Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a statistical technique used to simplify complex datasets by reducing their dimensionality while preserving as much variance as possible. In equine research, PCA can be applied to various types of data, including genetic, physiological, and performance metrics, to identify patterns and relationships that may not be immediately apparent. By transforming original variables into a new set of uncorrelated variables called principal components, researchers can effectively analyze and interpret large datasets. PCA facilitates the identification of key factors influencing traits or conditions in horses, aiding in areas such as genetic studies, disease susceptibility, and performance optimization. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the application, methodology, and findings of Principal Component Analysis in equine science.
Kim NY, Seong HS, Kim DC, Park NG, Yang BC, Son JK, Shin SM, Woo JH, Shin MC, Yoo JH, Choi JW.The Jeju horse is an indigenous Korean horse breed that is currently registered with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. However, there is severe lack of genomic studies on Jeju horse. This study was conducted to investigate genetic characteristics of horses including Jeju horse, Thoroughbred and Jeju crossbred (Jeju × Thoroughbred) populations. We compared the genomes of three horse populations using the Equine SNP70 Beadchip array. Short-range Linkage disequilibrium was the highest in Thoroughbred, whereas r values were lowest in Jeju horse. Expected heterozygos...
Zhu C, Faillace V, Laus F, Bazzano M, Laghi L.Metabolomics has been recognized as a powerful approach for disease screening. In order to highlight potential health issues in subjects, a key factor is the possibility to compare quantitatively the metabolome of their biofluids with reference values from healthy individuals. Such efforts towards the systematic characterization of the metabolome of biofluids in perfect health conditions, far from concluded for humans, have barely begun on horses. The present work attempts, for the first time, to give reference quantitative values for the molecules mostly represented in the urine metabolome of...
Lewis SL, Holl HM, Long MT, Mallicote MF, Brooks SA.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), like human metabolic syndrome, comprises a collection of clinical signs related to obesity, insulin dysregulation and susceptibility to secondary inflammatory disease. Although the secondary conditions resulting from EMS can be life-threatening, diagnosis is not straightforward and often complicated by the presence of other concurrent conditions like pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). In order to better characterize EMS, we sought to describe the variation within, and correlations between, typical physical and endocrine parameters for EMS. Utilizing ...
Lansade L, Foury A, Reigner F, Vidament M, Guettier E, Bouvet G, Soulet D, Parias C, Ruet A, Mach N, Lévy F, Moisan MP.Early and definitive separation between offspring and their mothers has negative consequences on behavioral and physiological responses. This study compared sudden and definitive weaning (Sudd group, N = 16) and weaning involving progressive habituation to separation using a fence line during the month preceding definitive separation (Prog group, N = 18). The impact of these two methods was assessed in both foals and their mothers through behavioral and biological parameters, including salivary cortisol, telomere length and blood transcriptomes. On the day of definitive separation, Pro...
Liley H, Zhang J, Firth EC, Fernandez JW, Besier TF.The objective of this study was to describe the three-dimensional shape and subchondral bone mineral density (BMD) variation of the equine distal third metacarpal bone (MC3) using a statistical shape model. The association between form and function builds upon previous two-dimensional observations of MC3 epiphyseal structure. It was expected that the main source of variation would be an increase in overall MC3 bone size, correlated to an increase in subchondral BMD. Geometry and bone mineral density was obtained from CT image data of 40 healthy Thoroughbred horses. This was used to create a st...
Martig S, Hitchens PL, Stevenson MA, Whitton RC.The repetitive large loads generated during high-speed training and racing commonly cause subchondral bone injuries in the metacarpal condyles of racehorses. Adaptive bone modelling leads to focal sclerosis at the site of highest loading in the palmar aspect of the metacarpal condyles. Information on whether and how adaptive modelling of subchondral bone changes during the career of a racehorse is sparse. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the changes in subchondral bone micromorphology in the area of highest loading in the palmar aspect of the metacarpal condyle in thorough...
Liley H, Zhang J, Firth E, Fernandez J, Besier T.Population variance in bone shape is an important consideration when applying the results of subject-specific computational models to a population. In this letter, we demonstrate the ability of partial least squares regression to provide an improved shape prediction of the equine third metacarpal epiphysis, using two easily obtained measurements.
El-Shahat MF, Sadek MA, Salem WM, Embaby AA, Mohamed FA.The northwestern coast of Sinai is home to many economic activities and development programs, thus evaluation of the potentiality and vulnerability of water resources is important. The present work has been conducted on the groundwater resources of this area for describing the major features of groundwater quality and the principal factors that control salinity evolution. The major ionic content of 39 groundwater samples collected from the Quaternary aquifer shows high coefficients of variation reflecting asymmetry of aquifer recharge. The groundwater samples have been classified into four clu...
Almarzook S, Reissmann M, Arends D, Brockmann GA.Although Arabian horses have been bred in strains for centuries and pedigrees have been recorded in studbooks, to date, little is known about the genetic diversity within and between these strains. In this study, we tested if the three main strains of Syrian Arabian horses descend from three founders as suggested by the studbook. We examined 48 horses representing Saglawi (n = 18), Kahlawi (n = 16) and Hamdani (n = 14) strains using the Equine SNP70K BeadChip. For comparison, an additional 24 Arabian horses from the USA and three Przewalski's horses as an out group were added. Observed h...
The Journal of heredityApril 30, 2017
Volume 108, Issue 5 505-514 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esx039
Druml T, Grilz-Seger G, Neuditschko M, Neuhauser B, Brem G.Genetic analyses of coat colors are frequently restricted to subjectively categorized phenotype information. The aim of this study was to develop a method to numerically quantify the variability of leopard complex (LP) spotting phenotypes introducing tools from image analysis. Generalized Procrustes analysis eliminates systematic errors due to imaging process. The binarization of normalized images and the application of principal component analysis (PCA) on the derived pixel matrices, transform pixel information into numerical data space. We applied these methods on 90 images to ascertain the ...
The Journal of heredityApril 27, 2017
Volume 108, Issue 4 361-368 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esx025
Al Abri MA, König von Borstel U, Strecker V, Brooks SA.Horse breeders rely heavily on pedigrees for identification of ancestry in breeding stock. Inaccurate pedigrees may erroneously assign individuals to false lineages or breed memberships resulting in wrong estimates of inbreeding and coancestry. Moreover, discrepancies in pedigree records can lead breeders seeking to limit inbreeding into making misguided breeding decisions. Genome-wide SNPs provide a quantitative tool to aid in the resolution of lineage assignments and the calculation of genomic measures of relatedness. The aim of this project was to pilot a comparison between pedigree and gen...
Battut IB, Kempfer A, Lemasson N, Chevrier L, Camugli S.Spermatozoa from some stallions do not maintain an acceptable fertility after freezing and thawing. The selection of frozen ejaculates that would be suitable for insemination is mainly based on post-thaw motility, but the prediction of fertility remains limited. A recent study in our laboratory has enabled the determination of a new protocol for the evaluation of fresh stallion semen, combining microscopical observation, computer-assisted motility analysis and flow cytometry, and providing a high level of fertility prediction. The purpose of the present experiment was to perform similar invest...
Cucchi T, Mohaseb A, Peigné S, Debue K, Orlando L, Mashkour M.The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of and the subsequent domestication of horses and donkeys remains poorly understood, due to the lack of phenotypic markers capable of tracing this evolutionary process in the palaeontological/archaeological record. Using images from 345 specimens, encompassing 15 extant taxa of equids, we quantified the occlusal enamel folding pattern in four mandibular cheek teeth with a single geometric morphometric protocol. We initially investigated the protocol accuracy by assigning each tooth to its correct anatomical position and taxonomic group. We then contrasted the ph...
Hitchens PL, Hultgren J, Frössling J, Emanuelson U, Keeling LJ.Determining welfare status in a population is the first step in efforts to improve welfare. The primary objective of this study was to explore a new epidemiological approach for analysis of data from official competent authorities that pertain to compliance with animal welfare legislation. We reviewed data already routinely collected as part of Swedish official animal welfare inspections for 2010-13, using a checklist containing 45 checkpoints (CPs). These covered animal-, resource- and management-based measures of equine welfare. The animal-based CPs were measures that directly related to the...
Roberts K, Hemmings AJ, Moore-Colyer M, Parker MO, McBride SD.A relationship between dopamine and temperament has previously been described in human cases of dopaminergic dysfunction. Adjustment in temperament prior to disease manifestation can enable the early identification of individuals at risk of such conditions, and scope exists to extend this application of temperament alterations to cases of dopaminergic dysfunction in horses. A multivariate and mixed-methods approach utilising a questionnaire along with two inferred measurements of dopamine activity (Spontaneous Blink Rate [SBR] and behavioral initiation rate [BIR]) were recorded from direct obs...
Janabi AHD, Kerkhof LJ, McGuinness LR, Biddle AS, McKeever KH.There are many choices for methods of extracting bacterial DNA for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) from fecal samples. Here, we compare our modifications of a phenol/chloroform extraction method plus an inhibitor removal solution (C3) (ph/Chl+C3) to the PowerFecal® DNA Isolation Kit (MoBio-K). DNA quality and quantity coupled to NGS results were used to assess differences in relative abundance, Shannon diversity index, unique species, and principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) between biological replicates. Six replicate samples, taken from a single ball of horse feces manually collected from ...
Vinther AM, Heegaard PM, Skovgaard K, Buhl R, Andreassen SM, Andersen PH.Local inflammation may progress into systemic inflammation. To increase our understanding of the basic immunological processes during transition of equine local inflammation into a systemic state, investigation into the equine systemic immune response to local inflammation is warranted. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the innate peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) immune response to local inflammation in horses, and to compare this response with the PBL immune response during the early phase of acute systemic inflammation. Expression of 22 selected inflammation-related genes w...
Staiger EA, Al Abri MA, Pflug KM, Kalla SE, Ainsworth DM, Miller D, Raudsepp T, Sutter NB, Brooks SA.Conformation has long been a driving force in horse selection and breed creation as a predictor for performance. The Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) ranges in size from 1.5 to 1.7 m and is often used as a trail, show, and pleasure horse. To investigate the contribution of genetics to body conformation in the TWH, we collected DNA samples, body measurements, and gait/training information from 282 individuals. We analyzed the 32 body measures with a principal component analysis. Principal component (PC)1 captured 28.5% of the trait variance, while PC2 comprised just 9.5% and PC3 6.4% of trait vari...
The Journal of heredityFebruary 16, 2016
Volume 107, Issue 3 214-219 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esw007
Jacobs LN, Staiger EA, Albright JD, Brooks SA.Shared signaling pathways utilized by melanocytes and neurons result in pleiotropic traits of coat color and behavior in many mammalian species. For example, in humans polymorphisms at MC1R cause red hair, increased heat sensitivity, and lower pain tolerance. In deer mice, rats, and foxes, ASIP polymorphisms causing black coat color lead to more docile demeanors and reduced activity. Horse (Equus caballus) base coat color is primarily determined by polymorphisms at the Melanocortin-1 Receptor (MC1R) and Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP) loci, creating a black, bay, or chestnut coat. Our goal was...
Chan GH, Ho EN, Leung DK, Wong KS, Wan TS.The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is prohibited in both human and equine sports. The conventional approach in doping control testing for AAS (as well as other prohibited substances) is accomplished by the direct detection of target AAS or their characteristic metabolites in biological samples using hyphenated techniques such as gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Such an approach, however, falls short when dealing with unknown designer steroids where reference materials and their pharmacokinetics are not available. In addition, AASs with fast...
Liebenberg D, van Hamburg H, Piketh S, Burger R.Africa horse sickness (AHS) is a lethal disease of horses with a seasonal occurrence that is influenced by environmental conditions that favor the development of Culicoides midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). This study compared and evaluated the relationship of various modeled climatic variables with the distribution and abundance of AHS in South Africa and Namibia. A comprehensive literature review of the historical AHS reported data collected from the Windhoek archives as well as annual reports from the Directorate of Veterinary services in Namibia were conducted. South African AHS reported ...
Hori Y, Tozaki T, Nambo Y, Sato F, Ishimaru M, Inoue-Murayama M, Fujita K.Tractability, or how easily animals can be trained and controlled, is an important behavioural trait for the management and training of domestic animals, but its genetic basis remains unclear. Polymorphisms in the serotonin receptor 1A gene (HTR1A) have been associated with individual variability in anxiety-related traits in several species. In this study, we examined the association between HTR1A polymorphisms and tractability in Thoroughbred horses. We assessed the tractability of 167 one-year-old horses reared at a training centre for racehorses using a questionnaire consisting of 17 items....
Symons JE, Fyhrie DP, Hawkins DA, Upadhyaya SK, Stover SM.Race surfaces have been associated with the incidence of racehorse musculoskeletal injury, the leading cause of racehorse attrition. Optimal race surface mechanical behaviors that minimize injury risk are unknown. Computational models are an economical method to determine optimal mechanical behaviors. Previously developed equine musculoskeletal models utilized ground reaction floor models designed to simulate a stiff, smooth floor appropriate for a human gait laboratory. Our objective was to develop a computational race surface model (two force-displacement functions, one linear and one nonlin...
Bogers SH, Rogers CW, Bolwell CF, Roe WD, Gee EK, McIlwraith CW.The aim of the study was to use spatial and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to describe and compare the regional proportion and spatial pattern of volumetric bone mineral density (BMDv) values within loaded regions of the plantar metatarsal epiphysis of young horses in race training. A single 2 mm transverse peripheral quantitative computed tomography 'slice', 10 mm proximal from the distal limit of the sagittal ridge of the distal metatarsal epiphysis was obtained from 14 2-year-old Thoroughbred fillies (7 exercised and 7 controls). Six regions of interest were generated and examin...
Clayton HM, Buchholz R, Nauwelaerts S.A stabilogram plots movements of the centre of pressure (COP) in the horizontal plane. Derived stabilographic variables quantify postural balance, but it is not known if these variables are size dependent. The aims of this study were to determine which morphological variable was most representative of size, which stabilographic variables were most representative of balance and whether size normalisation improved estimates of postural performance. Croup height (0.93-1.77 m), mass (117-666 kg), base of support (BOS) length (0.74-1.18 m) and BOS width (0.22-0.45 m) were measured in 24 horses. Sta...
Ross D, Marcot JD, Betteridge KJ, Nascone-Yoder N, Bailey CS, Sears KE.Tetrapod limb development has been studied extensively for decades, yet the strength and role of developmental constraints in this process remains unresolved. Mammals exhibit a particularly wide array of limb morphologies associated with various locomotion modes and behaviors, providing a useful system for identifying periods of developmental constraint and conserved developmental mechanisms or morphologies. In this study, landmark-based geometric morphometrics are used to investigate levels and patterns of morphological diversity (disparity) among the developing forelimbs of four mammals with...
Solé M, Santos R, Gómez MD, Galisteo AM, Valera M.The work describes and compares the conformation traits and gait characteristics in the main native Iberian dressage Purebreds (Lusitano, Spanish and Menorca horses). In total, 4 strides belonging to each of 66 males (4-14 years old) were recorded at handled trot, using a 3D semi-automatic movement analysis system. Principal component analysis (PCA) and intraclass Correlations (iC) were computed. The Menorca Purebred showed proportionally higher limbs (23.8 and 15.1cm for the forelimb cannon and pastern lengths), the Lusitano Purebred had larger inclinations (66.1°, 37.7° and 47.9° for the ...
Moro FL, Spröwitz A, Tuleu A, Vespignani M, Tsagarakis NG, Ijspeert AJ, Caldwell DG.This manuscript proposes a method to directly transfer the features of horse walking, trotting, and galloping to a quadruped robot, with the aim of creating a much more natural (horse-like) locomotion profile. A principal component analysis on horse joint trajectories shows that walk, trot, and gallop can be described by a set of four kinematic Motion Primitives (kMPs). These kMPs are used to generate valid, stable gaits that are tested on a compliant quadruped robot. Tests on the effects of gait frequency scaling as follows: results indicate a speed optimal walking frequency around 3.4 Hz, an...
Tetens J, Widmann P, Kühn C, Thaller G.A genome-wide association scan for loci affecting withers height was conducted in 782 German Warmblood stallions, which were genotyped using the Illumina EquineSNP50 Bead Chip. A principal components approach was applied to correct for population structure. The analysis revealed a single major QTL on ECA3 explaining ~18 per cent of the phenotypic variance, which is in concordance with recent reports from other horse populations. The LCORL/NCAPG locus represents a strong candidate gene for this QTL. This locus is among a small number that have consistently been identified to influence human hei...
Xu LX, Yang SL, Lin RY, Yang HB, Li AP, Wan QS.China is one of the principal origins of ponies in the world. We made a comprehensive analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of Chinese ponies based on 174 animals of five indigenous Chinese pony breeds from five provinces using 13 microsatellite markers. One hundred and forty-four alleles were detected; the mean number of effective alleles among the pony breeds ranged from 5.38 (Guizhou) to 6.78 (Sichuan); the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.82 (Guizhou) to 0.85 (Debao, Sichuan). Although abundant genetic variation was found, the genetic differentiation was low between t...
Valberg SJ, Williams ZJ, Henry ML, Finno CJ.Shivers in horses is characterized by abnormal hindlimb movement when walking backward and is proposed to be caused by a Purkinje cell (PC) axonopathy based on histopathology. Objective: Define region-specific differences in gene expression within the lateral cerebellar hemisphere and compare cerebellar protein expression between Shivers horses and controls. Methods: Case-control study of 5 Shivers and 4 control geldings ≥16.2 hands in height. Methods: Using spatial transcriptomics, gene expression was compared between Shivers and control horses in PC soma and lateral cerebellar hemisphere w...
The Journal of heredityDecember 14, 2011
Volume 103, Issue 1 134-139 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esr121
Bigi D, Perrotta G.Catria is 1 of the 22 native Italian horse breeds that now survive from a larger number. Thirty individuals, representative of the Catria horse, were analyzed for 11 microsatellites and compared with data of 10 breeds reared in Italy. Three different approaches, genetic distances, correspondence analysis, and clustering methods, were considered to study genetic relationships among Catria and the other horse populations. Genetic differentiation among breeds was highly significant (P < 0.01) for all loci. Average F(ST) values indicate that around 10% of the total genetic variation was explain...
Yousefi-Mashouf N, Mehrabani-Yeganeh H, Nejati-Javaremi A, Bailey E, Petersen JL.The present research aimed to characterize the Persian Kurdish horse population relative to the Persian Arabian and American Thoroughbred populations using genome-wide SNP data. Fifty-eight Kurdish, 38 Persian Arabian and 83 Thoroughbred horses were genotyped across 670,796 markers. After quality control and pruning to eliminate linkage disequilibrium between loci which resulted in 13,554 SNPs in 52 Kurdish, 24 Persian Arabian and 58 Thoroughbred horses, the Kurdish horses were generally distinguished from the Persian Arabian samples by Principal Component Analyses, cluster analyses and calcul...
Yun J, Oyungerel B, Kong HS.This study aimed to identify the genetic diversity and population structure of Mongolian horse populations according to the province of residence (Khentii, KTP; Uvs, USP; Omnogovi and Dundgovi, GOP; Khovsgol, KGP) using 14 microsatellite (MS) markers. Methods: A total of 269 whole blood samples were obtained from the four populations (KTP, USP, GOP, KGP) geographically distinct provinces. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted using 14 MS markers (AHT4, ASB2, ASB17, ASB23, CA425, HMS1, HMS2, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, HTG4, HTG6, HTG7, and VHL20), as recommended by the International So...
Liley H, Zhang J, Firth EC, Fernandez JW, Besier TF.The objective of this study was to describe the three-dimensional shape and subchondral bone mineral density (BMD) variation of the equine distal third metacarpal bone (MC3) using a statistical shape model. The association between form and function builds upon previous two-dimensional observations of MC3 epiphyseal structure. It was expected that the main source of variation would be an increase in overall MC3 bone size, correlated to an increase in subchondral BMD. Geometry and bone mineral density was obtained from CT image data of 40 healthy Thoroughbred horses. This was used to create a st...
Hanot P, Bayarsaikhan J, Guintard C, Haruda A, Mijiddorj E, Schafberg R, Taylor W.The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. Large-scale morphological changes in domestic species, emerging over short timescales, offer an accelerated perspective on evolutionary processes. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) provides a striking example of rapid evolution, with major changes in morphology and size likely stemming from artificial selection. However, the microevolutionary mechanisms allowing to generate this variation in a short time interval remain little known. Here, we use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify skull morph...
Manzoori S, Farahani AHK, Moradi MH, Kazemi-Bonchenari M.The assignment of an individual to the true population of origin using a low-panel of discriminant SNP markers is one of the most important applications of genomic data for practical use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of different Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) approaches consisting Deep Neural Networks (DNN), Garson and Olden methods for feature selection of informative SNP markers from high-throughput genotyping data, that would be able to trace the true breed of unknown samples. The total of 795 animals from 37 breeds, genotyped by using the Illumina SNP 50k Bead ch...
Oddi S, Carluccio A, Ciaramellano F, Mascini M, Bucci R, Maccarrone M, Robbe D, Dainese E.Sperm cryopreservation represents a powerful tool for horse breeding. To improve the efficiency of artificial insemination in the horse using cryopreserved spermatozoa, an adequate understanding of the underlying biophysical properties that affect sperm cryosurvival needs to be reached yet. In this pilot study, we described isolation and analysis of the main fatty acids from sperms of stallions classified as good and poor freezers (7 GF and 5 PF, according to sperm motility and viability, before and after cryopreservation). Fatty acid profiles were only assessed in pre-thaw sperms. Eight mai...
Gross DK, Morley PS, Hinchcliff KW, Wittum TE.To determine the effect of furosemide on performance of Thoroughbreds racing on dirt surfaces at tracks in the United States and Canada. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: All Thoroughbreds (n = 22,589) that finished a race on dirt surfaces at tracks in the United States and Canada between June 28 and July 13, 1997 in jurisdictions that allowed the use of furosemide. Methods: Race records were analyzed by use of multivariable ANOVA procedures and logistic regression analyses to determine the effect of furosemide on estimated 6-furlong race time, estimated racing speed, race earnings, and...
Muñoz A, Santisteban R, Rubio MD, Vivo R, Agüera EI, Escribano BM, Castejón FM.The fitness of 8 Andalusian horses between 3 and 4 years of age was analysed. The animals were subjected to an exercise test on a sandy track consisting of 2 stages of different intensities. The first stage was of submaximal intensity at 4 speeds which increased progressively (4.17, 5.56, 6.94 and 8.33 m/sec.) covering a distance of 1,000 m in each level. Between each of these speeds, the horses rested for 2 min. The second stage was a maximal speed test over the same distance carried out 2 min after the ending of the maximal phase. Data of heart rate, plasma lactate concentration, velocity, P...
Drabbe A, Janssens S, Blott S, Ducro BJ, Fontanel M, Francois L, Schurink A, Stinckens A, Lindgren G, Van Mol B, Pille F, Buys N, Velie BD.Osteochondrosis (OC) is an important skeletal disease causing profound welfare concerns in horses. Although numerous studies have explored the genetics underlying OC in various breeds, the Belgian Warmblood (BW) remains unstudied despite having a concerning prevalence of 32.0%. As a result, this study aimed to conduct genome-wide association (GWA) analyses to identify candidate variants associated with OC in BWs. To achieve this, blood samples and radiographs were collected from 407 Belgian Warmbloods registered to one of two BW studbooks (Belgisch Warmbloedpaard and Zangersheide), and genotyp...
Urubschurov V, Stroebel C, Günther E, Romanowski K, Büsing K, Zeyner A.Effects of probiotics on the intestinal microbiota of foals are yet insufficiently studied. The aim of this study was to investigate whether supplementation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (DSM 7133) and Enterococcus faecium (DSM 7134) influences the bacterial composition of the faecal microbiota of foals. A total of 34 newborn foals were randomly assigned to the placebo group (PG, n = 16) and the treatment group (TG, n = 18). From day 1 to day 14 of life, foals orally received 3 ml of either a probiotic preparation (1.05 × 10 CFU E. faecium and 4.50 × 10 CFU L. rhamnosus) or placebo (...
Bomcke E, Gengler N.Relationship coefficients are particularly useful to improve genetic management of endangered populations. These coefficients are traditionally based on pedigree data, but in case of incomplete or inexistent pedigrees they are replaced by coefficients calculated from molecular data. The main objective of this study was to develop a new method to estimate relationship coefficients by combining molecular with pedigree data, which is useful for specific situations where neither pedigree nor molecular data are complete. The developed method was applied to contribute to the conservation of the Skyr...
de Oliveira Bussiman F, Carvalho RSB, E Silva FF, Ventura RV, Ferraz JBS, Mattos EC, Eler JP, Balieiro JCC.Multitrait models can increase the accuracy of breeding value prediction and reduce bias due to selection by using traits measured before and after it has occurred. However, as the number of traits grows, a similar trend is expected for the number of parameters to be estimated, which directly affects the computing power and the amount of data required. The aim of the present study was to apply reduced rank (principal components model-PCM) and factor analytical models (FAM), to estimate (co)variance components for nineteen traits, jointly evaluated in a single analysis in Campolina horses. A to...
The Journal of heredityApril 30, 2017
Volume 108, Issue 5 505-514 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esx039
Druml T, Grilz-Seger G, Neuditschko M, Neuhauser B, Brem G.Genetic analyses of coat colors are frequently restricted to subjectively categorized phenotype information. The aim of this study was to develop a method to numerically quantify the variability of leopard complex (LP) spotting phenotypes introducing tools from image analysis. Generalized Procrustes analysis eliminates systematic errors due to imaging process. The binarization of normalized images and the application of principal component analysis (PCA) on the derived pixel matrices, transform pixel information into numerical data space. We applied these methods on 90 images to ascertain the ...
Zaitseva S, Dagurova O, Radnagurueva A, Kozlova A, Izotova A, Krylova A, Noskov S, Begmatov S, Patutina E, Barkhutova DD.The Buryatian horse is an ancient breed and, as an indigenous breed, they have unique adaptive abilities to use scarce pastures, graze in winter, and survive in harsh conditions with minimal human care. In this study, fecal microbiota of Buryatian horses grazing in the warm and cold seasons were investigated using NGS technology on the Illumina MiSeq platform. We hypothesized that the composition of microbial communities in the feces of horses maintained on pasture would change in the different seasons, depending on the grass availability and different plant diets. We conducted microhistologic...
Ribeiro LB, Matzkeit TV, Nicolau JTS, Castilha LD, Oliveira FCL, Bankuti FI.The objective of this study was to investigate the management practices that affect undesirable behaviors in American Quarter Horses (AQH) confined to box stalls. A total of 105 adult AQH, comprising 29 females, 22 intact males, and 54 castrated males, housed in box stalls for at least 30 days, were included in the study. Behavioral activities were recorded through visual inspection at 5-min intervals over a 24-h period by two observers who took turns in shifts of 4 hours. Parameters related to animal characteristics, stall conditions, handling, training, nutrients supplied, and feeding beha...
Liebenberg D, van Hamburg H, Piketh S, Burger R.Africa horse sickness (AHS) is a lethal disease of horses with a seasonal occurrence that is influenced by environmental conditions that favor the development of Culicoides midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). This study compared and evaluated the relationship of various modeled climatic variables with the distribution and abundance of AHS in South Africa and Namibia. A comprehensive literature review of the historical AHS reported data collected from the Windhoek archives as well as annual reports from the Directorate of Veterinary services in Namibia were conducted. South African AHS reported ...
Greppi M, Bordin C, Raspa F, Maccone E, Harris P, Ellis AD, Cavallini D, Bergero D, Valle E.Slow feeding devices (SFDs) are useful tools in order to improve the horse well-being and to reduce wastage, but their use may result in unnatural posture during feeding and frustration behaviours. Moreover, it may be important to evaluate the laterality during feeding. The aim of the study was to investigate ponies' feeding behaviour (i.e., lateralisation, frustration, postural eating style) with different hay feeding methods: on the ground (G), a fully filled hay net (HF), a partially filled hay net (HL), and a slow feeder hay box (HB). Nine ponies of two different breed types (Shetland and ...
El-Shahat MF, Sadek MA, Salem WM, Embaby AA, Mohamed FA.The northwestern coast of Sinai is home to many economic activities and development programs, thus evaluation of the potentiality and vulnerability of water resources is important. The present work has been conducted on the groundwater resources of this area for describing the major features of groundwater quality and the principal factors that control salinity evolution. The major ionic content of 39 groundwater samples collected from the Quaternary aquifer shows high coefficients of variation reflecting asymmetry of aquifer recharge. The groundwater samples have been classified into four clu...
Frontiers in geneticsJanuary 29, 2021
Volume 12 619947 doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.619947
Dugué M, Dumont Saint Priest B, Crichan H, Danvy S, Ricard A.Functional longevity is essential for the well-being of horses and the satisfaction of riders. Conventional selection using longevity breeding values calculated from competition results is not efficient because it takes too long to obtain reliable information. Therefore, the objective was to identify early criteria for selection. We assessed two types of early criteria: gait traits of young horses and QTLs. Thus, our aim was to estimate the genetic correlation between gait traits and longevity and to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for longevity. Measurements of gaits by acceler...
Velie BD, Smith PM, Fjordbakk CT, Solé M, Jäderkvist Fegraeus K, Rosengren MK, Røed KH, Ihler CF, Lindgren G, Strand E.Dynamic laryngeal collapse (DLC) associated with poll flexion is the most common disorder of the upper respiratory tract (URT) in the Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotter (NSCT). The disorder, which has also been diagnosed in other breeds of trotters and gaited horses, appears to be related to anatomic phenotypes and only occurs during poll flexion when the horse is exercised 'on the bit'. Objective: Identify genomic regions associated with DLC in the NSCT by combining a rigorous phenotyping protocol with genomic data from a high-density equine genotyping array. Methods: Prospective case/cont...
Salamanca-Carreño A, Jordana J, Crosby-Granados RA, Bentez-Molano J, Parés-Casanova PM.This is the first morphological comparative study between local horses and mules from Arauca, Colombia. It was realized to compare morphological traits between both species by analysing 15 adult mules (7 males and 8 females) and 150 adult horses (137 males and 13 females), with an age interval from 2 to 22 years. Data consisted of 24 different body quantitative traits which can explain the body conformation: thoracic circumference, body length (BL), thoracic depth and width, withers height (WH), sternum height, shoulders width, chest width, forelimb cannon perimeter and length, head length and...
Rudi K.Mainly due to the lack of time-series data, we know very little about the underlying interactions leading to adverse states in the gut. I therefore investigate the host-bacteria dynamic interactions in a recently published acidotic state induction time-series experiment. Too high levels of fermentation in the hindgut may lead to elevated serum lactate levels, which is a characteristic of the acidotic state. The acidotic state was induced through injection of oligofructose directly into the caecum of five horses, with subsequent temporal measurements of host serum lactate, and a range of caecum...
Rivero JL, Henckel P.Biopsies were taken from three different depths of the gluteus medius muscle of 36 endurance horses aged between four and 17 years. Twenty of the horses were considered excellent performers according to their three fastest records in endurance events over the previous two or three years. The other 16 horses were moderate performers, with a mean racing speed < 3.5 ms-1 (in 120 to 180 km endurance rides), < 4.0 ms-1 (in 80 to 120 km endurance rides) or < 3.75 ms-1 (in 40 to 60 km endurance rides). The biopsy specimens were analysed for fibre type distribution (type I, IIA and IIB), fibr...
Debeljak N, Košmerlj A, Altimiras J, Šemrov MZ.We tested 35 Lipizzan horses older than 5 years, ridden and healthy in three behavioural tests (handling, fear-reaction, and target training test). Physiological (heart rate and heart rate variability) and anatomical measurements (120 head and body distances and angles) were collected to validate parameters that reliably inform on handling/cooperation, fear/exploration and trainability in horses. Utilizing a standard clustering methodology on the behavioural data, we identified four general types of responses and categorised an individual as intermediate, low fearful, horses with low cooperati...
Machmoum M, Badaoui B, Petit D, Germot A, El Alaoui MA, Boujenane I, Piro M.Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships within the Arabian show horse populations are of particular interest to breeders worldwide. Using the complete mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence (916 pb), this study aimed (i) to understand the genetic relationship between three populations, the Desert-Bred (DB), a subset of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain (BAH), the Straight Egyptian (EG) and the Polish bloodline (PL), and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the traditional strain classification system based on maternal lines, as stated by the Bedouin cultur...
Dai F, Riva MG, Dalla Costa E, Pascuzzo R, Chapman A, Minero M.To identify feasible indicators to evaluate animals' emotional states as a parameter to assess animal welfare, the present study aimed at investigating the accuracy of free choice profiling (FCP) and fixed list (FL) approach of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) in horses during the loading phase of transport. A total of 13 stakeholders were trained to score 2 different sets of videos of mixed breed horses loaded for road transport, using both FCP and FL, in 2 sessions. Generalized Procustes Analysis (GPA) consensus profile explained a higher percentage of variation (80.8%) than the mean o...
Clothier J, Small A, Hinch G, Brown WY.The long-term effects of gestational immaturity in the premature (defined as < 320 days gestation) and dysmature (normal term but showing some signs of prematurity) foal have not been thoroughly investigated. Studies have reported that a high percentage of gestationally immature foals with related orthopedic issues such as incomplete ossification may fail to fulfill their intended athletic purpose, particularly in Thoroughbred racing. In humans, premature birth is associated with shorter stature at maturity and variations in anatomical ratios, linked to alterations in metabolism and timing of...
Rivero JL.To describe an applied method for quantitative estimation of training condition in horses. Methods: 17 sedentary adult (5 to 14 years old) stallions of several breeds endurance trained for 3 months. Methods: Muscle biopsy specimens from 2 depths (20 and 60 mm) of the gluteus medius muscle were obtained before and after training and were analyzed for fiber type distribution, mean cross-sectional area, relative fiber area, and mean number of capillaries in contact with each fiber type relative to their mean area. Fiber types were designated as types 1, 2A, and 2B (high, low, and moderate myosin ...
