Microbiology and horses explores the interactions between microorganisms and equine hosts, focusing on the role of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes in horse health and disease. This field examines the microbial flora present in various equine environments, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and respiratory system, and investigates how these microorganisms influence equine physiology and pathology. Research in this area includes studies on microbial infections that affect horses, the development of antimicrobial resistance, and the impact of probiotics and prebiotics on equine health. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the diversity, dynamics, and implications of microbial communities in horses, as well as the strategies for managing microbial-related diseases.
Kirchhoff H, Ammar AM, Heitmann J, Dubenkropp H, Schmidt R.Sera from horses with respiratory disease (RD) have been investigated using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination test, enzyme immune assay, and the metabolic inhibition test, and sera from mares after abortion, using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination test and enzyme immune assay, for antibodies against Mycoplasma equirhinis, M subdolum, M. equigenitalium, M. pulmonis, M. felis, Acholeplasma laidlawii, A. hippikon and A. equifetale. Antibodies were found against all mycoplasma and acholeplasma species tested, more often against acholeplasmas. The antibod...
Lindmark DG, Jarroll EL, Timoney PJ, Shin SJ.The energy metabolism of the English E-CMO strain of contagious equine metritis bacterium was studied in whole cells and cell extracts. This bacterium appears to have an active Krebs cycle and probably obtains energy by oxidative phosphorylation since glycolysis and the hexose monophosphate pathways appear to be absent. These conclusions are based on the findings that [U-14C]glucose incorporation by this bacterium is below the level of detection, and that respiration is stimulated by Krebs cycle intermediates (i.e., malate, citrate, and succinate), but not by glucose, fructose, maltose, or suc...
Buchanan AM, Davis DC, Pedersen NC, Beaman BL.L-phase (CWD) broth and plate media were used in parallel with conventional microbiological media during a 3-year period for culturing synovial and pleural fluids of animals. Two kinds of recoveries were obtained where parallel conventional methods were negative: (1) parent or normal bacteria, in very low numbers; and (2) Type B CWD variants in equally low numbers. Organisms in group 1 were: Streptococcus zooepidemicus from horses (2x); beta-hemolytic streptococci, Lancefield Gp. G (2x); Staphylococcus aureus; Actinobacillus, and Actinomyces viscosus. Group 2 consisted of Bacteroides sp., Prop...
Mutimer MD, Prescott JF, Woolcock JB.One hundred strains of Rhodococcus equi from various animal species and sources in Australia were examined for capsular serotype. Eighty-four of the strains fell into the existing 7 serotypes, and just under half of the strains belonged to serotype 1. Isolates from the intestines and faeces of horses, cattle, pigs and other species, and from soil, were found to belong to the same serotypes as those recovered from the lungs of foals with R. equi pneumonia. There was no clear relationships between capsular serotype and source of origin of the isolates.
Bowen JM, Tobin N, Simpson RB, Ley WB, Ansari MM.Six stallions were subjected to extensive cleansing of the penis and prepuce with water, Ivory Soap and water, or Betadine surgical scrub and water. The stallions were all washed for 14 days, and then allowed 14 days respite. This pattern of washing and resting was repeated consecutively. Swabs were taken from all 7 stallions twice weekly and semen was collected once a week for bacteriological examination. All forms of cleansing altered the bacterial flora of the stallion's penis; the Ivory Soap tended to encourage the replacement of the normal flora with coliform organisms, while Betadine fav...
Barton MD, Hughes KL.A total of 189 isolates of Rhodococcus equi and related organisms and 16 marker strains representing the genera Rhodococcus and Corynebacterium were screened for 160 unit characters in a numerical taxonomic study. Analysis of the data indicated that R. equi forms a relatively homogeneous cluster distinctly separated from the recognized species of Rhodococcus and Corynebacterium (sensu stricto). Other members of the genus Rhodococcus are soil organisms and R. equi appears to fit into the genus on ecological as well as taxonomic grounds. It seems unlikely that R. equi could be a gastrointestinal...
Wierup M, DiPietro JA.The fecal flora of 56 clinically healthy and 23 sick horses were examined bacteriologically for counts of Clostridium perfringens, molds, coliforms, alpha- and beta-hemolytic streptococci, and microbes belonging to genus Bacillus, as well as for the presence of Salmonella spp. Of the healthy horses, 85.7% had a C perfringens count less than 10(1) colony-forming units/g of feces. Of the healthy horses, lowest counts were found in race-horses. Of the sick horses, equine intestinal clostridiosis was diagnosed in 2 horses with large C perfringens counts (10(4) to 10(7) colony-forming units/g) and ...
Baskerville A.For laboratory diagnosis of respiratory disease it is of overwhelming importance that the specimens taken are adequate, taken from the correct site and at the correct time. The lower regions of the respiratory tract are particularly difficult to sample but are more likely to yield the causative agent of a pneumonia. Infections involving the upper respiratory tract are much easier to sample and appropriate aspiration apparatus can be used. Consideration must be given to the timing of sample collection in relation to the life cycle of the causative micro-organism. Sampling of several animals is ...
The Journal of protozoologyNovember 1, 1981
Volume 28, Issue 4 400-405 doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1981.tb05310.x
Sundermann CA, Paulin JJ.Allantosoma intestinalis, a suctorian ciliate isolated from the intestine of the horse, was studied utilizing light and electron optical methods. These small sausage-shaped organisms have a varying number of tentacles (between one and 14) located at each extremity of the body. The microtubular axoneme of each tentacle in cross-section consists of two files of microtubules arranged in a daisy-like configuration. Haptocysts occur in the tentacle shaft, abutted to the plasma membrane of the knob of the tentacle, and in the cell body. The haptocysts are bottle-shaped, with prominent annular striat...
Tainturier DJ, Delmas CF, Dabernat HJ.Seventeen strains of haemophilus equigenitalis isolated from the cervix, clitoris, and urethra of mares were biochemically characterized with the API 10E and APIZYM test kit systems, conventional biochemical tests, and the porphyrin test. Antisera were prepared in rabbits. All of the strains were positive to the porphyrin test, and the requirement for factor X (hemin) or V (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) was not shown. Catalase, oxidase, phosphatase, and phosphoamidase tests were positive with all of the strains. Aminopeptidase (arylamidase) activity has been detected on beta-naphthylamide...
The Journal of hygieneAugust 1, 1981
Volume 87, Issue 1 93-100 doi: 10.1017/s0022172400069278
Lemcke RM, Ernø H, Gupta U.Two unidentified mycoplasmas, N3 and N11, isolated from the respiratory tract of horses, were found to cross-react with strains of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides in indirect immunofluorescence tests, growth-inhibition tests carried out by the running drop/agar-well method, and in complement-fixation and double immunodiffusion tests. Serologically, the equine mycoplasmas were not completely identical with any of the reference strains of M. mycoides with which they were compared. Their cultural characteristics, ability to digest coagulated serum and casein, and survival at 45 degrees C, however, su...
Pointelli E, Santa-maria MA, Caretta G.A total of 1267 microfungi, including 35 Myxomycetes, were recorded from the fecal samples of the 60 horses; of these 395 were found on 20 saddle-horse feces, 363 on 20 race-horses and 509 on 20 working horses. Eighty two species representing 53 genera were recorded; of these 7 were Zygomycetes, 18 Ascomycetes, 1 Basidiomycetes and 25 Fungi Imperfecti: 2 Myxomycetes. Common coprophilous fungi are in decreasing order Pilobolus kleinii, Saccobolus depauperatus, Mucor hiemalis, Lasiobolus ciliatus, Podospora curvula, Petriella guttulata, M. circinelloides, Coprinus radiatus, Dictyostelium mucoroi...
Orpin CG.Microscopic examination of horse caecum contents revealed vegetative growth of phycomycete fungi on particles of digesta, and uniflagellated cells similar to fungal zoospores in the liquid phase. Three morphologically distinct isolates of strictly anaerobic phycomycete fungi were obtained from the caecum contents and cultured in vitro. Two of the isolates were able to utilize a wide range of plant carbohydrates for growth, including alpha-cellulose, xylan and particulate starch, and extensively digested water-insoluble plant tissues.
Prescott JF.Fifty-one isolates of Corynebacterium equi recovered from pigs and horses belonging to two capsular serotypes were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. No clear differences were detected in sensitivity between isolates of different sources or serotypes. All isolates were sensitive to less than 0.25 micrograms/ml of erythromycin and gentamicin. The following minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobial agents were determined for greater than or equal to 90% of isolates: methicillin greater than 16 micrograms/ml, clindamycin 1-2 micrograms/ml, tobramycin less than or e...
Mathewson JJ, Simpson RB, Roush DA.Six isolations of Salmonella krefeld were made from clinical veterinary specimens. These isolates were multiply resistant to several antimicrobial agents commonly used to treat salmonellosis.
Sugimoto C, Isayama Y, Kashiwazaki M, Mitani K.The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 31 antimicrobial agents were determined for 99 isolates of Haemophilus equigenitalis by the agar dilution method. All the isolates showed good susceptibility to 26 antimicrobial agents tests, minimal inhibitory concentrations of which were less than 3.13 micrograms/ml for more than 90% of the isolates. Of these agents, 4 macrolides (erythromycin, oleandomycin, kitasamycin, tylosin), 3 tetracyclines (tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline), 1 peptide (colistin), 1 penicillin (ampicillin) and 1 pleuromutilin (tiamulin) were the most active agent...
Osawa S, Furuse K, Watanabe I.To determine the distribution pattern of ribonucleic acid (RNA) coliphages (classified by serological groups I through IV) in animal sources, we isolated RNA phages from (i) feces samples from domestic animals (cows, pigs, horses, and fowls), some other animals in a zoological garden, and humans, (ii) the gastrointestinal contents of cows and pigs, and (iii) sewage samples from treatment plants in slaughter houses. These samples were then analyzed serologically. The concentration of RNA phages in the first and second kinds of material was fairly low (10 to 10(3) plaque-forming units per origin...
Dabernat HJ, Delmas CF, Tainturier DJ, Lareng MB.The in vitro susceptibility of recent clinical isolates of Haemophilus equigenitalis to various antimicrobial agents was determined by the disk diffusion test and the World Health Organization-International Collaborative Study agar dilution procedure. Ampicillin and tetracycline were the most active drugs. All strains were susceptible to beta-lactam antibiotics, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin (Furadantin), and bacitracin. All but two strains were resistant to streptomycin, whereas all strains were susceptible to the other aminocyclitol antibodies...
Sahu SP, Dardiri AH.Uterine, cervical, and clitoral specimens on swabs from pony mares infected with contagious equine equine metritis (CEM) bacteria were streaked on agar plates. Colonies of CEM bacteria were observed under CO2 incubation in 2 days on Eugon chocolate agar and Eugon blood agar plates. The diameter of the colonies varied from 0.2 mm to 1 mm in 2 days which increased to 0.3 mm to 2.0 mm on day 4. The colonies on Eugon chocolate agar plates on days 2 to 4 were shiny, brown, round, and convex, and easily glided when pushed with a loop. The diameter of the colonies on chocolate and blood agar plates m...
Prescott JF, Johnson JA, Markham RJ.Four month-old foals were infected orally with 75 mL of a suspension of 5.0 x 10(8)Corynebacterium equi per mL. Two foals were killed after ten days and had scanty number of C. equi in the caeco-colic lymph nodes. No C. equi were recovered from the other two foals, killed 20 days after infection. No gross pathological change was detected in these four foals, although mild microscopic lesions were seen in the ileum of one foal. Results of lymphocyte blastogenesis using peripheral blood lymphocytes and C. equi antigens showed, however, that lymphocytes became sensitized to C. equi following this...
Tinling SP, Cardinet GH, Blythe LL, Cohen M, Vonderfecht SL.The structure of sarcocysts in a horse is presented. Light microscopic examination revealed that the maximum cyst dimensions were 136 X 990 micrometers and the cyst walls were striated and 1 to 3 micrometers thick. Electron microscopic examination revealed that the "cyst wall" was formed by villuslike protrusions of the parasitophorous vacuole's primary wall. A unique feature was the presence and arrangement of microtubules within the parasitophorous vacuole. Thirty-four to 55 microtubules extended from the apical tips and sides of each villus and passed through the ground matrix to form junct...
Minder HP, Merritt AM, Chalupa W.Feces from 13 healthy horses and 8 horses with chronic diarrhea were subjected to an in vetro fermentation procedure that had been developed for rumen fluid. Fermentations were conducted over 6 hours in a closed system, with and without an essential amino acid (EAA) mixture being added to the basic starch-buffer medium. The addition of EAA caused no significant difference in results of fermentation of feces from healthy horses. For diarrheic animals, there was a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in gas and total volatile fatty acids production whether EAA were present or not, and alpha-a...
Sheahan BJ, Atkins GJ, Russell RJ, O'Connor JP.Two aged mares with histiolymphocytic lymphosarcoma had multiple rapidly proliferating tumours in the subcutis. Consistent haematological changes were absent. One mare had lymph node involvement but no neoplastic lesions in the viscera. Microbiological examination of tumour tissue showed coryneform bacteria; there was no evidence of C-type or lytic viruses or of reverse transcriptase. Prominent intramitochondrial crystalline inclusions were in histiocytic tumour cells.
Dabernat HJ, Tainturier D, Delmas C, Ferney J, Lareng MB.The cultural, biochemical, antigenic and antibiotic susceptibility characteristics of 17 strains of Haemophilus equigenitalis, the causative organism of contagious equine metritis (CEM), were studied. Biochemical characteristics were investigated using both conventional method and the API ZYM system of enzyme detection. The biochemical profile of the H. equigenitalis strains was unique and differed from the other bacterial species studied under the same experimental conditions (H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae, B. abortus and B. melitensis, P. multocida, A. calcoaceticus). The required X an...
Sijtsema M, Stringer T, Hopman NEM, van der Graaf-van Bloois L, Duim B, van den Brom-Spierenburg A, Theelen M, Zomer A, Broens EM.Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) associated with ESKAPEE pathogens are an emerging concern in equine hospitals, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU). To gain insight into the occurrence of HAIs and to identify potential reservoirs and transmission routes of ESKAPEE pathogens in an equine ICU, a pilot study of two periods (December 2022-January 2023 and April-June 2023) was performed, where patient and environmental samples were obtained upon ICU admission and discharge. A sampling and laboratory protocol for the detection and identification of different ESKAPEE pathogens and Salm...
Yu H, Raymonda JW, McMahon TM, Campagnari AA.This article reviews the recent development of two solid-phase chemiluminescence-based techniques, fluorogenic-chemiluminescence (FCL) and electro-chemiluminescence (ECL) for detection of biological threat agents. Both techniques entail a labeled sandwich immunoassay. The objectives of this work are to develop advanced techniques for sensitive and effective detection of a target analyte, particularly in cases where the analysis includes complex samples containing multiple contaminating factors. Other important considerations in developing such detection techniques include the ease of use, the ...
Pipereau K, Trably E, Santa-Catalina G, García-Bernet D, Carrere H.This study focuses on thermal and non-thermal effects of microwave pretreatment on horse dung as indigenous inoculum before xylose and wheat straw fermentation, emphasizing metabolite production and microbial community changes. Two horse dung microwave pretreatments (MW40°C and MW95°C) were compared with a conventional thermal pretreatment (Th95°C) and an unpretreated condition (Ctrl). Microwave heating pretreatment (MW95°C) leads to similar production as a conventional thermal pretreatment (Th95°C) for xylose and wheat straw fermentation while MW40°C treatment was similar to the control...
Zhu D, Li S, Xu Z, Kulyar MF, Bai X, Wang Y, Wang B, Khateeb E, Deng D, Wang L, Chen Y, Guo A, Shen Y.Diarrhea presents a substantial risk of high morbidity and mortality among foals. Although studies have shown connections between gut microbiota and several gastrointestinal diseases, there is still inadequate information on gut microbial alterations in foals during diarrhea. In this study, we conducted 16S rRNA and ITS gene amplicon sequencing to investigate gut bacterial and fungal differences between healthy and diarrheic foals. The results unveiled significant reductions in gut bacterial and fungal diversities among foals experiencing diarrhea, accompanied by notable shifts in the composit...
Kaštovská E, Mastný J, Choma M, Čapek P, Jirků M, Bitomský M, Konvička M.Based on a growing understanding of the role of wild megafauna in the functioning of natural ecosystems, trophic rewilding by large herbivores is increasingly used as a nature-based solution to mitigate biodiversity loss and climate change in Europe and beyond. Despite the growing interest in implementing nature-based approaches to restore key non-productive ecosystem services, there is relatively little data available to assess the benefits and risks of rewilding projects. We therefore investigated the effects of year-round grazing by large ungulates on plant biomass characteristics and their...
Bain ME, Alsop EJ, Knox CA, Tweedie MA, Knottenbelt DC.Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in horses is under-reported. Objective: To document the successful multimodal treatment of M. ulcerans and highlight the need for further investigation due to the zoonotic nature of M. ulcerans with its related potential public health concerns. Methods: Case report CASE DESCRIPTION: A 14-year-old gelding in the Southeastern region of Australia was diagnosed with M. ulcerans infection, initially presenting as a non-healing wound of the right flank progressing to extensive necrotic ulceration. Ziehl-Neelsen and Wade-Fite stained incisional biopsies revealed large...
Chen X, Gulbahar K, Ding H, Nie C, Gao X.Horse milk is a highly valuable organic food that is a promising alternative to cow milk, exhibiting plenty of healthy and immune benefits to human. However, identification of proteins associated human wellness and underlying molecular mechanism in horse milk remain unclear. Unassigned: Label-free mass spectrometry-based protein quantification technology was employed to investigate protein composition of animal milk, including cow, goat, camel and horse milk. Prokaryotic expression and disk diffusion assay were applied to acquire and evaluate antimicrobial activity of candidate proteins. RAW2...
Marchi S, Amodeo D, Peccetti B, De Palma I, Messina G, Montomoli E, Trombetta CM.Influenza D virus (IDV) is a novel influenza virus, first isolated from swine with influenza-like symptoms in the USA in 2011. To date, IDV circulation has been reported in various animal species such as cattle, pigs, horses with the ability to expand its range of hosts. UV radiation has been widely used for the disinfection of various sources such as water, air, and surfaces, especially in places at greater risk of contamination by viruses and bacteria, such as hospitals and health facilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential virucidal effect of a violet-blue light against ...
Uprety T, Swan M, Kennedy L, Bryant U, Cassone L, Loynachan A, Janes J, Evely MM, Calvaruso FC, Quick M, Morgan J, Abdelrazek S, Lahmers K, Carter C....Clostridium piliforme is an obligate intracellular filamentous bacterium that causes Tyzzer disease (TD) in many animals. The disease manifests as severe, multifocal necrotizing hepatitis, with a high fatality rate in foals. Through retrospective investigation, we detected C. piliforme in 43 equine necropsy cases from 2012 to 2024. Positive cases were diagnosed from February to July, peaking in May. The age of affected foals ranged from 4 days to 2 months. Histologically, all cases had necrotizing hepatitis with multifocal, coalescing pinpoint, tan or reddish foci. Since only a partial 16S rRN...
Matinpour M, Zettner N, Neumann K, Bäumer L, Burkovski A.Horses have close interactions with humans and are important as working animals and livestock. In contrast to smaller companion animals like cats and dogs, there is only little information available about their skin microbiome. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the culturable cutaneous microbiome of healthy horses. Samples were taken from 14 horses from Southern Germany which were randomly enrolled in this study. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was used as a method to detect the culturable microorganisms of ...
Płoneczka-Janeczko K, Armstrong E, Siemieniuch-Tartanus M, Magdziarz M.The aim of the study was to explore and characterise healthy foals' eye microbiomes in the first two months of life. Unassigned: Conjunctival swabs were collected three times, not later than 12 h after delivery and again at the end of the first and the second months of life from six clinically healthy foals of the Polish Konik breed. The average interval between the first and second samplings was 33.3 days and between the second and third was 35.6 days. Next-generation sequencing performed on a MiSeq sequencer in paired-end technology was used to analyse the composition of the conjunctival mic...
Zhang W, Guo R, Sulayman A, Sun Y, Liu S.Microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract play a crucial role in nutrient digestion, health and so forth in equines. As the research attention on gut microbes has increased, several studies have investigated the composition of the gastrointestinal microbial flora in equines. This article reviews the effects of breed, age, intestinal site, nutritional management and diseases on the gastrointestinal microbiota of horses and donkeys, thus offering references for improving the gastrointestinal microecological environment in these animals and preventing and controlling disease occurrence in them.
Simms N, Bertone JJ, Melgarejo T, O'Shea C, Linde A.Emerging research suggests the presence of a blood microbiome in clinically healthy individuals. Characterizing bacterial composition and abundance in blood from a group of healthy horses is of clinical interest. Objective: Horses in a closed herd environment will have blood microbiomes with similarities among individuals. Methods: Twenty trail-riding horses of different breeds and ages living in relative isolation on a dry lot pasture in Colorado at 7680 ft elevation. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Blood was collected from the jugular vein into serum, blood collection, and EDTA tubes. Samp...
Polo MC, Huby FD, Uehlinger FD, Rubin JE.Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat in human and veterinary medicine. Among the most problematic resistant organisms are the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales, which are resistant to the 3rd-generation cephalosporins. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of colonization of horses admitted to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine with resistant Escherichia coli. Unassigned: Rectal swabs were collected from 60 horses admitted between November 2021 and March 2022. Swabs were selectively cultured for E. coli, which was identified usi...
Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Harvey A, Bruce M, Hampson BA, Riley TV.Clostridioides difficile is a known cause of diarrhea and colitis in human and non-human animals. While C. difficile is regularly isolated from domesticated horses, little is known about its prevalence in wild or feral populations. In Australia, the horse population encompasses a mix of both domesticated and feral animals, with the feral population of 400,000 estimated to be the largest in the world. This study investigated the presence and characteristics of C. difficile in Australian feral horses and evaluated their potential as a source or reservoir of C. difficile in the wider community. F...
The potential of effective microorganisms in composting animal manure might be significant. This work aimed at isolating promising microbial strains for composting cattle and horse manure. A total of forty-five isolates have been isolated from soils of Northern Kazakhstan as well as cattle and horse manure. These microorganisms were extensively studied for their cellulose-degrading capacity, non-pathogenicity, protease, nitrogenase and catalase activities, as well as their growth stimulation, antagonistic ability, and growth rate. As a result, 21 potent strains were selected and genotyped for ...
Castanheira CIGD, Anderson JR, Clarke EJ, Hackl M, James V, Clegg PD, Peffers MJ.This study describes a novel technique to analyze the extracellular vesicle (EV)-derived microRNA (miRNA) crosstalk between equine chondrocytes and synoviocytes. Donor cells (chondrocytes, n = 8; synoviocytes, n = 9) were labelled with 5-ethynyl uridine (5-EU); EVs were isolated from culture media and incubated with recipient cells (chondrocytes [n = 5] were incubated with synoviocyte-derived EVs, and synoviocytes [n = 4] were incubated with chondrocyte-derived EVs). Total RNA was extracted from recipient cells; the 5-EU-labelled RNA was recovered and sequenced. Differential expression analysi...
Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Ueno T.In horses, the gut microbiota plays a critical role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis and overall health, but antimicrobial administration can disrupt its balance, resulting in dysbiosis, which can cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea. This study assessed the impact of intravenous cephalothin sodium administration on the equine gut microbiota by using microbial amplicon sequencing targeting the 16S-ITS-23S rRNA operon. Fecal samples from 39 clinically normal horses, 16 antibiotic-treated horses (cephalothin, n=5; minocycline, n=5; metronidazole, n=6, each administered for 5 days), and seve...
Boshuizen B, De Maré L, Oosterlinck M, Van Immerseel F, Eeckhaut V, De Meeus C, Devisscher L, Vidal Moreno de Vega C, Willems M, De Oliveira JE....Aleurone, derived from the bran layer of grains like wheat and barley, has demonstrated positive effects on energy metabolism in pigs, mice, and untrained horses, influencing glucose-insulin dynamics and gut microbiome composition. Training itself enhances insulin sensitivity in horses, similar to the improvements in performance capacity observed in human athletes. This study aimed to investigate whether aleurone supplementation provides additional benefits to training by modulating insulin metabolism and gut microbiota in Standardbred mares. Unassigned: Sixteen Standardbred mares (aged 3-5 ye...
Kukhar Y, Bailina G, Smagulova A, Uakhit R, Kiyan V.Equine skin mycoses are a significant concern in Kazakhstan's livestock industry due to the country's historical livestock farming practices, the development of equestrian sports, and food traditions. Skin infections are among the most common fungal infections in horses. Emerging pathogens of equine dermatophytosis include keratinophilic Chrysosporium spp., which can degrade and metabolize keratin found in superficial tissues. This, combined with their thermotolerance, contributes to their pathogenicity. In this study, we investigated the biological properties and pathogenicity of two Chrysosp...
Cerullo A, Di Nicola MR, Scilimati N, Bertoletti A, Pollicino G, Moroni B, Pepe M, Nannarone S, Gialletti R, Passamonti F.Bacterial contamination of the surgical site in horses is a major risk factor for the development of surgical site infections (SSIs), which increase morbidity, mortality, the hospitalisation period, antibiotic use, and management costs. While contamination is a prerequisite for infection, its progression to clinical infection depends on additional factors that compromise host defences. The present study, conducted at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Perugia over an 11-month period, investigated bacterial contamination in 70 surgeries (53 clean and 17 clean-contaminated) at...
Curadi MC, Vallone F, Tenuzzo M, Gazzano A, Gazzano V, Macchioni F, Vannini C.The gut microbiota plays a basic role in maintaining the psychophysical health and well-being of horses. Understanding the complex interactions among microbial communities in relation to age, management, and health is a topic of growing interest. The equine microbiota, given its complexity, is subject to variations caused by internal or external stressors that can lead to metabolic problems and pathologies, i.e., obesity and laminitis. The aim of this study was to characterize the fecal microbiota of 12 purebred Arabian horses and to compare the microbial communities in two distinct management...
Li Y, Lan Y.The gut microbial importance and its crucial roles in host digestion, immunity, and metabolism have received widely attention. Horses, especially indigenous varieties such as Mongolian horses (MGH) and Guizhou horses (GZH), have not received sufficient attention, and the characteristics of their gut microbiota are still unclear. For this purpose, we collected faecal samples from eight MGH and eight GZH to compare their gut microbial differences using amplicon sequencing. The results of alpha diversity analysis indicated that the gut bacterial diversity and gut fungal abundance in GZH were sign...
Mizani A, Taherkhani P, Kia Lashaki E, Hosseini SA, Basirpour B, Dodangeh S.Giardia duodenalis as a common zoonotic parasite is a public health problem infecting humans and a wide range of animals, including horses. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the global pooled prevalence of Giardia infection in horses. Literature searches were conducted using databases including Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science and ProQuest to December 2023. A random-effect model was performed to calculate the pooled prevalence and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) according to the degree of heterogeneity in the included studies. Of 2661 ar...
Carvalho IB, Branco S, Laranjo M, Queiroga MC, Bettencourt E.Uterine health is paramount to fertility in broodmares and for the success of a breeding project, and the Lusitano breed is no exception. This study aimed to characterize the mare uterine microbiota using practical clinical evaluation methods. Mares were examined by transrectal palpation and ultrasonography, followed by the collection of samples by one of three different techniques: uterine lavage, biopsy, or swab. The results of cytology, histology, microbiology, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were recorded, and statistical analyses were performed. Inflammation was present in 42.2% ...
Toft K, Mardahl M, Hedberg-Alm Y, Anlén K, Tydén E, Nielsen MK, Honoré ML, Fromm B, Nielsen LN, Nejsum P, Thamsborg SM, Cirera S, Pihl TH.Non-strangulating intestinal infarctions (NSII) associated with Strongylus vulgaris infection and idiopathic peritonitis (IP) share similar clinical presentation but require different treatment approaches. Horses with NSII need surgical intervention, while idiopathic peritonitis cases can be successfully treated with antimicrobials. A correct diagnosis is thus crucial, but because the two diseases overlap in clinicopathological features, differentiation is difficult in clinical practice. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that exhibit measurable changes in abundance in tissues and circulat...
Pipereau K, Trably E, Santa-Catalina G, García-Bernet D, Carrere H.Horse manure is a lignocellulosic biomass found in significant quantities with a vast indigenous flora, not yet fully valorized apart from anaerobic digestion. Its use in the fermentation process can lead to the production of higher-value metabolites. This study investigates three inoculation strategies coupled with five pretreatment conditions for horse manure fermentation. Two microwave pretreatments (200W and 1000W) were compared with a conventional thermal pretreatment, a thermo-acid pretreatment, and an unpretreated condition. The sole horse manure indigenous microorganisms were used in f...
Lin H, Deng D, Yan Z, Zou G, Shen Y.Staphylococcus aureus can transfer from animals to humans. Lichuan horse is an isolated breed living in a high-altitude area with limited use of antibiotics and is bred for use in tourism. To evaluate the risk of human-animal cross-transmission, the S. aureus was isolated from three horse farms in Lichuan, including healthy horses and horses with skin infections, farm workers and environment. From a collection of 111 samples, 18 S. aureus isolates were obtained. All the isolates were genome sequenced and their biological characteristics including antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence and bi...
Sun YF, Han ZX, Yao XK, Meng J, Ren WL, Wang CK, Yuan XX, Zeng YQ, Wang YF, Sun ZW, Wang JW.: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different stages of training on the intestinal microbial abundance of Yili horses. : Ten Yili horses, all aged 2 years old and weighing 305 ± 20 kg, were selected and divided into a training group and an untrained group. The training group performed riding training 6 days a week, and the untrained group moved freely in the activity circle every day. Fecal samples were collected on days 30 and 60, and the intestinal microorganisms were detected and analyzed using metagenomics. : Compared with the 30-day untrained group, the relative abu...
Araújo IRDS, de Brito EL, de Melo UP, Mariz ALB, Cavalheiro MT, Ferreira C, de Morais LF, de Souza RF.This study aimed to evaluate the use of antimicrobials in horses, focusing on administration practices, adherence to veterinary prescriptions, and the impact on the development of antimicrobial resistance. The research was based on a questionnaire completed by 220 horse owners in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The data collected covered aspects including antibiotic use, prescription sources, the performance of culture and susceptibility tests, and the disposal of veterinary drug waste. The results indicated that 98.63% of horse owners administered antibiotics mainly to treat respira...
