Risk factors in horses refer to variables or conditions that increase the likelihood of disease, injury, or other adverse health outcomes in equine populations. These factors can be intrinsic, such as age, breed, and genetic predisposition, or extrinsic, including environmental conditions, management practices, and exposure to infectious agents. Understanding risk factors is important for developing preventive strategies and improving health management in horses. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the identification, assessment, and mitigation of risk factors in equine health, with the aim of enhancing disease prevention and promoting overall well-being in horses.
Myagmarsuren P, Sivakumar T, Enkhtaivan B, Davaasuren B, Zoljargal M, Narantsatsral S, Davkharbayar B, Mungun-Ochir B, Battur B, Inoue N, Igarashi I....Equine piroplasmosis caused by and is an economically important disease with a worldwide distribution. The objective of the present study was to investigate the seroepidemiology of and in horses reared in various Mongolian provinces. Serum samples prepared from blood collected from horses in 19 Mongolian provinces were screened for antibodies specific to and using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays based on recombinant forms of merozoite antigen-2 and the 48-kDa merozoite rhoptry protein, respectively. Of 1,282 horses analyzed, 423 (33%) and 182 (14.2%) were sero-positive for and , re...
Burgess BA, Morley PS.Transmission of Salmonella in veterinary hospitals is typically associated with environmental contamination. Links between isolates recovered from hospitalized large animals and environment suggest animals as the likely source. Therefore, understanding factors influencing shedding is key in control. Shedding in hospitalized animals has been investigated, but many studies focused on subsets of animals limiting generalizability. Objective: (1) Investigate factors associated with fecal shedding of Salmonella among hospitalized large animals at a veterinary hospital. (2) Compare results obtained u...
Rosanowski S, Verheyen K.The number of unwanted horses in the UK has increased in recent years. It is therefore important to identify factors that indicate whether a horse can be rehomed and how long it takes to be rehomed. Data from 1 January 2013 until 30 March 2014 were extracted from an equine rehoming charity's database. Exposure variables were examined using multivariable logistic and Cox regression. In total, 791 horses were included in the study and 410 (51.8%) were rehomed during the study period. Median time until rehomed was 39 days (IQR 24-75). Horses whose owner was prepared to transfer ownership were nea...
Hautala K, Näreaho A, Kauppinen O, Nielsen MK, Sukura A, Rajala-Schultz PJ.Gastrointestinal parasites, Parascaris sp. and strongyles, are common in young horses worldwide and control of these parasites is challenged by increasing anthelmintic resistance. Our aim was to identify risk factors for these infections as well as to assess the efficacy of fenbendazole (dose 7.5 mg/kg) and pyrantel embonate (dose 19 mg/kg) against Parascaris sp. We also evaluated association between owner observed symptoms and patent infections with these parasites. Fecal samples were collected from 367 young horses in Finland and a questionnaire study was conducted. Fecal egg counts were...
Acton AS, Gaw CE, Chounthirath T, Smith GA.Horse-related injuries can cause severe morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to investigate the epidemiological features of horse-related injuries treated in emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. A retrospective analysis of horse-related injuries from 1990 through 2017 was conducted utilizing the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Cases were identified using the NEISS code 1239 (Horseback Riding: Activity, Apparel, or Equipment). Analyses performed included calculation of national injury estimates, relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence int...
Kopper JJ, Travers JL, Schott HC, Cook VL.To investigate effects of body condition on permeability of intestinal mucosa in horses. Methods: 13 horses (7 obese and 6 lean) from 8 to 15 years of age. Methods: Body condition score was assessed, and an oral sugar test (OST) was performed to evaluate glucose and insulin dynamics. Horses were allowed a 2-week diet acclimation period and were then euthanized. Tissue samples were collected from the jejunum, ileum, cecum, pelvic flexure, right dorsal colon, and rectum. Mucosal permeability was assessed by measuring transepithelial resistance and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) flux across tissue samp...
Banse HE, Andrews FM.Equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) is an increasingly recognized disease of the glandular mucosa of the equine stomach. Diagnosis is confirmed by gastric endoscopy and scored based upon one of several different endoscopic scoring systems. Prevalence appears to be variable, depending upon breed and discipline. Primary identified risk factors include exercise frequency, and stress; therefore, management strategies are focused on reducing exercise and stress. Limiting grain intake and increasing pasture turnout may also be helpful preventative measures. Pharmacologic treatment consists prima...
Di Battista C, Conte M, Pepe M, Petrizzi L, Beccati F.There is limited information on risk factors for elimination from endurance rides and changes over the years. The objectives of this study were to describe elimination for irregular gait and metabolic reasons from Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) endurance rides in Italy (2004-2015) and to assess risk factors and to investigate changes in elimination rates and speed over the long term. Data for FEI endurance rides were collected from three websites. Year, month, day, location, class (Concours de Raid d'Endurance International [CEI]*/**/***), restriction to young riders, distance (km)...
Curtis L, Burford JH, England GCW, Freeman SL.Acute abdominal pain (colic) is the most common reason for emergency veterinary treatment in the horse. Consolidation of data through a systematic review is important to inform evidence-based medicine and clinical guidelines, but there are currently no published systematic reviews on colic in the horse. The aim of this study was to identify, categorize and appraise the evidence on factors associated with increased risk of developing abdominal pain (colic) due to gastrointestinal disease in the adult horse. A scoping review was performed to identify and categorize evidence on all risk factors f...
Huber L, Giguère S, Cohen ND, Slovis NM, Hanafi A, Schuckert A, Berghaus L, Greiter M, Hart KA.The combination of a macrolide and rifampicin has been the mainstay of therapy in foals with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia for decades. Recent studies suggest that mass antimicrobial treatment of subclinically affected foals over time has selected for antimicrobial resistance. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of R. equi strains resistant to macrolides and rifampicin at horse breeding farms in Kentucky. A hundred breeding farms in Kentucky were surveyed and R. equi were cultured from soil samples. Data were analyzed with logistic regression and generalized linear modeling (P < 0...
Siqueira CC, Fraga DBM, Chagas-Junior AD, Athanazio DA, Silva MMN, Cerqueira RB, da C McBride FW, Pinna MH, Ayres MCC.Equine leptospirosis, although usually asymptomatic, has been associated with recurrent uveitis, abortion, and other systemic signs, constituting a major economic loss in the equine agribusiness sector. The occurrence of anti-Leptospira spp. agglutinins were investigated in 1200 serum samples of horses from 27 municipalities of the Recôncavo Baiano region, Bahia state (NE Brazil), besides the risk factors related to animals and their cattle farms. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed using 13 serogroups of Leptospira spp. as antigens. From 1200 analyzed equines, 97 (8%) were...
Minervino AHH, Torres AC, Moreira TR, Vinholte BP, Sampaio BM, Bianchi D, Portela JM, Sarturi C, Marcili A, Barrêto Júnior RA, Gennari SM....The State of Pará has one of the largest herds of equids (horse, donkey and mule) in Brazil, most of these animals are found on cattle farms. Equine theileriosis is a tick-borne disease caused by the parasite Theileria equi and is characterized by fever, anaemia, icterus, intravascular haemolysis, haemoglobinuria, spleen and hepatomegaly, and even death. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of antibodies against T. equi in equids in the western region of the State of Pará, Brazil, and to identify potential risk factors associated with parasite infection. A cross-sectional stu...
Hitchens PL, Ryan K, Koch SI, Scollay MC, Peterson ML.Jockey injuries in North American racing are not well understood. The types and severity of injuries as well as exposure need to be better characterized in order to reduce risk. We consider existing data sources and the opportunity to combine this data with a new data collection effort to better understand and potentially reduce risk to riders. Using a two-phase approach, data appears to be available which would allow useful information on jockey injuries that could inform efforts for risk reduction quickly and with modest resources. Initial successes can help to develop support for a more com...
Potter K, Stevens K, Menzies-Gow N.A retrospective treated versus untreated study (study 1) and multicentre prospective cohort study (study 2) were undertaken to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, acute laminitis in horses treated with corticosteroids. All old treated with corticosteroids January-December 2014 (study 1) and January 2015-February 2017 (study 2) by two first opinion and referral hospitals in UK were included. Additionally, an untreated animal was identified for each treated animal (study one). Signalment, body condition (study 2 only), relevant medical history, primary condition, corti...
Valença SRFA, Ribeiro-Andrade M, Moré G, Albuquerque PPF, Pinheiro Júnior JW, Mota RA.The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection by Sarcocystis neurona in horses and identify potential risk factors. Were analyzed 427 samples from 36 farms in 21 municipalities in the Alagoas State, Brazil. Presence of anti-S. neurona antibodies was diagnosed by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and was confirmed using the immunoblot test. Risk factors were assessed through investigative questionnaires on animal management on the farms. The prevalence of anti-S.neurona antibodies was 2.8% (confidence interval, CI: 1.5-4.9%) from IFAT and 1.6% (CI:0.8-3.34%) ...
Kilcoyne I, Dechant JE, Kass PH, Nieto JE.OBJECTIVE To assess incidence of incisional infection in horses following management with 1 of 3 protective dressings after exploratory celiotomy for treatment of acute signs of abdominal pain (ie, colic) and determine the risk of complications associated with each wound management approach. DESIGN Prospective, randomized, controlled study. ANIMALS 85 horses. PROCEDURES Horses were assigned to 3 groups. After standardized abdominal closure, a sterile cotton towel (group 1) or polyhexamethylene biguanide-impregnated dressing (group 2) was secured over the incision site with 4 or 5 cruciate sutu...
Tydén E, Enemark HL, Franko MA, Höglund J, Osterman-Lind E.Strongylus vulgaris is considered the most pathogenic nematode parasite of the horse. Frequent deworming programs since the 1970s have reduced the prevalence of S. vulgaris to low levels, but to the price of widespread benzimidazole resistance in the small strongyles (cyathostominae) and ivermectin resistance especially in the equine roundworm Parascaris spp. To slow down the progression of anthelmintic resistance in Sweden, horse anthelmintics were made prescription only medicine in 2007 and selective therapy principles were introduced. This means that only individuals with high egg excretion...
Tydén E, Enemark HL, Franko MA, Höglund J, Osterman-Lind E.Strongylus vulgaris is considered the most pathogenic nematode parasite of the horse. Frequent deworming programs since the 1970s have reduced the prevalence of S. vulgaris to low levels, but to the price of widespread benzimidazole resistance in the small strongyles (cyathostominae) and ivermectin resistance especially in the equine roundworm Parascaris spp. To slow down the progression of anthelmintic resistance in Sweden, horse anthelmintics were made prescription only medicine in 2007 and selective therapy principles were introduced. This means that only individuals with high egg excretion...
Legg KA, Breheny M, Gee EK, Rogers CW.Jumps racing involves a higher risk of accident and fatality than flat racing. The wide accessibility of media, combined with alternate views regarding the place of animals in society, raises the question of the acceptability of the continuation of jumps racing. Racing data and media articles from Newztext and Google news search were collected for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 jumps racing seasons, during which the fatality rate was 5.8 per 1000 starters. Jumps racing articles comprised 3.4% of all race reporting, and the volume of discussion about jumps racing was minimal (2.9% of jumps race ar...
Page AE, Stewart JC, Fielding CL, Horohov DW.Previous work to evaluate various risk factors for failure to complete competitive endurance rides has examined clinicopathologic parameters, measurements of inflammation, and speed. Here, inflammatory markers were measured before, during, and after a long-distance, competitive endurance ride to examine the intraride dynamics of inflammatory marker expression and attempt to correlate those findings with whether a horse completed or failed to complete the ride. A total of 77 horses entered into the 2018 Tevis Cup Ride in California were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood samples for mRNA i...
Curtiss AL, Aceto H, Embertson RM.Epiglottic entrapment can occur in yearling Thoroughbreds (TB); however, race performance following surgical correction is unknown. Objective: To determine the race performance of horses treated surgically for epiglottic entrapment as yearlings as compared to an untreated cohort. A second objective was to identify risk factors for treated horses not racing post-operatively. Methods: Retrospective cohort and case-control studies. Methods: Medical (1989-2014) and race records of 66 treated TB racehorses were reviewed. Observed abnormalities on pre- and post-operative endoscopic images and surgic...
Crispe EJ, Lester GD.Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) occurs commonly in horses undergoing strenuous exercise. Reported risk factors include racing in cold temperatures and wearing of bar shoes. In horses with documented moderate to severe EIPH, increasing the interval between races and adopting a negative race pace strategy may reduce the severity of EIPH in subsequent races. EIPH seems to have an impact on performance only when moderate to severe. This occurs in a small number of starters, approximately 6%. EIPH often is erratic in severity from race to race, although across a population it is weakly...
Gross I, Hadar A, Bala M, Hashavya S.Horse riding has become increasingly popular in recent years and is a common activity among children. As a result, pediatric horse-related injuries are frequently encountered in emergency departments. Objective: To examine the characteristics of horse-related injuries in the pediatric population. Methods: We collected and analyzed the data on all pediatric horse-related injuries presented to a tertiary hospital, level one trauma center, during the years 2006-2016. Results: A total of 53 children with horse-related injuries were documented. Forty-two patients were male (79%) and their mean age ...
Boorman S, Stefanovski D, Southwood LL.To determine risk factors, especially age, associated with postoperative reflux (POR; >2 L of reflux present upon intubation), high-volume POR (≥20 L in 24 hours), and short-term outcome after small intestinal (SI) surgery. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Horses aged ≥16 years (geriatric; range, 16-30; n = 44) and <16 years (mature; range, 2-15; n = 39) with an SI surgical lesion that survived general anesthesia and did not have a second exploratory celiotomy during the same visit. Methods: Medical records (2009-2015) were reviewed; perioperative var...
Curtiss AL, Stefanovski D, Richardson DW.To determine the prevalence of surgical site infection (SSI) after internal fixation and to identify risk factors for SSI and nonsurvival. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: One hundred fifty-five horses with long bone fractures or arthrodesis treated by internal fixation at 1 hospital between 2008-2016. Methods: Signalment, diagnosis, surgical repair, surgeon, surgical time, antimicrobial use, SSI onset, bacterial identification, and adjunct treatments were recorded. Perioperative variables were analyzed to identify risk factors associated with outcomes. Results: Surgical-site infection w...
Knickelbein KE, Lassaline ME, Singer-Berk M, Reilly CM, Clode AB, Famula TR, Michau TM, Bellone RR.Belgian horses are commonly affected with ocular squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the most common cancer of the equine eye. A missense mutation in damage-specific DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2 c.1013C>T, p.Thr338Met) has been established as a recessive genetic risk factor for ocular SCC in the Haflinger breed. A sample of Belgian horses with unknown SCC phenotype was shown to possess this variant at a similar frequency to the Haflinger breed. Retrospective studies indicate that chestnut coat colour may predispose to the development of SCC. Objective: To determine if DDB2 c.1013C>T is a risk ...
Barros ML, Borges AMC, Oliveira De ACS, Lacerda W, O Souza De A, Aguiar DM.The prevalence of equine infectious anaemia (EIA) in the three biomes of the state of Mato Grosso (Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal) was estimated. Serum samples were collected from 3,858 equines in 1,067 herds between Septemberand December 2014. The agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay was used to detect EIA virus antibodies, and if a herd contained a seropositive animal itwas classified as a focus. The prevalence rates were 17.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.9-19.8%) for herds and 6.6% (95% CI: 5.8-7.5%) for animals. The Pantanal region showed the highest prevalence rates: 36.1% (95% CI: 3...
Stejskalova K, Cvanova M, Oppelt J, Janova E, Horecky C, Horecka E, Knoll A, Leblond A, Horin P.West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic neurotropic virus capable to cause lethal meningoencephalitis (WNE) in infected hosts such as birds, horses, and humans. Due to their sensitivity, horses serve as sentinel species in areas at risk. We studied a population of Camargue horses living in Southern France in two zones with endemic WNV circulation where WNV outbreaks were recorded in 2000 and 2003-4. Two sets of microsatellite markers located in MHC and Ly49 genomic regions were genotyped as well as multiple SNPs in ten immunity-related candidate gene regions. Associations between ge...
de Laat MA, Reiche DB, Sillence MN, McGree JM.Endocrinopathic laminitis is common in horses and ponies, but the recurrence rate of the disease is poorly defined. Objective: To determine the incidence of, and risk factors for, the recurrence of endocrinopathic laminitis. Methods: Privately owned horses and ponies with acute laminitis (n = 317, of which 276 cases with endocrinopathic laminitis were followed up to study completion). Methods: This prospective cohort study collected data on veterinary-diagnosed cases of acute laminitis for 2 years. Each case was classified on acceptance to the study as endocrinopathic or non-endocrinopathi...
Brownlow MA, Brotherhood JR.Exertional heat illness (EHI) is a syndrome that occurs when metabolic heat production from muscular contraction exceeds the rate at which it can be dissipated. Core body temperature rises to critical levels, causing hyperthermia and central nervous system dysfunction. Best practice for the prevention of EHI centres around early detection, rapid response and aggressive cooling. Advance planning enables risk mitigation measures. The more that is known about EHI in horses, the better prepared those in the positions of responsibility can be to anticipate events in which the risk of EHI may be ele...
Pradel J, Chalvet Monfray K, Molia S, Vachiéry N, Rousteau A, Imbert D, Martinez D, Sabatier P, Lefrançois T.In Guadeloupe, West Nile virus (WNV) activity was first observed in equids in 2002, and a high seroprevalence was found in 2003. The objective of our study was to determine individual and environmental factors associated with the risk of WNV seropositivity during 2002-2003. Fieldwork was conducted to retrospectively determine the location of equids at the time of virus circulation and to collect information regarding environmental and individual variables. Sera were collected from 369 equids out of an estimated total population of less than 500. Thirty-four environmental and individual variabl...
Zeng Z, Jiang X, Li X, Wells A, Luo Y, Neapolitan R.By the 1990s it became popular for women to use hormone therapy (HT) to ease menopause symptoms. Bioidentical estrogen and progesterone are supplements whose molecular structures are identical to what is made in the human body, while synthetic supplements are ones whose structures are not. After the Women's Health Initiative found that the combined use of the synthetics conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) increased breast cancer risk, prescriptions for synthetic HT declined considerably. Since then there has been an increased interest in bioidentical HT; toda...
Libardoni F, Machado G, Gressler LT, Kowalski AP, Diehl GN, dos Santos LC, Corbellini LG, de Vargas AC.The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of equine strangles and to identify associated risk factors for this disease through a cross-sectional study of nasal swabs. Nasal swabs (n=1010) from healthy equines (absence of nasal discharge, lymphadenopathy and cough) from 341 farms were plated on 5% blood agar; of these horses, 24 were identified as positive for Streptococcus equi through isolation, PCR and DNA sequencing. The estimated prevalence for individual animals was 2.3%, and for herds, it was 5.86%. Statistical analysis identified the following as associated risk factors: the ...
Orsini JA, Parsons CS, Capewell L, Smith G.This retrospective study investigated the factors associated with a poor outcome (death by euthanasia or from other causes) in horses treated for laminitis at a tertiary care hospital. Cases (n = 247) were defined as patients with laminitis that were euthanized or that died of other causes during hospitalization. Controls (n = 344) were patients with laminitis that survived to be discharged from the hospital. In the final multivariate analysis, the factors significantly associated with an increased risk for death and their respective odds ratios (OR) were as follows: Thoroughbred (OR = 1.57); ...
Merridale-Punter MS, Wiethoelter AK, El-Hage CM, Hitchens PL.Lameness is an important concern in working equids of low- and middle-income communities (LMICs) with significant One Welfare implications. This study aims to determine the prevalence and influencing factors of lameness in working equids of LMICs. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate pooled outcome prevalence using a random intercept regression model. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis were performed through meta-regression. A meta-analysis of study factors for lameness prevalence was performed. Sixty-four studies were included in the review. The pooled prevalence...
Andersen MS, Clark L, Dyson SJ, Newton JR.Post anaesthetic colic is a recognised risk of general anaesthesia (GA), but causes are poorly understood. Objective: To identify risk factors for development of colic following GA for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or nonabdominal surgery and to test whether the use of perianaesthetic morphine was associated with an increased risk of post anaesthetic colic. Methods: A total of 553 anaesthetic and clinical records of 500 horses anaesthetised at the Animal Health Trust were analysed, 342 (62%) involved MRI and 211 (38%) nonabdominal, predominantly orthopaedic surgery. Multivariable logistic r...
Hassel DM, Aldridge BM, Drake CM, Snyder JR.Enteroliths are intestinal calculi that result in intestinal obstruction and colic in horses. Equine enterolithiasis occurs worldwide, but the disease is particularly prevalent in some geographic locations, including California. The objectives of this study were to evaluate dietary and environmental risk factors for the disease. This was accomplished through a case-control study by comparing horses with colic from enterolithiasis presenting to the University of California, Davis VMTH, to horses with colic of other causes. Data were collected on 61 horses with enterolithiasis and 75 controls vi...
Levet T, Martens A, Devisscher L, Duchateau L, Bogaert L, Vlaminck L.There is a lack of evidence-based data on the prevalence, outcome and risk factors of distal limb cast sores, and no objective tool has been described for the early detection of cast sores. Objective: To investigate the prevalence, location, outcome and risk factors of cast sores after application of a distal limb cast and to determine whether static thermography of the cast is a valuable tool for the assessment of sores. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on horses treated with a distal limb cast. At each cast removal, cast sores were graded as superficial sores (SS), deep dermal sore...
Ward MP, Wittich CA, Fosgate G, Srinivasan R.West Nile Virus (WNV) was first detected in the Texas equine population during June 2002. Infection has since spread rapidly across the state and become endemic in the equine population. Environmental risk factors associated with equine WNV attack rates in Texas counties during the period 2002 to 2004 were investigated. Equine WNV attack rates were smoothed using an empirical Bayesian model, because of the variability among county equine populations (range 46-9,517). Risk factors investigated included hydrological features (lakes, rivers, swamps, canals and river basins), land cover (tree, mos...
Public healthJanuary 25, 2019
Volume 168 67-75 doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2018.11.023
Meredith L, Thomson R, Ekman R, Kovaceva J, Ekbrand H, Bálint A.Horse riding is a popular activity but has also been found to lead to many injuries and even fatalities. No reduction in the numbers of those being admitted to hospital for equestrian-related injuries have been seen in Sweden in recent years. The aim of this work was to examine injuries, fatalities, and predictors of fatalities in equestrian-related activities and to investigate the cost of these injuries to the public health system. Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis of hospital data. Methods: National Swedish hospital and mortality registers were retrospectively examined, inclusi...
Espinosa P, Le Jeune SS, Cenani A, Kass PH, Brosnan RJ.To determine if preoperative and intraoperative physiologic variables, and surgical factors correlate with survival to anesthetic recovery or hospital discharge, repeat celiotomy, and postoperative nasogastric intubation (NGT) in horses undergoing exploratory celiotomy for small intestinal (SI) strangulating lesions. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Horses that had surgical correction of SI strangulating lesions (n = 258). Methods: Medical records (January 2000-December 2014) of horses that had surgical correction of SI strangulating lesions were reviewed. Data collection inclu...
Newton JR, Hedderson EJ, Adams VJ, McGorum BC, Proudman CJ, Wood JL.The reasons why equine grass sickness (EGS) recurs on premises are unknown and, consequently, practical methods for reducing the risk of recurrence are not available. Objective: To identify risk factors associated with recurrence of EGS on premises and to gain possible insights into the pathogenesis of the disease. Methods: Data on disease history and risk factors were collected by postal questionnaire from premises with EGS cases between 1st January 1997 and 31st December 2001. Data on variation in rates of recurrence of EGS for different risk factors were analysed using Poisson regression an...
Asa N, Newton A, Sullivan L, Shi J, Wheeler K, Smith GA, Yang J.Despite inherit dangers of horseback riding (HBR), research on HBR-related injuries is sparse. This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to (1) examine HBR-related injuries treated in emergency departments (EDs) and associated risk factors and (2) explore HBR-related injury experiences and recommendations for prevention strategies from the perspective of riders. We retrospectively analyzed data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), identifying HBR-related ED visits between 2010 and 2014. Additionally, we conducted 10 phone interviews with active horseback ride...
Egenvall A, Penell JC, Bonnett BN, Olson P, Pringle J.The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential usefulness of the database maintained by the Swedish insurance company Agria for providing disease statistics on Swedish horses. The demography of the horses insured for veterinary care during the period 1997 to 2000 was recorded and the incidence of morbidity, defined as horses that required veterinary care that cost more than the policy excess, was calculated. Yearly incidences were calculated for horses that required veterinary care at least once, first overall, and then for horses with complete insurance, by sex, age, breed group, breed, ...
Williams S, Horner J, Orton E, Green M, McMullen S, Mobasheri A, Freeman SL.A change in management from pasture to stabling is a risk factor for equine colic. Objective: To investigate the effect of a management change from pasture with no controlled exercise to stabling with light exercise on aspects of gastrointestinal function related to large colon impaction. The hypothesis was that drinking water intake, faecal output, faecal water content and large intestinal motility would be altered by a transition from a pastured to a stabled regime. Methods: Within-subject management intervention trial involving changes in feeding and exercise using noninvasive techniques. M...
de Pádua BR, Dias RA, Fioravanti MCS, Borsanelli AC.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is an infectious disease affecting equine in most countries and represents a notifiable disease with compulsory euthanasia of positive animals. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of EIAV infected equines in herds of the state of Goiás (Central Brazil) and to evaluate the risk factors associated with the occurrence of the disease. Blood samples were collected from 1170 equids from 332 randomly selected farms divided into three different strata according to their herd characteristics. Also, an epidemiological questionnaire was applied during the v...
Crispe EJ, Lester GD.Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) occurs commonly in horses undergoing strenuous exercise. Reported risk factors include racing in cold temperatures and wearing of bar shoes. In horses with documented moderate to severe EIPH, increasing the interval between races and adopting a negative race pace strategy may reduce the severity of EIPH in subsequent races. EIPH seems to have an impact on performance only when moderate to severe. This occurs in a small number of starters, approximately 6%. EIPH often is erratic in severity from race to race, although across a population it is weakly...
Bailey PA, Hague BA, Davis M, Major MD, Zubrod CJ, Brakenhoff JE.The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of post-anesthetic colic in non-fasted adult horses undergoing isoflurane inhalant anesthesia for an elective, non-abdominal procedure at a single referral center. Medical records were searched from May 1, 2012 to May 31, 2014. Inclusion criteria included non-fasted patients ≥ 2 years of age that were anesthetized for an elective, non-abdominal procedure. The incidence of post-anesthetic colic for this study population was 2.5%. None of the risk factors examined (season, age, gender, breed, surgeon, procedure, recumbency, butorphanol a...
Jaramillo-Morales C, Gomez DE, Renaud D, Arroyo LG.The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of S. equi in a horse population in Colombia, to determine the risk factors associated with its detection in the guttural pouches and to report the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. Fifteen farms and 137 horses >6 months of age were enrolled. Sampling was randomly, stratified and proportional to the population size of each farm. The guttural pouch (GP) was swabbed via endoscopic guidance and culture was performed. DNA extraction and conventional PCR were performed in colonies compatibles with S. equi, the PCR products we...
Shrestha M, Solé M, Ducro BJ, Sundquist M, Thomas R, Schurink A, Eriksson S, Lindgren G.Equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a pruritic skin allergy caused primarily by biting midges, Culicoides spp. IBH susceptibility has polygenic inheritance and occurs at high frequencies in several horse breeds worldwide, causing increased costs and reduced welfare of affected horses. The aim of this study was to identify and validate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with equine IBH susceptibility. After quality control, 33,523 SNPs were included in a Bayesian genome-wide association study on 177 affected and 178 unaffected Icelandic horses. We report associated regio...
Cocco P, Satta G, D'Andrea I, Nonne T, Udas G, Zucca M, Mannetje A', Becker N, Sanjosé Sd, Foretova L, Staines A, Maynadié M, Nieters A, Brennan P....We explored the risk of lymphoma and its most prevalent subtypes associated with occupational contact with livestock, and whether risk was modified by age at first contact, in 2,348 incident lymphoma cases and 2,462 controls who participated in the EPILYMPH case-control study. A detailed occupational history was collected in cases and controls, including working in a livestock farm, species of livestock, its approximate number and circumstances of contact. For each disease outcome, and each type of livestock, odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using un...
Mullen KR, Rivera BN, Tidwell LG, Ivanek R, Anderson KA, Ainsworth DM.Studies of neonatal health risks of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) have not included comprehensive assessments of environmental chemical exposures. We investigated a clustering of dysphagic cases in neonatal foals born between 2014 and 2016 in an area of active UNGD in Pennsylvania (PA),USA. We evaluated equine biological data and environmental exposures on the affected PA farm and an unaffected New York (NY) farm owned by the same proprietor. Dams either spent their entire gestation on one farm or moved to the other farm in late gestation. Over the 21-month study period, physic...
Beisser AL, McClure S, Wang C, Soring K, Garrison R, Peckham B.To determine the incidence of and compare the types of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMIs) sustained in Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses during racing at 3 Midwestern racetracks from 2000 to 2006. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: 139 Thoroughbred and 50 Quarter Horse racehorses euthanized because of CMIs. Methods: Veterinary officials from 3 Midwestern racing jurisdictions provided injury reports for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses that sustained CMIs (which required euthanasia) and the total number of race starts for each year. The number of CMIs/1,000 starts was determ...
Brunsting JY, Pille FJ, Oosterlinck M, Haspeslagh M, Wilderjans HC.To determine the incidence of infection and associated risk factors, after elective arthroscopy. Methods: Retrospective case study. Methods: Horses (n=1079) undergoing elective arthroscopy. Methods: Medical records of all horses that underwent elective arthroscopy between 2006 and 2013 were reviewed. Age, gender, breed, surgeon, number of joints operated, total anesthetic time, perioperative antimicrobial administration, and the presence and size of osteochondral fragments/subchondral lesions were recorded. For each operated joint, the development of postoperative infection (surgical site infe...
Welsh CE, Lewis TW, Blott SC, Mellor DJ, Lam KH, Stewart BD, Parkin TD.A retrospective cohort study of important musculoskeletal conditions of Thoroughbred racehorses was conducted using health records generated over a 15 year period (n=5062, 1296 sires). The prevalence of each condition in the study population was: fracture, 13%; osteoarthritis, 10%; suspensory ligament injury, 10%; and tendon injury, 19%. Linear and logistic sire and animal regression models were built to describe the binary occurrence of these musculoskeletal conditions, and to evaluate the significance of possible environmental risk factors. The heritability of each condition was estimated us...
Page AE, Adam E, Arthur R, Barker V, Franklin F, Friedman R, Grande T, Hardy M, Howard B, Partridge E, Rutledge M, Scollay M, Stewart JC, Vale A....The ability to identify horses at risk for catastrophic injuries continues to be a pressing issue for the racing industry, especially given recent events in North America. Objective: Since most catastrophic injuries occur in areas of existing pathology and this pathology is likely to elicit an inflammatory response, it was hypothesised that analysis of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression would detect significant changes in select genes in horses at risk for a catastrophic injury. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Five racing jurisdictions across the United States participated in this stu...
Paris A, Beccati F, Pepe M.To report the type, prevalence, and risk factors for the development of orthopedic injuries in endurance horses. Methods: 235 endurance horses. Methods: Medical records of horses examined between January 2007 and December 2018 were reviewed. Recorded data were birth; breed; sex; dates of first and last examinations; presence of any conformation fault, lameness, positive flexion test result, and orthopedic injury; starts in endurance competitions; level of athletic activity; professional status of trainer or rider; and whether an orthopedic injury developed in > 1 limb or during or within 2 day...
Thomas SJ, de Solis CN, Coleman MC.Equine asthma is a common condition in horses, for which few host-related risk factors have been identified. The objective of this study was to identify host-related risk factors for the development of equine asthma. A retrospective, case-control study was performed, utilizing horses presented to the Texas A&M University, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital from January 2014 December 2018. Incident cases of mild to severe equine asthma (n = 37), diagnosed clinically with cytologic support of disease were examined. For each case, two control populations were identified, including one tem...
Morrice-West AV, Hitchens PL, Walmsley EA, Tasker K, Lim SL, Smith AD, Whitton RC.Fatigue life (FL) is the number of cycles of load sustained by a material before failure, and is dependent on the load magnitude. For athletes, 'cycles' translates to number of strides, with load proportional to speed. To improve previous investigations estimating workload from distance, we used speed (m/s, x) per stride collected using 5 Hz GPS/800 Hz accelerometer sensors as a proxy for limb load to investigate factors associated with FL in a Thoroughbred race start model over 25,234 race starts, using a combination of mathematical and regression modelling. Fore-limb vertical force (NKg) w...
