, de Gannes RV.Three clinical trials with fecal egg count reduction tests and coproculture were conducted on 2 standardbred farms in Ontario. On Farm A, the treatment groups were mebendazole and ivermectin in trial 1, and fenbendazole and moxidectin in another. On Farm B, treatment groups were mebendazole and ivermectin. All horses treated with mebendazole or fenbendazole were subsequently treated with ivermectin or moxidectin. Strongyle eggs/g feces were estimated pre- and post-treatment using the Cornell-McMaster dilution and Cornell-Wisconsin centrifugal flotation techniques. After treatment, there was no...
Hudak PF.Ratios of conservative chemicals have been used to identify sources of groundwater contamination. While chloride/bromide ratios have been reported for several common sources of groundwater contamination, little work has been done on leachate derived from farm-animal waste. In this study, chloride/bromide ratios were measured in leachate derived from longhorn-cattle, quarterhorse, and pygme-goat waste at a farm in Abilene, Texas, USA. (Minimum, median, and maximum) chloride/bromide ratios of (66.5, 85.6, and 167), (119, 146, and 156), and (35.4, 57.8, and 165) were observed for cattle, horses, ...
Frhr J, Lepel V.A high fertility rate depends on many different factors and is always related to inheritance and enviorment. The successful feritly control system in the German Thoroughbred breeding industry shows that fertility can be increased by good management and veterinary supervision. The insemination of horses with frozen semen is discussed. Replacement of natural service by A.I. with frozen semen is not generally accepted in horsebreeding, as the conditions are entirely different from cattle breeding. However, there are several ways in which A.I. can be assistance in stud management.
