Stable management refers to the systematic approach to maintaining the health, safety, and well-being of horses within a stable environment. It encompasses various practices and protocols designed to ensure optimal living conditions for horses, including feeding, grooming, exercise, and health monitoring. Effective stable management involves regular cleaning and maintenance of stalls, proper ventilation, and management of waste to minimize the risk of disease and enhance the horses' comfort. This topic includes research on best practices for stable design, the impact of stable conditions on equine behavior and health, and the implementation of management strategies that promote the welfare of horses. The page provides access to peer-reviewed studies and scholarly articles that analyze different aspects of stable management and its influence on equine care.
Dauparaitė E, Kupčinskas T, Hoglund J, Petkevičius S.Anthelmintic resistance (AR) in equine cyathostomins is being reported all over the world. In Lithuania, however, the last study on this subject was published more than fifteen years ago, thus little is known about the current situation. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that may associated with the development of AR on equine studs in Lithuania. A questionnaire containing seven open-ended and nine closed multiple-choice questions about worm control strategies, use of anthelmintic substances and stable management practices was posted to 71 randomly selected horse establishment...
Krueger K, Esch L, Byrne R.Debate persists over whether animals develop innovative solutions primarily in response to needs or conversely whether they innovate more when basic needs are covered and opportunity to develop novel behaviour is offered. We sourced 746 cases of "unusual" behaviour in equids by contacting equid owners and caretakers directly and via a website (https://innovative-behaviour.org), and by searching the internet platforms YouTube and Facebook for videos. The study investigated whether differences in need or opportunity for innovation were reflected in the numbers of different types of innovations a...
Hildebrandt F, Büttner K, Salau J, Krieter J, Czycholl I.The aim of this study was to analyze the utilization of different stable areas of a total of 52 group-housed horses as well as their preferred stable parts and the use of resources. The study was situated in a "HIT Active Stable" in Northern Germany for a period of 227 observation days. After dividing the whole farm area in a grid of 3 × 3 m, the dataset was examined with and without the pasture area. Furthermore, linear mixed models were applied. On average, horses used 53.2 ± 19 different squares per hour. The observation day ( < 0.001) and the covariate age ( < 0.001) had significan...
Glatter M, Bochnia M, Wensch-Dorendorf M, Greef JM, Zeyner A.Horses suffering from equine asthma must consume low-dust forage, with soaking and steaming being suitable methods of hay treatment. The impacts of this treated hay's subsequent storage and effects on the horses' chewing activity are largely unknown. Meadow hay was soaked (10-15 °C, 15 min) or steamed (100 °C, 60 min). Microbial counts (colony forming units (CFU)) were determined by culture before and after soaking or steaming, and subsequent storage at 10 and 25 °C for 6, 12 and 24 h (three replicates each). Six horses were fed native, soaked and steamed hay, according to a cross-over desi...
Data in briefSeptember 16, 2021
Volume 38 107374 doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107374
Grandal-d'Anglade A, Albizuri S, López-Cachero FJ.The analysis of stable isotopes in bone collagen allows us to infer the diet of the animals studied. This dataset consists of isotopic signatures (δC and δN) obtained by isotope ratio mass spectrometry from the skeletal remains of 42 equines (horse, ass and their hybrids) from the Can Roqueta site (Sabadell, Northeast Iberian Peninsula). Their chronology spans from Late Bronze Age to Late Roman Period, with particular emphasis on the Early Iron Age. These animals were found in storage silos and graves and were probably sacrificed as ritual offerings. The isotopic values are accompanied by da...
Fernandes KA, Rogers CW, Gee EK, Kittelmann S, Bolwell CF, Bermingham EN, Biggs PJ, Thomas DG.The management of competition horses in New Zealand often involves rotations of short periods of stall confinement and concentrate feeding, with periods of time at pasture. Under these systems, horses may undergo abrupt dietary changes, with the incorporation of grains or concentrate feeds to the diet to meet performance needs, or sudden changes in the type of forage fed in response to a lack of fresh or conserved forage. Abrupt changes in dietary management are a risk factor for gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, potentially due to the negative effects observed on the population of GI microb...
Farchati H, Merlin A, Saussac M, Dornier X, Dhollande M, Garon D, Tapprest J, Sala C.Identifying and tracking equines are key activities in equine health prevention. France is one of the few European countries with an operational centralized database that records information on equines, owners, and keepers but not on the location and keeping conditions of equines. The objective of our study was to collect information on keeping habits of equines and the relative location of a wide range of equines, owners, and keepers and discuss their implication for surveillance and control of outbreak improvement. A national email survey was conducted among the 1.9% of people registered as ...
Juśkiewicz J, Fotschki B, Jaworska J, Siemieniuch M.Gastrointestinal microbiota play a key role in the nutrients digestion and hence maintaining animal health and welfare. The diet offered to the animals in captivity may differ considerably from that on natural pastures. In a stabled maintenance system, horses have a limited choice of habitat and feed. Time spend for feeding is relevant for equine welfare because the reduction of the time devoted for foraging may be responsible for inducing gastric inflammation and ulceration. Therefore, in the present study, it was hypothesized that fecal bacterial fermentative processes differ between free-ro...
Mazzola SM, Colombani C, Pizzamiglio G, Cannas S, Palestrini C, Costa ED, Gazzonis AL, Bionda A, Crepaldi P.The satisfaction of leisure horses' behavioral needs has begun to be considered a priority, linked to the awareness that horses kept in single boxes may be deprived of social contact and the possibility to perform natural behaviors. Several factors may influence horses' quality of life also in the paddock, and there are very few data on the effects of those variables on leisure horses' chronic stress, measurable in terms of activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Therefore, managerial choices faced by owners and stables managers are only based on experience, common sense,...
Gehlen H, Puhlmann J, Merle R, Thöne-Reineke C.Auxiliary reins are commonly used for the training of riders and horses as well as in daily training. They are often criticized when used incorrectly, as they will not help and can harm the horse by causing overwork, accidents, and injuries, which harm the horse in the long term. They also often conceal causal rider problems while trying to achieve quick success. The aim of this paper was to investigate, with an online horse-owner questionnaire, which and how often auxiliary reins were used and whether they were used appropriately. Only participants who were currently using auxiliary reins wer...
Klecel W, Martyniuk E.The domestication of the horse began about 5500 years ago in the Eurasian steppes. In the following millennia horses spread across the ancient world, and their role in transportation and warfare affected every ancient culture. Ownership of horses became an indicator of wealth and social status. The importance of horses led to a growing interest in their breeding and management. Many phenotypic traits, such as height, behavior, and speed potential, have been proven to be a subject of selection; however, the details of ancient breeding practices remain mostly unknown. From the fourth millennium ...
Cameron A, Harris P, Longland A, Horseman S, Hockenhull J.Laminitis and obesity are leading welfare issues for UK leisure horses. Limiting grass intake is a common preventative measure but may result in other aspects of welfare being compromised. This study aimed to determine how commonly different restricted grazing methods are used in the UK, barriers limiting their accessibility, and the potential benefits and welfare issues associated with each. A cross-sectional online survey was distributed with questions relating to horse carers' opinions of different restricted grazing practices, which methods they used, and how they implemented these. Closed...
Ward AB, Stephen K, Argo CM, Harris PA, Watson CA, Neacsu M, Russell W, Grove-White DH, Morrison PK.The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact human health and welfare on a global level. In March 2020, stringent national restrictions were enforced in the UK to protect public health and slow the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Restrictions were likely to have resulted in collateral consequences for the health and welfare of horses and ponies, especially those at risk of obesity and laminitis and this issue warranted more detailed exploration. The current study utilised qualitative methodology to investigate the implications of COVID-19 related policies upon equine management and welfare with a...
Da Lio L, Castello P, Gianfelice G, Cavalli R, Canu P.We investigated the exploitation of horse manure for energy recovery by combustion. First, the impact of the waste origin and management (storage conditions) was evaluated in terms of elemental analysis, moisture content, heating value, and ash melting temperature. Besides some carbon loss over the time, horse manure origin and management policy do not impact its profitable exploitation by combustion. More relevant, the ignition tests disproved the current industrial opinion that combustion of manure alone is difficult, without the addition of auxiliary fuel, like wood shavings. It has been de...
Furtado T, Perkins E, McGowan C, Pinchbeck G.Approximately 60% of the UK's leisure horses are kept at livery yards under the management and oversight of a livery yard owner or manager (LYO/M), yet their role has received little research attention. This study used the COVID-19 pandemic as a lens through which to view LYO/Ms' decisions around equine care and management at a time when changes to usual practice were necessary. Qualitative research methods were used. Up to 3 interviews were conducted with 24 different LYO/Ms over nine months (n = 48). Discussion threads from open-access UK discussion fora were also analysed. All data were ano...
Gehlen H, Krumbach K, Thöne-Reineke C.This literature review was aimed at analyzing whether stallion husbandry in groups is possible and desirable or poses risks. This was determined on the basis of different studies in order to be able to give practical recommendations from the viewpoint of animal welfare. Consequently, 50 different sources were analyzed, as well as observations of an experiment of the Swiss National Stud on the subject of change from single-stallion to group husbandry and its influence on animal welfare. The results revealed that stallion husbandry in groups is possible but still rarely practiced. It was found t...
Smith R, Pinchbeck G, McGowan C, Ireland J, Perkins E.The number of aged horses in the UK has been growing over recent years, with many horses remaining active and being cared for into old age. However, increasing age is paralleled with a heightened risk of morbidity and mortality; therefore, owners of older horses must manage changes in their horse, making decisions about management and health care provision. In this paper, we discuss data collected from an open-access online discussion forum, where forum users sought advice arising from concerns about their older horse. Qualitative data analysis was performed using grounded theory methods. A co...
Hockenhull J, Bell C, White J, Rogers S.In the UK, March 2020 was a time of great uncertainty as COVID-19 became increasingly widespread. The government responded by making suggestions about how people could reduce the risk of spread on 16 March, moved swiftly into closing schools on the 18 March before announcing a mandatory lockdown on the 23rd March. This was a challenging time for UK equestrians who had to balance maintaining their equine's routine and daily care alongside the increasing biosecurity measures. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to UK equestrians via social media over two days (28 and 29 March 2020) to bette...
Radmann A, Hedenborg S, Broms L.The study analyzes and explains the impact of social media influencers on stable cultures in Sweden and Norway, contributing to the understanding of the complex relationship between equestrian sports and social media-a relationship that is important for the welfare of horses. Since equestrianism is one of the most popular sports in Sweden and Norway, influencers' social media communication greatly impacts followers' perception of the human-animal relationship. Despite the popularity of equestrian sports, studies thereof are rare, and research combining equestrian sports and social media is alm...
Chen N, Liu Y, Qin P, Li Y, Ma D, Li J, Shi T, Zhu Z.The microorganisms in the cecum of donkeys share similar functions as those in the rumen of cattle. Transformation of the cecal microenvironment by probiotics plays an important role in the health and growth of donkeys. In order to screen out excellent donkey probiotic preparations, in this study, we isolated an antibacterial strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (designated as DQB-1) from the cecum of Dezhou donkey. The strain was assessed in terms of antibacterial activity, antibacterial substance analysis, and stability. The results show that, the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DQB-1 exhibited p...
Mönki J, Saastamoinen M, Karikoski N, Rajamäki M, Raekallio M, Junnila J, Särkijärvi S, Norring M, Valros A, Oranen Ben Fatma S, Mykkänen A.Bedding materials affect stable air hygiene, and thus the development and exacerbation of equine asthma. There is limited knowledge concerning the effects of different types of bedding material on equine lower airway inflammation. The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of bedding materials on respiratory signs, tracheal mucus score, and lower airway cytology in healthy adult horses. The study design was a prospective controlled study, and the subjects were healthy adult riding school horses (n = 32) from a single stable. Wood shavings were compared to peat, which was used as...
Jastrzębska E, Sadowska J, Wnuk-Pawlak E, Różańska-Boczula M, Janczarek I.This study aimed at assessing the behaviour of Konik geldings and mares, kept in a stable and in a free-range system, during behavioural tests regarded as a determinant of the exploration urge. A total of 19 Konik horses kept in individual stables and in a free-range system were included in the study. The experiment was conducted in five phases separated by five-day breaks. A one-stage passive human test was performed during the first phase, a three-stage active human test-2nd phase, a three-stage unknown object test-3rd phase, a two-stage unknown surface test-4th phase, and a one-stage test o...
Daly AE, Deible CG, Lamb CE, Santacaterina SM, Marzolf NL, Page AE, Horohov DW, Wood PL, Werre SR, Chapman SE, Christmann U.To evaluate surfactant protein D (SP-D) concentrations in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from young healthy horses on pasture or housed in a typical barn. Methods: 20 young healthy horses. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups (pasture, n = 10; barn, 10), and serum and BALF samples were collected for SP-D determination at baseline (all horses on pasture) and 2 weeks and 4 weeks after the barn group of horses was relocated from the pasture to the barn. Other evaluations included physical and tracheoscopic examinations. Findings were compared within and between g...
Marliani G, Sprocatti I, Schiavoni G, Bellodi A, Accorsi PA.The increasing interest in animal welfare and the knowledge of equine physiological and ethological needs have led to the development of different types of horses' management and housing systems. The research presented here aimed to assess the daytime activity budget of horses. Focal animal sampling was used as an observational sampling method, and the five animals were observed for a total of 9920 minutes in the paddock and inside the stall. The results showed that horses spent most of the daytime in foraging behaviors, followed by resting behaviors, and locomotion. Social behaviors (s.e. al...
Kjellberg L, Morgan K.Interest in the use of open barns on Swedish horse farms is increasing as an alternative to keeping horses in box stalls and as a 2007 law requires phasing out of tie stalls. To provide adequate forage to satisfy welfare requirements for nutrition, gut health and behavioural needs, the use of automated feeding is also increasing. Studies on forage intake rate report wide variation but provide little information on how to introduce horses to an automatic forage station and on how forage intake rate varies in individual horses fed using an automatic forage station. This study documented the proc...
Scala A, Tamponi C, Sanna G, Predieri G, Dessì G, Sedda G, Buono F, Cappai MG, Veneziano V, Varcasia A.Current equine helminth control strategies play a key role in strongyle epidemiology and anthelmintic resistance and have led to the recommendation for new treatment plans, which include diagnostic and efficacy surveillance. Assessing the equine strongyle distribution patterns would thus be useful and this study describes the strongyle prevalence in the equine population in Italy through coprological analysis and coproculture. In addition, individual data on each animal were collected in order to identify risk factors associated with strongyle egg shedding. Of the total number of stables inves...
Francis JM, Perry EB.Horse treat packaging may be composed of materials including plastic and paper which protect the product from the environment to improve shelf life. Objectives of this research were to 1) assess the impact of packaging on shelf life of horse treats and 2) evaluate the impact of packaging on horse preferences. Three packaging treatments (control, poly, and paper) were examined at five time points over a 12 month period. Treatments were analyzed for moisture, water activity, mold, yeast, pH, and volatile organic acids. Horse preference testing evaluated first treatment sniffed, consumed, and fin...
Furtado T, Perkins E, Pinchbeck G, McGowan C, Watkins F, Christley R.Equine obesity is considered one of the most serious welfare concerns in UK leisure horses, yet little is known about how horse owners conceptualise their horse's weight as part of its health, or how they plan and carry out weight management. Objective: This study aimed to further our understanding of leisure horse owners' perceptions of equine health and awareness of excess fat in order to clarify our understanding of successful strategies for managing equine weight. Methods: This study used a qualitative research methodology. Methods: Data comprised 16 threads from online UK equine discussio...
Williams JM, Randle H, Marlin D.COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020; the United Kingdom (UK) implemented quarantine measures shortly afterward, resulting in rapid changes in how owners managed and interacted with their horses. This study provides a rapid analysis of the initial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the management of UK leisure and competition horses. A 17 question online survey was distributed via equestrian social media sites to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on horse and yard management and on human-horse interactions. Frequency analysis combined with Chi-squared and thematic analyses i...
Hildebrandt F, Krieter J, Büttner K, Salau J, Czycholl I.Group housing is claimed to possibly provide horses with a species-appropriate movement possibility, and hence, better welfare. Thus, this study analyzed the daily walked distances of 51 horses held in one group in a "HIT Active Stable" (Hinrichs Innovation + Technik) in Northern Germany by using global positioning system (GPS) technology during a 7 ½-month time span. The daily walking distances of the whole group, as well as newcomers, were investigated. The horses traveled an average of 8.43 km/day. Linear mixed models were applied. The observation day had a significant effect on the dail...
Burla JB, Rufener C, Bachmann I, Gygax L, Patt A, Hillmann E.Horses can sleep while standing; however, recumbency is required for rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and therefore essential. Previous research indicated a minimal duration of recumbency of 30 min per 24 h to perform a minimal duration of REM sleep. For group-housed horses, suitable lying area represents a potentially limited resource. In Switzerland, minimal dimensions for the space allowance of the littered area are therefore legally required. To assess the effect of different space allowances of the littered area on lying behavior, 38 horses in 8 groups were exposed to 4 treatments for 1...
Raidal SL, Love DN, Bailey GD.Tracheal mucociliary clearance was determined in horses by measuring the rostrad transport of the radiopharmaceutical 99mtechnetium-sulphur colloid following deposition on the tracheal epithelium by intratracheal injection. The effects of head position (head elevated to normal standing position vs head lowered) and of accumulated purulent secretions on tracheal mucociliary clearance were evaluated for the first time in the horse. In normal horses tracheal mucociliary clearance was greatly accelerated by lowering the head so that the cranial trachea was lower than the caudal trachea. Horses con...
Ivester KM, Smith K, Moore GE, Zimmerman NJ, Couëtilt LL.Exposure of horses to airborne particulates during stable confinement has been linked with airway inflammation in these animals. Understanding that link requires accurate measures of exposures and greater understanding of the sources of variability in these exposures. Objective: Area and breathing zone particulate concentrations were measured over time in order to determine the relative variability introduced by daily, monthly or between horse variations. Additionally, the relationship between area and breathing zone respirable particulate concentrations was examined. Methods: The study was co...
Mazzola SM, Colombani C, Pizzamiglio G, Cannas S, Palestrini C, Costa ED, Gazzonis AL, Bionda A, Crepaldi P.The satisfaction of leisure horses' behavioral needs has begun to be considered a priority, linked to the awareness that horses kept in single boxes may be deprived of social contact and the possibility to perform natural behaviors. Several factors may influence horses' quality of life also in the paddock, and there are very few data on the effects of those variables on leisure horses' chronic stress, measurable in terms of activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Therefore, managerial choices faced by owners and stables managers are only based on experience, common sense,...
Bourjade M, Moulinot M, Henry S, Richard-Yris MA, Hausberger M.We investigated the effects of the introduction of foreign adults on the behavior of young horses. First, we observed the behavior of 1- and 2-year-old domestic horses housed in same-age and same-sex groups (a standard housing system, but different from a natural situation). Then, two same-sex adults were introduced into each experimental group. Observations made before, during and after an introduction indicated that young horses reared in homogeneous groups of young had different behaviors compared to other domestic horses reared under more socially natural conditions. After the introduction...
Hockenhull J, Creighton E.UK leisure horses are owned primarily for riding. Ridden behaviour problems may compromise the use of the horse in this role and lead to harsh redress or relinquishment of the horse. Despite the consequences of these problems little is known about their prevalence or the working lives of UK leisure horses. Objective: To generate data on the work undertaken by leisure horses, the equipment and training practices used with them and prevalence of ridden behaviour problems. Methods: An internet survey was used to generate horse-level data from a convenience sample of leisure horse carers. Responde...
McBride SD, Long L.A telephone survey was conducted of 100 racing stables, 100 riding schools and 100 competition establishments (8,427 horses in total) to determine what management practices were being applied to horses showing stereotypic behaviour, and to determine the underlying reasons for them by assessing the perceptions and opinions of the people working with the horses. The results indicated that horse owners are concerned about stereotypic behaviour, first, because it reduces the performance of the animal (31, 30 and 27 per cent of the owners of racing stables, riding schools and competition establishm...
Briefer Freymond S, Briefer EF, Von Niederhäusern R, Bachmann I.Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established,...
Luescher UA, McKeown DB, Dean H.A researcher-administered survey study was performed involving 769 horses from 32 Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and pleasure horse stables in southwestern Ontario. Data were gathered on individuals (breed, age, and sex) and at the stable level (housing, management). The effects of these factors on cribbing, stall-walking, weaving, stall-kicking, tongue playing, and pawing were assessed by unconditional analysis (Chi-square, t test) and conditionally using stepwise logistic regression. Individual level factors had significant effects on most compulsive behaviours. Some stable level factors, in mo...
McGowan TW, Pinchbeck G, Phillips CJ, Perkins N, Hodgson DR, McGowan CM.To describe management practices and routine preventive care of aged horses in Queensland, Australia, including effects of owner characteristics, affiliation to an equestrian group and retirement of the horse. Methods: Owners of horses were contacted via Equestrian Australia (EA) and asked to complete a questionnaire about their aged horses (e.g. age, breed, sex and colour); their use and management, including preventive health care; and use of equine healthcare providers. Results: Horses aged 15 years or greater represented one-third of the total horses owned in the population sample. The med...
Sweeting MP, Houpt CE, Houpt KA.Eight pairs of pony mares were observed. Members of a pair were housed in adjacent stalls and fed hay ad libitum. The behavior of both ponies was recorded simultaneously in the morning (1000 to 1200 h) and afternoon (1400 to 1600 h) for a total of 117 h. The time budget was: 70.1 +/- 8.6% eating; 17.8 +/- 7.4% standing (including stand rest, stand alert and stand nonalert); 5.2 +/- 7.0% pushing hay; 2.9 +/- 1.2% walking; 1.9 +/- 2.9% drinking; 1.3 +/- 1.1% self-grooming; .2 +/- .3% defecating; .06 +/- .1% chewing nonfood items; .06 +/- .03% urination; .06 +/- .1% licking salt; .07 +/- .1% pawi...
Jackson CA, Berney C, Jefcoat AM, Robinson NE.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) or heaves is a manifestation of a hypersensitivity to dust, moulds, and spores in the environment of a susceptible horse. Although in the majority of RAO-affected horses, clinical remission can be achieved by keeping horses at pasture to reduce their allergen exposure, this often is not practicable. For this reason, we investigated if changing the environment of a single stall in a 4 stall stable was sufficient to improve lung function and reduce inflammation in RAO-affected horses. In addition, we determined if addition of oral prednisone provided additional...
Placci M, Marliani G, Sabioni S, Gabai G, Mondo E, Borghetti P, De Angelis E, Accorsi PA.In the equestrian world, two different types of management can be distinguished: traditional management and natural boarding. The aim of this research was to compare hormonal, hematological and immunological parameters of 47 horses kept in these two different managements. Blood and horsehair of the horses were sampled to determine DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and cortisol concentration through RIA. Moreover, blood count was conducted, and flow cytometry was employed to phenotype lymphocyte subpopulations. Results showed that, in horsehair, DHEA concentration was significantly higher in natura...
Husted L, Sanchez LC, Olsen SN, Baptiste KE, Merritt AM.Stall housing has been suggested as a risk factor for ulcer development in the equine stomach; however, the exact pathogenesis for this has not been established. Objective: To investigate the effect of 3 environmental situations (grass paddock, stall alone or stall with adjacent companion) on pH in the proximal and the ventral stomach. Methods: Six horses with permanently implanted gastric cannulae were used in a randomised, cross-over, block design. Each horse rotated through each of three 24 h environmental situations. Horses remained on their normal diet (grass hay ad libitum and grain b.i....
Mäenpää PH, Koskinen T, Koskinen E.Twenty mares and 15 foals of the Finnhorse breed were used to determine serum levels of vitamins A, E and D during different seasons. Monthly serum samples were analyzed from mares for 22 mo and from foals for 13 mo after birth. The horses were kept on pasture from early June until early October and in stables during the winter months. Seasonal differences (P less than .001) were found in serum retinol, retinol to protein ratio, alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol to cholesterol ratio. Values were lowest from February through May and highest from June through August. Serum levels of retinol ...
Berndt A, Derksen FJ, Venta PJ, Ewart S, Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan V, Robinson NE.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is characterized by neutrophilic airway inflammation and obstruction, and stabling of susceptible horses triggers acute disease exacerbations. Stable dust is rich in endotoxin, which is recognized by Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4. In human bronchial epithelium, TLR4 stimulation leads to elevation of interleukin (IL)-8 mRNA expression. The zinc finger protein A20 negatively regulates this pathway. We hypothesized that TLR4 and IL-8 mRNA and neutrophil numbers are elevated and that A20 mRNA is not increased in RAOs during stabling compared with controls and with R...
Pollard D, Wylie CE, Verheyen KLP, Newton JR.Equine laminitis is a complex disease that manifests as pain and lameness in the feet, often with debilitating consequences. There is a paucity of data that accounts for the multifactorial nature of laminitis and considers time-varying covariates that may be associated with disease development; particularly those that are modifiable and present potential interventions. A previous case-control study identified a number of novel, modifiable factors associated with laminitis which warranted further investigation and corroboration. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with equi...
Berndt A, Derksen FJ, Edward Robinson N.Inflammatory airway disease is common in stabled horses, with a prevalence of 17.3% in Michigan pleasure horses. Stable dust is rich in endotoxin, which may induce neutrophilic airway inflammation. Climatological conditions (ambient temperature and relative humidity) may influence endotoxin concentrations in pastures. The aim of this project was to determine if endotoxin levels in the breathing zone of horses in stables were higher than of horses on pasture, and if the endotoxin on pasture was associated with climatological conditions. Endotoxin exposure of six horses that were stabled or on p...
Scala A, Tamponi C, Sanna G, Predieri G, Dessì G, Sedda G, Buono F, Cappai MG, Veneziano V, Varcasia A.Current equine helminth control strategies play a key role in strongyle epidemiology and anthelmintic resistance and have led to the recommendation for new treatment plans, which include diagnostic and efficacy surveillance. Assessing the equine strongyle distribution patterns would thus be useful and this study describes the strongyle prevalence in the equine population in Italy through coprological analysis and coproculture. In addition, individual data on each animal were collected in order to identify risk factors associated with strongyle egg shedding. Of the total number of stables inves...
Hinney B, Wirtherle NC, Kyule M, Miethe N, Zessin KH, Clausen PH.Control strategies for horse helminths are controversially discussed, and no ideal strategy exists. Presently, the spreading of anthelmintic resistance against all three classes of anthelmintics is of special concern. Advice on how to slow the development of anthelmintic resistance does not seem to have reached the majority of horse owners yet. In our study, we wanted to capture the current standard of helminth control and to analyse the effectiveness of these control strategies. Seven hundred horse farms in Brandenburg, Germany were sent a questionnaire in June/July 2006 asking various questi...
Rosenthal FS, Gruntman A, Couetil LL.Measurements of total, respirable, and real-time airborne particulate were obtained in 12 horse barns in summer and winter. Respirable and total particulate concentrations were measured gravimetrically; real-time particulate was measured with an aerosol photometer. Total particulate (TP) ranged from nondetectable (ND) to 2.1 mg/m3 and from ND to 1.2 mg/m3 for winter and summer sampling, respectively. Respirable particulate (RP) ranged from ND to 0.2 mg/m3 and from ND to 0.7 mg/m3 for winter and summer measurements, respectively. The mean respirable fraction of particulate for summer and winter...
Suthers JM, Pinchbeck GL, Proudman CJ, Archer DC.Risk factors for large colon volvulus (LCV) in the horse have not been previously reported. Knowledge of these risk factors may allow the introduction of measures that could be taken to minimise the incidence of LCV. Objective: To investigate risk factors for LCV in the horse. Methods: A prospective, multicentre, unmatched case-control study was conducted over a 24 month period in the UK. Data on 69 cases and 204 control horses, from 4 veterinary hospitals, were obtained via telephone questionnaires. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associations between horse and manageme...
Marliani G, Sprocatti I, Schiavoni G, Bellodi A, Accorsi PA.The increasing interest in animal welfare and the knowledge of equine physiological and ethological needs have led to the development of different types of horses' management and housing systems. The research presented here aimed to assess the daytime activity budget of horses. Focal animal sampling was used as an observational sampling method, and the five animals were observed for a total of 9920 minutes in the paddock and inside the stall. The results showed that horses spent most of the daytime in foraging behaviors, followed by resting behaviors, and locomotion. Social behaviors (s.e. al...
Clarke LL, Roberts MC, Argenzio RA.The association of feeding practices with the development of digestive disorders in horses has long been recognized, although the underlying mechanisms had been barely considered. The physiologic consequences of meal frequency may help to explain the relationship and prove to be of major significance in the induction of many conditions. Many Equidae kept for performance and leisure activities are fed high-energy, low-forage rations twice daily, with limited access to hay or grazing. Rapid ingestion of such meals stimulates a copious outpouring of upper alimentary secretions and results in tran...
Goodwin D, Davidson HP, Harris P.The restricted access to pasture experienced by many competition horses has been linked to the exhibition of stereotypic and redirected behaviour patterns. It has been suggested that racehorses provided with more than one source of forage are less likely to perform these patterns; however, the reasons for this are currently unclear. To investigate this in 4 replicated trials, up to 12 horses were introduced into each of 2 identical stables containing a single forage, or 6 forages for 5 min. To detect novelty effects, in the first and third trials the single forage was hay. In the second and fo...
Grzyb J, Podstawski Z, Bulski K.Keeping horses in good condition requires providing them with living conditions that meet welfare requirements. These animals should be accommodated with suitable space, access to high nutritional fodder and water, and a suitable microclimate in their shelters. When it comes to the environment in the stables, a serious problem is created by particulate matter (PM), which consists of bacteria. PM concentration may be responsible for developing multiple lower respiratory tract diseases in horses, including allergies and recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). In turn, these ailments may lead to decr...
Sackman JE, Houpt KA.Temperament can be defined as innate properties of the nervous system, whereas personality includes the complex behavioral traits acquired through life. Association between personality and behavior is important for breeding, selection, and training of horses. For the first time, we evaluated if equine personality components previously identified in Japan and Europe were consistent when applied to American horses. We examined the association of personality with breed, age, sex, management, training, stereotypies, and misbehaviors. The owner directed personality survey consisted of 25 questions....
Hartmann E, Bøe KE, Christensen JW, Hyyppä S, Jansson H, Jørgensen GH, Ladewig J, Mejdell CM, Norling Y, Rundgren M, Särkijärvi S....Keeping horses in groups is widely recommended but limited information is available about how this is implemented in practice. The aim of this survey was to describe how horses are kept in the Nordic countries in relation to sex, age, breed, and equestrian discipline and to assess owners' attitudes toward keeping horses in groups. Horse owners in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden were approached using a web-based questionnaire, which was translated into 4 languages and distributed online via equestrian forums, organizations, and social media. The number of respondents was 3,229, taking care...
Nardoni S, Mancianti F, Sgorbini M, Taccini F, Corazza M.Fungal agents are responsible for a variety of respiratory diseases both in humans and animals. The nature and seasonal variations of fungi have been investigated in many environments with wide ranging results. The aims of the present report were (i) to evaluate the quality and magnitude of exposure to airborne fungi in three differently structured equine stalls (open air, partially and completely enclosed buildings) during a one-year period, using an air sampling technique and (ii) to compare the distribution and frequency of fungal species, with regards to these different environments. Air s...
Pitzer JB, Kaufman PE, Tenbroeck SH, Maruniak JE.A species-specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction targeting the cytochrome b gene of cattle, horses, humans, and dogs was developed to determine the blood meal sources of stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), collected from Florida equine facilities. Of 595 presumptive blood-fed stable flies analyzed, successful host amplification was obtained in 350, for a field host-detection efficiency of 58.8%. The majority of analyzed stable flies had fed on cattle (64.6%), followed by horses (24.3%), humans (9.5%), and dogs (1.6%). A survey of animal-enclosed pastures occurring within 3 km of stab...
