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Topic:Risk Factors
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.
What happened after the epidemic? Equine influenza surveillance sheds light on sources and seasonal risk in the United Kingdom. The epidemiology of equine influenza (EI) in the United Kingdom has not been systematically described since the 2019 epidemic. Objective: To summarise UK EI surveillance (2020-2024), quantify outbreak seasonality and assess movement-related sources. Methods: Retrospective observational analysis of national surveillance and horse importation data. Methods: Epidemiological data for laboratory-confirmed EI cases in the United Kingdom were collated. Outbreaks (EI-infected premises) were defined as one or more laboratory-confirmed cases on the same premises within a 4-week period. Monthly outbreak ...
Re-emergence of equine glanders in Mongolia based on region-wide serosurveillance. Glanders, a zoonotic disease caused by , has re-emerged in Mongolia after decades of control. We conducted nationwide serosurveillance from 2021 to 2024 to assess the prevalence and geographic distribution of glanders. Using random 3-stage cluster sampling, we collected 3,001 horse serum samples from 332 herds. Those herds were in 46 soums (administrative districts equivalent to counties) in 13 provinces and in 3 districts in Ulaanbaatar. Sera were tested using the complement fixation test, and positive results were confirmed by immunoblotting and ELISA. Overall seroprevalence was 1.03% (95% C...
Application of a framework to mitigate the risk of surgical site infection after exploratory celiotomy in horses: A retrospective study. To describe the methodology used to identify the contributors to a perceived sudden increase in exploratory celiotomy surgical site infections (SSI) and complications at the North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (NCSU VTH) between 2019 and 2020 and evaluate the effect of the designed intervention up to 4 years after its implementation. Methods: Case-control retrospective study over a five-year period. Methods: A total of 448 horses that underwent exploratory celiotomy for the treatment of acute abdominal pain were included. Methods: Medical records of horses that under...
Gaps Between Awareness and Prevention of West Nile Virus Among Horse Owners in an Endemic Country: A Cross-Sectional Study from Romania. West Nile virus (WNV) circulates endemically in Romania, yet prevention of WNV infection in horses largely depends on owner-driven decisions that require accurate risk perception and veterinary guidance. A cross-sectional online survey was carried out between May and November 2025 to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices (KAP) regarding WNV among 227 horse owners from various Romanian regions. In total, 67.4% of respondents had previously heard of WNV. The main transmission route was correctly identified as mosquito bites by 49.8% of participants, while 32.2% answered "do...
Rift Valley Fever Virus Exposure in Camels and Horses Across Northern Nigeria Livestock Markets. Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a neglected vector-borne zoonotic disease of significant veterinary and public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated the seroprevalence of Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) exposure and associated risk factors among camels and horses marketed in northern Nigeria. A total of 1117 animals were sampled, comprising camels (812) and horses (305), across three major livestock markets (Maigatari, Maiduguri, and Illela). The overall seroprevalence was 18.8% (95% CI: 16.6-21.2%), with a striking six-fold disparity: camels showed a prevalence of 24.4% (95%...
Assessment of baseline adrenocorticotropic hormone and insulin concentrations in healthy horses in Saskatchewan over a 1-year period. Endocrine disorders in horses, such as pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction and equine metabolic syndrome, rely on hormone testing for diagnosis, but seasonal and regional variabilities highlight the need for locally generated data. Objective: To characterize monthly blood concentrations of ACTH and insulin over 1 year in healthy horses in Saskatchewan. A secondary objective was to assess the association between these outcomes and the following factors: sex, age, breed, pregnancy status, level of exercise, body condition score, and cresty neck score. Methods: Sixty-eight clinically healthy, c...
Environmental Occurrence of Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria in the Equine Anesthetic Induction and Recovery Box: A Single-Center Study. In horses, surgical site infections (SSIs) are multifactorial complications influenced by patient-related, procedural, and environmental factors. While perioperative contamination has been extensively studied in the operating theater, the anesthetic induction and recovery environment has received limited attention. The aim of this study was to characterize bacterial contamination within an equine anesthetic induction and recovery stall and to evaluate its spatial and temporal distribution. Environmental samples were collected from four predefined locations within the stall at three time points...
Joint dislocations due to equestrian activity: what can a sports physician anticipate? Horse riding is a common sport, but no study specifically addresses joint dislocations. The purpose of this study is to describe joint dislocations due to equines using a national emergency department (ED) database. Such data can be helpful in injury prevention strategies. Unassigned: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database for the years 2000-2023 was used. The NEISS database is a statistically representative sample of injuries seen in EDs across the US giving national estimates. Mechanism of injury was tabulated into groups: 1) did the patient fall from the horse 2...
Equine dental destructive disorders: an epidemiological survey in northern Germany. Destructive lesions of the peripheral and infundibular cementum are increasingly recognized in equine dentistry. While similarities to human caries have been noted, current evidence does not conclusively support this classification. This study aims to assess the prevalence, distribution, and potential risk factors associated with these lesions in a defined horse population. Unassigned: A total of 114 horses from northern Germany underwent standardized oral examination between 2021 and 2023. Clinical data on peripheral and infundibular lesions, diastemata, and influencing factors such as age an...
Radiographic findings of candidate stallions presented for licensing at all German Warmblood horse-breeding associations in 2018-2020. Current studies on the health status of young German Warmblood stallions are lacking. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of radiographic findings at licensing examinations of Warmblood candidate stallions and quantify the environmental influences on the distribution of recorded findings. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, records of 1693 radiographic examinations performed on 1678 German Warmblood stallions presented for licensing in 2018-2020 were reviewed. Data were provided by all German Warmblood horse-breeding associations and their official veterinarians. The collecti...
“Synthetic gp90 peptide ELISA for equine infectious anemia virus: Improved sensitivity and risk factor insights”. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a globally significant equine pathogen, and its control relies on effective serological surveillance. The agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test, the WOAH-prescribed method, has limitations in sensitivity. This study developed and validated an indirect ELISA using a synthetic peptide derived from a conserved region of the EIAV gp90 surface glycoprotein. The assay was evaluated using 773 horse sera from the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico and compared to the AGID test. The gp90-EIAV ELISA demonstrated a sensitivity of 85.3 % and a specificity o...
Chasing safety: Race-day falls and injuries in Irish professional and amateur horseracing from 2016 to 2024. This study aimed to: 1) examine fall and injury incidence in Irish horseracing between 2016 and 2024, 2) establish injury characteristics, 3) compare incidence rates between professional and amateur racing and 4) investigate changes in incidence rates over time. Methods: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Fall and injury data was recorded by Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB)-appointed medical doctors using a standardised injury report form at every Irish race meeting between 2016 and 2024. Fall and injury incidence, injury location and type of injury were reported with 95% Confid...
The majority of proximal sesamoid and condylar fractures occurred in horses identified as high risk by inertial measurement unit sensors. To determine whether targeted lesion-specific algorithms developed from data collected with accelerometer-based inertial measurement units worn by racing Thoroughbreds could retrospectively identify horses at high risk of incurring forelimb condylar or proximal sesamoid fractures. Unassigned: Fracture-specific algorithms were generated from July 2021 to December 2024 with accelerometer data from 42,623 races by 15,755 horses, including 54 races by 23 horses that subsequently suffered condylar fractures and 90 races by 31 horses that later sustained proximal sesamoid fractures. Fracture-specifi...
Mental health challenges in the Irish thoroughbred horse breeding industry: Prevalence and associated risk factors. The thoroughbred horse breeding industry contributes significantly to the Irish economy. However, staff shortages threaten the economic sustainability of the industry, as well as the welfare of both horses and workers. Previous research on the staffing crisis faced by the broader horseracing industry has highlighted mental health concerns as a factor. Furthermore, the influence of workplace context on mental health has been widely recognised in organisational psychology. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence rates of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) in Irish thoroughbred horse breeding ...
In-Depth Analysis of the Prognostic Factors Associated with Short-Term Outcome in Equine Colic Patients: Multicentric Retrospective Study. Several studies investigated risk and prognostic parameters for horses with colic; however, the consensus is still debated. The present work aimed to investigate colic outcomes and to identify risk factors in horses referred for colic. In this multicenter retrospective study, 236 clinical records of equids referred for colic at three different equine centers were reviewed. The following data were collected: history, signalment, physical examination at the time of admission, hematological and biochemical analysis, diagnosis, SIRS status and 0-6 point-scale SIRS score, colic type, treatment atte...
Relationship Between Mean Faecal Gastrointestinal Nematode Egg Excretion in Horses and Its Variability: Implications for Control. Faecal egg counts (FECs) are used to assess the intensity of gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections in herbivores. FEC distribution is aggregated, meaning that approximately 20% of animals harbour 80% of infections. In times of escalating anthelmintic resistance, it may be necessary to restrict treatment to the animals with the heaviest infections. This strategy is called targeted selective treatment (TST) and is relevant to GIN, for example. The difficulty lies in identifying which animals to treat. One solution is to select potentially at-risk animals based on age (for example, treating ...
Feasibility and acceptability of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biosecurity measures in equine facilities: A cross-sectional study. Biosecurity measures are recommended in stables housing meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-positive horses, but their feasibility and acceptability, as well as their implementation barriers, remain unclear. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among clients of a veterinary teaching hospital using an online questionnaire. Information on horse activities, stable characteristics and perceptions (feasibility and acceptability scores) of recommended biosecurity measures for MRSA-positive horses was collected. Results: Fifty-seven horse and/or stable owners completed the que...
Identifying Host-Characteristics and Management Risk Factors in a California Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) Outbreak. Equine alphaherpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a highly contagious virus that can cause the neurological form, equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Understanding transmission-related risk factors is crucial for improving prevention strategies and guiding effective control measures. In this study, we collected data from 63 horses that had previously participated in the February 2022 winter horse show season at the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) (26 cases and 37 controls) to identify host and management factors associated with EHV-1 infection and/or EHM development during the February 202...
Development of an Explainable Machine Learning Computational Model for the Prediction of Severe Complications After Orchiectomy in Stallions. The objective of the present study was to apply supervised Machine Learning to predict severe complications after equine orchiectomy. A dataset of 612 cases of orchiectomies in stallions was used for the development of a computational model, among which in 8.5% of cases severe complications (colic, continued stallion-like behaviour, evisceration, funiculitis, haemorrhage, and scrotal infection) were diagnosed post-orchiectomy. Three supervised Machine Learning tools were employed: Logistic Regression (12 different models evaluated), Random Forest (64 models), and Gradient Boosting (8 models). ...
Complications Following Orchiectomy in Stallions in Field Conditions: Descriptive Results and Predictors in a Study of 612 Cases. The objectives of this work were (i) to evaluate the incidence of complications in male horses after orchiectomy performed in the field, i.e., away from a veterinary hospital, (ii) to describe the post-operative complications that occurred in these animals and (iii) to study the potential predictors for the development of such complications. This study involved 612 animals, on which orchiectomy was performed. The operative part of the study was carried out by one of three experienced veterinary surgeons. Standard pre-operative procedures were followed. Orchiectomy was performed using one of th...
Risk assessment for condylar stress fracture in elite racing Thoroughbreds using standing computed tomography-based virtual mechanical testing. Condylar stress fracture of the third metacarpal bone (MC3) is a common catastrophic injury in Thoroughbred racehorses and is associated with parasagittal groove (PSG) subchondral osteolysis. Standing computed tomography (sCT) imaging enables sensitive identification of this fatigue-induced early subchondral bone injury (SBI), but there is no objective method for identifying racehorses at heightened risk of condylar stress fracture. Objective: To estimate PSG first principal strain in elite Thoroughbred racehorses that have undergone subjective risk assessment using sCT fetlock screening. Meth...
Evaluation of long-term postoperative morbidity and survival after equine colic surgery using a complication severity classification. Most studies on colic surgery outcome focus on short-term survival and complications. Long-term outcomes, particularly post-discharge morbidity, are poorly characterised despite their relevance. No standardised system has previously integrated both short- and long-term postoperative complications with survival outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate long-term survival and morbidity in horses after colic surgery using the equine postoperative complication score (EPOCS), and to assess the association between complications and survival. Methods: The medical records of horses undergoing ...
Prevalence and risk factors of stress urinary incontinence among female horseback riders in Poland. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is usually associated with aging and parity, but repetitive intra-abdominal pressure during physical activity can also trigger its onset in young women. Horseback riding, despite potential benefits for pelvic floor strengthening, may also contribute to pelvic floor strain and urinary symptoms. The study included 100 Polish women aged 21-54 engaged in horse riding, both recreational (85%) and professional (15%). Participants were divided into three age groups and screened for urinary incontinence symptoms. Quality of life was assessed with validated questionnai...
Returning after a lay-up and absence of recent starts are associated with complete humerus fractures in Thoroughbred racehorses in South Korea (2009-2022). To identify risk factors associated with complete humerus fractures in Thoroughbreds in South Korea. Unassigned: A retrospective case-control design with multivariable logistic regression was used. This study included 131 Thoroughbreds diagnosed with complete humerus fractures following racetrack activity between 2009 and 2022 (inclusive). Additionally, 660 healthy Thoroughbreds (699 observations) with at least 1 racetrack activity during the same period were included as controls. Unassigned: A total of 8 variables were associated with the risk of complete humerus fractures. Notably, horses wi...
Evidence linking ambient air pollution to domestic animal health outcomes: a scoping review. Air pollution is a major global health threat that is expected to worsen, yet its effects on domestic animals remain poorly understood. The objective of this scoping review was to synthesize existing evidence on associations between ambient air pollutants and health outcomes in domestic animals and to identify gaps to guide future research. Unassigned: A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines with 2 search databases (PubMed and Web of Science) using ...
Natural progression of tarsal osteochondrosis in Standardbred pacers and trotters. To determine the natural progression of tarsal osteochondrosis (OC) in a cohort of Standardbred foals and assess the impact of gait preference (trotting vs. pacing). Methods: Longitudinal observational cohort study. Methods: Client-owned Standardbred foals (n = 148). Methods: Tarsal radiographs were taken every 2 months from 2 to 12 months of age and foals were video monitored to document time spent pacing or trotting. Differences between groups were assessed using χ analysis. Survival analysis was used to determine if lesion healing differed between groups over time. Results: Of 148 ...
A study on the prevalence of cyathostomin and Anoplocephala perfoliata infections in Italian horses: diagnostic testing and analysis of factors affecting infection risk. Cyathostomins and Anoplocephala perfoliata infect equids worldwide and both are of concern due to their potential to cause clinical disease. Although coprological techniques are commonly used for assessing helminth egg shedding these do not provide information about an individual's total parasite burden. Antibody-based tests provide information on infection levels within individuals. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate cyathostomin and Anoplocephala perfoliata occurrence in Italian horses using coprological and serum-based antibody detection methods and to analyse risk factors for infectio...
Descriptive network analysis of Ontario, Canada equine competitions: implications for disease control. Competitions are an important source of entertainment and revenue in the horse industry but may contribute to disease introduction and spread. The objectives of this study were to, (i) describe the annual (2016 to 2018) contact networks of Equestrian Canada competitions in Ontario, Canada, and (ii) determine if the networks exhibit characteristics of 'small world' networks. Data on Equestrian Canada registered competitions in the province of Ontario, Canada between 2016 and 2018 were used to create three types of yearly contact networks: competition networks, horse networks, and venue networks...
Equine trypanosomiasis, a systematic review: Disease management. Equine trypanosomiasis is a neglected protozoal disease. Objective: To answer the study question: In equines what are the effects of disease management of trypanosomiasis on disease severity (individual level) and disease prevalence (population level) compared to no intervention? Methods: Systematic review. Methods: Studies were identified that described management of naturally occurring equine trypanosomiasis in any country following 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses' using eight international databases (1980-2022). Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I. D...
Head Injuries in the Wild West: A Comparison of Head Injuries in English and Western Collegiate Equestrian Athletes. Compare incidence of head injury, number of falls, and helmet use between English and Western riders. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Online flyers. Methods: Competitive college equestrian athletes. Methods: This study assesses the difference in risk of head injury between the English and Western disciplines of riding. Methods: The difference in risk of head injury between the English and Western disciplines of riding. Results: Three hundred fifty-seven equestrian athletes between 18 and 24 years of age who ride competitively for their college or university's team participated in this...
